We complete our look at diving pioneer Sheck Exley today.

By the mid-1990s, Sheck Exley realized that his days of setting world records was probably nearing an end due to his age (he was now in his 40s). However, he desired to hold the world depth and distance records once again, as he had in 1970, and realized that a deep freshwater sinkhole in Mexico called Zacaton was the answer. He and friend/diving partner Jim Bowden prepared for the deep dive for a year.

On April 6, 1994, Exley and Bowden, accompanied by their support staff, undertook the simultaneous record attempt at Zacaton about 25 feet apart, each unable to see or help the other in case something went wrong. Instead, they would rely on their years of experience and the equipment that they had carefully staged along the route. Within 10 minutes, Bowden had reached nearly 900 feet down but realized that he was using more air than anticipated; he began the slow ascent upward for more than 10 hours of decompression. Although he could not see him, Bowden assumed that Exley had continued toward the 1,000 foot threshold.

Far above, the support divers (including Exley’s ex-wife Mary Ellen Eckoff) were watching for signs of the two men’s ascent to the surface. Based upon the rising bubbles, they realized that Bowden was making his way back, but there was nothing from Sheck’s line. As a worried Eckoff descended to 279 feet to watch for Exley’s bubbles, she witnessed two tiny white squares drifting upward. After a few moments, she realized that they were the laminated pages to Exley’s dive profile, critical objects that he would not let go of if he were still alive. Eckoff returned to the surface and reported the sad news to those waiting: the deep sea and cave diving pioneer Sheck Exley was dead.

Three days later, assuming that Exley’s body would never be recovered, the support crew began to haul up unused decompression tanks on the descent line that had been placed before the record attempt. The support crew was amazed to pull up Exley’s body near the end of the line; one of his last actions before he died had been to secure himself to the line, probably to sort out gas issues and prevent anyone risking their lives trying to retrieve his body. Exley’s wrist-mounted dive computer showed that he had reached 906 feet. Although the cause of his death could not be determined with certainty, Exley probably died from nitrogen-related narcotic effects and HPNS (High-Pressure Nervous Syndrome) from the extreme depths at which he was operating.

A memorial service was held in Jacksonville at the Ortega United Methodist Church, where Exley and his family had attended. Exley was cremated by his family and buried in Oaklawn Cemetery next to his brother Edward; his parents would join them in the cemetery after their deaths in 2010 and 2015.

The spirit of Sheck Exley lives on, however. The National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) still presents the “Sheck Exley Safe Cave Diving Award” to divers who have completed 1,000 safe cave dives. Exley’s books are highly recommended for those interested in diving, and his safety procedures are still followed today. A remipede (class of blind crustaceans found in coastal aquifers) discovered in 1993 was named Lasionectes Exleyi in honor of Sheck.

I was in high school when Sheck Exley died. For some reason, I can still remember where I was when I heard the news: sitting in Mabel Peters’ Spanish class in one of the old portables when the intercom broke the news that Exley had died in Mexico while trying to break a cave diving world record. The students and teachers were stunned, and we had a moment of silence. Although I did not have Exley as a teacher, I recall passing by him many times on my way to other classes. He always had a smile, and seemed to be nice and friendly with students and teachers alike. I recall him even being a little goofy at times. It was only after Sheck’s death that I began to really discover how internationally famous he was. In hindsight, there were many missed opportunities to talk to Exley about his love of cave diving and his many world records. That unassuming person you walk by in the store or on the street may be somebody famous…

More history next week.

Eric Musgrove can be reached at ericm@suwgov.org or 386-362-0564.