A shocking blow to the international dive community over the weekend, as Victorian cave diver Agnes Milowka died in one of Australia's largest underground cave systems.
World-class in her proficiency underwater, Milowka was recently a stunt diver in James Cameron's film SANCTUM.
You'll notice the footage at the beginning of this video was shot by Karst Productions. Karst was of course the production company founded by the late, great cave-diving adventurer himself, Wes Skiles.
The body of Agnes Milowka, 29, was found today, after she went missing from a group of divers in Tank Cave, South Australia yesterday afternoon.
The world-class diver and keen underwater photographer was reported missing about 1.45pm yesterday, before the death was confirmed by authorities today.
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Ms Milowka was well-known in cave-diving circles and is highly experienced, describing her interests on her website as "exploration, adventure and scuba diving".
The Polish born expert HAS explored caves from Tasmania to the Bahamas, gained qualifications in maritime archeology and also worked for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, before acting as a stunt diver for two female characters in Sanctum.
On Friday, Ms Milowka tweeted her excitement at the upcoming South Australian diving expedition.
“Another w-end of cave diving in Mt Gambier ... fabulous! Can't wait to get underground,'' she wrote.
Tank Cave stretches at least 7km underground near Mt Gambier, in South Australia's southeast.
Ms Milowka wrote about the Tank Cave system in December, describing it as the “crowning jewel” of the caves in the region, writing for Cave Diving Down Under.
At the time she believed the cave was relatively safe: “The cave is stunning, it is relatively shallow (a max depth around 20m), there is no flow to fight and the water is crystal clear - you can't go wrong really.”
But she also wrote that the system was complicated, “like a spider web gone wild” and meant divers must learn the cave carefully to navigate tight restrictions and often zero visibility.
The adventurous diver wrote she had already discovered another side passage at least 300m long in the system on a previous visit, and hoped to discover more on visits such as her tragic final one.
She said that passage was a small hole, too tiny for her buddy, but she squeezed through for a brief foray into the darkness before turning back.
On her website, Ms Milowka says she is well aware of the risks she faces everytime she submerged into the dark subterranean world of cave diving."It would be difficult to claim that caves are completely safe" she says.
"Going into caves in general carries a certain amount of risk, and then if you add water and submerge the cave then obviously the risks increase."
NOTE: This entry has been cross-posted from MarkGlesne.com
Last Friday I had the privilege of being asked by Universal Pictures to attend a screening the new film SANCTUM (which is out today) at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. I was also honored to be asked to join cast and crew the next day at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons for a Q&A round table of sorts.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the film’s release since I first caught wind of it last summer. So you can imagine my excitement to be asked to view it a week before its release, as well as meet with those involved in its creation.
There aren’t too many movies centered around scuba diving, so this was certainly a movie you couldn’t pay me to miss.
If you have yet to see the trailer, check it out...
And here’s the official synopsis:
The 3D action-thriller Sanctum, from executive producer James Cameron, follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they must fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea.
Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific’s Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank’s team—including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)—are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?
Shot on location off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Sanctum employs 3-D photography techniques Cameron developed to lens Avatar. Designed to operate in extreme environments, the technology used to shoot the action-thriller will bring audiences on a breathless journey across plunging cliffs and into the furthest reaches of our subterranean world.
I have to admit, I was a bit worried going into the film.
The movie is quite obviously centered around cave diving — extreme cave diving, no less. So I suppose I was worried the movie would be over-produced. That is, worried Hollywood would take a dive story inspired by true events and… well… make it too Hollywood.
That wasn’t the case. This is a movie scuba divers of all stripes and specialties will enjoy. Now, if you’re looking for in-depth character and plot development — you’re looking in the wrong crevice. SANCTUM makes no bones about being a non-stop, action-adventure flick. And I prefer movies (of all genres) that don’t attempt to be something they’re not.
I was also incredibly pleased with the way in which 3D technology was incorporated into the film. Again, not over-done. I don’t need a barrage of things jumping off the screen at me while trying to enjoy the movie’s experience. The 3D effect also added quite appropriately to the underwater effect experienced by divers.
