Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

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Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

In this essay, sports psychologist and technical diver Matt Jevon draw some parallels between the sport of technical diving and the sport of motorcycle racing, including attitudes and behaviors regarding the inherent dangers and risks, sharing insights into our own nature as divers and adventurists. Images by: Barb Roy

Divers in training doing their safety stops

 

 Photo by Barb Roy. A good few years ago, I was a newly minted sports psychologist. I had three years of supervised experience, after getting my graduate degree. I was looking to get involved in a practice as soon as possible, applying all that knowledge and theory I had acquired. One of my first roles was working with a motorcycle racing team, a very interesting setup. I was working with youngsters, from 13 and 14 years of age, up to senior riders, all of whom were connected through the manufacturer’s team. The youngsters raced on single-make series 125cc and 250cc motorcycles, depending on age; they then moved on to Supersport World Championship races; and finally, for the talented few—Grand Prix motorcycle racing. False assumptions In the first meeting with the team, I mistakenly went in with a few assumptions—classically making a fool of myself. One assumption I had was that I would have to deal with issues about the dangers, speed, and risks of motorcycle racing—perhaps having to develop strategies to manage concentration blips caused by threats (or “cognitive intrusions”, in psychology parlance) after a moment of control loss, or a competitor running them wide, etc.

Diving Ocean

Nothing could have been further from reality. The same false assumptions are often made when people find out that I cave dive or engage in deep mixed-gas closed circuit rebreather (CCR) diving. I am looked upon as an adrenaline junkie or thrill-seeker. When I tell people that I love diving with sharks, they start looking around for nurses and straitjackets. At that point, even though I try to explain how much care I take to be safe, it often merely looks like I am either a fool who does not understand the risks—which, of course, the uninitiated clearly understand better than I do—or I am a hero in rubber and latex, which is, needless to say, rather unlikely. At any rate, my experience to date in training and diving with some of the world’s pre-eminent cave and technical divers has shown me huge parallels with the motorcycle and rally drivers, with whom I have worked. None of them are thrill-seekers. In fact, they are the opposite. This does not mean they ignore or blank out the risks entirely. They coolly and calmly assess the risks, then formulate strategies and responses to deal with these risks. Once satisfied that the risks have been managed, their conscious and subconscious minds are free to focus on the objective—winning. Accomplishing a successful dive mission or winning a race is indeed similar. Interestingly, motorcycle rally as a sport has a great saying: “To finish first, first finish!” The same is true in diving: To have a successful dive, finish alive! Motivation So what drives technical and cave divers to set and pursue their goals? Challenge. Well, for some, it is clearly the challenge of exploring their personal limits. In any field of human endeavour, this is a great driver and motivator. I see these guys as students and for a while as peers, working their way up through the levels until they hit the outer edges of certification programmes. But then, after a couple of years or less, they drop out or fall back. Job done, goal achieved. Self identity. For others, it’s about the love of what they get to be, the sense of self and identity—the element of both uniqueness and individuality involved in being at the highest level of a sport. In short, it’s about the passion to be different, to be excellent, in a society that all too often seems to pander to the average or worse, the lowest common denominator. So, I can empathise with the drive for excellence; it is a boost to one’s self-esteem to be a little bit different, to be unique, to be part of a small and select group. Because it’s there. For many, it’s the Everest story: They dive a wreck or a cave “because it’s there”. For some, that feeling of discovering a new wreck, of exploring a virgin cave and laying a new line, can’t be beat. Hardships will be suffered; the edge of acceptable risk will be pushed and sometimes exceeded; but the experience of being the first human to set foot on a ship since it sank over 100 years ago, or to explore a new cave passage or connect a system, will be the reward that pays back again and again. Achievement. It’s not a question of whether or not the experience rewards or satisfies the ego. For some, it’s all about the task and the process to reach the outcome. Both ego and task work well as positive drivers. A person who is both highly ego-driven and highly task-driven is the most likely to succeed. In fact, these characteristics are key predictors of talent in high performance sport and business as well as in diving. Beating the odds. There is also a huge satisfaction to be gained in simply beating the odds. For some, this is exultation; for others, relief. It depends on whether or not the major part of your motivational make-up is linked to a need to achieve or avoiding a fear of failure. For me, when I played rugby, winning was a relief, first and foremost—a vindication of the training, the preparation and the hard work. After that, was the celebration. I feel the same coming out of a deep dive or a cave—a complete satisfaction at having managed the odds. I need to review and embed this reaction before I can enjoy the “success” of the dive. Stressors Conversely, the things that cause the greatest stresses in motor sports include dealing with sponsors, discomforts of travel and strange hotel rooms, legal and insurance issues, not to mention, family and friends. It’s not too different from diving. That is where the real psychological work is done: making sure that none of these issues interfere with concentrating on the objectives. Risk-takers and thrill-seekers So, do people dive for the thrill, for the element of risk? I am certain there are some who do. I have met a few, and not always with big egos either. They just have a need to go beyond their comfort zones in order to feel alive. Some cultures seem more prone to excessive risk-taking and thrill-seeking than others. The strange thing is this: The thrill-seekers will probably take risks on dives which could be properly managed with the right training, kit and preparation. I cannot say I have come across these traits in the divers I have met who have truly achieved feats of exploration and are still here to share those experiences with us. These pioneers take a more thorough approach to often much bigger risks, building in safety and maximising performance by knowing how to manage and mitigate those risks. Whatever the reason you dive, whether it’s because the wreck or cave “is there”, or because you like to be an individual, or because you like to coolly and calculatedly beat the odds—good on you, and dive safe. Stay away from the thrill-seekers. Stay safe, stay focussed. ■ A native of the Republic of Ireland, Matt Jevon, MSc., is an experienced and passionate open and closed circuit 100m trimix diver and full cave diver. Whether using backmount, sidemount or his favourite JJ-CCR rebreather, Jevon believes technical diving is all about being safe, having an awesome dive and enjoying experiences few people share. Jevon holds instructor qualifications from TDI, PADI TECREC and IANTD, and partly owns South West Tech—a TDI dive centre in Ireland. Jevon is also an approved JJ-CCR instructor and dealer. In addition, he is a sports psychologist, senior rugby coach and works in strategy and private equity. For more information, please visit: www.swt.ie  Download the full article ⬇︎ ↪ Click here to download pdf (then right-click on link to save) Originally published on page 74 X-Ray Mag #74

