wreck

Log This Dive

POUL CARL

The Poul Carl, resting at a modest 18 metres off Bornholm, is one of our favourite North Sea wrecks. It’s a steamship, sunk in a collision back in 1942, and the decades underwater have transformed it from a dangerous wreck, as the records state, into a proper habitat. What hits you first is the sheer scale of the cargo hold. You can swim right in, and often the light filtering through the hull plates creates these hazy shafts, illuminating schools of cod that hold tight to the shadows. We love exploring the engine room, which is still quite intact, with machinery draped in anemones. Visibility here can swing, but on a good day, the structure of the ship stands out against the green-blue water, and you really get a sense of its history. It’s not a drift dive, so you can take your time poking around for crabs in the nooks and crannies. This wreck suits divers who appreciate history and don't mind a bit of a chill; the water isn’t tropical, but the character of the Poul Carl more than makes up for it.