The cargo, however, was insured and being of such great value (the equivalent of several million pounds by today’s standards), Lloyd’s immediately dispatched Captain Henry Grant to take charge of a salvage operation. On arrival in Suez - and with only one Diver available to him, Grant was informed that the Carnatic had sunk in over 40 fathoms (over 70m!) and later admitted he almost turned back. Having come this far, however, he decided the least he could do - was take a look.

He arrived at the scene on 29th September and, chasing away some local Arab boats, was heartened to find the Carnatic in quite shallow water at the bottom of a Reef with some of her features still visible above the surface.

Working from the Egyptian vessel “Tor,” Grant’s one and only Diver was Stephen Saffrey from Whitstable (a name still common in that town) but, adverse weather conditions delayed his first descent until 15th October. Grant had been informed that, in readiness for an “orderly” evacuation, Captain Jones had ordered the specie moved to the Mail Room and this is where the search began. A body was recovered, mail bags were sent to the surface and pocket watches removed from the safe, but no gold.

Next to the “Mail” Room, was a “Post Office” but this necessitated the removal of a large internal bulkhead which separated the two. Working for long hours on his own, this task took Saffrey several days. Finally, he was through and, on the 24th recovered another 16 mail bags - just in time for them to be handed to a passing steamer and resume their own journey to Bombay.

The first box of bullion was then brought to the surface on the 26th and this was followed by a steady stream of heavy boxes until the task was completed on November 8th. In the meantime, local Bedouin free Divers had recovered over 700 sheets of fine-grade copper that was still destined for India’s Mint. Official reports record that the entire cargo of “specie” was in fact recovered and, having been found in a very secure and undisturbed part of the ship, no other outcome was ever likely.

That said, we all enjoy stories of “missing treasure” and the Carnatic has spawned one or two of its own such tales over the years. Today, however, the real treasure is found the vessel’s beautiful lines - still a magnificent sight, even after almost 130 years underwater.

There are excellent diving holidays to experience especially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

I joined the M.V. Miss Nouran - and soon discovered her to be one of the finest Live-aboard Boats currently operating in the Red Sea. Easy to say I know - but, believe me, I saw much of the competition over the next three weeks and, well, you don’t want to know about some of those - much less Dive with them!

Our Dive Guide was that well known local character Ali Baba - a man who has been deaf since birth but, who can lip-read in five languages. Ali Baba is an exceptionally fine Diving Guide and Instructor with a great sense of humour and, in a world where other Diving Boats can often make things chaotic for the novice, his one outstanding quality is that he cares!

Being the week before Christmas there were only ten Divers on board a vessel equipped to take 16. Below Decks there are 6 double berths and at deck level there is a further four-man berth all with en-suite - and that means your own shower and flushing toilet. Food is served after each of the three main Dives of the day with the evening meal delayed for those who wish to get an extra night dive into an already busy schedule - and do tuck in, there is plenty.

The crew were pretty amazing and looked after our every need. We were assured that they were the best and it soon became easy to see why. They also worked very hard - one minute they were cooking, cleaning and looking after us, and the next they were manning the ropes, laying out mooring lines, driving the inflatable boat or simply helping us in and out of the water.

As with all such trips we were a fairly disparate bunch with a variety of standards, experience and background. This included two pairs of Technical Divers who had ordered Nitrox. I have yet to use mixed gases but the high level of expertise of these four Divers was going to prove most useful in the days ahead.

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience especially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/.

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

The trip was now scheduled for three weeks - commencing 18 December. Sounded good to me and I promptly ordered more film. Then he telephoned again. Firstly, he asked me if I knew anything about the Rosalie Moller - I did not (though I did know who to ask!), then he asked for my views on the conservation of shipwrecks - and I made them clear.

I know for a fact that my views are not shared by all Divers - but allow me to explain by using a hypothetical example: Shipwreck (A) is a steel cargo ship sitting upright, virtually undamaged on an even keel - in, say 30m. Generally speaking she is complete and intact with all portholes in place. On the Bridge we find the Bell, Telegraphs and Compass and this the Diver to pause and visualise what it might have been like when the vessel was underway. Then there is Shipwreck (B).

Structurally, very similar in size, attitude and condition - except that all the brass fittings have gone. Now, I know which I would rather photograph - but which would you rather dive? My attitude is best summarised, therefore, as “Take only Pictures - Leave only Bubbles” - and do so on behalf of fellow Divers.

That, however, was exactly what Yassin wanted to hear and he then asked me if I would be willing to appear on Nile Television and meet with certain Government Officials. When I agreed, he said that this would take up the bulk of the third week. Back at the drawing board, however, I could find nothing whatsoever on the Rosalie Moller until the National Maritime Museum sent me a fax of an old photograph of her sister ship - the Hubert built in 1910 and pages from two separate books showing “Rosalie Moller - raised after war and broken up!”

