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JEWEL OF THE SOUTH:
DIVE LIKE A PRO: RIBs
WHY THE SS KYARRA IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR DIVES IN DORSET
OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS GIVE HINTS AND ADVICE ON DIVING FROM RIGID INFLATABLES
Deeply TALENTED INTERVIEW WITH UW PHOTO PRO BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT
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Indonesia ‣ Scholar ‣ Cyprus ‣ Gear Guide: Budget fins WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
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EDITOR’S NOTE Are divers’ lives
BEING PUT AT RISK? A diver who had an agonising 90-minute wait for a helicopter airlift after getting a DCI ‘hit’ off the South Coast is adamant that the retirement of the Portland coastguard rescue helicopter was a bad decision, and believes the move puts divers’ lives at risk. As if to give further weight to his argument, Marcus Blatchford’s ordeal happened literally the day after the helicopter - which had patrolled the skies over the area for 22 years - was retired and being ‘remembered’ at a special commemorative event. The Portland chopper’s patch is supposed to be covered by a Lee-on-Solent-based helicopter, but on 1 July, Blatchford ended up being picked up by a helicopter from St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales! Thankfully, he is recovering well after treatment and looking forward to getting back in the water in a few weeks, but he fears the next diver might not be so lucky... On a lighter note, a few weeks ago, Social Media was awash with tales of a great white shark sighted off the Isle of Wight. Some expert fisherman and his passengers supposedly saw the giant fish, and categorically stated it was definitely a great white. At the time I poured scorn on the claims, as there were no images to back up their stories, despite it supposedly hanging around their boat for a time - and these days everyone has a camera phone! Now, as I write this, a fisherman has caught a massive thresher shark in the same area... Surprise, surprise, a shark commonly found in these waters and that bears a passing resemblence to a great white... MARK EVANS Editor-in-Chief
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Mark Evans Tel: 01691 661626 Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com
DESIGN
Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.com
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WIN A TYPHOON 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL DRYSUIT WORTH £895!
JEWEL OF THE SOUTH:
DIVE LIKE A PRO: RIBs
WHY THE SS KYARRA IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR DIVES IN DORSET
OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS GIVE HINTS AND ADVICE ON DIVING FROM RIGID INFLATABLES
ON THE COVER
Deeply TALENTED INTERVIEW WITH UW PHOTO PRO BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT
ISSUE 6 | AUG 17 | £3.25
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Indonesia ‣ Scholar ‣ Cyprus ‣ Gear Guide: Budget fins
p001_ScubaDiverAug17.indd 1
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PHOTOGRAPHER: BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT
19/07/2017 08:10
REGULAR COLUMNS
FEATURES
A diver has to wait 90 minutes for a heli-evac, and Fourth Element teams up with Fat Face.
Stuart Philpott makes yet another dive on the SS Kyarra, and speaks to various people about what makes this Dorset shipwreck such a popular dive off the South Coast.
8 News
30 Dive like a Pro
A panel of experts from all the main training agencies offer advice on RIB diving.
40 Underwater Photography
‘Duxy’ takes an in-depth look at shipwrecks and how to take those ‘wow’ photographs.
64 Industry News
Up-to-the-minute news and information from the main dive training agencies.
98 The Zen Diver
Tom Peyton asks what kind of diver you are, and explains how to become a Zen Dive Buddy.
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24 England
34 Indonesia
Walt Stearns provides a list of ten reasons why you should put the Indonesian paradise of Wakatobi at the top of your ‘bucket list’ of diving destinations.
44 Cyprus
Mention ‘Cyprus’ and ‘diving’ in the same sentence, and people immediately think ‘Zenobia’, but as Gavin Anderson shows, there is much more to this island both north and south of the border.
52 FREEDIVING: News and Test Extra
DeeperBlue founder and freediving guru Stephan Whelan presents a round-up of more freediving news from around the world, and Luke Evans test-dives the kid’s monofin from Linden Wolbert and BodyGlove.
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CONTENTS
56 St Lucia
The lush green island of St Lucia is renowned as a holiday destination in the Caribbean, but as well as being a haven for honeymoon couples and families, Al Hornsby discovers it is fabulous for divers.
66 Philippines
The sprawling archipelago of the Philippines and the ease of transiting between the islands makes it the perfect location for a twin-centre stay in two different resort areas, as Cath Bates finds out.
74 ABOVE 18m: Northumberland
The Above 18m series - which aims to showcase shallow dives around this country that are suitable for all levels of diver - continues, this issue travelling north to the Farne Islands and its iconic seals.
78 TECHNICAL: Becky Kagan Schott
Becky Kagan Schott has carved out an enviable reputation in the technical diving world for her award-winning stills and documentaries. Here she talks to Jason Brown about her exploits.
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GEAR GUIDE 84 What’s New
New products recently released or coming soon to a dive centre near you, including Fourth Element’s Ocean-Positive Summer 2017 range, Momentum dive watches, and the Typhoon DS1 limited edition 70th anniversary drysuit.
86 Group Test
The Scuba Diver Test Team convened at Vivian Quarry in Llanberis, North Wales, once again, this time turning their attentions to a selection of budget fins.
94 Long Term Test
The Scuba Diver Test Team gets to grips with a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Shearwater Research Perdix AI dive computer, Apeks MTX-R regulator and Anchor Dive Lights Series 3K torch.
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News
Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from right here in the UK, as well as all over our water planet. To find out the most up-to-date news and views, check out the website. scubadivermag.com/news
DIVER WAITS 90 MINUTES FOR
HELICOPTER AIRLIFT
Fears that the axing of the Portland coastguard helicopter would put lives at risk seemed to be borne out when literally the day after the aircraft was retired, a stricken diver had a 90-minute wait to be airlifted for emergency treatment Photographs by RICHARD AYRTON AND JASON BROWN
T
he Portland helicopter was retired on Friday 30 June after patrolling the area for 22 years, and has been replaced by a Hampshire-based regional service, however, on Saturday 1 July, it was actually a crew from south Wales that attended the scene. According to the coastguard, both the helicopter based in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, and the one based in St Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan, were out on training exercises, but that the latter was able to get to diver Marcus Blatchford ‘most quickly’. The coastguard had previously said the area would be served by a new £20m helicopter at the Lee-on-Solent base 15 minutes’ flight away, with Cornwall and south Wales as back-up. Boat skipper Ian Taylor described Mr Blatchford’s wait as
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‘disgraceful’ and interrupted a commemorative event for the axed aircraft on 1 July, claiming the closure – which still happened despite a significant campaign and a 100,000-signature petition to save it – had directly led to the delays in rescuing Mr Blatchford, who hails from Somerset.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
Scuba Diver spoke to Marcus, who thankfully is now on the road to recovery. He explained what occurred: “We had dived HMS Delight at 59m and had a run time of 142 minutes. All decompression obligations were completed at 40/85 and upon surfacing I felt fine, letting my buddy on the lift first. When I was lifted onto the boat I still felt fine – until I came off the loop on my CCR.
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Upon coming off the loop, I started with a dry cough. My post-dive tea arrived and things seemed better, but then I started retching with nothing coming up. I told my buddy I wasn’t feeling very good, and moments later asked for o2. Upon asking for o2, the skipper called into the coastguard and made haste north towards Portland. When we were halfway along the east side of Portland, the boat turned east (under coastguard instruction) and at somewhere past the Blackhawk, we turned about and had a helicopter over us. “I was airlifted to Poole where an ambulance met me and transferred me to the chamber. Things were looking good and I was told they would put me on a Royal Navy table 62 schedule. Before taking me into the chamber I went for a wee and collapsed on the way back. I was put on a stretcher and taken into the chamber and they changed my recompression to Comex Cx 30, which goes down to 30m and is a much-longer schedule, starting on 50/50 Heliox and at 20m going onto pure o2 at 25 minute intervals, followed by five-minute air breaks in between. “I finally left the chamber at around 1am and was transferred to Poole hospital – after nearly an hour’s wait for an ambulance! – and given morphine to cope with the pain in my lungs from the high PPO2 and my abdominal pains from wrenching. “I have been told I had a vestibular bend in my inner ear. I had a PFO check last year so know that wasn’t the cause – it was just my turn! I am now pleased to be discharged from hospital and not require any further treatment – no diving for a while, though!” He added: “I would like to thanks Ed from Skindeep and my shipmates, and all of the frontline crews from the helicopter, ambulance service, The Diver Clinic and Poole Hospital.”
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News
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Diverse Travel opens new South Africa office Diverse Travel has announced the opening of a brand-new South Africa representative office in Johannesburg. Managed by highly experienced and respected South African tour and dive operator, Stuart Mather-Pike, it will provide clients with the following services: Expert advice on the destinations, various regions and numerous choice of accommodation, diving and excursion options from a highly knowledgeable ‘local’; exclusive deals from local suppliers; holiday representation services – full, immediate support to Diverse Travel clients throughout their holidays (in South Africa and Mozambique only). Clients will receive the best quality and seamless tailor-made itineraries including a mix of destinations: Aliwal Shoal, Sardine Run, Mozambique, Cape Town and Winelands, Kruger National Park and Hluhluwe iMfolozi Game Reserve, with the chance to see Big Five animals while staying in luxurious lodges. Jim Yanny of Diverse Travel explained: “This is an exciting development for us as we’re now the only dive tour operator in the UK to have its own offices in South Africa. We’ve been visiting here since 1994, it’s a part of the world we love due to the friendly people, exciting diving, incredible wildlife and warm year-round climate. The opening of the office takes our customer service to a whole new level as clients can take advantage of our contacts and in-depth knowledge.” www.diversetravel.co.uk/south-africa
HSE URGE DIVERS TO RETURN UNUSED GAS TO AQUALOGISTICS
Divers in the northwest were put on high alert by the Health and Safety Executive and urged to return unused gas after 12 pupils at Manchester Grammar School were taken ill after a scuba diving session on Monday 26 June, with contaminated breathing gas from Stockport dive centre Aqualogistics being the suspected culprit. The police are investigating the incident, which saw all the pupils being taken to hospital for treatment, with 11 being discharged and one 14-yearold – who had been given oxygen by the school nurse – remaining under observation in a stable condition. The HSE, which is supporting the efforts of the police, stated ‘we would ask any person who has recently had a diving cylinder filled by Aqualogistics in Stockport not to breathe the gas.’ The Aqualogistics website is flagging this caution as well – ‘Air Fill Recall – If you have any unused gas fills (Air, Nitrox or Trimix) from Aqualogistics, please do not use them and please return them to us for checking’.
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Aquanauts Grenada True Blue & Grand Anse, Grenada Phone: +1 (473) 444 1126 sales@aquanautsgrenada.com www.aquanautsgrenada.com
Dive Grenada Mt Cinnamon Hotel, Grenada Phone: +1 (473) 444 1092 info@divegrenada.com www.divegrenada.com
Lumbadive PADI 5 star Harvey Vale, Tyrell Bay, Carriacou Phone: +1 (473) 443 8566 dive@lumbadive.com www.lumbadive.com
Deefer Diving Carriacou Hillsborough, Carriacou Phone: +1 (473) 443 7882 info@deeferdiving.com www.deeferdiving.com
Eco Dive - Grenada Coyaba Beach Resort, Grenada Phone: +1 (473) 444 7777 dive@ecodiveandtrek.com www.ecodiveandtrek.com
Scuba Tech Calabash Hotel, Grenada Phone: +1 (473) 439 4346 info@scubatech-grenada.com www.scubatech-grenada.com
www.puredivinggrenada.com
News
Dive Worldwide joins Global Dive Alliance The most-sought after dive trips and destinations on the planet are often booked up years in advance, putting them beyond the reach of most seasoned divers. Now, thanks to a brand-new Global Dive Alliance which includes the Hampshire-based tour operator Dive Worldwide, British divers can take their pick of the very best diving at the keenest prices. Co-founded by Dive Worldwide, the only UK dive tour operator in the Alliance, the new Global Dive Alliance brings together six of the most-respected operators in Europe. Thanks to the united approach taken by the six companies, the Alliance has the influence to secure places on the most-sought-after liveaboard adventures and all at the most-economical prices. Peak-season liveaboard adventures are now being offered to UK divers by Dive Worldwide, including liveaboard holidays in the Galapagos Islands, Socorro, Cocos Island, Raja Ampat and Palau, as well as the Maldives, Bahamas and Oman. Speaking about the new Alliance, Dive Worldwide’s Brand Manager Phil North commented: “This Alliance is a game changer for us and our experienced dive clients. We are passionate about offering the best diving opportunities and, as a founding member of the Global Dive Alliance, we are proud to be in a position to bring the most desirable trips within reach of our customers.” www.diveworldwide.com
Man jailed over golf ball ‘diver’ death The director of a company which sold golf balls retrieved from lakes has been sent to prison for 32 months after a man died trying to recover sunken balls at a course near Newport, Wales. Appearing in Cardiff Crown Court, Dale Pike, of Glynneath, Neath Port Talbot, admitted manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of Gareth Pugh, who drowned while attempting to collect golf balls from the water at Peterstone Lakes Golf Club back in February 2016. Pugh was found 70 minutes after he had first entered the very cold water floating feet upwards, held down by a weightbelt and a 16kg bag of 341 golf balls that he had collected. He had been using a form of SNUBA device, with an air compressor in an inflatable float on the surface and a regulator on a long hose, but died after losing his mouthpiece. Pike, who is 25, runs Boss Golf Balls, which sells balls retrieved from lakes, and should have employed trained divers to undertake the work, which would have cost around £1,000 a day, but instead he set Pugh – who was not a qualified diver - to the task for just £20-£40 a day. Judge Keith Thomas said: “Mr Pugh was an unsuitable contender for the diving work you employed him to undertake, but you allowed him to take those risks to make a quick buck. “The risk of death or serious injury was obvious to you, but your cavalier attitude towards safety was the cause of Mr Pugh’s death. Speaking after the hearing, Iwan Jenkins, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “There was clear evidence Pike had made enquiries with legitimate dive operators to cost this activity but he chose not to use them, instead falsely claiming to the golf club that he was a qualified commercial diver with his own equipment.”
