On the 25th August, 2000, in a ceremony as dignified as the deeds of those that it honoured, the Royal Australian Navy paid tribute to the Clearance Diving Branch with the dedication of a permanent memorial to those Clearance Divers,… Read More ›
OZTeK
The ‘Polly-Gaff’ Gas Analyser
Technology has enjoyed considerable advances since the Polly-Gaff’ Gas Analyser was first announced – almost thirty years ago, in the May 1997 pages of Scuba Diver Magazine —————– The inherent problem with gas analysers is their frailty. While primary diving… 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 ›
Vale Michael Menduno
On the 3rd October 2025, Michael Menduno – one of modern diving’s most enigmatic personalities – died following a stroke. Despite a public persona as the person whose name will, forever, be synonymous with the advent of ‘Technical Diving’ (as… Read More ›
The North Sea Bus
In the early ‘Seventies, the work-horse helicopter of choice for North Sea operations was the Westland Wessex – usually flown by former Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots – with the pilot sitting higher than the cabin. Obliged to always… Read More ›
NEKTONIX 