Why are there here so many heat waves?! As if Africa was in Europe. But fortunately we know how to cool down and improve the mood. This magazine shows how to do it. We transfer our underwater activities to paper and multimedia screens. In this way we wish to tell non-divers: go to the water, do a basic diving or freediving course and feel the power of water!
And water has the power that we do not underestimate. Never. That is why we dive safely, and security is an important topic in this issue. I asked Maciej Jurasz to write a balanced text about this difficult topic in relation to many accidents that have taken place this year. Thank you Maciej for this text. We also have a publication by Irena Kosowska about the quality of diving training and its duration. Behind a diving course there is a specific instructor. An important personality in the life of every diver who begins his adventure with diving. DAN gives us information about panic, the normal one and the one that can happen to us underwater. And panic can unfortunately happen to everyone. It is worth being prepared for it, at least to some extent.
In his guide Wojtek A. Filip wrote about pragmatic decompression. This knowledge is rather advanced but very necessary for those who suffer from decompression. In the next issue, we will publish the second chapter of the article.
There will be beautiful photos and travel articles. Read about freediving with sharks. And by the way, would you jump in to swim with them? There is also a great piece on Sudan by Anna Sołoducha with photos of Piotr Kowalski. We have two views of Bali, one written by Sylwia Kosmalska-Juriewicz and the other one by Dagny Grądzka-Jurasz. In addition to that, we have got here photos of various authors, including the debut of a young and talented diver – Mikołaj Sobieraj.
In Poland, the TecLine Academy has been founded, open to every diver and freediver. I visited and saw the end of works before it opened. And I wrote a few words about it. Earlier, I had talked to Krzysztof Gawroński about business, diving and torches.
After a break in the 4th issue of the magazine, Jakub Banasiak comes back with a new article. There is a chance for whales that have been kept so far in captivity. Seaside sanctuaries are being created and this is what Jakub tells us about. We are also coming back with the subject of animals of the Baltic Sea.
Among the highlights there are Belis Fantanele Lake in Romania and a very interesting opal mine in Dubnik and cold Antarctica. There are wrecks too, see for yourself. In general, please visit our magazine and have a look. It is worth it, because this issue is a really great job, served on a plate. You click and you have it. You click and you are underwater. And then you sleep better!
It is easy to get here, but it is difficult to leave Bali. Love, eat and… dive
Sudan
Antarctica 2019, in the footsteps of Shackleton
Belis-Fantanele Lake, Transylvania
Between Scylla and Charybdis, the Strait of Messina
Seaside sanctuaries, a chance for whales kept in captivity
European flounder, Baltic Chameleon
Swans, heavy weight aviators
Ghost Fishing Poland, we draw nets from the wrecks of the Baltic Sea!
Quality of diving trainings
Panic
A diving accident, meaning everything is fine until…
I came, I saw, I tell – the TecLine Academy
A sunken church. "Mister!" There is a sunken church in this lake!!!
Publisher perfect diver Wojciech Zgoła ul. Folwarczna 37, 62-081 Przeźmierowo redakcja@perfectdiver.com
ISSN 254-3319
Wojciech Zgoła
Irena Kosowska
Mateusz Popek Agnieszka Kalska
Jakub Degee Agnieszka Gumiela-Pająkowska Arleta Kaźmierczak
Lawyer Joanna Wajsnis Brygida Jackowiak-Rydzak
Montserrat (Julieta Ulanovsky)
Open Sans (Ascender Fonts) Spectral (Production Type)
distribution dive centers, online store preorder@perfectdiver.com
If
responsi
He often repeats that he travels by diving and that is his motto. In 1985 he obtained a yacht sailor's license, and only in 2006 began to dive. In the following years he improved his skills by obtaining the Dive Master degree. He completed nearly 650 dives in various climatic conditions. Since 2007, he has been taking photographs underwater, and since 2008 he has also been filming. As an independent journalist, he published dozens of articles, mainly in journals dedicated to diving, but not only. Co-author of photo exhibitions in Poland and abroad. He is passionate about and propagator of diving.
Since 2008 he has been running his own website www.dive-adventure.eu. On the basis of extensive experience, in August 2018 he created the new Perfect Diver Magazine
"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.
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.
Polish photographer, winner of awards and distinctions in world underwater photography competitions, has already dived all over the world: with sharks and whales in South Africa, with orcs behind the Arctic Circle, on Galapagos with hundreds of hammerhead sharks and humpback whales in the Tonga Islands. He participates in specialist photographic workshops. He has been diving for 27 years, he started at the age of 12 – as soon as it was formally possible. He was the first in the world to use the Hasselblad X1d-50c camera for underwater macro photography. Recently, in the remote Chincorro archipelago on the border between Mexico and Belize, he did it again, taking a successful attempt to photograph the eye of a crocodile with a macro lens with an additional magnifying lens, which is the world's largest photo of the crocodile's eye living in the wild (in terms of pixel count, print size, quality).
"I can not imagine life without water, where I experience freedom of the spirit in my free body."
● founder of the first freediving and swimming school in Poland – FREEBODY,
● freediving instructor Apnea Academy International and PADI Master Freediver,
● record holder and multiple medalist of the Polish Championships, member of the national team in freediving 2013–2018,
● finalist of the Freediving World Championships 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018,
● a Polish national championship champion and a member of the national team in swimming in 1998–2003,
● passionate about freediving and swimming.
Wojciech Zgoła
irena kosoWska
jakub degee
agniesZka kalska
MateusZ popek
The owner of the Płetwal Poznań diving center, a graduate of the Poznan Academy of Physical Education, expert in diving at the Poznan District Court. A PADI, TDI, SSI and CEDIP instructor. Since 2012, a PADI Course Director, as well as Tec Rec OC Trimx Trainer Instructor. As the first, and so far the only Pole in the history of PADI, he became the Tec 100 CCR Trainer Instructor. Awarded many times the title of 'Elite Instructor' in 2013; in 2016 and 2017 'Silver Course Director'. In 2018, he received the highest distinction in the PADI system – ‘Platinum Course Director’, which so-far received only three Poles in the entire history of PADI. The training is carried out in various regions of the world in cooperation with many dive centers and instructors. He completed over 3,500 dives, issued over 2,500 certificates, including over 500 at the instructor level. He made, among other things, a partner diving at 151 m, and a team diving during which, for the first time in the world at a depth of 100 m, the Rubik's cube was solved.
The owner of the Płetwal Poznań diving centre, a lawyer by education, a PADI Assistant Instructor. For 10 years a happy wife and a mother of two sons, Ignacy and Henryk. Until 2017 she worked as an assistant of a legal counsel in Poznań, but for the last 2 years she has been completely devoted to the diving center. Since then, she has organized dozens of domestic and foreign dive trips. For a year she has been trying to extend her expeditions further and combine them with sightseeing trips. In her spare time she runs away with her husband to the mountains in the attempt to reach the Crown of Polish Mountains in the near future.
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.
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.
styła
President of Ocean-Tech Sp. z o. o., IT NAUI, wreck and cave diver. "Diving is not just about equipment. It is also discovering secrets and an opportunity to reach places that an ordinary mortal has no chance to see. Over ten years ago, for this passion, I abandoned the prospering business and founded the company Ocean-Tech, which in fact is an online store www.nurkowyswiat.pl"
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!" www.activtour.pl, anna@activtour.pl
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.
Wojciech a. filip
robert
Maciej jurasZ
sylWia kosMalska-jurieWicZ
bartosZ psZcZółkoWski
dagny grądZka-jurasZ
anna sołoducha
radosłaW ZajkoWski
Instructor of recreational and technical diving, a rebreather instructor, and also a cave diver. He has been teaching diving for over 13 years. He started his diving adventure while serving in special units, where he also acquired the certificate of a high altitude helicopter rescue operations instructor. Currently, he is involved in the project of creating the training programmers for a diving organization ISSF. He highly appreciates good training and ethics at every aspect of diving activity.
olgierd stieler
PADI underwater photography instructor, assistant professor at the Poznań University of Medical Sciences. Hobbies – typically water; diving, sailing, traveling. The Master of Wielkopolska in sailing in the Omega class of 2017 and 2018, currently competing in the class of Delphia 24. Involved in medical activity in Africa – the Redemptoris Missio Foundation for Medical Assistance Missions. An expert of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity and a member of the Ławica Staff of the Great Orchestra in Poznań. He also conducts classes in physics and diving medicine at the University. The owner of the seafari.pl website.
He started diving as a 12-year-old and from the very beginning he knew that he would connect his life with diving – including his professional life. This also happened 11 years and several hundred dives later, when after graduating in France he started working as a representative of the TecLine / Scubatech company. In parallel – he continued to develop in diving, already as a technical diver Global Underwater Explorers (GUE). In 2019, BarTek began to share his passion for diving as a GUE instructor. He is also one of the founders of the Polish 'chapter' of the global ecological action: Ghost Fishing
ZbignieW rogoZiński
A passionate and enthusiast of diving, he photographs amateurly and likes to know what he sees under the water, what are the names of the animals he calls and what stories hide the wrecks. He has been diving since 2009, getting the PADI Instructor Assistant degree, and in 2010 he and his friends opened a diving school and Wolsztyn Diving Club Bad Fish.
A traveler, photographer and the underwater world filmmaker, an Asian cuisine enthusiast and a PADI diving instructor. He visited over 70 countries and dived on 5 continents (the other two are planned for next year's expeditions). For several years he has also been an instructor and trainer of the unmanned aircraft flights. A co-author of a travel agency for divers www.dive-away.pl. He documents his expeditions with photos and descriptions of his journeys on his blog www.divingandtravel.pl
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.
A doctor of philosophy by education, a byzantologist, for ten years with great passion a technical and cave diver, a passionate underwater archaeologist. Every day, she advises companies on how to create their business image, also deals with public relation and brand promotion. She constantly tries to acquire knowledge, train and dive as often as possible – live consciously with care for the balance of body and spirit. Favorite waters are Polish diving sites, Ohrid Lake in Macedonia, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
A boring programmer by education and profession, a diver by years of passion. An amateur of underwater photography and video in a budget version. For years fascinated with places "with history" – mines, bunkers, and of course wrecks – and (though not necessarily in this order) caves in which with his own eyes he can see the wonders created by nature, if left her free hand and several million years to act.
Diver from 2008. Passionate of the Red Sea and pelagic ocean predators. Devoted to the idea of protecting dolphins, sharks and whales. He dives mainly where you can meet these animals and monitor the level of their well-being. Member of Dolphinaria-Free Europe Coalition, volunteer at Tethys Research Institute and Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit, associate of Marine Connection. For 10 years he has been involved in research on wild dolphin populations and audits dolphinariums. Together with the team "NO! For the Dolphinarium" he prevents dolphins from captivity and promotes knowledge about dolphin therapy unsaid or concealed by centers which make money on this form of animal therapy.
bartek pitala
agniesZka blandZi
bartek trZciński
agata turoWicZ
adrian jurieWicZ
jakub banasiak
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.
He began his adventure with diving and underwater photography in the seventies. The development of digital photography two decades ago fully allowed him to realize his passions. He photographed in many places on many continents. He has not been to many places yet, which is why he tries to organize a further trip at least once a year. He likes photography in Polish waters and it gives him a lot of satisfaction, mainly because he is not limited by time. He photographs mainly for his own pleasure, which does not mean that he has never happened to exhibit his works, take part in photo competitions and even win them. He is an active CMAS diving instructor and underwater photography instructor.
A traveller since the age of twelve, he loves new challenges and leaving his comfort zone. A student of a bilingual class with the Spanish language of XVII LO in Poznań. Diving passion was instilled in him by his parents. While other children were chasing after pigeons in the Old Market Square, he was chasing manta rays in the depths of the Red Sea. He is constantly looking for new, interesting places, and also loves meeting new people and getting to know their stories, constant curiosity and lack of any prejudices allows him to experience unforgettable adventures, both on land and underwater. Since recently he is a kitesurfing lover and an avid skier. He dreams that travelling becomes his way of life.
Karol's first contact with diving was innocent and accidental. He began with snorkeling in Bulgaria and Greece in the late 90s. A little later, after taking the first course, diving became his passion. Since then, he has passed all levels of training. He worked as an underwater guide in several countries and worked on shellfish harvesting in cold Scottish waters. By profession, he is a logistics manager, which makes it very easy for him to organize diving trips. An enthusiast of flooded caves, a speleologist, seeker of abandoned places (mines, adits, factories). A SDI/TDI diving and first aid instructor. He thinks that what makes a good diver is arduous training in various conditions. The admirer of the Balkans, which he has been visiting for 20 years. He loves underwater photography, wild mountains, Asia and its cuisine, black humor and happy company on trips. A SeaYa Ambassador.
BY ROLAND ST JOHN
Big Blue to marka stworzona przez nurka i miłośnika morskiej fauny, Rolanda St John jako Big Blue Aquatic Gifts. Biżuteria i breloczki z motywami ośmiornic, żółwi morskich, rekinów i innych gatunków, powstają w USA są wykańczane ręcznie, ukazują piękno i różnorodność morskich stworzeń.
Jako dystrybutor Big Blue by Roland St John, Ocean-Tech Sp. z o.o. w pełni podziela zachwyt twórcy nad mieszkańcami oceanicznych głębin. Breloczki, wisiorki, bransoletki i kolczyki Big Blue dostępne są na: nurkowyswiat.pl i sklep.ocean-tech.pl.
A graduate of the University of Warsaw. An underwater photographer and filmmaker, has been diving since 1995. A co-operator at the Department of Underwater Archeology at the University of Warsaw. He publishes in diving magazines in Poland and abroad. The owner of the FotoPodwodna company which is the Polish representative of Ikelite, Nauticam, Inon, ScubaLamp companies. www.fotopodwodna.pl, m.trzcinski@fotopodwodna.pl
karol pencil ołóWek
Marcin trZciński
Mikołaj sobieraj
piotr koWalski
It is easy to get here, but it is difficult to leave
w hen we first arrived at n usa ceningan, we noticed a wooden plaque with the inscription that we did not understand then: " i t is easy to get here, but it is difficult to leave"…
Text sylWia kosMalska-jurieWicZ Photos adrian jurieWicZ
Iam in a place where I feel hap piness all day long. At dawn, when I am woken up by roosters crowing and birds singing, at noon, when the air is saturated with the scent of incense, flowers and the ocean, in the evening when I admire the sunset in the company of people close to me…
Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan are three small Indonesian islands located south of the well-known island of Bali. Each of them is unique and has its own individual charm.
There is a low tide today, our boat cannot reach the shore, it stops several dozen meters from the coast of the island of Nusa Lembongan. Only dogs are happy about the situation and they are happy to look for delicacies in the shallow water: fish, crabs and other crustaceans, which they eat with joy. We reach the island in the late afternoon, the water is pleasantly warm, and the sand even burns my feet.
It is good to come back home… I thought… I am in Indonesia again. For a moment I felt as if I had never left this place.
We get in the car and go under the "Yellow Bridge". A yellow suspension bridge that connects the island of Nusa Lembongan with the island of Nusa Ceningan. These two islands are separated by a small strait where numerous fishing vessels, diving and transport boats arrive. From the bridge there is a beautiful view of a mangrove forest and a blue lagoon. It is from here that every day at dawn we sail to dive and from here we get a boat to the island of Nusa Penida. The yellow bridge is very narrow and it is difficult for two motor scooters to pass each other. Thanks to this, Nusa Ceningan has retained its original character and is not trampled by tourists like its sister Nusa Lembongan, where many boats arrive with tourists from all over the world. Both islands are almost identical in terms of culture and have similar natural features.
Nusa Ceningan is the smallest of the archipelago, located between the more popular Nusa Lembongan and the more virgin Nusa Penida. It is best to move around by scooter, bike or on foot. The places most visited by tourists include the view-
Java
Timor Bali
Sumatra
nusa Penida
nusa ceningan
nusa lembongan
point from which there is a breathtaking view of the blue lagoon, or the Secret Beach where you can relax in a cosy paradise of white sand and swim in shallow, emerald water. There is also a steep cliff with a restaurant on top. From there you can watch surfers struggling with huge waves and admire spectacular sunsets.
Nusa Ceningan wakes up every day before dawn at the first cockcrow and there are a lot of cocks on the island. For me, the sunrise is the perfect time to go to the ocean and start the day with yoga. This practice gives a lot of positive energy for the whole day. It is also very helpful while diving. Since I have been practicing yoga regularly, I have more control over my body, so I swim more efficiently and use less air during a dive. Breathing exercises that I do also allow me to get into a state of relaxation. This technique is very useful especially when we start our adventure with diving and everything around us is new and can cause slight anxiety.
On Nusa Ceningan time has slowed down to a minimum, I do not know what is the day of the week, sometimes even what time it is. We live in a wooden villa located in an exotic garden where my favourite almond trees grow with flowers that
the inhabitants of the island believe in being good, Putu always repeats – "the more good you do to others, the more of it comes back to you".
have a beautiful, stunning, sweet fragrance. It is a small family-run business where everyone puts lots of love and energy into making every guest feel at home.
I go out with a cup of coffee to the terrace and watch Putu. The woman works at the hotel and we made friends on the first day of our stay. With grace and emotion she carries a silver tray with gifts for gods, goddesses and spirits. This ritual repeats
itself three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. In small bamboo baskets she places rice, flower and cookies, she burns incense and prays quietly for the well-being of herself and her relatives throughout the day. The inhabitants of the island believe in being good, Putu always repeats – "the more good you do to others, the more of it comes back to you". We Europeans are in a hurry all the time and unfortunately we do not have time to enter a new day slowly, we do not have time for a small coffee, for a smile… I experience simple pleasures at Nusa Ceningan and celebrate every day.
After a delicious breakfast, we get on the scooter and go to the Yellow Bridge. The dive boat is already waiting for us, we are sailing today around the island of Nusa Penida, where there are some of the most beautiful diving spots in the area – Manta Point, Crystal Bay, SD, Manta Bay, Toyapakeh.
Today we have a great chance to meet one of the most unusual fish in the world: the ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
We sail through a narrow and shallow strait. On the left we pass a mangrove forest, which is an ideal "incubator" for numerous schools of small fish. Among the mangrove they found asylum against attacks by predators.
The boat is getting faster, it is a sign that we are sailing to open sea. We reach Crystal Bay on the west part of Nusa Penida within 15 minutes in our speed boat, but before we jump into the water, the captain will ask spirits and gods to protect us during the dive. He puts two thanksgiving baskets on the water and lights the incense. Holding petals of flowers in his hand he is praying quietly. "Work your charms, captain", I thought. “Tame the ocean, you may need more incense to make Mola mola
come.” The specimens of this amazing species are very large. An adult can weigh two tonnes, and the fin width is up to three meters. After a moment, the gifts are taken by the current and disappear on the horizon, rocked by waves…
It is a hot September forenoon. The air temperature exceeds the pleasant 28°C, I bask in the sun and slowly put on diving equipment: 7 mm foam, 3 mm insulator, 3 mm hood. I missed the sun so much that the heat does not bother me at all, my personal thermostat adapts perfectly to the new climatic conditions. I sit on the starboard side of the boat and on the count of three we dive into the icy water with a great splash. From June to October the temperature of the water off the coast of the island of Nusa Penida drops from 29°C to 17°C. This is due to the cold tidal currents that appear in the area at this time of year. We immerse ourselves slowly in the crystal clear Indian Ocean, the clarity
of water is awesome, over 40 m of visibility. The rays of the sun penetrate through the water and create luminous streaks. Crystal Bay is a unique place for diving due to the diverse marine fauna, beautiful coral gardens, rays, cuttlefish, numerous schools of small fish, turtles, reef sharks and the most amazing fish in the world – Mola mola.
