Boesmansgat, (Bushman's Hole)150 meter dive, on 9-10-2019
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- Team of three divers pushed to 150 meters (500') on this day. Pim Van Der Horst, Dennis Blom and Dan Wright went down the shot line, and diligently stopped at the mark. The shot line was reported to go to 200 meters, but our planning dictated a max depth of 150 meters. Stunning location at 5000' in elevation in the Kalahari desert in the northern cape of South Africa. Musical score by: Kevin MacLeod.
![ออกพรรษาน้ำตาหล่น - แอน อรดี [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PFZtOcY9ONA/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome to see Don Shirley still diving and in the exact same hole that nearly killed him. He is a true pioneer of the tech diving culture.
Don and Andre are wonderful people, top shelf.
What happend?
@@MarcusAlsing google Dave or David Shaw. A Australian diver that tried to recover the body of another man on the bottom of Bushman’s Hole. 300m+ down. Shirley was the closest diver to David and even went down to get him when his light wasn’t moving anymore. His hammerhead cracked and needed to go back up. He was out of the waters for months.
@@MarcusAlsing go to TH-cam channel dive talk and look up video David shaw they explain the dive thoroughly. It was a body recovery dive that went pretty bad.
Well, his friend die and he almost die in this cave, so he can teach them how to not die in this cave..
I am an experienced diver myself, commercially and recreationally, but I will never have the gigantic steel balls that cave divers have! Kudos on these dives and videos!
As an avid diver I still cannot fathom doing that in caves, just watching it makes me anxious, glad I can live vicariously through videos like this. Respect!
Thank you, glad you liked it!
Amazing video, very cool seeing this dive site in a more "modern" quality in terms of video. For some reason I felt both happy and sad that Don was diving alongside you, but he's probably moved on from Dave's death at this point.
Yes, by no means great quality, as it was just a GoPro 4 Black, with a single canister primary light for illumination. I could not bring all my video lights and other camera equipment on this trip, as I was so overweight on luggage to begin with. I recall having 250 pounds of gear (checked baggage), mostly due to bringing the entire rebreather and support parts for the Hammerhead, and spares. The only thing I didn't fly with were tanks and some lead.
Thank you for sharing this! It’s probably as close as I’m going to get to Boesmansgat for the foreseeable future. It must have been a real pleasure to work with Mr. Shirley. The guy’s an absolute legend.
Seems most people here don't realize that Robert Shaw, Don Shirley's good friend and dive partner, passed over 800ft deep here.
Dave Shaw, Robert Shaw is "Quint" in "Jaws"
Good video man. and wow! is that cave scary
Great video. There's something so beautiful about these underwater cave systems. It has to be a combination of the mystical nature and the hostile, dangerous environment you must put yourself in order to relish the true beauty of these caves.
Complete and utter madness... Theres no way i would do this. Freaks me out.
Amazing dive :) Shows romantic of that darkness and mystery !!! Love it, outstanding video my friend :)
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it!
I wonder how Don Shirley felt being there again
Don seemed fine, as he was busy making sure we were all taken care of and could do the diving we had planned. I was only in the water with him on the deep dive, he came and checked on me.
Don has no problem re Boesmansgat. He's been back many times. In fact, it is hard to keep him away. ;-)
I’m glad Don is still able to dive after his ear problems.
Didn't Don do a body recovery there...2 guys that drown at different times, I think his name is Dave... He was doing a body recovery and ended up drowning cause he got tangled up in rope he was attaching to a body he was recovering for a family. Real sad story. I'm pretty sure Don is one of the men that pulled the 2 drown men out after they floated to surface. I'm sure I don't have details exactly right but I'm close.
@@karly4justice that story brought all of us here
'150 meters! Wow at this rate in your progress you might be able to get to the bottom soon. Wish you luck!
Great respect for Don Shirley!
The darkness, loneliness, underwater with your crucial life-saving equipment must be such a nervous experience. Loneliner than outer space.
The thing is, for these kinds of people, that fear is kept at bay, and its just a blissful experience. Ive done some open water diving, so to some small extent, I can understand this fearlessness. But I cannot fathom the level of emotional fitness required to go to these types of places, relatively deep within our planet, where there is no easy way out.
Don Shirley is one tough guy. I'm not sure if I'd be able to go back to the place, where my best friend died, and I almost lost MY life at as well.
he escaped death barely and his friends soul is here i couldnt do it maybe if i was placing a memorial marker or something at the bottom for my friend but other then that nooooooo
@@dragonqueen4799 is deans head still at the bottom somewhere?
