Video from a Training Dive with John Chatterton

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The Air of Everest
By John Chatterton

Before rebreathers and before trimix, air-breathing wreck divers were testing themselves and their equipment on the wreck of the Andrea Doria. In retrospect, I consider myself lucky to have been there in the 1980s. I was in the right place at the right time.

Long before I made my way to the wreck, it had been explored by virtually all of the sport’s wreck-diving legends like Peter Gimbel, John Dudas, George Hoffman, Mike de Camp and Bill Nagle, yet they barely scratched the surface of the wreck’s potential.

Nagle was the captain of the dive boat, Seeker, my usual ride. He was an experienced Doria diver and my wreck-diving mentor. Before I made my first dive to the wreck, Bill warned me that the Doria was very dangerous. I clearly understood that any wreck in 250 feet of water was indeed a dangerous place for a diver, but that was not what he meant. “The Doria is dangerous because it is so highly addictive,” he said. “You’ll see. You’ll have to keep coming back.”

I thought Bill was crazy. I knew how much preparation, dedication and money it took just to get there. I was not going to make 100 dives on the Doria. I was going on a single trip, it was going to be the highlight of my diving career, and then I was moving on, or so I thought. Ultimately, Bill was right. I would make more than 150 Doria dives before the new millennium.

The Doria lies on her starboard side in about 250 feet of water. Back in the 1980s the port side was only about 180 feet deep. On the right day, any open-water diver could swim down and touch the Doria. The problem is that you can’t tell from the boat if it is the right day. Oftentimes the ocean surface will be completely still, but current can be roaring on the wreck. Visibility can be 100-plus feet, but it is more likely to be 10 to 20 feet. One thing is for sure: It’s always cold, roughly 38 to 48 degrees.

Until computers came along, we had to use the U.S. Navy dive tables. Unfortunately, there were no repetitive tables for air dives over 190 feet. We were not going to stay above 190, or sacrifice our repetitive dives. We overcame this obstacle by interpolating the Navy tables in a way I should probably not describe. It was not exactly what we learned in open-water training.

In the 1980s, deep diving was not acceptable to the mainstream. It was outlaw diving and we were bad boys (and girls). Of those who crossed the 130-foot redline, there were divers who were content simply to make it to the wreck and satisfied to touch the exterior. But what made the Doria the Doria was found inside. Its uniqueness was defined by the almost limitless penetrations it offered. Completely unexplored areas of the wreck awaited those willing to enter. This is what made the Doria different from all the other wrecks of the day. It gave you plenty of rope to hang yourself.

Like most of my peers, I became bolder with every dive. Eventually, I could swim solo down to the wreck, drop into the promenade, swim down to the double doors, enter into the wreck on the promenade deck, swim aft to a stairwell, travel in the stairway down two decks to the foyer deck, come out in the second-class foyer, cross into the second-class dining room, swim aft to the bulkhead at the revolving door, drop down to 230 feet, and enter the corridor into the second-class kitchen. There I would find a cabinet and collect a few souvenirs of glassware. Alone, on air, without a penetration line, this was incredibly aggressive diving.

Why break all the rules of diving to risk dying lost and alone? For me, I wanted to go where no diver had ever been. It was about challenging myself and answering the question, “Could I do it?” Could I figure out a way to go beyond where I had been and get back? Maybe others had different reasons. Regardless, it was adventurous diving and there were numerous injuries and fatalities to prove it. Looking back on the way we dove back then should make any modern day certified diver cringe.

Unfortunately, the days of vast penetrations on the Andrea Doria are gone. The wreck is collapsing and is barely recognizable for what she once was. While the Doria has been in decline, diving has changed dramatically, too. Today we know more about both diving and education, and we have better tools. We dive deeper, longer, and we are much better equipped to manage the inherent risks of diving deep shipwrecks. However, for a short time, the Andrea Doria really was the Mount Everest of wreck diving.

Article by Jacques Bezuidenhout

Sources: scubadiving.com; wikipedia.org, andreadoria.org

Perspective: happy-diver
 
I loved the video with commentary, and it brought back so many great memories of taking the advanced wreck class with JC a couple of years ago. Besides all the wreck diving skills we learned in the class, I learned countless other tidbits that I've incorporated into all my diving to make me a much better diver. Before I took the advanced wreck class, I had never dived in doubles, and had no deco training or certification, so all our wreck dives were non-deco. In retrospect, I wish I had a little doubles experience going in to the class, but John got me squared away enough during the class that I didn't look too embarrassing by the end of the three days.