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Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

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Dive Ireland International 2015

Dive Ireland International 2015

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Dive Ireland nternational 2011
Dive Ireland International 2015

The Irish Underwater Council (CFT) in association with Lough Derg Sub Aqua Club dive Ireland 2015
delighted to announce the 24th Annual International Dive Show at the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh, Co Tipperary on the 28th of February & 1st of March. For divers, snorkelers, and anybody interested in discovering a new world, dive Ireland International 2015 is the place to be.

 

Lough Derg Sub Aqua Club who is hosting the event is currently securing an unrivaled program of the world’s top diving speakers. All the latest dive equipment and gadgets will be displayed
with expert speakers covering a wide range of interesting topic areas to cater to everybody’s interests.

The CFT AGM and Diving Officer’s conference will be hosted on day two of the Dive Show.

Source: www.diving.ie

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Behind the Mask – Tee am See / Tea by the Lake

Behind the Mask – Tee am See / Tea by the Lake

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Behind the Mask – Tee am See / Tea by the Lake

Drinking tea at the lakeside of Green Lake early in the morning you could find yourself suddenly in a dreamlike and surreal world in which unexpected encounters may happen. ‘Tea by the Lake’ was filmed at the Green Lake in Austria from 8 to 11 July 2014. For more impressions and for information about the movie, the location, the diving, and the video production you can find us on our Website: behind-the-mask.com

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Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

Blog In this essay, sports psychologist and technical diver Matt Jevon draw some parallels between the sport of technical diving and the sport of motorcycle racing, including attitudes and behaviors regarding the inherent dangers and risks, sharing...

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Artur Kozlowski died exploring last section of Irish Pollonora Cave

Artur Kozlowski died exploring last section of Irish Pollonora Cave

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Artur Kozlowski died exploring last section of Irish Pollonora Cave

Efforts will resume today to recover the body of a diver who died exploring a cave in Co Galway.

The alarm was raised when Artur Kozlowski, (34), a Polish man who was one of Ireland’s most experienced cave divers, failed to resurface from a diving trip in a flooded inland cave on Monday night.

Members of the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation located his body last night, nearly 24 hours later, about 52 metres down in the deepest section of the cave.

They plan to bring it to the surface during the day.

Mr Kozlowski had been living in Ireland for a number of years and held several records in Ireland and Britain, including one for the longest and deepest cave traverse of 103 metres.

