Marc van der Poel and Ben Gregson were both here to get deep down inside wrecks; and with the wreck of the Dona Marilyn just a short day trip away from Malapascua it is ideally located as a training wreck for the Advanced Wreck Diver class with TDI.

Marc and Ben, are both experienced divers with DM or higher qualifications so trim was not a problem for these guys. They did find keeping hold of the line, not banging their heads, and signaling to their instructor a challenge at times though! Once they had proven their worth with gas sharing and blind exits, and some interesting lost line drills the fun part came.

On the final day of class the team managed to get right to the bottom of the engine room and find some interesting artifacts including shoes and a crate of beer. There was of course a little bit of silt disturbed in the process, and some bubbles managed to get in amongst some old oil which we later watched floating to the surface and spreading out over the flat calm seas.

On the second dive explorations uncovered a number of interesting glass jars, and lots and lots of plastic bottles of shampoo and various other beauty products, as well as numerous blister packs of medecine, and some bags of candy....we didnt think any of it would be very nice to eat though!

Well done guys and good luck on your next classes...

You started taking things more seriously still. You bought a BCD and a regulator and, after your partner realised that there wasn’t much to do in most dive resorts other than dive, you started going to more obscure locations with people you’d never met before. You would mention or enquire after the “vis” at least once in every conversation. You bought your first dive computer. A rescue diver course was inevitable – maybe even divemaster. Your dive gear now weighs 15kg and travels in its own special bag.

On one of your trips you caught your first glimpse of technical divers. Big hairy men and, in some cases, big hairy women, clad entirely in black rubber and carrying more tanks than the Soviet army. They giggled in the face of death and flicked the testicles of danger with the end of a wet towel. These were the boys and girls that did the “big” dives and you thought to yourself “I fancy a bit of that”. So you signed up for an entry level tech course and / or advanced nitrox and decompression procedures, where the instructor patiently and compassionately showed you that even though you were a divemaster or dive instructor, and despite your hundreds of dives, you still had a LOT to learn.

For example, you learn that none of the dive equipment you had amassed over the years was suitable for technical diving, not even your fins. You learn that tech diving equipment, despite being typically much simpler than a lot of recreational equipment, was much more expensive. You learn that you need a lot of equipment. Finally, you learn that owning equipment is a very different thing to being able to competently use it as your instructor takes perverse pleasure in showing you just how much farther you have to go in order to be a technical diver. Somehow, it all starts to come together and you manage to perform, if not master, the course requisites. Your dive gear is now a hefty 25kg, takes up all of your checked baggage allowance and your regulators travel in their own separate “special” bag.

If you have not been put off diving for life, or at least technical diving, you then sign up for extended range / basic trimix. You learn that in the period between this course and the last your instructor has "modified" the drills "for increased safety" and thought up a bunch of new ones. You learn that you need more equipment. You decide that your children don’t need a college education, dentistry or fresh vegetables as you convince yourself that $1,500 is a perfectly reasonable price to pay for a torch, possibly a bargain. Despite your stated objective of simplifying your dive equipment as much as possible your gear weighs in at a whopping 32kg, more than the average ten year old child, and requires three bags and you have to start taking your partner on trips again to help you carry it.

If you haven’t already decided by now that enough is enough, and that your life just won’t be the same without one more dive course, you sign up for advanced trimix. This is serious stuff and, as you may have guessed, requires still more equipment. As you may also have guessed, you will be indescribably pleased to learn that your instructor has again invented a further bunch of new skills, you are now expected to perform these to demonstration quality before participating in a video review and general character assassination. You will learn that helium is only slightly less expensive than buying a Lotus and, like owning a Lotus, requires a constant outlay of cash. Successful completion of this course places you in a very small minority of divers qualified to perform unusual and unsupervised hyperbaric experiments on their own bodies.

You’ve come a long way from that open water diver all those years ago. By now, your dive gear weighs more than 60kg, including between five and eight regulators, and regularly incurs excess baggage charges. When travelling, particularly through the States, you are ALWAYS subjected to a “random” security search due to the inability of minimum-wage airport security staff to distinguish the difference between a bag of regulators and a bag of Uzis. In an attempt to reduce your helium habit you shell out another huge tranche of your children’s college funds to buy a rebreather. Once qualified you get to entrust your life and the livelihood of your loved ones to a machine that casually attempts to kill you at least twice every time you get it wet. You also learn what fun it can be trying to take cylinders through airports as the security staff show that they are equally unable to spot the difference between these and a bag of Uzis. Your bathroom scales shatter when you attempt to weigh your equipment.

Through all this, that moment when the wreck appears beneath you, when your torchlight picks out the shape of the bridge or a gun, when you find the engine room or the galley, that sense of adventure, of going where few if any men have been before you, that makes everything worth it and more. Je ne regrette rien.

