»Swimming with these gentle giants« by photographer Travis Burke.

I held my breath and dove down toward the darkness. Deep below me I could see whale sharks emerging as they made their way near the surface feeding on plankton. As I turned around, I saw this scene with beautiful rays of light casting down through the water from the early morning sun. Peering through the lens, I snapped a couple photos before starting my ascent back to the surface. 

Dive Master and Marine Biologist Brinkley Davies shared her knowledge and passion for these sharks with me during our 15 hours day on the boat. These whale sharks lack natural predators, but in recent years they have been listed as an endangered species due to shark finning, and other anthropogenic pressures such as fishing operations and plastic pollution.

There is so much we still don’t know about these majestic creatures and it would be a shame to lose them forever. Little things like limiting our use of single use plastics, supporting sustainable tourism and saying no to shark fin soup will go a long way in protecting these and so many other animals that have been around for millions of years!

In a place where many people would easily resort to accepting more money to catch, kill and sell these animals fins, these fisherman have chosen to live in harmony with these animals.

 

»In the middle of the ocean far from anywhere« with Marine biologist, freediver and surfer Brinkley Davies

I have worked with whale sharks for the past few years at home in Australia, in both tourism, and research/conservation, on the Ningaloo Reef, a place that leads the way in whale shark tourism. Teaching people about their importance in our ecosystems and their struggle against extinction due to anthropogenic pressures such as overfishing, being targeted for their fins, and falling victim to plastic pollution. Before this trip I hadn’t seen a whale shark anywhere else, and have been intrigued to see how things were run elsewhere.

After steaming for 4 hours, we arrived at a small boat with winged platforms in the middle of the ocean far from anywhere. With very fine nets dropped into the water periodically around the full moon, a fisherman would live out here for a month, in a tiny wooden hut on the boat the size of a normal household toilet, and fish for the month. 

The whale sharks were attracted to the organic matter that was ground up and falling off the platform into the water, they swam around under this set up, filter feeding on whatever was around, and then diving. 

The Indonesians told me about how they call them the “ Star Sharks«. In a place where many people would easily resort to accepting more money to catch, kill and sell these animals fins, these fisherman have chosen to live in harmony with these animals, and let the odd few tourists who come by every once in a while, jump in and swim with them. 

There was around 7 whale sharks when we first jumped in, and we spent about 2 hours in the water with them. I was thrilled to see not one piece of plastic floating by during this time.

The post One picture, Two stories with Travis Burke & Brinkley Davies appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Diving on reefs no one may have dived on before is incredible. In saying that, human impact can be seen in the most remote of places. Sometimes, it’s the most remote locations that are the most vulnerable!

Todd Thimios describes himself as an Australian underwater photographer with a few strange qualifications. Involved in expeditions with photography today, Todd teaches and guides diving and underwater photography for small private groups. He is also a certified submersible pilot and a fisherman, a couple of extra statuses that makes him stranger than we thought. 

Over the years, he’s been working along some of the world’s most renowned underwater cinematographers, taken under the wing by a few mentors. Today, Todd spends his year following the migrations of marine mammals to be at the right place at the right time. « I really love encounters with big marine life. Holding my ground watching, waiting and trying to get close with trust. The encounters are so powerful. I’m the happiest when in the water I find salt water fixes everything. » We spoke to him about great white sharks and whales, his vision about commercial fishing, freediving as a form of meditation, as well as the human impact on natural environments.

When have you been introduced to photography?  

I think it was my grandfather that gave me my first camera. It was an old SLR that was super confusing to use initially but forced me to learn the foundations of photography pretty quick. I always shot with film in my teenage years and actually studied darkroom processing for a year or so once out of school. I guess it was always about trying to capture memories back then. I’m still finding undeveloped film rolls of mine when I visit family back in Australia. Developing 35mm film rolls 20 years later can certainly bring back some nostalgia. 

Where does this passion for underwater photography come from? 

Before everything, I’ve always been an avid fisherman and diver. This was installed in me by my father and uncle who lived and breathed fishing all their life growing up on the Great Barrier Reef. Some of my earliest memories are learning to snorkel on the reef. I think underwater photography was always going to be a natural merge of hobbies. 

Then, you became dive instructor. What did your life look like at the time?

It looked good (laughs), real good! I lived on a small island between Australia and New Zealand for around 6 or 7 years. The population was small, only about 500 people on average but the island was, and still is, incredibly beautiful and I was spending hours and hours underwater everyday.

Never far from water, right? 

Yeah! I’ve been lucky enough to have traveled a lot over the years, and still get really excited by the idea of going to new locations. I think after a while marine life really started to orientate my traveling. Knowing a location was popular for a certain natural event. Maybe migrations of marine mammals frequent an exact location each year or certain species of sharks arrive to one spot as temperatures cool. Now, it’s all about researching where and why it’s going to happen and trying to be there for when it does.

For the last decade, you’ve been sailing and diving around the world, through the Maldives, Costa Rica and Patagonia. How was it like to dive some of the world’s best and most remote locations? 

I’m always doing my best on trips to get remote. I find peace so much quicker in isolated places. Diving on reefs you think no one may have dived on before is incredible. In saying that, the human impact can be seen in the most remote of places. Sometimes it’s the most remote locations that are the most vulnerable! Nowadays massive commercial fishing boats can spend months at sea without returning to port. They catch – using illegal, unsustainable techniques – process, pack and freeze all while at sea, meaning they can continue this for months before having to go back to shore. Imagine locations so remote in the middle of the Pacific that, even though they may be protected by laws against commercial fishing, they’re just too far from anything to be policed.

You have some records under your belt like a hundred of dives to depth as deep as 380 meters. Is performance a part of your passion for diving? 

These depths are done in a submersible. I gained certification a few years back as submersible pilot. These are small Submarines that can take normally 2 or 3 passengers to depths up to 1000 meters. It’s another world! 

The unique silence, this colorful life… The underwater world is very special. How would you describe the life out there?

