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Diving the D9 by Gus Paccani

Now that the club has a new duck, here is a great dive site to try it out on.

The D9 is a wreck found in Cockburn Sound. Here is a brief history and description that may entice you all to check it out.

The D9 was built during the depression of the 1930's, at Fremantle, as a bucket dredge. She was originally named the "Parmelia", but later her name was changed to D9 when she was bought by "Dredging Industries of Australia" and converted to a suction dredge for the excavation of the channels at Kwinana. The D9 sank in 1962 under very suspicious circumstances. Officially she went down in a storm, but rumours say there was a great interest in the insurance money.
Locating the D9

There are a number of ways to find the D9, the easiest is probably with a GPS at 32(11'38. 8"S and 115(44'31. 4"E or 0381427; 6437356. The other way is by line of sight using transit fittings. Locating the two large silver/grey petrol tanks at the refinery, line up the southern tank with the seventh power line from the right (about 3km inland). Heading west keeping these lined up make a cross section with the southern channel marker and the northern wall of the large white shed at the steel works. (See the diagrams provided). On a reasonable day you should see the bow which is at about 5m.The site can be reached from either the Rockingham boat ramp, the Naval Base boat ramp or the Woodman Point Boat ramp.

The dive site

The D9 is a Flat barge 52m long and 10m wide in 14m of water. The deck areas are starting to collapse, but considering she has been under water for 37 years it is amazing that she is 90% intact. The bottom is very silty so avoid stirring it up if you want to keep the visibility reasonable. Normally the visibility is about 6 to 10m. There are many sharp/jagged rusty edges so full protection is required

The best way to dive the D9 is to start at the stern, which is at 14m and work up to the bow at about 5m. It is a good idea to have a torch to look into the hatches and spaces that you can't enter, where there are many large schools of Bullseyes, Old Wives and Stripeys. On the bottom you will find rays, cobbler and the occasional octopus. Large schools of Mullet, Herring and Whiting tend to hang around the decks. Snapper can often be seen as well as the occasional Dusky Morwong or Samson Fish. The hold area can be swum through and you eventually arrive at the front section. The bow is shaped like a twin hull and can also be swum through to arrive at the front of the wreck. From here it is a good idea to inspect the top of the bow which is a good spot for the "Five at Five " safety stop before ascending to the surface.

The D9 is a favourite spot for recreational fishing boats (you can sometimes upset the fishermen when you turn up for a dive), there may be fishing line around the wreck so don't forget to take a dive knife. Fishing tackle can often be found as well as anchors that have been caught in the wreck.

Overall this is a great dive with a wide variety of life. Caution should be taken when entering any section, but there is a great deal to see without penetrating the wreck. The only way you can really appreciate this great dive site is to get out there! and have a good dive!

With thanks

All text is Courtesy of Gus paccani

Source: MURDOCH UNIVERSITY DIVERS CLUB

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