Fake Scuba World Records, When Bikinis Become Illegal & How To Exit A Boat Gracefully

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to the Deeper Blue Podcast, your weekly guide to everything that is happening around the world underwater. My name is Stephen Wheeler. I'm the founder of Deeperblue.com, the world's most popular diving website. Every week, the Deeper Blue Podcast covers everything that's happening in the scuba diving, freediving, diving travel, and ocean advocates world. So join us as we explore the Deeper Blue. Hi everyone. Welcome to episode 11 of the Deeper Blue Podcast. Cup today in this episode, we've got all the latest news from the last week from around the world underwater. Then we welcome co-host Sarah Richards from Girls That Scuba as she interviews QAT entrepreneur and diving ambassador Miriam Alsafe. Miriam owns her own dive travel business and speaks about breaking barriers for women in the Middle East, the challenges of posting to social media in such a conservative culture, and why diving in Egypt means so much to her. We then hear from media personality and this year's Sharp Week host, Paul DeGelder. He gives us a critical tip on how to exit a boat gracefully. And then finally, we hear from Chris Zavaric on her best dive ever. So let's catch up with this week's underwater happenings. The big story in the diving world is probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a WikiLeaks-size story. Over the last few weeks, a number of diving insiders, including a number of deeper blue.com staffers, have started getting anonymous emails from mysterious scuba slam that have started sharing numerous private details that call into question the validity of the world's deepest scuba dive, 332 meters, that's 1,090 feet, completed in 2014 by former Egyptian Army Colonel Ahmed Gabir. That has garnered him a Guinness World Record that beat the previous one by Nuno Gomez that was set back in 2005. There were six emails overall, which we received over the course of two weeks, each of which offered a detailed analysis of a critical aspect of Gabir's dive based on information that has been mostly private till now. The emails contained things such as headcam video from the lead support diver, details of the dive plan, and reports on the chain of custody around the special depth tags that we use to validate the record. Each email was like a mini soap proper episode with intrigue, mystery, questions, and allegations that quite honestly left most readers I spoke to utterly bewildered as to how this could happen. Taken as a whole, the email highlights significant inconsistencies around the record depth claim and has raised a lot of questions, not only about deep diving records, but amazingly the poor quality Guinness World Records had around the checks, around the validity of the record itself. These deep diving scuba records have always been very controversial, mainly because of the extreme danger and somewhat artificial nature of the dives themselves. I personally have never been a big fan of them, as they tend to look nothing more than a big ego trip, an excuse in self-promotion on the part of the diver. This is even more evident now, as it looks quite possibly like the latest high-profile record, albeit set back in 2014, the one set by Gabir, was in fact quite possibly a fake. It's interesting that the freediving world used to have similar problems with old sled-based disciplines of no limits and variable weight that were very dangerous yet very high profile. And somehow the free diving world recognized that a while ago these disciplines didn't do much for the sports and decided against sanctioning them, and focus turned more onto the self-powered disciplines. Hopefully, on the back of these emails, the scuba community will reflect on this as well and look to turn away from these world record stunt dives just as the free diving community has. We've got our tech diving expert, Michael Menduno, completing his investigation on the emails and writing up our reports and analysis of the episode this Thursday. You can check that out on deeperblue.com. Our friends over at the Go Diving Show in the UK have announced last week that they have made, in my view, very sensible decision to move the dates from February 2021 to September 2021. Synja's been born out of two key factors. Firstly, that it's increasingly likely that large-scale events such as conventions and show are unlikely to happen until the second half of next year. We just have to look at events across all industries being cancelled and moving to a virtual event to see this is happening literally everywhere around the world. Secondly, the other consumer diving show in the UK, the Birmingham Dive Show, decided to move their traditionally October date to right on top of when the GoDiving Show is. So rather than have the possibility of two shows happening with only four weeks apart, the GoDiving organizers made the sensible decision to move the date. Considering the UK is lucky enough to have two major consumer shows, there was a real risk that if both of them failed by competing for the same exhibitors and visitors in early 2021, that the UK could end up from going from two shows to zero shows for the following year in 2022. The GoDiving show itself is probably one of the most exciting interactive formats of a dive show in the world with big headline speakers, exhibits like a caving experience, VR exploration with headsets on and headphones on of recs, and a massive tri-dive pool with beginner and tech diving taster sessions. It will be a real shame if this show had failed due to the original dates. So the new dates are the 3rd to the 5th of September 2021, all around my birthday. So it will be at the same venue in Coventry, which is right in the heart of the UK. And anyone who's already bought tickets can have these transferred to new dates automatically, or if you want, you can ask for a refund. Positive news in the free diving world as CMAS, one of the worldwide governing bodies for free diving competitions and records, has approved the CMAS European Outdoor Cup to be held in Greece in Kalilamata on September the 12th to the 16th. There's a four-day event, it's a depth competition, and disciplines such as Constant Wait, both with monofens and bifins, free immersion and constant weight no fins are going to be judged. A number of world-class competitions have been held by the team that's running this event in this exact location. And I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the competitive free diving start-up once again. Ocean and Marine Conservation Group Oceana has released a new video during Shark Week that featured a host of celebrities, including actors such as Ted Danson and Bo Derrick, and the model Allie Stevens, in a campaign to put pressure on US senators to pass the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. This is a bipartisan legislation that's aimed at making the US shark fin free. With 73 million sharks being slaughtered for their fins annually, this trade is one of the biggest threats to the survival of the species. And it's always heartening to see big names coming out in support of efforts to reduce and prevent the wholesale slaughter of sharks. Now, while the dive industry is currently coring its way back from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there's no denying that it has helped play a pretty substantial role in the US marine economy, according to a new report by the US government agency, NOAA. It's a first-of-a-kind study. The agency looked at marine-related sectors that contribute to the economy. That included things like tourism, national defense, transportation, and commercial fishing between the years of 2014 and 2018. The total contribution to the marine sector that brought to the US economy was $373 billion. Of that massive amount of money, the tourism and marine recreation sector, which of course includes the diving industry among other activities such as recreational fishing, contributed $143 billion of that $373 billion. It's a staggering amount of money. And unbelievably, although the ocean economy generates consistently the largest share of the US economy than the other natural resource, there's been no official measurements until now. With the pandemic going on, I'm sure that these numbers will have ended up declining and various different sectors will have been affected in different ways. Hopefully, as the world starts getting back to diving again, we'll start to see this trend continue once again. So that's it for this week. Remember, head to dfwlue.com and check out all our latest news and features. And of course, check out our socials on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And as always, if you like what you've heard, please subscribe, like, and comment wherever you hear your podcasts. These comments and subscribes really do make a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

