A Long Weekend Dive Break in Gulen, Norway

Richard Booth, October 2006

Gulen is a remote area of fjords and hills situated north of Bergen on the West coast of Norway. Travelling through this landscape is at times reminiscent of areas of the West coast of Scotland. It is sparsely populated with small communities living in tiny isolated hamlets along the coastline and numerous islands that make up this area.

The gateway to reaching Gulen is via the city of Bergen. There are flights to Bergen from a number of UK airports. In our case, we flew by Jet2.Com from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. There is also a regular car ferry service from North Shields to Bergen for those wishing to take their vehicles across the North Sea.

We opted to stay at The Gulen Dive Centre, which is situated some two hours drive from Bergen. Alternatively, there is a regular fast catamaran ferry service from Bergen which stops at Soleibotn, one of the neighbouring hamlets a couple of miles away from the dive centre. Pick up from this quay back to the dive centre was by RIB. More specific travel details of how to reach the Gulen dive centre can be found on their website

The Gulen dive centre is situated in an idyllic setting on the edge of a narrow fjord. It is apparently Norway's only PADI 5 star centre and offers a range of training courses, equipment hire and sales. Nitrox is available from the dive centre as well as oxygen fills for rebreathers. There is also a dive shop and quite extensive workshop on site which stocks a useful range of spares and can probably cope with most 'equipment emergencies'. The owners of the centre are Ørjan and Monica, a friendly and very helpful couple with a refreshingly laid back attitude to life.



The centre itself consists of several buildings including a number of accommodation blocks complete with fully fitted kitchens, central heating, plus toilets and hot showers.

One of the larger buildings also contains a kit storage area, dive shop and a bar complete with outside patio, gas BBQ and a hot tub. Accommodation is on a self catering basis, although a full board service can be arranged using a local cook for groups of 4 or more people. The accommodation huts come fully equipped with cooker, fridge, freezer, a micro oven and a host of other electrical kitchen equipment. In our own case we bought all our food from a supermarket in Bergen on the journey out to the dive centre. There is however also a small general shop in one of the small villages close to the dive centre. Food prices are much more expensive than in the UK. Alcohol is particularly expensive and Norway has strict duty free rules regarding the import of alcohol from outside of the country.




The Diving

The majority of the diving is conducted from one of the centres two ocean going RIB's, which with an average speed of over 30 knots they can cover a considerable area of the local coastline. The largest RIB is a 10.5 metre craft equipped with twin 225 cc four stroke engines. The majority of sites however are within 15-40 minutes travel time of the dive centre. Whilst the RIB offers a relatively dry and stable ride, warm head wear is recommended. If however you forget to bring your own hat, the dive centre has some spare ones, plus ski goggles that can be borrowed. Both RIBS' have fitted ladders offering easy access back on board from the water even when one is wearing full kit and fins.

Dive sites are selected on a daily basis, taking into account the local weather and the number and experience of the diving group. Generally the centre offers two boat dives per day, with the RIB returning back to the centre between dives. For more distant sites however additional cylinders will be loaded for an all day 'expedition'. The more usual dive programme will include a wreck dive with the second dive being a scenic site. The centre even has its own house reef situated just off the landing quay.

Many UK divers probably associate the prospect of diving in the Norway with freezing artic type conditions. The reality is that whilst these conditions are to be found up in the north of Norway, around the Gulen area conditions are much more akin to UK diving temperatures. In October my dive computer recorded the average water temperature as 13 centigrade. September and October apparently are the most popular 'diving' months with Norwegian divers, as although the weather is perhaps a little more unpredictable, the sea is generally at its warmest and the under water visibility does not tend to be so affected by plankton blooms that can arise during the hotter summer months. During my weekend break I completed a total of 7 dives which gave me a good insight into the variety of superb diving available in this area.

The Gulen dive centre house reef:

This dive site is situated just off the dive centre's quay. Jumping into the water you descend down a gentle slope until the seabed slopes sharply down at 20 metres. Further out the bottom drops down to great depths. The shallower areas however are packed with marine life, including scallops, wrasse and crabs. This dive site is particularly noted for the variety of macro life to be found on this site. Nineteen varieties of nudibranchs have apparently been recorded on this particular site. In my own case I had the opportunity to complete a night dive on this site, with members of a visiting Norwegian dive club.






D/S Frankenwald:

The Frankenwald is reputed to offer one of the finest wreck dives in Norwegian waters. This former German steamship was on passage to Narvik to pick up a cargo of iron ore when she was wrecked following a simple navigation error hindered by the fact that channel hazard lights had been switched off by the Norwegian authorities as a result of the political tensions that arose following the outbreak of conflict between Britain and Germany. Norway at the time of the Frankenwald's sinking was not involved in the war. On the 6th January 1940 the Frankenwald ran into the Bratthomen rocks in the Sognefjorden and holed her hull. Her crew desperately reversed her off the rocks but despite their best efforts they were unable to save her and she sank in 40 metres of water. Today she lies in an upright and remarkably intact state despite over 66 years on the seabed. The dive usually commences by swimming down a line attached to the stern mast, which still stands defiantly upright from the deck and reaches up to within several metres of the surface. This mast is spectacularly covered in orange plumrose anemones. Descending down the mast the ship's deck, cargo holds and deck winches soon emerge out of the gloom and stretch out before one. The sheer scale and size of this wreck is truly awesome. With an overall length of 122 metres you could spend a week of diving simply exploring this one wreck site alone and never get bored.

