hat matters, is to have the sun in your heart and joy, regardless of the weather. It is the first two articles of this issue that contain these two notions. Cyprus means not only a lot of sun and warm sea water, it is also the legend of Aphrodite and very interesting diving spots. Farne Islands and seals inhabiting the archipelago will bring at the very least a shadow of a smile to every face. They are funny and love interaction. Klaudyna Brzostowska talks about them and hers is the cover!
In the further part of the Magazine we have an amazing description by Mateusz Popek, not devoid of his own feelings and a kind of summary of the dive that took place in the interior of the earth, in Spain, under the peak of Picos de Europa. Who among you would dare to live for a few days in a cave without a fraction of a photon of natural light at all?
For fans of diving in closed spaces, we have an article by Kurt Storms about the Felicitas slate mine in Germany. Kurt in the previous issue wrote about Scapa Flow, and this inspired Tomek Kulczyński who wrote about this iconic place in a different way. What does it depend on? Check it out!
Despite the sun in my heart, it gets cold and dark outside quickly. Many divers pause at this time until about May. However, you can still dive in pools It is about the deepest pool in the world in Dubai that Jarek Matyga wrote for you. What is there? It's marvellous, see for yourself! In addition, there is also an e-alternative. VR goggles give amazing new options for virtual diving, and Magdalena Sokołowska claims that they have opened up a world of new possibilities for her.
There is also an article and an interesting opportunity to purchase equipment in versions that until now were available only at tenders for special forces. Yes! Now almost anyone can enter the water unnoticed ;)
We have two more great practical articles. The first for people with long hair. Observations are shared by Isadora Abuter Grebe. The other is for everyone, and it reminds us about the procedures as well as shows where and how the procedures in diving are created. According to Wojtek A. Filip "It is worth paying attention to the fact that the procedure is only a tool to help solve a dangerous situation, not its solution."
Wojtek Jarosz describes a bird that dives mainly in rivers. Did you even know about the existence of dippers?
We also have two important summaries: Szymon Mosakowski wrote about the Diving Talks Conference, and Grzegorz Mikosza about Cleaning the World 2022. In the final this year, we collected almost a ton of garbage from under the water, and since all the garbage is ours, it makes me feel really sad...
In the next issue, a summary of Baltictech 2022!
We have prepared a subscription for 2023 – every 2 months you get Perfect Diver Magazine straight to the mailbox and a beautiful calendar.
Enjoy reading!
Lawyer Joanna Wajsnis Brygida Jackowiak-Rydzak
WOJCIECH ZGOŁA
Passionate about diving and pure nature. He likes to say that he travels by diving. He learned to swim when he was less than 6 years old. At the age of 15, he obtained a yacht sailor's license and has been diving since 2006. He has completed over 750 dives in various regions of the world. He wrote and published many articles.
Co-author of photo exhibitions. An advocate of leaving the place of residence clean and unblemished. Diving promoter. Since 2008 he has been running his own website www.dive-adventure.eu. Based on extensive experience, in 2018 he created the new Perfect Diver Magazine, which has been successfully published regularly every two months in Polish and English for 3 years.
”My passion, work and life are under water.” He has been diving since 2009. Since 2008, he's walking in caves. Underwater archeologist by education. He participated in numerous projects in Poland and abroad. He has been engaged in professional diving since 2011. In 2013 he obtained the qualifications of a 2nd class diver. Has experience in underwater work both at sea and inland. Since 2013 he has been diving in caves, especially in the mountains, and since 2014 he is a diving instructor CMAS M1. In June 2020, he obtained a doctoral degree in underwater archeology.
An IT specialist by profession, but a flesh and blood salesman who is not afraid of any job. Diving has always been my big dream. At the beginning it was supposed to be a challenge, a short episode but it turned out to be a passion for the end of the world and one day longer. Under water I react and rest. As a Divemaster, sidemount Razor diver, and recently also a photographer, I realize my dreams by admiring and immortalizing the beauty of the underwater world. "Passion breeds professionalism, professionalism gives quality, and quality is a luxury in life. Nowadays, especially..."
Karolina Sztaba, and professionally Karola Takes Photos, is a photographer by education and passion. She is currently working at the Trawangan Dive Center on a tiny island in Indonesia – Gili Trawangan, where she moved to live four years ago. She photographs above and below the water. In addition, she creates photographic projects against littering the oceans and polluting our planet with plastic ("Trapped", "Trashion"). She cooperates with NGO organizations dealing with environmental protection and actively participates in pro-ecological actions (coral protection, coral planting, cleaning the world, protection of endangered species). She is also the official photographer of Ocean Mimic – a brand that creates swimwear and surfwear from rubbish collected on the beaches of Bali. She cooperated with many brands of diving equipment for which she created advertising campaigns. In 2019, she became the ambassador of the Polish company Tecline. She has been a technical diver for two years.
MATEUSZ POPEK
HUBERT REISS
KAROLA TAKES PHOTOS
Has more than 8000 dives on his account. He has been diving for over 30 years, including over 20 years as a technical diver. He is a professional with great theoretical and practical knowledge. He is an instructor of many federations: GUE Instructor Mentor, CMAS**, IANTD nTMX, IDCS PADI, EFR, TMX Gas Blender. He participated in many diving projects and conferences as a leader, explorer, originator or lecturer. These included the Britannic Expedition 2016, Morpheus Cave Scientific Project on Croatia caves, GROM Expedition in Narvik, Tuna Mine Deep Dive, Glavas Cave in Croatia, NOA-MARINE. Professionally, he is a technical director at TecLine in Scubatech, and a director of training at TecLine Academy.
WOJCIECH JAROSZ
A graduate of two Poznan universities, the Academy of Physical Education (coaching specialization – handball) and the University of A.Mickiewicz, Faculty of Biology (specialty of experimental biology). He connected his professional life with this first university trying to influence the direction of development of future professionals on the one hand, and on the other planning and implementing research, pushing laboriously in the right direction of the stroller called science. In his free time he spends his time actively – his main passions are sailing (sea helmsman), skiing (downhill skiing instructor), riding a motorcycle, recreational diving and many other activities, as well as photography, mainly nature.
A graduate of Geography faculty at the University of Wrocław and an incurable optimist… with a permanent smile on her lips! It was probably Destiny that led her to Activtour… and she's been here on permanent basis. She passionately fulfils the dreams of many, organizing diving trips around the world, and she has already been diving for more than half of her life. Each year she explores a different ‘piece of the ocean’, pinning another pin to her diving world map. In winter she changes fins into her beloved skis and gets away into the Alps. A recipe for life? ”The only a dead trunk flows with the current – the explorer's canoe flows up the river!” anna@activtour.pl activtour.pl; travel.activtour.pl; 2bieguny.com
SYLWIA KOSMALSKA-JURIEWICZ
A traveller and a photographer of wild nature. A graduate of journalism and a lover of good literature. She lives in harmony with nature, promotes a healthy lifestyle: she is a yogini and a vegetarian. Also engaged in ecological projects. Sharks and their protection are especially close to her heart. She writes about the subject in numerous articles and on her blog www.divingandtravel.pl. She began her adventure with diving fifteen years ago by total coincidence. Today she is a Divemaster, she visited over 60 countries and dived on 5 continents. She invites us for a joint journey with the travel agency www.dive-away.pl, of which she is a co-founder.
Student of archeology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. A beginner diver starting his adventure with underwater archeology. A lover of photography, nature and basketball, and recently also diving.
Laura Kazimierska is currently working as PADI Course Director at TrawanganDive Center on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan. Founder of the Divemastergilis portal. www.divemastergilis.com @divemastergilis
For over 7 years she has lived and discovered the underwater world of Indonesia. She is not only an avid technical diver, but also the face of the Planet Heroes platform and the ambassador of the Ocean Mimic brand. She actively contributes to the promotion of the protection of corals and the natural environment of fish and marine animals by taking part in scientific projects, campaigns against ocean littering and cooperating with NGOs in Indonesia. @laura_kazi
WOJCIECH A. FILIP
ANNA SOŁODUCHA
SZYMON MOSAKOWSKI
LAURA KAZIMIERSKA
AGNIESZKA KALSKA
”I can't imagine living without water, where in a free body I experience freedom of the spirit.”
• founder of the first freediving and swimming school in Poland – FREEBODY,
• Apnea Academia International and PADI Master Freediver freediving instructor,
• world record holder in freediving (DYN 253 m),
• record holder and Polish champion, member of the national team in freediving 2013–2019,
• winner of the World Championships in freediving 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018,
• multimedalist of the Polish Championships and a member of the national team in swimming in the years 1998–2003,
• passionate about freediving and swimming.
BARTOSZ PSZCZÓŁKOWSKI
That's my name and I come from Poznań. I have been associated with water practically from birth and with diving since I learned to walk. My grandfather instilled my passion for the underwater world, a CMAS*** instructor taking me to the lakes at any free time. I obtained my first qualifications in 1996. A year later I went to Croatia and literally went crazy at the sight of blue water, octopus and colorful fish;) I bought my first underwater camera – Olympus 5060 and started the adventure with underwater photography. I acquired my diving experience in the Canary Islands, Sardinia, Norway, Maldives and in Polish lakes. I am currently a Padi and ESA instructor, I train diving enthusiasts in Europe and pass my passion on to others.
I invite all lovers of the underwater world and photography to Beediver (FB) – see you soon.
"Wet photos" – He has photographed since he remembers. After several years of experience as a diver, he wanted to keep memories of underwater dives. He bought his first compact camera with an underwater housing. Over time, however, the desire to have the best photo began to dominate, which was not quite possible with the compact he used. That's why he switched to the Olympus PEN E-PL 5 reflex camera, which allows the use of several different lenses. He uses a combination of underwater flashes and lights. He focuses on wildlife photography, not arrangement. He photographs in fresh domestic waters as well as in the seas and oceans of the world.
He has already won numerous awards at Czech and foreign photography competitions. More photos can be found on his website, where you can also buy them not only as photos, but also as photos printed on canvas or on another medium. www.mokrefotky.cz
Since I was a child, I had dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and I managed to fulfill that dream. I did a degree in oceanography, where I recently started my doctoral studies. My diving adventure began when I was 12 years old. I love observing the underwater life up close and I try to show other divers how fascinating the underwater, Baltic creatures are.
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Polish Diving School
OCTOPUS in Hamburg
Regional Manager Divers Alert Network Polska, diving and first aid instructor, technical diver and cave diver. In love with all flooded, dark, cold, tight places and invariably from the beginning of the diving route – in the Baltic. Implementing the DAN mission, he conducts a series of lectures ”Dive safely” and Diving Safety Laboratory, so field research of divers for scientific purposes.
MICHAL ČERNÝ
IRENA KOSOWSKA
AGATA TUROWICZ-CYBULA
Belgium Military, underwater cave explorer and active technical/ cave/ rebreather diving instructor for IANTD. He started his diving career in Egypt on vacation, and his passion continues. Kurt is also the founder and CEO of Descent Technical Diving. He dives on several CCRs such as AP, SF2, Divesoft Liberty SM. Kurt is involved in the creation of the document about the new salt mine in Belgium (Laplet). This project was featured in the news on Nationale TV.
Privately, Kurt's true passion is deep cave diving. His wife (Caroline) shares her husband's passions and also dives in caves. In his free time, he visits Belgian slate mines, and when he is not exploring, he takes his camera to document the dives.
