Scapa Flow dive notes July 2013

[tracydr]

Kirkwall Hotel had some good food, the dining room is like a time warp, lots of character.

We stumbled across Mother India in Glasgow, now that was some fine Tikka Masala.

My next dive trip will be 15 hours drive to Santa Barbara, California. All scenic roads, Grand Canyon along the way, just hope not to run into a fleet of Winnebagos ie giant camper vans.

Southern California has some great cold water diving. The SoCal liveaboards have great food. Nice thing about driving is you can haul a ton of gear.

How do you see the Grand Canyon on your route? I just hate that I-40 route, its so boring for the majority of it.

 

[clownfishsydney]

My post should of course say that my wife used a 12 litre tank!

 

[Tjack]

Nice report Clownfishsydney, a week on the flow sounds sweet. What was your favorite wreck? Looks like you were diving some Deco profiles?

Grand Canyon is a bit of a detour off I-40 but well worth it Tracydr.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Our favourite wreck was the SMS Markgraf, a battleship. The guns are 12 inch, the armour plating 12 inch thick, everything is big. Yes, all but two dives were deco, but we were using Nitrox for the dives which minimised it and we also decoed on 50%.

 

[FionaH]

Our favourite wreck was the SMS Markgraf, a battleship. The guns are 12 inch, the armour plating 12 inch thick, everything is big. Yes, all but two dives were deco, but we were using Nitrox for the dives which minimised it and we also decoed on 50%.

Markgraf is one of my all time favorite wrecks - once spent an entire week diving it twice a day - got lost on my final dive of the week - our house almost got named after it, but it sounded silly on a kit-house, so ended up naming it after the wreck of the glenisla in Lerwick instead - off to dive the markgraf for a couple of days again next month

 

[Tjack]

I'm tempted to do some deco training and return to Orkney to dive the Markgraf. Diving some of the Block ships at slack tide sounds cool as well.

What is the best time of year for water clarity and sunny weather? I heard there is usually a sunny spell in May?

 

[Hickdive]

Oh yes, there are sunny spells in May, often as long as ten consecutive minutes at a time!

I wouldn't chose any particular time of year as being reliably drier.

Best viz is usually when the water is at its coldest but in winter the sun goes down with an audible clang around 3.30pm so the Spring months, March, April, and May have, in my experience, been the best months for visibilty. That said, apparently it is great up there at the moment so predictability is a problem!

 

[Tjack]

Hey we had one of those sunny spells when I was there in July, it lasted over an hour.

Sounds like spring and fall would be good bets for visibility.

 

[Centrals]

Any budget accommodation in Stromness?
Is there any YHA nearby?

 

[FionaH]

Yes, Browns Hostel is nice, about 150m from the harbour and tumbling distance to the local bars - last time we stayed there was about £20 pp/night - the nearest syha is Kirkwall whilst a good place to stay isn't ideal for diving the Flow