Has Any-One Dived Scapa Flow?

[RSoper]

I dived Scapa Flow last summer, and living in Scotland (having never dived in the USA,) i was just wondering if any of our "American Cousins" on this forum havce dived it, and if so what they thought?

Also, how does it compare to the wrecks you dive in the States? Was the service, and the way the dives were organized / dived similar to that which you have experienced in the US? Just curious to see if the "dive culture" over this side of the pond, is similar to yours or not.

Cheers.

 

[weekender]

i went about three years ago. i had a great time and would go back if i didnt have a desire to see as much of the planet as possible. after that ill go back. i found the wrecks to be similiar to NJ/NY both in viz and temp. i thought the country was beautiful. walked up to the kitchner memorial and couldnt believe the view, my buddy and i were expecting a plaque. the cliffs, birds and water below blew our mind. also, the people were above average friendly. the countryside and people were so nice that i vowed upon my return to spend less time diving and more time touring. ive never said that before or since!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'd love to go, but it does not meet the spousal unit's expectation of a tropical dive vacation. She is also not interested in great lakes wreck diving either.

 

[NEWreckDiver]

I dived Scapa Flow last summer, and living in Scotland (having never dived in the USA,) i was just wondering if any of our "American Cousins" on this forum havce dived it, and if so what they thought?

Also, how does it compare to the wrecks you dive in the States? Was the service, and the way the dives were organized / dived similar to that which you have experienced in the US? Just curious to see if the "dive culture" over this side of the pond, is similar to yours or not.

Cheers.

Where is this site?

 

[RSoper]

Yes i don't suppose you could try and persuade your partner that Scapa is actually in the Pacific?! Then when you get there you could just feign ignorance?!

For NEWreckDiver Scapa Flow is in Orkney, which is about 50 miles off the northern tip of Scotland. It is where the German 1st World War high seas fleet was scuppered, to prevent the "Britts" getting their hands on the ships. Consiquently, there are about 50 to 60 battle ships and cruisers sitting between 25m and 60m in relitavely sheltered water. Kind of like Europe's version of Truk Lagoon (but allot, lot colder!)

 

[NEWreckDiver]

Yes i don't suppose you could try and persuade your partner that Scapa is actually in the Pacific?! Then when you get there you could just feign ignorance?!

For NEWreckDiver Scapa Flow is in Orkney, which is about 50 miles off the northern tip of Scotland. It is where the German 1st World War high seas fleet was scuppered, to prevent the "Britts" getting their hands on the ships. Consiquently, there are about 50 to 60 battle ships and cruisers sitting between 25m and 60m in relitavely sheltered water. Kind of like Europe's version of Truk Lagoon (but allot, lot colder!)

Now that could be very interesting.

 

[flw]

i went about three years ago. i had a great time and would go back if i didnt have a desire to see as much of the planet as possible. after that ill go back. i found the wrecks to be similiar to NJ/NY both in viz and temp. i thought the country was beautiful. walked up to the kitchner memorial and couldnt believe the view, my buddy and i were expecting a plaque. the cliffs, birds and water below blew our mind. also, the people were above average friendly. the countryside and people were so nice that i vowed upon my return to spend less time diving and more time touring. ive never said that before or since!

Orkney is a great place to stay and visit, there's a lot of good walking and archeology around, and the kids love the beaches. I tend to dive the Flow in Nov/Dec and the stuff outside of the Flow in the summer. Last August on a whim I took the kids camping to some of the outer isles in a whole week of hot sunshine, which is one of the best (and cheapest) holidays we've ever had. I'm next down in May for a week if anyone else is around then?

 

[RSoper]

Flw :

What was the diving outside the flow like? I would have loved to have done some scenic diving aswell as the wrecks. I've been told that the visibility is much better outside the flow, than inside, was this the case for you? When i was there we had an average of 6m visibility, and it was quite dark, kind of like diving the sound of Mull. I suggested to the other people on the boat that we could maybe try diving one of the block ships, to which they replied "we don't do shallow dives." What amused me was that they were using twin 12ltr cylinders on their backs, aswell as two side mounted 10ltr tanks, and despite their apparant display of "techie mania" (which would apparantly be more for show than anything else,) they dived exactly the same profile as myself and my girlfriend, i was using a single 15ltr tank and a pony, and my partner was using a single 12ltr tank! It would appear that in the UK at least, the "techie" look has become a fashion accesory for the alledgedly "serious diver," rather than a statement of a divers proficiency or experience.

 

[lakesdiver]

I was there year before last. Loved it. My wife and I are planning to go back, too. Compared to US Great Lakes wrecks, know that they're all cargo type ships. No warships. They're better preserved (cold, fresh water and no shipworms, etc) We've lots that are older then WWI. We've got a couple that are as massive, but they're bulk freighters, so no sexy weaponry to examine. I found viz comparable, but Scapa was warmer than it usually is here. We don't do "live boat" in the Great Lakes. Your boat ties up to the shot line. But, on the other hand, they don't make tea for you upon surfacing. ;-)

 

[cdiver2]

I was there year before last. Loved it. My wife and I are planning to go back, too. Compared to US Great Lakes wrecks, know that they're all cargo type ships. No warships. They're better preserved (cold, fresh water and no shipworms, etc) We've lots that are older then WWI. We've got a couple that are as massive, but they're bulk freighters, so no sexy weaponry to examine. I found viz comparable, but Scapa was warmer than it usually is here. We don't do "live boat" in the Great Lakes. Your boat ties up to the shot line. But, on the other hand, they don't make tea for you upon surfacing. ;-)

NO TEA thats it forget diving with you heathens.