Dive year 2007
The year started with us doing some training dives in Ekasjö where visibility was good in the cold water. In January the air temperature was around +5°C and the water temperature was 5°C.
In February, at the invitation of a friend of ours, we went up to Dalarna to dive in the Tuna Hästberg mine. Early on Friday we left Halmstad. As we made our way north, the snow depth increased. Once there, we parked the car a short distance from the mine and carried down equipment and set up our camp. During the afternoon we explored a part of the level we had camped on and later in the evening we made our first dive at the site for this time. An optimal dive site! Exciting history, lots to look at and good visibility. During the following days we explored more of the mine, both the dry levels and below the surface. On Tuesday we left the site after having lived down in the mine for four nights.
In mid-March we launched our boat and did some test dives before heading out to Ostmark at the end of March. On Saturday morning, March 31, we left the harbor and headed out towards the wreck. The sea was calm and after 45 minutes we were out on the wreck. We drifted a bit in the weak current and then drove upstream over the wreck and let go of the drag. Then we drifted slowly over the wreck and the drag got a good grip down there in the depths. Before we put on our equipment we went through the dive plan again. Half an hour later we were rolling in the water. The current was minimal at the surface and non-existent from 5 m and below. We came down amidships and then swam aft to the cannon. Visibility was good and you could see the entire cannon towering up in the water. After looking around a bit in the stern we turned back to look at the boxes of ammunition and storage containers around the skylight. Before we went up we took a turn around the descent line and looked around among all the debris. After a surface interval in the warm sun we did a second dive of the day and took some pictures.
At the beginning of April we returned to the mine in Tuna Hästberg in Dalarna. The last time we were up and diving in this nice mine we agreed that we would go there again soon and when the opportunity opened up after the Easter weekend we took the opportunity and went up.
This time there was no snow and we were able to get all the way to the site by car which made it a little more comfortable. The weather was very favorable the entire time we were there and we therefore chose to camp at ground level. This was also convenient as we had brought so we could mix gas.
The last time we were up in the mine we explored a lot both below and above the water surface which we did this time too. Most of the diving time last time was mainly spent in the western parts of the mine so this time we took a closer look at the eastern parts.
In mid-April the weather wasn’t the best but when the forecast showed a gap we took the opportunity to drive out and check out some positions. During the month we also managed to make a trip to Ostmark in good weather.
We were quite heavily loaded with equipment and extra tanks so this time it took a little longer to drive out to the wreck. After an hour’s walk we were at the wreck site and anchored. The sun was shining, the current was zero at the surface and the waves were small. It was set up for good diving and we therefore carried out two dives at the site. Visibility was not terrible but quite poor so we made quite short dives. The anchor line went over the wreck and was in a trawl at the bow at a depth of just over 41 m.
The temperature on the wreck was 7°C. At 6 m the temperature was 8°C. The current was still zero and the waves had subsided further when we finished the second dive so we lay in the calm, warm water for a while and chatted a bit before getting back into the boat.
On the way back we did a dive on Tök, a Danish cargo ship that sank at the end of 1956. However, the wind had picked up and visibility was pretty poor here too.
At the end of April we made a return visit to Tök and also went to Dania. When we came out to the position of Dania the echo sounder gave an echo immediately and it wasn’t long before we had anchored. A while later we found ourselves on the wreck. We hadn’t expected much from Dania but this wreck was bigger than Tök and there are considerably more interesting things to look at. Like Tök, Dania was also a cargo ship and there are many spacious places where you can swim through and look at various things.
We managed to make another trip to Dania during the month and we also did a dive on Äran, originally the armored ship HMS Äran and launched in 1901 but later converted to a barge. The ship sank while being towed in 1968 and now stands keel-straight at a depth of 33 m. The wreck looks more or less as if the seabed has been raised 4 m. The deck is completely flat except for some substantial bollards that stick up at regular intervals. In some places the deck has collapsed and you can peek in there.
In May we went out to Altnes, a Norwegian cargo ship that sank in 1998. There were quite big waves when we went out but it was just aftershocks and the forecast was stable. We surfed out at 20 knots and were out on the wreck after about 70 minutes. The mark we had was very good and we could see Altnes towering up on the sonar. The minimum depth seemed to be 24 m which was good. We came down just in front of the stern. We took a trip a little deeper at the stern but the visibility was bad. There was a 33 m layer of debris and below this the visibility was very limited. Above this layer the visibility was very good and we continued on to the gigantic rudder and propeller. We also took a turn ahead and looked at the crane arrangements. There is a lot of fishing lines and lures on the wreck and you can understand why when we saw a lot of cod down there. On the way up, Thomas dropped his camera at the surface and it is now somewhere on the bottom of the Kattegat, about 30 minutes drift from Altnes.