Now, as the days progressed - and please don’t ask me how, I gained the impression that the Staff of Diving World in Hurghada had actually found a “new” wreck but when I arrived it was the other way around - they thought I knew where it was. Suddenly the trip began to take a different shape as, within moments of arriving we began to discuss the prospect of a search.

Certainly the idea had merit - but let’s be realistic. Between us we had virtually no information, a faxed copy of an old photograph - and even that was of another ship, and a general area so vague it equated to a search area “south of Plymouth” and on top of that the Rosalie Moller was scrapped over 50 years ago. On the positive side, however, we did have our combined experience and passion for Diving and one or two clues.

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience especially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/.

Depending on the tide, it is a fairly constant 25-27m to the seabed and 18-20m to the upper (starboard) side throughout the dive. The wooden superstructure and planking have all long-since rotted away - though many fragments of planking are still found attached to the iron framework. This leaves a steel hull held together by iron cross-members and, with the decking gone, this allows the Diver to explore both the external features and two deck levels within the wreck itself.

At the Bows there is a large copper ring that once held the bowsprit in place and just in front of this is the ship’s leading curved metal bowsprit support - underneath which was once found the figurehead. Swimming slightly away from the Bows and looking back, it is easy to see the Carnatic’s fine, sleek lines - even today.

From the Bows, the ship gently widens to the main body where, on both sides, lifeboat davits are found - still swung out. These are, however, usually missed by Divers because the preferred route from stem to stern is to enter the vessel and swim between the first two levels of iron framework - a fascinating close-encounter with something built in 1862! We even found a small brass porthole, though I must confess that I covered it with debris so that it would remain in situ for a little while longer - all the others having been removed.

Emerging from this forward section the Diver will then encounter the most severely damaged part of the wreck. Although this is now nothing more than a pile of scrap metal, it does, nevertheless, still provide plenty of scope for exploration and investigation - after all, the “4 cylinder compound inverted engine” is still in there - somewhere.

For many, however, the stern remains the most exciting and interesting part of the entire experience. Within the ship, this section is very similar to the Bows - and once again the Diver is able to swim in between the framework of two deck levels. Deep in the hold I was surprised to find some very old barrels and I could not help but wonder what it was they once contained that has proved to be such a fine “wood preservative” - Brandy? To see the very best aspect of the entire vessel, however, the Diver must come out of the wreck - where, once again, lifeboat davits are found on both sides, and swim right around the stern.

My first reaction on seeing this finely moulded stern, with it’s single row of seven square windows, was that it was reminiscent of Nelson’s day - and that is not a bad comparison. In many ways it is easy to see how traditional styles - evolved over so many years of building wooden ships, had now been adapted into steel. Below the windows, the gracefully rounded stern curves inwards and down towards a magnificent rudder revealing the one feature that certainly was not found in that previous era - namely, the large three-bladed propeller resting on the sand.

After such a long time underwater, it is fairly safe to assume that the Carnatic is likely to remain pretty much as she is for the foreseeable future. She is well colonised by coral, soft corals and her own indigenous population of Vanikoro Sweepers and is probably one of the finest examples of her time to be found anywhere in the world - and well worth the visit.

Should you do so, however, spare but a thought for those who lost their lives.

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience especially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/

It seems that the Carnatic was a long-forgotten part of Egypt’s maritime heritage until Divers, searching for a much later shipwreck happened upon her remains. It was then the subsequent research which revealed this tragic, yet fascinating story from another age of shipping and another age of Diving. Many accounts, however, still describe the wreck as being in two separate halves - but then she did break in two with each “half” sinking separately.

Visiting the wreck, however, will reveal what must be one of the most incredible postscripts to any shipwreck story - because, today, the two halves of the Carnatic have fallen to the seabed just as they might have done had they gone down as one piece.

I was visiting the Red Sea as a guest of Diving World and spending a week on board their luxurious live-aboard Diving boat “Miss Nouran.” Our Dive Guide was that very popular Instructor Ali Baba from whom I learned a great deal. He explained that, with prevailing winds being generally from the north, our Skipper - Captain Mohammed Hassan would carefully lay out two anchors onto the sand and allow the wind the push the boat gently back towards the Reef - thus presenting the dive platform right above the wreck and avoiding any contact whatsoever with the Corals.

I became very impressed with the way in which these two experts worked together and took great pride in getting each separate set of circumstances down to a fine art - but then they regard both the corals and the wrecks as far too important to damage!

