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My dive group are thinking of a trip to Scotland in the summer of 2005, primarily to dive Scapa Flow. Does anyone have any experience or suggestions of where to stay, what operator to use etc? Also, any other recommended diving areas in Scotland, as we probably would want to spend 2 or 3 days diving Scapa and then move to a different location.
Bruce. (Yes, I was born in Scotland, but I've never dived there!)
Bruce, I'm going to direct you to a UK forum. A lot of the divers there live in Scotland and many more dive regularly around its shores.
In fact there is one post in particular re. spaces on a boat doing Scapa.
Register, introduce yourself and then post your question in the relevant section.
See you on the other side.
You will probably want to spend more than 2 - 3 days in Scapa, not least due to the travel time. However the Sound of Mull is another area bristling with wrecks and the scenery is spectacular as well. Have a look at the uk.rec.scuba newsgroup and their website for more info. http://www.ukrecscuba.org.uk/
Hi!
There's the professional diver's training camp in Fort Williams. There you may have a try-out in uw-welding and other strange stuff. Have been there but not diving, that time.
As for accomodation, search for "independent hostels". There are some in Scotland, even on Orkney. Sometimes strange places for even stranger people. They won't mind divers as residents ;-) There is one e.g. outside Fort Williams (near the small village Onich) that's run by a man called Pady ;-) who is a revelation by himself.
Yep, and there's the Edinburgh Aquarium. Loacted north of the Forth bridge. You may dive the shark tank with a local biologist.
Helge ;-)=)
all of the above is more than you need to know ... you go toi Scapa Flow ... you go to Scapa .. spend as much time as poss diving there ... its .. "f**king" wicked .. and thats all that needs to be said .. its the only really cold water that I will go back into for ... at least the galapagos is slightly warmer !!
Giles
ps yes ... i did just compare Galapagos to Scapa .. and I have never been to galapagos !
Ah but there are those that have dived Scapa and the Sound of Mull and say that Mull is better than Scapa.
So, if you did like Scapa then you really should give Mull a go, then you can just skip across Scotland and dive the Marine reserve at St Abbs. From there you can then so down the coast about half and hour or so and you hit the Farnes, where the seals are.
Ive been to Scapa Flow three times in the last 4 years, and the previous post is corrrect spend no less than a full week there. These ships are big 600+' long and there is a lot to see. You could spend a week on one of the cruisers to really explore it well.
Where are you traveling from to get there? Maybe I can recommend a travel plan. Weight can be an issue when flying into the Orkneys but there are ferry boats too.
As far as where to stay I highly recommend staying in the town of Stromness which is where most of the dives boats leave from. Some really good restaurants, lively pubs, and plenty of support for your dive group. Go to www.ferryinn.com this inns website has links to some of the dive operators and other Orkney info. Ive been with three operators in the three trips and John Thornton with th MV Karin was the best. Big boat, plenty of room for 12 divers, very professional and a lot of fun.
Figure on 40' vis, depth range from 60' to 165', water temp is 53 degrees, NO current, 2 -3 ' waves. Since all the boats are deep draft you dont even know you are on the water most of the time. Nitrox is available on all of the better boats, they blend right on deck, and you never have to break down your kit until the end of the week. It rains often (2 or 3 times per day) but not for long. It is always windy 20 knots is common, but it had to blow 45 to keep the boats at the dock and that only happened once in 21 diving days I had there. It is mostly cool 50 - 65 degrees in Sept. We were there on the warmest day they had in a number of years and it was 72.
Really is world class wreck diving and they make it very easy on you once you get there.
Nemo
who would have thought that diving in scotland would create so much passion ... but it is kick ass fun if you can handle cold water.
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