Cyprus Club Trip April 2022
by Guest Blogger Stuart Cowell - Posted 5th May 2022
After many months of planning, eight of our Scubanuts set off for our diving adventures in Cyprus. The trip encompassed a lot of firsts for our group, from diving on the Zenobia, wreck penetration, Katie reaching her 700th, Kat reaching her 100th, Sam her 50th and Stu his 300th dives respectively. Meeting up at Luton airport for our pre-flight breakfast at Frankie & Benny’s, the excitement built amongst us with anticipation of the week ahead. We landed after our 4 1/2 flight into Larnaca and transferred to our hotel the Chrystall in Protaras. All checked in we decided to go out for dinner followed by an early-ish night ready to start diving tomorrow.
Day 1
Our diving was organised with Shelley and Pete who own Scuba Tech a British and very experienced Dive centre close to Protaras and both had an amazing sense of humour. They picked us up at 10.00am and took us to the dive centre where we prepared our dive equipment, tried on our wet suits for size the and then headed off for our first check dive in Green Bay. The max depth was 10 metres and the dive didn't disappoint, and set the expectation for the rest of the week. We saw numerous different fish, including Barracuda and Lion fish and some amazing Green Turtles and seahorses, along with some of the underwater statues. Our second shore dive was at Cyclops being a little more challenging getting into the water, as we needed to almost squat and roll back in. There were certainly some funny sights to see and this marked Sam's 50th dive. Our third dive that day was at a site called Caves and Tunnels, providing as the name suggested, some great swim throughs.
Day 1
Our diving was organised with Shelley and Pete who own Scuba Tech a British and very experienced Dive centre close to Protaras and both had an amazing sense of humour. They picked us up at 10.00am and took us to the dive centre where we prepared our dive equipment, tried on our wet suits for size the and then headed off for our first check dive in Green Bay. The max depth was 10 metres and the dive didn't disappoint, and set the expectation for the rest of the week. We saw numerous different fish, including Barracuda and Lion fish and some amazing Green Turtles and seahorses, along with some of the underwater statues. Our second shore dive was at Cyclops being a little more challenging getting into the water, as we needed to almost squat and roll back in. There were certainly some funny sights to see and this marked Sam's 50th dive. Our third dive that day was at a site called Caves and Tunnels, providing as the name suggested, some great swim throughs.
Day 2
This was an earlier pick up, as today we all wanted to get in three dives and we visited the new Musan underwater museum of sculpture for the first two. A little strange in terms of what you see but glad we did it and it was a nice relaxing dive. Our third dive was at Spongebob, named after the number of sponges that you see. Here we were lucky enough to see numerous Lionfish and Moray Eels all at a shallow depth of up to 10m.
This was an earlier pick up, as today we all wanted to get in three dives and we visited the new Musan underwater museum of sculpture for the first two. A little strange in terms of what you see but glad we did it and it was a nice relaxing dive. Our third dive was at Spongebob, named after the number of sponges that you see. Here we were lucky enough to see numerous Lionfish and Moray Eels all at a shallow depth of up to 10m.
Day 3
Today was another early start and we were excited as it was Wreck day and we headed out on a RIB with the descent and ascent being on a line straight to the wreck. The first dive was on the Liberty which was purposely sunk in May 2009 and was a Russian cargo ship. She sits at a depth of 28m and you have the opportunity for a penetration dive which we took full advantage of. Lots of fish life, Lionfish, and Nudibranch. After an hour's surface interval, and ice cream from the local man (which was amazing), our second dive was on the Nemesis, which is 26m in length sitting at a depth of 26m. There were lots of opportunities again to penetrate the wreck including the engine room. Our third dive of the day was a shore dive and Eddy decided to have a try at sidemount, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Liane also decided she would complete her Nitrox course while out in Cyprus and passed with flying colours.
Today was another early start and we were excited as it was Wreck day and we headed out on a RIB with the descent and ascent being on a line straight to the wreck. The first dive was on the Liberty which was purposely sunk in May 2009 and was a Russian cargo ship. She sits at a depth of 28m and you have the opportunity for a penetration dive which we took full advantage of. Lots of fish life, Lionfish, and Nudibranch. After an hour's surface interval, and ice cream from the local man (which was amazing), our second dive was on the Nemesis, which is 26m in length sitting at a depth of 26m. There were lots of opportunities again to penetrate the wreck including the engine room. Our third dive of the day was a shore dive and Eddy decided to have a try at sidemount, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Liane also decided she would complete her Nitrox course while out in Cyprus and passed with flying colours.
