Well done to my friends and buddies who recently joined the ranks f the professional scuba diver.  They passed their Instructor Examination (IE) in Bristol recently and are now actively teaching others the joys of scuba.

The completed their instructor course with my local dive centre in Portsmouth, The Dive Connection.  The evening saw a lot of merriment and celebration.  The least said the better.

All of those who sat the dive instructor examinations have been diving for several years but they still had to undergo a further amount of specialist training in order to be accepted onto the examination weekend.

The seven achieved exam success following an intensive 11 day preparatory course, The OWSI course which involves both the Assistant Instructor course and also the Open Water Scuba Instructor course to make sure they were fully prepared for the 2 day event of the actual Instructor Examination. Which they completed in Bristol, UK.

“The development course was intense but great fun and I felt I was ready for the two day examination,” said Colin McAdams, who has been diving for five years but started on the route to becoming a dive professional just over two years ago.

“I was elated when I passed. It is the culmination of two years hard work in progressing through the ranks to become a dive instructor.”

During the course and final examination they also had to master an awful lot of regulatory standards and safety questions to show that they were able to apply their skills and knowledge in a proper and safe manner once they were qualified.

The instructor candidates; Di Hall, Roger Godfrey, Colin McAdams, Kevan Chippindall-Higgin, Asgeir Solli, Martin Robson and Jamie Gathercole sat their two-day exam under the watchful eye of independent examiners from PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world’s largest diver training agency with whom over 60% of the world’s divers learn to dive.

In passing their exam, the candidates upheld The Dive Connection’s 100% success rate at PADI Instructor Examinations with over 25 new instructors being successfully trained by the Pompey dive centre in the past 3 years.

The newly qualified instructors will now go on to work both here in the UK and abroad, following in the footsteps of previous Dive Connection staff who now work in such exotic places as Cyprus, Sydney and the Pacific island of Vanuatu. Lucky people.

Seahorses are masters of camouflage and very difficult to spot let alone get a photo of them.  These photos were taken by Angela Gall, Hampshire Wildlife Trust.

The seahorse was found on a Seasearch survey during two days of diving which was conducted last week with the Hants & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology.

The site of the seahorse was a couple of miles south of Langstone Harbour. The seahorse has been identified as a young male short snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus). He was spotted resting on the sandy seabed attached to a small piece of gravel. It was less than 10cm long and very well camouflaged. The divers watched and observed for for several minutes before leaving it to carry on their dive.

This sighting follows closely from another seahorse sighting about 3 weeks ago on a Seasearch dive near Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight, UK.

Both sightings have been reported to the British Seahorse Survey, which can be found at www.britishseahorsesurvey.org run by the Seahorse Trust where it can be used to help conserve seahorses and their habitats.

Seasearch and The Hampshire Wildlife Trust are keen for anyone who sees a seahorse whilst diving or fishing or finds one washed up on the shore to let them know about it.

You can report any sightings directly to them or through this website and I will pass on the details.

Team Waring were fast, good looking and one of the first finishing teams in the recent Round the Harbours Bike ride. 

We even had our own send off by the Mayor of Gosport.  Team Waring featuring, (from left to right) - Puncture Pete, The Mayor, Big Bad Brian and Queen of the Hills Bryant. (I was taking the picture - honest).

This 32 mile bike ride takes the riders from Gosport across the ferry to Portsmouth, along the Portsmouth seafront and across another ferry to Hayling Island (or via a longer road trip to Havant) and then up “heart break hill” more commonly know as Portsdown Hill before heading through Fareham and into Gosport.

An annual event put together by the British Heart Foundation to raise money for heart research.  Some 1000 riders took part and they raised in excess of £30,000 on the day, so a very worthwhile effort.

The day was hot and sunny but this did not stop us heading off at a blistering pace.  I took the lead on the first leg and thought I’d see if the old boys could keep up.  “Puncture” Pete and Bad Boy Brian easily kept on my rear wheel as we headed off on the first couple of stages.

