MIKHAIL LERMONTOV WRECK 5 DAY LIVEABOARD TRIP
Real Wreck Diving with Dive Now Whangarei 1st to 6th October 2020 $2299 and 1st to 6th December 2020
Come and dive one of the Southern Hemisphere’s best wrecks. She lies on her starboard side in just 36m/120ft of water at the deepest point, rising to 12m/40ft at the shallowest point!.
The Mikhail Lermontov is is a perfect wreck for all levels of qualified wreck divers, from beginner to Advanced Wreck Penetration diver. There is something for everyone!
She is located in the waters of Port Gore at the top of the South Island, New Zealand. So on these trips we leave from Wellington, making it easy for people to travel to. The trip is 5 days which will give you a good opportunity to get some great diving in.
On Sunday 16th Februry 1986, the Lermontov departed Picton heading for Milford Sound with 743 people on board. 2 hours 37minutes later the ship hit a rock and the ship began to list as she took on water. The crippled liner was listing at 12 degrees and drifted into Port Gore where at 10.37pm she was listing at 40 degrees and began her final journey to the bottom.
The wreck is a must for all keen wreck divers. The wreck is very silty, so we encourage all divers to be sufficient in finning techniques to minimise disturbing the silt (Dive Now’s Peak Performance Buoyancy course) . Also for added safety, all dives are choreographed to ensure that no-one will overlap other teams penetrating the ship or go beyond their skill and comfort level.
Dived on Nitrox 32% most Open Circuit divers qualified with Advanced Open Water can expect to enjoy about a 35 minute dive. If you want to stay longer and or go deeper, you must be technically trained (Dive Now Tech 40 and 45).
This trip caters for CCR and Technical divers. A surface fed decompression station is located at 6m, so stage bottles are not necessary to bring.
What’s included?
- Accommodation onboard vessel
- All diving exluding gas fills
- All bedding/towels
- All food and soft drinks
Extras? (all in NZ$)
- AIR fills – $10 single, $15 twins
- NITROX fills – $15 single, $30 set of twins
- Twin tank hire/day – $15
- CCR tank hire $15/day for pair
- Sorb: $15/kg
- Oxygen – $0.04c/litre
All cabins are twin share cabins with shared Toilets and Showers.
What to bring?
- Water temp in Oct is normally round the14-16oC/ mark, so drysuits are the norm.
- Any alcoholic/non alcoholic drinks you want
- All personal dive gear (there is no spare gear onboard) – if you need gear, ask us and we can organise it.
Proposed Itinerary
What you will need to do is be in Picton on the 1st October 2020 NO later than 6pm. There are a number of ways to come.’
If you are coming via Wellington then you need to Board the Inter-islander Ferry to Picton on the 2:45pm Sailing. (You will NEED to purchase your own tickets online for this.
www.interislander.co.nz/).
We will probably take the earlier ferry to get into Picton at 12pm. Please bear in mind that these ferry times may change to make sure you are aware of this. There are earlier times that day which is also fine. It is really important that you do this as soon as you can as space is limited and if you don’t get onto this ferry sailing you miss out on the trip. Or have to get an earlier sailing. (Ferrybookings normally open 6 months ahead of time).
1st Oct – Wellington Inter-islander Ferry crossing 2:45pm sailing (latest). But recommended to get the earlier ferry leaving at 9:30am. Load boat and sail 3/4 of the way towards the Lermi.
2-6th Oct – DIVE THE LERMI!
6th Oct – Late afternoon/early evening get into Picton. Stay the night in Picton (onboard if possible.
7th Oct – 10:45am Inter-islander Ferry crossing back to Wellington.
We will be back in Wellington approx. 1:55pm on the 7th Oct. IF you are flying out of Wellington then its important to leave a good few hours to accommodate for bad weather.
Also a flexible return flight ticket may be an option for you too.
Dive Days
The Flightless will moor up on the Lermontov from 8am each morning and stay there for the entire day.
If more advanced divers wish to do a 3 hour runtime, or single tank recreational divers wouldlike to do multiple shorter dives, these can easily be achieved.
There are two efficient compressors running on the top decks minimising filling time, thus ensuring that you can get back into the water without delay. We also have surface supplied oxygen for efficient off gassing, so you do not need to bring stage bottles for decompression.
If you are not qualified enough to join these trips don’t stress, as Dive Now run wreck courses and technical diving courses that will make your Lermontov trip happen.
If you cannot make these dates, then don’t worry more trips will be scheduled next year.
Trip Requirements
- Own dive gear – rented if pre booked
- Bring along a copy of your dive certification
- You will need an appropriate Wreck qualification, Enriched Air Nitrox and have been regularly diving with the past 12 months.
Transportation is not provided by Dive Now or Lust for Rust..
PLEASE NOTE
Your trip deposit or full payment secures your space. Any outstanding balances are due a week before departure.
If you cancel your space on a trip within 28 days or less of departure you will incur a 100% cancellation fee. Generally trip payments once made are non-refundable, but most trips have a waiting list and we will do our best to find someone to take your space in the event you need to pull out. You can help us, and improve your chance of a refund, by finding your own replacement.
If a trip is cancelled by the charter due to weather or for safety reasons, a full refund or store credit will be given. Trip pricing does not include transport. You will need to make your own way to the vessel departure point.