Cold, grey and misty... I'll have some, please!

[tdpriest 115]

More than most of the way to Norway, further north than Bergen and at the same latitude (60 north) as the Yukon, the Shetland Isles are dominated by the sea. The weather is unpredictable (if you don't like it, the locals say, "Wait an hour"), and the diving is cold (10 C), sometimes limited by swells from the Atlantic and the North Sea, sometimes by the sea mist, the haar, of northern waters.

 

The islands are home to farmers, fisherman, thousands of years of human habitation and the North Sea oil industry.

 

 

 

A happy, green "Valkyrie" sails from Orkney each year to serve as a home to divers from around Europe, exploring the wrecks and rocky reefs of the Shetland Islands.

 

This is what we found this week; there were a few familiar faces (Udo van Dongen, Alex Mustard and Peter Rowlands found themselves on board):

 

 

 

On a good day, the seabirds flock behind fishing boats, even when they have forsaken nets for nitrox. In the far north, off the island of Unst, lies the wreckage of the E49, a British submarine lost with all hands in the First World War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inshore rocks, caves and cliffs provide space for kelp, crabs, fish and colourful starfish.

 

 

 

Dead-mens' fingers clutch at the water.

 

 

 

Macro-life hides amongst the weeds, but white sand supports the deeper wrecks.

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2013 by tdpriest

[Steve Williams 0]

 

Wonderful Tim! Almost enough to make me want to get in that cold water with you, almost.

 

The nudi is rockstar amazing!

 

Cheers,

Steve

[FanchGadjo 16]

The kind of image I would like to catch in the channel !

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Here is a bit of behind the scenes from the trip, with Tim and Peter informally discussing the new Nauticam housing for the Panasonic GH3. As Peter is reviewing this housing for Underwater Photography Magazine - I didn't want to show more than a short clip of this video and scoop his own review. So it is just a fun bit of chat from the Shetlands.

 

[Kelpfish 14]

Really nice, Tim. I love shooting in green water...you can get some really cool images as you have with yours.

 

Good work and thanks for posting.

 

Joe

[browng 8]

Tim

 

Love the photos.

 

Thought I would include a shot of the lady herself, MV Valkyrie. Thanks to Hazel, Helen and Rob for dropping us perfectly on the dive sites, feeding us with great food and supporting us on the foredeck.

 

 

[tdpriest 115]

The full set of images has been prepared at last:

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timsdiving/sets/72157635276192698/

 

The trip seems to have been even better than I remember!

[Fireflys 4]

Fabulous images :0)

[SwiftFF5 116]

That's a very nice set of images. You definitely make "cold, grey and misty" look very appealing. Thanks.

[tdpriest 115]

I have just finished a compilation of images from Shetland:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timsdiving/sets/72157635513983518/

[DiverPam 13]

Gorgeous set of shots. I am with Steve on this one...almost makes one want to get in the water...but NOT quite. Thanks for being the one to do this and share with all of us.

 

DiverPam

[tdpriest 115]

...almost makes one want to get in the water...but NOT quite. Thanks...

 

Well, 50 F water temperature in the summer means: "No pain, no gain", but I am getting a bit old for this green water lark...

 

... and it does explain why I didn't take California seriously as real cold-water diving!

Edited September 16, 2013 by tdpriest