Almost a month after arriving to campus, I was sitting in my dorm room catching up on the news in China. “9/6/2017, two Chinese divers were lost. 9/18/2017, the bodies of the missing divers were found 63 meters under water.” Reading these news reports by the Xinhua News Agency, my brain went blank for several seconds. One of these two divers, Haiyan Xu, also known as Denovo, is my favourite deep-sea diver and person, ever. “I am a coward; I always stay on the accidents and incidents page of scubaboard website.” This is the first sentence of her 2012 article, “How Dangerous Diving Actually Is? How Many Different Ways Divers May Die?”
I first read this article one year ago while I was contemplating as to whether or not I should take diving lessons. In her article, I saw a tiny but powerful woman, who instead of being intimidated by her fear of death, objectively analysed the risks of diving, the reasons behind the risks, and prepared accordingly.
Denovo has an impressive list of labels: graduate student from Columbia University, member of Global Underwater Explorers (GUE, one of the most selective diving organizations in the world) and member of Songshuhui-Association of Science Communicators. Her identity as the only Chinese female GUE Technical Diver inspired me the most. As a professional research diver, she had to work out very hard and eat a really healthy diet in order to gain the power and strength to carry five gas cylinders and heavy tools on her back to extend her time underwater.
Denovo’s attitude really encouraged me to start to do things that I loved but dared not do, including diving. In 2016, sitting on the edge of the boat as a first-time open water diver, I felt afraid looking into the deep enigmatic ocean. But I encouraged myself by thinking of Denovo, and then I pulled down my goggles, held the respirator in my mouth tightly, and fell trustingly into the boundless sea. I have lived through this experience four times.
To this day, when I complete a dive, I have to climb the ladder on the boat with a gas cylinder and weight belt on my exhausted body. This is a very hard task for me as a short and weak girl, but Denovo’s perseverance made me believe that I could and can do it. Denovo has been a role model and a hero in my life.
Though the exact cause of death has yet to be revealed, reports state that Denovo and Hao Sun, her partner, were most likely killed by accident, involving fishermen who did not know there were divers in the water. While diving is a very popular and regulated sport in America, it is still a relatively undeveloped field in China. No matter the location of the dive, diving coaches and diving clubs, all need improvement.
We must not accept the deaths of these two experienced divers as part of the risks of the sport, but rather, as a reason to regulate the sport and to inform the community as to the designated diving areas.
Denovo believed that exploring the underwater world was worth all the risks because the intensity of the world beneath the sea cannot be duplicated; people need to see it to appreciate it. On the wall of my room in Major, I have Denovo’s motto, “It’s never too late to explore!” I honor the memory of the person I admire most and her words remind me to stay curious, brave and grateful for this beautiful world.