For Tomek, diving has always been his greatest passion. He started his adventure at the age of 14, developing into a recreational and technical diving instructor, a first aid instructor and a diving industry technician. Currently, he runs the 5* COMPASS DIVERS Pobiedziska Diving Center near Poznań, where he passes his knowledge and skills to beginners and advanced divers, which gives him great joy and satisfaction from being part of their underwater adventure…
PADI diving instructor and videographer. She spends most of his time in the water documenting a fascinating underwater world. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in the field of Fashion Design in Łódź and Film studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, trained as a tailor, and with a love of nature and a large dose of adrenaline. She loves everything related to water. Her diving adventure began with a backpacking trip in 2016. During her stay in Thailand she dived for the first time and from then on she got hooked on at this sport. Spending the last years and most of her days under water, teaching and showing the beauty of the underwater world in Asia, she believes that diving means unity – unity with own mind, nature and unusual creatures. @waterographyk
Jarek Matyga professionally deals with telecommunications, he tries to use every free moment for his passions – travelling, diving and photography. He made his first dive in Fiji some 20 years ago. Since then, the romance with the tank has been going on continuously. He is a TDI diving instructor and a cave diver. Photography is an integral part of his life. He photographs while traveling (often family reports) and diving. He also uses the possibilities offered by drone photography. He trains his workshop all the time.
Magdalena is a modest woman with many passions, the greatest of which are sharks.
Enthusiastic diver, scientist, and wildlife conservationist. Isadora is researching the biological significance on shipwrecks for marine ecosystems. Driven by curiosity, she wants to learn about nature, as well as “how to become a better diver”. Being still in the beginnings of her diving-career she is enjoying the path of overcoming obstacles by learning from more experienced divers, using adequate configuration and practicing.
@isa_diving_nature
In the Foundation, he is the commander-in-chief of the Clean up the World – Poland Action and manages the works of strategic projects. Grzegorz realizes himself creatively in ideas for new campaigns and methods of promotion as part of the Foundation's Clean Up the World – Poland and Eco-education programs. Arranges strategies and coordinates the work so that everything goes according to plan. During off-road activities, he wears yellow gloves and naturally carries kilograms of waste. He often takes the helm of the foundation's Facebook and Instagram profile to talk about what we can do together for our immediate surroundings. In his free time, he sails, runs and traverses mountain trails. A graduate of the Faculty of IT Management and Finance at the University of Economics in Wrocław and the Faculty of Journalism and Social Communication of the University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław. Certified specialist in the field of obtaining EU funds and communication on the Internet.
JAREK MATYGA
GRZEGORZ MIKOSZA
ISADORA ABUTER GREBE
MAGDALENA SOKOŁOWSKA
TOMEK KULCZYŃSKI
KLAUDYNA BRZOSTOWSKA
KURT STORMS
ASIAN ISLAND OF EUROPE
Text and photos WOJCIECH ZGOŁA
Jubilee Shoals
IT IS THE YEAR 58 B.C. THE REIGN OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN CYPRUS BEGINS. PAPHOS IS ALREADY ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES ON THE ISLAND. OCTAVIAN MAKES THE ISLAND INDEPENDENT AND ORGANISES IT AS A SENATORIAL PROVINCE.
It is during this period, next to many buildings and fortifications, that the port walls join the previously built wall. They are supposed to protect the shore from storms and uninvited "guests".
We are located in the western part of the Republic of Cyprus. According to legend, this is the birthplace of Aphrodite, which is why Cyprus is sometimes called the Island of Aphrodite. And although the name itself comes from Greek and means copper, it is not copper but the legend of the goddess that attracts millions of tourists every year.
You can find there the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the sun shining for more than 300 days a year, the rich and interesting history dating back several thousand years BC,
amazing views and natural circumstances, excellent cuisine and an incredible number of dive spots.
I deliberately started my story about Cyprus from Paphos (many years ago it was the capital of the state), because this is where we started and ended our editorial exploration of the island. It is the second half of September 2022.
After a late arrival and accommodation in the hotel, dressed in light clothes (the air is 24°C at 21:00), we walked on the nearest streets and sat down in a bar. We were hungry. The next morning, according to the programme, we checked in the Cydive Diving Centre to dive with them. The weather was sunny, warm but windy. It should be remembered that in Cyprus it usually blows from the west.
The Cydive base is very well prepared for divers. The area has its own swimming pool, showers, toilets, a shop, lockers and some space inside and outside its buildings. For the first dive that day, we sailed on a diving boat for about 15 minutes. The sea was wavy, and we were swinging, which some participants did not welcome with joy. Everyone was thinking about getting underwater as soon as possible and calming down the inner ear. We dived on the wreckage of Laboe, which lies on the keel, on the mud floor, at a depth of 28 m. This is a dive for advanced level divers as the minimum. The Laboe
Paphos Harbor and Castle
Aphrodite's Rock
View of Pissouri Bay
Ship was brought to Cyprus in 2006. It had already travelled many nautical miles since it was built in 1940 in Germany in the Rendburg shipyard. After 8 years, in 2014, it was qualified for sinking as part of the artificial reefs and marine parks project. It has become an attraction for divers. Since then the wreck has been a dwelling for many species of sea creatures. Marine biologists who monitor such objects found 14 different coral species in 2020.
The advantage of the place itself is the fact that Laboe is located in a marine park, protected by fisheries regulations. This is an additional bonus for us divers, because the wreck is full of life. Here we can find nudibranchs, including pink flabellina, parrotfish, various grouper species, there are stingrays and flounders, shoals of two-banded sea breams and oblades, and recently also omnipresent lionfish.
The wreck is also available indoors, and penetration is relatively easy. All the windows were removed from the "living room" deck, and natural light falls inside. You can enter the engine room or exit through the front windows. In the engine room itself (it is worth being at the head of the diving
peloton than at the end) there is an intact engine. It's worth having a flashlight here, because it's the darkest place in the wreckage.
There are many diving spots in the vicinity of Paphos. We also visited the remains of the Lebanese freighter Vera-K, which went aground in 1972. For some time it served as a military target, and in 1974 it was blown up because it was a threat to the ships passing by. It fell apart and sank in pieces over a fairly large area. It is located in the crater, at a depth not exceeding 12 m. In its rear part there is a large arch with many entrances through which you can swim. The wreckage is in 4 sections and the engine is still intact. After nearly 50 years, parts of the wreckage are inhabited by marine animals. Parrotfish, wrasses, damselfish and scorpionfish are commonly found here. There are octopuses and cuttlefish.
Another 4 dives were cancelled due to the weather, so we devoted the whole day to sightseeing. Cyprus welcomes us as guests, not as ordinary tourists. People from almost every corner of the world work in shops, bars, diving centres and hotels. We meet Greeks, Afghans, Czechs, Montenegrins, Russians,
Vera-K
Laboe
Ukrainians, British, French, Swiss, Austrians, Poles, Cypriots. We all get along with each other in English. Cyprus was once a British colony. Hence, let's be careful on the streets, because the traffic on the island is left-handed. An interesting fact is that the rental cars' plates are in red. It is immediately known that a foreigner moves in such a car and the local people react patiently and cautiously.
Thanks to Mary, we visit nooks and crannies of Paphos, where tourists are more difficult to find. It leads us, among other things, to the factory where, for generations, with a traditional manual method, Loukoumi has been produced. They are delicious and have an unforgettable original taste. This factory is located in Paphos, 49 Arch. Makarios Ave., Yeroskipou. It's inconspicuous and easy to miss. After entering the factory, on the table there are several boxes with various flavours of this delicacy, richly sprinkled with powdered sugar. You can try and choose your favourite flavour. Attention! Count the calories, because loukoumi is very tasty but caloric
We are going higher than Paphos. We are welcomed in the Traditional House of Sofia and Andreas. If you have time, come here. It is not only about delicious, warmly served halloumi (one of the most characteristic cheeses of this region), figs picked straight from the tree, bread with butter, or Greek salad, grilled meat and Cypriot crucible coffee, necessarily black. It is about the atmosphere of the whole house, about the interior of the house with furniture and
Laboe
traditional and folklore patterns and a lot of family souvenirs (almost like a museum), about peace and a kind of a break from rush. It's kind of visiting your grandparents in a country house. Remember, however, to make an appointment, because you can come across a workshop or a larger group of tourists, and it would be a shame to be there and not to try the Cypriot delicacy – halloumi cheese, because it has just ended ;)
North of Paphos, near Peyia, there is a ship that crashed into nearby rocks during a storm in 2011 and settled on them. You can dive here since recently. From the sea side, on the right side, a large piece of sheet metal was cut, and inside there are intact forklifts and cargo from the deck. The screws are also
intact. You can also snorkel around the wreckage. The EDRO III is 95 m long and 14.5 m wide. Swimming and diving around it, you meet fish shoals of several hundred pieces, which glow in the sun, outdoing each other.
Edro III
Going to the southeast side of the island, it is worth stopping in Pissouri Bay. There is the very atmospheric Columbia Beach Resort. Located on a pebbly and sandy beach with several bars and water equipment rentals, the place is distant from cities. Divers can drive to the beach itself, and nearby, 50 m from the car park, there is a very well-maintained public toilet with showers.
Here is one of the most interesting dive spots in Cyprus – Jubilee Shoals. We dive with the Blue Thunder Diving Centre (located in Limassol). We put the equipment on the beach, right next to the shoreline. Put on the wetsuits and get into the boat which has a small immersion. The sea is calm and fragrant. The rays of the sun shine, as we flee away from the shore. Finally, we moor to the rope left here permanently, which is firmly tied to the rock 16 meters deeper. It turns out that the visibility is very good. We can still see the bottom under the boat. Unfortunately, it cannot always be easy, we have a strong current, so
during the briefing we learn that we go down the rope to the bottom, then we wait, the guides will check the conditions and decide whether we are implementing the day plan – diving in a cavern, which is located at 38 m deep.
One after the other, we saw big turtles in the distance after just 2 minutes. The visibility was good 40 m. When we got down there, we had to stick to the rope or the rocks. The current was really strong. The lionfish looked funny here. They found a rock recess and protected themselves there, not really sure whether they would lose this uneven fight or not. The turtles stayed away. In total, there were three powerful specimens. It turns out that turtles are not always found in the most predictable locations in Cyprus. We denied it in an obvious way.
It turned out that there was no current below the rock shelf (wall), so we dived calmly into the cave. A large cave, which could be entered by several people at the same time, is located between 38 m and probably 33 m deep. Colourfully over-
Jubilee Shoals
Pissouri Bay
grown with plants and animals. We looked for snails of the doris (dorididae) species, tunicates, or bristle warms, and we began to ascend, remembering the current, which was about to begin to dictate the conditions. I peeked out first and saw that a few meters away one of the turtles had descended into a recess. The second one gave a scratch on me, and the third one was on the other side, about 30 m away, barely visible. I began to "climb" horizontally on the rocks in the direction of the turtle, which was watching me calmly. It was 16 m deep, there was a current, a large camera in my hand and you still have to hold on. It's not easy in these situations. I nodded at Dominika and Waldek. There was no reaction. Dominika focused not to float away, Waldek tried to film. I started screaming to the regulator, I was making strange noises and was knocking on rocks. It worked. I helped Dominika move a few meters closer to the turtle, and when she finally saw it, her eyes opened to the maximum, and the regulator almost fell out of her mouth. Waldek crawled closer, settled down and turned on the camera. The third one was too much, and after a short while the turtle decided to swim away. After its strong movements, it was almost impossible to see that there was any current. We had to get back to the boat. We were shaken a little
at the security station, but we were extremely satisfied and we got on the boat with difficulty. The owner of the CN together with her son (our guides) spoke and gestured frantically. There are not often as many as 3 large turtles in this place.
On the beach we stayed a few more hours using warm water, sunshine, free shower and tasty food.
Another dive stop is one of the largest cities in Cyprus –Limassol. Still taking advantage of the Blue Thunder Diving hospitality, we continued our underwater exploration of Aphrodite Island.