DAY 4
Today was the day we dive the infamous Zenobia! Rated one of the top ten wrecks dives in the world, the Zenobia is a real treat for the experienced diver. The Zenobia lies on her port side with 108 articulated lorries which can still be seen alongside the wreck. MS Zenobia was a Swedish built Challenger-class RO-RO ferry launched in 1979 that capsized and sank in the Mediterranean sea, close to Larnaca, Cyprus, in June 1980 on her maiden voyage. The seabed is at 42m and the highest point is at 16m with visibility reaching 40m. We made three dives that day on the Zenobia which was even a first for Scuba Tech. We had chartered the entire boat so we had it all to ourselves which felt like millionaires diving. The first dive was down to 30m and was an orientation dive so we could get familiar with the vast size of her and it was Stu's 300th dive, with a photo opportunity next to the ship's giant propeller! We also went down to the rear cargo doors and swam through the gap between them. We certainly felt very small in comparison. The second dive was to the opposite end of the wreck and the third dive was a penetration dive into the accommodation block, seeing the toilets, baths and carpets on the floor. It was tight and dark in places but well worth the adventure. Glad we had torches as we certainly needed them.
Today was the day we dive the infamous Zenobia! Rated one of the top ten wrecks dives in the world, the Zenobia is a real treat for the experienced diver. The Zenobia lies on her port side with 108 articulated lorries which can still be seen alongside the wreck. MS Zenobia was a Swedish built Challenger-class RO-RO ferry launched in 1979 that capsized and sank in the Mediterranean sea, close to Larnaca, Cyprus, in June 1980 on her maiden voyage. The seabed is at 42m and the highest point is at 16m with visibility reaching 40m. We made three dives that day on the Zenobia which was even a first for Scuba Tech. We had chartered the entire boat so we had it all to ourselves which felt like millionaires diving. The first dive was down to 30m and was an orientation dive so we could get familiar with the vast size of her and it was Stu's 300th dive, with a photo opportunity next to the ship's giant propeller! We also went down to the rear cargo doors and swam through the gap between them. We certainly felt very small in comparison. The second dive was to the opposite end of the wreck and the third dive was a penetration dive into the accommodation block, seeing the toilets, baths and carpets on the floor. It was tight and dark in places but well worth the adventure. Glad we had torches as we certainly needed them.
Day 5 Final Day
Today was another day on the Zenobia with two final dives planned. We were going deep to 40 metres and to see more of the lorries, and hens eggs that are laying on the sea bed - very strange to see! We also completed some swim throughs being careful with our no deco time. For our final dive we celebrated Katies 700th dive and Kats 100th on top of Zenobia. This dive consisted of going deep into the cargo deck where we saw numerous vehicles including the famous pie lorry and unopened champagne bottles still intact at 32m. As a final diving celebration, Shelley and Pete asked if we all wanted to go out for dinner with them to Los Banditos and well known Mexican restaurant in Ayia Napa. The food and company was great and it rounded off what was an amazing week. We said our emotional goodbye's and some of us headed back to Cheers bar for a few more drinks and Tequilas. The next two days we all had some well deserved R&R either snorkeling or chilling around the pool and eating out for lunch.
All in all the week was truly amazing and a must if you like a good mix of shore dives, wreck dives, RIB and deep dives.
Thanks to everyone who came. #friendsforlife.
Click here to start your own underwater adventure and join one of our trips!
Today was another day on the Zenobia with two final dives planned. We were going deep to 40 metres and to see more of the lorries, and hens eggs that are laying on the sea bed - very strange to see! We also completed some swim throughs being careful with our no deco time. For our final dive we celebrated Katies 700th dive and Kats 100th on top of Zenobia. This dive consisted of going deep into the cargo deck where we saw numerous vehicles including the famous pie lorry and unopened champagne bottles still intact at 32m. As a final diving celebration, Shelley and Pete asked if we all wanted to go out for dinner with them to Los Banditos and well known Mexican restaurant in Ayia Napa. The food and company was great and it rounded off what was an amazing week. We said our emotional goodbye's and some of us headed back to Cheers bar for a few more drinks and Tequilas. The next two days we all had some well deserved R&R either snorkeling or chilling around the pool and eating out for lunch.
All in all the week was truly amazing and a must if you like a good mix of shore dives, wreck dives, RIB and deep dives.
Thanks to everyone who came. #friendsforlife.
Click here to start your own underwater adventure and join one of our trips!