I've been fascinated with Bushman's Cave ever since I heard the story of the body recovery, and I can't help but do a "deep dive" on information about the cave and cave diving in general. Thanks for sharing this with us, it's really cool. How would you describe the feeling of being encased so deep in such a hostile environment? Psychologically speaking, that is. It's hard for me to imagine, and touches on many phobias of mine.
Glad you enjoyed it. I have been diving in some very hostile environments for a number of years, in abandoned mines being some of them, in much colder temperatures. I found this challenging, physically because of the rock scramble in every day and out. The dive themselves, I relished. I was concentrating on details, so no time to ponder the dangers, I was well aware of them. On the long deco, one has plenty of time to think, but no nightmares came to mind, just pleasant thoughts about being in such a fantastic place, and the divers I had the chance to spend time with.
@@wcs563 Thank you for your reply sir. I'll continue to follow your journeys.
Great achievement, I know what goes into planning and diving a dive like this. Respect.
Much appreciated
This is cool and all, but I dove to 12 feet in my pool. 😎
That's a pretty deep private pool!
You Wont understand life until you dive
I like how you start in this smal passage and at 150m cant even see the walls, truly inspiering. Would not be surpeised if Julverne would whrite a secend " Travel to the center of the earth" if he could have seen this.
Great video, thanks for sharing!
Wow! I see that you used a GoPro Hero 4 Black for this dive. I myself use the same model to film my dives (I'm only a rescue diver though). I was wondering If you were using a custom made/specific case for your GoPro because to my knowledge the Hero 4 Black's Standard case is only rated for about 40 meters. A reply woulf be appreciated.
Breathtaking footage none the less.
Greeting from Germany and safe diving!
The housing for the GoPro 4 Black is rated for 1000;, sold by Golem Gear. I glad you enjoyed the video
How I love that gear, it's like going to the moon, hoping one day will be able to do scuba diving 😀
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yep gear is awesome! :) where are you from? In NZ my open water cost $250, really cheap to learn and we are surrounded by water.
I am from the United States.
I see Don uses a sherwater, great computer. Cool dive, amazing.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
Great dive, great music
Bushman's Hole or Boesmansgat is one of my big dream to go there and see what it’s like and discover
Somewhere down on that hole bottom still lays the head of Deon Dreyer...
they recovered it. In that video those were his goggles, not his head..
the body was confirmed to be headless. At the surface, Deon's foot actually fell off and had one police diver toss it into the body bag
@@sxpremxe4759 Deon's head was not recovered.
I honestly don’t know what more mind blowing being in a cave or extreme deep diving so let’s just do both those together lol brass nuts on this man knowing that it almost cost him his life that last time
Looks to me like wandering around in a dark basement..except a basement is much safer.
Wonder how many times Don's gone back to this hole...
Btw, what's the name of the background music? I like it, but there are too many Kevin Macleod pieces when I looked him up on YT.
Sorry for the silly question. Nuno Gomes' dive to the record depth of below 280 meters took 12 hours underwater due to decompression stops. I am wondering how divers carry out their physiological needs during all this time?
I have done dives up to 7 1/2 hours, I passed the time daydreaming, and nearly falling asleep. Others can bring tablets (in UW cases) and leave at 20' to watch movies. Some listen to music with housed players, some can actually read books....
@@wcs563 Is there a way to take a toilet break? I mean, road cyclists during a race do it on the go. I guess it's the same for the diver.
@@sol3cito33 th-cam.com/video/NHoxbWihN1A/w-d-xo.html
diapers, or a piss valve in the wetsuit@@sol3cito33
6:30 did anyone notice that illuminated head in the rock with ears, eyes and open mouth...
Yes, it looks like a stone demon from medieval times similar to those placed on cathedrals. ;)
I have watched my video many times, and I never noticed this interesting stone! If I get back there and remember, I'll try and shoot more of that structure. But, you can imagine all kinds of shapes in all the stone (just like clouds), and as long as we don't get carried away or spooked, it's all good.
This thing drop to 259 m or 850 feet...remembered watching the intense recovery rescued on tv.
We just did 150 meters or 504' myself. Our expedition was only equipped for that depth, and I did the max with Pim and Dennis. Any deeper, we would have to have run a 900' downline ourselves, and had a portable recompression chamber on site with a technician to operate it with a doctor. As far as Don Shirley knew, the line we were going down went to 600', but he could not be certain. Don warned me: "Do not sail off the end of it." I heeded those words, and was watching the line carefully as I led the dive and plummeted down at 100' a minute.
What actually happened is tht there ws a bigg snake tht causes this accident. Ask ppl around in Danielskuil they knw abt the snake bt for one or other reason they refuse to talk abt it.
