Page 261 - The British Big Four

t’s like flying. The sensation is especially cellent buoyancy control, astute depth, air descend to their maximum planned depth,

I dramatic on a steep wall where there’s no supply and bottom time monitoring are im- and then ascend to progressively shallower
ground beneath you. Because of the excel- portant. Divers must understand the physi- depths as they explore the wall. Those div-

lent visibility, “you can look down 300 feet, ological challenges, namely nitrogen narco- ing from an anchored boat often dive at one

maybe more, and it’s blue, not black.” sis and an increased risk of decompression depth during the against-the-current leg

G eorge Benjamin, a professional photog- sickness, associated with deeper diving. and ascend to a shallower depth for the re-
rapher and the first blue hole explorer, turn leg. Having something to explore at any
did hundreds of wall dives from the Berry S ince the majority of walls are effectively depth is one of the attractions of wall diving
bottomless and the water often gin- — you can begin ascending from your maxi-

Islands to the southern tip of Andros in the clear, it is easy for a diver to descend beyond mum depth and still have plenty of diving

1950s and ‘60s. He is quoted in Rob Palmer’s the planned maximum depth, even beyond left before reaching the top of the wall.

book, Deep into Blue Holes: “Going over the the sport-diving limit: 130 feet or 40 m. That S ince wall diving often involves diving
edge of the wall is like flying a small plane is one obvious reason why buoyancy con- deep, wall divers should watch for the
into the Grand Canyon - and the descent is trol is a critical skill for wall divers. Because

like slowly falling down a huge mountain a diver becomes more negatively buoy- onset of nitrogen narcosis, a physiological

face? I feel an absolute, timeless silence, ant as he descends, it is important that he condition that occurs when the nervous sys-

which I cannot easily describe and which is, add air to his buoyancy compensator as he tem is exposed to increased nitrogen pres-

for me, unique. I fully understand Cousteau’s goes deeper on the wall. This slows the rate sure. Nitrogen narcosis usually occurs at

choice of title for The Silent World.” of descent and makes it easier to establish depths of 100 feet (30 m) but some divers

neutral buoyancy upon reaching the desired may begin to feel its effects at shallower
W all Diving is not for the poorly trained diving depth. depth
or rusty diver. It does not require un-
usual physical conditioning or special skill egardless of the environment you dive,
the deepest part of your dive profile
Rdevelopment, but good diving fitness and
mastery of basic scuba skills are a must. Ex- should be done first. Wall divers generally