As we cycled along the sea front in Southsea, we looked out at the totally flat sea and I was wishing we were on a boat diving not peddling away in the sun.  But the breeze kept us going, it was just unfortunate that it was in our face all the time and not helping to push us along.

At Havant, the old boys who were in the know were fueling up on high energy gels in readiness for the long climb up Portsdown Hill.  I was passed a gel pack and greedily ate it all.

At the bottom of the hill, Jen “Queen of the Mountains” Bryant slipped down a few gears and raced off as if she had done this her whole life.  I tried to keep up but with this being my first outing on my new Felt bike, was not too sure of the gearing and I slipped back soon after the start to climb at my own pace.

“Queen of the Mountains” - Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower in the background.

Not disheartend by the 75 year old guy who passed me on his old Butchers bike, I made it to the top for a well earned 5 minute pit stop.  The rest of the team were already there and getting ready for the 40 mph downhill blast into Fareham.

Team Waring “on top of the hill”. 

Going 40 miles an hour on a bike with tyres that are as wide as a credit card is slim is quite nerve racking - well for me anyway.  But at least it gave the tired legs a little bit of a rest.

From here it was all flat riding to the finish about 10 miles away.

All in all fantastic day finished off with a couple of beers at the local pub. 

Roll on next year for some extra fun and frolics when we compete with Team Waring in the London to Brighton Bike ride

They have a range of underwater cameras as well for those looking to get some great dive shots. 

Click the Jessops link in the square on the right and it will take you through to their site.

The deals I have will give you discounts off items depending on the codes you use.

If you are buying a compact digital camera then use my exclusive code ‘hititrunning10’ for 10% discount

Other codes as follows:

‘lens10′ for 10% off selected lenses
‘jesodhsc25′ for 25% off Jessops own brand stock.
‘jessops5′ – 5% discount on accessories not included in the above

If you then buy something you can use the discount voucher codes without the ‘ ‘marks.

Simply put that into the appropriate place when you go to check-out and you will get discount on your items.

Only works for on-line orders and only one code per purchase so if you buy a digital compact and a memory card you will have to order twice to be able to use both codes.

Remember you need click the Jessops advert first to take you to their site to use the codes.

Happy spending.

This is arguably Norway’s best wreck dive.  The Norwegian answer to the Thistlegorm in the Red Sea.

She is huge, some 126 metres long and sits bolt upright on the sea floor.  The sea floor is at about 45 metres but you can reach the top of the wreck at about 32 metres or so.  There is also a very nice mast that comes up from the centre of the wreck al the way to 7 metres from the surface - ideal for your last decompression stop.

I dived the wreck on a weak nitrox mix in my twin set (twin 12’s) and an 80% deco mix.

The Frankenwald was a German steam ship which sank 6 January 1940 after she struck an islet in the Sognefjord. She is very intact although the propeller was salvaged just after WW2 but then she stayed untouched until scuba diving became popular several decades later.

She is now one of Norways most visited and requested wreck dives.

We arranged our trip through XO Holidays, who were very good with the whole organisation of the trip.

This is my first time with a video camera and I had no video lights but I think it plays OK and gives a good representation of the dive.

You can also view a higher definition video at my site on You Tube by following this link -

Frankenwald Wreck Dive on You Tube

Enjoy…..

This is something that was passed to me by a friend and I think is important for everyone to know.If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously..

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters…. S.T.R.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION: (learn moe about strokes here also - STROKES)
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) …..she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don’t die…. they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this…
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke… totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the ‘3′ steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. New Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Ask the person to ’stick’ out his tongue.. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.

As I add more details and pictures of sharks I am trying to use photos taken by myself and those who read this site.  So whilst they might not be the most professional photos they tell a more intimate story.

This picture is one such intimate encounter that was photographed by a very good friend and dive buddy of mine called Gaffa.  He is currently working as a dive instructor in Australia and took this in Cairns as it swam past him.  It came past his right shoulder and gave him a bit of a initial fright until he grabbed his camera for a quick shot.

