AfricanDiver issue 6

AfricanDiver Aug/Sep 2009 Issue 6

Extreme Spearishing Trevor Hutton

The wreck of the Pietermartizburg Georgina Jones

Blue and Mako Sharks Cape Town

Sardine Run Wild Coast

Dave Shaw remembered AfricanDiver.com 1

Gordon Hiles Aug/Sep 09

Editorial

by Cormac McCreesh

When Paul and I started African Diver we wanted the magazine to carry articles on marine conservation because we felt the world’s, not to mention Africa’s, marine reserves were being over-exploited. In keeping with this maxim, we published articles on shark finning, poor fisheries management and the controversial shark nets off the Kwa-Zulu Natal coastline.

Paul never eats fish and I seldom do because we believe that in so doing we are perpetuating the exploitation we both abhor. However, we wanted African Diver to cover all aspects of diving in Africa and so we included free diving and wreck diving in previous issues. And in this issue, we cover deep-tech and cave diving with our article on the death of Dave Shaw.

We debated at length whether we should cover spear-fishing, without conclusion – after all spear-fishing just seemed contrary to what we were trying to do with the magazine.

In this issue however, we decided to include an item on spear-fishing as we felt we could not ignore this aspect of diving and we thought it time to enter the debate on the merits of spear-fishing. Neither Paul nor I can really justify sights we have seen of spear-fishermen with many fish attached to their buoy-line. And I have seen, first hand, the results of spearfishing competitions: small reef fish and the like shot purely to satisfy an ego or to win a prize. But there is something different in Trevor Hutton’s deep dive to 60 metres to shoot a fish. This is a project he has worked on for a while and is really quite extreme. Whatever your opinion, it is an achievement and I certainly can’t find it in myself to condemn him nor deny him the pleasure of eating the fish he hunted at extreme depths. Read the article and make up your own mind. Paul and I are keen to hear what you think.

Contents Page 3 Nudibranchs of the Pietermaritzburg

by Georgina Jones

Page 7 Whales, sharks and sardines

by Paul Hunter

Page 13 Mako and Blue sharks

by Charles Wright

Page 15 Dave Shaw remembered

by Gordon Hiles

Page 23 Extreme spearfishing

by Trevor Hutton

Page 27 Moving Sushi summerises West Africa

by Moving Sushi team

Page 31 Living, working and diving in the Maldives

Enjoy the magazine and may your bubbles always be free.

by Rowan Duvel

Cormac & Paul.

Page 35 One shot, right time, right place

by Simon Brown

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Cover by Paul Hunter Visit AfricanDiver.com click here

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Aug/Sep 09

Nudibranchs of the Pietermaritzburg text by Georgina Jones images by Georgina Jones /Jean Tresfon

The SAS Pietermaritzburg (predictably always referred to as the PMB) was scuttled in 22m of water close to Millers Point in False Bay in 1994.

It was an unusual end to an unusual surface career.

The PMB was previously the HMS Pelorus, a minesweeper, and was the lead ship in the invasion of Normandy at D-Day in the Second World War, clearing the way for the Allied invasion fleet.

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Technical specs

Algerine class minesweeper Keel laid down: 8 October 1942 at Lobnitz and Co. Renfrew, Scotland Launched: 18 June 1943 Completed: 7 October 1943 Displacement: 1330 tonnes fully loaded, Length over all: 68.6m.

Beam: 10.8m, Draft: 3.5m.

Maximum speed: 16 knots, Powered by: two 3-drum boilers supplying two 4-cylinder triple expansion steam engines and twin screws.

Indicated power: 2400Hp. Range: 5500miles at 10 knots.

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HMS Pelorus, an Algerine class minesweeper, was launched in Scotland in 1943. The Algerine class was designed for multipurpose use, incorporating the lessons learned during the long war. They were large enough to accommodate equipment for detecting contact, acoustic and magnetic mines and as well as for detecting submarines. The Pelorus was, most appropriately, named after a dolphin called Pelorus Jack, which was famous for guiding ships through a dangerous sea passage off the New Zealand coast between 1888 and 1912. Like the dolphin before it, the Pelorus was mainly involved in convoy duty, but in the cold waters of the north Atlantic. Its moment of glory came as the lead ship of the Normandy D-Day invasion in 1944.

For eleven days, the Pelorus and other minesweepers kept the aproaches to the beaches clear of mines, despite heavy daily shellfire from onshore gun batteries and nightly bombing by Luftwaffe planes. When helping clear the harbour at Cherbourg, the Pelorus was struck by a mine which lifted the ship right out of the water. There were no human casualties, but the ship had to spend three months under repair. No doubt Pelorus Jack, which survived an attempted shooting in 1904, would have approved. Though other ships of the Algerine class continued with minesweeping duties well after the war, the Pelorus was sold to the South African Navy in 1947 and renamed the SAS Pietermaritzburg. As the Pietermaritzburg, the ship was used rather more mundanely as a training vessel and minesweeper. It was decommissioned for the final time in 1964 and then used as accommodation for the Mine Countermeasures squadron from 1968 to 1991.

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After some debate as to its possible future as a maritime museum, the Pietermaritzburg was scuttled by explosives in late 1994 to form an artificial reef. The wreck initially lay upright on the sand, and was used for extensive penetrations. There has been one fatality on the wreck: a commercial diver on a training course, who, along with his buddies, got lost inside the ship. They ended up in a cabin and all managed to escape via a porthole apart from one man, who was too big to get out and drowned there. A very sobering testament to the perils of treating overhead environments with anything less than utter respect.

Fifteen years underwater off the Cape of Storms have left their mark on the PMB. It has been seriously damaged by winter storms - the most notable being the storm of late August 2008, which twisted the deck out of true and left the ship with a distinct

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list. Further damage was done by the storm of June 2009, which ripped the bridge off the ship. It can now be seen lying alongside the main wreck. There are still possible penetrations that can be done, but the ship plating is rather fragile in places and looks unstable, so the smart money is on staying outside the wreck.

Not that staying outside the wreck is a chore. As well as being able to marvel at the changes the Cape seas have wrought, as an artificial reef, the PMB has few equals. The wreck is covered with all manner of marine animals, from sea fans to urchins and mussels.

Seacatfish lurk in crannies and toadfish and blennies peer out from their hiding places.

And for those who know where to look, the PMB is a nudibranch heaven. On an average dive, eight different species of nudibranch can be spotted, and occasionally, more than ten.

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Warty pleurobranchs (Pleurobranchaea bubala) creep over the sand in search of other sea slugs to devour. Sand slugs (Philine aperta) burrow though the rich sediment in search of their prey of small molluscs and worms. These slugs fear few predators because they secrete sulphuric acid as a defence. On the wreck itself, gas flame nudibranchs ( Janolus nakaza) light up dark corners. Two visually indistinguishable species of silvertip nudibranchs ( Janolus capensis and Janolus longidentatus) are often seen. These two species have numerous physical differences when investigated under a microscope.

To divers, however, the Cape silvertip and the medallion silvertip are only distinguishable by their egg ribbons, one being globular with many small eggs and the other being a flat medallion shape with fewer eggs. Bright orange egg rosettes alert divers to the presence of the black nudibranch (Tambja capensis), a gorgeous animal with a bright turquoise stripe running along its body margin. Crowned nudibranchs (Polycera capensis) graze on fernlike moss animals. Purple ladies (Flabellina funeka) and white-edged nudibranchs (Flabellina capensis) hide among the fronds of their hydroid prey while orange-eyed nudis (Cratena capensis) flash their warning spots and candy nudis (Cuthona speciosa) dazzle the eyes - or would if they were any bigger. As it is, the longest is only 2cm in total length, but that makes them an even more exciting species to spot. Perhaps being the host to a menagerie of extraordinary creatures is a fitting end for the namesake of an extraordinary dolphin.

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Aug/Sep 09

Whales, sharks and sardines - the chase is on text and images by Paul Hunter

Picture the scene….World War II and hundreds of Japanese Kamikaze pilots are aiming their planes downwards towards the ocean locking onto a specific target. This is what the gannets remind me of as they dive from the sky into the ocean seeking their target, a sardine. This was the scene that confronted us within minutes of launching from the river mouth at Port St John’s. I had arrived at one of nature’s most spectacular events: “The Sardine Run”.

For about 5 years I have wanted to experience the sardine run but for some or other reason never got round to it. I suppose it had something to do with spending large amounts of money with no guarantee of seeing sardines. So much depends on where you go, when you go and how long you can stay, not to mention the weather conditions and the quality of the “run”.

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This year was different for me: - I was ready to take the gamble. In January I committed to a trip at the end of June, for a week, to the Wild Coast to try my luck at experiencing one of nature’s greatest events, first hand. The weeks leading up to the trip were filled with excitement and nervousness as I did not know what to expect, nor if I would actually get to see any action.

As most of us know, nature is unpredictable in any respect. I found myself checking websites daily to see if the sardines had made an appearance and what weather conditions were doing.

Two weeks before my trip, a good friend of mine managed to get on a boat at the last minute. I spoke to him on a few occasions during the time he was on the run and was delighted to be informed that he experienced action off Port St Johns.

