I have been diving for over 11 years. One of my earliest recollections of diving was the rocky goat track at the far end of the bridge at Bare Island which was the only way down to do the West Wall, the South Wall and the Far South Wall without having to snorkel half a mile. For those of you who have not had the privilege, think of the rocky goat track on the near side of the bridge to do the East Wall, and multiply the steepness by a factor of five. Another of my earliest recollections was a man called Saul Moss.
On Saturday, 1 August 2009, Saul (now a sprightly 85 year old, middle of picture below) beat his own world record set 5 years ago to be the oldest unassisted scuba diver in the world. Undoubtedly, there will be some who challenge the "unassisted" part, but there is no doubt he did the dive and in less than ideal conditions (1 foot viz and rough seas).
Saul learnt to dive when he was 65 years old. Since then, he has dived regularly, making the hike down and then back up the Bare Island hill (while many of his younger dive buddies would complain, not one peep would be heard from Saul). Not surprisingly, as the years wore on, shore dives got harder and he resorted to boat dives. The West Wall at Bare Island still held a special place in Saul's heart and he would wait patiently for his closest dive buddy, Llyle Sawyer (the man who taught me to dive), to return from the Northern Territory so they could go for a dive at Bare Island.
There is nothing special about Saul other than his interest in life. His aim with the record was not about fame, not because he had been a diver all his life or any other such personal interest. "I would like to demonstrate to older members of society that age does not mean that you cannot lead and active life style and enjoy the benefit of fitness in our twilight years." As he said on the day, just because you are 85 does not mean you have to give up on life.
On top of that goal for his fellow senior citizens, he raised over $1,000 for the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter - the guys who watch over us as divers. In return, the chopper honoured him with a fly-by as he completed his attempt.
Raising money didn't come later in Saul's diving career. Remember that rocky goat track I mentioned at the start of this article? Imagine being a 70-something year old, clambering down rocks, carry almost 25kg on your back. When I first met Saul 11 years ago, he had already encountered government bureaucracy - National Parks sent him to the local council; the local council sent him back to National Parks. None of the government organisations he visited wanted to help him and the thousands of divers who have since followed in Saul's footsteps by putting stairs in.
Saul is, if nothing else, persistent. After many attempts, he succeeded in getting the local council and National Parks to agree to contribute funds, but on one condition. That condition was that Saul would raise half the cost of the stairs. And slowly, but surely, the local dive shops helped Saul collect money (another of my earliest memories is the bucket that was hung up in the dive shop where we would throw the 20c or so we got back from the coffee machine). As I tell all of my students, when you walk up and down those stairs at Bare Island, remember the man who helped put them there.
Saul should be an inspiration. He started this sport late in life and he enjoys it. At 34, I have a long way to go to match Saul, but I hope I get close!
If you want to help contribute to the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, you can donate at their website.