We visited 2 wrecks: Costandis and Lady Thetis. The first one is located at a depth of 25 m. It was built by the Soviet Union in 1989. It sailed in Cyprus from 1997 until 2014, when it was sunk. It is located 1 km from the Limassol coast in the Dasoudi Marine Protected Area. The wreck lies on a keel on the sandy bottom. It's 25 meters long. It has become an artificial reef inhabited by numerous species of marine animals. There are, among others, a yellowbelly grouper, groupers, surmullets, many small fish, nudibranchs (2 species we have met). There are also turtles here.
Lady Thetis sank in 2014 in the aforementioned protected area, also 1 km from the coast of the city. It was
Jubilee Shoals
Costandis
Lady Thetis
Costandis
Costandis
Costandis
a passenger ship. It lies on a keel, on a sandy bottom at a depth of 18 m, and itself is 30 m long. We went around the shipwreck, looked inside and saw there a lot of wildlife. Inside, we came across about 10 lionfish, which are already massively present at Cyprus dive spots.
On the other hand, at the top of the wreckage, we saw two amberjacks hunting, take turns getting into a shoal of smaller fish. We could observe accelerations, sudden turns, apparent calm, and amberjacks going for dinner again. Such impressions remain for a long time, because one does not often witness such occurrences. Let me add that there are bottlenose dolphins in this place.
In the Limassol area there is still a totally calming Ancient Underwater Port of Amathous. The immersion depth shall not exceed 5 m. By the calm sea, you can get lost here in viewing the age-old stones, searching for octopuses, bristle
Ancient Underwater Port of Amathous
Lady Thetis
Lady Thetis
worms and watching flowing flocks of small barracudas. A total chill.
As for curiosities, there is a new, still little-known dive site called "Masks". We wanted to see it, although we were told that it is nothing special, and when there is a wave at sea, the visibility drops there quite strongly and the mentioned masks cannot even be found. We had no idea how big they were or how many of them there were. Following the guide among the rocks,
We dived with: www.bluethunderdiving.com www.cydive.com
sand and the small number of fish, we reached our destination. These are concrete theatre masks. One is smiling and the other is gloomy. They are large. You can sit in their gaping mouth. They seem to show that people often wear masks. This is not about masks from the pandemic period, but about not showing emotions, so as not to reveal that we care about something. These masks show that we play well in the theatre of life, of meetings and views…
We slept in hotels:
Annabelle Beach Hotel
Elias Beach Hotel
Ancient Underwatert Port of Amathous
Masks
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Pinnipeds of the Farne Islands
A BRITISH GREY SEAL
Text and
photos
Klaudyna Brzostowska
ENGLAND, EAST COAST, ARCHIPELAGO – THE PERFECT PLACE TO OBSERVE GREY SEALS. THE FARNE ISLANDS ARE A GROUP OF 26 SMALL BRITISH ISLANDS AND ROCK FORMATIONS LYING IN THE NORTH SEA OFF THE EAST COAST OF NORTHERN ENGLAND.
The islands are located next to the charming town of Seahouses whose harbour is used for day cruises. It is this region that is recognized as one of the best places in Europe to observe the protected species of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), also known as Atlantic seal or the horsehead seal. As much as 38% of the world population of these predatory mammals can be found in Great Britain alone. And the months of early autumn are the best time to observe young seals playing in the water.
The main reason for the species being so abundant on the Farne Islands is the excellent habitat conditions. The seal is most likely to inhabit shores with a large number of sandbanks or rocky islets, away from humans but close to fish and bird habitats. The protected area of the islands turns into an exceptional habitat for wild birds every year, such as puffins, black-legged kittiwake, common murres and common shags flock here. In addition to the numerous bird colonies, the area is populated by grey seals which come to give birth to offspring. Each year, around autumn, mothers give birth to several hundred cubs. The grey seals are bound to a particular area, and the females choose their native habitat as the birthing site. After a pregnancy of about eight months, a mother gives birth to one cub, covered with creamy white fur – lanugo.
It's not easy being a young seal. After about 18 days, the cub is weaned and is on its own. The most difficult period is the first month of life, the moment when the seal does not yet dive. As many as 50% of the cubs die in the first month of life mainly due to tides and storms which can cause mass deaths. A baby seal must quickly learn from other individuals how to function in a harsh environment. Adult seals live a long time – males up to 25 years and females up to 35 years. During the autumn months, grey seals fast. Males can go without foraging for up to 50 days – they stay on land protecting their young and territory. In contrast, females fast for about 20 days, feeding their youngest offspring during this time.
The seals, which can be observed in the water and with whom we have been diving, are a few years old cubs that are
exploring the world. They are just like puppies, curious and eager to play. They appear out of nowhere in the water (they are extremely fast) and are very interested in the divers' fins. During one dive, I counted 10 attempts to pluck my fin. Each attempt is subtle and gentle at first and slowly the boundaries start to shift. At one point, turning towards my dive partner, I saw one seal sitting on his head and the other biting his flipper. Quite a bizarre portrait of aquatic creatures. It has to be said that watching a seal from the water is quite unique. I was surprised how easy it was to interact with them. After a short time needed for taming, the mammals allowed themselves to be stroked and responded to the close presence of humans. The only rule to follow was: it is me – the seal-the resident-of these-areas, swimming up to you-the human-the tourist.
Seals are extraordinary swimmers, spending 80% of their lives swimming. The animal finds its true spirit in the water. It swims on its belly and back, dives masterfully and uses sophisticated navigation systems. This can be seen in their every underwater movement. Underwater, the seal is in no way clumsy; on the contrary, it is characterised by elegance and grace. The seal moves so agilely thanks to its strong torso
and rear fins, the front fins acting as rudders. Even though it weighs up to 200 kg and is 2 metres long, it looks like a ballerina underwater. I observed different behaviour of seals underwater, some were more individualistic, exploring areas alone. Others swam in pairs or threes while playing and dancing synchronically.
The grey seal can hold its breath for up to 30 minutes and dives for several dozen metres to get food. It is incredible what this mammal capable of when it craves a mollusc. They usually dive in relatively shallow waters up to 100 m deep, but it is worth mentioning the recorded dive of a grey seal to over 300 m for a period of more than 30 minutes (!) –amazing what one can do to get food! The grey seal's regular diet includes fish (including sand eels – abundant in the Farne Islands), squid and octopus. Grey seals have 34 to 36 sharp teeth ideal for munching crustaceans and biting off tasty parts. The seal devours smaller fish whole, but skilfully bites off the soft tissues out of large ones and does not eat the bones. Seals also have whiskers which are very sensitive to tactile stimuli. They are an important organ of touch for the grey seal and help in navigation.
The only rule to follow was: it is me – the seal-the resident-of these-areas, swimming up to you-the human-the tourist.
Grey seals are indeed fascinating, and so remarkable when interacting with humans. Anyone who dreams of admiring this aquatic mammal in person is invited to visit the Farne Islands, preferably in autumn (ask Sovereign Divers and Andrew about available dates on the boat). And in the meantime, take a look at WWF's website and adopt a seal by paying a symbolic amount to the foundation's account. Here's what WWF itself writes this about the action: On our initiative, a comprehensive project of a program for the protection of the grey seal has been developed. It is awaiting approval by the Ministry of the Environment. In anticipation of its implementation, we encourage you to actively join our activities. You can symbolically adopt a grey seal today to have a share in the protection of these beautiful and wise animals.
PICOS de EUROPA
Text Mateusz Popek Photos Participants of the expedition
A GENTLE LIGHT SHINES ON A SMALL FRAGMENT OF A TEN-MILLIMETER ROPE. IT IS NOT MUCH THICKER THAN MY FINGER. I LOOK UP... I CANNOT SEE THE END. I LOOK DOWN AND CANNOT SEE THE END AS WELL.
Iincrease the power of the diode mounted on my helmet.
In the far distance, I see the walls of the pit in which I’m hanging with my diving cylinder inside a bag attached to me, which weights a dozen or so kilograms. In a moment like this, endless thoughts are running through my head and not all of them are positive. An afterthought that “in a cave, you have to be able to manage your fears” clarifies in my head, after which I continue to descend into the bottomless abyss of the cave pit.
Cave diving is one of the last levels of initiation in the underwater world. However, this level contains a nook visited by only a few cave divers. This unpopular cranny is called speleo diving or diving in alpine-type caves. What differentiates it from the commonly known cave diving is the fact that, in order to reach the water, you need to go through the dry part of the cave. Therefore, in order
to be able to explore the water reservoirs in such locations, which are usually sumps, one should not only have diving skills, but also be quite an agile spelunker, or – in other words – cave rock-climber.
What happens in the Picos de Europa mountains (Spain) in August 2022 can be classified as this type of cave-diving action. However, this story started several months earlier, when at one of the cave festivals, I met members of Speleoclub Wrocław, who have been successfully exploring the caves in the Picos de Europa massif for thirty years. They have already connected several cave systems, for which they received the Kolos (Colossus) award, among others. Our conversations revealed that they reached a large sump on the bottom of one of the explored systems. I suggested that I am a cave diver and spelunker, so... so the conversation got livelier.
We spent the next several months on intensive conversations and planning. Marek (expedition leader), Jacek, Paweł and Marcin suggested several solutions to facilitate the approach. One of such conveniences was supposed to be using composite cylinders, which are lighter. Of course, we would need to prepare more ballast, however, it could be distributed over a larger number of caving
bags, which made it easier in terms of logistics. We also needed a second diver. Right away, I thought about Piotrek, whose skills, mental resilience and positive mind-set made him perfectly suited to spending several hard days underground together.
Several months passed in the blink of an eye and we landed on the end of a road covered with crashed stones somewhere in Picos de Europa on Pan de Carmen, where we left our cars before venturing up the mountains. There were three of us: me, Piotrek and Aleksandrina, and each one had a bag containing virtually only their personal equipment. Despite this, our legs bent after we put them on. We had a 7.5-kilometer-long march up the mountains before us, with 930 meters elevation to pass. It is not a hard mountain walk, unless you have a backpack like a Sherpa.
Soon after our arrival, the team appeared to take the bags with the diving equipment, which we brought. Eight cave equipment sets were filled with cylinders, lead and everything needed for diving. Each weighted at least 15 kg and it all had to be carried to our base... 7.5 km and 930 meters up.
Our base, located at the height of 2000 m.a.s.l., is composed of several tents where we live and a larg-
er one – so called central base tent. It’s all set up on a small plateau, which is flat enough to enable setting up a tent. Water is obtained from snow or, if the rainfalls were heavy in July, from a capricious spring, which stops running during drought periods. Luckily, it has been raining for the last two days, so we have plenty of water. Our shower is a rock niche with a crevasse. All of us use natural and fully biodegradable sanitary products to care for the environment. Each of us eats what they want... of course, provided that they carry it up for themselves. Despite this inconvenience, there is plenty of food for everyone. After dinner and a short rest, the evening comes...
In the evening the mountains are almost completely silent. The only sound is the hum of human voices coming from the central base tent, i.e. a large tent that serves as a kitchen, dining area and place for our expedition to socialize. Marek, the expedition leader, sits at the head of the table made of stacked, relatively flat rocks. The rest of us are trying to find a place on the rock circle surrounding the “table”. It is important to adjust your body to the rocks. Then you can sit more or less comfortably. Some of us use roll mats to make the couch softer, others chose barrels, which serve as taborets. These are the circumstances for
our briefing. We learn that the previous teams have set up two campsites in the cave. One is located at the end of the descending pits (so called Campsite 11). That is where we’ll be exploring the dry parts of the cave. The second one has been set up by the spelunkers next to the Eye of the Sea – the place where we will perform the underwater exploration. Marek distributes tasks during the briefing. Paweł, Marcin, Bartek and Sebastian will carry over a part of the bags with the diving equipment to our campsite and return to the upper parts to try find a passage from this system to another cave, using aid climbing. They will depart tomorrow morning. My team includes Marek, Aleksandrina and Piotrek. Our task is to carry the rest of the diving bags to the campsite next to the Eye of the Sea. After this, we all go our separate ways. Piotrek and I will be diving, while Sasha with Marek will chart the explored parts of the cave, which have not been included in the plan as of yet. We will depart the day after tomorrow, not to crowd the cave. Once we are underground, our time will be split into twelve-hour sections called “shifts”. After such a twelve-hour shift, we have time to rest and sleep at the campsite. This also takes twelve hours and, after such “night”, a new shift begins. Rinse and repeat until our tasks are completed.