He had enough oxygen to last more than six hours when he went into the water at Pollonora cave, Kiltartan about two and a half miles north of Gort at 3pm on Monday.

His close friend and experienced diver Jim Warney found the Polish national’s body in an underwater passage at around 6pm yesterday.

It took Mr Warney an hour to dive to the narrow passage where the victim lay with his oxygen tanks and guide rope fully attached.

The location where he was found is almost a kilometre from the access point to the cave and is 52 metres deep.

The family of the diving training instructor in Poland were informed of his death shortly after the search diver returned to the surface.

The rescue team has now requested the assistance of a UK dive rescue unit to assist in the recovery of Mr Kozlowski’s body.

Mr Kozlowski was on the final day of an underground expedition when he vanished.

The Polish national was regarded as the most prominent cave diver in the country — and it was hoped that he had sought sanctuary in an air pocket in the extensive underground cave network.

Experienced

Originally from Poznan in Poland, Mr Kozlowski lived in Shankill, Dublin, and was known to his Irish friends as Artur Conrad.

He arrived at the rural location in Co Galway on Saturday, and spent Sunday diving, before going underground for a final exploration on Monday.

Mr Warney’s search last night was his second dive in less than 24 hours, having spent Monday night searching after the alarm was raised.

After two divers searched an initial 350 metres to no avail, Mr Warney examined an un- searched area of the 800 metre-wide cave which is 52 metres deep.

Conor McGrath of the Irish Cave Rescue Organisation said a considerable air space had been discovered halfway into the underground cave and that they had hoped to uncover more. “The air space is near the surface so that gives us hope that the cave may have more similar air spaces and that he is in one of them,” Mr McGrath said before the discovery of the diver’s body.

“He is very experienced. He has very good equipment, very good training and very good knowledge. He is the only one who has been into this cave to its known limits,”

All five divers involved in yesterday’s search were friends of Mr Kozlowski. A quantity surveyor by trade, he had been living in Dublin since 2006 and began cave diving in 2007.

Friends said he quickly became involved in all aspects of cave diving and soon opened his own training company.

In 2008, he recorded the deepest underwater cave dive in Ireland and the UK at Pollatoomary, Co Mayo.

Explored

For the past two years he had extensively explored the vast underground cave network in south Galway.

Tom Nolan (86) of Croker House in Kiltartan, Co Galway, had known Mr Kozlowski since he first explored the cave at the rear of the family home in 2007.

Mr Kozlowski became a familiar face at the the bed and breakfast. “He’d come and ask: ‘What room am I in? I’ll dress the bed myself’.

“He arrived on Saturday night and was diving Sunday and Monday.

“On Monday he told my son, John, that he was going for the last stage. He wanted to see if he could connect this with the caves in the Burren. If so, it would be the biggest underground cave network in Europe.

“Artur was underground there one day and he could hear this noise,” said Mr Nolan.

“He checked all his gear to see if there was something wrong and couldn’t figure out where the noise was coming from.

“He kept listening though and eventually figured out it that the noise was from the traffic on the road above him. That is how big it is underground here.”

R.I.P buddy … 🙁

Blog:
http://www.hellandhighwater.eu/

Source: Irish Independent

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Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

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Roman shipwreck full of wine jars found in Albania

Roman shipwreck full of wine jars found in Albania

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Roman shipwreck full of wine jars found in Albania

A US-Albanian archaeological mission claims to have found the well-preserved wreck of a Roman cargo ship off Albania’s coast, complete with some 300 wine jars — all empty, alas.

The 30-meter-long wreck dates to the 1st century BC and its cargo is believed to have been the produce of southern Albanian vineyards en route to western European markets, including France.

A statement from the Key West, Florida-based RPM Nautical Foundation said the find was made 50m deep near the port city of Vlora, 140 kilometers southwest of the capital, Tirana, early this month.

The foundation, in cooperation with Albanian archaeologists, has been surveying a swathe of Albania’s previously unexplored coastal waters for the past five years. So far, experts have located 20 shipwrecks — including several relatively modern ones.

“Taking into consideration the date and also the depth — which is well suited for excavation — I would include it among the top 10 most scientifically interesting wrecks found in the Mediterranean,” said Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi, who participated in the project.

Officials said most of the jars, known by their Greek name of amphoras and used to transport wine and oil, were unbroken despite the shipwreck. However, the stoppers used to seal them had gone, allowing their contents to leak out into the saltwater.

