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Technical divers reach new depths in Krabi
What looks like little more than a muddy puddle
in Krabi is actually an entrance to an extensive
subterran-ean karst cave system reaching a depth
of more than 200 meters – enough to set a record
in Thailand.
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Phuket and its
neighboring provinces are home to some of the most
popular diving spots in the world. However, it’s
not just tourists and recreational divers who are
flocking to the region. Technical divers have also
been coming here to push the boundaries of the sport
to its limits.
Technical diving involves going beyond recreational
limits. These vary depending on the dive organization,
but are typically between 30-40 meters.
Phuket resident Ben Reymenants, a “mixed gas instructor
trainer evaluator” and certified hyperbaric technologist
working for the SSS Recompression Chamber Network
in Thailand, provides a more in-depth – one could
say – definition.
“Technical diving is a form of Self-Contained Underwater
Breathing Apparatus (Scuba) diving where a diver
does not have immediate access to the surface, such
as when penetrating a wreck or cave, or if there
is a (virtual) ceiling above the divers in the form
of an obligatory extended decompression [underwater]
stop,” explained the diver, technically.
“The difference is also in the education and the
equipment. A technical diver needs to take two of
everything in case of failure: two tanks, two buoyancy
devices, two masks, two computers.”
Last year, a pool of water in a pristine jungle
in Sra Keow, Krabi, frequently used as an elephant
watering hole, became a point of interest for two
cave divers, Cedric Verdier and Mike Gadd, who did
an exploratory dive to 200 meters, yet failed to
reach the bottom.
With a passion for exploring uncharted territory,
Ben, Cedric and Mike formulated a plan for another
exploratory dive that would hopefully take them
to the bottom of the cave.
On February 18, Ben and Cedric returned to the Sra
Keow cave. With a team of experienced support divers
and medical staff on hand, they descended independently
of one another. Unlike recreational diving, technical
diving is often done solo, as each diver is equipped
to be self-sufficient in case of an emergency.
Ben, who at one time held the record for the deepest
open ocean dive using Scuba at 202 meters, reached
the bottom at 239 meters and set a record for the
deepest cave dive in Thailand.
Ben described the dive, saying, “At 12 meters the
cave started and because of the fine sediment, the
visibility was reduced to one meter. I dropped fast
and after just four minutes I passed the 60 meter
mark. The visibility got better, the angle steeper,
the stalactites disappeared and I could see where
the running water had created a genuine piece of
art in the limestone.
“Below 150 meters, the cave turned into a giant
cathedral, the walls disappeared and my only visual
reference was my slowly spinning reel in front of
my eyes. One of my dive computers had gone to sleep
and I asked myself ‘what the hell am I doing here?’
“At 190 met-ers, high-pressure nervous syndrome
kicked in. My hands were shaking and I could feel
tremors on my spine. Suddenly I got hit by something:
one of the walls sneaked up on me and I bounced
off. I looked up and saw a large cloud of dust following
me.”
Finally Ben reached the bottom. “The feeling of
falling into a giant duvet blanket shot through
my head. The bottom was composed of fine yellow
silt, settled over thousands of years. Very gently
I sunk into it up to my knees, coming to a full
stop.” His gauge read 239 meters and it was time
to start ascending.
The ascent, which needed support divers to come
and unload the 25 used tanks, took a total of nine
hours. At one point Ben was carrying 11 tanks while
at a depth of 55 meters. The last three hours of
the dive were spent in a small, homemade underwater
habitat.
Constructed by Ben, Mike and Cedric, the habitat
is a large water tank inverted and lowered to nine
meters. This allowed the divers to eat, unload their
diving equipment and read while breathing 80% oxygen
from a supply hose. When Ben reached the habitat,
Cedric, who had descended first, was already waiting
for him.
Ben’s motivation for the dive? “Finding places nowadays
where no other human has set foot is very difficult.
“This, combined with the mystery of that cave in
the middle of the Thai jungle, made it intriguing
to have a look and see how deep it went.”
Support, planning, experience and sponsors all helped
make the dive a success.
“For an extreme cave dive, a large team is needed
to help with the logistics and secure the safety
of the divers,” says Ben.