At the end of the dive, three large sized flattened shapes appear, swimming close to each other. For a moment the world stopped, time stood still, and we held our breath. For that moment we have been waiting for a long time. I have a great desire to dance with delight and shout for joy into the regulator. I start to smile and tears of emotion come to my eyes. My dream has come true threefold.
The large specimens of Mola mola (sunfish in English) appeared before our eyes at 10 meters, the moment we were about to emerge having lost hope of meeting them. For the first time I had the opportunity to see them close and at my fingertips. They looked so surreal that I could not believe they really existed. I could see their flat, strong bodies, the high dorsal fin, the shiny velvet skin, the small mouth. These fish usually occur at considerable depths, but in the period from June to October, they flow to the surface with a cooler current, to undergo the "care treatments" provided by small cleaner fish.
With each moment the atmosphere became more and more elevated. Equally exciting as Mola mola were the reactions of divers with whom I was un-
Lord Ganesha
God with the head of an elephant. Followers believe that he removes all obstacles and helps to implement life plans. Considered to be a god of abundance and prosperity. Supports active people and helps them fulfil their dreams. Ganesha from the photo stood in front of the entrance to the hotel where we lived on Nusa Ceningan. His task is to provide the owner and his family with a prosperous life.
derwater. A unique moment, when all that happened – joy, surprise, Mola mola, emotion – all created one unforgettable experience.
Apparently life is not about breathing, but about the moments in which we hold our breath... On this day, there were more similar moments, also when we were diving with manta rays at a place called Manta Point. It was a time full of impressions. A day that happens once in a million, determined by our attitude to the world, our sensitivity. Positive attitude to life and to what surrounds us makes miracles happen. Regardless of whether we are walking on land or diving.
Bali is one of about 16 thousand islands belonging to Indonesia in the Sunda Islands archipelago. The area of Bali is 5.6 thousand km², its length is 150 km and the width is 80 km. Arriving here, we land in the administrative capital of the island –Denpasar, from where a network of roads spreads over the entire island. We decided to stay in the
eastern part, more precisely in the town of Cand Dasa. This side of the island is the most attractive diving destination. Beaches here are mainly stony due to the fact that Bali is a volcanic island. The highest peak is the Agung volcano rising to 3142 m above sea level, about which there are a lot of beliefs.
Bali
love, eat and… dive
i ndonesia has been present in my heart and dreams for several years, and since it has become a summer destination for my friends and acquaintances, i decided to gather a group of divers and start to conquer Bali. h owever, i should start from the beginning…
The island welcomed us with 35-degree heat and high humidity – about 82%. After about 19 hour journey, we felt like sardines in an oil can.
The natives are very friendly, smiling and helpful. It is possibly due to Bali's dominant religion – Balinese Hinduism – practised by over 80% of the population
(Islam accounts for about 12%). The foundation of faith is karma and giving gifts to the gods. You can see it at every step, literally… The Balinese offer gifts on the pavement, on car hoods, on numerous idols in the streets. The gift is the size of a hand, it consists of a banana leaf, fruit, vegetables and a candy. What counts is the moment and the inten-
Text dagny grądZka-jurasZ
CANDI DASA
Photo Benthos Bali
tion of a giver, the fate of a gift depends on one's individual karma. After that, people, monkeys and dogs can freely "eat" from the bowl of gifts. Personally, I did not see in Bali people begging in the streets or attempting to cheat or get money from passers-by. I only heard rumours about the Bulgarian mafia (how come the Bulgarians?), plundering cash machines or attempting to cheat tourists in exchange offices. It seems not difficult, because the currency in Bali is the Indonesian rupee, the smallest denomination banknote is probably 5000, so exchanging 100 euros I received 1.4 million rupees. I also exchanged money for my group and felt like a millionaire walking through Candi Dasa streets with a few million in my pocket…
The villages are not much different from one another, but they are characterised by the famous Balinese architecture. Wooden decorations or clay idols can be found in every household, hotel or restaurant. What is most noticeable is road traffic. Firstly, it is left-sided as a remnant of the Japanese occupation, and secondly, narrow streets are filled
with motor scooters on which families of 4–5 people often travel.
The Balinese cuisine is fresh, aromatic and based on freshly caught fish, seafood and chicken. For each serving we receive a portion of rice, red onion with chilli and grilled vegetables, as standard. The best food we got was in small wok bars, open during unknown hours, and certainly not regulated. On average, a dish in this bar cost about 8–10 $. You can, of course, go to an international restaurant, however, you have to reckon with the fact that the food can be pre-prepared, and without native spices. In this way, I came across a bland breaded tuna steak… I do not recommend it, the worst spent $ 25 in Bali.
I based my diving trip in the Benthos Bali diving base, which I found among the PADI partners on the website www.padi.com, where the co-owners are the delightful Polish couple Kasia and Maciek Perepeczo. The base is in Candi Dasa, open all year. At the entrance, we were welcomed by a friendly
Photo Piotr Matysiak
Photo Piotr Matysiak
Photo Mikołaj Sobieraj
Photo BenthosBali
d uring the majority of diving trips, transport on water is provided by a traditional b alinese fishing boat –Jukung (…). o n the boat there is an average of 3–8 people, (…)
Balinese woman, dealing with the reception. Next are the whole logistical facilities of the base, diving equipment, a bar with great food, a pool up to 3 m deep and several bungalows for divers. I give an A plus to this diving base for its service and conditions. This certainly will not be the last time we went to Benthos on holiday!
Kasia and Maciej organised 13 great dives for us in the top locations around Bali. Diving in Bali in my opinion is quite demanding, because often we meet strong currents underwater, not very kind to a diver. We spent most of the dives on beautiful, vivid and very colourful reefs, where not only schools of fish but also turtles and octopuses live. We came across those two kinds of animals practically on every dive. Visibility under water ranges from a dozen or so meters to about 20–30 m. There are also numerous caverns, and in the Gili Biaha diving site we met a nice herd of reef sharks with about 13 specimens. One cavern is located at a depth of about 9 m. It has a wide entrance, therefore it is accessible to every diver. Next to the famous island of Nusa Penida, mainly known to tourists for its swing with ocean views, by us it will be remembered as one of the greatest experiences underwater. On a local speedboat we got to one of the manta ray cleaning stations. Diving at a dizzying depth of 5–7 m, we found ourselves among a few
Photo Mikołaj Sobieraj
Photo Piotr Matysiak
to a dozen or so mantas, where the largest I met had the wingspan of about 7 m. Fear of divers is unknown to them, so you can be really close to these magical creatures.
During the majority of diving trips, transport on water is provided by a traditional Balinese fishing boat – Jukung, a few miniature models of which I brought with me to Poland. On the boat there is an average of 3–8 people, depending on the size of the boat and whether the travellers are diving or just snorkelling, which in Bali can also provide a lot of excitement. We could not miss a dive on the USS Liberty, the wreck of an American ship that had been pushed by lava into the water in the 1960s. We start the tour from 7 m and finish at a depth of 30 m. The wreck is entirely covered with beautiful corals, inhabited by crabs, clownfish, moray eels, turtles. At times it was possible to get lost, whether we were swimming on the reef or on the wreck.
A night dive turned out to be the most interesting. For the first time in my life I saw an "electric fish", which is nothing but a mollusc that reacts to light like a burning-out light bulb. Additionally, by entering the only preserved chamber, we had the opportunity to meet a school of parrot fish, the largest individual being about 3 m in size. We just had to to stay still at the bottom so that they would calmly float around, every once in a while looking with curiosity at flying air bubbles.
In summary, I recommend Bali to anyone who likes jungle, waterfalls, picturesque landscapes, stunning views, exotic dives, tropical heat and lovable natives in one place.
Photo Piotr Matysiak
Poznań, July 2019
Freediving with sharks
Text and
photos
agniesZka kalska
o ne day i asked: " w hat is your dream?" Af ter a moment of reflection, i heard: " i would like to dive with sharks." i answered, " with sharks? well…" and i immediately thought that this dream could come true.
Ihad never before looked for such a destination. I heard about several locations where sharks can be found and it is possible to dive with them without a cage. A friend from the editorial office, Jakub Degee, came to help. He had close encounters with sharks already behind him. He himself offered to help us organise such a trip. After receiving answers to a million questions and dispelling the biggest doubts, we decided – we are going to freedive with sharks in South Africa.
The town where we stayed was located on the east coast south of Durban. After landing we had to drive a few kilometres by car and only then realized that the greatest danger in South Africa is not a meeting with sharks! A white man from outside the African continent may feel from the beginning that he is not at home, and the landscape along the highway seems to be saying, it is better not to stick your nose out of the hotel…
The weather forecasts for the few days we were to spend in water were not favourable. We knew that rain, wind and storms during this period are a norm and it is possible that we would not sail out once if weather conditions were not adequate. We planned 5 diving days and hoped that we could go to the ocean even once. This, however, did not give any guarantee that we would manage to meet sharks that day.
The first day we spent on the beach watching huge waves that splashed on the rocks and flooded huge areas of sand. The force of the ocean was present in all its glory. The guide, who was to take us by boat to the dive site, cancelled the trip due to those conditions. None of us even tried to undermine this decision. Fortunately, the next four days turned out to be more favourable.
In order to get to the specific location where we could meet sharks, it was necessary to overcome the waves. Everyone was supposed to put on a life jacket, and with their feet and hands hold on to the boat tightly. To make it through the rough sea, the guide circled and approached the breaking waves several times. Every next wave was too high, fast and violent to do it safely. We heard about stories when sailing towards a dangerous wave ended badly. We waited patiently until finally after 30 min-
utes we managed to get through – a rollercoaster compared to this is not a big deal!
There were many species of sharks in the area. We planned to dive with "oceanic blacktip" sharks, but it did not mean that the others would stay away from us… We learned this quite quickly. When we arrived at our site, the guide began to lure sharks. He stuck out overboard a metal ball with a bait attached to thick sticks. After a while, we saw shark fins around the boat. At first, one circled around us, then two until the third appeared and the guide decided that we could enter the water. He jumped in as the first to check out the surroundings, and we began to get ready, joking whom he will throw first to be eaten. However, we did not manage to immerse even a fin before the guide found himself back on the boat. It turned out that our bait had disappeared. After taking out the fixing frame, we saw that it was bitten off… The perpetrator was probably a tiger shark, which was observed by the guide. Inside me, a gentle disappointment mixed with a slight terror.
Till the end I was wondering if I really wanted to dive with sharks. This event did not encourage me to take a positive decision. We had to turn back for the new bait ashore and overcome the waves again. We returned to the same place and again we managed to attract the appropriate diving companions. The guide instructed us about the proper behaviour in water, about keeping the hands to ourselves and, above all, avoiding excessive splashing and stirring up the water. The moment of my decision to enter the water was quite accidental. When I was almost ready, I just slipped off the side and dropped into the water. However, the sharks circling nearby were not very impressed. I put the fins on my feet, took the camera in my hand and I was already swimming and diving among sharks, and it did not bother them at all. Fantastic!
When we both became accustomed to this company, we started posing with sharks for photos and making films. So busy with taking pictures, we did not even notice that around us there were already
twenty of them! Sharks brushed against us fighting for flying sardines thrown by the guide directly in front of the lens. More than once, we felt the strength and power of a shark's tail, when in the heat of the struggle for food it had to turn back in order not to bump into us. The scenes were like from a good horror movie, but once we understood that the sharks were not interested in us but only in sardines, we felt the peace that can be compared to the serenity of swimming with turtles. My feeling of peace and security disappeared completely when we started watching recorded films in the evening… I was terrified of what we were able to capture. Only then did the realization of a real threat come to me, if only the shark had mistaken us for a sardine! The next day I hesitated much more whether I wanted to go into the water with them. I knew, however, that the risk of being bitten by this species was really low and I must overcome the fears amplified by Hollywood films. Ultimately, I went into the water again on the second, third and fourth days. Sharks obviously do not have a taste for neoprene freedivers – as long as the divers behave properly. The very experience of closeness to an open mouth of a shark will remain in my memory as a way to overcome the fear of the stereotype of a monster attacking everything that moves. Sharks do not hurt people without a reason. But why constantly do people so cruelly harm the sharks?
Sudan
It is our hope that children born today will have in twenty years' time some green grass under bare feet, fresh air to breathe, some blue water to sail and a whale on the horizon to dream about.
this is one of many illustrious sentences spoken by probably the most famous "father of the oceans" Jacques cousteau. w hen flying to Sudan, it is impossible not to get interested in him, because it was in this virgin African country that he showed the world that you can live underwater. “ the Silent world” delighted me once again on my diving trips, but who would have thought that the reason of my amazement would be so inconspicuous a place as Sudan?
Text anna sołoducha Photos piotr koWalski
Jacques Yves Cousteau
Looking at the Sudanese land from the moon, one can clearly see the boundary of this state, the state that once boasted of being the largest country in Africa and is now divided into two separate units: Sudan and South Sudan. However, what for us – divers –makes the biggest difference between the two countries is the 853 km long coastline of… Sudan.
More than three times shorter than the neighbouring coastline of Egypt, it offers something that makes us have the impression of diving in a different water than the well known Red Sea: the lack of a single "diving" soul during an eight-day diving safari. Only us and maybe… fishermen.
The very word "Sudan" is sometimes enough to discourage potential tourists or divers (whose number is still relatively small) from going there, since it evokes terrifying images. Until 2011, Sudan was the largest country in Africa, but after the state was separated into Sudan and South Sudan, the country lost a large land area, becoming the third largest country on the continent. Unfortunately, the media focus mainly on the turmoil of both countries and rarely emphasize their beauty, the life of the inhabitants and everything they have to offer. However, if anyone dares to break the stereotype of a dangerous country, he or she will certainly experience some of the best diving of their life…
Getting to Port Sudan, the main commercial and fishing port of Sudan, is possible in several ways. We can choose between transfers via the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. I definitely recommend Dubai, where we stop for a night, but it is worth thinking about a two or three-day tour of the metropolis. However, if we have only one evening and morning, it is worth reserving the entry to the world's tallest building – Burj Khalifa (829 m!) Already before entering the plane I was under the impression that I had one leg in another world… Tourists were scarce, the Sudanese, Egyptians and Saudi Arabians dominated, although it was difficult to distinguish them. Instead of colourful suitcases or dive bags, they looked after their precious packages –boxes and boxes, TV sets, tape-packed food
sudan
bags… It could feel really "exotic". The airport in Sudan can be described as… original. A few buildings resembling garages, halls, military hangars, barracks… it is hard to describe. In addition to that, there are gentlemen with rifles directing us to the entrance. It is worth knowing that in Sudan it is forbidden to take pictures of objects that are important for the defence of the country (government buildings, military facilities, communication hubs and main routes as well as bridges).
In the middle of the "arrivals hall" a group of tourists gathers around the person checking our visa promise letters. The visa is granted for 30 days. Here, you will not find check-in desks, security gates or even automatic doors. From one room we go to another part of the same room, which is gently separated by a wall, getting rid of… our passports for our entire stay in Sudan. Yes, our passports. It was the normal procedure until re-
cently to detain tourists' passports for the duration of their stay (in our case a week) in order to obtain a visa and stick it in! Of course, it caused some controversy and fear that passports would not return to the owners, but it was really a standard procedure in this country. An important piece of information for those travelling to Sudan is that the passport must have a minimum of three blank pages and no Israeli visa. Do not go to Sudan otherwise! The issue of baggage collection is also quite… original. Airport staff transfers all luggage to the belt manually. Taking into account the heat of the sun and the amount of luggage (TV sets, household appliances, groceries and diving equipment), it almost hurt me to see the airport employees carrying all those bags. Unfortunately, the airport staff did not have any vehicles or luggage trolleys. The waiting time for luggage can be estimated as between 1.5 to 2 hours. Many of us thought that the luggage would simply not come. Usually it is
not a major drama, but in the case of Sudan, such situation might create real difficulties.
With the exception of a few companies involved in the organisation of diving safaris, before 2018 it was not possible to find a diving centre, diving base or equipment rental on land. There is also no possibility to request to rent equipment on a boat… Nobody said it would be easy!:) But fortunately, there were no unpleasant incidents.
Travel time from the airport to the port is about 30–40 min. We pass vast plains, here and there transforming into small hills, but mostly flat, as well as mud huts and houses with thatched roofs, and around them goats, camels and barefoot children. After a while, the landscape changes – we can see bushes, savannah grass and even acacia trees. Port Sudan is the largest seaport in Sudan. It was founded by the British in 1909 and from that moment it took over the role of the largest Sudanese port from the port city of Suakin.
When it comes to diving, Sudan is one of those places where you simply have to dive, even once during your stay on Earth. Marine life will fully satisfy lovers of large pelagic animals such as hammer sharks, grey reef sharks, large barracuda herds, as
When it comes to diving, sudan is one of those places where you simply have to dive, even once during your stay on earth. marine life will fully satisfy lovers of large pelagic animals (…), as well as fans of wrecks and diving history.
well as fans of wrecks and diving history. Everyone who dived in Sudan was never disappointed. This is an amazing place to dive in less known areas of the Red Sea. While in Egypt, hundreds of diving boats sail on the waters of the same sea, this number in Sudan is close to thirteen.
When choosing a diving safari in Sudan, we have three or four routes available: the northern route, the southern route, the "ultimate trip" connecting the best places of the north and south, and the far south (border with Eritrea). We choose the north route! It is characterized by beautiful, intact coral reefs, lagoons and pinnacles, but above all – everyday encounters with sharks (silky shark, grey reef
shark, hammerhead sharks)! One could list and describe nearly ten diving sites worth seeing, but there are some so significant that they can certainly be considered the showcase of the Sudan diving business.
Angarosh Reef is one of the most famous local diving sites. It is located south of the port of Sudan, about three kilometres from Abington Reef. Practically every safari boat that goes south or north cannot fail to stop for a dive here! From Arabic, the name means "Mother of sharks". We start diving early in the morning. The reef has a drop shape and is easy to recognise. The first plateau leads to a depth of 25 m and the second to a depth of 45 m. We move from the south side of the island, along the vertical walls of the reef to its opposite side. From the very beginning of the dive, the place is affected by very strong currents. After a dozen or so minutes we see under us the silhouettes of hammerhead sharks circling around and in this way getting to a shallower depth. The view? Unforgettable! After a while, like a flying carpet, they swim under us, providing an unforgettable spectacle! Emotions
are running high. Is this really Sudan? And on top of all that, a barracuda herd swirls over the plateau. We are so close that we have the impression of being in the centre of subsea events. During the second dive in this place, we meet again the hammers and grey reef and white sharks. How can you not love diving?
