Suunto Ambassador, pioneering cave diver, explorer and author Jill Heinerth talks about diving physiology in episode one of this four part series. Can’t wait to watch the episodes? Click the links to dive right in! Watch Episiode 1 now Watch Epsiode 2 now Watch Episode 3 now Watch Episode 4 now In this episode, Jill Heinerth discusses the basics of dive physics and physiology and how to better use your dive computers as an effective tool when planning, and executing dives.   Talking biological tissue and dive computers, Jill explains how the body reacts to the inert gas you breathe during a dive. When the body is subject to pressure from depth during a dive, it ‘on gasses’ as the inert gas dissolves into your tissues.   Our body tissues include the blood, the brain, ligaments, skin, bone, fat and all your organs and each tissue is delivered different amounts of blood, therefore absorbing different amounts of gas.   The rate in which tissues uptake and release the gas occurs differently for each group of tissues. The groups are sorted into different compartments alongside tissues that have similar gas saturation properties and behave in the same manner.   A dive computer allows the diver to view information that assists them on a dive, and the diver has the opportunity to decide to follow the device.   A dive computer will not, for the most, consider the individual differences of each diver using it. The "type" of diver that is considered is an average person, and there is an added safety margin to take into account to accommodate variations.   Your Suunto dive computer is based on mathematical models. This model, or algorithm, calculates the on gassing and off gassing of your compartments. The algorithm implemented at the core of a computer is a simulation of what happens to gases in a diver's body in an environment where pressure changes.   The research and development team at Suunto test, test and test again to ensure they meet the strictest performance targets. The dive team at Suunto are constantly improving and fine tuning the devices by diving with them over and over again, because we know you will too.   Check out episode one now and explore these topics further. Episode 2 In episode two of Dive In, Jill Heinerth discusses how your dive commuter calculates ascents or decompression stops as we delve deeper into the basics of diving physics and physiology for both recreational divers, and those who dive beyond.   Having discussed how the human body stores and releases inert gas in the last episode, this week Jill examines how your dive computer calculates the maths that work out how the body gets rid of gas during off gassing, and how an ascent is just the beginning of the off-gassing process. Off gassing ends when the body has reached and found equilibrium with the surface.   When the body cannot take on any more gas into solution, it is termed- critical super saturation. This critical moment of reaching maximum pressure is known as the M value.   Different compartments mean lots of M values to consider in order to calculate how the body off gases when ascending during a dive.   Recreational divers will only consider the fast tissues. The time and depth parameters that recreational divers adhere to, keeps them away from nearing critical super saturation point. This is so they may directly ascend to the surface without a decompression stop.   Tech divers load both their fast and slower tissues, and this adds another layer of considerations. Sunnto has a team of dedicated researchers, engineers and testers who are constantly improving algorithms and have much real world dive data to use for their improvements.   Jill dives with Suunto, and says, “I have been diving with Suunto dive computers for over 20 years. Part of this is because I have seen the rigorous testing regiments, I’ve seen the manufacturing standards, as well as their active algorithm research and development. I’ve been to the factory, seen their testing and I know I can rely on their commitment to excellence.”   Find out why decompression models use up to 16 different theoretical tissue compartments and many more hot topics as Jill explains how your computer works in the second episode of Dive In.   Tune in next time for episode 3 to watch Jill get deep with personal factors and gradient factors. Episode 3 Do you know what your Personal Factors are?   In a world where we are able to choose a product based on what is best suited for our individual needs, why would such a crucial piece of dive equipment, your dive computer, be any different?   Personal factors should not be over looked, yet many divers never read in to the dive computer manual deep enough to understand that their device can be tailored to suit an individual’s need. External influences can be taken into account and the dive computer conservatism setting can factor in risks for each dive. This is a very important part of safer dive planning.   During this episode of Dive In, we look at what the personal factors on a Suunto computer are, and how they need to be applied.   Jill also talks gradient factors, algorithms and dive teams. Few users, or even instructors actually understand how gradient factors work, or what they are. She shines a light on how different decompression models behave, and how dive buddies can work together even if they are diving following different decompression models.   Jill delves into what each number of the gradient factor represent, which one is more important and how to use them in your dive planning.   Jill also looks into the deep stop mystery. As divers we still have a lot of research to do into them, and over the years there has been much conflicting anecdotal advice. There is much misinformation buzzing around social media and dive forums leading to a vast amount of confusion.   Watch now as Jill Heinerth sets us straight on the key issues in this episode of Dive in. Make sure you tune in next week for the fourth, the final and bonus episode where Jill shares her story of getting hit.   Episode 4 In the final instalment of Dive In, Suunto Ambassador Jill Heinerth discusses her experience of getting ’hit’ with Decompression Sickness (DCS) twenty years ago, what she has since learnt, and how she has adapted her dives to suit her.   Jill was thousands of dives into her career and thought it would never happen to her. DCS, or the bends, is a sports injury and there is a spectrum of how the bubbles can affect your body from a skin rash to paralysis. In many cases the resulting tissue damage will remain, perhaps increasing the risk of another hit. Making a few minor changes to her dive since her experience, watch to see how Jill optimises her off gassing phase on a dive and what surprises she has found by doing that little bit extra.   No mathematical algorithm can guarantee your absolute safety, and it is unfair to blame a device if you do get bent. Use your computer to the full and be armed with the knowledge of exactly how it works. Dive computers open up a whole wealth of new underwater adventures, so for one last time, let’s Dive In with Jill.        

