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Kyarra
The wreck of the Kyarra lies on its starboard side with the port railing uppermost at about 23 metres.

Amidships the wreck has broken open leaving a boiler poking out. Another boiler has rolled clear of the wreck before the hull and deck collapsed over the boiler room. The fire holes are at the front and top of the boiler, showing it has rolled just over 90 degrees as the wreck is already resting on its starboard side. The Kyarra had four boilers in total, leaving two more buried inside.

A little further forward past some upright ribs and a split in the wreckage provides a way into the front of the boiler room. In the past I have travelled from the opening by the first boiler right through the boiler room, exiting through this split, though the wreck has now decayed to the point where I don't think this is still possible.

Continuing forward the deck has collapsed almost flat with the seabed. The remains of teak decking is broken by the surround from a hold with an upside down winch just to port. This is one area of the wreck where perfume bottles have been found.

The wreck gets quite confused from here forwards. The easiest way to find the bow is to follow the starboard side of the wreckage past a collapsed mast and boat derrick.

Just past a second derrick the anchor winch is still attached to a strengthened area of bow deck, though it is partly broken. A section of chain trails forwards through the end of a hawse pipe and disappears below the wreckage. The depth here is about 32 metres.

The upper part of the bow has broken, leaving just the leading
edge and a few ribs sticking up. Lower down a substantial section of the bow is intact and resting on its starboard side, the port side rising 4 or 5 metes above the seabed.

 

Finding the way back along the wreck can be confusing,
especially in poor visibility. Ideally I would aim to follow the line of the port side of the deck until the wreck regains some shape and the railing is again intact.

A diversion towards the keel of the wreck from here shows that the port side of the hull has collapsed into an inverted "W" shape. Further aft in the valley of the W, the remains of one of the Kyarra's two engines pokes through the side of the hull.

The propeller shaft leads to the stern, appearing and disappearing beneath plates of wreckage.

The stern used to be fairly intact, but has recently broken off to leave debris on the seabed with the rudder, rudder post and steering gear separated cleanly from the rest of the wreck just off the stern.

Moving forward again, the port side of the wreck has collapsed down with the remains of a winch and a large capstan almost at the stern.

Next come the hatches from another two holds and a large
capstan set in the deck. You may find little puddles of silver on the seabed in this area - liquid mercury spilled from the cargo.

A large hole in the deck would have been the main ventilation area above the engines. It is a bit of a squeeze, but it is possible to swim through from here to behind the boilers. Access to the engines is blocked by the collapsed port side of the hull and the way further back inside the wreck is through a tangled mess of debris.

© John Liddiard. Reproduced with permission by John Liddiard. Please visit John's site for more information on some of the UK's best wrecks.
http://www.jlunderwater.co.uk

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