Wreck Diving in Hoi Ha Wan

Hoi Ha Wan 22nd March 1998 Wreck-diving in Hoi Ha Wan 22nd March 1998
by John Taylor

(The theme tune of "Moby Dick" fades to the faint sound of a chugging engine as Hong's junk pootles in slow circles around Hoi Ha Wan)
"17 metres!"
"Um, Brian, whats that round orangey thing bobbing in the water"
"16 metres!"
"You don't suppose that could be attached to the wreck, do you?"
"17 metres"
"Maybe the Y-Dive put it there to mark the wreck?"
"No, no good, we'll have to go around again"
"Keith, what say we drop a couple of divers on that orange buoy and see if it's anchored to the wreck?"
"Bugger off! I'm not going to 17metres in 16 degree water on the off chance"
"Oh, ok. What's the depth now Brian?"
"17 metres"
"Oooh, look at all that oil coming up around the buoy"
(sound of chugging engine once again fades to theme tune of Moby Dick)

Anyone who tells you that South China's recent trip to Hoi Ha Wan started off like that is either telling fibs, or he/she was actually there. We were attempting to locate one of the wrecks sunk as part of the artificial reef project in Hoi Ha Wan. These reefs serve several purposes, preventing illegal trawling, spoiling haloclines (nothing to do with angels, ask Keith!), and providing marine habitat. As part of the second flight of divers, Neil H and myself completely parted company with the shot line whilst wrestling with Neil's sinuses, but some expert compass work on the part of the dive leader soon had us crashing into the wreck in visibility of 3 metres. The wreck has already become home to quite a bit of sea life, (none of which I have a clue about, but I'm sure Brian/Keith/Marc will bore you for hours on the subject), but the main interest for our buddy pair was the wreck itself. These wrecks have been made extremely diver-friendly, with holes cut through bulkheads to make penetration easier, and have excellent walkways which make you feel like a true "wreckie" even when you're not. The water temp was a little low for some, being about 16 degrees, so those not up for the second dive were deposited on the beach where (in what seemed like seconds, but
was in fact minutes) a barbecue was quickly blazing. This was a little strange since I was sure that 8 people went ashore, but only 6 came back. Anyone finding any strange bones on the beach in the future needn't worry though, as Marc assures me his local butcher makes the biggest steaks you can get, and math was never my strong point!

You can find more information on the Artificial Reef programme at the Agriculture and Fisheries Department's web site: http://www.info.gov.hk/afd/fish/art.htm