Helsinki Finland Dive Sites.

[poleinahole]

Finland (August 30, 2007)

Judging by the number of dive centers you find by typing “Helsinki” “diving”, “scuba” or “PADI” into google, you would think this was a diving mecca. But trying to line up a dive here proved very difficult. Two months before my arrival in Finland I tried e-mailing about 5 of the larger (ie. PADI 5 star centers) but got no response. A week before my arrival I started calling. Some dive shops only sold equipment, some only did pool sessions with check out dives in tropical affiliated resorts, some said they didn’t take people out during weekends, some said they didn’t take people out during the week, one man said he was a pilot and too busy flying to take divers although he had a website. Most of these shops advised me to “try Divemaster” but getting hold of them wasn’t easy at first. I finally succeeded and spoke to the efficient Jan Komaro, who quickly set me up for two wreck dives.

He and his partner Tommy opened their dive shop in Feb. after acting as divemasters for other dive shops and noticing that none seemed to offer local diving or had their own boats. They now run a well stocked dive shop 10 minutes from the center of Helsinki stocked with gear that they have used and can vouch works in Finland’s chilly conditions. They take divers out several times a week from a small RIB—whenever they can find enough divers to make the trip worthwhile. They also run trips to more distant places in Finland. He was happy to take me wreck diving during the week. Two dives with a drysuit and all equipment costing Eur. 100. I also bought a well made Finnish trilam dry suit from him. With the right technical underwear ( Norwegian and a Weazle Extreme undersuit I would be good to dive even in -1C water without the weight necessary with a neoprene drysuit. The best kind of souvenir for a diver.

On a bright blue sunny day, we met in front of the Blue Peter restaurant on Lauttassari Island (15-20 minutes from the city center. This is right in front of the yacht club (there are toilet and even sauna facilities available!) from where Divemaster’s RIB leaves from and Jan can park his van right in front of the RIB so it’s easy to get gear on board. Two other Finnish divers joined us. After kitting up we set off to the Crown Prince Gustav Adolf wreck. It took about 15-20. Getting there is half the fun as the boat goes FAST!

The Gustav Adolf is a Swedish wreck which was sunk in 1788. The wreck was discovered in 1995 and became Finland’s first underwater park. The wreck lies a few nautical miles southwest from the lighthouse island of Harmaja. The remains of the ship lie at 18-20 meters and are in part scattered on an area of approximately 100 x 100 meters. The wreck consists of the bottom of the hull, the sides, which have fallen down, different parts of the structure, cannons, cannon balls, and a variety of loose articles. All in all 71 cannons have been found at the site. Three of these were raised, conserved and examined. There are also two big anchors at the wreck. A descent rope and guide rope with signs explaining points of interest ring the wreck. Viz was good—4-5 metres so we had an excellent dive. The water temperature was 6 C which meant that it was about the same warmth as the early morning surface temperature. We did two 30 minute dives with a surface interval in between.
We then had an excellent and very reasonably priced (8 Eur.) buffet lunch at the Blue Peter restaurant. This is the oldest wreck I have ever dived on during my dives through 61 countries.
Here are Divemaster’s contact details:
Jan Komaro
Dive Center Manager
PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer #78032
Emergency First Response Instructor
*************************************************
Divemaster.fi PADI Dive Center S-5239
Pääskylänkatu 7 Open:
FI-00500 Helsinki mon-fri 11-18, sat 10-14
Finland

Phone: +358.44.2921204 (Dive Center)
Mobile: +358.40.7337532 (Jan Komaro)
email: jan.komaro@divemaster.fi
web: Oxygene Helsinki

 

[sgtchunk]

Following poleinahole's advice, I tracked down Jan Komaro in Helsinki. He is now running the Oxygene Dive Center, contact info below. After a few emails we were set for a dive.

The day of the dive Jan was out of the shop, however his wife Marja was there. She was completely professional, personable and knowledgeable, great to deal with. The shop is very nice and they have quite a selection of dive gear. My regulator is the U.S. yoke style while my drysuit quick connector seemed to be different than the standard connect Oxygene had. So we had to do some swapping to make things work and everything worked perfectly.

The dive that day was going to be shore diving near Porkkala, about a one hour drive from the shop. Their boat was already booked for the day. The dive site is very scenic with a cabin we used to stage our gear. Overall the dive was great. Nothing spectacular, but I was wet and underwater which always makes me happy, especially in a new location. A few jellyfish, some local fish and a flounder.

What made the dive really great were the people. Ville was my dive master/guide and he did a wonderful job, very professional. There were five other divers that day with us, all experienced and very nice. Later that night after the dive a few of us went out for drinks in Helsinki's City Centre and had a fun time.

The next day was to be wreck diving using the boat but high seas prevented us from going out. A bit disappointing as the Baltic around Helsinki is full of wrecks. I typically get to Helsinki 2-4 times a year so there will be more chances to do some wreck diving in the future.

Without a doubt I would go back to Oxygene. Top notch dive shop, no doubt in my mind. The staff was awesome and if you've never been to Helsinki, you should go. The culture there is laid back and welcoming along with a great night life.

Address:
Itämerenkatu 3
Helsinki

Telephone: +358 44 2921204
E-mail: helsinki@oxygenediving.com