Mission leader George Robb said the ship could have been part of a flourishing trade in local wine.

“Ancient Illyria, which includes present-day Albania, was a major source of supply for the western Mediterranean, including present-day France and Spain,’ Robb said.

Team members retrieved one amphora for examination, before restoring it to the wreck. The site, whose precise location is being kept secret, will be left unexplored until the Albanian archaeological service is in a position to do so.

The monthlong mission ended last week and will be resumed next year. According to Albanian coordinator Auron Tare, it will eventually cover the whole Albanian coastline.

“These five years have shown how rich the Albanian underwater coastline is, and how interesting it could be for international tourists,” he said.

Source: www.waikatotimes.co.nz

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Donegal wreck may have Spanish Armada link

Donegal wreck may have Spanish Armada link

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Spanish armada
Donegal wreck may have Spanish Armada link

TWO SHIPWRECKS discovered off the Donegal coastline may be linked to the late 16th-century Spanish Armada and a separate late 18th-century French armada, despatched to assist Irish rebellion efforts.

However, identification of the two wrecks outside Burtonport harbour may take some time, Connie Kelleher of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s underwater archaeology unit, said yesterday.

The two shipwrecks, one of which is definitely a warship, are lying 200m apart in just four metres of water off Rutland Island close to Burtonport.

Lead shot balls were retrieved during dives in which Ms Kelleher participated yesterday morning. Pottery has also been recovered from within the hull of the possible Spanish Armada ship, which is filled with sediment.

A full excavation of material is under way, as part of a long-term management plan for the location.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan has awarded €50,000 for the work, and the Geological Survey of Ireland’s vessel Keary, named after late geologist Raymond Keary, is providing a support platform for the dive team.

Many of the wrecks already located lie off the north and west coasts, off Inishowen in Co Donegal; Co Sligo; Clare Island, Co Mayo; Co Galway; and Co Clare; and the Blasket Sound in Kerry.

Five of the hulls, or remains of same, have been located off Donegal, and the three wrecks off Streedagh strand in Sligo were the subject of a protracted court action.

The two wrecks now under investigation were originally pinpointed by Donegal divers, including Liam Miller, Oscar Duffy and Michael Early in 2008-2009. At this stage, identification is uncertain, but Ms Kelleher believes they may be “enormously significant”.

The later wreck, possibly French, could be linked to Napper Tandy’s revolutionary efforts. Tandy (1740-1803), who worked with Wolfe Tone in founding the United Irishmen, accepted a French government offer of a corvette, the Anacreon, and sailed from Dunkirk with United Irishmen and arms, arriving on Arranmore island, close to Burtonport, in September 1798.

However, locals were said to be less than supportive of his aims.

Tandy also learned that Gen Humbert’s expedition had been defeated in Mayo. Nevertheless, he took possession of Rutland, hoisted an Irish flag, and issued a proclamation before leaving and sailing north.

The Geological Survey of Ireland, which is mapping Irish inshore areas as part of the national seabed survey Infomar, will use sidescan sonar and magnetometer equipment in the area to check if there are any other ships.

Mr Deenihan said yesterday that he was “delighted” to be able to support investigations into “a major find of significance not only to Ireland, but also to the international archaeological, historical and maritime communities”.

Mr Deenihan said that if one of the wrecks proves to be from the Spanish Armada, it could constitute one of the most intact on this coast to date and could provide “huge insight into life on board and the reality of the military and naval resources available to the armada campaign”.

He paid tribute to the co-operation of the National Monuments Service and the National Museum of Ireland, which will take responsibility for any artefacts recovered.

SPANISH ARMADA

SOME 24 to 26 Spanish Armada ships are believed to have foundered off the Irish coast in 1588 while en route to invade England under the command of King Philip II.

At least 14 of the sunken ships have been extensively mapped to date.

The total armada fleet of 130 ships, with 29,453 sailors and soldiers on board, comprised 65 warships, 25 transport vessels, four galleys and a number of smaller vessels.

When the fleet was defeated in the English Channel, a scattered fleet opted for the Scottish and Irish west coast route home, but ran into storms. “God breathed and England was saved” was Sir Francis Drake’s later remark about the maritime disaster, which resulted in less than 75 per cent of the fleet making it home.

Source: www.irishtimes.com

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Why go tech? Motivations behind technical diving

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