Snorkelling with whales

Sample programmes for diving with sea mammals and birds

The Moscow State University Diving Club and the liveaboard Kartesh offer you two programmes with different routes:

A 10-day safari with transition from the White Sea to the Barents Sea

• Day 1
  Arrival in the settlement of Chupa; accommodation on the Kartesh.
  Check dive in Chupa Bay.
  Equipment check and Scuba diving skills practice.
• Day 2
  Snorkelling with harp seals
  Diving by picturesque islands.
• Day 3
  Transfer from the White Sea to the Barents Sea.
• Day 4
  Diving in Drozdovka Bay. Snorkelling with whales. Drozdovka Bay is the best place for diving with whales. Usually the animals come here in small groups to eat fish.
• Day 5
  The Seven Islands Archipelago. Diving with seals. Seals spend all summer at the Seven Islands, resting and feeding in the reserve’s waters.
• Day 6
  The Seven Islands Archipelago. Diving with birds.
  There are bird colonies on several of the archipelago’s islands, and dives take place near them.
  We offer you the chance to visit to the bird colonies on Kharlov Island, which is under national park protection. Thousand of seabirds fly there to breed on the lofty island’s inaccessible cliffs. Ornithologists have observed this population of birds for many years. They will lead an excursion to the island and will share interesting details about how our feathered friends live.
• Day 7
  Red Bay (Guba Krasnaya). A picturesque underwater landscape, the name of which is completely justified by its canyons, caves and kelp forests inhabited by huge King crabs.
• Day 8
  Porchnikha Bay (Guba Porchnikha). Diving with birds. Steep cliffs with bird colonies continue as underwater ridges with terraces, huge boulders and King crabs. Here you can once again admire birds flying underwater.
• Day 9
  The Gavrilov Islands
• Day 10
  Dalnie Zelentsy Bay. With steep cliffs and terraces jutting out up to 40 metres, a flat sandy bottom and underwater fields of sea kale, the diversity of the Dalnie Zelentsy scenery means even divers who have already seen many interesting things during the long safari will find much to delight them.
• Day 11
  Departure for Murmansk
  

A 6-day safari across the Barents Sea, 2-8 June

• Day 1
  Check dive in Dalnie Zelentsy (Dalnie Zelentsy) Bay. This shallow bay (up to 20 metres deep), secluded from crosswinds, is a perfect place for equipment checking and Scuba diving practice.
• Day 2
  Dalnie Zelentsy Bay. Yarnishnaya Bay. These are beautiful and diverse places for diving. You can see everything from a flat sandy bottom to steep cliffs.
• Day 3
  The Seven Islands Archipelago
  Diving with whales and seals. At this time of year, grey seals are already occupying their favourite rookeries and are happy to play with divers. Whales ‘graze’ shoals of fish whose route passes through the archipelago.
• Day 4
  Drozdovka Bay. Diving with whales.
• Day 5
  The Seven Islands Archipelago. Diving with birds. You can add to your impressions of diving with sea mammals, by diving with guillemots and puffins.
• Day 6
  Red Bay. Underwater banks where fish feed –a place whales love. You will get one more opportunity to see these great sea mammals and to dive in a beautiful place.
• Day 7
  Return to the port; departure for Murmansk
  
  Warning:
  * The route of the safari can vary depending on the weather.

In addition
Two underwater towers are provided. With their help, you can investigate new places where no one has ever dived.

As part of this programme we also offer you two lectures on inhabitants of the Barents Sea, given by qualified biologists who are experts in the underwater world.

You can order a film of the trip by our on-board camera operator and request a photo session with an underwater photographer.