Still descending

Nemo 33 Brussel

Even though it is not even February jet, I am looking forward to a great diving experience which happens to occur every year.  You might ask yourself: “What is he talking about!?”, well, I am talking about Nemo 33 in Brussel. Nemo 33(photo 1) is used as a training facility for starting and experienced deep-divers and even the Dutch military divers (de Kikvorsmannen) and the “genie duikers”, who usually dive in the new diving tower in Den Helder (photo2) sometimes train in Nemo 33. Of course I know all about them due to the magazine “duiken” (photo3).

My "Duiken" magazines. On the left the Genie duikers and on the right the Kikvorsmannen, entering a submarine

My SSI deep diving certificate

Nemo 33 is the deepest diving tower in the world and is used to train inexperienced deep-divers under controllable circumstances.  However, even experienced divers train here to keep their skills up to date. Its deepest point is located at 34.5 meters and the temperature is a comfortable 30 degrees Celsius. Everything is available at the side; whether you are hungry or you need some suitable deep-diving equipment, it doesn’t matter. 

Last February I have been there for my deep-diving specialty. It was an unique experience to be at the deepest point in the deepest pool in the world. I enjoyed the dive itself and the preparation that had to be done.  Furthermore, I experienced the effects that depth has on your body. There is no need to get nervous or scared! I shall explain this.

Nemo33

If everything is prepared in a responsible and correct way it is very safe to dive. You should have enough oxygen to both descend and ascent and you should pay attention to your safety stops. And if all else fails, there is a buddy you can rely on. However, there is a mean element called nitrogen. The deeper you go, the faster nitrogen builds up in your blood. If those safety stops are ignored, the nitrogen cannot get out of your bloodstream and will gather at places which are not improving your healthiness. This however, does not happen often and even severe cases can be treated in a decompression tank when fast enough. Furthermore, your air supply is limited. At a depth of three meters I can almost breathe for over 3 hours, but at a depth of 30 meters, the air is compressed, either in your lungs and your cylinder. This makes you run out of air faster. It is crucial to consider this when deep-diving.  There are some other illnesses, but these are not as severe as nitrogen-poisoning. 

Location Nemo 33

Moreover, Nitrogen at depths makes one think and act slower. This is what I experienced. We had to solve a simple sum, like 7+3/5 x 6. At the surface, this was done very quickly, however at depth it took me a while longer to solve the sum. These effects disappear when you ascend. These symptoms should not scare you. When you stick to the rules and regulations and triple check everything, it is nearly impossible for one to die.

                                                                           I really hope I did not scare you. Deep-diving is not a goal, it is a method to dive to greater depths to see wrecks or such awesome things. I am looking forward to February and if any questions, feel free to ask. 

I have also got an awesome video about Den Helder which I cannot upload :( I'll add the link. These proffesional divers are training an emergency ascend. Pretty cool right? 

Den Helder proffesional divers emergency ascend