the CANROBERT liner: a new wreck discovered

“I had the impression, says Jérôme Espla, that I was embedded in a bubble whose harmony was perfect, the impression of disturbing and upsetting a balance. It's funny to think that now the Saint Pierre will never be as cushy as they have been for over a century ... few divers think about that, but that's what I feel a bit even though I am very excited to have touched this wreck. I feel like a kind of green cosmonaut who treads a new world and who realizes that through his fault this new world risks losing balance… ”

When the three divers begin their descent that day, the sky is sealed and the sun is well hidden. Towards 70 meters, the darkness is already almost complete. Florent arrives first, and his lighthouse illuminates what is a wreck. She's there. Romain follows him closely, lights the ship in turn, and Jerome, camera in hand, still 20 meters above them, takes advantage of the show: it is dark, but the visi is good, "at least 20 or 30 meters ". The ship rests on the flank. The keel is visible, lifeless, almost bare. "The time to check the recycler's parameters," says Jerome, "to recover after a fall of more than 100 meters, we are there, placed on the hull. A slight cross-beam current causes rust particles to come off under our fins. The moment is magic. "

“When I move towards the face exposed to the current, continues Jérôme, it is an explosion of life: immense gorgonians, schools of anthias by the thousands that dance to the rhythm of the lighthouses and give the impression that the ship is moving. And the Saint Pierre, guardians of this peaceful centenary. They circle around me and don't seem bothered by our presence. There is not an axis where I do not see one when I sweep the bridge with my headlights. The congers are huge and there are plenty of morays on the hull, between the gigantic branches of gorgonians, white and chameleon. I have never seen a wreck so rich, so colonized, so beautiful ... "

The bridge of Marshal Canrobert is 110 meters, and the bottom towards 115. The superstructures are still there, one can guess even if it is difficult in the dark to have an overview of the wreck. Especially since the dive will be short-lived. A little half an hour, and it is time to begin the ascent and interminable decompression, images full head. Above, it starts to stir a little, the wind in the late afternoon has taken the lead. In music, an ipod in a box, it will take them nearly four hours to regain the surface: the time, again and again, to relive their dream dive.

One can imagine it, a dive like this, unique and culmination of weeks of research, can not be improvised. Logistics is huge, entrusted to Philippe Peyrusse of Plongée Passion in La Ciotat. The three divers, assisted by support diver Thierry Desmet, leave nothing to chance. The diving parameters speak for themselves: maximum depth of -110m, a bottom time of 26 '(30 ′ with the descent) for a total dive time of 4:20, including 3h50 of decompression ...

"On a purely technical level," explains Romain, "we used our Vision APdiving Inspired Recyclers (eCCR) with Trimix 9 / 68 Thinner. We had 4 exhaust gas, with 2 blocks S-80 (11,1L) and 1 block 7L for each. For the figures, we had 30kg of eCCR, between 40 and 45kg of relays and blocks of all kinds (block for the waterproof ...), with 20kg of scooter, not counting the ballast with the waterproof suits and their big sub-suit ... "

So, the use of scooters was essential: at this depth, it would have been unthinkable to lug as much material on a wreck of 75 meters long, and the three divers absolutely wanted to have an overview of the liner. And the site, far from the coast (18 miles), involves harsher weather conditions, including the current. "But our recyclers, Romain insists, do not allow us (to be safe) to provide significant kicking efforts. I usually say, in my formations, that it is "forbidden to run out of steam" with these machines. "

Sixth in a series of 8 ships built for the Compagnie Valéry and sold to the Transat in December 1880, Marshal Canrobert, 75 meters long, is one of those small liners which crisscrossed at the end of the nineteenth century the Mediterranean to all major ports. And the year before the sinking, the ship benefited from a complete overhaul and was fitted with new boilers: a long career, in principle, still awaited him.

But on the morning of July 7, 1892, eighteen miles off Marseille, while returning from Bône on the Algerian coast, the leading battleship the Hoche collided with the liner. The collision took place at six thirty-seven, and only eight minutes later, the Maréchal-Canrobert sank steeply. On board, there are 85 civil or military passengers, 16 passengers and 10 children. Le Hoche managed to save the majority of them, with the exception of two soldiers and three children, and then returned to the port of Marseille.

119 years later, and for the first time, we dived on the wreck of Maréchal Canrobert. With a lot of emotion. “It's the pleasure I have in my job, concludes Jérôme, to share what I see but above all what I feel. It's not always easy, but it's a little dreamy that will circulate on the net and in a few months in a documentary. Marshal Canrobert, we dived on the ship that bears your name. A beautiful ship, which unfortunately took a few lives in sinking and which now rests far from the sun. 5 victims who may still be in the wreckage. The St Pierre watch over their last home. That's why there are so many…. To respect….. "

“Thank you to all those who contributed from near or far to the realization of this first. Thanks to Aqua Lung and Apeks for their support and quality material and exemplary reliability. ”

If you want to know more about the decompression strategy used, Romain Lhoste will be happy to discuss further technical information. It revolves around 3 “fundamental and inseparable” elements,

1- type of engagement (depth / time / dive conditions)
2- the choice of different gases with the notion of dominant gas
3 - the management of the decompression (algorithm and parameterization, notably the famous Gradient Factors ...).

Florent Locatelli on scuba people

Romain LHOSTE on scuba people

Jérôme Espla on scuba people