Episode #63 - Laurent Miroult: 'Live For Moments You Can't Put Into Words'

Welcome to the 2021 season of Speaking Sidemount brought to you with the support of XDEEP and our patrons. In this episode, I catch up with renowned cave diving photographer, Laurent Miroult. Huge thanks to Stratis Kas for the introduction.

Laurent and I dive into... his background and how he got into sidemount and cave diving, how he balances his career as a doctor with diving, and his training and mentoring with Rob Neto. We learn more about how Laurent captures his amazing images... his equipment, his photographic process, the importance of safety, and his advice for aspiring cave photographers.

We talk a bit about COVID and vaccines and muse on goals for older divers, before Laurent and I share our favourite caves we have dived and the locations that we are itching to get to once we are able to travel again.

Enjoy!! Steve

Special Release - Episode #54 - Matt Jevon: Diving After COVID-19

It's awesome to be able to bring you with the support of XDEEP, another great episode from the Speaking Sidemount Patreon vault. 

In this episode, I catch up with my old friend Matt Jevon, just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic. I first met Matt Jevon back in late 2015 when I was being taught and mentored by Tom Steiner at Gozo Technical Diving. Matt and I teamed up on a bunch of awesome dives and also did our fair share of après-diving at a few of the great restaurants on Gozo.

Matt is the founder/instructor at South West Technical Diving in Kinsale Ireland where teaches the full gambit of tech courses including sidemount, cave, and rebreather courses. He is also a sports psychologist, rugby and conditioning coach and consults to businesses on strategy at senior management and board levels.

As you'll soon hear, Matt was seriously infected with COVID-19 a few months back which included a period of hospitalisation. Matt shares his first-hand knowledge of the virus and also what he has learned during his recovery and his research into the longer-term impacts for divers.

We also discuss our time at Gozo Technical and what we learned being part of and observing dive training there. Matt tells us about the diving in Ireland including the Lusitania and the wrecks of Malin head.

We get into Matt's thoughts on sidemount in a variety of environments, sidemount CCR and his work with the Divesoft Liberty.

We close with a discussion using Matt's knowledge and experience as a psychologist on how to best deal with the current pandemic and its effect on our lives.

Special Release - Episode #52 - PJ Prinsloo

As our summer hiatus continues, it's awesome to be able to bring you with the support of XDEEP, another great episode from the Speaking Sidemount Patreon vault.

This time I catch up with PJ Prinsloo. PJ is a technical diving instructor trainer and the Director, Technical Diving for RAID South Africa. As you'll hear, he is passionate about the benefits of sidemount and has a wealth of knowledge from the perspective of a sidemount diver, instructor, instructor trainer, and in his role at RAID.

Last year PJ was inducted into the prestigious Explorers Club and in this episode, we go deep into his involvement in the stunning exploration of the Phoenician Wreck in Xlendi Bay off the island of Gozo, Malta. As you know, I spent two amazing seasons at Gozo Technical Diving and this is definitely a place very close to my heart. The exploration dives were at depths over 110m with 3-4 hour dive runtimes which took an immense amount of planning and attention to detail to execute safely.

We also discuss sidemount diving and continue our voyage into the state of sidemount diving and instruction. We talk about what it takes to be a great sidemount instructor, the economic argument for focussing on smaller class sizes and more attention to course quality, PJ's thoughts on optimising your sidemount setup, sliding d-rings. We continue discussing sidemount CCR and how he sees this through the students that come on his courses. We finish reminiscing about our trips to Chuuk and the wrecks of Truk Lagoon.

Special Release - Episode #50 - Chris Jewell: Beyond Thailand

I'm super excited to publicly release Episode #50 with Chris Jewell. Previously this episode was only available to Patrons of Speaking Sidemount and is brought to you with the support of XDEEP.

Chris is a member of the British Cave Diving Group and was part of the team involved in the acclaimed Thai Cave rescue. Chris took part in the actual extraction dives of the rescue and in doing so became part of history as a key part of one of the greatest rescues of modern times.

