Extremely BRITISH
Record-breakers, inept instructors, porthole-plunderers, badge-collectors and hi-fi wheelie bins - just some of the subjects to emerge as Brendan O'Brien meets six Brits who take leisure diving to the cutting edge
Mark Andrews: DEEP AIR ADDICT
Braking distances aren't something usually associated with diving, but for Mark Andrews they're vital. "With a standard BC inflate at 76m I won't come to a stop until 92m. With deep air diving this is critical. I now use an Air 2, which will bring me to a stop at 84m," he says.
Mark regularly conducts deep air dives to more than100m, with a rapid descent rate of 50m per minute. His ascent rate is even more mind-blowing at 45mpm until 70m, when the brakes are applied. Diving doesn't get more extreme than this.
The only Professional Scuba Association (PSA) instructor in the UK, Mark is also the British record-holder for deep air diving. He believes that, with the association's training, deep dives on air can be made safely. And in an attempt to prove this he recently completed a dive on air to 156.4m in the Philippines, breaking the 147m world record set by Dan Manion in 1994 (after setting his record, Dan's advice to anyone thinking of breaking it was simply: "Don't do it.")
Mark Andrews explains how it took several months of training to prepare for this dive. "As well as the physical there is the training of the mind over the body. I do a lot of yoga and free-diving exercises, which help with my breathing. On the surface I can lower my heartbeat to 32bpm. During the dive I breathe at a rate of one breath per minute, 30 seconds in and 30 seconds out."
I remember being told in my training that at depth the partial pressure of oxygen would be fatal. "That's only what the 'experts' reckon," says Mark. "I'm told that if my partial pressure of oxygen goes over three bar for more than four minutes I'll get an O2 hit. Says who, though, and based on what?
"There are no set rules, otherwise there'd be no record-breakers. Besides, I manage to minimise the PPO2 levels by using my breathing techniques."
And what of nitrogen narcosis? "Narcosis is often brought on by the smallest of distractions. To avoid these I analyse everything during and after any training dives. My custom-made suit is a good example. The flutter of a suit zip was distracting me and could have been a trigger for narcosis, so my new suit has been designed to avoid this."
Mark learned his deep air techniques with Hal Watts at the Forty Fathom Grotto in Florida, home of the PSA. "There's nothing new about what we do. Deep air techniques have been taught since 1962," says Mark. "What we teach primarily is how to deal with nitrogen narcosis at depth. In this country we have a 51m limit because of the Health & Safety Executive. However, in Minorca, Malta and the States I teach deep air techniques to 74m.
"I get people coming on my courses who deny that they suffer from narcosis. But no one is immune and to demonstrate this I have them carry out diving-related tests at 40m. I watch them do things like look at their gauge and do nothing about it, even when it's down to 50 bar. Because they were narked they were blind to the reading. This is how fatalities are caused."
So what are the benefits of deep air diving techniques? "All we're doing is teaching the extra skills over and above what you already have to dive deep. The benefit is that you don't need to go on technical skills courses or purchase extra equipment.
"I hear people talking about how diving on air to depth is dangerous. Then I hear about these same people going past the depths recommended by their training organisation. I've only got one thing to say to you: I know you're out there and you're on thin ice!"
Chris Hellas: MIXING ADVENTURE WITH CAUTION
"Deep air diving? Because of the effects of narcosis I won't dive past 40m unless I'm on mixed gas," says Chris Hellas, one of the UK's pioneer technical divers.
Chris is one of the lesser-known "names" in the world of technical diving. "I find it difficult to be considered influential," he says. "I often find that the people who like to consider themselves as such tend to make a lot of noise while real practitioners are too busy doing their own thing."
Despite not agreeing with deep air diving, it was a US "underground" magazine that sparked off Chris's interest in technical diving in the early '90s. "I was an active BSAC club diving officer who felt like he was banging his head against a brick wall. I'd explored all the wrecks around the UK that most people think 'one day I'd like to do...' I felt a bit unfulfilled. That's when Mike Menduno published AquaCORPS magazine. It covered subjects like deep air diving, oxygen decompression and deep wreck diving. As I was a DO there were some who thought I should burn hell for even considering these practices but with me it struck a chord."
Chris went on one of the early nitrox courses with Kevin Gurr. "I felt like I was on a launchpad. It was still a bit of a black art mixing gases and I remember one particularly fraught Saturday mixing four cylinders of nitrox. There was very little equipment around. To measure oxygen levels I used a borrowed electronic device from a friend who worked in the medical industry."
After a few years of wreck exploration Chris went on a tri-mix course, which allowed him access to some of the deeper UK wrecks. "We had big ideas and dived on a heap of wrecks not dived before. We felt like we were on the fringe."