Altnes is definitely a wreck worth coming back to and doing more dives on. On the way back inland the waves had subsided and the sea was now mirror-clear and we continued to Dania where we did a second dive for the day on the gas we had left. The visibility at Dania was absolutely optimal that day.
At the end of May we went out to Ostmark for the third time this season. We were actually going to a different location that day but the weather was a bit questionable so we decided to go out to our “house wreck” the minute-taker S/S Ostmark. When we arrived at the location the waves had calmed down a bit and we anchored on the wreck. There was no current regardless of depth and visibility was decent but without a flash it was impossible to take photos but we got some good video sequences on the wreck. After finishing the dive the weather had become a bit calmer so we decided to also make the second dive of the day on the same wreck. The temperature was 7ºC on the wreck and the break layer was at about 17 m and at 6 m the temperature was 13°C.
In June we returned to Altnes. The temperature was now 7ºC on the wreck and 14ºC on the surface. Just right. The fact that there weren’t so many jellyfish floating around at the last stop was also nice. Just like the last time we dived at Altnes, there was a layer of poor visibility at a depth of about 33 m and above this it was bright and visibility was several meters. We went down and looked at the stern and then continued to the rudder and propeller where there was a school of cod. After filming what we had to do, we continued ahead and saw the large crane. In the bow we turned the dive around and made our way back to the ascent line. The current had increased slightly since we had started the dive but it was still very limited and we did a very relaxed deco. After a dive time of 75 minutes we broke the calm surface and had a coffee in the warm sun.
After having a coffee we went to Äran to do a second dive of the day. Unfortunately the visibility on Äran was not great but there were a lot of fish and crabs on the wreck, completely unaware that their home might be blown to pieces and scrapped.
A week later we went out to Ostmark for the fourth time. On the bottom and up to 36 m the visibility was quite limited but on the deck of Ostmark the visibility was relatively good and the water was bright. When we were in the middle of the deck you couldn’t see both the port and starboard railings but not far away. We came down to the bow of Ostmark where the ship had been heavily attacked before it sank. The hull side is intact but up on the foredeck where one of the big guns was located the deck has completely given way and collapsed.
We swam further aft and onto the large superstructure which had collapsed heavily, partly due to the fierce fighting in April 1945 when the ship was sunk, and partly due to the time the ship had been on the seabed. We continued aft, past the skylights and bomb shelters, to the mind deck and on to the large cannon in the stern. Now we turned the dive around and made our way back to the place where we had started the dive.
It was 7°C on the wreck and 18°C at the last stop that day and when we came to the surface we saw that fishermen had come to the site. The air temperature was 29°C. We would then have gone to Åran for a second dive but it was full of fishermen so we went to Dania instead. There the visibility was about the same as at Ostmark and we had a calm and pleasant dive in the warm water.
At the end of June we went out to Walkyre and Goma. Last time we were out we had planned to do the second dive of the day on Äran but then there had been fishermen on the wreck so this time we thought we would go to Äran first.
We left the port early but when we got out to the wreck there was a fisherman there so we went to Walkyre instead. Visibility was not that good but it was quite bright in the water and we had a very calm and pleasant dive. There was a lot to look at. A giant catfish came swimming up to the wreck and when it saw us it hid among all the debris.
When we got back on the boat after the deco we saw the dive ship Linter passing by on its way to Ostmark. We drove up alongside and said hello before turning east towards Goma where we did a second dive of the day.
We ended June with a trip out to Tök after work. The sea was calm and the fresh rain was pouring down.
In July it was quite windy and the weather didn’t offer many opportunities. But when the weather doesn’t allow for wreck diving you can always go to a mine so when we had to cancel a dive in Kattegat at the beginning of July we decided to go and dive in the mine in Fredriksberg, just north of Växjö instead.
The rain poured down pleasantly all the way to the mine but when we arrived it stopped. The temperature in the air was 15°C.
We dived down through the main shaft. A little further down the temperature gauge showed 5°C in the water. We continued down and followed the main shaft down to the bottom at 43 m where we looked around among the rubble. Visibility was relatively good, perhaps even the best we have had at the site so far. It is always difficult to judge visibility in metres but I would estimate it to be around 2 m which may not sound that good but the places in the rock are not that wide so 2 m still means you can see quite well.