As a pioneering cave diver and explorer, documentary maker and author Jill Heinerth has educated and inspired people around the world about our incredible underwater world and the human impact on it. The International Scuba Diver Hall of Fame is an annual event that recognizes people who have significantly and positively impacted the industry through education, exploration, adventure and more. Founded by the Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism in 2000, the award ceremony will take place in September 2020 in the Caymans. During an announcement ceremony at DEMA Show, 2019, Jill spoke of what the award means to her. “Such an amazing honor for a young woman who started her professional diving career in the Cayman Islands a long time ago. This is really fantastic at a time in my life that is very meaningful where I am just releasing my new book Into the Planet and a new documentary, Under Thin Ice. Thank you for this incredible honor! I look forward to visiting the Cayman Islands to accept it.” There were three more nominees announced for the 2020 induction and they are Handicapped Scuba Association Founder Jim Gatacre, DEMA Executive Director Tom Ingram, and Undersea Hunter Group Founder Avi Klapfer. Jill was at the Suunto booth this year signing copies of her incredible memoir, Into the Planet. Released in August, Into the Planet is a thrilling insight into places inside the Earth you may not have imagined exist, but where Jill has dived. She bravely illustrates intense political issues and presents hard evidence about the impacted ice caps and beyond. Her autobiography explores life-or-death decision-making in critical underwater situations, the pain and difficulty involved in recovering the dead bodies of her tragically lost friends from caves that no one else in the world has the ability, training, and mindset to access due to such extreme conditions. Speaking at a Suunto function during DEMA Show, 2019, Jill talked about her memories, which are fascinating for both divers and non divers thanks to their important messages.

Blue Element kicks off tomorrow for their 3rd event in Dominica. Suunto Dive caught up with one of the founders, Johnathan Sunnex, to find out what it is all about before media manager and freediver Francesca Koe takes over our Instagram feed tomorrow. Photo by Daan Verhoeven What is Blue Element? Blue Element is an international freediving experience that encompasses multiple days of diving, beach clean-ups, island exploration and much more! It is held annually in the picture perfect island of Dominica! Sofia Gomez Uribe and I founded Blue Element freediving in 2016. This is the third BE competition which was founded in 2016. Hurricane Maria prevented the 2017 edition, but last year the BE team were able to re-establish the event despite the country still being in recovery mode after the hurricane devastation. The event is held in Soufriere Bay/Scotts Head in the very south of Dominica. Dominica is a small island nation, a part of the Lesser Antilles island chain in the Caribbean. Why is the location so amazing? The Soufriere Bay offers world class conditions year round, unlike any other location on earth. The water temperature ranges between 26-30°C, the visibility is between 20-30m and there are no waves, no currents and effectively no depth limit. To add to this, the bay is surrounded by high mountains carpeted with lush tropical jungles creating the perfect backdrop. The custom built freediving platform is currently set in 160 m and just a five minute swim from shore. Are you expecting any records? The Blue Element team pride themselves in creating an atmosphere where athletes can perform at their very best. Dozens of national records and several world records have already been set here over the past four years and we expect this event to be no different!Blue Element 2019 will be attended by 30 athletes from around the world, including many national record holders, vice and world champions. We can expect to see many records fall at this event including national, continental and possibly world records. What disciplines compete and on what days? Athletes have the choice to compete in as many or as few of the competitive depth disciplines as they choose. There are six days of diving split into three sets of two. We are expecting 30 athletes to be competing this year and more than 150 official performances. Have you seen the event grow? Hurricane Maria was quite a setback and it took a lot to regain momentum. The event continues to grow each year and this year we will have almost three times the number of athletes than attended the inaugural competition. Photograph by Daan Verhoeven What can the athletes win? Suunto