Trip Report : Scapa Flow, 2004

Scapa trip, June 2004 by Neil Smitham
Neil Smitham.

With having a trip to St Kilda the same week, this trip would only have ten members of Trafford Sub-Aqua Club on the boat, so the charter had filled the other two places with two divers from Germany, Dieter and Burkhardt travelled over 1800 miles (one way) to have their first experiences diving in Scapa Flow.

On previous trips I have organised to Scapa, we have travelled overnight on the Friday night in a mini-bus to arrive at Scrabster for the ferry early on Saturday morning. This year we were abit more civilised and drove up on the Friday day in cars to stay in the Belgrave Arms B&B at Helmsdale for the Friday night. This meant we could drink a few beers and win a few t-shirts and be a bit fresher when arriving in Stromness.

Driving the remaining 40 or so miles to Scrabster we checked in to find the ferry wasn't running, in for repairs, so we loaded our dive gear into a container as arranged, before being bussed round to John O'Groats to catch a walk on ferry over to Burwick on South Ronaldsay. That crossing is only about 50 minutes and buses were there to drive us round to Scrabster to meet up with our container.

John L moored up at Lyness

Here we met up with Dougie, who runs the charter boat John L, the charter included use of the mini-bus that towed our container round the pier to the boat. A large kitting up area was soon partially filled with our dive gear and the drying room had our suits in. The brew facilities were checked out and then it was off to sort out sleeping arrangements 5 mins walk away into the village where the charter included use of two houses.

Kip time for some, drink time for others, before all meeting up to eat at The Ferry Inn. Either way, Sunday morning soon came round and being woken to the smells of cooked breakfast was wonderful. Marlene helps out the charter and comes in each morning to cook breakfast and do abit of cleaning. We'd met her the night before, she serves in the portable chippy as well !

After breakfast it was down to the pier and onto the boat for the hours (most of the "popular" wrecks are about an hour from Stromness) sail to our first dive, the "SMS Dresden". Port side down in 34 meters this light cruiser was a good starting point with superstructure, guns and bridge all intact to wet the interests of the six divers on the trip who had not dived at Scapa before. Robert the skipper had briefed us on the shotlines and we went in one and out up the other. In this slightly choppy sea we now found out that Dieter and Brockhart were not quite used to this type of diving and hardboat ladders. Back on the boat with their full face masks off, assisted by James the deckhand, they were abit happier. Lunchtime at Houton was a story in itself, longer than this one and probably liableous if I were to print it. Put it this way, we didn't go back there again to eat all week.

Wrasse on the F2 by Scott Henderson

The afternoon dive was the "F2" with "YC21" - the latter being a barge that sank in November 1968 whilst working on salvage of the "F2", one of the twin 20mm anti-aircraft guns from the "F2" is still visible in the holds of the barge. The skipper dropped us in on the shot of the "YC21" and after a few minutes swim round it was off the 20 meters to the "F2". A few of our number had been disappointed to hear that a line connected the two wrecks and were looking forward to abit of compass work. As it was, with good viz and a bright day, the dark outline of the "F2" could be seen from the bow of the barge. This wreck (a second world war escort vessel) is only intact from the bow to aft of the bridge, in about 18 meters with one 4.1 inch gun turret still in place. The rest is well broken up but gives a good chance to slowly mozy round and come across a conger eel up the mast as we did.

After motoring back in, there was time for Richard Watters to nip into The Diving Cellar (ran by Leigh, Dougies partner) to get a high pressure hose repair, and also for Jen Scarsbrook to take her suit into the other dive shop opposite the houses for a pressure test and new shoulder dump. Impressively this was ready for the next day and made Jens diving week a lot drier !

Mondays first dive was the "Köln". Whilst walking down to the pier, Pete Sadler from our club joined us. Pete is a keen, good, amateur cyclist and had been in a National Time Trial race in Nottingham on the Sunday, driven up to Scrabster afterwards, kipped in his car (he got told off by his partner Jenny Armstrong for this!) and got the 06:00 ferry in time to join us for diving on the Monday. Dedicated or mad ? We're still working it out !

An hour out to the site, and then diving this light cruiser, starboard side down, Anthony Smith and I dived the bow shot and swam bow to stern and back again and up the bow shot. 510ft long and with the guns at the stern it was a good swim, most peoples talking point afterwards was how they felt on seeing a plaque on one of the rear guns to a diver that had died a few years ago.

