PSAI China

In Memory of Hal Watts

Today, I want to pay a tribute to a great friend, a confidant and a person with the highest integrity. Hal Watts’ passing is a painful loss for all of us but his accomplishments and legacies will live on.

Hal had an exceptional life filled with significant achievements and joyful moments. Hal has had many interests from body builder, insurance adjuster, and dirt bike rider. But he would be best known for being a dive pioneer. Hal was one of the eight original founders of National Association of Cave Diving (NACD). He was a prominent record holder for deep air diving. Not surprisingly, Hal was the trainer of many of the current world air record holders. His drive to push for more knowledge and training led to the creation of Florida Diver Supply / Florida State Skin Diving Schools. With the dawning of Technical diving, these groups eventually became the Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI).

But above all, Hal’s most defining characteristics were his love for people and his humor. Hal had a gift that allowed him to easily connect to everyone in all walks of life. I lost count of how many times I observed Hal engaging with people at trade shows, at dive shops, or at other social events, with all the tales of his dive adventures, his travel, his hobbies or his love for Harley Davidsons. Hal never failed to make his audience laugh, be amazed, be at ease, and have the feeling that they are the most important person in the conversation. He had the charm that made every person feel understood, heard, and appreciated, while he treated them with affection, warmth and high regards. I will always cherish the moments I have had with Hal during DEMA or during travel to far away destinations together.

Ultimately, Hal was family. Hal’s life was evidence of friendship, love and the greatest affection. He will always be a part of us.

Rest easy now Hal. We will never forget you and your smile will always live in our heart.
To quote, one more time, one of Hal Watts’ favorite mottos: “Plan your dive and dive your plan.”

-Gary Taylor

The diving world just lost a legend. Hal Watts (1935 - 2024), better known as "Mr. Scuba," has taken his final ascent. As the founder of PSAI and a trailblazer in technical diving, Hal wasn’t afraid to push limits — and he made sure the rest of us did it safely with his famous mantra: “Plan your dive. Dive your plan.”

If anyone’s teaching angels how to perfect buoyancy and trim right now, it’s Hal. Rest easy, Mr. Scuba — you’ve officially gone deeper into our hearts forever.

Congratulations to our 2 Extended Range and Narcosis Management Divers for up to 55m!

Dear Members and Friends,

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of a tragic loss within our diving community. One of our own, Han Ting, has left us.

Ting was an exceptional diver and explorer, driven by a passion for pushing boundaries and discovering the depths of our underwater world. His dedication and adventurous spirit were an inspiration to us all.

As we mourn this profound loss, let us remember Ting for his remarkable contributions to the society, the world of diving and exploration. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

As a community of divers, let us remember Han Ting for his unwavering spirit and the indelible mark he has left on the world of diving.

Fair winds and following seas, Ting. You will be missed and never forgotten.

親愛的會員和各界朋友們，

老貓（韓頲）離開我們了。

韓頲，是一位傑出的潛水專家、教練和探險家，心中燃燒著突破極限、探索水下世界的熱情。他對潛水界的奉獻和冒險精神，激勵了身邊的所有人。

在我們痛失這位夥伴的同時，讓我們銘記頲為社會、潛水和探險領域所帶來的卓越貢獻。我們深切懷念他，也向他的家人和朋友致以最深切的慰問。

作為潛水社群的一份子，讓我們永遠珍惜韓頲的不屈不撓精神，以及他在潛水世界留下的不可磨滅的印記。

願逝者安息，生者平安。老貓，你將被永遠懷念，不被遺忘。

親愛的會員和各界朋友們，

老貓（韓頲）離開我們了。

韓頲，是一位傑出的潛水專家、教練和探險家，心中燃燒著突破極限、探索水下世界的熱情。他對潛水界的奉獻和冒險精神，激勵了身邊的所有人。

在我們痛失這位夥伴的同時，讓我們銘記頲為社會、潛水和探險領域所帶來的卓越貢獻。我們深切懷念他，也向他的家人和朋友致以最深切的慰問。

作為潛水社群的一份子，讓我們永遠珍惜韓頲的不屈不撓精神，以及他在潛水世界留下的不可磨滅的印記。

願逝者安息，生者平安。老貓，你將被永遠懷念，不被遺忘。

Dear Members and Friends,

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of a tragic loss within our diving community. One of our own, Han Ting, has left us.

Ting was an exceptional diver and explorer, driven by a passion for pushing boundaries and discovering the depths of our underwater world. His dedication and adventurous spirit were an inspiration to us all.