Awards, accolades and numerous TV and speaking appearances followed and so it was awesome nearly 2 years later to catch up with Chris and ask him about how he got into cave diving, his experience in training and becoming part of the CDG, the importance of mentoring to the CDG training process. Chris reflects on his experience in Thailand some two years after the rescue, and he shares more on his terrifying lost line episode while extracting one of the boys from the cave.

Chris and I discuss the distinctions between sump diving and traditional cave diving, how this then drives decisions about your equipment configuration. We dive into detail on Chris' UK sump diving sidemount set up, we talk conceptually about carrying a long hose, gas sharing scenarios, and some of Chris' favourite cave exploration projects.

Enjoy, Steve

Episode #62 - Rob Neto: The Almost Comprehensive Guide to Sidemount

Hey all, Happy New Year. I hope that wherever you are, that you are well and doing OK. Excited to provide the first episode of 2021 brought to you by XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount. Thanks so much to both for their support.

In this episode, I catch up with Florida based, cave instructor, explorer and author, Rob Neto. Rob has just released the 2nd edition of his book "Sidemount Diving, The Almost Comprehensive Guide". Despite the title, this is, without doubt, the most complete written work on sidemount diving with over 300 pages of how-to and the whys behind all of it. In this episode, Rob and I get into the book, chat some on different aspects of sidemount before he shares on his cave exploration exploits in Cozumel.

He has graciously shared a discount code for all of you which is valid until the end of Feb. Just go to his website at https://bit.ly/38XOK1Q and use the coupon code speakingsidemount for a $15 discount.

Cheers Steve

#XDEEP #SteveDavis #SidemountPros #SidemountDiving #Cavediving #RobNeto #ChipolaDivers

Episode #61 - Sean Wheller

Here it is... the last episode of 2020 with Speaking Sidemount Gold Patron, Sean Wheller. Sean and I have been communicating online for well over a year, and in fact, he was one of the very first patrons to support the show. He's a sidemount diver, a decompression and cave diver and continues to progress his training with PJ Prinsloo in South Africa. 

In this episode, Sean and I chat about his diving, how he started in sidemount learning from Steve Martin's videos, his training with PJ Prinsloo, how he has worked to develop his diving and overcome mental challenges as he addresses cave training in particular. We talk about the benefit of a variety of instructors and also get into diving in South Africa, in particular, Sodwana bay and Komati Springs.

Wishing you all an awesome holiday season and all the best for next year. Thanks again for the support :)!!

Become a Patron - Speaking Sidemount with Steve Davis - Podcast | Patreon

Episode #60 - Tamara May

This episode is sponsored by XDEEP and supported by the patrons of Speaking Sidemount.

I'm really excited to share this episode with you featuring my chat with Tamara May. I first sighted Tamara on YouTube, I think about 5 or 6 years ago as the star of an excellent sidemount configuration and skills video shot in Mexico. The skills were excellent but as I was taken with the video flow, the camera and editing work which really made the video incredibly compelling.

More recently I saw Tamara listed as one of the exploration divers on Robbie Schmitter's all-female cave exploration team for the Xunaan-Ha Expedition in 2021. I thought this was a great initiative bringing together a group of great divers with disparate experiences and skillsets to complete a new exploration project under the guidance of an experienced cave explorer.

In this episode, Tamara and I discuss: how she got into diving and it became her life's passion. We discuss her travels to various parts of the world to train, work and develop as a diver and instructor. We get into her work at Protec Mexico with Patrick, Kim and the Protec team and also how she set up her own diving brand... Dive like a Ninja. We chat about her upcoming Xunaan-Ha Expedition project with Robbie Schmitter. Check out here for how you can support the team in this awesome project - https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-xunaanha-expedition 

Episode #59 - Victor Tovar

This episode is sponsored by XDEEP and supported by the patrons of Speaking Sidemount.

While I was working and training at Gozo Technical diving under the tutelage of Tom Steiner, I completed my Full Cave training at Cueva Del Agua, in Isla Plana Spain. It's an amazing cave and I've spoken with several of my previous guests including Garry Dallas about diving there in past episodes so when I saw a post from Isla Plana local, Victor Tovar about his requirement for pre-course check out dives another subject dear to my heart... I had to find out more.