Freediving, with or without a camera, certainly is a form of meditation. I tend to think about nothing but only what I’m doing in that moment whilst diving. I can’t find that clarity anywhere else. Then there’s the relationship and awareness with marine life. I really love encounters with big marine life. Holding my ground watching, waiting and trying to get close with trust. The encounters can be so powerful. I’m happiest when in the water I find salt water fixes everything. 

Over the years, you’ve been in the forefront of the rich diversity of marine life. What would be your message to the future generations?

Probably to just try to gain an interest and fascination in your subject. I find the more I learn about something or a place I’m about to see, the more excited and fascinated I become. Learning about the biology of sharks has helped me understand their behavior, learning migration patterns of whales, for example, has left me in awe of the journey that they must have completed and the state they must be in. Also, if a camera is anything – it’s a great tool to get you outside and traveling – it may put you in places or situations you never would have dreamt of.

Today, you dedicate some of your projects to the conservation of our oceans. Tell us more about these projects.

I’ve been based in Spain for a while now and I’ve been helping contribute to a few organizations that are aiming to bring awareness about single use plastic. It’s interesting to see that some countries are fully aware of the issues of single use plastic and others – sometimes strong modern and advanced economies – just have no idea. Another thing that I touched on earlier is commercial fishing. I’m finding more and more the reality of the situation is just not seen or known by the public.

What’s next for you Todd? 

I have a few trips this year lined up hopefully. One that I am really excited about is a return to the Arctic in the north of Norway, a place that I absolutely love. I’m showing my photography at a gallery for the first time later in the year, which is new and exciting. Also, I’ve started a new degree in Marine Science and Management. So, overall, things are pretty exciting.

Discover more of Todd Thimios’ work on his website.

The post Todd Thimios: “Salt water fixes everything” appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Known as a scientist, an expert in acoustics and a nature lover, Jorg Rychen managed to combine his passion for science and for nature. Working as a researcher and a lifeguard, Jorg is definitely not your typical scientist. He focused his work on neurophysiology research on freely behaving animals and managed to spend his spare time in wilderness, both as a freediver, a ballooner and farmer.

In last December, he joined our Panthalassa crew members on our latest expedition up to Tromsø, Norway. The expedition was above all about the journey of a group of adventurers meant to record and understand the secret language of the Orca Killer Whales, described as the most intelligent creatures on earth. We spent a few days with Jorg on a small size boat under below-freezing temperatures, sharing one of the most spectacular visions which is witnessing orcas in their natural environment. 

Hi Jorg, can you tell us a bit about your background?

I studied experimental physics, I obtained my PhD at the ETH Zurich for studies of quantum phenomena in semiconductors. Then, I founded a company that provides scanning probe microscopes all around the world. I sold the company in 2008 because, even though it’s very interesting, everybody in physics is a little bit of a nerd and it remains an all-male environment. To be honest, it’s socially boring. Today, I split my time between my lab and the shore of a lake since I’m also a lifeguard during summer in Zurich. As a lifeguard, you’re in the sun, you feel the wind, you see the clouds, you have a lot of friends and people around you. This job is basically at the very opposite of being a lab technician. I’m also employed at the Institute of Neuroinformatics where I work as as Prof. Hahnloser research group. My interest is to solve automation, measurement, and instrumentation problems arising both in neurophysiology research on freely behaving animals and in anatomy work using high-throughout electron microscopy. I work with a lot of mathematicians, physicians, and biologists used to do a lot of experiments with song birds. Working with them, I would record all the songbirds. Songbirds are a model for basic research and provide ideal signals for study and experiments. Birds are a model animal in neuroresearchs, as process happen in the brain. Only birds, bats and dolphins can do that That’s why it would be interesting to learn more about orcas.

Where does your fascination for the orcas and, more widely, for freediving come from?

I’d probably need to tell you the full story. My father was a mountain guide in Switzerland. When I was a kid, we did a lot of adventures in the mountains. And I remember that, even as a child, I could hold my breathe longer than anyone else. I guess it’s just something that’s given to you somehow. So, since a young age, I’ve been very good at freediving. I remember being on holidays and seeing Russian girls with wetsuits diving down deep in the water. They told me « this is freediving, it’s an old sport . » It was around 1999, and I was hooked. However, freediving is all about numbers. It’s all about how deep you can go, how far you can swim, and how long you can hold your breathe. I’ve never been very interested in this competitive side of freediving. For me, freediving is more about freedom. I like the fact that you don’t need a lot of equipment; just your mouth, the mask, and fins. It’s the same with climbing. I prefer bouldering these days because what you need is just a pair of shoes. This is everything I love. Going back to freediving, when you dive down, you’re overwhelmed by this really strong silence. I think it also has to do with the ears, it makes this feeling of complete silence. You can also hear the orcas from far away. It’s just a beautiful sound. I first met Jacques (De Vos) a few years ago, he was my freediving instructor. I remember the first time I saw an orca. I was standing on a stand up paddle and the orca just went close to me. The dorsal fin was about 2 meters high, so taller than me. The orca itself was 3-4 times bigger than its fin. Orcas are really big, especially when they come close to you. It was very impressive so, at that time, what I had in mind was to study the orcas the same way I study songbirds. One experimental method to decode the ‘neural algorithms’ underlying song learning is to record the song of a bird with a microphone and interact with the bird via a loudspeaker.

The December expedition aimed at decoding the secret orcas communication. From your scientific point of you, why is it so interesting and so important?

There are several aspects. One aspect is the scientific side of the expedition which is basically the information approach. Obviously, orcas are able to exchange some information and perform conversations. For example, when orcas hunt, they agree on a hunting strategy beforehand. During the hunt, orcas remain silent. It means every individual agreed and organized their hunt before. They are somehow able to discuss what to do together. I wouldn’t call it a language yet – in the terms of a subject, verb, and complement – but it’s interesting to see how orcas are sharing information. Orcas’ ears are their primary sense, while for human, it’s the eye. Orcas rely on sound production and also see with the ear, using their sonar. They use the vocalization to see, but they also use the vocalization to communicate. For us, the two are separate, we have the eye and the ear. Orcas navigate by echolocation, and the clicks and whistles are part of the orca’ sonar. I think it’s an interesting thing to study.

