www.underwaterpics.co.uk - Dan Bolt

HMS Dolphin

The Tower, all 10 stories of it.	Welcome to one of the worlds deepest swimming pools; The Submarine Escape Training Tower (SETT) at HMS Dolphin in Gosport, UK. Built in the 1950's and still one of the premier training facilities for sub-mariners in the world... but far better put to use as a Freediver's playground! The SETT is an awesome sight. Standing 10 stories tall and visible on the horizon for miles around it is only when you are standing in the car-park at it's base, looking up those walls that it suddenly dawns on you just how deep -30m really is. But if you thought that was bad enough your first look into the water will be quite an experience... standing at the top of the tank looking over the edge you can actually see the bottom of the pool as clear as day. Vertigo sufferers need not apply! I spent about a dozen weekends at the SETT over three years when the Freediving courses were run by Howard Jones (www.freeology.co.uk). My first couple as a paying guest on the course, and the rest as safety cover for trainees. I think Howard quickly saw that I could cope with rescues (thanks to my scuba instructors background) when on my first morning in the tank my buddy blacked out at -6m on his 2nd dive! I pulled him up and he was fine, but it sure got my heart racing. Since then the courses are now run by DeeperBlue (see the links page) but I have not been in the tank with them so this article will be based on my experiences and not necessarily what you can expect if you book a course now. It is strange how people react to being at HMS Dolphin; some can't get their head round the whole idea of being at depth with no means of breathing, some find it boring, some take to it naturally and some folks really have to work at it. At the end of the day you either like it or you don't. And your background is no real indication of whether you will enjoy it or not. I have seen total novices who have never even snorkelled before end up at -30m by the end of the weekend. I have also seen seasoned surfers and scuba instructors go home after 1 morning... so at the end of the day freediving is a personal thing. No one will judge you in the tank because you're all there for the same reason. And there really isn't any animosity between freedivers and scuba divers, in fact I only know a few freedivers who don't scuba dive. Writing a Dive Guide to the SETT tank is really easy... you go down, you come up! I can be that simple if you want it to be, but there is lots to do once you've made it past the safety briefings and classroom lectures. There are 8, 3m long ladders welded to the side of the tank that give you somewhere to hold onto while you're on the surface. They also provide excellent platforms to steady yourself do doing 'warm up' breath-holds and for taking photos of your fellow divers. Between these ladders and in the middle of the tank are ropes and rubberised-cables that go all the way to the bottom. These are extremely useful for gradually extending your depth on successive dives; it is very comforting to hold onto the rope as it stops you sinking and it is the quickest way back to the surface. (As an aside, the fastest time I know from top to bottom and back up again was by Lee Donnelly at 37 seconds!) Dotted around the walls of the tank are various hatches and blisters (air pockets - do not breath the air!) that are used by the sub-mariners and their instructors. These are absolutely perfect for sitting in an chilling out while watching everyone else do their thing. Some of my most peaceful dives were to the -15m blister and simply sitting there for 3 mins and wishing I didn't have to return to the surface. If you're really clever you can invert your body into the air pocket and cause everyone on the surface to have a jacuzzi :-) Working your way down to the floor of the tower offers four rewards: 1)Your own sense of achievement at being at -30m, 2)The topless mermaid painted on the wall of the tank at -25m, 3)There's plenty of hatches and gauges to look at, and most importantly 4)Looking back up to the top and a feeling of absolute calm... the sound is very muted down there and if you are there by yourself it's like no-where else on earth. Let me explain: My longest dive at HMS Dolphin was a trip down the central cable, pulling myself feet first to the top of the hatches at about -27m. I stood on the floor of the tank and rested against the hatch with my eyes closed just feeling the warmth of the water and the gentle humming of the pumps. No where else have I felt so relaxed, calm and peaceful. I couldn't tell you why I came back up, but it was a gentle hand-over-hand ascent back up the cable to the surface and after a couple of breaths I looked at my computer that told me I had been down there for 4mins and 3seconds! After a number of visits to Gosport I got to know some of the regulars at these weekends (UK team members, crazy fools and all really nice people) and that's when the fun really begins. Under Howard's ever watchful eye you could take the express elevator to the bottom... by holding onto a weight-belt with a stone of lead on it! What a blast but only for those with good ears. The real challenge was coming back up with the weight belt over your arm, now that was a challenge to anyone's an-aerobic fitness. We also tested out the FHOF rescue system that brought you back to the surface like a missile, turned the lights out and freedived in the dark, took group photos in the hatches or at the bottom, did a few moonies, and generally had a great time. My most endearing memory of the tank was the weekend Simon, Tess and I attempted to add the sport of 'Extreme Ironing' to the weekend. Basically this involves taking an iron and a board somewhere extreme and, er, ironing! Bear in mind that all this was happening at -30m and you'll realise how hard it was. Firstly we had to get the equipment there... and I had great fun 'surfing' the ironing board to the bottom of the tank :-) Once set up we had to synchronise our breath-ups so that I could go down and photograph Simon and Tess doing the ironing; you can see the result on the left of this page. Finally it took a relay team of four people to get the board back up to the top of the tower... and what a giggle it was too! [Don't try this at home folks, Extreme Ironing whilst breath holding is a very daft and dangerous thing to do... you have been warned] So there you have my recollections from the SETT at HMS Dolphin. I gather that the courses offered now are more structured and will gain you official Freediver Certification from AIDA, the world freediving organisation. It is still the most amazing place to be so if you get the chance to go... don't turn it down :-) How To Get There? Click here to see a map of Gosport. Fort Blockhouse (aka HMS Dolphin) is next door to the Submarine Museum. When to dive? At every possible opportunity :-) Though it is an expensive hobby and in a force 7 wind the tower does rock quite a bit. When Not To Dive? After a night on the beers, and a fry up the next morning (trust me on this!).	Panoramic view of the tank from -10m
Tank Top
From -10m looking to the surface
From -30m looking up. 'There's always plenty of room at the bottom'
Extreme Ironing at -30m
There's plenty to look at when you get down there
And there's always a spot of 'Sky' diving to try

Last Updated Monday, June 19 2006 @ 12:40 PM BST