At last the morning had arrived for my trip to the Wild coast.

Previously known as the Transkei, the area is now more descriptively labeled: the “Wild Coast” – a reference to the many

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ships wrecked off this coastline.

We decided to leave early as we had about 10 hours of traveling ahead of us and wanted to reach our destination before dark. Eventually we reached Port St John’s around 3pm. Our accommodation was a place called the Spotter Grunter and would be our home for the week.

After settling in and setting up our gear for the five days of diving that lay ahead, we had a chance to meet our skipper – Chris and do all the necessary planning for the next day.

I awoke early on Monday morning and the first thing I did was rush outside to check the weather. Thankfully there was not a cloud in the sky. I was ready for my first day at sea and hopefully get to see the long anticipated sardines. Chris, had already launched the boat and had come up river to the jetty at the Spotted Grunter. I must admit, this was very convenient as you literally fell out of bed onto the boat. We loaded all our kit on the boat and when we had finished it looked

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like a BBC film crew was on board we had so much equipment. From the jetty it was about a five-minute boat ride to the river mouth. This is a great place to launch, but what I had not counted on was the large surf that confronted us.

We had caught the end of the cold front that had come through the previous week. This is good for bringing sardines, but bad for launching. It took us about an hour and a half to get out to sea.

At one point our skipper told us that we might not get out at all. Those words made my heart sink. We had perfect weather, and sardines but we could not get out to sea - a situation I had not contemplated.

Imagine the elated cheers on the boat when we eventually did get out to sea. Once out at sea, Chris began his daily ritual of contacting other skippers to find out where the action was.

On this day, we were informed to head south.

Within minutes we could see all the action. My heart was racing with sheer astonishment as I saw hundreds of gannets diving on a massive bait ball. At first, I just watched in disbelief as the birds dived from unbelievable heights into the water. It looked like there was an invisible funnel above the water that was sucking the birds into the ocean. It was really incredible to watch and the anticipation mounted as we had our first brydes whale sighting. With all the action happening I was ready to get in the water and experience all this action underwater. From the surface the water was green but seemed clean.

Upon entry I realized I was mistaken - looking down I could not see my fins. I could not believe my bad luck - so much action and I could not dive it.

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With about a meter visibility it was impossible and dangerous to dive. Highly disappointed, I got back on the boat and we spent another 30 minutes watching the action from the surface.

Even though I was feeling a bit dejected, it was still an awesome spectacle to witness.

Eventually, it was time to find cleaner water and dive. This would become our mission for the entire week - find clean water and action.

So we headed north and about 8km offshore found some clean water and another bait ball.

Once again there was a lot of action above water and I was thrilled at the prospect of getting underwater. Fortunately this time, on entering the water, the visibility was a lot better and I got to experience my first bait ball and underwater action.

I don’t think anything prepared me for this moment, no matter how many times I have watched BBC documentaries on the sardine run.

It is totally mind blowing! I suppose another accurate word would be chaotic.

Let me try and set the scene as best I can: dolphin swim in and out at supersonic speed.

Sometimes you think they are going to hit you but they never do. There are sharks everywhere and big sharks coming in close to see what you are. Then there are gannets diving into the water with the sound of a small explosion when they hit the water’s surface. From out the blue came a freight train: a bryde’s whale. I could not believe the speed at which it moved. Bryde’s whales normally feed off the sides of the bait ball. Now this is where we were watching all the action. It does not take a rocket scientist to put two and Aug/Sep 09

two together - visibility is not great; you have a whale about 15 meters long traveling extremely fast in your general direction‌.scary to say the least. I have to admit seeing the whale was at top of my list of things to see on the run, but I was very weary of it as I was not keen on becoming a tasty snack even if inadvertently on the part of the whale. The whale made another three passes before it disappeared. We got to spend about 20 minutes on this bait ball before it was all over. Just as quickly as it started it all ended.

The only evidence of anything ever happening were the fish scales in the water. I returned to our boat to meet up with my fellow divers and cheers of joy. We had all just experienced something very special, something we

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had all only seen in documentaries, but now had experienced first hand.

I woke up to another perfect day on Tuesday and wondered what the day would bring. Little did I know I was going to experience yet another first. The launch was a little easier today and once out the scene was a lot different from the previous day - a lot less birds and the action had seemed to have subsided. It took us a long time to find any action and clean water.

When we eventually found a bait ball, Chris dropped us a distance from the action so as not to scare it off. I entered the water and dropped to a depth of five meters and headed in the direction of the bait ball using the others who were swimming on the surface towards the action as markers.

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On the second time I looked up to make sure I was going in the right direction I encountered the biggest shark I had ever seem. At first I wasn’t sure what shark I was looking at. My initial thoughts was that this was a massive Zambezi shark but after a better inspection and seeing the distinctive grey and white split down the side, I was convinced I was looking at a Great White shark but it may have been a large copper shark (bronze whaler) too.

Whatever the shark, it’s girth not the length that impressed me. As quick as it appeared, it disappeared. Needless to say I kept checking behind me to see if it was coming back but it never did. I managed to get a photo of it. Not a very good one, but enough to prove to the others what I had seen. This was definitely another highlight for me. Later that day, after lunch, when all action had died down and we were sitting on the boat watching people snorkeling we noticed something big. We were not sure what it was but there was a big shadow seen from the surface. We waited our turn and dropped in to see what it was. We were greeted to the sight of a massive bait ball. The sad thing was that there was not much action on it - a couple of dolphin, sharks and a sole cape seal. I have a feeling the amount of people at this bait ball had scared off all the action. However it was still amazing to watch this massive school of fish.

As the week went by we had less and less action. Here and there a small bait ball but nothing as exciting as the first two days. When I look back now I realize how lucky I was to have experienced those first two days. The weather had played its part and we managed to get out to sea every day.

I can highly recommend the sardine run to everybody.

Yes, it is a gamble and luck has to be on your side, but I believe you need to make your own luck sometimes. I will most definitely be back next year to hopefully experience this magnificent event in nature again.

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Aug/Sep 09

In pursuit of Mako and Blue sharks

by Charles Wright

S

frustrating, it is very rewarding when the day comes along and the diver gets to see and experience sharks close up.

Persistence, commitment, tenacity and luck are what is required to witness South African sharks close up.

In recent years, shark researchers and operators have been gathering information on Blue and Mako sharks as well as taking interested people along to witness these magnificent pelagic sharks. However, as much as South Africa is blessed with its shark variety, predictability of viewing and experiencing sharks is tenuous at best. While this may be

On 5 April 2009 we set off to try and find the elusive Mako and Blue sharks with Chris and Monique Fallows of Apex predators. This was to be our third trip in two years with the sharks having eluded us on both of our previous trips, Once was due to bad weather and the other being a “no show� from the sharks. Apex predators is based in Simons Town and offer trips to see pelagic sharks in the open ocean off Cape Point and Great Whites off Seal Island in

outh Africa is blessed with a huge variety of shark species that frequent its waters. Much has already been written of the Great White population off Cape Town and the Tiger sharks that are to be found off the east coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal and equally the population of Ragged Tooth sharks and Zambezis (Bull sharks) there.

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False Bay. We booked for both the Saturday and Sunday in order to maximize our chance of finding and seeing the sharks. On Friday Monique e-mailed to give us the news that Saturday was not looking promising but that the indications were that Sunday was going to be near-perfect conditions.

Saturday was spent enjoying many of the various activities that the Cape has to offer including taking photographs in the beautiful surroundings, having lunch and a quick visit to ORMS camera shop in Cape Town.

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On Sunday morning at 7h00 we gathered at Simons Town harbor where we met the others who were to join us for the day. Our boat was a 36ft catamaran with a walk around deck. There was plenty of space as there were only 8 clients plus the crew on board, which is nearly the limit for the trip. After stowing our snorkeling gear we departed Simons Town for Cape Point.

In Simons Town harbour, water temperature was 11 degrees, but Chris was looking for water that was above 20 degrees. After radioing the lighthouse Chris headed out to deep water looking for the warmer water where we could expect to find pelagic sharks.

surface that we could easily identify the 2 different species and they sometimes approached within meters of the boat.

Although there were no sharks present Chris decided to put the cage in the water to give us the opportunity to see the Tuna underwater and possibly get some interesting and rare photographs of Tuna. However, before the first clients were in the cage the first Blue shark appeared.

Although the name is very descriptive I was surprised at how vivid and distinctive the blue coloring is. The Blue sharks were about a meter in length and were small enough to swim fairly easily between the bars of the cage.

Although seeing sharks is the primary reason for the trip, spending time with Chris on the ocean is a fascinating learning experience in itself. Chris has a wealth of knowledge and experience on sharks, ocean currents and bird life which he readily shares with his guests interspersed with stories of what he has experienced on the ocean. He showed and explained the current lines on the ocean surface and we all watched the depth finder show the increase in water temperature as we crossed over the current lines.

When Chris thought that colour and temperature of the water were ideal he slowed the boat and instructed the crew to prepare 2 lines to catch a fresh Tuna for bait.

