A special dive at I stopped at -180 meters (590 feet)

It was during 2002 when my buddy Robert (NAUI#32156) and myself (NAUI#38271) dived along a wall that we did not see many times.

It was a 12/50 tri-mix dive, maximum planned depth of 120 meters (394 feet) with a 18’ bottom time.

We arrive to the dive site, we assemble our equipment, we gear up and, …………..we go.

Meter after meter we descend along this nice wall, 100 (328), 110 (360), 120 (394) and…… we stop. We reach our planned depth in 4 minutes, but…. surprise, we don’t see the bottom.

Robert looks at me and signals with his thumb down: do we continue our descend?

(clearly joking I think)

My answer is a clear no! together with a signal: “are you crazy?”

We are in O/C and we do not have the possibility to go a meter deeper in safety. He is carrying his 12+12 litres double tank filled @ 250 bar (3625 psi) and I have my trusty 15+15 litres double tank with two stage bottles each, 15 l. each myself and 10 l. each Robert.

The disappointment is evident, we were certain to see the bottom but,  … nothing at all!

And now, what do we do? Ok, ….. we are deciding what to do while, suddenly, a car plate shows in front of me (that I still keep). I call Robert with my torch and I show him the car plate. He begins to laugh while he makes some signals by looking at the bottom but I don’t understand him and I don’t know what he wants to communicate to me. Ok, next time!

17’. I signal Robert that only l’ is left, he agrees and we begin to ascend.

Our runtime planned the first stop at -84 meters (275 feet), switch gas with air at -51 meters (167 feet), switch gas with ean50 at -18 meters (59 feet), switch gas with oxygen at -6 meters (20 feet). Our total runtime is 122 minutes.

We exit the water after almost two hours and Robert asks me: I am curious to know if, besides the car plate, we also find the car in the bottom. And I immediately realize what he was signalling me under water.

A nice dive always ends at the table so we go home to have some pasta with a nice glass of wine, promising each other that we will return to the dive place to look for the car on the bottom!

The same year I travelled to Sardinia to work during the summer in a diving centre and, a day, in the same place, yes, in the same place, Robert died for a heart attack together with his students while diving for fun, during his decompression stops. He was not too young anymore but, damn!……. It was not the time, the place, the way!

His students tried to make a CPR but ….. his heart did not want to pulse anymore. The ambulance arrived …. Nothing else to make, everything useless.

I was in Sardinia and, ….. damn! Robert, that was not the right time, I still needed you underwater.  

But the destiny does not listen to anyone!

After so many years of diving alone, I was still alone again.

Without a dive buddy, without a good friend. For Robert water was life; dying underwater for him has been magic. Doctors will say afterwards “he would have died on a bed or driving his car while going to work, that’s life!”

I remained with his wish to know if a car was lying on the bottom!

I came back from Sardinia and,…. I went to see him, on the lake border. I felt him, he was present! He was there….…..

A morning I decided: I go and look for the car!

I organized my support team ….Nicoletta, my other half. And no one else!

I prepared my backup cylinders along the descend chain, I geared up in silence and I began my dive, with my dear three 15+15+15 litre cylinders filled @ 280 bar with a 9/65 tri-mix mixture together with two stage bottles of 15 litres each at 250 bar.

But, what was I looking on the bottom? The car or maybe Robert? Yes, I was hoping to find him over there, waiting for me…….

I started descending determined to see the bottom but, no way to see it, also this time….. I stopped at -180 meters (590 feet), the water was 6° C (42.8° F), real dark, the car was not there and Robert……  he was there with me!

First stop at -90 meters (295 feet)….. a lot of switch gases, a runtime of 130’ for one or two minutes of bottom time….. but it has been surely worth.

All went well, icy during my decompression stops but, at the end, everything was ok.

My regulators performed perfectly, the only problem I had to my equipment was a depth gauge that imploded but, although it was brand new, I did not have the courage to ask the manufacturer for its change, it is still hanging in my room!

I did not dive deep in O/C since that dive,  I only make SCR and CCR dives now.

I am still mad at Robert, because he left me alone!

NAUI Tecnical Course Director