THE FACTS AND VIEWPOINTS IN THIS SECTION ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE VIEWS OF X-RAY MAG. EQUIPMENT PRESENTED IN THIS SECTION HAS NOT BEEN TESTED BY X-RAY MAG STAFF, NOR ARE THE ITEMS WARRANTEED. INFORMATION PROVIDED IS CONDENSED FROM MANUFACTURERS’ DESCRIPTIONS. TEXTS ARE USUALLY EDITED mixer FOR LENGTH, CLARITY AND STYLE. LINKS ARE ACTIVE AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION Spotted at the recent POINT & CLICK TekDiveUSA conference, Nardi ON BOLD LINKS Compressori’s TT-Mixing panel (photo at right shows near identical N-Mix) produces ready trimix gases simply by keying the blend on the touchscreen. According to the presentation, the Edited by panel can even analyse Peter Symes leftover gases in used tanks and calculate how Equipment to top them off with a new blend according to specs, minimising the loss of expensive Wingman gases while calculat- This practical bag for a bailout tank keeps ing the price for the your hoses tidy and regulator handy with no fill. The panel, which need for bungees and straps. Simply put can be remotedly the tank in the bag, close the zipper and controlled with an app, place the regulator inside the strap. The weighs 13kg and comes with bag is made from a mesh of ballistic brackets for easy mounting on a wall. nylon, which protects the NardiCompressori.com tank while allowing water to drain away easily. Comes in 5-liter (40 cu ft) and Cobalt 2 7-liter (80 cu ft) sizes. The Atomic Cobalt 2 is Available in black. a hose integrated Poseidon.com recreational capa- ble of support- ing up to six gas mixes, each up to 99% . The display has been HDC Tech Dry updated and now BARE writes that this suit is the the Cobalt 2 benefits toughest they have ever made. SMS75 from a bright, full colour, By combining three stretchy fab- The Hollis SMS75 side- high contrast LCD screen. rics, the designers have created a mount system fills the gap Atomic has also upgraded suit that is both lightweight yet rug- between the sturdy SMS100 the processor, making the ged enough to sustain heavy use in and the minimalist SMS50 light- Cobalt 2 more reactive. demanding environments with abra- siblings making it a Atomic states that the ‘soft sive surfaces. The patented Automatic hybrid that combines the best touch’ magnetic button navi- Torso Recoil system controls torso length of the two into this new harness. gation on the built-in compass is and eliminates the need for a crotch strap. Hollis states that it was designed easy to use. The Cobalt 2 is pow- The suit comes in 16 standard sizes but can with all environments in mind, with ered by a built-in lithium ion battery also be made to measure. Technical and a wing optimised for horizontal that provides 40 to 60 hours of dive cave divers can opt for an Expedition model diving with increased lift around time, with two options for charging. A that comes with a slim cut, crotch strap, big the hips. The SMS75 also supports fast charge via a mains socket or a slower pockets, Tech boots and a new Sealtek dry rear-mounted tanks and reversible charge when you use a powered USB port. hood. Baresports.com inflator positions. Hollis.com AtomicAquatics.com

39 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Bring your iPad down under iDive and Watershot have unveiled the first fully functional underwater touchscreen for smart devices. The team built the housing with a flex- ible membrane with the key component called the “Balance Module”, which automatically manages a positive supply and enables the full functionality of the touch-

screen. can choose between supplying air via a CO2 car- tridge or the first stage regulator or . The iDive currently

has a recommended depth rating of 40 meters for CO2 supply and 100 meters for the first stage supply. idive-and-watershot Review Watershed HOG Zenith Chattooga Drybag The Zenith second stage from HOG Text by Matthew Meier is a pneumatically never balanced second The Chattooga Drybag is a found stage. All good sec- top-loading duffel sealed with the per- ond stages use a a ZipDry waterproof closure. fect bag venturi effect to assist Created and patented by to keep in maintaining flow, but Watershed, the closure resem- the cam- the venturi performance Scuabfest A6.indd 1 12/02/2014 12:17 bles a large ziplock seal and is era protected is less critical if the second both air and watertight. The bag and dry. The stage is pneumatically bal- is made of backpack-grade Chattooga performed anced. The center portion uti- nylon coated sheets of polyure- beautifully on both lizes a durable soft touch silicone thane film making it incredibly counts. The large 17in opening to make purging easier. According durable. Upon completion each at the top of the bag made it to manufacturer the new design also helps and every bag is inspected to easy to get gear in and out, controlling a free flow in a . Edge-gear.com ensure that it is 100% leakproof. while the padded liner gave , Batangas, Philippines The Chattooga comes with a me piece of mind when the pair of rugged yet comfortable, bag was placed along the AP Diving announces additional oxygen cell supply padded handles, numerous hard floorboards of a small skiff. For lash points and various compres- different shooting scenarios, the for their Inspiration range CCRs sions straps. The bag weighs in at padded dividers allowed me to Due to interruptions in oxygen cell supply this year, less than 2lbs and measures 12 x travel with multiple lenses, plus a AP Diving has taken steps to secure a 20 x 10 inches, with a capacity flash. The top closure was simple second supplier. The cell from the new of 1,800 cubic inches (30 liters). to operate and sealed airtight. supplier, the same supplier as the Narked Optional accessories include a While no bag is perfect, the @ 90 cell, will have the designation APD16 shoulder strap, a padded liner Chattooga worked incredibly and has a white label (shown left). AP and a padded divider set. well and my gear came home Diving points out, while the APD16 has As an underwater photogra- safe and dry. an unfortunate trait in that once the pher, I spend a lot of time on For more information on the Inspiration scrubber warms up, the cells boats and like to bring along Chattooga DryBag and the rest read 0.05 bar higher than the actual PO2 my topside camera for shooting of the Watershed line, please this trait is repeatable and reliable and so [email protected] between dives. However, I have visit: Drybags.com is easily compensated for. APDiving.com DIVECBR.COM

40 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Interviewing Wreckers — Four Pioneering Wreck Divers

Author’s note: Though for the most part, the community was the first to pioneer mixed gas , beginning with Dale Sweet’s successful 1980 dive to 110m (360ft) at Diepolder II in Hernando County, Florida, USA, leading divers were not far behind. By 1995, numerous groups of wreck divers in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe were using Trimix to improve the safety and performance of their dives. That year I interviewed some of the vanguard to get their perspectives on mix and how it was impact- ing exploration. Here are the original interviews as they appeared in aquaCORPS Journal #9: Wreckers, August 1995. — Michael Menduno

