Vis – island rich in underwater treasure

Shipwreck Vassilios

There is not much known about cargo ship Vassilios (whose name reminds us of 'Villa Vasilisa'). It belonged to an owner Tricoglo Andros who had bought it in 1938. It got into accident in a night on February 19th 1939 on its way from Swanse to Venice carrying coal. Because of the rudder malfunction, it beached on the outside part of the cape Stupišće and after some time it sank ending up on a left boardside.
What you can see:
After diving to the depth of 15 meters you can see ship's stern with a keel towards the land. Right anchor is released and its chain exits the porthole on the hull, passes the stern and disappears in depth. Through big cargo hatches you can enter storehouses in which cargo was transported. And really, there are piles of lumps at the bottom that look like rocks – of coal. While diving towards the structure we can see foremast that is still in place. In a wheel house there used to be a wheel that could even be moved, today it is no longer there. Stern part of the ship is a bit deeper since ship ended up on a bottom that is diagonal, so bottom bellow the stern is on 55 meters of depth.

Steamship Brioni

Steamship Brioni was built in Manfalcone in1909. It was a travel-cargo ship that could speed up to 12.5 nodes. It was sailing along the coast of Dalmatia and Albania carrying passangers and cargo. During the World War I it sailed in the service of War Navy as a transport ship and then it was beached for the  first time on a little island of Galun nearby Krk (1917).
Ship sank on the February the 2nd 1930 on a Split-    Vis line due to a bad weather, low visibility, hitting shore not far away from cape Jezero on the island of Ravnik. According to aveliable data, it was carrying tobaco and wine.
What you can expect:
Brioni is on the left boardside from 4meters (stern) to 60 meters(bow) deep. Visibility on this location is mostly excellent, but since it is hard to anchore, it is often impossible to dive, especcially when the weather conditions are not good.
Wreck is in excellent state. Wooden parts of the board are rotten, so the inside of the cabins and engine room can be well seen. On a stern there is a big fourside screw and a part of a wheel. Also, while swimming along shallow part of the ship, you can notice round windows, stern's davit of life saving boats and well kept mast.

Ship Teti

Ship Teti is an old ship that has changed 6 owners untill it sank. It belonged to an Italian company from Ravenna. It was built in 1883 in America and it crossed thousands of miles in its lifetime. It sank on 23rd of May 1930 on cliffs of cape Mali Barjak near Komiža, probably because of the wrong estimation of what has been experienced crew. The crew was saved by fishermen from Komiža. After beaching on a cliff of Mali Barjak, it was not possible to move the ship again, so it stayed like that for some time and than it was destroyed by winter storms and it forever disappeared under the water.
What you will see:
First traces of the wreck start at the depth of 10 meters and are on cliff area. The rest of the ship is on a diagonal sand bottom 35 meters deep and there is also stern part of the ship.
Around shell part of the stern you can see granite cubes that were transported by the ship. As you go deeper, you come across steam boiler and well kept steam engine around which remainings of the shaft are scattered.
Stern part of te ship and deck are more preserved, so there you can see a hatch of the storehouse and it is even easy to enter it. Also, on the stern you can find wheel machine with well preserved steal wheel.

Ursus

Ursus saild off from Zadar on the 30th of January 1940 carrying armed pontoon that should have been carried to Albania. On the morning of the 31st of January, while passing along north-eastern coast of the island of Vis, 1 or 2 miles from Ursus,  British submarine dived out and started fire towards Ursus. First granades hit the tug and one of them hit the engine room. A fire broke out and ship's cargo that consisted of pontoon's granade got cought in a fire. Damaged ship started to sink. Crew managed to save one saving boat and carry in the wounded. In the meantime, crew started to fire back at the submarine, after what the submarine dived in and disappeared.
You will see:
Ursus is situated close to the cape Stončica. Ship sank to the underwater hill whose peak is 35 meters bellow sea. Ship, then, slided along sand slope with its stern towards the depth. You start diving towards Ursus's stern 45 meters deep. On the stern you can see tin letters and fence, over the stern you can see slightly folded steal pipes that were protecting the equipment while tugging. Swimming towards the middle of the ship, you come across broken chimney that has fallen across captain's bridge. Deck is 55 meters deep. On it, there is a small gun facing right side. With its lower part deck enters the send at the depth of 60 meters. 

Armed brik

We don't know much about the history of the wreck: it has been discovered in the middle 80s by a diver Sergio Gobba and other members of a diving club.Due to the relatively deep area and military prohibition of diving, the ship stayed untouched, what is rare case with wrecks like this. While exploring, Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments established that the finding is very rare and important and that it is probably a war ship  from the beginning of 19th century. It is supposed that the ship had an accident during the south wind or at night while it was approaching Vis port. Long exposure of the wooden hull to the sea water hasn't left much, except from the part that stayed under the sand (mostly keel and underwater part of the hull). However, 16 guns stayed (2 bronze and 10 iron), and four big anchors. Bronze guns were taken out for exploration.
You will see:
At 25 meters it is possible to see shadows of the guns, and only few meters above ship shadows of its hull can be seen. Guns are placed one next to another as they used to be on the ship itself. On the part of the ship facing South there are three big anchors, and opposite to them one more. Parts of the equipment and chains of the mast are all over the place, as well as the objects overgrown with sponges and shells so they can't be recognized. Not far from the stern you can see an arm of the fifth anchor coming out from the sand.
 

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• Contact

• E-mail:info@villa-vasilisa.com
• Phone:+ 385 99 59 54 898 (en.)
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    Croatia