The day right before our departure passes by fast. We check our equipment and pack the bags, while eating delicacies, as our diet inside the cave will consist mainly of bars, freeze-dried dishes and tea. In the blink of an eye, the day turns into an evening, the evening into a night and the night into a morning.
Marek, Aleksandrina, Piotrek and I put our backpacks on and the four of us go in the direction of the cave opening. The entrance isn’t far away, but the way leads through a treacherous, rocky terrain filled with fissures. We’re going down, but we need to step carefully, because any stumble may end in rather unpleasant fall down a rock fissure.
The best evidence of the cave being close by is the cold. The sun is shining and there isn’t a single cloud in the sky, but we can feel a cold draft. After a moment, we see a snowbank which conceals the source of this icy breeze. We change our clothes, put on our suits, harnesses, rope equipment and helmets. We check our torches, as they are going to be our only source of light for the next days. A last glimpse at the sun and we sink into the darkness.
We reach the first rope section after a few minutes. I attach my roller, then the shunt and belay my way down.
After a dozen meters or so, I reach the carabiner to which the rope is tied. I attach my lanyard, switch the roller and the shunt over to the rope below. Another section. A bag with the diving equipment, attached to a harness hangs below me. One of eight that are to go down to the very bottom of the cave. After a moment, another switch over and further way down. Now I am abseiling, i.e. sliding down on a rope, without touching any wall. I look overhead. I see the torchlight reflecting somewhere up there. I look below me. I see a looming torchlight in the distance. I realize what the bag could do to this small light if it detached from my harness. I secure the link between me and the bag and I continue to slide down. I only have 400 meters left... only...
When I reach the bottom, there is no one there, but a certain noise suggests where I should go. The clanging of spelunker’s equipment is so characteristic that it cannot be mistaken with anything else. A roller for sliding down the rope, ascender, Croll are the instruments used for climbing up a rope, accompanied by countless carabiners attached to the harness. It’s all made of aluminum and it gives a characteristic sound when knocking against each other. As distances in a cave are so vast that even light cannot penetrate its depts, it is this sound that lets you know that your partner is right behind you. It is this sound that points the way when the torchlight disappears in the darkness.
I throw the bag onto my back and quickly go after my team. We still have several rope sections up and down before us and then a little surprise. As I’m passing more corridors, collapsed parts, pits and caverns, the weight on my back becomes more and more noticeable. This weight is unyielding, actually it does everything to make a spelunker’s life harder.
I sit down on the bag I’m carrying. I’ve stopped caring if it contains any diving equipment which could get damaged. I’m so tired that I’m panting a bit and there is only one thought in my head, the same as any other team member: “Why do we need lead for this cursed diving?” I am a diving instructor and I can explain why a diver needs lead, but in this very moment my knowledge is lying next to the lead blocks, somewhere inside this bag.
For one diver to be able to penetrate a sump in a cave, a dozen people or so have to work hard for dozen days or so. In our case, the first teams had to carry over and set up the equipment at the campsites. The camp at the Eye of the Sea includes two tents, four sleeping bags and some sleeping mats. In addition, the campsite had to be equipped with lyophilizates, gas, burner, pot for cooking water and some basic cutlery. We couldn’t also forget about tea, chemical warmers and bars. Each of these items weighs virtually nothing, but all this nothing taken together gives a huge, heavy caving bag.
Once the campsite had been set up, the teams started transporting the main diving equipment and this... lead... For us, it was eight, exceptionally heavy bags. When I met Marcin in the cave, he welcomed me with the following words: “What did you stick inside these bags?! I go to the line, attach the bag to the harness and try to ascend. I thought it caught on something, but it’s just this heavy!”
Some reflections come to my mind, while I’m sitting on my bag. They are very similar during every trip like this. Diving in alpine caves, called speleo diving by some of us, is a team activity. The diver is not the most important, every team member matters. Every spelunker needs to lose some of their health in a cave, so one or two guys can check what’s going on underwater. Burning muscles, everlasting cold, bumps, bruises, scratches – all this to explore a flooded part of a cave. The diver is an extension of the entire team, of its every member. Eyes that are to look where no one has looked before.
I get up and I pick up my bag. I think it caught on to something yet again...
After more mazes filled with razor sharp rocky edges, we reach one of the most interesting parts of our journey – an underground river. However, before the cruise, we need to slide down a rope and land directly on a small, wobbling pontoon. It can hold two spelunkers or one spelunker and two caving bags.
The cruise is amazing. The water has a crystal color. The corridor is quite narrow at first, but it gets wider after a turn. After several dozen meters, the water escapes through a narrow corridor to the right and falls into a small sump, and we can get out. It’s such a pity that the flooded parts crossed on a pontoon were omitted in last year’s exploration and are omitted in this year’s exploration as well. It is quicker and safer now, without the risk of being cut off by a water rise, but it is still a pity... There’s a collapse in the corridor before us and we need to climb approximately 20 m up on it using a rope. The higher we go, the narrower it gets, and the bags do not make things any easier, especially when we have to squeeze between the rocks. The peak of the collapse is surprisingly spacious and hard to embrace with the lights we have. We lose the height gained, as we go down the collapse, reaching the underwater river between the Black Pond and the Eye of the Sea again. You can only envy the water for having this shortcut.
Camping in a cave can be very bothersome, but what we experience is real luxury. Two double tents equipped with matrasses and sleeping bags. We have a large canvas cover before us, where a resting space is organized. We chose a freeze-dried dinner and get to eating. I’ve chosen chili con carne and it was a mistake. The temperature in the cave is unchangingly equal to four degrees with the humidity of 100%. In other words, the climate is similar
to what you’d find inside a fridge. This makes boiled water go cold very quickly, thus the beans in my dish are – gently put – crunchy.
While we’re eating dinner, Marek, the expedition leader, connects with the base on the surface, using a communication system called NICOLA. We let them know that we have reached the campsite and everything’s good. Afterwards, we drink our evening tea and crawl into our sleeping bags to fall asleep.
After some time, which is hard to determine, I open my eyes... and I don’t see any difference. I am in absolute darkness, that is a state in which no photon reaches my eye. This makes it impossible for me to tell if I have slept for one hour or twelve hours. This state is hard to imagine for people living on the surface, because there’s always something that emits light, like a lamp on the street, stars in the sky or phone charger diode. The human brain does not like the absolute darkness, therefore, it plays tricks on us. For me, these are multicolor mandalas appearing before my eyes. I hear my companions moving too. This means that I have slept for more than one hour and I will have to get up soon.
After a breakfast, which lasts for quite some time, we prepare for diving. Piotrek will dive first in the ponor called the Eye of the Sea. This is where all the underground rivers terminate. Piotrek is to check the walls of this ponor to see if there are any flooded tunnels coming from other caves.
Putting on your diving equipment in a place like this is quite tiring and takes a lot of time. We need to take care not to soil the vulnerable parts of our equipment with the omnipresent sand and cave mud. A bit of sand on an O-ring at a dry glove or in a diving regulator can not only make diving unpleasant, but also cause a serious emergency.
Some time later, Piotrek is already in the water and starts to descend. We can hear his bubbles for a while and see his light, which soon disappears in the depths of the ponor. We sit in the absolute darkness, waiting for a flash of light or sound of a bubble heralding Piotrek’s return. The time goes by very slowly, but we are finally reached by the signals of the returning diver. We await his news, when he swims towards the “shore”. Piotrek has thoroughly verified the walls of this ponor and there are no tributaries from other parts of the cave. There is only a bottomless pit, in which, last year, a ROV got stuck at the depth of 62 m, without reaching the bottom.
Now it’s my turn to dive in the reservoir called the Black Pond, from which the water falls into the Eye of the Sea via a short spillway. I go into the water through a slippery, muddy ramp and, the very moment I touch the water, the filth I have on me reduces visibility. Moreover, the ramp continues underwater and me standing on it causes silt to raise. Despite trying to move as little as possible, I already know
that I’m going to see very little. I buckle up the cylinder, turn on the light I got from Gralmarine and dive into the milky white water. After a while, I notice a crevice with clearer water, which is my chance. The water becomes crystal clear and the tunnel goes suddenly down only to start becoming shallower after a while. This means that this sump leads somewhere. After a moment, I emerge in a cavern with a collapse. Have I reached some place? I scream to check if I am not too close. In response, I hear Marek’s and Piotrek’s voices, which means that the sump has led me to a small cavern created by collapsed rocks. I go back, checking every nook and cranny of the Black Pond. Unfortunately, I do not find any other sumps.
I wait for the water to drip down from my equipment to pack it into the bags. Now that it is wet, the bags are even heavier. We leave the bags and scatter to perform some drier tasks. After another night, Aleksandrina and Piotrek start to exit the cave, while I stay with Marek to help him chart the dry parts of the cave. We spend the next night at Campsite 11, right under the entry pits.
After a quick breakfast and rolling up the campsite, we start our ascent. I approach the rope and attach the Croll first and then the ascender. These are two clamping devices, which can move only upwards along the rope, locking
under load. They allow us to move up on a hanging rope. I attach the bag to the harness and start to ascend. First, the hand holding the ascender goes up, then, I stand in the loop attached to it, simultaneously moving the Croll. Once again, my hand goes up and I stand in the loop. These two moves allow me to move one meter... maybe. I have only 449.5 meters left. I try not to think about it...
After some time, I go into something, which could be called a dream state or torpor, because I don’t feel the passing of time, nor do I think about the goal of this road. The rhythm is determined by the movements of my hand and leg. Moving steadily up is all that matters. Marek’s torchlight flickering below me reminds me of the existence of other things than just the vertical rope in my surroundings. When it seems like I had been trapped in some spatiotemporal loop, the firsts signs of the surface reach me... first the smell, then the light. It is amazing how the world smells after four days underground, how pleasant the warmth of the sun is when you get out of a place that will never be warm.
Four, maybe five, days later... With a loud moan, we throw down our definitely-too-heavy backpacks. We have just reached our cars parked in a mountain clearing. Although we got out of the water several days ago, the diving and the voyage end only now. After diving, we had to carry the equipment out. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do it at once, so Sebastian and Marek went to the cave once more to get the remaining bags. Meanwhile, the rest of our team was carrying the equipment down from the base. We still had to wind up the base and perform many other tasks. These several days were intense.
Now, sitting on the overloaded backpacks next to our cars, we have a moment to look at the mountains once more. Time to reflect. One thought is bothering me: “Was it worth it?” I’m going to wait and answer this question after I have some solid rest.
The expedition was organized by Speleoclub Wrocław (https://scw.wroc.pl/)
The divers were supported by Gralmarine. Expedition members:
Marcin Buczkowski – SCW
Ida Chojnacka – SCW
Renata Jarocka-Lewandowska – Wałbrzyski Klub Górski i Jaskiniowy (Wałbrzych Mountain and Cave Club, WKTJ)
Marek Jędrzejczak (leader) – SCW
Piotr Karpiński (diver) – Speleoklub Warszawski (Warsaw Speleoclub, SW)
Marcin Krajewski – SCW
Bartłomiej Kurdziej – Akademicki Klub Grotołazów AGH (Academic Spelunkers Club of the AGH University of Science and Technology, AKG)
FORKLIFTS, EXCAVATORS, AND EXPLOSION DANGER: THE FELICITAS SLATE MINE IN THE SCHMALLENBERGER SAUERLAND IS AN IMPRESSIVE MINE FOR THE ADVENTUROUS.