As for the storyline, no spoilers here. You’re going to have to experience that for yourself. However, I will say this: At one point I caught myself literally holding my breath. When you see it, I think you’ll know which point. The closest I’ve come to the sort of diving depicted in the movie was scuba diving Riviera Maya cenotes with my wife. SANCTUM will take you to a whole new depth.
I returned home around 11:30 Friday evening, well after my wife and son had gone to sleep. I couldn’t help but smile as I used the illumination from my iPhone to navigate the long, dark, narrow hallway that leads to the master bedroom.
WARNING: Divers may experience residual effects.
As I mentioned, I was also asked to join members of the cast and crew for a press conference Q&A the following day. I was stoked to meet up and speak with Jeff from Psycho Solo Diver. After getting a feel for those in attendance, I can all but guarantee we were the only scuba divers in attendance.
From the actors, I was interested to hear about receiving their Open Water PADI certifications and then moving immediately into re-breather training. Talk about moving from one end of the spectrum to the other in no time at all. I asked Ioan specifically about the cast’s dive prep and schedule during the last four weeks of filming — when all the underwater scenes were shot.
He explained first that they filmed underwater only at night. This is, after all, a movie about diving where the sun doesn’t shine. He also described the two phases of topside dive prep they had to undergo before each scene could be shot. The first was cast and crew huddled around a miniature model of the set. Each person was shown where they would be, where the safety divers (3-4 per actor) would reside, and where the cameras would be set. The second phase consisted of cast and crew walking through the motions in a parking lot, or “blocking the scene”, as he called it. (The set was terrific, by the way. If you’d like to see more about its construction, I recommend watching NatGeo’s special, The Real Sanctum.)
From my own experience, this isn’t at all unlike what military forces do before certain missions. Proper planning often consists of drawing tactics in the sand, walking them out, and then executing — each exercise getting larger in the process.
Thankfully, the cast didn’t describe any sort of particularly serious accidents during the underwater (or topside) training or filming. It sounds like dive coordinator John Garvin ran a tight ship — enforcing the time-honored tradition of “Plan your dive, dive your plan.”
James Cameron discussed with us how the project was actually four years in the making, as the film’s financing fell through during the economic downturn and took time to be re-established. I spoke one-on-one with Andrew Wight after the round table and asked about Wes Skiles’ involvement in the film. As painful as the recent passing of Wes must have been for Andrew, he appeared relieved to be asked a — shall I say — more in-depth question about the film. Don’t get me wrong, the press did was it was called to do. Questions were asked about past and future films, production considerations, and technical difficulties. But I’m not press. I’m a member of the dive community. I saw the film as a diver, not a movie critic.
Andrew and I discussed how Wes was involved early on — after all, he was there for the true events that inspired the project — but was not specifically involved in the filming of the movie. He had hoped Wes would be able to be more involved, but as we all know, Wes was out there doing what he loved until the day he passed.
Were Wes still alive today, I think it’s fair to say he’s be quite pleased with SANCTUM. A film that depicts the sort of mentality required to push yourself into Earth’s previously unseen cavities and cave systems.
A film about true bravery, tough choices… and even tougher decisions.
The dive community suffered a hard blow yesterday with news that esteemed photographer Wes Skiles had passed away during a dive off the Palm Beach County coast.
Renowned underwater photographer Wes Skiles died Wednesday while filming underwater off Florida's east coast, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Skiles, 52 of High Springs, was pronounced dead after he was found motionless at the bottom of a reef Wednesday afternoon.
Skiles had been diving with others about three miles east of the Boynton Beach Inlet, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera. The diver had been filming locally for National Geographic, she said.
Skiles apparently alerted the other divers that he was ascending because he was out of film, Barbera said. The others continued in the water but later decided to ascend.
"On their way to the surface, they found him at the bottom of the reef motionless," Barbera said.