After a few days spent at sea, we managed to set foot on land. We come to one of the best diving spots in the world – to the Sanganeb reef, which we immediately recognise through a lighthouse visible from a distance. Built in 1906 by the British, it is a historic and iconic element of the marine national park located about 25 km east of Port Sudan. Currently it is managed by the Sudanese Navy. The lighthouse, fifty four meters high and ten meters in diameter, is one of the most important lighthouses in the Red Sea and is the best viewpoint overlooking amazing Sanganeb Reef. Sanganeb Atoll is the only (!) atoll in the Red Sea. This atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef with a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. Sanganeb Atoll was founded in 1990 and was the first marine
National Park in Sudan. When it comes to diving, here is one of the most unique reef structures in the whole of the Red Sea, where steep slopes rise from the seabed at a depth of 800 m. We descend immediately to a depth of 30 m and a dolphin pod appears before our eyes!!! The reef is famous for its abundant wealth of marine wildlife – there are at least three hundred species of fish living here, including numerous endemics and rare species of sharks, dolphins, sea turtles and molluscs. During the dives we admire once again schools of barracudas swirling in the depths, grey sharks gliding calmly underwater, large groupers and a school of trevallies. Between dives, we sail on zodiacs to a jetty, where several Sudanese soldiers greet us. The sun burns mercilessly, and there were two hundred sixty eight spiral steps ahead, leading to the top of the lighthouse. In retrospect, I can say that it was a most beautiful "Stairway to Heaven"! The view we saw was hard to compare with anything else. The turquoise water of the atoll surrounding the lighthouse on each side was breathtaking. The atoll has been on the UNESCO list since 2016, and it is certainly "the best of the best" of the Red Sea!
The stay on our 40-meter Andromeda boat was fantastic. An intense diving program and the deep dives gave us a hard time, and during every break between dives we slept on board. On the eve of diving on Shaab Rumi Reef, the ship's crew prepared a film screening for us – a documentary about Jacques Cousteau and his research station –Precontinent II which we were to see with our own eyes the very next day.
It was in Sudan, more than fifty years ago, that two famous pioneers of diving – Hans Hass and Jacques Yves Cousteau – filmed the amazing marine life. Cousteau was a French naval officer, traveller and oceanographer, and above all a pioneer of diving, who devoted his entire life to marine discoveries. His main interests were not only of great importance for science, but also aroused curiosity of public opinion. He gained absolute fame thanks to the underwater experiments he carried out in the early
What is left of the cousteau research station in sudan is a garage for an underwater vehicle, a hangar for equipment, shark cages. all these constructions are located at a depth of 7–15 m. our dive is beautiful – long and calm.
sixties. As part of the Precontinent II experiment he spent a month living underwater, which he documented in the film entitled "World Without Sun". It is said that he chose the "Sudanese" Red Sea for his experiment from all the seas in the world. Precontinent II is the last visible reminder of a series of three French underwater towns. The submarine "village", designed by the world-famous pioneer of oceanography, was supposed to be proof that people can live underwater for a long time, at an increasing depth. Underwater villages were also built to explore the underwater world and conduct research for the fuel industry that financed the project. The first underwater town, Precontinent I was in the Balear Sea off the coast of Marseilles, the second –in Sudan. The location of the second Precontinental village was chosen to be near the entrance to the lagoon, next to the outer wall of the reef. The reef was the perfect choice because her marine life is one of the richest in the world! The project was called Precontinent II, which means – continental shelf. The structures were attached to the bottom with steel ropes and two hundred tons of lead. What is left of the Cousteau research station in Sudan is a garage for an underwater vehicle, a hangar for equipment, shark cages. All these constructions are located at a depth of 7–15 m. Our dive is beautiful – long and calm. The reef rich in marine life is perfectly illuminated. Without problem you can explore the underwater "garage" by entering inside. There are glassfish schools everywhere, and under the structure we can see lionfish. All the remains of the research station are beautifully overgrown by a reef. The sponges and soft corals are breathtaking. Shaab Rumi makes an amazing impression, especially after watching a few hours earlier how, in
the same place in 1963, the best oceanographers and biologists lived there and conducted research. It was an unforgettable lesson of diving history for me, which made us realize that "the world without the sun" can be as delightful as the one we know on the lands we explore.
In addition to coral reefs kept in excellent condition, unimaginable wealth of marine life and legendary places, such as the Cousteau research station, we can also see wrecks here. It is at Port Sudan where you can find a wreck which we can compare to the one that is famous throughout the Red Sea –SS Thistlegorm. Umbria was a passenger and cargo ship and it has been lying for almost eighty years on the reef of Wingate, about five km from Port Sudan, at a depth of 25 m, resting on the left side at an angle of about 45 degrees. This Italian ship was built in 1912 and it set sail for the last time in 1940, taking on board, among others, over 360,000 bombs weighing from 15 to 100 kilograms, 60 boxes with detonators, cement bags, cars, 8,600 tons of ammunition and 1,500 Prosecco bottles. In June 1940, on the way to Eritrea, the ship was detained by British soldiers who were well aware of what was on board and what would be used against the Allies as soon as the Italians announced their entry to World War II. When on June 10th, 1940, the captain of Umbria heard on the radio Mussolini's speech declaring Italy's entry into the war, he cleverly sank the ship, taking earlier the entire crew to the lifeboats, so that the cargo would not get into the hands of the enemy. Therefore, the shipwreck has no mechanical damage. Diving boats cannot be moored on the wreck, thanks to which the ship is in perfect condition! We dived three times to the Umbria. The great visibility and total lack of other scuba divers is one of the greatest assets of Umbria. The wreck, 155 m long and 18 m wide, makes you dizzy! More than 1000 bottles of wine Prosecco (empty!) to this day rest with the wreck. Three Fiats Topolino 1100 version Lungo look as if they had just left the factory. Window glass is intact! When we swim through the restaurant, in front of my eyes I have frames from the film Titanic – sunlight comes through the windows and portholes, giving an incredible charm
to the whole interior. Umbria is still alive. Virtually every element of it is overgrown with a reef that attracts hundreds of sea creatures. Large shells, hard and soft corals and anemones. You can see the engine room, the kitchen, the captain's bridge and five holds. In one of them, in an even row from the top to the bottom lie… aerial bombs and boxes of ammunition. Such views evoke a huge thrill!
After a week spent at sea, we again make our way to the port, which is full of life. In front of the stalls there are stacks of dates, dried chilli peppers, coriander seeds and of cardamom without which there is no real Sudanese coffee which tastes unlike any other.
What impressed me about diving in Sudan is its diversity and spectacular dive spots. Each day was different. At every step we met large representatives of pelagic animals, we dived in a strong current,
through which sometimes we literally "crawled" on the reef. Waving soft corals, gorgonians, beautiful red groupers, anemone forests, Jackfish herds and mainly hammerhead sharks at every step. And on top of all this an amazing wreck and the remains of the diving father's research station.
The trip ending was an excursion to the old port –Suakin. For more than 3,000 years, the port on the island of Suakin was of strategic importance for powerful empires. At present, it is only a "broken relic of the wealth" that passed through its coral walls from around the world. The port was constantly evolving from the 10th century BC – it had commercial and religious significance. It remained wealthy throughout all its life, transforming into a rich, closed port on an island. But what is the most interesting and the most beautiful in this port is that every building was made of stunning coral, and their walls were full of wooden and stone
The sea, once it casts its charm, will keep you in its network of wonders forever.
Jacques Yves Cousteau
decorations. Suakin was the pinnacle of medieval luxury on the Red Sea! In the nineteenth century, the port evolved for the last time, becoming a centre of slave trade from East Africa. As the slave trade diminished, the port became more and more unnecessary. In the 1920s, Suakin fell to ruin. Shallow waters and the rough coral moved the trade north to Port Sudan, and the coral buildings that used to be the crown jewel of the port began to crumble. Only ruins (once a large coral city) still exist and are carefully guarded as an important part of the tourism industry. For me it is a magical place, with real people and the real atmosphere of this country.
Sudan is a real gem on the world diving map. Fortunately, it is not so popular and touristy as the adjacent country of Egypt. Anyone who dives here at least once will certainly not be indifferent to the extraordinarily virgin reefs, the vast diversity of fauna and the marine harmony typical of Sudan.
Seaside sanctuaries
a chance for whales kept in captivity
Text and photos jakub banasiak
the year 2019 is for dolphins and whales very special. the r ussians have begun to release into the wild beluga whales and orcas caught for commercial reasons and held captive near n akhodka. h owever, they do it in such a careless and unprofessional way that the survival of the released animals is in question. c anada has just adopted a law that prohibits holding cetaceans captive, and a while later Japan has announced that on July 1 it is returning to commercial whaling. i celand, in turn, has said that this summer it is giving up whaling, which happened for the first time in 17 years… g ood news constantly mixes with bad news…
sea. We believe that it will be the symbolic beginning of the end of a cruel business based on keeping these amazing marine mammals in concrete pools, away from the natural environment.
At the moment I write these words, Little Grey and Little White have already recovered from their exhausting journey, taking the right amount of food, and being quarantined in a special pool. In a few weeks they should be placed in their final place – in the natural bay on the island of Heimaey.
Created in collaboration with WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation) and SEA LIFE TRUST, the coastal sanctuary in Iceland is one of the greatest achievements in the care and protection of cetaceans in captivity for decades, and the first such facility in the world. This project will help support the rehabilitation of previously imprisoned marine mammals in their natural environment, and in the future probably will become a home for more released beluga whales. WDC also collaborates with other sanctuary projects, such as the Whale Sanctuary Project in North America and the Dolphin Sea Refuge in Italy.
This swinging from good to bad news can make you dizzy. But among these numerous pieces of news, the information about two beluga whales, Little Grey and Little White from the oceanarium Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai remains a great source of hope and joy. They flew to Iceland where they will be released into the sea to a specially prepared large enclosure in the bay of Klettsvik. Here a miracle is happening before our eyes – the world's first, long-awaited, seaside sanctuary for cetaceans – the place where, after years of captivity, these animals can return to the
The very term "nadmorskie sanktuarium" is a calque from English ("seaside sanctuary"), but it is difficult to find a proper Polish equivalent here. For it is not a nature reserve, and the word "asylum" is not quite adequate either. Well – new phenomena go beyond old definitions.
A seaside sanctuary is a separate part of a natural body of water (usually a sea bay), fenced off by nets, in which whales held so far in a dolphinarium and unable to live independently in freedom, will be able to live out their years in conditions as close to natural as possible, in the largest possible space, in an aquatic environment adequate for its
iceland
Heimaey
species. They will be provided with protection and care as well as veterinary support and their welfare and autonomy will be a priority. In such places, contacts with caretakers will ultimately be limited to an absolute minimum. Possible visitors will be able to admire the animals only from a distance, from designated observation sites or through the use of a special camera system. The sanctuary can also be used as a place of rehabilitation of recovered animals (e.g. those that got stranded on the beach) or the preparation of those dolphins from oceanariums which are deemed fit for independent living in the sea, before releasing them into the wild.
Sanctuaries for elephants, big cats, bears and primates have existed in different places in the world for many years. However, until now, there was no maritime sanctuary, because the marine environment has many elements that definitely complicate the whole matter. These problems are perfectly visible on the example of commercial provisional dolphinariums located in ill-conceived places, in fenced sea bays – especially in the Caribbean. Some of these facilities were built in heavily polluted areas, with insufficient water circulation or endangered by hurricanes. The number of accidents,
diseases and the level of mortality of animals are very high there.
The potential location of a seaside sanctuary must take into account weather conditions, currents, water flow, tide levels, harmful algal blooms, species composition of the local ecosystem. At the same time, the seaside sanctuary project has to assess anthropogenic influences, such as local pollution levels and their sources, ship traffic, local fisheries, tourism pressure, etc. It is necessary to analyse the water temperature and salinity and living conditions at various depths.
Each time you need to think about support or opposition from the local community. You will also need an appropriate land area that will allow the construction of the necessary infrastructure, including office space, visitors' centre, laboratory space, place for preparing and storing food, staff rooms.
The need to provide veterinary care is very important. As with any other wildlife sanctuary, some individuals may require minimal intervention, while others may need intensive specialist care. The sanctuary must be able to provide different levels of veterinary care. Facilities for quarantine,
routine or interventional ultrasound examination are necessary. A separate problem are activities for prevention of pregnancy, because the sanctuary cannot be a breeding place. Various contraceptive methods can be combined, such as chemical contraceptives with periodic physical gender separation. A sanctuary can also, for example, periodically accept only one sex.
Another issue that affects the choice of location is security. It is necessary to develop security protocols that take into account the challenges posed by a given location. There will always be a risk, for example, that intruders from outside will get into the sanctuary and will harm, intentionally or unintentionally, animals living there. Hence the requirement to monitor the facility 24 hours a day. The sanctuary must also be designed so as to minimize the risk of dolphin escapes and uncontrolled entry into the surrounding environment.
(whales) they will be provided with protection and care as well as veterinary support and their welfare and autonomy will be a priority. in such places, contacts with caretakers will ultimately be limited to an absolute minimum.
Seaside sanctuaries will ultimately be open to the public, although of course to a much lesser extent and on different terms than marine parks. People will be able to visit them at specific times. Remember, however, that sanctuaries will not be entertainment facilities, so the needs of animals will always be a priority here. Comprehensive information, education and nature conservation programmes will
b y their very nature, seaside sanctuaries will offer whales a much larger space, more challenges and more inspiring stimuli. People will of course continue to look after the animals, but they will be less and less needed.
be offered. Multimedia and the use of virtual reality will provide an extraordinary experience of the life of orcas and whales in the ocean while taking full care of animal welfare.
At present, there are over 3,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises in numerous dolphinariums, marine parks and oceanariums around the world. To end their misery, we must find and prepare places in the natural marine environment to which they could be moved, in different parts of the world.
The centre in Iceland is the first and the most advanced, but not the only such venture. Considering the amount of orcas and dolphins kept in marine parks in the USA, the Whale Sanctuary Project seems to be particularly important. It is the first organisation exclusively focused on creating seaside sanctuaries in North America for whales, dolphins and porpoises that will be moved there from entertainment facilities or will be saved from the ocean and will require rehabilitation or permanent care.
Virtually all larger whales in captivity, especially from colder habitats (such as orcas and beluga sharks), are kept in concrete tanks, at least in the US. This has a very negative effect on the animals. In orcas, broken and worn teeth are very often found, being the aftermath of various stereotypies, as well as numerous injuries as a result of acts of inter-individual aggression, and a drooping dorsal fin (as a result of impaired locomotive needs) visible in all males. Enlarging swimming pools in marine parks is not an option – they would be too expensive and unprofitable. After all, oceanic predators suffer when they find themselves in such small spaces. In addition to the aforementioned physical and physiological ailments, slavery also causes unnatural behaviour and drastically reduces and impairs their social interactions.
By their very nature, seaside sanctuaries will offer whales a much larger space, more challenges and more inspiring stimuli. People will of course continue to look after the animals, but they will be less and less needed. The natural environment, with all the elements characteristic of it, should be more interesting for dolphins than interaction with caretakers. In the marine environment, we humans are not necessary for these mammals. Seaside sanctuaries can give whales the opportunity to regain some independence or at least give them more control over their daily lives.
As mentioned earlier, choosing a place for a cetacean sanctuary is a huge challenge. Orcas and beluga sharks are cold-water animals, so searching for the perfect location in the US has focused on the coasts of Washington, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Of the literally thousands of possible locations that were considered in this region, the researchers narrowed the list to several places that meet all criteria. Currently, detailed on-site verifications are carried out there.
The very complex process of searching for the right place shows that such initiatives are very expensive. The Whale Sanctuary Project estimates that the cost of running a sanctuary is $ 20 million. And then, of course, you need to finance the long-term care of animals, whose costs the organisers will try to cover
thanks to donations and sale of materials and educational programmes. The Whale Sanctuary Project was launched with an initial grant of $ 200,000 from Munchkin, Inc., a global company producing children's items. The company also committed to transfer at least $ 1 million to complete the first facility.
Also in Europe there are plans to launch seaside sanctuaries for dolphins. The locations have been considered, among others in Ibiza and Italy, but the final place has not yet been revealed. The Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation on the Greek island of Lipsi aspires to become the seaside sanctuary in Europe. It is to be a refuge for dolphins washed ashore, requiring rehabilitation or transferred from commercial dolphinariums. It is also to be a rehabilitation centre for seals and turtles. However, some European experts dealing with the welfare of dolphins have been quite sceptical about this centre, believing that it does not meet all the necessary requirements for a seaside sanctuary. And the Old Continent really needs such a place. The dramatic case of dolphins from the closed Finnish Särkänniemi Amusement Park in Tampere has shown it. They were transferred to the next place of captivity – the Attica Zoological Park in Greece –which operates in violation of the law.
We cannot take back all the wrongs and damage that we have done to the whales keeping them in captivity, but by providing them with seaside sanctuaries, we can radically improve their quality of life. This is what the sanctuaries are for.
about business, diving and flasHlig H ts
Wojciech
Zgoła talks with Krzysztof Gawroński (blueabyss.pl)
Where did you start from and what was the factor inspiring you to go into the diving business? To tell the truth, I only remember one question from Ania and Mariusz… 'Are we signing up for an instructor course?' I remember that the idea initially did not appeal to me because I had other plans. Diving had been a passion we shared for many years. Probably for this reason we wanted to show it to others. None of us had to than, nor has to now, live from a diving business, which we are still learning, and probably because of this it was easier to say "yes". It's been over ten years since the first dive and a little over five years since passing the instructor exams, and we're still learning.
you know it is a rare thing to admit to be still learning, don't you? it has been assumed that the instructor knows everything and nobody talks about constant improvement or enhancing qualifications. but that's a different topic. let's go back to the question why you entered
a diving business…
Two words about learning – it may actually sound a little strange when I say we are still learning, when you look from the outside at our company, you see it does cooperate with a few well-known brands in the country. But it is true: if you don't learn, do not invest and do not look ahead, you make no progress or even move back. We do not want to move back. When you ask about entering the business, I guess you ask about money avoiding the word 'money'. We invested as much as we considered appropriate and I can say that to this day we have not taken even a penny out of this business. We are investing all the time and maybe that is why we do not care if we go faster or slower, it's important that we are moving forward because we are not focused on quick profit or return on the investment. We are more concerned about facilitating access to quality products at an acceptable price. We are also focused on conveying our passion to others
through single dives – intro divings or trainings. However, we don't do it en masse as we want to provide an experience at the highest level. We do not tray to strain ourselves or compete… We also do not try to compete with the number of certificates issued – it's not our aim.
What did you start with?
What did we start with? Interesting question. We started with our private equipment, a number of certificates owned, the experience of a few hundred dives per person and the purchase of new recreational equipment for ourselves and our potential customers and the purchase of a car to transport the equipment after passing the instructor's examinations. Perhaps if we hadn't passed them then, today we would have more time. It's all the fault of our CDs – they prepared us very well. I'm joking, of course. We are still grateful to them for that.
as you mentioned, after over 5 years in the market, you're still learning about diving business in poland. how have these years of hard work passed?
