saturation diving

The Deep Scattering Layer

First noticed during the latter stages of the Second World War when hydro-graphic survey ships equipped with echo sounders showed a ‘phantom seabed’ appearing on the graphs, the Deep Scattering Layer (DSL) often appeared many hundreds of fathoms above that… Read More ›

Keeping Dry

Hailed as a prophetic masterpiece of science-fiction when it was first published in 1869, Jules Verne’s, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, overlooked the earlier achievements of Augustus Siebe and his diving helmet and standard flexible dress. A diving breakthrough… Read More ›

The Working Diver

A well respected commercial diving supervisor working on the offshore oil and gas rigs once told me that, ‘the ability to dive is not a panacea for the skills one lacks.’; a piece of wisdom that’s often overlooked by those… Read More ›

A Corkhead’s Chronicle

A Corkhead’s Chronicle: Experiences of a Royal Navy Clearance Diver 1955 – 76 By: David J Lott BEM A riveting page-turner, ‘A Corkhead’s Chronicle’ is an enthralling, warts-and-all account of one man’s life and experiences as a Royal Navy Clearance… Read More ›

The Diver’s Prayer

For all of his faults – and he has lots of them – my former dive buddy, Krabbmann, always tries to maintain a grasp on what’s important in diving and what’s not. Sadly, however, he usually fails to apply the… Read More ›