Scapa Flow German Fleet Wreck Week

Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, Scotland · United Kingdom

Challenging7 daysEurope~£950 est.

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Overview

On Midsummer's Day 1919 the interned German High Seas Fleet scuttled itself in Scapa Flow, and seven great ships still lie where they settled. Dropping down the shot line onto SMS Markgraf — 25,000 tonnes of König-class battleship in 45 metres of green Orkney water — is British diving's most atmospheric moment. The light cruisers are the crowd-pleasers: Cöln lies near-intact on her starboard side at 35 metres, while Karlsruhe brings guns and capstans within reach of a 25-metre profile. Between the big ships, the blockships at the Churchill Barriers make shallow, story-soaked second dives. You live aboard a converted trawler out of Stromness with a wheelhouse full of tea and a compressor humming aft; evenings are for Orcadian pubs, the Italian Chapel and the Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness. Cold, dark and depth are the variables: a drysuit, good torches and solid 30-metre experience are the sensible minimum, and nitrox earns its fee. The season runs April to October; a week's berth with air and food comes in around £950 before travel to Orkney.