The Sand Tiger Shark is known by a lot of names; ragged tooth, raggy, grey nurse shark and can be found in warm tropical waters throughout the world.  Good places to spot them are South Africa, Lebanon, North Carolina and New South Wales in Australia - where they are officially protected.  Although they do have a much wider distribution than this.

They are also the favourite of sea life centres where people stare in awe at their size and ferocious looking teeth that give it its name, Ragged Tooth.

Because of its ability to live happily in captivity the reproduction of this shark is quite well documented.  They are a yolk-sac viviparous producer and the young have a cannibalistic tendency whilst in the uterus. (Take a look at my post on Angel Sharks for a more detailed explanation of shark reproduction types).

They can grow to more than 3 metres long (10ft) but are pretty docile unless provoked and offer little threat to the diver.

Sand Tigers are unusual in that they have been reported to hunt at night collectively, surrounding prey and working as a team.

They also have a unique ability to swallow air and hold it in their stomachs to maintain near-neutral buoyancy allowing them to hover almost motionless.

I would love to see more pics of sharks and if you have any please get in touch.

It swims slowly with its mouth open to reveal several rows of very sharp needle like teeth.

It is a fierce looking shark

I only have to think about putting on my wet suit and I need to take a pee.  But did you know that this might actually be a bit more complicated an issue that you first thought.

Why does you body tell you that you need a pee?  Is it all in the mind or is there something physiological that makes us want to take a leak? Well hopefully this might explain.

Generally the water temperature is colder than the surrounding air temperature, or at least a period of time in the water will have a significant cooling effect as water conducts heat away from the body 20 times faster that air.

So when we are in the water diving, this temperature decrease causes the blood vessels in our extremities, legs, hands, fingers and feet to constrict.  Whilst the skin is more affected by this constriction it can also affect the larger muscles in the arms and legs.

So we end up with a decreased blood supply in he skin andmuscles in those areas but our heart keeps pumping the same volume of blood around the body.  As the vessels in our extremities are constricted this causes and increased amount of blood to go to the organs in the central part of our body, which will generaly be warmer.

Our kidneys produce urine and this is controlled by a hormone called the anti-diuretic hormone.  This hormone regulates when and how much we pee. But due to the increased blood flow to the kidneys as detailed above, the body is fooled into thinking that it has fluid overload and turns off its production of the hormone.  This then makes the kidneys produce more urine to lower the centrally circulating blood volume.

So now we have fooled our bodies into thinking we have produced gallons of fluid, we’ve held it in and it is time to get out of the water and dash to the toilet.  But as we get out of the water the constricted blood vessels now return to normal as does the circulating blood volume. However, the body has taken up fluids to produce urine whilst we were in the water, so the body now thinks he it needs more fluid and draws fluids back from the body.  This makes us feel very thirsty and need a drink.

So we drink tea, water, apple juice and this then gets stored nd makes it worse for the next dive.

So it is not the psychological aspect of looking at rubber and needing to pee but the physiological aspect of our bodies being fooled by the water pressure and temperature that makes it think it needs to pee. 

The worse thing you can do is not drink water before and after a dive.  Dehydration is the one single major contributing factor to Decompression Sickness (according to DAN) so you need to be properly hydrated at al times, especially if diving in a nice warm place.

So take a pee if you need to but make sure you wash your wet suit properly. Firstly after a week on a liveaboard it can get quite smelly but also because urine can rot the neoprene and glues in the suit.

I dive in a dry suit and there are options for taking a pee, especially for us guys.

Option 1 is to use adult nappies for long dives.  Common for techie divers andcatches more than the pee on long decompression stops.  But having tried these I steer away from them (there is a story behind this but I’m not telling here).  This is the only real answer for ladies who dive in a dry suit.

Secondly you can fit a pee-zip in the suit.  This allows for easy access but only when out of the water.  But at least you don’t have to take your whole suit off to take a leak.