Within what seemed only a few minutes the crew had caught and landed a 30kg Yellow Fin Tuna. While we were stationary, Chris pointed out that he could see some tuna below the boat, sardines were thrown into the water and Long Fin and Yellow Fin Tuna appeared from the depths to take the sardines. The Tuna were close enough to the AfricanDiver.com 14

They kept appearing until we had 10 – 12 sharks around the boat. During this time the Tuna were still present and unafraid as they were formidable predators compared to the small size of the blue sharks. Chris spotted the first Mako from the boat by the distinctive movement they make underwater compared to the Blue sharks. When the first Mako arrived the Tuna left and the rest of the morning was spent with 2 Mako sharks about 2m in length and the Blue sharks.

Everyone on the boat got a least 30 minutes in the cage with plenty of opportunities for photography. The most challenging part of which was being bumped around in the cage by the slight surface swell and chop. Most of us felt slightly seasick and claustrophobic in the cage. On previous trips, Chris had allowed us to snorkle around the back of the boat without the confines of the cage. If I were to make another booking with Apex Predators, I would check to see if this option is still available.

The best photography opportunities are definitely ambient light with a 10mm or 16mm wide angle lens. While visibility was in excess of 15m the best photographs were taken when you could capture the sharks right next to the cage with less than a meter of water between you and the shark. Having visibility of at least 15m helps you anticipate when the sharks are going to approach your camera, as you can track the shark’s movements.

The trip was fantastic and it was rewarding to eventually get to see Blue and Mako sharks. We were left with unanswered questions as to why we saw so many juvenile Blue sharks and no mature adults. Blue sharks can grow to 3.5m so the sharks that we saw were “babies”. Where are the adult sharks? Has long-lining taken its toll or is it a seasonal thing.

I will definitely go back for another experience and try and improve on the photographs I took during the trip. These types of trips need luck and persistence to get the right conditions and the right action to take place on the day to get “the shot”.

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David Shaw Remembered Gordon Hiles is a specialist underwater cinematographer and documentary film-maker. His production company SEACAM FILMS has been associated with numerous international TV productions; amongst those were the first Great White Shark documentaries filmed at Dyer Island in the 80s and early 90s. He was on location with the Dave Shaw body recovery attempt.

This is his account of the venture.

David Shaw set out to retrieve Deon Dreyer’s remains after ten years, from a depth of 265m at the bottom of the water filled Boesmansgat Cave in South Africa. He succeeded in his task, but the manner in which it was achieved set the scene for an incredible story of human endeavor and tragedy.

It’s almost five years ago that newspaper headline banners announced that a body that had been missing in a cave had been found after ten years. The main reason for this was that the body was lying at a depth of 265 meters underwater at the bottom of Boesmansgat in the Northern Cape. This was the body of Deon Dreyer who disappeared in the cave on 17th December 1994. Australian diver Dave Shaw found the body on a dive to the bottom of Boesmansgat on 28th October 2004. Shaw did the dive on a modified MK15.5 US Navy designed rebreather. This particular dive established a world record depth for rebreather diving, as well as solving the ten-year-old mystery of the whereabouts of Dreyer’s body.

It did not take long for Shaw to decide that another dive to the bottom of the world’s third deepest water filled cave was possible to attempt a recovery of Dreyer’s remains.

Two days after the dive, he spoke to Theo Dreyer about the possibility of bringing his son’s body back to the surface, and very quickly a plan began falling into place to do so.

Shaw then returned to his home base in Hong Kong where he lived and worked as a check and training captain with Cathay Pacific Airlines. He immediately began setting up the operation along with renowned IANTD tech diving instructor and rebreather specialist Don Shirley. Working on email and telephone, and in between his flying duties, Dave conceived the plan and Don with the help of his wife Andre did the groundwork of setting everything up in South Africa.

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Firstly, the dive team was assembled. This included a select group of divers identified and trained

by Don on rebreathers, all of whom were highly competent tech divers. Don selected Reef Divers owner Peter Herbst – Big B - as his key ops man on the team. Since the death of Deon Dreyer was unnatural, it was still under investigation and therefore police presence at the recovery attempt was required. This assisted the needs of the operation as the police dive team under the leadership of Ernst Strydom came fully equipped with their mobile recompression chamber that was later to prove invaluable. Last but not least was the importance of documenting the operation. I had long been associated with underwater filming and was present at the October 2004 dive where I met Dave Shaw. Along with Derek Hughes, I had briefly covered Dave’s dive setting up preliminary video material of the story. Dave and I therefore decided to co-operate on producing a video documentary on the recovery attempt.

Tuesday, 4th January 2005 saw the gathering of all involved at Mt. Carmel, the farm owned by Andries Van Zyl, 60km from Kuruman in the Northern Cape where Boesmansgat is located.

The place was a hive of activity with preparation and arrivals of diving team, police, media and members of the Dreyer family. Setting up down at the water’s edge began immediately with much diving and support equipment to be put in place on the shot line. Big B coordinated this operation while Dave and Don concentrated on refining their “Big Dive” plan. Preliminary build-up dives for all divers were necessary. This also served to get all the stage decompression cylinders into place at the various depths. Verna Van Schaik, herself a Boesmansgat regular after having set the women’s deep diving world records two months previously was the appointed dive coordinator and had her work cut out compiling a detailed schedule of every bit of equipment and procedure that was to take place on the recovery dive.

On Thursday, 6th January 2005, Dave and Don did their final build-up dive to 150m to make last checks on their equipment and their own readiness for the Saturday recovery dive. Prior to this and to their arrival at Mt. Carmel, they also did preparation at Don’s training base of Komati Springs near Badplaas. Not least was the body bag rehearsal. Dave and his wife Ann had designed a unique bag that would be deployed to contain Deon’s remains and lift the body to the surface. Another piece of equipment that had been designed and manufactured specially for the operation was the helmet camera that Dave would carry to record his activity throughout the dive. This consisted of a small “night shot” capable video camera contained in a custom-built deep water housing. I only had about three weeks to commission and get the camera housing completed. Greg Raymond at Aquacam managed to achieve this only days before the gathering at Boesmansgat and it still had to be tested at depth. Dave therefore took it with him on the final checkout dive and as expected, it passed the depth test. Later during pool trials, a helmet mounting method was devised for Dave to carry the camera so that he could operate hands free

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while the camera continuously recorded the body recovery activity and dive. The video material from this rig would later prove invaluable as well. At first when David saw the deep camera rig he was apprehensive about carrying it since up till then, all his cave diving activity had been done without any sort of headgear other than a diving hood. However after the pool trials he gained confidence in making use of it and of course realized the value of the material that would be recorded. As he explained to the grandparents of Deon Dreyer – he wanted to let the world see what it was like at such a remote place on our planet.

No one was more acutely aware of the dangers involved in deep diving, cave diving, and in particular this undertaking than Dave and Don themselves. Dave would be at the front line going to the depth of 265m where the body lay. Don would be the second deepest diver of the team waiting at 220m for Dave to tow the body bag and hand it over for him to carry it to the next diver above while Dave commenced with his lengthy decompression after spending the planned 5 minutes at maximum depth working to bag the body. At every briefing to the team, media and visitors, Dave made it clear that there was a chance that he might not return from the dive. Indeed at the final briefing on the Friday night prior to the dive, he made it explicitly clear that if he did not return, no one should risk their own safety in trying to rescue or recover him. If he did not return he was to be left at the bottom of the cave. Don endorsed this statement for himself as well.

By the end of the Friday night meeting, everything was set for the “Big Dive” – or so it appeared.

Don, in making final preparations on his gear was changing the battery in the Hammerhead controller for his rebreather and a small battery cable snapped rendering the unit unserviceable.

It took a further couple of hours with the help of Big B and calls to Jeurgensen Marine in the US to rectify the problem. Making use of tinfoil and a soldering iron and with headlamps on their foreheads, Don and Peter managed to repair the instrument almost back to original state. The only problem was that the unit was filled with surgical paraffin to help withstand pressure at depth.

This fluid had to be drained and then replaced again before sealing the unit. Understandably the original quantity of fluid did not go back into unit and once sealed, a small bubble appeared inside.

Don and Peter hoped that the size of the bubble was not going to be a factor in the functionality of the unit.

Dive Day – 8th January 2005.

In dim predawn light, Dave Shaw began kitting up at his chosen spot on a ledge above the water and away from the business of the operational area next to the water’s edge. Don busied himself down below doing last minute checks on bailout cylinders that he and Dave would carry. I was also up early and slightly ahead of them in order to capture the dawn activity on video. I spent time alone with Dave as he systematically donned his dry suit complete with layers of underclothing in preparation for his marathon time throughout the day in the cold waters of Boesmansgat.

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While recording Dave’s preparation activity on video, Dave related the story to me of the damaged Hammerhead controller with some irritation mentioning that even if Don had not repaired the unit, he would still have gone ahead with the dive without Don. Too much had gone into planning and preparation to arrive at this point, and to abort the dive then would have put him out of his rhythm. His mind was set and he was not up for turning back then. The rest of the team assembled as well, and the rocky, uneven ground around the surface pool became crowded, dive equipment spilling over every flat surface. Verna van Schaik set up her control position with a large sheaf of dive tables. She had done her homework and hoped she was going to have an easy day.

