Its been nearly a quarter of century since my return from living in the Cayman Islands and as such – thought I’d revisit some of the fond memories I had down south, one experience in particular where I saw a diversity of technologies come together. It was an experience that reminded me of how our passion to explore drives innovation and broadens our perspective on purpose, priorities and friendships.
As a dive instructor, boat operator and photographer, I have had the great fortune of exploring new worlds of extreme marine environments and with it – the nautical and diving science that goes along with it. Yet sometimes trying to facilitate those experiences beyond a purely 'academic' application is difficult, as I find that I always seem to focus my stories around a scholastic premise. The urge to want to relate a story or experience about what rewards the job of skipping a diving vessel or the sport of technical and extreme scuba diving bring (without getting into a 'technically intensive lecture') is very strong and I am lucky to write about what adventures these new space-age machines allow us to have.
On one particular dive back in 1999, I had the opportunity to see two worlds of diving technology come together in a fantastic spectacle of science, adventure and exploration. For me it emphasized the reason why anyone would want to get into ocean exploration. The Grand Cayman Wall draws tens of thousands of people to this small island every year. For nearly two years I had lived in this beautiful and ecologically rich Caribbean country, my occupation: a charter boat captain and technical dive Instructor. As a diver I spent a great deal of time exploring the Grand Cayman trench using a Closed Circuit Rebreather or ‘CCR’ (an advanced piece of equipment allowing scuba divers to stay down longer and deeper than ever before). The wall we were diving was off Sunset House Dive Resort - a shore-accessible site that boasts some of the best diving on the island. It begins at around 70 feet below the surface and drops to many thousands more in stepping ledges that flow into a trench filled with diverse marine life. The experience of cruising along this wall in the most sophisticated diving equipment available today can only be surpassed by a walk on the moon (and even then I am not sure).
On one particular dive I had the great luck of being paired up with diving pioneer Tom Mount.
As we cruised along the wall at 250 feet below the surface, we felt discouraged that we had not brought along cameras. The visibility, bright ambient light and a plethora of fish made for awesome photo opportunities. In fear of losing the moment we began modelling for each other and taking pictures using imaginary cameras. The entire experience brought upon the realization that the degree of effective exploration is directly related to the intensity of one's looking ability. Searching for that ideal underwater shot without a camera led us to an advantage unhampered by restrictive viewfinders, not to mention the absence of task-loading, fiddling with F-stops and strobe angles (back when digital had not made its real debut into the world of underwater photography). I still have some of those images of Tom posing next to a 12·foot barrel sponge burned solidly in my mind.
But perhaps the most incredible part of the dive was during our ascent. As we worked our way to the top of the ledge I was marvelling at the wonder of how easy technology had made this dive for me. It was those thoughts that primed me psychologically for the next event in an already eventful dive.
Approaching the 60 foot submarine - Like diving with a mechanical whale. The trench below drops thousands of feet. Both myself and the people inside are breathing using re-circulated air. Photos by Bill Coltart
As we slowed to make a deep stop at around 100 feet near the top of the wall's ledge, our silence (one of the many benefits of a Rebreather) was broken by a deafening 'ping' and 'whirr'. Glancing over our shoulders we saw a white mammoth emerge from the abyss, level out on the ledge and face us as if to say- 'Wanna Play?". It was an awesome sight to first see only its front view port peak up over the wall before the remaining 65 feet of steel technology followed. It was like the sun rising over the horizon. The temptation was too great. It only took a quick glance between Tom and I to convey our shared desire to 'stalk' the biggest dive propulsion vehicle one could ever ride. We waved and smiled to the pilots and passengers and when the moment was right, we cautiously slid up next to the viewing ports shadowing the submarine like Remoras clinging to a nurse shark.
Above: Tonia, my wife who crewed aboard the Atlantis XI Passenger submarine
Atlantis XI, was one of the many submersibles in the Atlantis Adventure fleet, a company that ran tours all over the world. It represented another form of diving technology too often overlooked. This particular vessel weighed the same as a 737 plane and could cruise up to two knots carrying 48 passengers and three crew to over 130 feet deep while maintaining a one-atmosphere environment (dry and comfortable).
The Atlantis vessels have become world renowned for their ability to take large populations of people through underwater adventures. Atlantis XI was equipped with two 20 HP thrusters and three 30 HP thrusters to maneuver her around the tightest of reef corners - and her skilled pilots did so every day. A large plenum containing 12 stainless steel canisters of carbon dioxide scrubber compound and a large fan moving 260 cubic feet per minute of freshly oxygenated air through the sub kept the breathing environment safe and healthy.
Along with the Atlantis XI, the operation in Grand Cayman had two deep submersibles capable of 1000 foot deep dives. Together the three subs took thousands of people diving along the Cayman Wall every year. On occassion I had the opportunity to tour the Cayman trench aboard this deep ocean cruising vessel, seeing the density of life that exists at depths below 1000 fsw (305 msw).
While diving along side the large passenger sub with all of the young faces peering out the windows, I know so many will be influenced by this tech. Looking in through the windows at the faces of all the dry people inside, I found it interesting that we were all using the same technology to gain the same experience. Both myself and the people inside were breathing using re-circulated air.
While hovering near this magnificent beast I turned to see how Tom was doing. He was busy working on his third role of imaginary film, taking pictures of the trail of fish following alongside. With all this technology around me I wondered how long it would be before diving the Cayman Wall would be as easy as these fish made it look. Then I took a picture of what it would look like.
~Safe Diving
Commenti