Diving business for training purposes was a novelty for us. Trade, on the other hand, was not a very complicated task. I had been in trade for years and I'm still in trade, so I can say that I cut my teeth on the negotiation and sale of various products more or less needed in our life. First, you have to sell the training and that's why I came up with the idea to sell it not only locally but across the whole country. As part of the contract and negotiations, I wanted to involve Decathlon in cooperation not only with our company, but with any other diving company willing to cooperate. Hardly anyone believed that we could succeed.
and how did it go?
We literally stormed through the first stage, I mean the introduction of diving courses into sale, although theoretically it was supposed to be the toughest part. Decathlon even agreed to make a financial investment in the cooperation, which was a complete novelty for them as well
We are more concerned about facilitating access to quality products at an acceptable price. We are also focused on conveying our passion to others through single dives – intro divings or trainings. However, we don't do it en masse as we want to provide an experience at the highest level.
as for us. Information about us appeared all over the country. First inquiries were made about courses, locations, etc. We started getting phone calls asking us to clarify the rules of training before purchase, because we had established such rules. Initially it all worked out, but at the moment when it turned out that no one wants to take an OWD training in one of the cities (not for free of course) and we had to go to another city and give a course there, the decision was made to withdraw from this idea.
So what now about these trainings?
Every now and then new ideas appear, but in fact we do not advertise training too much. Sometimes people call on somebody's recommendation and sometimes after finding out that we only train in ‘one-to-one’ mode without charging extra for it. It's easier for us, because as I mentioned, none of us lives off diving. In my opinion, it's good because we do not fall into the routine and we are not stressed
Photo Irena Stangierska
We have created a package of test flashlight and we send it to tests every weekend. a fter the tests we always receive orders and positive evaluations. We are very pleased that not only the spare and main flashlights, a lot of which we have in our offer, are in the centre of interest, but also the photo flashlights.
whether we will have enough money to make a living. Today, some people put their money for the retirement pension in the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), OFEs, deposits, banks, and we invest it in the diving business. Business is booming, something is developing and, contrary to the appearances, it is interesting and funny, and besides, we meet new interesting people all the time.
it was different with trade, wasn't it?
Trade also worked out differently than we initially thought. Finding good contact people is not so easy and there are certain requirements for distributors. Here are different rules than in traditional trade, which I am not allowed to talk about. I can only say that some of the rules still surprise me and I keep trying to change them. Five years ago the start was very difficult and today it is not easy, but slowly, step by step, we made progress, we are still on the move and we are going to move forward. If we had entered only diving business, we would be many steps ahead, but "haste makes waste". Unfortunately, we are lacking time to implement all our ideas and sometimes we are stuck in one place for too long. None of us will give up the source of income or will take unnecessary risk. Diving business is a rough and specific way to make a living, but for those who can and want to make a living from it, it is a very interesting way of life – in flip-flops, not under a tie.
these flip-flops, without the tie, fit well in the african heat that plagued central and northern europe. What i would like to ask about, however, is the latests news, as some time ago you extended your offer… What you probably mean is the flashlights. We
used to distribute different diving equipment earlier. While training is carried out, some equipment should be sold – this is what we thought then and we what we still think. Only the order of things has changed. Since we sell diving equipment, we should be prepared for training. We asked ourselves whether it wouldn't be worth to become a reseller or a distributor, with market exclusivity in Poland. When we started our adventure with diving more than 10 years ago, Dive System was one of the most well-known brands in the market. Then it vanished. We found that nobody promoted this brand and maybe there was a place for us. We sent a message to the producer and after exchanging a few important pieces of information, we were invited to talks. We received a few details and after a few days we landed in Rome and a few hours later – at the negotiating table. On the second day we signed a distribution agreement. After a few weeks we brought our first delivery and so it started.
Not bad!
In the following year, the Ratio brand appeared with dive computers. About a year ago, we gained 100% accounting liquidity with a large margin in the budget, and instead of withdrawing the cash and flying to some cool dives, we invested in the third brand, OrcaTorch – dive torches. This meant that we had even less time. We are now looking for other solutions for running this business and maybe there will be a new opening soon. All the time new ideas are born, and only a few more hours a day are missing.
observing you at the fair, one could notice a lot of interest in orcatorch flashlights. did you sell all the torches you had brought? Was this a surprise for you?
We always try to have more goods than we need, so in fact, if we had sold all, we would have been surprised. Flashlights were very well received and we sold a lot, but not the sale was the reason we presented them. We wanted to see the divers' reaction to the new product. The reaction wasn't a surprise to us, because this was just what we
had expected. It was a confirmation of our earlier assumptions. We were and we still are very happy because of this, and the sale was very satisfactory as for the start. It exceeded our expectations.
The equipment you trade in is recognized and appreciated. do you already have feedback from customers who use flashlights under water on everyday basis? Is OrcaTorch comparable in price and quality with the competition? We think we hit home ideally with the brand, the product and the price-to-quality ratio. There are people who write to us, call us or during meetings say that our flashlights for, e.g. 500 PLN have such light, or even better, like those priced twice as much. For us customer satisfaction is most important, and if we add to that, that we do not look into each and every pocket of our customers selling them our product, the satisfaction is even greater. The prices are set so that the purchase from our distribution network in the country is always cheaper than from stores outside our country. In addition, it should be remembered that, if necessary, it is easier to use the guarantee on goods in the country.
how do you perceive yourself against the competition, e.g. goods from china? What distinguishes you?
Our flashlights are manufactured in China. However, they are not OEM but branded products. This distinguishes us from the torches known colloquially as "Chinese". Production in China has been changing for years. There are companies that produce everything for everyone and there are others that want to produce their brand and basing on companies like ours, they create a distribution network and are really committed to quality. We give two or three years more for the sale of flashlights to be off at full steam. We have created a package of test flashlight and we send it to tests every weekend. After the tests we always receive orders and positive evaluations. We are very pleased that not only the spare and main flashlights, a lot of which we have in our offer, are in the centre of interest, but also the photo flashlights. This is very optimistic for our future customers and for us. We are already thinking about creating another test package, maybe even several packages, because the interest is increasing from week to week, and our
Photo Irena Stangierska
the latest hit are flashlights with a laser –green and red. (...) you can turn the fish with the help of a laser the way you wish.
booking calendar is almost full.
The latest hit are flashlights with a laser – green and red. For several months I haven't been able to imagine diving in warm waters without a laser. Playing with fish, bringing them to a distance at your fingertips to get a better look, or the possibility of pointing out something interesting underwater, this is it. In my opinion, it is also a product for those who are engaged in photography. You can turn the fish with the help of a laser the way you wish.
i haven’t dived with a laser flashlight yet. as you praise it, i shall try it. and how do they perform during the trip? Can you carry them on the plane? the approach of airlines to diving photo, video or lighting equipment always provides excitement. how is orcatorch doing? You ask a question to which there is no good answer. When airlines harmonize the rules then I will be able to say how you can handle accumu-
lators or batteries. Quite recently they took away my standard batteries from my cabin baggage, and at another time I was told to put the battery in the checked baggage. It all depends on the airline, the country and the person who is scanning the baggage. It's like freestyle wrestling.
at the end of our interesting conversation, i suggest that everyone who calls you after publishing this issue of "perfect diver" will receive a 3% discount on your flashlights! how about that?
I would like to agree to such a proposal, but that would require the implementation of a new price list for the entire distribution network. We do not carry out retail sales (except for trade fairs), and when retail orders appear, we try to determine which of our distributors is closest and forward there the orders to be made. This rule applies not only to flashlights, but to all diving equipment we have in distribution. We can make such an agreement for the next dive fair in which we will participate, and not for 3% but for 5% to make it easier to count.
that's great. thank you on behalf of your future clients and thank you for our conversation.
Suitable for both back mount and side mount diving
D910V Max 5000 Lumens
CREE COB LED 120 degree wide angle beam Color temperature 5700K, C RI: RA 92
D900V Max 2700 Lumens
Red, UV, Neutral white with 120°flood beam
Cool white with 8° spot beam
Magnetic fast charging system with a short charging time of 2.5h
D520 Max 1000 Lumens
D570-GL D570-RL Max 1000 Lumens
Cree XM-L2(U4) LED, max 1000 lumens output Uses 1*18650/2*CR123A/2*16340 battery Mechanically head rotary switch offers high reliability underwater
D620 Max 2700 Lumens
Cree XHP70 LED, 2700 lumens output Uses four 18650 Li-ion batteries 90°rotary lockable switch offers easy and reliable operation
Two light sources :8°white beam + green laser light
Easy operation with side button switch D570-RL red laser optional
Quality of diving trainings
My job involves, among other things, quite intensive tours around poland, meeting with divers and instructors during readouts, workshops or lectures, as well as participating – actively or as an observer – in many different diving courses, as a ‘side effect’ of spending time with divers.
to my surprise and concern, as a representative of dan, i was asked questions by the divers, which forced me to reflect on the level of knowledge and training in poland.
While questions about the speed of ascent, suspicious symptoms and used gases i could understand, the question i got from the diver at the aoWd level: ‘What is this decompression sickness all about?’ prompted me to write this article.
Iwould like to raise an unusual and probably controversial topic, namely the quality of diving training. I found the inspiration quite by chance, participating as an observer in two different OWD courses, with two different instructors (the federation is less important, because the standards of all federations have quite coherent assumptions at the initial stage of training).
At some point I realized how important is the choice of the instructor – his or her knowledge of the subject, experience and the ability to communicate both.
What do we actually expect when starting a diving adventure?
There are as many answers as there are participants of the courses, which was demonstrated in
Text irena koso W ska Photos r adosła W Zajko W ski
many surveys on various forums and social media. We expect, first of all, to learn something new: a new, underwater world; get new experiences, adventure; to feel adrenaline; to experience something with friends or meet new people. Far less frequently we expect knowledge or studying physical and mathematical issues related to diving, and it is this side of our new passion that should be most important to us from the beginning. Why? In order to learn independent thinking, making decisions and face up their consequences from the very beginning. And the basis for this is knowledge.
But let's go back to the aforementioned courses. One course lasted three days, the participant of the course had studied the manual individually and the instructor checked the quiz online, on this basis assessing the participant's knowledge. He took the participant to water (one day in the swimming pool and two other days – included 4 dives – in open water) and issued a certificate entitling the participant to diving at 18 meters. Judging whether it was good or bad is not my task. The fact is that the participant, and from that moment a full-fledged diver with the right to dive in open water, went into the world. The person can handle the BCD, heard about the neutral buoyancy, can clean the diving regulator and can cope with the mask. Once I heard that it is quite enough to ‘issue a certificate’. Theoretically, such a person should not get killed while diving and will
f ar less frequently we expect knowledge or studying physical and mathematical issues related to diving, and it is this side of our new passion that should be most important to us from the beginning.
get experience on their own. Just like with a driving license – we learn something, but we will learn to park only when we scratch our own car for the first time. However, is it really what we want?
The other instructor presented an extremely different approach. First of all, the participants first had lectures, and only later did they get materials systematizing their knowledge. And the lectures… OWD participant started with physics, applicable laws, EAD calculations, changes in gas pressure in the bottle depending on the temperature… I sat on the side and the material was fed in such an available way that I started to take notes with examples to use them in my courses. What's more, the participants did not seem surprised or puzzled by such knowledge – they decided that if the instructor teaches them about it, it means that they have to learn it. The following lectures were, of course, about the equipment (along with a full demonstration, putting on the equipment to get to know
b y signing a certificate with our name, we become responsible for the knowledge and attitude we have given to the new diver.
"what it is like" etc.) and discussing the exercises that would be performed. All the exercises on this course were carried out in neutral buoyancy, in a drysuit, from the very first entry into the water ruled trim and breast stroke. Earlier, it seemed to me that it was impossible to do the course it this way, but it turned out that it is possible, has been possible for years, and quite successfully. This instructor uses the ‘old school’ of training, in which to get just P1 in CMAS you had to undergo a real commando training lasting several months. This system really works, providing a huge amount of knowledge and practical skills during a minimum of 10 hours of dives performed on the course.
I wondered why theoretically the same courses can be so different depending just on the instructor? Believe me that the federation doesn't matter here.
Taking into account a larger sample, it can be concluded that the lowest quality courses are so-called ‘resort courses’, lasting 2–3 days, focused mainly on earning money on tourists. It is these courses that are potentially the most dangerous for the participants themselves – they receive certification often not learning the skills, and most of them completely lack adequate knowledge to proceed with any further actions.
Of course, there might be exceptions, but they only confirm this rule.
Instructors training individually, unfortunately mainly those for whom diving is not a source of maintenance, do it to convey their passion and really want to make diving safer. I would like to emphasize once again that the federation does not matter in this regularity. We do not choose a federation, but an instructor.
Diving has become a widely available sport, one of the forms of spending free time, and it is possible to start it from day to day by anyone who has such a fantasy. Is that good? I think it is. But let us
remember that the skills and knowledge with which we release our students ‘into the world’ are a kind of a dowry they can multiply if the seeds sown by us are valuable. By signing a certificate with our name, we become responsible for the knowledge and attitude we have given to the new diver. It is sometimes worth considering whether we would like to be taught in the way we teach and whether our trainees, ‘advertising’ our name on their certificate, will bring us pride or shame.
May we be proud of our instructors, and may they be proud of us
e x A min Ation of con S cience
d o i kno W W hat it is:
• Decompression sickness (DCI vs DCS)
• Oxygen toxicity (types)
• Carbon dioxide
• Nitrogen narcosis
• Barotrauma
• Gradient Factor
• M-Value
• SAC
• EAD
• END
d o i kno W and can use:
• Henry's Law
• Dalton's Law
• Archimedes' principle
• Boyle-Mariotte Law
• Gay-Lussac's Law
• Charles's law
Panic
e xperiencing anxiety, even for a short period, is never pleasant. i t's even worse when the fear turns into panic, and the worst when it happens underwater. the reason why healthy people suffer from sudden panic attacks underwater has been unknown so far.
It is important, however, to try to understand the panic mechanisms. In fact, panic, though harmless by nature, can be the most common cause of accidents among divers.
The experts on panic during diving, Arthur Bachrach and Glen Egstrom, the authors of the essay 'Stress and Performance in Diving', state that ‘panic is the prevailing cause of most injuries and fatalities in diving.’ Any experienced divemaster or instructor can agree with that statement. Panic, however, is not always a lurking enemy, ready to attack anyone regardless of age, experience or gender – panic can be prevented.
To determine the cause of panic, studies have been conducted on more than 12,000 divers who experienced panic during the dive. The results were surprising. Respondents received a list of 43 possible causes of panic, such as ‘sharks’, ‘darkness’, ‘lack of air’ and so on. The options were divided into three categories regarding diving conditions, hardware problems, physical and/or psychological problems.
Divers were asked to assess which of these threats were present during panic attacks. Of all 43 possible answers, the most often selected option in each of three categories was the last one: "Other". In short, events that cause panic reactions do not belong to the objective causes of a justified situational anxiety. In most cases, the triggering cause was something trivial or routine, something that no one would consider a reason for panic at any other time.
When analyzing DAN reports on accidents and fatalities in diving, the hypothesis occurs that huge number of dives could have been successfully completed if the diver had followed the rules of basic training – very simple rules: do not hold your breath, do not surface too quickly. We think that we will never make such a mistake. However, anyone can fall into panic, a panic attack is independent of our will. Panic is not the same as cowardice or lack of courage, but an involuntary reaction to the massive release of adrenaline into the bloodstream. In the face of danger it causes an increase in heart
rate, body temperature and blood sugar. Nausea appears, you begin to sweat, your skin becomes red or pale, your breath becomes faster, shallow, you experience shortness of breath. Your field of vision may narrow.
The worst part is that you feel more and more upset and you are not able to think clearly. It seems that the solution to a given situation doesn't exist. During a panic attack, the rational part of the brain can do very little to stop this process, because the body needs a few minutes to absorb adrenaline and the risk of taking wrong action increases.
The good news is that panic can almost always be prevented. This is indicated by a phenomena mentioned in the above study, at first glance unimportant, occurring just before the attack. Although the results provided by the divers on the probable causes of panic attacks seemed unrelated and so scattered that it was impossible to draw a logical statistical conclusion, everyone agreed that they began to hyperventilate just before the start of the
panic attack. And hyperventilation (rapid, shallow, irregular breath) is a classic sign of anxiety.
Anxiety is an accumulation of everyday stress that reaches the point of unconscious fear of not being able to solve a problem; this results in a feeling of helplessness that strengthens uncertainty, worry, fatigue, frustration and fear that are part of everyday life. Therefore, it is probable that the diver already experiences stress, perhaps unaware, before entering the water.
When divers go underwater worried or angry, they are less able to react in a coherent and logical manner. When something unexpected happens, even if it is harmless (like an accidentally dropped mask), the person starts to hyperventilate and it seems there is not enough air. The feeling of ‘air hunger’ and the risk of suffocation increase. Panic is getting close.
Of course, do not assume that all divers who have had a weaker day will have a panic attack: people
are different, they deal with stress and everyday worries in various ways. Some people are more prone to stress than others, so they are more susceptible to panic attacks. However, no one, as it was mentioned, is resistant to panic, because our individual panic threshold can also change from day to day.
A panic attack rarely happens suddenly while diving – in most cases stress acts on the diver for hours and sometimes even days. Panic attacks can be triggered by excess work, when the diver feels overwhelmed. It can be prevented by focusing on specific tasks and refusing to deal with unnecessary activities or activities beyond the limit of our psychological comfort.
One of the best ways to reduce and avoid stress is to set up a series of breaks on the day of the dive: take rest, focus on the situation and think about what you intend to do next. If you are stressed, when you reach the meeting place, after parking and best before handling the equipment, take a break for a minute or two and relax. When the equipment is on board, take a break before getting dressed. When you are in water, but before diving, have a break. And so on during the time of diving.
There are at least three good reasons why frequent breaks reduce stress and prevent panic. First of all, regular breaks reduce fatigue; rest facilitates lowering the level of adrenaline, slowing down the heartbeat, slower and deeper breathing, and the level of carbon dioxide in the blood goes back to normal. Secondly, breaks give us a chance for a moment of mental relaxation and slow down the events that we are forced to keep up with. Finally, frequent breaks are an opportunity to reflect on the next task and the way of performing it. Try to imagine problems that may arise and their solutions: sport psychology has proven that visualization is a powerful weapon against anxiety, stress and panic.
Breaks can also give us opportunity to control our breathing. Breathing using the chest wall instead of the diaphragm is an intense energy-consuming activity because we use the wrong muscles. Breathing with the diaphragm is a natural way to breathe, it evokes a state of relaxation and is essential to keep your breath under control: hyperventilation is actually a well-known cause of anxiety and panic.