It has been 200 years since the mine was abandoned and filled with water and not many people have been down here since then. After we looked around at the bottom we followed the place into the rock and further up into the break room and checked the 25m level properly before we went out into the main shaft at the same level. Then we followed this slowly upwards and looked carefully around at the structures that are there.
When we got up, we had a coffee and discussed the dive and how we would dive on the second dive of the day.
On our second dive we went down the main shaft to about 14 m and followed the route that goes into the rock here. We passed some ladders and the wooden floor and a little further into the passage you are at the top of the large break room in the mine and we slowly descended to the large wooden beams that are at a depth of 26 m in the middle of the break room. From here we followed one of the routes halfway out to the main shaft and then followed a ladder up to the route on the 14m level that we were at earlier. After diving around a bit at this level we went out into the main shaft and further up to the 9m level where we looked around a bit before going out into the main shaft again and then slowly upwards to the surface.
After the dive we had a barbecue then left the site and shortly afterwards it started to rain again and it lasted the rest of the evening.
The weather continued to be bad and the wind persisted but since the forecast showed fine weather in mid-July and we were free we decided to go out and do a dive Ostmark.
Since we were quite heavily loaded with a lot of bottles and other paraphernalia we took it easy out to the wreck site. After just over an hour we were there. We had previously had a good position on the forward part of the wreck but today we wanted to get down to the stern so we spun around a bit before we thought we were in the right position with the descent line.
The air temperature was 28°C and the 17°C water cooled down nicely. There was no current. We followed the line down to the wreck and passed a layer of large particles. At 27 m depth we saw the stern gun looming in the now slightly better visibility but we continued past and down to the end of the descent line to see if it was seated properly. At the end of the descent line we attached a line and followed the mine rail back to the large stern gun where I laid the line one turn around the gun barrel.
There was a barely noticeable, very weak current moving across the wreck to starboard. We continued along the rail and took a look under the top deck before we went up to the skylight and Stefan filmed some nice sequences on the grenade boxes.
We continued forward and turned the dive after having looked around where the chimney had been. On the way back we filmed more of the wreck and there were many good sequences. However, more light would be needed.
When we got back to the ascent line we untied ourselves from the wreck and followed the very weak current over the mine deck.
As we slowly slid over the starboard rail and left the wreck behind us, 45 minutes had passed since we first glimpsed the stern gun in the green water. We began our ascent and when we surfaced the sea was completely still.
We moved to Dania for a second dive of the day. After we secured the wreck we had a snack. After eating and putting on our gear we went back into the water. We came down in the middle of the wreck and saw that the visibility was very good so we took a turn over it to get a first overview.
There had been no current on the surface but a fairly strong current swept over the wreck. We went down into the holds where it was sheltered from the current and there were also a lot of cod. We slowly made our way up and looked at, among other things, the large propeller and the anchor that is on the wreck. After 40 minutes on the wreck we began our ascent. Back in the boat we had a snack before heading towards the harbor.
The next day it was cloudy, windy and there were some big waves so we only took a short trip out to Tök. There was no current on the surface but down on the wreck there was a lot of current. Visibility was limited and it was quite dark so the lights came in handy. There were several big jump layers, including 18 m where visibility was very limited due to the different temperature water masses that mixed with each other. However, visibility was very good below this layer. However, the weather was not great and the wind picked up so we went back into port after the first dive.
The next day the forecast showed winds over 10 m/s which was in good agreement with reality. There were high waves out in the Kattegat. But instead of sitting at home and whining about the weather we went to Derome mines and did a dive. The last time we were here was in mid-October last year and the water level was several meters higher than last time so a ladder was not needed.
We went down through the murky water. The visibility down to 8 m depth can best be described as if you had fogged up your entire mask, but below 8 m it opened up and you could see a little over a meter in some places, but the darkness down there absorbs a lot of light from the lamps. We followed the large village into the mountain and saw, among other things, an abandoned chair and the remains of some wooden structures. Out in the open pit the visibility was no better, but from 18 m depth we followed a ladder up to 6 m and made a turn around before going up.
After a couple of days of rain and wind, the weather cleared up and we took the opportunity to go out and do a quiet dive on the Walkyre. Shortly after we anchored at the wreck, four more recreational fishing boats appeared but they went on to fish somewhere else.
From the boat we could see that there was a current on the surface and the water was also brown from river water that had settled as a layer on the surface. Down at four meters the visibility got better but the current didn’t subside until about 20m. Down at the wreck the drag was on the port side at the stern. The visibility was only half a meter but it wasn’t a current and the dive as a whole was very nice.
