She is prolific, that’s certainly one thing you can say about tech instrucor Ayesha Cantrell. In another post to the DSAT TecRec Blog, she talks about what its like to be a woman among the many men in technical diving.

Female technical divers certainly seem to be in the minority and I always seem to be stuck on a boat with guys comparing hose length and discussing penetration. Imagine how happy I was to teach my first female student and have an all girls tech team. That prompted me to try and understand why there are considerably less of us and maybe break down some of the barriers. (more…)

Ayesha Cantrell, one of Thailand’s best-known technical divers due to her long list of published articles and photos, is back again, this time on the DSAT Chat blog with another look at Khao Sok National Park, which we talked about yesterday, and, in particular, the sunken villages there. (more…)

When it comes to diving shipwrecks, some feel there’s a distinct difference between diving wrecks sunk as artificial reefs (or insurance payouts) and wrecks on which people died. Many of these underwater tombs are only accessible to technical divers who both feel the thrill of seeing history close-up, but feel the weight of the events that lead countless seamen to their depths.

The U.K.’s Diver magazine has a great take on diving grave wrecks in its July issue. Author Michael Sawyer said he doesn’t dive grave wrecks to be a “ghoul,” but simply because “I’m drawn to wrecks. Period.”

“It would be foolish, however, as a diver, not to address the moral aspect while adding the (ship) to the logbook, considering that it’s a tomb, and a relatively recent one at that,” he wrote. (more…)

Ayesha Cantrell, perhaps the best-known female technical dive instructor in Thailand, is giving diving in The Kingdom some more good press with a photo essay on the impressive caverns of Koh Sok National Park in the coming issue of Under Water Photography magazine.

Cantrell, who worked a number of jobs in the U.K. and abroad before discovering her diving passion, is a skilled photographer and videographer who has actively promoted tech diving — especially in Thailand and particularly for women. (more…)