Norway from Bergen on Gaelic Rose June 11, 2007
Posted by onthetrain in : Uncategorized , 2commentsNorway from Bergen on Gaelic Rose
For me, like many others, a trip to spend a week wreck diving in the cool clear water of the Norwegian Fjords has been high on my list of ‘must go’ locations for a number of years. When some friends proposed a trip at the back end of last summer I leapt at the chance. We chartered Bob Jones and Gaelic Rose and as most of those on the trip already knew each other we sat back to look forward with eager anticipation to a sociable week with some great diving in the first week of June 2007.
Travelling to Bergen from Poole was always going to be a long trek. As three of us were travelling from Poole at we decided to travel together. The others were travelling from all over the country so with a total of 7 rebreathers (3 Ourobouros, 2 Evolution, 1 Inspiration and a classic kiss) 5 twin-sets and a mountain of stage bottles, dry suits and other paraphernalia we established that flying was not an option and opted to travel by ferry from Newcastle to Bergen. We packed two large cars and a Hi-top Van and booked 3 4 berth Cabins for the 26 hour ferry journey. At 3am on Friday 1st June (my Birthday), we set off from Poole, collecting others as we travelled the length of the country. 10AM saw the whole group in North Shields in plenty of time for the Ferry all of us having had a trouble free journey.
On boarding the ferry at lunchtime my plan was to have a beer, a bite to eat and then spend the afternoon catching up on some sleep. Alas it was not to be. One drink lead to another, afternoon became evening and despite some truly appalling ‘entertainment’ beer at about £4 a pint and some truly awful gags from Mark our resident comedian we managed to drink the bar dry of Magners Cider. After some 36 hours without sleep I finally ran out of steam at around 10PM and went to bed not awakening until we arrived in Stavanger some 12 hours later. Sean, one of my cabin mates provided a real comedy moment on arrival in Stavanger when he looked out the window to see us docking. He flew into a panic, ran around like Wily Coyote on speed getting dressed and then realised we still had another 7 hours on the ferry.
We arrived in Bergen at 4PM and were able to see the Gaelic Rose just a few hundred metres away, but on the other side of the harbour! We managed to drive around fairly easily and off loaded our gear. Unfortunately there is no parking nearby so we drive to the Bus terminus a few miles away (thank god for SatNav) and parked up for the week. It’s a good location, the car park is patrolled and at £45 for the week represented pretty good value, in Norwegian terms this equates to the price of a big Mac!! Gaelic Rose is a converted trawler, the hold contains 3 small 2 berth cabins and 6 further bunks in an open plan area. There are also two marine heads containing showers. As is always the case with this type of boat space is at a premium and the emphasis is on functionality rather than luxury, but with a little care and consideration it makes a comfortable base for a weeks diving.
Skipper Bob cast off as soon as we were all aboard as he wanted to travel North to let us overnight close to our first days dive sites. We steamed for around 3 hours in scenery that is simply too beautiful to describe. At times the channels were so narrow it was like steaming up river. The fact that it remained light even after midnight and that we were able to sit on deck enjoying the sunshine and a beer added to a real sense of wonder.
The area in which Gaelic Rose operates is blessed with a huge choice of dive sites. We had expectations of 15 – 20M visibility and a range of good wrecks to keep us amused. Our first dive the following day soon showed that even those lofty expectations were to be exceeded.
The Diving
Dive 1 – Ferndale and Parat
The Ferndale is a 4300 GT Motor Vessel built in 1925. She was commandeered by the Germans and hit a reef at night in 1944. The Tug ‘Parat’ came to her assistance and both were attacked and sunk by RAF mosquitos. The Ferndale lies on a slope with her well broken bow scattered on the rocks. Her intact stern lies at 40M and the Parat lies on the seabed below her. Visibility in the first few metres was not great but below about 20M it was a gin clear 30 –40 M. Even at 40M torches were unnecessary and the whole wreck could be seen, as could the wreck of the Parat. Sea temperature was around 11 degrees at the surface and 8 degrees at depth. As the Ferndale lies on a slope a good plan is to drop to the stern rails or onto the Parat at 60M and then gradually working up the wreck decompressing as you go. There are many swim throughs and the holds are easily accessible.
