Back Plates - Tools of the Trade by: Scott Carnahan
Back plates and harnesses are possibly some of the simplest pieces of technical diving equipment found in a technical diver's dive bag. Their purpose together is of great importance and has been accomplished through a simple and straightforward design that has lasted the test of time. Currently in the recreational diving market, there have been great changes in the design of the Buoyancy Control Devices (BCDs), but the technical diving harness system has prevailed as a necessary tool, kept simple, to meet the great demands placed upon the equipment by technical and cave divers. In addition to technical divers using these harness-style systems, there are open-water, single-tank divers enjoying the simplicity and long lasting ruggedness as well.


The Steam Barges of Whitefish Point by: Robert and Jan Underhill
The first steam barge, the R. J. Hackett, was built by Eli Peck of Cleveland in 1869. The Hackett was a wooden vessel, 211 feet long, with the pilothouse forward, single engine aft driving a single propeller and a long open deck with large hatches spaced to match for unloading machinery then in use at the ore docks along the Lakes. The ship also carried three masts with a cut down lower sailing rig (no topsails) as used on the schooner barges towed behind steamers on the Lakes during the late 1800s.


Canada's Barkley Sound by: John Rawlings
Today, Barkley Sound is a cold-water dive destination that, in beauty, rivals that of any location on Earth. Numerous pinnacles and rocky reefs grace the bottom of the sound - each of them literally enshrouded in color and an abundance of life both large and small. Within seconds of arrival on the bottom, a photographer realizes that the problem lies not in finding subjects to photograph, but in fact lies in the need to be selective due to the sheer quantity of photo opportunities available.


Deep Helium by: Bruce Wienke and Timothy OLeary
Some misapprenhension stemmed from the Hans Keller trajedy on helium mixes in 1962, some from misconceptions about isobaric switches ala light-to-heavy gases, some from tales of greater CNS risk, and some from a paucity of published and reliable decompression tables. Some concerns arose because 80/20 heliox no-deco time limits (NDLs) for short and shallow dives were longer than air limits. So people assumed helium decompression was longer, and more hazardous, than nitrogen.


DPlan Portable decompression Software for the Palm by: Curt Bowen
DPlan is fully functional decompression software, based primarily on models published by Albert A. B?hlmann M.D, and includes the following features:


ADM Interview with Martyn Farr by: Jon Bojar
Martyn Farr, born in Wales, has been a world class cave explorer for roughly 30 years! Having explored many regions, from Iran to Mexico and Turkey to Brazil, Martyn has had the opportunity to experience the various cave diving techniques used by people around the world. Publisher of seven books, including The Darkness Beckons, Darkworld, and Underground Wales, today Martyn trains divers out of South Wales to explore in the overhead environment. He has recently developed a standard sidemount harness for sump exploration. I have found that in general, United States divers remain somewhat isolationist in their practices and therefore, I decided to interview Martyn in an effort to gain knowledge from the pioneers across the pond.


Gavin Newman Photography by: ADM
A highly experienced diver, cave diver and cave explorer in his own right, Gavin has been involved in numerous expedition projects, providing a wealth of material for filming and photography.


Xtreme Diving Helmet by: Gavin Newman
When it comes to extreme diving, be it commercial or technical sport diving, there comes a time when the use of a dry diving helmet has to be considered. Whether it's used for the comfort and warmth of keeping a head dry, a lack of contact with contaminated water or the ease of use with communication systems, dry diving helmets make a lot of sense. However, for all their advantages there are also certain limitations, especially when compared with using a standard half mask and regulator combination.


Ice Island by: Jill Heinerth
Snow builds up on ice sheets, and ice sheets flow forth as glaciers. Rivers of ice make a tedious march back to the sea. On the continental fringe, the glaciers pile up to form towering bluffs over the ocean. These ice shelves are filled with monumental cracks and menacing crevasses. They create a barrier for life. A few birds fly over the hindrance and some creatures swim below it, but no species with the exception of man attempts to live on it. And never in history had there been an attempt to swim inside of this terrain. But to explore caves in Antarctica is to strip exploration to its most elemental form. Studying the ice becomes a game of strategy with Mother Nature and sometimes, a simple matter of survival.


Return to the Lusitania by: Leigh Bishop
Lusitania is a name well known in the world of wreck diving, often referred to by the technical community as the 'ultimate of all wreck dives.' For decades historians have been baffled by the endless mysteries locked deep within the Celtic Sea. Today British technical divers have been working to unravel just some of them. Since the day the Lusitania sank, she has been shrouded in political controversy. Her story is one of conspiracy, greed, courtroom battles, ambition and obsession.


