Weekly Meeting - Duncan Lord (Diving, deep, in Dahab)

Wed, Aug 12th 2015 at 7:50 pm - 10:20 pm

Friend: Clive Townsend
VOT: Mike Till

Duncan Lord - Diving Deep in Dahab

Duncan” immersed” us immediately in his enthusiasm for his scuba diving hobby which started in 2011. Without notes, he expertly described his sport with excellent illustrations underwater which were mainly provided by his daughter, Jenny. After an adventure at rock climbing in the Sinai mountains he decided, like Moses, to try the sea water (Gulf of Aquaba) rather than mountains. The Dahab area provides facilities for the diving fraternity with many diving centres, shops and professional instructors like Jenny.

Equipment was illustrated and described, including oxygen mix cylinders, the respiratory and buoyancy devices and also the safety procedures required. We saw the different approaches taken to enter the sea and, in particular, Banner Fish Bay and then El Bels including the problems of exploring the Blue Hole (130 metres deep). We viewed images of the underwater sea life and were cautioned over the varieties to be avoided. The coral was to be admired and left untouched. Duncan is now qualified as a Deep Sea Diver up to 40 metres.

We were then introduced to Ahmed, an intrepid diver, who was attempting the deep sea dive record (Guinness!). Acclimatising with succeeding depths, 150m, then 242 metres, the day of the attempt involved many precautions and planned support both underwater and shoreline logistics. In September 2014 Ahmed dived from a boat with 4 x 20 litre gas cylinder supply on his back and plunged off a boat. Rapidly, in 12 minutes or so, he had reached 332 metres, unaccompanied at that depth, a world record was verified.

The problem of resurfacing in stages via a decompression ladder and supporting divers helped him safely return in 14 hours seemingly without suffering any side effects. Duncan then reported that Jenny is to attempt, this year, to break the deep water dive record for a woman which stands around 250 metres!

A fascinating and exciting talk where most of us held our breath and would prefer to keep our heads above water rather than experience the adrenaline rush of underwater exploring!

Many thanks Duncan.

Mike Till

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