GIULIO NARDONE ITALY

There can be no doubt that, if the underwater current or "wave" generated by the undertow produced the same sound as it passes through the "fields" of seaweed or through the forms of the coral reefs, as that made by the wind rustling through the bushes or between the branches of the trees, and if the fish, instead of being silent as the popular saying goes, emitted the full range of noises that go to make up the library of sounds produced by the land-bound animals and the birds, the underwater world would be even more phantasmagorical.

Nevertheless, this silence is fascinating in its own right, and not just for those who can focus all their attention on the shapes and colours bombarding their retina. Those who cannot see are also able to perceive the near-hypnotic beauty of the profound silence and are drawn to focusing their attention on the sensations of touch, on the water flowing over the exposed parts of their body, on the changes of temperature, on the infinite variety of sensations transmitted to their brain from their fingertips as they caress the underwater flora and fauna.

When you come to think of it, the reality of nature which is presented before our sight, as well as to our touch, when we walk through a forest is much less consistent than that offered by the tropical seas and, above all, at least in certain cases, has suffered much less from the contamination and damage provoked by the hand of man.

SENSE OF FREEDOM

As a result, those with limited vision are also able to appreciate, perhaps even to a greater extent than those with normal vision, the pleasure felt when we are freed from the force of gravity, of being practically able to fulfil Icarus' dream of flying, of enjoying full movement in all three dimensions, of being able to execute movements and evolutions that are totally impossible on terra firma.

Those who cannot see, particularly when they have never experienced the sense of sight, tend to have a conception of the space surrounding them as a total vacuum, a nothingness that is in no way safe, as it is full of things whose presence cannot be detected unless it is by indirect means, but which constitute obstacles they may nevertheless bump into or which might fall on them: the air is an element that proves too subtle and impalpable to constitute a protective environment.

On the contrary, when we are submerged, surrounded and embraced by the softness of a liquid that is so fluid we are unable to sense its presence around us and which slows all our movements, our surroundings appear both less dangerous and more harmonious, almost like a dance, and extremely safe; this can perhaps be put down to the fact that it produces a subconscious sensation of a return to the amniotic fluid of the womb.

I am aware, however, that all the above boils down to nothing other than a search for a justification of my desire to experience this submersion; the plain, straightforward truth is that it provides me with an immense sensation of joy and that when I am under the water I feel fantastic and completely at ease.

IT IS POSSIBLE

And it is for this reason that, following my initial sporadic experiences in 1962 (I still participated then in the visually impaired category), when the circumstances were right and the occasion presented itself, I decided to make contact with the submerged world on a more frequent and regular basis, until I obtained the "open water" title, in the division for handicapped persons; I later went on to obtain the "advanced" title too.

Eight years and hundreds of dives in all the seas of the world have taught me many things and have convinced me that underwater activities are fully within the reach of blind persons, as long as they are practised with the required care and attention and advantage is taken of the experience of other persons, so as to avoid the minor and major problems that may arise.

On my travels all round the world, I have met almost a hundred underwater guides, none of whom had ever had occasion to go diving with a blind person, nor had they taken any course to prepare them for such an eventuality. It has always been a simple routine matter for me to run through the brief, pleasant chat with which I explain to my next "buddy" how he should guide me and, at the same time, attempt to help him overcome the anxiety - at times even fear - he suffers when confronted with having to "take" a person who cannot see under the water. And my first experiences were really a question of "being taken", dragged, pushed and pulled here and there, with no idea of the direction, of the depth, of the things I was made to touch. Following these rather negative initial experiences, I understood at once that all this in no way corresponded to what I was trying, and wanted, to do: I had no wish to be an inert bundle, but rather an active protagonist, participating directly in the subaqua diving expedition.

I did not want to remain passively hooked onto the instructor's arm, but rather use my flippers too and head in the direction my guide indicated, so that I could then memorise the way, both in a horizontal and vertical sense and, above all, be able to hold a minimum degree of dialogue and receive the information necessary to be able to understand the nature of the things I was touching. And this was even before I began using underwater intercoms.

TECHNIQUES In order to achieve all this, I have drawn up, and perfected over time, certain specific guide techniques such as, for example, the "rudder" system, and a series of touch signals, as simple and intuitive as possible, easy to understand and to memorise. My desire to get other visually impaired persons to share my enthusiasm, and to save them the effort of having to invent their own method of going diving from scratch, as well as my wish to simplify things for those who have to accompany a blind or visually impaired person, led to my writing a book entitled "Underwater with a blind person". Together with the co-author, Maria Luisa Gargiulo, psychologist and visually impaired herself, I aimed to suggest some standard forms of conduct, that anybody could adapt to their own particular needs, whilst avoiding in the simplest fashion a whole series of possible errors due to a specific lack of experience. I feel that even the visually impaired, for whom there exist versions on magnetic or floppy disk which are distributed free, could find it an interesting read and be influenced by our enthusiasm, convincing themselves that it is possible for them to reach this or that place, even if they just adopt some of the technical advice and practical suggestions on offer.

But I would like these pages to achieve other, more important goals of a general nature: on the one hand, to help everyone to get to know the blind better as people, beyond the usual stereotypes and common prejudices, so as to convince people that, apart from their lack of sight, these people are not strange or different; and on the other, to get across the fact that in this case, as in so many others in life, at the very moment in which one gives to others, much can be received in exchange. Having to select and then describe the marvels of nature cause the guide to contemplate everything through different eyes, with greater attention, knowledge and participation: many times I have heard that they had never appreciated so profoundly the extreme beauty of all that surrounded them, as when they had to reveal it to me. My habitual guide has confessed to me that, when he dives with me, he feels much greater enthusiasm, as the pleasure of experiencing the beauty of the underwater world is multiplied when he shares it with me.

In one of my diver's logs, in the notes relating to a dive at Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, Dane Sennis, a prestigious New Zealand instructor, wrote these words : "Giulio, thanks for the wonderful experience. One of the most satisfying dives of my career".

"those who cannot see are also able to perceive the near-hypnotic beauty of the profound silence at these depths"
"I have drawn up a specific method and a system of simple, intuitive touch signals, to guide the blind in the practice of subaqua diving"