Professional Qualifications

Master Scuba Diver Trainer 19 Mar 2016
Freediver Core 26 Apr 2018
Open Water Scuba Instructor 14 Oct 2015
Divemaster 25 Mar 2015
EFR Instructor Trainer 30 Apr 2018
IDC Staff Instructor 30 Nov 2017
EFR Instructor 13 Oct 2015
Diver Propulsion Vehicle Instructor 16 May 2018
Multilevel Diver Instructor 16 May 2018
Care For Children Trainer 30 Apr 2018
Freediver Instructor 26 Apr 2018
Public Safety Diver Instructor 27 Oct 2017
Night Diver Instructor 01 Sep 2017
Search & Recovery Instructor 01 Sep 2017
Full Face Mask Instructor 20 Jul 2017
Equipment Specialist Instructor 22 Dec 2016
Dry Suit Instructor 19 Mar 2016
Deep Instructor 13 Nov 2015
Enriched Air Instructor 13 Nov 2015
Emergency Oxygen Provider Instructor 13 Nov 2015
Sidemount Instructor 13 Nov 2015
Wreck Instructor 13 Nov 2015
Peak Performance Buoyancy Instructor 14 Oct 2015
Project Aware Instructor 14 Oct 2015
AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Instructor 14 Oct 2015
Care for Children w/AED Instructor 13 Oct 2015

Where have you dived?

Every continent except Antarctica

Can you teach me?

Probably yes – even the most fearful students do well with me.

Anything else we need to know?

Full UK Driving License (since 1988)
Oceanic SP4, SP5, Alpha 7, Alpha 8, registered engineer
TUSA RS-400, SS-20, SS-40, registered engineer
PSI/PCI Visual Tank Inspector
MCA Powerboat Advanced
MCA 1st Mate 200 Tonnes
RYA Yachtmaster (Ocean)

So how do you actually get to Antarctica?
The easiest way, is just wait. Courtesy of plate tectonics/continental drift you will be able to walk from Thailand onto the Antarctic plate in about 200m years time.

If you can’t wait that long there are about 50 expedition ships operating in Antarctica that you can apply to work or volunteer on.

Most Antarctica expeditions depart from the port city of Ushuaia in Argentina. Other departure ports include Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Occasionally they will leave from Punta Arenas in Chile, Buenos Aires and Puerto Madryn in Argentina, however, these departures are far rarer.

Journeys to the Antarctic peninsula from Ushuaia take about 2-3 days. Expect delays because of weather, especially as you’ll be crossing the Drake Passage which is infamous for its rough seas.

I understand you are into rock climbing…
Oh yes…. and this started 34 years ago, with my brother.

Neither of us would say we are very good climbers. Of course we have done some fun stuff and some big stuff. The challenge was always technical climbing as opposed to endurance climbing or mountaineering.

Some notable events include Stanage and Black Rocks (both famous UK climbing spots), and using our rope access skills for non-climbing tasks such as teaching the Scouts to abseil or during the construction of a windmill in the village of Wraysbury, Berkshire.

I even had the opportunity to climb in the Grand Canyon – after having been flown in by helicopter. It doesn’t really count beyond a little bouldering – but as I was there, I really couldn’t help myself – however stupid I looked!

Survival
I am happy in the knowledge, that blindfold and disorientated, I could be deposited anywhere in the World and within a day have determined my likely location and be on my way to civilisation. But, staying nearer to home for now…

There are some situations where a person will want to take a long hike, or even a short hike. How are these decisions made? There is combination of Situation and Location. For example, I have a day free to hike – and I happen to be in Sydney, Australia. Location + Situation = train into the mountains; Or my car has broken down, I am 30km past the last village, and I have no battery in my phone. Situation + Location = hike 6hrs back.

Of course there is more to consider. The first example here is a planned hike – with provision and contact/route information. The second is unplanned, unprepared and realising that the survival kit you have been planning for the last five years to assemble and leave in the back of you car, has actually become more of a challenge than it needed to be.

An adult of reasonable health and ability can do a lot of walking or hiking. A random person with nothing but a pair of trainers can hike for 24 straight hours and cover 50+ miles of path – if the weather’s good, if the route’s clear, if the hiking’s not too strenuous, and if they are motivated.

It’s incredible what kind of bad conditions a person can push through. With a few thick layers and a nice big sleeping bag, ten days crossing snow-covered mountains can be basically the same as ten days strolling through fields of flowers.