There used to be a time when there was no safety margin in any activity that the human being wanted to participate in. In a merciless prehistoric world, on a daily basis, the cave men were hunting with stones and sticks, a large variety of predators the size of a truck, expecting to feed a hungry family. Then, Winchester gave men the ability to kill wild animals while staying at a comfortable distance, without risking their lives. Safety margin was born.

This amazing tale begins with the selection of a group of divers who were asked to participate in a technically complex dive expedition—to explore one of the deepest caves in Europe. Soon enough, we, the divers, found ourselves in a frenzy of activity and planning.

“There is something in a treasure that fastens upon a man’s mind. He will pray and blaspheme and still preserve, and will curse the day he heard of it, and will let last hours come upon him unawares, still believing that he missed it only by a foot. He will see it every time he closes eyes. He will never forget it until he is dead and there is no way of getting away from a treasure once it fastens itself upon yours mind.” — Joseph Conrad

Historical information

The first dive into Vaucluse was done by Nello Ottonelli at 1878. The diver wearing the heavy hard hat diving equipment of the day reached the depth of 23 meters. Then a small diving boat that was providing the surface tendering also wrecked in the lake in the cave.  The small vessel came to rest on the bottom at 24 meters becoming an unique shipwreck and the oldest cave wreck in the world.  

So, when we were on Bonaire a few years ago on Father’s Day and my daughter, Stacy, gave me a T-shirt that read, “I’ve got nitrogen narcosis. What’s your excuse?” I was not quite sure how to take the message. I assumed it might have been a critique of my fanatical diving. Surely, she could not have been referring to my charming personality. That is one of the big problems with nitrogen narcosis. You probably don’t even know you have it at the time.