Another light cruiser, "Brummer" was the afternoons dive. A starboard side down light cruiser, 40 ft shorter than the "Köln", it gives an excellent opportunity to swim round and has an impressive bridge and guns to rear and bow. With the engine and boiler rooms opened up it gave Jon Greenbaum and Scott Henderson a good chance to rummage around.

Lunchtime today had been at the Lyness Naval museum on Hoy, then that night we took a trip round the islands in the mini-bus, round to the Churchill barriers and Italian Chapel. Through Kirkwall and past the Highland Park distillery (alas closed) and to the Standing stones of Stenness. Chippy for dinner in the evening. Dive suits were going to get tighter as the week wore on. Pete needed a new neck seal, so he went to the same place as Jen had and it was ready for him to collect the next morning before diving.

Tuesday morning saw us diving one of the three remaining battleships. At 113 feet longer and 53 feet wider than the "Brummer" diving on "Kronprinz Wilhelm" was going to take some getting used too. A few of us had dived it before and I tried to buddy up those that had and those that hadn't. With some interest in the skipper putting in a shotline near the aft 12-inch main guns Jen Scarsbrook and I were the only pair to dive on the casement guns (already shotted) and had an excellent dive and rumage under part of the portside superstructure. Fortunes were varied on those that went down the skippers shot, and after checking the shots location it was decided we would be diving it later in the week again but this time the shot needed dropping 50 feet further across the beam of the wreck. None the less, everyone knew how big and impressive this wreck is from what they saw. Lunchtime at Lyness. More soup! Some of us went for a walk upto the naval cemetery.

From inside to outside The Tabarka

The afternoon dive was on one of the blockships in Burra Sound, The "Tabarka". We were there a little before slack, and along with two other dive boats were waiting sat around kitted up. Dieter, fully kitted and sat waiting to jump in with us looked abit nervous, kept looking at the sea (flat but running) and then looking at us, then the sea, then us. After about 20 mins that was it, it might have been in German but we knew he thought we were mad and he declined this dive ! Shame, as about 15 mins before slack the skipper got us in, we had been told to go straight down and would drift to the wreck side and then get ourselves inside it. In and down but Anthony Smith was watching us from the top of the hull as we were pulling ourselves along the kelp, my buddy, he could see me very clearly and thought if he got to me he would be out of the current. He pulled himself down but we were still in it. We got inside the wreck and had to have a breather it had been quite a current ! The sea-life was abundant, colourful and in crystal clear water, it didn't take long for the photographers to start snapping. After about ten minutes Pete and Jenny came in from outside the hull.

"I'm alive" says Richard Watters, surfacing from The Tabarka

Seeing this I thought they had put up a good struggle outside to have a look round in that current. It wasn't till later I learnt Jenny had not quite made it down in time on the first pass and Pete, holding on to the wreck, had watched his fiancee drifting into the distance. The skipper had picked them both up and put them in again just before we saw them getting inside the hull. Inside the hull are two boilers, now on the sea floor of this upside down wreck, and a long prop-shaft. Everyone came out saying what a good dive it had been, Jen Scarsbrook as dive-marshall noted the comments on the dive-log. Richard Watters comment reads "what an interesting steam driven engine system" !
The other boats had dived the "Doyle" and the "Gobernador Bories" blockships. All very close, the skippers had sorted it out so that there was just one lot of divers on each. It was tricky to explain to people who hadn't been there before what the "Inverlane" had looked like and how you could moor up alongside it and dive in it but now it wasn't there. Went for a curry in Kirkwall at night via Ring of Brodgar.

Wednesday morning was a dive back on The Brummer. This time around, and in a three with Anthony Smith and Scott Henderson it was good to stay around a smaller area and have a slow mooch round. We mainly stayed around the bridge structure, and its a different dive familiarsing yourself rather than trying to cover all the wreck as we had two days before. Lunch at Lyness, more soup !

This was possibly the chopiest sea conditions of all the week, not too bad to stop diving but exposed on some of the wrecks. As the skipper had already told me, "nobody gets sea-sick on this tug" (and he was right). So in the afternoon we dived The "Karlsruhe". The shallower of the light-cruisers it is also the most damaged due to salvaging. The bow and stern are quiet intact with two bow gun turrets, then approx 1/4 of the wreck is lost to blasting and collapse and it appears in places like the deck has "slid off" the hull. Probably the poorest viz of the week on this dive as well.

Some of us went off to Skara Brae and then we had a BBQ at the houses for tea, loads of nice meat from a butchers in Stromness at the recomendation of the man in the museum on Hoy !

"James Barrie" by Paul Naylor.
(using natural daylight and a tripod!)

