Diving the Zenobia

[Nigel Cossons]

Got an opportunity to get in a days diving in Cyprus in a couple of weeks. Can anybody recommend any dive centres for the Zenobia, or any to avoid...

Already had a chat to Cydive but they don't dive on a sunday at this time of year.

Thanks

Nige

[Tricky]

Try this lot (http://www.divetekcyprus.com). I haven't used them, but I know people who have and I heard good things about them.

[Greg Hanna]

Hi Nigel,

I was out there in November. Did two days diving with Cydive. A Tuesday and Friday from memory. Worked out well, definitely worth going to see.

Only negative was that it was very much a follow your leader style guided dive. If you are into self exploration, or going into to serious decompression you may be better to consider another outfit.

However that being said, the BBQ on the boat after the dive was great! I would have no problem recommending Cydive.

Greg

[richc]

Try this lot (http://www.divetekcyprus.com). I haven't used them, but I know people who have and I heard good things about them.

I have used this lot and would happily recommend them. Dave and Rob will look after you well and let you do as little or as much deco as you like. They can even hire you u/w scooters which are fab on a wreck this size.

[Alan Ewart]

Got an opportunity to get in a days diving in Cyprus in a couple of weeks. Can anybody recommend any dive centres for the Zenobia, or any to avoid...

Already had a chat to Cydive but they don't dive on a sunday at this time of year.

Thanks

Nige


Nigel,

Obviously it depends on what type of diving you want to do. I was out therein August and dived with Rob Jones from Divetek Cyprus. http://www.divetekcyprus.com/

Rob aims at the more technical end of the market so you can dive the Zen on twins & stages for Deco. I would highly recommend it...Two hour dives :-0

Rob is a BSAC instructor of long standing, as well as a TDI & IANTD instructor. Hopefully Divetek will also soon be a BSAC Technical School

If you drop him a message and let him know youra BSAC diver you will be well looked after by a top bloke.


Whilst I was there I also popped in to say hello at http://www.octopus-diving.com who are a BSAC premier school. Didnt dive with them, but would not hesitate to do so, a very friendly bunch.


Alan

[Nigel Cossons]

Thanks very much for the information. Got a response from Dive Tek so will follow up with them...

Nige

[jilly jones]

Hi, lucky enough to have dived the Zenobia several times between 1993 and 2004 - always diving with Octopus based in Larnaca (www.octopus-diving.com). Ian and his crew have always been friendly and accommodating - he even took just two of us out mid-week in November 2003 -we had the whole wreck to ourselves - awesome!:D :D

[MattS]

Another vote for Ian at Octopus. Ian probably knows more about the Z than anyone. His operation is safe, efficient, accomodating and fun - in a scouse sense of humour sort of way :D

[Steve Pearson]

Make sure if using Octopus you get confirmed prices of hire/costs for boats etc before you go, and take the proof with you.

We dived with them last year and I wasn't impressed.

We hired cylinders and took them off with us to dive around the island, I was using twins and could get two/three dives out of them (1 per day as it was a lads week away my father, me and my son diving together for the week, and my dad's 66 now and really only likes to dive once a day and then sightsee) irrespective of fills they charged us per tank per day, but never told us that when we hired them. We just expected to be charged per fill, but I was paying for the hire of 2 cylinders/day for 3 days just on one fill.

Also I told them as I was an AI I didn't want a guide on the Zen and was happy to buddy up with just another diver who doesn't want a guide. They buddied me with a PADI AOW, and when it came to charging tried to charge me for a guided dive as this guy had dived the Zen before several times.

They tried to overcharge me for something else I can't quite remember, and I refused to pay what they were asking. Luckily I had taken the emails with me confirming what they had told me their rates were for things and showed them this. They backed down and we reached a compromise.

Suffice to say I wouldn't dive with them again. They hardly had any business that week and as we were virtually the only ones diving with them perhaps they tried to screw us a bit to make up the wages. :mad:

Go with someone else

Steve

[GaryC]

I have used Octopus before but last time was 1995. I was very impressed with them. Very clean operation and Ian McMurray new just about every inch of the zenobia. He also was one of those people that had a fantastic attention to detail and never forgot anything he had promised.

Maybe they have changed over the years.

[Steve Pearson]

He Had a manager running the shop and bookings for him who was a bumbling idiot. Ian cox'd their boat out to the Zen. He was ok himself, it was really the idiot he had running things for him who tried to rip us off :mad:

[Nigel Cossons]

Thanks for all the advice. Got my dive on the Zenobia, had the wreck all to ourselves, nice calm weather and 15m+ vis (brilliant by my standards though pants according to the locals!).

Went with Dive Tek Cyprus who were a good bunch. They had a set of twin 12s and a 7 litre stage ready and waiting and an analyser available, they let me do any checks I wanted and sorted me out with a feed that fitted the wing. Only slight problem was that one of the 12 litre tanks was almost empty so there was that sickening hissing noise as I opened the manifold!!! - disaster. But they had a rush about and turned up another 7 litre of 35% so went in with that as well and it all worked out ok - few more gas switches and a bit more managing the right tank for each bit of the dive but all good practice, maybe a few minutes off the dive but not the end of the world.

Got to see a lot of the front part of the wreck; the bow locker, cafeteria bits and a swim back through the vehicle deck. Good dive. Martin led the dive, don't really like guided dives as a rule but being as I only had one day seemed sensible and he led it with a very light touch, more like a normal dive at home.

Poor guy slashed his hand wide open on the wreck so there was all green stuff coming out - I thought he had got paint on him from some bit of the wreck and couldn't understand why he kept showing it too me. Stopped looking after the third or fourth time as it didn't seem very interesting and only realised what had happened when I climed back into the boat and saw the deck all covered in blood. All the same he hadn't abandoned the dive early which is what was important!!! Don't know what it does to your deco if you start leaking like that? It wasn't fizzing.... Good trip and I would dive with them again but remind them to open the manifold when they fill the twins!!!

Nige

[cris]

If you ask me, it is extremely overpriced diving with many of the dive operators in Cyprus. The Zenobia is about a mile from a harbour, fuel costs are minimal, yet operators charge up to 30 Cyuprus pounds (35UKP) for a dive. Taking the proverbial. It is no wonder that people dive elsewhere.

I am all for people making a living but my advice is to shop around and believe me, most expensive is not the best particularly on Cyprus.

[Jim Shaw]

I dived with this Company 2 years ago, the skipper has been born and bred in the area, and watched the Zen go down, there's not much he does'nt know about diving all across the whole Island
http://www.viking-divers.com/
Hope this helps

Jim


Got an opportunity to get in a days diving in Cyprus in a couple of weeks. Can anybody recommend any dive centres for the Zenobia, or any to avoid...
Thanks

Nige

[Alison Boler]

Hi Nige
Would love to have a trip report on your holiday in Cyprus. People often ask for recommendations for diving the Zen and so your experience would be a good one. Not sure if you've seen our trip report collection
http://www.bsactravelclub.co.uk/reports/index.html

If you email it to me I can publish it on the website as a permanent record and also send you back a BSAC shop voucher for £15 as a small thank you. Any above water pix would be a bonus. No need for a literary epic - just the facts and your impressions will be fine. On the other hand, if you feel the need, don't hold back!!

Cheers
Allie