Norwegian diving is like Scotland on steroids, says Graeme Bruce, who offers a tour of some recommended sites for technical divers
TECHNICALDIVING
The Helga Ferdinand wreck
Norway, Graeme’ s way
I
first dived in Norway in the late Nineties and have subsequently visited on numerous occasions – usually with a RIB, sometimes on a local charter boat, always with friends. The wrecks are fantastic, the reefs and walls stunning. The marine life is in some ways different to what we see in the UK, in other respects is can be quite similar.
Norwegian diving is like Scotland on steroids, says Graeme Bruce, who offers a tour of some recommended sites for technical divers
Norway sometimes seems more enticing and exotic than my local Scottish offerings, though in reality they’ re just different. For me Norway is Scotland with a little more attitude. One of our recent adventures in Norway involved my good friends Matt, Catrine and Jørgen, plus their friends Ane and Trond Einar who all live in Norway. A
Team Norway:( l-r) Matt Duke, Jørgen Birkhaug, Einar Morten Slapgård, Catrine Larsson trip was planned to encompass the very best of Norwegian diving: wrecks, reefs and caves – a different sort of diving.
Our plan for the wrecks was to draw up a list of deepish dives, all of which could be dived from shore. We went for the Oldenburg, the Aquilla and the Helga Ferdinand. We had all dived them previously, but they are great wrecks all the same and none of us objected to a few return visits. After that, we planned to push north to dive the Lophelia coral walls near Trondheim. Catrine and I had dived these tidal walls previously, but for Matt and Jörgen this would be something new.
For me, the travel planning involved ferries from UK to Holland, a drive through Denmark and ferry from Denmark to Norway. Timing the ferries and driving to arrive at a designated wreck site for our shakedown dives was a logistical challenge, but all do-able. Rebreather, underwater scooter, gas and bailout logistics were all mutually agreed, and our accommodation and catering arranged.
Oldenburg and Aquilla
The wreck of the Oldenburg is located in Vadheim at the top of the fjord, offering a great shore dive for technical shakedown dives. The bow is buoyed 110 metres offshore at a depth of 25m, while the the stern lies much deeper, at 70m. How good is this wreck? Well, I once spent a week diving it and no other sites!
The wreck lies on its starboard side, a great hulk. Its holds may be empty, but it’ s
32