Rena Mt Underwater Dive Club Recreational Assessment Dive 28 May 2015

I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate on a recreational dive on the Rena shipwreck today.

The ships insurers and the Mount Underwater Dive Club have been in the process of proposing to keep the remains of the shipwreck left on Astrolabe Reef and as part of that process wanted our opinions on what we thought of it as a recreational dive site. In one word awesome.
I have been a strong critic of the remains being left there in the past however after today's dives I wouldn't hesitate in going back for more, purely for selfish diving reasons.
I can fully understand people's alternative opinions however from a scuba diving perspective the wreck was one of my highlights from 30 years diving. It didn't hurt that the weather Gods were smiling down on us with smooth seas, no swell resulting in 30m visibility.
From earlier footage I has seen of the debris field and potential entanglement points I was astonished at how clean of debris the wreck now is, a few aluminum ingots, a little bit of coiled wire and a few bags of debris to be collected was all of the previous mess that i could see. What remains of the superstructure offers a treasure trove of photographic opportunities that I cant wait to get back to.
The diving was made possible by the generosity of  Western Boats the Karen D with their well oiled crew. Thanks to all involved from Pacific Diving and our guide underwater guide Rex.

Here's some of the photos from today's dive.