[3 min read]
I can’t believe I’m this far into my OWUSS Scholarship year. It has been a crazy but wonderful time. I’ve been on an exciting journey to bring together my love for the outdoors, adventure and healthcare.
In the Company of Ocean Explorers: My DEEP Dive Adventure
My interest in dive medicine and expeditions led me to Deep, the NASA of the Ocean. DEEP aims to advance how humans can access, explore and live underwater. A team of talented experts are collaborating to build underwater habitats, submersibles, remote operating vehicles, advanced dive training and remote dive operations.
I worked with a huge and inspiring range of individuals, from dive medics, submersible pilots, expedition divers and engineers.
A little summary of my time at DEEP…
Working as an RNLI beach lifeguard and training with Dartmoor Mountain Rescue I used casualty assessment cards. These cards are super easy to follow and allow anyone to assess and stabilise casualties, even up mountains or at sea. Deep’s Dive Expedition Medicine Lead, Dr Mark Glover, kindly sat down with me to begin designing some for diving. I tried my hardest to soak up Mark’s amazing knowledge!
I teamed up with Mari (a human factors engineer), Dr Mark Glover and an engineering squad to look at the medical challenges of living 200m below the surface. CAD and 3D virtual imaging were great tools to shape the layout of the medical bay and equipment. I can’t wait to see how these ideas evolve into a tangible reality.
DEEP hosted the first-ever Submersible Symposium, an event that gathered submersible professionals from all over the world. It was inspiring chatting with so many enthusiastic and talented people. Between them, this group have journeyed to the deepest ocean depths, worked for Blue Planet and discovered new species. As someone who naturally likes to dabble and try new things, I left the event pondering what life could be like as a sub pilot! I’m small if that helps!
Roz Lunn kindly invited me along to the Defence Diving Symposium. An event filled to the brim with diving professionals. I feel grateful to have been given a glimpse into dive careers that I didn’t even know existed, such as bomb-disposable divers. I enjoyed meeting Doctor Simon Mitchell, who definitely got pestered with all my dive medicine questions, sorry!
I ended my time at Deep by jumping into the ‘tropical’ waters of Vobster Quay, a UK quarry. Thanks so much to the Deep dive team for taking me under your wing. You are a bunch of good eggs. Thanks also to Greg, owner of Hidden Depths Scuba School, for letting me join you for a week of diving.
Deep allowed me to work with people who have very inspiring careers, but who are also generous enough to help guide me on my own career journey. Thank you.
As I continue my scholarship, I look forward to seeing Deep’s journey to expand the capabilities of ocean science. Let our adventures continue!
A huge thank you to Rolex, the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society, Divers Alert Network and my equipment sponsors Fourth Element, Suunto, Halcyon Dive Systems, Reef Photo and Video and Nauticam. Their continued support, along with the dedication of countless volunteers and hosts, has transformed this incredible opportunity into a reality. I’m excited about the adventures that await in the coming year.