Once down on the deck at 32 metres you can float forward over the vast empty holds and deck winches before ascending upwards onto the ships bridge area. You can peer into the ships accommodation areas complete with baths and toilets still in place. There is even still a picture frame hanging on one of the bathroom walls. On the rounded stern, the remains of the emergency ships wheel still stands proud from the deck. Handrails and lifeboat davits are still in place; steel ladders drop down into the dark depths of the holds, giving the visiting diver the sense of floating over a time capsule.

Underwater visibility on this site however is quite dependant upon the prevailing weather conditions. There is often a strong surface current running on this site. Following heavy rain, this site can also suffer from a brown treacly halocline carried on the current which can adversely affect the ambient light levels on the wreck. Generally however, the water is amazingly clear once you drop down below the first 6 metres. In our case we had underwater visibility of 25 metres plus. In winter months, underwater visibility can apparently attain over 50 metres!



Stingray dive:

For the second dive of the day, we dived a small relatively shallow passage which for some unknown reason appears to be a magnet for thornback rays. The site is sheltered and relatively shallow which also makes it a popular site for training purposes.

SM Solvang II:

The Solvang II was a small coaster constructed in 1938. She was a small vessel of 300 tonnes with an overall length of 35 metres. For many years she quietly plied her trade along the fjords carrying cargo and supplies between the small hamlets that are dotted along the coastline. She was lost in a storm in January 1991.

Today this vessel lies intact and upright in a narrow fjord. The forward mast reaches upwards to within a few feet of the surface. The intact wheelhouse and accommodation block still sit proudly on the stern of this vessel covered in a luxuriant growth of marine life, whilst the bow still rears up from the seabed and is covered in a ghostly white covering of sea squirts. The cargo hold is empty other than for some small rotting planks of wood lying scattered across the bottom. With a depth to the seabed of 25 metres and given the relatively small size of the wreck itself there is usually plenty of time to thoroughly explore this site. Overall this site provides a great little wreck dive in relatively shallow and sheltered water which provides an ideal location for the less experienced diver.








The Troll Wall:

This scenic dive is situated only a few minutes boat ride from the dive centre. It is a wall dive but with its own unique and rather eerie and sinister atmosphere, hence its name. The wall also features a dramatic overhang at around 30 metres. You definitely require a good torch on this dive, as the beam will reveal the amazing marine life that clings to the underside of the overhang and within the cracks on the cliff face. Large dahlia anemones are to be found clinging to the steep wall. Small white fanworms Sabella pavonina and sea squirts Protanthea simplex are also to be found hiding in the darker recesses of this wall.




D/S Oldenburg and the D/S Inger Seks:

For the final diving day of my trip we opted to travel by car to some of the more distant wreck sites which were not viable to reach by RIB given the small size of the diving group. Normally a full boat would be required to justify the fuel costs given the distance required to travel to these distant sites. Instead we set off in a small convoy of vehicles and headed through some stunning mountainous scenery towards the distant village of Vadheim. This journey also involved a ferry trip across the mighty Sognefjord, the longest sea fjord in Norway. After a couple of hours driving we eventually reached a small car park on the outskirts of Vadheim. This small car park is situated on the waters edge and has been developed for the use of visiting divers. An honesty box for a parking fee donation is situated against a building currently being renovated to provide accommodation for visiting divers. Why all of this development aimed at divers in a remote village at the end of a fjord?

The answer lies just fifty metres out in the dark waters of the fjord, for here can be found the intact wreck of the D/S Oldenburg. This cargo vessel is something of a legend in Germany for its daring exploits during the First World War. Strangely however, its successful war record during the first great conflict has meant that it does not feature strongly in the victor's account of events.

Built in Germany at the J C Tecklenburg yard at Wesermunde and launched in 1914 under the name of the Pungo, this inconspicuous cargo vessel had originally been intended as a refrigerated 'banana boat' for carrying cargo between Germany and the Cameroons. She was quite a large vessel at 4,988 tonnes with an overall length of 117 metres. The outbreak of the First World War and the apparent dominance of the seas by the Royal Navy resulted in a significant change of role for this vessel. Renamed the SMS Moewe, this steam ship was equipped with naval guns and the means to lay sea mines and became an Auxiliary Cruiser in the German Navy. In her new guise as a surface raider the Moewe made a number of highly successful raids into the Baltic and the Atlantic sinking over 45 ships. Indeed one of her mines was responsible for the sinking of the aging British battleship, HMS King Edward VII, on the 6/01/1916 off Cape Wrath. This inconspicuous former cargo vessel had nevertheless been responsible for the destruction of one of the major capitol ships of the Royal Navy as well as numerous other merchant vessels, whilst operating in an extremely hostile and dangerous environment.