Dive 2: - The Tyrifjord.
The RAF sank this steamer in 1944. The stern of the wreck is intact and lies at 36M and sports a huge 12 spoke auxiliary steering wheel. The accommodation is intact and is covered in plumrose anemones’ and cup corals’. Visibility was spectacular but the bows are very broken and frankly rather dull and uninteresting in comparison with the stern. Sightings of several wolf fish kept the naturalists among us amused.
Dive 3: – The Wilhelm.
This wreck is huge! I mean really really big. She lies on her port side with her bows in only 12M and her prop at over 70M. She is also really intact; entry to the bridge, accommodation and engine rooms is easy for the suitably qualified. The deck is covered in machinery, cranes, derricks and a huge gun platform lies off the bow in 30M and there is an anti-aircraft gun near the bridge in 40M. There are numerous portholes, sinks in the bathrooms and the glass in the bridge is intact. There is enough interest to keep divers amused for weeks. We descended the shot mid-ships in 42M and worked our way deeper followed by a slow ascent to the shot at the bows for our decompression. Visibility at depth was again over 30M.
Dive 4: - The Ingertre
This 3000gt steamer sank after running aground in 1936. She lies on a slope with the bow in 34M and the stern in 18M. She is well broken but makes a very interesting dive as the prop shaft, engines and the four-blade propeller are easily visible. This is a very visually impactive dive, the bow and stern sections are fairly intact with the stern Ribs visible. There was a good amount of wildlife on this wreck including several large monkfish.
Dive 5: - The Helga Ferdinand An immense wreck sitting upright with its bows in 36M and the stern in 60M. The area around the bridge is very interesting with sinks and crockery to be seen. The huge masts are stunning to look at and a skylight lies open tempting one to enter the engine room. The sheer scale of this wreck is awesome and really is one for the more experienced diver as whilst there is no current it is easy to incur a substantial decompression penalty.
Dive 6: The Aquila This wreck lies just a few hundred metres from the Helga Ferdinand, both having been sunk in the same attack by the RAF. The Aquila lies on her starboard side with her bow at about 35M. The hull above the bridge and funnel area lies at about 40m but the best of the wreck lies deeper, portholes can be seen at 50m and my maximum depth around the bridge was around 58M. We dived both of these wrecks in one day and two near 60M dives in one day needs a good surface interval and good planning. There is a small jetty nearby and a walk up the nearby river is well worth the time and effort. It really is a stunning area.
Dive 7: The WilhelmWe decided to repeat this dive, as it was so good the first time. I spent the majority of the dive much deeper exploring the area on the sea bed under the bows at 56M before making my way slowly to the bow shot for my deco.
Dive 8: The Orm Jarl
The Orm Jarl sank after running aground in 1919. She lies at 12 – 38M her bow is well broken but the stern is intact. I had a comedy moment when descending the shot line as I could see the shot was on a sandy seabed and nowhere near any wreckage. I thought I was in for a scallop hunt until I looked to my right to see the entire wreck laid out before me. There are some nets caught in the area near the boilers but the excellent Visibility meant that they posed little danger. The prop and rudder are still in place at a depth of around 38M. There were huge shoals of fish above the kelp near this wreck.
Dive 9 & 10: The Frankenwald
After a week of superb dives you begin to think it just doesn’t get any better- and then it does. The Frankenwald is a 5000gt German cargo vessel, which is over 120M long, and 18M in the beam. She lies upright and virtually intact with the seabed at around 40M. There is a huge amount of machinery on the decks, the bridge and holds are easy and safe to penetrate. The Captains bath is still visible in the forward accommodation. Swimming along the companionways and through the holds amongst prolific marine length and in stunning visibility made this simply one of the best dives I have ever undertaken. The Auxiliary steering gear is in place at the stern. The masts of this leviathan rise to within a few metres of the surface and provide a beautiful backdrop against which to decompress as they are covered in anemones and soft corals. This was a real highlight in a week of highlights, a wreck so good many groups dive her twice- we did. To be honest I could have spent the week on her.
