I am here to give you an uplifting and inspiring message, using examples from my own work. I think we’ll give the examples a pass, since they won’t be of much value to you, unless you’re planning to build a submarine or become deep-sea diving accountants, or something of that nature.
The old hard-hat divers—you know, the guys with the big copper helmets and the air hoses—had a terse way of summing up their trade to aspiring young deep-sea divers. They used to say, and I quote, “The bullshit ends on the ladder.”
And they were absolutely right. There comes a moment when the water closes over the top of your helmet and theory becomes reality. The tender says over the phone, “Are you ready to begin your descent?” And you answer, “Roger, Topside. Beginning my descent,” even though every cell in your body is screaming, “Are you out of your mind!?! Get me out of here! Pull me up!”
In commercial diving circles, that particular feeling is given a ‘Sphincter Factor’ of 10.
Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t help but notice that you are now on the ladder.
What happens next? Well, that’s something you will figure out yourself. Mark Twain put it well when he said, “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that he can learn in no other way.”
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2023-utgaven av DIVER Canada.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Fun With a Smart Phone
Compact digital cameras are fast disappearing in favour of smartphones. How about underwater photography?
An Old Encounter
The mighty St. Lawrence River, in its Quebec section, has swallowed hundreds of wrecks through the centuries, many of them still unvisited.
Al is Coming to Diving
You are about to enter another dimension—a scuba dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop…no, not the Twilight Zone…but the AI Zone! Yes, Artificial Intelligence is coming to scuba diving.
Preventing heat exhaustion
Beautiful sunny days have a way of coaxing us outside for adventuring, exploring, and diving. But it’s important to be mindful during your outdoor activities of the risks of heat-related illnesses— especially in the summer.
You Won't Impress Your Cave Instructor
I am so sorry for disappointing you!” My student apologized as he tossed his cave diving light into the gear crate and dropped his fins beside my truck.
THE PERFECT STORM
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY NICOLE WEBSTER
PROTECTING NAYAANO NIBIIMAANG GICHIGAMIIN
The Great Lakes Watershed
Phil Nuytten: DIVER
Industry luninaries remember diving legend Phil Nuytten, OC, OBC, DSc (hon), LLD (hon): magazine publisher, engineer, innovator, artist, businessman, eccentric, raconteur, magician, writer, husband, father... and-first and foremost-diver. (1941-2023)
Phil Nuytten - SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION ADDRESS
A final Soundings column from DIVER Publisher and Senior Editor Phil Nuytten, taken from his 1995 address to students in British Columbia
NEW DEEP CAVE DIVING RECORD SET IN CHINA
Renowned Chinese cave diver Han Ting surfaced after a 12-and-a-half-hour dive to 910.1 feet (77.4m) in Jiudun Cave, a new Asia deep cave diving record. The dive was a part of the Duan’s Juidun Cave Features (DJCF) project.