Back to boat, wreck and Atlantic dives :)

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Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal 23/6-2014

At the end of September last year, we left our sailing boat in the Azores. The 10th of June, almost 9 months later, it was finally time to finally fly back to our "floating castle" again... :-)

Once on the island of Sao Miguel, we see the boat lying so peacefully in the little harbour of Vila Franca. Such a lovely sight to see her again! And yes, I think she got really happy to see us too! ;-)

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Before being able to board the sailing boat we need to pump the zodiac...

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With the zodiac ready in the water it doesn´t take long until we are back on board on our "floating castle" again. What a wonderful feeling to be back!!

The boat seems to be in good shape and we are very happy to find her without any bad surprises.

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We spend some days in Vila Franca to make some major maintance on the boat, thereafter we head a bit further west to Ponta Delgada. Here we collect our diving equipment which have been stored at our friends place during the winter.

And so it gets time to check the diving gear...

Splash!!.. and we are back underwater again... :-)

We early got to know that there are many jelly fishes around in the waters this year... Indeed, we meet plenty of them...

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We also dive on Dori, a wreck located just east of Ponta Delgada. This wreck lies on a sandy bottom and offers protection for a great variety of fish and other small marine animals.

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At the moment we have 17-18 °C in the water which is colder than normally in the Azores during this time of year. But regardless, it is great being back diving in the Atlantic again!

Back in the Azores!

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 Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal 10/6-2014

We just made a little "flying jump" over to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge... In other words, we are back in the beautiful Azores!

It feels so cozy to be back in our "floating castle" again. As the sailboat has been in the Azores over winter, we have now lots of boat work to do to get her ready for new film adventures...

I guess it´s not very difficult to figure out who is playfully happy to be back in the Atlantic waves again... :-)

More from me and the Azores soon...
 

Diving the Gullmar Fjord

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 Gullmarn, Sweden 1/6-2014

During the last weeks, we have been diving and filming in the Gullmar Fjord at the Swedish west coast.

In this blogpost you find some pics from our last dives in "Gullmarn".

Guess who is happy when it´s time to get in the water! ;-)

The Gullmar Fjord is the only "real" fjord in Sweden, or to explain it better, it is the only threshold fjord found here.

A threshold fjord is a fjord that is shallower at the mouth (the opening toward the sea) and with deeper water inside of the fjord, which creates great conditions for a peculiar marine environment.

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The Swedish official name of the Gullmar Fjord is "Gullmarn", a name derived from Old Norse and means God's ocean. 

This is a fjord with great diversity of marine species and there is much to see in both shallow and deeper waters.

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Gullmarn is 25 kilometer long, 1-3 kilometer wide and has a maximum depth of ca 120 meters. The average depth of the threshold is about 20-40 meters.

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I really enjoy diving here in Gullmarn which contains a varied and diverse marine environment and is a home and reproduction area for both fish and shellfish.

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For the last few weeks, we have had poor visibility in the water but this doesn´t stop me finding many curious fish friends.

The water is slowly getting warmer in the fjord which results in more fish activity in the water as well :-)

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Imagine what a wonderful marine environment there is along our Swedish coast! 

I always find it so exciting to put my drysuit on and then slowly slip into the water, you never know who or what you is awaiting you down there in the darkness... 

More drysuit dives are waiting ahead and thereafter it is soon wetsuit time again :-)

Brand New Trailer! :-)

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Slussen, Orust, Sweden 19/5-2014

Although, the TV-premiere of our film "Expedition Red Sea -half a century later" is postponed until further notice, this doesn´t mean that I won´t publish our brand new trailer for the film.

I simply couldn´t resist to do some editing and here is the result :-) 

Both music and footage is taken from our film which will be broadcasted at Swedish National Television (SVT) later this year.

The TV-premiere is postponed!

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Due to Champions League Final Women, the TV-premiere of our film "Expedition Red Sea -half a century later" is postponed until further notice.

