Sanne Vanden Berghe or Tecdivesanne is a technical diver from Belgium, who lives in the South Of France. If you told Sanne 10 years ago that today she is diving caves, she would not believe you. She faced her fear of the ocean and turned it into her biggest passion. Today she made her dream come true by working for Aqualung / Apeks group in the dive industry. Aside of that she is also a DAN Europe ambassador.

She is a rec to tec instructor within Innerspace Explorers and loves to continue this path by focusing more on sidemount courses, fundamentals and on teaching ccr in the future.

As one of the founders of The Cavettes, she promotes and support women into tech diving. Being able to inspire other women by telling your story and sharing your passion, is the most rewarding thing in life for her.

Interview

What (or who) persuaded you to become a professional diver?
My fear of the ocean. I feared the ocean for whole my life and one day I told myself: grow up and go try scuba diving to see what’s laying underneath the surface. I went from fear to passion within 1 second. I never stopped since the first breath underwater.

Describe your biggest challenge when diving.
Ending a dive haha. I think my biggest challenge is to accept a bad trim. My trim or tank/CCR position can make our break my dive. I strive for perfection and need to learn that a dive with a trim being a bit off is not the end of the world. It is just a motivation to do some extra train dives and to get better next time.

Which diving achievement are you most proud of?
The way we inspire other woman to start diving / technical diving with The Cavettes. I never thought we could have that big of an impact on the women dive industry. It is just heartwarming to have women from all over the world reaching out to tell you they started diving because of you.

What was your first diving experience like?
My first dive and open water certificate were done in Canary Islands. Which was a great place to learn with good conditions: warm water and perfect visibility. I feld instantly in love. Afterwards I continued diving in Belgium, which was much more challenging due to the cold and often bad visibility. But this never hold me back, the love remained the same. I love challenges and learning things the hard way.

Why do you prefer rebreather?
For sure because of the ability to do the same dive with less gear and more dive time. Off course it has plenty of benefits in terms of gas prices and gas management, but most people don’t talk about the influence on our body. Being able to do the same (and even longer) dive with less gear, saves your body. We only have one body so taking care of it is important. This way we can keep on enjoying diving longer when we age.

What's your favorite diving gear?
I am a big fan of my Apeks MTX-R sidemount regulator. I never had this kind of breathing comfort before. When diving the Divesoft Liberty, having good quality as bail out regulator is reassuring.

What's your favorite diving spot?
La Foux, a cave nearby my place. It is a tiny cave but with a lot of different sumps and areas, which makes it interesting to dive. This cave feels like coming home and I love to explore it together with my love Arthur.