Thirdly, and the option I favour, is to use a pee valve.  This is a one valve system that goes through the dry suit and attached via a sticky catheter.  It alows you to take a pee in and out of the water and most have a pressure compensating valve that makes it easy to go at depth.  The only downside is the hassle of “getting attached” which is best done out of sight of your fellow divers.

So I hope this dispels the mystery of that urgent need to pee whilst diving.

“So what bike you gonna buy”, asked Brian, the big, tall bald chap who has enthused me into buying a road bike.  “don’t know  - what do you reckon?”.

“Well if your gonna be a bear be a grizzly” - Brian’s usual response which means spend lots of money.  Or as he puts it, “buy the best you can afford”. So, spend lots of money.

So not knowing very much about cycling and road bikes but definitely looking to get into something that will help with the fitness, and therefore with my diving, as I approach middle age, I set about gathering information.

After some research and asking around I was set on Trek as a brand.  Lance Armstrong won the Tour De France on trek and my pal Brian has got one so they must be OK.  But what spec should I go for?

Without spending serious amounts of cash on a carbon bike I started looking at the specifications and in particular the group set.  Treks have Shimano group sets and derailleurs.  The bottom of the rung is the Sora, then working upwards it goes, Tiagra, 105 and then Ultegra.  As you go up, so does the cost but the good news is the weight comes down.

I wanted 105 or Ultegra.  So I looked at the Trek 1.7 and the equivalent Woman’s Specific Design (WSD) for my partner, which was the 2.1 WSD.

So we knew what we wanted and off we went to find them, sit on them and ask some questions.

However, it seems Trek are either very sort after or the stockists in the UK don’t stock enough (probably the later with the current economic climate) and I was going to have to wait 2 months to get my bike and my partner would not see hers until next year - now I was not going to wait that long. I was in the mood to get fit and get peddling, well at least the the nearest pub.

But one helpful shop in Alton, UK, suggested that we might not actually want out and out race bikes unless that was what we were going to use them for.  He then kindly pointed out that as I did not resemble a racing snake then I would be more comfortable on a similar spec bike but with a slightly more upright geometry.

Apparently with race bikes you site with arse in the air and shoulders down which puts a lot of stress on the wrists.  It is also not the most comfortable position for long periods of time.

As I wanted a good road bike for fitness, some longer rides to a country pub and something that looked good I was al ears when he suggested he had something just for me.

So now we are looking at a bike made by a company called “Felt”.  They do some top range road race bikes, some very nice mountain bikes but also a slightly more upright geometry road bike. I was impressed.  the spec was very similar to the Trek 1.7 but with a bit more carbon and the price was about the same.  And we could have them in a couple of days.

So we plunged, head first and bought two Z70 models from Felt and collected them today.  They look very nice in the hall way and I have plans to get out on them this weekend.

“A word of advice” said the helpful shop keeper (apearing again like Mr Ben), “practice using the clip-in shoes and pedals whilst still in your house.  Don’t wait until you are in traffic, come to the first set of traffic lights and then realise that you can’t get your foot out the pedal.  You’ll end up lying on the floor still with your feet in the pedals. It will make you look silly and also could be dangerous”.  Wise words from one that knows.

So, I’ll let you know how the cycling goes and as I learn more and gain more knowledge I hope to share this with you.

Anyone out there have some advice for a virgin cyclist?

Norway is known for its beautiful scenery, deep fjords and its winter ice.  The perfect combination for ice diving.

When I first mentioned about a trip to dive under the ice in Norway, I had either one of two responses, “Great, that sounds really interesting – I’d love to do that”, or “You must be completely mad.”

Having returned from throwing ourselves through a hole cut in the ice, and being lashed to the end of a line, the guys in the first camp got it right – it was great, and contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t that cold either.

That probably had something to do with Norway experiencing its warmest winter since 1913, and ice being at a bit of a premium. So the first challenge was finding some ice to dive under.

