DUTCH MASTER - DIVING THE BUITENZORG

The Friday rush hour traffic wound its way slowly out of Glasgow city centre and up onto the Erskine bridge. In amongst the ranks of commuters' cars queuing up at the tollbooths were the vehicles of those who were heading north for a more adventurous weekend. Mountain bikes, rucksacks and skis formed the bulk of the sports equipment. However our vehicle was filled to the gunwales with four twin sets, eight stage bottles, dive and camera bags as we headed north for our own particular spot of Scottish sport.
With Dorothea quarry closed our main training destination was out of bounds and despite our best efforts to find another inland site, we had been faced with the choice of Wast Water (allegedly 70m) or nothing. Attention turned to a sheltered sea location and having looked at several options we decided that the Sound Of Mull and in particular the wreck of the Buitenzorg fitted the bill nicely.
Travelling through the pass of Glencoe during the night the snow covered mountains, illuminated by the moon, stood out clearly against the dark sky. Leaving the warmth of the car as we made the brief ferry crossing at Corran, the frigid night air reminded us of the reality of gas diving in the sea in early spring! Although the night was cold, the air was still and we had struck lucky with the weather. For week after week, the west coast of Scotland had been battered by repetitive gales that would have prevented our expedition.
The dining room of the Loch Aline Hotel was turned into the centre of operations. A large scale ships plan was rolled out and held open by two pints of lemonade, whilst lap top computers, slates, tables and the obligatory 'Argyll Shipwrecks' book sat open on the surrounding tables.
The books put the wreck in between 90 and 105 metres of water. From talking to the team that had first dived the wreck in 1996 we knew that the general depths on the deck were between 80 and 85 metres. Our plan was for 20 mins at 85m. As the debate about deep decompression stops and optimum gas mixtures subsided the team headed off for an early night. I reflected on how sad we must have appeared to the locals, sitting in a pub on a Friday night, drinking lemonade and talking about Pyles. At least our support diver, Sane Roger, indulged in a dram or three of the hard stuff.
The following morning and the Sound Of Mull was at its most moody and magnificent. Only the ripples on the shoreline disturbed an otherwise glassy sea as the sea mist and stationary low cloud added to the feeling of stillness.
The team assembled at Loch Aline pier and we met with George Mayer, skipper of 'Gemini Breeze' a well kept and highly equipped Offshore 105 (how many hard boats do you find with a helium analyser aboard and no, I don't mean an O2 analyser!). With all the kit loaded aboard we began the short run out to the site of the Buitenzorg.
The Buitenzorg was one of those ships that you would struggle to call 'pretty', she was very similar in layout to the other Dutch ship, the Breda, sunk nearby. Her 4,500 tons and 460' length were designed for the practicalities of moving cargo from point A to B and her rigging and layout were perfectly adequate for that task. Her listing in 'Argyll Shipwrecks' states that her sinking is 'surrounded by rumour and speculation which grows over time as the stories are exaggerated or enhanced by the narrator'. What is clear is that on 14 January 1941 Lloyds of London received an SOS message, stating that the Buitenzorg was 'aground and sinking fast'. The ship went down in 15 minutes, giving her crew just enough time to lower the boats before she slipped beneath the icy winter water.
The rumours and speculation that have grown out of the sinking are largely to do with what cargo the ship may or may not have been carrying and the route she was taking. Lloyds records show that she was bound for Calcutta from Dundee, however records in the Netherlands state she was on the reverse course. Her cargo is listed as tea and latex, yet the wreck has been surveyed by an ROV team looking for signs of a cargo of 300 tons of tin. Whatever the truth behind the sinking and cargo, our team were more than excited at the prospect of exploring such a large wreck.
George had put a shot into the wreck the previous day, though due to poor visibility he hadn't been able to 'box the wreck in' and was concerned that the shot might be on the seabed next to the wreck. As it was our intention to dive the wreck in the same place over the two days, we decided to tie the shot into the wreck and arranged for the first two divers to send up a signal buoy to indicate that the shot was in the wreck.
With the decompression station deployed and the first two divers kitted up, we motored slowly across to the shot line. As the divers stood ready the clouds cleared and the snow covered peaks of Beinn Mneadhon and Dun Da Ghaoithe sparkled in the sun and gave us one of those 'Tiswas feelings' ....'this is what we want!'
The next two divers were kitted up and we waited anxiously for the signal buoy to arrive topside. As the minutes ticked by, George became more anxious that the shot was off the wreck and started to make preparations to deploy another line. As he began to come around onto the shot the yellow buoy broke surface. Seconds later the next two divers stood in the gate ready to go!