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Diving the Dream Islands of the
Seychelles Archipelago By GLYNN BURRIDGE
T
wo divers slice the pristine, crystal waters off the north-west coast of Mahé, principal island of the jewel of the Indian Ocean: the stunningly beautiful Seychelles Archipelago. What they are seeking lies some 40 metres beneath the ocean - the hull of an old fishing trawler, deliberately scuppered to provide a diving site in what is arguably one of the best kept secrets among the international diving fraternity: the amazing Seychelles diving experience. One diver is Imran Ahmad, renowned Singapore-based photographer and educator and he is amazed by the world class diving he has found around these islands long celebrated for their world-beating beaches, warm, dappled, sapphire waters and the final word in laid-back island lifestyle but with all the trimmings. ‘At 40 metres she is fully intact and teeming with marine life and coral growth’, he enthuses, ‘and with visibility for as far as the eye can see, this is a definite ‘must’ dive for wreck lovers. Imran is one of an increasing number of divers all making the same discovery – the magnificent Seychelles Islands. Secluded from the world since the dawn of time, Seychelles is only now awakening to its true potential as a dream tourism destination and much of what you will find here is still wonderfully untouched, thanks to Seychelles’ strong conservation laws. With 115 granite and coral islands and an exclusive economic zone of 1 million square miles, this cyclone-free cluster of island gems offers year-round diving in a land of perpetual summer. Together, the islands offer awesome diversity for diving afi-
cionado and novice alike on both granite and coral reefs which can be nothing less than living aquariums for diverse and spectacular forms of coral and marine life. Myriad, dazzling coral reef fish, shark, moray eels, turtles, lobster, giant rays and even the odd migrating whale shark propose a kaleidoscope of diving entertainment in a host of unspoiled venues. On one dive alone, near Aride, no less than 800 species of marine life were spotted! Seychelles boasts a number of world-recognised dive sites, such as the famous Ennerdale Wreck and Brissare rocks as well as the lesser known, more remote but even more spectacular sites around Marianne, the Sisters, Aride, Trompeuse and several other islands. Some of the more remote locations are only accessible by liveaboard charter dive boats Diving in Seychelles is refreshingly unprocessed as well, with un-crowded dive boats and unhurried dive schedules, in keeping with the leisurely pace of life. Local dive centres and a range of liveaboards will provide access to great diving while offering a taste of the unique Seychellois lifestyle with beach BBQ’s and other island-style entertainment. All diver training is conducted by internationally qualified instructors, most of whom are members of PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world’s largest sport diver training organization. Now, more than ever, is the time to visit Seychelles and discover just how extraordinary - and affordable! - diving can be in one of the very last natural aquariums on our planet where pristine waters, leisurely diving schedules and an astonishing variety of marine life all conspire to offer one of the finest dive vacations on the planet. n
For more information about diving in Seychelles, please visit: www.seychelles.travel and www.subios.com ADVERTISING FEATURE
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Carpe Diem Maldives launches ‘Dive with a Purpose’ marine expedition Carpe Diem Maldives Pvt. Ltd. are excited to announce a second marine conservation expedition in collaboration with Coral Reef CPR. From 10-17 September, up to 20 recreational divers can join Chief Scientist Dr Andrew Bruckner and his team of researchers as they conduct a crown of thorns starfish (COTS) removal, quantitative reef surveys, and data analysis while staying on board the Carpe Vita liveaboard. The first collaboration between Carpe Diem Maldives safari cruises and Coral Reef CPR saw a dedicated crown of thorns starfish removal in May 2017, involving 17 recreational divers from nine countries. Over a one-week period, the Carpe Diem safari vessel collected a total of 900 COTS from 15 reefs on North Malé and South Malé Atolls. The team was able to remove all of the starfish seen on 12 of the reefs, while three reefs with larger outbreaks require additional return clean-up efforts to fully eradicate these starfish. Expressing appreciation for the opportunity in May, Swedish diver Mr Blomfeldt said: “We really enjoyed the trip, it was something different. The workshop in the evening was interesting and it made the diving even more fun when you learn more about the environment and it made us see the reefs in another perspective.” To join September’s second dedicated ‘Dive with a Purpose’ trip with Carpe Diem Maldives and Coral Reef CPR, divers must have an Advanced PADI qualification, excellent buoyancy control and ideally a minimum of 70 dives to assist with COTS removal. www.carpediemmaldives.com
COLLABORATING FOR THE FUTURE HEALTH OF THE OCEANS
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The future health of the oceans should be on everyone’s mind. So says a collaboration of leading fashion retailer Fat Face, global dive clothing brand Fourth Element and the charity World Animal Protection. This summer, in selected Fat Face stores around the UK and online, customers will be able to buy OceanPositive swimwear made from recycled marine plastics. In doing so they will be helping to ensure the continued protection of the oceans and support of World Animal Protection Havant-based clothing company Fat Face began as a couple of guys selling T-shirts out of a bag on the ski slopes of the French Alps, and the brand has built its popularity on getting out there into the ‘great outdoors’. Now the Fat Face Foundation, the charitable arm of the company, is turning its focus to protecting the future of the marine environment in an initiative with global charity World Animal Protection and dive clothing specialists Fourth Element, to take marine waste out of the sea and give it a new purpose. The OceanPositive Swimwear line by Fourth Element uses ECONYL® - recycled nylon from ghost fishing nets and other post-consumer waste, in its eyecatching line of bikinis, swimsuits and beachwear. Ghost fishing nets have been lost or abandoned at sea, and continue to catch wildlife, ensnaring and killing them, or end up snagged on reef, scouring their surfaces, leaving them dead and barren. More than 600,000 tonnes of these nets are lost every year. Teams of divers all over the world, along with fishermen, reclaim these nets, often working in extremely dangerous conditions, and the nets are then recycled into ECONYL® before being knitted into Lycra® fabric for the OceanPositive swimwear. Fourth Element is part of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), a project spearheaded by World Animal Protection dedicated to finding solutions to the problems of ghost nets. “The OceanPositive range is a statement of what we feel is our responsibility to protect the environment which we love, and we believe we should protect,” said Paul Strike, co-founder of Fourth Element. www.fourthelement.com
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News ‘Crowdfunded’ New Zealand beach given to the public
THINK DIFFERENT
A pristine sandy beach in New Zealand that was bought through a crowdfunding campaign that reached its target in just three weeks has been handed to its new owners - the public. Some 40,000 people donated almost NZ$2.3m (£1.3m) to buy the seven-hectare Awaroa beach in the Abel Tasman National Park, on the South Island, ensuring the beach will remain out of private hands. New Zealand’s government made a small contribution to the crowdfunding campaign to get it started, but an offer from a prominent businessman, who said he would make up any shortfall in exchange for exclusive access to part of the beach for his family, was rejected.
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR SPEARFISHERMAN MISSING OFF SOUTH COAST
A search is continuing for a man who has gone missing after he went spearfishing off Ringstead Bay on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast on the afternoon of Monday 10 July. An extensive overnight air, sea and land search for 27-year-old Andrew Scott by police and coastguard crews began shortly after 9pm on 10 July when the alarm was raised after he failed to return home to Winterborne, in Whitechurch. The search resumed on the morning of 11 July. Scott had not been seen since he set off to go spearfishing on that Monday afternoon. It is thought he was wearing a full black wetsuit and blue fins. His bright-orange dry bag containing his car keys, mobile phone and clothing was found at the White Nothe headland, while his car was parked at Ringstead Bay.
EMPEROR DIVERS MARSA ALAM AND EL GOUNA AWARDED TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
BECOME DIFFERENT diveRAIDuk.com
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Emperor Divers is delighted to announce it has received not one, but two, TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence for its Marsa Alam and El Gouna dive centres. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor. Emperor Divers El Gouna has won this for the second year running while Emperor Divers Marsa Alam has won the award for the fourth year in a row. The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an
overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. “We’re very proud of the teams at Marsa Alam and El Gouna for winning the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence. Many thanks to all our guests who took the time to complete a review,” said Luke Atkinson, General Manager for Emperor Divers Red Sea. “Being recognised like this always creates a feel-good factor, especially when it comes from those very people who enjoyed the diving and service with us.” www.emperordivers.com
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Get to the bottom of all this.
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To find out more, why not visit us for Aptitude Day? Experience a Surface Supplied Dive, view the Facilities and meet the Training Team Please visit the website for more details 2017 / 2018 Course Dates available
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News Get photo tips from Jordi Chias with Emperor Divers Emperor Divers Red Sea and Maldives have launched photo advice trips with Jordi Chias, which are aimed at everyday people with everyday cameras. These trips with Jordi Chias are ideal for people with little or no photography experience, and they will be offered on both Red Sea and Maldives sailings on selected dates. “This is a free, value-added service from the team at Emperor to anyone who wants to ask questions and get hints and tips in relaxed surroundings. It’s not a seminar or workshop, so no competitiveness required,” explains Luke Atkinson, Emperor Divers’ General Manager. The trips follow Emperor’s successful free photo advice trips last year and welcome highly acclaimed photographer, Jordi Chias, who will once again be sharing his experience in a friendly and encouraging way. The Maldives dates are 3-10 December on Emperor Orion sailing the Best of Maldives, or Emperor Serenity from 10-17 December for the same route. The Red Sea dates are 3-10 November on Emperor Elite sailing Simply the Best, or Emperor Asmaa on 9-16 November. With work published in many different media and recognised with prominent mentions, among them the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Jordi has a wealth of knowledge that guests can tap into during the week. He is also one of the most-internationally awarded Spanish photographers, who also speaks fluent English. www.emperormaldives.com or www.emperordivers.com
Pro Dive International earns TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Pro Dive International, one of the Caribbean’s most-established PADI five-star Dive Resorts and recognised Career Development Centres, has received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the seven consecutive year since implementation of the award in 2011, for their dive centres in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The achievement celebrates hospitality businesses that have consistently earned great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. Recipients of the Certificate of Excellence include accommodations, restaurants and attractions of all sizes that have continually delivered quality customer experience. “We are delighted about this fantastic achievement and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our divers and watersports enthusiasts for their fantastic feedback. Big thanks also to our teams for their continued efforts to keep Pro Dive’s standards high, as well as our promise to provide excellence through quality. This great result would not have been possible, otherwise!”
says Markus Fleischmann, CEO and founder of Pro Dive International. “TripAdvisor is excited to announce the recipients of the 2017 Certificate of Excellence, which celebrates hospitality businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travellers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly honour businesses that are actively engaging with customers and using feedback to help travelers identify and confidently book the perfect trip.” www.prodiveinternational.com
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Indonesia
MEDICAL Q&A
News
Dr Oliver Firth has gained considerable experience in the field of diving and hyperbaric medicine since joining LDC in 2006. He is an Approved Medical Examiner of Divers for the UK HSE, and a medical referee for the UK Sport Diving Medical Committee. He is involved in the management of all types of diving-related illness, including recompression treatment, as well as providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy for non-diving conditions. He remains a passionate diver and has participated in various expeditions and conservation projects throughout the globe. Q: Having had painful joints, muscles and nerves for years, I have just been diagnosed with hypermobility (Ehlers-Danlos) syndrome. I also have bulging discs in my neck, occasional bouts of sciatica, and a winging shoulder blade (which causes a lot of thoracic nerve pain on a regular basis). One or all of the above tends to give me intermittent bouts of pins and needles, in my arms and legs. Should any of this stop me from diving? Carrying tanks and weights while diving didn’t seem to bother me in the past. Could I be predisposed to DCS do you think? A: The word collagen tends to conjure up images of voluptuous pouty lips, of the Angelina or Scarlett variety. In fact, collagen is found all over the body, being the major constituent of ligaments, tendons, bones and cartilage. The word actually means ‘glue producer’, referring to the boiling of animal joints to produce glue, a process that goes back 8,000 years. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of genetic disorders, whose common feature is defective or inadequate amounts of collagen. Two doctors (you can probably guess their names) discovered Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) in the early 1900s. And so to diving. The issues I would anticipate are several. Due to the laxity of the joints, dislocations are common, so hauling your wet self and gear up a ladder in choppy waters might put you at high risk of a popped shoulder or hip. Degenerative joint disease can occur, which might render the joints more susceptible to damage from microbubbles in the long term, similarly to commercial divers. The pins and needles you experience could present us with the old diagnostic conundrum – is this your EDS or DCI? So being very aware of your pre-dive condition takes on extra importance. The other possibility is mitral valve prolapse (MVP), where the defective collagen renders one of the heart valves very floppy. MVP is quite common (5-7 percent of the population), and in general quite
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benign, but it can sometimes cause chest pains, palpitations, and breathlessness, depending on the degree of ‘leakiness’ of the valve. I don’t think any of this rules out diving completely, but sensible precautions and regular check ups would flag up any potential problems before they became apparent underwater. Q: We are a reasonably active club with a bizarrely high proportion of members afflicted by high testosterone levels (by which I mean about two thirds of us are bald). As a result, we are often discussing how to keep warm, and naturally we all wear hoods when diving. But is it true that most heat is lost through the head? A: The origin of this particular myth seems to be poor reporting of a poorly conducted and only vaguely scientific experiment carried out by the US military in the 1950s. Volunteers were dressed in Arctic survival suits, without hoods, and exposed to bitterly cold conditions. Because their heads were the only part of their bodies left uncovered, most of their heat was lost this way. It might have been considerably more instructive, not to mention fun, to carry out experiments in similar conditions with other body parts uncovered; if the experiment had been performed with people wearing only pants, it is estimated they would have lost no more than ten percent of their body heat through their heads. The rate of head heat loss does change depending on how cold it is (the lower the temperature, the quicker heat is lost) and with exercise (heat loss through the head is reduced with increasing exertion). However, the rate of heat loss is not dependent on the body part in question; it’s the same whether it’s the head, hand, foot or any other appendage. Do you have a question for Dr Firth? Email divingdoctor@scubadivermag. com with your query and we will pass it on to London Diving Chamber.
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Hurawalhi Maldives www.hurawalhi.com
Next month’s issue:
THE LURE OF LANZAROTE
Stuart Philpott finds the Canary Island offers much for recreational divers
ABOVE 18M: BABBACOMBE
Shallow water, plentiful marine life
HEAVENLY HAWAII
Jeremy Cuff cruises around the Pacific islands on a luxury liveaboard
TECHNICAL: DEEPER INTO EGYPT
Hurghada’s stunning deep-water wrecks
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Next issue available 8th September
SHARKS, CORALS AND CENOTES
Why Mexico holds such appeal for divers
SCINTILLATING SEYCHELLES
Al Hornsby explores the Indian Ocean paradise and finds much to recommend
GEAR GUIDE: MID-RANGE FINS The Test Team rate and review a selection of fins from £75-£125
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BRAVO COSTA BRAVA
F
irst impressions can sometimes be deceptive, but when Jan Boelen, the owner of Euro-Divers in Spain, said the Cala Joncols hotel reminded him of Fawlty Towers, I thought ‘oh s***, what have I let myself in for?’ I had visions of complete mayhem and disaster, with balmy Basil goose-stepping around the corridors all night long. Maybe I should have increased my life insurance policy before the visit? My concerns were further raised when Belgian-born Jan said the owner was called Manuel and he actually came from Barcelona. Que? This definitely had the makings of an entertaining week and I hadn’t even discussed the diving yet! I booked a flight with one of the budget airlines from Gatwick to Girona. The transfer to Cala Joncols took about an hour, so there was plenty of time to quiz Jan on what other surprises lay in store for me. I noticed that Jan had some disturbingly similar ‘Basil’ traits. The moustache was missing, as were the ‘crazy eyes’, but there was a very distinctive loud laugh. Spending the past 15 diving seasons at the secluded little bay had probably taken its toll. Jan turned out to be a really likeable character with bags of energy and enthusiasm. He began diving in 1991 and has worked in the Caribbean, Thailand and the Maldives. Even though Jan had been offered more prestigious dive centres under the Euro-Divers banner, he was content to stay at Cala Joncols. Jan had even bought an apartment in the nearby town of Roses, so there were no plans to move away just yet. I arrived at the Cala Joncols hotel early evening and to my relief the place was nothing like Fawlty Towers. The three-storey building was surrounded by olive trees, shrubs, flowers and overhanging plants. From my balcony I could see the swimming pool, pebble beach and then the sea approximately 30-40 metres away. The bay itself is flanked on either side by steep-sided cliffs. There were no other hotels, restaurants or bars in the vicinity, so don’t expect a pub crawl. Everybody congregated around the patio area at dinner time. Clientele was mainly German, French and Spanish
I
with a few Brits scattered about here and there. Manuel Gomez Fernandez had worked at the hotel since 1968 and became the owner in 2000. It was 100-percent family owned and family run. There were 35 rooms and four bungalows (four people per bungalow) on offer. I had a good look around and could see that all of the white-washed rooms were well-maintained. Some had ultra-modern bathrooms and sea-view balconies. On the ground floor there was a bar with wi-fi. This was definitely a full-on divers resort with a good number of rooms allocated for Euro-Divers clientele. The rest of the rooms were occupied by guests enjoying other outdoor activities including kayaking, walking and mountain biking. During my stay the hotel was full of Thai Chi enthusiasts and a group of naturists. The crescent-shaped beach was big enough to accommodate everybody, although I did get an eyeful of bare flesh on a daily basis. In the summer months the protected bay was full with yachts and power boats visiting the top-rated restaurant. Food is typically Spanish. Full-board diving guests are served up a set three-course menu every evening at around 7.30pm. There’s only one choice available but the kitchen will rustle up an alternative if someone has a specific dislike. Fresh fish in some form or other is normally on offer. The whole diving set up runs extremely well and, in fact, it reminded me of a kind of ‘land-based’ liveaboard operation. A normal diving day consisted of two boat dives, the first at 10am and the second at 4pm. Jan said they offer double boat runs (four dives a day) in high season. There’s also unlimited shore diving and night dives available. The main season is between April and November, but this peaks in July and August. Jan said the best time to visit is around September. The weather is still warm and the evenings are slightly cooler. I sat down and filled in the usual liability and release paperwork and was pleasantly surprised when Jan said ‘we don’t ask you to do a check dive. You have a qualification and a logbook. We treat everybody as a diver. We do a good briefing and then you do your dive. Divers don’t have to be guided’.