Just after 06:00, both Dave and Don entered the surface pool that covered the thin slit which gave access to the cave.

This 4m x 5m pool surrounded by sheer dolomite cliff reaching upward of 40 to 50m disguised what lay below – a 50m incline tunnel opening up to a vast cavern of total darkness, the size of which has not been accurately determined but that could possibly accommodate up to five sports stadiums piled one on top of the other. In the midday light, a diver placed within the first 30m is treated to a fantastic visual of cobalt blue shafts of light created by the sun entering through small openings in the boulders above. The last piece of equipment that Dave Shaw strapped to himself was the deep camera. I was at the water’s edge AfricanDiver.com 18

capturing every bit of activity on my main camera. I briefly stopped shooting in order to switch the deep camera to record mode as well as switching on the diving torch mounted next to the camera as backup light for the visuals. I handed the helmet mounted rig to Dave who placed it firmly on his head making it comfortable. At 06:13, Shaw shook Shirley’s hand, saying, “I’ll see you in 20 minutes,” and slipped quietly into the dark waters of Boesmansgat. A few minutes later, Theo and Marie Dreyer arrived at the water’s edge. They decided to wait so that Dave wouldn’t feel any additional pressure to bring Deon back.

Shaw dropped rapidly, letting the shot line slide through his fingers. He reached the bottom in just over 11 minutes, more than a minute and a half ahead of schedule and immediately made his way along the cave line that he had secured to Deon’s diving cylinders during the October dive. As soon as the corpse appeared in his sight, he pulled out the body bag. He knelt alongside Deon and went to work at cutting him free from his diving cylinders and get the body bag over him. Most certainly at this depth Dave would experience narcosis. The helium and reduced nitrogen of his trimix would have reduced the effect, but it would still seem as if he had downed a couple of scotches and a glass or two of his favourite red wine. The first minute at the body ticked by.

Aug/Sep 09

Zero time for Don and Verna gave him the signal to go. He too slid through the gap into the tunnel and dropped toward his rendezvous point of 220m. More than twenty minutes had elapsed since Dave had departed. As Don descended he could see Dave’s light in the crystal clear water about 125m below him. It was almost vertically below and a little to one side of the shot line – but, it was only one light and the light wasn’t moving. Shirley knew immediately that something had gone wrong. By this time Dave should have been on his ascent trailing the body bag. Don should also have seen some evidence of bubbles rising as Dave vented the expanding gases in his dry suit and the lung of his rebreather. But there was neither activity nor bubbles. Nothing but a still and slightly dim light.

Peter Herbst also descended below his planned depth because it was clear to him that things were not turning out as planned. He felt compelled to be in a position to make a difference to things if he could. He met Don in the darkness who asked him for a slate. On it he wrote - DAVE NOT COMING BACK. Peter looked down instinctively in the hopes of maybe seeing a diver returning from the depths, but it was pointless. Don indicated to him that he should take the slate and begin his return to the surface. Don also stopped Lo on his descent and sent him back up. Technically speaking all was okay with Don at this point as he began his lengthy decompression leaving the job to the divers above him to relay the messages of the outcome to the surface.

Don took stock of the situation staying calm, but none the less fearing the worst as he knew full well that a motionless diver at that depth is almost certainly a dead diver. However, it was Dave down there and they had come too far for it to end so suddenly. Don felt he had to see if there was anything he could do, or at least clip Dave to the shot line so his body could be recovered, ignoring his and Dave’s instructions from the night before.

As Don descended deeper than he’d ever been before, he heard a sharp crack and then a thud. The small bubble from the night before had failed him and his Hammerhead controller had imploded. Without it Don would have to manually drive his rebreather from then on for the rest of his dive that had now been extended after exceeding his original planned depth. He made the painful decision to turn around and leave Dave where he was.

Back on the surface, Verna van Schaik and the rest of the group of tech divers, police divers, medics and select visitors had no idea what was going in the depths below. I continued to record relevant video material to build the story while relying on my deep camera with Dave, and Derek Hughes with an underwater video camera to continue recording the events beneath the surface. Twenty-nine minutes after Dave had submerged, support divers Dusan Stojakovic and Mark Andrews started their dive to rendezvous with Don at 150m.

As they approached their planned depth, they realized there were no lights coming up and no sign of Don or Dave further below. Their dive plan was to wait two to four minutes.

They stayed a further two and then it was time to go remembering the all important rule – “plan your dive and dive your plan”.

On the surface, things began to get restless but at the same time silent as the target time for the body bag to reach the surface came and went. The silence was eventually broken by the message slate line being tugged and sounding the alarm, a plastic bottle half filled with small stones. Gregory Stojakovic was monitoring the line and on retrieving the slate and reading it, a look of puzzled disbelief crossed his face. He said nothing and merely passed the slate form person to person where it finally ended up with Verna. On first reading it she understood it to indicate that two divers were missing – both Dave and Don. There was 30 seconds of silence amongst the people around the hole at which point Verna reread the slate and made a clearer picture of it. Her reaction was, ‘Whoa people! OK, we are on our emergency plan.”

As they ascended Mark and Dusan looked once more into the depths, this time seeing a light but couldn’t tell who it was. Mark wrote on his slate - DID NOT MEET D + D, @ 150 [METERS] FOR 6 MIN. 1 LIGHT BELOW? NOT SURE D’S LIGHT OFF. Further up, they passed Peter Herbst, and then Lo Vingerling, another support diver, who were on their way down. They showed the message to both divers and continued ascending. They needed to get the slate to the surface.

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Within 20 minutes another slate arrived with Steven Sander. It was the one from Don. Derek Hughes took the slate from Steven and quietly read it. He then walked over to Verna and shared it with her. At this point the news was shared with all on the surface as the look on Verna’s face showed it and Derek quietly stated “Dave’s not coming back……………”

On the reverse side of the slate was Don’s new deco profile making Verna realize that he had gone much deeper in an attempt to resolve whatever had happened down below. A slightly relieved Verna then accepted that the whole scenario had changed and a new plan had to be instituted to safeguard the rest of the divers in the cave.

Theo and Marie Dreyer looked as if they might be reliving the feeling of ten years earlier. A day that had started out promising the recovery of their son’s body was now going to end with not only no return of their son’s remains, but also Dave Shaw’s body at the bottom of the cave. They retreated from the water’s edge, and returned to the farmhouse. Marie was clearly in agony, weeping and thinking only about Dave’s wife and family. She still retained some feeling and hope that perhaps he would come back, but as time moved on of course this was not going to happen.

Aug/Sep 09

Derek Hughes also left the water’s edge climbing up to the parking area above. He had been asked by Dave to call a family friend Dave Vickers, the vicar of their parish in Hong Kong to inform him should he (Dave) not return. Naturally the news brought great shock to those close to Dave in Hong Kong, and not least to his wife Ann, who with her deep faith in God tried to believe that there was some higher purpose in what was happening.

The pace slowed down a bit at the water’s edge. Truwin Laas, a standby diver had been sent down to check on Don. He found Don deeper than expected and Don scratched on a slate I’M HAVING A BAD TIME. I’VE GOT VERTIGO AND I’M VOMITING. Unknown to Don, a small helium bubble had appeared in his left ear. This sent his head spinning as his balance systems became completely distorted, causing the most severe vertigo and nausea, as one can only experience on a hugely rough sea or on an extremely bumpy flight. Don felt that he was continuously tumbling over and over, not knowing which way was up or down.

He managed to reach out and grab the shot line to prevent himself from sinking. He was then able to establish his position on his back up VR3 – yes, just to add insult to injury, his main VR3 dive computer had shut down as well, and he found it necessary to take himself back down about 12 meters. He stabilized himself as best he could, all the time fighting the vertigo and vomiting. This had the potential to kill Don if not correctly managed. No one needed this. Don however was still capable of not even entertaining the idea of dying and this is eventually what pulled him through.

and mixed gasses that Don was required to breathe in the chamber in order to initiate the treatment and removal of the helium bubble that had developed in his ear. By the time Don was eventually brought to the surface and helped from the water, Big B was back and the required gas was ready and waiting. Don was assisted out of his diving kit and dry suit by the bunch of divers around him. He refused to be ‘cut’ out of his suit. This he made very clear. His head might have been spinning and he might have been in a state of temporary immobility, but he had definitely not lost his marbles.

A very competent mine proto team had rigged a hoist up the cliff face to be used in the event of such a situation, and now was their chance to go into action. After Don had been stabilized at the waterside, he was secured in a cradle and hoisted the 40m to the chamber above. A mere 22 minutes after leaving the water Don was secure inside the chamber and beginning the lengthy recompression chamber treatment that would continue for some weeks to come.