How did you proceed to try to start decoding orcas language?

It’s always a bit of a problem because we’re used to make just small announcement. We put the hydrophones underwater and recorded the orcas. The most challenging part was to separate individual vocalizations from the background noise and from the other orcas. This is a difficult part because, at the end, we want to come up with one single track of a single orca. Orcas are known to have three kind of vocalizations: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. So the idea is to analyze the single track and see which orcas is responding to which one. The collected data creates statistics. Analysing data, we’ll be able to understand who is talking to who. The objective is to study whistles in order to make a catalog of whistles and analyze how often they are repeated. Doing so, we’ll be able to make a vocabulary, a kind of protocole, and learn how they discuss. For example, science have studied bats for a long time. Because of their near blindness, bats use vocal signals – echolocation – to communicate, they are easier to study. As sound goes everywhere, they somehow steal the echo of another bat and use sound wave for communication. They echolocate within specific frequency ranges, and I think it’s the same for the orcas. The questions is « what kind of frequency do orcas have? » Last year, I made some recordings and it was interesting to see that they recently found a frequency. Orcas can basically tickle another orcas remotely. It means there’s maybe a physical interaction over a long distance.

What do you expect from the data collected during The Sound of Intelligence expedition? 

We’ll gonna analyze it in order to create a vocabulary and statistics. We’ll start classifying the produced sound and test in playback experiments. It’s a good idea to try to create interactions with them. For example, we’ll maybe find out that orcas have a signature call, like a name! If we have a collection of signature whistles, we can maybe compose another new signature whistle, then restart playing back and then the orca can recognize the sound. That would be awesome!  

The December expedition took place in a remote fjord north Norway, above the arctic circle. What was the most challenging part of it all?

What I found out is that the most challenging part is always to handle the materials, for many reasons. It is very cold, you are in a wetsuit, everything is wet, cold and dark, and you wear gloves. So everything is tough and you need to be sure it works. I tried the same experiment last year so I gained a lot of insights regarding the handling of products. For this expedition, I built up a container to put the records, and did a test in the lake of Zurich.

When you’re not in your labo, what do you do exactly? 

I’m also a balloon pilot. Since I’m a child, I have this passion for airships. I’ve always wanted to build an airship but to do so, you first have to have a licence for ballooning. So I started ballooning a few years ago. My goal is still to own a human-power airship, that looks exactly like an orca by the way! I’m a member of a ballooning club and we co-own two balloons. I also have a small farm in the mountain in Switzerland where I grow herbs and spices. You have to climb up there, it’s a very steep region but I like that. I like to have a cool project in mind, something that gives me a focus.

Portraits : Pierre David 

Orcas photos : Jacques De Vos 

The post Jorg Rychen: Not your usual scientist appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Jacques De Vos describes himself as a certified freediving instructor, underwater photographer and cameraman. In other words, he spends most of his time paddling in the deep blue world’s oceans looking for orcas, these incredible creatures he fell in love with as a kid.

«I’m originally from a coastal town near Cape Town called Fish Hoek. As a kid, I always had an interest in the ocean. I wanted to become a marine biologist but I ended up working as a Chemical Engineer. I also worked in the oilfield for a few years before shifting my attention completely to all things ocean and underwater related. Few years ago, I started scuba diving, » explains South-African freediver who have always loved being underwater. « As a child I spent more time underwater than at the surface of the pool. I eventually did a formal freediving course in 2010 which is where it became a bit more serious. » His different careers have one thing in common; they are fields of artistic expressions for his fascination for the ocean. « It is impossible for me to imagine my life without the ocean. When I’m not in or near it, I’m doing something somehow related to it. It can be editing or making plans for expeditions. So I’d say it’s quite an intimate relationship I have with the ocean today. »

When Jacques De Vos was young, he developed an obsession with dolphins. « Then, in 1989 my aunt gave me a book as a gift called ‘Whales, Dolphin and Seals and Their Kin’ which had an entry on orcas. This was the first image I saw of one and it immediately struck a chord. The idea of seeing one in a while from shore is something I never imagined would happen. So to see them underwater is just the further thing I ever imagined would actually happened to me. »

Today, photographer De Vos is known as the man who freedives with orcas and became an expert in finding these beautiful creatures in the ocean around the world. « No two places are alike. When diving in False Bay, Cape Town, I can be at the bottom of a lush kelp forest which is visually more stunning than any forest on land – colours, life and the unknown – or in Dahab, Egypt, where the visibility is so clear that it feels like you are flying. The ocean can be unforgiving, but as long as you respect it, even though unfamiliar, anytime spent underwater is a pleasant experience. »

On a recent expedition, Jacques De Vos spent few months in the Arctic, braving near-zero temperatures in and out of the water of the frigid fjords. « My partners (Boreal Yachting) and I run seasonal expeditions near Tromsø in northern Norway where we take guests to experience orcas and humpback whales in and underwater during the winter herring aggregation. It’s a unique way to see these stunning animals in their natural environment in one of the most beautiful places one earth. Despite the extreme temperatures, with the right equipment you can be completely oblivious to the temperatures. »

Trying to  describe his first encounters with orcas in the Arctic, Jacques De Vos evokes a mix of euphoric excitement and nervousness. « It ’s different each time. They can be completely uninterested in us while feeding and won’t even give you a second glace and, in other instances, you might be the only interesting thing in the water and they will circle you while having a closer look, even being playful. Either way, it’s always a very humbling experience which never gets old, »  he explains. « The first thing I do is I dive down and wait for them. Basically, you see the shapes and the shadows long before you see any fine detail. As they come closer, and I look up, you can see that, in this moment, they’re aware of me. It’s really humbling to have an animal that big, stop, turn and look at you before moving on. That’s not just an animal which is seeing something in the water and trying to avoid it, that’s genuine curiosity. That’s really something special to experience. »

Specialized in underwater photography, Jacques De Vos also listens for clicks, whistles and the multiple underwater sounds of the countless orcas through a hydrophone. « Using a hydrophone taught me that our way of vocal communication is baby noises compared to the complexity and range of orcas and whales. It’s amazing how little we still know and understand of how these animals communicate. And even more so when you realize we can not even hear or capture the majority of the frequency ranges these animals communicate it. »

In the summer 2017, Jacques De Vos and his partners will be exploring the coast around Svalbard. « We will hopefully encounter some more large marine life there as well. We hope to see some whales – blue whales, beluga, minke whales – and, of course, some Polar Bears! »

Find more infos about Jacques De Vos on his website.