But there were problems. "In exploring deep wrecks we constantly ran into all the same difficulties with sites that were broken up and covered in fishing nets. Also we might have tweaked the narcosis and oxygen toxicity problem but the UK's sea was still cold, dark and often unkind. Lots of trips were called off because of the weather. So I eased off a bit and got involved in other aspects of diving."
The new direction was the rebreather, at a time when there was much talk of the device entering the UK market. Chris spent a couple of years on various evaluation projects, working with the likes of Rob Palmer and Dave Crockford.
As a leading figure in the BSAC rebreather implementation scheme, he was partly responsible for putting the brakes on the club's use of rebreathers. "I felt like I'd just told everyone that Christmas was cancelled," he says.
Soon Chris was involved in technical diver training. "At first it was all like-minded people. Then there came a rush of people who wanted to do it just because it was a 'cool thing.' I just couldn't put a handle on why they wanted to do it. This was one reason why I stopped training."
Perversely, his decision stepped up demand for his training talents. "It's weird, the more I say I don't want to be involved in training, the more people believe that I have some mysterious skill that I'm keeping to myself!"
Chris now works with a technical diving group in Florida. "I'm involved with a group who don't accept outsiders readily on cave and wreck exploration using the Halcyon rebreather," he says.
"I'm enjoying what I do with them, as they share some of the same philosophies towards technical diving that I had years ago. How do I get to that wreck or cave system that I can't get to now? I think I've found what I'm searching for."
So where is technical diving heading in Britain? "Nitrox will become more and more popular. However, I believe the industry has become poisoned by money. Too many technical courses are being run by instructors who seem too willing to pass their students.
"I'd like to see a return to five years ago, when people ran and went on technical skills courses for the right reasons - to further their diving, not just to collect another badge."
And rebreathers? "Closed-circuit systems have to become more mature worldwide before they become viable. The attitude towards their training and use needs to change.
"You really don't need one unless you're doing a two-mile cave penetration, taking pictures or travelling somewhere like St Kilda to do mixed-gas diving for two weeks. If you're thinking of using one for any other reasons, you've got too much disposable income.
"Rebreathers just give people the edge they need. There are others who don't need that edge; they just need a new pair of training shoes.
"Finally, I think divers need to do a reality check in the light of all the unfortunate incidents that took place last year. Too many people are losing their lives in tragic circumstances. I've known two of them and what people need to remember is that they don't come back."
Richie Stevenson: WATER'S ONLY SKIN-DEEP
"Adventurous diving is available to anyone - it's just a matter of attitude," says Richie Stevenson. "I remember my Royal Marine training out on Dartmoor. I was cold, wet, seriously hungry and I hadn't slept for days. My sergeant came up to me and shouted: 'Don't worry son, the water's reached your skin, it's waterproof, what's your problem? It can't go any further!'"
What does that have to do with deep mixed-gas diving? "It's the same state of mind that goes into it," explains Richie. "If I believe in my ability to overcome any emergency or eventuality, then I'll succeed at whatever I'm doing. My sergeant was getting me to look at the positive side. I always do the same thing, whether on cave or deep wreck diving."
Perhaps it's this mindset that has enabled Richie to become one of the UK's leading technical diving instructors. Unusually, he is considered to be an expert in both deep wreck and cave-diving expeditions.
Most instructors get too bogged down in training to find time for adventurous diving. How does Richie get round this? "The thing about technical diving is that once you're trained up, unless you belong to a group there's often not that many people to go diving with. I provide trips where divers get to utilise their skills and at the same time get involved in exploration and adventurous diving. That means I get to go on the best of the expeditions. It's imperative that I keep advancing my skills."
Richie built up those skills over several years but, like Chris Hellas, believes something is going horribly wrong with Britain's training of technical divers. "Too many instructors out there are inexperienced. Also, the competition between training agencies has led to cheaper and shorter courses.
"If this trend keeps going we'll be seeing more incidents and that can't be allowed to happen."
What's the answer? "Before you go on any technical diving course, ask the instructors what makes them qualified to teach you. Their skills could save your life one day."
Why go on such a course? "It opens up new doors. Some of my most memorable dives are closed off to those diving on air. I remember diving on a 15,000 tonne liner on the west coast of Scotland in 102m. What an incredible sight! It sits upright and mostly intact. The viz was superb: from the deckrails at 88m I could see the seabed.
"Cave diving can offer similar experiences. There's one system in the Dordogne valley that I did solo - most of my dives are solo. After getting past a boulder restriction at 88m I rose to 40m, then down to 94m before ending up in a vast narrow passage." The views, he says, were "indescribable."
Richie will be sharing some of his experiences at the Dive Show this month: "I'm hoping to show video footage of three passenger liners in UK waters: the Lusitania, Tuscania and Afrique."
What of the future of technical diving? "I'll be brief - the future is the rebreather. I was inspired by Rob Palmer's use of rebreathers and strongly believe that they will open up more of the UK's deeper wrecks."