The Carnatic lies parallel with the base of Abu Nuhas Reef. She is on her port side with the bows facing east and the stern west. Bearing in mind the manner of her sinking, there are three distinct elements to this dive - with the fore and aft sections still largely intact and these being joined together by the very badly damaged area - where the ship broke and, once, the engine room was found.

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience specially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/.

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

Strange as it may seem but, as I approached, the last quarter of 1998 and, with it, my twenty fourth year of Diving, I had yet to visit the Red Sea. I could probably have come up with a number of flimsy excuses as to why not - though the truth was, I simply never got around to it. This often put me at a disadvantage when, even editors would suddenly say - “well you must know what the Thistlegorm is like” or “well it’s bit like the Red Sea” - and, of course, I had never been there. As October approached, however, this was about to change - and in quite a dramatic fashion, the oddest part was that it all began with a trip to Grenada.

Now I often travel by unconventional means - after all, I have to get other people to pay my fare and then I have to convince the carrier that allowing my 200kg on board without charging excess baggage really is in their own best interests (thanks again Caledonian Airways!). So, when it comes to the end of any article and I find myself recommending a travel company I have to be very careful.

Thus it was with my piece on Grenada and, after a couple of exploratory calls to companies with whom I was not satisfied, I ended up calling Diving World. Suddenly, I knew I was talking to a company who understood Divers and their needs.

No, they did not grab the opportunity to be associated with Grenada in the way that others had tried, they simply pointed me in another direction on that issue (and they were right!) and then brought the conversation around to the Red Sea - after all, Diving World are Red Sea specialists - and they spoke my language.

Yassin Oweiss is the quietly spoken owner of Diving World and, it seems, my call came just at the right time for something he had in mind. Of course, I had a little research and preparation to complete and I started with whatever Guide Books I could find, extracted all the articles I could lay my hands on and found myself studying sites like the Carnatic, Ghiannis D and, of course, the mighty Thistlegorm. By November I was ready - just as Yassin telephoned again.

There are wonderful diving holidays to experience especially when diving in the Maldives. To find out more please visit http://www.divingworld.co.uk/.

Bluff Point, however, is only an hour’s sailing from the general search area for the Rosalie Moller and, with this in mind, Ali Baba invited me to join him and Captain Mohammed Said Hassan. Captain Hassan is widely regarded as the second best Captain in the entire Red Sea. Not that he minds being second best - everyone acknowledges his father as the outstanding figure in this regard - and he located the Thistlegorm in 1963!

Captain Hassan handed me a chart and asked me to plot a certain position. Where he got it I do not know - but it was right on the edge of the general search area. He smiled “We go tomorrow” he said and at 0630 hrs the engines coughed into life. This normally provides an early morning call for all those on board, but today there was an added element of excitement and few were still asleep. Most of us were checking we had a “good fill.” Every time Ali Baba looked at me he smiled and said two words “Rosie Muller!” - and somehow, I suspect the ship will eventually become known by this slightly altered name. By 0800 hrs we were searching.

Now, I must confess, the last time I discovered a shipwreck (well sort of!) was 16 years ago. So, my natural optimism was being tempered by a distinct lack of information. I was well aware that the chances of success were slim - in fact we had no chance at all. True, we did know something about a ship that no longer existed and a very approximate location - but altogether hardly enough… To make matters worse, none of us had quite realised before we sailed that the Miss Nouran was not equipped for searching - no reason why she should be. Apart from thick mooring/anchor lines, we had nothing and apart from fenders - no buoys. On top of that, not one Diver had a reel or SMB.

Another very important element to be taken into consideration was the fact that my fellow passengers were all paying guests and here to enjoy as much Diving as possible during their one-week holiday. They had not paid to waste time going up and down in search of something that was, in all honesty, probably not even there!. Ideally, we might have gone diving first - but the search area was well away from the recognised sites and there really was nothing else readily available. Everyone agreed, therefore, we search for Two Hours and no more.

The ensuing search then quickly became a team effort. Chris Gleadow - one of the technical divers, took charge of the GPS - and, sitting right in front of the Captain, directed him accordingly. I watched the Decca screen and had my compass ready to take bearings. Others joined us from time to time and there was a high degree of expectation as the boat was slowly conned - first one way and then another.

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

The trip was now scheduled for three weeks - commencing 18 December. Sounded good to me and I promptly ordered more film. Then he telephoned again. Firstly, he asked me if I knew anything about the Rosalie Moller - I did not (though I did know who to ask!), then he asked for my views on the conservation of shipwrecks - and I made them clear.

I know for a fact that my views are not shared by all Divers - but allow me to explain by using a hypothetical example: Shipwreck (A) is a steel cargo ship sitting upright, virtually undamaged on an even keel - in, say 30m. Generally speaking she is complete and intact with all portholes in place. On the Bridge we find the Bell, Telegraphs and Compass and this the Diver to pause and visualise what it might have been like when the vessel was underway. Then there is Shipwreck (B).

