Diving in Holland 2006
With the Dutch fascination for gratuitous vowels, the challenge of diving in Holland is not the cold, but the pronunciation of the dive sites! On 25th May 2006, not many of us made it to OVM (as this site is usually called), in fact, at 9 am, Anna and myself were the only people outside the Stormvogel, braving a southerly 6 under lowering clouds. Shortly afterwards, my Dutch dive buddy for the last six years, Piet van Beusekom (aka Skippy) turned up and we started off with a 57 minute dive 'doing the circuit' that takes in a real VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) ship-wreck in 5 metres. In the balmy 12 C brackish waters, we descended down the canyon to 26 metres, however, our search for better vis., failed and the unusually poor, two metre murk never opened up. We found the only life form of the dive, a dead eel (Paling stiffus), although it looked quite normal when Skippy picked it up and waved it under my nose! At this point Skippy's torch expired so we retreated to the 17 metre plateau closer to daylight. By Dutch standards we enjoyed a surprisingly warm dive and had a good chat in the 'habitat', an air-filled cylinder moored on chains in 17 metres. Mandatory visits to the small wreck and the caravan were dutifully carried out.
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Anna pre-ordered the traditional chocomel met slagroom prior to the second dive further down the lake on the wreck of the Archimedes (1839). This wreck was the first ship to use a screw propeller. The Archimedes screw with which it was originally fitted was not a success and it was replaced by a fan-shaped device. The wreck-site is largely broken hull pieces, however, the fan-shaped propeller (at 15 m) and the engine crankcase and huge two-cylinder crankshaft (17 m) are still identifiable. |
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Archimedes (1839) showing engines, prop-shaft and propeller.
This was a typically Dutch dive of 40 minutes, requiring good navigation. Unfortunately, other divers by this time had kicked up the silt and the vis. around the wreck was less than a metre.
Sadly, Skippy's suit, in sympathy with his torch, expired at the end of the last dive. The neck seal tore, his boots leaked and the zip jammed. I had to cut him out amongst the ruins of what will require an expensive new purchase.
Oddly, the dives were as enjoyable as ever, and technically quite challenging. Compass work is obviously a real requirement and completion of the circuits very satisfying. Even experienced divers emerge from OVM at unlikely spots with that "how on earth did we get here?" look.
There's a number of great clubs around, both Dutch and British. I can recommended the local BSAC branch, the Randstad Harings.
