Don and I were discussing drysuits the other day, and the fact that Don has been an Otter drysuit fan most of his dive career. So I thought I would put together a montage of photos from 2000 to 2023.. It also points out the relentless marching of time we humans endure! Hasn’t Don agedContinue reading “Don in his Otter element”
Category Archives: Don Shirley
Operation Pheasant Hunt – 1996
A short description of some of the dives we did to find HMS Pheasant. On the 12th May we aimed to dive to find whatever was on the bottom. Tony and I were dropped off on the buoy as it surfaced. Our job was to assess the current and see if the rest could follow.Continue reading “Operation Pheasant Hunt – 1996”
On the 1st of April 1982
On the 1st of April my “Field Workshop” has just changed role. And was now part of the Air Mobile rapid response Brigade. We had a “march past” to mark this and had spent some months in preparation for it. We knew of the action on South Georgia. And Played “Don’t Cry for me Argentina”Continue reading “On the 1st of April 1982”
Memories of the Queen Elizabeth II and my birthday
This year on 12 May 2022 it will be the 40th anniversary of me sailing on the Queen Elizabeth II to the Falklands War. A nice Birthday present. Also this year my 65th birthday present was to visit the ship again. (Thank you Meadow Walker). The video clip of my visit is shown below. ItContinue reading “Memories of the Queen Elizabeth II and my birthday”
The Big 5 Caves
This is a short video concerning what we consider “The Big 5” in Cave Diving in our region – Southern Africa. Notice all the preparation work we must put in before each expedition. One day we will get it together and make a specific clip concerning our hard work behind the scenes. If you areContinue reading “The Big 5 Caves”
Leopard Shenanigans
On 6 August 2021, I was annoyed that a couple of divers were hooting in the campsite. This was a no-noise site, tranquil, quiet, and city dwellers love coming here for this peace. I walked over, was astonished to see a leopard in the tree, and the divers trapped in their vehicle. The leopard jumpedContinue reading “Leopard Shenanigans”
Holland and Germany visit 2020
Don was invited to speak at the Tech 2020 show in Holland and we gladly accepted the offer. Pim van der Horst accommodated us and Dennis Blom drove us to places. A very nice drive I might add – in his electric Jaguar – what a pleasure! With Pim’s help we rented bicycles and sawContinue reading “Holland and Germany visit 2020”
Traffic
Traffic is sometimes a challenge getting off site. If it’s not Zebra’s crossing, then it is Wildebees frolicking. This is just a glimpse of what we have to endure. I hope to get your sympathy for this hardship.
Namibia Sunfish Expedition
This was a wow trip. In the past there was a whole lot of guessing going on concerning the sizes and dimensions of the underground and submerged caves in Namibia. As they are so vast and deep, ordinary humans/divers could not adequately map the terrain. Enter Sunfish, “a user friendly and person-portable Autonomous Underwater VehicleContinue reading “Namibia Sunfish Expedition”
Mexico Cave Diving 2019
A year after the previous trip we hit Tulum, Mexico again. Couldn’t stay away for long. We usually go in the South African winter (June, July) for a few reasons… One being that our dive site Komati Springs is quieter and we can shut up and go; another is that it is not busy inContinue reading “Mexico Cave Diving 2019”