White Sea · Russia · Kelp forest · Ice
Ludushka of Kast'jan Island
Sea angels drifting over a kelp forest
Photo: Лач Андрей · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ludushka lies off Kast'jan (Kasyan) Island, a kelp-forest site dived from boats in summer and through holes in the sea ice in winter. Nudibranchs of several species live in the kelp and sea angels (Clione limacina) drift in the water, and the current is mostly weak.
Also known as Ludushka, Kasyan Island.
Where it is and how deep
66.4951° N, 33.3888° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site runs from 5 m to 25 m at low tide through a rich kelp-forest fauna. Nudibranchs of different species live on the kelp and rock, and the sea angel Clione limacina hangs in the water column above. In winter the run out is about an hour by snowmobile over the ice, the same trip that serves Belushya Rock and Rocky Forehead near the island.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows White Sea: Ice diving runs February to April while the sea ice holds; summer diving is by speedboat, with the water warmest in July.
Know before you go
- Under the ice divers are clipped to a safety line that keeps them within about 25 m of the hole.
Sources
- Dive sites — The Arctic Circle Dive Centre
- Ice Diving in the White Sea — X-Ray Mag
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap contributors
Photo credits
More dive sites in White Sea
Pinnacle
A lone rock carpeted in plumose anemones
Ice hummocks under a cliff shaped like a mammoth
A kelp-topped wall falling into deep water
Deep anemone and soft-coral colonies far out from Nilmoguba
Kelp forest
Fucus shallows above a slope into deep water
Wreck
A Yaroslavets diving boat from a biological station
Reef
Rare Gorgon's head brittle stars among Arctic soft corals
Channel & pass
Sponge and hydroid gardens fed by a strong tidal flow
Similar dives elsewhere
Kelp forest
Flekkuvík
Reykjanes Peninsula · Iceland
Lava arches under kelp, with wolffish tucked into the crevices
Kelp forest
Føllingen
Kristiansund & the Atlantic Ocean Road · Norway
A kelp-roofed rock corridor
Cuttlefish night dives in a kelp forest of hidden gullies
Shore entry over shingle into boulders and kelp to 15 m