Diving into a 72 Year-Old Mystery by: John Rawlings
Warren drove his 1927 Chevrolet into the town of Port Angeles to pick up his wife, who had briefly been at a local hospital. After picking up Blanch, the two of them did some grocery shopping for the family, made two months' payment on their car loan and then made a major purchase - a new washing machine to make their life in the camp a bit easier. Before he had left the logging camp that morning, Russell Warren had told his boys that together the family would celebrate the 4th of July the next day at the famous Solduc Hot Springs. The entire family eagerly looked forward to the fun and festivities. After securing the newly purchased washing machine, the Warrens turned their car West and headed home toward their boys.

NASIM II by: Aldo Ferrucci
The Nasim II was a merchant ship under the Panamanian flag. On February 12, 1976, it left Livourno for Alexandria in Egypt, but it never made it to its destination. At the end of the Piombino canal, while the meteorological conditions were good and all was quiet on board, the ship's Captain Fanciulli retired to his cabin, leaving his second in command. He was to be relieved at 4:00 a.m. by first officer Mondello. Just before 4 a.m., a 'force one' Sirocco wind caressed the vessel, which was doing 12 ...


Beacon Woods Cave to Waynes World Cave by: Beth Somers & Vaughan Maxwell
The following narrative describes the latest achieve-ments of the South East Exploration Team (S.E.E. Team). The recent connection of Beacon Woods and Wayne's World Cave Systems enlarged this system to 60,000 linear feet of explored passage, leaving many tempting leads yet untouched. The culmination of two exhausting years of work was the traverse between Wayne's World Sink and the north entrance of Smokehouse Pond, which took place on June 2, 2002. This traverse of approximately 11,600 linear feet really put an exclamation point on the team's accomplishments and leaves little doubt as to their considerable skills and seriousness of purpose.


Endangered Cave - Bermuda by: Thomas M. Iliffe
Bermuda and its extensive anchialine (coastal marine) caves are of exceptional biological and biogeographical significance due to their isolated mid-ocean location, unique geological history, and remarkably rich and diverse stygobitic fauna. Indeed, Berm ...


Dry Suit Maintenance and dive site repair by: Jon Bojar
We've all had our suits leak on us. It's at best an inconvenience and at worst it's a show stopper, especially when in a foreign country and hours or days away from any access to repair materials. I've asked Steve and Marianne Gamble who conducted the Drysuit clinic at the 2002 CDS Conference and whom I've counted on to keep my ratty, worn out suits dry for the past five years or so, to share some tips on repair, maintenance and quick fixes.


Cave & Wreck Index by: Jon Bojar & Curt Bowen
The world is a very large place, especially when you're searching for a cave entrance, wreck or specific reef location no larger than a wood-paneled station wagon. Covered with hundreds of feet of sea water, thick overgrown brush or steep mountain terrain makes locating these dive sites almost impossible without the assistance of GPS technology or a couple of Mayan guides.


The Discovery of the SS Keilawarra by: Kevin Denlay
Our story begins a long time ago on the night of December 8, 1886, halfway up the East coast of Australia. It was early evening and the SS Keilawarra, 61m/201ft long and 748 gross tons, steaming from Sydney to Brisbane and other Queensland ports, was approximately three nautical miles north of South Solitary Island off the New South Wales mid-north coast. At the same time, heading south from Grafton to Sydney, was the much smaller steamer SS Helen Nicoll, 47m/150ft long and only 384 gross tons. Although still approximately 10 nautical miles north of North Solitary Island, as fate would have it these two iron steamers were rapidly closing in on a collision course! Less than 90 minutes later, they collided and the Keilawarra sank, causing one of the greatest peacetime tragedies in New South Wales maritime history.


Diving the Moravian Karst by: Jitka Hyniova & Jakub Rehacek
The world famous Macocha Abyss has a dry pit with a depth of 138.7 meters (458 feet), making it the deepest abyss in central Europe. Underground Punkva River briefly emerges from Punkevni Caves on the Macocha Abyss bottom to form two small lakes. The Abyss originated after a Devonian limestone ceiling (approximately 350-380 million years old) of a large underground dome collapsed and the enormous shaft opened to the skies. Macocha Abyss lies in the unique Moravian Karst and Punkevni Caves. It is one of four publicly accessible caves out of the more than 1,000 caves in the area.


Video Gear Box part one by: Jeff Carson
Ask yourself the question: Why do I go diving? Assuming that this article has found its way into the correct magazine, you are probably a technical scuba diver. Technical scuba diving has many facets including cave diving, wreck diving, deep diving, etc. For the people engaged in these specialties, every one of them has the same common thread...we would love to be able to relive many of those dives again and again. One answer to the question, 'Why do I go diving,' is to enjoy the underwater world by seeing things that most other people don't get to see. If you can agree with me so far, that we go diving to see cool stuff, then it makes sense that after the dive is over, it might be a lot of fun to sit back on the couch and see the entire dive again, and again and...well, you see where this is going.