The post Freediving with orcas: The humbling experience appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Every day local men and women from Pacasmayo, Peru spread along the shore of the town and wade into the ocean to collect algae, called cochayuyo. It’s been thousands of years people use seaweed in their daily diet in Peru. 

Production and consumption of aquatic plants in the world has been increasing in recent years. The algae are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and are also used in medicine. Cochayuyo seaweed contains various minerals such as phosphor, calcium, magnesium just to name a few and vitamins. One of the main components of cochayuyo is the protein. It easy to assimilate and contains high levels of essential amino acids, which occur in plant and animal tissues and are very important for human body.  “It’s quite an easy job and I earn enough to support my family. I spend a few hours a day working in the ocean and then I can stay with my kids for the rest of the day,” says Claudio Rojas Pita, who is doing this job together with his brother Luis Rojas Pita for over 15 years. 

Luis uses stone belt to keep him underwater. He prefers using stones instead of weight belt because it’s cheaper and he doesn’t have to worry about loosing it. “If something goes wrong and I need to go to surface, I just cut the belt and leave stones underwater. If I bought a proper weight belt I wouldn’t want to leave it on the bottom and loose money,” he explains.  Meanwhile Marilu Gamba Cardenas and her friends don’t dive at all. They don’t have masks nor snorkels, so they collect seaweed gropingly. It results in lower amounts of cochayuyo, but women work hard to get as much as possible. They cover themselves from the sun with a few layers of clothes and scarfs on the top of old crannied wetsuits. Cochayuyo is species endemic in the south of Pacific Ocean, along the coast of Peru and Chile. It’s the most abundant kind of red algae in Peru. Since pre-Inca times, it’s been widely used in the daily diet, mostly consumed fresh, in the costal and Andean areas.

After three hours of work Claudio, his brother Luis and friend Barny Portilla sit on the beach, relax in the sun and snack on the fresh cochayuyo straight from their loaded bags. “It’s going to be a good lunch today,” Claudio smiles taking a closer look at the octopus he caught while picking the seaweed. “We’ll use it for ceviche,” he adds. Peru is the birthplace of worldwide known ceviche, a dish of marinated raw fish or/and seafood. Fresh cochoyuyuo is often served with ceviche and it comes deep-fried with chicheron de pescado another popular dish of deep-fried fish and/or seafood. It is also used in soups, especially in the traditional fish soup called chilcano, stews, and salad or eaten soaked in vinegar.

Different kinds of seaweed used in food and medicine was also an ancient practice in China, Japan and some African countries. But according to The Cambridge World History of Food, the earliest archeological evidence (dated to circa 2500 B.C.) for the consumption of algae found thus far was discovered along the coast of Peru. Much evidence exists to indicate a marine algae presence here in ancient times. Local people extract seaweed all year around, but things get harder when winter comes. “In the winter, we freeze after a couple of hours in the cold water and there is significantly less cochayuyo because of the lower temperature,” says Marilu. “But I don’t complain, I like to spend time in the water,” she adds smiling.

After working in the ocean Marilu goes to the market, where she sells it to locals. She doesn’t eat a lot of cochayuyo herself. “I prefer to sell it and support my family with the money,” Marilu who has three children, explains. Meanwhile Luis, Claudio and Barny sell their bags of algae to collectors, who later transport it to the capital Lima and other towns. One kilogram of mocacho is sold for 3-4 soles (~1 dollar). In 2-3 hours men and women can collect 5-20 kilograms.

Words & Photos: Berta Tilmantaite

The post Harvesting the Ocean by Berta Tilmantaite appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Photographer Klaus Merz was born in 1964 in Karlsruhe in Germany. At a young age, he discovered his talent and passion for capturing people and places with a camera. 

A common thread in the work of Klaus Merz is his ambition to show the people he portrays, not only to give a brief glory in front of the camera, but to make them permanent as heroes of their own world. In his latest series of pictures, Merz pays tribute to a group of local Irish swimmers in the South-East of Dublin. « The place is called “fourty foot“. You´ll find it following Dublin’s coastline direction south-east, just after Dún Laoghaire at Sandycove Beach which seems to be a residential area populated by people who have been living there since ages, » he says. « It is a place where locals have been swimming in the ice cold Irish Sea for ages, some say for 250 years, but it might be a lot longer. » 

Sandycove, also called Cuas an Ghainimh in Irish, is an area of Dublin, « a nice little inlet with fine sand » say some tourists on vacation. There’s a pleasant harbour and a famous Martello Tower where the Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet James Joyce once stayed for a week. The small beach looks like a peaceful bay and has nothing to do with the clouded postcard of Ireland often associated to archaic stereotypes. This place hides a certain mystery, it possesses an elegance, an amazing culture, history and strong traditions. « When you go there for the first time, it is obvious that this is a very special, somehow mysterious, place, » explains photographer Merz. 

