This episode is brought to you by XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Huge thanks to both for their support, that makes all of this possible.
It's my great pleasure today to bring you episode #88 on the fifth anniversary of the founding of this podcast. If you told me on those nervous days starting on this venture that we'd still be pumping out episodes five years later and that I would have produced this many episodes, talked sidemount with so many great divers, and then have the good fortune to meet and dive with some of them in person, we'll to be honest… I probably hoped for some of this… but in short, I am very proud of what we have accomplished.
I'm not sure there's been a lot of recognition of the podcast in mainstream technical diving but for me personally, to be listed in the InDepth magazine Who's Who of Sidemount Diving for the contributions this podcast has made to Sidemount Diving, was hugely satisfying.
Along with producing Speaking Sidemount, I think a massive benefit to me personally through the podcast, has been the growth in my own diving knowledge. There's no doubt that talking to and hearing the thoughts and experiences of the very best is a fantastic way to expand our thinking on sidemount diving and I sincerely hope that many of you have also learned something through listening to each episode.
But… there's much more to do and interestingly, this August is also the tenth anniversary of my first steps into sidemount and cave diving. When I think of my path, from my Sidemount, Cavern and Intro to Cave Courses, and then spending two years floundering at times trying to take what I learned in the warm freshwater cenotes and caves of Mexico and apply it to temperate saltwater diving in Northern California and New Zealand, going from Aluminium cylinders to steel, wet suit to dry suit, grabbing what I could from the internet and YouTube, failing, refining, and eventually making progress, before I went to Gozo and trained and worked with Tom Steiner at Gozo Technical Diving. Over the 2 seasons I spent there I was able to make massive progress working with some phenomenal role models including Tom, Audrey Cudel, Steve Martin, Vas Proud, Peter Tschannen and Thorsten Mewes.
I see many others taking a similar path and so, in this episode, I meet and chat with a man that I can only describe as a great guy. Scott RG hails from the highlands of Scotland and like me dovetails his professional career with a massive passion for diving. Scott can be found early in the mornings diving in the mines of Scotland and the caves of the north of England. His passion for diving has led him to make a massive commitment to dive training completing instructor training before discovering sidemount and cave diving. He trained in Mexico with Tristan Termat moving thorugh Sidemount, Cave and Advanced Sidemount training and then applied this to the frigid waters of Roscobie Limestone Mine in Scotland and another mine that Scott only describes as Project X. Having hit the limits of Open Circuit diving Scott decided to train on the KISS Sidewinder rebreather with Jacek Konikowski. The sidewinder has opened up longer and as Scott and I discuss, safer dives. Scott has now installed 5000m of line into Project X. That's a lot of string as he describes it.
Sit back and enjoy with me our 5th-anniversary episode… Scott RG - "The Mines of Scotland". Thanks for your support…