The world underwater every week.

SPEAKER_06 9:08

Hi, this is Jason Elias, producer of the Deeper Blue Podcast. Today we welcome co-host Sarah Richard, founder of the incredible Girls That Scuba community, as she does her first in a series of interviews of fascinating women in the dive and free dive communities. In her first interview, Sarah speaks with Miriam Al-Saif, a young woman from Kuwait who owns her own dive business, who speaks about breaking barriers for women in the Middle East, the challenges of posting to social media in such a conservative culture, and why a dive in Egypt meant so much to her.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Let's do this.

SPEAKER_06 9:44

Hello.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

Hello. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_09 9:47

So my name is Miriam. I'm currently from Kuwait and in Kuwait, considering that the borders are closed and I can't go anywhere else. Yes, it's been uh quite a ride, I feel like, for everyone.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

I mean, what is the dive-in like in Kuwait? Is there a dive-in, is there much of a dive-in industry? What is it like?

SPEAKER_09 10:04

Well, I feel like it's quite interesting here, considering there aren't that many female divers to begin with. Culturally, back in the day, it's been a more male-dominated environment in regards to sea life because our great-grandfathers were pearl divers, so culturally, it was seen as more of a man's world. And with the newer generations coming up, all these new water-related sports like jet skiing have also been seen as male-dominated. But I just feel like there's been a shift throughout the years where Kuwaiti women feel more passionate about the water and they want to take up those sports and not just be seen as swimming or tanning. And it's been a lot more culturally acceptable. So there has been a shift, but just not as fast as I'd like it to be.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

And you yourself are definitely one of those women that are showing QAT women and women all around the world how to break barriers and how to go out of your comfort zone. And I think that the listeners would love to know a bit of a history about your diving career, how you got into diving, and kind of what your future holds in diving.

SPEAKER_09 11:10

Honestly, Sarah, as I started out having this be my first time owning my own business, I just feel having something that's dive travel related has been very eye-opening in terms of breaking all these norms. I don't think I realized how many things I'd have to overcome. One of them being swimwear. It's normal when you're swimming, you're diving, depending on if you're in a swimsuit or a wetsuit. And having to post that online, I've been apprehensive of what do I post? Is it okay? Is it appropriate back home for family and friends and societies to see me in a two-piece or a one-piece swimsuit? And coming to that conclusion that it's okay to post what I want because at the end of the day, this is a business, and I am trying to break as many cultural norms as I can and showing people that this is normal, just as you'd be okay with a British or an American doing this, what's the difference between me and them doing it? It's all okay. And I hope that does trickle down to other social norms in Kuwait and actually being able to wear swimsuits out and about and it be more normal.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Usually in the past, how has something like putting a scuba diving picture or a free diving picture on your social media and you're just wearing a one-piece or a two-piece, not wearing a wetsuit? Is that something that usually wouldn't be so acceptable?