Text by Michael Menduno And to further stir the SAFETY COMES FIRST. Though the Photos courtesy of aquaCORPS, soup, grand daddy wrecker, rewards of shipwreck diving are Leigh Bishop, John Chatterton, Oceaneering International, the great, a diver can easily end up Joe Pass and Joel Silverstein global con- paying the ultimate price if all the tractor whose crews dived the parameters of the dive (and diver) Lusitania over a decade ago, are not taken fully into account. August 1995—Today, ship- recently completed salvaging And when this happens, the entire wrecks are at the heart of treasure—five tons of silver and community suffers. Training and gold coins from the Spanish Brig experience are critical. Particularly a technological revolution of War, El Cazador, sunk in 1784 today, when competition for that is redefining the limits in the Gulf of Mexico—using their new wrecks has driven the cut- of what is possible. Within WASP Atmospheric Diving Systems ting edge ever deeper and more the last year, a leading (ADS) fleet to limit their ambient remote, increasing the operation- exposure. This after the techni- al and safety requirements for the team of tekkies mounted cal led by Captain dives, as well as the costs. the first mix expedition on were found in viola- What is it about that the Lusitania to 90m (300ft), tion of the Occupational Safety inspire us to invest time and inge- long thought out of the and Heath Administration (OSHA) nuity and put our human frailties standards prohibiting deep self- on the line? Is it simply the knowl- practical reach of scuba contained diving the prior year edge that these failed human aficionados, and racked and was thrown off the job. “It’s a outposts may yield up potent trea- up over 120 dives. Other mental barrier, not a technologi- sures, or is it some complex piece cal one,” explained commercial of genetic code that compels us tech divers opted for the and wrecker to seek out our remaining rem- safety of a hose and com- John Chatterton. nants in the vastness of the sea? mercial cutting tools to lib- Although underwater limits Better go and ask a wrecker, if erate the artifacts of their are being redefined, the pain- she’ll tell you. Or better yet, go ask fully learned maxim of diving still two of three. dreams. applies, maybe more than ever:

41 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO THIS PAGE: Captain Billy Deans in action profile Wreckers eters of the dive you could MM: What are the limits of open circuit ment coming on stream, I believe there get killed. It’s a constant gas diving? are going to be a lot of opportunities vigilance that wears on a opening up. human being. To do it well BD: Sport diving has become much more you have to live, eat and reliable and safer. The technology and MM: For self-contained diving in a com- breathe . equipment that we have today has mercial setting? That’s the negative side— essentially doubled our working depth it’s so demanding. It has put from 40m (130ft) to about 80m (250ft) . BD: That’s correct. bags under my eyes, gray That’s our playground and I consider it to hair on my head and led to be a reliable working range. Outside of MM: Commercial diving today is based fights with my girlfriend. But I those limits, it’s a little more dangerous. It around surface supplied technology. won’t compromise on safety can be done, but it’s not for the people What kind of tasks can better be accom- because once you do, you that are just getting into technical diving. plished with self-contained equipment? become complacent and you get killed. That’s the MM: I understand that your focus has BD: Reconnaissance. You can put a thing that bothers me; it’s like shifted over the last two years from tech- team of self-contained divers on site with a black cloud on the horizon. nical training to the commercial aspects a minimal amount of equipment. They The technical diving market of diving. can survey an area, a wreck site, you expanding and I have an name it, come back and look at the uneasy feeling that we’re BD: It’s an aspect of the diving that has data. And it’s actually very, very cost going to have an increase in been a natural evolution for us. Karl effective to do that. We’re talking a 1 fatalities. That’s what we’re Shreeves (PADI’s Technical Diving Liaison) to 5 ratio. Then if there’s work to do, you trying to avoid. once said that he was so excited to be in can bring in a surface-supplied gear. PHOTO COURTESY OF AQUACORPS on the next evolution in sport diving. And MM: The Cazador was such an interest- MM: Because of the new I guess that I’m excited to be involved in MM: How about just sending down a ing project. Your team found the booty people coming in? one offshoot of technical diving and that ROV? and then Oceaneering came in with is, work for pay. There are definite, viable their fleet of WASPs and… BD: New people coming in opportunities there. The commercial mar- BD: Our experience is that the two go who do not have the proper ket sees it. And with closed circuit equip- hand in hand. On the Cazador project BD: ...and picked up five tons of silver.

JOEL SILVERSTEIN training. That’s one of the we called it “hunter- Yeah, it was great @#?#!! reasons we’re so adamant gatherer” mode. An ROV Captain Billy Deans about having tiered levels of training and was sent down to sniff MM: It would take a team of open-circuit Owner of Key West Diver Technical broad base of experience. Experience is out a possible target site, divers a long time to pick up five tons of Training Center and Deep Sea critical. in this case, to find coins. silver. Technologies, 38-year-old Captain Billy In the early days, there was a small Then the diver would Deans is recognized as one of the pio- cadre of technical divers. These people navigate out the ROV BD: I agree with you, particularly at the neers of technical diving. were highly trained, and committed to cable and survey and 90m (295ft) depths we were working. diver safety. I work the area. My only regret was that I wish we could MM: Billy you’ve been involved in tech- remember when Parker [Turner] Of course, putting a have had another five manned dives. It nical diving since the beginning. What got killed. It sent a shiver up my back, diver in the water is very, would have been nice to see what our would you say are the differences with because they were doing everything very inefficient; I don’t capability was, but if you look at it, put- ? right, right down to the last minute, and care if it’s on a hose, ting a guy down for four to six hours in a he still died. closed circuit, or open- WASP is really the way to go. But you also BD: We still do a lot of recreational diving. People need to understand this. They circuit. The advantage have to look at the cost. We fulfilled our It’s fun and it’s easy. You put your equip- can still have fun but they need to is that diver on site can contractual obligation. We went down. ment in a bag, sniff your air, throw your approach technical diving with the idea make rational decisions. We found the coins and we were able equipment on, jump in, and swim around that it is very dangerous. You learn to be It’s easier to mobilize an to bring a few up. That is the limitation of in 25m (80ft)of water. Technical diving is very, very cautious in this type of diving. open-circuit team then it open-circuit diving. totally different. It’s a philosophy, a mind- The positive rewards are great but on the is to bring in an ROV. But set. Everything you do is based on mak- negative side you can end up paying I think that the best com- MM: Do you think that commercial regu- ing that dive absolutely perfect because the ultimate price. And when divers die, bination is to use them lations are going to evolve to the point if you don’t account for all of the param- we all pay. both. of allowing self-contained equipment for

