scapa flow

[bigsky]

Members of MDS recently travelled to Stromness, Scotland to dive the World War 1 German battleships in Scapa Flow.
It was the last week of the season as there is not much daylight during the winter and the weather gets erratic, 3 happy divers travelled to dive for Meg week, an annual event put together by Dennis Vessey of Inner Space Corporation.

6 days of diving, 2 dives a day, max depth was 140 fsw. Average depth was about 65 fsw. Only place in the world you can dive 3 battleships and 4 cruisers while looking up at the waves on the surface.

Dives were conducted off of the Huskyan, a purpose built dive boat captained by Emily Turton (http://www.radiantqueen.co.uk/). Captain Turton is closely affiliated with Dive Scapa, the local dive shop run by Ben Wade. Mr. Wade worked over night to repair one divers suit so he could dive the next day.

The Huskyan is a fantastic boat. She is large, clean, and stable. Complete with a divers lift. I had never seen one before, but after the first use it was a definite two thumbs up. You just float in the water and they drive the boat right up to you, step on the platform and up you go!

Part of Ms. Turtons’ operation is the divers lodge, a large 6 bedroom, 3 bath house that is given over for use during your week long stay. Complete kitchen, washer and dryer, and a very nice hot shower after diving all day is fantastic. Her operation is seamless, right down to a huge lunch between dives with excellent food. It was awesome. You dive a battleship built in 1913 by the Kaiser of Germany to battle the English grand fleet and had seen action in the battle of Jutland. Upon surfacing an elevator lifts you onto the boat where a crewmember is standing there with a hot mug of your drink of choice. After sitting down on the Huskyan’s monstrous deck to unkit, you go inside the wet room and hang your drysuit, and then amble inside the warm dry cabin to eat restaurant quality food and prep for your next dive.

The diving is easy; people even do their open water certification dives here. Emily’s dive briefings are far and away the best I have ever heard. Not just in shear detail, but directions on where to head and what to look for given by someone who not only is an avid diver, but is also knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the location.

There is loads of online information available on the wrecks themselves. The diving was exactly like Puget Sound, same vis and fish, right down to the Dungeness crabs and water temp. We were very lucky and the weather was 62 degrees and calm during our stay. The Scottish people are astonishingly friendly, and we even found time to do some sightseeing (even in the dark).

All in all it is a trip of a lifetime. If you can swing it, go. A rebreather is not needed as every day there were boats full of oc divers. There are several dive operations in Scapa Flow, but I cannot recommend The Huskyan enough. Every single aspect (except the 10 hour flight) was perfect and run by a very capable and passionate captain.

[Penopolypants]

This has been a bucket list item for me for a long time and I am glad to hear y'all had a good time! The dive op sounds divine too. I am envious!

[spatman]

Sounds amazing, glad you guys had a great time. I had no idea the wrecks were so shallow.

[Gdog]

Looks like my bucket list just got longer. Nice report!