Throughout history, this place has been a gentlemen’s bathing place only. « At a time, the “Gentlemen Swimming Club“ was founded to protect the environment and keep it suitable for swimmers. It still exists today, » says Merz sharing with us a bit of history. « At that time, maybe also before, the gentlemen preferred to go skinny dipping. In the 70s, during women’s liberation movement, female equal rights activists plunged also into the water and force-opened the place for everybody. » 

Everyday, there’s someone in the water, navigating the dramatic Irish ocean. « Usually, only locals. On a sunny Saturday or on a Sunday morning, it is packed. » They’re residents, mostly old people who’ve been there every single day of their life. « Most of them are very hardened, able to swim for nearly a hour when, instead, I have to leave the water after a few minutes. The older they get, the better they can take the cold. Women are better than men, they say. »

Photographer Klaus Merz remembers one thing, one sentence, a few words said outloud in that peculiar cold Irish coastline: « One woman stepping out of the water said: ’It is so special cause it is a near-death experience.’ It describes quite well the very first seconds of dipping into the ice cold Irish sea. »

Discover more of Klauz Merz on instagram.

The post Irish Swimmers by Klaus Merz appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Called »The Duke«, and known as »The Godfather of Cliff Diving«, Duque started out diving in swimming pools before turning to cliff diving. Over the years, Orlando, 42, has won eleven world titles, and made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Duque literally dedicated his life to cliff diving. With a 30-year diving career and 20 of those as a cliff diver, the Colombian high diver hopes to help recognize the sport as an official part of the aquatics family, and see cliff diving in the next 2024 Summer Olympics. Here’s the second part of our interview with Orlando Duque.

Is training a big part of your daily routine?

Training is continual, I train non-stop. We have a limited time in the air. Once I jump, I have less than 3 seconds and I have to utilize those 3 seconds the best way possible. My legs need to be very strong so I can gain a little more altitude. I need to make sure that I’m very fast, so while I’m falling I’m still able to spin very fast and complete my dives. Then, due to the height, when I hit the water, I need to be very strong to handle the impact because it will be really hard. The body has to be in very good shape. The water will push you around, but you have to be strong enough to be able to handle that.

Do you think the mental game is important?

Yes, very much. If your body is very fit, but your mind is not up to it, you won’t get the right result. When you’re standing on a high cliff looking down, you start to really worry, your mind is what’s going allow you to do the dive. Your body basically freezes because your brain is sending a message  -‘be careful, you could kill yourself. Step away, stay there, don’t jump.’ But in your head, you know you can do it, you know you’re prepared to do it. So it is actually your mind that allows you to do that. I do some mental training. For example, I can see my dive in my head, I see myself from far away, I see myself from inside my eyes doing the dives. I do breathing exercises when I’m on the cliff or on the platform ready to dive. When I start to get worried, I know I can visualize my dives, I know I’m prepared to do it. I just breathe nice and slowly, and then I’m in a different mood and ready to dive.

As a cliff diver, you know that the risk of losing your life is imminent, how do you overcome fear?

You have to trust your preparation. You have to trust your training. I know the risks, I think I probably understand them better than anybody else. I also understand that I’ve done all the preparation. If I’m on this cliff, trying to do this dive, it is because I know I’m prepared to do it. I’m pushing as hard and as high as possible, but I think without going over that limit. Making sure I’m very close to this limit, without really going over it because we have no protection. In some other sports, there’s the fortune of having some sort of protection, whether it’s a helmet or boots, or even in big wave surfing now, they have floating devices on wetsuits. In cliff diving, we don’t have anything. So I have to trust my preparation, I have to make sure that I’ve done it, and then I can perform.

You recently said in an interview: »If I climb to top, I’m ready to dive, there’s no turning back.« That’s what we call determination.

I make that choice. If you’re playing football, you’re in the field and the balls comes to you, you have no choice, the ball is coming to you. So it’s my choice. I wake up in the morning and I know I’m going to dive, I know I’m ready. If I’m climbing up to the place that I’m going to jump it is because I’m ready to jump. Unless there’s some sort of safety issues in the water, there’s some floating debris, animals or a boat and I cannot dive, nothing else can stop me. But if I’m standing ready to dive it is because I’ve gone through all the preparation. The mental preparation has started, the mental stress has started. When I wake up in the morning, I can feel my heart beating faster because I know that I will be competing. 

You spend so much time in the water, how would you describe the intimate relationship that you built with the sea?

Without water, I can’t do anything. It just gets to that point. Water is what allows me to do my sport and to enjoy the life that I live. If there’s no water, there’s no chance. It’s called gymnastics and it’s a completely different sport. Water is probably the most important element. Everything that happens in the air, I’m controlling. But water is what allows me to do it safely. When you hit the water, after a hard impact, it can be really heavy depending on how high you’re jumping from. Then, the water is trying to tear you apart but you can handle it. Then, underwater, everything is quiet. Underwater, everything is nice, everything is okay. It’s really enjoyable. The best feeling is being underwater after a successful dive. And you’re pretty much ready to do it again. It’s exactly what allows me to do my sport.

What does the environment look like once you’re underwater?

Like I said before, I have a little bit less than 3 seconds in the air. There’s so much action, there’s so much stress, the wind, the speed, there’s so much going on. All these things, when I hit the water, disappear. Underwater, everything is quiet, everything is calm. Your first reaction is like ‘Okay, everything is okay’. Then, you realize, ‘Oh this feels so good!’. In the water, sometimes, from over excitement, I’m shaking. It’s just because the feeling is so intense. And it doesn’t have to be competition. What I try to explain to some people sometimes is that it’s more about the dive. Sometimes, it’s just a beautiful place, nice rock, it doesn’t have to be too high, 10-15metres. I jump in the water and it just feels good. To me, it’s tempting, it’s attracting. I want to jump, I want to be in the water. The time I spend in the air is so short that when I’m in the water is actually when I’m experiencing the best feeling of the dive. Because it is where I probably spend more time. 

Today, you’re considered a legend in the sport, you won 13 world titles, and have two Guinness world records to you name. What are your next projects?