The man was rushed to the surface, and CPR was administered.
Barbera said the man was taken to an area hospital and was pronounced dead.
Skiles and his full service production company, Karst Productions, dedicated their work to giving the world an unparalleled view into underwater worlds far and near.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Skiles' family and friends.
Born on June 11, 1910, French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher Jacques-Yves Cousteau has inspired generations of ocean-lovers and made an indelible impression on our planet.
And for diligently pursuing that which he was passionate about, we are eternally grateful.
Seven people whose lives and careers have made a major impact on the sport of SCUBA diving were inducted into the International SCUBA Diving Hall of Fame on Saturday 30 January on the grounds of the historic Pedro St James.
The Cayman Islands is home to the ISDHF, celebrating its 10th anniversary, and one of the world’s premier diving destinations due to the clarity of its waters and its diverse ecosystem.
“The awards bestowed on all of these deserving recipients commemorate their many achievements,” said the Hon Cline Glidden, MLA, “and serve as inspiration for future generations of divers.”
The recipients’ awards, designed by local artist Horacio Esteban, were made of Caymanite, mahogany and Cayman limestone.
Every scuba diving death is tragic for our sport, but what are divers to make of this apparent trend emerging from the New England dive community?
Seven deaths in seven years is more than a cause for concern. The latest being Paul Blanchette, a 37-year veteran of our beloved sport.
In the small, close-knit circle of deep-sea divers in New England, Paul Blanchette was a star. He had made 57 trips to survey the sunken luxury liner Andrea Doria, and last fall he was one of the first divers to reach the wreck of the steamship Portland, located in water 460 feet deep on Stellwagen Bank.
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But an hour after he slipped into the cold waters off the coast of Gloucester on May 18, fellow crew members began to worry. Thirty minutes later, David Cunningham dived into the water with other divers and searched the bottom for their colleague. A day later, Blanchette’s body was found just yards from the wreck.
He became the seventh scuba diver who has died in waters off Gloucester and Rockport since 2002. The lure of easy access to beaches and the chance to swim among exotic fish while grabbing a lobster or two for dinner have made Cape Ann the most popular diving site in New England.
But Blanchette’s death has many in the New England diving community wondering how such an experienced diver lost his life during a routine excursion. They are eager to hear the official cause of death from state officials investigating.
In 2006, a 70-foot commercial trawler known as the Infidel sank just a mile off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, California. The downed vessel, shrouded by a 9,000-pound fishing net, became nothing short of a deathtrap for marine life -- catching and killing sea lions, sharks, seals and dolphins.
Luckily, the Ocean Defenders, a Huntington Beach-based group of volunteer SCUBA divers dedicated to removing derelict fishing gear from the ocean floor, are on the job. Armed with some reinforcements from the Catalina Island diving community, they’re working to free the net, one dive at a time. Cutting the net free and floating it to the top takes time (many dives over many days), as well as skill (the wreck is deep enough to be beyond the range of most recreational divers), but it’s all in a day’s work for these brave volunteers.
Last week the UK-based Telegraph released Carl Spencer's obituary, which we think does a good job at encompassing for all that he lived.
Carl Spencer, who has died aged 39, was one of the world's most accomplished deep-wreck divers and led several high-profile explorations of famous wrecks, including that of Titanic; he was killed in a diving accident during an underwater filming mission exploring Titanic's sister ship, Britannic.
Although best known as a talented technical diver with a glamorous career in the oceans of the world, Spencer also followed a more workaday calling as a heating and air conditioning engineer based in the Midlands. A modest, self-effacing man, he invariably told people that he was "just a plumber from Cannock".
This spring he was part of a 17-strong crew commissioned by National Geographic magazine to dive on Britannic, which sank in the Aegean Sea, off Greece, in 1916. The wreck lies on its starboard side in 120 metres of water and is well-preserved.
The diving mission was part of efforts by the Britannic Foundation, headed by a British historian and businessman, Simon Mills, to convert her into an underwater tourist attraction by running tours in mini-submarines.