In summary, when you do not feel well, it's better not to dive. When you feel nauseous and you just do not want to dive for some reason you can not identify, it's better not to. Do not let the pressure of your companions push you beyond your comfort limits, because you would start diving already stressed and more susceptible to panic. If someone does not understand this and insists on diving, do not be embarrassed. The problem of pressure equalization is always a great emergency exit (a good excuse)!
source: www.daneurope.org, www.alertdiver.eu
A diving accident
meaning everything is fine until…
the editor-in-chief of the p erfect d iver magazine asked me to write an article about diving accidents in the context of the recent media issue that is finding the body of a missing diver from p oznan in the Baltic Sea. i asked " wojtek, how many characters should have this article?" And he answered " i t does not matter, m aciej, there is no limit here, you just have to write something". i t sounded serious, responsible, and so it is, accidents and everything associated with them – it is no laughing matter.
Text Maciej jurasZ Photos archiWuM cn płetWal poZnań
Asfor diving accidents, it is usually the case that everything is fine until something bad happens, and then there is unfortunately no guilty party. Nobody wants to be associated with it or involved in it. We are naturally afraid of being blamed or held responsible for a given accident. We say that we did not do anything wrong or that we did not mean it. If I walk along the sidewalk and suddenly fall over, it is an accident, however, if I had known that I would fall, I would have lain down on this sidewalk. An accident is an event that we did not anticipate and which occurred. What is different is whether we are prepared for a given event – having appropriate training, skills, experience, equipment, sometimes support on the surface. Accidents have occurred, occur and will occur, and the controversy around them will focus on whether someone could have coped with a given situation, although he or she did not, or whether a person should have dived at a given place and time at all.
As an expert analysing diving accidents I have access to all the materials as well as the Internet, and I can see how big is the failure to understand such
accidents have occurred, occur and will occur, and the controversy around them will focus on whether someone could have coped with a given situation, although he or she did not, or whether a person should have dived at a given place and time at all.
tragic events. On the one hand, there are certain facts and investigation material, and on the other hand, there is hate on the Internet. Hate against the diver who had an accident or against the instructor who was training. Somehow everyone knows everything, everyone has a theory, people write posts online saying "it was clear that this would happen", "it was only a matter of time", "he or she was asking for it"… etc. etc. The smaller the powers of the people who post online, the stronger their
(…) it is very annoying that you can see that someone is blurring the facts instead of telling the truth, especially that in diving events, the truth most often does not bring any consequences.
conviction of being right, it is rather obvious. We all know that, but we still get involved in stormy Internet debates, and every crazy statement gets a forest of "likes". This is the Internet era, we will not change it, and as a diving community we have to accept it. But let us try to keep some moderation and reason in these discussions.
Comments are one reality, the more virtual one. What is more real is the drama of the victim's family and the drama of all the people directly and indirectly associated with an accident. In fiery Internet discussions, we often forget about those who have lost their loved ones, who are alive and have feelings. Facts and evidence gathered in an investigation compared to theories can be surprising. Speculation and judgements on the Internet often have nothing to do with testimony and facts. For the sake of an investigation, no one who is not participating in proceedings should comment and provide detailed information on this matter. This type of investigative job requires peace and time. Diving accidents where there are sincere intentions and full transparency may be quite easy to explain. We as a diving community could learn from them. For that to happen, however, it is necessary, one, how obvious and banal thing – TRUTH.
In diving, we do not have rigid legal regulations that would regulate everything, we have social norms, written and taught standards of safe diving and good diving practices resulting from the practical experience of divers and instructors. In diving accidents someone breaks our diving social norms and he or she knows it. That is why during testimony divers subvert what actually happened, in order to hide their negligence or discount certain facts. A diving accident in my private assessment takes place underwater, but in 90% it has its beginning before immersion –at the stage of planning and adopting bad assumptions in this regard. And as I wrote at the beginning, "everything is fine, as long as it is good…" Sometimes something goes well, sometimes it does not.
It is natural that if someone attacks us, he accuses us of something, we defend ourselves, and de-
fending ourselves, we idealise the situation, putting ourselves in a better light. But it is worse when the witness or participant of an accident during the "idealisation" begins to bend the truth, it is simply lying. In the heat of defending their own name, some people can get very far and this is a problem. In the emotion of a given moment, one cannot see objectively the whole picture, one can think that if he or she tells the truth, someone will hold him or her responsible. They do not understand that in order to bear the consequences of an accident, "deliberate behaviour" needs to take place, namely such actions that would indicate that someone did something deliberately, with premeditation. Another condition is negligence, which means the lack of due diligence. Each accident is different and is considered individually. Diving computers, witnesses of the event, participants, conversations and plans before diving, all these are quite strong aspects that indicate the direction of the truth. And what really matters to us – a community of divers – is to determine the true course of events in the context of a diving accident. I have the impression that we are not angry that something has happened, because this is the case, accidents happen. However, it is very annoying that you can see that someone
is blurring the facts instead of telling the truth, especially that in diving events, the truth most often does not bring any consequences.
At one of the hearings in which I participated as an expert witness, a diver lied in fear of the consequences of not possessing the appropriate qualifications to dive deep, to the depth at which the accident occurred. I asked him: "If someone goes to the mountains, without training, in sneakers, and sprains his leg, will he be legally responsible or will he be punished? No, he will not." In diving accidents, it is often about the peace of your conscience, the peace of the victim's family – it is about THE TRUTH, only and so much.
Poznań, July 2019
Maciej j uras Z
Expert witness at the Poznań District Court
PADI Platinum Course Director Diving Center Płetwal Poznań
maciej.jurasz@pletwal.eu
+48 501 472 997
a sunken cHurcH
"mister!" there is a sunken church in this lake!!!
Attention! The article contains a top-secret map of sunken tanks and sunken churches. You are reading it at your own risk!!
m ost divers have something of a seekerdiscoverer about them and most of us know some place where a sunken tank or church is allegedly located. the work of an underwater archaeologist means that i have heard hundreds of such stories... hundreds indeed
After these very reliable stories, I could come to the conclusion that there is really a sunken tank, a sunken church, a wedding party, the Swedish army and a few others in every lake.
For years of work as an underwater archaeologist, I dived in dozens of different lakes throughout Poland and almost always local residents came with stories about some sunken object in their reservoir. These stories often have a common denominator – they are about a sunken tank or church. These stories also arouse the greatest emotions among listeners, because who would not want to find a tank in the water? Very often, there are also reports of monuments thrown into water or a wedding party or the Swedish army, under which ice collapsed in
winter. There are so many stories that they could fill many evenings. I decided to tell four such stories.
The first of them happened quite recently during the basic diving course for students of archaeology in one of the lakes in the region of Wielkopolska. I was standing in the water waiting for another pair of students when two men came up to me with the basic question that occurs to you when you see a diver: "How long does this scuba cylinder last?" The waiting was getting longer, as was the conversation. When we came to the subject of my profession, both gentlemen felt a strong need to tell me a story. It begins, of course, a long time ago but it is not quite certain when. There was a young couple with guests making their way to the church. Unfortunately and to their doom, the church was on the other side of the lake, and it was winter. Therefore, all the wedding guests decided to ride a sleigh across the lake in order to get to the church. As every reader now guesses, the ice collapsed and the party ended on the bottom. The gentlemen showed
Text and photo MateusZ popek
me the place where this tragedy took place with a strong suggestion that I should dive there and find those unfortunates as soon as possible. When I did not show enthusiasm to dive there, the disappointment on their faces was huge. At that moment, students appeared and I could dive. I have never again met the gentlemen who told me that story.
Let us now go to the other side of Poland to one of the Masurian lakes. I was at friends' place at the lake for a weekend and as soon as some new companions found out what I was doing, they decided to tell me a very interesting story. In a nearby village, in the middle of the square, there stood a Prussian monument. When the Soviet army "liberated" this area, it came across this monument. One of the officers gave his soldiers an order to destroy the monument and throw it into a pond adjacent to the market square. When we stood at the pond, or rather a mini pond the size of a few ares and the depth not exceeding several dozen centimetres, I did not know how to explain to them that most probably there is no monument there… Imagine the situation: A group of soldiers take off a monument weighing several hundred kilos. Then they put it on a small fishing boat (because a bigger one would not fit in this pond). They float to the centre and throw it into the water…
Now, let us move from Masuria to nearby Warmia. A few years ago, my team and I were carrying out underwater prospection there. When launching our RIB boat, a little boy who was interested in what we were doing ran up to us. After a while, he shared with us the information that there was a tank underwater. When he did not receive adequate attention, he came with his mother who with a serious face confirmed the existence of a sunken tank several dozen meters from the shore. One of our team members, skilled in listening to such stories, asked if there was a case of a sunken church in the lake as well. The lady indignantly stated that no. The next day, in the same place, we were re-launching our motor boat and again the same lady and her sons visited us again, welcoming us with the following words: "Gentlemen, do you know that a church is sunken in this lake… songs are sung about it…".
The last story happened on one of the Pomeranian lakes. One summer day we got a call that an Slavic statue from the Early Middle Ages was fished from the lake. The whole team gathered very quickly and reached the lake, where we met the finder, who was showing to some specialists a wooden blackened statue with a sculptured face. Everything looked very serious and credible so our team boss sent us to check the place where the object was found. We did not expect to find anything, because how many Slavic statues can fall into the water? When I thought about it, a piece of black wood at the bottom caught my eye. I swam to the object and saw… a face. A second statue was lying in front of me! When I emerged and told the boss about my discovery, his face looked puzzled and disturbed. After a moment, he said he must call. From the conversation it was clear that he was talking to his high school friend, with whom he used to go to the lake for high school camps!
– Hi. Do you remember the time in high school when we went to camps at lake? And do you remember what happened on the other side of the lake?
– Yes, I do. The scouts had camps there and they carved some totems. The mystery of Slavic idols has been solved…
In the work of an underwater archaeologist there are many such stories. You can tell them endlessly. These adventures have made us very anesthetised to such reports and we take them with a pinch of salt. But I always have in the back of my mind that some of these stories could be true. I wonder how many sunken tanks and churches I ignored?
ranking of the most common sunken treasures: 1. Tank 2. Church 3. Monument 4. Wedding 5. Swedish army 6. The Napoleonic army 7. Plane
Graphic Paweł Stencel
Antarctica 2019
in the footsteps of shackleton
Text and photos bartosZ psZcZółkoWski
the idea of diving in Antarctica has been in my head for a very long time. l ooking for a way to get to the last bastion of wild nature, i was thinking about the mode of transport. m y friend took me to a lecture by Aleksander d oba who talked about how he crossed the Atlantic by canoe!!! A seventy-four-year old man on his own, in a kayak, across the Atlantic? i t made a big impression on me.
Afterthe lecture one of my friends told me that we should sail to Antarctica, just like Shackleton. Being influenced by the speaker's story, I agreed without hesitation, not quite realising what I was signing up for. The operator of our expedition was Aquadiver from Olsztyn. Three flights, 22 hours in total (Warsaw – Rome – Buenos Aires – Ushuaia).
We meet in the marina with the rest of the crew and the captain of Selma Expeditions, the boat that will be our home for the next 4 weeks. We cross the Beagle Channel in 24 hours and we sail into the rough waters of the Drake Strait. Phew, what a ride this is:)
After five days of sailing, we see the first icebergs. Tails of whales start to appear, and majestic albatrosses accompany us throughout the entire cruise. However, it is only after the experience of the Drake Strait that a man can better understand the challenges and hardships faced by Ernest Shackleton during his trip on the Endurance sailing ship, as well as by other brave souls following his example.
At sunset, we reach the Melchior Islands, our first stop on the Antarctic Peninsula. We are welcomed by penguins and a seal lying on an ice floe and not paying much attention to us. The days here are very long and last about 20 hours, and external stimuli and beautiful raw landscapes cause you not to feel tired.
The first dive, beautiful sun, blue sky and ice water, which has here from 2 to -2°C. The visibility during the first meters is good, from 7 to 15 meters very poor, and from 15 meters it begins to improve, at 20 being already very good. The local reef is full of sea anemones, amazing sea cucumbers, large nudibranchs, sea spiders and countless "vermin" and isopods of all sorts.
Nights are so short and bright that the days begin to merge together. There is no mobile coverage or access to the internet. It is a unique feeling, not being disturbed by the noise of civilization, communing with nature.
Selma in the vicinity of Couverville penguin colony site
However, even here, at the end of the world, we see human interference from years ago. We are approaching Enterprise Island, where the wreck of the giant whaling ship Governoren lies. It turns out that we dive at this wreck on the hundredth anniversary of its sinking. The bow of the ship sticks out of the water, and the stern lies at a depth of 21 meters. The wooden deck of the ship is perfectly preserved. The scattered whale bones underwater are impressive and saddening at the same time, recalling the whaling era. Water has a temperature around 0°C, poor visibility in the first meters, improving from the depth of 15 meters, eventually reaching 10 to 12 meters. We meet nudibranchs, big sea anemones and sea cucumbers, which we started to call "Antarctic baobabs".
Our next goal is the penguin colony site on Couverville Island. We arrive there early in the morning and prepare for going ashore. Penguins are afraid of sea leopards floating below the surface, so we decide to leave heavy equipment on the boat and
take only the minimum to photograph gentoo penguins from the surface. Here, the sun is shining for most of the day. In the area, on ice floes, sea leopards lie and from time to time you can hear the breaths of emerging humpback whales. All animals are engaged in krill fishing (a type of shrimp that is found in large numbers in Antarctica in summer).
After two weeks of the expedition, we get to the Vernadsky Research Base. Here we make four interesting dives on the surrounding walls and meet scientists who have been diving in this area for a long time. We collect information on the fauna from the base area and ask for tips on diving with sea leopards. We get an invitation from the Ukrainian base for a pool game in their canteen. This visit allowed us to meet interesting people, taste local delicacies:) and do the shopping in the Vernadsky shop – the southernmost souvenir store. As a curiosity, I can say that the distance from the Vernadsky Research Base to Warsaw in a straight line is 16210 kilometres. This
Penguin colony site, Couverville, gentoo penguins
Interesting jellyfish, showing its beautiful bioluminescence, Couverville
Diver-photographer by the iceberg, the result of mixing sweet and salt water is seen,
Charcot Nord
Sea cucumbers, which we started to call "Antarctic baobabs", very active and hungry in these waters
pleasant visit forced us to make a one-day break from diving.
Saying goodbye to the Ukrainians, we sailed towards Charcot Island to make a dive at the first iceberg we encountered. We were surprised by poor visibility in the first meters. We discovered the reason! It turned out that the sweet water from the melting berg mixed with the salt water of the Southern Ocean causing a blurred image. After reaching 15 meters, the visibility improved significantly, and the temperature was about 0°C. Focused on photographing ice forms on a mountain wall, we noticed the shadow of a large animal. A sea leopard? We had been warned earlier that leopards can be dangerous, that when they open their mouths it means that they demonstrate dominance. We were terrified, but at the same time curious to such an extent that we barely managed to take a picture. On the surface it turned out that it was a seal, curious to see bubbles that we let out of the breathing machines. It was an experience with a thrill:)
I would have forgotten to mention the impressions that diving in the vicinity of icebergs provided us with, especially on that day. Such a melting iceberg is in motion all the time. You need to be very careful if you want to swim under it. It is often tempting, because it is where seals play and appear like ghosts out of nowhere just to disappear again after a few moments. The berg moves vertically, and from time to time, when it hits the bottom, ears actually hurt, so it is better not to swim under such a huge block of ice.
Notothenia, one of a few representatives of fish in these cold waters
Nudibranch in the vicinity of Ukrainian Vernadsky Research
Base
Ice fish, a fish that has white blood and thus can survive in water at -2°C, found near the Enterprice Island
Perfectly preserved wooden deck, despite 100 years in the water
When diving in Antarctica, remember that there are no diving centres, no infrastructure, guides or diving spots. You dive where you want, but safety is always priority. You can only depend on yourself and your equipment, and any leak in a dry suit or a bubbling regulator causes you to finish diving very quickly. Diving time is about 50 minutes, mainly due to the water temperature close to zero, and sometimes even below zero.
Interactions with animals are amazing, but remember that we are guests in their world and they should not be disturbed. The most favourite item of equipment for dives in Antarctica are, of course, chemical warmers for gloves and shoes.
Antarctica is an amazing place, austere and majestic, quiet and peaceful. The idyll is sometimes disturbed by a rumble of tonnes of ice and snow coming off the whole ice cap. And when the ice falls into water, it shatters into fragments the size of a passenger car.
A seal from Charcot Nord
Opalescence opals…
photos
f or the first time i heard about the opal mine in d ubnik around 2012. Being just a "deep" diver, fascinated with ‘overhead’ dives, i thought that i could only dream about diving in this place…
Text and
bartosZ pitala
Andthere really was something to dream about – crystal clear water, walls in an unusual orange tint, numerous wooden remains of mine infrastructure, and even overgrown with sediments tracks, which a long, long time ago were used to transport the mine production. All these staggered the imagination and I couldn’t forget it.
It is then hardly surprising that when five years later – in 2017 – I managed to obtain Full Cave certification, Dubnik was one of the first places to see on my long list. Getting there, however, was not easy –from November to March the mine is closed due to wintering bats, and the annual limit of divers is only 40 people. So I was really lucky that in a group organized by the late Michał Czermiński a spot had just opened up. As you can guess, I didn't have to think long…
D I v IN g
While diving in Dubnik does not differ in difficulty from other places of this type, the mine forces us to make a great effort before showing its underwater secrets and views. We go underground with the inconspicuous stone entrance of the Jozef shaft. Before immersion in icy water, we have to transport our equipment for a few hundred meters inside the mine, and it culminates in getting
down the dozen of slippery stairs, carved in muddy rock. Filling cylinders is not possible neither in the mine nor in the vicinity, so we need to bring an adequate supply of gas with us and lug it down. The way back, unfortunately, is no different. During this "walk" we will probably pass several walking groups, for whom we are an additional attraction on the tourist route.
After dealing with the equipment, which we put on next to the flooded part, we finally immerse in the longed for, "pleasantly cool", highly mineralized (nipping at the face and tongue) water, with the temperature not exceeding 4°C, and we quickly forget about the strain and discomfort. The walls are indeed bright orange, and illuminated by a strong beam of flashlight they reflect in an interesting way. They say, you can still find opals in the walls and ruckles, I couldn't see them because of watching the world through the camera. Most of the corridors are spacious, you can easily stay several dozen centimeters above the floor, which in the case of well trained divers makes it possible to not disturb debris at all. However, if the debris is disturbed visibility may quickly drop to the literal "zero", so keep
this in mind. Fortunately, the mine has cave lines, easy to sense even with numb fingers. Corridors are often lined with stone walls to prevent landslides. In some parts the original support beams are still preserved.
In addition to the corridors, where we spend the most of each dive, we also come across larger spaces, with many elements of mine equipment. The ones most interesting are probably vertical shafts connecting mine levels. These shafts are still with wooden constructions and ladders and look as if the work here ended just a few days ago.
The impression of "feeling history" is enhanced by the fact that the mine was shut down over a hundred years ago (!), after more than three centuries of mining history. On one of the levels we have the opportunity to dive along the tracks often seen in photographs, covered with white coating. They
have also been preserved in good condition and are a very interesting and photogenic addition.
