Text and photos: René Lipmann

When you ask Sander Evering what makes him happy, you don't have to throw in a dime. Diving is his passion and he can talk about it at length. From giving diving courses, diving safety to expeditions to wrecks and caves. He is also a professional diver.

The step from recreational diving to instructor, what was your trigger?

That step was very obvious to me at the time. I really liked diving as a sport and I was already working part-time in a diving shop. At the time, I was still studying at the ALO in Groningen to become a physical education teacher. So it was a logical step for me to combine a few things; diving, teaching and my part-time work that quickly turned into a full-time job.

You provide various diving courses, from recreational to technical diving. 

Which course did you personally find most educational to take?

Great question! I really enjoy following a training course myself on a regular basis. Because, in addition to learning something, it is also so much fun to be in the role of a student and to look at someone else's teaching style. In terms of content, the GUE Fundamentals training has been the most important training in my life. Partly because it has become the basis for my company. It still has a great influence on my current life. It has been the basis of great diving adventures, beautiful trips and special friendships.

You teach PADI and GUE courses. Two completely different organizations. 

Which of the two do you recommend for someone who is enthusiastic after an introductory dive?

Simple question, complex answer… but I will keep it simple. The biggest difference is that within the GUE organization you will find many people with the same motivation to make challenging dives. Finding that connection is relatively easy, especially because all diving equipment and procedures are standardized. The organization goes very far in quality, safety and health. You see that in standardization, learning to work very well with your team, setting high standards within all training and setting standards for the health of the divers. 

The non-smoking policy and a certain level of fitness is required. Not everyone can agree with this, then it is also important not to choose this organization, but perhaps one with a lower threshold to participate. If you have just done an introductory dive and you think it is absolutely fantastic, then you have to think carefully about what suits you. Do you like to set the bar high for yourself, do you like a challenge and do you expect the same from your team; then GUE could be a great fit for you. Then contact a GUE instructor for a personal interview and see what the options are. 

Which skill is actually the most important for every diver?

That’s a really easy one; hanging still in the water! So perfect control over your buoyancy and your trim. Even with a higher workload and in difficult conditions you need to have this completely under control. This is the most important part of your personal platform and that is the most important part of your base. And without a base… nothing works!

You work as a professional diver at JFD. There you were asked what makes you happy? What was your answer?

Yes, that's right, in the context of the well-being of yourself and your fellow man, you were asked to share a photo that makes you happy. That may be inspiring for your environment and in any case you can go back in time to a nice experience. For me that is quickly something underwater, but this photo of the Admiral ship Vis in Croatia gives so much energy, stories, history, fun, good cooperation, challenge and so much more. If I look at the photo in a different way, from someone else's perspective, then I mainly see the grandeur of the wreck and the insignificance of the diver. That gives me a pleasant and calm feeling. 

What is the most special form of diving for you?

Oh! There are many special forms of diving. I love the stories that wrecks can tell and as a professional diver I also make very bizarre dives, but I still think that cave diving is the most challenging. During wreck diving I try to go back in time, to experience the time of then. During cave diving you are in another world, so far away from the normal world. It requires even more of your technique, planning and your team while you are not on earth for a while. And if I have to choose, then the caves in Mexico are very high on the list. Warm water, crystal clear water, amazing formations and more kilometers of cave than you can dive in your life. 

In a cave there is little room for error. How do you deal with the tension?

A little bit of tension is healthy; it keeps you sharp and it feels challenging. But too much causes stress and stress has a very negative effect on people and especially on the person under water. That means that you have to make sure that the greatest tension is no longer there before you go further into the cave. That can be summarized in three things; make sure you have the right materials, make sure you have done/are going to do the right training and make sure you have enough experience. Of course you have to combine these three points and also make sure you have the right team. Then you can work together on the preparation, the training and work on your experience. Gaining experience is a combination of challenging yourself in new circumstances, but also training your skills until it is second nature and diving comes naturally. Then you are ready for the next step and you can deal with the tension of going a bit further into a new cave, because that is the adventure of cave diving. If it doesn't work, then you give your thumbs up and turn around with your team. Because that is possible, that is allowed and that is also part of it. Tomorrow is another day. 

