Divers: Push, Youri, Brenden, Keith, Lou & Chris L

Well a scorcher was forecast for and moderate northerlies so the conditions were good for a trip out through the heads and visit the J5. This was my first look at this J-Class sub, but with high seas during the previous few days, the fantastic viz that everyone has experienced in the last month or more was under question.
We geared up, jumped in and descended down the shot. Once on the bottom, our fears were allayed. Although not as good as recent reports, the viz was still about 20m. We dropped down through the opening at midships and headed for the bow noting the sacrificial anodes that had been installed on the hull beams as a trial for hull corrosion. Arriving at the bow we explored the torpedo tubes and their inhabitants. Once we were as far as we could go forward, we reversed course and headed for the crew quarters.
Squeezing through the hatchway way we made our way around the numerous vertical beams into the very aft of the vessel. You cant help but be in awe of the crew that served on this ship in WW1 and the confined spaces they worked in. We ascended out through the forward hatch and descended over the side for a quick look at the prop shaft mountings and rudder. At that point, time was up and we headed back along the hull to midships then began our ascent. On the boat, we discussed what a great dive we had as we headed back to Portsea. The day was capped off in Sorrento with a nice lunch in the sunshine.

Chris.