Passion, Partnership and Exploration: GUE and the Local Community

(This article was previously published in Quest magazine)

Every GUE class starts with an introduction of students and instructors, and invariably the discussion turns to “why did you learn to dive?” In my experience, the most common answer to this question is a desire to explore the underwater world. This is not surprising considering that 70% of our world is covered by water and our natural inclination to see “what is around the next corner” means that we need to become divers to explore the greater part of our world. In fact, when GUE was formed, the founders recognized that keeping a link between education and passion was one of the most important goals of the nascent organization and this view has continued to be one of the most important parts of the GUE philosophy.

Prior to the creation of GUE, no organization provided this support; dive training remained separated from passion for exploration, a strange state of affairs to be sure. Since the creation of GUE this has changed. Now GUE divers can participate in exploration projects around the world and our standardized training and diving protocols make this participation a relatively simple affair. As GUE grows and matures these opportunities will increase and the concept of a “global” approach to exploration projects will become more and more common. This is an exciting time to be a GUE member and the future looks promising indeed. 

GUE-created projects are popping up around the globe on a regular basis and keeping informed about them by reading the GUE website and Quest is an engaging past time.  GUE members can regularly travel to the North Sea, Mexico, or the Solomon Islands via computer and Internet and “participate” in amazing exploration projects. Most if not all of these projects were GUE projects in their inception but this is not the only way to keep that passion for underwater exploration alive.

I live and dive regularly on Vancouver Island, which is located off the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. The waters of the Pacific North West are exciting to say the least and our maritime history includes a litany of shipwrecks and maritime accidents. It has always been a challenging environment for shipping and this has created extensive exploration opportunities.

In 1975, the Underwater Archeological Society of British Columbia (UASBC) was formed with the intention of surveying and documenting many of the wrecks in the Strait of Georgia, the body of water that separates mainland British Columbia from Vancouver Island.  Approximately five years later, the UASBC began a methodical program of surveying regional shipwreck sites. Their purpose was to identify and evaluate historic wrecks in order to document their present condition and monitor them as they aged. The UASBC also hoped to provide information to the Government of British Columbia as to how to best ensure the preservation of these wreck sites.

Historically, the UASBC has been composed primarily of recreational divers and their surveys were, for the most part, done well within recreational diving limits. However, not all wrecks in the waters around Vancouver Island are found within these limits. Our topography is similar to that of the fjords of Norway and Vancouver Island is nearly bisected at several points by deep fjords, thus creating considerable shoreline.  Previously, UASBC projects located many wrecks using historical records or underwater search telemetry from tools such as side-scan sonar and the like but often these wrecks were outside the limits of normal recreational diving.

A few years ago a snapshot of the current state of underwater archeology in British Columbia would have shown that the UASBC was a group of dedicated explorers with a solid track record of documenting and surveying wrecks, complete with an infrastructure that included ties to our government. This UASBC also possessed the coordinates of many wrecks that they were not able to dive and survey themselves. At the same time, this snapshot would have revealed a growing community of GUE divers with technical training and the knowledge of how to safely conduct dives to the depths of these wrecks. This later group also possessed an all- consuming passion to explore; and they were looking for wrecks to explore…

The match seemed made in heaven.

Lucky for us, one of the most active members of the GUE community had been a UASBC member since his early dive training. He immediately saw the opportunities for both groups to work together and began encouraging other GUE divers to join the UASBC. He also encouraged GUE members to take Nautical Archeology Society (NAS) survey courses through the UASBC.

The relationship continued to develop and additional GUE members took part in regular UASBC events and finally started working on some of the deeper surveys, finally culminating in the search for the “Famous” which was documented in an earlier issue of Quest. It was clear that GUE training had given our community the tools to actively participate in deeper survey projects and we were capable of becoming more closely involved with the UASBC. We continued to “walk the walk” as it were and contributed to UASBC efforts in our waters.

Fast forward to our current local GUE community and you will find an active group that is working hand in hand with the UASBC and regularly participating in recreational surveys as well as conducting surveys on some of the deeper wrecks. Our members participate in UASBC meetings and have provided presentations on exploration from such global destinations such as Truk Lagoon and the Red Sea. One of our GUE members is also an active member on the UASBC board and has injected new energy into the organization. We have progressed from “trial status” to full fledged members of the UASBC and now our local community represented by SET (Shipwreck Exploration Team), has also become a GUE affiliate, further encouraging participation by GUE members around the world in our active exploration projects. We have also organized and staffed “precision buoyancy” classes designed to make surveys safer and more effective for all involved.

By joining forces with the UASBC we have been able to keep our passion for underwater exploration alive and at the same time provide a useful service to an existing organization that shares similar goals. I strongly believe that these sorts of opportunities exist around the world and it is simply a case of finding them. Any entrepreneur will tell you that start-up businesses are the hardest of all. Often, if you can identify an existing organization that shares similar goals, it can be easier to combine skill sets and resources for the benefit of both. In our case, becoming involved with the UASBC has been both exciting and a lot of fun while also providing ample opportunity to pursue our passion for exploration.

If you have an interest in underwater exploration, take a look around your local community and see what resources already exist. If you live anywhere near water, there is probably an existing maritime archeology group present and you may be able to combine energies. Also, the Nautical Archeology Society has a plethora of links and information and is a great place to begin your research for existing exploration groups. Many universities, particularly those located near the ocean, have active scientific diver programs and most likely also have dive clubs that cross the line between “fun” diver and survey or marine biology diver.

It is unlikely that these organizations will be familiar with GUE, so you will be faced with establishing your bona fides through your actions. In my opinion, it is better to become involved in their work, make an effort, and let your actions speak for you. This will require time and patience but it will pay off in the long run as you form relationships that foster opportunities. In our case, “technical divers” had approached the UASBC in the past but nothing much had become of it. These divers looked to the UASBC as a ready repository of shipwreck locations and did not choose to become active members of the UASBC by participating in ongoing projects. Our approach was markedly different and now, after establishing our credentials by our work and commitment, SET is an active and vibrant part of UASBC activities. This was demonstrated by the fact that the last NAS course of eight students consisted entirely of GUE divers.

GUE has always been committed to keeping alive that passion that first encouraged us to breath underwater.  Combining your community efforts with those of existing exploration groups can be a terrific way to do this.  Good luck and happy exploring!

Guy Shockey