50 hours of fortitude
As well as serving as the official event photographer , I was thrown into the lastminute preparations as soon as I arrived . Various organisational challenges ensued , with Ben catching Covid , crucial equipment stuck in customs and the boat refit behind schedule . But the day of the dive arrived and everything was on track .
Shaff wanted to get some down time to mentally prepare himself for his challenge but he had turned into a bit of a local celebrity . The sponsors , VIPs and local media all wanted their slice of the Shaff pie , and it all ate into his time for kitting-up , which became a rushed affair .
The next thing we knew , a massive cheer accompanied a big splash – he was in . The mantra to ‘ plan the dive and dive the plan ’ had already gone to pot and Shaff had all sorts of problems . He seemed to be weighted incorrectly ; his full face mask was flooding and his harness seem to be twisted . Not one of these issues was a real problem , but together they could prove dangerous . Fortunately , a Covid-free Ben and partner Rikka quickly settled him down and sorted everything out .
Shaff would be welcoming groups of visiting divers , including government and local United Nations officials , many of which had never dived before , so we had
The 6m site had a pretty patch of hard coral on white sand
an army of instructors on hand to guide them . The days were filled with a hive of activity and a game of chess or two , but it was the evenings that would really test Shaff ’ s resolve .
He later admitted that the first night presented his lowest moment , “ I really struggled . Sleeping was a big issue and at times I just wanted to cancel the dive . But I just thought of all the planning and all of my support crew . That gave me the strength to carry on .”
We all realised the nights would be tough , so on the second night all the support divers decided to throw Shaff an impromptu party . Hastily made fancy dress was donned , with torches turned into light sticks and strobes set to full power . Dozens of us descended to the seabed , where we ploughed through our air supply as quickly as possible by dancing the night ( well , 45 minutes ) away . The surface crew listened in via the comms unit in Shaff ’ s full face mask and said they had never heard someone laugh so loud for so long . Our job was done .
The majority of the dive passed uneventfully , but in the early morning of his last day disaster struck - Shaff ’ s drysuit had
Safety diver Rikka Haakana uses a pad to communicate with Shaff
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