And his own plans? "It's difficult to talk about them, because people just love to see you fail. I prefer to do it and then talk about it."
After swearing me to secrecy, Richie eventually reveals some of his upcoming projects. One expedition in particular is a spectacular venture, and I ask him if he really believes he can achieve what sounds like the impossible. He smiles: "As I said, attitude is everything. But, if you really want to hear about someone who has achieved the impossible, you'd better speak to Rick Stanton."
Rick Stanton: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Rick Stanton laughs: "The impossible? Is that what Richie said?" I'm eager to find out what it is he achieved and why it was impossible. "I guess it's our expedition to the Emergence du Ressel cave system in France he's talking about - it's where top cave-diver Olivier Isler reached a clear air surface at a distance of 2km and said that no one would be able to go any further on open circuit.
"Well, we have - last August my buddy Jason Mallinson and I went to 3.3km. We plan to go further."
The system has been described as one of the greatest cave-diving challenges in Europe. Yet despite this achievement and their work last year as lead divers in the Wakulla cave-diving project in Florida, where long distances were covered at 100m depth, Rick and Jason (on left in the picture) are not yet diving household names. "We're too busy doing it, plus we're a bit shy of publicity," says Rick.
The pair started off as cavers who soon discovered that they needed diving skills if they wanted to get in deep. "We haven't got a problem taking all our diving kit off to explore caves. We're amphibious," says Rick.
What does an expedition like this involve? "Over three tonnes of equipment and a support team. It's a bit like climbing the Himalayas: lots of small climbs until you're ready for the final summit.
"After 10 days of preparation we were ready. It took 23 hours, 14 of those under water. We used 14 cylinders each and ended up camping in one part of the cave. On our return, because of the average depth of 50m we had to spend several hours decompressing in our underwater decompression habitat."
Picturing state-of-the-art dive kit, I ask Rick who made it for them. "The local council - it's just an upturned wheelie-bin, but it's ideal for decompressing. You can get something to eat and a cuppa and just about fit two people into it.
"For our next trip we're going to equip it with a music system." Not exactly hi-tech, but this is the sort of ingenuity that typifies British divers.
Like other leading technical divers, Rick has strong views on the future. "Lots of people are jumping on the bandwagon." he says. "A lot of them are badge- collectors. They end up forcing themselves into dives they're not really capable of doing.
"I'm very critical of a lot of instructors because they're only in it for the money. They don't have the technical credentials. But there are no short cuts - it takes a number of years to build up the experience. You have to serve your apprenticeship.
"I don't think the technical diving world has reached its plateau yet," says Rick. "I think rebreathers will start becoming more widely used but for the right reasons. Last year in Wakulla we used the CIS Lunar Mk 5 rebreather, which will allow up to 12 hours at a depth of 100m. Rebreathers will enable us to start off a new era of exploration, especially in Europe."
Christina Campbell: STARFISH TROOPER
Christina Campbell learned to dive as a student at St Andrew's University for no other reason than "I was already into watersports and some of my friends were divers". Her interest soon grew, and after graduating she chose to do a diploma in marine archaeology. The course was a long way from the deep diving for which Christina is well known today: "It mostly involved Scottish projects, Bronze Age houses in 3m of loch, that sort of thing."
Christina's love of diving led her to become a founder-member of Starfish Enterprise, a bunch of technical divers once described by another magazine as an "elite group".
"It all started with a group of us who wanted to dive the English Channel's deeper wrecks," she explains. "There were just eight of us originally, who all met up on dive boats. Inevitably to dive wrecks in the 50-60m range we had to learn technical diving skills, and we just taught ourselves. All the information came from the States, as there wasn't really anything available in this country.
"Kevin Gurr had just started to run courses, and kindly ran an exam for us. I found it healthy to be self-taught, as I really had to understand the theory." Several years on, the group has expanded to about 20-25 divers. "The principles remain the same: we still look for undived wrecks, mostly in the Channel. But I wouldn't describe ourselves as an elite, we're just like-minded friends. Anyone who has the skills and time can join us."
I wanted to hear more about the early days of technical diving in the UK. "There were no books and little equipment on the market," says Christina. "We all used heliair and because we were using helium and oxygen we had to design and make all our own hose fittings and other equipment. AquaCORPS magazine was absolutely inspirational. It really questioned BSAC and PADI principles - subjects like deep diving, solo diving and cave diving.
"Since then as part of a group I've dived numerous deep wrecks, including the Lusitania, Andrea Doria and the Britannic (where Christina became the deepest amateur female diver with a dive to 118m).
"We're lucky in the UK - because of clubs like the BSAC we have a strong team ethos, whereas in the States there are more individuals. This is important, as with technical diving everyone needs to work as a team.
