Scapa Flow

by Gordon Mackie

SCAPA FLOW :- to many people it is a deep, dark, scary place for rough, tough divers. Hopefully I can dispel the myth.

History sharply focused her attention on this water with the dramatic events that culminated on 21st June 1919, when the entire interned German High Seas Fleet was scuttled on the orders of one man; Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. Isolated from accurate news as to the status of the armistice negotiations following the end of World War 1, he scuttled the fleet rather than let the ships fall into foreign hands.

Many of the seventy or so ships sunk this day were subsequently salvaged in operations that are a story unto themselves. Many, however, remain and contribute to the greatest wreck site in Europe: most notable are the Light Cruisers (Brummer, Dresden, Karlsruhe and Koln) and Battleships (Konig, Kronpinz Wilhelm and Markgraf). For a fuller account of the scuttling and detailed descriptions of the diving we would recommend reading Rod Macdonald's book "Dive Scapa Flow" (ISBN 1-85158-983-X) which is in many ways the definitive guide to the Flow

Scapa Flow is almost a local dive for me as I am lucky enough to live in Edinburgh.

While the Flow is deep, most of the ships are BIG and lie on their sides or upside down. This means that you hit ship about 12 to 20 metres. Because of the excellent visibility often found, I have always been able to see the wreck and sometimes the bottom from the surface.

Some of my favourite dives are detailed below :-

The F2 and Barge
Probably one of my favourite dives - the F2 is a frigate, well salvaged but a fantastic dive. She sits in about 16 metres, about 8 metres to the hull. You can rootle about the bow and play with gun, dive under the bow and then go out to the 550 ton YYC21 barge which sank while salvaging the F2 in 1968, the twin 20mm anti aircraft guns are still inside, as is the workshop full of tools etc.

The Tabarka
Second on my list of "must do" dives, this upside down block ship sits in a ripping current in Burra Sound in 12 metres. The skipper will drop you in slack and the visibility is endless, the wreck is swept clean and is like an underwater cathedral.

The König
A nice big battleship, as usual for battleships, she turned upside down and sits in 40 metres, 20 metres to the hull. There is plenty to see as she has been well blasted and is an interesting dive. As with all the battleships, you won't do this one in 1 dive!

The Kronprinz Wilhelm
Another of the big 3 - the Kronprinz sits in 34 metres, 12 metres to the bottom of the wreck. There are twin 12" guns to be seen on the side and the mast lies out to the side, worth a wander out and back. Again, plenty of blasted out bits to look down and a cracker of a dive for all the family!

The Markgraf
42 metres to the bottom, 24 to the shallowest part and 38 to the deck line - sounds scary but is usually quite light and pleasant to dive. Lying on her port side (ish), she is covered with life and is a wonderful dive - dark under the overhang but with teak boards, portholes and loads of interesting bits to explore - once again, battleship..big..takes a few dives to get round.

The Brummer
A cruiser..so lying on its side rather than upside down. bottom is at 36 metres, ship at 20 metres. The mast and crows nest lie on the bottom, the engine room area is open enough for a look about and the bow and stern 5.9 inch guns are still in place. There is a big hole on the bottom at the bow and you can see up to another hole which lights up the innards - good dive.

The Köln
Another cruiser - bottom at 35 metres, hit metal at 25 metres. Loads to see, covered with life and a big hole at the engine room. Once again - you can't do this one in one dive.

The Dresden
And another cruiser..bottom at 34 metres and wreck top at 18 metres. Great stuff - mast and stuff, bridge, guns, walkways...take a few dives on this one too!

The Karlsruhe
Cruiser again.. 24 metres to the bottom and 12 metres to the wreck - well blasted and salvaged - loads of stuff on the bottom and loads of holes in the wreck - some love it, some hate it..take a try and see what you think!

The James Barrie
Just for a change - a lovely trawler in 43 metres, about 34 to the deck. Easy to get in to, loads to see, well lit and a fantastic dive...and you can see it all in 1 dive!

GETTING THERE
You can fly there from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness (not cheap)

Ferries do leave you with 2 choices - a long drive to the top of Scotland (Scrabster or John O Groats / Caithness) and not on a motorway! And you get a short ferry crossing to Stromness or St Margaret's Hope. OR - a short(ish) drive to Aberdeen to catch the ferry to Kirkwall. I have done both and have settled on the evening ferry from Aberdeen as it is less trouble and doesn't require an overnight in Scrabster and a crack of dawn ferry!

STAYING THERE
There are loads of B&Bs, the Ferry Inn, The Scrabster Hotel - try www.visitorkney.com

Hopefully this will get you motivated to get up there and get diving. It is fantastic, don't miss it and most of all, don't be scared of it!

SLAC DIVE TRIP 2002
In October 2002, Standard Life Dive Club went to Scapa Flow. Over a long weekend diving with Scapa Scuba Charters – www.scabascuba.co.uk , we dived the Kronprinz Wilhelm, The Koln, The Dresden, The Brummer, The Karlsruhe, The F2 and Barge, Gutter Sound and the Tabarka.

The crew were:
John Bunyan, Chris Holland, Nicola Burney-Gunn, Tony Hood and myself from SLAC and a few others to fill the boat.

Chris Holland's photos can be found by following the link to the club site www.slacdive.com and looking at the photo gallery, John Bunyan took some fantastic photos using black and white film and natural light – www.gordonmackie.com and look in Photo Gallery.


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