Kefalonia 2020

Participants: Marc, SteffenK., OlliO., Mats, Aline, Heinke, OlliS., SteffenB., Marcel S., Zeljka and Sascha.

It all started with some nice pictures from the internet. Pictures of the Greek island Kefalonia and the wish to see the caves there in reality. What started as a family vacation, continued as an official cavebase project.

In the summer of 2019, three Cavebase members headed to Kefalonia with their families. In addition to spending time with family, they wanted to see for themselves if the pictures they had seen on the internet really matched reality. Once down there, they went to Makis' dive store in Agia Efimia, a small fishing village on the east coast, which supplied them with tanks and the necessary info. They had SRT equipment with them as well as their sidemount gear. Some caves were very easy to reach, as they are located directly on the road - but for some other caves you had to do quite a bit of climbing or deep rappelling. The three of them were really excited. Clear water and beautiful caves with stalactites. Mexico Feeling in Europe! Towards the end of the vacation Makis showed them the AGIA ELÉOUSSA. For this cave you would have to dare to go down 80m to dive there. Makis told them that the last divers had been down there decades ago and only about 200m had been explored. They were told that there was still much to be discovered there. Stories emerged; that there was probably a huge cave running through the whole island. There were dyeing experiments.... With these impressions they went home and told the team about it.

The team was thrilled with the footage we brought back from the caves. This prompted us to tackle the Kefalonia 2020 project, specifically Agia Eléoussa, at the annual meeting. It was clear to us that this project would require different equipment than our other projects. Thus we started with the planning. Booking accommodation and flights in such a large team can take a few weeks until all employers, partners etc. have given the green light. By the beginning of January, the timeframe of June 2020 was set. Only a few people in the team had SRT experience, so it was clear that Team Cavebase had to acquire these skills. We booked an SRT weekend at Funis (Nils Bräunig) near Bamberg in March to be able to abseil longer distances and also to be able to master the ascent with our own hands again. During the course we discussed the planned project and explained what we intended to do. It quickly became clear that we would need another workshop in order to be able to safely manage the rope installations that would have to be made there.

Then the SARS-Cov2 pandemic intervened and we had to drop everything. We hoped until the end that the flights would still go ahead - but were unfortunately disappointed. The lethargy of the lockdown also brought our plans to a standstill for the time being.

When the first lockdown was over and there was a realistic chance that we could still fly there this year, we agreed on the end of September.

Some construction sites opened up. We were down to 10 participants. We had to limit ourselves from the volume and weight of the team and personal equipment by the transporter, which went overland to Kefalonia. The Cavebase Explorer takes yes like more equipment to be prepared for all eventualities ?.

There were contradictory statements about the height of the shaft. Makis talked about 80m of free abseiling. However, maps and drawings of the last large exploration in 1990 by a Swiss group had noted only 50m. Of course we hoped to find further accesses to the cave system or longer tunnels. We wanted to be prepared for a depth of up to 100m and a penetration depth of several kilometers.

About a month before the start of the project, some of us attended the second workshop at Funis. We trained and discussed a lot and finally came to the conclusion that both our transport and the material transport had to be mastered without electrical aids due to the local conditions.

Were we well enough prepared for a rappel and material transport into a deep shaft?  This combination had never been done before at Cavebase; we were curious to see if we could do it.

Then it went very quickly. Olli created a spreadsheet of who was "allowed" and supposed to take what, phoned everyone and calculated every kilo. Stages with the deep specific gases, incl. rigging and regulators, JJ rebreathers, SF2 rebreathers, Liberty sidemount rebreathers, additional spare tanks, wet & dry suits incl. spare suits, underwear & flaps, spare lime, our seven scooters, lamps, diving tools, helmets, SRT equipment, additional regulators, fins, chargers, sanding bags as transport containers at the cave and sidemount equipment. General equipment, such as ropes, material to safely set up and operate the material rappel station, medical equipment, rescue equipment, surface and underwater survey tools, camera and video equipment. To bring this equipment, of a team spread all over Germany, into a transporter is not very easy. We therefore used our Cavebase & Friends meeting at the Felicitas pit to weigh (thanks Wolfgang!) and pack the equipment.

We also defined responsibilities for different topics together. This way everyone was involved in the project, because cavebase projects are designed to be accomplished only as a team. Everything fit so well at the end of the preparation that we would not lack anything on the project.

As if the project situation was not already hard enough for us, a few weeks before departure all Berlin flights were canceled without giving any reason and some had to rebook quickly. Thus, everyone was to depart from Frankfurt Hahn a little later than planned.

The accommodations were booked - hard work of Heinke, who was stuck in Helgoland because of a storm, the cars reserved, packed, sorted out again, weighed, decided what had to be taken on the plane, because our van would be down only two days later.