This cave is legend for this nd there are ppl who knws abt th snake whereabouts.
Can you make a reaction video to Dave Shaw's death? with a thorough opinion /explanation what went wrong.
brutal video especially the moment when the dead diver looks dave right in the eyes.
Possibly, but that would have to be an interview with Don Shirley, so I'd have to get back there and record with a real camera/sound setup. My next visit will be in 2022, at this point.
@@wcs563 that would be great, I am not sure if you have come across this trend. It‘s called „reaction“ videos on youtube.
You have the camera on yourself while you‘re watching (reacting) to the footage.
Look into this, could get hundreds of thousands of views if someone really finally explained what happened to Dave.
The guy who commentated the best known video of dave‘s accident sort of only said Dave‘s working hard etc.
we need someone with extensive knowledge to explain exactly what is what.
@@francescoschettino5726 the guy who commented the video you mentioned was Don Shirley and believe me, no one knows better what happened down there, cause he was only 50m above Dave when the accident happened and risked his own life for him.
Are you allowed to use TH-cam from your prison cell "captain coward"?
@@DavidRibasDaCunha We have PS5, Macbook and TV, thank you.
Great vid Dave! Such a unique perspective! 🤙
Dan, thank you kindly
@@wcs563 i meant Dan! Sorry! 🤙
Dan Wright. David's body was recovered along with the other person?
Great video!!!
Both bodies were recovered two days after Dave Shaw's death, there are books about this whole recovery written.
What a shame that happened. I wish Dave would have had a couple other people down there to help him. It was a lot of tasks for one individual to do in such a deep situation. It just goes to show how quickly things can change at that depth
@@robk5437 There is only a few people on the planet that could have pulled off that dive, same thing with sheck exley if he hadn't tied himself off the only person who could likely have pulled off the retrieval was the one that died.
I was there nd u could feel tht something is not right. U actually get drowsy nd dizzy when u want to go down there nd its very very dangerous.
Hello, Dan. Is it okay if I use your footage for a video?
In what video?
@@wcs563 a video about an accident at Boesmamsgat (David Shaw). I need some footage of the cave and water for the narration
I dont understand what for that dive was?
Where Dave Shaw died trying to retrieve that young man's body. I wonder what decomp time was for this dive.
About 12 hours
Wie lange brauchen Sie um nach 70 Metern aufzutauchen? ❤️🍀🕊
From what I can see this was a 2 Hour and 80-minute dive is that right?
I think my dive was about 3:30
They're using Rebreathers. Thought you would try to keep water out of the mouthpiece?
Of course we do! Everyone in all the video is properly keeping the loop closed while not actually in their mouths and breathing on it. No one on our trip had a loop flood or any water in the system as far as I know.
Are we still unable to somewhat safely dive to the bottom with a proper dive plan? I'm guessing not, but the only dumb question is the one unasked
It is not a dive done easily or safely to the bottom, hence there have been only three successful dives to the bottom, by Exley, Gomes and Shaw, Shaw died on his second time to the bottom. In spite of technological advances, it is still a dangerous dive.
@@wcs563 over time I didn't realize how many questions I've asked you over various videos. Thank you very much for your time, and information.
One of the guys had a seaskin nova drysuit! I am going to order mine in a few days! Any tips on the configuration?
I use a DUI drysuit, a CLX 450, myself. Most of the other divers were using Otter from the UK and SA. Moni from Germany was also a DUI.
@@wcs563 Andy Sargent is using a Seaskin Nova
do you need to make decompression stops when coming back after being 150m down?
Not unless you want to die a painful death. Of course there is plenty of decompression involved, it's a major part of the dive planning.
Have training to go scuba dive in caves because it is a risky subject
Very cool.
Respect.
how cold is the water?
63 degrees F
I am sorry, the water at Bushman's is about 63 degrees fahrenheit, earlier reply was for a mine in New York state, USA
@@wcs563 Thanks, do you have to pay a fee to dive in that cave?
The site is on private property, I guess asking permission and staying at the Safari hunting lodge are required. I went with an expedition, and those details were already taken care of by Don and Andre Shirley
exhilarating!
Indeed, it is!
People in here asking Dan questions not knowing he and Don are two diving legends. It’s funny but also good that so many non divers/beginner rec divers are intrigued with lore of the craft.
Thank you, Don is a legend, not me, but I thank you for the compliment.