PHOTO COURTESY OF AQUACORPS

42 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Captain Billy Deans in Polly Tapson action (left and below) all kitted up profile Wreckers BD: Fifteen minutes used to be a long German U-boat. commit to the training and the dive. Now people are doing 25, 30, and We’re also looking at wrecks from the cost of the expedition about 35 minute dives at 61-77m (220-250ft). perspective of coming in as a profession- 18 months to two years before That’s what I see happening in wreck div- al team and helping people get set up, we dived. That was more than ing. for a fee. It has consistently been shown enough lead-time to actually that it’s better to pay a profession to set up the expedition. One fac- MM: What are your personal goals for the come in and set it up right as opposed to tor was that the U.K. members next 18 months? making all the mistakes and possibly hurt of the team were not trained in someone. In the long run, it’s more cost the use of Trimix and had very BD: What I’m trying to do, is stay focused. effective to pay professionals. So that’s little knowledge of gas mix- We’re one of the very few dive centers what we’re targeting, wrecks that could ing and the implication of this that are trying to make a living at tech- possibly turn some revenue for us. kind of technical diving at that nical diving. It’s very difficult to make a We have three real interesting projects time. Four months out, I knew living in the dive industry. You can drop coming up in 1995 that will probably take exactly what we were going your safety standards and make a lot of us away for a month of two. We’re talk- to do and what contingencies money and kill somebody. But we won’t ing 17th century shipwrecks that are well were available. We were meet- do that. We’re trying to make a compa- into the technical diving range outside ing on a regular basis to discuss rable living at our type of diving through the U.S. how to improve what had been qualified teaching, keeping our stan- planned. dards up, and doing these projects. But Polly Tapson we also want to have fun at it. Thirty-one-year old filmmaker and British MM: How many dives did you We get a lot of neat offers to dive wrecker, Polly Tapson, led the first techni- do in preparation for the dive? wrecks and we could spend the whole cal diving expedition to the Lusitania in year traveling and doing all these dives. June 1994. PT: We scheduled 49 dives in JOEL SILVERSTEIN There just isn’t enough time. That’s why preparation for the Lusitania. certain types of activities? I’m targeting the wrecks here locally. MM: How long did it take to plan and We were going out every There is a tremendous amount of history train for the expedition? other weekend last winter. We

BD: I truly hope so. The guys in the com- from in the Florida Keys. We have a num- conducted a lot of the deep LEIGH BISHOP mercial industry are smart. They see ber of targets off the Tortugas including a PT: I began to ask people if they would training in a close controlled what’s going on and a number of them environmental quarry in North Wales. The execution of our plan, right down to are turned on by it. They’ll take advan- U.K. team trained in excess of 90m (293ft) the number of vegetarian meals in tage of the technology and eventually because we didn’t want the Lusitania the packed lunches. We could have there will be changes in the Code of to be the team’s deepest dive when spent more money to hire assistants to Federal Regulations (CFR). That would be we arrived in Ireland. We needed to test help with the gas mixing or to help with the smart thing to do. everything. unloading the boat, but we decided not to. It was hard work. We got up early. MM: What do you see today as the fron- MM: How important was diver safety in We worked through the morning setting tiers of ? your planning? everything up. Everyone had a designat- ed task. We worked very well as a team. BD: Discovering new wrecks. When we PT: A great deal of thought went into our Of course, I didn’t really have a great first started planning to diver the Doria ‘what ifs’ and ‘what thens.’ I would stay sense of relief until after the last day’s ten years ago the Lusitania seemed up until 3:00 in the morning contemplat- diving when I knew that it had been an unreachable—nobody thought it was ing what could happen and how we incident-free trip. possible. Now you can charter a boat to would deal with it. We agreed as a team it. Even diving the Doria has changed. In to ban any form of competitiveness and MM: Technical diving appears to be pre- the early days the big thing was going encourage discussion. As a result our post dominantly a male bastion. Did you find down on the outside of the wreck and dive briefings became incredibly honest. that being a woman was ever an issue? getting windows. Now everyone is mak- ing penetration dives and looking for arti- MM: Did the expedition come out as you PT: I don’t have anything to say on that facts. had planned? subject. The answer is no. It was never an issue. I have encountered sexist atti- MM: And the dives are getting longer. PT: Yes, in every way. It was a perfect tudes from some men along the way but

JOEL SILVERSTEIN 43 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO profile Lusitania dive team Wreckers wheels that were in motion, the imminent “deals”, the financial costs were via- southwest coast of England. We have arrival of the American divers and every- ble for everyone who I wanted to be the coordinates and we’ll be diving on thing that had been planned. involved, but the indirect costs of our mix. Another member of the team is time and relationships were higher than handling the organizational side of the MM: Cave divers have a saying, “Take anticipated. Everyone agrees that their expedition because of the time involved. only pictures, leave only bubbles.” I know contribution in man-hours was excessive I have professional commitments and that doesn’t really apply to a lot of ship- and cannot be adequately quantified. other affairs, which are my priority for the wreck diving, but your team decided not This was largely due to the learning curve time being. to take artifacts off the Lusitania. What we had to climb as a team and tak- was your motivation? ing the “what if/what then” approach John Chatterton to planning. One of our team reckoned Hardhat wrecker, John Chatterton, 42, is PT: It’s very simple really. There is a man it personally cost him in the range of an avid deep wreck explorer and works who claims he owns the Lusitania and GB£10,000 (about US$15,000 in 1994) as a commercial diving supervisor. He told us that we weren’t allowed to visit hard cash to prepare and participate in and Richie Kohler identified the “U-Who” the shipwreck. His claim has yet to be the expedition. as the U-869, later heralded in the New proven. But the maritime and merchant York Times best seller, . marine laws were such that I felt that no MM: What are your personal exploration laws were being broken in visiting the goals over the next 18 months? MM: You’re a commercial dive supervi- shipwreck, which is why we were able sor as well as a wreck diver. Why do you to proceed unhindered. In addition, we PT: My goals are to identify several virgin dive scuba? were visited by the Irish Customs and wrecks beyond the 70m (228fT) off the Excise people and informed that if we JC: I started wreck diving the recovered anything the Lusitania, we same time I got involved in LEIGH BISHOP would have to hand it over to Customs. commercial diving. To me, nothing I couldn’t handle. Most of the to carry on anyway. Are you comfortable As a result, we felt that there was a cer- scuba is just another technol- Lusitania team was intelligent enough to talking about it? tain risk in recovering anything from the ogy. Philosophically, surface be above it. ship and so we decided not to take that supplied diving is a group PT: I don’t like talking about it or discuss- risk. project. The diver is just a cog MM: It seems that technical diving has a ing it in much detail for a very obvi- in a big machine. Scuba is lot fewer women than recreational diving ous reason. People are going to read MM: What would you say are the frontiers freedom. Independence. It’s as a whole (about 37% female accord- this and there is no guarantee of how today in shipwreck diving? the difference between the ing to PADI statistics). Our surveys suggest they’re going to interpret what I have guy driving down the road in it’s 5% or less. Can you offer any insights to say. What I don’t want to do is to be PT: I don’t think there are really any fron- his Lincoln Continental with a as to why that is? an example of someone who acted irre- tiers. house, mortgage payments, sponsibly and got away with it. And then and responsibilities which can PT: It has more to do with perception have someone else do the same thing MM: What do you mean by that? be really good compared more than reality. Men probably find the and subsequently ends up in a wheel- to the guy hitchhiking down sport easier than women because of chair for life. It is very difficult for me to PT: The limits are more a matter of eco- the road who’s totally free. the equipment and intensive nature of talk about it for that reason. nomics than anything else. Unless there is That can be a good thing technical diving. However, having said a promise of great gain, progress will be too. Remember, in commer- that, I’ve seen men who are not particu- MM: It was obviously a very personal relatively slow. I see the most potential for cial diving, nobody pays you larly strong who are able to wheel some decision on your part. You had worked progress being made in commercial and to dive. They pay you to do heavy equipment. I believe that women on the project for two years. . Recreational divers will something that happens to be can overcome what might be perceived hang onto their coat tails as far as they under water and the way to to be a physical lack of strength if it’s PT: Yes, of course it was a personal deci- can go. It’s an expensive sport. get there is to dive. something that they really want to do. sion. I believed that my recovery was totally satisfactory in so much that I was MM: How much did it cost to mount the MM: There seems to be con- MM: I understand that you got “bent” on not going to cancel that trip. That’s not expedition, the training, planning the siderable fear and trepidation a practice run a week prior to the expe- to say that I intended to dive. I reserved whole thing? about scuba in commercial dition. That must have been a very dif- that decision for the trip. However, I circles. ficult personal decision for you to decide definitely was not going to let it stop the PT: By the time I had finished pulling in