Spencer's team was due to spend nine days on an internal and external analysis of the wreck, first discovered by the French explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1975. A veteran of three expeditions to Britannic, Spencer made his first dive on the wreck six years ago, uncovering evidence that the ship had been sunk by a mine rather than a torpedo, a question that had long divided historians.
Some had believed that she was attacked for carrying weapons while being disguised as a hospital ship. Survivors spoke of seeing torpedo trails in the water, in which case the Germans would have committed a war crime by attacking a hospital ship.
But Spencer favoured the theory of a mine explosion – a view reinforced when his team discovered debris entangled in mine anchors laid in the Kea channel of the Aegean.
Spencer found that when Britannic was mined, the ship's watertight doors had been open, allowing water to flood through; she sank in less than an hour, much faster than Titanic. He became the first diver to find and film the doors which, with the lower portholes, had been left open because it was so hot below decks.
More recently, VT Alumnus and club member Michael Ziray alerted us (via Twitter) that the club had participated in a river cleanup and that the local news photographer snapped a photo of him -- wearing a Neutral Dive Gear t-shirt and sweatshirt -- for the story in the Roanoke Times.
Ziray offers the details of the event over at his blog:
On Virginia Tech’s Reading Day (the day between classes and the beginning of finals), the Scuba Club at Virginia Tech (SCVT) performed a clean up on the New River near Radford, VA. We picked up several trash bags of garbage, mostly that were left behind from the fishermen that frequent there. There were plenty of fishing line, beer cans and other trash to keep us busy for a few hours and we do this every year.
As it had been raining for the past several days prior, the river level was two feet higher than normal, and big trees were being swept down river. The visibility was non-existent and we didn’t want to get caught or crushed by the trees coming down, so we didn’t get to go diving. However, there is still a ton more beer cans and other trash left by the fishermen at the bottom of the river that we have yet to get to.
While we were there, a photographer from the Roanoke Times took several photos of us as we worked. I had passed up picking up some trash that was in the water because I was wearing shoes but since I had all my scuba equipment with me, I put on my diving boots and jumped into the water to pick up the pieces I had missed.
It was then that the photographer snapped a photo of Ziray wading through the water, and ended up featuring the picture in the story.
It's cool that Ziray was sporting Neutral Dive Gear clothing, but way cooler that the club took time out of finals preparation to organize such an event. Selfless and environmentally conscience -- these are the sort of folks who epitomize the dive community.
We salute you, SCVT!
If you're a member of a dive club of any sort, feel free to email us at neutraldivegear@gmail.com to set up a group discount. We love working with dive groups of all shapes and sizes!
A highly respected British diver has died during the exploration of a shipwreck off the coast of Greece.
Carl Spencer, 37, had been leading a 17-man National Geographic Society expedition to film Britannic, sister ship of Titanic, off the island of Kea when he suffered severe decompression sickness (DCS), also known as the bends, during an emergency ascent to the surface.
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Mr Spencer, a father of two from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, led an expedition to Britannic in 2003. He had also taken part in explorations of Titanic, led by James Cameron, director of the eponymous film, and Carpathia, which rescued 705 passengers from the stricken liner in 1912.
He was listed as one of the world’s most accomplished divers on the website Diving with Legends and had participated in decompression research.
All you have to do is sign up for a FREE account over at The Dive Village and use the site as often as possible for the next month.
That's it! Sign up, play on the site, interact with divers, and get a free scuba diving zipper hooded sweatshirt of your choice from Neutral Dive Gear. It doesn't get any easier than that, folks.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of scuba diving pioneer Elmer Munk.
During the early days of scuba diving in the 1950s, Elmer Munk was so awed by the dazzling that he eventually quit his office job and opened a dive shop to share the undersea world with thousands of future divers.
The Venice resident, who was among the first class of diving instructors to be nationally certified by the YMCA in the 1950s and went on to train more than 3,500 divers, died Dec. 29, a week shy of his 77th birthday.
