By Nicolas Bard

Kea is one of the most popular destinations in the Cyclades, as in addition to its natural beauty and its rich history, it is very close to Attica, which makes it easily accessible and ideal even for a weekend break!

But in addition to traditional settlements, beautiful beaches and historical monuments, it has another element that makes it unique … And this is none other than the three famous wrecks hiding in its seabed.

The “Patrice” steamboat, the Titanic brother’s brother and hospital “British” and the French ovenbroine “Burdigala” create a very interesting seabed, offered for diving tourism enthusiasts.

Kea’s maritime park attracts more and more experienced divers, diving into its blue waters, to admire these famous wrecks, which are kept in an excellent admitted situation. Many books have been written about these wrecks and dozens of documentaries have been filmed, which were intended to bring to light useful data on these ships as they were still operational, but also for the causes of their sinking. Their image has made the world around the world, and now there are many who come to the island not only to enjoy the sun and the Aegean, but also to dive into these beautiful wrecks, which are still fascinating with their beauty, size and elegant technique of construction.

HMHS Britannic

In 1975, openly from the port of Kea and at a depth of 120 meters, Jacques Couste discovered the British wreck, which was subjected to a German mine in November 1916 while sailing to the Lemnos hospital and transported English. The British, 269 meters long, was one of the largest ocean lines on the North Atlantic line and a Titanic brother, which was locked up in 1914. However, at the beginning of World War I, it was fired by the British Navy. Although its design had improved significantly after the Titanic wreck, the ship sank in just 55 minutes. However, thanks to its proper rescue equipment, as well as the near distance with Kea, about 1,300 occupants were able to be rescued, while only 30 were killed mainly due to the premature seizure of rescue boats and the continued operation of the machines.

COUNTRY

One night in February 1868, eight years after its construction, the luxurious “Otto” steamboat – which, after the eviction of King Otto, whose custom had been built on the River Thames of England, was renamed “Patrice” – fell to Koumou. The almost 500 occupants were rescued. The shipwreck, which remained unknown even to the islanders, was revealed after 138 years and after more than 30 dives, over three years. Its 217 -foot and 641 -tonne long, was found in two, at a depth of 28 and 54 meters. The shipwreck is unique in its kind in the Mediterranean. The newspapers of the time called it “one of the most beautiful, if not excellent, the steamboats of the Greek steamship company”. Today it is considered one of the ten best points for diving in Greece. The 30 objects lifted by the seabed are today on display at the Syros Museum.

S/s burdigala

In September 2008, the Kea Dive Expedition Diving team highlighted an unknown shipwreck, which had accidentally found with the use of a side scanner a year earlier by the Assistant Professor of the Department of Geology at the University of Patras Dr. George Papatheodorou, at a depth of 70 meters and about 2 miles from the sinking point of the British. This is the French -ended “S/S Burdigala”, former “S/S Kaiser Friedrich”, 1897 and 180 meters long, which sank on November 14, 1916, from the mine of the same German submarine U73, which was only a week later.