The first day involves some intensive theory sessions, discussing equipment, penetration techniques, dive planning and gas management. They then had the pleasure of practising some line laying in the back of Evolution, where they tried out their 'lost line', 'lost buddy', and blind exit techniques. Joined by James Webb in the photo below you can see Tom leading Ash through the trees!

Having got wet in shallow water for 4hrs the next day Ash and Tom managed to complete multiple skills sessions and scenario dives. Practising with stage bottles for the first time to maximise their gas for the advanced wreck dives to come. The Dona Marilyn is a fantastic wreck with lots of penetration opportunities, and the guys worked well together as a team during the practise of all the skills in the real environment.

On the second day the highlight was exiting the wreck with a completely blacked out mask, and also sharing gas at the same time! Ash managed to get his longhose a bit tangled, but still safely guide Tom out of the wreck - even though they did get a bit stuck in the doorway right at the exit!

The final day was a time to play, and the engine room and lower decks were the site of more exploration - helping us to build our map of the large wreck for further diving soon.

Of course the course was completed with a small session in The Craic House and Tom and Ash indicating that they thought the course was

TOO EASY!

After experiencing Monad Shoal as recreational divers, and watching Graham Macklin and Matt disappear over the wall, they became curious about what more there was to see, and decided to spend extra time here to learn about technical diving. As an engineer Konstantin breezed through the academics and was able to assist Jasmin with a bit of translation of some of the slightly more complex language. Soon they were getting wet and experiencing the joys of helicopter turns and backwards finning techniques.

Once they had both mastered all the skills and shown themselves capable in scenario dives and simulated ascents, then we headed off to the Japanese Gun Boat wreck for a nice dive in strong current; and then a relaxing afternoon dive at Monad Shoal as the the finale.

Well done guys and good luck with the rest of your round the world trip!

Evolution is the relatively new commercial arm of Triton Technical...Evolution has a full 2000sqm premises with full tech and rec diveshop as well as a bar and restaurant...ready to serve you your cold beers and great hot food.

The diving in Malapascua is first rate with wrecks and walls and sharks as well as some fantastic macro sites for those of you who love the little critters.

Oh and did I mention the gold sand beach, the hot sun and the incredbily relaxed atmosphere of the entire place?

Have a look at the Evolution website and see what you're missing

Ash Mills, James Webb, David Joyce, Matt Reed

The spacious dive deck strewn with various parts of gear including rebreathers

Of course there had to be some celebration for various courses being passed and significant dives

James's snorkel for 150 dives

Ash's snorkel for 200 dives

Ed's snorkel for nitrox cert and generally because he wanted a beer

Check out the expedition page for the next trip in 2012

I planned to spend whatever time it would take to clear the entrance and pass the restriction...and armed with buckets, bags, and some local assistants we loaded the cows as usual and set off. Yet again I was left slack jawed as my helpers carried sets of double tanks barefoot through the jungle, up and down rocky hills.

Carrying double tanks barefoot through the jungle from Triton Technical Diving on Vimeo.

Once at the site it was clear the viz was low, and on entering the passage I was happy to find my original line to follow. At the restriction I was met by a tangle of line, wrapped around tree branches and rocks...and became less optimistic about my chances of penetrating further. However it turned out that although the old line had been broken, probably during the heavy rains, the restriction was now cleared of sand and debris and I could quite happily pass. I tied off new line and moved ahead, anticipating some exciting new discoveries.

After about 20m I found the old line still tied off further into the cave, and was able to stow my new line and continue following the original line I had laid. This speeded my progress in the low visibility. I swam, and swam, and swam, amazed at how far I had travelled on the first dive I did and laid line there...with the low viz I wasn’t able to see as much as before, and ducked under low ceilings, and turned corners I didn’t really remember turning before. After a while I came to the end of my old line, and turn pressure. I took out my fresh line and made a solid tie off, and locked the reel there, ready to lay it out on my second dive.

After cruising back slowly and enjoy the feeling of exiting after a successful dive, I calmly surfaced and let the surface guys know that things were good and we would be hanging around a bit longer. They had meanwhile setup a couple of hammocks and cleared the area so we could enjoy the jungle during the waiting time. Tins of tuna were brought out, along with rice and some chicken. One of the local farmers had hacked into a tree root, and was collecting the sap and adding it some drinking water. “It make you ‘strong’” he said indicating below my waist...

After resting I was keen to get back and extend the line; A quick change of the tanks and off I went, leaving a deco bottle of 100% oxygen at 6m on my way past. I scooted in along the previously laid line, and soon came to the reel I had left there just a few hours before...unlocked it and off I went.

I managed to lay around another 200m of line to the previous 150m, and then the cave started to rise up from 20m and gave me the feeling of coming to the end, or the surface. I had already discussed at length with the locals if there were any other pools around, so I was confident that I would not find myself surfacing in the jungle nearby to where I started.

