First divers assess ex-HMAS Adelaide

The first civilian diver on ex-HMAS Adelaide off the New South Wales Central Coast, says yesterday's scuttling at Avoca Beach couldn't have been better planned.

The former warship is now sitting 30 metres beneath the surface to become an artificial dive reef.

Robb Westerdyk, one of several divers who has been assessing the ship in its new home, says it is perfectly placed.

"We did a survey on that this morning and you could see where the bow hit the sand and then settled down nicely so it was exactly the way it was supposed to go," he said.

"She went down evenly, she didn't rock down from side to side. It was actually a perfect sinking."

Tens of thousands of spectators flocked to Avoca and North Avoca Beaches to watch the long-awaited scuttling of the former warship.

The event was delayed for more than an hour by a large pod of bottle-nosed dolphins, which were feeding within the ship's exclusion zone.

Once the area was cleared, it took less than a minute for the frigate to disappear beneath the waves.

Source: ABC News

Contributed by Tim Hochgrebe added 2011-04-16