I’ve been lucky to have a really good career and great results. But I don’t just sit and remember that. Of course, I want to keep winning, that’s why I keep competing. Next year, we’ll have the World Championship, I would like to win that again. I won the first Gold medal in 2013 so I would like to repeat it. It’s the highest honor we have in our sport.. One of the biggest projects is trying to include high diving in the Olympic Games. It has potential. I may not be able to compete at 42, but I can play a role in making sure that it is included and some of the other younger divers get to show the sport I love in the Olympics. I think that would be a really cool project to work on the next few years. And in terms of diving, I always had this idea in my head: I want to do this road trip, starting in South America, then maybe check out some European places, and Africa. On the road, I want to explore more. A lot of my events lately are fly there, dive, get on a plane, fly out again. So I want to do it on my time, that would be something fun too! 

Credit photos:

Jason Halayko / Predrag Vuckovic

Romina Amato / Marjan Radovic / Tomislav Moze News

The post The Godfather of Cliff Diving – part 2 appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

Recently, Dubai hosted the Red Bull Cliff Diving in Dubai Marina. For the last step of the World Series 2016, world-class cliff divers joined to compete on Pier7, an iconic building offering a panoramic view on the magnificent Dubai marina. On October 28, 2016, Pier7, well-known as the home of some of the emirate’s most popular dining spots, has been transformed into a 27 meters-high diving board. The occasion for Panthalassa to meet Orlando Duque and draw up a portrait of the world’s best cliff diver.

Tell us more about your background and career as an icon in the world of high diving…

I started diving in a pool in Colombia. I used to go to the pools to watch the divers. I really liked the color of the pool, not so much the swimming pool, but I liked the dark blue of the diving pool. As a little kid, I used to go and watch the divers practice. Then, the coaches asked me if I wanted to try. The next day, I was there and I fell in love with this sport. Since then, I just wanted to keep practicing and learning more.

When did you go from classic diving to cliff diving?

I did that for about ten years. I was competing with the national team, doing all the regular competitions. Every pool is the same, every pool looks the same. It does no matter where you are, it’s always the same height and the same conditions. Everything is very similar. So, after a while, it started to get more attracting to be outside, to start different places and start jumping. I was hired to do a contract in Austria, to do a jumping show. While I was there, I started watching the Red Bull World Championship on TV. I though ‘I think I can do that!’ So I started training for that. I went for my first competition in 1999, and I placed second. When I placed 2nd, I thought ‘I think I could be really good at it’. That’s pretty much when it became really serious. I remember telling myself: ‘Now I’m gonna practice really hard, I’m gonna dedicate myself and make it a career’.

You define cliff diving as, I quote, »The more natural form of diving«. Why?

I think so, this is what I always tell people. I love finding one rock that is there. If it’s deep water, we are ready to dive. All I need to do is jump. So it’s a little bit more natural than jumping in a pool. When you’re in a pool, you have to build a platform, you have to build a pool, you have to build all these things. You’re adapting everything for you to be able to dive. Whereas in cliff diving, you’re in nature, I’m adapting myself to the conditions. I’m making sure that I can jump in those conditions. It’s much more natural than anything else.

 What does it feel when you’re up there? How do you describe this adrenaline?

From the heights that I jump, a lot of people would probably never jump. But when you find a little rock on a nice afternoon, you’ll see that a lot of people is jumping. You go to any beach that has a rock anywhere in the world, and you can see people jumping from the very little rocks. That’s where I go to the point of almost everybody has done a cliff dive or a dive at least. And that’s already enjoying cliff diving. I see the world with different eyes. I walk around, I look at the balconies from hotels, I look if there’s a pool, and if I can maybe jump from there. I see a rock, I look how beautiful it is, but I also start looking to see if there’s a possibility to jump. If there’s a bridge, I look down to the river to see if the water is deep enough. I enjoy it so much. To me, it’s finding places to jump, that’s where the fun is.

Is there a part of craziness or everything is under control? 

To do it at the level we’re doing it right now, everything has to be under control. The risk is too high, the maneuvers we’e doing in the air are too complicated. You have to be trained for many years to do what we do. At that level, everything has to be under control. Normal people may need more craziness than skills, cause the skills can take so much time to learn. If somebody wants to jump, it doesn’t have to be super high, maybe just 5 meters-high. To a lot of people, it’s already very high. You need a little bit of craziness telling you in your head ‘Just run and jump!’ But after the jump, when everything goes okay and you’re underwater and everything is fine, you feel like you’re so happy! That contrast is the nicest feeling that you get out of a cliff dive.

Sometimes you dive from a cliff, some others you dive at night from a building in a marina. How exciting is it to discover different places and different atmospheres depending on the location you dive from?

That’s basically the reason that brought me to cliff diving. All the pools are the same; some are inside, some are outside but all the pools are the same. With cliff diving, we change locations every single time. Some are gonna be at night, some are gonna be in a building, some are gonna be from a bridge. Everything changes so much that you need to adapt really quickly. You need to be able to be versatile and well-prepared because we don’t have so much time to get ready to the location. That makes the whole thing much more interesting. To me, that’s what makes it much more challenging and more attracting. A lot of times, I get so focus in my dive that I completely forget about everything else that surrounds me. After the dive, I look around and I’m like ‘Whoa’! It’s one the nicest component of the dive. Yes, I do enjoy very much the dive itself but just exploring all these locations, going around the world, and seeing all these different places is such a cool part of this sport. 

Credit photos: Romina Amato / Jason Halyko / Dean Treml

The post The Godfather of Cliff Diving – part 1 appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

For more than 1,700 years, haenyeo have been diving in the sea, harvesting shellfish and seaweed. In the Korean province of Jeju, sea women dive up to ten metres holding their breath for over two minutes, with no breathing equipment. Between 2012 and 2014, photographer Hyung S. Kim regularly went to Jeju to document the haenyeo.  The profession is practiced today by a majority of women in their 60s and older, who dive all year round, wearing old-fashioned headlight-shaped scuba mask. Persuading divers to have their pictures taken as they emerged from the water, Kim’s portraits show wrinkled faces and grey hair personalities who are likely be the last generation of haenyeo. We met up with Kim to discuss these women’s stories, often described as sea warriors, risking their life scouring the ocean floor. 

