Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00B5_01BFF71D.B9116360 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have just returned from a caving trip to Boesman's Gat. Boesmans is = about 6 hours away from Johannesburg, at an altitude of 1550m, near the = border between Botswana and South Africa (this is the place that Sheck = Exley and Nuno Gomes both mounted deep scuba record dives and, if memory = serves me correctly, Nuno eventually reached 281m). Boesmans is a logistically tough dive- you need to bring everything = including a generator to charge dive lights and a spade to do the = necessary ablutions. Our dive party consisted of 3 Inspirations, 1 = Halcyon, 2 non-DIR OC divers and 2 DIR OC divers (Greg Maude "GM" and = Myself "SM"). We brought 5 helium and 5 oxygen 50l's as well as a = compressor, a Haskel and a mountain of twinsets and stages. =20 The camp site is situated at the top of the hole and you need to trek = all dive gear down a very steep, rocky slope to the water. It takes = about 15 mins to hike from the compressor to the waters edge, down the = slope (it is impossible to walk antthing bigger that a twinset down). = It took me at least 3 trips to get all my personal gear down. Although = the plan was to do mix fills at the bottom of the hole, via a long high = pressure hose running from the compressor, this proved difficult to do = accurately and we ended up trekking the twinsets back up in order to = fill at the compressor, the deco stages gernerally lasting more than one = dive. The entrance is a small, shallow pool (4m x 10m) with a hole in the = bottom (at -5m) that I could just fit through with 2 stages. The shot = line that was put in my Nuno and Sheck starts at the surface and goes = all the way down to -200m. Once you are through the hole, the crack = opens up and the descent begins. At -20m, the area is pretty large with = several small tunnels and cracks going off. The tunnel really starts to = open up at -30m and at around -40m, you come out on one wall of the = massive central chamber. =20 It is truly impossible to describe the overwhelming sense of size that = you get when you come out of the tunnel. The shot line drops down out = of site below and the side wall stretches out of reach of your lights. = Not even the HID was able to reach any other walls. It is difficult to = judge viz in such a vast space, but from -50m we could clearly see the = shot line dropping down to at least -80m as well as the sunlight light = above us at the entrance and the walls stretching away. Dive 1 DIR team of GM and SM decided that our first dive would be to -55m and = just start laying line to see how far we could go round one of the = sides. We planned on a bottom time of around 25 mins and we put in = around 100m of line, just moving along the one wall. At this point, the = roof started closing in, forcing us to go deeper and we decided to call = the dive and return with a 65m mix the next day. Deco went smoothly and = we spent at least 1 hour floating on the surface and sitting around = before we began the climb out of the hole. =20 You definitely do not want to get bent here as it is a long, long way to = any chamber! So we ran gf's of 20/90 and did an additional 5 mins at 3m = as well as a slow ascent from there to the surface. Dive 2 Due to some problems in mixing GM's bottom gas, we decided to spend 45 = mins exploring the small cracks and tunnels in the shallow part on the = entrance tunnel. Dive 3 We realised that nobody had ever completed an circumnavigation of = Boesmans and GM and SM set that as our goal for the trip. We were now = mixed up for 65m and planned for 16mins at 55m and then 20mins at 65m in = order to give us lots of time to lay new line. We managed to lay = approximately an additional 150m of line, bringing the total to 250 with = the depth now at -65m (the roof was now just above us). The sensation = of being that far back in completely clear water, floating on the side = of a wall that drops down to at least -280m is something I will never = forget. GM called the dive, we cut the line and tied it off and began = the long swim back. The rock is extremely soft and there were several = large clouds where our bubbles had broken pieces off the ceiling and I = saw a number of pieces of rock falling slowly away to their new resting = place 250m below. Deco went smoothly and we hung out in the water while = we waited for the RB divers to complete their dives. Dive 4 Once again, we were mixed for 65m and we decided to use the same profile = as Dive 3 but to go in the opposite direction and attempt to meet our = line. This direction proved to be more scenic with an interesting crack = where the two walls joined. On this dive, we once again put in at least = 200m of line (at between 55m and 65m). I was so completely convinced = that we would make it all the way around, that I could hardly believe it = when GM called the dive and we hadnt joined up the line. We both felt = that we were less than 100m away from the end of our other line. Deco = went well and we both had to squash into a crack at 12m and another at = 6m to make way for the RB other OC guys to get past us on their way to = do their deep (-120m) dive! In summary, I cant wait to get back, hopefully with gavin scooters this = time and to complete the line as well as to put a couple more in place! = The OC divers had to take a massive amount of flack from the Inspiration = guys, who just strolled down to the entrance every morning and went = diving, while we were toiling up and down with twinsets and stages. = Talks for another trip have already begun, and this time I would pre-mix = in Johannesburg for all dives and use stages of bottom gas, leaving back = gas for emergencies or for the last dive.=20 =20 My thanks to Mike Fowler and Don Shirley of IANTD SA for providing the = backup, support fills, equipment and laughs that made the trip possible. = Yes, they dive Inspirations, but out of the water, they are not such = bad guys! Simon Murray South Africa ------=_NextPart_000_00B5_01BFF71D.B9116360 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2014.210" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">I have just returned from a caving = trip to=20 Boesman's Gat. Boesmans is about 6 hours away from Johannesburg, = at an=20 altitude of 1550m, near the border between Botswana and South = Africa (this=20 is the place that Sheck Exley and Nuno Gomes both mounted deep = scuba record=20 dives and, if memory serves me correctly, Nuno eventually reached=20 281m).