’m gliding along a long, smooth slope of fine, black sand, which stretches away in all directions, as far as I can see in the 20-metre vis. As clear and still as the water is, the light seems muted, like on a deeply-clouded day, creating a subdued, utterly peaceful scene. I find myself still occasionally chuckling at the local Bunaken divers’ name for this site – Betlehem. It’s a sort-of acronym for ‘Better than Lembeh’, a good-natured reference to Lembeh Straits, long regarded as one of the world’s most-famous muck/critter dive sites, which is located some 70km due east, on the opposite side of Sulawesi. This dive immediately becomes a wonder… it’s apparent that every small obstruction, rock or sponge colony is a tiny oasis of critter life. At one, there are two yellow thorny seahorses; as I move in close for macro-images, I become aware of a tiny, three-centre-metre-long baby broadclub cuttlefish, so utterly camouflaged as to have been practically invisible. Before reaching the next oasis, a faint outline in the dark bottom becomes the barely exposed mouth and face of a horned flathead, then, moments later, there is the pale, skull-like face and jagged, toothy grin of a stargazer. Then there is a large, dark anemone; I look closely to find that it is shared by a pair of porcelain crabs and a family of saddleback anemonefish… The long, effortless dive – at 20m of depth, my 15-litre, EANx-filled cylinder lasts seemingly forever - goes on and on this way, with small pockets of life, one after another, with many species I’ve never before had the opportunity to photograph. When it is finally time to turn the dive, we move up into shallower water, through a broad, grass bed. There, we find pufferfish, crabs, more cuttlefish, and many more small species… especially unique is a green, six-centimetre-long roughsnout pipefish, bobbing head-down, almost indistinguishable from the blades of grass around it. As we arrive at the pick-up point, an old mooring base of small stone blocks, Betlehem just won’t let us go. In the crevices are two white-eyed morays, scores of white-banded cleaner shrimp, several nudibranchs and two magnificent, long-spine lionfish, a variety I have never photographed before. As I hang in the quiet water on my safety stop, I marvel at the memory of all the remarkable creatures I’ve just seen, along with the muck night-dive I was able to do immediately following our late-afternoon arrival at the resort the previous day. Although I’ve done a lot muck shooting over the years, I’ve never before found so many species, or captured so many images, in such a concentrated, short time – ever. As amazed as I am at that moment, however, it’s what I yet don’t know that will really make this first day of diving around Bunaken so unique. Before the day is done, I’ll have a second critter dive just up the coastline, at Bulo Cape, a coral and rubble-covered slope where we find peacock mantis shrimp, blue-ribbon eels, many different nudibranchs, a dusky-red, spine-cheeked anemonefish, numerous live sea shells, boxfish, several orangutan crabs… and much more. We’ll also have made the quick trip back to Bunaken Island for a lunch in the Bunaken Oasis Resort’s hillside (gourmet, by the way) restaurant, which overlooks the sea and Manado Tua volcano. Then we will have headed back out to a favourite Bunaken dive site, just minutes from
REMARKABLE
Bunaken AL HORNSBY finds an oasis in the dive hotspot of Bunaken Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, which is giving back to the community as well as providing a five-star experience Photographs by AL HORNSBY
WildWEST
The west coast of Ireland boasts phenomenal vis, myriad varieties of marine life and some of the best topside apres-diving ‘craic’. MARK EVANS headed for the Emerald Isle
STUART PHILPOTT makes the short hop to Spain and finds that Cala Joncols offers a diverse mix of dive sites to keep even the most-hardcore diver satisfied
Photographs by MARK EVANS
Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT
A DIVER’S
I
reland has a strong reputation among those in the know for its fantastic diving conditions, friendly dive centres and, of course, unrivalled after-dive entertainment – i.e. Guinness, great food, live music, banter a-plenty… oh, and did I mention the Guinness? There are dive hotspots the length and breadth of western and southern Ireland, but I chose to base myself in the northwest, around Connemara. There are a whole host of diving opportunities in this area, so you can either dip in on a long-weekend diving break, or quite easily fill a full week of undersea exploration, which is what I opted to do. Photographers, novice divers and veterans alike will be kept well entertained on the house reef of PADI five-star IDC centre Scubadive West. Bursting with fish and invertebrates, not to mention every colour of seaweed you can imagine, the house reef is often where newbies take their first steps into sea diving, but it is so good even experienced divers will find plenty to keep them occupied. My buddy Paul Cushing and I were both armed with cameras, and spent our time working slowly along the barrier where the kelp beds met the sandy bottom. Before we knew it, our computers were showing a dive time of 100 minutes – and our bladders were telling us to get out of the water!
OASIS
INSHORE DIVE SITES
Phuket Dive Guide
Want to get slightly further afield? There are numerous inshore dives sites that are accessed by Scubadive West’s rapid Marlin cataraman RIB, including Inis Barna, which has gained fame as the ‘conger dive’ thanks to the proliferation of large conger eels at the site; 35m-plus sheer wall dive Thanny Beag; and the Gaddys – two reefs diveable to 30m. Wreckies have not been forgotten, and divers can visit the Julia T. The Julia T is a 30-metre supply vessel which sank off the west coast of Ireland while on its way to be decommissioned. It now sits bolt upright in 27m of water and is an extremely popular dive. Visibility is not the best due to its location – it sits in the middle of a vast silt bed – however because it is washed by currents, it is smothered in dead man’s fingers, plumose anemones and bright orange, white and yellow sponges, so it is perfect for underwater photographers. Wrasse and crustaceans make the wreck their home, including edible crabs, spider crabs, shrimp, scorpion spider crabs and squat lobster. Limited penetration is possible at the bow and in the crew’s quarters, but beware, the entire wreck is coated in fine silt, which can destroy visibility with one careless fin kick, so watch what you are doing.
STUART PHILPOTT is a virtual regular at the off-the-beaten-track destination of El Quseir in Egypt, and here he sums up the appeal of this hidden gem Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT
THAILAND is world-renowned for its diving, and PHUKET is the gateway to some of the best sites, as well as offering a whole host of other daytime and nocturnal activities Photographs by AL HORNSBY
M
ention Phuket, Thailand, and most people envision long, sandy beaches, mountainous jungles and a party scene like no other. As Thailand’s best-known holiday island, Phuket is a world headquarters for revellers, with not only friendly locals, but crowds of people from around the globe – from Britain, Scandinavia, Italy, Russia and Australia, especially – there simply to have a good time. Accommodations run from five-star resorts and private bungalows to hostels and everything in between. Restaurants line the streets; besides local Thai and always-popular sushi, there are many others, especially European eateries, usually run by ex-pat visitors who decided they just couldn’t leave. And, the club scene… it’s electric, as funky as you could want it, and amazingly inexpensive. Of course, there is also Thai massage, which is found everywhere and anywhere, in parlours, on the beach or in the hotels. As to sporting options, there are many. While simply lying on some long stretch of beach or taking in the sights around town are never bad choices, you can instead hike to jungle waterfalls, golf, surf, kayak, elephant trek, rock-climb and mountain bike. But, divers have a dirty little secret - there’s even more, much more. Indeed, Thailand’s most-exotic feature may actually be the incredible life that exists beneath the surface of the calm, warm waters of the surrounding Andaman Sea, with Phuket its major access point. With many dive operators and dive charter boats operating in Phuket, reaching both local sites and more-distant dive areas (on multi-day liveaboard trips) is easy. And, there is an incredible range of world-class diving to choose from, with a wonderful density of marine life and many different topographical features. Anemones, soft corals and gorgonian fans grow on huge, granite boulders and walls, creating unique underwater landscapes. There are large schools of fish, rays, sharks and an assortment of macro-critters, plus a fascinating array of trademark creatures not often seen elsewhere, such as giant guitarfish and leopard sharks. And, if that isn’t enough, frequently, in the months of February through April, there are also mantas and whales.
DAY TRIPS
The most-popular day dives out of Phuket are conducted around several island groups within approximately one to two hours by boat. The visibility in the area is good, usually between 15 and 25 metres. These include: Anemone Reef – A submerged pinnacle 30km east of Phuket, it is a marine sanctuary. Its rocky ledges from 5-7m down are covered in anemones with clownfish, and soft corals; in the deeper areas, there are many large gorgonian fans. Dives are from near the surface to a maximum of 25m; moderate currents can be experienced. A good wreck dive, the King Cruiser, an 85-metre-long sunken car ferry, lies on the bottom just a kilometre away. Koh (island in Thai) Racha Rai – One of two lovely islands about 20km south of Phuket, it has huge granite rocks above and below the surface, with lush coral growth and lots of reef fish, such as blue-ring angelfish and several species of butterflyfish. The water is typically calm and clear, with most dives averaging around 15m in depth, though the site reaches 30m. A number of different rays can be found in the sandy areas. Koh Racha Noi – One of the most-dramatic day dive sites, with a maximum depth of 30m, the northern tip of the second of the Racha islands has huge boulders and pinnacles, with lots of fish and a healthy shark population, especially nurse sharks, leopard sharks and grey reef sharks. The southern tip is deeper, averaging 25m and exceeding 40m, with lots of soft corals on the boulders, and there is an old wooden shipwreck. The site features occasional sightings of mantas and whalesharks in the February-April season; currents can be moderately strong at times. Hin Musang (Shark Point) – A line of three main pinnacles, one of which breaks the surface, the site is 1km southeast of Anemone Reef. With an average depth of 20m and a maximum of 24m, it is one of the most-popular Phuket day dives. It has lots of marine life, including sponges, gorgonians and big fish, such as trevally, barracuda and schooling snapper. A brilliant, soft coral-covered arch is a special spot, and a sandy bottom with a number of resident leopard sharks gives the site its name.
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W
hen I began diving in the late 1980s, my instructors would often reminisce about the ‘treasures’ they had found on the SS Kyarra wreck off the Dorset coast. The ornate perfume bottles were quite common, whereas the silver pocket watches much harder to find and infinitely more valuable. I always felt this was some kind of initiation, and once I had delved inside the cargo holds up to my armpits in sludge and scooped out my first piece, I would only then be recognised as a true wreck diver. Today, some 30 years on, divers are still digging deep inside her cargo holds searching for treasure. The massive 126-metre-long, 6953-ton luxury passenger/cargo liner was built in 1903 by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton. She was nicknamed the ‘ship made of brass’ due to the large quantity of solid brass fittings and portholes used throughout. At the beginning of World War One, the liner was requisitioned by the war office and converted into a hospital ship transporting Australian medical units to Egypt. The entire hull was painted white with a huge red cross emblazoned amidships. In 1915, she was reassigned (and repainted) as a troop-carrying vessel. On 26 May 1918, while sailing towards Devonport in Plymouth, the ship was torpedoed port side amidships by German submarine UB-57, captained by the infamous Johann Lohs just one mile off Anvil Point. The explosion tore her apart, killing six of the 126 crew members. Seven minutes later the ship disappeared beneath the waves forever. Bryan Jones, the owner of Swanage Boat Charters, said: “There’s always a souvenir to be had”. The ship was laden with a full 2,600 tons of mixed cargo. Trinkets such as false teeth, glass perfume bottles, silver pocket watches, crockery, ceramic tiles and fabrics have been retrieved. Bryan said: “The comic books are a rare find”. Other booty includes champagne bottles, silverware, brass pen torches, pipes and cut glass tumblers. No one has ever seen the original Kyarra manifest, so who knows what treasures are still down there waiting to be discovered. Bryan said: ‘I would love to get my hands on a copy if one actually existed”. The Kyarra Salvage Company (in association with Kingston and Elmbridge BSAC) purchased the wreck for a princely sum of £120 back in 1967. Bryan showed me a copy of the original bill of sale; he said: “The scrap value of the two bronze propellers alone would have been enough to buy a house”. In the early years, divers could pass through passageways and explore each deck level. But these days, after some heavy salvage work, most of the upper superstructure has collapsed. There are still plenty of distinguishable features, including deck railings, chains, winches, bollards, boilers and the prop shaft, but there is no obvious hull shape anymore. Typical marine life sightings include congers, lobster, sea bass, cuttlefish and huge one-metrelong pollock. I have even seen a sunfish circling the bow area.
National
TREASURE STUART PHILPOTT explains why the SS Kyarra, which celebrates its 100th anniversary on the seabed next year, is such a popular Dorset dive Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT
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The wreck lies on her starboard side at a maximum depth of 30m. Bryan said: “At low water the top of the wreck is at 21m and it sits nine metres proud of the seabed, it’s a nice easy dive”. Altogether there are four cargo holds, most of the interesting finds have come out of number one hold near the bow. But the foredeck winch has now fallen inside, making life much more difficult for rummaging divers. Number two hold is full of copper sheets, pipes and printing blocks. Number three and four holds, on the other side of the boilers, are full of medical supplies, including glass baby feeding bottles and mercury (for thermometers). Bryan said: “The wreck is constantly changing”. While some parts of the wreck have collapsed and become inaccessible, other areas have opened up revealing startling new finds. Since her discovery there have been 1,000s of divers delving inside her holds searching for treasure. I wondered how much cargo had been pilfered, and whether there was anything left to find? Bryan said: “I wouldn’t worry. The amount salvaged probably only equates to several tons, so there is definitely plenty more to find down there”. Most of the finds are just lying buried in the silt, so there’s no need to bring crowbars and lump hammers. Bryan’s own personal Kyarra dive tally is well over the 100 mark. One of his most-memorable dives was deep inside number two hold full of lead printing blocks when a huge conger eel bashed him on the head. The hole was obviously the conger’s home and the confrontation just a warning but coming face to face with an angry conger inside a confined space would definitely have been a bowel-loosening moment. Bryan said: “The comic books were my best find”. He pulled a big lump of black rotting paper out of the silt. Peeling away the outer layers, there were pages of comic books inside, some even in colour. There are a number of charter boat operators in Swanage offering regular Kyarra dives, but times are changing. Bryan said: “These day’s most recreational divers are wearing twinsets and stage cylinders as the norm. We rarely get single cylinder divers below the 30m depth range”. The Kyarra wreck site is located approximately two miles from Swanage Pier. Bryan said: “Door to door it’s an eight-minute boat journey”. I booked up a full day’s Kyarra diving with Swanage Boat Charters and even persuaded Bryan to model for my pictures. The two neap slack tides worked in my favour so I could dive at 9am in the morning and then again six hours later at 3pm. We looked at an exploded drawing of the wreck layout before our dive, making a mental note where to find all the best features. This would save me some valuable underwater time. We dropped onto the bow area and began searching inside one of the cargo holds. I found a number of empty perfume bottles just lying on top of the silt. There were hundreds of plain-coloured ceramic tiles. Bryan poked around and pulled out an unusual pink-patterned tile from the stack. We drifted over the massive boilers, stopping briefly at a part of the hull covered with white anemones, dead man’s fingers and orange cup corals. Bryan posed for a picture and, being hoodless, the shot could have easily passed as a Mediterranean vista. We passed through a shoal of 100 or more stripy coloured pouting on our way to the stern. I stopped again to assess another picture possibility by two bollards and some deck railings. We followed the prop shaft until I saw a huge metal plate with hinges that must have been the rudder. The current was just starting to pick up and with my computer reading 45 minutes, we decided to finish the dive.
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“There were no sticky labels back in the early 1900s, so all the bottles had the company name and logo smelted into the glass, which made them much more collectable” 27
“There are still plenty of distinguishable features, including deck railings, chains, winches, bollards, boilers and the prop shaft, but there is no obvious hull shape anymore”
I had got to see the entire 126-metre-long wreck on my first dive, not in any detail, but enough to work out where I wanted to take pictures. This really is a huge site and requires at least three or four dives for a reasonable exploration. I have probably made 70 dives in the past 20 years and still find areas I’m unfamiliar with. Underwater visibility was an acceptable five to six metres. On rare occasions I have seen more than ten metres, but I wasn’t complaining. This was still enough for me to get a reasonable wide-angle image. Some days the visibility has been so poor I have unknowingly descended through an opening and ended up inside the wreck, which can be quite disconcerting. When we returned to the wreck in the afternoon, I retraced our earlier route beginning at number one hold, but this time stopping at five or six pre-selected spots along the way to take pictures. There are plenty of areas to penetrate, but I’m not sure how stable the wreck is these days, so it’s better to be cautious. It’s impossible to go deeper than 30m, making this is a text book nitrox dive. Average dive times are around the hour mark, with the addition of a few minutes for safety stops and deco. The tidal currents can really pick up quickly, so carrying a delayed SMB is mandatory. Coming back up the shotline is not usually an option. During the evening, Bryan arranged for me to visit local BSAC diver Gordon Grant, who has been a Kyarra regular for more than 25 years. His first dive on the wreck was in 1989, and since this time he has been back more than 300 times. Gordon is undoubtedly a huge fan of the wreck. His favourite finds are the perfume bottles. Gordon showed me a huge glass cabinet in his dining room crammed full of treasure (this has all been declared to
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RECEIVER OF WRECK It goes without saying that any item, however small, recovered from the Kyarra – or any other wreck, for that matter – needs declaring to the Receiver of Wreck.