He suffered from lung disease in recent years, his family said.
"Diving has been the great love of my life..." he told the Herald-Tribune in 2004. "It's an amazing world down there."
One of his favorite sites was the turquoise waters off the island of Bonaire in the southern Caribbean. He brought so many of his dive students there over the years that island officials surprised him by naming a dive site after him -- Munk's Haven -- in the 1980s.
"He's one of the few people who has logged more than 6,000 dives," said his son, Jeff "Chip" Munk of Lyman, Wyo.
Milt Beard passed quietly on December 17, 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Many people will remember Milt for all his hard work on Project Yukon. He was responsible for cutting virtually all the holes in Yukon with a gas torch. Milt was a long time member of the San Diego Dive Club, being the Club’s official “Keltographer”. Project Yukon leader Dick Long donated the Yukon name that Milt cut from the vessel’s hull, to his memorial.
Then, on January 2, 2009, Harvey Schmiedeke passed away. Harvey was one of the original incorporators of California Ships to Reefs and served as Senior Vice President and Board Member from November 2006 through November 2008. He was Founder and Past President, as well as Vice President of Sunken Treasures Society of Los Angeles, one of CSTR’s original sink groups. Harvey was also a Certified Management Consultant, President and Founder of Survival Strategies of Burbank. He was an avid diver and shared his video of dive sites all over the world. Harvey said his “secret ingredient” was his faith, Scientology.
What if we told you that you can win a FREE Neutral Dive Gear Flexfit logo hat, simply by playing around on The Dive Village -- a social networking site (like MySpace) for scuba divers?
Well, it's true!
Neutral Dive Gear has partnered up with The Dive Village to bring you the August Points Leader prizes.
Here's how it works:
Almost everything you do -- upload photos, post a YouTube video, comment on another user's profile, etc. -- earns you points. The TOP THREE point leaders between August 5th and September 5th will receive a free Neutral Dive Gear Flexfit logo hat!
Yes, this is the same hat from all the photos that looks sexy on the ladies and sick on the dudes -- the hat being used to launch the greatest scuba diving clothing line the industry has ever known.
It's truly something for nothing but a little fun!
If you don't have one already, simply sign up for a free account and start interacting with fellow scuba divers!
And don't worry, you can track how many point others members have -- so you know if you need to step up your game to win the prize!
Matt Johnston is finally receiving the recognition he deserves for his heroic efforts, unsinkable spirit, and ground-breaking contributions to the scuba diving community: his own dive exhibit at the Florida History of Diving Museum.
Showcasing the unparalleled story of Matt Johnston and his one-of-a-kind dive gear, a "Diving a Dream" exhibit is set to open Wednesday, Aug. 13 at the Florida Keys History of Diving Museum in Islamorada.
Johnston, of Woodbury, Minn., made diving history in November 2006 when he became the first paralyzed scuba diver who breathes through a ventilator to complete two successful ocean dives in the Florida Keys.
Floating face down with a medical team nearby, Johnston made his historic dives in shallow water over the reefs off the Florida Keys. The experience fulfilled a longtime dream for the 32-year-old Johnston, a quadriplegic who was diagnosed during his childhood with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, a hereditary degenerative disease of the voluntary muscles.
He plans to attend the exhibit's opening, scheduled for 7 p.m., via webcam. "Inclusion in the museum will carry Matt's inspiration to yet another audience," said Michael Lombardi of Oceans of Opportunity, a not-for-profit organization that collaborated with Johnston to bring his dream to life and inspire others to reach their goals.
Among the items to be on display are the double-limb vent circuit (white hoses fixed to his suit) and a custom-made Diving Unlimited International dry suit.
"The first suit is important because it's a prototype for people with trachs," said Johnston, whose paralyzed lungs receive air through a tracheotomy ("trach") tube connected to a ventilator.
Museum visitors can watch an 11-minute video segment about Johnston's diving experience that aired on NBC's "Today Show" and see Johnston's original Scubility Open Water Diver certificate -- believed to be the first in the world.