</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Boesmans is a logistically tough = dive- you=20 need to bring everything including a generator to charge dive lights and = a spade=20 to do the necessary ablutions. Our dive party consisted of 3 = Inspirations,=20 1 Halcyon, 2 non-DIR OC divers and 2 DIR OC divers (Greg Maude "GM" and = Myself=20 "SM"). We brought 5 helium and 5 oxygen 50l's as well as a=20 compressor, a Haskel and a mountain of twinsets and = stages.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">The camp site is situated at the top = of the=20 hole and you need to trek all dive gear down a very steep, rocky = slope to=20 the water. It takes about 15 mins to hike from the = compressor to=20 the waters edge, down the slope (it is impossible to=20 walk antthing bigger that a twinset down). It took me at = least 3 trips to get all my personal gear down. Although = the=20 plan was to do mix fills at the bottom of the hole, via a long high = pressure=20 hose running from the compressor, this proved difficult to do accurately = and we=20 ended up trekking the twinsets back up in order to fill at the = compressor, the=20 deco stages gernerally lasting more than one dive.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">The entrance is a small, shallow = pool (4m x=20 10m) with a hole in the bottom (at -5m) that I could just = fit through with=20 2 stages. The shot line that was put in my Nuno and = Sheck starts at=20 the surface and goes all the way down to -200m. Once you are = through=20 the hole, the crack opens up and the descent begins. At = -20m,=20 the area is pretty large with several small tunnels and cracks going = off. =20 The tunnel really starts to open up at -30m and at around -40m, you come = out on=20 one wall of the massive central chamber.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">It is truly impossible to describe = the=20 overwhelming sense of size that you get when you come out of the = tunnel. =20 The shot line drops down out of site below and the side wall stretches = out of=20 reach of your lights. Not even the HID was able to reach any other = walls. It is difficult to judge viz in such a vast space, but from = -50m we=20 could clearly see the shot line dropping down to at least -80m as well = as the=20 sunlight light above us at the entrance and the walls stretching=20 away.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Dive 1</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">DIR team of GM and SM decided that = our first=20 dive would be to -55m and just start laying line to see how far we = could go=20 round one of the sides. We planned on a bottom time of around 25 = mins and=20 we put in around 100m of line, just moving along the one wall. At = this=20 point, the roof started closing in, forcing us to go deeper and we = decided=20 to call the dive and return with a 65m mix the next day. Deco went = smoothly and we spent at least 1 hour floating on the surface and = sitting around=20 before we began the climb out of the hole. </FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">You definitely do not want to get = bent here as=20 it is a long, long way to any chamber! So we ran gf's of = 20/90 and=20 did an additional 5 mins at 3m as well as a slow ascent from there to = the=20 surface.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Dive 2</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Due to some problems in mixing GM's = bottom=20 gas, we decided to spend 45 mins exploring the small cracks and tunnels = in the=20 shallow part on the entrance tunnel.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Dive 3</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">We realised that nobody had ever = completed an=20 circumnavigation of Boesmans and GM and SM set that as our goal for = the=20 trip. We were now mixed up for 65m and planned for 16mins at = 55m and=20 then 20mins at 65m in order to give us lots of time to lay new = line. We=20 managed to lay approximately an additional 150m of line, bringing the = total to=20 250 with the depth now at -65m (the roof was now just above=20 us). The sensation of being that far back in completely clear = water,=20 floating on the side of a wall that drops down to at least -280m is = something I=20 will never forget. GM called the dive, we cut the line and tied it = off and=20 began the long swim back. The rock is extremely soft and there = were=20 several large clouds where our bubbles had broken pieces off the = ceiling=20 and I saw a number of pieces of rock falling slowly away to their new = resting=20 place 250m below. Deco went smoothly and we hung out in the = water=20 while we waited for the RB divers to complete their dives.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Dive 4</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Once again, we were=20 mixed for 65m</FONT> <FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">and = we decided=20 to use the same profile as Dive 3 but to go in the opposite direction = and=20 attempt to meet our line. This direction proved to be more scenic = with=20 an interesting crack where the two walls joined. On this = dive,=20 we once again put in at least 200m of line (at between 55m and = 65m). I was=20 so completely convinced that we would make it all the way around, that I = could=20 hardly believe it when GM called the dive and we hadnt joined up the = line. =20 We both felt that we were less than 100m away from the end of our other=20 line. Deco went well and we both had to squash into a crack = at 12m=20 and another at 6m to make way for the RB other OC guys to get past = us=20 on their way to do their deep (-120m) dive!</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">In summary, I cant wait to get back, = hopefully=20 with gavin scooters this time and to complete the line as well as to put = a=20 couple more in place! The OC divers had to take a massive amount = of flack=20 from the Inspiration guys, who just strolled down to the entrance every = morning=20 and went diving, while we were toiling up and down with twinsets and=20 stages. Talks for another trip have already begun, and this time I = would=20 pre-mix in Johannesburg for all dives and use stages of bottom gas, = leaving back=20 gas for emergencies or for the last dive. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">My thanks to Mike Fowler and Don = Shirley of=20 IANTD SA for providing the backup, support fills, equipment and = laughs that=20 made the trip possible. Yes, they dive Inspirations, but out = of the=20 water, they are not such bad guys!</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Simon Murray</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">South=20 Africa</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_00B5_01BFF71D.B9116360-- -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]