Women Who Tech Dive Sabine Kerkau -

Sabine Kerkau

Women beyond diving limits

Name
Sabine Kerkau

Country of origin
Germany/Switzerland

Where you live
Switzerland

Dive club / dive center
Baltic Sea Nature and Heritage Protection Association e.V. Scapehander

Highest diving certifications
Cave Rebreather Explorer

How was your first dive?

I experienced my first dive in 1986 in the Maldives. After a brief theory lesson and a few practical exercises in the lagoon, my first real dive took me to the house reef of Baros Island. I will never forget that first descent. I felt weightless and free, as if I could fly. My first dives on Baros were almost 40 years ago, but they have shaped my life to this day. Since then, diving has been and remains the center of my life, to which I have adapted everything else.

What made you transition from sport diving to technical diving?

Do you know that feeling? You think you’ve had a great dive and seen lots of things, until you get back to the dive boat and the other divers ask you, “Did you see the manta ray or whale shark?” Of course you didn’t see it. That often happened to me. My best dives were on wrecks, which I always saw (lol). Wrecks fascinated me from the very beginning. On top of that, I had a strong desire to be the first somewhere, sometime. Where on our planet is that still possible today, if not in the oceans, which make up 70% of the Earth’s surface? The wrecks at depths of up to 40 meters were interesting, but they quickly ceased to satisfy my desire for discovery. In 2001, I decided to take a Nitrox course with a tech instructor. His first words were, “Forget everything you’ve learned so far! Anything is possible. You just have to find the way that works for you. We’ll teach you the minimum you need to survive dives outside the recreational diving range. After that, it’s up to you. You have eyes and a brain. Use them and find out what is right for you and what works.” This immediately fascinated me and opened up completely new possibilities. Within six months, I had completed all courses up to OC Full Trimix Diver. This brought me a big step closer to my goal of diving untouched and undiscovered wrecks.

What type of technical diving do you enjoy the most, and what draws you to it?

Long rebreather dives on deep, preferably unknown and undived wrecks in dark and cold waters (because even after hundreds of years, the wrecks there still look as if they had just sunk). Or exploration dives in mines.

What do you consider when looking for technical diving training?

It is important to me that my instructor is not only active in training but also an experienced expedition diver.

Besides formal training, what other skills do you think are essential for technical diving?

A good self-assessment of one’s own limits is essential for a technical diver. Teamwork and discipline are also important qualities.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in technical diving?

For me, there has never been a difference between men and women in technical diving. I have never felt disadvantaged because of my gender. My instructors always expected the same performance from me as from the male participants. Over the past 25 years, I have taken part in many expeditions around the world and was often the only woman. My experience was that my teammates sometimes watched me carefully at first, but after one or two dives, when they realized that I knew what I was doing, I was just as much a part of the team as any man. I had much more difficulty as a woman traveling alone on diving safaris with vacation divers who thought they were the greatest because they went on a diving trip to the Red Sea or the Maldives once a year with their diving club.

Why do you think technical diving is still a male-dominated sport?

Where does technical diving begin? If you want to seriously pursue wreck or cave diving at an expedition level, it is very time-consuming and very expensive. For women, this is often incompatible with family and career. If you decide to have children, you often don’t have the time or money for training and expensive equipment. It’s easier for men.

What message or advice would you give to other women considering technical diving?

If you really want it, then stick with it. It takes a lot of training and patience. Women can be just as successful as men.

What has been your most memorable dive so far?

I have had many dives that are unique and unforgettable. These include my dive to the HMS Victoria in Lebanon and the dives to the HMHS Britannic, but also the dives to the Carl D Bradley in Lake Michigan (Great Lakes, USA), exploring the caves in Lake Guinas in Namibia, the dives in the Gonzen mine in Switzerland, and many more.

Have you faced any really difficult moments while technical diving? How did you overcome them?

No, fortunately never

What places in the world would you love to dive in, and why?

Wrecks, caves, and mines that have been little or never explored, regardless of location or depth. I want to dive there because I love discovering and exploring and being the first to see something new. Unfortunately, I was only able to dive the HMS Victoria in Lebanon once in 2011. This wreck is at the top of my wish list. It is so spectacular, and I was only able to explore a small part of it during my dive.

What are your next goals in technical diving?

My next goals are an expedition to the Chinoyi Caves in Zimbabwe and diving on the wreck of the freighter Sao Paolo off the coast of Norway.

Do you have a dive buddy you trust completely?

I now have a few diving partners whom I trust and with whom I regularly go on expeditions.

What do you value the most about your dive buddy, both in and out of the water?

Team spirit, reliability, flexibility, and a spirit of discovery are important to me. I don’t like to follow the beaten path. If an opportunity arises to dive somewhere where no one has been before, then I want to do it. I need diving partners who love adventure. Diving partners who approach the planning of our adventures in a focused and intelligent manner. Diving partners with whom I have a blind understanding underwater and with whom I can also spend the time between dives in a harmonious and relaxed manner.