Step into the fray, Øyvind Carlson, our ice diving instructor, and jolly, laid-back Norwegian bloke to boot.  Øyvind knew where to find the ice, but first, we had a check-out dive to complete.

We flew from Heathrow to Oslo where we experienced Norway’s super efficient Rail Express to the centre of the city.  We could learn a thing or two from Norway’s rail infrastructure.  The trains were prompt, clean and extremely comfortable.  Best of the entire 20 minute trip only cost about £4.00.

Then first thing I noticed was that whilst there was ice and snow surrounding the city, the streets were devoid of such slipping hazards.  I later discovered that the main streets of Oslo have a hot water pipe system running under the walkways and pavements which ensure the streets remain ice free.  The Norwegians really know how to cope with extreme cold temperatures. Even when you learn to drive in Norway you are taught how to manage skids caused by icy roads.

Along the coast, warm winds that come from the sea keep most of the small coastal towns free of long periods of snow and ice.  Whilst further inland areas are covered with snow all year round. All of the areas I travelled to were very green and we were always in site of a tree.

Fishing and forestry playing a major part of the Norwegian economy.  Commercially  grown pine trees cover large sections of lowland area and add to the picturesque views, especially around the edges of the lakes and fjords.

Norway is also one of Europe’s largest produces of petroleum due to its massive oil reserves, making the Norwegians one of Europe’s richest nations.  This is reflected in the high cost of living.  More of that later.

 We gathered at Hydra Dive Centre on the Tuesday morning for a day of ice diving theory, covering the safety factors and procedures necessary to dive in an overhead environment where you need to ensure you always know where your entry and exit hole can be located.  That sorted we spent the next couple of hours checking out our dive kit, most of which we had taken ourselves.  I was using Poseidon Cyclon 5000 metals as my regs.  No environmental sealing.

The dive centre issued us with our 15 litre air cylinders and a small 3 litre back up ‘pony’ cylinder.

Kit sorted, we were introduced to our two Divemasters who were assisting for the course – Trond and Bård (pronounced Bord), but we called him Bob – it’s easier.  Needless to say, almost perfect English spoken by all, especially Bob who did a great impersonation of Michael Caine - “I only told you to blow the bloody doors off” - we heard this a lot.

With the van loaded up, we headed south from Oslo to one of the dive sites used by Hydra, about 40 minutes from the centre of the city, in a spot called Drøbak.

 Drøbak is a very picturesque coastal resort where the Norwegians spend time on their vacation to get away from hectic life in Oslo.

This is where Hydra conducts most of their dive training and is a great location just across from the main fjord where the vessel carrying “heavy water” was sunk and made famous by Kirk Douglas in the film Heroes of Telemark.

On the way, Øyvind stopped to check the ice in Oslofjord, one of the regular sites for ice diving and where we hoped to be diving the following day.  Up until the week before, there was no ice at all. When we pulled up to investigate there was plenty of ice, the question was, how thick was it?

Ice needs to be 8cm thick to support one person, 13cm will support three or four people evenly spread out, 15-20cm thick for safe ice diving, and 30cm will carry a car.

However there is only one way of finding out how thick the ice is and that is to get out there and drill a small hole.

We donned our diving dry suits, in case we fell through the ice, and got ready to go out onto the ice to investigate. With a look of faint trepidation on his face, Øyvind stepped out onto the ice first, after all he was getting paid for this, and was still there a few seconds later.  It looked good and with a cold night ahead, we looked to be OK for the following day.

 Off to the training site for two training dives and some practice with rope safety signas and safety diver techniques.  Not a bit of ice to be seen.

Each pair of divers has a 30m line, which is attached to two ice screws fixed to the ice.  One diver acts as the leader and communicator with the surface (by way of rope pulls) and the other just follows along like an obedient puppy.

Øyvind wanted to make sure that we were happy with the lines and so we all went in and spent the first dive just hooking and unhooking the line and making sure that we could swim as a buddy pair without getting tangled in the lines.

