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In some respects, sitting on top of a launch
rocket waiting for somebody to push a button and send you hurtling
off into outer space is a doddle when compared with diving. |
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Vol.3 No.1
CounterStrike
The "Beagle" Has Stranded
By: David Strike
Without doubt one of the best remembered events of the past one-hundred
years will be that moment, in July, 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped
out onto the surface of the moon and captured the world's imagination
with his triumphant phrase, "That's one small step for
man; one giant leap for mankind!". A remarkable feat that is
already being overshadowed by plans for a manned mission to Mars.
In 1943, an equally significant – but less well publicised –
event took place in the Marne River, outside Paris. Lacking Armstrong's
stirring oratory, Emile Gagnan, co-designer of the Aqualung, simply
cried out, "Mon Dieu, Jacques! I thought you had drowned!"
(He hadn't! And Jacques Cousteau, went on to become one of the
most famed underwater explorers of our time.)
It's now more than sixty years since the pair perfected their
regulator; a device heralding new opportunities in mankind's
attempts to freely explore the 72% of our planet that's hidden
by water. But despite diving's growing popularity, we've
progressed very little in our exploration of 'inner space'!
While we've been busy splashing around at the ocean's
edge, the world's attention still remains focussed on the stars.
A doddle
In some respects, sitting on top of a launch rocket waiting for
somebody to push a button and send you hurtling off into outer space
is a doddle when compared with diving! While engineers and physicists
have mastered the technical difficulties of sending men on a 384,000
km journey to the moon, - and even sorted out the logistical problems
of what fillings to put in the packed lunches and how much clean
underwear will be needed for a 33,000,000 kilometre voyage to Mars!
- none of them have fathomed out ways to put even an exceptionally
equipped diver to depths much beyond 300-metres!
Unlimited government funding
But imagine what diving might have achieved had Cousteau and Gagnan's
pioneering effort received the attention and support of unlimited
government funding?
Or had, in 1959, somebody of the stature of a President Kennedy,
broadcast to the world, "We choose to go to the sea-floor,
not because it is easy, but because it is hard"?
"This is the, 'S.S. Grumpy Grouper', to Mission
Control. Divers, Sprat and Mackerel have entered the water and are
initiating descent - now!"
"Roger that, 'Grumpy Grouper'! This is Mission
Control to divers, Sprat and Mackerel. How do you copy?"
"Brrlluubb! We read you just fine, Mission Control. We're
now passing the 5-metre mark! 8-metres! …"
"Mission Control here. You're looking good, Sprat!"
" … 10-metres! 12-metres! Touch down! Mission Control,
we have touch-down!"
"Mission Control to Sprat and Mackerel. Well done, guys! All
instrument readings show normal. Continue with your planned dive."
"Brrlluubb! Sprat to Mission Control. I'm having difficulty
keeping up with Mackerel. He's just chased a parrot-fish around
a coral outcrop. It was one small fin-kick for him, but it's
a giant swim for me! Brrlluubb! I can't see him! I've
lost contact, Mission Control! I've lost him!"
"Mission Control to Sprat! Stay calm! Remember Standard Operating
Procedure! A quick search for no longer than one-minute and then
surface. Do you copy that, 'Grumpy Grouper'?"
"This is, 'Grumpy Grouper'. Both divers have surfaced
two-metres from a nearby sand bank. Diver recovery vessel, 'Bubbly
Beagle', is launched and on its way. Oh, Oh! 'Bubbly
Beagle' appears to have grounded in the shallows! The 'Beagle'
has stranded!"
"Mission Control, here. That's not going to sound good
in the history book! I knew I shouldn't have used Sprat to
catch Mackerel!"
It took vision, commitment and money to get man to the moon! Imagine
what that same level of support for diving might accomplish in this
new millennium!
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