The sad, sad story of Barbro

This is the victim of my story

This is just another abandoned sailboat, yesterday I read in my local newspaper that it had sunk while moored. (This is the only picture not taken by me, stole it from the news article)

My first encounter

After work I drove straight to where Barbro supposedly sank, turns out it was just 343,5 meters from my front door (measured with google maps). The scubadiver in me instantly became curious so i started to plan a dive there the follwing morning before work.

The diving commences

This was when I first learned learned the name of the boat "Barbro", based on the name i think this could be the perfect boat for me if we had met under different circumstances.

Barbro seen from the front

Yes you see correctly, that is ice at the surface. I live in Norway, cold as hell here, but that don't stop me from diving all year round. Usually better visibility in the winter where i live anyway.

The aft of Barbro

In the background you can see the pier Barbro was moored to, only two thin ropes was keeping it away from sinking into the depths. Barbro rested on 3-4 meters. The bottom was around 14 meters.

C AW693

This was Barbro's designated number in the ship registry

A note from the Police

Roughly translated: You have misused a property belonging to the municipal of Asker. If this boat is not moved within 14 days, it will be considered lost & found.

Asker and Bærum police district
Sandvika 27.11.2015.

Meaning the police intended to remove it on behalf of the municipal. Aparently Barbro together with another unamed boat was abandoned there last summer.

The engine

According to the news article there was only a small amounts of fuel leaking when the boat sank two days ago. But still when i dived there was still a little bit leaking out every now and then.

The anchor

Stupid anchor, you're not supposed to take the boat down with you...

Into the unknown

As i looked upon Barbro i thought that i might find some treasure, or at least som cool stuff inside so i decided to take a peek.

Playing cards

Found cards all over the place, under the floorbords, up in the roof, in drawers etc.

Thermometer

As i already stated i live in Norway and it was ice on the surface, found this thermometer floating in the room. It was a cool 2 degrees celcius. That ain't to bad when i dive with a drysuit, but still... fucking cold!

I heard Imgur likes knives?

Nothing fancy. But hey, what can a diver do?

View from the inside

And look what's that? Another knife! U guys love that ( or atleast used to) and over the knife? A fire extinguisher????? What fun can i do with that???????????

Let's try it out!!!!

In hindsight, using a fire extinguisher inside a wreck, underwater is probably not one of my best ideas... After this I decided it was enough action for one day and ended the dive.

Sauce for those interested, includes two more bursts from the extinguisher, and my exit from the wreck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vib6B7nmNMI&feature=youtu.be

Edit: Link to full story behind the dive for those who asked http://imgur.com/gallery/NExAR

Post Dive

When i surfaced i was met by two things, one: a guy from Asker municipal asking if i had been hired to help remove the wreck, and two: this big ass boat heading my way. Presumably to salvage poor Barbro.

Getting paid!

From here on out a lot of text, sorry for that. Didn't use my camera during this.

After i escaped the boat i started to talk with the guy from the municipal, and the two guys that came to salvage Barbro. We all agreed that is was a shame that a beautifull boat as Barbro had been abandoned. But the guy from the municipal said he actually was happy Barbro had sunk, because then it posed a threat to the enviroment (leaking fuel) so they finally had the legal room to remove it.

After a little bit of talk the guy from the municipal said to the salvage guys that if they needed I could help them (without asking me first, so i was basicaly conscripted). When they asked me i said yes, just because I had some extra time before i had to go to work, so I took another dive to secure some straps around Barbro for them. Then after some more talk, the guy from the municipal agreed to pay me 1500 kr (roughly 170 U.S. dollars), for just 10-15 minutes of work, easiest money i ever made!

This operation took place less than 48 hours after the boat first had sunk, so I am probaly the only person ever who got a chance to dive this wreck, which i think is pretty cool.

This picture is the last i have of the operation, I had to leave so I wouldn't be late for work.

Pickles

Gecko tax? This is my toy gecko, his name is pickles and he is my guardian angel. Also note the air temperature -5 degrees celcius, not too cold, but cold enough when you exit the water after a dive.

Barbro's future

This is actually a late addition to the album. I was mostly finished with it and intended to post when i got home from work, but i decided to stop by where Barbro sank. To my surprise both barbro and another unnamed boat was still there, but now on dry land. When i talked with the guy from the municipal he told me that they intended to store Barbro and the other boat to a recycling facility until spring, and if neither the origanal owners or anyone else claims/wants one or both of them they will then be destroyed.

If i had more time, or didn't already own a sailboat i might have claimed Barbro for my own.

As it is i will be content with knowing i was most likely the only one, the first and the last person to dive the wreck of the proud vessel "Barbro"

I hoped you enjoyed my story, despite the bad english and probably a lot of typos.