Dive 11: - The Spring
To be honest I was not too keen on this dive. This Cypriot Bulk carrier only sank in February 2007 after running aground in a storm and right under a lighthouse! The ship broke her back and the forward section was salvaged and towed away. The stern, including the accommodation and bridge sank in shallow water with part of the upper superstructure showing above the water. The newness and size of the wreck is a little akin to diving an underwater block of flats. Marine life is starting to take hols in the top few metres but the anti-fouling ensures that the wreck is barren. The site was the scene of a major oil spill and only opened to divers on 1st June. We believe we were the first UK divers to dive her.
Dive 12: - The Spring
The wreck of the Spring lies near Bergen. This 64M collier sank after a collision in 1914. She lies upright on a slope at depths between 12 and 50M. Where the stern is broken off it is possible to swim the full length of the wreck following a previously laid line. There is an interesting wall nearby which goes to the surface and allows one to finish off gassing whilst watching the wildlife.
Friday evening saw our group heading into Bergen for beer and food. Bergen is a beautiful compact and cosmopolitan city with many trendy bars and a pavement culture. Beware though it is expensive with a beer costing around £8 and a simple two-course meal well in excess of £30. Evening life starts late in the land of the midnight sun. I returned to the boat at around 1am to sit on the dock sipping whiskey and waiting for it to get dark. It never did.
This week was without doubt the best dive trip I have ever been on. The combination of superb weather, mirror flat seas, no tide, great company, superb intact wrecks and stunning visibility ensured an unforgettable experience. Whilst the diving undertaken by our group tended to be fairly deep it is possible to stay at less than 30M on most of the wrecks we dived. There are hundreds of diver sites in the sheltered Fjords so you will get amazing diving regardless of how you like to dive and even if the weather is not as kind to you as it was to us.
We used bob Jones on Gaelic rose for our charter. We had good quality food all week and Bob knows the area very well having spent the last 8 summers in the area. The boat is a good dive platform though with a rebreather and stages I was not too keen on climbing over the gunwales to get on and off the boat. Further details are available at www.gaelicrose.com
Two other UK boats are operating from Bergen this summer:
Gordon Wadsworth on Jane R - details from www.divenorway.com
Rob Barlow on Elizabeth G – details from www.northernlight-uk.com/eg.htm
Photos copyright Terry Goldie & Alan Ewart all rights reserved.
Virgin Territory - A club trip to Sark April 5, 2007
Posted by onthetrain in : Uncategorized , 2commentsThree weeks ago captain sulky came out to play. I was gutted when at our dive planning meeting for this seasons midweek evening dives the club decided to cancel a planned trip to Cornwall (Porthkerris). I was gutted as I had passed up a couple of other offers on trips and am trying desperatly in the face of constant crap weather to get some hours in the sea on my Inspiration rebreather.
All was not lost however. A week or so later a new club member told us that she had contacts at a diving operation on Sark in the channel Islands. Better still (for us) a booking had fallen through and both boat and accomodation were available for Easter. We managed to pull together a group willing to go at short notice and booked boat, ferry and accomodation. So, the rebreather is prepped, and I’m off to pack my bags ready for an early start tomorrow when we travel the 25 miles to Weymouth to catch the fast cat for the journey to Guesrnsey.
The dive boat will pick us up in Guernsey and after dropping our dry gear in Sark it’s off for two dives. After a couple of dives each day until Monday we catch the ferry on Monday evening for the journey home. With the weather set fair it should be a great weekend.
An update when I return.
