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Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other cave users. The equipment used varies depending on the circumstances, and ranges from breath hold to surface supplied, but almost all cave-diving is done using scuba equipment, often in specialised configurations with redundancies such as sidemount or backmounted twinset. Recreational cave-diving is generally considered to be a type of technical diving due to the lack of a free surface during large parts of the dive, and often involves planned decompression stops. A distinction is made by recreational diver training agencies between cave-diving and cavern-diving, where cavern diving is deemed to be diving in those parts of a cave where the exit to open water can be seen by natural light. An arbitrary distance limit to the open water surface may also be specified.
The Darkness Beckons (ISBN 0-939748-32-0) is a book about the history of UK cave diving by Martyn Farr. It is considered the definitive work on the subject. Farr was a major figure in UK diving at a time when many of the original participants were still alive and available for interview. The first edition of the book was published in 1980. A second edition was published in 1991, followed by a substantially rewritten third edition on 3 July 2017.
The Cave Diving Group (CDG) is a United Kingdom-based diver training organisation specialising in cave diving.
Dan yr Ogof, at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a 17-kilometre (11 mi) long cave system in south Wales, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Ystradgynlais and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which is claimed to be the largest in the United Kingdom and is a tourist attraction in Wales. The first section of the cave system is open to the public, but the extensive cave system beyond is scheduled as a national nature reserve and is open only to bona fide cavers.
Porth yr Ogof is a solutional cave near the village of Ystradfellte, near the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It lies on the course of the Afon Mellte, a river whose name translates as 'lightning', commonly explained as a reference to the "flashy" nature of the river, i.e. its rising and falling rapidly in response to rainfall. In 1998 the cave's passageways had been measured as over 2.25 kilometres (1.40 mi) in length. Among the cave's fifteen entrances is the largest cave entrance in Wales and one of the largest in the UK, nearly 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 8 metres (26 ft) high. The cave was used as a show cave many years ago, but is not as attractive as more decorated caves such as Dan yr Ogof, and so today is more often used to introduce people to cave exploration.
Ogof Agen Allwedd or Agen Allwedd, is, at 20.2 miles (32.5 km), one of the longest cave systems in Wales, and the longest cave system on the Llangattock escarpment.
Ogof y Daren Cilau is a cave system in the limestone escarpment on Mynydd Llangatwg, which is south of Llangattock village and above Crickhowell in south Powys, Wales. The escarpment is the remnant of quarrying that had begun by the mid-18th century and initially provided limestone for building and agriculture as a fertiliser, and subsequently for the blast furnaces of the local ironworks as a flux. The cave system was discovered in 1957 and is one of the longest in the United Kingdom. The system is next to the Ogof Agen Allwedd system.
John Arthur Sheppard was a pioneer of cave diving in the United Kingdom and a founder, together with Graham Balcombe, of the Cave Diving Group.
Recreational caving in the United Kingdom dates back to the mid-19th century. The four major caving areas of the United Kingdom are North Yorkshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, and the Mendips. Minor areas include Devon, North Wales, and the Scottish Highlands.
Llangattock is a village, community and electoral ward in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It lies in the Usk Valley just across the river from the town of Crickhowell. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal passes through the village en route between Brecon and Pontypool. It is in the historic county of Breconshire.
Jarrod Michael Jablonski is a pioneering technical diver and record setting cave diver as well as an accomplished business owner and operator. These business operations include Halcyon Manufacturing, Extreme Exposure Adventure Center and Global Underwater Explorers. In July 2021 Jablonski launched and now operates the world's deepest pool at Deep Dive Dubai. Jablonski is one of the main architects behind the 'Doing It Right' system of diving.
Artur "Conrad" Kozłowski was a Polish cave diver who spent his last years in Ireland. Amongst other achievements in cave exploration, he set the record for the deepest cave dive in Great Britain and Ireland at a depth of 103 m (338 ft).
Pollatoomary is the deepest explored underwater cave in Ireland. It has been explored to an underwater depth of 113 metres (371 ft). The explored limit of Pollatoomary is also 23 metres (75 ft) deeper underwater than that of the terminal sump in Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset, England, which previously held the record for the deepest underwater cave in Britain and Ireland.
John Paul Volanthen, is a British cave diver who undertakes cave rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation, South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue, and the British Caving Association. In 2018, he played a leading role in the Tham Luang cave rescue. He cave-dives as a hobby and conducts rescues as a volunteer. He works as an IT consultant in Bristol.
Richard William Stanton, is a British civilian cave diver who specialises in rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation and the British Cave Rescue Council. He has been called "one of the world's most accomplished cave-divers", "the face of British cave diving," and "the best cave diver in Europe". Stanton has lived in Coventry for many years, and was formerly a firefighter with the West Midlands Fire Service for 25 years prior to his retirement. In 2018 he played a leading role in the Tham Luang cave rescue and was awarded the George Medal in the Civilian Gallantry List.
The Underground Eiger is a made-for-television documentary that was released in 1979. It details a world record-breaking cave dive of 6,000 ft (1,800 m) made by Geoff Yeadon and Oliver Statham from West Kingsdale Master Cave, in North Yorkshire, England to Keld Head. An estimated 20 million viewers watched its television debut. It has been called "legendary in caving folklore," and notable cave diver Rick Stanton cites it as the impetus that sparked his interest in cave diving.
Cave diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. The equipment used varies depending on the circumstances, and ranges from breath hold to surface supplied, but almost all cave diving is done using scuba equipment, often in specialised configurations with redundancies such as sidemount or backmounted twinset. Recreational cave diving is generally considered to be a type of technical diving due to the lack of a free surface during large parts of the dive, and often involves planned decompression stops. A distinction is made by recreational diver training agencies between cave diving and cavern diving, where cavern diving is deemed to be diving in those parts of a cave where the exit to open water can be seen by natural light. An arbitrary distance limit to the open water surface may also be specified. Despite the risks, water-filled caves attract scuba divers, cavers, and speleologists due to their often unexplored nature, and present divers with a technical diving challenge.
Penelope Powell was a pioneering cave diver. She was Diver No. 2 for the first successful cave dive using breathing equipment in Britain at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills, Somerset on 18 August 1935. Powell was posthumously entered into the Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) in 2023.
References
- ↑ Cave Diving Group – The Golden Age
- ↑ Cave Diving Group – 1980’s to Present
- ↑ Irish Times article referencing Farr's records for longest and deepest sump dives in Ireland in the 1980s
- ↑ Books by Martyn Farr
- ↑ Pursuits, Limitless (25 February 2015). "The darkness beckons: an interview with cave diver Martyn Farr". Limitless Pursuits. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ↑ Siggins, Lorna (7 September 2011). "'There is no rescue - only recovery, if you're lucky'". Irish Times . Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ↑ Interview with Martyn Farr in Advance Diver Magazine (US)
- ↑ Martyn Farr writes about diving the caves beneath Australia's Nullarbor Plain in Diver Magazine (UK) Archived 2011-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ The world's longest cave diving penetration
- ↑ Support diver Martyn Farr writes about the world record Pozo Azul cave diving penetration Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ The Darkness Beckons "has achieved legendary status" - Diver Magazine (UK) Archived 2011-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