Victor is the principal of Cave Tribe through which he provides specialised and personalised diving training with an emphasis on sidemount and cave courses. Victor is passionate about foundational skills and as you'll hear in this episode he focuses on progressively building foundational skills while gaining experience and comfort in the environments his students wish to explore.

In this episode Victor and I discuss... His background in diving and how he got into sidemount and cave diving. We discuss and he shares more on his philosophy in developing divers, we talk about the importance of selecting the right equipment... The traps for instructors in forming relationships with equipment manufacturers, and then we go deep and far into Victor's home cave, Cueva Del Agua... We talk about what makes it different and how it's unique challenges make it a great cave for both new and seasoned cave divers... We discuss the difference between exploration and sport cave diving and then finish with an update on the current extent of exploration of Cueva Del Agua... All this and much more...

Sponsor: www.xdeep.eu

To support: www.patreon.com/speaking sidemount

Guest: https://www.cavetribe.com/

#XDEEP  #SidemountPros #Sidemountdiving #Cavediving #Cuevadelagua #Cavetribe

Episode #57 - Steve Bogaerts Dealing with Career Ending DCS

This episode is sponsored by XDEEP and supported by the patrons of Speaking Sidemount.

This is the second episode in this series where I catch up with renowned cave explorer Steve Bogaerts. Over the past two years, Steve has had it pretty tough with respect to diving. A series of DCS incidents, on successive dives, each a little worse than the previous, has led Steve to hang up his fins and retire from diving. Just the thought of one of the world's great cave explorers having to quit under circumstances such as this is gut-wrenching but to his credit,

Steve has continued to be active and regularly shares enlightening posts of various topics related to sidemount. Cave diving and exploration.

In this episode, Steve and I discuss his DCS incidents, what he has learned about them, his thoughts on the possible cause, his advice for professional divers, and his plans for the future.

#XDEEP #cavediving #sidemountdiving #stevebogaerts #sidemountpros

 Sponsor - www.xdeep.eu 

To support the show go to www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

To contact Steve Bogaerts steve@gosidemount.com

Episode #55 - Mathieu Burdon - Surviving COVID-19

Great to release Episode #55 with our VIP Patron of the Month, Matt Burdon. Matt is a Public Safety Diving Team Leader, Tech Dive Instructor, VIP Patron of Speaking Sidemount, and survivor of a serious infection of COVID-19.     

Matt graciously joined me to share in detail his experiences contracting COVID-19, from the knowledge that it had infected his workplace to seeing a colleague die, to his own battle with COVID, including 17 days in a coma.

Matt's story is both frightening and inspiring.

You'll hear about his symptoms, admission to hospital, and intensive care... His family and friends being told that he won't make it, to the medical team pulling out the stops and saving his life.

Matt talks about the after-effects, his rehab, and his path back to diving. Matt and I then share our thoughts on the global pandemic and the responses of various countries around the world.

This episode is a must-listen for all divers and huge thanks again to XDEEP for their support of speaking sidemount and to our growing Patron community who graciously contribute to the production of every episode.

Episode #53 - Robert Thomas: The Next Generation

In this episode, brought to you by XDEEP with the support of the patrons of Speaking Sidemount, I catch up with British cave diver and instructor Robert Thomas. Robert has had an extraordinary beginning to his dive career, first diving at the age of 6... Joining the ranks of certified divers at the tender age of 10 before starting to cave dive in his teens. At 18 as soon as he was old enough he joined the ranks of the famed British Cave Diving Group and a year later he qualified as a full member. He's now the secretary for the Somerset Section of the CDG and when he not diving or teaching diving, he's dry caving in the caves of the UK.

Robert has progressed under the expert tutelage of his Dad, Michael Thomas and in Robert's words... has also been passed around to learn and develop with many other great divers and instructors including my guest in Ep# 33, cave explorer and shark conservationist... Cristina Zenato.

