Eau Canada
Moody Blues
By Stuart Seldon
For Tobermory wreck divers Arabia tops the charts
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or many Tobermory divers the Arabia is at the top of their ‘must do’ list. I first dived her in the summer of 1976 and little did I know the experience would mark the beginning of a love affair that, it now seems, is without end. Almost four decades and literally hundreds of dives later I can say with
affection that I’ve seen this grand old dame in all her moods. Sometimes she’s difficult and doesn’t want to show herself; the visibility is horrible and the currents are ripping. And sometimes she’s flirty as on this day when the sun was shining, the water was clear and she embraced us with all her charms. My buddy and I had talked about a shot like the one
you see here. In fact, we discussed it gearing up for our dive on this occasion. We dropped down through 110- feet (34m) of bone-chilling water to the wreck, which is in the Fathom Five National Marine Park in Ontario. Once on site we swam off in different directions. Looking around I was excited to see the conditions were so good, perhaps even ideal. Getting this particular shot has been something of a quest for me. I’d tried before but the image of my mind’s eye remained elusive. Now the stars were aligned, figuratively speaking.
Visibility in excess of 100 feet (30m) and the bright mid- day light shinning into the depths combined to illuminate the wreck beautifully. I framed the old girl, and waited for my buddy to move into just the right position. I took
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only three photos, all basically the same as he finned over the wreck. And just like that, I had my shot. The Arabia lies just three miles (5km) from my
doorstep, and while we both seem to be sagging a little more each year, I’m pleased to have captured her in that moment of time. I look forward to new dives and her ever-changing moods as we age gracefully together.
Ikelite DS 161 strobes. Exposure: ISO 200, f 7.1 at 1/80th second shutter speed. Photograph: Stuart Seldon –
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Photograph taken at Tobermory, Ontario, using a Nikon D7000 with a Tokina 10-17mm lens set at 10mm, in an Aquatica housing, fitted with dual
One of the anchors on Arabia’s bow
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