Hydra’s open water site at Drøbak is ideal with a wooden deck and ladder to get in and out, and training platforms located at 2 metres and 6 metres beneath the water.  Even better, there’s a small wreck and a reef in about 12 metres, all with a ring of underwater lights, so you can always tell where you are and how to get back, notwithstanding the fact that the visibility was at least 12 metres – something not always experienced in our normal UK dive sites.

Onward from the far side of the reef, the site deepens off to over 30 metres and even deeper if you were intrepid enough and trained to go further.

Satisfied with our performance on the first plop, Øyvind let us loose for the second dive, but did add a bit of spice to the proceedings.

The water temperature was 3 degrees at the surface, and about 5 degrees at depth, and diving with full face masks, Øyvind wanted us to practice some emergency safety drills in case we had a failure on the face mask.  Full face masks keep your face fully covered and keep all that very cold water off your face.  We were asked to removed the face mask underwater and switch to a backup mask and regulator, all in the near freezing water.

 This was quite entertaining, and speaking from personal experience, like having your head hit with a sledgehammer as the cold water hits your face.  The shock has been known to make some people stop breathing as they can not catch their breath. Something you don’t forget in a hurry; still, a useful skill to be able to complete in freezing water!

Free flowing regulators are a real issue when ice diving, as the water temperature just under the ice can be 0 or even -1 degree Celsius. A free flowing regulator is one that sticks open due to ice formations in the regulator.  The regulator then sticks open as a safety feature to ensure air is continuously available, albeit in an uncontrolled manner.

If the air temperature on the surface is at or below freezing, even one or two hard breaths on the reg can induce free flows, and the “cold-zone” under the ice’s surface further induces temperature drop in the regulator first stage. 

As you dive deeper, away from the covering of ice, the water temperature warms slightly and  never drops below 2 or 3 degrees, the problem is less pronounced.

All checked out and ready to go ice diving, we retired to the dive centre and promptly the pub next door to complete the theory.

Now, Norway is not a cheap country; in fact it is one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to eat and drink out.

Here are a few price comparisons for you:-

Beer (0.5 litre)                 £5.60

Restaurant starter          £9.00

Steak main course          £28.00

A meal out with a beer can cost you £50, so be warned (or rich) before you go to Norway.  Having said that, the people are very laid back and very friendly, so that helps make up for the dented wallet.  Also, they, as a nation, have no external debt, so that can’t be a bad thing.  Now we know how they manage that!

One tip is to seek out and drink at the micro-breweries.  These are small pubs that brew their own beer on site. Not only do they have a large selection of beer but the price is only two thirds that of the main stream pubs.

Another tip; don’t expect to sample typical Norwegian cuisine too often.  No, they don’t eat herring and elk, they mostly live on Ostpølse (cheese hotdogs) and pizza, but the strange fact is we didn’t see an overweight Norwegian the whole time we were there.  They must burn off the calories in other ways as they are a very outdoors orientated nation.

Second day and the first of our ice dives, which was to be at the Oslofjord site we had checked the day before.

First job, clear a 5 metre circle of snow around the site of the proposed entry and exit hole. 

Next, cut a triangular hole with a chainsaw, with sides about 3 metres long.  The triangle is long and narrow which makes getting out easier as you back yourself into the acute angle, giving yourself something to push down on and  leverage yourself out.

Then, mark 15 metre and 30 metre diameter circles by clearing the snow.  These are joined by clearing 8 spokes out from the centre, ending up with what looks like a wagon wheel. This makes a clear landmark from under the ice and if, god forbid, the line is lost, you can use the surface markings to navigate your way back to the hole.  They are highly visible from under the ice as black lines, the spokes acting as a guide to the centre, where the hole can be found.

Three pairs of ice screws are fixed to the surface. One set for the dive team, one pair for the safety divers (always ready kitted and clipped on to the line to respond in case of emergency) and a third pair for the instructor.

