Cold Water · Poland
Gdańsk Bay & Gdynia
Wartime warship wrecks and a ruined torpedo station in the Gulf of Gdańsk
Gdynia is a dive base on the Gulf of Gdańsk, a cold Baltic bay dived for wrecks from the Second World War and the years after it. Most dives sit between 6 and 20 m: the warship ORP Groźny at about 18 m, the Delfin at about 20 m, and the ruined German torpedo station at Babie Doły. The draw is naval history underwater, from a Polish destroyer that fought in 1939 to a Soviet-built submarine.
About diving in Gdańsk Bay & Gdynia
Diving here starts from Gdynia. RIB trips leave the port for the wrecks of the gulf, heading wherever suits the experience and wishes of most of the group, from very shallow positions to somewhat deeper ones, and the weather call comes by the evening before. The day out to the Delfin and ORP Groźny starts with gear collected in Gdynia in the morning and group transport to the port of Jastarnia on the Hel peninsula. The torpedo station at Babie Doły can be reached from the sea or from land, though the land approach is a real undertaking.
The gulf holds warships, a submarine and minesweepers, and on the ORP Groźny mussels, barnacles and hydroids cover the steel. The torpedo station is a different dive: a U-shaped ruin ringed by rubble and scrapped metal structures over a sandy bottom. There are many places there where a suit can tear or gear can be damaged, so the site calls for close attention throughout the dive.
The Delfin and ORP Groźny suit beginners and advanced divers alike, and the torpedo station is an ideal place to start wreck diving, for newly certified divers who want to build their skills in controlled conditions on the gulf. The Kanonierka is a dive for more advanced divers because of its frequent currents, and the Munin, at 42 m near the port of Hel, is a deep dive.
Best time to dive Gdańsk Bay & Gdynia
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
January to March is the coldest stretch, when the sea off Gdynia feels painfully cold and March averages about 2 °C. April and December are extremely cold, and May and November very cold. June, July and September are cool, and August is the warmest month, averaging about 19 °C. On the sandy bottom around the torpedo station, spring and autumn bring good visibility of up to 7 to 10 m.
Dive types & marine life
Round gobies, shorthorn sculpins and eelpout can be seen on the Delfin, where cod turn up only with some luck. Eels and large pike have settled in the hull of the ORP Groźny.
- Wreck
Best dive sites in Gdańsk Bay & Gdynia
- 1
ORP Groźny
Former warship at about 18 m, relatively easy to explore, with no nets and no current.
- 2
Delfin
Former YMS minesweeper at about 20 m, home to many invertebrates and a feeding ground for fish.
- 3
Torpedownia (Babie Doły)
Ruins of a German wartime torpedo test station, 6 to 12 m deep and about 3 m where collapsed.
- 4
ORP Wicher
The only Polish destroyer to fight in the 1939 air and sea battle over the Gulf of Gdańsk.
- 5
Munin (Trałowiec)
German minesweeper converted from a fishing trawler, on an even keel with a slight list to port.
- 6
Kanonierka (KFK 532)
Wartime patrol boat, reportedly built in a Gdynia shipyard in 1944, sunk 1 km south of Hel's fishing port.
- 7
ORP Ślązak
Small Soviet-built M-XV-bis submarine that served in the Baltic fleet from 1948 to 1954.
Site guides
Wreck
A former minesweeper sunk on purpose for diver training
Wreck
A well-preserved patrol boat bombed in Hel harbour in the last weeks of the war
Wreck
A trawler turned German minesweeper, sitting upright near Hel
Wreck
A Soviet-designed submarine chaser where eels and large pike have settled
Collapsed walls of a wartime torpedo test station rising from the sea
How to get to Gdańsk Bay & Gdynia
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport is 25 km from the centre of Gdynia, and regional trains run from the airport to Gdynia Główna in about 30 minutes. RIB trips leave from Gdynia; trips to the Delfin and ORP Groźny leave from the port of Jastarnia on the Hel peninsula.
Dive videos
Diving in Gdynia Orłowo (Gulf of Gdańsk, Baltic Sea) · Radek Brzana on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification is needed to dive the Gulf of Gdańsk wrecks?+
Open Water covers the shallower wrecks, and the Delfin at about 20 m suits beginners. Deeper dives call for Advanced Open Water or Deep training.
Can the Babie Doły torpedo station be dived from shore?+
It can, but the land route means hundreds of steps down a steep slope, a long walk along the beach and a swim of about 300 m. Most divers come by boat, which can moor to the buildings for an easy entry.
When is the water warmest off Gdynia?+
August is the warmest month, at about 19 °C. From January to March the sea is painfully cold, averaging about 2 °C in March.
How do divers get to Gdynia?+
Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport is 25 km from Gdynia, and the regional train runs to Gdynia Główna in about 30 minutes. Trips to the Delfin and ORP Groźny leave from Jastarnia.
Sources
- Wraki Jastarnia - Delfin i Groźny — Gdynia Dive
- Wraki — Gdynia Dive
- Kanonierka — Gdynia Dive
- Trałowiec (Munin) — Gdynia Dive
- ORP Groźny — Gdynia Dive
- Nurkowanie wrakowe Zatoka Gdańska — Centrum Nurkowe Tryton
- Torpedownia — Centrum Techniki Nurkowej
- Gdynia Average Sea Temperatures — SeaTemperature.org
- Gdynia — Wikivoyage
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