Text and photos Kurt Storms
As often happens, I go on this trip with my regular diving buddy Willem Verrycken. I have announced our presence in advance to Jonas, the new manager of the mine. Two other friends of mine will join us for this trip. Glenn Tessens and Stijn Moortgat. Early in the morning we load the car and leave for Sauerland, a 3.5-hour trip by car. Once we arrive, we meet the new manager of the mine. He tells us a bit about the history, and what he will comply in the future.
The Felicitas mine is located around 2 kilometers north-west of the Kneipp spa Bad Fredeburg which is a district of the town of Schmallenberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis with a population of around 4,000.
In the immediate vicinity, there are other recreational areas such as the
Hennesee and hiking trails through the Rothaargebirge (e.g. The Great Escape of the Sauerland).
The mine was opened in 1850 and owned by the company Hesse & Schneider KG until 1990. It was then sold to the company Magog GmbH & Co. KG which also holds the only current slate in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The mine was opened via an inclined shaft with a length of approximately 130 m and a ventilation shaft. It consists of two footbridges at a depth of 32 and 46 m. A reel and a trolley were used to transport the stone along the inclined shaft directly into the splitting house. In recent years, diesel vehicles were used for underground transport. The mining took place in chambers. These were about 15 m long and 4–5 m high. Since the 1970s, mining
was mechanized by mobile saws and hydraulic splitters.
BACK IN TIME
We have set up our rebreathers, I dive today dual ccr, as main ccr I will use my AP, and as Bailout ccr I use my Divesoft Liberty SM. Also, we’re going to use the scooters today. We put on our suits with heating. The water here is about 9°C all year round.
We make our way to the shaft and do the necessary checks.
Willem is the first one to go through the shaft which is quite steep to a depth of 30 m.
Because we are the only divers today, the visibility is very good, also in the shaft. I put my Divevolk housing with my cellphone on the line at 9 m, so I can watch a movie when we are doing
decompression at the end of the dive. At a depth of 12 m and 20 m we lay down the bottles with deco gases for the rest of the group.
At a depth of 26 m we reach the junction and turn left as agreed. This is the new part of the mine, in which the slate was mined by machine. Before the dive, Jonas gave us an extensive briefing which we used to plan our dive. Probably to protect the miners.
Further on, the machines loom up from a dark mine. These machines were left in place because it would take too much time and money to dismantle them.
There is an excavator and a large forklift truck in pristine condition. Willem poses by these machines so that we can see them on film. We swim further down the corridor, on the ground level there is a beautiful large saw blade. The corridor
is supported by iron profiles and plates which results in loose rust swirling down regularly. The main corridor is beautiful, from here there are many side corridors which we enter by making a "jump". After 35 minutes, we return and do our obligatory deco in the shaft.
HISTORY LESSON
During a break of about 2 hours, where we can drink coffee for free, Jonas tells us about the history of the mine. We discover that the part that we have now dived in was still in use until 1994. The corridor to the right is the old part which we are going to dive in later. This is where the slate was mined since 1850. The slate was cut by hand and worked with dynamite.
EXPLOSIVES STORAGE
In the afternoon, we leave for a second dive, but this time I don't forget to connect my heated undersuit.
The aim of the dive is now to do the old part of the mine.
We go back down through the main shaft where our bail out gases are still lying around; we quickly check them. We continue our way and turn right.
Immediately it is clear that the corridors are narrower. It's a totally different mine to the one we saw this morning. Walls are coarser and there are slate walls. Along the way, we come across pipes that were there to dry out the mine. Along the way we come across a remnant, a bottle, Willem poses eagerly, and I take some photos.
We go further into the corridor, and now we come to a beautiful open door. This was the storage room for the dynamite. We take a look inside but find no remains.
After the room, we go further into the corridor, and we come to a junction. We take the right turn, here the corridor becomes slightly narrower, but we come across a wall with an opening. Here I shoot some pictures of Willem.
Unfortunately, time passes faster than we want, and we have to turn back. On the way back we stop by an old electricity cabinet before we do our obligatory deco and watch my predownloaded movie.
Happy as 2 children we come out of the water with a big smile and immediately start analyzing our dive.
I have already dived here a couple times. Each time I explored more beauty of this mine with some former buddies like Maximilian, a German cave diver. And so, we will continue diving this beautiful mine.
SCAPA FLOW
It "ALL DEPENDS..."
Text and photos
Tomek Kulczyński, Compass Divers
BEING ONE OF THOSE LUCKY PEOPLE WHO COULD VISIT THE ORKNEY ISLANDS, NAMELY SCAPA FLOW, I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT THE VERY THOUGHT OF WHAT I EXPERIENCED THERE GIVES ME THE CREEPS. A SMILE APPEARS ON MY FACE, AND MY MIND INSTANTLY GOES INTO A STATE OF NOSTALGIA…
Scapa Flow is considered one of the best places to dive in the world – and here, for your surprise, my answer is: IT DEPENDS. Read it till the end to find out why I think so and get some practical tips on the subject.
In the era of the Internet, finding information on any subject is not a major problem. Therefore, I leave the geography and history of this place to you. There is also a lot of information about it in the previous issue (No 5(23)/2022). I will only add here that specific descriptions and details about particular areas will be thoroughly discussed by the crew of the boat you will use. Who can handle this problem better than the locals? Let's leave them some space to show off. Just remember that history is always written by the winners.
Getting into Scapa Flow is quite a challenge. And here is my next IT DEPENDS. Two issues remain to be considered. The first is the place of accommodation, and the second – the luggage we take with us. During my trip to Scapa, I lived in England, so I was a little closer. I was travelling by car, taking all the equipment, including the cylinders. The journey from Birmingham to Aberdeen took 8 hours, then the ferry
to Stromness another 7 hours. During long conversations with friends, we considered the best way to get to Scapa, but these conversations never ended in compromise. Of course, the fastest option is the plane, but the question is: what about the luggage? Another possibility, without any hardware worries, is a car. Unfortunately, it takes a long time and costs (remember that when transporting cylinders on the ferry you have to declare it!). One of the most creative options I've ever heard was to hire a bus. The equipment of the whole group was on a bus from Poland, and the rest of the participants were on a plane – a great idea, only two bus drivers can complain a little. Purely theoretically, check out a map, and just for fun think how you would get to Scapa. Then you will have an idea of what I am writing about.
After hours of planning, we crossed the road, now let's go to the boat and accommodation issue. Without a doubt, the best unit on Scapa Flow is Huskyan, but wait a second, here again I will put my IT DEPENDS. I myself was on the MV Karin, chartered by John Thornton. First of all, I must point out that it is not a matter of choice. Let's remember that Scapa Flow is a cult place, and the interest is huge. I don't know how it is nowadays, because I dived before the pandemic, but trying to organise another trip, the waiting time, depending on the unit, ranged from one year to three years!!!
When planning an overnight stay, we have two options: The comfortable one on land or the budget one on a boat. Both have their DEPENDS, but with my height of 198 cm, the option of sleeping on a boat was quite burdensome. An ad-
ditional inconvenience associated with the boat is the ubiquitous moisture. I would compare it to wiping with a wet towel after a bath – supposedly fulfilling the task, but not quite. Everything starting from the underwear and ending with the diving undersuit was simply damp, but as they say in the army: the best drying temperature is 36.6 and after a while you get used to it.
You should also consider the month of our departure, because from what John said, he is only four months on Scapa, and then he is stationed in the Shetland Islands. The season on Scapa lasts about six months, and the best months are strictly the summer months. But I was there in September and the best comment I heard from a friend who also was on Scapa at that time but a year earlier was that once, when he was emerging from water, it began to hail. I would call the weather on Scapa Flow unpredictable, here we are dealing with a typical island climate. It is always humid, it rains, it is foggy, the sun shines just for a moment, and it blows terribly. The best image I can think of is a description from the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle titled The Hound of Baskervilles. To summarise the meteorological issues, I would rather not consider using flip-flops and shorts. It is worth focusing mainly on technical, breathing clothing, because the generally prevailing weather is "sticky", which means that either it rains or it blows, and we tend to wear a jacket, but the temperature is warm enough to sweat under it
We made the trip, we're here, we have a boat and accommodation, now the most important thing, we dive! We can rent or bring our own diving equipment. On the boat Karina it was possible to rent cylinders. There is no problem with the rest of the equipment, as the "Scapa Scuba" diving centre is located not far from the port, where all units moor. Diving equipment is an integral part of diving and here are some tips on how to protect yourself, what to pay attention to. It will sound ridiculous, but I failed with trivial things. We all know that we
should check the regulators, wings, tightness of the suit I did it all, but I forgot to take an ordinary hanger for a dry suit... It seemed not a big problem, but my suit did not want to dry out on a provisional hanger, and in the ubiquitous humidity, putting on such a suit was unpleasant. What some returning divers already had were hangers with built-in fans. It is worth remembering to take a spare diving undersuit, which will certainly increase comfort during subsequent dives.
The sockets in Great Britain are different, so you need adapters, everyone knows that, but it may happen that you have a limited number of sockets available on the boat, and in this case it's worth taking an extension cord. You know how many things you need to charge: a flashlight, a camera, a computer, a phone, etc. All you have to do is multiply them by the number of participants and it becomes a problem. Think of another dive computer. Mine suffered a breakdown on the first day and the rest of the dives I did on an old, reliable VR3. An additional set of dry gloves might be necessary. When I was trying to get water into a bucket, a big wave came and I lost my balance. I leaned on a screw on the railing and it was enough for a small hole to appear in one glove. Take two hoods for your convenience and an SD card for cameras, there is never too much card memory.
In addition to the equipment, I would like to draw your attention to the level of skills needed to dive on Scapa. All
dives are done from a boat. Depending on the weather, in a strong or extraordinarily strong current. Our first dive took place on a small wreck at a depth of 15 m, near the shore. The main purpose of this dive was to properly manufacture and arrange the rented equipment. The next purpose were the dreamt wrecks, lying, depending on the unit, up to a depth of 47 m.
In my opinion, the optimal preparation should be based on a minimum level of TEC 40, or on the equivalent of another agency. This is primarily about time and decompression gas. If for some reason we cannot dive technically, I believe that the configurations of the twin set or the side mount are recreationally the absolute minimum. Going to Scapa Flow it is worth spending some time on training, which will open up many opportunities on the spot.
Man does not live on "diving" alone. Here are some places to see. The Scapa Flow Museum on Hoy Island is must-see. The Highland Park Distillery is so too. You should also visit Ring of Brodgar (to my surprise when switching channels I found the whole document about it on Discovery Chanel) and of course the whole town of Stromness, because it is very charming.
As you yourself have noticed IT DEPENDS what your Scapa Flow will look like. There are so many variables, so many differences resulting from the huge number of possibilities that this place gives. Each trip can be drastically different from the others, so don't delude yourself, one trip is not enough to get to know Scapa Flow. We have to go back and get to know each other again.
I know people who have mixed feelings about Scapa Flow. Each of us is different and there are those for whom cenotes in Mexico or diving with turtles in Egypt will be classified much higher in the ranking of diving adventure. In my humble opinion, Scapa Flow is one of the best dive destinations in the world and it certainly deserves this honorable title. It will remain in my memory forever, evoking a smile on my face and a shiver on my skin…
ALL-INCLUSIVE DIVING
IN DEEP DIVE DUBAI
Text and photos Jarek Matyga
IT WILL PROBABLY COME AS NO SURPRISE THAT DEEP DIVE DUBAI HAS BEEN LISTED IN THE GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS AS THE WORLD'S DEEPEST DIVING POOL.