"Perhaps one day we'll see a national technical diving club evolve out of the BSAC or another agency."
But Christina reckons society has changed, and with it attitudes to training. "We're more selfish. Years ago there were those who would spend a lot of time getting their National Instructor and First Class Diver award. Now I think far fewer want to get involved, which has led to more beginners being trained by professionals than within the club system.
"I'm not saying it's right or wrong, just that it's the way it seems to be.
"There are more technical divers around. The equipment is getting better and it's easier." Will this cause more incidents? "I don't think so; if there are more it will only be in proportion to the number of divers."
Like many other technical divers, Christina is reluctant to divulge future projects. "I know there are divers out there who will do their best to beat us to any sites we're looking at. The thing is, they could come and join us," she says.
"I would like to go back to the Britannic, and the Lusitania, but we seem to have upset the man who claims to be the owner, so that one is on hold. In the meantime there are plenty of wrecks in the English Channel.
"I've also become interested in cave-diving. I recently did the full cave course with Richie Stevenson in the Dordogne and found a lot of the techniques I learnt useful generally - line-laying, equipment configuration, that sort of thing. It was good fun: big caves and good viz."
And on her Christmas wishlist? "I'd love to dive the wrecks in Bikini Atoll and Papua New Guinea. Some of them are very difficult dives, also very expensive. I'd also like to do some more cave-diving, probably in Mexico.
"A piece of equipment I'd love to have is a CIS Lunar rebreather. I'm adopting a wait-and-see approach to rebreathers but this one has been through a lot of development and appears to be a lot safer."
Serious technical divers who wish to join Starfish Enterprise trips can reach Christina Campbell on 0171 298 3341 during office hours.
Innes McCartney: DIVE, DIVE!
"It's just a tool, it gets me to where I want to go," says Innes McCartney of diving. "Most of the people who dive with me are like that - we're really just interested in submarines. If anyone came to my house they would see over 400 books on submarines, stacks of archive material and a chart on the wall with over 200 positions marked on it.
"If they thought I was obsessive about submarines, they'd be right."
Over the past few years Innes has spearheaded the search for submarines off the British coastline. In 1998 he discovered HMS Affray, the last British sub lost at sea, and this year his team discovered the M1 submarine in 81m of water.
He is also a member of Starfish Enterprise. "It's great being part of that gang; the expeditions are always highly enjoyable," he says. Innes' non-submarine exploits include being the first person in the world to have dived all three illustrious wrecks, the Britannic, Lusitania and Andrea Doria.
His diving journey started in 1990, when he complet-ed his Novice and Sport Diver courses at Fort Bovisand. "On the last day we did the wreck of the James Eagan Layne. I'd already studied this ship's history and now I was diving on it. It was a revolutionary moment for me.
"I already loved history, and now I'd found a way of taking this into my weekends. From this point on all I wanted to do was dive on shipwrecks."
And the submarines? "While working in the States for three years I came across a group of people who were interested in diving on the wrecks of U-boats.
"I'd always wanted to dive on submarines in Britain, but submarines don't have portholes. It's not hard to work out why there weren't that many people interested in joining me.
"In the States, though, U-boats are prized dive sites. They have what is an almost mythological interest about them. After diving one in particular, I could see why. It was found that it should never have been off the New Jersey coastline - according to official records it was sunk off Gibraltar!
"When I came back I worked out that there were over 100 U-boats in the Channel alone that no one was really bothered with. It just snowballed from there."
For the future of technical diving, Innes would like to see a change in attitude. "I'd say that 90 per cent of wreck-divers in this country are acquisitive. Some will do some research as to what wreck they're on but most don't care as long as they get their porthole.
"This can create problems for me and those like me, especially if it's a war grave. If anyone dives with me on a war grave, they needn't think about bringing anything up. Unfortunately, the law to protect wrecks is about as useful as Prohibition was in the 1920s."
Innes works for one of the big accountancy firms as a knowledge manager, "looking after everyone's brains. During the day I do business research, in the evening I research history and at weekends I put it into practice."
Luckily his dedication to submarine research is shared by his girlfriend, tri-mix diver Patricia Hornabrook, who joins him on all his expeditions. Is there room in his life for any other interests? "I'm an Arsenal supporter. If I'm not travelling to a dive I'll be going to a match."
As for his diving plans, "I'm going to continue working on identifying more U-boats in the Channel and I'll stay involved with the Starfish expeditions. The real challenge will be to build a supportive team of divers to help with my future projects."
And his motivation? "The greatest reward is when relatives can find out what happened to their sons, husbands or brothers - there is no greater experience. This was especially so with the Affray and M1."
You can hear Innes McCartney at the Dive Show this month, and if you are interested in joining his expeditions, contact him on: innes@dial.pipex.com
Appeared in DIVER - October 1999
