We arrived in Vangshylla at our accommodation arranged by Catrine with Einar Morten Slapgård of the dive centre Bare Dykk AS, which offers a range of services and guided dives. We settled into our accommodation and got our kit ready, looking forward to diving in Norway with Norwegians.
We loaded our kit in an aluminium boat from the pontoon outside our flat and away we went to dive a wall jutting out into the fjord. Having arrived on site and with the boat anchored, we hung our kit( stages, scooters, cameras) on lines over the side of the boat. Next, we donned our rebreathers and jumped over the side before collecting our bits and stowing them carefully. Once fully kitted, we assembled at the bottom of the anchor for a second kit check and off we went.
We scootered down a sandy silty gully onto a granite wall, where white silvery veins of quartz were clearly visible. It was a deep wall, the darkness beckoning but still quite clear. At 40m the bright orange corals appeared in our torchlight; the deeper we ventured the more vivid they seemed to appear. At 65m we levelled out and admired the buttress, fascinated by the ranks of coral, each seemingly larger than the preceding clump.
Eventually, our time was up; we turned around and headed back for the gully that would lead us to to the boat anchor. Our decompression complete, we de-kitted in the water, hanging our kit on the lines under the boat. When we climbed in the boat the chatter exploded:“ Wow, just wow.” We spent the rest of the week diving various walls and buttresses, each nicer than the last until the final day dawned.
Beauty in the blackness
By now we were getting the hang of things. We prepped our kit, loaded the boat and prepared ourselves to dive a most special wall, 275m deep and located at the point
Hidden from the world, a field of bright yellow gorgonians
where the fjord narrows. We kitted-up in silence – finally with the efficiency of a welloiled machine – and descended onto a flat, sandy area. Another set of checks and we proceeded to the wall. This time, the boat would not stay anchored.
Instead of the familiar flat slabs of rock, this wall seemed more rounded; you could even say‘ polished’. Before long, we passed the 50m mark and began to traverse a wall of huge bubble-gum-pink gorgonian corals, each one 1.5m high. This led to a patch of orange fans 1m across, festooned with basket stars.
Beyond 65m we looked up to see wave after wave of brightly coloured corals wafting in the gentle tide. Close inspection revealed nudibranchs and prawns, while a helmet jelly drifted around us, trying to swerve our video lights. It was utterly mesmerising. As we cruised along the wall close to but not touching the corals, I looked below and saw
a pale glimmer which demanded a closer look. It was a colony of the rare deep water coral, Lophelia, jutting out from the wall. Seeing this wonderful coral again after 20 years was simply breath-taking.
Happily Matt and Catrine heard my whoops of joy( the joy of rebreathers) and joined us to look. We spent a few minutes filming and taking pictures, Jørgen watching over me as always. All too soon it was time to ascend and commence our decompression – we were a little deeper, so our decompression would be longer than usual. The heated undersuits would earn their keep that day. �
GPS coordinates
Oldenburg: 61 º 12.467’ N 5 º 49.032E Helga Ferdinand: 61 º 43.995’ N 5 º 11.563’ E Aquila: 61 º 44.056’ N 5 º 11.332’ E Dive Centre: baredykk. no /
Incredible colour in Norwegian seas
Gorgonian with basket stars
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