In Dubnik I found one more thing unique for a mine – rich flowstone fill. In some places there are several dozen centimeters long "spaghetti" and even "curtains" reminding me Mexican caves. These structures however are very fragile and every effort should be made to not even bubble around them, as they immediately break off and fall to the floor.
Of about 20 kilometers of corridors there are about five flooded, so there is a lot to see. The flooded corridors are on five levels. Diving "touristically" we have the opportunity to visit the first three – to the depth of about 36 meters. Corridors intersect in many places, creating a kind of "Swiss cheese".
Individual levels are interconnected by impressive, carved in rock stairs. It is possible, for exam-
ple, to descent in corridors to 30 meters, make a traverse, see the shaft with its complete wooden equipment, then ascent about 25 meters vertically along the curving stairs, swim around a shallow level, do the decompression in a tunnel at 6 meters and then surface.
Dives in the mine are led by a guide – this role is most often played by Peter Kubicka (the one from the KUBI glove system, and several other interesting diving patents), who is also the contact person for booking and organizing dives. After lugging the equipment and catching the breath, the guide always discusses the upcoming dive – a route sketch, what is worth paying attention to, the maximum depth, potential threats, and for filmmakers and photographers – discussion of the formation, light settings, and potentially photogenic places.
Peter speaks English well, and is very positive about photography and filming in the mine. He always tries to organize diving so as to ensure the possi-
bility of taking good shots, and is open to various suggestions. You can also communicate with him in Slovak-Polish without any problems. At this point, I’d like to calm people discouraged from diving with a guide, e.g. after experiences from the Molnar Janos cave. Peter gives a lot of freedom during the dive, he doesn't lead us by hand, he doesn't count the time spent underwater and he doesn't control the team's gases. His role is limited to showing places and leading through the maze of corridors (of course this is the case with an experienced cave team). Once, when all my team fell away, we went just him and me for an over90minute dive. The standard is about 60–70 minutes and much depends on the divers gas consumption.
Due to the difficult logistics and no gas filling possibility, the standard is diving in the twin + stage 11L + optionally oxygen for decompression. In this configuration, the twinset is always our reserve, and the entire dive is done on the stage. So make sure bring enough stages to the mine.
l ocation, price list, for M al require M ents
The mine is located about 20 kilometers from Prešov, which is a good base for accommodation. If it’s important for us to sleep as close as possible to the dive site, we can stay in a guest house with an easy to guess name "Opal", a few kilometers from the mine. The standard is sufficient – a room with a private bathroom, and a restaurant in the building. We reach the mine entrance by an asphalt road leading through the forest, so you don't need
off-road cars. The parking area next to the mine is large, giving the opportunity to set up equipment or even picnic for the accompanying persons.
When it comes to the necessary "plastics", we will need cave certificates (preferably Full Cave, I don't know if Intro to Cave is enough), diving insurance and a medical certificate about being fit for diving –this does not have to be written by a special diving doctor, the guys just look if the paper looks like a medical certificate.
Diving in the mine takes place on weekends, it is possible to do two or three dives a day. In the first case we pay 60 euros for a single dive, and in the second 50 euros for each dive.
After the first visit, I returned to Dubnik in 2018 to make a decent film. This film can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lD1znci1V-w
The author can be contacted here: bart.pitala@gmail.com
Belis-Fantanele Lake Transylvania
Text and photos karol pencil ołóWek
we went to the title lake after diving in the r omanian caves of t auz and d obrestilor. i t is an artificial lake, which was created as a result of the construction of a dam in the 70's. i t is located in the area of c luj n apoka ( c luj).
We went there more out of curiosity – after information found a few years earlier on Romanian internet forums saying that there was a flooded church in the lake. This place is not a popular diving site, so few people dived in it. With approximate location and photos from the Internet, we started our search from the shore. Depending on the condition of water – the church is completely hidden under water or a part of the tower protrudes above the surface. After a long walk, a local man accosted us asking what we were looking for. Fortunately, it turned out that the locals knew exactly where the church was. For the equivalent of about PLN 50 and after twenty minutes of sailing, we reached the place. Our captain indicated approximately the place where, according to him, there was a tower of a temple under water (the place was not marked with buoys). After immersion I started searching, which took
me about 10 minutes. Visibility was very good as for a dam reservoir, and amounted to 5–10 meters. Suddenly I saw a complete church tower in front of me! It was amazing! The top of the tower at that time of the year (November) was at the depth of 8 meters, the entrance to the church at 22 meters. It was necessary to use a flashlight, because deeper it was much darker. To take better photos, good photo lights should also be used, which unfortunately I did not have. All elements of the building were visible: windows, embedded crosses, inside the main nave there were elements of a collapsed roof and wooden remains of benches. What’s more, the temple was in very good condition. There were other remnants around: plates, columns. The hour under water passed quickly. From the main entrance led ropes towards the shore, which meant that some people also used it for diving. The shore was steep,
so using a boat was much more convenient. It is extremely attractive, though little-known diving site. In other seasons visibility can be capricious; it happens even that one has to ‘sightsee’ the temple just feeling it around. The water has a temperature of 12°C. The maximum depth of the lake is probably around 40–50 m, although our captain said that at a high water the depth reaches 90 m. I do not know how much of this is truth, the fact is that just behind the
church the bottom descends rapidly. Unfortunately, there was no time to look for traces of villages that got under the water as a result of the construction of the dam.
k arol o łó W ek
SDI/TDI Scuba diving Instructor No.18951
Nitrox & CPROX AED Instructor
belis fantanele – located in the west of the country, in the northern part of the Apuseni Mountains at the height of 990 m above sea level. It was created in the years 1970–1974. Residents of Belis and surrounding settlements were forced to leave their homes. On the Somesul Cald river a dam was built that connected the mountainous area, thus creating the artificial reservoir and separating it from the river. It is quite easy to get to the lake itself. Distance from the centre of Cluj Napoca to the Fantanele dam is 60 km. Time of the journey is around 1.30 hours. Belis Fantanele location is extremely interesting. The coastline is varied, often creating mini bays. There are rocks in the lake, and the access to the surface itself is a serious problem in most places, due to steep shore covered with forests.
b elis f antanele lake
• Length – 13 km
• Area – 9.8 km²
• Average depth – 18 m
• Maximum depth – 40 m
• Diving in the underwater city –from a boat
• Current – weak
the f antanele da M
• Height – 95.5 m
• Length – 400 m
• Width at the bottom – 264 m
• Volume – 2.315 thousand m³
from the editor S
Schleswig
Text and
photos
Marcin trZciński
i do not like unlucky people. i mean those, who just running a finger on the map get a fine for speeding. o r desiring to see the desert, they spend all their savings on a trip to the Sahara desert. And at their arrival it’s a holiday there, because it is raining for the first time in 30 years… Anyway, i 'm not going to dwell on it here. After all, each of you have met such a person more than once in life.
As you know, their bad luck is extremely contagious, which is why in the good old days, when the law and political correctness were not so strictly obeyed, you could just throw ‘Jonas’ overboard. Today, however, the only solution is to be very careful.
And what we were doing, was to push forward straight into the lion's mouth, i.e. to meet one of the leading representatives of the ‘unlucky’ species: I am referring to the wreck of SMS Schleswig-Holstein, as you have probably already guessed (looking at the title). Hardly anyone knows that this battleship's career is one long losing streak. Built in 1906, the vessel seemed already quite outdated at the Battle of Jutland. This was confirmed by the hit she got, with no successes on her side, from the HMS New Zealand battleship. After this ‘success’ the battleship was transformed into a residential hulk. Since the ‘real’ ships of Kaiser's Kriegsmarine rested on the bottom of Scapa Flow, our hero was repaired and in 1926 became the flagship of the fleet. Only in order to collide with the torpedo boat Leopard three years later in the Baltic Sea and get repaired again. We all know about her achievements on September 1st, 1939. Few people remember, however,
that only 27 days later the battleship got a hit with a 152 mm bullet from the cape battery fired from the Hel Penisula. Another repair. Then the attack on Denmark, where on April 8th she damaged the underwater part by getting stranded. So… repair again. Later, while mooring in the port of Gdynia, the battleship ‘succeeded’ in getting subsequent hits from bombs dropped by RAF bombers. There, eventually (it seemed), she was sunk by the German sappers detonating the explosives placed beneath the deck. But the Germans, as always, once again did not appreciate the Russians, who not only raised the vessel from the bottom but also, after towing her to Tallinn, turned her into a great warehouse. And then, after settling her near the island of Osmussaar, made her an even better target ship for their own fleet and navy. Well, you have to admit that the career of the Schleswig-Holstein appears to be a successful biography, right?
Aware of Murphy's law, I expected the task wouldn’t be easy. Besides, bad luck of the Schleswig already touched us at the very beginning of the trip: eight hours of storm forced our Nitrox to capitulate and return to the Hel Peninsula. It was only after
a day spent behind a safe breakwater that the sea calmed down enough to make another attempt to sail. Since I hate waves, it was not on board. I got to Estonia in a far more comfortable way – flying by Finnair. Only… to squander the hard-earned Euro in the Estonian capital while waiting for the increasingly late crew. I got to know nice local swimming pool and some not bad pubs. Out of boredom, I even went to the local equivalent of Empik (a bookshop) but, despite all my efforts, my linguistic skills
were not sufficient to embrace the local dialect. As a result, I climbed the castle hill three times. In the morning, in the afternoon, and then at night. When a day later to Tallinn arrived the old VW Transporter with Mark behind the steering wheel, we went to the castle again so that he could see the old walls. I mean Marek, not Volkswagen. Because Marek is an art historian. By education, not practice, as he wanted his family to have something to eat.
We spent the next night with Marek in Haapsalu, just to go the next morning… you will not guess… to visit the castle there. Afterwards, just to kill the time, we painted welcome banners for the still absent crew on the sheets purchased from a little shop. They said something like "Take us from here."
I do not know if there is anything worse than such endless boredom. But everything has its end, so on the fourth day our boat proudly entered the port in Dirhami. So storm-bitten, that even all the bunks below the deck were completely wet. Not mentioning the equipment piled up in the middle. They were 72 hours late, but they made it!
In the morning we got down to hard work to make up for the lost time. Seeing the determination of the crew, the Baltic sea finally relented and the water was almost smooth. It was rocking so little that I dared to come aboard after swallowing magical Egyptian pills. And there was a briefing. Based on the sonar images of the wreck received from Russians, Alek, Radek and Marek attempted to develop a plan of action while the rest of us started to prepare the equipment. The way to the spot of the eternal rest of the Schleswig was not to be long, so it was necessary to get ready for the first dives without any further delay.
Laden with the equipment, we formed a single file along the side. It was supposed to be a preliminary reconnaissance, to recognize the situation under water, but you know… The emotions reached the zenith, although everyone tried to keep a poker face not to reveal to others how much they were excited. I could not wait for my turn, and I only dived as the sixth. I wanted to push Mark standing in front of me so that he would finally move.
l aden with the equipment, we formed a single file along the side. (…) the emotions reached the zenith, although everyone tried to keep a poker face not to reveal to others how much they were excited.
Finally my turn came. I stood on the edge of the ship's side, then took a long step forward, a short flight… and it turned green around. The strong current immediately caught me in the direction of the stern, so I grabbed the rope that stretched along the side and, pulling up along the rope, I set off towards the distant anchor chain. It was so windy! The camera and widely spaced lamps did not make it easier for me. Schleswig fought desperately, trying to keep us away from her. Finally, going down along the chain I reached the bottom. Literally! The hard rock was only 11 meters below the surface, so the strong current was still perfectly noticeable.
i t was an ammunition warehouse! o nce hidden deep below the deck, it was now completely exposed, presenting its contents.
What was more enjoyable, however, was a quite good, several-meter visibility. Poof, I think we were all afraid of poor visibility. I looked around and, although I did not see the wreck itself, the elements of equipment lying around here and there and the rusting Russian missiles indicated that I was in the right place. Clinging to anything I found on my way, I moved forward, just to notice after a few meters a broken side of a steel giant materializing in front of my nose. It was not too beautiful… While swimming over the twisted tones of iron, I was trying to find some identifiable parts. Something that would tell me in which part of the battleship I was. But the Russians did a really good job and nothing reminded me of the ship seen in the pictures. Below me I had only tons of more or less bent metal sheets
and kilometers of all kinds of wires and cables. Marek, swimming a little more to the right, started waving violently. After a moment of watching his bizarre gesticulations, I came to the conclusion that he wasn't bitten by anything; it was not a tropical fever attack either; it seemed rather like he tried to summon me to show me something. So I moved towards him and after a dozen or so seconds before my eyes I had a huge turntable – the base on which rested one of the two main gun turrets for 280 mm cannons. Cool! Still, I did not know if we were in the fore- or afterbody of the ship. While Marek and Romek got down to measuring the wreck, I could finally take some pictures. And then I moved on, because I noticed the flashes of someone's flashlight. It stayed in one place for too long to be accidental. When in the end I got to see Radek, or rather his flashlight (which showed me the way), I was dumbfounded. What the hell… No, it was not because of Radek. I had got used to his view. What surprised me was that he hid from the strong current behind a large piece of scrap metal and counted lying on the shelves long rows
of bullets. It was an ammunition warehouse! Once hidden deep below the deck, it was now completely exposed, presenting its contents. Thanks a lot. I hoped that since the missiles had lasted so long, they would not decide to make a loud boom during our dive.
The sixty minutes limit fixed before diving passed quickly and we had to go back. Too bad, as we still had abundance of air in our twins, and I did not even see 50% of the ship. Too bad. I pierced the surface and let the current carry me towards the open ladder. On the faces of the boys I saw that they were pretty excited. They were chatting like street vendors at a bazaar, which in their case was a sign of considerable emotions. It was OK. Especially that after a quick snack we were to go underwater again. We had to wait until the evening for the promised breaded pork chops* with potatoes. But we were so happy with the dive that it was not a problem. I dropped the gear into the right place and even without unbuttoning the dry suit, I joined the chatting group.
* We received the promised pork chops late in the evening. But they were quite tough. And the potatoes were too salty. But it was not the cook's fault. There are not many things that can work out near the Schleswig. Her bad luck is contagious…
Wrecks of Istria
the word ‘wreck’, arouses various emotions among divers. f or some it is associated with a pile of rusting scrap iron lying on the bottom of the sea. o thers think about a part of an interesting story that rested somewhere in the depths of the seas. m ost wrecks are a testimony to human helplessness against the power of nature or of our warlike nature.
However, the development of underwater tourism has led to the fact that more and more often vessels withdrawn from the service are sunk in order to use them later for recreational purposes.
The beginning of June found us in the waters of the northern Adriatic. This is our second approach to wrecks lying around the Istrian peninsula and our
second visit to the Diving Center Indie. The base is located in the village of Banjole in the campsite of the same name. It is run by Sandra, Diego and Geljko, who will accompany us during our dives. Apart from the land infrastructure, which allows the center to serve both recreational and technical divers, it also has a large speedboat that makes it possible to reach the furthest destinations in less than two
Text and photos ZbignieW rogoZiński
hours. Our plan for this trip is simple: see the wrecks on which we have not managed to dive before.
The first vessel we visit during this trip is also the only one we dived on during our previous stay in Istria. The appearance and events that took place during her last voyage caused that she is sometimes called the Titanic of the Adriatic.
d uring the cruise on the board of the steamer were refugees from the territory of b osnia and Herzegovina, people returning from holidays, as well as members of the austro-Hungarian army. a ltogether, 66 crew members and 240 passengers (this data did not include children under 10 years of age and soldiers).
The passenger steamer ship Baron Gautsch was built in 1908, in the Scottish shipyard of the Gourlay brothers in Dundee. The ship's owner was the Austro-Hungarian shipping company Lloyd. Along with two twin vessels, the Prinz Hohenlohe and Prinz Bruck, she sailed on a route that stretched from Trieste to the most distant resorts of Dalmatia. During World War I, the ship was temporarily taken over by the Austrian fleet in which she served as a transport ship. During her four naval voyages, the vessel transported supplies for the troops stationed in Kotor, currently belonging to Montenegro. On the way back, she took civilians evacuated to the ports of the northern Adriatic.
On August 12th, 1914, Baron Gautsch sailed from Kotor to Trieste in her last, as it turned out, journey. Commanders of ships sailing along that route were informed about the presence of minefields in the northern Adriatic protecting the entrance to the main port of the navy in Pula. Exact navigation instructions were handed over to the ship's crew by the military authorities. The first officer on their basis planned the ship's route for this unlucky trip. During the cruise on the board of the steamer were refugees from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, people returning from holidays, as well as members of the Austro-Hungarian army. Altogether, 66 crew members and 240 passengers (this data did not include children under 10 years of age and soldiers). At 11:00 a.m. on August 13th, 1914, Baron Gautsch sailed towards the last part of the route from the port of Veli to Trieste. The captain of the unit went to rest, leaving the
steamer under the command of the first officer. The first officer, however, left the bridge without the captain's knowledge and went for lunch with first-class passengers, leaving the ship under the command of an inexperienced second officer. As a result of the error and despite warning signals from the minelayer Basilisk, which were not noticed or understood, Baron Gautsch strayed from the designated course and entered the minefield at full speed. When the second officer understood his mistake, he tried to make a turn and return to the full sea, but it was too late. The steamer hit a mine that exploded on the port side of the vessel. Shortly afterwards there was a second explosion, probably of a damaged boiler. There was panic on board, passengers rushed to lifeboats, but many of them could not be lowered down into the sea because of their poor maintenance. To make matters worse, the crew closed the life jackets in the cabinets, thus preventing them from being used as cushions by third-class passengers during the voyage. Many desperate people jumped overboard to get away from the drowning vessel, but the fuel
oil leaking from the broken tanks covered noses, eyes and ears of people floating on the surface, making breathing impossible. As if that was not enough, the oil spilling around the sinking steamboat caught fire and some of the passengers were burnt alive. The passengers who survived this hell later testified that many crewmen, instead of helping passengers, cared only for themselves. This was confirmed by the fact that in many lifeboats there were more crew members than passengers. Baron Gautsch disappeared in the abyss about five minutes after hitting the mine. The Austro-Hungarian destroyers, which first arrived at the scene of the disaster, pulled 159 survivors out of the water. As a result of the disaster, according to various sources, at least 147 passengers died. Mainly women and children. The victims of the catastrophe were buried at the Military Cemetery in Pula.
The wreck lies at a depth of about 40 meters on a sandy and stony bottom. The hull, around which there are shoals of fish, has already been completely colonized by marine organisms. After the Second
the steel giants lying on a flat, sandy bottom have become, after all these years, bustling oases of life, in which many marine organisms have found shelter.
World War, the remains of Baron Gautsch were used within the framework of Yugoslavian navy diver exercises with the use of explosive devices, the evidence of which are destroyed superstructures. Despite the fact that the chimneys and masts are now sunken and bent, and the three screw propellers driving the vessel have been removed, while diving inside the time-worn construction of two upper decks it is impossible to agree with those who claim that it is one of the most beautiful Croatian ships.
