Year 2017 Report
Welcome to my blog about SCUBA diving in Sri Lanka.
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December Report - Sri Lanka West Coast season has a late start!
Penetrating the Pecheur Breton
16/12/2017 - Global warming seems to make weather less predictable these days. After a cyclone and windy conditions I finally had a break to explore the Pecheur Breton Cargo Wreck after a long time!
October Report - More discoveries at Nil Diya Pokuna, Ella, Sri Lanka
The most unusual and inaccessible dive site in Sri Lanka
(c) Image by Buddika Mahesh Kodikara
Welcome to the Nil Diya Pokuna page! I thought the most unusual dive site in Sri Lanka deserved its own page
Two different underwater pathways are finally proved to be interconnected!
08/10/2017 - In a 66 minute exploratory dive to the underwater part of this newly discovered cave system, the two previously discovered pathways are lnked. Watch the above video for more information
September Report - Ravana's Nil Diya Pokuna underground lake in Ella, Sri Lanka
A second dive extends the cave in a different direction
After the first exploration on 24/07/2017 - 80m and 30m added to the cave
After the 03/09/2017 exploration another 70m was explored
03/09/2017 - A thrilling second exploratary dive of the mystical Ravana's Nil Diya Pokuna cave in the mountains of Ella, Sri Lanka revelaed another long pathway which bottomed out at 21.4 meters (70 feet) but kept on going into the mountain. In this very hard to get to and magical place there seemed to be a long underwater cave that may extend many kilometers. More exploration is needed to clear this massive mystery. See below for the official trip video
July Report - A remarkable discovery of a underwater cave system from Sri Lanka
The first time dive to a exotic, high-altitude, underground blue lake cave in the hills.
26/07/1917 - BREAKING NEWS - In two survey cave dives to a subterranean underwater lake in Ella, Sri Lanka, the editor of DiveSriLanka.com has made a remarkable discovery of an underwater cave system. In two initial survey dives to 20 metres and 16 metres spanning a line distance of 80 metres and 30 metres, Dharshana Jayawardena explored underwater rocky caves that did not seem to have a perceptible end.
May Report - 75th Anniversary of the HMS Hermes and the last of the west coast dives
The pioneer diver who discovered the wreck of the HMS Hermes
The events leading upto the sinking and the aftermath by Rex Morgan
9th of April 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of the Hermes sinking. On this historic occassion we examine the diving history of the Hermes wreck. Click here for more information.
The last dive of the season to the Thermopylae Sierra
11/05/2017 - We manage just one last dive before the seas get rough
Exploring the insides of the Pecheur Breton Cargo Wreck
7/4/2017 - One long tech dive exploring the insides of the wreck
April Report - Diving the deepest shipwreck in Sri Lanka - MV Tricolor (1931)
March 2017 - I conduct two dives to the MV Tricolor, A Norwegian general cargo vessel that sank in 1931 after a violent explosion. Watch the video for footage from the last 4 expeditions and click here for more information.
March Report - A season of whale sharks and updated notice banning spearfishing
A dramatic increase in Whale Shark sightings from all over the island
What a remarkable month of March! In Colombo, and also in most places around Sri Lanka, an exceptional number of whale shark sightings occured. In Colombo, almost everyday, whale shark sightings were reported between 9.00 AM and 1.00 PM in some of the popular wrecks to the point of making it a predictable sighting event. This video documents one such delightful close encounter with a whale shark who showed up at the Pecheur Breton cargo wreck in Colombo and stayed with us for almost 50 minutes!
Updated government gazette notice banning Spearfishing in Sri Lanka
Coast guard arrests Russian Spearfisherman at the Great Basses
February Report - ONE HUNDRED YEAR DIVES!
I celebrate the 100th year anniversary commemorating the sinking of the British SS Worcestershire and SS Perseus with a week of multiple dives to these two wonderful wrecks which with I have had a very close relationship over the last 7 years. These two vessels belonging to the British Merchant Navy sank after striking a field of sea mines left by the German mine layer SMS Wolf on 17th and 21st of February 1917. Today these fantastic World War I shipwrecks lie 15-20 km west of Colombo, Sri Lanka at depths of 57 metres (Worcestershire) and 41 metres (Perseus)
The German Mine Layer SMS Wolf and Captain Nerger
Anniversary week of diving two of Colombo's deepest and historic wrecks
SS Worcestershire - sunk 17-Feb 1917
The bell of the SS Worcestershire
Bottom - The first picture of the wreck after it sank
Shoaling trevally at the wreck
At the stern of the wreck
A 1 minute compilation of diving at the Worcestershire (1917)
SS Perseus - sunk 21-Feb 1917
A Perseus class ship 100 years ago and the wreck today
The bow of the wreck
The giant high torque 4 blade propeller of the Perseus
The steering quadrant
Anniversary dive to the SS Perseus - A 102 minute dive in 4 minutes
January Report - Welcome 2017
All about diving in Sri Lanka
Check out my interview on WORKOUT.LK for a quick intro about SCUBA diving and diving in Sri Lanka!
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Dharshana Jayawardena is a leading Sri Lankan Underwater photographer, a wreckographer and Welcomes you to Sri Lanka! It is the best location in the Indian Ocean to Scuba Dive in the warm tropical seas and wonderful beaches. Sri Lanka offers some great Wreck Diving experiences such as the H.M.S Hermes, SS Rangoon, H.M.S Conch, The Earl Of Shaftsbury, H.M.S Diomede, and some Surat Silver Coin wrecks at the Great Basses & Little Basses Lighthouses off Kirinda and Yala. Sri Lanka offers many courses such as PADI Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, Dive Master but yet to offer NAUI, PSAI, TDI, SDI, Nitrox, Trimix, Heliox, Solo Diving Technical Dive Courses or Liveaboard Diving. Shore diving is a possibility. Sri Lanka also is famous for whale migration, dolphin watching and very occasionally for sightings of Tiger Shark, Black Tip Reef Shark, White Tip Reef Shark, Manta Rays. Reef fish such as Moray Eels, Puffer Fish (Fugu), giant turtle, Lionfish, Snappers, Sweetlips, Trevally, Barracuda, Fusiliers, Anemonefish are very very common. Some dive sites are better than Maldives, The H.M.S Hermes is a fantastic and exciting dive in Batticaloa. The H.M.S Vampire which accompanied the H.M.S Hermes is yet to be found. Surat Silver Coin treasure was found by Sir Arthur C. Clarke and Mike Wilson at the Great Basses Ridge. The coins were minted by Aurenzeb, the son of Shah Jehan who built the Mumtas Mahal (Taj Mahal). There are also wrecks of Japanese Zeros in the China Bay and Marble Beach area. The statue of lord ganesh can be seen at the Swami Rock dive in Trincomalee. pigeon Island in Trincomalee is also famous for great diving and snorkeling. This site features original photos and stock photography of the ocean and the under sea. You will also be surprised abou the diving opportunaties in Colombo. Colombo diving and colombo wreck diving is some of the best wrecks in the world
