The Tech Stage at the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ this weekend (28-29 September) at the Sydney Showground is a positive smorgasbord of international technical diving talent and home-grown deep-diving experts.
Whether you are just thinking about dabbling in technical diving, you are already a seasoned techie – or even if you are new to diving and just want to know more about this challenging arena – then The Tech Stage is the place for you to check out over the weekend.
A pioneer of technical rebreather diving, cave diver and videographer/photographer Jill Heinerth is the first Explorer-In-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and her best-selling autobiography, Into The Planet, has been lauded by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Oprah Magazine.
She is a Fellow of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Women Diver’s Hall of Fame, the Explorer’s Club and Underwater Academy Of Arts and Sciences. Her images have been showcased by the BBC, National Geographic, Red Bull, Canadian Geographic, Discovery, and many more.
In submerged caves beneath the Ottawa River, Jill Heinerth makes a significant biological discovery, revealing the importance of natural systems in watershed protection.
NB: On the Saturday for this talk, Jill is on the Main Stage.
With the presence of numerous World War Two shipwrecks, Newfoundland has been called the ‘Truk Lagoon of the North’, but a recent discovery of Shackleton’s final ship Quest has brought the region into the international spotlight.
Archaeology in the darkness of flooded caves, and the new Halcyon Symbios CCR will be the topics of discussion when photogrammetry expert and technical diving instructor evaluator John Kendall takes to the Tech Stage.
John is an explorer who specialises in underwater 3D modelling of archaeological and geological sites. He has been involved in dozens of investigations of dive sites using photogrammetric techniques, including the Mars shipwreck (1564), MS Estonia (1994), Panarea III Wreck (~300BC) and the Cave of Bones, Brazil (~11,000 years old).
He is also an Instructor Evaluator for Global Underwater Explorers and sits on their Training Council.
GUE Instructor and photogrammetry expert John Kendall will be talking about using photogrammetry to document archaeological sites inside flooded caves. With projects in Europe and South America, John will be talking about the challenges, as well as the awesome results, of these projects.
Halcyon Manufacturing are about to launch their new range of computers, stand-alone HUDs and their new chest-mount CCR. With wireless communication across the range, come and hear John Kendall give an overview of the new toys, as well as getting a sneak preview of the CCR.
Industry legend David Strike is taking to the Tech Stage at the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ, and you can be sure of entertaining, and educational, presentations as he focuses on the world’s deepest dive, and offers some cautionary tales for tech divers.
Certified as a diver in 1961, with a background encompassing military, commercial, scientific, and technical diving sectors – and proficient and qualified in open-circuit and closed circuit scuba, and surface demand diving equipment – Australia-based David Strike is a former diving Instructor and Instructor Trainer Certifier, and a regular editorial contributor on dive-related topics to diving publications from around the world.
He was also the organiser of several world-class diving events – with an emphasis on technical diving – and has been the recipient of several ‘industry recognition’ awards, as well as the ADEX Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a Fellow of the Explorers Club of New York.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the series of heliox deep diving trials conducted by the Royal Navy and US Navy were based on being able to assist in submarine rescue and recovery. Extending the depth limits to which a diver might safely go – and still be capable of performing meaningful work when he got there – had a very practical purpose.
This talk focuses on the background to, and subsequent story of, the Royal Navy’s 1956 world depth record – one that has never been equalled.
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” – Aldous Huxley.
A personal and light-hearted collection of anecdotes, stories and yarns highlighting the fact that, ‘the ability to dive is not a panacea for the skills one lacks’; and that give a little insight into various facets of the constantly evolving world of diving.
Experienced technical CCR, cave, mine, and wreck diver Yana Stashkevich is rapidly making a name for herself when it comes to exploration dives, and she will be giving an enthralling presentation about her exploits on the Tech Stage.
She was a member of the Vaggfjellan XI expedition exploring the cave system located beyond the Arctic Circle, with an entrance on a slope of a Norwegian fjord, and she was a rebreather diver on the Underwater Filming & Research (UFR) project team documenting some of the world’s best preserved wrecks in Greece.
Currently, Yana is actively involved in deep wreck exploration projects in the Aegean Sea, and promoting the maritime heritage of Greek waters.
Over the past ten years she has dived in over 35 destinations across three continents, all while balancing a career as a full-time global marketeer. She is currently working for the world’s most-valuable whisky brand, The Macallan.
