Jill Heinerth – Cave Explorer & Underwater Cinematographer

by Rosemary Lunn
TEKDiveUSA

TEKDiveUSA – the inaugural North American biennial advanced and technical diving conference – will be launched in Miami this Spring. It is being held on Saturday 17^th and Sunday 18^th May 2014, and is similar in approach to both EUROTEK and OZTek.

It has been many years since this country held a technical diving conference, and it is time that the USA had its own homegrown event. The prime focus of TEKDiveUSA is to educate, entertain and help further the educational aspects of advanced and technical diving, while giving people who are out there doing exciting projects, a platform to share their story with others.

During the weekend forty different talks and useful workshops will cover many aspects of diving; from wreck, cave and physiology through to technique, safety and imaging. Leading experts are flying in from all over the globe to speak at TEKDiveUSA.2014. It promises to be a truly inspirational diving conference.

Rosemary E Lunn, co-organiser of TEKDiveUSA stated, “I am delighted to say that we have got a number of top drawer speakers on board. Associate Professor Simon J Mitchell (Head of Anesthesiology at the University of Auckland), Richard Lundgen, (deep wreck explorer), Cristina Zenato (shark diving professional and cave explorer), Dr John Clarke (Navy Experimental Diving Unit) and Dr Neal W Pollock (research physiologist) have already said, ‘yes we’d love to come and talk, Roz. With the plethora of talks planned there will be something that will appeal to every hungry diver wanting to know more.”

This conference will also be useful to dive professionals, managers and dive center owners. You certainly do not need to be a hard core tekkie to come to TEKDiveUSA, just someone who wants or needs to learn more about diving.

Probably one of the most important presentations to be delivered during the weekend will be ‘Rescue of an unconscious diver from depth: the new UHMS Diving Committee Guidelines’. This is the first time this talk has been to a North American audience. If you are an advanced or technical diver, instructor, a military, commercial, scientific, public safety or media diver, the presentation is pertinent to you.

Aspects of the correct course of action on finding an unconscious diver underwater have been debated on various internet forums;

• Should you try to replace the regulator?
• Should you wait until a seizure is finished before ascending?
• What procedures should be in place for a rebreather diver?
• Should you try to complete some decompression on a decompression dive?
• Should you try rescue breaths in water at the surface?

The Diving Committee of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society recently completed and published a two-year project to review these questions. Associate Professor Simon J Mitchell will outline the committee’s findings, and the arguments supporting them.

This is the perfect opportunity to get the entire community engaged – regardless of agency affiliation or philosophy – together as one unified group. It will be great to see everyone sharing experiences and be motivated by, and from each other. Foremost explorers and divers are booking in. If you want to hear about their adventures and expand your diving horizons, tickets are now on sale. Secure your weekend pass (US$129.95) now via www.tekdiveusa.com