As we mourn this profound loss, let us remember Ting for his remarkable contributions to the society, the world of diving and exploration. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.

As a community of divers, let us remember Han Ting for his unwavering spirit and the indelible mark he has left on the world of diving.

Fair winds and following seas, Ting. You will be missed and never forgotten.

PSAI at Czech Republic for CCR diving

At 2:10am, 27th April, 2023, PSAI China IT Han Ting (Greco), surface after a 12.5 hours deep cave dive and achieved a new Asia deep cave diving record to 277.4m in GuangXi, China.

Ting used two Liberty SM CCR for the dive together with the 3rd unit station at 50m for standby on the way up. His last deco was finished at 10m depth in a habitat fixed 2 weeks before. An O2/Neon mix also used as the final deco gas.

The dive is a part of the on-going project (DJCF - Duan’s Jiudun Cave Features) to explore this cave which it's bottom is still not yet to be reach.

Below is from HAN Ting after his dive:

“Yesterday, I took on a new challenge at Jiudun and eventually reached a turning point at 277 meters, breaking the Asian record.

In previous attempts, I went south-north for deep diving, but this time I tried diving both up and down in the northern cave. The descent was slower and more winding, making the situation more complicated. From the 40-meter cave entrance, I had to swim through a 20-meter horizontal passage to reach the 50-meter vertical well entrance. The 50-120 meter vertical well passage was quite narrow, followed by a slope from 120-170 meters until reaching the vertical well below 170 meters. Additionally, some slight ear equalization problem caused some delay. The planned depth was between 270-290 meters, with an alert time of 15 minutes set for turning back and a mandatory decompression plan of no more than 12 hours. When I reached over 270 meters, I felt very good, and HPNS did not show any obvious effect. When the Alert sounded, I hesitated for a second, as I knew I could break the world record by just one more minute. However, I was pleased that I resisted the temptation, stopped the descent according to plan, tied knots, marked the arrow, and ascended. The later decompression was perfectly in line with the plan. There will be more opportunities in the future.

I tried many new methods this time, such as setting up a decompression habitat in advance at 10 meters, which was very useful. During the 12-and-a-half-hour dive, I spent five hours in the tent eating and drinking comfortably.

I also made significant adjustments to the decompression plan, using neon as a replacement for inert gas to accelerate decompression. The results were very significant, as I felt better both physically and mentally after the dive. I am grateful for the professional guidance from DHS and the on-site medical support. We used ultrasound to check for bubbles in the decompression habitat. Additionally, I did an extreme test for the Huawei ULTIMATE sport watch, take it down to 123 meters and hanging it on a node during the descent and carrying it throughout the return journey. The depth was not a problem, and the battery was very powerful, with over 20% remaining after 12 and a half hours.

Summary: Technology can help explorers break through limits and explore extreme environments more safely and efficiently.

Finally, thanks to the 'underwater support team' , and the 'surface and land support team' Song Siu Zhao and photographer, as well as all the friends who provided equipment support! “

亞洲洞穴深潛新記錄 - 277.4米

2023年4月27日凌晨2:10分，PSAI中国的IT韩頲 (老猫)在完成了长达12.5个小时的大深度洞穴潜水后，在广西都安九顿天窗顺利升水，并创造了277.4米的亚洲洞穴潜水的深度纪录。

韩頲在此次潜水中携带了两台Liberty侧挂CCR，并且在50米深度预布了第三台用为上升阶段可能需要的备用CCR。他最后的减压在10米深度，于两周前安装的减压帐篷内完成，在最后的减压阶段中并用到了氧/氖混合气体作为减压气体。

此次潜水是九顿天窗探索项目的一部分，其洞穴底部至今尚未探明。

以下是韩頲在潜水后发表的简短说明：

“ 昨天又在九顿做了次新的挑战，最终到达277米折返，再刷了次亚洲纪录。

之前几次下深都是南下北上，这次尝试了上下都在北洞，下潜会蜿蜒一点慢一点，情况比较复杂，从40米洞口需经20米横向通道游到50米的直井洞口，50-120米的直井通道较狭窄，120-170米是斜坡，170以下才到直井，加上耳压不是太顺也耽误了些时间。计划的深度是270-290米，预备折返的时间Alert设的15分钟，强制减压计划不超过12个小时。到两百七十多米的时候状态很好，HPNS没有明显的影响，ALERT响的时候犹豫了一秒：只需要多一分钟就可以破世界纪录。很高兴抵住了诱惑，按计划停止下潜、打结、放箭头标、上升。后期减压完美契合计划。来日方长。