UK-based Yana has an infectious amount of energy and enthusiasm and is a regular speaker and coach – she is passionate about inspiring people to push their boundaries and pursue their passion, whatever it may be.
Yana recounts her adventures from Greece where she took part in numerous deep wreck identification dives, including the Vickers Wellington Bomber – a true time capsule believed to be the best-preserved airplane wreck of its class.
While most of World War Two wrecks are a reminder of how fragile human life can be, the Vickers Wellington on the contrary captures an incredible survival story. The crew skillfully ditched the aircraft after being shot down and were rescued by the locals.
Ever wondered how seemingly insignificant clues and features on the wreck can help and piece together what happened before the sinking? Join Yana’s talk to be immersed in the thrilling story of discovery and exploration.
Technical diver and Human Factors in Diving expert Mike Mason will be discussing what diving can learn from flying and how to ‘be the diver you’d want to follow’ when he takes to the Tech Stage.
Mike has been involved in flying military fighter jets for his entire career (24 years so far) and has over 3,000 hours flying different types of fighter and training aircraft as an instructor. He is now an instructor with the RAAF, teaching the next generation of fighter pilots.
Mike has spent time on aircraft carriers and has completed over 200 combat missions. He has flown jets over every major continent, except Antarctica.
He has been an active diver for almost ten years. He has about 400 dives in his logbook and works as a Divemaster for a local dive shop. He is an active CCR diver on the NSW coast and is qualified down to 60m with normoxic trimix. He’s dived as far north as Iceland, and as far south as NZ.
His flying career sparked an interest in Human Factors and how important they are to maximise safety and performance. He joined The Human Diver team about four years ago because he wanted to combine his knowledge and experience of Human Factors gained through flying with his passion for diving to help educate other divers.
Mike, an experienced fighter pilot and passionate diver, will talk about several concepts, processes and techniques that have helped him succeed in his flying career and how they can help you be a better, safer diver.
John Garvin is an Australian screenwriter, accomplished technical diver, underwater explorer and diving supervisor, who ran the diving operations for several James Cameron films including Avatar – The Way of Water, Avatar 3, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D and Sanctum, and he will be gracing the Tech Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ.
John actually wrote the screenplays for Sanctum and James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D, and in 2023 ran the commercial diving sequences for the Netflix feature Last Breath.
He is a technical diving instructor trainer specializing in closed circuit rebreathers, and wrote the Technical Diving International training manual for AP Diving’s Inspiration and Evolution rebreathers.
John is a founding member of the Caicos Caves Project, an organization dedicated to exploring and mapping the underwater caves in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
In 2002, his company provided the logistics and safety diver support for Tanya Streeter’s world record breaking freedive to 160m.
He was also the diving officer and project manager (sub internals) for the Deepsea Challenger submersible during James Cameron’s historic solo dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
John has appeared in several films and documentaries, including Sanctum, James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D, Extraordinary People and Freedive.
Prior to his diving career, he played the lead role in the West End rock’n’roll musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, and continues to enjoy his lifelong passions – diving, filmmaking and playing rock’n’roll.
John describes his role heading up the dive team, training the actors how to scuba dive and designing some of the specialised dive equipment used on the sequels.
Cave and tech diver Kerrie Burow will be talking about her journey through cave-diving photography techniques when she takes to the Tech Stage.
Kerrie is a qualified closed-circuit rebreather (CCR), technical and cave diver, as well as an award-winning underwater photographer, including winning her category in the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022, and garnering frequent placements and acknowledgments in the Australasia Top Emerging Photographer awards, among others.
She is a regular contributing writer and photographer for Scuba Diver Magazine Australia and New Zealand, and her articles and images have been published nationally and internationally in a number of magazines.
Professionally, Kerrie works in the corporate world as a consultant in the learning sciences, and enjoys collaborating with subject matter experts who wish to teach their knowledge and skills expertise.
This workshop will be presented as a visual diary of learning cave-diving photography, starting in Australia in January 2022.
Covering important insights and experiences in the caverns and caves of Australia, Europe and Mexico, participants will share the process of growth, understanding that each cave dive with a camera offers valuable lessons and opportunities for continuous improvement.
The importance of safety, camera settings in low-light conditions, composition, the crucialness of understanding light and the photographic process from concept to final editing will be covered.
Participants will come away empowered to capture beautiful images while minimising their impact on delicate underwater environments.