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CHATTERTON John Chatterton 44 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO John Chatterton diving the Britannic (left); near the wreck site of the Lusitania (right) 18km (11mi) south of Kinsale lighthouse in profile Ireland; and kitted up for a dive (below) Wreckers limits are. There are still a lot of things to much less be done with open circuit and it seems important, like there’s always a new formula, a new but I’ve recipe being cooked up in somebody’s got to deal kitchen. with other aspects, my MM: Do you feel a lot safer when you’re umbilical, diving a surface supplied system? for instance. The umbilical JC: No. It’s different. I don’t feel a great- could actu- er degree of safety. There are assets and ally end up liabilities to using either technology on tethering me a particular site. If I’m diving scuba, I’m to the wreck. diving solo. I’m not in direct contact with Generally, PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CHATTERTON the surface. That’s a disadvantage, and I prefer to I have to take into consideration impor- rely on myself over a machine top-side. interested in the wrecks in my area that tant aspects of my dive, like navigation, Maybe that’s why I like scuba as much have been beyond sport diving until gas management, things like that. When as I do. now. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CHATTERTON I’m on surface-supplies, those issues are JC: Most of the people in commercial shit out of ourselves, and be glad to get MM: What would you say are MM: Are both in deep water? circles view scuba as a toy that’s good up alive. That wouldn’t wash anymore. today’s frontiers in self-con- to about 9m (30ft). I find scuba a very tained ship wreck diving? JC: The U-550 is probably going to be interesting technology and technical div- MM: When you say tech diving in that about 100m (325ft) and it’s 125 miles ing has added another dimension. context, are you really referring to mix? JC: Shipwreck diving is becom- (201km) offshore. I’m not certain about ing a more global activity. The the Carolina. The problem is that is has MM: How has technical diving changed JC: It’s a little more subtle. Not every- oceans are getting smaller. been reported in several areas, but I shipwreck diving over the last five years? one is using mix or taking full advantage When I first thought about believe it’s going to be as deep as 80m of the technology. But even air divers the Lusitania, my reaction (260ft), something like that. JC: Two major things have happened. using an accelerated on was “Wow. The Lusitania. It’s Number one, the surface area of the oxygen or are seeing an advan- a shame that it’s too deep.” MM: I understand you recently made a ocean floor that we’re able to claim tage in terms of increased bottom time. Well, depth is subjective. The positive I.D. on the U-Who? That sounds has been dramatically increased. You Increased bottom time is going to give Lusitania was a lot deeper on exciting. could draw a line and say, here’s our the diver increased productivity. my first dive than it was on my 40m (130ft) limit, but today, more and last dive. People are begin- JC: I believe we have positively identi- more guys are going out and diving 60m MM: What are the practical working limits ning to look at wreck that they fied the wreck as the U-869, but I’m more (200ft) and 60m (200ft) plus. ‘We’re down of open circuit wreck diving? haven’t considered diving interested in finding out exactly how it to where?’ Technical diving has come before and saying, “Hey, wait got off the coast of New Jersey. The sub along and nobody’s sure where the line JC: For a while, I was really into asking a minute. We can go there. was not supposed to be there. is. And with things like on the people, ‘Where is this going to stop?’ I We can do that. We can make horizon, if you draw a line, you better went to Billy Deans, I went to this guy and it happen.” It’s a mental barri- MM: Wasn’t it supposedly lost off the draw it in pencil. It’s probably not going that guy, and just about everybody said, er; it’s not a technology barrier. coast of Africa? to stay there long. “The limits are right about where my feet The second thing is productivity. The are.” We’re limited by the technology to MM: What are your personal JC: Right. I’ve been to London, to the technically-oriented diver is a more some degree, but I also think we are lim- exploration goals over the next Ministry of Defense and worked in their productive diver. He’s much more goal ited by our vision… year? foreign documents section, and I have oriented and in a better position to been to Germany and talked with a accomplish the goals he sets. Setting up MM: Of what’s possible? JC: I want to focus on locat- bunch of the U-boaters and examined goals for each particular dive is the way ing some specific wrecks. One their archives. It’s amazing how much to make progress. That’s the way to be JC: Yeah. And looking at the limits is the U-550. Another is a liner of history is just somebody’s reasonable productive. We used to do a lot of 60m of technology, I don’t think we have called the Carolina that’s off guess. We have this boat that was sup- (200ft), 60m (200ft) plus dives, scare the enough insight to say where the absolute the New Jersey coast. I’m very posed to be in Gibraltar, but it seems to