At the end of July we went out to Ostmark for the sixth time during the season. A week earlier when we were out on the wreck it had been sunny and the sea had been completely calm. Today it was cloudy and a bit windy but the trip out to the wreck went quickly and we quickly raised the buoy and prepared to jump in.
At the surface the current was moderate and the water temperature was a pleasant 17°C but as we descended towards the wreck along the line we passed several different water layers. When we passed 20 m the descent line was clearly visible in the water several metres further down and I wondered if we would have such luck with visibility even when we got deeper. At just over 30 m however the visibility became considerably worse, perhaps at most one metre.
We came down on the starboard side at the bollards just aft of the gun and attached the line to the railing. Then we followed the mine rail ahead at 36 m depth and looked in at various places. We then turned back and went up to the top deck and followed this ahead at 33 m depth. We passed the skylights and chimney and made our way to the jetty. We looked around a bit among the wreckage and then turned back aft.
At a depth of about 30 m there was a boundary between two bodies of water where there was relatively good visibility over the layer. We followed this boundary layer on the way back and could see the top two decimetres of skylights sticking out of the fog. There was a current on the wreck before and we now moved towards it and came to the gun in the stern. We spent a few minutes looking at the powerful piece, 105 mm, and then we fell into the foggy water and followed the mine rail and our line back to the ascent line. We untied and slowly slid over the wreck to port and when we passed the railing we began our ascent.
When we came to the surface the waves had subsided and we lay in the water for a while before we took off our gear and got into the boat. On the way back we took a turn and checked a few positions.
During the last week of July we took the boat over to the East Coast to dive some wrecks around Karlskrona. Unfortunately it was too windy during the week for us to be able to carry out our plans so we did a couple of dives at the wreck cemetery at Ekenabben in Karlskrona instead and then did some sightseeing in the archipelago by boat which was really fun.
After the wreck dive on the east coast came to nothing due to the weather, we took the opportunity to go out to the mine ship Ostmark when the Kattegat showed its nice side in early August.
This time we thought we would see more of the front parts of the wreck. We started the dive by looking at some of the many objects lying on the bottom around the bow. Then we got up on deck and moved slowly aft while we looked around the wreck. Just before the chimney we turned the dive around.
After we got back from Ostmark we went down to Mölle and the demo days. Originally we had planned to be down in Mölle all day but since the weather was so good on Friday we couldn’t resist going out and doing a dive on Ostmark before we went down to the demo days. However, we managed to get down in plenty of time for a little barbecue and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with others who were in Mölle for the demo days.
It was extra fun to meet old acquaintances from Sport och Dyk in Umeå whom I hadn’t seen in a while and it was fun to hear what they had done and what their plans were for the near future.
On Saturday we went to a lecture with Casey McKinlay, project manager for WKPP (Woodville Karst Plain Project) in Florida. He told us about the connection of the two cave systems Wakulla Springs and Leon Sinks which took place on July 28th, i.e. two weeks before.
A month before the connection, he and Jarrod Jablonski had carried out a record dive from Wakulla Springs towards Leon Sinks to enable the connection of the two cave systems. On this occasion, they managed to lay out an additional 2500 m of line and went a total of 7900 m into the Wakulla Springs caves. The bottom time for the dive was almost 10 hours with an average depth of 90 m. After this, a deco of 15.5 hours was carried out. Total dive time was 25.5 hours.
On July 28th, Casey and Jarrod made it 3700 m in from Leon Springs and managed to find the tunnel
(R-tunnel) from Wakulla Springs after 17 years of work.
On Sunday it was quite quiet down in Mölle and we took the opportunity to talk to McKinlay about how they go about mapping the cave systems they dive in. Depth, time and direction using a bottom timer and compass together with a line with a knot every three meters to measure the distance is the basis and radio transmitters are used to locate certain fixed points.
We also had the opportunity to borrow some Gavins scooters. They were set to slow but after McKinley showed us how to set them to the highest speed we each loaded aboard Björn Grundemark’s boat Mulan and went out and did a dive. It was a fantastic fun dive.
In mid-August we took a trip to the Derome mine after work and tested some new lighting. In the open pit the water was murky and foggy with visibility of maybe half a meter but inside the western part of the mine, which slopes upwards from its entrance, there was a stratum of about 11 m deep. Above this layer the visibility was crystal clear and with the help of the video reflectors we got a wide and even light and together we were able to light up the entire large room which gave us an incredibly wonderful feeling for what it looks like and where all the structures are placed.
