elcome to the Orkney & Shetland Isles.
In these pages I have chosen to omit all the usual information about position, launching, slack etc. necessary as everyone else seems to have written about them before. I have chosen to concentrate more on my experiences of these dives & give you a brief insight as what you might expect. I have given the best visibility & deepest that I have had on these dives, but it is not necessary the maximum, all sites are in alphabetical order.

BAYERN TURRETS….40m
The 28000-ton Battleship Bayern which lay upside down on the seabed of Scapa Flow, was lifted during salvage operations, as she was lifted the 600 ton gun turrets fell off & embedded themselves in the seabed at 37m. The barrels of the 15in guns are not visible as the are buried in the soft seabed. You can gain access inside the turrets which takes you down below the seabed to 40m but you stir up the silt very quickly so it is best not to spend too long in there. It is difficult to imagine what they were really like as they are upside down, but what sticks in my mind most is the immense size of the ball bearings on which these guns rotated.

BRUMMER….36m
Lying in Scapa Flow this Light Cruiser is my favourite of the German Fleet, lying on her starboard side at 36m & 20m to her port side. There two impressive5.9in guns still in place at the stern, the masts stretch out along the seabed & there is not too much salvage damage apart from round the engine rooms. But what really sets this apart form the rest is its impressive intact bridge area, control tower with rangefinder & 5.9in gun directly in front, this area is worth a dive in itself.

COTAVIA….41m
A Freighter, which was mined in 1917, sits in a strong tidal area off the East coast of Orkney, making for some superb visibility of up to 25m. It is a very nice dive even if most of this wreck is flattened but still has kept its shape, there is a very large part around the engine & boiler area which rises up15m & is very spectacular, several used shell cases lie around the stern area but there is no trace of the gun which should be in this area. There is an abundance of fish life around the wreck making for a most pleasant dive.

DRESDEN….36m
Lying in Scapa Flow this Light Cruiser lies opposite to the others on her Port side at 36m with the starboard side at 20m. This one is a little less intact than the other cruisers but still has a very impressive intact bridge area & three 5.9in guns still in place.

F2 & BARGE….16m
Two for the price of one here in Scapa Flow, a destroyer & barge which was in the process of salvaging the destroyer, they lie about 30m apart with a connecting cable A very nice dive with several guns to see on both parts, the destroyer is reasonably intact at the bow but soon becomes a tangled piece of scrap, so stick to the intact pieces.

GLWADMINA….39m
A freighter which sank due to collision in 1918 off Lerwick in Shetland. Her bow section is reasonably well intact but becomes more broken toward the stern. The visibility here is generally very good but on the one occasion I dived her we only got 3m.

GLENISLA….45m
This freighter was in a collision in1917 just outside Lerwick in the Shetland Isles carrying a cargo of coal. It is reasonably intact with the deck at 38m, I have only dived it in 3-4m visibility so found it rather unimpressive, but some of my friends have seen it in 20m visibility & found it to be a terrific dive.

GOBERNADOR BORIES….16m
This Blockship in Burra Sound is a pleasant dive in crystal clear waters of 20m+ visibility. It is only divable at slack, which never really goes entirely slack. The wreck provides shelter for divers to explore the insides but it is good fun to pop out here & there & get a taste of what the current is like. The wrasse here have over the years taught divers to feed them, they come looking for you as soon as you arrive here, needless to say there are not too many urchins to be found here. The stern section is quite intact & the prop still in place.

INVERLANE….15m
One of the block ships lying in Burra Sound, one of the entrances to Scapa Flow, it is no longer dived since its collapse several years ago. You still can get on it if you exit the Tabarkas bow with the current going in the right direction. It is well broken up now but there is still a large section to be found with a huge amount of life on it & outstanding visibility due to the fearsome currents that run through here.

JAMES BARRIE….43m
Possibly the best wreck dive in Orkney, it is a toss up between this & the Tabarka, the visibility here is almost guaranteed huge. Lying in Hoxa Sound, one of the entrances to Scapa Flow the tidal currents ensure everything is swept clean. This very large fully intact trawler is lying on her starboard side after she ran aground in 1975, she was taken in tow & thankfully she sank while undertow as it makes for an unforgettable dive. All areas are accessible, though some of them are a bit of a tight squeeze.

KOLN….34m
Lying in Scapa Flow this Light Cruiser is a superb dive with not too much damage by salvagers. She lies in 35m on her starboard side with the portside at 20m. Towards the stern two 5.9in guns still in place, moving forward, the teak decking can be seen along with some intriguing doorways for the bravest of divers. Amidships boat davits hang downward to the seabed & masts reach out into the gloom. There is a lot to see here & can be all seen in one dive if you don’t hang about, but ideally you should do several dives & really see it.

LUNOKHODS….20m
Lying off Bressay in the Shetland Isles, this Russian factory ship broke its moorings & ran aground in 1995. A lot of it is widely scattered but there is one extremely large part with several levels, which makes this dive superb, you can swim through the engine rooms, workshops & storerooms. Most of the best stuff is around the 10m region which means it will sadly deteriorate fairly rapidly, there is seemingly another large part farther down the slope at 40m but unfortunately I have not done it, we had planned on it but due to weather we had to leave Shetland.

MARKGRAF….43m
Lying in Scapa Flow this 25000-ton Battleship is lying upside down listing to port, so make sure you go down the correct side. On nearing the seabed you can begin to recognise a few features but it is difficult to comprehend because of narcosis, sheer size & tangled wreckage. Blast holes by salvagers give you opportunities to peer inside the wreck in various places & a few 5.9in guns can be seen on the upturned deck.

TABARKA….14m
One of the blockships in Burra sound she lies upside down in the clearest water I have ever seen in UK waters, 25m+ visibility. It is only divable at slack as currents race through the sound at up to 8knots. The whole dive is done inside the wreck but light still penetrates through the many holes in the hull. The propshaft tunnel can be swum the whole length inside but there is not much to see inside it. Reaching the engine & boiler room is an breathtaking sight, as the entire place is visible as a whole, three boilers lie on the seabed, having fallen from there mountings on the hull & congers can be found hiding in the various pipes. The entire wreck was filled with rocks to make her sink quickly & these now make up the seabed. This wreck reminds me of a derelict cathedral due to the arch shaped hull & the light streaming in through openings in the hull. At the top of the hull air pockets have gathered where we have removed our demand valves & spoke to each other. If you exit the bow depending on the current you may find the Doyle or Inverlane or go for a blast in the current & catch the Gobernador Bories. Visibility outside of the wreck is not so good as it is inside; it perhaps is only in the 20m region. Do not under any circumstances come to Scapa & miss this one.

TENNESSEE….14m
This freighter ran aground in 1940 off the East coast of Orkney, it has been heavily salvaged & is well scattered. The only thing I found of any interest was large parts of the engine, but even that was not enough to make me want to dive it again.

This page is still under construction so look back soon & I may have some more sites listed.