In 1944 the freight vessel Ferndale was leading a German convoy from Bergen to Ålesund under the cover of darkness. She misnavigated in the Krakhelle strait, and ran aground. As daylight once again prevailed, she fell an easy prey to British Mosquito fighter bombers that sunk her and the salvage vessel Parat.
Barba came sailing down the very same fjord today under slightly different circumstances. The stereo was on, and Nikolai, Mojo (the underwater scooter) and myself were gearing up for the dive while Ida was steering the boat.
We entered the water at the same rock hit by Ferndale 70 years earlier, and quickly found the bow at about 7 meters. Mojo lead the way towing myself and Nikolai on a exclusive ship-wreck sightseeing tour. The 116 meters long vessel makes an interesting dive, with the hull largely intact. Parts of the explosives still remain visible in the cargo holds and adds to the excitement of the dive.
Andreas
Below, in the Krakhelle straight, ready to dive.
[…] For photos from the dive, see the blog post Ferndale, a dive back in time. […]