NORWAYADVENTURE
On the wings of the Welheim
PHOTO : DAVID BEWICK
assist and tug her off the rock . They were spotted by the Mosquito and a combination of six-pounder and cannon fire sent both to the bottom . We had a copy of the pilot ’ s log on board , with a detailed account of the sinking along with a few photographs of the attack , making the dive all the more interesting .
The Parat sits at 60m , the black and white tiles are still in the galley ; the brass toilets are in place and even the brass red and green navigation lights are there . Further up the slope , the Ferndale is a big old freighter , with the steering gear and accommodation at the stern , a couple of holds to explore , chopped off masts and winches mid-ships , and a crumpled bow at 12m , all squished like a tin can where it smacked into the scenery .
Deco on the dive is particularly nice , as you sit on the face of the rock that it hit in the middle of an aquarium , looking at the colourful anemones , fishes and crabs scuttling about their daily business . There ’ s even a small cave to sit in . Jen , my buddy ,
“ A combination of six-pounder and cannon fire sent both to the bottom ”
has a Kindle in a waterproof pouch that she clips to the shot line and picks up on the way back so she can read her Mills and Boons in deco peace .
* Fans of Douglas Adams ’ Hitchiker ’ s Guide to the Galaxy will recall the character Slartibartfast , designer of coastlines , who claimed to have won an award for his work on Norway .
More electric transport
Back in Bergen we had booked a Segway tour of the city . Ask anyone on the previous trip what was the best thing about it , and none of them will mention the diving . They ’ ll all tell you about the chaos of the Segway tour , where we gatecrashed two weddings , high-fived various police officers , and had the tour guide with his head in his hands when we started playing Segway Tag ( can ’ t dob the master ) leading to multiple pile-ups and upside-down Segways .
This tour was a little more restrained with only the one crashed rider , looking very much like an inverted spider crab . We enjoyed a final meal in a lovely seafood restaurant in the Briggen , with a wine list that included a bottle for 209999 NOK ( about £ 18,000 ) which was tempting , but which we resisted . The plate full of shells at the end looked very much like discarded Alien legs , but was very tasty .
So , was it worth the hassle ? Very much so . Flying with a rebreather and drysuit wasn ’ t too bad ( I got everything into two 23kg bags ), the diving is brilliant in gin clear water , the scenery is spectacular , and Norway offers a glance into a very tempting cleaner , greener future . �
PHOTO : JEN SMITH
Threading a 200 tonne needle through a fjord
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