The numbers are indeed impressive. 60 metres deep, with 14 million litres of water (at a constant temperature of 30°C) filtered every six hours thanks to technology taken from NASA's underwater world – it is one of Dubai's newest tourist attractions. Where else but here? :)
The sunken city is located in Nad Al Sheba 1, to which I get from the centre
by Uber. This is the easiest way to get to the site. I have already booked a dive, provided necessary certificates in advance, and discussed my expectations for the 60-meter dive by email. The covid dive restrictions prevent entry without preparation and there is no option to book the 60-meter dive on the Deep Dive Dubai website.
My guide is waiting for me on site. He is the one who will decide if I can dive to 60 metres despite the provided certificate. The package price (1,500 AED) includes the fee for the guide and gases. So far it is not possible to dive with your partner, it does not matter if it is a recreational or technical dive, you must have a guide from Deep Dive Dubai in your group.
The infrastructure of the pool is impressive. Fresh-smelling interiors,
lockers for storing personal belongings, a towel and a bathrobe for each diver, and a lift that gets you into the pool. These are bonuses that make your stay more enjoyable. Of course, all diving equipment and gases are also included.
After checking our gear in the water, we quickly descend to 60 m where the temperature drops to 29°C. The bottom is lit by artificial light. We stayed
there for a while and took some photos before surfacing. We pass graffiti on the walls, illuminated and pointed out by my guide. A stop at 40 metres reveals the first 'donut' which is what the staff call the attraction circles around the main 'tube'. At the next 'donut' at 21 metres we change to decompression gas. From 17 metres onwards, we enter the largest space with the greatest number of attractions of the
sunken city. I am surrounded by cars, motorbikes, rooms styled as kitchens, bedrooms, games rooms, computers, pool tables. Full graze as befits the glitz of Dubai
After 67 minutes of diving, I end my adventure at Deep Dive Dubai. The splendour of Dubai is not my cup of tea, but the opportunity to dive here seems an interesting alternative for those who love exploring the deep
LONG HAIR AND DIVING
DIVE HAIR ISSUES
Hair and diving: knots, breakage, and dry hair looking like hay. How to keep your hair shiny, clean, and healthy – even as an active diver?
Coming back from three months of diving in Malta, I was forced to cut 7 cm of my hair – a very sentimental and even maybe a bit sad moment, thinking about all the time it took to grow it. During my stay on the island, my hair was tortured with regular exposure to salt water, constant sun, and tearing while putting on the drysuit and taking on and off the mask.
We need to learn from our mistakes. I did the research which I should have done beforehand and would like to share it with my fellow diving girls and boys with long hair. To begin with: there are many, many different opinions and views on “the to-dos for healthy diving hair”. I will consider some of
them, and encourage you to research more about the “tips and tricks” for your healthy diving hair.
PRE-DIVE HAIR CARE
“Preparation is everything” – or at least very important. Make sure to start your hair routine with healthy hair. Beginning with already broken hair ends will make it more difficult to preserve your hair's glow. We should regularly remove split ends, as they can cause further damage if left uncut. Furthermore, make sure to nourish your hair with moisturizing products and use as little heat as possible (and if you need to apply heat – use heat protection). The known pre-dive rules (which are also the daily hair rules applying as well for days without a dive) are probably clear to all of us: treat your hair like a queen/king.
Photos Jon Borg, Tomasz Płociński, Michal Sevecek
Text Isadora Abuter Grebe
Photo Jon Borg
So now to the mystery of how to achieve shiny and beautiful diving hair with a pre-dive regime:
1. Wet your hair prior to facing it with harmful salt water. Rinsing the hair will allow it to soak up fresh water and hence prevent absorbing the salt water, which removes natural oils and moisture.
2. Leave-in conditioner: use the leave-in conditioners, which are safe for exposure to nature. Very important: Just because the product states: ”natural” or “organic” it does
not mean that it will not do any harm to the aquatic environment and that it will degrade quickly. Please study the ingredients list and make sure that your product is the safest you can find on the market. Applying a leave-in conditioner before diving will nourish and protect your hair from damage caused by salt water and sunlight. The leave-in conditioner builds a barrier and avoids the absorption of salt water, next to making your hair easier to detangle after the dive.
3. Coconut oil: an alternative to a leavein conditioner is coconut oil – cheap, natural, and effective.
4. Fix your hair: I went once for a dive without fixing my hair, because I lost the hair tie when jumping into the water. It was a complete disaster. Next to needing to constantly clear the mask, as there was hair trapped, my hair got entangled with
the valves and I did not see properly after breathing in (hence ascending a bit and having my hair on my face). Getting rid of all the knots in the evening was very painful. This was big learning: always take a second hair tie with you, in case of loss of your main hair tie. Next, you can decide which hairstyle you would like to wear when diving depending on your hair structure and length. The most important is to keep it under control.
I wondered how fellow divers with long hair fix their hair for a dive, and the response from the Scuba-Woman Community was incredible. Thank you for sharing your hairstyles with us!
5. The mask: use a neoprene band for your mask and make sure that the velcro of the strap stays in one place, preventing tearing and breaking your hair.
6. Put on your suit gently: if you are wearing a wetsuit, secure your hair before getting into the wetsuit, to avoid tearing it in the process of getting into the suit. If you are wearing a dry suit: use a simple, polyester swimming cap to get into the neckseal and under the neoprene hood.
IN-BETWEEN DIVE HAIR CARE
1. Rinse with fresh water: to get rid of the salt and soak your hair with fresh water again. You may rinse your hair in between the dives with fresh water from the shower, bottle, or an empty laundry-liquid canister or similar.
2. Apply leave-in conditioner: as before the dive, re-apply the environmental-safe leave-in conditioner.
3. Combing: brush your hair, beginning from the end of your hair and gently working upwards. Unsecured, long hair may look charming for a photo shoot but is not practical and recommended.
AFTER-DIVE HAIR CARE
1. Conditioner: Apply a generous amount of conditioner after washing your hair and let it sink – you can clean your gear in the meantime or check the footage you took from the dive.
2. Come back to the PRE-DIVE HAIR CARE
THE MYSTERY OF BEAUTIFUL DIVE-HAIR
After all, the topic can have as well a simple solution: do not dive anymore. In this case, you save your hair from confrontation with environmental influences and you may preserve very beautiful, shiny, and long hair without needing to take extra-super care of your hair. But we are all here because we
are passionate about diving…, and this means, that if we aim to have healthy hair, we may take extra, super, mega care.
Maybe this is a motivation to cut your hair short or to spend hours studying how to prevent hair damage... Please take into account that there are many different hair types and many different needs. Some divers with long hair may have fewer problems in keeping the health of the hair than others with shorter hair.
Maybe this article is also a motivation to admire our beautiful fellow diver friends with amazing hair while being kind to ourselves, and accepting that shiny hair is not everything, and for sure not as important as a shiny heart :)
Photo Tomasz
Photo Michal Sevecek
VIRTUAL DIVING
Text and photos Magdalena Sokołowska
IN 2020, WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD WAS LOCK DOWN DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, I HAD TO GIVE UP MY DIVING PLANS IN ORDER TO PROTECT MY HEALTH. HOWEVER, I MISSED DIVING TERRIBLY AND SO I FOUND A SUBSTITUTE –I BOUGHT VR GOGGLES THAT OPENED UP A WORLD OF NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR ME.
Thanks to VR technology, I visited many places in the world, jumped with a parachute, raced Formula 1, attended concerts of world-famous music stars and Cirque du Soleil performances sitting in the front row and I took a tour of the International Space Station. What's most important, however, it the fact that I could also dive around well-known reefs, with huge manta rays, sharks or whales. Now I know which diving sites I will be happy to see in reality and I know that diving in a cage with great white sharks is not for me, because being inside this virtual reality, I was constantly looking nervously sideways and jumped with fear whenever a 5-meter "king of the oceans" appeared out of the blue.
I used VR goggles mainly for entertainment purposes, but this technology has been used for some time now for scientific research and various industries.
VR – Virtual Reality is a technology that allows you to simulate the environment in 360 degrees. The users find themselves immersed in the experience that is interactive and that feels real. For this purpose are used special goggles, which additionally track the movements of the head and body and provide three-dimensional sound.
VR is used, among others, in the military during training, by athletes to improve their results, or in medicine during remote operations and training. This technology is also used to treat patients with post-traumatic stress, where they are gradually exposed to traumatic events to get used to them. It also helps in the treatment of anxiety, phobias and depression.
Also, first aid training is available on the market – the phantom is integrated with VR goggles, measures the force of pressure on the chest and gives feedback on whether to press harder or faster.
There is also a VR Fire Trainer (Safety and Health at Work training) on putting down fire in various locations. The set in-
cludes a special tracker / pad in the form of a fire extinguisher integrated with the program.
At the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, they try to use VR in the process of learning to draw fashion design projects –a project is immediately created as three-dimensional and can be viewed from every side.
Thanks to the recently published report by PwC (a business and technology consulting company) from the study "The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Soft Skills Training in the Enterprise", we know that participants in VR training complete their training faster and are more focused than on standard trainings. Such learning is more engaging for participants (it is not a simple transfer of information), it helps in a better understanding of complex topics, increases interest in boring topics and improves memory, as in the learning process are involved emotions.
You can learn at any time, from anywhere, and possible dangers can be avoided, e.g. there is already available virtual training of heavy machinery operators, without the necessity of placing operators in hazardous industrial environments. You can repeat the simulation until you have mastered it perfectly. VR can visualize things that can't be shown right away in standard training.
One of the companies involved in maritime logistics is currently implementing the Brave Dolphin project – training for the crew of seagoing vessels regarding the dangers on
board. The simulation contains interactive scenarios that cannot be drilled in a real environment. Another example is The VR Dive, where you can investigate what dominant skills the project team members have – being together in a virtual submarine they experience a critical event and have to carry out a rescue mission.
The possibilities of using VR are almost unlimited, but the disadvantages of technology are, of course, the price of the hardware, the need for an Internet connection, possible errors in the application software and the weight of the goggles, which after a certain continuous time of use causes discomfort (headache and neck pain), and some people may feel dizzy looking at the virtual world.
When it comes to VR and diving, games, programs/applications and prototypes of special equipment are available.
On YouTube360, you can watch underwater videos recorded by divers with a special camera. You can find dives from the most popular places, with small and large sea creatures. We also have underwater movies from National Geographic 360.
From time to time, there are new professional documentaries about oceans produced in VR technology.
Air Pano 360 Videos offers educational scuba diving videos with whale sharks, manta rays, jellyfish clouds, white sharks, tiger sharks, seals and coral meadows.
You can try diving in computer animated VR games. In Deep Diving VR you visit sunken ships, caves, collect relics, observe marine life, control air levels, decompression and, as is usually the case in games, you can shoot predators. A similar game is Ocean Rift, where you can choose which large sea animal to dive with (turtles, dolphins, sharks, sea snakes, seals, whales). During the dive, after pressing the appropriate button, the teacher talks about a given species. In Freediver game: Triton Down, as a freediver, you have to get out of a sinking ship. On the way there are various tasks to be performed taking into account the air limit. There is also the game Scuba – Training VR (Oculus Rift DK2/Leap Motion), in which, as in real diving, everything must be remembered. Operate the inflator buttons with your left hand – remove and pump air to the jacket (you can see if we are immersing too quickly), check the dive computer, hear inhalation and exhalation, see bubbles of exhaled air around you.
and on several reefs of the Red Sea. Offices offering diving trips can use the PADI VR Scuba Planner, where you can see the dives in the Red Sea and plan them accordingly (the application contains tips and instructions from the instructors diving there). The app can also be used to encourage customers to buy a diving trip to Egypt.
Operate the inflator buttons with your left hand – remove and pump air to the jacket (you can see if we are immersing too quickly), check the dive computer, hear inhalation and exhalation, see bubbles of exhaled air around you.
In The Thistlegorm Project app, you can thoroughly explore the entire wreckage of the Thistlegorm.