Delta P Universal Rebreather Monitor - A thing of beauty February 4, 2007
Posted by onthetrain in : Scuba Diving , 2commentsThis weekend I struck lucky.
I got to try out the new rebreather monitor and heads up display from Delta P, makers of the VR3 dive computer and Ourobouros closed curcuit rebreather. I believe I am the first diver in the world to dive the latest upgrade on this prototype unit complete with the latest version of the VR3 2007 software.
In recent years it has become more and more the norm for CCR divers to use a head up display allowing constant monitoring of PPo2 without having to be constantly gazing at handsets. Several units already do this, so what is different about this one?
Well for a start it can fit a number of units, secondly and more importantly for me it integrates with the VR3 and integrates some excellent new software on the VR3. The monitor connects the VR3 to the 4th cell via a standard fischer connector, but it also connects to the 1st stage regulators giving a constantly updated readout of the cylinder pressures.. The monitor unit then slots neatly beneath the stack.
On booting up the VR3 you will see a read out of your cylinder pressures as well as a measure of the Po2. Once in dive mode the default screen shows the information you are used to on a closed circuit read out, as well as a read out of cylinder pressures.
The HUD connects to the breathing loop and is mounted by a small clip, this is adjustable and gives you the choice to mount the display in a position that suits you. The monitor I used had a single LED which glowed a reassuring steady green when the unit was on set point. If the setpoint deviates by 0.2 the LED starts to flash fast for above set point, slow for below set point. There is also a red LED which illuminates when you enter compulsory decompression. Whilst I did not get near Deco on todays dive I believe this flashes red when you enter deco and goes solid red when you reach your stop depths, it then starts to flash again once its time to move to your next stop. Obviously the red light goes out when you clear all your stops. This obviously means that it is possible to manage all your stops on the HUD if your hands are full of scollops or brass 
I understand that there will be a version with 3 leds for the KISS.
I thought that this was a superb bit of kit. It certainly enhanced my diving on my classic and I will definitly buy one when they come onthe market. Not 100% sure when this will happen. I understand that the manual is close to complete so hopefully it will be available soon.
Inspiration Mod 1 - The worlds longest rebreather course. January 28, 2007
Posted by onthetrain in : Scuba Diving , 4commentsDuring the past couple of years I have been gradually extending my diving depths, completing IANTD Normoxic Trimix and full trimix courses. As someone who researches things thoroughly and is confident with his skill set I had taken these courses pretty much in my stride.
I had done a lot of twinset diving in the 45 metre range and was comfortable and confident so the transition to helium based mixes was fairly painless.
As the year went on I came to the realisation that the gas logistics involved in deeper diving was a pain and I started to toy with the idea of buying a Closed Circuit Rebreather. After all I had not bought any expensive dive equipment for months and my wife was beginning to get a little complacent. (more…)
SS Kyarra - Tuesday 18th April 2006 May 7, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : Scuba Diving , 2commentsIt’s Tuesday morning and as I ride my motorcycle to work I can’t help but smile. The sun is shining, there is a very gentle Southwesterly breeze and though it’s been stressful at work recently I know that in a few short hours I’ll be able to off load my woes and relax with a dive on the SS Kyarra. On days like this I never fail to give thanks for the fact that I live on the doorstep of some of the UK’s best diving. Living in Poole gives me the opportunity to explore a huge tranch of our underwater heritage in a swath of water stretching from the Isle of Wight in the East to the Isle of Portland in the West, all this without having to drive more than 10 minutes to Poole Quay. I take full advantage of this situation by being a member of no less than four dive clubs. This means I can choose my dives and get out at least a couple of evening’s midweek and at the weekend too. (more…)
London - What a bloody rip off April 17, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : a good old rant , add a commentIt’s unusual for me, but with the 5 day forecast for Dorset being pretty crappy I decided to do the fatherly/husbandly thing and bin diving over Easter Weekend and to take the family for a weekend in London instead!
What in Gods name was I thinking?