the Receiver of Wreck). The pocket watches were my favourites. Gordon said on one memorable dive, he found 18 watches. Each watch had taken him around one-and-a-half hours to clean, but the end result was well worth the effort. Gordon had even made one of the smaller watches into a wedding ring. There were no sticky labels back in the early 1900s, so all the bottles had the company name and logo smelted into the glass, which made them much more collectable. Most of the perfume bottles were still full. Gordon opened a bottle and, to my surprise, the vintage perfume still smelled okay. Gordon explained that in order to find the treasure, he had put his whole forearm deep into the silt and then delved about until his fingers touched something solid. Most of the artefacts came out in tip-top condition, so the silt layer must act as a preservative. In my mind, the SS Kyarra is a national treasure. The items recovered from her cargo holds should be put on display for everyone to see. Bryan has approached the local Swanage council, but they are not interested in his proposal for a museum. It’s a shame that so many historical artefacts are hidden away in lofts and garages just gathering dust. I wondered how many other Gordons were out there with an entire display cabinet full of trinkets. As the wreck continues to break up, I’ve no doubt that more and more items will be discovered. Bryan said: “There are still 100s of portholes buried in the silt on the starboard side”. I’m sure that divers will be bringing up treasure from the ‘ship of brass’ for many years to come. Don’t forget it’s the Kyarra’s 100th anniversary next year, so definitely worth a trip down to Swanage for a celebratory dive. n
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DIVE LIKE A PRO
RIB (RIGID HULL INFLATABLE) DIVING is a staple of the British diving scene, and our panel of experts offer up some handy hints and advice for the next time you step aboard. PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK EVANS
R
IBs – also known as RHIBs (rigid hull inflatable boats) – are often called the Land Rover Defender of the sea, as they are tough, durable, designed to cope with less-than-ideal conditions and, shall we say, fairly basic when it comes to creature comforts. There is a breed of ‘leisure RIBs’ available now, as more and more dayboaters came to understand the benefits of a RIB on the open sea over a more-traditional speedboat, and these have bench seats and other useful additions. It is possible to dive from these, but most dive RIBs will be more spartan, with maybe the odd jockey seat and usually a stainless-steel tank rack to securely fasten the BCDs/cylinders in place. Being out on the water in a RIB is exhilarating, and speeding to a dive site in one will be something familiar with many British divers, but if you have never had the opportunity yet, never fear, just soak up the advice that follows and you will be fine. Adrian Collier, BSAC National Instructor, said: “Gone are the days when we tested how much fuel we had on our RHIB by a bamboo cane while we were 14 miles offshore getting ready to head back to harbour after an amazing dive. The old Johnson two-stroke engines that ate fuel and smoked the divers making them sick are distant memories of how it used to be out on the water. “So what has changed? Technology has moved on, we now have modern two-stroke engines that are computer controlled with bluetooth technology to operate them. The first engine service comes after three years of usage and you get a ten-year warranty - how amazing is that! We also now have 3D sidescan sonar and chartplotters that are very much affordable for local diving clubs. All these things make diving safer. “Incidents of broken-down engines are getting less and less due to the advent of new technology. Divers are being trained better with more going for qualification such as the BSAC Diver Coxswain Award, which is a recognised International Certificate of Competence. We now have strict guidelines we have to adhere to which came into force on 1 July 2002 SOLAS V Regulations. If we have not applied the basic outlines when we go to sea and there is a boating accident, you could be prosecuted. So, it is in our best interest to prepare and plan going to sea well before. “BSAC has worked with other dive agencies to produce guidelines for the ‘Safe Operation of Member Club Dive Boats’. You can download a copy of these guidelines at www.bsac.com/ boatsafety.” Gary Asson, National Diving Officer of the Sub-Aqua Association, commented: “I have done some fantastic diving from RIBs. They were a great improvement on the inflatable, in terms of comfort, carrying capacity, equipment, potential distance. and safety. Their only real downside was that you could not just carry them across the beach to launch. “Remember, the Coxswain is in overall charge of anything that happens on the RIB. The Cox will tell you where to store your scuba set, weightbelt, and even where to sit. This sound very dictatorial. However, the shape and size of the RIB makes its trim very important. The Cox will understand how weight distribution effects the vessel, and sort things out accordingly. “When diving from a RIB, you are not really a passenger, you are part of the crew. Keep things tidy, be prepared to assist with
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kitting others up and helping divers back into the boat. Listen to the brief that will be given before the vessel moves off. Make a note of any safety feature that are pointed out, especially the location and use of the boat’s radio, flares, and spare kill switch clip. Just remember it may be the Coxswain that needs help. “You should arrive at the RIB with your kit ready to go. Scuba set ready (Bottle, regs and BCD put together), dry/wetsuit donned. All the rest of your kit should be kept together in a suitable flexible bag. The goody (string) bag is ideal for this. “Entry and exit should be explained and preferably practiced before the day. Rolling backwards off the RIB while holding your mask and ancillaries is quite easy. Once mastered, passing the weightbelt/ pouches and scuba set, while maintaining contact with the vessel, is easy, but requires some thinking about. The actual method of getting back onto the RIB is a combination of pulling, finning and assistance. It is great watching a group of divers who know what they are doing getting everyone back onto the boat. A word of warning though, when you first start helping. It was quite funny watching two of the larger rugby-types getting a bit carried away, pulling my mother out of the water on one side of the RIB and depositing her in the water of the other! “There very few tablets of stone when it comes to diving. However, please please, please. If the Coxswain refuses to use the kill cord, refuse to get on the RIB.” Mark Powell, TDI/SDI’s Business Development Manager, said: “Diving from a RIB is one of those skills that many divers have never experienced. With more and more divers using hardboats and the switch from club-based diving to commercial operations, it is becoming less and less common. Many technical divers will
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turn up their noses at RIB diving. This is a shame because RIB diving has a number of advantages. The ability to get out to and back from a dive site quickly can be very convenient. It is also much more cost effective to run dives with smaller numbers of divers. When you know the right techniques, it can be relatively easy to dive from a RIB. Even technical diving can be carried out very easily from a RIB if you have the experience, knowledge and support. “The other aspect of RIB diving is that it forces the diver to learn about tides, currents, navigation, wreck location, boat handling and many other skills that are usually left to a charter boat skipper. Far from being an inconvenience, these additional tasks can significantly add to the overall enjoyment of diving and increases a divers’ overall knowledge and experience. On diving expeditions I often find that I enjoy the dive planning and boat handling sides of the expedition almost as much as the actual dives. Driving a RIB is a hugely enjoyable activity and is something that is not open to the vast majority of people unless you are a diver. “A RIB can also be launched and operated in areas that are not served by hard boats and so can open up new areas and allow wreck hunting. Diving an unknown wreck is the goal of many divers, but it is even more satisfying to plan a dive, launch the RIB, navigate out to the target area and then successfully find the wreck before then diving it for the first time.” Garry Dallas, Director of Training for RAID UK and Malta, said: “Access to your favourite wreck or reef in the sea often requires transport of a RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat). They’re fast, agile and furious when cranked up and on plane. However, while enjoying
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the ride out, take a moment to consider the instability of passengers, their kit and spatial awareness. “The skippers’ primary responsibility is your safety and his craft. Every skipper has their own methods of preparation prior to ‘ropes off’, so listen very carefully to his briefing and requests. “Important tips to note: • Absolutely adhere to the skipper’s requests while on board. • Everything must be tied down securely, if not you’ll lose it, damage it, injure someone or damage the vessel. • Learn your knots. Especially ‘bowline’, ‘roundturn and two half hitches’ and ‘clove hitch’. • For safety in case of falling overboard, keep drysuits zipped up. • Keep your equipment in a tidy compact space beside you, seriously avoid having to climb over anyone or anything to retrieve a piece of equipment when you’re kitting up. • Take a few moments before stamping your name on your preferred seat to plan how you’ll enter/exit the water with your kit. • Find out the entry procedure for the RHIB – does it have a lift, ladder or lifeline pulls? • Avoid sitting near the bow while travelling - it can be… interesting. • Don’t forget to undo your tank from where its attached to the boat before you start kitting up. • Keep your knives away from the tubes/collars. • Carry a save-a-dive spares kit. • Listen carefully to the dive briefing, it’s for your safety. • Never enter the water without express permission of the skipper. • Keep well away from the outboard propeller/s when returning to the boat. • Work as a team and look out for each other. • Always carry a compass and suitable DSMB spool/ reel (with more line than the planned dive depth) even if your buddy has one and master how to deploy it. • Take a RAID Boat Diving Speciality course prior to the trip. This comprehensive programme teaches you seafarer protocol and terminology. You’ll certainly impress the skipper with your knowledge! • Finally, always test your equipment prior to a sea dive. “Dive as often as you can in the sea, it’s what you’ve been training for!” GUE’s John Kendall said: “Space on small boats is always tight, so my biggest bits of advice for divers new to RHIB diving is to think carefully about what
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equipment you take with you, and don’t take things you don’t need. Since there is not much space, it is always a good idea to fully build and test your gear before loading it onto the boat, and then once on the boat, make sure everything is neat, tidy and near to where you are sitting. A net bag can be invaluable when it comes to keeping your mask, fins, gauges and pocket contents all together. Generally you’ll want to get into your suit before getting onto the RHIB too, so make sure you take plenty of water with you, and avoid overheating before the dive. Finally, make sure you know how you’ll be getting out of the water before you get into the water. Some larger RHIBs will have a ladder which you can climb fully kitted, but for many small boats you will need to de-kit in the water and pass your set up to someone on the boat. It’s best to practice this procedure somewhere nice and calm prior to trying to do it in large waves.” Rich Somerset PADI Instructor Examiner and Territory Director, PADI EMEA Ltd Rich Somerset PADI Instructor Examiner and Territory Director, PADI EMEA Ltd, said: “Getting back into a RIB requires some effort – to get back in, first remove your weightbelt, and then remove your scuba unit, passing each in turn to the skipper. Remember to keep your fins on and use them to drive yourself up onto the tubes of the boat. Once up onto the tubes, many divers like to lie on their bellies and raise their legs, so the skipper can remove their fins - this makes it easier to the swing around into the RIB, and avoids accidentally kicking your buddy on the way!” “RIBs often don’t have much storage space, so keeping your kit together both before and after the dive makes your life easier and helps avoid loss, damage and inconveniencing other divers,” said Vikki Batten, PADI Instructor Examiner, Director of Rebreather Technologies and Training Supervisor, PADI EMEA Ltd. “When you and your buddy are ready to enter the water, you should always check that there are no divers or buoys behind you. Since it can be tricky to twist round to check this for yourself, ask your buddy or the skipper to give you the all-clear before rolling backwards into the water,” commented Emily Petley-Jones, PADI Course Director and Regional Training Consultant, PADI EMEA Ltd. “RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats – aka Zodiac) are not usually covered boats, so don’t forget something to protect yourself from wind/rain/sun” said Mickael Christien, PADI Course Director, TecRec IT and Regional Training Consultant, PADI EMEA Ltd. Tim Clements, General Manager for IANTD, said: “RIB and inflatable diving is an excellent tool to access some complex or small dive sites, either deployed as a tender from an expedition vessel, or from a coastal location that does not support larger craft. It is also an exhilarating and close-knit enterprise that encapsulates the spirit of small team diving and exploration. However, small boats and
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lots of kit require a respect for others in that space, obedience to the craft helm and a maximised ‘s*** together’ co-efficient. “Having conducted pleasure, training and scientific survey or specimen collection dives from small boats, I would place organisation, personal and team at the top of my list. Ensure you have everything, but no surplus. It should be stowed in neat, easily stored containers - a twinset or rebreather plus neat pair of fins is acceptable. A pile of car boot sale ancillaries is not - these should be in pockets or a mesh bag. Remember, this boat will move, divers will move, so protect delicate item such as masks and especially cameras. Boat space should be planned, avoiding blocking emergency gear. “Kitting up is a team effort - accept help and be prepared to give it. The rule of one hand for you, one for the boat means working with team members - this is not a venue for a bunch of solo divers to simultaneously wrestle for the ‘first in’ prize. “To deploy safely from a small boat with all our normal preparation and predive checks complete takes a high level of familiarity with your gear. If you are proficient in touch ID and operation of gear, life will be much easier. Entry may be backwards - protect your mask and gas source until you have righted and can signal OK. Now you can dive. “Recovery and return to shore are similar - work as a team to bring divers aboard, store gear with respect and thought, and ask the coxswain if you are unsure. This will be essential if the next diver is a casualty or someone becomes unwell. Finally, don’t let the achievement of the dive make you forget safety - stay holding and looking out for others. For me, the most-important and rewarding aspect of small boat diving is teamwork - plan, practise, debrief and enjoy achieving your objectives. Small boat diving is an excellent and much underrated tool.” n
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The ‘Why’ of
Wakatobi Seasoned underwater photographer WALT STEARNS presents a dozen reasons why this far-flung dive resort deserves top billing Photographs by WALT STEARNS
HIGH CRITTER COUNTS
Wakatobi Resort is located with the area known as the Coral Triangle, which nurtures the planet’s highest levels of marine bio-diversity. On the reefs surrounding the resort, divers and snorkellers can tally more than 500 varieties of hard and soft corals, 2,000-plus species of fish life and many thousands more invertebrates. Keen-eyed divers can spend hours searching out tiny treasures such as pygmy seahorses, discovering perfectly camouflaged reef dwellers, or scanning the shallows for burrowers. Healthy reefs attract swarms of colourful tropicals, while schooling fish patrol the edges of walls and the tops of underwater seamounts.
W
akatobi Resort (www.wakatobi.com) is consistently ranked as one of the top-rated diving and snorkelling destinations in the world. But what exactly does that mean? Certainly, the quality of the underwater experience is important, but so too are factors such as the setting, amenities, guest comfort and conveniences. It is a combination of all of the above that earns Wakatobi top marks with its guests. But don’t take my word for it. Here are a dozen reasons why the resort remains near the top of so many diver’s bucket list destinations.
PROTECTION PAYS OFF
In an era where even the most-remote diving destinations are subject to the effects of human activity, a policy of managed and enforced protection is the only way to assure the health of the underwater ecosystem. Wakatobi Resort sits within a marine reserve created and operated by the resort’s founders. Covering more than 20km of reef line, the Wakatobi Collaborative Reef Conservation Programme creates a no-take zone that encompasses some of the most-spectacular and biologically-rich underwater landscapes in the region. And it’s a programme that works. Since the establishment of the reserve in the mid-1990s, all destructive forms of fishing have been eliminated, dive sites are protected by permanent moorings, and there is a strict no-touch policy in place for all diving guests. As a result of these efforts, fish populations have increased, and corals have returned to near-pristine status.
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION
Wakatobi’s Collaborative Reef Conservation Programme doesn’t just put a halt to destructive fishing practices and reef degradation, it creates a sustainable alternative by making healthy reefs a source of revenue for the local community. A portion of all guest revenue generated by the resort is used to make direct lease payments to area villages. Revenues also sustain other community initiatives for education, clean water and electrification. By giving the surrounding community a stake in preserving the reefs, Wakatobi has been able to transform local attitudes and encourage a sense of stewardship. And by placing many reefs into a status that creates fish breeding sanctuaries, Wakatobi’s programmes have actually helped local fishermen enhance their catch within designated fishing zones.
CRUISING IN COMFORT
Wakatobi Resort operates a fleet of custom-built dive boats. These spacious 21-metre vessels are designed for passenger comfort, with shaded decks, extra-spacious benches, dedicated gear storage bins and a separate camera table that is out of the way of other divers and snorkellers. Bathrooms are located at the rear of the boat, and at deck level, while water entry is from the middle of the boat. This keeps divers well away from engine exhaust when entering and exiting the water. Underway, the boat’s efficient single-engine design keeps motor noise to a low burble. Boat crews are dedicated to delivering personal service both aboard and in the water. Thorough briefings are provided before each dive, and each guest is given the appropriate level of attention to ensure both safety and maximum diving freedom.
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UNDERWATER DIVERSITY
The dive sites surrounding Wakatobi Resort offer a diverse range of underwater scenery. Many begin as shallow reefs that rise to within a metre or two of the surface then transition dramatically to steep slopes or walls. Some sites are set in protected bays, while others take in open-water seamounts and pinnacles. At many sites, the reef topographies are ideally suited to multi-level profiles, and it is quite common for divers to log bottom times of up to 70 minutes while remaining within a no-stop dive profile. By working with tidal currents, it is also possible to make extended drift dives at certain locations. Night dives showcase a different cast of marine characters, and the dive centre offers the special programme of fluo-diving, which reveals the fluorescing abilities of corals and other marine life.
A SHORE WITH MORE
Guests don’t have to board a boat to discover some of the best diving and snorkelling in all of Indonesia. Directly in front of the resort is the House Reef, which has been named one of the world’s number-one shore dives. Exploring this vast area is as easy as wading in from the beach, or entering from the ladder at the end of the resort jetty. The outer edge of the reef runs parallel to the shore in a series of steep slopes, walls and undercut ledges. Divers have been known to spend entire days working along small areas of this formation, discovering a wealth of interesting subjects at every turn. Just inshore of the reef, a seagrass meadow shelters a menagerie of juveniles, invertebrates and sand-wellers. There is always shore supervision, and to enhance access to the full extent of the House Reef, the dive staff operates small taxi boats that ferry divers and snorkellers to more distant areas up current so they can leisurely meander their back.