 Then it’s kitting up time, a waddle or shuffle to the hole and in.

The Oslofjord site is blessed with a 40 metre long wreck right under the hole, so there was plenty to look at, while making sure that the line doesn’t get snagged around the superstructure of the wreck.

Two dives completed, and back to the pub for “traditional” Norwegian pizza.

The following day, we headed one and a half hours south to Halden, just 2 kilometres from the Swedish border.

Set in evergreen forest, the location of the fresh water lake was truly beautiful.  The ice here was thicker too and being fresh water, much stronger.  The Norwegians call this fresh water ice, ‘steel ice’.  None of the creaking and cracking of the previous day’s ice was to be heard.

 The team swung into action and the site was prepared, hole cut and kit set up in double quick time.  Well about two hours instead of the previous days 4 hours.  Did I mention there was a lot of preparation before you can dive beneath ice?

The site at Halden is a rocky slope with no fish life or wreck, but much clearer water, although when we dived there was an amount of algae in the water giving it the distinctive green colour. 

Somewhat more proficient in our abilities under the ice we took the opportunity to stay just under the frozen surface and play games like underwater football or walking upside down on the ice.

 Trond was very adept at the football lark, and the walking upside down is not as easy as you may think.  You have to inflate your dry suit and force yourself upside down to make your feet buoyant, something we always try to avoid normally.

All dives completed and paperwork done, Øyvind took our photos and we were issued with an Ice Diving Specialty card by PADI the very next day.

Friday was a free day and so we took in a bit of culture and visited the Viking Long ship museum, Norwegian Maritime Museum, “Fram” Museum and Kon-Tiki Museum.  Oslo has a wealth of museums, most being of a maritime nature as you would expect from a seafaring nation.

I would recommend buying an Oslo pass.  This gives you free access to museums and attractions as well as free public transport.  Passes are valid for either 24, 48 or 72 hours and cost either 195, 285 or 375 Kr for adults or a 24 hour family pass for 395 Kr.  Children prices are just under half that of an adult.

Passes can be purchased at most hotels as well as tourist information offices that are dotted around the city.

The Fram Museum was excellent, very well laid out with the centre piece being a huge wooden sailing vessel, the ‘Fram’.

The Fram was the vessel used by Roald Amundsen in his dash to be the first to the South Pole, narrowly beating Scott there. 

Quite strange to see his cabin on the boat which was small and compact. Even stranger was the fact that the ship was equipped with a piano – essential kit for the Antarctic explorer supposedly.

The Norwegians have a rich maritime heritage, with the fifth largest maritime fleet in the world.  All of this in a country of less than 4 million people, with one of the lowest population densities in Europe.  Less than 10 persons per square mile.

The Kon-Tiki Museum featured the balsa raft used by Thor Heyerdal to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1947, demonstrating that ancient peoples had the means to travel vast distances.

It was incredible to look at this frail and vulnerable structure and think that it travelled thousands of miles across an unforgiving ocean. 

Interestingly, among the listed crew were the usual navigator, cook, doctor and then oddly, a knot specialist.  Essential for a balsa raft held together with natural fibres and twine.

Incidentally, Norway won it’s only Oscar for the documentary about the 1947 expedition.

The Friday evening saw a gathering at the dive centre where we were shown a film of a previous year’s ice diving expedition.

The ice on this expedition was 1.2 metres thick, and necessitated two goes with the chainsaw to get through it.

The first cut was made and the blocks removed and then, standing in the hole, a second cut was completed to get through to the water.  The air temperature that year was 15 degrees below and with a brisk breeze, the wind-chill made the air temperature more like minus 25 or 30 – very much “free flow” territory.

Now that’s ice diving!

Where next?  Perhaps Norway again, but the north for a change of scenery and some diving around the Lofoten Islands, or perhaps Canada – a lot cheaper when you get there and with some real ice conditions.

Resources:

Oslo dive centre:

Hydra Dykkesenter AS

Web Site: www.hydra.no