“Maurizio Carmini and Laurent Bihler were the safety
divers, and on the surface were dive medics Eefje
Pattyn from Phuket and Marina Frei from Ao Nang.
Dr Luba Matic confirmed the health of all divers
before, during and after the dive. Local dive shops
Seafun Divers, One Stop Dive Shop, Deep Blue Divers,
Ocean Zone and Protech provided tanks and gas. O’Three
Drysuits supplied the drysuits and Li-quivision
supplied a custom-made depth gauge.”
As for his future plans for more exploratory dives,
there seems to be no stopping Ben.
“Well, the cave system still has a lot of unexplored
side passages and one major passage at 80 meters
leading to another lake.”
For more information you can
find Ben at the SSS Recompression Chamber in Patong
or send him an email ben@
deepcult.co
A chat with the champ
Pongsaklek: Training is going well.
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Thailand’s Pongsaklek
Wonjongkam has held the WBC flyweight belt for
more than six years, defending his title a record
17 times while going undefeated for 11 years.
With his career winding down, Pongsaklek and his
camp now seem intent on making two superfights
in the next year; one with Japanese superstar
Koki Kameda and the other with Vic “The Raging
Bull” Darchinyan.
Here Pongsaklek speaks with Scott Mallon.
Scott Mallon: You’re fighting
Daisuke Naito on July 18 in Japan. How’s your
training going and how is your weight?
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam: My training is going well.
My weight is really never a problem though and
I’m always close to the flyweight limit, even
when I’m not training for a fight.
SM: You’ve beaten him twice already.
There are rumors he’s getting another shot at
your title because he’s told his manager if he
can’t beat you this time, he’s retiring. Why are
you fighting him again?
PW: I believe he said if he loses
he’ll retire. All I know is he wants to fight
again. He is a difficult opponent, but I will
be well prepared for him.
SM: So you like fighting in Japan.
What about Koki Kameda? He a huge star in Japan
and you’re a star in Thailand. A fight between
you two would be a massive event in Japan. What
is the chance of a fight between you two?
PW: Yes, I like Japan and would
be happy to fight him, but this is up to my boss,
promoter Virat Vajiratonawongse. Kameda came to
Thailand about three years ago and trained in
the gym here. He’s a determined fighter who is
an active boxer with good movement. His manners
are one thing that’s not good though, but everything
else is good.
SM: Let’s move on to Vic Darchinyan.
He has publicly stated he doubts your willingness
to fight him. His promoter, Gary Shaw, has also
stated that a $250,000 purse is not a problem
and if you’re truly sincere about willing to fight
his man, your promoter knows his phone number
and can easily get in touch with him. Do you think
a fight with Vic Darchinyan will ever happen?
PW: I would like to fight him,
but this is for my manager and promoter to decide.
Boxing is a business and it’s much easier for
me to fight in Japan than America. Television
rights, options, travel, money – I’m a fighter
and my job is to train, to fight and to win. My
promoter’s job is to take care of the business
side of boxing.
SM: Can’t you tell your promoter
you want to make the fight though?
PW: Like I said, this is my promoter’s
job, not mine. I would like to prove myself to
the fans in America and I’m sure a fight between
Darchinyan and me would be exciting. The promoter
is my boss though and like I said, he handles
the business of my career. I’ll fight anyone he
tells me to.
(It should be noted here that in Thai boxing culture,
the fighter has little to no say in deciding who
he fights. In most cases there are no written
contracts between the fighter and his promoter
and fighters rarely challenge their promoters’
and managers’ business practices. A fighter calling
his own shots is a foreign concept to Thai fighters.
Instead, they view themselves as an employee and
the promoter as their boss.)
SM: What do you think about Darchinyan
as a fighter?
PW: His style is alot like Manny
Pacquiao’s. He is strong and courageous. Maybe
after I finish with my obligations this year we
can fight in the United States next year – if
he doesn’t go up to the next weight division.
I hope so.
SM: There are fans out there
who think you’re taking easy fights because you’re
scared to fight the best in the division. Are
you scared?
