Memories of Mirek Kierepka - part I

At the request of many of my friends and alumni, I would like to present the beginnings of my diving. A bit of reminiscences from a period when there were not so many federations, instructors and so-called experts in the subject, where etiquette (whatever the word means) was in force, where a diver was a friend to a diver. Where diving was an elite sport.

I started my adventure with this sport in 1976 and we started with knowledge very different from today’s – the permissible partial pressure of oxygen in the breathing mixture was 2.1ATA, the upper limit of air diving was 90m, nitrogen narcosis was to occur only between 40-45m and the ascent speed was 18m/min. Lack of access to professional equipment, not to mention the fact that we have not yet reached the knowledge about the Life Jacket (some lucky people already had the “homonta”).

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Just like now we had desires and dreams. Unfortunately, we lived in the so-called “Eastern Bloc” with a different system and what was possible for other divers of the world was practically unattainable for us, that is, reefs and seas of the whole world. Born in that era, however, we managed in a different way.

Despite restrictions, Polish lakes, reservoirs and fortifications were explored during the club camps. As a side activity we did humanitarian (rescue) actions, where we were asked by the then Militia to help in underwater searches (I participated in many, but that’s not the subject of this story). Not many clubs at that time had the right amount of equipment – P21(31) Mors or P27 Kajman.

There was also no doubt that the ‘richest’ clubs at that time were the LOK clubs, because they were provided with equipment by the army. These clubs, in addition to their activities, were involved in PTW, i.e. tactical-military training of future military divers, and because of these duties they received an allocation of equipment.

Our favourite day from that period was Thursday. And why is that? Because club meetings were held on that day. You probably don’t know it, but in those days a diver’s course lasted at least a year and had to be finished with a club camp, after which you received your coveted “star”. I had the pleasure of belonging to a club that trained in two organisations, LOK and PTTK. Coming back to those Thursday meetings – why my favourite? Because on each of these days we provided more knowledge about diving, we invited people who talked interestingly about their expeditions, adventures and penetrations of the underwater world.

More than once I sat with blazing eyes and listened to stories about coral reefs and the fabulous underwater world, about the work in the Maritime Museum (I took part in it myself at the invitation of Lech Nowicz), about Antek Dębski’s project and the possibility of diving in a Geonur II bathyscaph (an underwater diving base), and stories such as how to go by “polewaczka” to Aqaba. We also planned trips for the next holidays.

The atmosphere in the club from those years was one big family with no jealousy, envy or scheming. During one of these meetings our friend Tadeusz Wiącek presented and showed us the vision of diving in Srebrnogórska Fortress. He claimed that he has been going there for years with scouts on their camps. He started telling us legends about the treasures hidden in this fort. Among other things, one of the versions spoke of the Amber Chamber. Thus infected, we started preparing for an expedition that would verify these and other legends. Each of us dealt with something different, some of us with provisions, others with equipment, and still others with the secrets of the history of the Fortress. Let me just remind you, as an editorial duty, what the Srebrnogórska Fortress was.

“The Srebrnogórska Fortress was built in the 18th century according to the design of the Italian engineer Ludwik Wilhelm Regeler, modified by King Frederick the Great himself, in order to protect Silesia conquered by Prussia (in 1740). Two hills towering over the Srebrna Pass (586 m above sea level) were chosen for the construction of fortifications: Forteczna (Warowna) Góra (686 m above sea level) and Ostróg (627 m above sea level). The fortress consists of six forts. The construction of the whole complex with the help of 4,000-4,500 workers took 12 years (1765-1777), and its cost was 1,668,000 thalers (including 70,000 given as a “sacrifice” by Silesians). The construction was financed by a special tax collected in Silesia, called by the locals ‘srebrnogórski dopustem’. A garrison of 2.5 to 3.5 thousand soldiers, according to various sources, was to be established there.

The fortress consists of six forts and several bastions. Its main core consists of a bastion complex with a donjon in the middle. The structure had 151 fortress rooms (casemates) arranged on three floors. Eight gates lead to the five-level casemates, with hollowed-out shooting positions in the hallways. Huge warehouses, a well, an armoury, a chapel, a prison, a hospital, a bakery, a brewery, craft workshops and a powder magazine made the fort completely self-contained and self-sufficient – the accumulated supplies were to last for 3-5 months of siege. It housed 3756 soldiers, huge supplies of ammunition, fuel and food. 264 guns and mortars were used for defence. Nine wells were dug within the fortress, the deepest of which were in the area of Fort Ostróg (84 m) and the donjon (70 m).

The donjon – the largest in Europe – consists of 4 tower bastions with a diameter of 60 m and walls 12 m thick each. The dynamic development of silver-mountain tourism was interrupted by World War II. In forts Ostróg (Spitzberg) and Wysoka Skała (Hohenstein) a penal prisoner of war camp, Oflag VIII B, was established (15 December 1939 – 1 September 1941) for Polish officers. Over 300 people were imprisoned there in total, including the commander of the 1939 Coastal Defence. – Rear Admiral Józef Unrug and Commander Stefan Frankowski.” Source Wikipedia” As well as Capt. Michał Niczko alias “Dalaj Lama” Author of ‘Magnetic Compasses’ [Warsaw 1954], known as Dalaj Lama from the pages of Karol Borchardt’s book ‘Znaczy Kapitan’.

Feverish preparations had been under way since the autumn of 1983. Permission to dive in wells and stay in the fort (with considerable help from the authorities of Srebrna Góra, who combined business with pleasure and asked us to remove a broken pump in the Donjon), transport, camping and mountaineering. The main coordinator of these activities was the then President of the Beskid Club for Underwater Activities “Topik” Marek Strzelichowski.

All the organisational and technical struggles last for almost 6 months. We finally reach the “W” hour and pack all our equipment, i.e. diving and camping gear, food, etc. (for two weeks we had to be self-sufficient). (for a fortnight we had to be self-sufficient). All the loading took place in our base in Międzybrodzie Bialskie on Star 266 received for this expedition from LOK. The excitement was clearly palpable – after all, we were supposed to find hidden entrances to the lower parts of the fortifications where treasures awaited us for sure.

A few days earlier I bought my first car from a friend and it was a Zastawa 650. Prot was still preparing the car till the night hours so that I could safely reach the camp. All happy because of the vehicle I had, I invited the President and Krzysiek called “Paskuda” to drive together towards the fortress. Nothing foretold what happened on the way. And here were the surprises – first the brakes disappeared, then the water in the radiator started to boil and in the end I had only 3rd and 4th gear left. I don’t have to write what a ride it was.

After arriving to the place Wojtek (professional driver of Star 266) examined “my wonder” and the diagnosis – air brakes, rotten pipe from the clutch cable which fell into the body and rotten pipe from the radiator – awesome, it’s still a miracle that we managed to arrive safely. Wojtek repaired the car during 2 weeks of the camp (he did not dive). But back to the facts – exhausted but happy we arrived at the camp site (Lazaret). A quick reconnaissance of the camp area, an evening bonfire, then a pee, a bead and sleep, because what’s important was to start the next day.

C.D.N.

Mirek Kierepka – Diving instructor since 1980. For over 35 years associated with recreational and professional diving: M3KDP/CMAS Diving Instructor since 2004 with a wide range of additional specialisations.

Source: Text and photos courtesy of the author and KDP CMAS