Wreck treks: Zenobia

Would you dive a truck wreck? And how about a few dozen trucks- on the deck of a ferry boat?

The wreck of the Zenobia is really extraordinary. If I think about that ship I always wonder on the incredible story of its sinking during the maiden voyage, the incredible dimensions (its length was 178 meters!), the incredible shipment (there are still many of the loaded trucks), the incredible location (only a few minutes from Larnaca). If you look for the 'perfect wreck' you get it when you dive Zenobia.

Diving in Cyprus is 90 percent Zenobia and 10 percent everything else which is highly unfair. The water is warm all year, in December I measured 23 Celsius degrees. The visibility usually good. There are reefs, caverns, some other wrecks. But 3 decades ago, on 7th of June in 1980 the local dive centers' lucky star brought them the undisputed underwater Holy Grail of the Mediterranean. So everybody organizes dives here with nice extra costs which are inexplicable: the Zenobia rests just opposite of the port in Larnaca. You'd be able to go there by a kayak, between the two dives some dive boats go back to the shore- so they don't have to give some snacks or worry about toilet issues. No reason to spend much money on fancy, modern dive boats but they can ask extra money for nothing- I think the local businesses like Zenobia even better than their guests. So this wreck is much more than a pile of rusting metal.

Zenobia wreck propeller (Click for the gallery)

Certainly it's the divers' fault. They want to dive it all the week and forget the other dive sites. They greet the crew in dive center with "Do you go to the Zenobia today?" question instead of saying "Hi". So the locals pull as much money as they can, they organize daily trips, special dives, they sell Zenobia shirts and merchandise. Some of the technical diving centers offer ten dives on this single wreck with deep and penetration adventures. And I'm of those simple minded divers who had 4 dives in Cyprus and all of them were at the Zenobia. I paid a lot of money to see a single wreck. But I confess: it worth every penny! I have to tell the Viking Divers' service was awesome, they picked up in the morning, the boat was large while the dive groups were small, the guides were nice and professional so I got what I needed for my money: the perfect Zenobia experience.

How to describe a wreck which you can't swim around during a single dive? You can descend to the bow, where you'll see the bridge, there will be some trucks, you can look inside the windows of the ship's hull and you'll encounter surprising amount of fish. Sometimes dive leaders feed them to attract more. There are morays in the holes which guard the wreck's hidden parts. When you start from the stern first you'll make the typical photos of the diver with the huge propeller. Later you head to the trucks and spend some time with identification of the different instruments. The body of Zenobia starts at around 10 meters depth and the bottom at around 40- for a recreational diver it's the perfect place to use nitrox. At least after many years you'll feel your deep and wreck certifications aren't useless and expensive plastic cards.

Zenobia wreck (Click for the gallery)

This is a satisfying wreck in many ways. It won't make you a better diver but somehow more proud. There are thousands of spectacular places in the oceans but only a handful of them become legendary. The Zenobia is one of those rewarding dive sites which you often mention during night long discussions about real diving.

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