PW: I’m not scared to fight anyone
and will fight anyone. I always try to do my best
when I fight. If I lose, I’m OK with that because
I know I will have tried my best.
SM: You’ve fought at light-flyweight
and flyweight, with the majority of your career
spent at flyweight. Is there any chance you’ll
move up in weight?
PW: No, I don’t think so. Like
I said, my weight is never a problem and this
is a good weight for me.
SM: Do you think you’re the best
flyweight in boxing right now?
PW: I don’t ever think I’m better
than anyone. There are many, many good fighters
in the division who have not had a chance to win
a title. I don’t think about this – I just try
to defeat who is put before me.
SM: How important is making 20
defenses of your title?
PW: (Laughing and shaking his
head) I never think about how many times I’ve
defended my title. I just think about winning
each fight. I just think about winning and winning
and winning. I don’t care about these kinds of
things. If I break a record, good, if I don’t,
it’s doesn’t matter.
SM: If you could do one thing
in boxing before you retire, what would it be?
PW: I’d fight in America. I’d
like to fight in America at least once before
I retire.
SM: Before you said you would
retire after 20 defenses. What about now?
PW: I don’t know. As long as
I keep winning and I’m healthy, I’ll keep fighting.
SM: What would you like to tell
your fans outside of Thailand?
PW: I would like them to know
that if I have a chance to fight in America, I
hope that after they see me fight, they will be
able to say they saw a great fight.
Scott Mallon is a freelance journalist
based in Bangkok and a member of Ring magazine’s
ratings advisory committee.
BIS tennis
tournament draws 27 competitors
BIS tennis coach Lorenzo Marcuzzi huddled
with some of the primary students before they
began their first-ever tournament June 24.
Lorenzo hopes to create a monthly tournament
for tennis players of all ages beginning in
September.
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KOH KAEW: Twenty-seven
competitors took part in the first tennis tournament
staged at the British International School (BIS)
Sunday, June 24, to raise funds for the Tennis for
Africa program.
BIS tennis coach Lorenzo Marcuzzi organized the
tournament, which he said he hopes will be the first
in a series of tournaments and league play on the
island.
The tournament comprised three divisions: primary
students (with 11 players), secondary students (10
players) and parents (six players).
The primary students played a variety of games to
collect individual points, including singles, doubles
and challenges such as hitting cones and markers
on the ground.
Secondary students played a Davis Cup format match
with both singles and doubles, while the parents
played mixed doubles.
All of the competitors won prizes including Tennis
for Africa shirts and medals.
Marcuzzi said that he hopes to plan a monthly tennis
tournament beginning in September. His goal is to
create a league, rankings and bigger tournaments
for Phuket. All players are welcome.
The Tennis for Africa program, based in Rome, supplies
tennis equipment to Sierra Leone to encourage the
sport.
For more information about
tournaments or summer tennis camps, you can contact
Lorenzo 081-0802453, lorenzotennis@libero.it
or his website at www.tennis-plus.com
PATONG
DARTS LEAGUE
Valhalla score at last
PATONG: In
the battle to avoid relegation to the pool
league, Valhalla got their first victory of
the season by swiping all three precious points
at home against newcomers Simply Red.
In a Nanai Rd derby, Beach House staged an
upset by taking all three points against Offshore
in decisive fashion, 7-2. With first-place
Dog’s Bollocks and second place Shakers both
on bye weeks, Queen Mary moved into a tie
for second place with Shakers by taking all
three points at Piccadilly.
Send all reports about 180s, high closes and
comely service staff to: darts@phuketgazette.net
for inclusion in this article.
June 26 results: Piccadilly
4 Queen Mary* 5; Offshore 2 Beach House* 7;
Simply Red 3 Valhalla* 6 (* = winner of beer
leg).
Standings: 1. Dog’s Bollocks
(22 pts.); 2.= Shakers, Queen Mary (18); 4.
Offshore (17); 5. Beach House (16); 6. Piccadilly
(11); 7. Valhalla (5); 8. Simply Red (4).
July 10 matchups: Shakers
v Piccadilly; Offshore v Dogs Bollocks; Valhalla
v Beach House; Simply Red, Queen Mary = byes
(home team first).
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