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Featured Diver Teresa Telus talks
about how Closed circuit systems have changed
Deep Wreck diving, as well as filming assignments for National Geographic
productions.
As featured diver moves on I try to bring to light divers that
are not close to me, i.e. divers that have not been alongside
me on expeditions over past years. By doing so I could be dubbed
as being biased. No recently I’ve been on the search for
foreign counterparts, and not forgetting that featured diver
is about those divers who count, those that have been out there
and done it with little to say about it. Not those looking for
media recognition glory fame or some perverse statement they
have to make. When we do find divers with such description they
want to stay as they are unheard of, many of them are not willing
to help out and remain silent. Well fair play to them that’s
there prerogative. Today I search for divers widespread to interview
for DeepImage, and although I try not to bring to you divers
I am at friend with, I cannot resist bringing to deep image
a girl that has spent many an occasion on the same wreck dives
as myself .Teresa Telus (abbreviated to T2) is a girl that dived
with the Starfish Enterprise and is very much at the forefront
of deep wreck diving.
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Teresa Telus during the Vandal 2003 expedition
©Leigh Bishop 2003 |
| This 39 year old from Chichester England has acclaimed attitude
to deep exploration of shipwrecks and lost submarines. Telus
a blond girl of Polish origin has been on the pushing end of
the scale of deep rebreather diving a point she brings to light
in this interview. |
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Whether she’s knows it or not this is a
girl who is today recognized and above all accepted by many
in the community as one of the worlds leading women deep wreck
divers. This is another diver who has come a long way in a short
period of time and above all one of even fewer who could come
back from deep wreck dive and tell you exactly how that wreck
was laying from bow to stern. Make of that what you will, the
way we see it here at DeepImage is that you either go round
the merry go round or you don’t, and this girl don’t!
Interview
DI: - I suppose Teresa there’s no better
place to start than to ask you when you first started diving,
I know it wasn’t a long time ago but please fill in the
details.
T2: - I started diving in 1993 as a result
of adventure I had found in the sport of gliding and was looking
for a new challenge. I was a gliding instructor and would spend
my weekends in the air then on Monday mornings share my experiences
with a guy at the office who spent his weekends diving. I had
a part share in a glider, which meant I couldn't fly as much
as I liked so I was looking for another sport to fill in the
gaps.
DI: - So did you meet your partner Kevin at
the dive school?
T2: - No I had met Kevin through gliding and
we both went off to dive together we joined Brighton Marina
Yacht diving club on England’s south coast qualified as
sports divers one Friday and the next day we were on a plane
destined for the Red Sea.
DI: - So how did you get into wrecks on that
trip or later.
T2: - On that very trip as it happens we dived
the Thistlegorm, which triggered the wreck diving for us and
a spark that continues to this day.
DI: - What about deep wreck diving, not everybody
gets the urge to go jump on a deep wreck like you do.
T2: - That’s right well I suppose we
are not like the normal run of the mill recreational divers
we had subscribed to Tec diver and discovered Nitrox and technical
diving, 5 months after qualifying as sports divers we took delivery
of some nice twin sets and qualified as IANTD advanced nitrox
divers.
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DI: - So you didn’t jump straight into
rebreathers then, because if I’m right you have a good
number of years of experience of using CCR under your belt.
T2: - That’s right we’ve been using
the units for a number of years but no we didn’t jump
straight into it we did our sentence on open circuit Trimix
before making the move to CCR. I suppose we spent about four
years diving open circuit, that way the units were a natural
progression.
DI: - So your primarily a wreck diver now.
T2: - YES (t2 responds with a rather big grin)
DI: - Have you a favorite wreck you have dived.
T2: - Not really there are lots of wrecks I
like all for different reasons. I like wrecks that have never
been dived before and get a lot of excitement in the identification
process. I think at different stages of your diving you encounter
different highlights that single out respective wrecks to that
time. My earliest memory is of course on that first Red Sea
trip to the Thistlegorm, then later the Moldavia as we progressed
into the English Channel. Easily the most impressive to date
was the Britannic. |
DI: - Ok so you where on the
Britannic
2003 expedition tell us about that.
T2:
- I was invited by Carl Spencer the expedition leader who was
a friend I had met on various occasions.
DI: - You must have been very excited to
have been chosen for the team.
T2: - I was incredibly excited and very thrilled
needless to say. Not only to be considered as part of a team
that had been selected from divers worldwide but also because
of the logistical difficulties of diving such a wreck.
DI: - As it tuned out you and your partner
in life and long-term dive partner Kevin Pickering pulled
one of the longest free-swimming deep wreck exploration durations
in the history of the sport. A staggering bottom time of 48
minutes at 119meters I believe.
T2: - Apparently so, but Leigh don’t
get excited here or build a picture of us were not looking
for we were simply focused on the task in hand and that was
filming the wreck for the National Geographic society picture
on the expedition. In reality we had set ourselves a total
run time in the water of just 6 hours which we didn’t
go over, our depth fluctuated between the maximum depth of
the wreck 119m/400ft and the very top of her and she stands
some 35m115ft high I guess.
DI: - But still a long dive much more so
than the other explorations carried out on the expedition.
T2: - Like I say we were focused on creating
the images, not proving ourselves over other divers, but I
must add we used the controversial Inspiration rebreather
which really proved to be the tool for the job
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DI: - Tell us about that dive.
