Hans Schmidt (Wreck)

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.

A short distance from the lighthouse of S. Giovanni (Sv. Ivan), off the coast of Rovinj, at a depth of 30-35 m is Maona, a small cargo vessel which, with its length of 40 m, offers a relatively simple dive for divers, in conditions of good visibility. Suitable for AOWD with a minimum of 40 dives.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The south-east side of Fratarski island hides a wonderful dive location suitable for all levels of diving experience. It starts with a slowly descending bottom which quickly opens up to a vertical reef filled with holes and caverns of all sizes. The maximum depth is around 25 meters.

The former military base near Pula offers an interesting dive on its southern part. We start the dive shallow and follow the ridge to the right. In the middle of the dive, we go through an attractive natural tunnel from a deeper part into a shallow lagoon, surrounded by high rocks.

This is a beautiful position with a very long and various wall which spreads over 200 meters. During the diving, which as you wish may be on depth to 20 meters or more, we are going around a few underwater capes with no end to holes and cliffs. Each of these is rich in colours and different species.