SNORKELLERS WELCOME
Though it’s called a dive resort, Wakatobi is also a great place for snorkellers. In addition to the extensive shallow formations of the House Reef, there are dozens more sites where the corals rise close to the surface. Snorkellers are always welcome to join the divers at these sites, and are given the same levels of personal attention with snorkel guides while on the boats and in the water. The ability to mix diving and snorkelling groups allows diver/snorkeller couples and families with younger children to better share the experience.
AFTER THE DIVE
Some guests spend every possible moment of their Wakatobi experience in or under the water. Those who don’t have plenty of additional options. Beach time can include a range of watersports such as kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and wakeboarding. In the months between May and September, light seasonal winds turn Wakatobi into an ideal destination for the exciting sport of kite surfing. The resort now has a dedicated kiting centre, and can accommodate everyone from beginners to experts. Those who would rather stay dry can indulge in a spa visit, wander the island’s nature trail, take a tour of a local village, or sign up for an Indonesian cooking or culture class. The library and lounge in the Longhouse is always available for reading, games and there are often scheduled slide shows and marine life presentations by the resort’s photo pro.
BAREFOOT LUXURY
It’s a phrase that has become a bit cliché. But how else would you describe a setting where spa services, fine dining, attentive personal service and million-dollar ocean views mix with charming beachfront bungalows set in a palm grove, and private villas perched on the shoreline. Each of these oases of personal relaxation is served by an attentive staff, and reached by sand pathways that encourage you to shed both your shoes and any residual stress. Meals are a highlight for many guests. The resort’s team of internationally-trained chefs
WARM WELCOMES
The majority of Wakatobi’s staff come from the local community, where hospitality is a deeply ingrained cultural trait. Guests are welcomed with the same genuine warmth as if they were invited into a private home. When staff members smile and greet you by name, it’s not a gimmick, but rather a genuine expression of welcome. The staff also takes pride in going the extra mile to deliver the extra details of personal service and make sure that guests want for nothing, while at the same time respecting each individual’s privacy. It’s a combination that is almost guaranteed to put you at ease, and spoil you for a return to the outside world.
REMOTE YET ACCESSIBLE
Wakatobi is located on a small island hundreds of miles from city lights. But getting there is easy, thanks to private direct charter flights from Bali, which arrive at the resort’s own airstrip in just two-and-a-half hours. To ease the transition, Wakatobi also maintains an airport concierge staff in Bali, and provides guests access to a VIP airport lounge. The concierge team greets arriving passengers, assists with all details of transfer, and can arrange hotels, transportation and activities for those wishing to make a Bali layover. Once at the resort, guests can choose to tune out the world, but enjoy full connectivity when needed through a combination of internet, cellular and satellite links.
CONCLUSION
There are many more reasons why a stay at Wakatobi Resort is truly a world-class vacation. But to discover all this idyllic destination has to offer, you’ll need to go and experience it for yourself. n showcase their talents with a diverse range of international favourites and Indonesian specialties, and can accommodate a wide range of dietary requirements and special requests.
THE BIG BOAT OPTION
In addition to its land-based facilities, Wakatobi Resort operates Pelagian. This 35-metre luxury dive yacht conducts one-week liveaboard cruises to more remote areas of the Wakatobi archipelago and the southern coast of of Buton Island. Carrying a maximum of ten guests, and offering roomy hotel-like cabins, Pelagian combines five-star service and fine dining with unique access to a range of dive sites. These include seldom-dived reefs, offshore seamounts and some of the region’s best muck-diving venues. Many guests will combine a stay at the resort with a Pelagian cruise.
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WRECK PHOTOGRAPHY DUXY turns his attention to wrecks, and how these great hulking lumps of rusting metal can produce stunning underwater photographs if a bit of time and effort is put into the preparation PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL ‘DUXY’ DUXFIELD
D
iving is made up of some clearly defined sub genres, and wreck diving is surely one of those factions that engenders a lot of passion in its followers. When I was a guide in Egypt, we were often bemused by the ‘rust junkies’ that holidayed in Sharm, especially among the beautiful coral reefs that were our backyard. They couldn’t wait until Thistlegorm day, some of them failing to get enthused about such big hitters like Shark Reef, or Thomas and Jackson in the summer. Transforming into enthusiastic chatterers, like expectant children, en route to Sha’ab Ali in the wee hours of the morning, saying “are we there yet?” It was only when I had left working at the coal face of dive tourism that I started to love wrecks and got to understand why these places garnered such passion. And now I love them. And I particularly like photographing them. Where once the Thistlegorm was a chore to be endured as a stressful day at the office, I now love picking the right time of day to shoot the stern or bow, and advising others about where to find, and how to shoot the classic shots that have been made popular by the likes of Alex Mustard and others. I have escorted a number of photo trips now where wrecks were the main focus, and so I will share with you some of my favourite shots and also how to get them, and maybe surprisingly you’ll find that a lot of the time it’s actually less about what buttons to press and the technicalities of photography, but more about the logistics of the dive and the prevailing conditions which will dictate the shots you get.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Safety is always of paramount importance when diving, even more so when your average depth may be a bit deeper than a typical reef photo dive, so planning and forethought is a really good idea. Getting in without a plan for the shot you want, at the very least will end up with poorly realised images, and at worst could be dangerous. And build lots of time into your plan, I will refer to the Thistlegorm a few times in this article I’m sure, so I will use an example from my own experience. I have been asked many times to facilitate the shot made famous by Alex Mustard of the beams of light streaming from behind the front and sometimes rear wheels of the motorbike inside the port side corner in hold number two. It’s not a difficult shot to take, but requires a discussion prior to getting in, as when your actually there communication is less easy, even more so if you’re inside the hold looking out. You can see your model if you’re using one, out in the well-lit hold, but they can’t easily see you, as you’re blending into the background gloom of the area around the bike. So if you haven’t thought of this then it’s easy to get caught out, as the person modelling can’t see the shooter giving ‘helpful’ directions to their model! On a trip I’m leading it’s much less important I get shots of the bike, and so my job in the plan is to facilitate, but I may well grab a quick shot as I’m placing the remote strobe behind the wheel for others to use. Once the remote strobe is placed I will take up the role of model and the shooter will get in position to get some shots. I’m used to where I need to be in the frame, but the shooter may well have to come out into the light to direct their model. All this movement can cause the shooter to stir up the sediment so if you’re close to the bike you need to be very mindful of this and using raised frog kick, move slowly and carefully in and out of the hold. Einstein was explaining relativity to someone once, and he said that an hour sat with a loved one whizzes by in a minute, but a minute sat on a hot stove feels like an hour. This could very easily explain how time flies by when you’re the one taking the shots, and you’re going to swap places with the model so they can get a shot too, so please be mindful when working as a team like this that it seems an age if you’re modelling, but only feels a very short while if you’re trying to get the shot. This can impact on your no-deco limits, so as before, a good plan is in order. Normally with the bike shot I find that if I’m with just two other divers, then that is probably the only shot we’ll end up getting if we want to do it justice, and all concerned get satisfactory shots. Of course, if you’re on your own with a buddy and you’ve worked it out between you then you’ll have a bit more time, but be aware that these things will often take much longer than you guess, and build that into your plan. Time of day is very important to a lot of wreck shots, so I’m going to use a couple of examples, the first one at the Thistlegorm again and then we’ll move to Abu Nuhas to possibly my favourite wreck photo site, the Ghiannis D. The beauty of a dedicated escorted trip is I allow an ‘open deck’ at certain locations. And the Thistlegorm is one, and for me the very crack of dawn is a fabulous time to dive on her. Not everyone is an early bird like me though, so if dawn is at 5am, then I will often plan with a guide or one of the diving crew to get in at first light. This actually means breaking the surface when it’s dark, but the hidden sun is just lighting up the horizon. I will arm the guide with a good torch too, to model with, and the night before we’ll have had a discussion about what we need to do - it’s a teamwork event and we both have to be happy with what is happening. The shot I’m referring to is the stern of the old girl, covered with streaming
MY ESCORTED TRIPS
A great way to learn how to use new kit and develop your skills is on a dedicated trip. My escorted trips are for all and if you have a GoPro or compact, I can improve your skills and realise your full potential in an easy-going, relaxed environment. If you’re a more-experienced shooter, my itineraries and locations are carefully picked to be very photographically productive. My first this year is in the Philippines on 7 November 2017 - contact Oonasdivers on 01323 648924 and speak or email: lydia@oonasdivers.com I then have a Red Sea liveaboard, the MV Blue Pearl, on 1-8 December, followed by a land-based workshop at Marsa Shagra straight after for a week at the Red Sea Dive Safari camp, which will be a long-awaited alternative to those that prefer to be land-based. I’ve been a few times now and they’ve got it just right with the balance of unlimited house reef diving with some great excursions not to far afield.
fusiliers, and is an example where we stuck to the plan, but then were granted with an extra bonus that I had to think quickly about to get the shot I eventually ended up with. We had discussed prior that Adel was going to model around the stern of the boat, and I was shooting with my fisheye so the stern metalwork was very close to me, but I was still able to get her all in. I like to shoot with a model as it lends scale to the shots, allowing the viewer to identify themselves at the location. I shot with a strobe as I wanted to see some colour in the rusty metalwork as I’ve seen hundreds of very similar stern shots, and wanted to mix things up a bit. As it was very dark I was down to very slow shutter speeds to record some ambient background light, and with a fisheye lens I have managed to shoot as low as a tenth of a second, as long as I’m super still. Again buoyancy skills are paramount here, as you’ll just end up with an unintentionally blurry shot. I had moved Adel to on the wreck looking out from the starboard side, and at that moment, a swarm of fusiliers burst upon us, they were only there for a few moments, so I took a few shots. The one I like is the one here, where my slow shutter speed has shown them as blurry ticks with a sharp front, where the flash has fired. Another point is that I always set my flash synch to second curtain as default, as this means that the blur is behind the moving fish with scenarios like this. Important not to get over excited either, as this shot relied upon me keeping stock still with the fish providing all the movement. The final thing I’d like to show you is a plan myself and my buddy that day, Christian Llewellyn from the Wrecks of the World Facebook group, came up with.
BIOGRAPHY
The Ghiannis D in my opinion is best dived as the second or an early third dive of the day. The sun is higher and so interior shots of the galley mean that the light is streaming in aesthetically through the starboard portholes. Our plan was to wait up shallow near the stern until the rest of the group had carried on inside the wreck. We both wanted a couple of classic stern shots with a diver in to lend some impressive scale to the proceedings. Once we had these, we were to venture inside and grab some shots looking up through the engine room. This is quite disorientating as she is resting on her starboard side, so first time you enter her, be aware that you might feel a bit dizzy. After the engine room shots, we went to the galley and shooting at a very high ISO and slow shutter speed, camera held rock still, I got my favourite galley shot. I wish I could claim that the shots here are all from that one dive, but alas they are many months apart, so honesty is the best policy as always. That’s the thing you see, with wreck photography, trying to emulate shots you admire, you will often have to just take it on the chin and try not to get too disappointed when the plan doesn’t work, be happy if just one of your planned shots works out, you’ll just have to return and try again another time. There’s a lot more to talk about with this subject and in particular how wrecks can be a win-win for all comers, as aside from being spectacular photo subjects themselves they also provide shelter for a host of marine life big and small, appeasing those for whom large rusty objects are a turn off. So I plan to revisit this topic and cover some more points at some time in the future, but for now, I’ll bid you goodbye and please keep safe down there. n
Since returning from Egypt working as a guide in the early noughties, Duxy has been at the forefront of underwater photography technology and how it has changed the way we all now take underwater photographs. Working as sales manager for the two leading underwater photography retailers, and more lately as the photography travel specialist for a multi-award-winning dive travel agent, his light-hearted take on the diving world and underwater photography has resulted in him being a regular speaker at the Dive Shows and at clubs up and down the country, sharing his knowledge and experience with all levels and abilities of underwater photographer. He likes nothing better than to get a beginner started on the route to rewarding pictures, and approaches the subject with an inclusive, rather than exclusive, manner. He now has more than 40 escorted trips under his belt and is continuing to develop new ways to pass on the knowledge and share the love. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @takeiteasyduxy and Facebook as Take iT Easy.
NORTH S outh OR With gin-clear water, year-round sunshine, direct flights and one of the world’s top ten rated shipwrecks, CYPRUS has a lot to offer, and whether you choose north or south of the border, you can be assured a warm welcome Photographs by GAVIN ANDERSON
I
n fact, if you add it all up - you drive on the same side of the road as the UK, use three-pin British-style plugs and beer costs not much more than a pound - you have just about the perfect short-haul dive destination. Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. It’s an island full of contrasts, with fertile valleys full of citrus and olive trees, mountains stretching some 2,500 metres and long sandy beaches interspersed with stunning sea cliffs and sheltered bays. Situated 40 miles south of Turkey, 60 miles north of Syria and 250 miles north east of Egypt, it stands at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. Its strategically important location has led to the island being fought for by the Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, British and, more recently, Turkey and Greece. Britain ruled here from 1878 right through to 1960, when a Greek (NOCF) led liberation struggle (started in 1955 by army colonel Georgious Grivas) succeeded in gaining an independent Republic of Cyprus. Importantly, Britain retained two large Sovereign bases situated around Dekelia in the south east and Akrtini-Episkopi towards the west (on the road to Paphos). Turks and Greeks had lived in relative harmony under British rule, however, Turkish ministers found the new power-sharing constitution unworkable. They called for Taksim (partitioning) as
their communities increasingly came under attack from Greek Cypriots. The UN sent in peace-keepers to try and stabilise the situation, but things didn’t improve and the Greek military, impatient for a solution, launched a military coup against their own President Archbishop Makarious in July 1974. This gave Turkey the excuse they were waiting for and they invaded, taking control of around 37 percent of the northern part of the island and effectively splitting the country in two. Until fairly recently, the border between the two countries remained closed, but in 2003, it reopened as the prospect of entry into the EU softened relations. The good news is that the border remains open today and it is relatively easy to dive both on the Greek south and Turkish north. So, which has the best diving, and where should you base yourself? Personally, having been to the north and south several times now, I’d base myself in the north and make one or two day trips south to dive on the Zenobia and perhaps the south’s other main wreck, the Cricket. The north has much more of a holiday feel to it. Tourism is very important to the economy and really being developed and promoted. There are over 200 hotels and B&Bs. UK travel companies are really pushing the north and offering some amazing deals. North Cyprus, although developing quickly, still somehow has a more laid-back feel to it than the south. Some of the dive sites
“She sunk in June 1980 after a bizarre computer failure caused water to be pumped incorrectly into some of her ballast tanks on one side of the ship!”
are definitely richer in fishlife than the south. There’s no need to hire a car, as the dive shops will collect you from your hotel. The majority of the dive sites are found within a 20 minute boat ride from the main town of Kyrenia. Built round the harbour and set against the backdrop of a stunning ridge of mountains which runs parallel to the coast for most of the island, it is home to the oldest surviving shipwrecks in the world. The Hellenistic merchant ship is thought to have foundered just outside Kyrenia harbour in 300BC. Discovered by a local sponge diver back in 1965, it was successfully salvaged by the university of Pennsylvania and today is housed safely in Kyrenia Castle along with much of its preserved cargo of amphora. You can dive on the site where the ancient wreck was raised, but it’s best to visit the museum before you make the dive. There you’ll be able to see the salvaged ship’s wooden timbers, its cargo of amphora and photographs showing the salvage operation and some of its cargo, which included almonds, wine and olive oil from the Greek islands of Samos Kos and Rhodes. Zephyros is one of my favourite dives, along with the Wall and Paradise. Huge boulders, gullies and overhangs create a great backdrop to the dive, where the reef drops away quickly from 20-32m. A large anchor lies half hidden under one of the boulders. While the reef top is covered in Neptune grass, the walls are encrusted with red algae, yellow sponges and clusters of orange and
green coral. Groups of parrot and schools of sea bream and little rainbow wrasse add splashes of rich colour to the background of green. Octopus, moray eels and grouper too can be found and seem relatively relaxed with divers. Several species of nudibranch could be found grazing on the sea grass, including the dotted sea slug, annulated sea hare and black-spotted aelidian. Slipper or locust lobster with their brilliant orange and purple colouring hang upside down under reef ledges. The Wall right next door to Zephyros drops away fairly steeply, with impressive scenery and often exceptional visibility. In summer, amberjack and tuna can be seen and huge scorpionfish are often seen all year round. Paradise is a deep dive with the reef top starting in 24m and dropping to between 40-43m. Huge boulders create fantastic scenery similar to Zephros and several resident striped grouper and moray eel can be found, and on occasion, turtle. Another dive worth a mention is Freds. Freds is close to Kyrenia harbour and named after a local instructor who used to feed friendly grouper. The feeding doesn’t really happen anymore, but there is still a grouper presence today. Not too far away is the wreck of a Wellington bomber that crashed to the east of Kyrenia close to the power station. The cockpit is the most-intact part of the wreck and is found in just over 20m.
