News
Major grant from the Veterans’ Foundation allows Deptherapy to return to its Roots
Scuba Diving rehabilitation charity Deptherapy has announced a substantial grant from military charity the Veterans’ Foundation. The grant of £25k will allow Deptherapy to return to Roots, its base in the Egyptian Red Sea, funding RAID Open Water 20 courses and continuing education courses for scuba divers in 2022.
The grant is a significant boost to the funding of Deptherapy’s work – rehabilitating UK Armed Forces’ Veterans who have suffered life-changing mental and/or physical challenges through adaptive scuba diving programmes and 24/7 support.
“Sometimes at night he comes into my bedroom, sits at the end of my bed and we talk. He was my best friend. It seems so real; he is alive. Sometimes we are back on patrol and he steps on the IED and all there is, is pink mist. He died that day, but he is always in my heart.”
Deptherapy beneficiary.
The Veterans’ Foundation has supported Deptherapy since 2017. During COVID restrictions, when travel to Egypt was not possible, the Foundation funded an Open Water course that was run at Eton College Pool and Wraysbury Dive Centre. The course was the first of its kind for the charity in the UK.
Deptherapy beneficiary Grant, who has MS and is a wheelchair user, said:
“I was part of the group that undertook their open water course in the UK. Unfortunately, I could not finish it as I was unable to complete the 200-metre non-stop swim. I have put in a lot of work in my local pool and can do the 200 metres easily now. The Veterans’ Foundation grant means I can travel to Egypt on this year’s expedition and complete the course in warm water. I know I can achieve something that many would say is impossible.”
RAID OW20 course at Eton College pool – August 2021 – funded by the Veterans’ Foundation. Photo – Stuart Green
Deptherapy’s announcement of the Veterans’ Foundation grant comes in a week where ‘mental health’ concerns dominate the headlines with so-called ‘Blue Monday’, as well as a compelling article that appeared in The Times on 15th January.
The Times article, written by war correspondent Anthony Loyd, reports on the terrible impact on the mental health of UK Armed Forces’ Veterans who served in Afghanistan. In particular, the article focuses on soldiers from the Rifles Regiment and the concerning number of suicides amongst the troops post-conflict.
Deptherapy Ambassador and author of Bombs for Breakfast, Gary Green, is a former Rifleman, who lost his sight in one eye and has Chronic PTSD as the result of an IED blast while on patrol in Afghanistan. Gary said:
“I would imagine many members of the public will have struggled to read or were moved to tears reading the reality of life on the battlefields of Afghanistan. The mental health toll is immeasurable. Deptherapy has had a major impact on helping Veterans like myself return to a healthy lifestyle. Among those we work with, suicide ideation is high. The Veterans’ Foundation grant coming, as it does, hard on the heels of lockdown means we can once again deliver our core programmes and developmental programmes at Roots. Deptherapy works because we understand what Veterans have been through. We are a family.”
Deptherapy, as part of its ongoing research programme, is commissioning a medical study to look at the apparent unique benefits that Roots Red Sea offers in terms of mental health. Previous research suggested that the experiences of beneficiaries at Roots, and in particular in what became known as the ‘Reflection Room’, contributed significantly to an environment where beneficiaries could speak openly about their mental health problems. Researchers will travel on expedition this year alongside beneficiaries and will be able to experience the Roots environment first-hand.
Deptherapy Ambassador and Mental Health Champion Tom Oates said:
“PTSD destroyed my life as it has many of those our charity works with. I was detained in a secure ward after I tried to take my own life. I know what Deptherapy delivers. We deal with more than PTSD – there are the major physical injuries too – but many have depression or anxiety, adjustment disorder, severe learning difficulties and survivor guilt. Many of these are at the top end of the scale. When the phone rings or you get a message from a partner, a parent or a friend saying ‘X’ needs help now, the charity swings into action and we are there to support. Deptherapy saved my life and it has saved the lives of many others. The Veterans’ Foundation grant will save lives, it will change lives.”
Deptherapy has a stand at the Go Diving Show on 4th, 5th and 6th March and the team will be speaking on the main stage on the Saturday and Sunday at 1500 hours about their work. The charity will also be using the show to kickstart a campaign to recruit new beneficiaries, which it has been unable to do during COVID.
Medical and academic research shows clearly that the Deptherapy programme works. Without ongoing support from the Veterans’ Foundation and other fundraisers, it would not be possible to continue the charity’s life changing work. Deptherapy hopes to attract new sponsors at the Go Diving Show and will be encouraging visitors to sign up to a new Direct Debit scheme, so that individuals can give easily and regularly to the charity to help their crucial work continue.
For more information about the work of Deptherapy visit www.deptherapy.co.uk.
Header image: Roots Red Sea. Photo – Richard Stevens
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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