I did surface though...following the sandy slope upwards, and squeezing myself between a narrow corridor of cave rock, I soon came to the surface of an underground chamber. There was clearly some flow of water pushing me around and I had to hang onto the wall as I tied off my line, and tried not to get dragged away...The roof raised about 2m above my head and there was plenty of room to look around, and plenty of air.

For safety’s sake I didn’t remove my reg...on covering my light is was clear there was no route to daylight, and I was still completely underground. Not bats, no spiders, probably metres of rock between me and the jungle. The source of the water flow was pretty clear though...behind me as I surfaced was a small waterfall. A very nice sight, and enhanced by the fact that I could pretty much know that no other human has ever seen this waterfall before.

Kangkwakdi cave system underground waterfall from Triton Technical Diving on Vimeo.

As the clock was ticking, I took a few moments to enjoy the sight and then turned for home...a gentle swim with a nice feeling of discovery, but a sad feeling that the cave didnt have more passageways, and would not lead to more discoveries...

Always up for a challenge Simon offered to help get me down to the bottom to check the cave, and then send down the gear if it was worth diving.

Long story short we found a spring, but just a trickle, and certainly no diveable caves...we also found lots of bats, and a number of animal carcasses, which made the smell at the bottom of the pit close to unbearable.

An exciting and strenuous day, but unfortunately no submerged passage. Thanks to Simon for his help in putting this one to bed.

Ash had come back to freshen up his skills and generally enjoy some more tech dives; Sam had come on down to complete his Rescue class with Pedro at Atlantis. Both of them were prepared for a good time, and some social activities as well.

Ash arrived while Mahen[see below] was still in town on his extended trip; and together they were able to go through some scenario dives with 2 deco bottles, and a lot of problem solving to keep them on their toes. Mike T joined the group to help with videoing, have a look at some of the footage of Ash and Mahen going through the motions below.

Scenario dive as a pair. Solve problems as they come at you...in this case lost mask - maintain contact and reference with the line and good buoyancy and trim

lost mask during a scenario dive from Matt Reed on Vimeo.

Mahen persuaded Ash that the Coconut drift dive at Apo Island was a great one, and they ended up diving that site 3 times during the trip, a big Giant Trevally came by to say hi on all the dives, and there was also the schools of jacks and the great boulders to enjoy as they were whipped past in the current. They guys also dropped on Chapel Deep, Rock Point West at 45m, and the Cogon drift as well...a lot of great tech dives.

Relaxing in the evening gave lots of time for chatting about dive stories, and everyone is now planning to visit Mahen and dive the HMS Hermes! Below you can see us all enjoying the Atlantis beach bar for some after dive drinks and snacks...

Mahen Perera, Mike Taylor, Matt Reed, Ashley Mills, Sam Peterson

Sam decided that everyone needed new personalities and the resulting edit gave us all a good laugh...

The last night was also the excuse to celebrate Ash's 40th birthday which was to come a few days later...Atmosphere resort became the venue for snorkel tests, celebrations, and of course some swimming in their pool by the bar later on in the evening...

Coming from Sri Lanka Mahen has been studying and researching the wreck of the HMS Hermes for a number of years, and after feeling he had mastered his basic diving skills he decided it was time to gain the knowledge and experience to be able to tackle this famous shipwreck.

Mahen Gets to grips with some helicopter turns during the initial part of his training

Skills practice for Adv Nitrox/Deco Pro class from Matt Reed on Vimeo.

The four day advanced nitrox and deco procedures class gave Mahen a chance to try out all his shiny new equipment, and he soon found that he was getting comfortable with the new setup. But was he ready for the Hermes? After some experience dives Mahen decided that he had better stay longer and gain more technical diving experience...so add a few more days of fun diving at Apo Island.

Then it became clear that Mahen’s work commitments could be pushed back and give him time to take the trimix class; excellent, now he can remember what he sees when he dives the wreck!

“Hey this is pretty good fun!” Became a common phrase during the post dive relaxation periods and guess what...Mahen decided to stay a bit longer and improve his understanding of dive planning, and deco theory. “Hell, while I’m here let’s do the gas blending course as well”. So one of the rare rainy days saw Matt and Mahen back in the classroom for more maths, and some practical training on how to mix nitrox for his dives.

After a few more days of great dives, and additional scenario dives, Mahen felt ready for the challenge and headed off back to Sri Lanka to catch up on emails and prepare himself to face the mighty Hermes. A total trip of almost 3 weeks meant Mahen left with lots of new friends, who have all been watching his video of the Hermes on Facebook!

Clearly not having had enough of tech diving in the Philippines Mahen is already planning a trip back to join the Triton Tech guys as they explore Malapascua in August, so watch this space for more stories.