D6i’s, Suunto D5’s, carbon blade Alchemy fins and shirts, custom made Elios wetsuits, Octopus nose prize packs, All-Swim swimwear, high end Pacsafe back packs made of recycled fishing nets, ADIDAS shirts, Recycled plastic Blue Element T-shirts, custom medals. Who are the judges? Two of the world’s leading judges, Carla Hansen and Vedran Milat. Who runs the safety team? Chief of Safety Louisa Collyns of the UK returns to lead our experienced team of safety divers. The safety team have been hand selected and are comprised of several 80-90m divers in their own right. Will the rules be governed by AIDA or CMAS standards? AIDA International. Who is taking the official pictures? Predominantly the man, the myth the legend, Daan Verhoeven. I will likely join him behind the camera for some session. Will you have Dive Eye? Not this year but the event will be covered by our professional media team with event videos and live streaming from the platform. We have cameras placed strategically to get all of the best angles from both above and below the surface! You will be able to catch the live stream from our Facebook page, and the videos will be uploaded to our social media channels. We will also be taking over the Suunto Dive Instagram feed live from the dive platform. Photograph by Daan Verhoeven What is your history in freediving? I have been involved with freediving since 2011. I competed for the first time the same year in Kalamata for the Med Cup and then the AIDA World Championship. I placed somewhere in the middle of the field, but these events and the athletes who were in attendance inspired me to make a full commitment to freediving. I vowed to myself that when I would return I would be there for a podium placing. I moved to Egypt and I started to teach and train full time. Living next to the ocean mean't I had easier access to depth which allowed me to progress quickly and I made my first dive below 100 m in November of 2012. The following year I returned to Kalamata for the AIDA Depth World Championship and, as I had hoped, this time I managed to place third in free immersion, winning a bronze medal. I ranked third overall for depth diving in 2012 and 2013 with deepest official results of 105 m CWT, 101 m FIM and 65 m CNF set in the Bahamas at Vertical Blue. After the death of two friends (fellow freedivers) I switched my focus towards coaching and safety diving. I had thoughts about leaving the sport, but I soon realised that that wouldn’t change anything and that I would be better off staying and trying to make the sport safer. I ran safety seminars and returned to Long Island in the Bahamas, this time as the Chief of Safety and co-organiser. I hand selected a group of free divers that I knew would be up to the task of looking after the deepest divers in the world pushing their bodies to the absolute limit. I applied the same mindset to running the safety team to what I had used in my own personal training. We approached safety diving with performance in mind. Team bonding for cohesion, rescue drills and emergency training to sharpen our skills, incident reviews for learning opportunities and to strive for improvement. This approach has since been adopted by many other events and has set the standard for the international freediving community. Since then, I have coached athletes to more than 70 national and continental records as well as seven world records. I am an instructor trainer with AIDA International and I continue to organise freediving events. I enjoy exploring and documenting the underwater world with my camera, and have dived in all continents, including both polar regions. Will you compete? Once the competition is underway and everything is running how it should, then yes, I plan to take off my organizers hat for a few minutes each day to perform some dives! Photograph by Daan Verhoeven Any hot tips or words of inspiration you would like to share? Freediving, like life, is often a trial of tribulations. Success takes patience and persistence but inevitably hard work and determination pays off. Links: Photography by Daan Verhoeven Blue Element Facebook Blue Element Instagram Blue Element Website

A team of Suunto divers embarked on an epic journey to the remote islands of West Papua last year to explore the flourishing waters of Raja Ampat. They were amongst the first divers to experience the Suunto D5, and to shared jaw dropping video and images every diver dreams of seeing firsthand. This marine environment there boasts the richest reefs in the world, and unsurprisingly entices divers from all over the globe to make the journey and discover this paradise for themselves. Let's explore together! Why I Dive, film by Janne Suhonen. Photographer Steve Woods.

