The first morning of diving we took the boat out to Deep Water Cove to dive the HMNZS Canterbury. The HMNZS Canterbury (F421) was one of two broad beam Leander-class frigates operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1971 to 2005. She was decommissioned in 2005 and enthusiasts at the Bay of Islands Canterbury Charitable Trust proposed the idea of scuttling her as a dive wreck at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands. The ship itself had been sold to the trust for a symbolic NZ$ 1.

Headed to the HMNZS Canterbury

The Canterbury is 114 m long so it's effectively impossible to dive the deck of the entire ship in one dive.

HMNZS Canterbury Stern 

For this dive we were moored mid-ship and descended to explore the stern.

Moored to the HMNZS Canterbury

At the stern is a helicopter landing pad and bay for the helicopter itself. It was dark inside but easy ingress/egress for the bay so we ventured inside.

Helicopter bay

Not so much to see in the dark but in the back right corner was what appeared to be an electical room.

Room in the helicopter bay

The remainder of the dive down to the stern was teeming with life.

 

Dive Buddy

Jewel Anemone

Exploring the Canterbury

At one point I found a fish cleaning station where fish were grinding themselves against the rusty metal of the hull.

Fish Cleaning Station

At the end of the dive we ascended up one of the towers and were surrounded by a school of fish during our 3 minute safety stop.

Tower Ascent

Safety stop school of fish

To top it off it was a very short trip to Deep Water Cove where we spent our surface interval, had lunch, and relaxed in the sun.

Deep Water Cove

Location: Northland, New Zealand

Dive Number:   147 Bottom Time: 32m Time In: 10:35 a.m. Tank In: 210 PSI Max Depth: 29.40 ft Table Used:

Mix:   Nitrox Safety Stop: 5m Time Out: 11:07 a.m. Tank Out: 50 PSI Average Depth: 18.40 ft Start Pressure Group:

Surface Interval:   End Pressure Group:

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