Kydroon

Tag: diving

  • Bikini Atoll Shark Pass

    Bikini Atoll Shark Pass

    The Shark Pass is in the Bikini Atoll which is part of the Marshall Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is basically as far away as you can get from any other place along the equator.

    There are two spots there, that can bee seen from space.

    The castle bravo crater in the northwest, where a poor understanding of lithium 6 and 7 isotopes, led to the largest unplanned nuclear disaster of the US…

    …and, far more enjoyable: the shark pass in the southwest!

    Our dive briefing was a little unsettling for me:

    ‘Do not jump into the water!
    This makes them curious and they may bump you.
    This sometimes makes people nervous…’
    Well, now I am nervous…

    Looking around: 3, wait 5, no 12, OK forget about counting, but how do I get through? OK, I will make myself invisible and dive below them…
    Some sources claim this shark pass has the highest permanent grey reef shark density on earth. There is definitely always a nice school of grey reef sharks as well as some silver and black tips.

    My personal theory for the density is, that this is simply due to the remote location and the shape and depth of the channel that forms a perfect funnel into the lagoon.

    Some sources claim, the channel has been bombed into the atoll by the exploration ship USS Sumner to pave the way for the larger ships to follow with 90 tons of dynamite, but I think it has been used somewhere else. It is really a great diver lifetime experience, when the sharks explore you – a very nice twist!

    The trip to the shark pass was a great escape from our wreck diving. Exceptional visibility, nice colors and life – and even though we had plenty of gas left, we had to get back.

  • Decomissioning Liquivision-x1 …and back to Suunto

    Decomissioning Liquivision-x1 …and back to Suunto

    …after 5 years of service I am a little sad to decommission this device, as it definitely helped me to survive some intense deep dives.

    I bought it back in 2010 mainly because of the super bright display. Then I started to love the V-Planner Live and I thought the no-button-design was a great idea.

    Looking back the no-button-design is not as good as it sounds. It simply can not be used blind. In a critical situation you start erratically hitting your device to tell it what you want – bad!

    The biggest design fault is the charging/upload-interface, which will most likely break over time and burden you with permanent oxidation and a near empty battery if you not charge between every single dive and keep the contacts clean and dry. Trips with no access to electricity have always be scary for me.

    Last not least VPM-B/E is still very aggressive compared to most other dive computers of my buddies. Lynn told me: “Kurt, you will end up in the pressure chamber…”. That was after a dive with the same profile, just she was using a stage.

    So I am  going back to Suunto and use now the new EON Steel. I think it is the only company that still invests in own research as I am getting older and more cautious.

    This is the profile of my deepest dive, where I thought: That’s it, I am going to die (there was a strong current down there and we were swept nearly a mile away from the planned exit).

    72m

    The Fused RGBM generates exactly my dive profiles with more conservative ceilings, so it fits perfectly my style and hopefully keeps me away from the chamber.