General

Old Bottles

For more than two hundred years, Sydney Harbour has been a focal point of Australian life.  For immigrants fleeing countries either torn apart by war, or facing economic collapse, arrival in Sydney Harbour marked the beginning of a new life. … Read More ›

‘Margaret’ and Me

In the early ‘seventies the heavy demand for divers to work on the North Sea gas and oil platforms exceeded supply.  Wages were high.  So was the diver mortality rate. Confronted by a harsh environment and difficulties not previously encountered… Read More ›

Vale John Whitehead

Death seems intent on proving itself to me to be life’s last ‘Great Adventure’. On the weekend of October 4th & 5th 2025, yet another of my closest – and longest lasting – friends died.  John Whitehead was a man… Read More ›

Dive ‘Talk’ 3 – Visual

A continuation of the two earlier pieces on underwater communications, “Dive ‘Talk’ 1 – Manual”, and, “Dive ‘Talk’ 2 – Accoustically Speaking.” Flags: Flown from a vessel tendering to divers, or from a tethered surface safety float – especially when… Read More ›

The Cell Door Saga

On Tuesday, 13th April, 1999, John Lippmann, the late, Bob Ramsay, Grahame Weir and myself settled down in the former Billiard Room at Raffles Hotel, Singapore, for a quiet little drink as a prelude to the start of the following… Read More ›