Trips
SCAPA FLOW 14-21 Sept 13 – TRIP FULL
Click on pictures to enlarge.
1. Spend a week Saturday 14 to Saturday 21 September 2013 diving the historic wrecks of Scapa Flow from the Orkney’s largest and probably best liveaboard – M.V.Invincible. Situated off the North East coast of Scotland, Scapa Flow is a large sheltered natural harbour and the resting place for seven warships of the German High Seas Fleet, scuttled on the orders of Admiral Von Reuter at the end of World War 1 – June 21, 1919, and joined by numerous blockships during World War 11. Scapa Flow is the UK’s premier wreck diving location and ranked highly in the Top 10 wreck diving locations in the world – a must for all metal enthusiasts!
2. M.V.Invincible is conveniently moored at the South Pier in Stromness Harbour, opposite the NorthLink Ferry Terminal. She is over 25 metres long, licensed to carry 12 divers and 2 crew. Invincible has an enormous open deck with gear benches running along either side of the boat and is fully equipped to provide air and Nitrox fills on-board between dives to 350 br. There’s a covered deck area at the bow, ideal for drying dive suits and storing gear boxes, a large two person diver lift, 3 oxygen kits strategically positioned around the boat, the bridge is full of all the state-of-the-art electronics you would expect to find on a flagship dive boat. For convenience and comfort, Invicible has a 240 volt power supply throughout, full central heating, hot & cold running water and two shower rooms/toilets. There’s an onboard bar, that’s right – our very own floating pub, stocked with Orkney ales, a range of optics, soft drinks and a large plasma TV with DVD player. The galley is equipped with a gas oven and hob, fridge freezer, microwave and toaster, which we are welcome to use on a ‘leave it as you find it’ basis. Next to the galley is a dining area with soft furnishings and tea and coffee making facilites, you can use throughout the day.
3. Our skipper is Ian Trumpess, abley assisted by his ‘first mate’ Fiona. Ian has been diving since 1978 and taking divers out to the wreck sites of Scapa Flow for many years now. Ian’s background is that of a former commerical and Scallop diver. These days, he purely dives for fun and looks for any opportunity to get back in the water. Ian holds a Department of Transport Boat Masters Licence and a commercially endorsed RYA Boat Master Certificate.
4. Historic wrecks are what this trip is all about, although there are spectacular reefs and scenic drift dives here too. A ‘typical’ dive schedule for the week looks like this, subject to weather and sea conditions, it is possible to do more dives at extra cost, see 8. below.
Sunday – Dive 1. Brummer 16 to 36 mts - Dive 2. F2 + YC21 6 to 15 mts
Monday – Dive 1. Koln 16 to 35 mts – Dive 2. Karlsruhe 16 to 25 mts
Tuesday – Dive 1. Kronprinze Wilhlem 15 to 38 mts – Dive 2. Gobinator 15 mts
Wednesday – Dive 1. Markgarf 15 to 47 mts – Dive 2. Tabarka 6 to 12 mts
Thursday – Konig 18 to 35 mts – Dive 2. Doyle 15 mts
Friday – Bayern Turrets 32 to 37 mts – Dive 2. Dresden 17 to 36 mts
5. Scapa videos shot October 2010, on-board was a French videographer call Ludovic Bourscheidt, LUDO to his friends, who shot these. The first movie contains clips from various wrecks http://vimeo.com/15948441 This second video http://vimeo.com/16818443 just features the Tabarka, a fabulous dive.
6. IMPORTANT: Pillows are provided, YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN SLEEPING BAG & TOWELS FOR THE WEEK. Boarding M.V.Invincible takes place from 1 pm onwards on Saturday and we have to be off the boat by 9 am the following Saturday, although some catch the last ferry back to the mainland Friday evening.
7. This trip costs £450, it includes six days diving (Sunday to Friday), two dives each day, air fills, shared liveaboard accommodation in twin-bunk cabins (Invincible returns back to Stromness Harbour each day between 2 – 3 pm, unless we stay out longer for a third dive), continential breakfast served on the way out to the first dive followed by a Scottish fry-up afterwards and homemade soup served after the second dive each day. I understand Fiona has introduced an evening ‘pot’ meal which we heat up ourselves and I’ll let you know more details about how this works after the up and coming September 2012 but it sounds good and Fiona is an excellent cook. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available throughout the day.
8. It excludes the cost of getting there (it’s around 725 miles from South West London – we’ll sort out car sharing arrangements nearer the time), Nitrox and Trimix fills, other meals, drinks (including bottled water, snacks and alcohol available from the on-board bar), and general spending money. To get to Orkney, you’ll need to catch the NorthLink Ferry (details below), adults passengers cost £16.80 each way and cars (under 6 metres long), cost £50.40 each way (you don’t have to take your car across, we can hire containers for the dive gear and travel across as foot passengers). Extra dives are possible at a cost £25 each including an air fill and are based on all twelve divers participating, a couple of notable dives are the James Barrie a cracking wreck outside the flow and the Old Man of Hoy, a scenic drift.