What motivates someone to risk they life diving in a deep black hole with absolutely nothing to see 🤷♂️
Adventure
@@wcs563 adventure for blackness? Maybe space worth to risk because you see earth and other planets to different ways etc. but diving in a black hole is something else than adventure. There are a lot of places extremely worth to see and mostly dangerous and adventure. But not like this shit black hole
@@mehmetaliertan That particular dive was just one we did, the entire site and sinkhole are stunning. It is an adventure even just getting to Boesmansgat in itself. In the middle of a 34,000 acre game preserve in the middle of the Kalahari desert in the northern cape of South Africa. It was over a ten hour drive from Jo'berg. Elevated diving, at 5,000' in elevation, and a rock scramble down 500' into a ravine to simply get to the basin. We had to bring everything with us in order to do these dives, no dive shop for hundreds of miles. Ask anyone who has dived "Bushman's Hole", nobody would ever say it's a black shit hole.
I want to Cave dive in Canada but don't know where or how to start.
Alexandria Bay there are dive operations. Do some internet searching for diving the St. Laurence river. 1000 Island Pleasure diving comes to ming right off the bat.
Sick
Tshatshingo Potholes
Why not 270 meters like Dave Shaw?
Several reasons, a diver has to work up to diving those depths for one, my deepest before this was 100 meters. Two, we were not equipped (in deepest bailout tanks) to dive to the bottom, three, we did not have the support team of safety divers to dive to the bottom, four, we did not have a portable recompression chamber on site, and five (for me) my Hammerhead electrics on my right arm (secondary backup computer) was not rated below 600'.
Cause they feared this hole believe that that hole will eat you
Yeaaahhhh! Why not? It’s just a couple more meters! 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ LOL
did you guys pass the depth where david shaw and deon dreyer died?
Deon Dryer passed away at about 160', and sank to the bottom. David Shaw passed away at 283 meters. Three of us went to 150 meters, the maximum that the small expedition had resources to safely supply us for bailout. Pim has done 240 meter dives in the ocean, and Don Shirley has done 250 meters, at Bushman's
Do you plan to dive Bushman's again somewhere down the line, Dan?
@@DFlover123 I do, possibly going for 200 meters, but this CoVid 19 put the brakes of my overseas trips in 2020, we will see what 2021 brings..
@@wcs563 Hopefully 2021 is better, will be looking forward to your future dives.
Hi quick question, how come it can take like 20 minutes to get to the bottom but then hours to come back up? Can anyone explain
The simplest explanation is this: when you go to depths beyond 30 meters generally you would start switching over to Nitrox and then from 80-100 meters you start switching to Trimix, because of very limited times at depth when you start ascending you need to stop off at predetermined depths for a period of time to decompress the inert gasses that were used while diving to depth. Your deepest stop would generally be the shortest and your last stop usually within around 4-6 meters of water would be the longest and this would also contain the highest percentage of oxygen if not 100% oxygen. thus on a dive of this magnitude it would be 10-20 minutes to descend and the return to surface would be 3-4 hours.
I took seven minutes to get to 500', then 3 1/2 hours of deco, and I was very conservative.
@@wcs563 thank you for responding. We appreciate you creating videos like this. Support all the way from Vegas!!
@@MarkSmith-hq4rr thanks so much!
Tks for sharing. Nice video. Just wondering, what was the objective of the dive?
Just testing my limit on depth. There is nothing to see at 150 meters, we are plummeted into a vast wide open space with no walls even nearby. Basically a bounce, as why spend more time racking up deco with nothing to see or investigate? Unfortunately one must go all the way to 270 meters to again see the bottom!
Did you know there was a diver and had drowned and sat there for 15 years 😔
Yes, very well aware of the history. Deon's body was there from 1994 to 2005.
great video - i get the heebies just watching this. can't imagine being there surrounded by darkness !
How long was your deco?
TRT was 3:30 hours, for me, at least. Seven minutes to get to 504' (150 meters) and possibly 1 1/2 minutes at that depth, the rest was deco.
Удивительно Дон просто монстр дайвинга
I don’t think I could dive in there knowing that two people died there even tho I’m qualified I don’t think I would
Dave Shawn
Awesome seeing Don Shirley.
Sorry and congrats on a nice deep but safe dive there. Being South African we always revel in people enjoying our natural wonders but it hurts their reputation to have needless deaths. The natural world must always be respected and you should come out in one piece.
nautical astronauts i swear
Îs insane
Just watching this made my ears hurt. 😑
I dont get it...... There is nothing down there.....death for nothing.....
To explore the unknown, the way man has progressed throughout time
wow so cool, can u actually see the bottom at 150m down?
No, at 130 meters further, our lights could not project that far...
@@wcs563 approximately how deep is this hole?