Firstly the populations of Australia and South Africa seem to have gone back from whence they came to be replaced by the combined populations of Italy, Russia and the Ukraine. The place was heaving. My seven year old had travelled with a very definite itinery in mind. Early train to town on saturday morning, followed by visits to the London Aquarium, Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. As we walked along the embankment towards the aquarium I got a feeling for just how busy it was going to be! The queue for the London Eye was enormous. I think it stretched to Manchester, in fact those at the back of the queue are still waiting their turn! (more…)
I Do like to be beside the sea :-) April 7, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : Scuba Diving , add a commentWell, it took a while, but the club diving season finally got off the ground tonight.
To be honest when I checked out the forcast this lunchtime I would have bet good money that tonights dive would be binned. In the event we decided to meet at the boat and see how it looked. At 4PM we had strong winds and hails tones like golf balls I still didnt think we would get out. I decided to take a chance and put my kit together anyway.
At about 5PM, the clouds broke, the wind dropped and by 6.05 we were on our way out the Betsy Anna in Poole bay.
This season one of my clubs (I’m a mamber of 4!!) is doing a lot of it’s diving of Richard Styles New boat ‘Sha King’. It’s big, its modern, its very fst and it has a lift It looks a lot like this
With 12 Divers onboard it was a bit crowded, especially as almost everyone had decided to bring their twin set’s (for a 25M dive). It was easy to tell it was the first dive of the season as there was kit everywhere, what a mess. We eventually got sorted and at 7.30 were dropping into the cold silty water.
Skipper Richard had shotted the boiler so My buddy Hoj and I turned towards the bow and had a very slow and leisurley bimble around. Vis was only 2 metres, but it was pleasant enough when you avoided the other divers :-) There was a surprising amount of life about and amazingly quite a few fish fry in the 8 degree water. We spotted a few nice crabs and Lobbies. I’m not above taking a lobster for the pot, but tend to leave them alone at this time of year. We had anticipated just doing a 20 minute bimble, but in the event stayed for 35 minutes before bagging off and surfacing at 42 minutes. Whilst in the water the wind and tide had got up a fair bit, making getting back onboard entertaining, even with a lift. I’m bloody glad I didnt have to climb a ladder.
The run back was very entertaining in a deteriorating sea. I love watching other divers throwing up
So we are up and running, my 19th dive of the year, but my first of the 2006 club season.
Bring it on. Next dive Tuesday
Diving magazines - Meaningless drivel? March 31, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : a good old rant , 2commentsGod, Is it just me or What?
Test reports on dive reels.
Cornish dive sites, 5 GB sites to get your teeth into.
A red sea special! Untouched red sea.
Big fish in big numbers, Big blue shark special
Computors on test
God it’s all such repetitive bullshit. I’m so sick of reading the same old rehashed crap in Dive & Diver. Once you have been diving for more than 5 minutes it’s all repeated. Now I get Dive for ‘free’ with my BSAC membership, but I actually subscribed to Diver. Thank god the subscription runs out soon. It won’t be renewed.
I recently bought my first copy of Ron mahony’s ‘Beyond The Blue’. I don’t know about you, but I found it really refreshing. OK, its not as well packaged. OK, it’s got a lot of typo’s and spelling errors, but I found it a fascinating read. It’s obvious the writers are amatuers, but for me this adds rather than detracts from the product.
These are guys who know about the type of diving I want to do. I get to read about real divers diving deep wrecks and hear about the planning and logistics that went into the dive. Great stuff.
Oh, and another thing, it’s about one third of the thickness of the other two, and guess what? A few discreet pages of adverts. Thats it. A great magazine in my opinion. Guess where my subscription cash will be going?
TTFN. Alan
Just two weeks to BENDY TIME— Are you Scuba wise? March 30, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : Scuba Diving , add a commentThis time last year it was Easter. We all went off diving and when we came home we made noises through our teeth about the number of incidents that happened over the weekend. Helicopters scrambled, Chambers full of divers, fast ascents and unfortunately Easter weekend lead to the first of 17 UK diving fatalities in 2005.
