The Chicken Wreck
To see the underwater world with all its beauty and grandeur will never be enough. You have to “be” on it to feel it and forever be amazed of its marvel and brilliance.
I started scuba diving in 2010, but before that, I was so afraid of water. I lived almost my entire life in an island (Mindoro) in Philippines , unaware of the wonders of the world beneath the sea. Until I came to Saudi Arabia- the so called land of the desert- where I first learned how to scuba dive.
Please read my previous blog (two parts) @ http://medimaldita.weebly.com/2/post/2011/6/diving-in-saudi-arabia-and-loving-it-part-2.html
During our recent boat dive at the Red Sea in Jeddah on Oct 27, 2012, we were greeted and played with by a school of dolphins on our way to the Chicken Wreck dive site. There were around 14 dolphins or more in the pod. When our boat stopped, they kept on playing, as if dancing around our boat while we were all giggling and cheering at them.
It was my second time around dolphins at the Red Sea. The first encounter I had was when our group went to Baridi Island off the coast of Yanbu about 2 months ago where around 8 dolphins trailed in after our boat but they didn’t follow us long. In Jeddah, the dolphins were more playful and social. I felt that they somehow wanted to interact with us longer so they followed our boat and stayed for a while with us at the wreck.
After a while, the dolphins left and we started to prepare for our wreck dive. The water temperature was inviting and the clear water was hard to resist. With my gears and equipment on, I immediately jumped off the boat and made myself afloat. The splash of warm water on me was refreshing. I put on my snorkel and swim around the boat while waiting for the other divers to get into the water.
Finally, everyone was ready for our first dive of the day at the Chicken Wreck in our buddy system. All 14 of us eagerly descended upon PADI Instructor Raul’s advice and DM Eric’s signal.
The Chicken Wreck, as described at EzineArticles, is a wreck site where a misfortunate skipper with frozen chicken cargo managed to fall foul off the reef and subsequently lost not only his load but also his ship which now wallows on the reef at a depth of around 60-70 Feet.
Thank God it was an easy descent for all of us at 40 to 60 feet. Near the sunken ship, visibility was slightly lower at around 60 feet. I saw how my co-divers arranged themselves in order – positioning next to their buddy and/ or group as per the dive plan discussed on the boat earlier. I volunteered to tag along Delfin and Raul because I knew that they will not stay far from the wreck with Delfin making his first boat dive. Also, it was first time for me to use my underwater camera in a wreck too.
As we stroll around the shipwreck, I wondered how long it could have been since it had the misfortune. There were already several coral reef species thriving at the ship itself. I peeped through one of what seem like a small window and saw a sort of light passing through. The vessel has several holes and spaces (like posts next to each other or perhaps some cages for chicken so they say) that allow light to penetrate inside, making it a beautiful and rich artificial reef for many species.
I took several pictures of the colorful fishes and the old looking shipwreck. Well, my camera wasn’t very sophisticated and I’m not in position to boast of my shots, I tried to take shots in aim to capture a picture of the life around the wreck.
I started scuba diving in 2010, but before that, I was so afraid of water. I lived almost my entire life in an island (Mindoro) in Philippines , unaware of the wonders of the world beneath the sea. Until I came to Saudi Arabia- the so called land of the desert- where I first learned how to scuba dive.
Please read my previous blog (two parts) @ http://medimaldita.weebly.com/2/post/2011/6/diving-in-saudi-arabia-and-loving-it-part-2.html
During our recent boat dive at the Red Sea in Jeddah on Oct 27, 2012, we were greeted and played with by a school of dolphins on our way to the Chicken Wreck dive site. There were around 14 dolphins or more in the pod. When our boat stopped, they kept on playing, as if dancing around our boat while we were all giggling and cheering at them.
It was my second time around dolphins at the Red Sea. The first encounter I had was when our group went to Baridi Island off the coast of Yanbu about 2 months ago where around 8 dolphins trailed in after our boat but they didn’t follow us long. In Jeddah, the dolphins were more playful and social. I felt that they somehow wanted to interact with us longer so they followed our boat and stayed for a while with us at the wreck.
After a while, the dolphins left and we started to prepare for our wreck dive. The water temperature was inviting and the clear water was hard to resist. With my gears and equipment on, I immediately jumped off the boat and made myself afloat. The splash of warm water on me was refreshing. I put on my snorkel and swim around the boat while waiting for the other divers to get into the water.
Finally, everyone was ready for our first dive of the day at the Chicken Wreck in our buddy system. All 14 of us eagerly descended upon PADI Instructor Raul’s advice and DM Eric’s signal.
The Chicken Wreck, as described at EzineArticles, is a wreck site where a misfortunate skipper with frozen chicken cargo managed to fall foul off the reef and subsequently lost not only his load but also his ship which now wallows on the reef at a depth of around 60-70 Feet.