There are many more beautiful wrecks around Istria that we have visited. Luana, John Gilmour, Hans Schmidt, Draga, Giuseppe Dezza, Varese are just some of them. All these vessels lie at considerable depths, which means that they are beyond the reach of novice divers. All local dives border with the no-decompression limits. However, difficult access also has its advantages. A smaller number of divers saved the wrecks perhaps from devastation and their current state is caused by the passage of time rather than human activity. The steel giants lying on a flat, sandy bottom have become, after all these years, bustling oases of life, in which many marine organisms have found shelter. Around these artificially created ecosystems float shoals of chromises, oblades and common two-banded sea breams. Crumbling decks are the kingdom of scorpions, crabs, lobsters, crawfish and nudibranches. And in the dark recesses of the holds and engine rooms, you can meet tall lycopods and shoals of poutings trying to hide from undesirable company. The lucky ones can also meet here a sandy dogfish.
Since 2016, one more attraction awaits divers visiting Croatia. In the Polje bay, near Cape Kamenjak in front of hundreds of spectators, the admiral ship of the former president of Yugoslavia, Josip Tito, MV Vis, was sunk. This 85-metre-long ship lies now at a depth of 32 meters and was specially prepared for divers before sinking, making its penetration much easier. It is true that those who want to dive on it have to pay an additional fee, but it is really worth enlarging your costs by this amount on the account of adding this wreck to your diving plans. Despite the fact that it has not been long since its sinking, the ship already has its own tenants and slowly turns into another artificial reef.
The waters of the northern Adriatic are a paradise not just for the wreck divers. As in other parts of this reservoir, you can dive here along underwater vertical walls full of crevasses and caves, in which huge amounts of various creatures hide. During the night dive, we managed to see countless quantities of crustaceans (so many crabs, scyllarides and lobsters I haven't seen anywhere in Croatia), fish and molluscs. When choosing this area of Europe, it is definitely worth to reserve some time to discover the attractions that are hidden under the surface of the local waters, regardless of the fact whether someone likes wrecks or not.
Between Scylla and Charybdis
the strait of messina
1. "luna" diving
"Luna" diving is diving dependent on the phase of the moon (lat. luna – the moon) – so far none of us have ever tried it. The Strait of Messina separates the Ionian Sea from the Tyrrhenian Sea with a deep and narrow isthmus. Thanks to the strong sea currents in the strait, rich underwater life flourishes and there are plenty of shipwrecks. Hence originates the legend of Scylla and Charybd (Sicily and Calabria), the mythical monsters that devoured ships. The current is extremely strong, however, and as is the case with tides of the see, it depends closely on the moon phase. Proper logistics allows to establish short time windows when the current stops and diving is possible. Here we really advise
you not to experiment and use the diving base, which has mastered this type of diving. The water current is so strong that it can snatch a diver with a scooter. Time windows are not long; the first symptom of the current cessation is hundreds of jellyfish that emerge from the depths to the surface – the view is beautiful.
2. The base and accommodation
A hotel by the sea, with great food. Extensive beaches, a swimming pool, palm trees and ground-floor bungalows. This is important as it eliminates the necessity of carrying equipment between the floors. Grab the bikes and go – Messina, the port, fruit and vegetables all in extra-large size. In our hotel near
Text and photos agniesZka blandZi, olgierd stieler, gianMichele iaria
Grannattari, Italian food with a strong sea flavour is served – delicious seafood and fish. Special, tiny fish in batter – neonatal; walks along an empty beach. May is a brilliant month for a trip, children in schools, few tourists, a long day. A strong wind from Africa brought red sand that covered everything. Then the rain cleared everything. It was wonderful. The OloturiaSub base is in Messina itself, a street separates us from the sea. Family atmosphere, delicious coffee – we immediately felt at home. The head of the Gianmichele base visited Polish shipwreck festivals several times. We have a base for ourselves, we can tinker with the equipment and follow the Mediterranean rhythm between dives. We are divided into two groups according to your diving qualifications. One is a diving group within the no-decompression
limits and the technical group are diving in the same places, however at different depth requiring different logistics. The check dive is a really "male game" –a recreational group descends to 40 meters, technical divers to over 50 meters. This is just a foretaste of what is ahead of us.
3. sicily in the eye of the camera
Two well-known films, the recollection of which immediately came back to us in Sicily are "The Big Blue" and "The Godfather". The first car encountered in the parking lot in front of the OloturiaSub base is an old Fiat 500, the same as in the movie, when Enzo Maiorca got a lost diver out of the crashed wreck. There is, of course, beautiful Taormina, the place of the rivalry between Jacques On and Enzo Maiorca, and a real gem of architecture and the time capsule. It's one of the most beautiful places in the Mediterranean. Be sure to visit the town of Savoca. It was here that Michael Corleone met with the father of his Sicilian wife Apolonia. To this day, there is the restaurant of the girl's father, signora Vitelli and the church in which the young couple got married. The original movie locations, from the times when films were still shot in the open air. In Palermo there are mummies of monks in the basement of the church. There is the enormous Etna volcano, the wind on which almost rips your head off. After a series of very deep dives, despite the one-day break, we only got to Crateri Silvestria. It's a little over 1,200 meters above the sea level. Computers arose an alarm and that was the end of our exploration of the volcano. We admire beautiful, sleepy Sicilian towns. At our fingertips are the Aeolian Islands, the land of still active volcanoes. A week in Sicily with a rich package of dives in the Strait of Messina is too short. You have to leave something there in order to get back for it.
4. the wrecks of Messina
Maddalena l ofaro, Mare g rosso
The wreck of Maddalena Lofaro, also known as Rigoletto, is located in the old abandoned port of Mare Grosso. The scenery on the shore is amazing.
The wreck lies on the sandy bottom, the incline is significant and it descents steeply up to 60 meters. This cargo ship transporting cars sank in the 1960s. Until now you can see wrecks of cars from these years, tires and other internal parts. Time and the sea have done their job, they are luxuriantly covered with vegetation. A well-preserved propeller is located at a depth of 36 meters. The cargo bay is at a depth of about 10 meters. The sun gives there an amazing light.
c ariddi – a port in Messinia
The "Cariddi" ferry was one of the first units of the State Railways fleet operating in the Strait of Messina. Its original appearance does not correspond to the current one – it sank in August 1943 during World War II. The ship was brought out and rebuilt in 1951. It was extended by 11 meters to accommodate a larger number of cars, and railway tracks were inserted. For the next 38 years it provided transport of trains and cars between Sicily and Calabria. The last "Cariddi" trip took place on February 14th, 1991. Abandoned at the wharf of the port of Messina, it became a victim of theft and
plunder, as well as fire. The ship was moved out of the Messina port – exposed to storms and bad weather; its fate was sealed… On March 14th, 2006, "Cariddi" began a slow and unrelenting drowning, ending up at the bottom of the sea; it is slightly inclined towards its left side.
On the wreck you can dive only with the permission of the local Coast Guard – it is located just a few meters from the Sicilian coast, with a partially raised stern and bow, with wide doors for entry and exit of trains at a depth of 40 m. Struck on daily basis by the intense currents of the strait, the "Cariddi" wreck is full of life. Spacious cargo bays are home to many species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans.
Valfiorita is one of the most beautiful wrecks in the area of the Strait of Messina. The ship left the port to reach Palermo on its way to Africa. It was sunk in 1943 by the British submarine HMS Ultor, a few miles from the coast of Punta Faro. The torpedo hit straight into the bow of the ship. The attempts to reach the land were unsuccessful, the ship broke into two parts and sank off the coast of Mortelle, at a depth of 65 to 71 m. During the dive, thanks to
good visibility, you can see the wreck from a depth of 30 m. Technical diving allows you to explore the large cargo bays on the stern and admire the remains of the last load of trucks, cars and motorcycles. Beautiful views with plenty of big fish; it's easy to stay for a longer decompression.
s cilla – the under W ater M ountain
We sail in a motorboat from Tore Faro, the sea is very rough. This is a place where there is a huge energy pole at the shore, a memorial of the former power line connecting the island with the mainland. The scuba diving site "Sicilla" is one of the most beautiful Mediterranean diving spots (15-60 m, recreational and technical diving together, only at the proper time, but there are usually very long time windows). We sail to Calabria – under the castle of Scylla there is the underwater mountain, one of the most beautiful places for diving in the Mediterranean. A magnificent monolith 20 meters high is located at a depth of 15 m. It is located on a sandy ground and it's full of red and yellow gorgonias. And deeper, the technical divers have the opportunity to discover the largest forest of black corals in the world.
Diving conditions in the Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is a wonderful place for diving, but it is not an easy region. In May, when we dived, the water temperature ranged from 16 to 18°C, and the visibility from 4 to even 15 meters. There are very strong currents reaching up to 20 km/h. We can only dive at the right time, when the current calms down. Every day we have time windows of one to four hours. Their number and duration depends on the phase of the moon; there are better conditions during the quarter, to the extent that even two time windows a day can appear. In our case, we were for a week from 8 to 15 May, where the first quarter took place on May 13th. As a result, there were days when we could do only one dive per day, due to the lack of a time window. And this must be clear: despite the beautiful sunny weather and mild wind, sometimes it is not possible to make two dives a day, especially from the shore. This is how it is with these time windows – it is important to understand this and "do not complain or get angry that the weather is great and we can only do one dive".
Photo Gianmichele Iaria
ots guardian
a full face mask loved by the filmmakers
Why do fil MM akers use this M ask?
First of all, the Guardian mask is available in many colour combinations (skirt/hardware): black/black, black/blue, black/red, black/pink, blue/black and yellow/black. Everyone can choose something for themselves. And in good lighting, the mask looks great under water.
Secondly, due to the shape of the visor, the mask has a very large viewing angle so you do not have to turn your head to see more.
And thirdly, it is very easy to use.
I will reveal to you a little trick that filmmakers use to record what the speaker says to us: while recording the scenes, to show us the entire face of the diver, the filmmakers remove the half-mask and record the scenes without it. The viewers see then the entire face of the diver.
n o W so M e data
The mask is made of high quality silicone with double sealing from the inside. Thanks to this, it is very comfortable and adapts to almost every face. The buckles to tighten the mask strap (five-point strapping) are designed so that they can be easily tightened without the risk of braking the strap.
The mask visor is made of scratch-resistant polycarbonate. As a standard, the mask is equipped with ABV valve (Ambient Breathing Valve), i.e. an ambient air valve. The diver may breathe ambient air while staying on the surface, instead of using the breathing gas stored in the diving bottle.
The diving regulator (second-stage) is of a special design, intended specially for this mask. It can be easily disengaged from the mask for cleaning purposes or for storing separately. The LP hose for the second stage is routed over the right shoulder of the diver. What's important, the standard LP diving hoses, which you can buy in any dive shop, fit this regulator.
But how to equalize the pressure in a full face mask? The Guardian mask has an equalizing block, thanks to which we are able to do so. Inside the mask, on a special wire form, is mounted an adjustable V-shaped block. By pressing the mask against our face, we cover the nostrils so that we can exhale against the block to equalize our ears. Of course, almost all other methods of equalizing are possible.
What else? We can use underwater hard-wired or wireless communication. While hard-wired communication is mainly used by professionals (professional divers, firemen, etc.), recreational divers and filmmakers use
surely you have watched more than one movie about underwater flora, fauna and sunken treasures in which the speaker talked to you being under water. it is highly probable that the speaker was equipped with the guardian mask.
wireless communication. The Guardian mask is equipped with a port to mount the underwater communication module.
We can also attach the accessory rails on the sides of the mask. Thanks to this, we can attach on the sides of the Guardian mask such elements as a camera or lights.
For people with visual impairment OTS offers special wire frames for the prescription lenses.
Can we use a full-face Guardian mask for diving in cold water (below 10°C)? And, last but not least, to what depth the Guardian mask can be used?
The OTS Guardian full face mask is also designed for diving in water with a temperature below 10°C and suitable for diving in cold water according to EN 250:2000. The maximum depth given by the manufacturer is 50 m according to EN 250:2000.
The OTS Guardian full face mask should be serviced once a year. The cost of such a service is about 180 PLN. Unfortunately, in Poland there are not many authorized centres that can perform such inspections.
to sum up: this is an interesting option for people who would like to enrich their underwater adventures with the communication system or dive in winter and want to fully separate from the environment (in this case: from cold water). The mask in question largely increases the comfort of diving.
Text robert styła
European flounder
a baltic chameleon
Swimming just above the Baltic bottom, it is impossible not to notice a pair of small, protruding eyes. They certainly belong to the European flounder (Platichthys flesus), which is more commonly known as the flounder.
European flounder belongs to the family of flounder fish, which is characterized by the fact that their eyes are only on one side of the body and the animals spend most of their life lying on one side at the bottom of the sea. Interestingly, 70% of all flounders lie on the left side, and only 30% on the right side.
It has very long dorsal and anal fins that extend from the head to the core of the tail fin. The ventral fin is shifted forward. Its scales are partly trans-
formed into bony plates, making its skin rough and coarse. Thanks to this, it is very easy to distinguish it from its cousin, European plaice, which has the whole body smooth.
The process of the development of this fish is fascinating, since the freshly hatched from the eggs flounders are far from being 'flat'. They swim normally like any other fish known to us. It is only after some time that one eye begins to wander through the middle of the head to the other side until it is next to the other eye. At the same time, the fish lays on one side and so it spends the rest of its life.
These are curious fish, observing the world around them all the time. Thanks to the very wide viewing
Text agata turo W ic Z
Photos M arcin t r Z ciński
they swim normally like any other fish known to us. i t is only after some time that one eye begins to wander through the middle of the head to the other side until it is next to the other eye.
angle of up to 70 degrees, they can lie in the bottom for hours looking for their food. They feed mainly on small crustaceans, molluscs or small fish.
To hide better in the sea bottom, the flounders can change the colour of their body just like chameleons. While lying on the light sand, its body will be beige; when the bottom is dark or there is no light, the flounder turns dark brown. They can also change the colour of only one part of their body. The bottom side of the flounder is always white. Thanks to all these adaptations, it becomes virtually invisible.
The Baltic Sea flounders can be found both in the shallow waters of the Puck Bay as well as in the depths of the open sea. The maximum depth at which you can see them is up to 100 meters. Therefore, the next time you go to conquer the Baltic Sea, remember to closely watch the bottom in search of these unusual fish.
Swans
heavy weight aviators
Text and photos Wojciech jarosZ
Swans are associated with ballet lightness on the one hand while on the other, they are the heaviest and largest of the Anseriformes –an order of birds including ducks and geese. w hen, despite their weight, they rise into the air, one cannot deny them elegance.
Thanks to the enormous wings, in the air they move extremely effectively while on the ground they turn into pretty grotesque walkers.
On the water, however, they feel at home. They have been created for swimming due to the paddle-like, large feet equipped with interdigital webbing, perfectly functioning uropygial gland thanks to which the swans can thoroughly protect their feathers against soaking and, last but not least,
a long neck. One could inquire surprised, what a long neck has to do with water. It turns out that it is used by swans to reach for water plants they mainly feed on. The larger the range their beaks can reach, the more opportunities for effective feeding. A swan's neck is one of the most beautiful among the birds, which is why the author writing these words paying the compliments to his Beloved Lady, happens to call her a "swan-necked". It seems that I'm not the only one, and certainly not the first one, comparing a lady's neck to a swan. In northern Thailand it is particularly desirable to have a neck as long as possible – Karen tribe women originating from Burma help themselves in the process of "lengthening" their necks by adding one metal ring every year. Of course, they will not increase the number of cervical vertebrae, which is 7 for a human. Compared to as many as 25 vertebrae in this part of the spine in the swan we simply have no chance to compete. Going back to food, it may surprise the Dear Reader that bread is not
Mute swans
so please, remember – we do not feed swans with bread! if you do need to support a swan with a snack, i suggest vegetables and grains, and even oatmeal.
the best possible feeding option for swans. Yes, they do gobble it down greedily when we throw it along the riverside boulevards or lakesides, but such a diet may be disastrous for these birds. The syndrome of the ‘angel wing’ has been described, one of the reasons for which is too large supply of carbohydrates and proteins, and too little of some vitamins and micro and macro elements. Consumption of large quantities of bread, mainly white bread, contributes to the build-up of this defect, which, as it deepens with time, can prevent the affected bird from flying. The direct cause is the deformation of the last joint in the wing resulting in improper alignment of the remiges, which in a characteristic way protrude from the sides. This disease affects not only swans – also other water birds fed with bread. So please, remember – we do not feed swans with bread! If you do need to support a swan with a snack, I suggest vegetables and grains, and even oatmeal. A better diet will also help the birds to maintain a healthy weight; being too heavy, they will eventually stop flying. The above comments relate mainly to the mute swans (Cygnus olor), a number of which in European conditions have learned to live close to humans and benefit from this closeness. These birds are definitely more numerous today than even a few decades ago. Then, and earlier, the swans were hunted, which significantly negatively influenced the population of these birds. Currently, there is a noticeable increase in the number of swans population, which is a beautiful example of how much species protection and appropriate habitat protection can do for the recovery of protected species. In the case of a swan as early as 1525, Sigismund I the Old included it in a list of species protected
along with aurochs (Bos primigenius) (unfortunately, the extinction of aurochs was not prevented –the last aurochs disappeared on the territory of present Poland in 1627, and in the world scale the last individual was killed by a poacher in 1755 on the grounds of the then Duchy of Prussia (on the Pregoła River)), European bison (symbol of nature protection in Poland), beaver and peregrine falcon.
Swans in Poland are mainly mute swans, present on the coast and basically across the whole lowland, where they are found on lakes, ponds, oxbows, both in non-urbanized areas and within cities. They stay there until the colder season, and
Whooper swans
the image of these birds has been used since ancient times to embody such qualities of human soul and body as purity, wisdom, beauty, nobility and probably much more.
later they move into the warmer regions of Europe. That is, it should be like that. A large part of the population have learned to stay here even during the bitter frosts, counting on feeding. Those birds, of course, need our help in case their rumps freeze into ice. During migration Poland is also visited by the whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) with straight necks and yellow and black beaks, and some pairs even try to breed here. They are called whooper swans because, unlike the mute swans, which at the most hiss, these swans are able to produce loud sounds and are willing to use this ability. We are also visited by the tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) – apparently smaller than the two afore-
mentioned species, with a smaller amount of yellow colour on the beak compared to the whooper swans. These nest in the far north. Other species that are found in Poland do not occur naturally in this part of the world, but have been imported from other regions for breeding or, I should say, ‘ornamental’ purposes. This is the case, for example, with the black swan (Cygnus atratus), which comes from Australia and New Zealand, and was already brought to our regions by the English at the end of the 18th century. Birds, being birds, can fly, so they frequently happen to run away from their farms. This resulted in appearance of feral populations that began to reproduce. One of the largest populations of black swan of this type is that in the Netherlands, but these birds appear also e.g. in Ukraine. In Europe, you can also meet the trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator), mainly in the British Isles. The trumpeter swan, similarly to the whooper swan, is not a silent type (anyway, some ornithologists combine both species, pointing to their many similarities). It is the largest of the swans from North America, where at some point it
„Ugly duckling”
almost completely died off, mainly due to hunting for the need to obtain the down of these birds. Just like in the case of the mute swan in Poland and Europe, the populations of which have been renewed, also in the case of the trumpeter swan the plan of protection has some successes in this matter. There is one more species of swan that also comes from afar. It is a black-necked swan (Cygnus Melancoryphus), a resident of South America. And specifically, of this part farther south. The swan is met as far as Cape Horn, and is also present in the Falkland Islands. It is the smallest of swans – males weigh up to 5 kg, so less than half of what a male trumpeter weights (it is worth adding, by the way, that the latter is the largest water bird in the world).