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN CHATTERTON

45 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Roderick “Rod” Historical Farb in action painting of profile (left and below) CSS Alabama Wreckers MM: Why’s that? increases the risk. So I think it works both ways. JC: It’s going to take time before the people MM: What are the practical working limits who are doing deep of open circuit scuba these days as far wreck exploration as wreck diving is concerned? are comfortable with rebreathers. It’s going RF: A practical limit that most people use to go the same way the is 74m (240ft). You could probably go air-closed circuit div- deeper. I worked in Europe and divers ing went, starting off in there routinely dive 61m (200ft) with open shallow water. “I went a circuit on air. There is also an active tech- little deeper today than nical diving community that uses mixed yesterday. Maybe I will gas at those depths and beyond, but go a little deeper tomor- quite frankly, from my experience 72m row.” (240ft) is about the deepest most wreck divers regularly go. And most of it is still Roderick Farb being done on air. Photographer and film- maker Roderick (“Rod”) MM: What impact has mix had? US NAVY’S NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Farb, 43, recently filmed the CSS Alabama off RF: The impact has been rather limited to dive on air, and they do very well. If you logical excavations. There’s a Franco- the coast of France for a small group. It’s obviously growing, but look at the overall number of shipwreck American committee that oversees the National Geographic. locating sources of gas, or getting the divers here in the States, the percentage work on the site, and a group of volun- Farb’s team was the first equipment to mix it yourself is still a prob- using mix gas is relatively low. teers screened from a local wreck diving group of sport divers to lem. It’s still beyond the average wreck club are participating. get permission to dive diver. In Europe, for example, I’ve been MM: I understand you were recently in JOE PASS the USS Monitor in 1991. involved with a club on the coast of Europe filming the CSS Alabama? MM: What are today’s frontiers in ship- be lying off the New Jersey coast. WWII France with several hundred avid deep- wreck diving? wrecks are really fascinating because MM: How has shipwreck diving changed water wreck divers, and none of them RF: Right, I was on assignment for the first hand history, the people who over the last five years? dive mix at all because it is too expen- Geographic for six weeks during the RF: Most technical divers want to reach were there, are disappearing. A lot of sive. They don’t have equipment. They all summer. It was one of the most difficult deeper wrecks because they have been what wreck diving is about is understand- RF: Judging from the divers I see, and projects I’ve ever done diving-wise. The out of the reach of most divers and have ing the historical aspect of the wrecks. the questions posted on the Internet, I’d Alabama lies at 61m (200ft) 61m in the a lot of artifacts. But as the wrecks get That kind of information tells us who we say that the big changes are the volume English Channel in extremely dark 9°C deeper and deeper the technology all are. of gas that divers are carrying. They’re (49°F) water. And though the wreck’s not required gets more sophisticated. The going to bigger systems. Twin 80’s used extraordinarily deep, there is a narrow result is a point of diminishing return. The MM: It puts our culture in context? to be the standard. Then there were twin window of time when you can actually cost, the expense to go and collect ordi- 100’s. And now twin pumped-up 120’s make the dive because of very strong nary artifacts from a shipwreck is going to JC: History isn’t always what you’ve been from Europe, and the big titanium tanks currents. It’s only about a one-hour win- far outweigh the value, unless they have told. that have been imported from Russia. dow twice a day, and that’s decompres- some monetary value. The ordinary tech There has also been a blossoming of sup- sion, bottom time the whole nine yards. It diver will have a limit on what they’re will- MM: There’s a huge interest in rebreath- port equipment for wreck diving, like up- is an extremely, technically difficult dive. ing to spend to mount an expedition. Of ers right now. What will the impact of lines, reels, lights. course there will always be a very small technology be on wreck div- MM: Is it a closed site? group of people out there looking for the ing? MM: Has it made wreck diving safer? rare wrecks that haven’t been visited or RF: The site is not opened to sport diving. found. Their work will continue, limited JC: We are going to see nitrox rebreath- RF: I believe it has, but it also has opened The Ministry of Culture and the United by their imagination and the equipment ers moving in to the recreational area access to areas that were inaccessible, States government regulate it by treaty. available to them to reach those sites. but deeper exploration is not going to for example, the degree of penetrations The ship belongs to the U.S., but the benefit for that for a while. divers are attempting, which of course French have the authority to do archeo- MM: You recently purchased a Biomarine

JOE PASS 46 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO Historical painting of USS Monitor in action against CSS Virginia by Julian Oliver Davidson (1853-1894) WreckersPeter A. Hughes, profile -Founder A shipwreck is a unique thing; it’s not RF: I use the Techdiver list, but I am becom- like a car or train wreck on land that gets ing increasingly unhappy with the amount cleaned up. It’s a time capsule and histori- of useless information that’s posted. cally important wrecks should be preserved. Unfortunately, bureaucrats tend to get car- ried away with being proprietary over their Where they are today? sites. I see that increasing. I’m fighting to get Billy Deans is retired from diving and is a my foot in the door, establish trust that I’m registered nurse and helicopter medic with not going to pillage and rape the wreck. LifeNet Key West, Key West, Florida. John I’m going to be doing something useful Chatterton remains an active wreck diver LIVE-ABOARDS! and valuable to the agency. It takes a long and resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He time. is a partner with & Exploration Corp, an underwater survey MM: You mentioned the Internet. How and salvage company, and continues as important is it to your work? the owner of Last Breath Productions, which develops underwater projects for television. RF: The Internet might be an old part of the Polly Tapson and Rod Farb both passed information super highway, but in terms away from non-diving related causes in of technical diving it’s very young. I use 2000 and 2003 respectively. ■ Mosaic, a user friendly graphical based internet interface as a vehicle to get into Writer and technologist Michael Menduno the literature, the libraries, the journals. published and edited aquaCorps: The It provides a lot of information for my Journal for Technical Diving (1990-1996), US NAVY’S NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS research. It’s invaluable from that point of which helped usher tech diving into the Bay Islands, Honduras 155 rebreather. Are rebreathers the RF: No. I can’t. It’s an unexpected ship- view. In terms of getting information from mainstream of sports diving, and coined the enabling technology to allow wreck divers wreck that’s quite important in American fellow divers, I haven’t found it to be that term “technical diving.” He also organized to explore more? history and it’s in a country where access valuable thus far. the first Tek, EuroTek and AsiaTek confer- is very difficult. I have permission from the ences, and Rebreather Forums 1.0 and 2.0. RF: Absolutely. Rebreathers are going to be respective governments and so it’s a matter MM: Do you have a favorite online hang Menduno, who is based in California, USA, extraordinarily useful for a limited number of of doing the work. out? remains an avid diver. people. They aren’t going to have a high appeal for recreational divers because of MM: Your exploits have forced you to nego- all the equipment and support required. tiate with a number of governments. There They are going to be useful only to people was the Monitor project with NOAA, the with a specific need that could bring a Alabama with the French. Do you see this return on a financial investment. The ordi- as an increasing activity on your part? nary technical diver is not going to go out