Advanced wreck with John is unquestionably one of the best classes I've ever taken, scuba related or not. Lots of knowledge and wisdom imparted in just a couple of days. I certainly was not a wreck diver anywhere near John's level, but I was much more capable, and better equipped to safely enjoy wreck diving and put the skills taught in the class to good use.

John's job in the class was not to get everyone diving in perfect trim, perfect finning, etc. If someone is interested in that, they should take a Fundies class and spend most of their time underwater doing drills. This class is about wreck diving strategy and techniques, gaining as much knowledge and basic skills as possible in a few very busy days. John is an excellent instructor, without coming across as teaching. Nothing came across as self promoting. He's an extremely experienced and knowledgeable wreck diver, and he talks about his experiences. If that comes across as advertising or bragging, get over it, and take the same class with a nobody instructor with fewer stories to tell. His stories definitely make a lot of the class value and unique
 
Hey man I'm sure there's some kind of sickness called "criticize an achiever because you haven't achieved sickness"

or something like that

anyhow I miss the video and the narrator, I suppose we've got 52 pages of non achievement to wipe our arses with

but I did happen to find this for those open to learning about adventure from a bunch of adventurous adventurers

But I'm still staunch in the Gentile camp


Another Video from a Training Dive with John Chatterton


bit of a mess, but they're just divers new to this divin, divin
with a guy that's just a guy but also happens to be a megaguy
where those with a modicum of decorum respect the achievement
because the guy is just a guy

See on here there's the, treat you like a child finger pointers, oh no you can't wear doubles
because they can't or they read it somewhere or someone told them you gotta do a course
or some overquoted darwin bloke will come and orphanise your children, like the other guy
you don't know what you don't' know guy travelling the world on your dime showing us how
dumb we are, so if you've paid money, to be told something that if true must last for infinity

then he's 100% correct, you just don't know it


How brilliant would it be if you turned up to a doubles course already able to dive doubles

so you could concentrate on the course

or any course, it is called preparedness

Shadow Diver | John Chatterton | reflections from my underwater world



not those that have to pull a stick out before they wipe
 
. . . the advanced wreck class . . . .
. . .
gaining . . . basic skills . . . .
. . .
John's job in the class was not to get everyone diving in perfect trim, perfect finning, etc. If someone is interested in that, they should take a Fundies class . . . .

I'm confused. So what is "advanced" about this class if a lot of what is taught are "basic" skills?

Fundies--that is, the GUE Fundamentals course--is intended to teach the fundamentals of better diving, not about "perfect" anything. The fundamentals of how to dive safely and efficiently--whether GUE-flavored or other--can help make even simple reef bimbles more enjoyable, but are, I believe, essential (fundamental?) to diving in less benign environments.

I spent three years learning what I consider the fundamentals in the full tech gear configuration--doubles, drysuit, can light, etc.--in order to prepare myself to take advanced training. I have no idea what the Chatterton course is, except confusing.

His stories are great. Loved the books.
 
I'm confused. So what is "advanced" about this class if a lot of what is taught are "basic" skills?

He was teaching a class on a boat I was on Sunday. We were sitting next to him and his students so we listened in a bit. Essentially, overhead diving, wreck penetration, running line, blackout mask, etc.

I've never taken any of his classes so not really keen on the content, but I liked his teaching style. Funny guy, cracking jokes constantly. :rofl3:
 
Great to see the video is back up, will sit down and watch it later on.

Would jump at the chance to do a course with Chatterton, for me it would not be about the TDI content and could not give two hoots about standards in fact I would not even bother with the certification and tell Chatterton to throw the book out the window and feed of the blokes vast wreck diving experience . A course like this is not about improving those fundamentals, there are other courses for that. If you do have those fundamentals squared away then I am sure you will get much more from the course. Up to the individual to decide if they are ready for a course like this.
 
It’s been explained well already, but this might help to visualize:

Because I saw this being revived, I took a look at this video with Guy Shockey. Great person, great instructor, great representative of GUE and the sport of diving. Now back to the rest of my popcorn.
 
now that's some funny sh%t
 
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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