Hi Hyung, could you tell us more about your background?

I was born in Seoul and I still live in Seoul today. I own a photo studio called ‘Studio Zip’. I have been working on portraits for the last 20 years. Four years ago, I decided to focus on a personal project and created my very first portrait series. That’s how »Haenyeo« came to life.

‘Haenyeo’ was born in Jeju Island in 2012, photographing South Korean female divers. How did you come across these women?

Four years ago, while I was traveling on Jeju Island, I came across the Haenyeo. They had just finished working and were coming out of the water. I had heard about the Haenyeo but that day was the first time I saw a haenyeo with my own eyes. Seeing them right after all their extremely hard work, I felt very moved and I wanted to capture that moment.

How did you persuade the divers to have their pictures taken as they emerged from the water?

Many times I tried to photograph them but the women were not very open to it. Most of the Haenyeo were not co-operative with any kind of photography projects, or interviews, because they are just tired. This was a very difficult process, as they were not used to being photographed, especially against an artificially created background, so they would often avoid me entirely. Mostly, they don’t think their work is something to be praised. I asked them before they went into the water and then waited for 4-5 hours to photograph them. Finally, it was worth it. From then, I have been lucky to photograph them many times and I now know them very well. I also learnt their names, and about their family members. Today, when they see me, they are very kind to me,  like my own grand mother would be.

What kind of relationship do these women have with the sea?

They’ve been working as Haenyeo, or sea women, most of their life. They usually start working at a young age, when they are 13 years old. They spend more than 50 years of their life in the ocean. Sea women dive more 100 times a day. They risk their life at work, but they do it for their family. 

These women have made their living harvesting seafood, by hand, from the ocean floor. With no breathing equipment, they are able to stay under water for long periods of time and dive to great depths. How are they considered in their village?

30 years ago, Haenyeo were considered to be at a lower rung of the social structure. Because Jeju Island is a volcanic island, it is very tough to make a living on the ground. At the time, catching fish and other seafood was the main means to live better and make money. It was a tough life but it remained the only choice they had to make a living. It’s never been leisure for them. In March 2014, the government requested the UNESCO to add Haenyeo to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Over the past two years, people have begun to respect them and see them as a great part of the country’s cultural heritage.  However, old Haenyeos are not used to that situation yet. That’s why they are not very happy to be photographed. Also, many people visit Jeju to see them as a touristic scene. There’s even the Haenyeo Museum in Jeju today, which bothers them a lot. Sea women just want to continue their everyday job.

Can you tell us more about what it feels to meet such unique female divers?

I learned so much thanks to them, and thanks to photography. The Haenyo are skilled at free diving to depths of 60 feet. After they come out from diving, they make long breathing sounds. That’s the sound of life that you cannot hear anywhere else. This is the confirmation that they survived the dive. This sound is both very beautiful and also very sad. Most of the Haenyoes have lived underwater most of their life, so they are exposed to many dangers from the diving. They suffer various health problems, such as hearing loss and chronic headaches. They continually take medication to keep diving, and overuse analgesics. It doesn’t stop them for it is the only life they know – they are the Mothers of the Sea and Mother Sea herself.

How do they cope knowing they are the last generation of sea women? 

They have been working as Haenyeo for 3 or 4 generations and feel certain they will be the last generation. Their kids don’t work as haenyeo. Their daughters, who grew up in a modern technological society of relative affluence, are not interested. The sea women don’t want any of their kids to work as haenyeo either, because it’s such a hard work!  

The resulting portraits are very natural: Tired faces full of strength. What were your intentions behind these pictures?

There was a real difference between how they looked before and after diving. After diving, Haenyeos are extremely exhausted. It was at this exact moment I found, and captured, their strength and power. During every dive, they fight for their life and I wanted to capture that moment of strength. I wanted to show their beauty to the world.

Do you keep going to Jeju Island today?

I travel down to Jeju as often as I can. There’re still some Haenyeos I want to photograph. And as long as I can work, I will continue to photograph them.

All photos Copyright ⓒ 2015  by Hyung S. Kim

The post The Sea Women of South Korea appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

The Moken people, often called ‘Sea Gypsies’, are scattered throughout the Andaman Sea and the Mergui Archipelago of Thailand and Myanmar. Traditionally they spend eight months out of the year in thatch-roofed wooden boats called kabangs, from which they skillfully procure fresh meals of fish. The Moken are wholly reliant upon the sea, their entire belief system revolves around water. We met up with director Olivia Wyatt, to discuss her documentary »Sailing A Sinking Sea«, a powerful piece of film-making about ‘the vanishing sea tribe’, forced to trade their houseboats for more permanent coastal settlements.

Growing up landlocked in Arkansas, Olivia Wyatt truly loves forest, mountains, rivers and other forms of nature. But there is something about the ocean that completely captivates her. »I first experienced the sea on a trip to Mexico with my grandmother, Lid, around the age of 6. She was an adventurer, and when I close my eyes and drift back to Mexico, I see her laughing while rolling around in the waves on a boogie board. When I moved to New York, I rode to the end of a train line and found myself a home on Rockaway Beach so that I could live next to the ocean – to feel and breathe her in the air all around me. It was there that I became obsessed with sailing, and discovered that I didn’t have to settle for living next to the sea, I could actually live on it! Now I live in Venice, California where I am learning to surf and I can sail year round.« Wyatt has also been a certified scuba diver for seven years. She says: »Below the surface of the sea there is a lot of magic happening. It is so incredibly cosmic down there. I love scuba diving, but am equally terrified of it. This holds true for anything I do involving the ocean, that is what is so beautiful – she commands respect, is so powerful and has so many treasures hidden within her. Doing any sort of dance with her is a delicate one that requires a complete connection to her at all times.«

Olivia first read about the Moken in an article following the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. »I fell in love with the Moken because they have such a symbiotic relationship with the sea that almost every single one of the Moken survived the tsunami, and even predicted it’s arrival. Their ancestral wisdom, shamanic dreams, and ancient songs taught the Moken how to survive the Laboon (Moken word for tsunami).« No one on Thailand’s tropical Surin Islands perished from the wave that day. All fled to higher ground before the massive waves hit the shores. Because of the tsunami, the world began noticing the Moken sea gypsies.

