Full Description
'The underground world presents the last arena for the true pioneering spirit.' Martyn Farr's The Darkness Beckons charts the history and development of cave diving, from early underwater expeditions in France in the late nineteenth century, through to cutting-edge dives across the globe, where iron-willed individuals are pushing the limits of equipment and techniques in the pursuit of exploration. Cave diving is the natural evolution of caving, where cavers and open-water divers overcome the challenges of water-filled passages by using specialist breathing apparatus to explore further and deeper than ever before. The challenges are many - distance, depth, temperature, visibility, rockfall and simple restriction in passage size - together with the physical and mental demands placed on an individual in an environment where, despite meticulous preparation, equipment can malfunction and one cannot expect to be rescued if something goes wrong. Early cave dives were made using Standard Equipment diving suits, before 'frogman' equipment was adopted by British and Italian divers in the 1940s.Around the same time, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan designed the compressed-air aqualung, the first scuba equipment.
The development of breathing apparatus has continued, alongside solutions to evermore challenging projects, especially those at extreme depth. British cave divers, including the author, have been at the forefront of many developments, such as the explorations at Wookey Hole in the Mendips, Keld Head in the Yorkshire Dales and Pozo Azul in Spain. Cave diving today is a truly international endeavour, and Farr gives detailed and engaging accounts of developments in Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, Southern Africa and more. Farr introduces cave diving's pioneers and chronicles their achievements. Among a cast of many are the Britons Graham Balcombe, Mike Boon, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton; the American Sheck Exley, who died while attempting to establish a new depth record in the Zacaton sinkhole in Mexico; and the outstanding German cave diver and equipment innovator Jochen Hasenmayer. The stories of their adventures are charged with courage, danger and excitement, and some have led to tragedy.First published in 1980, this 2017 edition of The Darkness Beckons has been fully revised and updated to reflect the latest developments.
Featuring over 400 breathtaking photographs and illustrations, and with a foreword by renowned American cave diver and explorer Bill Stone, it is an inspirational read for anyone with an interest in exploration and adventure.
Contents
Foreword by Bill Stone; Preface; Part 1: The History of Cave Diving; Chapter 1 The Challenge of Caving; Chapter 2 The Beginnings of Cave Diving; Chapter 3 Early Cave Diving in Britain and Ireland; Chapter 4 The Oxygen Phase; Chapter 5 The Cave Diving Group; Chapter 6 The Aqualung or Mixture Set; Chapter 7 The Transition to Air; Part 2: International Cave Diving Developments; Chapter 8 Cave Diving in the British Isles; Southern England; South Wales; The Yorkshire Dales; The Peak District; Ireland; Chapter 9 Cave Diving in Europe; France; Switzerland; Germany; Italy; Czech Republic; Spain: Canary Islands; Spain: Mainland; Norway; Russia, Georgia and the ex-USSR; Chapter 10 Cave Diving in the Americas; The United States of America; Canada; The Caribbean; Mexico; South America; Chapter 11 Cave Diving in South-East Asia: China; Chapter 12 Cave Diving in Australia and New Zealand; Australia; New Zealand; Chapter 13 Cave Diving in Southern Africa; Chapter 14 The Future; Part 3: Appendices; I Glossary of Terms; II A Brief Historical Overview of Cave Diving Equipment and Techniques; III Accident Analysis; III Quintana Roo Speleological Survey; Acknowledgements; Index.
