I have been back home for several days, still suffering from jet jag.

I am going through my pictures and editing my video; the video should take at least a week to edit properly.

So, let me conclude where I left off, just after my last dive…

September 15, 2013

We keep cool, in the pool.

My deep, cold as “Hel” dive is over.

I was offered another dive, but I was supposedly getting a ride from a lady who was driving back to Warsaw.

A man named Valdek hooked me up with the ride over debriefing last night.

I needed to pack, settle my bill with Kamil and hope and pray that the ride would materialize.

Being a Californian, I am used to drinking people promise shit and have them later forget and flake out – “Oh, sorry, I was drunk and forgot.”

Well, from what I have seen, Poles come through with their word, or as best they can.

I drove in to town with Kasia and Kamil and another one of the Polish divers.

Sure enough, Aga was at Nelson’s, drinking tea and talking to her boyfriend.

“Are we going?” I asked.

“Yeah, in a bit, you have time for dinner,” she said.

My last meal in Hel – Cucumber, fried pork and potatoes.

Aga drove me all the way to my friend’s place in Warsaw, where she dropped me off.

September 16, 2013

It was 1 AM, and I really hated waking my friends, Wiktor and Tusia, up at such an early time.

My friends Wiktor and Tusia rented a room at a Hostel for me…

The Wilson Hostel in Warsaw – $40 a night for a private room and there is a bar downstairs!

September 18, 2013

I spent the next couple of days catching up on my blog and unwinding from my trip to Hel and back.

The Polish food, beer and Vodka made the couple of days seem like a few hours.

It rained all the time though.

I treated Wiktor and Tusia to a meal and beers for all the help they gave me.

Tuesday, I took a cab to a cheap hotel close to the airport, where I stayed until my early flight out the next morning.

People ask me time and time again, “Why do you dive in such weird places? Hawaii and Mexico are closer, cheaper and warmer.”

That’s exactly why I went, because diving is just not about what you see under the water. It is the people you meet, the place that you go and the entire experience of the trip.

Diving in Hawaii with a bunch of other American tourists sounds boring.

Where’s my next trip?

I don’t know; I’m broke.

Anyone want to go to Albania?

September 15, 2013*

Thanks to one of the Captains of a diving boat, I have a ride back to Warsaw tonight.

I have contacted my friends in Warsaw to arrange accommodations.

So, now it’s time for the deep dive of Poland – locally known as the Trałowiec, but officially known as the Munin.

So the story goes, it was a German ship that was sunk sometime in World War II.

I have not been able to find documentation on the internet in English – well not yet.

I’m tired, and writing this on my last night in Poland, so I will readdress this issue later.

Kamil chartered another boat.

I needed a buddy, and he was more than happy to be mine for about $30 USD.

There were about eight divers on the boat, six recreational, two technical divers.

We jumped off the boat, and I followed Kamil to the line that lead to the wreck.

We descended.

Logged SCUBA Dive #448

Dove with Kamil

Trałowiec (Munin) Wreck
Hel, Poland

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 120 feet
Waves: Mild chop
Visibility: 15-20 feet
Water Temperature: 38 degrees
Air Temperature: 66 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 32 minutes or so

We got to about 70 feet, and all of a sudden, I felt this extreme fucking cold pierce through my body.

Holy fuck!

Oh yeah, I need air in my dry suit.

I just kept sinking… and sinking.

I was over weighted for this dive; I kept pumping air into my BCD, and finally at 120 feet, I hit the bottom like a rock.

I was fucking cold, even in a dry suit.

Worst of all, my hands were numb; I was wearing 5 mm neoprene gloves, and I couldn’t feel my hands.

Was I narced?

I really don’t know, I followed Kamil like a sheep, but I must have been.

And, I admit, I was a little scared.

This was a night dive, during the day – it was that dark.

This was the coldest and one of the spookiest dives I had ever been on.

A doorway leads to the inside of the hull.

Just follow kamil… Just follow Kamil, all will be fine.

My hands were frozen, I was fucking cold, but I realized that our bottom time was only 12 minutes.

I am macho enough to endure such conditions.

The wheel house.

The Captain’s Wheel.

A window on the front.

Kamil lead me back to the buoy line.

Yeah! We’re going up to warmer water!

We must have spent more than 10 minutes going back up.

I couldn’t feel my hands for several minutes.

I had to take a piss too, but it was so cold, I couldn’t find… forget it.

I’m shoving off in several hours.

I will write a recap when I get home.

Thank you Poland for such a great time – next time I will be here, I’m not going to dive.

I feel cheated I didn’t stay longer and see some of the history.

*This post has been delayed due to Polish beer, Vodka and lack of internet access.