Structurally, very similar in size, attitude and condition - except that all the brass fittings have gone. Now, I know which I would rather photograph - but which would you rather dive? My attitude is best summarised, therefore, as “Take only Pictures - Leave only Bubbles” - and do so on behalf of fellow Divers.

That, however, was exactly what Yassin wanted to hear and he then asked me if I would be willing to appear on Nile Television and meet with certain Government Officials. When I agreed, he said that this would take up the bulk of the third week. Back at the drawing board, however, I could find nothing whatsoever on the Rosalie Moller until the National Maritime Museum sent me a fax of an old photograph of her sister ship - the Hubert built in 1910 and pages from two separate books showing “Rosalie Moller - raised after war and broken up!”

Now, as the days progressed - and please don’t ask me how, I gained the impression that the Staff of Diving World in Hurghada had actually found a “new” wreck but when I arrived it was the other way around - they thought I knew where it was. Suddenly the trip began to take a different shape as, within moments of arriving we began to discuss the prospect of a search.

Certainly the idea had merit - but let’s be realistic. Between us we had virtually no information, a faxed copy of an old photograph - and even that was of another ship, and a general area so vague it equated to a search area “south of Plymouth” and on top of that the Rosalie Moller was scrapped over 50 years ago. On the positive side, however, we did have our combined experience and passion for Diving and one or two clues.

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

Strange as it may seem but, as I approached, the last quarter of 1998 and, with it, my twenty fourth year of Diving, I had yet to visit the Red Sea. I could probably have come up with a number of flimsy excuses as to why not - though the truth was, I simply never got around to it. This often put me at a disadvantage when, even editors would suddenly say - “well you must know what the Thistlegorm is like” or “well it’s bit like the Red Sea” - and, of course, I had never been there. As October approached, however, this was about to change - and in quite a dramatic fashion, the oddest part was that it all began with a trip to Grenada.

Now I often travel by unconventional means - after all, I have to get other people to pay my fare and then I have to convince the carrier that allowing my 200kg on board without charging excess baggage really is in their own best interests (thanks again Caledonian Airways!). So, when it comes to the end of any article and I find myself recommending a travel company I have to be very careful.

Thus it was with my piece on Grenada and, after a couple of exploratory calls to companies with whom I was not satisfied, I ended up calling Diving World. Suddenly, I knew I was talking to a company who understood Divers and their needs.

No, they did not grab the opportunity to be associated with Grenada in the way that others had tried, they simply pointed me in another direction on that issue (and they were right!) and then brought the conversation around to the Red Sea - after all, Diving World are Red Sea specialists - and they spoke my language.

Yassin Oweiss is the quietly spoken owner of Diving World and, it seems, my call came just at the right time for something he had in mind. Of course, I had a little research and preparation to complete and I started with whatever Guide Books I could find, extracted all the articles I could lay my hands on and found myself studying sites like the Carnatic, Ghiannis D and, of course, the mighty Thistlegorm. By November I was ready - just as Yassin telephoned again.

Ned Middleton describes how he and a team of Divers from Diving World discovered a wreck in the Egyptian Red Sea.

I joined the M.V. Miss Nouran - and soon discovered her to be one of the finest Live-aboard Boats currently operating in the Red Sea. Easy to say I know - but, believe me, I saw much of the competition over the next three weeks and, well, you don’t want to know about some of those - much less Dive with them!

Our Dive Guide was that well known local character Ali Baba - a man who has been deaf since birth but, who can lip-read in five languages. Ali Baba is an exceptionally fine Diving Guide and Instructor with a great sense of humour and, in a world where other Diving Boats can often make things chaotic for the novice, his one outstanding quality is that he cares!

Being the week before Christmas there were only ten Divers on board a vessel equipped to take 16. Below Decks there are 6 double berths and at deck level there is a further four-man berth all with en-suite - and that means your own shower and flushing toilet. Food is served after each of the three main Dives of the day with the evening meal delayed for those who wish to get an extra night dive into an already busy schedule - and do tuck in, there is plenty.

The crew were pretty amazing and looked after our every need. We were assured that they were the best and it soon became easy to see why. They also worked very hard - one minute they were cooking, cleaning and looking after us, and the next they were manning the ropes, laying out mooring lines, driving the inflatable boat or simply helping us in and out of the water.

As with all such trips we were a fairly disparate bunch with a variety of standards, experience and background. This included two pairs of Technical Divers who had ordered Nitrox. I have yet to use mixed gases but the high level of expertise of these four Divers was going to prove most useful in the days ahead.