Thursday morning saw our longest treck out from Stromness. About 2 hours across Scapa to dive at slack on The "James Barrie" in Hoxa Sound. This is a 666-ton Icelandic steam trawler that sank in March 1969. Excellent viz and sunny weather meant the dive was clear and the wreck is visible long before your on it. Port side down, shot at the stern, rudder on the seabed and a nice clear deck to have a look along. Rick Scarsbrook found a lobster just off the wreck at the bows. Yes its still there ! Even at just over forty meters to the sea-bed torches weren't really required outside the wreck. Lunch at Lyness again, more soup but mainly to thank the man for the tip about the BBQ meat.

In the afternoon, we dived the site where the "Seidlitz" sank, lifted, sank, was raised, and then sank to be lifted again! With all that movement and at one point the bridge striking the sea-deck, this 24,600 ton battle cruiser had left behind some debris. So we dived doing a slow drift finding bits and bobs of wreckage. Dropped down right on a gun casement, found an anchor and some collapsed boilers along with lots of other wreckage bits and a huge lobster (Yes that ones still there too!). The only ascent of the week up a delayed SMB was interesting for the thousands of whitebait that there were.
After mooring up back in Stromness, Rick Scarsbrook, Phil Botting and Jon Greenbaum were quickly away to Julies bistro for their daily dose of creamcakes. Even with us eating there that evening they couldn't miss out. Told you those dry-suits would get tighter over the week.

Friday, last days diving. And what an easy start to the day. As we wanted to come back to Stromness at lunch to do some shopping (and for the chippy) the skipper thought it would be a good idea to take the boat round to Houton, and we would drive round in the mini-bus and meet him there for 09:30. Then we were only 20 mins from the dive site and it would be quicker for us to get back and forth to Stromness at lunch. We were diving the battleship "Kronprinz Wilhelm" again. This time the skipper dropped his shot perfectly and most divers went down it to get a look at the rear 12 inch guns. Spot on this time. Everyone that went down that shot saw them, the bore might be 12 inches, but near the turret the barrel is a meter wide, after all they could fire 20,480 meters - its what navy's were built to protect, real history. Myself ? I dived the casement guns again to start to get a feel for the area. As its said, it could take you a week of diving this wreck to begin to fathom out where you are. No wonder its crew was 1,033. A sad dive for Phil Botting though who with Jon, saluted and wiped away a tear (underwater?) as Phil left behind a memento of a previous trip.

Twenty minutes after the dive we were back in the mini-bus for the 15 minute drive back to Stromness. We were back before the chippy was open ! So it was off to do abit of shopping. The chippy wasn't open but the general store would still sell you whisky !

After we had all eaten and shopped, we had had a good surface interval time of 4 hours by the time we were back on "John L". The afternoons dive was going to be The "Dresden" as Pete hadn't dived it yet. Went down the stern shot and round the two gun turrets. Another good swim round a bridge still in shape before going to the bow gun and up that shot. We all stayed on board for the trip back into Stromness, with the wind behind us the choppy sea didn't matter that much. Phil went back round with Dougie for the mini-bus as we unloaded all our gear from the boat and into a container for the next morning.

That night we ate in The Royal Hotel in Stromness. It must be a divers thing, the rest of the room was full with two other parties of divers on their last night also. Then it was off to Flatties bar whilst some were off to The Stromness Hotel for the start of the World famous Orkney folk festival week.

Anthony, Jon, Phil, Dieter, Scott
Neil, Rick, Jenny, Pete, Richard, Jen, Burkhardt.

There are those that say the wrecks in Scapa are deteriorating, well metal in sea-water is going to really isn't it! But I bet they are there and in ship-shaped recognition along after I'm gone. Its six years since I've been to Scapa, hopefully it won't be six again, but I still think the wrecks are fascinating and maybe only "Karlsruhe" has any significant deterioration because it has always been in a further state of damage than the others.

All week our group happily dived on 15 litre tanks and never came out with less than 80 bar. We touched into decompression and did the safety stops, my old Aladin pro would be clear the next morning each day whilst other people still had a Nitrogen build up, but my computer would still be putting me into Deco before them. These people that take huge twin-sets with them must be diving for a fair old time because we all had good dive times as well. Maybe they just breathe alot !

We said our fairwells to Dieter and Burkhardt on the ferry on the way back, then saw them again some miles down the A9. It might have been 1800 miles there for them, but they certainly enjoyed it. And it would have been a longer journey back, for some reason they had directions via Fort William !!