Over the next few hours the team of divers on the surface worked in relay going down to either check on Don or to just merely keep him company while he worked through the almost ten hours of deco for him to reach the 6m stop. Gerhard Du Preez’s experience as a paramedic was valuable under the water as he was able to assess Don’s condition and relay the info via Verna to Dr. Jack Meintjies, the diving doctor on standby up at the recompression chamber. Another two hours at 6m passed, but now of course it was more practical for divers to be with Don. Then finally the move just 3m up to the last stop for yet another 2 hours 20 minutes. Not long now compared to the total dive time. But this was when things changed once again. No sooner had Don reached the 3m mark when a sharp pain appeared in his lower leg. This could have been from lack of mobility, but it could also have been a symptom of a possible bend (decompression sickness) and so it was decided between Dr Jack, Verna, and Don through the divers with him that it was now time to take the chance of leaving the water and complete the deco process in the chamber.

This was not as simple as it sounds. Don was not in any state to move himself around, and the chamber was at the top of the sheer 40m cliff above the water. While Don was marking time at the 6m level; Big B had raced back to the farm house to the temporary gas store AfricanDiver.com 20

Aug/Sep 09

On the Sunday and Monday after the tragic dive, most of the visitors and divers made their way back to home bases, obviously shocked and disappointed at the outcome. Peter Herbst had to stick around to take care of the de-rig process and attend to the recovery of much equipment still attached to the shot line in the cave. Another rebreather diver trained by Don, Petrus Roux, joined Peter to assist with this task. The police contingent also stayed on as they had to de-rig their camp and the chamber. They also volunteered to help with clearing the equipment from the cave. For me the story was also not over. There was still a conclusion to this now tragic story to be recorded on video, whatever it might be. I chose to stick around to see what was at the end of the shot line. There was the deep camera to consider, and while there did not look like any possible chance of getting it back immediately, one had to remember that it had recorded continuously for an hour and there was most likely valuable information on the video tape. How to get it back was of course the big question.

On Wednesday morning 12th January 2005, Peter and Petrus along with the police team and Andries Van Zyl gathered at the Boesmansgat surface pool to start the equipment retrieval. Before work started, the group paid their respects to Dave with a short reading from the Bible, a prayer and a very stirring verse of “Amazing Grace”. Thereafter divers entered the water once again to complete the final chapter of the undertaking. With police team members pulling the shot line from above, Peter and Petrus worked at depth as the line came upwards and the cylinders attached at the different stages were unclipped and passed on to police divers above them who would relay the equipment to the surface. This continued until it was time for the deep divers to take a surface break.

During this break around lunch time, two of the police divers called Big B across and explained to him that they thought they had seen what looked like two divers positioned up against the roof of the cave. The chance of this being the bodies of Dave Shaw and Deon Dreyer was not discounted. Around mid-afternoon Peter and Petrus were able to enter the water again to investigate what had been reported. About fifteen minutes later, the quietness of the pool was suddenly disturbed with the body of Deon Dreyer breaking the surface as Peter floated it up with the aid of a lifting bag. Indeed, what the police divers had seen were the bodies of Dave and Deon that had been carried upwards from where they lay. Dave’s caving light had become entangled with the line he had tied to Deon’s cylinders.

Once the buoyancy remaining in Dave’s dive gear had been activated as the pulling on the shot line raised him a couple of meters from the bottom, Dave’s body continued rising dragging Deon behind him, stopping only at the roof of the cave at a depth of 20m.

Ironically Dave had fulfilled his promise to Theo and Marie Dreyer to bring their son’s remains back to the surface.

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Peter and Petrus then brought Dave’s body to the surface a few minutes later. During all this time I had been recording the activity on video. As tragic as the situation was, I could not ignore the anticipation of retrieving the deep camera. Would four days underwater at 265m have damaged the rig and destroyed the recording on the video tape? As Dave’s body drew nearer to the water’s edge, I focused my attention on the camera. To my relief it was all intact. There was going to be a way of finding out what went wrong. The helmet with the camera was removed from Dave’s head and handed to me to take charge of the valuable video evidence. After the rest of the diving gear was removed, both bodies were sealed in bags and carried away to the waiting mortuary vehicle 50 meters above.

The video tape from the deep camera revealed clearly what took place from the time Dave submerged at 06:13 on the Saturday morning. Importantly though it recorded the sequence of events that allowed investigators to determine what killed David Shaw. The camera was initially intended to record the visuals of him securing the body at the bottom of Boesmansgat. It indeed performed this task, but eventually became the “black box” of his last dive. It revealed that Dave had initiated his task at Deon’s body but things became laboured while all the time his breathing became more difficult with sporadic coughing.

He then began retreating from the body before the end of his planned time of 5 minutes as he had obviously realized that things were not working out. Sadly he slipped into unconsciousness before making it halfway back to the shot line. His cave light had failed but the diving torch rigged to assist the video visuals was still on. This was the motionless light that Don saw from more than 100m above.

Dr. Frans Cronje of DAN South Africa led the investigation into the causes of the accident and death. The video provided crucial evidence in identifying the breathing difficulties that Dave experienced. The combination of performing a task at that depth and the demand his breathing placed on the rebreather caused Dave to build up an excess of carbon dioxide that could not be sufficiently and effectively flushed from his system. This eventually caused unconsciousness and finally drowning.

Interestingly, after ten years at the bottom of Boesmansgat, Deon Dreyer’s body had retained a certain amount of flesh content that had become “soapified”. Normal decomposition had not occurred, but instead the flesh was slowly dissolving over time.

The Dreyer family was now finally able to bury their son and brother. Ann Shaw asked that Dave’s ashes be scattered in South Africa, a place in which he had come to feel comfortable. Don and Andre Shirley obliged by doing so high on a mountainside at their home in Komati Springs.

Aug/Sep 09

Don Shirley for all intents and purposes has recovered fully from his ordeal. He still dives today and continues jokingly to maintain that scuba divers on open circuit systems breathe ‘dirty’ air. He chooses the option of pure gases that he can gently recycle silently through his rebreather. He has a valid point. The quietness one experiences when diving on rebreather is a pleasure and does not chase animals away underwater. The view of the fish in the sea changes when diving on a rebreather – they all seem to be facing you instead of always turning away and retreating at the approach of a diver. Something to consider anyway.

The video footage shot during this event was use extensively on international news features worldwide. Although it is almost five years on, the original documentary should find its way onto the documentary channels soon. Various comprehensive articles on this story were also penned and published worldwide. A book under two titles, namely “Raising the Dead” and “Diving Into Darkness” was authored by Phillip Finch. This will give the reader far more detail of this story and is definitely worth the read.

Extreme spearfishing - down where its deep and dark text by Trevor Hutton images by John Little

This story started for me in 1998; I was at the world free diving championships in Sardinia, Italy, as the captain of the SA free diving team. While we were all there to focus on deep free diving, the word was that Umberto had shot a fish at 48m. I marked this as a notable achievement in my world.

But for the next five years spear fishing would not be a major focus for me and it fell out of my circle of consciousness. Then in 2005 I went to live in far Northern Mozambique where I met Arthur and Sarah of Bay diving.

They gave me a job which enabled me to spearfish on a daily basis in very deep water and supported me in my endeavor to develop my deep spear fishing skills. Although I never managed to shoot a fish deeper than 40m while I was there, I did countless dives to 5om+ and developed my bottom time significantly over the year and was able to achieve that most important factor: reliability of technique.

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Over the past 3 years I have focused much of my attention on teaching with a brief interlude in 2007, where I achieved the deepest dive in official competition in Houtbaai. I had done no diving past 48m since Mozambique, as the opportunity has not really presented itself. Equally, I had only gone spearing a handful of times. Early this year I went to Badgat where I did a dive to 52m in freshwater, but aside from that I had done very little deep diving.

Then last year at the time of the Spear fishing world championships in Venezuela I received an email report from the SA team, which reported that a Mediterranean spearo had swum down to 57m and shot a fish.

Right there this project shifted into a new slot in my brain.

But I still kept it burning somewhere in the background hey I’m a new dad and my priorities have changed big time!

I called Gletwyn Rubidge, sometime in March, and introduced myself to him: “Hi I’m Trevor Hutton and I’m keen to learn how to shoot fish better. I want to hit a fish at 60m”. I’m not sure how he took this as he was on the end of a phone. Anyway we started talking periodically and I ended up going to Port Elizabeth in June to teach Aldo Basson and Zane Hobson advanced free diving techniques.

While I was there Gletwyn and I spent a lot of time together exchanging notes and learning from each other. He taught me many techniques which have already helped me increase my spear fishing success rate!

I had been training most of the year up to May and was hoping to go to the free diving worlds in November in Bahamas, but the recession bit and I had to realize my own free diving priorities were shifting. And then when the winter came I got flu for a month and saw my diving form dropping radically.

Aug/Sep 09

I got over it long enough to run a couple of courses and just managed to get back into some kind of shape. Then just after getting back home from Port Elizabeth I got a random idea to take a closer look at the deep spearing thing again and on the spur of the moment I decided to give John Little of www.spearfishingsa.co.za a call and ask him whether he thought he knew where I could dive with a hope of encountering a fish at 60m that I could possibly shoot.

John sounded impressed but perhaps a little bit dubious and said there was a lot of yellow muck at depth off Durban but he would investigate it and come back to me. It wasn’t long and he called back and said he had got a few spots from local fishermen and that I must come up to Durban and he would sponsor me boat charters to do this thing!