@@sophielee1213 283 meters has been reached
Can someone explain to me like a child why that this is so dangerous? 300 metres doesn't seem that deep
First, are you a diver? The list is endless on why a dive to the bottom of Boesmansgat is deadly. Three men have made it, Sheck Exley, Nuno Gomes and Dave Shaw. Those dives were in 1993, 1996 and 2004. Sheck had no real issues except HPNS (High pressure of HE causes serve tremors in some men), Nuno crashed into the bottom mud at hight speed and was stuck, and couldn't get himself out until he used his backup BCD, also in zero vis because of the slit created in the landing. Dave Shaw had an uneventful first dive in October 2004 on a rebreather (a Biomarine MK 15.5), using new Hammerhead Rev C electronics, but then he died at the bottom three months later in January 2005, when he over exerted himself and had too much CO2 in his system, causing him to pass out. All the dives were solo, except Shaw, where he had a buddy that was to follow his descent by 13 minutes, and meet him as he began his ascent (body recovery was the prime objective) Don Shirley, the buddy, had a CCR handset crush, his primary handset, and had to abort, using his secondary to get him back. He could not render assistance to Dave Shaw, who he could see was not moving, many meters below him, as Dave's light was still. The facts that make it dangerous are: The massive decompression (a minimum of 12 hours) to go to the bottom, either on open circuit or rebreather. The possibility of HPNS (as in Sheck's case), O2 toxicity if the partial pressure of O2 is too great at depth (tho calculations are done with computers to figure correct mixes) CO2 buildup (as in Shaw's case), the amount of stages required as bailout gas for a CCR, and decompression stages for open circuit is massive. I think Nuno had 30+ tanks. The support divers, the portable recompression chamber on site and hyperbaric medicine trained doctor to operate such a apparatus. The chance of getting the bends is very high, either deserved or an undeserved "hit". Isobaric counter diffusion almost killed Don Shirley on his long decompression, when he switched onto open circuit after so many hours on his CCR that the 'sorb was spent (filters out the CO2). The high volume of HE in his system was suddenly met with high N2 of the pen circuit gas he switched to, causing a bubble in his left ear, that gave him vertigo, and it almost killed him, in his weak state, after so many hours in water. Then there is the altitude of the site, which is 5000', adding a whole other layer of decompression obligation because of the thinner air and air pressure at the surface. My 504' dive was calculated as a 604' dive. There is also the risk on hyperthermia, because, the water is chilly at 63 degrees F, if you have a drysuit leak, you are in serious trouble, from negativity on water intrusion and the cold sapping body heat away. Lack of food and rest also an issue. There is no simple way to explain why this is so dangerous, to a child.
no i'm not a diver that's why i was asking
@@cragus2004 once u learn diving table, you'll understand how dangerous diving is
At the pressure of 300 meters underwater you 1) go through your air reserves much faster, and 2) are at risk of several respiratory complications such as:
-nitrogen narcosis (feeling drunk because of excessive nitrogen inhalation),
-hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain),
-hypercapnia (excess of carbon dioxide causing you to blackout) and
-oxygen poisoning (too much oxygen inhalation at pressure causing seizures).
Your risk of reduced brain function and/or blacking out is very high.
@@cragus2004 The weight of water is 700-800X the weight of air. 10 m of water depth is 1 atmosphere of pressure. At 150 m, you have the weight of 15 more atmospheres pressing in on you. You need assistance to even pump your lungs, in the form of pressurized gas. The pressurized gas jacks with your entire body's equilibrium, and delicate balances of oxygen vs inert gasses are required to keep from getting oxygen sick vs oxygen depleted, vs. carbon dioxide building up, vs. bubbles forming in your blood vessels. It is a completely unnatural state for a human.
It is wild to consider that in a regular football stadium, were you to turn it on its side and fill it with water, going down to the other end and back would likely kill you. people train to hold a single breath for super quick deep dives like that, avoiding some complication as they are just surviving on one lungful of oxygen, but even then the pressure alters the normal equilibrium in the blood vessels.
Dangerous occupation but there is virtually nothing down there and you are risking your life for what?
Exploration is not without risk, history has documented it.
Why do this? Is it a death wish of some sort?
Do what? diving is my passion. I have no death wish. I mitigate all the dangers as much as possible in all technical diving. I find it more dangerous to drive to the site, than the actual diving for me. Proper training and experience are absolutely essential.
Good video bad back round sound
Can't please everyone. If you don't like the sound, turn down volume.
LOL my drone can dive deeper than that ... this is child's play
Drones fly, ROV's dive, correct? I am always willing to have folks come by and show us how to do things.
Nice, TopBunny Bozz, send us a video of you and your drone diving 300 meters, or , almost 1000 feet!