Web page and blog will be updated as soon as I get more info about the upcoming TV-premiere! :-)

Sailing yacht "Eja" at home in Sweden just before the expedition began, June 2011.

The 5th of June 2011 we left our homeport on Orust at the Swedish west coast to start our voyage we had planned and longed for so long...

Wow, what an amazing feeling to throw off the bowlines knowing that an entire year of sailing- and diving life is waiting ahead! :-)

North Sea shows its many sides, from sun shine and calm sea to the total opposite.

Our expedition is called "Expedition Red Sea -half a century later" as we follow the footsteps of our Swedish diving pioneers who started an adventurous dive expedition from Gothenburg to the Red sea already in 1955 ("Expedition Red Sea").

At this time, there were not many divers and the underwater world was something new and partly scary as only a few pioneers like Hans Hass and Jacque-Yves Cousteau had begun to explore the "silent world". When the Swedish adventurers arrived the Red Sea it was a totally undeveloped underwater paradise.

Now, almost 60 years later, we want to follow the diving pioneers footsteps to the Red sea to see what has happened in the marine environment since...

Atlantic Ocean and we are heading futher south :)

From the Swedish west coast we want to sail via the Atlantic and the Mediterranean to finally reach our final destination, the Red sea.
 
When setting off, we are obviously filled with both excitement and expectations, but when planning the expedition we could not possibly imagine the adventures that really awaited us...

The Mediterranean is often said to be a sea without life, but is this actually true?

We spend hours together with curious pilot whales at the south coast of Spain.

Our sailing route offers many surprises on our way to the Red Sea.

During the expedition to the Red sea, I spent one and a half year on the boat non stop, and got many unforgettable encounters with the ocean's inhabitants in both the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Soon it is time to get the film on air and I´m feeling very happy to now get to share those amazing underwater experiences to a wider audience :-)

Armin is filming a Green sea turtle which seems too hungry to even notice him...

My first encounter with a dugong. Moments like this i truly wish I could stop time :)

"Expedition Red Sea -half a century later" is 59 minuter long and a co-production between Crystal Water Film Production AB and Swedish National Television (SVT).

A 2 min trailer for the film:

Magic Beauty at the Swedish West Coast

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Jordfall, Gullmarsfjorden, Sweden 1/5-2014

N58.19.766´
E11.34.234´

"-Is there really anything interesting to see beneath the surface along the Swedish coast? I guess corals and other colourful things only are found in tropical waters, or?"

A common question that I often hear...  and a question I am always very happy to answer! :-)

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Currently I am back at the Swedish west coast. Spring time has come early this year and my surrounding is already totally filled with light green leaves and flowers.

Though it is not only the wonderful spring weather above surface that feels exotic.  Although I recently have spent plenty time in tropical waters, I get totally captivated by the stunning beauty also found beneath cold waves.

Yes, there is lots of amazing life to see in Scandinavian waters! :-)
 

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Fireworks anemone (Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) is one of my many favorites.

This beautiful solitary coral animal lives in tubes on soft bottoms. The Fireworks anemone has up to 30 centimeter long tentacles which it uses to capture its food consisting of plankton and other small aquatic organisms.

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It feels like magic every time when I am diving over the muddy bottom and sudden start to see those majestic coral animals slowly appear in the deep darkness.

Even muddy underwater landscapes are totally full of life... 
The thought of how much bottom trawling destroys when they pave their way in search of their catch makes me very sad.

It is not only the crayfish which eventually ends up on the plate that had to sacrifice his life, but an entire underwater landscape getting destroyed by this destructive fishing method...

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When spending my time floating around in the cold  and dark environment I so often wish I could stop time. To be able to stay down there much longer exploring the enviroment and the exiting life living there.

Though when enjoying something a lot, also the time seems to speed up even more and so it is soon getting time to slowly swim towards surface again...

However, soon I will find myself there again, surrounded by the underwater beauties! :-)