Descending the shot we went through several different levels of visibility. From the surface to around 20m we encountered a number of thermaclimes, from 20m to around 60m the water was dark but clear with around 6m of vis, but below 60m it was grim. With a powerful Kowalski head torch set on 100% it was like driving in a snowstorm and soon we were turning them onto their 50% setting which reduced the back scatter. The vis was about 1.5m so it was little wonder the first divers had taken their time to tie into the wreck.
In normal circumstances we would have dropped off the shot as soon as the wreck was in sight, but on this occasion we had to follow the shot line all the way down to the seabed in 92m. Having violated our planned bottom depth by 7m we switched to a run time of 17 minutes at 90m. The line reel was attached to the shot and we set off up the side of the hull and onto the stern decking. Following the hand rails along the starboard side of the wreck we came to the ladder and davits for the gang plank before turning to cross the deck and past the numerous engine room air intakes.
The wreck was covered in a thick layer of silt that was easily kicked up and in addition some areas were densely covered in dead kelp fronds, testament to the severe recent storms. Working our way back to the shot we passed the remains of the aft docking bridge with the large steering wheel still intact and attached to the pedestal. Having only just begun to orientate ourselves with the ship it was time to turn around and follow the line back through clouds of swirling silt to the shot line. Having completed around one and a half hours of decompression we arrived back topside and after discussing our findings, George decided to re-deploy the shot between the stern and bridge section. Recovering the shot went smoothly, which we thought was remarkable when we saw that the shot was a steel bucket full of lead!
The second trip out to the wreck site was again made in brilliant winter sunshine. With the shot deployed we had time on our side so we dropped our standby diver Roger in for a dip in an area that the scallop dredges couldn't operate in. Soon 'Sane Roger' was back aboard with a goody bag containing our starters for that evening's dinner. With the jump-line connected at 18m and a secondary disconnection point set at 9m by the standby diver (so that we could stay connected to the shot for as long as the current was bearable) we were ready.
After a brief, good natured discussion about whose role it was to tie the shot in this time, the dive team were deployed. We had the same level of visibility but with the bright sunshine the lights didn't go out fully until about 40m. The shot plummeted away into the gloom then at about 70m began to level out, then even more curiously angled itself back upwards. After a few moments the problem was obvious and proved that the 1996 team hadn't been totally narked when they reported that the rigging was still upright and intact.
Dropping below the obstruction the line continued down the decking at 77m. Unfortunately we landed in the area where the earlier salvage efforts had been at their most active, with plates buckled and bent in all directions and it was totally impossible to work out where we were. Working away from the shot we passed over an area of recognisable decking before taking a belay off a mooring bollard. Ahead the torch beams picked out the distinct shape of a wheel, in the confusion we thought that we must be back on the stern but closer inspection revealed this wheel to be much larger, about 2' in diameter and made of steel. We belayed off the wheel and continued away from the shot. After moving only a few feet forward the decking ended and a sheer vertical drop invited us over. A quick check on the bottom timer revealed only enough time for a quick look before we would have to make our way back.
We worked along the steel wall passing large circular holes where the heavy brass portholes had once been. After only a few seconds the large shape of an intact porthole was recognisable, but there was only enough time to pause and give the glass a little wipe. We passed the wheel once more and decided to leave the reel attached to it. With a bottom time restricted to 17 mins and a maximum depth of 80m we managed (some of us) to get out of the water in under 11/2 hours, which in 6 - 7°C water was really handy.
Having been treated to an excellent meal in the Loch Aline Hotel (which included a beautiful starter of fresh scallops in a tarragon sauce!) and a good night's debate as to whether or not the wheel we had seen was in the bridge, the final dive was upon us.
As it was the last dive, the currents in the Mull decided to have a bit of fun with us. There was a current running as we landed on the wreck which, in most cases, is useful as it clears any silt that you kick up. However on this occasion the silt would swirl around the divers as if being sucked up by some giant vacuum cleaner on the surface. Trying to take photographs in visibility that ranged from 1m to zero was pointless so after extracting our reel we had a quick look around the wheel (which may have been used for the ship's tender) before making our way back to the shot.
With the team all back safely on the station I noticed that Zaid, one of the first divers on the wreck in 1996, had an extra Diverite reel with him. On closer examination the reel was covered in sea squirts and marine growth and judging by the big, cheesy grin on his face, I knew he had recovered the reel left behind by Richie Stevenson on the first trip, a clear indication of the difference between a 30m and 53m narcosis level!
With the fact that the 1996 & 1999 teams have been the only divers to visit the Buitenzorg and given that a combination of high narcosis levels (96) and low visibility (99) have effected the dives the wreck still offers a great deal of scope for future exploration and discoveries, but maybe in the summer next time, eh lads?

By Ron Mahoney.