and get a rebreather. But for a small group RF: It is, and getting more difficult because NEW! of explorers, it’s going to be a very useful of the sheer number of wreck sites falling piece of equipment. under government jurisdiction. Access is dif- ficult. Governments are run by bureaucrats MM: What are your personal exploration who are human beings; and human beings, Palua goals over the next 18 months? being what they are, are inherently suspi- cious and proprietary of their territory. The RF: I’m hoping to do a documentary on a problem becomes what I perceive as a new shipwreck in another part of the world. matter of trust. They want to know “why you DESTINATIONS! One that is very historically important. want to do it.” In many instances, unique sites should be protected. However sites MM: Are you going to tell me the name of it should allow diving access so that at the or… very least, people can be educated about www.DivEncounters.com them. US NAVY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Historical illustration of USS Monitor at sea

47 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO The Drowned Lands of

DoggerlandText by Peter Symes Photos courtesy of Cor Kuyvenhoven, Jesca Zweijtzer and St. Andrews University

48 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO COR KUYVENHOVEN feature Doggerland

Once upon a time there was a land... Doggerland—a huge area of dry land that once stretched from Scotland to Denmark—was slowly submerged by water between 18,000 BC and 5,500 BC. Today it is a shallow bank and productive fishing ground in the middle of the North Sea.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Doggerland, or Dogger Bank as it is called today, is located in the middle of the North Sea between the countries of Great Britain and Denmark; Diver at offshore drilling rig ((left) PREVIOUS PAGE: Sunken fishing

COR KUYVENHOVEN vessel with nets

49 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO An Agent Based model, a virtual visualisation, of life in the Mesolithic Age in Doggerland (right); feature Illustration of settlement (below); Fossil of mam- Doggerland mouth remains found at Dogger Bank (below inset)

“Doggerland was the real heartland of Europe until sea levels rose to give us the U.K. coastline of today.” ­— Dr Richard Bates, geophysicist, St Andrews University

Glancing at a map of Europe, the North Sea appears to be quite an expanse of featureless open sea separating Scandina- via and the European mainland from the British Isles. The North Sea is, however, not an oceanic abyss but a shallow sea flood-

ing a low-lying part of the con- COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY tinent. During the last Ice Age when sea levels were much coast to the Netherlands and the human population numbered in lower, Britain was connected to western coasts of Germany and the tens of thousands during the mainland Europe by a big land- Denmark and down the English Stone Age. It had its maximum mass called Doggerland. Geo- Channel as far as the Channel extent about 20,000 years ago logical surveys have suggested Islands. Research suggests that although part of this area would that it stretched from Britain’s east it was a rich habitat sustaining a have been covered with ice.

DR EUGENE CH’NG, / COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY

noceros. Interest in the and valleys, large swamps and tre of Doggerland, fed by the area intensified in the lakes with major rivers dissecting a River Thames from the west and 1930s when commercial convoluted coastline. As the sea by the Rhine in the east. It may trawlers dragged up a rose, the hills would have become have been the richest hunting,

COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY number of prehistoric an isolated archipelago of low fowling and fishing ground in tools and weapons dat- islands. Europe in the Mesolithic period. When the ice melted, more land ing to an era when the area was At about 8000 BC, the north- From about 6500 BC it gradually was revealed, but the sea level tundra. But it was only when oil facing coastal area of Dogger- became flooded by rising sea also rose. companies started doing exten- land had a coastline of lagoons, levels, reducing the lands to low- For over 100 years, fishing boats sive surveys and geophysical saltmarshes, mudflats, and lying islands which was probably and dredgers have recovered modeling that researchers were beaches, and inland streams abandoned for good after being bones, ancient tree stumps, flint able to re-create what this lost and rivers and marshes, and devastated by a catastrophic tsu- used by humans and the fossilized land looked like. Findings suggest- sometimes lakes. A large fresh- nami. COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY remains of a mammoth and rhi- ed a picture of a land with hills water basin occupied the cen- The wave was generated by Excavation site at Lepe Country Park, United Kingdom

50 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO THIS PAGE: Expedition team members document marine life thriving on Dogger Bank or caught in nets; Biologist Arjan feature Gittenberger (left) with sea snal on coral Doggerland up to 97km (60mi) broad located (6,800 sq mi) with a depth range from approximately right in the middle of 15 to 36 meters (49 to 118 feet) which the North Sea. The bank which is now puts most of this extensive area well a productive fishing ground extends within recreational diving range. over approximately 17,600 sq km Atlantic water enters the North

COR KUYVENHOVEN

COR KUYVENHOVEN

a catastrophic subsea landslide flooding. Analysis suggests the off the coast of Norway. The last tsunami over-ran Doggerland of the three so-called Storegga that has since vanished beneath landslides happened underwa- the waves. ter in the Norwegian Sea, dur- Dr Jon Hill from Imperial Col- ing which an estimated 290km lege London and one of the (180mi) length of Norway’s many researchers who has been continental shelf collapsed. The analyzing this event told BBC slide, which according to car- News: “The impact on anyone bon dating occurred between who was living on Doggerland at 6225-6170 BC, involved the col- the time would have been mas- lapse of some 3,500 cubic km sive—comparable to the Japa- of sediment, enough to cover nese tsunami of 2011. Scotland in a layer 45 meters thick. Given that the majority The area today of Doggerland was by this time The Dogger bank, as it is called less than 5m in height, it would today, is a large sandbank have experienced widespread about 260km (160mi) long and JESCA ZWEIJTZER

Monkfish (above); Biologists busy with samples (right) COR KUYVENHOVEN

51 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO feature Doggerland

COR KUYVENHOVEN JESCA ZWEIJTZER COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY

THIS PAGE: Scenes from expeditions to Dogger Bank to document marine life and archeological sites as well as remove fishing nets; Diving this remote area requires a larger vessel suitable for weather conditions on open sea such as the Old Begium marineship Cdt.Fourcault (left)

covering the whole of the main North Sea basin, showed clear north-south differences in diver- sity, abundance, biomass and average individual weight of the COR KUYVENHOVEN soft-bottom fauna. The deeper shipping routes in the world area. The German federal agen- northern regions had higher diver- and having been the stage cy for nature conservation calls it sity, lower biomass, and lower of several epic navy bat- a “fascinating gem of European individual than the shal- tles, the area is also home marine life” and a world of reefs low southern regions. to many good dive-able and sandbanks that “offer a rich Most of the seabed in the North wrecks whose misfortunes home to exceptionally rare and Sea hosts soft-bottom communi- seem to have been strewn vulnerable species”. ties. On the rocky bottom, kelp generously across the Being located in the middle of forests are widespread, and many COURTESY OF ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY JESCA ZWEIJTZER banks. the North Sea, Dogger Bank con- species of flora and fauna find Sea mainly from the north. The North Sea water mixes with less But it is its natural resources that stitutes a bio-geographical divide shelter, food and surfaces for to the benthic community: crusta- topography produces an coun- saline water from the Baltic, and is are its prime asset. The North Sea with cold-adapted benthic (living attachment on the kelp and the ceans, molluscs, annelids, echino- ter-clockwise circulation. Water transported north along the Nor- is one of the world’s most produc- on or in sea bottoms -- ed.) spe- surrounding rocky substrate. The derms and others. entering from the Channel moves wegian west coast. tive areas for fish, and a large cies to the north and life forms benthos consists of the organisms As the North Sea is shal- eastward along the Belgian and With the North Sea being criss- number of commercially impor- preferring more temperate waters living near, on or in the seabed. low, there is a strong coupling Dutch coast. In the Skagerrak, the crossed by some of the busiest tant species are caught in this to the south. A 1986 survey, A wide variety of animals belong between benthic and pelagic

52 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO feature Doggerland

JESCA ZWEIJTZER JESCA ZWEIJTZER

processes, making the region North Sea Clean), extremely productive. The diver- has been organiz- sity of the offshore benthic com- ing expeditions to munities is high, except in areas the Dogger Bank of direct industrial impact, such with the aim of as offshore oil fields. both document- There are also only a few areas ing the nature of the North Sea that are not in these remote fished or left undamaged by areas and to trawling. In particular the beam remove lost fishing trawl -- which virtually ploughed gear. The removal up the seabed -- can cause of the ghost- damage to substrates and ben- fishing nets have thic habitats by altering sediment previously been structure and destroying ben- described by thic organisms. These structural Peter Verhoog in changes may have long-term X-RAY MAG #40: negative effects on the structure www.xray-mag. and productivity of the benthic com/content/ community. JESCA ZWEIJTZER ghostfishing. ■ be unpredictable. Due to its remoteness Diving and the logistical challenges, the area is For more information on the Dutch expedi- With its location far out to sea, largely unexplored by divers and with that tions, visit: www.expeditiedoggersbank.nl. diving on the Dogger Bank comes a unique sense of exploration and For more information on the photographer, requires the support of a larger adventure that is otherwise hard to find in Cor Kuyvenhoven, visit: www.corkuyven- vessel suitable for the conditions the middle of Europe. Since 2011 a Dutch hoven.com. in the open sea, as weather can JESCA ZWEIJTZER team, Duik de Noordzee Schoon (Dive Our THIS PAGE: Expedition members explore wreckage, marine life, documenting findings on film

53 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO opinion

Scuba Confidential How Did That Get in There? —Water in the Tank Mystery

Text by Simon Pridmore Anna’s husband, an experienced that a diver would only get a few min- amount of water inside ing the interior. instructor, takes up the story. “I had utes of air. Some might interpret the story accumulates until you have So apparently Anna’s story Anna’s story: “I was on my checked my wife’s set up as usual pre- simply as a mistake or a misunderstand- little pools forming in the is not far-fetched after all. eighth or ninth dive, about five dive. The pressure gauge was showing ing on the part of a new diver with a sup- bottom. The moisture inside With her cylinder containing a 190 bar on the surface. I had a habit of portive husband. causes corrosion inside the large amount of fresh water, minutes in and at a depth of checking on Anna frequently because However, when I heard the story, it cylinder, too. the volume of air in the cylin- around 13 metres when I real- she was still quite new to diving. A few brought to mind something that I came Bear in mind that we der was quite small, so once ized that my air was not com- minutes into the dive, I saw her hovering across when I ran my dive store in Guam were in Guam, part of she started her dive, she used ing out smoothly. I couldn’t away from the in mid water, sensed a few years ago. We used to conduct the United States where it up very quickly. The reading something was wrong and swam towards annual visual inspections on cylinders a stringent system of cyl- on her pressure gauge must think why this should be. I had her. She gave me a wide-eyed look and owned by local residents and were sur- inder inspections applies have been dropping fast dur- checked my pressure gauge on pointed at her regulator. I glanced at prised to often find a few centimetres of and is enforced by dive ing those first few minutes of her descent and it had shown 190 her gauge and saw it was at zero so I water in the bottom of the cylinder. This operators. The maximum dive, but she did not notice. bar. I switched to my octopus, gave her my octopus and we went up was always fresh water, not seawater. length of time between together. We made some enquiries and found that inspections is 12 months, Fuzzy thinking but there was no difference. “I was puzzled as to how a full tank this is fairly common and comes from the so inside the cylinders we Why do dive centres fill cylinders Soon the air became very thin. could become empty so quickly. It was almost universal practice in dive stores were opening, several while they are standing in water? I tried to stay calm and thought definitely no more than ten minutes into around the world of filling scuba cylinders centimetres of fresh water They do it for three reasons: the dive that the incident took place while they are standing in a bucket or a had built up in less than a for a few seconds. Everyone was and there had been no O-ring blow out. trough of water. year. 1. To keep the cylinder cool so going deeper and nobody was I removed the regulator from her tank The fill whips, hoses that are clamped In many places in the they can fill it faster and the air looking at me. By now the air after the dive then turned the valve on onto the valves of scuba cylinders to fill world where people pressure inside will not drop so had completely stopped and I fully. Nothing came out. Some instinct them, sometimes drop into the water dive, including the island much when it cools. (Divers object made me turn the tank upside down trough between cylinder fills. When they nation where Anna’s if they don’t get a “full” tank!) was holding my breath. I knew and, to my surprise, and to the surprise of are then attached to the valve of the dive took place, there something was very wrong. everyone around us, water started flow- next cylinder and the airflow is turned are no regulations gov- 2. As a convenient way to wash ing out of the valve—fresh water!” on, the pressure of the air in the fill whip erning cylinder inspec- salt off the cylinder post dive Then my husband looked around and is higher than the pressure of the air in tion, so it is not impos- saw that I was not following. He came An incredible story? the cylinder and the water droplets are sible that a cylinder 3. To protect the filler from harm if back to me, gave me his regulator and It seems incredible that a standard size driven into the cylinder. could go for many years the cylinder explodes during filling took me up to the surface with him.” scuba cylinder should be so full of water Fill the cylinder several times and the without anyone examin-