One week before the start of the project, the weather also went crazy. A storm, the Medicane, or cyclone as the Greeks called it, swept over the island a week before the project began and paralyzed some of the infrastructure. Fortunately, our accommodation was not affected.

Steffen B. and Marc left with the van and most of the material towards Venice to embark on the ferry to Greece. Once in Greece, they had to continue to another port - it was more like flying over the roads, so they were able to catch the last ferry to Kefalonia and meet up with the rest of the team on Sunday evening.

The rest of the project team flew with the last remaining airline from Frankfurt-Hahn on 25.09.2020 relaxed to Kefalonia. In the flight luggage we had the equipment to already start with the preparations on the "AGIA ELÉOUSSA". Ropes, helmets, SRT harness, two sets of sidemount equipment and material to set up the rappelling points. Unfortunately, security was not so pleased with our good rock drills in our carry-on luggage. We had to dispose of them, but luckily we had others in our checked luggage.

At the airport in Kefalonia we just picked up our rental cars and could drive directly to the accommodation. There we saw what the Medicane had done. The wide eyes of the staff of the car rental said almost everything, when they heard where we wanted to go. The people in Agia Effimia were still sweeping the mud out of their homes. In the harbor you could only see the masts of the sunken ships. Many stores were closed and the roads were partially impassable, the bridges torn down.

Our accommodation was fortunately not affected; it was simple but clean. We had three large apartments that opened onto a huge terrace; with a beautiful view over the sea and enough space for our equipment

Still on the arrival day we reported to Makis, who led us to the cave, so that we could already get a first impression. He didn't have much time because he was helping with the recovery of the many boats in the harbor and so he left us alone with the deep and impressive hole. We already made first plans where we wanted to set up the rappelling point and the material transport incl. rescue transport.

The supermarkets were still open, so we could still buy everything to end the day with many plans for the next days with a delicious dinner.

The next day was dedicated to the construction of the chess. Olli Schöll had the most experience in the team and took over this task. In the afternoon, the installation was ready and both Ollis could start scouting. We wanted to check whether the large cutlery at Agia Eléoussa would be used at all.

After abseiling down the shaft for about 60m, you see a hill with a lot of trash lying around. The locals use the holes in the ground to get rid of some - unfortunately. From the hill you can see a pool of water to the right and left - the entrances to the north and south siphons. We roped down everything they needed to first OC sidemount the South Siphon. Steffen K. helped them from the surface.

After gaining first insights into the South Siphon during the dive of Olli S. and Olli O. the day before, Steffen K. and Olli O., equipped with their Liberty sidemount rebreathers, wanted to search for further possible continuations towards the interior of the island at their leisure. The day before they had found some promising spots.

First they searched in crevices and niches in the deep part at about 25m on the west side of the passage. Then they checked the jump that went off to the right of the main line towards the southwest.

Unfortunately, they could not find any continuations in the crevices until then.

At the T-piece of the main line they emerged for the first time. So Steffen K. could look at the big hall in peace and convince himself of the enthusiastic stories.

At the T-piece of the main line they emerged for the first time. Now they followed the line that had been laid the day before from the T-piece of the main line towards the southwest corner of the rock pile. At the end of the line Steffen K. waited while Olli O. took his spool and attached it to the end of the line. It looked like a possible continuation. What is the chance to find a continuation here and maybe make new land? Does the narrow passage open up again and will there be more space again? Is perhaps after a few meters again end and the very narrow passage stops abruptly? Can you safely dive the passage backwards again without getting stuck? How solid was the rock due to the regular earthquakes in the region? Makis had urged us to be careful, especially after the Medicane's force of nature. We could see the destruction every day on the island.

The fissure became narrower and narrower with each meter. After about 15m the crevice was so narrow that Olli O. couldn't get any further. He tried to move some smaller stones aside. The visibility became so bad that he got into a NoVis situation. After a few minutes it cleared up sufficiently and he was able to work his way forward again a few meters, but in the meantime the crevasse was so narrow that it was impossible to make any progress. Olli O took a last look into the depth of the narrow passage; it looked like the passage opened up further after a few meters; but unreachable for us in the current situation and conditions.

Slowly and with last glances the two enjoyed the beauty of Agia Eléoussa with its countless incredibly large stalactites until they reappeared at the pool of the deep shaft. A bit disappointed Steffen K. and Olli O. looked at each other, as it meant the end of further exploration in the south siphon of Agia Eléoussa. Maybe the other teams will bring better news from the north siphon...

The north siphon is much more accessible and larger than the south siphon. Does a larger passage also mean a larger cave?

