Q&A: RICK STANTON
We chat to cave diving legend Rick Stanton, and find out what lured him underground in the first place, the challenges of some of his more epic cave dives, and what it was like to be in the midst of the world’s greatest dive rescue PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF RICK STANTON AND ROSEMARY LUNN
We hadn’t necessarily expected to find the boys alive and when we did that was a magical moment that obviously lifted the mood everywhere
Q: As we normally do with these Q&As, how did you first get into diving, or in your case, cave diving? A: I’m old enough to have grown up with the 1960’s Jacques Cousteau diving programmes on the television which always fascinated me, especially being underwater. I always liked swimming and water activities, including kayaking, but it wasn’t until I was 17 and saw a programme on the TV about UK cave diving that everything clicked into place. I knew that is what I wanted to do as I totally identified with everything that was going on. That’s quite unusual because most people back then started with dry caving and then a very few made the switch to cave diving, but I immediately realised that I wanted to be a cave diver before I even stepped into a cave.
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Once I went to university at age 18 I joined the Uni BSAC branch to learn to dive, I also joined the caving club. A few years later I amalgamated the two activities and taught myself to cave dive in small incremental steps. Q: Cave diving is considered one of the most-dangerous forms of diving. What is it about cave diving that continually draws you back? A: Personally the thing about cave diving has always been the ability to explore where no man has been before. I know this is a bit of a cliche but caving really is exploration that can be done on the cheap and even on your own doorstep within the UK. No need to go to remote unclimbed peaks, deep ocean trenches, or far flung corners of the planet… or beyond!
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