Now that was all fine and well: the problem was that I had just come off a month long bout of flu and although I was healthy again I was certainly not in the best shape at the time. Nevertheless, I was mindful of the limited opportunities I get to do this kind of thing and I also reasoned I could bail out at any time and I could trust myself to make good diving decisions. I discussed it all with Sarah and together we decided I should go north and take a look. We also had all sorts of life stresses and scheduling to deal with but Sarah was awesome and she got in right behind me and took over all the parenting duties and sent me off with a mandate to focus on the task at hand. The only proviso being that I act with prudence and make good diving decisions. So now I needed to find a way to justify being in Durban financially - enter Pietermaritzburg spear fishing club. They arranged a course of 5 people for me to teach on a course. I also spoke to Shane Breedt of Freedivers and he encouraged me - it helped hugely knowing I’d have a good support base when I got to Durban.

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On Thursday 09th July I made the final decision to go and bought my ticket, I’d leave on Wednesday 15th at midday.

By Saturday 11th I had full-blown flu again!!!!! That Monday 13th I started a course of antibiotics and it became a race to get well in time to dive during this trip.

When I arrived in Maritzburg on Wednesday the 15th I was dropped off around 7pm at the Hilton high school swimming bath to start teaching and my feet froze, worsening my flu - not the way I had planned this whole thing in my mind, but I was determined to make my own luck.

I managed to convince the divers to delay any diving until I got better and was feeling confident of getting well. But I got to the end of my course of anti-biotics and was still feeling lousy. So I contacted my doctor and they prescribed a second course. By now I saw my window of opportunity closing and I was less than impressed.

On the morning of Sunday 19th, I woke up still feeling a scratchy chest and nose, but my motor felt like it was running smoothly so I went to Durban with my students and we dived in the shallow water off the bluff. They all did their advanced skills at 17m and I was pretty impressed because conditions weren’t great.

Tuesday 21 July; Dave Coetzee dropped me at John Little’s house and we continued down to Durban Undersea Club from where we launched. Owen Tessendorf, Alex Rice and John Little would accompany me to see where I was in terms of physical readiness to do this dive.

Now in the back of my mind I know a thing or two about no.1 fishing ground in Durban. I had seen my brother land half of a very big shark here as a teenager when we had gone deep sea angling with my elder cousins - the other half had been neatly separated by a set of very sharp teeth!!! I had

also seen video footage of four great whites eating a whale carcass in the same area so I knew that these waters were sharky and nobody would convince me otherwise.

Nevertheless, we launched and started diving on a shallower reef in the area. We had barely dropped Owen and Alex when I heard a shout, “MARLIN!” Now that is all well and good and very exciting and all but I am trying to still my nerves here dude!

I descended to about 15m and did not like the look at all. I also looked into the eyes of my companions and I saw the same sentiments reflected there. The water was green and my heart was pumping and my skin was tight. This sucks big time! Anyway I have long since learnt to operate under the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyway”. No fear is a bull dust concept! John was on the boat and he reckoned the water should clear up after 20m. I did a dive down to the bottom at 27m and it was no cleaner: this place was way spooky!

So I got on the boat and told John to drop us in deeper water - it was time to see if I was for real, or if I was here to blow hot air bubbles. So John took us to a spot that was in the mid fifty-region to do a dive. In my mind I was not at all confident. I wasn’t sure about my weighting, I was feeling tight in my own skin from fear of sharks and the unknown and I had not really had sufficient time to get to know the water I was diving in. And I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to get to know it!

I had done one 52m dive in freshwater 7 months prior and I had not been anywhere near sixty meters in over two years (and back then it was with a monofin and no gun to carry down). So off I went. On the way down I started to feel better but I did not dive well at all. My weights were way out and it took me a full minute to get to 30m. I continued down to 44.6m where suddenly there was no more line and my buoy halted my descent, phew!

Aug/Sep 09

Now I had a valid excuse to get the hell back up! Alex explained that the line had tangled on the surface. I called the divers in and we decided to call it a day. I had seen what I needed to see and I knew that I would be able to theoretically make the dive before I went home. I still thought I’d need more time to acclimatize and get into better diving shape, but I was feeling suddenly more confident. I knew where I could make improvements and knowing that I had managed 44m with such poor technique, which I knew I could fix, I was suddenly not worried about the diving side anymore.

I went and spent the night at John’s house and we spoke over dinner about procedure for the next day, but in a very low key kind of way. It really suited me that John had an understated way about him, no fuss, no bull dust. I was very aware that tomorrow morning would be the last chance we had to do this together as he was going away to Mozambique soon and the weather was also turning. I was not at all sure about the depth due to lack of preparation dives.

But I reasoned that I had done hundreds of deep dives and my style relies more on technique than fitness. I did have other dates set aside but I was not sure I wanted to draw this campaign out. John was of the same mind.

We were up at five the next day. I had one more antibiotic left in the box and was feeling a lot better and I had slept well.

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John made an excellent bowl of oats and honey which we squashed and then made our way to Durban. On the way to the launch site we stopped to fill up with fuel and I devoured a killer chicken pie! I’m telling you there is something in that!

When we arrived at the launch site Shane Breedt from Freedivers was there to meet us with his underwater video camera and show of support.

I got the team together and we had a briefing for the dive and ironed out our strategy and procedures. I did a few stretches on the grass at the back of the club house and we all went about sorting through our gear and prepping. I went to the bathroom to get into my wetsuit as my costume was wet. As I was dressing I caught my reflection in the mirror and I saw something there that I do not like to see. I saw a victim! Now I was stuffed if I was going to go dive in that wilderness as a wounded animal - talk about setting yourself up! Straight away I became a predator that was not going to be intimidated. It was either that way or I call it off right there.

We launched and suddenly I was feeling calm, the sea was big and we rode straight out to the designated area - a wreck that was supposed to be at 62m. When we got to the GPS marks the echo said 68m! John and Alex muttered about it for a while and I just chilled in my own mental box.

Aug/Sep 09

Now the only question was whether John could put me on fish. I got onto the boat and changed out of my 4mm suit into a 1.5mm Predator wetsuit, made by Coral wetsuits in Cape Town. I kitted up with my Mares Samurai mask, Razor fins and my Mares Phantom Carbon spear gun was waiting in the water by my buoy line. Time to go. John moved the boat closer to the spot where he had sounded for fish and the echo was reading between 57m and 64m. I thought at that moment I might shoot a fish at 54-57m if I got lucky today. I always knew a lot of things would need to come together to achieve success with this goal.

We decided to try one of the reefs that John had coordinates for. While they were pottering about, I started to feel the fear returning and told myself that this is what makes this particular goal worth doing. To go spear fishing in the wild and have to deal with constantly moving targets so to speak, this is no walk in a Mediterranean park! I focused on a mental picture of my little boy; a photo Sarah had emailed me. He is 1 year and 3 weeks old and I saw a tiger in that little boys face. I would be bold today!

By now I was firmly in the zone and Alex asked me how long I would take before departure - 25minutes I said. I could hear from his response he was surprised. My team was fantastic though. They were attentive and easy and never got in the way. I got into the water, checking that Owen jumped off the boat at same time as me just to be sure I was not alone and I made two warm up dives to 22m. On the first one my buoy line wrapped itself loosely around my fins and I did not enjoy the idea that I could get entangled down there. I had a debate with myself about my knife and decided that if I needed it during this dive I probably would not need it again, so I left it behind to reduce drag. I did a 20m partial exhale dive and my lungs felt great. I knew then, it was game on.

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I got back into the water and immediately started to breathe up. I knew I’d need to get on with it before I got too cold in my 1.5mm suit. It was not long before I heard John tell Alex that we were off the spot and we must move. I was not going to be able to get through another breathe up with the remaining heat in my body so I knew I had to stick with my breathing. So I held onto my buoy and asked Alex to drag me back to the spot, I could feel how hard he had to work to get me back into position. I was relaxed and just took all the bumping and shoving of the swell, chop and Alex’s swimming in my stride. When he stopped swimming I breathed for a little while longer until I felt I was sufficiently oxygenated and relaxed and then I started my dive just like I teach it to all my students, point, bend stretch, reach, soft initial kick, 75% power to 6, equalize, reduce power to 65%, equalize, mask, sleek silky movement, check the pace, 24m/26 seconds, exactly on the button, around 28m I cut the motors completely. Now I am dropping free in wild and unknown territory with no reference line with my friends bobbing on the surface.

The water is dark and green but remarkably clean as I approach 52m on my gauges, I see the reef coming into view and look around and see a fish off to my right. It looks small but it draws me closer as it is a sign of life down here.

I angle off my glide towards it. As I glide onto the flat rock shoal, which is standing up, about 75cm off the sand I come to rest on the rock and the fish comes in for closer inspection. It is slightly off to the right and grows in size as it gets nearer and I fix my aim. Two other fish have joined it and I notice that one of its companions is larger so I shift my aim. At this point I know I need to take careful aim and get this right. I hear Gletwyn’s voice in my head, “try to stab the fish, if you can stab it you will be sure of your shot and not rush”. Well that was all very nice, but I am sitting in flipping deep water and I can’t exactly wait all day for old pinkie here to swim onto my spear!

