Trip Report Kea Island, Greece / HMHS Britannic (Oct 2023)

[beldridg]

Until recently (mid 2022), it was almost impossible to dive the iconic HMHS Britannic. There were two big hurdles: (1) the need to get a permit in a very opaque process and (2) the logistics of diving a 385 fsw / 117 m deep wreck off an island in Greece.

In 2022, the Greek government created the Kea Underwater Historic Park (KUHP) that contains three amazing wrecks, including the Britannic, with more planned. They also allowed Keadivers to take divers to the wrecks without needing individual permits for each trip/dive. When @DiveTucson and I both saw this last year, we immediately said to each other "let's book it for 2023"and started working on dates.

We just returned from our trip and I've created a detailed trip report with all of the information on logistics, travel, dive operations, dive planning, etc. I will publish individual articles for each of the three wrecks that we dove. I got some really nice pictures on all of them so I think people will really appreciate seeing them.

Below is a link to the post. Again -- stay tuned for the individual wreck posts & photos!

Trip Report : Kea Island / HMHS Britannic (Oct 2023)

Background This is a detailed report of my recent trip to Kea Island, Greece to dive the HMHS Britannic and the other great wrecks there. I will be posting detailed write-ups for each of the wrecks…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

I can confidently say that the HMHS Britannic is the most epic wreck to dive. It is overwhelming. And, for the first time ever, it is attainable by "mere mortals" that have the skills and experience to conduct deep ocean dives and are not part of a large, government-funded project or a TV show or movie, etc. In fact, Ben & Paragon Dive Group are running trips there for small groups of six divers in 2024-2027+ which will make it even easier.

Regards,

- brett

 

[DiveTucson]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up for the group!

Here is a link to my images for those that may be interested:

Greece - Kea Island - HMHS Britannic

Photo collection by BJL Imagery

bjlimagery.pixieset.com

And two more for some of the quick video I put together:



I should be able to get the full trip video done in the next week. Such an awesome trip! Can't wait to do it again.

 

[runsongas]

@beldridg nice writeup, is there sufficient helium availability for OC, or is it more of a CCR only situation like bikini due to logistics?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

In 2022, the Greek government created the Kea Underwater Historic Park (KUHP) that contains three amazing wrecks, including the Britannic, with more planned. They also allowed Keadivers to take divers to the wrecks without needing individual permits for each trip/dive. When @DiveTucson and I both saw this last year, we immediately said to each other "let's book it for 2023"and started working on dates.

This is in large part by Yannis Tzavelakos, owner of Kea Divers (I don't know why people keep typing it as one word). What he has done is absolutely amazing.

I hope to see more of this in the coming years if the current political party remains in power.

We just returned from our trip and I've created a detailed trip report with all of the information on logistics, travel, dive operations, dive planning, etc. I will publish individual articles for each of the three wrecks that we dove. I got some really nice pictures on all of them so I think people will really appreciate seeing them.

Below is a link to the post. Again -- stay tuned for the individual wreck posts & photos!

Trip Report : Kea Island / HMHS Britannic (Oct 2023)

Background This is a detailed report of my recent trip to Kea Island, Greece to dive the HMHS Britannic and the other great wrecks there. I will be posting detailed write-ups for each of the wrecks…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

I can confidently say that the HMHS Britannic is the most epic wreck to dive. It is overwhelming. And, for the first time ever, it is attainable by "mere mortals" that have the skills and experience to conduct deep ocean dives and are not part of a large, government-funded project or a TV show or movie, etc. In fact, Ben & Paragon Dive Group are running trips there for small groups of six divers in 2024-2027+ which will make it even easier.

Regards,

- brett

When it comes to diving wrecks, Kea is an an amazing destination. Not everything is super deep for those reading this who want to dive wrecks at recreational depths or "light technical" ones.

 

[DiveTucson]

This is in large part by Yannis Tzavelakos, owner of Kea Divers I don't know why people keep typing it as one word

Because he asked us to type it as one word when we showed him our posts and edits. Keadivers (one word) is how Yannis directed us to use it.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Because he asked us to when we shied him our posts and edits. Keadivers (one word) is how Yannis directed us to use it.

interesting. I'm curious as to why (I'll just ask him directly)

Edit: company logo

 

[beldridg]

@beldridg nice writeup, is there sufficient helium availability for OC, or is it more of a CCR only situation like bikini due to logistics?

Thanks for the feedback.

The short answer to your question is "yes" but it needs to be planned well in advance and logistics are more complicated. If you are considering going and diving OC, I would get in touch with Ben ASAP.

- brett

 

[runsongas]

thanks, something to keep in mind

 

[beldridg]

In case people didn't see them, I recently published detailed posts for the other two wrecks we dove, the Burdigala and the Patris. They are both world class wrecks. The Burdigala is a 600' long luxury liner that sank a week before the Britannic and stands straight upright. In any location that didn't have the Britannic, it would be the highlight dive. It is amazing.

The Patris is also very cool and parts are at non-technical depths. It is amazingly intact for a wooden steamship that sank in 1868 and it has a fantastic paddlewheel. Below are links to both posts:

S/S Burdigala (Kea, Greece –250 fsw)

Background The S/S Burdigala is one of three wrecks (currently) in the Kea Underwater Historic Park. Normally, divers that want to dive the Britannic first dive the Patris, then the Burdigala, then…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

Patris (Kea, Greece — 100->180 fsw)

Background We had some bad weather days and knew we could not dive the Britannic. However, there was one day that the weather was “iffy” and a dive on the Britannic was a “hard no…

wreckedinmyrevo.com

I highly recommend Keadivers and visiting Kea for diving.

Regards,

- brett

 

[Rich1280]

Thanks for the other wreck updates. Really enjoyed reading those.