"I have dived and documented climate change firsthand for decades. How we plan for it and adapt to it in the next few years will determine the future of our civilization. That’s what draws me to scuba dive under the ice in the northern reaches of my homeland, Canada.”-Jill Heinerth wrote for the LA Times this week. Jill Heinerth © Under teh sea ice near Bylot Island Spending the first half of the year on the Underwater Canada Expedition, Heinerth uses her adventures to connect people to their water planet compelled to demonstrate how their lives impact the source. Jill and her team successfully visited every province and territory in Canada to dive and tell the tales of water from her experiences in each region. ⁠ Unstoppable in her plight explorer, cave diver and Suunto Ambassador Jill Heinerth is currently travelling and speaking to audiences and media platforms across Canada and USA on her book tour. Released in August, Into the Planet is a thrilling insight into places inside this earth you may not have imagined existed, that Heinerth has dived while bravely illustrating intense political issues and presenting hard evidence about the impacted ice caps and beyond. Photo Courtesy of U.S. Deep Caving Team/Wes Skiles⁠. © Diving with the US Deep Caving Team at Wakulla Springs, I felt like I was involved in a space shot. But there is no Mission Control to call for help on a journey that can reach miles into the earth.⁠ With the upcoming DEMA Show fast approaching on the diving event calendar, Suunto Dive are super excited to announce Jill will be joining the Suunto stand to sign copies of her incredible adventures in documenting climate change, cave diving and film making for the past 30 years on 13th and 14th November 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Into the Planet is a riveting account of one of the most dangerous yet exhilarating pursuits in the world. ⁠ Jill Heinerth © Ice Formations “As one of the most celebrated cave divers in the world, Jill Heinerth has seen the planet in a way almost no one has. In a workday, she might swim below your home, through conduits in volcanoes or cracks in the world’s largest iceberg. She’s an explorer, a scientist’s eyes and hands underwater—discovering new species and examining our finite freshwater reserves—and a filmmaker documenting the wonders of underwater life." Into the Pla Often the lone woman in a male-dominated domain, she tests the limits of human endurance at every tight turn, risking her life with each mission. To not only survive in this world but excel, Jill has had to learn how to master fear like no other.” -Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth

Suunto Dive are super excited to announce Alex Kydd is joining the Suunto Ambassador family. Photographer, marine biologist and diver originally from Melbourne, Australia, Alex now proclaims to being “based on” Ningaloo Reef Western Australia honoring the number of hours that he spends exploring underwater capturing his breath-taking images. A rare shot of Alex Kydd in front of the camera taken photographer Alfred Minnaarr. © Alex trains like an athlete in his discipline. Practising every day, editing all the time and descending beneath the surface has led him to achieve artistry in his images. Alex's photos stand out above the rest with his dedication and passion aiding his continued development as a photographer enabling him to produce his unique shots. “The ocean is my happy place. Every time you enter the water you never know what you might see and it's such a misunderstood ecosystem. Everything is connected and the more time you spend in it, the more you appreciate.” Alex Kydd by photographer Alfred Minnaarr © Beginning his diving journey with snorkelling at 16 in the cool waters off Melbourne where he grew up, he later began scuba diving on a trip to Thailand in 2009 where he firmly solidified his love and respect for the ocean. Exploring his passion further Alex studied Marine Biology at university and four years ago he started his journey into the world of underwater photography and has had not had a chance to look back. “At age 16 I first started taking photos. I had a very basic 2m waterproof camera for snorkelling in Melbourne. I progressed slowly to more upgraded cameras over the next few years. Eventually I had enough savings and I got myself a DSLR and housing. I was going out taking 500-1000 photos per day and editing them every night. This I believe, fast tracked me to learn. The best advice I can give for underwater photography is to find a mentor or like-minded people to learn from.” Alex’s next stops on his extensive adventuring are Raja Ampat, West Papua, French Polynesia and Fiji where he will be exploring with his new dive computers including the Suunto EON Core, Suunto D5 and Suunto Tank POD. Alex’s favourite device at the moment is the Suunto D5. He also represents Fourth Element and Ocean Positive as a team diver. Alex Kydd: Instagram