You could write a separate article about symbolism of the swan. The image of these birds has been used since ancient times to embody such qualities of human soul and body as purity, wisdom, beauty, nobility and probably much more. Swans are often indicated as an example of perfect spouses. After mating, they usually stick to their decision. Nosy
bird researchers have shown, however, that there happen ‘black sheep’ among swans that can change their partner. Swans breeding involves one of the most-known fairy tales, at least in European culture. Hans Christian Andersen created an imperishably up-to-date lesson for younger and older people describing fate of an ugly duckling. Indeed, young swans are born grey and only with age their feathers become whiter. There is an exception, however. Well, the so-called Polish mute swan variety is characterized by the fact that chicks from birth are snow-white. Interestingly, it happens that in one brood there are chicks in two variants of colour.
Being close to water the next time, look at these birds remembering Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake' and the difficult history of this group of birds. Moved by the latter, however, in no case try to hug swans, as they can bruise you severely with their giant wings. Pay special attention to males during breeding, because swans are territorial creatures, which can chase even other birds away from their area, not mentioning humans approaching too close.
Tundra swans
a subJective revieW of fairs and events related to Professional diving in Poland
Most of us know events related to recreational diving. the big ones in poland include underwater adventure, or the new dive show poland initiative, baltictech dive conference or countless demo days, and outside poland: the most important deMa in the usa, boot in germany, adeX in singapore and the Mediterranean diving show in barcelona (which is, by the way, the oldest diving fair in europe). in addition, there are countless smaller fairs and conferences around the world. just to mention: eudi dive show in bologna or salon de la plongee in paris.
And how about professional diving? Can you go anywhere to see what the professionals use?
The biggest and probably most important fair related to commercial diving is held, like in the case of recreational diving, also in the usa. Every year, the most important people and companies from the world of commercial diving come to New Orleans to participate in the Underwater Intervention. During the fair take place meetings and conferences related to diving business. Here you can see the equipment of the largest players in the market: Kirby Morgan, Brocco, Ocean Tech-
Text and photos editorial tea M
nology System, BIRNS, etc. Behind the scenes you can hear about the biggest projects in the world related to diving business.
In Europe, the very popular fairs include: Subsea Expo or DSEI in London with the NAVAL Zone.
In Europe commercial diving is often incorporated into a widely defined defense fairs. This type of fair includes the aforementioned DSEI as well as the edition of the Milipol Fair in Paris held every two years. Unfortunately, admission to the fair is at the invitation or you have to prove that you work in an area related to professional diving, safety or similar.
and how is it in poland?
The businesses related to underwater professions could be observed at the Underwater Works conference in Gdynia. The conference was held for the fifth time. Last time at the Naval Museum in Gdynia. Unfortunately, the conference hasn’t been organized this year, and the organizer hasn't issued any communication about the future of the event.
Despite the fact that large projects related to, among other things, offshore wind energy, extension of the Outer Port in Gdynia or the Central Port,
have appeared in Poland, there is no large thematic event in Poland.
At the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce you can sometimes see companies and technologies related to the diving industry. However, these are solutions intended rather for special units than for professional divers.
Only at Balt Military Expo we can see technology used not only for military purposes. Often there are companies that first of all present equipment for the army, and only in their portfolio they include solutions for professional diving.
During the Balt Military Expo in Gdańsk, the NATCON International Scientific and Technical Conference
is held. The event has been permanently inscribed in the calendar of the most important events dealing with the subject of marine technologies. The organizers of the conference are the Research and Development Center of Maritime Technology Centre S.A., Naval Academy and Gdansk International Fair Co.
PTMiTH organizes the scientific conferences of the Polish Society of Hyperbaric Medicine and Technology. This year a jubilee, 20th-anniversary conference took place. The discussed topics involved issues such as diving medicine, underwater technology and techniques, hyperbaric
medicine and, finally, cleanliness and safety in the Baltic Sea.
An interesting initiative in the Polish market is a conference, or rather workshops combined with the DSW (DIVE SUPPORT WORKSHOP) conference. The first two editions took place during the 19th and 20th session of the Scientific Conference of the Polish Society of Hyperbaric Medicine and Technology in Jastrzębia Góra. The next edition is planned for April 2020.
During the event are presented technical and technological innovations in underwater works as well as achievements of companies and entities associated with professional diving. The subject of the workshops is mainly related to safety, efficiency and innovation in the field of underwater works and searches. During the workshop, you can also touch and try the equipment in the swimming pool. Among other things, anyone willing could become for a moment an operator of a remotely controlled underwater vehicle (ROV).
Despite very few events or conferences related to professional diving, we are able to find many interesting topics and new products in this market. Attending the events in Poland will certainly allow us to expand our knowledge at fairs or conferences, as well as to try new products in practice at workshops such as DSW.
Atthe end of April the Institute of oceanology of the polish academy of sciences held the fifth edition of the European Conference on Scientific Diving (ECSD5). The aim of this Conference was to create a large international forum presenting the latest results of research conducted in Europe with the use of scientific dives.
The history of the conference dates back to 2015, when its first edition took place in Stuttgart, Germany. The following editions took place in Sweden, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Madeira. This year, for the first time the host was Poland and the team of divers from IO PAN Scientific Diving TEAM, led by Piotr Bałazy, PhD. ECSD conferences each time attract European leaders in the field of scientific diving and
provide a convenient platform for exchanging experiences, establishing new contacts and future cooperation.
This year's edition gathered over 70 speakers from around the world, who shared with their listeners their discoveries and methods using diving as a research tool, starting from the cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, through the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea to the Peruvian lakes and Galapagos Islands.
On the first day of ECSD5 the special guest was Dr. Richard Pyle of the Hawai'i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, who is known among the divers as the creator of ‘deep stops’.
He told his listeners his amazing story about the beginnings of ex-
report from the conference
European Conference on Scientific Diving
Photos i nstitute of o ceanology of the p olish a cade M y of s ciences
ploring and discovering deep-water coral reefs and how the revolution in technical diving significantly increased the availability of specialized equipment and training enabling civilian divers to safely conduct dives at a depth of 30 to 150 m.
The next day began with the speech of Jacek Kot, PhD, the Associate Professor at the Medical Academy in Gdańsk, a specialist in hyperbaric medicine, who shared the latest knowledge about the causes of the development of decompression sickness.
Among the invited speakers was also Tomasz Stachura, a founder, owner and general manager of SANTI Diving, one of the most active divers in the Baltic Sea, who talked during the lecture entitled ‘Protection of Baltic Titanics – wrecks of Steuben, Wilhelm Gustloff and Goya’ about the current status of these three wrecks, in which a total of 20,000 people died, and how to save them for the future.
On the last day of the Conference, the invited guests could admire the beauty of the Baltic Sea, taking part in diving on the Baltic shipwrecks.
Text agata turo W ic Z
Ghost Fishing Poland
we draw nets from the wrecks of the baltic sea!
Text bartek trZciński
s eas, oceans, lakes and other water reservoirs around the world are calling for help. Problems resulting from pollution caused by human activities are becoming more serious and (fortunately) more and more often publicised by the media.
The destructive impact of plastic waste on the aquatic environment has recently become the number one topic for aquatic scientists, ecologists and nature conservation organisations. There are hundreds of photos and materials on the Internet showing the drastic effects of ubiquitous plastic.
Discarded fishing nets (the so-called "ghost nets") account for as much as 46% of total plastic waste lying in the seas and oceans. These nets effectively pollute the environment, constitute a huge threat to marine animals and divers. Ghost nets are also
in our part of the Baltic Sea. In connection with the above, a group of technical divers from Poland decided to open a Polish "chapter" of the international project: Ghost Fishing.
"We believe in cooperation, we will never solve this problem ourselves".
Ghost Fishing is a Dutch environmental foundation, founded in 2009 by divers determined to act on the issue of "ghost nets" and counteracting the effects of abandoned fishing equipment.
Photo Krzysztof Niecko
o ur M ission consists of clearly defined actions:
• Removal of abandoned nets, fishing / hunting equipment and other pollution of the aquatic environment;
• Research and documentation of the environmental situation in local water areas;
• Caring for the safety of divers;
• Recycling of waste removed from water;
• Sharing knowledge and good practice;
• Education – both in the diving community and among those who do not dive.
The Ghost Fishing Foundation has already built a strong, international community that is still developing dynamically. Thanks to numerous projects (including in the Netherlands, Greece, Croatia, Great Britain, Lebanon, South Korea), our volunteers provide organic and recycling organisations with dozens of tons of nets that are processed into secondary raw materials – for example for the production of diving suits.
Full of energy and motivation for action, we are about to launch this year the project Ghost Fishing Poland. We know that a lot of work awaits us. We are convinced that it is worth making the effort to help our Baltic Sea be a cleaner and safer place – both for the inhabitants of the sea and for us – divers.
All persons willing to support THE GHOST FISHING POLAND initiative, please contact us by email: ghostfishingpoland@gmail.com
Photo Krzysztof Niecko
Photo Cor Kuyvenhoven
Photo Cor Kuyvenhoven
i cA m e, i SAw, i tell
tHe tecline academy
Text Wojciech Zgoła
i was curious, so i went to warsaw. After all, i had an invitation from wojtek. i t would be a pity not to use it. e specially as much has been talked about the tec l ine Academy recently.
It is not easy to forge (literally forge) our ideas and dreams into reality. Has it been possible for the people involved and "handymen" hired by TecLine?
It cannot be confirmed yet, because the Academy has not started. They are now ironing out some details. Attention to detail is important. That is why I think it will be a special place in Europe.
The TecLine brand is recognisable among recreational and technical divers around the world. I experienced it personally either in Croatia, Malta or even in Cyprus. Its main purpose is to design and manufacture equipment that increases the comfort of diving for both beginners and advanced technical divers. This is what is generally known, but the Academy goes further. An additional goal is to help instructors by facilitating the training process
Photos tecline
based on intuitively operating equipment. TecLine is growing very dynamically, striving constantly to improve the level of services related to equipment consulting and maintenance of the highest quality. It goes hand in hand with the name of our magazine. Doesn't it?
Wojtek guided me around the place and told me about the whole undertaking. It is to be a training center for TecLine professional service technicians, hardware consultants and sellers.
Behind the sliding door is a technical laboratory and a quality control checkpoint. It is worth noting that in July 2019, TecLine began official cooperation with the Faculty of Materials Science at Warsaw University of Technology. The possibility to control the
quality of TecLine products automatically expanded. They also cooperate on the introduction of new products and new technological solutions. Now, thanks to Warsaw University of Technology, you can conduct extensive research and material tests before introducing new products. It is also possible to check how TecLine products behave under much greater loads than those under which they usually operate during dives. It can be done still in the experimental phase.
The TecLine Academy Laboratory is equipped with ANSTI testing machines that allow you to control the operation of machines in the context of the requirements imposed by the European Union. The cooperation between TecLine Academy laboratory and Warsaw Technology University enables TecLine effective quality control.
I started the description seriously and responsibly, because that is how it seems to be. However, inside the rooms it is cosy and diving-like. Why? Because we have, among others, a real dive salon.
At the TecLine Academy you can get acquainted with the functionality of all diving solutions offered by the company for each diving level.
Each diver can prepare his perfect configuration, but also effectively modify it for his dive plans.
There are several racks on wheels and everything can be touched and tried on. Wings, sack, belt, fin, mask and carabiner… In a word, every product in your hand!
And this is of course not the end. Because integration, knowledge, story and atmosphere are important.
The TecLine Academy is so prepared that micro conferences can be held here. There are plans for periodic meetings with the participation of eminent specialists whose work is related to diving.
Hence there will be thematic workshops. And this is because the idea for the TecLine Academy envisages it to be also a place where you will be able to expand your knowledge and skills on a number of specialised thematic workshops prepared for divers at every level of advancement.
The white walls and ceiling have been prepared so that the maniacs of underwater photography can boast of their work. It is an ideal place for an underwater photo gallery . The TecLine Academy prepares exhibitions of underwater photography. The exhibition coordinator enables the planning and preparation of professional vernissages
for photographers dealing with various photographic techniques.
And since I mentioned the white walls, I will add that a multimedia projector is located under the ceiling in the middle of the largest room. The Academia TecLine is also a dive cinema and meeting place for diving groups. The colour of the door inside, lighting, ventilation, the possibility to move everything properly according to your own needs on a given day, makes it a great place for diving group meetings. They can meet there to plan their activities or sum them up. Several large screens allow you to make presentations and watch film materials in comfortable conditions.
P.S.
The toilet is a cave. Seriously, you will see when you use it:)
Pragmatic decomPression
part 1 (knowledge for intermediate divers)
Text Wojciech a. filip
i s it possible to calculate decompression in head, in a simple way? Are safe, deep, decompression dives possible without using a dive computer? c an a recreational diver make a 30m deep dive with the bottom time of 30 minutes and omit the safety stop… to be safer?
Warning!
Implementing the described decompression methods without sufficient knowledge and practical preparation can be health and life threatening. This article cannot be seen as a form of training of decompression plan execution.
Everybody knows the saying ‘plan your dive and dive your plan’. Practice shows, that such approach is not always possible. Sometimes trying to ‘dive the plan’ at all costs can be more dangerous than changing this plan during the dive.
There can be many reasons, for example we had a plan for a wreck dive, close to the bottom, but the visibility there is zero, and a few meters above, around the deck it is ok. Or: in the place where we wanted to make a photo session a new net has appeared – and there is a considerable risk of entanglement. But a few meters deeper the conditions are perfect. Are there simple ways for a safe
change, or to be exact for a flexible implementation of a dive plan?
How does pragmatic decompression look in practice? Every dive ends with decompression. The way of executing decompression depends on diver’s knowledge, skills and experience: from implementing it in a form of a single safety stop and then continuing it after surfacing (so called no-decompression dives), watching and following dive computer readings, through ascending based on a written plan, called a ‘runtime’, up to a smooth adjusting of a previously generated plan to the real underwater conditions. And when the last solution
is based on easy to memorize and repetitive rules, based on knowledge and experience, then we talk about the ‘pragmatic decompression’. Sometimes this way of calculating decompression is called an ‘on the fly’ method, and it also has a name of a ‘mnemotechnic’ method.
Do the divers using the above method really calculate the decompression in the head?
No, this process is too complicated to be efficiently calculated in changeable dive conditions (as a matter of fact it would be equally difficult to calculate it while sitting comfortably in an armchair). On the largest scale pragmatic decompression is successfully used by GUE (Global Underwater Explorers) divers. It applies both to the simplest, recreational and to the very complex multi-gas dives. Knowledge of basic decompression issues is the first step to success. The next step is learning how to use the decompression programs (in GUE this is Deco Planner or in case of beginner divers simple decom-
pression tables). Now what is left is to combine the program generated plan with what we know about decompression and adjust it to the underwater conditions which as we know are very variable.
If we assume that decompression is a certain time which we should spend in a certain depth range (divided for simplicity into stops), then we can quite flexibly divide this time by combining it with the depths chosen as the most convenient for us. Of course, we can sometimes manipulate and stop within a certain range. Still flexibility is quite big, often causing surprise to those who deal with decompression issues only theoretically.
Simplifying: the decompression program generates times at certain stops, but we are mainly interested in the total decompression time, which we use for the purposes of our decompression strategy. There are many elements that significantly increase both comfort and safety in the preparation of a plan based on pragmatic decompression. Here are the ones that cannot be missing.
1. the key is the diver and his/her preparation:
• health, and in particular fitness and cardiovascular fitness (this is why GUE divers do not smoke cigarettes)
• technical preparation of the diver for underwater activities: he/she should feel at ease
Decoplanner
Photo Wojciech Zgoła
in the water of any visibility, maintain depth without any reference points, and basically move with the accuracy of 1m
2. knowledge about planning amount and selecting gases:
• calculated and checked gas reserves for various depths
• calculated and checked deco gas reserves for extreme variants of the plan
• calculated and checked deco plans for the variants deeper and shallower than initially assumed
• emergency procedures tested and repeatedly practiced in the team, including a rapid well-being deterioration of one of the team members, simple and complex equipment failures, the impact of external factors, e.g. nets or local underwater inhabitants.
One of the factors which significantly simplify planning is the use of so-called standard gases. Standard gases, i.e. always the same gases for selected ranges of depth and decompression, not only simplify the planning and preparation of dives but also thanks to repetition build the diver's confidence in the solutions used. Stability of parameters such as
END, ppO2 or low gas density additionally helps in diving safety.
l et's look at a sa M ple dive and co M pare 2 W ays of i M ple M enting a deco M pression plan
assumption: diving at the average depth of 45 m with the bottom time of 30 minutes.
To increase safety, we will use simplifications in the form of a standard gas tmx 21/35 and one decompression gas nx 50. For now, let's just look at the decompression phase after changing the gas at 21m.
Let’s start with a classic, i.e. a plan generated by a decompression program.
We take underwater the above, or a more extensive plan.
Decoplanner
s tandard gases, i.e. always the same gases for selected ranges of depth and decompression, not only simplify the planning and preparation of dives but also thanks to repetition build the diver's confidence in the solutions used.
have exactly 5 stops (counting every 3 m) so we divide 15 min / 5 stops and… at each stop we have time of 3 min. And we include moving among stops in the time of decompression.
There are more interesting facts – for example, what to do if one of the stops has been omitted? Is it possible to quickly modify the plan if my suit leaks and the thermocline begins at 15 m?
It is worth considering – what would we do in such situations using a classic plan?
noW the second option – hoW it Will be done by a diver Who uses pragMatic decoMpression
He/she will remember that each stop should be 3 minutes and the last stop 15 minutes.
how is it calculated?
Using a pragmatic form of implementing the decompression plan, we use easy-to-remember simplifications, for example we know that bottom time = decompression time.
So, the first information is that the deco time = 30 minutes.
It is known that after such a dive, the deco time can be divided 50/50.
So, we have the second piece of information: 15 minutes between 21 meters and 9 meters and 15 minutes at 6 meters. Let's simplify it even further: between 21 meters depth and 9 meters we
Before I invite you to the second part of this article, showing more details of pragmatic decompression, I want to share with you a thought that was bothering me when I was learning to dive using the runtime method: how many contingency plans, covering so many various situations, should I prepare and master when planning a difficult decompression dive? And the second part of this thought was: what will I do if for any reason I can’t read the plate with the spare runtime?
When to use linear decompression and when "S"?
When can we skip the deco? How to apply pragmatic decompression in recreational diving?
For more interesting facts, I’d like to invite you to the 2nd part of the "Pragmatic Decompression" in the next issue of Perfect Diver.