With EAN32 in the loop we started. Oli Schöll armed with the film camera, in front Mats and Schüssi with the reel and the Explorer face. Steffen B. behind, that was our plan. Steffen B. was supposed to take care of the cameraman, who was sometimes so focused on his shots and couldn't take care of himself anymore. The ground they had to walk over made them sink 30-40cm into the clay. Well, already before entering the water there was no line to be seen, so right at the beginning they had fixed the line outside the water. They dove down and could not find a line in the cavern area either. They continued to hope for the big new land, staying quite relaxed, they had 2 more explorer reels with them. The four did not know where the journey still goes and the expectations were large.

The first tie-offs were quickly set by Mats and Schüssi, it looked really professional and secretly practiced. When diving into the cave, Steffen B. suddenly saw the existing mainline on the other side of the corridor. They connected there. They wanted to check the course of the mainline towards the surface on the way back.

The passage became narrower, but higher, the first stalactites rose from the ceiling. The floor was covered with very fine, loamy sediment. This layer makes one think of snow. An idyllic winter landscape with 30cm of snow on rocks and roofs. Here only light brown loamy but insanely dangerous. If a fin gets too close, the "brown snow" explodes turning its incidence area into a zero visibility area.  In between, massive stalagmites towered, sometimes connected to powerful stalactites hanging from the ceiling, surrounded by countless other small and fine stalactites. The dimensions of the stalactites ranged from fine ones with a diameter of 0.5 cm and a length of 10 - 20 cm to massive stalagmites two meters thick, which must have grown for hundreds of thousands of years.

The first dive was coupled with admiration of the magnificent stalactites, the powdered world as well as curiosity where the line would lead us. It led us through an S-curve and the number of big stalactites became bigger and bigger. We entered a 40m long, 30m wide and 20m high hall with several stalactites on the right side. Then we entered a shallow round chamber, only 5m high, with countless stalagmites and stalactites. Hundreds of stalactites present themselves as if on a silver platter. Right in the middle, at a stalagmite the line is attached. When Steffen B. reached the point he looked into the sad eyes of Mats and Schüssi; they had reached the end. There was no further way here, was there? Olli S. was busy recording the impressions on film, so the rest desperately searched for a way forward, always careful not to break off any stalactite, some of which had grown very "awkwardly". We searched the room and had to find out: There is a reason why the line does not continue. Unfortunately, we could not find a continuation.

After we have illuminated the room once again together, marveled at it and let it have an effect on us, we made our way back. Since beyond the right side resembles a wall, even if partly covered by a beautiful fat layer of lime, we focused on the left side and the many falls. Many large boulders fell from the ceiling, flattening the stalactites attached to them. Some boulders had significantly less to no sediment on their surfaces. We penetrated many a narrow passage, each time having to back out in zero visibility. We could not report any success in finding a continuation. In another side arm, a continuation through the ceiling appeared. Unfortunately, this became so narrow that we had to give up without being able to see the end of the shaft. On the way back, we took the opportunity to examine two small crevasses in the S-bend, which we had already noticed on the way in. As it turned out, one could meander through there between the stalactites to shorten the S-curve, but not to find another passage.

Interesting was, however, at the end of the S-curve, as well as on the following 5m, where the passage becomes really wide again and leads towards the exit, we discovered a flickering near the floor...

Since we were diving in brackish water, it can be assumed that fresh water is escaping there. Heinke and Steffen B. examined the bottom more closely the next day and were able to find several exit holes. The whole area contains about 20 holes, partly the sediment on the bottom really sagged in it, it looked partly very fresh with "rough" break-off edges. Possibly a consequence of the heavy rain the week before? Due to the complex access to this cave, only a few divers have been in the cave so far. We could not find out if other divers had made the same observation before. Some of the holes with water coming out of them are only 10-20cm in diameter, others are 50 - 120cm. Sadly we had to realize that even in the bigger ones definitely no progress is possible.

We decided not to do any more dives in the North Siphon. For the South Siphon we came to the same conclusion. Definitely no continuation there either. So we cleared our camp and moved on to look at other caves.

On the east side of the island, in 30m water depth, about 60m from the shore is the entrance to a cave which runs upstream in spring and downstream in the rest of the time, especially in autumn. On the strong upstream days the water would shoot out of the cave from 30m depth and and be clearly visible on the sea surface.

The many rains the week before gave us hope that the direction might be different in this season. Even if we did not hope for the big chance, we at least wanted to give it a try. Our research in advance showed that the cave goes deep down. Because of this, very few divers have been there. We heard about one who dived into the cave to 90m attached to a thick rope and had to be pulled out again by his comrades. We were excited about our scouting, where we did not want to take any risks. The first thing was to find the entrance and check the current. If the conditions allowed it, we would have decided on the spot if we dare a "Guggerle". We let Makis give us a description. At first we didn't know if the description was precise enough: "... straight ahead until you see two stones. So there are a lot of stones there, but at the two I mean, you have to turn right.... You'll recognize them."

