On a stormy night on November 1, 1971 iconic superyacht Carinthia V on its maiden cruise, ran aground at the Kavava Shoals just off Skala at the southwest coast of Kefalonia, and sunk roughly one mile further. Carinthia V was owned by Austrian billionaire Helmut Horten, designed by the famous naval architect Jon Bannenberg and built by Lurssen Bremen shipyard. The origins of the boat are to the fast patrol boats the shipyard was building at the time. It is considered to be the first concept of a true superyacht, the first ever designed to the last detail by a single designer rather than a shipyard and influenced yacht designs ever since. As short lived, the glory of the most influential and most beautiful superyacht of all times belongs to its identical sibling launched on 1973, Carinthia VI. But in reality the first and most beautiful superyacht ever rests in the sea of Kefalonia.
Divers approaching the 68 m long wreck can see the sleek lines of the vessel’s hull as it lies upside down. The elegant superstructure has been crushed under the weight of the hull but much of it can be seen on the right side, with the typical “grille” of the front lounge visible. Same thing for the speedboat that was nested on the upper aft deck. The rudders of the boat and the propellers bare the signs of impact to the reef and evidence of the devastating blow that caused the sinking can be seen along the “sharp” hull. The superyacht wreck is in an excellent condition considering it spent nearly 50 years at the bottom of the sea. Towards the stem that descents at a sharp angle to the bottom, the bow thrusters are visible.
The vessel has formed an artificial reef and big fish and aquatic creatures find shelter around it making wreck diving there a great opportunity to observe large pelagic species.
The average depth or the dive is 50 m, while the max is 64, reserving the wreck for experienced technical divers. The visibility is usually greater than 25m while temperature ranges between 18-24 C in summer months, depending on depth. Occasionally there may be currents close to the surface. Boat ride duration to the dive site 10′.