PADI has released a VR app called "Must Of The Sea" where you can virtually experience diving on the wreck, in the cave
This year, SSI announced a partnership with Virtual Divers International –they want to find new ways to promote diving for potential and current divers. As an addition to real diving, a dive simulator was created, advertised as very realistic and caring for details.
In southern Australia, the Marine Discovery Centre uses goggles and the Class VR app to educate students about the underwater world. For those who are thinking about starting a diving course, the Ocean First diving centre (Colorado, USA) offers a VR experience where, in addition to diving, you can learn about the fragility of the marine environment and what to do to save it for the next generations.
The most advanced idea of diving simulation was used in the Amphibian project (creator Dhruv Jain). The user wearing the VR goggles lies on a moving platform, which rises and falls to the rhythm of the person's breath. Arms and legs are suspended on ropes in the air – to imitate floating in the water. Each user movement is mapped in the simulation.
In the design phase, there is also a VR application for divers, in which under safe conditions you will be able to become familiar with various diving hazards. Together with the application, waterproof VR equipment is created, for use in shallow waters, thanks to which the virtual experience will be almost as real.
An example of professional training for professional divers is the Pale Blue VR training solutions program – VR Diver, approved by the International Marine Contractors Association.
In the virtual world, you work on the seabed, observing the laws of physics, practice various operations and emergency situations, and learn how to respond best to them and how to prevent them in the future. The environment is very realistic
and you can practice situations with various underwater "weather conditions" options. Companies using such equipment and software in training can save time and costs. You can train individual tasks and those that require teamwork.
In VR, you can go anywhere you want and experience virtually everything. It would be good if this technological potential was used by diving organizations in the training of future divers and instructors. By mapping diving situations in digital space, students could consolidate and complement theoretical knowledge and develop appropriate procedures for dealing with potential dangerous situations. I am absolutely not saying that VR will replace standard teaching methods, but it is a great way to enrich training. Considering the climate changes we are currently observing, it can be assumed that in some time, watching coral reefs or fish, we will only be possible during diving in VR. The Metaverse (a combination of the "real world" with the Internet and VR) is slowly developing, and who knows: maybe in the future people will pay for diving trips specially prepared in the virtual world.
SINGING DIVERS
Text and photos Wojciech Jarosz
Small, dark, inconspicuous, and yet, it dives! And it's not just diving by dipping only the beak. Without missing a beat, it submerges entirely, in fastflowing water and, helping itself with strong wings, moves effectively under the often strong current of the river.
It also uses claws to cling to stones at the bottom of the creek, so that it often does not swim under water, but... walks on the bottom. Now pay attention – it is not afraid of cold water and can dive under the ice!
What kind of bird is it that performs such miracles? One and the only diving songbird, and its name is Bond, James Bond. Okay, not exactly James Bond, or any other of His Majesty's agents with two zeros in the number with the license to kill, but a DIPPER – that's what it's called. However, it has something to do with Bond – the clothing. A black tuxedo made of feathers along with a white neckline of a shirt on the chest is its casual outfit. It is dressed like that not only for a visit to the
casino, which in reality is very unlikely to happen to it, but it carries itself elegantly in all circumstances. It also doesn't jump out of its feathers for diving, but instead carefully prepares them for it, so that, like a dry suit of a diver of the Homo genus, they didn't allow water to penetrate to the body. For this purpose, a dipper greases them abundantly with secretions from the uropygial gland, so that water would flow off like of the duck's back, let me use this ornithological folk saying, which exceptionally accurately describes the water-feather phenomena taking place on the back and breast of a dipper, or in every other recess of its body, as long as it is feathered.
When I mentioned immersing without missing a beat in the second sentence of this text, I got a little carried away, because the third eyelid – the nictitating membrane – closes while submerging. In this way, the dippers protect their eyes from injury. A careful observer, if they have enough time to watch the diving dipper, will certainly notice a characteristic white membrane contrasting with the dark eye and feathers on its head. It can be said that this is a kind of adaptation to diving. Besides, a dipper has been so well adapted to diving through evolution that the hands fold themselves to clasp applause for Mother Nature for such an effective piloting the natural selection along the whole dipper's bloodline. Among the amazing adaptations to the dipper's lifestyle, the exceptional resistance to low temperatures mentioned at the beginning is highly noticeable. Our brave little bird is not afraid of cold water to such an extent that it is able to look for food under the ice. When a long and heavy
cooling is predicted, the dippers retreat into a bit less frosty areas, but we have to give them credit that they can withstand a lot. It turns out that the resemblance to penguins lies not only in "Bondish" colours, excellent diving and swimming abilities, but also in resistance to cold. Once a dipper has given a dive into more or less cold water, it can remain under the surface for up to half a minute, which for a small-sized bird (about the size of a large sparrow or a small thrush) is not a bad result. What makes it possible for dippers is the fact, that they have more haemoglobin per unit of blood than other passeridaes of this size. During the dive, they can go down to a depth of one and a half meters, but most often they dive for a short time and in shallower water. Staying underwater is facilitated by stronger (and heavier) bones compared to these of their cousins. Another adaptation, which is very useful for the dippers, are membranes closing nostrils during immersion. All these adaptations make the dippers unique compared to other small birds. They are all the more special, because they are the only singing birds that actively dive! The food for which these birds dive so effectively are insects and their larvae pulled from between the water stones, e.g. caddis-flies, but also crustaceans, and less often small fish and molluscs.
Dippers, due to their love for fast streams, are generally found in mountainous areas. In Poland, breeding pairs are seen in the Carpathians and the Sudetes, and the most numerous populations (which means a maximum of several dozen pairs) occur in the Tatras, Sądecki and Żywiec Low
Beskids Mountains, as well as in the Giant Mountains, the Śnieżnik Massif and the Golden Mountains. In other locations, you have to have much more luck, but sometimes you can also see dippers in the lowlands, mainly in winter. Once, when water mills were a frequently element of the lowland landscape, dippers felt good in their vicinity. Today, they are scarce and so constitute an ornithological rarity for birdwatchers ravenous for unique observations. Outside of Poland, among favourite habitats of dippers are Eurasia and North Africa. The above applies to the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), including
several subspecies (in central Europe there are two), but the family of dippers goes far beyond this. In North America, from distant Alaska to Costa Rica and Panama, the American dipper (C. mexicanus) rules, in South America is the white-capped dipper (C. leucocephalus) and related to it, but unfortunately exposed to extinction, Rufous-throated dipper (C. schulzii), and in East Asia the largest brown dipper (C. pallasii), totally dark-brown.
Finally, a word about things dippers do not like. They do not like when water stops flowing quickly, so they do not like any larger hydrotechnical facilities leading to a change in the nature of streams, brooks and rivers. This includes, on the one hand, the construction of, for example, hydroelectric power plants, and on the other hand, the use of flowing water to irrigate fields, which may result in a slowdown in the current. Dippers, like us, also don't like contaminated water, but that doesn't make them in any way special. There are rather few aquatic and overwater creatures (not counting maybe some microbes) who, having a choice of clean and polluted water, choose the latter.
Wandering next time at Chochołowski or Magurski Stream, at the Poprad river, Wilczka and Bogooryja, be vigilant. Perhaps you will be able to see this interesting diver and swimmer, standing on a stone protruding from the water and nodding in a characteristic way, letting you look at itself.
as the only ones in Poland, finished with the certified Polygiene® technology, against the growth of bacteria and unpleasant odors
On the first day of the 29th final of Cleaning the World in Poland, together with representatives of 31 Embassies from around the world, we cleaned up over half a ton of garbage from the Warsaw beach on the Vistula river.
THE FINAL OF THE 29th ACTION
CLEANING THE WORLD – POLAND IS ALREADY BEHIND US!
Text Grzegorz Mikosza Photos Fundacja Nasza Ziemia
And this time we showed that TOGETHER we can do more and better! 4500 registered groups, on the third weekend of September, volunteered to clean-up all over Poland – from the sea to the Tatra Mountains. And as our first counts from 2700 reports that came to us show, we collected more garbage than last year!
We also collected a lot, almost 2 tons of waste, during the foundation final events in Warsaw and Wągrowiec. The representatives of the Embassies did not disappoint, and on the first day cleaned up the popular Warsaw beach "Poniatówka" on the Vistula river, collecting 664 kilograms of garbage. On the second day of the final, we were cleaning underwater together with the Perfect Diver Magazine and the invited volunteer divers. This time we freed Lake Durowskie from almost a ton of garbage! This is an extremely important contribution to a healthy and clean planet. Without the help of divers, what is invisible to the eye, would forever remain at the bottom of this beautiful reservoir, seriously harming nature and ourselves. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this common manifesto of non-littering in nature, which this year was included in the slogan: "All the garbage is ours." You are welcome to see the official results of the 29th Action, which we will present soon. They will be available on our website www.naszaziemia.pl and on our social media profiles: @naszaziemia.
Last year on the second day of the final 28th Action Cleaning the World – Poland, divers from Lake Liquid in Łagów, fished out 383 kilograms of garbage. This year there was almost three times as much underwater garbage...
DIVING TALKS RECAP
Text and photos Szymon Mosakowski
TRÓIA – A BEAUTIFUL PENINSULA LOCATED ABOUT 50 KILOMETRES SOUTH OF LISBON. THIS IS WHERE THE SECOND EDITION OF DIVING TALKS TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 7–9, 2022.
Diving Talks an international diving conference that attracts diving enthusiasts, both recreational and those who work underwater, to Portugal.
We arrived on Thursday evening, October 6. Portugal greeted us with beautiful, warm, and sunny weather – perfect for a weekend full of diving discussions. The tourist season ended a few weeks before the conference, so the area was quiet and peaceful, allowing us to fully indulge in the event. The organization of the conference set the bar high, from the moment we left the airport everything was planned perfectly. Each participant was assisted and taken care of from the first to the last minutes of the conference. The hotel that was provided by the organizers was a few minutes’ walk from the conference hall, which was an extremely important convenience. The location is very picturesque – full of greenery, beautiful sandy beaches and, above all, rich in many interesting dive spots. The conference room was located at the back of one of the hotels. It was divided into two parts – a panel of speakers, and on the other side exhibitor
stands with diving equipment, promotional materials and offers from various organizations.
The first day of the conference was still partially organizational. The last speakers were arriving at the hotel, but despite this the conference hall was bustling with activity. It was a time mainly for talks and presentations of the exhibitor's stands, who had the latest diving equipment in their assortment. In addition to the standard vendor stands, there were several that definitely stood out, including equipment for Portuguese Navy divers, i.e., specialized military equipment used in special operations. There were also offers from insurance companies specializing in diver insurance. Also noticeable were the stands of one of the most popular diving organizations – PADI. The opportunity to check and test some of the equipment was certainly ideal for those interested. In the afternoon there were activities for the speakers, namely a visit to Grandola and an exhibition of photos by speakers involved in underwater photography, including Brandi Mueller and Ellen Cuylaerts.
From the very morning the next day was full of speeches with amazing stories about diving, training methods and new ventures. Kirk Krack opened the first panel of the day with his story. Kirk is a professional in many areas of diving and an instructor who has played a key role in many innovations related to breath-hold training and freediving. He talked about training methods and crossing the barriers of the human body in a safe way. The element that piqued the audience's interest the most, however, was a thread about working with Hollywood actors on the set of the new Avatar movie, directed by James Cameroon himself. Jean-Cleude Monachon talked about how social media can help grow a diving business, and how to run it to bring the most reach and success.
After a short coffee break, Marco Pires, who serves in one of Portugal's special units (FEPC) as a scuba-firefighter, appeared on stage. He gave an overview of the tasks he faces on duty and the dangers involved. Another speaker was Manthos Marras, a technical diver and instructor who, despite being in a wheelchair, has
not stopped pursuing his passion for the underwater world. He talked about the difficulties of training people with disabilities and his amazing story.