That's how it was going to be. We parked the cars directly on the coastal road, the sun was beating down on the hot asphalt. We looked for shade in vain.

We installed two ropes as guardrails, as the way to the shore led over a sloping rock slab, which was covered with sand and boulders. The team helped and carried 2 bailout stages with 18/45 as well as two scooters to the water while Olli O. and Steffen B. got the RBs ready and struggled into the suits.

Arrived in the water, completed the predive sequence including safety check, they dove down and were eager to see what was waiting for them. They recognized the two stones immediately and turned off, following the bottom to 30m depth. The bottom runs funnel-shaped towards the cave; and even before they saw the hole, they knew it was a direct hit. Slowly they ventured into the hole at the bottom, which had a diameter of about 8m, but became smaller towards the bottom. They kept their hand on the trigger of the scooter as a precaution, because they noticed how the current was pulling them down. Carefully they felt their way to the bottom of the hole and could look into the cave. From the vertical hole, the cave bent 80° towards the island. To get an impression, they let sand trickle out of their hands and followed how the sand grains and especially small suspended particles were pulled into the dark hole.

After a quick look it was clear that they will not dive into the hole. But they could get closer. They wedged themselves between the rocky cave ceiling and the sandy bottom, and clearly felt the turbine effect of the narrows. It was clear that you could not swim against this current. For such a dive you need more preparation and risk assessment. After a few laps in the "cave-hell pool" with the scooter screwing upwards it was clear to feel when one was out of the suction of the cave. Bearing towards the shore they jetted back. On the last 150m Olli's scooter failed; what a luck that this did not happen in the cave! The slower speed on the way back ensured that Deko could be swum off "on-the-walk", where the team was already waiting for her and helped her out of the water.

The photo and video team of the Cavebase has set itself, also this year, the goal to make as good as possible pictures under, as well as above water. The special feature of this project was to make beautiful shots of the abseiling in the first cave. We had 2 GoPro's and 3 system cameras available for this. For example, in order to be as close to the action as possible (from the spectator's point of view), we decided to attach one GoPro to the leg of a climber and additionally secure it to the shoelace. The other GoPro we attached to the helmet. This gives a great view and puts the viewer right in the middle of the action. With the system cameras, we took various shots during the installation of the shaft, as well as during the rappelling. Unfortunately, we couldn't film much with the drones at this point, because the entrance to the cave was heavily overgrown with trees and bushes. For the underwater shots we had 3 cameras, two GoPros and a Paralenz at our disposal.

During the first dive we got to know the cave and made some test shots. Afterwards we looked at them critically and discussed improvements. With a good plan for the second dive and some drawings, the ''models'' were briefed and some dry runs were made. Underwater everything has to be right - thank you for your patience. Underwater the discussed things were implemented and we managed to take some great pictures. 

Scooter shots were planned for the next day. This turned out to be a tricky task, since all the divers were scootering and we wanted to film and photograph this as best as possible.

We initially wanted to scoot in front of the cave in a V formation, just below the water surface and film the way to the entrance of the cave as well as the descent with the help of a drone. So we started with dry runs and setting the formation. Here everything worked out very exemplary. In good spirits, we got into the water to put what we had discussed into practice, and this is when the first problems arose.

Some didn't know anymore at which position they belonged in the formation and the V-formation didn't look like a V after some time. We would be really bad migratory birds but we are also made for the water ;)

At one point in the cave we drove in circles so we could get some good film shots at a certain spot in the cave. Only it seemed like no one knew how many times we had to go in circles, so no one really stopped. It had the appearance of an out of control merry-go-round. Anyway, there was no shortage of fun on this dive. In the end, the photo/video team grew together even more, learned a few things, and hopes to build on that in the future.

And what else did we do? Looked at the island, looked at two smaller caves, ate a lot of ice cream (one in particular); cooked and baked together, had nice evenings with lots of ouzo, enjoyed a great meal at a local restaurant in the interior of the island. Had many conversations, optimized the equipment and and....

On Friday evening Marc and Steffen B. set off with the van and the others flew back on Saturday with many impressions of what they had experienced. In Frankfurt-Hahn we parted ways. Aline, Matz and Heinke drove to the north, Schüssi, Olli O. and Olli S. to middle and south Germany.

Conclusion: Kefalonia was not only the most complex project in the history of Cavebase. The project has brought us as Cavebase a lot further and expanded our abilities to dive this kind of caves. Kefalonia will see us again, or at least one or the other of us.

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