Kerry Sims
Iceland
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Nº290
Date: 2015-12-11 - 12:34
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Max Depth: 12.8m Duration: 29mins
Dive Location
- Surface interval:0 mins
- Temp: Bottom 3°C
- Dive type : Recreational, Photo
- Visibility: Excellent Water: Fresh
Dive reviews
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Recent Divers in Thingvellir National Park
Recent Pictures in Thingvellir National Park
Dive Shop & Buddies
Dive with Chris Muzzall (& Louis Kotze For The Rest Of Our Tour) from Dive.Is The Sport Diving School Of Iceland
Dive buddies:
Steve Sims
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Dive Profile
- 1. Air
- 12L Steel 170 → 100 bar
- Average depth: 5.1m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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Coldest and clearest ever dive!
After watching the sunrise from the Hakio viewpoint we headed down to the Silfra Fissure, where the dive guide in his brief explained that the 100m+ visibility is a result of the water being filtered from the glacier through the porous lava rock over the last 1000 years.
We kitted up in the car park (drysuit, hoods and mittens) and crossed the road to the steps leading down into the water.
The guides from the centre were brilliant at helping with my kit as I had just recovered from a back injury with them helping me kit up at the bottom of the steps to avoid any lifting. As the air temperature was -5oC they also had thermos flasks of warm water at the ready to thaw any frozen kit (which included my BCD inflator button).
After a quick weight check we descended down into the clear water- best vis I have ever seen underwater! It was also the coldest dive I have ever done though not as cold as I was expecting and the three fingered mittens provided went a long way to preventing my hands from being too cold (except for my camera button finger!)
We stayed relatively shallow for the first part of the dive as there are some shallow sections to cross. We then went in single file through the fissure into the section known as the cathedral with it's walls of boulders on each sides. At a couple of points you could see the entrance to some caves. The best part was looking up at the surface from the bottom and it looking as clear as air at the snorkellers on the surface.
We then came to an area with fine silt which we steadily ascended up before swinging left (to avoid drifting down into the main part of the lake). As we came up we came up into a basin with fine sediment on the bottom. The only obvious life was some fluffy looking algae though trout also reside in the lake. You could instantly see the steps exit point as you entered this area as the vis was so good.
Upon exit I managed to freeze my mitten to the railing on the steps several times, and by the time we had walked back to the car park the end of my ponytail had frozen solid. It is by far the most spectacular topside scenery to surface to- surrounded by snowy mountains.
We did this dive as part of the Golden Circle Tour: https://www.dive.is/diving-snorkeling-tours/diving-day-tours/dive-silfra-the-golden-circle-combo/
Combining the dive with the tour was a great way of seeing a little more of Iceland with limited time and the geysirs are very cool...
Overall a truly amazing experience the whole day!