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In 2001 Andy with his regular dive team found the wreck of the St George, a steam ship that was sunk in1882. This was a really exciting time as the cargo consisted of 100 tons of copper ingots, which were at a depth of 65 meters and were later recovered by a salvage company using a grab. Andy organised a trip back to the South China Sea where the team found the bell on the wreck of HMS Prince of Wales. With the permission of the survivors association they returned with the Royal Navy to recover it. The bell is now in the Liverpool Maritime Museum, Birkenhead. In 2002 the salvage company that had recovered the copper off the St George offered Andy an opportunity to go on an expedition to RMS Titanic. Whilst there he put his electronics degree to use on the Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV). He also learnt to fly the ROV and became an ROV operator. Andy’s other main trips were to Malta where the team was the first to dive HMS Russell, a WWI ship sunk in 115 meters. Another trip was made to Poland to dive the Wilhelm Gustoff, which sank with the biggest loss of life ever on a wreck. Approximately 8000 Germans died in the tragedy toward the end of WWII.
Whilst not diving Andy runs his electricians business down in Cornwall. He dives regularly off the Cornish coast, plays underwater hockey for Cornwall and sails his boat. Andy’s wreck trips offer something for everyone whether you are a die hard wrecker or are more interested in the marine life wrecks attract, Andy will be happy to help make your trip as enjoyable as possible. After the days diving you can settle down for some very interesting presentations on subjects such as the “History of Suez”, “Aircraft Vs Ships”, “Merchant ships 1939 to 1945”, “Sail to Steam to Diesel” “Thistlegorm the untold story”. |
Andy
Aston learnt to dive whilst at university in the late 80’s,
ever since he first hit the water he has been completely addicted
and has a real passion for wreck diving. Most of his diving has been
on the wrecks around the UK. In 1997 he spent a year teaching diving
in the South China Sea on the Perhentian Islands. Whilst based in
the Far East he started technical diving and has dived the wrecks
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. These two huge ships sunk by
the Japanese, were the first battle ships to be lost by aircraft.
Back in the UK Andy bought a rebreather and started diving the deeper
wrecks off the UK coast.
In 2003 Andy and his girlfriend Cheryl, worked in the Red Sea as
dive guides for 2.5 years on various liveaboards. This is where he
got a real appreciation for the quality of the wrecks in the Red
Sea. He says “The wrecks here have not been depth charged nor
has the weather smashed them up like the UK wrecks. The Red Sea definitely
has some of the best wreck diving in the world.”Red Sea Escorted Get Wrecked example Itinerary Friday Please note we will try and do as many of the wrecks as possible but due to weather and other factors the itinerary may vary slightly. |
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