Nevertheless, I heed the voice and wait. I squeeze the trigger and see the spear run true. Then I looked carefully and saw there was a crevice directly in front of me, so I pulled the line attached to the spear to lead the speared fish away from the hole as I did not want him to hole up. Then I decided would be a good time to get going back to the surface. I’d been on the bottom for about 20 seconds. I left my gun and started swimming back up, at 35m from the surface I looked at my watch, something I never do, because I was feeling the lack of power in my legs. Fortunately I had the experience to rest my legs and I switched over to a monofin kick for a few strokes, then I saw Alex with the camera and I knew I was not far off. I broke surface and knew I had done something special, I needed to make certain of my recovery. Hook, drag, inhale, hook slower drag out, and inhale. Then I checked my Mares Apneist gauge, which was on my gun hand, 60.1m, …….mission accomplished. When you see the video of my reaction to achieving this dive at the end you might begin to appreciate the apprehension and tension I had to cope with and process in order to execute the task.

We went straight to Shane’s shop and had the freshest, best tasting sushi I have ever tasted in my life!

Aug/Sep 09

Moving Sushi reflects on the West African leg of their expedition by the Moving Sushi team

Having left Cape Town on 25 August 2008, the Marine Resource Expedition finally crossed the 14km strip of ocean separating Morocco from Spain, and ended the first leg of our expedition - West Africa.

After our ordeal of leaving Morocco with expired visas and having the secret police following us at every corner, we drove our vehicle onto the ferry with a deep sigh of relief thinking that all our issues were over until maybe Russia, or China. But how wrong we were. However, before I delve into the political stupidity of Europe and all their rules, a topic for our next article, I think it is important to reflect on what we have learned from our experiences in West Africa.

Statistics for 2009 released by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) highlight that 80% of the world’s marine resources are either fully or overexploited. Given this statistic, the Marine Resource Expedition’s question has been, what is happening in Africa?

To gauge the problem of overexploitation of West Africa’s marine resources, the expedition interviewed as many role players or stake holders in the management of marine resources as possible. We interviewed government officials, local fishers, NGO’s, villagers, conservation officials and so on. From these interviews and discussions the following areas of concern became evident: • Africa’s marine resources are the object of other countries desires.

• Lack of alternative income sources has led to an increase in local resource harvesting effort at an unprecedented scale.

• There is no political will for effective marine resource management.

• Knowledge of the state of marine resources is porous • There is a lack of accurate scientific data pertaining to resource stocks and fishing effort.

• Lack of regional and international communication.

• Lack of research.

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Fishing by foreign vessels We learned that foreign vessels have and continue to plunder Africa’s waters for high market value species such as tuna. Nations such as China, Japan, the European Union (particularly Spanish, French and Portuguese fleets) fish with devastating consequences. While these nations fish legally, according to fisheries agreements, the problem lies with the agreements themselves. So, policies are written with intent to cheat, i.e. fishing vessels comply with the stipulated rules of the fisheries agreement that are impractical for monitoring and compliance by the host country. This means that international fleets can fish without local fisheries observers onboard, without fear or arrest by local compliance officers and without having to dock their fish in local ports. The ability to fish unobserved has allowed for the use of illegal gear such as driftnets, illegal mesh sizes on trawl nets, fishing in illegal zones (for AfricanDiver.com 28

example within the no-trawl zone of Gabon which extends 5.5 km from the coast), and to discard “trash fish” without reporting (inaccurate log books). The result is that large quantities of valuable resources are being exploited at the expense of the host country. Furthermore, the value of fish that leaves the host country increases as companies add value to the resource, for example by filleting, packaging, the price of sushi etc. Therefore the host country not only loses the direct value of the resource but also the valueadd.

Artisanal fishing Senegal has historically produced large quantities of peanuts for export, but the monoculture of peanuts has damaged soil fertility and the industry has collapsed. This has resulted in the country’s population moving to the coast and relying on fishing for an income. This problem

is reflected in the country’s demographics. It has been estimated that 85% of the 13 million population in Senegal lives within 100km of the coastline. Their dependence on fisheries is critical, with the latest estimate from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature suggesting that 600 000 locals are actively fishing. This explosion of the artisanal fleet in Senegal has occurred with no management or understanding by managers of the scale and impact on fish resources. The result is large landings of unreported catch, which limits the authorities’ ability to acquire accurate data pertaining to Senegal’s fish stocks.

Without proper management, Senegal’s fish resources are in serious threat of irreversible collapse. Unfortunately the Senegalese are not alone on the slide towards collapsed fish stocks. Benin, Gabon, Congo and the DRC all face the same challenges.

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Poor scientific data Accurate scientific data pertaining to the state of marine resources in all of these countries is just not available. This implies that the ability to acquire data through programs, such as fisheries observer programs, is not in place.

Fisheries observer programs are an integral part of acquiring accurate biological data and surveillance observations are an integral part of fisheries management.

Observers amplify and report on illegal fishing practices, interactions with endangered species (including marine mammals) and ensure the correct use of fishing gear and GPS positioning of vessels during fishing. Countries that have observer programs in West Africa include Namibia, South Africa, Cameroon (starting a program in 2010), Sierra Leone (new initiative 2009), Ivory Coast (relatively new development) and Morocco. However, because of the danger attached to being a fisheries observer, financial implications, and foreign policy many projects struggle to survive.

Political will for effective marine resource management As countries suffer the effects of the economic recession, locals turn to “free fish” as their only economic opportunity. The development of artisanal fishing has expanded exponentially, which has complicated the ability of fisheries managers to acquire catch data. While it is easier to monitor the large industrial fishing vessels that dock in the ports in Africa, it is near impossible to monitor the countless beaches and protected bays that small artisanal pirogues utilize for landing their catches. According to Haider El Ali from the Oceanium NGO based in Senegal, one of the greatest challenges to Africa’s fisheries managers is to understand the scale and impact of artisanal fishing. By not addressing the problem of an uncontrolled expansion in fishing, competition for resources will intensify, resulting in increased illegal fishing especially in sensitive areas such as estuaries and marine protected areas. Ultimately fishers will gallop towards Hardin’s, “tragedy of the commons”, in which individual fishers fish independently in their own self-interest. This ultimately destroys the shared limited fish resource, even if it is not in anyone’s long term interests.

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Conclusion Africa has potential; there are people who are willing and with little support have been able to contribute to turning around the dismal picture of fisheries management in Africa. Some key attributes of the fisheries sector requiring immediate attention include: • Transparency within the fisheries sector, exposing poor government policy.

• Development of data collection and biological monitoring within the fisheries.

• Establishment of effective communications between governments that share straddling fish stocks such as sardines and anchovies (which constitute 75% of West Africa’s fish landings).

• Harmonizing research efforts and conducting effective marine research at an ecosystem based level.

When we attended the recent International Fisheries Observer and Monitoring Conference in Portland Maine, we questioned the validity of scientific methodology in fisheries observer projects conducted by 1st world nations, (USA and Europe). The success of fisheries observer programs in the USA is unquestionably brilliant. They have acquired excellent data that has been the foundation for the development of excellent fisheries management protocols and policies. But what about Africa? The current focus is to develop a foolproof observer program, and to achieve 100% continuous monitoring of the fishery. Although this is excellent it only relates to systems, countries and fisheries that are organized. The dilemma is that the majority of the world fisheries are not organized.

This does not only include Africa, but countries like India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The problem is how do we observe the artisanal fishery. Models and suggestions based on 1st world countries are not applicable to many developing countries, which results in 75% of the worlds fishery not being included in research and data collection - science out of context.

To improve the state of fisheries in Africa, we must develop concepts unique to African fishing strategies. There is a need to develop an African program dedicated to achieving accurate biological and fisheries data collection programs. Accurate fisheries data allows for effective lobbying of governments by NGO’s and other organizations, and through transparency the sector will highlight the devastating nature of poor foreign policy on Africa’s fragile and finite resources.

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LA DOLCE Vita in the Maldives In issue 4 (Apr/May) of African Diver, we introduced you to Rowan Duvel who wrote a piece for us on freediving with Mantas in the Maldives. For most of 2005 he lived and worked in the Maldives as coordinator of a project to assist the Maldives Water and Sanitation sector in rebuilding and redeveloping in the aftermath of the largest recorded tsunami in modern times. In this article Rowan shares his experiences of living in the Maldives.

While I am fortunate to have travelled to many countries in the world I was unprepared for my surprise at having the opportunity to live and work in another country for an extended period of time. I found myself on a permanent high for the first six weeks of my stay, fascinated by the Maldivian people and their culture. I found myself taking extended walks in the evening exploring the island of Malé and drinking in the culture that I was immeresed in. And, to further enrich this experience, I enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that I was here to make a difference and be of use to the peoples of the Maldives through the work I was doing.

During my first 3 weeks. I stayed in one of the better hotels. The hotel had a little bit of garden space which became, for me, an island in a sea buildings. The hotel is also one of the only low rise buildings left in Malé and from my balcony, through the trees in front of the hotel. I could see the sea, 40 m away.