As you'll hear in this episode, there's an old head on those young shoulders and you can feel and hear the depth of thought and also training that has gone into his diving to date. It was interesting to get Robert's perspective as a young diver and instructor on the state of diving and training and where he sees things going in the future. I also take a moment to ask him about some of his recent videos on British Cave diving techniques, how these differ from what you'll see in other parts of the world, how dry caving helps cave diving, and we discuss his sidemount set up before reminiscing about our dives in Gozo Malta.

Become a patron here - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

Episode #51 - Brendon Allen - Fixing Sidemount

This episode is brought to you with the support of XDEEP and our amazing patrons, which makes everything you are about to listen to possible. 

If love Speaking Sidemount and would you'd like to know more about how you can support the show by becoming a patron, go to www.patreon.com/speakingsidemont

This month's VIP Patron of the Month and my guest on this episode is Brendon Allen. Brendon is based and works as a commercial pilot in the UAE.

Brendon also is a passionate diver and instructor and through his business Desert Reef Dive Systems, he is bringing top shelf, sidemount, recreational, and technical dive training to the region. He's a RAID Instructor Trainer and is passionate about the future of sidemount diving. We've been discussing this very subject for some months, that is how can we improve the standard of both instruction and diving in sidemount. In this episode, Brendon and I freewheel a bunch of ideas and share our thoughts on this, looking not only to address the issues but to come up with some solutions that might help to fix sidemount.

Episode #50 Chris Jewell - Beyond Thailand Extended Trailer

I'm super excited to release Episode #50 as our very first premium episode available exclusively to patrons. This is an extended trailer brought to you with the support of XDEEP.

To access the full episode go to - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

In this episode, I speak with British cave diver, Chris Jewell. Chris is a member of the British Cave Diving Group and was part of the team involved in the Thai Cave rescue nearly 2 years ago now.

Chris took part in the actual extraction dives of the rescue and in doing so became part of history as a key part of one of the greatest rescues of modern times. Awards, accolades and numerous TV and speaking appearances followed and so it is awesome nearly 2 years later to catch up with Chris and ask him about how he got into cave diving, his experience in training and becoming part of the CDG, the importance of mentoring to the CDG training process. Chris reflects on his experience in Thailand some two years after the rescue, and he shares more on his terrifying lost line episode while extracting one of the boys from the cave.

Chris and I discuss the distinctions between sump diving and traditional cave diving, how this then drives decisions about your equipment configuration. We dive into detail on Chris' UK sump diving sidemount set up, we talk conceptually about carrying a long hose, gas sharing scenarios, and some of Chris' favourite cave exploration projects.

Enjoy, Steve

Episode #49 - Brian Kakuk Interview II

Thanks so much to XDEEP and also to the patrons of Speaking Sidemount whose support enables this podcast.

In this episode, I catch up again with Brian Kakuk of Bahamas Underground and he shares the emotional story of his recovery following Hurricane Dorian and how he is dealing with the current COVID lockdown. We also get into his exploration of the Crystal Caves of Abaco, Sidemount CCR, using the Shearwater NERD 2, and Brian's involvement in Jonathan Bird's brilliant IMAX feature... Amazing Caves.

Thanks again to Brian for sharing. Thanks also and image credit to Jill Heinerth - Into the Planet, and Nancy Albury.

If you love the show, consider supporting it by becoming a patron… more info and rewards here - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

Episode #48 - David Debruyne Interview

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I interview David Debruyne of Outcast Explorers in Belgium.

David teaches sidemount and cave diving in Belgium and other parts of Europe. We catch up and discuss his experiences training with Garry Dallas, how Outcast Explorers was formed, how he configures his sidemount gear, how he teaches sidemount, sidemount boat diving in the North Sea, his exploration of the mines of Belgium, and then we talk sidemount rebreathers and the KISS Sidewinder... All this and much more in this episode of Speaking Sidemount.

Huge thanks to the patrons of Speaking Sidemount who are helping to produce the episode you are about to listen to.

Become a patron - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

Episode #47 - Ryan Custureri Interview

As I've mentioned a few times, I am often frustrated with the level of criticism and lack of respect shown on some of the sidemount Facebook groups. I guess there's an element of human nature in there and also comments are taken out of context or misunderstood due to language barriers or the limitations of the written word.

