Jyllands Slaget 2001 Dagbogen UK

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Jutland Expedition 2001

Expedition diary 2001

Dansk

The expedition began on Friday the 27th April 2001. The entire expedition met onboard the diving vessel in the Harbour of Esbjerg and during the afternoon and night everything was prepared for the departure. The weather forecast was very promising so the expedition was expected to commence on the following day as planned. Late in the afternoon on the 28th the diving vessel left the safe harbour, with the course set northwest where the wreck of the German battleship "Lützow" met it's final resting place back in 1916.

We arrived in almost perfect weather conditions Sunday the 29th early in the morning. After breakfast the dives began and everyone onboard enjoyed their first Jutland dive on a wreck so incredibly large, that it will take a lot of intensive diving to get an idea of what is what. The wreck is lying upside down in 42 meters of water, but the depth on top of the wreck is only around 32 meters. We left the "Lützow" because of bad visibility and headed two nautical miles to the east for another German ship, the "Frauenlob".

The wreck was located almost immediately and the dives could begin. The bottom depth was 52 meters, and the wreck stood almost 8 meters high off the seabed. Visibility was a bit better here than on the first dive, but still not as good as expected. "Frauenlob" was a nice experience, and the wreck deserves a lot of attention. Being a rather small wreck makes it ideal for a more detailed exploration. "Frauenlob" will definitely see us back on the future expeditions.

Late in the night we headed up north to the wreck of the "Invincible" where we arrived in the morning of the 30th April.

The day was spent here doing two extremely good dives on a wreck in excellent conditions. Here we also managed to do the first side scan sonar survey, and we got a very nice picture of the wreck, showing a gun turret with a double barrel. That made the following dives even more exciting. North west of the wreck one of the ships massive gun turrets was located standing all by itself on the seabed. The depth on the "Invincible" was 54 meters.

Next day, 1st May, we did the third dive on the "Invincible" before heading south in searching for the "Defence". Here the expedition for a moment ran out of luck, and the wreck never showed up on the echo sounder. But with 5 dives completed nothing could stop us, so the engines were powered up once again and on the morning on the 2nd May, we arrived at the site of the "Queen Mary". The expedition team divided their efforts. Some dived the "Queen Mary", while the rest waited for the second dive, planned for the "Frauenlob". Visibility on the "Queen Mary" had been excellent, and the divers had an interesting dive on the largest wreck in the North Sea. Maximum depth was 62 meters with 44 meters on the top of the wreck. We did a late evening dive in total flat conditions with a visibility on the wreck of about 5 meters. Ambient light was present at all time during the dive and once again the "Frauenlob" was a nice and very interesting dive.

On the 3rd May we arrived in more rough conditions to the wreck of the "Black Prince". Only a few did a dive here but for the ones who did the effort paid off and the team had an excellent dive on the wreck. It was lying on the side with a big gun as the first image to be spotted on arrival. The wooden deck was intact and everywhere ammunitions could be seen. It was indeed another large battleship. Later in the afternoon we did the last dive during the expedition on what we believed to be a small wreck from the battle. The wreck turned out to be a totally smashed steel wreck, and after the divers had returned to the diving vessel, the course was set for the harbour.

The weather forecast did not promise fair weather the next couple of days and with only 3 days on hand the expedition came to an end. On the 4th May the expedition team reached Esbjerg and late in the afternoon the team members left the diving vessel with lots of good memories and exciting dives. We did well this year !

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The expedition began on Friday the 27th April 2001. The entire expedition met onboard the diving vessel in the Harbour of Esbjerg and during the afternoon and night everything was prepared for the departure. The weather forecast was very promising so the expedition was expected to commence on the following day as planned. Late in the afternoon on the 28th the diving vessel left the safe harbour, with the course set northwest where the wreck of the German battleship "Lützow" met it's final resting place back in 1916. We arrived in almost perfect weather conditions Sunday the 29th early in the morning. After breakfast the dives began and everyone onboard enjoyed their first Jutland dive on a wreck so incredibly large, that it will take a lot of intensive diving to get an idea of what is what. The wreck is lying upside down in 42 meters of water, but the depth on top of the wreck is only around 32 meters. We left the "Lützow" because of bad visibility and headed two nautical miles to the east for another German ship, the "Frauenlob". The wreck was located almost immediately and the dives could begin. The bottom depth was 52 meters, and the wreck stood almost 8 meters high off the seabed. Visibility was a bit better here than on the first dive, but still not as good as expected. "Frauenlob" was a nice experience, and the wreck deserves a lot of attention. Being a rather small wreck makes it ideal for a more detailed exploration. "Frauenlob" will definitely see us back on the future expeditions. *Late in the night we headed up north to the wreck of the "Invincible" where we arrived in the morning of the 30th April.*
The day was spent here doing two extremely good dives on a wreck in excellent conditions. Here we also managed to do the first side scan sonar survey, and we got a very nice picture of the wreck, showing a gun turret with a double barrel. That made the following dives even more exciting. North west of the wreck one of the ships massive gun turrets was located standing all by itself on the seabed. The depth on the "Invincible" was 54 meters.
Next day, 1st May, we did the third dive on the "Invincible" before heading south in searching for the "Defence". Here the expedition for a moment ran out of luck, and the wreck never showed up on the echo sounder. But with 5 dives completed nothing could stop us, so the engines were powered up once again and on the morning on the 2nd May, we arrived at the site of the "Queen Mary". The expedition team divided their efforts. Some dived the "Queen Mary", while the rest waited for the second dive, planned for the "Frauenlob". Visibility on the "Queen Mary" had been excellent, and the divers had an interesting dive on the largest wreck in the North Sea. Maximum depth was 62 meters with 44 meters on the top of the wreck. We did a late evening dive in total flat conditions with a visibility on the wreck of about 5 meters. Ambient light was present at all time during the dive and once again the "Frauenlob" was a nice and very interesting dive.
On the 3rd May we arrived in more rough conditions to the wreck of the "Black Prince". Only a few did a dive here but for the ones who did the effort paid off and the team had an excellent dive on the wreck. It was lying on the side with a big gun as the first image to be spotted on arrival. The wooden deck was intact and everywhere ammunitions could be seen. It was indeed another large battleship. Later in the afternoon we did the last dive during the expedition on what we believed to be a small wreck from the battle. The wreck turned out to be a totally smashed steel wreck, and after the divers had returned to the diving vessel, the course was set for the harbour.
The weather forecast did not promise fair weather the next couple of days and with only 3 days on hand the expedition came to an end. On the 4th May the expedition team reached Esbjerg and late in the afternoon the team members left the diving vessel with lots of good memories and exciting dives. We did well this year !
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