Wreck John Gilmore

Due to the bad weather that hit the whole Adriatic at the time, the captain decided to take refuge in the port of Pula; heading towards the city, he struck a mine which destroyed the bow, sinking the ship in the place where it still stands. During the dive, one can enter the wreck which is quite wide and safe.

Called “ISTRA“ for years, the true identity of this wreck was only recently established as the steamship “Hans Schmidt.“

Touring the Baron Gautsch is best started at the stern, across the upper deck towards the bow. After viewing the outside of the ship, you will get a very pleasant feeling of staying in the wreck, while going to the upper deck where the steel skeleton is left.

The Italian minesweeper was built in 1913 and sunk in 1944. Until 1929 she bore the name „Pilade Bronzetti“. She was sunk by a British aircraft which spotted her during a reconnaissance flight. The torpedo broke the ship in half and therefore the bow and stern are about fifty yards apart.

Bad weather conditions in November 1912 were fatal for the fate of the Romagna, a cargo ship sunk near Rovinj. That was the last time she sailed, carrying grain from Ravenna to Trieste. Today she lies at a depth of 40 m, with her length of 60 m, almost completely covered by shreds of fishing nets.

The Italian merchant steamship “Varese“ sank in 1915 while transporting cargo from Trieste to Tunis. Because of bad weather, the captain decided to take refuge in the port of Pula. Heading towards the city, ship struck a mine which destroyed the prow, the ship sinking in the place where it is today.

A tugboat sunk in the 1960s was used for manoeuvring larger ships in the harbour. It’s 15m long so there is no possibility of going inside the wreck.

An inevitable diving location on the Istrian peninsula. The dive begins in the northern part of the island. We dive along a sandy slope towards the first tunnel through which we will each pass individually. Afterwards, we soon reach the next tunnel through which we dive in pairs.

We dive along the west side of the Verudela peninsula. The reef is located near the anchorage site and follows the coast in parallel. We dive right of the wall, which drops steeply up to 25 m deep.

Although currents are not always strong here, divers go in one direction only – with the current – to ensure easier and more enjoyable diving. This is an interesting site because dives are made along walls and rocks forming 2 – 3 cascades, at a depth of 15 m, 18-20 m, and below 20 m.