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All three of these No need for a bath? reasons are the It is worth noting here that product of fuzzy not all dive centres that fill thinking. cylinders in water are igno- rant, negligent and unsafe. INTRODUCING 1. Filling the cylinder There are many dive centres in water has very little that do this but fully recog- POSEIDON impact on the cylinder nise the potential issues and , partly take elaborate precautions SE7EN because the water to make sure the fill whips around it gets warmer. no and cylinder valves stay Fast filling still causes plastic dry during the process so the cylinder to get bucket or that water does not get into hot, and it has to be concrete their cylinders. filled to 20 bar or so trough is going to But if the likelihood that a scuba beyond its rated pres- protect the person fill- cylinder will explode during filling sure, so that when it cools, the ing it. Instead, it might is so remote, if a water trough will pressure of the air inside will be just contribute more shrapnel to not protect a filler if it does hap- 200 bar. (The only effective way the explosion. pen, if the water is not really an to stop a cylinder getting too effective way of removing salt or hot while it is being filled is to fill it Having said this, those aluminium reducing the cylinder’s tempera- slowly and from a bank of large cylinders that exploded were ture, and, crucially, if the practice cool high-pressure air cylinders made from a 6351 alloy contain- of wet-filling can lead to an inci- rather than directly from the com- ing lead, and it was the presence dent such as Anna’s, why do it at pressor.) of lead in the alloy that created all? the problems that caused them to Ironic, isn’t it, that, from day 2. Using the fill bucket to wash explode. Since 1988, no aluminium one, divers are constantly told the salt off the cylinder is ineffec- scuba cylinders have been made always to leave some air in their tive as all that happens is that using this alloy or with any alloy cylinder at the end of a dive so the water the cylinder stands containing lead. The vast majority that no water can get in! And becomes a little salty. A quick of scuba cylinders in service today yet... ■ blast with a hose before the cyl- worldwide (including all cylinders inder is taken into the compressor made by Luxfer and Catalina— Simon Pridmore has been part of room does a much better job. the top two manufacturers) are the scene in Asia, made from an alloy called 6061. Europe and the USA (well, Guam) 3. Aluminium cylinders have Although during annual inspec- for the past 20 years or so. His exploded during the filling process tions, cracks have occasionally latest book, also called Scuba in the past, and when this hap- been found in 6061 cylinders, Confidential, is available in paper- pened, the consequences have none has exploded—ever! And back and e-Book on Amazon. www.poseidon.com often been fatal. However, an there are hundreds of millions out exploding cylinder is a bomb, and there.

55 X-RAY MAG : 61 : 2014 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO media Truk Lagoon Dive Truk Lagoon: The Japanese WWII Pacific Shipwrecks, by Rod Macdonald. Everything you wanted to know and more about one of the greatest wreck diving locations in the world, all here in one book. Held in secret and fortified by the Japanese during the 1930s, this hidden lagoon in the central Pacific served as a for- ward anchorage for the Japanese fleet. Around 1944, the U.S. and Allied discovered this haven and attacked. Many ships were sunk, which are now grown over with rich marine life. Mostly forgotten since the end of the war in the Pacific, the many underwater treasures of this lagoon came to world-wide attention after filmed several of the wrecks for a television documentary in 1969. Many of the wrecks were untouched since WWII. Today, thousands of divers flock to Truk to see the wrecks for themselves, from Japanese Navy bat- tleships to U.S. carriers, laden with war cargoes.

Deep, by James Hardcover: 288 pages Nestor. Follow the Publisher: Whittles Publishing author as he jour- Date: 31 July 2014 USS Indianapolis The clearest neys into the world ISBN-10: 1849951314 and most of freediving, ISBN-13: 978-1849951319 Out of the Depths: An Unforgettable strain free inspired by the WWII Story of Survival, Courage, and pair of extreme athletes the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, sunglasses you in the field and by Edgar USMC Harrell, David Harrell, will ever own or renegade scien- Adventure Oliver North. The authors delve into a your money back tists investigating tale of one of the worst naval disas- the limits of the Heart of the Maya, by Eric Douglas. The ters in U.S. history. On 30 July 1945, the ● Blocks 100% of UVA/B human body fifth book in the Mike Scott Adventure se- USS Indianapolis, in the South Pacific and UVC as well as all and mind. He ries evolves around the theft of an ancient with 1196 souls aboard and a secret annoying blue-light addresses other Mayan statue as well as a kidnapping cargo of uranium for atomic bombs, secrets of the underwater world, and a murder, leading the story’s protag- was hit by six torpedoes in the mid- ● Fully polarized for ultra little known abilities of marine life, how whales can onist, Mike Scott, on a diving adventure dle of the night. The ship sank and the crisp visuals on the water communicate with each other over huge distances, in the of the Mayan Riviera. By crew faced five terrible days fend- how sharks can swim straight lines through areas chance he finds out that the death of ing for themselves in open ocean. ● Feather-weight frames of ocean where no light reaches, and how seals a friend 25 years ago was not an acci- Dehydration, exposure, shark attacks made of ultra durable can dive for up to 80 minutes to depths previously dent. To solve this murder mystery, Mike and saltwater poisoning plagued the Grilamid memory plastic thought impossible. He shares his own experience in sets out in pursuit of a missing Mayan crew, many of whom perished by the freediving, as he trains with the pioneers. statue containing the “heart of the time they were miraculously rescued. ● Lifetime replacement Maya” while a deranged drug dealer program covers you against Hardcover: 272 pages murders a friend and sows corruption Hardcover: 192 pages any self inflicted damage of Publisher: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt among the Mayan people. Publisher: Bethany House Publishers any kind Date: 24 June 2014 Date: 6 May 2014 ISBN-10: 0547985525 Paperback: 220 pages ISBN-10: 0764212605 5% of all sales goes ISBN-13: 978-0547985527 Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st ed. ISBN-13: 978-0764212604 to Diveheart Date: 13 May 2014 ISBN-10: 1499544367 www.bendettioptics.com ISBN-13: 978-1499544367

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