Hewitt Boat Lifts

The Orkney Islands, location of Scapa Flow a natural harbor since the days of Viking invaders, most recently, a database of the Royal Navy, the last resting place for the rest of the German high seas fleet and destination Selby Aquanauts diving this year's expedition.

The story begins in the early twentieth century, when Germany envious colonies of its European neighbors and the richness they bring decided to build a navy to match that of the British Royal Navy at the time the most powerful in the world and protector of the greatest empire the world has ever known. With the Royal Navy as its goal to Germany started the first race of the 20th century weapons.

The policy of the Royal Navy at the time was able to outfight Outgun and the 2nd and 3rd Marines in the world combined, therefore no two countries could form an alliance to defeat Great Britain and Germany in the Great Britain have started their construction took a keen interest.

Since Britain has always been a maritime nation that Germany's infrastructure was in place to build ships at will if it was a race in Germany was destined to lose, especially when Great Britain brought out the first of a new class of warship, the Dreadnought "bigger and more powerful than any battleship ever built gave his name to a new class of ships.

As the great war began Germany's naval policy was to bomb the cities of the East of England to try out for the Royal Navy and get them out individually. This policy has never worked as in Germany, always nervous about what was on the horizon, tend to hit and run and two powerful navies played a game of cat and mouse around the North Sea, each wanting to meet in battle, but nervous of the power of their opponents, until May 1916. The two fleets were in force when a Danish merchant ship steamed into the past and the two navies horizen sent a detachment to investigate. The British ships were met by a force larger than the German "High Seas" of the fleet so excited and drive the Germans in battle, running on the guns of the rapid progress of dreadnoughts "Grand Fleet . As night fell neither side could claim a victory. The Royal Navy had lost more ships, but it was only light armor to keep the boat faster and more manageable. Most of the German ships had sustained damage that would have sunk a British ship, then come the morning, the German fleet had fled back to port for repairs, floating many of them just floating.

The next day the "Grand Fleet" returns to the sea and the "High Seas Fleet" has been blocked at the port never go to sea in effect for the remainder of the war.

While the war has ended the once proud German navy was escorted to the internment at Scapa Flow, in a final act when they scuttled challenge 74 of their own ships. Some were rescued, others on the coast and in the 20s and early 30s a massive rescue operation took part, and most ships have been salvaged for scrap, but with the beginning of the War the world stopped, then in 1945 when WW2 ended there is no shortage of scrap while the remaining 14 vessels were rested.

The dive trip

Sailing South from our database of Stromness on the Orkney mainland, we pass the high hills of Hoy broods on our right, and as we head slightly to the east into the calm waters of Scapa Flow Part islands. In the distance we can see the mounds of Burray, Flotta, Holm, Fara and Ronaldsay. Hoy by the way his name because it is the hoyest island in the Orkneys, the Vikings, or had a sense of humor or have not been very imaginative with a given name. It's a glorious day, the sun shone on the blue-green to come. It's forty minutes a trip to the wreck dive we are today. There is no rush to get our equipment so that if during the next half hour of normal leg and pulling.