The third panel featured three speakers: Gareth Lock, Mark Caney and Mark Powell, who talked about training methods in diving and problems that occur at different stages of diving. The fourth panel opened with Dan Orr and Aviad Cahana introducing the participants to the new Avelo system which they claim is revolutionary. It uses a variable buoyancy pressure vessel called a Hydrotank, through which it is supposed to solve some of the most difficult aspects of diving: heavy weight and achieving neutral buoyancy. The use of this technology is expected to significantly reduce the total weight that divers must carry.
Carlos Almeria has unveiled the UX1Neo underwater robot which is designed to explore underwater caves. The robot's first mission was to explore and map the Hranice Propast cave. The last speaker on this panel was Bill Stone. His presentation was about the use of artificial intelligence in diving, and more specifically, the use of devices equipped with artificial intelligence that can do things that humans cannot. The effect of this is to replace humans in performing specialized tasks.
The second day of the conference was closed by Alessandro Marroni, Oscar Camacho, and Simon Mitchell with a debate on diving physiology and hyperbaric medicine.
The final day of the conference began with another debate, but this time by Mark Caney, Mark Powell, and JeanClaude Monachon. The discussion was about what the future techniques and methods in dive training will look like.
The next panel was one of the most interesting at the Diving Talks conference, it was about underwater photography. We were able to hear stories and see amazing photographs by Brandy Mueller, Nuno Vasco Rodrigues, and Ellen Cuylaerts. Each of them talked about their photographs, their travels, and the problems they face when photographing the underwater world.
Dalia Faria told her amazing story in which diving played an important role. Despite her disability, Dalia decided to fulfil her dream and try the underwater world. In her own words, diving turned out to be sort of a cure for her affliction, helped improve her physical health, but most importantly changed her attitude to life.
Teresa Amaro talked about deep diving, technical diving and the use of equipment that can descend to unimaginable depths. Then Stephane Lourdes talked about scientific diving in Adélie. In the penultimate panel, Armando Ribeiro and Leigh Bishop talked about diving in difficult conditions on shipwrecks, among others. In this panel we also had the pleasure of listening to Tomasz Stachura, who told one of the most interesting stories from the bottom of the Baltic Sea, about the SS Karlsruhe. It was the last German ship to leave Konigsberg just before the Red Army captured the city in April 1945.
In the last panel of the conference, we could hear two figures from the diving world: Simon Mitchell and Alessandro Marroni. The first of them addressed the topic of whether divers in remote areas should consider treating decompression sickness with recompression in water, and evidence of the effectiveness of recompression introduced very soon after the onset of symptoms and at lower pressures than those used in chambers. Alessandro Marroni presented a new solution related
to diving safety. According to him, the biggest limitation in safety and the collection of data is currently that data is usually collected before and after the dive. DAN Europe's underwater telemedicine system is expected to allow real-time wireless monitoring of a diver's physiology during a dive and immediate feedback to the diver for better dive safety advice.
The Diving Talks conference was a weekend full of inspiring stories about diving, amazing technologies and pushing the limits of the human body. Each panel had its own unique atmosphere and fascinated the audience in its own individual way. During this event, everyone could find something for themselves, no matter if they dive recreationally during vacation trips or regularly explore the depths using technical diving methods. Lots of personalities from all over the world, who at this time have one thing in common – DIVING.
PROCEDURES
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER DIVER?
Have you ever wondered why do you show the “ascent” signal after passing on the octopus?
Why do you first check if your backup regulator works before starting a v-drill?
Why is battery voltage in backup flashlights measured before cave diving?
WHERE ARE DIVING PROCEDURES DEVELOPED? ENJOY THE READ.
Simply put, a procedure is a precisely described and trained way to achieve a desired goal.
The “out-of-gas” situation would be a good representation of this. If this occurs during diving, the person who notices the “out-of-gas” signal will try to pass the regulator to the diver signaling the problem as soon as possible.
This is the main goal of the “out-ofgas” procedure: to provide gas to the person in need.
Here, any one of us could say: “OK, I can do it in two seconds and I don’t need any procedure for this!”
Consider whether you really know how to share gas when:
´ the signaling person is on your right; ´ the signaling person is on your left; ´ the signaling person is above you; ´ the signaling person is behind you; ´ the signaling person is using a DPV;
Communication,
Photo Mocean Images
Text Wojciech A. Filip
´ you are inside a tight wreckage;
´ the signaling person is at a distance of almost 10 meters;
´ the visibility has fallen to zero;
´ your octopus is inside a magnetic holder;
´ you are using a long hose;
´ you are using a decompression gas at the moment.
This list of possible situations is by no means exhaustive!
Moreover, sharing gas is not the end of the procedure. The divers must somehow position themselves against each other, swim, communicate, ascend while decompressing.
Is it possible to learn how to proceed in all of the circumstances under which somebody might run out of gas? Even if it would be, what to do if the person giving the “out-of-gas” signal starts
Procedures are developed by combining huge diving experience, ability to predict and adjust it to the skills of an average diver, who should not only become familiar with the procedure, but also clearly see both the opportunities provided by it and its limitations. The key to successful procedures is the entire diving team practicing them as often as possible.
to do something completely different than what you thought that they are going to do?
ARE THERE SUPER PROCEDURES THAT EVERY DIVER CAN LEARN?
No. This is because in order to use super procedures, you should be a super diver! Wait a moment... but I am a super diver! Really? We all have this and that to practice from the basic course, but there’s never time for this, because we are currently doing our wreck diving course and there is the technical diving course coming
next, moreover, our instructor says that we have makings of a good trainer, so we will not bother with, for example, practicing how to take off and put on the mask! Sounds familiar? But of course!
Then try to imagine what would happen if things get chaotic when solving the out of gas problem and one of the divers looses their mask.
OK, OK, I get it! I want to do everything too fast, but there is no procedure for this kind of situation!
The thing is that there actually is. The way of proceeding with complex prob-
lems is described in very miniscule details, but you need to not only learn it, but also practice it at every occasion, so you have a large chance to smoothly progress from an emergency situation to the procedure meant to resolve it.
WHAT’S THE PROCEDURE IN CASE OF A DIVER WHO RAN OUT OF GAS AND LOST THEIR MASK?
1. Share gas.
2. Stabilize the team.
3. Take out and put on the backup mask.
4. Check the cause of running out of gas and decide on the next step of your team.
Hey, you got to be kidding! Nobody dives like that! I yank the octopus from my partner and up we go!
Mhm... yes, it’s possible and all’s well that does not end in an accident.
Let’s get back to the elements of procedures. How many times did you take your mask off and put it on underwater during your course?
I’m not talking about kneeling on the bottom, but about taking the mask off and putting it on when swimming in the depths, as these are the exact circumstances in which it might get lost.
You’re just caviling!
Everyone does their course as cheap and fast as possible!
OK, it might be so. After such training, it would be reasonable to return to the pool as fast as possible and, for several days, keep on repeating what you have started learning to consolidate it, instead of embarking to conquer the depths, wouldn’t it?
This is actually where the “problem” with procedures starts: if you have no time to train them, the chance of any of them working is very small. Take time to practice them during your every dive, for example, sacrificing the last 10 minutes to refresh your skills. The more thoroughly every member of the diving team performs a particular activity, the more prepared they will be to apply it in a real-life situation. Experienced divers with many years of practice train procedures very often, scheduling training trips with their teams, such as a weekend focused on light failures or gas replacement.
Please note that a procedure is only a tool intended to help solve a dangerous situation, not a solution to it. In other words, learning the moves used as part of the procedure is the first step.
Valve drill, Photo Mocean Images
The next one is to use it knowingly. Every act should have a clearly defined purpose. Ask your instructor for precise clarification of each part of the procedure.
A precise description of the procedure makes it more precise.
Note the differences in two sample descriptions of the same procedure:
A. Pass over the gas to the person signaling that they are out of gas, confirm they’re OK, then ascend to the surface, holding them by the jacket strap.
B. Pass on the regulator that’s currently in your mouth to the person signaling that they are out of gas. When sharing gas, grab the hose right behind the regulator housing with your right hand. After taking the hose off from your neck, put the backup regulator into your mouth using the other hand. Stabilize the hose of the regulator passed over to the recipient, until they attach the carabiner of their regulator to the right D-ring. Check if everything is alright. If you proceed to ascending, keep the regulator hose in a loose position or secure it taking turns with the recipient, holding it in front of you.
Additional parts of the procedure can be added here to describe in detail how to proceed when you have to swim with the recipient towards the ascent site, keeping them on your right or left.
Alright, but why bother with all this? Isn’t it simply better to pass over the regulator and scram?
This seems like the simplest solution, but imagine this situation during a typical dive in the Baltic Sea: visibility of 1.5–2 meters, diving near a net-covered wreck.
If visibility is reduced to zero when sharing gas and both divers know every element of the procedure very well, they will control each other, precisely knowing what is the next step that their partner is
going to make. They’ll be feeling it more than seeing. Running out of gas is an uncomfortable situation, but being aware of what is happening and what is going to happen next is comforting.
Very well. I have not practiced taking my mask off and putting it back on 45 times and I am uncertain what my partner is going to do when I show them that I have ran out of gas.
Where to start training procedures?
Is there anything that we all can do?
Yes, there are three elements used in every diving federation, which are required for any procedure to work. The safety of the entire team depends on mastering them to perfection:
1. Position
2. Buoyancy control
3. Movement techniques
An important matter, which is not always obvious. Procedures are called drills and are often abbreviated.
´ Learn how to assume the perfect position and act while maintaining it Try to perfect your weight configuration and setting, so that the position gets better every time.
´ Control buoyancy under any conditions. Initially, assume a maximum deviation of 1.5 meters, then train to improve your precision. When you achieve easy buoyancy control within a range of 0.5 meter, you are almost ready to learn any procedure.
´ Learn how to move very slowly and very fast, using different techniques: frog, front crawl, modified techniques. Rotate in place and move back without using your arms.
Therefore, we us the name s-drill for a safety drill, v-drill for a valve drill, etc. Diving federations also impact the name of a particular procedure. It may
S-drill, Photo Mocean Images
happen that the same procedure has different names, but also may include different actions intended to achieve the same goal.
Make sure that you know what a particular abbreviation means and how the procedure it refers to looks like.
It is very important to dive in teams using the same procedures! A diving team includes two or three people.
These are sample groups of the most common procedures used in recreational and technical diving.
This means that the activities denoted by each of the terms below are described in very miniscule details and practiced to perfection by every team member.
BASIC PROCEDURES GROUP:
´ diving gas analysis;
´ taking out and putting in the regulator;
´ main/backup regulator switching;
´ passing over the regulator in an outof-gas situation;
´ teamwork;
´ removing your mask;
´ cylinder valve opening check;
´ shooting up a surface marker buoy;
´ using hand signals;
´ decompression basics;
´ transporting and retrieving an unconscious diver to the surface.
INTERMEDIATE PROCEDURES
GROUP:
´ using a backup mask;
´ comprehensive operation of cylinder valves;
´ communication using light signals;
´ using a backup light;
´ using reels/laying guide lines;
´ switching between your basic and decompression gases;
´ navigation;
´ lost decompression gas;
´ performing various decompression plans;
´ decompression sickness and oxygen toxicity.
ADVANCED PROCEDURES GROUP:
´ complex equipment failures;
´ rotation of stage cylinders; ´ multi-gas decompression;
´ using a DPV;
´ overhead environments;
´ retrieving objects; ´ recompression.
Procedures are an incredibly interesting subject. We learn them from the beginning of our diving careers and we often extend them when learning new diving techniques.
We discuss the impact of diving equipment on simple and complex procedures during Tecline Academy seminars – we invite beginner and advanced divers, as well as diving instructors, to take part – we have prepared a special “Master Class” program for you.