At the end of August we went to Småland. After getting a tip about a mine we decided to go there during the weekend to see what it looked like. We started by walking over the area and orienting ourselves according to the maps and information we had. The mine area was quite large and there were many places to look into and several water-filled cavities.
We spent the entire first day walking through the mine at ground level and the openings that were in the mine and we discovered a place that we decided would be our gate into the mine the next day. Then we would go further in to see what it looked like.
On the morning of day two we carried our equipment into the mountain. The terrain was full of blocks and stones and you had to be careful where you put your feet. When we arrived at the opening to the mine we felt the cool air that greeted us. Down there the air temperature was 9 degrees. The water temperature was 5 degrees.
Inside the mine you could see clear traces of the mining. In some places the visibility in the water was very good and in others there was a layer of a few meters with poor visibility and below this the visibility was better.
Even the first level down in the mine requires you to wear a dry suit. To explore this part you have to swim in the cold water and take off your fins and walk. One of the places we were in split after 20 m into three, two of which were dead ends but the third continued for a very long time. We turned around after 80 m.
Another place went up the mine and after 100 m into the rock it ended and there was a water-filled hole straight down into the rock.
In September the weather was quite windy and unstable so we took a trip from Halmstad to dive in Fredriksberg.
We did some measurements of the mine and saw some new things we hadn’t seen before, including a wooden floor between the 43 and 25 m level and a wooden ladder and rubble far into the 12 m level. The overall picture of the mine also became much clearer as we saw larger parts than before at the same time with the help of the video reflectors.
In the second week of September we went out with Linter to Erling Lindöe. There had been strong winds all week and it hadn’t looked like we would be able to get out to sea and dive this weekend, but when Johan and Richard at Linter announced that there would be diving at Erling Lindöe on Sunday, we charged the batteries for our lights and mixed the right mixture of gas in the bottles.
Unfortunately we didn’t bring our camera with us so there were no UV photos from the trip. However, Thomas managed to take a couple of photos with his mobile phone.
The journey out to the wreck site was very comfortable. The waves were not as big as we had thought they would be and on the way out we had a coffee and went through the dive plan up on deck where we had a good view of the sea all around.
When we arrived at the wreck site, the plumb line was thrown in and soon the wreck was moored and we got ready to dive. There was no current on the surface and we began our descent towards the wreck.
Already at a depth of 24 m we saw the wreck which is about 46 m with the upper parts rising to about 36 m. The visibility was superb!
Down on the wreck we immediately got a good overview of what it looked like due to the good visibility. There was a current down on the wreck which swept past and we started moving upstream towards the stern. We swam aft over the cargo holds and in the stern we looked at the spare steering wheel which is still on the wreck after over 60 years on the seabed.
We took our time to look around before we rounded the stern and glided forward towards the engine room. Inside it was quite spacious and there was a lot to look at before we climbed up through the skylight and continued forward along the small promenade deck.
On the way forward we took the opportunity to look in through various openings. Further forward there was severe damage visible after the powerful explosion caused by the mine when it hit the ship’s bow on August 11, 1944. Considering how the bow looked with its twisted plates and torn beams, it is not difficult to imagine why the ship sank so quickly after the explosion.
After looking around among the wreckage in the bow, we turned back and swam into the structure. It was fun to see that there were valves left with the glass still intact. After almost 40 minutes on the wreck we began the ascent to the surface.
When we came up we took it easy and had a coffee. This is a wreck we just have to return to!
At the end of September we took a short trip to the mine in Derome to do a dive. Since the water is as high as it is, it is easy to both go in and out with the equipment on. Previously, when the water level was about two meters lower, we had a ladder with us, but as it is now, it is not needed.
As usual when you stick your head under the surface in Derome, we were met by the misty water. This clears up a little further down where the visibility is up to a couple of meters except inside one of the villages where the visibility is crystal clear.
We followed the wall down and passed the long wooden ladder and further towards the chute where they have brought out stone from one of the villages. We followed this up into the village and when we got a little shallower the visibility cleared up. Inside it was crystal clear and we looked around at the wooden structures and the rubble that is there. Then we followed the wooden chute down into the misty water and continued down towards the bottom and made our way to the car wreck that is now up to the doors of the cave. Down at the bottom, most of the light is absorbed by the dark water and the pitch-black mud bottom, so even if you bring strong lights, they look more like candles down there.