On the Surin Islands, the Mokens live with the sea. Young men spear fish the traditional way, by holding their breathe and diving up to 30 metres-deep. »We catch fish, living as the sea people, following the Moken tradition«, they say. Catching squid, collecting sea cucumbers and shellfish, (and) spearfishing has long been integral to the Moken way of life. Director Olivia Wyatt explains: »I was with the Moken for 4 months. The Moken are the sea; they breathe, live, marry, dream, eat, make love to, worship, and sail upon the sea. They have one of the most unique connections to the sea that I have ever seen in my life.  Their respect for it drips down beyond the depths of the sea itself. When the Moken fish, they take only enough to survive and what is left over they share with their community.» Unfortunately, their neighbors on the sea do not share the same courtesy. »Dynamite fishing in Myanmar and coral bleaching (due to climate change) have killed off so many of the fish in their region. It is increasingly more challenging for the Moken to find fish, and they often reflect on how lush and ripe with fish their waters once were. What is more disheartening is that the Thai government has determined that the Moken are contributing to the decrease in fish population and have started to regulate when, where and how frequently they can fish, and even forcing them to sell some of their catch to the Thai government at reduced market rates.«

The Moken have always depended on the bounty of the sea, but over-fishing has emptied the nearby seas. Today, Moken divers have to dive deeper and go further out to sea to collect shellfish. Many have died from decompression sickness, and on the mainland, Moken fishermen can no longer hold their breaths long enough to free-dive for spearfishing. Forced to stay on island year round, the Moken are in a desperate fight to keep their traditions alive. Allowed to fish only within limits, they are today under unprecedented pressure to assimilate into the mainstream and the mainland. »Their culture is evaporating and along with it their vast wisdom of the sea. The younger generations were already starting to stray from their watery ways, but the older generations are the heartbeat of many Moken traditions.«, says Olivia. »Within the next 15 years, all of the Moken traditions will be mostly weathered and faded memories in the minds of younger generations.« Now numbering less than 3,000, it makes them one of the smallest ethnic minority groups in Asia.

Modern society tends to discriminate against nomadic peoples. Sudden winds of change bring both promise and peril, and threaten traditional ways of life. New houses, schools and a Moken museum appeared. Over the years, many Mokens have abandoned their nomadic ways of life and some communities of the nomadic sea tribe moved to the mainland forming a group called the »Land Moken«. Wyatt was living there in 2013, documenting the last generation of Mokens who live traditionally. »There is a major shift happening in the community. I was living over there in the spring of 2013 and children were not interested in learning the Moken way of life, or language for that matter. I returned in late 2015 and during that brief period of time so much more had shifted. On my favorite Moken island the men and women were barely fishing.  They sat around making small wooden replicas of their boats, sea creatures, and jewelry to sell to tourists who flood their island multiple times a day.«

According to the American Director, there are many things contributing to the loss of Indigenous communities, and once their bond with nature is severed there is no turning back. »When younger generations trade their language for one spoken by a majority, and prefer to stare at products of modernity vs. the sea, the unraveling begins. Cultural Tourism is one of the most detrimental factors at play here.« Wyatt saw 8 – 10 tourist boats arrive on Surin in a 3 hour period. Tourists walked around in their next-to-nothing-bathing suits and watched as people slept, ate, showered, and existed. »As though they were in a zoo! By looking at the Moken in such proximity, we are destroying their connection to the sea.«

Using a GoPro camera, a Eumig Nautica Super 8 camera, and a Canon G1X to shoot the underwater footage, Wyatt’s feature-length film elegantly explores the Moken’s relationship with the sea. »I love mixed media. I thought the mix of film and digital footage was another way to convey to the audience the transition that is currently happening within the Moken community with ancient ways colliding into the modern maze«, says the American ethnographic filmmaker who describes herself as »having a psychedelic vision of the world.  »I am drawn to preserving communities who are on the brink of extinction through film. I believe with all of my being in magic, and my heart is drifting somewhere out in the ocean among a pod of dolphins.« 

The question Wyatt gets most often after screening »Sailing A Sinking Sea« is What does the Moken community think about the film? »I recently was blessed with the opportunity to return to Thailand and share the film on the islands where it was captured. I started the journey on Koh Surin, and after the first screening we interviewed my favorite character from the film, Selemat. Selemat is a shaman with a weathered voice that sounds like centuries live within it. In the film he shares funny stories about men marrying mermaids, and the joys of life on boat which include anchoring and having sex anywhere you please. Selemat spoke to us in his second language, Thai, and often refers to himself in third person.« According to Olivia Wyatt, Uncle Selemat liked it too. He said:« I can watch it again and again. If we (old generation) passed away, there will be no people knowing about us. We try to provide (knowledge) for new generations and the new generations loved watching (the film). We like it. Mokens like it. The songs. They’re Moken songs. Ancient songs. We like to watch them. We like to listen to old songs. Thinking about singing songs, that singer, the one who sang Rong-ngeng song, my grandchild, she passed away…died already. There are only songs left.« 

Wyatt directed, produced, shot and edited two other documentaries – »Staring into the Sun« (2011), »The Pierced Heart & The Machete« (2013) – all glimpsing into the soul of communities that still breathe in time with the nature around them… »Their minds are moulded by ancient mythology and wisdom. Everyone is working under a cosmic law in order to benefit their community as a whole, versus perceiving the individual as of the utmost importance. There is a beauty within each community I have documented that I don’t even have words to describe.«

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” – Joseph Campbell. That’s Olivia Wyatt’s life philosophy. Discover more of her stunning work on her website and follow the release of her documentary »Sailing A Sinking Sea« on the 13th of May. 

The post Sailing A Sinking Sea – Olivia Wyatt appeared first on PANTHALASSA.