PREFERRED PARTNER
ALPHA DIVERS
Alpha Divers is a PADI five-star IDC centre based in Larnaca which offers recreational and technical diving from beginner to instructor, as well as offering specialist wreck dives on the Zenobia. The centre runs a 22-passenger hardboat and a 12-man RIB, and has a wide range of well-maintained rec and tech gear for rental. www.alpha-divers.com
PREFERRED PARTNER
DEEP PENETRATION DIVING
Deep Penetration Diving is a PADI and SSI centre based in North Cyprus in Alsancak, Girne, which offers diving all around the northern coast, as well as arranging day trips into the south to dive the Zenobia shipwreck. www.dpdiving.com If you really want to get away from it, there are some great dive sites along the Karpaz peninsula. Sites such as Secret Rock, Deep Cave, the Arch, the Karpaz shipwreck, St Andrews Reef and the Great Canyon all have appeal. Whether you base yourself in the north or south, you’re definitely going to want to dive the Zenobia. An entire industry has been built up around the 10,000-ton Swedish-built roll-on roll-off ferry. She sunk in June 1980 after a bizarre computer failure caused water to be pumped incorrectly into some of her ballast tanks on one side of the ship! On board were 104 huge lorries with trailers full of cargo destined for Mediterranean and Middle East markets. Today, the wreck is a divers’ playground. Cloaked in algae and seaweed, the 178-metre-long Zenobia rests totally intact on the bottom with the top of the wreck in just 16m, and the bottom in 43m. With little current to speak off and normally excellent visibility, the Zenobia is a safe easy place for both recently qualified divers and seasoned divers alike. The bridge, cafeteria and lifeboat deck are all very accessible and can be visited without dropping below 30m. As you swim around and inside the wreck, you find yourself squinting your head to imagine how they would look if the ship was sitting upright. In the cafeteria, the tea and coffee machine and the carpet, which is starting to lift off the floor, really remind you that this was a real ferry, similar to many that we might have sailed on. Although no-one died on the ship itself, several divers have lost their lives since, normally losing their way inside the deeper sections of the wreck. One lucky diver who got lost found an air pocket and survived for two hours before rescuers found her! If you’re counting lorries on the outside of the wreck, you won’t reach much more than 20, as most remain inside in the upper and lower lorry decks. In the early years, many lorries hung precariously from the chains that secured them to the ship’s deck, but the chains have rusted through and most of the lorries have slid about as far as they can go towards the sea bottom. The lower lorry deck is definitely worth exploring if you are a seasoned diver and have a guide, as it involves a 40m dive in the
dark with no visible means of exit. As well as loads of lorries, a bright yellow digger and a solitary car can be seen on this level. The upper deck is relatively safe to explore. Some light filters through from a small exit hatch so you feel relatively safe despite being in darkness for most of the time. As you swim through, if you shine your light above you, you’ll notice some of the cargo from one of the trailers - bottles of ethyll alchohol have spilled out and now float seemingly in mid-air! To really enjoy the full impact of the wreck you really need to make at least one sortie to the seafloor. Here you can swim alongside most of the accessible lorries and you can look for the thousands of eggs which have spilled out from one of the trailers and now lie on top of each other! You may also come across air-conditioning units, close to the back of a trailer where they’ve toppled from. You could spend a whole week just diving on the Zenobia, but there are other dives worth doing in the south. One definitely worth checking out is, in fact, another wreck, HMS Cricket. The Cricket was one of ten Aphis-class gunboats built during World War One. Due to be scrapped in 1939, her life was extended by the outbreak of World War Two, where she was crippled by German aircraft off Tobruk, Libya, on 30 June 1941. She was salvaged in Alexandria in 1942 and towed to Larnaca Bay, where the RAF used train pilots on attacking formations. Other dives worth exploring from Larnaca include Sheep Dip Cave, where an arch and overhangs can be explored in just 16m. Looking for a deeper dive, try Mushroom Rocks, where depths reach 50m with some nice rock formations. The popular tourist site of Paphos has two small wrecks, the Achilleas and MV Vera K, which both sank in the 1970s and lie in less than 12m. Amphora Reef and White River are all great shallow sites for novice divers, while drop-offs at Manjijin and St Georges Island offer something a bit deeper. In summary, north or south Cyprus has some great dive sites. If you have a week stay north and make a day or perhaps two day trips south to the Zenobia. If you have two weeks, stay a week in the north and a week in the south! n
“As you swim through, if you shine your light above you, you’ll notice some of the cargo from one of the trailers - bottles of ethyll alchohol have spilled out and now float seemingly in mid-air!”
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FISH WRANGLING WITH THE MASTERFUL MUSTARD PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX MUSTARD & MAE DORRICOTT
H
ave you ever watched storm chasers? Where thrill-seekers chase, and get ridiculously close, to mesmerising and dangerous tornados? Well, that is what was going through my mind on certain dives in the Red Sea during two weeks of Alex Mustard’s underwater photography workshop. Don’t get me wrong, there were many dives when the waters were extremely calm, almost like a mill pond. However, there were those unforgettable dives where the current started to pump! Like the storm chasers, we were out with Alex hunting down breath-taking scenes. But instead of tornados, we were hoping to snap huge aggregations of fish. These schools form around Ras Mohammed National Park in the north due to the waters warming at the start of summer triggering many species of fish to gather for spawning. We were spoilt for choice of what to use as subject matter as there were schools of jacks, unicornfish, batfish, barracuda, snapper and pufferfish (schooling pufferfish are the cutest things ever)! The hard part was therefore, not finding the fish, but getting in the right position to capture the perfect image. Shark and Yolanda Reef, south from Sharm El Sheikh, is located on the tip of the ‘V’ where the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet. Because of this, crazy currents swerve around the reef. One minute the current is pushing you from behind but once you turn a corner it is suddenly head on. Now usually I would just enjoy being swept by the undefeatable motion of the ocean. However, we were trying to take pictures of the gorgeous aggregations of fish, which were effortlessly swimming in the opposite direction to the current flow. Alex spent a large proportion of the workshop educating us photographers on the best way to navigate the sight and approach the shoals without spooking them and avoid dispersing them away from the reef and out into the blue. So, we channelled our inner fish wrangler and would sacrifice 50 bar of nitrox to swim into the currents. With our huge cameras and strobes we would pelt with all our might into the current to try and get ahead of 1,000 snapper to then let the current wash you back towards them and attempt to take some pictures. It was exhausting but totally exhilarating. The workshop was a fantastic environment for me, a newby to underwater photography, to learn from some of the best in the industry. Alex was a great teacher and not only revealed the ways of fish herding, but taught us how to compose breath-taking images bearing in mind light direction and composition. We not only dived reefs but also tried to snap the eeriness of the sunken wrecks of the Red Sea, such as the iconic Thistlegorm, the elegant Giannis D and the coral-encroached Chrisoula K. I had the most-fantastic time and must thank Alex, for impart-
48
ing the ways of generating images that reconnect others to the sea, my now good friends who crew MY Whirlwind, and to Scuba Travel for arranging this most-amazing experience. n
Mae Dorricott
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P29 PATROL BOAT, Malta MALTA Imperial Eagle, The Imperial Eagle was a 45-metre-long motor vessel powered by two diesel engines that was andas was then operating purpose-sunk as a dive attraction in The P29 isinone of the most-popular artifi cial reefs launched Sunderland in 1938. She was used from 1958 a ferry between Malta August 2007 after being decommissioned. off the coastline of this Malta, not least because is and Gozo, and did regular route for tenityears, after which she began transporting cargo around situatedthe off islands. Cirkewwa Point, close to other dive She in now sits1999 upright in around 33m, with the In 1995, itlike wasthe sold toand the the Maltese diving July it was sunk off Qawra hotspots Rozi Double Arch.community and Point, coming to rest in 40m upright on the seabed. Itupper is situated near a statue of Christ, reaching Kristu to portions of her superstructure I-Bahhar, a 13-ton creation made from fibreglass-covered concrete to commemorate Pope A 52-metre Kondor I-class minesweeper originally within 12m of the surface. PenetrationJohn is possible Paul II’s visit to Malta. Originally sunk off St Paul’s Islands in 1990, it was moved to its current built in Germany in 1969, she was used as a patrol for those suitably trained, and she is already well location near the wreck in 2000. The wreck is home to various reef dwellers, and often has boat by theand Offshore Command of the Maritime colonised marine lifeleaving despitethe only being down for barracuda amberjack cruising above it. The wheelhouse hasbycollapsed, Squadron of wheel the Armed Forces of Malta 1997,spot ten years. magnificent in-situ, making it a from favourite for underwater photographers.
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Scuba Diver has teamed up with Typhoon International to offer one lucky reader the chance to land one of the company’s new 70th anniversary special limited-edition drysuits, the DS1. To be in the running to win this fabulous prize and stay warm and dry on your dives, simply log on to the website: www.scubadivermag.com/competition and fill in your contact details. It is as quick and easy as that. NB: The closing date is 15th September, and the editor’s decision is final.
The Typhoon DS1 is the new limited-edition 70th anniversary suit. It pays homage to the first membrane dive suit that Typhoon produced, featuring all the original logo designs, and is still made in the UK at Typhoon’s factory in Redcar. Constructed from Typhoon’s TX6 fabric, with two-layer rubber-taped seams, it features heavy-duty latex neck and wrist seals and comes complete with neoprene socks as standard, with the option of a thermic boot. The two large leg storage pockets feature two compartments, an internal D-ring and attachment loops. The hook and loop tabs make it easy to open and close. It comes with a YKK plastic zip to help reduce weight and increase flexibility, and benefits from a three-year warranty. www.typhoon-int.co.uk
FREEDIVING NEWS MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP
YOGA FOR FREEDIVING COURSE SUCCESS AND FAILURE
Wow - what a month! We saw a few rather interesting things this month - all by the women powerhouses in the freediving world. We witnessed two new World Records smashed in the form of the Women’s Dynamic No-Fins (swimming horizontally in the pool without fins) and the Constant Weight Bi-fins (diving with a wetsuit, mask and fins for depth) disciplines. We also savoured a new chapter of the Yoga for Freediving online course launched by British Champion Sara Campbell. Finally, we also checked out the next greatest thing in the social media world with a SnapChat (one of the social networks out there) Diving Mask debuted by none other than Team USA freediver Ashleigh Baird. Check out all this month’s news right here!
Stephan Whelan Founder, DeeperBlue.com
Ashleigh Baird helps launch Snapchat dive mask Florida-based Team USA freediver Ashleigh Baird recently took to Mexico’s cenote El Pit sinkhole to help launch the new SeaSeekers diving mask. SeaSeekers, by cruise company Royal Caribbean, is a new diving mask designed to help bring that latest trend of social media videos and ‘live videos” to the underwater world. The patent-pending mask is said to be serviceable up to 45m underwater and can last for approximately half an hour on a single charge, the company said, adding that the new hardware is currently being tested by a number of professional divers and will be available to consumers in the near future. There is no word on pricing or when the mask will be available to public yet.
The latest in the line of online training course from World Champion freediver Sara Campbell has recently launhed. Success and Failure, the fifth in Sara’s Yoga for Freediving online programme, provides benefits for competitive freedivers and beginners alike, focusing on the great paradox of freediving – how to succeed when the key to success is letting go of the numbers and the need to succeed. It delves into our subconscious beliefs around success and failure, and sheds light on how these concepts actually create the barriers and boundaries that lead directly to our ‘failure’. The course features lectures, meditation, visualisation, pranayama, and kriya exercises to give students step-by-step tools to resolve the blocks that they are struggling with in their training. It can be purchased for just $50 and can be combined with online private coaching with Sara by upgrading to Premium for just $300. With the help of this course, students can sort through the illusions of success and failure in their training, and return to the understanding what is the real goal and value in their freediving. ‘Success and Failure’ contains six core videos, as well as the two hours of ‘How To’ videos found in every course, which contain all the essential exercises that freedivers need to get started and build a foundation for their practice.
WOMEN’S DYNAMIC NO-FINS FREEDIVING RECORD SMASHED Polish freediver Madgalena Solich-Talanda has smashed her own Dynamic-No Fins (DNF) World Record during the recent Polish Pool Freediving Championships. She did an amazing 191 metre dive in three minutes 21 seconds, which significantly improved her previous record by six metres, an increase which is almost unheard of these days as athletes tend to manage one metre or two metre improvements. Speaking to DeeperBlue.com, Solich-Talanda described her dive: “I did it! Dynamic No-Fins (DNF) is my favorite discipline, I know I have a great technique and this helps in making the distance. During the dive I felt great, I was calm and relaxed. I kept my constant pace of swimming. I knew I was really well prepared after training hard all year. Of course, I was a little nervous but I felt good energy that kept going throughout the competition. There was only one goal in the plan – to end the dive with a white card, no matter where the subway will be. After reflecting from the wall at 175 metres, I felt like I was moving on – and so I did.” Solich-Talanda is now going to take a well-earned break and is flying off on her honeymoon having married her coach Mateusz Talanda only a couple of weeks ago!
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Freediving camera system demonstrated during French competitions
The camera system Diveye, designed to support real-time video from Freediving competitions, has been in France recently to support the Nice Abyss Contest and French National Championships. Both events were demonstrations of camera system capabilities and its potential to increase safety and providing the media coverage of international freediving events. At the Nice Abyss Contest, AIDA International staff were in attendance to see the demo and to confirm safe operation of the drone in a setup with a counter ballast and its suitability in the context of AIDA World Championships to be held in Roatan this year. During the French National Championships, Diveye presented new features of the live stream developed to further increase the appeal of a live stream for both media and a consumer audience. The new features included video overlay of athletes data (age, weight, height, PBs) and photo, and an interview with the athlete presented in the stream just before his/her dive. Alexandru Russu, judge at Nice Abyss Contest and AIDA International Secretary, had this to say about Diveye: “Hindering the competition for the sake of the publicity was my first concern as a judge at Nice Abyss Contest. The risk of rope entanglement especially with a counter ballast and bad weather was the main safety issue, but not the only one. The organisers in Nice used sonar to track the dive and if the signature of Diveye was similar to the one of the athlete on the sonar screen, this would have create confusions and impact the rescue procedures. The risk of hitting or intersecting the trajectory of the safety divers at depth was also something to take into consideration and generally, the sea is unpredictable, so any additional element in the competition zone is practically one more thing to worry about. “Despite all this, everything went smooth with Diveye during the three competition days and even when we had to stop the competition due to bad weather, the Diveye team handled the drone without difficulties, controlling well the trajectory and keeping at a safe distance from the divers. Also, the sonar signature of the drone was clearly different from the one of the divers and it did not create any confusions. Overall, I can say without hesitations that Diveye did not hinder the competition. On the contrary, allowing judges and safety coordinators to view on portable tablets the whole dive in real time for each athlete was useful and also pleasant.” www.diveye.com
APP TO ACCOMPANY EQ-TOOL NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES
Remember the Eq-Tool, the gadget that was crowdfunded last November to help improve your equalisation skills? Well, the gadget’s Italian-based developers, Uba Project, met their US$20,514 goal and recently announced that the accompanying EarON app is now available on the iTunes app store. (An Android version is ‘coming soon’). The Eq-Tool gently blows air into a nostril, opening the eustachean tube and making the eardrum vibrate. The amount of air pressure you apply can be increased or decreased depending on need, and is measured by a wireless sensor connected to a smartphone or tablet. The part that fits onto the nostril is hypoallergenic, washable and available in three sizes: 20mm, 22mm and 25mm. It retails for $155 ‘vat included and shipping’, according to the Uba Project website. www.ubaproject.com
Uribe sets new Bi-Fins Constant Weight world record On Wednesday, the Dominica Dive Fest – the longest running scuba dive and watersports festival in the Caribbean – was witness to Columbian freediver Sofía Gómez Uribe setting a new CMAS world record of 83.1m in the Bi-Fins Constant Weight category. The record-breaking dive, which topped the previous record (held by Slovenian Alenka Artnik) by over one metre, was completed in two minutes 43 seconds, and Sofía was over the moon, especially as this makes her the first Colombian to hold a freediving world record. She said: “I am really happy that I made the dive, I was kind of nervous this morning but I used everything that [my coach] Johnny told me to use, to focus that energy on the dive and keep me present, happy and strong. I’m really, really happy!” Jonathan Sunnex, her partner and coach, said: “We would like to thank The Blue Element safety, medical and media team, Fundacion Sofia Perez de Soto, BBVA, Suunto, Alchemy, and Oceaner, and also Buddy Dive Dominica and their fantastic crew for providing boating logistics, and the Dominica Watersports Association for organizing the annual Dominica Divefest and providing their support. We would also like to thank all of the local people of Soufriere/Scott’s Head and Dominica who have gotten behind us and welcomed us into their beautiful country.”