You do see genuinely helpful comments but these are also sometimes shouted down or lost in the dross of the string.

So I took note when a while back when Florida based Dive Instructor Ryan Custureri offered to do a live session free of charge for a new sidemount diver looking for some help. I thought that was very cool and I have seen Ryan referenced positively many times by his students and his videos are top-notch. 

So... I thought I'd reach out to Ryan to ask his thoughts on sidemount diving, equipment set up, how he boat dives in Florida, how to choose your instructor, and his advice for instructors looking to set up on their own... All this and much more in this episode of Speaking Sidemount.

Huge thanks to XDEEP for their support of Speaking Sidemount.

Episode #46 - Sandra Clopp Interview

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up with Sandra Clopp. Sandra is an exceptional diver, instructor, adventurer, and role model for aspiring divers. I seriously enjoyed our discussions and the depth of thought and practice she has put into her growth as a diver and teacher.

She walks the talk and by that I mean, she hones her skills through regular practice, she seeks out and forms relationships with mentors from whom she can learn and follow. And then ultimately, she travels the world enjoying adventures that enrich her own diving.

In this episode, Sandra and I discuss, how she got into diving and sidemount diving. How seeking out cave diving instruction benefits your diving at all levels, we talk sidemount boat diving and introduce how we are diving the KISS Sidewinder from boats. We discuss sidemount setup and contrast Florida and Mexico style sidemount diving, and we talk at length about Sandra's upcoming training and her work as a KISS ambassador... All this and much, much more...

Thanks to:

XDEEP - https://www.xdeep.eu/

Episode #45 - Roger Williams Interview

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up with Mexico based cave diver, explorer, and instructor, Roger Williams of Xoc-Ha.

 We talked about how Roger got into diving, cave diving and instructing. We contrast the paths that you can take in diving - becoming an instructor or... focusing on developing as a diver through tech training. I get Roger's perspectives on sidemount and how he dives sidemount in the caves of the Yucatan Peninsula.

We discuss the importance of using local guides to build knowledge of a new area and then we cover the local line committee who make collective decisions on permanent lines and markers for the region.

 We finish by getting Rogers perspective on the "Somos Los Cenotes" initiative and the importance of conservation with respect to real estate development.

 #somosloscenotes #Xoc-Ha #cavediving #sidemountdiving #sidemountpros

Image Credits & Thanks to: SJ Alice Bennett, Robert Stansfield and Olga Torrey.

 Xoc-Ha - https://www.xoc-ha.com/

Episode #44 - Thorsten "Toddy" Waelde - Project Utopia & The Caves of Sardinia

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP, I catch up again with Toddy and we talk all things caves in Sardinia. We then go deep into his staggering cave exploration Project Utopia where Toddy is set to break cave exploration distance records while employing cutting edge decompression strategies to accomplish these amazing dives. Listen in to hear how Toddy is doing this and also how he is helping to develop the next generation of Cave Explorers at Protec Sardinia.

#XDEEP, #SupramonteKarstExplorationProject #ProtecSardinia #ProjectUtopia #cavediving

https://www.xdeep.eu/

https://protecsardinia.com/

Image Credit - Irena Stangierska - https://www.facebook.com/irena.stangierska.photography/

Episode #43 - Turning the Tables - Steve Davis with Audrey Cudel

In this episode sponsored by XDEEP and Shearwater Research, we "turn the tables" and Audrey Cudel interviews me!

We talk about, my vision when I started Speaking Sidemount, how I develop episodes and find interview guests, how my own knowledge has grown through the interviews.

We discuss the diving here in NZ and the sidemount training courses that I run. We cover my experience training on the KISS Sidewinder with Edd Sorenson, and plans for future CCR diving, diving the XDEEP Stealth 2.0 Tec with the Sidewinder, and we finish with my thoughts on the current state of sidemount diving.

#XDEEP #Shearwaterresearch #sidemountdiving #cavediving #sidemountccr #KISSSidewinder #Sidemountpros #Stevedavis #audreycudel