Diving in the Baltic?

[Ben Panter]

I've just seen that Easyjet have started direct flights to Gdansk and Krakow in Poland from Edinburgh, and I fancy a trip. Has anyone ever dived in the Baltic before? Any recommendations of hardboats / shops out there? From past experience I can get all my kit just inside the EJ weight limits if I can hire tanks and weights....

cheers,

Ben

[Nigel Hewitt]

Has anyone ever dived in the Baltic before? Any recommendations of hardboats / shops out there?Only the Northern, Finnish (http://www.nigelhewitt.co.uk/stuff/finland/index.html) edge.

The brackish water makes it a wreck diver's paradise with things that are far too old to exist here still preserved.

[The Polak]

there is diving out there i currently working on organising a trip and it is reasonaby priced coupled with cheap flights, great food and beer should be good
having said that i've never dived there so i don't know what its like

here are some websites i've found but if u want more information i got some quotes from a centre in Hel which is CMAS.
http://www.balticwrecks.com/en/home.html
http://www.abc.se/~m10354/uwa/wrecks.htm
http://www.kdp-pttk.org.pl/?go=content&section=english

the problem i've come up against is that diving in poland is ruled by CMAS and i think they require you to have a wreck diving qualification to dive wrecks thats if u want to dive wrecks i don't know but from what i know its only wrecks.
i e-mailed the KDP Poland (cmas) just asking about any centres which are BSAC affliated they didn't know but i they said they would help me out.

if you do go could you please let me know what happens because even though the majority of the dives in my log book are wrecks that could count for nothing and that would be the same for everyone in my club

cheers

chris

[Gareth]

Chris

There is now a wreck diving SDC available. I am not sure whats involved but I believe the midlands where piloting it.

Gareth

[The Polak]

thanks gareth

i'm trying to get around the wreck diving qual because this will make the trip more expensive and my club being a university club expense isnt what i want. i just find it frustrating because my club mainly dives wrecks and straight after qualifying as OD we were diving wrecks at oban and we don't need a qual to do that. Whereas going abroad you need different things and what you've done may not count.
having said that i suppose how does that dive boat know your competent on wrecks and this is just there way.

thanks anyway that may come in useful if the need comes.

cheers

chris

[IainC]

Chris

There is now a wreck diving SDC available. I am not sure whats involved but I believe the midlands where piloting it.

Gareth


Sigh.

I hope that is really a 'wreck penetration' or 'overhead environment' or even 'wreck appreciation' course, becasue a wreck is just another place to dive - you might as well have a 'diving on rocky shores SDC' or a 'diving in kelp SDC'

[Ben Panter]

I've had a look through it and it looks pretty good actually - lots of stuff about how to identify bits of wreckage, what you expect to see, some on finding them and a few other bits that I forget. I was suitably impressed anyway.

Ben

[The Polak]

where did find this information i've looked through bsac website and nothing

chris

[Rick]

also interested in doing the Finnish side of the Baltic - go their each year for midsummer and have yet to figure our a reasonably cheap way of doing the wrecks that side or who to contact