Post by L Roebuck on Aug 28, 2006 12:24:37 GMT -5
Diving into a Bermuda mystery
By Scott Neil
A project to film the mysterious world of Bermuda’s underwater caves has begun.
Three cave diving friends are plunging into the labyrinth network of underwater tunnels and caverns that lie mostly hidden away in undisturbed corners of the Island. A degree of Government-backing has been given to the venture, which intends to create an interactive DVD documentary to be used as a resource for schools, other cave divers and those simply intrigued to know what lies beneath.
Bermudian Bruce Williams is leading the project with Bermuda Cavers Group diving partners Allan Beales and Paul Larrett.
Experimental film footage from some of caves has already been captured using high-powered underwater lights and video camera. It is likely to take more than two years to complete all the filming and edit the footage into the DVD interactive format, but it is a project that Mr. Williams, 48, believes will be of value to today’s and future generations of Bermuda residents.
“We need to create a better awareness among our children and ourselves about our caves; about the rare endemic species that live there and about the water quality,” said Mr. Williams.
“We have expressed a wish to help achieve the goal of educating the public and children about Bermuda’s caves.”
The extent of the Island’s cave systems may yet throw up further unexpected discoveries, such as the possibility of more caves being found or further examples of rare and endemic aquatic life in the undisturbed underwater sanctuaries.
Explaining what brought him to cave diving Mr. Williams said he has been a certified diver since his teenage years and was content to explore shipwrecks until he came across a sunken World War Two German submarine in 100ft of water off the Virginia coast.
“I really wanted to go inside that wreck. But it would have been fool-hardy to go into an old sub that was rusting, decomposing and likely filled with debris and tangled wires,” he said.
To dive in a confined space where it is not possible to simply “swim upwards” if in difficulties requires specialised training. He sought world-renowned cave diver Jarrod Jablonski and trained in the submerged caves of Florida where he became hooked on the experience of cave diving.
Even though he is now trained to dive in confined spaces Mr. Williams has not been back to see the old submarine, instead he has been exploring the caves of Bermuda since returning to the Island in 1998 to work with the Bermuda Biological Research Station.
“When I trained I found I loved being inside caves so much that I moved more and more towards cave diving. We have such fantastic caves here in which to dive,” he said. “It is an incredible experience to float through the caves, it feels spiritual; you are going into some places that few people have been been and places steeped in time that go back millions of years.”
He describes the idea for the cave DVD project as his private ambition, along with his two fellow members of the cavers group. In 2002 the group petitioned Government about requesting support and received interest from the Environment Ministry but was told there was no funding available at the time.
“However, I felt so strongly about it that I purchased some equipment to get started and we filmed some footage in 2002, 2003 and 2004,” said Mr. Williams. The result is a number of demonstration recordings that show what is possible and the results were included in a further submission to Government for assistance, which this time was successful.
Mr. Williams said: “We want to create a video that addresses the evolution of Bermuda as a volcano to the formation of the marine caves, the sea-level changes and the impact of human development on the caves.
“One of the problems with the caves is that people do not know very much about them. We need to create a better awareness among our children about our caves; the endemic species that live in the caves and the water quality and how it can be affected.” There are estimated to be something like 100 to 150 caves in Bermuda, not all of them are dive-able. Mr. Williams’ interest is primarily in the geology of the caves, how they formed in the limestone cap that dates back several million years and sits atop the underwater volcano that formed the island during two active periods 100 million years ago and 34 million years ago.
Now with backing from Government it is all systems go for the project, which will give children, adults and visitors a fascinating window into the secret world of the Island’s caves.
Article
By Scott Neil
A project to film the mysterious world of Bermuda’s underwater caves has begun.
Three cave diving friends are plunging into the labyrinth network of underwater tunnels and caverns that lie mostly hidden away in undisturbed corners of the Island. A degree of Government-backing has been given to the venture, which intends to create an interactive DVD documentary to be used as a resource for schools, other cave divers and those simply intrigued to know what lies beneath.
Bermudian Bruce Williams is leading the project with Bermuda Cavers Group diving partners Allan Beales and Paul Larrett.
Experimental film footage from some of caves has already been captured using high-powered underwater lights and video camera. It is likely to take more than two years to complete all the filming and edit the footage into the DVD interactive format, but it is a project that Mr. Williams, 48, believes will be of value to today’s and future generations of Bermuda residents.
“We need to create a better awareness among our children and ourselves about our caves; about the rare endemic species that live there and about the water quality,” said Mr. Williams.
“We have expressed a wish to help achieve the goal of educating the public and children about Bermuda’s caves.”
The extent of the Island’s cave systems may yet throw up further unexpected discoveries, such as the possibility of more caves being found or further examples of rare and endemic aquatic life in the undisturbed underwater sanctuaries.
Explaining what brought him to cave diving Mr. Williams said he has been a certified diver since his teenage years and was content to explore shipwrecks until he came across a sunken World War Two German submarine in 100ft of water off the Virginia coast.
“I really wanted to go inside that wreck. But it would have been fool-hardy to go into an old sub that was rusting, decomposing and likely filled with debris and tangled wires,” he said.
To dive in a confined space where it is not possible to simply “swim upwards” if in difficulties requires specialised training. He sought world-renowned cave diver Jarrod Jablonski and trained in the submerged caves of Florida where he became hooked on the experience of cave diving.
Even though he is now trained to dive in confined spaces Mr. Williams has not been back to see the old submarine, instead he has been exploring the caves of Bermuda since returning to the Island in 1998 to work with the Bermuda Biological Research Station.
“When I trained I found I loved being inside caves so much that I moved more and more towards cave diving. We have such fantastic caves here in which to dive,” he said. “It is an incredible experience to float through the caves, it feels spiritual; you are going into some places that few people have been been and places steeped in time that go back millions of years.”
He describes the idea for the cave DVD project as his private ambition, along with his two fellow members of the cavers group. In 2002 the group petitioned Government about requesting support and received interest from the Environment Ministry but was told there was no funding available at the time.
“However, I felt so strongly about it that I purchased some equipment to get started and we filmed some footage in 2002, 2003 and 2004,” said Mr. Williams. The result is a number of demonstration recordings that show what is possible and the results were included in a further submission to Government for assistance, which this time was successful.
Mr. Williams said: “We want to create a video that addresses the evolution of Bermuda as a volcano to the formation of the marine caves, the sea-level changes and the impact of human development on the caves.
“One of the problems with the caves is that people do not know very much about them. We need to create a better awareness among our children about our caves; the endemic species that live in the caves and the water quality and how it can be affected.” There are estimated to be something like 100 to 150 caves in Bermuda, not all of them are dive-able. Mr. Williams’ interest is primarily in the geology of the caves, how they formed in the limestone cap that dates back several million years and sits atop the underwater volcano that formed the island during two active periods 100 million years ago and 34 million years ago.
Now with backing from Government it is all systems go for the project, which will give children, adults and visitors a fascinating window into the secret world of the Island’s caves.
Article