After we looked at the wreck, we went back to the wall and followed it to the long wooden ladder which we followed up to the surface.
In October we went out with Linter for a second time. This time to Butjadingen. At 0530 we left Halmstad towards Falkenberg harbour where the dive ship Linter is located. The goal for the day was to dive the German fishing trawler S/Fi Butjadingen which sank off Varberg in 1927.
It was still dark when we loaded our equipment on board. The air temperature was 6 degrees and it was starry. Since we only had 200 bar in our backpacks, Johan, skipper of Linter, filled our bottles to the desired pressure so that we would have enough gas for the dive. Optimal!
When we left the harbour in Falkenberg behind us the sun began to rise and the temperature slowly rose. There was no wind and the sea was calm as we headed towards the wreck site. The fine weather would prove to last throughout the day which made the trip extra enjoyable.
When we got to the wreck site, the plumb bob was thrown in and Johan and Simon put on their equipment and jumped in to secure the line to the wreck and complete their dive. Shortly after they dived down, their signal came that the wreck was moored and Peter and Henry got ready and jumped in.
While the others were down, we helped Richard put in the decotrapeze, which had levels for 12, 9, 6 and 4 m. We also took the opportunity to have a coffee.
When Johan and Simon came up after 90 minutes, it was reported that the visibility was about 3 m. We jumped in together with Richard and when we started our descent, we met Peter and Henry. We continued down and at 54 m we saw the wreck. The line was amidships and we swam ahead. The visibility was about 3 m but it took a couple of minutes before we got into the dive. In the bow, we turned and moved slowly back to the line amidships, whereupon we continued aft.
The wreck was surprisingly intact and in the skylight down to the engine the glass was still intact. In the stern we then turned back and took a sweep over the wreck before it was time to get to the ascent line and leave the wreck to slowly head back to the surface.
Up in the boat we were offered a barbecue which was nice after the dive. After the meal we had a cup of coffee and everyone seemed satisfied with their dives. A nice day with great diving and happy people.
In mid-October we found a break in the otherwise windy weather so we took the opportunity to go out to Dania for a dive. There were no waves on the sea and the temperature in the air was a pleasant 8 degrees. Out at the wreck we quickly anchored and got ready to dive.
I took the opportunity to test a pair of double 18s which turned out to be very pleasant to dive with.
Normally we don’t use lead as we use double 12s and I wondered if a couple of kg would be needed to stay down if we were to empty these larger bottles but it turned out to be fine without lead even with almost completely empty double 18s. Taking off the pack and letting it float on the surface would prove to be an easy match for my 38-wing which was very good.
We carried out a pleasant dive on the wreck. Visibility was very good down to 20 m where there was a layer of ice below which visibility was limited.
A week later we went out again to Dania and had a fun dive. Visibility was better than last week when we were at the wreck and the temperature was 12°C on the wreck and 10°C at the surface.
In November the weather wasn’t on our side so we did some mine diving instead. In the mine in Gistad the visibility was good throughout the mine and we took a look at both the small and large systems.
We also made a return visit to Derome for a training dive.
On the last day of November we had a lecture about the type of diving we do. We had previously received a request from an acquaintance of Stefan’s if we could consider showing what kind of diving we do and telling a little about the objects we dive on and in. Since we always think it’s fun to meet other divers and exchange experiences, we decided together with the Diving Terminal in Halmstad to have a small diving evening where we would present a little about the diving we do and show some film clips from some wrecks and mines in the area.
The interest was great and on Friday evening 20 people came to listen to us which was very nice. We started the evening with a presentation of ourselves and OptimalaDyk and some about our interest in diving. The goals for the evening were to give those present an insight into what equipment we use and a little about the mindset around it, wrecks and mines in the area and that they would feel inspired to continue developing in diving and get to know other divers who are interested in the same development.
Thomas went through the equipment with diving equipment, gas bank, boat and also briefly about why we have our website. Then Erik went through some information about wrecks in the Kattegat. About positions and wreck search, after which it was discussed a little more about what it is like to dive on the mine ship Ostmark. After this it was time for a little film showing and Stefan showed the equipment we use to film before and then some clips from wrecks in the Kattegat were shown.
After the film we talked about three different mines and then ended with a film with clips from different mines around Sweden.
A very nice evening where several interesting contacts were made for future diving. Thank you to all of you who were there!
During December we conducted several training dives in the Derome mine and tried out some film and camera equipment.
To end the year, we went to the Fredriksberg mine during the break.