Trip report - Øland 2002 UK

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Öland Expedition 2002

Sunday, april 21th
Dansk

The Öland Expedition 2002 to the wrecks of the Uboat Massakre got a perfect start. When everyone and everything was brought onboard the diving vessel we weighed anchor and sailed southwards. The weather was perfect with a calm and flat sea and a warm nice sun.

We had chosen the SS "Nicomedia" to be the first wreck to visit. With a displacement of 4.300 tons and a length of 117 meters the "Nicomedia" is the largest of the four wrecks sunken by the English uboat "E-19" during the event in October 1915.

After a couple of hours of steaming we reached our destination and the shot was dropped right on top of the wreck. By the image viewed on the echo sounder it was a very large wreck, standing 14 meter above the seabed. Depth 40 meters.

Anders (aka: AO) and I were on the first team so we got our kit assembled and entered the cool but clear Baltic Sea. During the descent the wreck began to materialize at a depth of about 14 meters. This was going to be a very nice dive, no doubt about that ! An awesome sight met us as we moments later hovered above the top of the bridge where we tied in the shot line.

After doing this we began our exploration. The most significant thing about this wreck is the presence of a large bridge with a lot of rooms. On deck one can see a lot of winches and a lot of collapsed structure. Every item we came across was over sized which only emphazised the feeling of being on a large wreck.

We soon reached the stern which was completely smashed into pieces. During the sinking the stern had hammered into the bottom which is the reason why it now is totally demolished. Looking through the cracks in the corroded deck you could easily see the prop more than 10 meters below. The prop has lost it’s blades but the rest of it along with the shaft is still visible.

The dive time was almost over and we headed towards the shot line. During the traverse we took advantage of the good visibility which made it possible for us to swim 5-6 meters above the wreck still alloving us a full view of the wreck. The first expedition dive was over but fortunately there was more dives ahead of us.

After the decompression it was nice to be back in the sun where we reflected on the perfect first dive. The next immediate question in mind was "when can I dive again ?".

A couple of hours later we went in again. On the second dive we had planned to go for the bow in order to get the entire impression of the wreck. During the 60 meter swim from the shot to the bow we came across the large cargo holds, more massive winches and a lot of other things. We examined the bow section firmly where there were a lot of cabins that called for a closer in-door inspection. All too soon this dive came to an end and we found ourselves doing another cold decompression.

On the trip back to the Grönhögen harbour everyone was very excited about the perfect start of the expedition and we enjoyed the presence of a nice warm sun and no wind at all. In all a perfect day.

(c) nolimitsdiving 2002

The Öland Expedition 2002 to the wrecks of the Uboat Massakre got a perfect start. When everyone and everything was brought onboard the diving vessel we weighed anchor and sailed southwards. The weather was perfect with a calm and flat sea and a warm nice sun. We had chosen the SS "Nicomedia" to be the first wreck to visit. With a displacement of 4.300 tons and a length of 117 meters the "Nicomedia" is the largest of the four wrecks sunken by the English uboat "E-19" during the event in October 1915. After a couple of hours of steaming we reached our destination and the shot was dropped right on top of the wreck. By the image viewed on the echo sounder it was a very large wreck, standing 14 meter above the seabed. Depth 40 meters.
Anders (aka: AO) and I were on the first team so we got our kit assembled and entered the cool but clear Baltic Sea. During the descent the wreck began to materialize at a depth of about 14 meters. This was going to be a very nice dive, no doubt about that ! An awesome sight met us as we moments later hovered above the top of the bridge where we tied in the shot line. After doing this we began our exploration. The most significant thing about this wreck is the presence of a large bridge with a lot of rooms. On deck one can see a lot of winches and a lot of collapsed structure. Every item we came across was over sized which only emphazised the feeling of being on a large wreck. We soon reached the stern which was completely smashed into pieces. During the sinking the stern had hammered into the bottom which is the reason why it now is totally demolished. Looking through the cracks in the corroded deck you could easily see the prop more than 10 meters below. The prop has lost it’s blades but the rest of it along with the shaft is still visible.
The dive time was almost over and we headed towards the shot line. During the traverse we took advantage of the good visibility which made it possible for us to swim 5-6 meters above the wreck still alloving us a full view of the wreck. The first expedition dive was over but fortunately there was more dives ahead of us. *After the decompression it was nice to be back in the sun where we reflected on the perfect first dive. The next immediate question in mind was "when can I dive again ?".* A couple of hours later we went in again. On the second dive we had planned to go for the bow in order to get the entire impression of the wreck. During the 60 meter swim from the shot to the bow we came across the large cargo holds, more massive winches and a lot of other things. We examined the bow section firmly where there were a lot of cabins that called for a closer in-door inspection. All too soon this dive came to an end and we found ourselves doing another cold decompression.
On the trip back to the Grönhögen harbour everyone was very excited about the perfect start of the expedition and we enjoyed the presence of a nice warm sun and no wind at all. In all a perfect day.