Thank God it was an easy descent for all of us at 40 to 60 feet. Near the sunken ship, visibility was slightly lower at around 60 feet. I saw how my co-divers arranged themselves in order – positioning next to their buddy and/ or group as per the dive plan discussed on the boat earlier. I volunteered to tag along Delfin and Raul because I knew that they will not stay far from the wreck with Delfin making his first boat dive. Also, it was first time for me to use my underwater camera in a wreck too.
As we stroll around the shipwreck, I wondered how long it could have been since it had the misfortune. There were already several coral reef species thriving at the ship itself. I peeped through one of what seem like a small window and saw a sort of light passing through. The vessel has several holes and spaces (like posts next to each other or perhaps some cages for chicken so they say) that allow light to penetrate inside, making it a beautiful and rich artificial reef for many species.
I took several pictures of the colorful fishes and the old looking shipwreck. Well, my camera wasn’t very sophisticated and I’m not in position to boast of my shots, I tried to take shots in aim to capture a picture of the life around the wreck.
Life at the Chicken Wreck
While I kept on taking pictures in between both awe and amazement, I suddenly felt that I was alone in the site. I looked up expecting to see the boat’s entry/exit point where we dropped off, but I did not see it. I turned around hoping to see other divers but I did not find one! I looked down and I saw only something black and deep. Again, I turned around twice but I did not see anything. How could I be out of nowhere while I was so sure that I was just hovering right beside the wreck?!
I tried hard to control panic building up within me. I closed my eyes hard enough, hoping that I’d get through whatever “it” was. I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. Everything felt strange and fearful. I started counting one…two…three… just as I used to do when I was younger each time I was afraid.
Finally, I saw the familiar pair of yellow fins that our Instructor always wears. I felt a relief as I noticed him approaching me and I saw Delfin just a few feet behind him. I looked around and I saw the other divers beside the wreck, taking pictures and playfully enjoying the dive. I realized that I was neither drifted too far from them as there was a very soft current on the site nor have I gone far from the wreck as it is just right next to me within my arm’s reach!
My dive at Chicken Wreck only lasted for 47 minutes and I had 1400psi of air still left in my tank when I ascended. My buddies told me that they saw me, engrossed with my camera, drifting a few feet farther from them and so they immediately followed me. I described how I felt so disoriented and I kept turning around, trying to catch a glimpse of them, but Raul claimed that I DID NOT make even one full turn. He said that he noticed me looking up then down, and then right to left and back but he said he was sure that I did not turn around at all.
During training, I have learned that every diver is susceptible to experience underwater disorientation which is described as a sensation of not knowing where you are or even which way is up or down. The most common cause is sensory deprivation that occurs while diving in low visibility or at night. Though I didn’t give it much thought until I actually experienced it, I promised myself to be more prepared during low-viz dives in the future.
At the end of the day, I was thankful that I was able to manage when the wave of anxiety passed through me during our dive at the Chicken Wreck. Panicking would have not done me any good so keeping calm and forcing myself to relax did help me a lot, though I should have done what we were trained to do during such incident or any stressful situation—Stop, Think, and Act. I also realized that I should be more attentive and focused during future low-viz dives.
Indeed, it was an extraordinarily short dive at the Chicken Wreck but I learned some important lessons- bigtime!
I tried hard to control panic building up within me. I closed my eyes hard enough, hoping that I’d get through whatever “it” was. I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. Everything felt strange and fearful. I started counting one…two…three… just as I used to do when I was younger each time I was afraid.
Finally, I saw the familiar pair of yellow fins that our Instructor always wears. I felt a relief as I noticed him approaching me and I saw Delfin just a few feet behind him. I looked around and I saw the other divers beside the wreck, taking pictures and playfully enjoying the dive. I realized that I was neither drifted too far from them as there was a very soft current on the site nor have I gone far from the wreck as it is just right next to me within my arm’s reach!
My dive at Chicken Wreck only lasted for 47 minutes and I had 1400psi of air still left in my tank when I ascended. My buddies told me that they saw me, engrossed with my camera, drifting a few feet farther from them and so they immediately followed me. I described how I felt so disoriented and I kept turning around, trying to catch a glimpse of them, but Raul claimed that I DID NOT make even one full turn. He said that he noticed me looking up then down, and then right to left and back but he said he was sure that I did not turn around at all.
During training, I have learned that every diver is susceptible to experience underwater disorientation which is described as a sensation of not knowing where you are or even which way is up or down. The most common cause is sensory deprivation that occurs while diving in low visibility or at night. Though I didn’t give it much thought until I actually experienced it, I promised myself to be more prepared during low-viz dives in the future.
At the end of the day, I was thankful that I was able to manage when the wave of anxiety passed through me during our dive at the Chicken Wreck. Panicking would have not done me any good so keeping calm and forcing myself to relax did help me a lot, though I should have done what we were trained to do during such incident or any stressful situation—Stop, Think, and Act. I also realized that I should be more attentive and focused during future low-viz dives.
Indeed, it was an extraordinarily short dive at the Chicken Wreck but I learned some important lessons- bigtime!
Me and my disoriented-self @ Chicken Wreck site
by: MMO
