My last contact with the surface is behind me, Kevin Denlay (The Admiral) in charge of surface support accepted my signal and I am away to do one of the worlds most awesome wreck dives.
My preparations are behind me, the numerous drills and rehearsals both on site and for a couple of months in Scapa Flow with the new twin 20 litre cylinders to give me the gas for a dive to 120m/400ft, the 12 litre side mounts for my travel and safe return to our surface supplied 80% nitrox, and the scooter modifications that have never been tested to this depth.
All the mental concerns about a dive to a depth I have never been to before and pre-dive anxiety about anything that you allow to cloud the mental rehearsal of switches, decompression schedules, and trying to get some quality video for the group disappear as I start my descent. On the scooter (adapted predator) I easily keep close to the down line despite the nagging current that threatens us with a lonely, surface support dependant, nerve wracking drift deco if we lose the shot line. At 50 metres I switch smoothly to my 11/60 trimix, have a visual with Danny my partner, and start to look for the wreck. At 65 to 70 metres the shape of a colossal liner, lying on its starboard side looms out of the dark below and to the right of me, the line runs to the sea bed parallel to the top of the bridge, nice one guys. With the current in mind I attach a Jotun Strobe to the line at 75 metres, wait for the flash and then power the scooter off to the wreck.
Its intactness is amazing, its size staggering, the visibility brilliant stop to focus the video on a flat piece of wreckage and set off, it is mounted Oz/Deans style on the front of my scooter at an angle that should duplicate what I see, my mind is back on the wreck.
I have this feeling of flying around the bridge of the Titanic, it seems familiar. I drop down to 105m to see the fore deck winches, the foremast broken just above its base and disappearing off into the blue. I am sure the main bell should be here. I drive to the bow of the ship over great anchor chains and note 12 min of bottom time, 8 mins left, gauges show a max of 107 metres. I return via the deck rails, videoing down onto the wreck and come across the damaged area of ship, how did I miss this on my outward leg?
The break is colossal and runs to the bottom plates of the ship, must be at least 25 metres deep and 7 metres wide running right across the deck, no wonder she sank so quickly. Inside are the exposed lamp lockers, their contents spilled out. From the railings at 90 metres I can see the hull at the seabed, it is warped and rippled by the impact of the great ship as she collided with the bottom, debris is scattered all around.
18 mins gone I look for the strobe, there it is like a beacon to the safety of the surface. I scooter to the line to join my comrades in the long deco, the strobe is left in case anyone is late and needs it, I set off for my 1 min at 70 metres.
195 mins after leaving the surface I am back again, the surface support has all gone well, all the preparation has paid off, there are a lot of people to thank, a lot of gas to pump.
I am back in the world of preparation for my next drop in two days time.
© 2000 Scapa Flow Diving & Johns Charters - Orkney