The GO Diving Show ANZ is pleased to welcome technical diving instructor trainer, and OZTek founder, Richard Taylor to the Tech Stage at the inaugural event.
Richard has over 30 years of experience in technical diving in Australia and New Zealand, starting in the early 1990s and including some of the first trimix dives in Australia in 1994 (before certifications were available).
He was past and founding Regional Director in Australia and New Zealand for TDI/SDI and holds Instructor Trainer ratings with them at multiple levels. He was a founding member of ‘The Sydney Project’ mixed gas diving team, Safety and Diving Officer for the joint Australian-Turkish team finding the Australian World War One submarine AE2 off Gallipoli, and was part of the first mixed gas dive team to explore the Pearce Resurgence in New Zealand in 1997.
In 1999, he founded the OZTeK Australasian Diving Technologies Exhibitions & Conferences and ran OZTek99 in Sydney, OZTek2000 in Melbourne and OZTek3 in Sydney in 2002, before partnering with David Strike for the OZTek4 and OZTek’07 Dive Shows in Sydney.
Richard has taught hundreds of technical divers and Instructors around the world, is an avid wreck diver and as a keen cave diver is a 20-plus year member of the CDAA. He continues to teach today for SDI/TDI/FRTI and is one of the few Instructor Trainer Evaluators and member of their Training Advisory Panel.
He is the past president of Diving Industry associations in both Australia and New Zealand and is a member of Standards Australia/NZ & ISO committees. He has published numerous articles on technical diving and diving safety and has presented at symposiums and diving conferences globally. As a past rebreather diver and instructor, he is a passionate advocate for training and maintaining open circuit technical diving skills.
His strong belief is that as we gain more experience, we gain a responsibility to pass our knowledge and skills on to others, so that those who come after us can safely explore the underwater realm further than we have.
A look at the laws and regulations required when working as an Instructor or Diver.
Marine archaeologist, ocean advocate, and technical diver Dr Matt Carter will be on the Tech Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ.
Since 2003, he has worked on underwater archaeological projects in 13 different countries, ranging from the excavation of a 2,800-year-old Phoenician shipwreck in Spain, to leading expeditions to 3D model the ghost fleets of Bikini Atoll and Chuuk Lagoon.
In 2009, Matt was awarded the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society’s (OWUSS) Australasian Rolex Scholarship, where he was introduced to using rebreathers for scientific diving. Since then, he has become a pioneer in the use of CCR and photogrammetry for marine archaeology, specialising in the surveying and assessment of World War Two wrecks in Australia and the Pacific.
Matt is an International Fellow and EC50 awardee of the Explorers Club, a former Vice-President of the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (AIMA), and the New Zealand representative on the ICOMOS International Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH). He has also been a specialist presenter on the television series Coast: New Zealand, a spin-off from the BBC-produced UK series Coast, and is a subject matter expert for the United Nations, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the Government of Australia.
Combining scientific, commercial, and technical diving for over a decade, Matt now serves as the Research Director for the Major Projects Foundation, working to protect marine ecosystems, cultures, and livelihoods threatened by polluting World War Two shipwrecks across the Blue Pacific.
Matt’s talk at the GO Diving Show ANZ will be:
This annual event, taking place this year on 28-29 September at the Sydney Showground at the Olympic Park, is aimed at showcasing the very best of our underwater world to everyone from raw novices who are either contemplating getting into diving, or have completed their entry-level courses, to advanced divers, right through to technical divers and veteran CCR divers.
There are an array of stages – the Main Stage, the Photo Stage, the Australia/New Zealand Stage, the Inspiration Stage and the Tech Stage – that will play host to dozens of speakers from around the world, as well as a host of interactive features to suit young and old, from VR diving experiences, a demonstration pool, and much more.
Surrounding the stages and features will be a broad range of exhibitors, from tourist boards and tour operators to resorts, liveaboards, training agencies, retailers, manufacturers, and conservation organisations.
The 2024 GO Diving Show UK, now in its fifth year, attracted more than 10,000 attendees over the weekend, and spanned an area of 10,000 sq m of exhibition space, and the Australia and New Zealand variant aspires to reaching this level in coming years.
Entry to the inaugural GO Diving Show ANZ is completely free – register here to get your tickets for what is undoubtedly the diving event of 2024 in Australia. There is plenty of parking on-site and the venue is easy to get to with plenty of transport options, so get the dates in your diary now and prepare for an epic weekend celebrating all forms of diving.