This area under the trees is home to a popular garden restaurant, and the fact that alcohol is not sold in Malé means that the noise level of sober patrons is a fraction of that of drunken louts.

During the second month of my stay I rented a 3 bedroom apartment in the centre of Malé. To get to the apartment I used to take a taxi and ask the driver to take me to Champa Maage. Sometimes they would insist on a road name and my instruction would change to Danburuh Magu. Such exotic sounding names. At first I used to get confused on arriving at the building because there are three entrances to it. It is in fact three buildings in one. My part of the building was the one with a lift – lucky hey! Buildings in Malé are quite unique in my experience. They are usually one or two rooms wide, 2 or 3 rooms deep (if it is a big building) and anywhere from 4 to 10 storey’s high. Thus, a typical building is 10 m wide by 15 m deep by 8 storey’s high (a little bit like half a slab of chocolate standing on end).

Anyway, for this small and jigsaw-piece shaped of real estate, I paid $1500 per month. The services, which are all very expensive, (desalinated water, electricity generated from diesel) added another $400.

I was quite fortunate to get a sizeable place at what was a reasonable rental in Malé as the influx of expats following the tsunami doubled flat rentals.

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Traffic in Malé can be quite alarming. Malé is one of the most densely populated two square kilometres on earth, and you just have to walk out on to the street to find out about it. Traffic comprises 80% motor cycles and 20% taxis and trucks. There is only one rule of the road that I could make out which is: “whomever gets there first has right of way”. This seemed to apply whether you are a pedestrian or a truck. There is not a single stop sign on the whole island and the motorbikes and taxis simply ride through intersections as if the other 100 000 road users did not exist. Driving on the wrong side of the road into the face of oncoming traffic is also common practice. Pedestrians also use the roads due to a chronic lack of pavements. 99% of the intersections are shielded by high walls and so it is rather surprising that with everyone racing through the blind intersections without looking, that there are relatively few accidents.

A taxi to anywhere on Malé costs $1.50 so transport is cheap and efficient. When travelling

with a local you will be given a ride on the pillion of their 125 cc motorbike, which can be a lot of fun until they start doing this death-wishinto-oncoming-traffic story. Walking to your destination will take between 10 and 30 minutes, but is not advisable during the day unless you wish to arrive at your meeting looking like a rat drowned in its own sweat.

Inter island transport is extremely expensive in the Maldives, because you need to take a boat or plane to get to any other island. Dhonis are the cheapest, but very slow and so can only be used within an atoll. The minute you need to travel to another atoll, you need to take a speed boat. Sea planes are used to travel to more distant atolls, but do not have a fixed schedule, so you generally have to hire the whole plane at $4000 per day. A little pricey! They do have airports in the north and south with a local commercial airline which is much more reasonable, however once you land you need to hire a speed boat again to get to the island of your choice.

During my third week I accompanied the local water engineers to visit 2 islands in the Lhaviyani Atoll. We travelled in a speedboat with 2 x 200 outboard motors and which was quite luxuriously appointed. It was a stormy day with a strong westerly wind and we were travelling north. I’d hate to know what it would be like riding directly into those waves. I thought that the years

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of rough boat rides at Sodwana would have prepared me.

Wrong! Three hours of bone-jarring, back-wrenching misery during which we were often thrown from our seats onto the floor soon made me understand that the Maldives is in the middle of the Indian Ocean with no protection, while Sodwana is afforded some protection from the African coastline. In the afternoon we arranged to be picked up by a sea plane but we crossed the atoll from north to south and back to the north again in the speed boat looking for a place where the plane could land in the storm. Once we took off it was like emerging from the underworld as we flew above the storm in absolute comfort.

chance of getting wet if you go outdoors, because if the rain does not get you, you will end up being drenched in your own sweat. I prefer the rain option, although when it comes down really hard the thoroughness of the soaking you receive is difficult to comprehend. It is a bit like walking into the sea fully clothed (which a lot of people do around here, but that is another topic on Islam versus nudity, which is the clerics’ version of wearing anything less than full body armour).

I think that it is only in a completely Muslim state that you get an appreciation of what Ramazan (Ramadan) the fasting month is like. From 4:30 am to 6:00 pm everyone abstains from indulging in anything that appeals to the The local food is very spicy and in the islands consists senses, drinking any liquids, food, smoking and more. mainly of fish and rice. At the hotel they have an extensive As a consequence, all activity moves to the night time. menu which boils down to something-very-hot with rice Ramazan breakfast is in fact supper (which is the meal or something-very-hot with noodles. During my first week that breaks the fast). As a result of staying up most of the I daringly ordered “sizzling cuttlefish” from the Chinese night, people are very sleepy during the day. Government menu and found it to be very hot but manageable. Then I offices are only open from 9:00 to 13:30.Shops and bit into a whole chilli!! My mouth and tongue turned to businesses are open at odd times. I have often gone to fire and my eyes to water. I barely manage to gasp out an the shops only to find that they are closed. It took me a order for a triple ice-cream banana split to the bemused very long time to work out that if the shop notice says waiter. This little incident paled into insignificance on that it is open from 13:00 to 17:00, it automatically a trip to one of the islands in the Lhaviyani Atoll (near closes (without notice) for prayer time for 30 mins or the Kuredu resort for those who have been there). The so. There are 6 prayer times, which vary slightly every island chief, at the end of our 3 hour visit, invited us to day depending on sunrise and sunset, but they are lunch at his house. There I inadvertently dished up an roughly 4:30 (6:00 not obligatory), 12:00, 13:15, 18:00 innocuous looking fish curry onto a helping of rice. Bad and 19:30. This essentially leaves the morning free for idea! Its name roughly translates into the “living-fires-ofbusiness and after 20:00 at night. So all shops are open hell” curry. Three days later I was still eating bananas and from 8 pm to 11 pm. drinking milk to try and quell the burning sensation in my stomach.

Although there is not much entertainment for young people, they all end up on the street walking and driving Rain storms in the Maldives can take you unawares. around. Most Maldivians don’t go to sleep before I maintain that in the Maldives you have a very good midnight.

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The weekend in the Maldives starts on Thursday evening, with Friday being the holy day and Saturday is, well, Saturday. Sunday morning, bright and early, it is back to work. There are a number of diving schools on MalĂŠ and most Friday mornings at 9:00 am I would join anything from 5 to 12 other divers at the waterfront with my gear.

The dive school with which I dived is owned and run by a Japanese woman, Kyoko, who arrived in the Maldives more than 12 years ago and never left. Everyone pitches in and packs their diving gear (personal or rented) onto the back AfricanDiver.com 34

of one of the small taxi trucks, along with cylinders, weight belts and other diving paraphernalia.

The truck takes the gear about 400m down the road to the jetty where the diving dhoni is moored. The dhoni is a large flat-bottomed local boat used for anything from water taxis to inter-island transport. As a dive boat it has no parallel in its price range for comfort and ease of diving. As soon as all the gear and divers are on board the dhoni captain sets off for the first dive site of the day, a trip which can take up to an hour or more depending on the distance from MalĂŠ. The

first dive takes place between 10:30 and 12:00 followed by a two hour surface interval and a second dive which normally ends around 3:30 pm. Everyone gets back to the dive shop between 4.00 and 5:00 pm to clean and pack away the gear, before adjourning to a local restaurant for a late lunch. So after a hard day’s diving you get back to your apartment at about 7:00 pm which leaves you just enough time to shower and get ready for a night out. The most stressful thing about it is that you do it all again on Saturday.

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One shot, right time, right place

by Simon Brown

Sometimes creating an image takes a little co-operation. This image was taken in Norway, on a wreck called the Consul Carl Fisser.

At 7,000 tonnes it’s a big wreck, sitting upright and dipping from 20m at the stern to 42m at the bows. The wreck is just too big to explore in a single dive and as my buddy and I finned around the bridge area I knew it would need more than one dive to really cover the wreck. Right next to the ascent line back to the surface, the handrail uprights were covered in some really bright orange dead-mens fingers sponges. The same species is found throughout the North Atlantic, but only Norway seems to have the really rich, orange coloured examples that work really well when set against the natural deep green waters. The sponge made a great foreground subject, but with mounting decompression stops it was time to leave, but I did note the sponge was close to the ascent rope.

Everyone on the trip wanted a second dive on the Carl Fisser, so I suggested a picture of a “mass descent” of divers. The instructions were simple; let me set up the shot then everyone else descend en-mass to the wreck with torches blazing, keeping a lookout for where the camera was pointed. Back on the wreck I set the shot and then waited for the sound of the boat. Out of the green dropped the divers. Some had remembered to put their torches on and all were on the lookout for the camera. Just over half the divers made it into the frame, and after 30 frames it was just a matter of selecting the most pleasing composition. By sheer fluke the only diver with a comedy hood aligned himself in the lower left third of the frame, offsetting the sponge. Sometimes you need to plan, share and shoot your own luck.

This image is available as a 16 x 20 print. For more information please click here or visit Simon Brown’s website by clicking here.

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