Vinkeveen Zandeiland 4

Site Info
Type	lake, open water
Coordinates	"N4°57'27.497"E 52°14'02.591"N 4°57'27.497"E
Region	Utrecht
Access via	Shore
Depth range	10-50 m

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The Vinkeveense Plassen are the result of a peat dig in the 19th century followed by using the sand underneath in the beginning of the 20th century. Because of the depth (at some places 50m) wind can create waves in the lake. To protect the shores 12 islands were created.

Sand island number 4 is one of those islands. It can be reached by car and divers can have an easy shore entry.

Details

Depth

The depth of the marked diving area at island nr. 4 ranges from 2m at the entry to 5-10m where you descend and start the dive. The marked dive area with the object ranges between 8m near the shore of the island and 20m at the edge of the area. When going outside the area you can reach one of the deepest points of the lake at 50m depth.

Conditions

Being a fresh water lake there are no real currents to speak of. When it is windy, there can be waves that can be annoying during entry and exit.

In general the visibility is known to be very good. Due to the soil it will be dark beyond ~15m (lights are a prerequisite when diving there). When it has been windy, the visibility can get worse. Also there are scuba classes in the dive area (mostly between April-October). Certainly in the weekend this can result in less optimal conditions for visibility.

Below the thermocline at around 12m the water temperature is always 5-8c. Above the thermocline it can get up to 20-22c in the summer periods.

Facilities

At Sand Island 4 there are public toilets BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) and an area where you can change. This is typical Dutch with not much privacy.

There is one dive shop, AirDiving that obviously sells/rents diving equipment and do have some soda/candy bars. For more elaborate lunch or just a coffee there are cafés/restaurants close by such as Viersprong.

Access

This island is the only island accessible by car. Next to the entire dive site it is essentially one big parking lot and a 20m walk to the water. To dive from the island you need a permit. These can be purchased for a single day or an entire year at Airdiving.

See

Safety