这次尝试了很多新方法，比如预先在10米搭建了减压帐篷，非常好用。12个半小时的潜水，后期有5个小时在帐篷里好吃好喝地渡过。

减压方案也做了很大的调整，使用氖气作为替换惰性气体来加速减压，小白鼠表示效果非常显著。减完上水，身体和精神状态都明显好于以往。感谢潜伺DHS的专业指导，以及现场提供的医疗保障，在减压帐篷里就用超声做气泡检测了。

另外值得一提的是顺便帮华为ULTIMATE做了次极限测试，下潜到123米时挂在节点上，返回时再全程带着。深度没问题，电池也很给力，12个半小时后还有百分之二十多的余电。"

总结：科技会帮助探险者更安全、更高效地突破极限与探索极境。
最后感谢潜水支援的@小马@Edi@敬@kiki特地赶来水陆支援的@宋导@钟少@Violet@赵导和摄影师，以及提供设备支持的各位朋友！

亞洲洞穴深潛新記錄 - 277.4米

2023年4月27日凌晨2:10分，PSAI中國的IT韓頲 (老貓)在完成了長達12.5個小時的大深度洞穴潛水後，在廣西都安九頓天窗順利升水，並創造了277.4米的亞洲洞穴潛水的深度紀錄。

韓頲在此次潛水中攜帶了兩台Liberty側掛CCR，並且在50米深度預布了第三台用為上升階段可能需要的備用CCR。他最後的減壓在10米深度，於兩週前安裝的減壓帳篷內完成，在最後的減壓階段中並用到了氧/氖混合氣體作為減壓氣體。

此次潛水是九頓天窗探索項目的一部分，其洞穴底部至今尚未探明。

以下是韓頲在潛水後發表的簡短說明：

“ 昨天又在九頓做了次新的挑戰，最終到達277米折返，再刷了次亞洲紀錄。

之前幾次下深都是南下北上，這次嘗試了上下都在北洞，下潛會蜿蜒一點慢一點，情況比較複雜，從40米洞口需經20米橫向通道游到50米的直井洞口，50-120米的直井通道較狹窄，120-170米是斜坡，170以下才到直井，加上耳壓不是太順也耽誤了些時間。計劃的深度是270-290米，預備折返的時間Alert設的15分鐘，強制減壓計劃不超過12個小時。到兩百七十多米的時候狀態很好，HPNS沒有明顯的影響，ALERT響的時候猶豫了一秒：只需要多一分鐘就可以破世界紀錄。很高興抵住了誘惑，按計劃停止下潛、打結、放箭頭標、上升。後期減壓完美契合計劃。來日方長。

這次嘗試了很多新方法，比如預先在10米搭建了減壓帳篷，非常好用。 12個半小時的潛水，後期有5個小時在帳篷裡好吃好喝地渡過。

減壓方案也做了很大的調整，使用氖氣作為替換惰性氣體來加速減壓，小白鼠表示效果非常顯著。減完上水，身體和精神狀態都明顯好於以往。感謝潛伺DHS的專業指導，以及現場提供的醫療保障，在減壓帳篷裡就用超聲做氣泡檢測了。

另外值得一提的是順便幫華為ULTIMATE做了次極限測試，下潛到123米時掛在節點上，返回時再全程帶著。深度沒問題，電池也很給力，12個半小時後還有百分之二十多的餘電。 "

總結：科技會幫助探險者更安全、更高效地突破極限與探索極境。
最後感謝潛水支援的@小馬@Edi@敬@kiki特地趕來水陸支援的@宋導@鍾少@Violet@趙導和攝影師，以及提供設備支持的各位朋友！

An interview of our PSAI founder Hal Watts

https://gue.com/blog/hal-watts-plan-your-dive/?fbclid=IwAR1NOYfJbJfj5SgCmzw9Vw8ZSbEbWaOGJxSqOazwlSa-qdCWYeNaGq0oRdE

Hal Watts: Plan Your Dive - InDepth Known for his deep air diving exploits back in the day, 86-year-old Hal Watts, aka “Mr. Scuba,” is one of the pioneers of early scuba and credited with coining the motto, “Plan Your Dive. Dive Your Plan.” He founded the Professional Scuba Instructors Association International (PSAI) in 1962,...