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PRODUCT REVIEW BODYGLOVE MERMAID LINDEN MONOFIN | SRP: APPROX US$29.99 MARK EVANS: California-based Linden Wolbert has an unusual profession – among other things, this highly talented freediver is a professional mermaid. Now her purpose-built, custom-made tail cost several thousand dollars, but she has utilised all of her experience with a variety of monofins to team up with BodyGlove and create a little monofin especially for children that is essentially a dinky version of full-blown adult versions. Linden, who presents the Mermaid Minute educational videos on YouTube and other channels, is a passionate advocate for getting more youngsters involved in the sea, be it through diving, snorkelling, swimming, conservation or a blend of them all, and so being able to get a monofin that has all the performance characteristics of an adult monofin on to the market was a dream come true. She said: “By teaming up with BodyGlove, I have been able to create a monofin that is perfect for all my little Mermen and Mermaids.” The large plastic blade has high-efficiency water channels for added control, and rubber supports down either side, which not only help with the performance but also cover any sharp plastic edges. The super-soft foot pockets have quick-adjusting Velcro straps which can be released easily and efficiently, in the event the child needs to remove it in an emergency situation. The monofin fits US shoe size 1-4 (and Junior 7-13 with the included soft foam inserts inside the foot pockets). The age recommendation is for ages four and upwards, and I know of several smaller women who can easily fit their feet into the monofin. To test dive this monofin, I drafted in my son Luke, who has been snorkelling since he was four and has completed his Bubblemaker and SEAL Team programmes with PADI. I knew that he had the dolphin undulation movement down pat after seeing him demonstrate it in his swimming lessons, so I told him to maintain the same movement while wearing the monofin, just at a slower pace. His first couple of runs were along the surface, and he was splashing more than getting any propulsion, but once I explained he’d be better in mid-water, he started to come on in leaps and bounds. Within literally five minutes of donning the monofin for the first time ever, he was easily swimming 15 metres plus. As you can see from the photographs, he was very comfortable using the monofin, and even
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flashed me a cheeky grin as he glided past on one particularly long run. I asked him what he thought of the monofin once we were done for the day, and he replied: “It’s awesome! I can get loads of power and it didn’t feel like I was trying that hard compared with a dolphin kick with no fin on. I can’t wait to try it out in the sea and go swimming with the fish and other animals.” In the interests of making the testing more robust, we also got one of Luke’s classmates, Isobel Gray, to trial the monofin. She is a confident, proficient swimmer, though she had not really done much snorkelling, but within a matter of minutes she was happily gliding smoothly a good 10-12 metres through mid-water using the monofin and looked very comfortable. Asked what she thought, Isobel said: “The monofin was lightweight and very easy to fit. I loved it because you went really fast and you didn’t actually need to kick that hard – it felt like you were gliding through the water.” www.bodyglove.com
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ST LU
A bu L H t e OR ve NS of n h BY St e w ha Lu as s t ci s rav a e su bo du ell rf th ce ed ac a d a Ph e bo by ll o ot of v t v og ra th e a he er ph sb e nd na th yA w at be tur e C LH er lo al ar OR w sp ibb NS BY th le ea e nd n or ,
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UCIA
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A
rriving into St Lucia, one of the British Windward Islands that arch through the southeastern Caribbean Sea, is visually stunning, with the sight of a rugged, jungle-covered volcanic isle that rises steeply from a cobalt ocean. The interior is rainforest, with stands of hugely-girthed trees, dotted with massive volcanic cones. The island is, indeed, regarded as one of the most-beautiful places in the Caribbean. For most visitors, especially divers, the first order of business will be an hour’s drive from the airport to the main tourist-diving area along the southern west coast, which takes you past quaint, local towns and through some of the very scenic mountain areas. Rather than being a chore that must be endured after a long flight, for most it is an eye-opener to the many visual splendours and opportunities St Lucia has to offer. Emerging from the forest, your first view of the blue and turquoise sea, with its fringing, golden beaches and swaying palms, can near take your breath away. Nearing the coastline toward the town of Soufiere, which sits at the water along the Soufiere Marine Management Area - where St Lucia’s most well-known dive sites are located - the scene is majestic, as the vista becomes dominated by two, towering volcanic spires rising at water’s edge, the 743-metre-tall Petite Piton, and beyond it, Gros Piton, reaching 771 metres. Therein lies the inherent conflict – for even the most-ardent diver, it soon becomes obvious that some fair amount of out-ofwater time will have to be set aside to explore this enchanting place. After all, there are jungled hiking trails up both Pitons and to the island’s tallest peak, 950-metre-high Mount Gimie, where, if lucky, you may spot St Lucia parrots and dazzling hummingbirds, and hear the remarkable songs of the St Lucia warbler. You can visit the Caribbean’s only ‘drive-in volcano’, where you can soak in the hot mud – 45 degrees C of its bubbling, sulphur springs. You can explore the local Creole culture, which has resulted, since the beginning of the 16th century, from its French, African, Dutch and English influences, with marvellous
expressions in food (St Lucia is famous for its cooking), song and art. Fortunately, especially because the dive routine is so convenient, with super-short boat trips and some great off-the-beach diving, even several dives a day leaves time for these other (not-to-bemissed) pursuits. Or, just plenty of time to enjoy the famed – and unique, actually – St Lucia rum punch. All these other pleasures aside, it’s the diving that brings folks like us to St Lucia – and it’s something special, indeed. For the American diving community, St Lucia found its fame in the early 1980s as a unique, out-of-the-mainstream dive destination, which attracted (especially) diving photographers, at a time when diving was not particularly known in this part of the Caribbean. Then, as now, the diving featured beautiful, life-filled reefs, sea mounts and walls in calm, protected waters; and, just off the beach in quiet coves, grass beds and coral flats teeming with macro and small critter life, such as seahorses, flying gurnards, snake eels, octopus and more. With many sites to choose from, some of my favourites are: Grand Caille – Just north of Soufriere, Grand Caille is a large, sprawling reef that slopes from the shallows into deep water. It is practically covered with orange, red and encrusting sponges and large, barrel sponges, coral mounds and stands of purple, deep-water gorgonians. Swirling above the reef are clouds of damselfish, and around the bottom are many reef species, such as porcupinefish, angelfish and butterflyfish. Especially numerous are common lionfish, a Pacific and Indian Ocean species that has made its way into the Caribbean in recent years. With few natural predators in these waters, they seem fearless, and appear to nonchalantly pose for images, completely unperturbed by divers and their strobe-flashes. Wreck of the Lesleen M – Just north of Grand Caille, the wreck of the 49-metre-long freighter Lesleen M sits on a 20m sand bottom, its superstructure at only 12m. It is colourful and loaded with schooling fish, which congregate inside the easily-entered upper deck areas. We saw squirrelfish,
“Probably my favourite St Lucia site is Superman’s Flight, an exciting current-drift dive that runs along the base of Petite Piton, where it dramatically rises straight up from the sea”
bigeyes, tomtates, goatfish, snapper and individual trumpetfish, in numbers. Brightly-hued gorgonians hung from the ceilings and passageways, encrusting and tube sponges grew in profusion, and blue runners and jacks circled about. Down on the sand near the hull, there were a number of garden eels and several small southern stingrays were seen. It is an interesting, easy wreck dive, well-lit for photography. Pinnacles – Another nearby site is Pinnacles, four seamounts that rise up from deep water to reach near the surface. It is one of St Lucia’s most-dramatic dive sites; in very clear water, the spires are covered in black and orange gorgonians and large sponges and surrounded by schooling snapper and jacks. Grouper are seen along the rocky surfaces, and brightly-coloured crinoids extend their arms out from crevices, in surprising numbers. Green turtles are frequently seen, along with resident barracuda. Dive profiles – starting as deep as you would want, then meandering your way around the spires in an ever-ascending route – are ideal, never wasting a moment of bottom time. Superman’s Flight – Probably my favourite St Lucia site is Superman’s Flight, an exciting current-drift dive that runs along the base of Petite Piton, where it dramatically rises straight up from the sea. So named for a down-the-face flyby in the Superman II movie, especially when the current is up, divers are provided fly-bys of their own, along the steep underwater wall of the piton. An especially rich area, the wall has masses of gorgonians, sponges and corals, with lots of fish moving about. In the many crevices that splinter the volcanic rock, it was easy to tuck in, out of the current, to find smaller life and even comfortably shoot macro (which I did on one dive). The small life was actually quite remarkable, with more arrow crabs than I have ever seen, not hidden in holes in the reef, but out in the open, wandering about, unusual in daylight hours. Additionally, there were a number of different shrimp species, including banded coral shrimp and brilliantly-colored Pederson cleaner shrimp, equally unperturbed by our presence. Notably, there were surprising numbers of smooth trunkfish, meandering about the bottom – a
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species known to predate on small crabs, shrimp and gastropods. Also unique were the large numbers of feather duster worms, which seemed to flare out everywhere from openings in the many sponges that grew about the bottom; and bright, almost luminescent-pink vase sponges were seen at practically every turn. Anse Chastanet Reef – By all accounts St Lucia’s original popular dive site, this lovely spot begins just off the beach in the cove that is the home of the popular Anse Chastanet Resort. It’s existence has not only been one of the keys that popularised St Lucia diving beginning in 1981, but is an aspect of the easy, no-lost-time dive availability that helps makes St Lucia unique (and helps provide the time to enjoy the island’s many topside activities mentioned). With PADI five-star dive centre Scuba St Lucia located on the sand, at water’s edge, a dive, whether it be early morning, between boat dives, in late afternoon or after sunset, and all times in between, is a matter of suiting up along the low wall between the centre and the water, taking a few steps across the sand, and – voila - you are on a dive. The underwater terrain, in flat-calm, clear water, begins as sand and quickly changes to patch-reef just a few metres offshore (or grassbed, depending on which direction you head, and what kind of marine life you are looking for). Ideal as an easy dive, with depths eventually extending down past 30m along the coral-covered slope, it is special for macro photography in the shallows, for larger fish and turtles among
“Notably, there were surprising numbers of smooth trunkfish, meandering about the bottom – a species known to predate on small crabs, shrimp and gastropods”
the corals deeper. Its bright, calm conditions are also great for snorkelling. In my two, quick, between-boat-dive dives there, we saw octopi, a peacock flounder, goldspotted snake eels, two species of tilefish, juvenile boxfish, trumpetfish and many more (some quite unusual for broad daylight), as we searched the grass-bed and the edge of the reef in less than 6m of water. (I’m told that the night dive critter-finding is particularly superb.) There were two, special species common to the reef, however, that we didn’t get to see this trip – the slender seahorse and the flying gurnard (oh, well – next time).
CONCLUSION
While there are rave reviews and many excellent reasons for visiting St Lucia – as singles, couples, families, honeymooners, hikers and others will all tell you, there is an even more expressive group. Yes, you guessed it - divers. n
“We are highly experienced divers who have been diving for almost 20 years all over the Caribbean among other places. We would come back and dive with these guys in a heartbeat”!
ST LUCIA SCUBA DIVING AT ITS BEST
• 33 air conditioned sea view cottages located on the stunning west coast cliff side
above the marine reserve in Anse Cochon, Saint Lucia • 6 dive sites located within a 4 minute boat ride with 10 more a maximum of 30 minutes away! • 2 bars and restaurants, Spa, over the water yoga deck, fresh water pool • Lesleen M wreck dive just 300m off the beach – a 30 second boat ride! • Professional, personal diving at its best • PADI dive centre • 2 marine reserve shore dives right off the beach • Maximum of 12 divers on the boat
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The premier dive centres in the UK and the Caribbean…
…together we look after your whole diving journey!
Dive Agency News Each month, we invite all the main dive training agencies to showcase new courses, forthcoming events, staff changes and promotions, and so on. scubadivermag.com/agencynews
IANTD UK instructors have again been active on wreck, cave and training dives. Bob Scullion, in addition to the Normoxic IT rating reported before, has also achieved Normoxic CCR IT and is regularly diving wrecks off the NE coast. Tim Kociuch has advanced the Stoney Cove technical training capability, reaching Normoxic instructor. Special mention goes to OC and CCR instructor Phil Grigg for his role in the Highball bouncing bomb project in Loch Striven, demonstrating the IANTD values exploration as well as training. IANTD was also proud to support the multi-unit CCR trydives at Vobster Quay, which provided a thorough overview of available CE units, with an in-depth talk on CE testing from IANTD UK licensee Martin Stanton. www.iantd.uk.com
MOD Diving Standards Officers Nick Harrington and Marc Sturch have just completed a TDI Cavern Course in the overhead environment of South Wales with instructor Michael Thomas. The MOD have recently approved a cavern-diving expedition to Mexico and any future expeditions will require TDI Cavern Diver qualification. The diving standards team undertook the course with experienced cave diver and instructor Michael Thomas in order to better understand the details of this type of diving. Diving in Porth Yr Ogof and the Silica mines gave them an opportunity to lean about overhead environment diving and also to experience the challenges and rewards of cavern diving. Dive Manchester are the latest facility to cross over to SDI. Instructor Trainer Mark Powell ran a crossover course for their instructor team and will be working with them to grow SDI in the Manchester area. SDI is delighted to launch their version of the RNLI Diver Sea Survival course. SDI UK were closely involved with BDSG and RNLI in the development and filming of the materials for this project, and SDI head office were very keen to adopt it as an SDI course. The course is aimed at divers who have learned abroad or primarily at inland sites and want more experience of UK sea diving. It is also aimed at divers who want to know more about dive planning or just want to improve their ability to avoid or deal with potential incidents. Instructors with experience of UK diving can apply to teach this course by contacting the UK regional office. www.tdisdi.com
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SHARK WEEK 23-30 JULY Since 1988, the Discovery Channel has been scheduling an annual, week-long, programming of shark-related content. Falling in July or early August, over the years it has gained in popularity to be the longest-running cable television event in history. The name? Shark Week. Throughout Shark Week 2017, PADI will be publishing shark-focused content to further develop and educate divers and non-divers about these magnificent apex predators. As PADI divers, and ambassadors to our ocean planet, we believe we can inspire change through education and our Four Pillars of Change. With our Marine Animal Protection and Ocean Health pillars in mind, we will be focusing on the work that Project AWARE does to protect sharks and rays, as well as producing original content to highlight the need for humans to help these beautiful creatures that are so vital to the health of our oceans. WOMEN’S DIVE DAY 2017 On 15 July 2017, the dive community around the world celebrated the third annual PADI Women’s Dive Day. Divers and non-divers came together to support and encourage more women, men and families to share the underwater world. In total, PADI Resorts and Retailers across 85 countries held 870 events, proving how much the dive community values supporting this cause. This growing global phenomenon witnessed events ranging from helicopter escape training in the UK, themed boat trips in Spain, to dress up in the Maldives. We are already looking forward to PADI Women’s Dive Day 2018 and seeing what imaginative events are created by our members. THE PADI DIVEMASTER ZONE There are PADI Divemasters on every continent who are diving in conditions of every kind and working with people from across the planet. You are all linked by one common bond - your love of scuba diving and the lifestyle it has given you. The PADI Divemaster Zone aims to bring together the stories and knowledge of an enormously diverse group of PADI Professionals, specifically PADI Divemasters. You will find practical information and advice from the PADI Office, PADI Ambassadivers and also collective experiences from peers around the world. So whether you are a seasoned Divemaster, or aspiring to join the instructor ranks of PADI Professionals - welcome! www.padi.com
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GROUP TRAINING IN THE MIDLANDS Ilkeston and Kimberley Sub Aqua Club, Mercia Sub Aqua Club and Mansfield and District Sub Aqua Club joined forces for a recent Rescue Diver course at Dosthill Quarry. Clubs working together in this way to develop divers and continue training is an important part of the SAA, as we all work to having better qualified divers enjoying the sport. ILKESTON AND KIMBERLEY SUB AQUA CLUB Congratulations go to Darius and Tony from the club, who successfully attained their Rescue Diver qualification following the final assessments at Dosthill Quarry. Members of the club participated in the Community Seagrass Initiative in the South West, an important survey of seagrass and sea life. ARNEWOOD DIVERS SUB AQUA CLUB Martin Saunders is now a Dive Leader, having completed both dry and wet assessments. Martin received his award from club Training Officer, David Simon. MERCIA SUB AQUA CLUB Christopher Bailey and Nathan Akadian successfully completed their Nitrox course, and Christopher is now an Open Water Diver. Andy Seals, Martin Long and Lindsey Fisher have received their Rescue Diver certification. Andy Seals, Martin Long and and Steph Skermer are also now Club Instructors, giving this active club even more opportunity to develop divers. DAVY DIVERS Davy Divers were featured in the local press, including a short video, following their encounter with seals. Congratulations go to Nick Hare, on qualifying as an Open Water Diver. He received his Open Water Diver certificate from Davy Divers 107 Dive Officer and SAA North East Rep, Chris Thompson. CAINE DIVERS Teresa Maynard is now a Club Diver and has passed her Nitrox course. John Penny has also gained his Nitrox certification. www.saa.org.uk
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RAID AT BLUE ABYSS RAID were recently made a partner for the exciting new diving and space centre, Blue Abyss. RAID UK and Malta will help provide the 35-strong team that will support the vast range of research and testing in the facility, due to open in 2019. Boasting a 50m-deep indoor pool, divers are going to be clambering at the chance to explore this dive site. James Rogers, Director of RAID UK and Malta, noted: “For all the sports divers of the UK, Europe and indeed the world, this is the future. Blue Abyss will be the planet’s number-one indoor dive facility and the most sought-after pool dive location”. However, if you want to train in this fantastic facility, now is the time to switch to RAID. Divers from all training agencies will be invited to explore Blue Abyss, but only RAID instructors affiliated to RAID Dive Centres will be permitted to conduct courses. REVAMPED RAID DIVEMASTER COURSE The completion of the new Divemaster programme represents a major milestone for RAID. Having now overhauled every programme from Try Dive to Instructor Trainer, RAID can proudly boast the most-modern training system in the industry. The updated syllabus creates a well-rounded dive professional with the knowledge and practical skills that will make them a cut above the industry standard. The new package, like all RAID courses, contains online learning through the innovative RAID learning platform with brand new study manuals. Candidates will receive the same level of skills training as a RAID instructor, plus experience scenarios that will prepare them for real-world professional diving work, including working with real students and certified divers. www.diveraid.com
BBC Blue Planet II’s Rachel Butler and John Ruthven will be sharing their adventures as part of arguably the world’s finest underwater production team at this year’s BSAC Diving Conference (www.bsac. com/conference2017). In their talk ‘New perspectives beneath the waves’, the Blue Planet II duo will give conference delegates an insight into the challenges and experiences of producing underwater documentaries. To be held at the Vox, NEC Birmingham on Saturday 21 October, this year’s BSAC Diving Conference has an impressive speaker line up, including diving medicine expert Dr Peter Wilmshurst , BSAC Safety Adviser Brian Cumming and Receiver of Wreck Alison Kentuck, as well as key BSAC training and organisational updates. Building on the success of last year’s sell-out conference, the 2017 event will also have even more workshop sessions and plenty of networking opportunities, all in a great new venue. New for this year, the event will also be offering dedicated Dive Leader lectures to support members in achieving this BSAC grade. BSAC’s National Diving Officer Sophie Heptonstall, who is overseeing the event, said: “It’s really encouraging that the conference has grown over the last couple of years. The new venue is fantastic and just what we need to support the event’s ongoing growth and success.” www.bsac.com
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COULD IT BE
Magic? CATH BATES finds a twin-centre stay in Bohol and Moalboal in the Philippines offered a real blend of dive sites and marine life diversity Photographs by CATHERINE BATES
T
he Philippines is comprised of over 7,000 islands, which were formed by volcanic and tectonic activity. Your choice of preferred marine life is how you form your holiday itinerary: i.e. Malupascua Island for thresher sharks, or Dumaguette for macro. A keen (but amateur) photographer, I love unusual tiny critters while also enjoying some larger marine life. I love muck, but get a hankering for soft corals after a few days. This is why I chose a twin-centre holiday at Bohol’s Magic Ocean and Moalboal’s Magic Island. I got the best of both worlds in the Coral Triangle, with my island-hopping conveniently organised for me by the same company.