As well as his Florida Keys first, the 32-year-old Johnston was among the first full quadriplegics to dive, pioneering scuba diving with muscular dystrophy. He also authored the "Manual for Ventilator-Dependent Quadriplegic Diving."
In the manual's introduction, Johnston wrote, "Diving is not just about all the trips you take and the adventures you have. It's also about the friendships you make both above and below the water."
We just received an email from one of the founders of a brand new social networking/dating site for scuba divers: Scuba Cupid.
The site obviously utilizes the same social networking platform as The Dive Village, but with a dating twist. So if you're looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right With a C-card, you might consider signing up!
Hugh Bradner, renowned physicist and professor emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, died 5 May 2008, in San Diego, Calif. after a prolonged illness. He was 92 years old. Bradner's scientific career incorporated both science and ocean exploration to design many notable ocean technologies, including the first neoprene wetsuit. He has been affiliated with Scripps since 1961 and was professor emeritus at the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP).
During his distinguished career as a nuclear physicist, Bradner worked at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington D.C. and the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley. He was also one of the founding scientists of the Los Alamos National Laboratory working on the Manhattan Project and a faculty member at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UC San Diego. It was at Los Alamos that he met Marjorie Hall, his wife of 65 years.
Bradner had a lifelong passion for the ocean. He enjoyed diving and sailing and was one of the first Americans to make a deep-water SCUBA dive. In 1951, while working at UC Berkeley, he decided to spend some 'weekend time' improving diving equipment for navy frogmen, which began his pioneering research on the wetsuit. Bradner focused on the design of a wetsuit for military underwater swimmers and developed a foam wetsuit using a unicellular material known as neoprene.
'He was an adventurous man who enjoyed travelling,' said Walter Munk, professor emeritus and director of IGPP during Bradner's tenure at Scripps. 'He built a successful career by combining his geophysical work with his South Pacific adventures.'
Bradner collaborated with scientific divers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who were experimenting with the new SCUBA regulator invented by Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan. Scripps divers first tested his wetsuit designs at their SCUBA training classes held in the pool of the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
'Brad's neoprene wetsuit was a tremendous contribution to scientific diving,' said James Stewart, professor emeritus at Scripps. 'He was a great guy and a lot of fun to work with.'
Bradner was well regarded for his collaborative approach to science, evident in his reluctance to claim himself as sole inventor of the wetsuit. He continued to consult for the military throughout his scientific career. His other research endeavours led to novel diving equipment, including underwater contact lenses, a single-hose regulator and a decompression meter. Bradner even developed a loop system for quickly extracting U.S. Navy SEALs from the water via inflatable boats.
A new scuba diving web site, miss-scuba.com, recently launched - complete with destination reviews, travel tips, photographs, and even "scuba gear with girls in mind".
Miss Scuba was created to celebrate the indomitable spirit within every woman to experience the world and in particular, the oceans of this world! Whether the dive girl is already a well-traveled individual or someone who has never ventured much beyond her own community, Miss Scuba invites all woman to embrace that inner longing, pack their bags, and travel.
"I noticed that most of the divers in California are men, so I created a site with the help of my dive-girl friends that allows women divers to interact with each other. It’s a great way to make new buddies and keep already existing connections from all over the world," said Szilvia Gogh, Store Manager and Lead Instructor at Aqua Adventures Unlimited in Burbank, California.
Saw this video posted over at The Dive Village and couldn't resist posting it here. Absolutely breathtaking footage of the infamous Titanic.
If you're not already a member, you should really sign up for The Dive Village and be sure to add Neutral Dive Gear as a friend. It's like MySpace for scuba divers!
A shocking blow to the international dive community over the weekend, as Victorian cave diver Agnes Milowka died in one of Australia's largest underground cave systems. The Polish born expert HAS explored caves from Tasmania to the Bahamas, gained qualifications in maritime archeology and also worked for National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, before acting as a stunt diver for two female characters in Sanctum.
