HERITAGE
Although the cannon absolutely deserve the attention they get , I found myself more drawn to the so-called ‘ yellow brick road ’, a feature now believed to be part of the ship ’ s galley . It is approximately 4 x 2m wide and consists of many firebrick courses lined with copper on the bottom , to protect the hull . It ’ s a striking feature that seems very large for the size of vessel , so is currently the subject of speculation and further study .
The area is heavily tidal so we dived the Low Water slack , which gave a water depth of 32m although this increases to 35m at High Water . Current was minimal and the visibility about 3-4m , which I ’ m told is about normal for the site . Divers used a variety of equipment configurations including single cylinder , twin-sets and CCRs . It ’ s a very square profile dive , so divers were also using Nitrox and accelerated decompression techniques to help maximise bottom time and minimise the decompression requirement .
Viz was a respectable 2-3m
The ‘ Yellow Brick Road ’
Using the excellent underwater slate to find our location
Although not my normal choice of site , I had a fantastic dive on an amazing wreck with a great bunch of people . NASAC are always keen to take others and regularly publish diving dates on their social media . If you ’ re interested , then I ’ d strongly encourage you to like / follow / them and book on when spaces become available .
Although not the same feeling as being the first on the site , I ’ d be surprised if you don ’ t get a sense of what it must have been like !
■ Full details of the discovery and identification of the Klein Hollandia can be found in the March 2023 issue of SCUBA magazine . �
Jon examines the heraldic crest on one cannon
Jon Parlour and Dom Robinson , post dive
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