9. Nitrox price list: The normal practice is to have a Nitrox fill for the first dive each day, which is a deep one and a free air top for the second dive, view the Nitrox price list.
10. Cylinder hire & weights. Diving cylinders can be hired on-board, a 12L O2 clean manifold twin-set is £50 for the week, 15L O2 clean cylinder is £30 for the week. Weights are available free-of-charge, but if lost the replacement value is £5 per kilo.
11. Getting there. Car sharing is the most economic way, it’s between 11 to 12 hrs drive from London to Thurso and a 1.5 hr ferry crossing from Scrabster to Stromness on the NorthLink Ferry. This year (2012) we’re leaving the cars at the ferry terminal in Thurso for the week and using containers supplied by the ferry company to transport our dive gear across to Stromness and only paying £33.60 for the return crossing to go as a foot passenger. Invincible is moored where the ferry docks so it’s no bother getting the dive gear to the boat on the other side. Obviously, if you want to do some exploring while you’re in the Orkney’s, having a car would is useful but there are buses and taxi’s so it’s not a problem getting around. Not taking the car will save you just over £100!
Other travel options include: the Caledonian Sleeper which leaves from London Euston on Friday evening and arrives Inverness Saturday morning, connecting trains and buses will get you to Scrabster for the ferry crossing. BA, Flybe and EasyJet operate services around the UK to various Scottish Airports where you can catch a connecting flight operated by Loganaire and Flybe to Kirkwall Airport on Orkney, then use local bus services to get to Stromness.
12. Getting back. If you’re catching the ferry back to the mainland, you can choose to leave on Friday afternoon on the 4.45 pm sailing or 9 am Saturday morning. We’re trying something new in 2012, catching the Friday afternoon and driving to the Sound of Mull for two day diving (Saturday & Sunday), before heading home. The ferry gets back to the mainland at 6 pm and it’s a 5 hr drive to Mull which is on the way home, so not only is it a great location to break the journey, it’s also an amazing opportunity to dive more top UK wrecks like the Thesis, Hispania, Rondo and many more. Two days diving (six dives), and two nights accommodation works out at £150 each, subject to the number of divers who want to do this. If it works well this year, I’ll write in up the Sound of Mull details as a separate trip TBC.
13. Diver certification, dive kit and previous experience. All diving will be planned within recreational limits down to 40 metres and subject to prevailing weather and sea conditions each day. Minimum diver qualification is PADI Advanced Open Water and Deep Diver Speciality or equivalents, the ability to deploy a DSMB is essential, some boat diving experience would be useful. Having further PADI certifications in Enriched Air Diving and Wreck Diving or equivalents will help you to get the most out of this trip. Full scuba diving kit, including an appropriate exposure suit, DSMB, reel and a good torch - having a back up mask, DSMB and torch is a good idea. If you plan to use a single cylinder, carrying a redundant air supply such as a Pony cylinder is highly recommended on the deep dives. Divers must be over 21 years of age and logged 50 dives. If this is your first trip with the organiser, you will be asked to provide evidence of your certification and experience, remember to bring your logbook and certification cards with you.
14. To book a place on this trip a £150 deposit is required, the balance of £300 is payable 15 weeks before the trip – that’s Saturday, 1 June 2013. You can choose to pay by bank transfer - account name: diversonline sort code: 08-92-99 account number: 69513224 By cheque made payable to diversonline please contact me for the postal address, or by credit card using the diversonline PayPal account, the address is ken@diversonline.co.uk
15. Cancellation policy. Deposit refunds for cancellations made in advance of the balance due date can only be given once the trip is full and another diver has taken your place. For cancellations made after the balance has been paid, no refund can be given until your place is sold to another diver. If we are successful, you will receive a full refund, minus any reduction agreed between you and the buyer of your place. In the event of adverse weather conditions or “force majeur” causing cancellation of the arrangements, your payment for that part of the booking will be refunded after the trip. This only applies to day boat charter fees, it excludes accommodation, admission fees and liveaboards, unless specifically stated in the trip details.
16. Health and saftey on the trip. It is important you listen carefully to all safety briefings while you are on this trip and follow the instructions you are given at all times, both in and out of the water. Make sure you dive within the limits of your dive certification, experience and comfort level. If you experience a dive related problem, make others aware of it immediately. Familiarise yourself with each dive site where possible and agree a dive plan with your buddy. In an emergency, you are reminded you have responsibility for the first actions to effect a successful rescue, without endangering yourself.
17. Please note. Care has been taken to ensure the information about this trip is both a fair and accurate representation of what you will receive and the magnitude of cost you will incur. Neither diversonline or the trip organiser accept any responsibility for errors, omissions or changes which may result in an increase in cost and/or changes to the itinerary. By booking a place on this trip, you accept that diversonline and the trip organiser have no duty of care to you or others on the trip and understand we are merely facilitating the hire of the boat and accommodation.
18. To book a place or for more information:
Contact Ken Powell on 07989 387792 or email ken@diversonline.co.uk
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Posted in Trips on August 6th, 2012 | Comments Off
