Germany’s Sunken Fleet
Descending the permanent shot line we knew almost immediately that we’d hit the jackpot. The water was what I call ‘northern blue’, much less intense than what you experience in the tropics but with its own hint of turquoise and definitely not the rich green typical of the plankton rich water common in the warmer months. Just a few metres into our descent and the port side of the Karlsruhe came into view. Later in the week, the deeper and darker wrecks appeared in a greener water, but as the shallowest German wreck the Karlsruhe was bathed in enough sunlight to reveal the bigger picture, her overall layout. A bonus was the vibrant blanket of life covering her metal frame. Thanks to months of feeding and breeding, the entire food chain – from filter feeders to marine mammals – was at its peak.
40 Magazine
The Wrecks SMS Karlsruhe – Because it’s shallowest at 82 feet (25m), the Karlsruhe is a popular first dive. The engine room has been stripped of its high value non-ferrous parts, but otherwise the ship remains intact, lying on its starboard side with upper deck fixtures and fittings over an adjacent debris field. The deck has peeled away at the bow and below decks the engine and anchor winch winding gear can be seen provided care is taken not to disturb the silt. The stern section, with extensive teak decking in place, is exceptionally photogenic. SMS Markgraf – At nearly 30,000
tonnes, the sheer size of this battleship is almost indescribable. Simply, it dominates the view. As she sank, weight of her armoured superstructure rolled the ship so that she’s almost completely inverted on the bottom with only some of the
scheduled as monuments of national importance. Look but don’t touch!
In 2011 the main wrecks were The Orkney
Isles have a long history. Stones form the ‘Ring of Brodgar’, a Neolithic henge
and stone circle that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site
starboard side revealed. At 148 feet (45m), the Markgraf is a deep dive but it was this depth that hindered salvagers who cut open the bow section to access the engine room for non-ferrous metals but otherwise left her alone. The swim from bow to the stern is around 480 feet (146m), do-able on a single dive but for a while I wasn’t so sure. That steel wall just didn’t seem to have an end. The ship’s twin rudders are most prominent at the stern, now smothered in colourful plumose anemones. SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm – Sister
ship to the Markgraf, she rests in slightly shallower water. As with the
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