You have a clear opinion about solo diving. You are not in favor of it. Why not? Aren't there training courses for it?

That's right, for several reasons. First, you miss a lot of extra safety. On your own, you don't have an extra pair of hands, eyes or brains. You can take all the equipment with you three times, but not yourself. Second, it's boring. For me, every dive is fun and successful when I have clear communication with my team and we work together on the dive plan. On your own, that's not possible. And, third, suppose I were to dive alone, then you adjust the limits to make your dive a bit more conservative. I don't want that either, that's also boring and dull, because in a team it's not necessary to do that. Fourth, perhaps the most important, what can you do underwater on your own?! The best dives are with your team because you have a goal together; recording coordinates of wrecks, building a 3D model of a wreck, exploring new areas, laying lines or searching for new wrecks together; all things that I or I can't do on my own! So that's what you do in a team. 

What is so much fun about diving and working on a project in a team?

As mentioned before, working together in a team underwater is the best thing there is. Together you can do so much more in a short time and you can use each other's specialism. It is even more fun when you let 10 teams work together at the same time and maybe work against each other a little bit... It has been a while now, but it is the pinnacle of project-based diving. No less than 75 divers worked together in 10 teams to create the most beautiful, largest or most fun project in three days. In three days, of which two diving days, our team built a 3D model of an Italian minesweeper, the TA35 Giuseppe Dezza, together with super specialist Mike Postons. Including an interactive website! What 75 divers can do in three days is impressive to see, really crazy. It has been 10 years now, but the information that was collected then is still used by many divers.

Now that we're on the subject of wrecks, you've dived a really cool plane wreck that's 70 meters deep. Why so deep?

The deeper, the less accessible. And the deeper, the better the wrecks are preserved. Then take a special wreck with a great story in combination with a depth of over 70 meters... then you are quickly on the right track! If the wreck is also a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in almost perfect condition, then it is a dive that gives you goosebumps. What makes the dive complete for me is finding out the whole story; which B17 is it exactly, who were the crew and what happened to them and what was their mission? What went wrong? When you see the wreck looming with those answers... goosebumps. 

Besides caves and wrecks, can underwater life actually fascinate you?

Perhaps I find the interaction of underwater life even more beautiful than wrecks and caves. Eye to eye with an orca, dolphins swimming along during our submarine training or a playing octopus during a night dive. I am very concerned with nature and can also enjoy it immensely. The decline of the coral reefs (and all its consequences) is something I have a hard time with. It is all the more beautiful to see that the world under water is not yet lost and that there are still many healthy reefs to be found. Often a bit deeper and less accessible, such as on Klein Bonaire, but impressively (and reassuringly) beautiful. 

A practical question; you make long dives where you can't immediately ascend to the surface. Can you hold your pee for that long? 

If there is one thing I can't do well, it's holding my pee! Luckily, that's not necessary, in a drysuit you can easily place a valve that you connect to a condom catheter so that you can just pee under water. The urine goes out through a tube, together with the stress, wonderful. 

You became a father last year. Do you already dream of exploring the underwater world with the little one?

I wanted a 'bath birth' before he was born, he can get used to it! Now we sit in the bath together a few times a week and we live wonderfully by the water. I will teach him to swim as soon as possible and then... Yes, I am looking forward to diving together!

You are one of the guest speakers at Duikvaker on February 1 and 2. What can I expect during your presentation 10 reasons to push your diving limits?

I will take you on a journey and share some of my experiences to inspire you and show you the possibilities of what you can achieve, but also how you can get there. Technical diving is often treated as a bit tough and secretive, but that is not so bad. It is, if you have the motivation, very accessible to go a step further underwater. And with that motivation I will try to contribute my bit. Of course it is possible to ask all your questions or to have a personal conversation afterwards.