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The Fate of the Luxury Liner ss Kyarra, produced by Colin Froud
The Fate of the Luxury Liner ss Kyarra, produced by Colin Froud
never thought the day would come when diving the Kyarra - 'the ship that was made of brass' as one diver described her - could be described as boring, but that is the impression I was left with after viewing the video The Fate of the Luxury Liner ss Kyarra.
I am really sad to pass this verdict on a product which contains, despite the strong tides on the site, much excellent underwater footage. It also has some nice touches, such as the simulated torpedoing of the 6953 ton Australian steamer, which was used in World War One as a casualty-clearing ship before being torpedoed by Johann Lohs from UB-57 off Anvil Point, Dorset.
What torpedoes the video is its terrible script and the plummy-voiced narrator, a man who never allows the slightest emotion to escape into open water.
The dreary impression he gives is not helped by a large brown object which is used as a background guide to the points diver Mark Carter has reached in the film of his dives on the wreck. Apparently this brown thing is the wreck itself, which makes you wonder why the Kyarra should be one of Dorset's most popular underwater attractions.
In fact the Kyarra attracts hundreds of divers every week in season, and is one of Britain's most exciting wreck dives. That is why it's a shame there are no thrills in this video, and little sign of all those wonderful brass and other objects which were, and still are, recovered from her.
However, all is not lost. Writing a new commentary (with a new voice to read it) and putting it onto the existing material would do wonders and might even make this a video all Kyarra divers would like to own. Kendall McDonald |
| The Fate of the Luxury Liner ss Kyarra, produced by Colin Froud, Divercol (Meadow View, Wigbeth, Horton, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7JH). VHS, 35 minutes, £13.95 including p&p |
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