E079 Rannvá Jørmundsson - Becoming an Explorer

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up with Chris Dawson to discuss his experiences dealing with PTSD and depression following two operational tours in Iraq with the British Army. In this inspiring story, Chris shares his journey from rock-bottom to recovery through diving and how he has become involved with the organisation, 'Dive Against Depression' where he is working to help others affected by mental health issues. Chris and I also discuss sidemount diving, cave diving, and our recent transition to diving sidemount CCR. Sponsor XDEEP - https://www.xdeep.eu Dive Against Depression - https://www.facebook.com/diveagainstdepression/ #xdeep #ptsd #depression #mentalhealth #diveagainstdepression #sidemountdiving #cavediving #sidemountccr #sidemountpros

5 Des 201949min

What you are about to hear is the first-hand account of the experiences of Richard "Harry" Harris during the Thai cave rescue. His excitement at the opportunity to participate was quickly replaced by the trepidation of what the rescue team faced. They almost certainly would witness the deaths of the 12 boys and their coach and there was little hope that they would be successful. But they had to try.   Harry had to deal with ethical dilemmas as he agreed to the plan to anesthetise the kids and then submerge them underwater for up to 3 hours to transport them out of the cave.   This account focuses on the events and also on the diving aspects of the rescue. How they actually accomplished the dives, the equipment they used the conditions they faced the skills sets, what went well and the near misses that occurred. All this and much more... Sponsor: XDEEP - https://www.xdeep.eu/ #XDEEP #Sidemountpros #sidemountdiving #cavediving #Caveccr #sidemountccr #Thaicaverescue #Richard Harris #Againstallodds

19 Nov 20191h 13min

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP and Shearwater Research, I sit down with Edd Sorenson and discuss my experiences training and diving with him on the KISS Sidewinder mCCR. I spent a brilliant two weeks with Edd at Cave Adventurers, Marianna, Florida so we had much to discuss and cover: Sidemount vs. Backmount CCR Why a sidemount CCR can be your first choice Myths and reality re the KISS Sidewinder My experiences with the KISS Sidewinder and how they aligned with my expectations How we progressively planned and built our dives post-course Combining the Shearwater NERD 2 with the KISS Sidewinder All this and much more... Sponsors: XDEEP - https://www.xdeep.eu/ Shearwater Research - https://www.shearwater.com/ #XDEEP #Shearwater #KISSCCR #KISSsidewinder #Sidemountpros #Caveadventurers #EddSorenson #sidemountdiving #cavediving #Caveccr

6 Nov 201944min

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up with Gareth Lock of "The Human Diver" and author of the book "Under Pressure". We discuss Gareth's application of human factors principles taken from the aviation industry in diving and their subsequent benefit in supporting dive safety. While not a specific sidemount episode, this is important for all divers and particularly those involved in technical diving. Sponsor: XDEEP www.xdeep.eu The Human Diver - www.thehumandiver.com #Humandiver #XDEEP #Sidemountpros #sidemountdiving

21 Okt 201958min

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I interview Greek cave diver and instructor, Stratis Kas. Stratis is a professional fashion photographer and videographer who successfully combines his profession with his passion for sidemount and cave diving. He is a super cool guy and I really enjoyed his perspectives on sidemount, cave diving, videography, and learned heaps about the caves of Greece. #XDEEP #shearwater #sidemountdiving #cavediving #Sidemountpros #stevedavis #stratiskas #Intothewildadventures #Infiniteliquid #Somosloscentoes Sidemount Fundamentals eBook - https://www.sidemountpros.com/store

14 Sep 201945min

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up with Richard "Harry" Harris. A key member of the Thai Cave Rescue, Australian of the Year and cave explorer, Harry is one of the nicest guys I have ever met.  Harry and I discuss, how he got into diving, cave diving and exploration, the connection between anaesthesiology and diving, how the cave exploration group... The "Wet Mules" was formed... Harry shares on his experiences diving to over 220m in Pearse Resurgence, his partnership with Craig Challen, how being named joint Australian of the Year has affected his life, and how he is using this platform to promote outdoor and adventure pursuits to our kids... All this and much more in this episode of Speaking Sidemount. #XDEEP #sidemountdiving #sidemountpros #stevedavis #richardharris #cavediving

28 Aug 201954min

Recently a group of dedicated cave explorers and instructors from the Yucatan created an awareness campaign to highlight uncontrolled development of the Muyil region, south of Tulum, Mexico.    Somos Los Cenotes... "We are the Cenotes" is the campaign and we invite your support by sharing as much of our and your own content as you can with the hashtag #somosloscenotes.   In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I interview Phillip Lehman, Natalie Gibb, and Vincent Rouquet-caltha and we discuss the caves of the Muyil region, the issues with development, why the caves are worth supporting, why you should dive them, and what you can do to support. In addition, Phillip shares more on the KISS Sidewinder sidemount CCR, and Vince and I discuss his background and work in Yucatan, Mexico.   #somosloscenotes #XDEEP #underthejungle #DRSS #sidemountpros

8 Aug 20191h

Steve Lewis is an absolute industry veteran and a passionate sidemount, CCR and cave diver. He has been at the forefront of instructor training since the early 90s working with TDI right from its formation and more recently becoming the Director Diver Training for RAID.   Steve is an author, a member of the explorers club and as we'll learn, he led the early exploration of the Bell Island Mine in Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada.   In this episode Steve and I discuss his background, his experiences as an instructor trainer, we talk about diving the mine and shipwrecks at Bell Island. We discuss why we love sidemount diving and then the issues we see with sidemount diving and instruction and how these issues might be solved all this and much more in this episode of speaking sidemount.

15 Jul 20191h