SPEAKER_09 12:37

Not at all, if anything. We're having this crazy law try and be put in place where women can't wear bikinis. So I just feel like it's a very eye-opening time for me to be combating that while that law is trying to be put in place where I'm saying it's normal, it's okay. We all wear it when we're abroad. And I think it's because of COVID and everything that's happening, usually all the women would be wearing their swimsuits abroad in the summertime. But because we're all wearing them while we're home, the cultural shock has just been insane so far. And I just feel it's my job to say it's okay, it's normal, just because we're wearing them outside of the country doesn't make it any different to us wearing it in Kuwait as well.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

Yeah, that is absolutely crazy. And I think as a British woman, it's also something that I'm not always so aware of, and I'm sure people that are listening are also not aware of as the cultural differences between the Middle Eastern countries and western countries. And I think it's great that you're breaking those barriers and showing that it's normal and showing that it should be acceptable. Another thing I was interested about is you travel in solo, you travel in alone. I mean, you just went to Indonesia and to Egypt with us, and you also mentioned people incuate sometimes need in chaperones, of which mostly are male chaperones to actually be able to travel. So I'd be really interested to learn more about that.

SPEAKER_09 14:10

Yes, in our culture, it's actually more acceptable for women, especially to travel if they have a chaperone, preferably a male chaperone. So it's quite interesting trying to get people on liverboards specifically because liverboards are so specifically for divers and for people who are okay, a being on boats but also sleeping on board, that it's hard to get a woman interested. But then if their chaperone isn't into diving, what are they going to do? They're gonna stay on the boat and not dive. They're taking up a diver spot that could be in, let's say, Jubataha or Egypt, and I don't think it's fair. So to break that norm, maybe meeting their family, having them meet me, see that I'm a career-driven and passionate person about diving, and seeing that their daughter is not in harm's way, and I would obviously take very good care of them and up having that before I book them on. I don't know. It's been it's been interesting. When it comes to the diving and how I started, I used to dive, you know, for fun, used to work in luxury marketing. And then with time I realized that I enjoy diving a lot more than what my initial passion was, which was cosmetics and anything luxury. And I decided to leave that all behind and start my own dive travel company, which is specializing in liverboards. So supposed to have a few trips this year, but again, with the virus happening, I've had to put those on hold and just try and find other opportunities here back home.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

I remember when you first released your Philippine trips, and then all of a sudden, coronavirus comes and you hadn't even had the chance to do your first trip. Exactly. How did that make you feel? I mean, it must have been so hard to actually make that initial to quit your job, to go into the dive industry, and then it never actually happened.

SPEAKER_09 16:08

I felt at least that I was on a at a standstill because with no trips happening, I just felt could I reschedule them for next year? Philippines, it was really difficult considering Tubataha is booked out one to two years in advance. So that alone I felt couldn't be pushed to next year. And as hard as it was to digest having all those trips cancelled, I have found a new passion, which is hosting day trips over in Kuwait, which to be honest, I was so against for so long because again, all my trips traveling was trying to find the clearest water, you know, the most amazing marine life. And at best, our visibility here is about six to eight meters. And so I just felt like I was kind of taking a few steps going backwards, diving back home. But actually, having these day trips that I've been hosting and seeing all these women come along who haven't actually gotten certified and just having a taste of what it's like to dive and then realizing that they want to get certified after that was honestly so rewarding. So I'm having conflicting thoughts because I don't know whether to thank the virus or curse it. So it's it's been an interesting ride. It definitely has been rewarding.

SPEAKER_03 17:20

It's definitely a silver lining, isn't it? I think that that's an incredible thing to have discovered, is that you can still inspire women to start diving from literally from your home. And I really feel like you are a positive role model and influence and somebody who is really trying to bridge that gap. So if anyone can do it, Miriam, you can do it. So I want to know a bit more about your connection to the ocean, why you are so deeply connected to the ocean, and if there was a specific moment memory that you'll never forget.