T2: - We concentrated on the stern section
of the wreck which is truly magnificent, its totally intact
alongside Titanic the only example of an Olympic class liner
in the world. The props are massive and the rudder stands off
the huge counter stern so we were completely focused on the
filming where I work as a model for Kevin to protract scale
and provide essential fill lighting with a Kowalski lamp that's
balanced with the video lights. I don’t want to emphasize
too much here but just go watch the film and you will see for
yourselves.
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Alongside long term partner
Kev Pickering during the Vandal expedition 2003
DI: - So what’s your best wreck dive
of all time?
T2: - Definitely that one of course. It was
something I’d always wanted to do and it really lived
up to its expectations. Awesome.
DI: - So do you still glide because surely
deep wreck diving takes up a lot of your time.
T2: - A little gliding but you're right not
much these days. Over the winter we enjoy a little dry caving
in England’s Yorkshire Dales.
DI: - So you’re an established British
wreck diver with many virgin explorations under your belt
where do you turn to now?
T2: - There’s still lots to be seen
and lots to discover especially in the waters around the British
Isles. We’ve been looking at possible diving in the
mediterranean and have had some successful trips down there,
for example the HMS Russell expedition.
DI: - Yeah I heard of that expedition didn’t
you lead that exploration.
T2: - Indeed I did a lot of the work behind
the scenes but as ever it was a team effort.
DI: - As we do this interview you are a member
of the famous and successful international deep wreck diving
team Starfish Enterprise, when did you join the team?
T2: - Yea I joined the team in about 2000
on invitation, my lifestyle and type of diving mirrored that
of the existing team members. I met some of them at a UK dive
show and it went from there.
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T2 & Pix on the old head of Kinsale looking
over where Lusitania sunk
DI: - So what other big name wrecks have
you dived.
T2: - Well I was on Mark Jones’s Lusitania
expedition in 2000/2001 by then I was established and very experienced
in CCR terms so it was great to dive the wreck closed circuit
with safety logistics in mind.
DI: - Have you ever tried Marmite?
T2: - God yes I love it especially marmite
crisps infact I’m thinking of entering the company’s
extreme marmite sandwich competition, Cool eh?
DI: - Do you dive U-Boats?
T2: - Yeah they are ok I was on the 767
expedition but from a historical point of view they're
great but on an aesthetic point of view I prefer shipwrecks.
DI: - So have you heard of Innes McCartney
famous U-Boat man?
T2: - Yes I have met him on several occasions
the first time I met him he said he would take a picture of
me and watch the image fade a little like in the film 'Back
to the future'!
DI: - I don’t think I understand please
elaborate on that one Teresa.
T2: - Because of the rebreather thing, I
used an inspiration and he was one of these people who didn’t
understand CCR at the time and talked of death if you used
one. His theory was that because I used CCR I was on route
to an early death and his image would fade and I would no
longer exist. Of course that was some time ago now and while
I was offended at the time I have since forgiven him. It wouldn’t
surprise me if people like him that said all that stuff in
the early days are now using CCR themselves.
Supporting during a world deep
freedive attempt
DI: - That’s real bizarre that because he said
exactly the same to me, I remember the day as clear as anything
I was loading Graham Knots day charter boat in Weymouth and
telling Innes I was going to get a CCR and he said he was
going to take a picture of me and watch it fade. I wonder
how many other people he told were on route to an early death!
T2: - Yeah very sad people those types, and
look at us CCR users now.
DI: - Do you remember Aqua corps
T2: - Yes I do and I used to subscribe but
I think I only have a few copies left, that was one awesome
magazine in its day.
DI: - you’re a sponsored diver is this
right?
T2: - Yeah we get some support from O-three
dry suits which I think are fantastic suits and Delta-P have
helped us out again a piece of diving equipment that is invaluable,
the VR3 dive computers worked out well for us on our big Britannic
dives especially the one where we pulled the massive bottom
time. Also custom divers and Lighthouse diving.
DI: - You’ve been in the magazine dive
girl as a regular contributor what was that about.
T2: - Yes I was in the A-Z of all time women
divers of significance in one feature, I was of course pleased
and flattered to be up with other top women divers.
Strapping in as T2 prepares for another
glider flight
DI: - What do you think is your biggest
diving achievement to date.
T2: - Difficult question but if I have to
answer I suppose to have used the inspiration rebreather for
5 years and proved it can achieve the kind of serious deep
wreck diving we do. It has proved it can do it safely despite
the initial controversy and concerns with rebreather technology.
I suppose I really mean that being part of the years of developing
the unit into a serious deep wreck diving tool. You know the
gradual build up over the years to where we are now. The units
proved itself as the most successful rebreather out there
and I was part of its movement.
DI: Have you any advice for anyone reading
this.
T2: - Take deep diving and rebreathers with
a steady pace and never be pushed into or intimidated by your
peers, it takes a stronger person to call a dive than to follow.
DI: - Stay safe T2 and be sure to inform
deep image of any exciting shipwreck finds you make.
T2: - Thanks and keep up the good work on
the site everyone’s talking about how cool it is.
Contact T2
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More about technical diving click
here >>
Learn how to become a technical diver with the best training click
here >>
About Deep Blue diving technical diving instructors click
here >>
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CDNN
news site EXPOSED as thieves
click here
TITANIC
Two and a half miles below the Atlantic Ocean lies the most
famous of shipwrecks RMS Titanic. DeepImage now brings you the
2003 scientific expedition to the site.
Read
the full story here
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