New Dive Opportunity: HMAS Adelaide

Just saw this and thought it might be of interest to those "down under".

Avoca Beach (Global Adventures): Australian divers hope that the HMAS Adelaide will become the first artificial dive site in New South Wales (NSW). The warship is due to be sunk off Avoca Beach on March 27. Diving will start once the ship settles which is expected to be about two weeks later.

There will be six moorings around the ship, four of which will be managed by a soon-to-be appointed commercial operator. The final two moorings will be available to private recreational divers.

The HMAS Adelaide was a long-range escort frigate, built in the USA and commissioned in 1980. It was decommissioned in 2008 after 28 years of service. Major roles included the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991, peacekeeping operations in East Timor (in 1999 and 2006) and deployments to the Arabian Gulf in 2001 and 2004.

The ship was also involved in the high profile search and rescue of solo yachtsmen Thierry Dubois and Tony Bullimore from the Southern Ocean. The ship is 453 feet (138.1 Meters) long, with a beam of 47 feet (14.3 Meters) and displacement of 4,100 tones.

The ship will be the sixth warship to become a dive site in Australia. The most recent sinking was in Victoria on October 3, 2009, when the ex-HMAS Canberra was given a new home 92 feet (28 Meters) below the surface off Ocean Grove on the Bellarine Peninsula.

You can find the full article, including links to a YouTube video and a website dedicated to the sinking of the HMAS Adelaide, on Global Adventures website:

http://www.global-adventures.us/2010...hmas-adelaide/

Well after sooooo many up's and down's finally HMAS Adelaide will be sunk on the 13th April.