SPEAKER_09 17:57

So last year was my first lover board, and it was in Egypt with the girls at scuba crew, and I honestly couldn't believe I was on board. Anything would have made me jump over the moon. So one day it was the perfect water temperature of about 27 degrees, which is great for the desert girl and me. I'd forgotten to charge my GoPro and was gutted to think I'd be swimming with dolphins for the first time in my life and I'd have no shots of myself. After a few attempts at seeing any dolphins, we had seen fins, but no luck at trying to get any close to them. I found myself jumping off the zodiac, swimming with them finally, with a pod of about 30 dolphins all swimming calmly by my side. At that point, I decided to swim underneath them and gaze at them as they swam above me. Now, let me tell you, I'm a horrible freediver. I can only hold my breath for about 20 seconds of that. I find myself underwater for more than double that, which was insane to think mind over matter is actually a real concept. The reason why I found this incredibly special for me is because as a child, you kind of feel one with water, like a mermaid, and with age that kind of disappears, you start to notice how you are different from a fish and how they swim away from you, how you don't actually belong underwater with them. And so I think the reason why this was so special for me is this was the first time as an adult that I felt truly connected and that I belonged with that pod. I felt like I was getting this sense of approval from them because they didn't swim faster or away from me, and it just felt fantastic to feel one with them. And the reason why it was so special is because I didn't have my GoPro. Not focusing on getting that crazy perfect shot, knowing that Sarah was behind me recording it the entire time is actually the cherry on top because I can now really, and I know exactly what I was thinking at that point. That was my favorite moment, but still feel conflicted that I can't post it because of myself in a swimsuit.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

I'm William Trubert, and this is the Deeper Blue Podcast.

SPEAKER_06 20:46

Today's top tip comes from co-host Lyndon Woolbert's interview with Media Personality and this year's Shark Week host, Paul DeGelder.

SPEAKER_08 20:54

Paul, I'd love to know for our listeners out there, do you have a top tip for diving?

SPEAKER_04 21:00

My top number one tip for diving would be to always roll backwards out of the boat. Because if you roll forwards, you'll still be in the boat.

SPEAKER_07 21:10

That was very important information. Because it depends on which way you're facing. If you have your back to the sea.

SPEAKER_04 21:22

Which is generally what people do. I've rolled sideways walking forward. The swell picked up the boat, and all of a sudden I just go sideways, upside down into the water. And luckily someone got it on video, so it was hilarious.

SPEAKER_07 21:34

Well, I'm glad to know that flipping backward is your preferred point of entry.

SPEAKER_04 21:38

In generally, yes. But I like to make an entrance.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Finally, every episode we share a story from you, the dive community, where we ask you to tell us about your best dive ever.

SPEAKER_05 21:57

Hi, my name is Chris, and I'm originally from the US, but I currently live in Taiwan. And my favorite best dive had to have been on a training session. It was free diving in Mwa Pau in the Philippines. I was trying to go for a personal best, 48 meters in free immersion. And I really struggle with relaxation and then sometimes with equalization. But on the descent, I completely forgot that I was diving. I started thinking about neck weights, funnily enough. And I was trying to think about what materials I need and if I have them at home. And I completely forgot that I was diving. Only when I heard my dive alarm go off at 45 meters, I realized, oh, oh yes, I'm diving. And then I turned, and as I was coming up, I felt very confused because I completely forgot I was diving, just felt so good. My safety even asked me on the surface, oh, your eyes looked a little weird. And I said, I just didn't realize I was diving. I was so peaceful and relaxed. Equalization was flawless. I didn't feel any pressure. And I just hope to someday recreate that dive again without the thought of neck weights and just enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

We'd love to hear your story about diving. So at the end of the show, you'll find out all the info you need to submit your best dive ever. Thanks for listening to the Deeper Blue Podcast. Find out more on all the stories you've heard this week, plus connect to the world's largest online dive community at deeperblue.com. And if you like what you've heard, please subscribe, like, and comment wherever you hear your podcasts. These comments and subscribes really make a difference. Before we go, I want to give a big shout out to Jason Elliott, our producer. In case you didn't know, he has an amazing podcast about people who have a deep connection to our world's oceans. Connections strong enough that they've dedicated some part of their lives to being in or working on behalf of the water. Take a listen when you get a moment to Jason's show, the Big Deep Podcast. Every week, we want to hear your stories and share them with the world. So please record and send in your short story of your best dive ever. Keep it brief, no longer than two minutes, please. And in it, tell us your name and location, where you were on the dive, what happened that make it so great, and why it's meant so much to you. You can get that over to us at best dive ever at deeper blue.com or head to our website podcast.deeperblue dot com forward slash best dive ever. Join us again next week and explore much more of the deeper blue.