We all love easter don’t we. It’s the traditional start of the season in the UK. A time when we dust off the kit thats been lying in the garage all winter. We blow the cobwebs out of our regs, shake the mice from the toes of our drysuits and head off for the first dives of the year. When you think about it, we could hardly do any worse than Easter.
Many of haven’t dived for months, and of course as we are old sweats there is no point getting down the pool is there? Thats for Novices. It’s like falling off a bike, 5 minutes in the water and it’ll be like I’ve never been away. Oh and of course I’m happy to take that novice in. I’ve been here before I know it will be cold, I’ll stick an extra layer under my suit. Now exactly how much lead was I carrying last year. Those huge spring tides are no bother to an experienced diver like me are they? We’ve had some pretty strong easterlies lately, but I’ll be reet with my shiny new torch, oh & I cant wait to try out that new wing/suit/undersuit/regs, etc etc
Sound familiar? Thought so! If you haven’t been in the water for a while, be SCUBA wise. The BSAC provide 10 top tips for the new season.
Personal Preparation
Get Dive Fit
Prepare for the new season by doing some refresher training in the pool. Also, do some shallow warm-up dives when you do get in the sea.
Update your skills
Revisit some of your original training to ensure that key skills such as mask clearing and buoyancy control are still automatic responses, and you are comfortable doing them in the pool and open water.
Practice
It is clear from past experience that when skills are not practised regularly then they deteriorate. Skills should be practised regularly (even continually) to ensure that when required,they are automatic.
Equipment Preparation
Have your Equipment serviced
The winter layoff for many divers is the ideal time to have your equipment properly serviced. Check it out for proper function, in the pool or shallow open water, before committing to a full dive.
Training with New Equipment
Before using new equipment for the first time practice with it in the pool and shallow water before using it on that deep wreck!
Carry Surface Location Aids
Carry Delayed surface marker buoys, flags, strobes, air horns, personal flares, EPIRBS etc. and ensure you know how to use them
Safeguard your Equipment
Diving equipment is expensive and there is a growing trend in the theft of substantial amounts of equipment from popular dive sites. Safeguard against a major loss by insuring your equipment.
Boat Preparation
Servicing
As with personal equipment, winter is the ideal time to get the boat and engine properly serviced. Ensure it is done by a reputable dealer and service agent.
Boat Checks
Before loading the boat for the first trip of the season, carry out some checks of the boat and engine to ensure that everything functions properly, as well as ensuring you have sufficient fuel before setting off.
Use of the Emergency Services
Make sure you are familiar with the means of contacting the emergency services and inform the Coastguard of your plans and remember to report your return to shore to them as well!
Make sure you are familiar with the means of contacting the emergency services and inform the Coastguard of your plans and remember to report your return to shore to them as well!
Lastly, make sure your o2 is in service and full, that your radio and navigation equipment are working correctly.
Dive safely, have fun. Alan
A copy of the BSAC Divesafe pack can be downloaded for free from here
Hello world! March 26, 2006
Posted by onthetrain in : meaningless drivel , add a comment
Well I’ve heard a lot about Thedeepstop.com. and as I’m sat at home with my weekends diving blown out I thought I would check it. I bore everyone at home silly telling them about my diving, so I thought maybe I should try it with people who might actually be interested.
As I am lucky enough to live by the sea I get to go diving once or twice a week in the evenings during the traditional UK ’season’. I’ll try to keep you updated as the year progresses. I managed to squeeze 120 dives (Home and Away) into 2005. My aim is to beat that total this year. I’ve had a reasonable start and hit 18 so far. At least 103 to go. The end of March does not look as if it’s going to be kind though. Plans to dive U90 with a group from Yorkshire Divers was blown out on Saturday and gales in the channel mean my first club dive of the season, scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday 28th March) has already been called off.