The Moewe successfully continued to evade detection despite the best efforts of the Royal Navy and survived the Great War only to be handed over to the victorious Allies as war reparation. Between the wars she resumed her more peaceful merchant marine role as a simple cargo vessel initially for a French Shipping company before being sold on to a British firm.. In 1933 however she was sold by her then British owner back to a German shipping company and was renamed the D/S Oldenburg. She continued in this role until the outbreak of the Second World War and following the subsequent invasion of Norway in April 1940, the Oldenburg became a supply vessel making the hazardous journey up the Norwegian fjords in order to provide logistical support to the German occupation forces.

In 1945 however the Oldenburg's luck finally ran out when Bristol Beaufighter aircraft from 455 Squadron RAAF operating with the ANZAC strike wing based at RAF Dallachy in Scotland located and attacked her whilst she was berthed at the quayside at the village of Vadheim. The combination of steep hillsides and intense AA fire failed to deter the aircraft who pressed home their attack with rocket and cannon fire, setting the vessel alight and holing her below the waterline. Despite the best efforts of her crew the Oldenburg could not be saved and sank into the depths of the fjord.

The aircraft credited with sinking the Oldenburg was flown by pilot officer Thomas Higgins and Warrant Officer Thomas Mirow. Tragically this aircraft and its crew were lost over Norway in a separate air operation on the 22nd April 1945 just a few weeks before hostilities in Europe officially came to an end.

Today the Oldenburg lies on her starboard side. Her bows are in 25 metres of water and she is lying on a gentle slope with her stern in over 70 metres of water. She is a fantastic dive, not withstanding her fascinating history and has become something of a pilgrimage for divers from all over the world. The bridge is in around 40 metres of water. It is possible to safely explore the cabins and rooms that make up this superstructure. Swimming back along the side of the hull, the distinctive camouflage painted pattern can also be seen where the layer of silt has been lifted from the steel plates. Visibility on this wreck can be variable. In our case we had the good fortune to be blessed with bright sunshine and exceptional under water visibility of over 25 metres, making for a fantastic shore dive on this wreck.

On the return journey back to the dive centre we stopped off on the waters edge of Instefjorden to dive the wreck of the D/S Inger Seks. Originally built in Middlesbrough at the yard of Sir Raylton and Co ltd and launched in 1913 as the SS Wascana, she survived the ravages of the First World War. She was quite a substantial steamship at 4,970 tonnes and an overall length of nearly 116 metres. Later in her career she was sold to a Norwegian based shipping company. This vessel however, was seized by the Germans when they invaded Norway in April 1940.

She like the D/S Oldenburg took on the logistical role as a supply ship to the German occupying forces. Due to RAF dominance of the skies above Norway particularly during the latter stages of the war, German shipping was forced to operate night time passages along the narrow Fjords, spending the daylight hours hidden against the steep sides of Fjord cliffs to deter air attacks. On the 22/04/1945 the Inger Seks luck finally ran out when she ran aground. The following morning the Inger Seks still exposed and stuck fast out in the open was quickly detected by the RAF, and was swiftly attacked and set on fire. She apparently burned for several days before she finally sank beneath the depths of the Instefjorden.

Today the Inger Seks lies on her port side and is remarkably intact with her bows situated just a short distance out from the shoreline of the fjord.

Access to the water from the road is down a very steep slope beside a stream. Considerable care needs to be taken whilst climbing up and down this slope particularly when loaded down with heavy dive equipment. Once safely at the waters edge, we swam out and descended beneath the surface down a steep sloping bank. The upturned bows of the Inger Seks soon loomed out of the gloom. At 30 metres we slipped under the upturned starboard side of the hull and ascended upwards towards the deck and open holds above us. On this particular dive the water was clear but extremely dark as a result of a brown surface layer of fresh water flowing out from the nearby stream, greatly restricting the levels of ambient light reaching the wreck. Powerful torches however revealed the scale and detail of this wreck. The stern of the vessel lies down in over 60 metres of water. Ascending back up the slope we completed our decompression stops before making the somewhat hazardous climb back up the slope to the waiting cars.

For me this was the last dive of the weekend break to Norway. Nevertheless during my brief stay I had gained some insight into the world class diving that is to found amongst the fjords of Gulen. Norway undoubtedly offers some of the finest wreck dives in the northern hemisphere, as well as outstanding scenic dives. I have every intention of returning back there soon.

We booked the dive package through Xo holidays. Website
Run by a Norwegian, Asgeir Solli, we found this company to very efficient and helpful, as well knowledgeable about diving opportunities in Norwegian waters.
Asgeir is currently in the process of setting up a new website to come on stream sometime in the autumn of 2006. Website

Gulen dive centre web site: Here

Recommended field guide to local marine life:
Marine Fish & Invertebrates of Northern Europe by F.E. Moen & E. Svenson
UK edition publisher AquaPress
ISBN: 0-9544060-2-8



Return to NORWAY Main Page