BOHOL
You won’t find paradise close to an airport in many countries, so after clearing immigration at Cebu, my partner and I were collected by car and taken to the port to board a Fast Cat ferry (in Business Class, I might add!) bound for Tagbilaran on the neighboring island of Bohol. This journey was quite comfortable following 26 hours of planes and airports and two hours later we were in a people carrier on our way to Magic Ocean. The next four days comprised of some excellently guided dives along the 15km coastline of Anda in the East Coast. The area we had chosen is known as the Visayas in the Bohol Sea. Easy-toaccess medium-sized outriggers (called Bancas) motored us anywhere between five and 45 minutes away and the dive guides and crew kept us refreshed with tea, coffee, mango and banana between dives. In these four days we dived a combination of wall and muck dives with some sites made up of sandy plateaus with large coral heads in the shallows. A staunch conservationist myself, I was really pleased to see an absence of rubbish here (which I encountered before in Manado), but the effects of over-fishing, sedimentation and dynamite fishing are evident from times past. Filipino Senator Loren Legarda is leading a bill to ensure the fishing or taking, possessing, transporting, dealing, selling, or disposing of any shark species will be banned in all municipal waters of Cebu. I was also impressed that the pygmy seahorse code of conduct was displayed clearly in the diving centre. Bacong East treated us to various nudis from the steroid-chunky Nembrotha to the glamorous skirted Chromodoris. Along its sandy and rocky slope were anemones sporting various species of anemonefish and shrimps. A beautiful twin-coloured Persian Carpet flatworm changed direction like it was being ridden by Aladdin himself! Birhen Point’s rocky slope hid peacock mantis shrimp like a game of Where’s Wally. I was photographing two morays that were posing like a double act giving that ‘just finished the punchline to a joke’ look and was spooked by a scorpionfish scooting away from underneath my camera housing. Just before surfacing I played hide and seek with the gills of a lightening white Ardeadoris among the muck. Coco North had a forest of large soft sea fans running down its
gentle slope. At the bottom I found a black and white chunky blob of a nudi which I later learned was a Funeral Jorunna. Such an unfortunate name for a creature with such feathery rhinophores and dancing gills. A hawksbill turtle hid in the reef turning away shyly on our ascent. The following day we travelled the short distance to Turtle Point, where the topography became steeper, with a wall adorned with yellow sea cucumbers. A beautiful spotted white egg cowrie perched precariously sideways in a barrel sponge. While shooting an ungainly awkward swimming giant frogfish, my buddy pulled my leg to alert me to the six hawksbill turtles circling us. In the shallows a banded sea snake squared up to my strobe. Seahorse Point was our second wall of the day with a sandy bottom. Its namesake remained elusive, but we were rewarded instead with a tiger and peacock mantis. As much as I love these guys for their colour and skewwhiff boggle eyes, they always make my skin crawl somewhat when scurrying back into their holes like massive cockroaches! We were also witness to scorpionfish, moray eels, a hermit crab and a powder-blue Willan’s Chromodoris that reared up to the camera with the ambition of a python. Lamanok Island is a muck-divers’ paradise. After a 45-minute boat ride hugging the coastline to the North, we dropped anchor in front of three limestone rocks adorned with trees and ferns. In just five minutes gliding across its shingly bottom, I had snapped a blue dragon, Phyllidiella, Phyllidiopsis, Glossodoris and Pyjama slug. Slightly better camouflaged were the five banded Tozeuma shrimp on a single whip coral, Xeno crab and the bristle-tailed filefish kissing the sandy bottom. A white-bonnet anemonefish gave me the ‘Put ‘em up’ treatment as I attempted to photograph him under the flowing skirt of his carpet anemone. It was like all my Christmases had come at once to now dive Lamanok Sanctuary. We had hopes of finding a wunderpus that had put in an appearance a few days previously. Today, said wunderpus had wonderously scarpered, but still – what a dive! My 60mm lens worked overtime focusing on such alien lifeforms as the Zanzibar whip coral shrimp, mutant-looking Ceratosoma, slender pipefish and Fusia flatworm. Who knew muck could be this colourful? A crab hitching a ride on a cauliflower jellyfish looked like a drunk on a trampoline, while a juvenile sweetlips kept us giggling all during the safety stop with its disco shimmy. I thought the flying Helmut gurnard was the icing on the cake until a six-metre whaleshark decided to play hide and seek with the boat on our way back to the resort. We all jumped in the water, holding on to the wooden outriggers trying to catch up with the gentle giant. It was a decent-enough experience peering at the juddering gills through the plankton soup, but enough to wear me out for the rest of the day! Wonderwall was the dive I had been waiting for. Having seen just how teeny the pygmy seahorse was in Lembeh, I didn’t hold much hope in being able to photograph it with anything less than a 100mm lens. However, the pair of Bargibunti (pink and orange bumps and colouration) held fast on their gorgonia see-saw long
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“The larger males and smaller females start to strut around above the coral heads looking for a mate. In the blink of an eye they meet, they rise up slightly together side by side and then… poof! It’s over”
enough for me to seal them in my memory forever. My eyes found it really hard to refocus after the guide had removed his pointer! The Wonderwall overhangs also gifted us with a flamboyant cuttlefish, dark margin Glossodoris, and both coral and anemone shrimps. Candy crabs are the punks of the underwater world but with the ability to slip upside down beneath their soft coral castle. I have spent much of my time with them screaming in frustration. When they are considerate however, they make the most-vibrant subject. On Coral Garden I also found the more-reserved spotted porcelain crab and a fimbriated moray glided through the barrel sponges. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more beautiful, a family of false clown anemonefish jigged about atop their white barrel anemone. Our last dive on Bohol was to be Dapdap. We had heard wonderful things about this as a great night dive site, but we hadn’t wanted to interrupt San Miguel time! On the shallow sandy plateau our guide found most-unusual critters for us among the crinoids and giant sea pens: a marbled snake eel buried in the sand, pointing skyward; a sea cucumber swimming crab underneath its host; a tiny delicate shortfin lionfish and a rare harlequin swimming crab. We were also treated to a dance by three sea moths gliding effortlessly above the bottom like Star Wars sand cruisers! Magic Ocean had a very sociable feel. You are encouraged to mingle with like-minded people from other cultural backgrounds (predominantly a German and Dutch clientele, but we also chatted to Brits and Finnish guests) and to share diving experiences. I can see this is a huge pull for solo travellers. Should you decide to do just the two morning dives, you have the option to chill by or swim in the ample-sized pool, consult the numerous fish Almanacs by the sofa, or fill in your logbook at the well-stocked bar. My partner was treated to a birthday pancake one morning and the kitchen and waiting staff sang almost every evening after dinner service. I couldn’t fault anything about the resort from the service to the food, the huge bungalows and well-tended grounds, reception, dive guides, boats or crew. There was clearly a management presence every-
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day but you weren’t given the impression that the staff were jumping to attention. They were always smiling, happy and chatty. Magic Ocean is not yet two years old but the owners clearly know what they are doing with a tried-and-tested formula stemming from their first project over on Moalboal Magic Island, which is where we headed next!
MOALBOAL
Moalboal means ‘bubbling water’ as there are springs on the southeastern side of Cebu island. Our journey from the port involved a two-and-a-half hour giddy ride up and down the mountainous palm-lined roads to get to the soutwestern area of Moalboal. Eventually we could see down to the azure colour of the Tanon Strait and a short drive further to Magic Island resort. Still in the Visayas, it is here the Strait connects the Visayan Sea to the Bohol Sea. This part of the Coral Triangle is most famous for the tiny island of Pescador. Backpackers have been diving it since the 1970s and today it is also very popular with technical divers. There are a number of different options when diving Pescador Island (or Pyscod Island, as my Welsh counterpart kept
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calling it – meaning ‘fish’ in Welsh!). The classic way is to begin on the southwest side. What struck me after so many days of sandy and rocky slopes in Bohol was the sheer drop-off. It reminded me a little of the Brothers or the Tiran Strait in the Red Sea. Schools of bigeye jacks, snapper and barracuda cruised by and the admirable reef wall was strewn with tube sponges crawling with sea cucumbers. Among them, the clumsy frogfish - looking like giant Haribo jellies - occasionally opened and closed their mouths. We dived Pescador South West twice in this week and on two occasions found a pair of frogfish pathetically camouflaged together. They looked like their awkward bodies could slip off their sponge perches any minute! A pair of Spanish dancer nestled together in an overhang at 30m, one of which was the same yellow and red as a rhubarb and custard sweet! The southeast side drops off to beyond 65m. The soft broccoli corals on this side were the brightest we had seen on our holiday so far. Also sea fans, basket sponges and black coral decorate the wall. We admired more bloated frogfish, bearded scorpionfish and the most-vibrant blue damselfish darting about above the plateau by the staghorn coral under the boat. Our afternoon dive was with stalwart guide Manuel. I had heard about the schools of sardines on Pescador Island and was disappointed not to find any in the morning. He explained to us that they were rarely seen over on the island anymore, but would take us to Panagsama after lunch. My maximum depth was 11m! For 60 minutes my buddy and I were hypnotized by the shape-shifting sardines and I was reminded of watching clouds morph into animal shapes as a little girl. The shimmering school of fish dazzled us with a seal, a moose, a dog, a perfect oval with a hole in the middle, a manta… everything and anything your imagination can come up with! They were like swarms of swallows at dusk, swooping in and then darting away. At this depth and with this light, I had no need for a strobe. I took over 200 photographs but still had moments where I was so amazed by what my eyes were seeing, I could barely lift the camera! Sadly, there was no thresher shark cracking the whip of its tail to stun the school today, but it was still better than the scene from Finding Nemo where the silver school of fish show Dory the way to the East Australia Current!
Fish Feeding – an unusual name for a dive site (where thankfully they no longer feed the fish) but a really diverse environment. I was ready for another macro fix following the previous wide-angle day. Along the slope we found anemones and whip corals gifting us with shrimp and the always hilarious candy crab chucking another pink coral hat on. On a barely there Muricella sea fan, a Deniz pygmy seahorse swung in the gentle current. I tried and tried and tried to focus my eye then my lens, but the fan was just too soft and the duck-like pygmy just too small. Disappointed, I moved on to slightly less complicated still-life creatures – a Calpurnus verrucosus (egg cowrie) and Plankobranchus ocellatus (ocellated wart slug). Eyoy Point complicated matters by throwing big green and hawksbill turtles at me while I was shooting crinoid shrimp and a triton slug. The table corals here were immense and in such good health. Following the dive, we stopped at White Beach for our tea and mango break getting a fix of soft white sand that we didn’t have at Magic Island. Pescador Island from the West towards the East is not often dived but we were interested in seeing the Cathedral. Call it what you wish – canyon, chimney, swim-through; what amazed me was the perfect skull shape that it threw up at you from the depths. A team of rebreather and open circuit divers shone their torches up towards us through the eyes of the skull. Today was a day I wished I could have been looking from the bottom up! Following the wall into the shallows I found my favourite little pea-sized yellow boxfish and got divebombed by a number of territorial damselfish. Banlot had all your usual macro suspects but when you hear your dive guide squeal underwater you know you’re about to see something cool! Rowena carefully angled her pointer stick toward a yellow crinoid but I had to blink a few times to focus my eyes. There - hovering motionless - was a delicate ghost pipefish as thin as a freshly spun web. Our final day was astounding. We braved the waves at the far north of the coastline in another attempt to find the elusive Hippocampus Deniz. The tiny
“We were also treated to a dance by three sea moths gliding effortlessly above the bottom like Star Wars sand cruisers!”
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crew bounded along the palm tree outriggers avoiding the spray from the surf and eventually dropped anchor at Copton Point. Swimming down the slope towards the drop off three or four peacock mantis shrimp scurried across the rubble. I imagined the theme from Benny Hill as I watched these bug-eyed oddities move about! Today the Deniz played ball and did her robotics on a less-flimsy fan which allowed me to snap away to my heart’s desire. Shallowing up from 30m we found the plane wreckage that was sunk here deliberately in 1993. Around it was a macro zoo including cuttlefish, spiny devilfish and an ornate ghost pipefish. Under the boat by the pretty coral garden hid nebrotha guttata, phyllidiella pustulosa and a harlequin swimmer crab that tried to be anonymous among pieces of shell on top of a chunky sea cucumber. Kasai Wall is the house reef of the famous Kasai Village. It boasts bubble anemones, crinoids and sponges which all house colourful critters and beautiful blue sea squirts adorn rocks like posies. This dive gave us four hairy squat lobster, a white leaf scorpionfish, orangutan crab, two painted frogfish and an obtuse orange squat lobster clinging to a similar-hued crinoid. We couldn’t have wished for a better finish. At Magic Island I found the boat crews chatty and super-helpful (bar one incident with the threads of a cylinder) and the dive guides knowledgeable and attentive, even taking requests! The food was excellent and rooms clean. It’s not as green as its sister-resort Magic Ocean and it is older, but we loved being able to watch the sunsets over the water each night. We did consider the island excursions were overpriced and were made to feel that it was an inconvenience to send out a car for just two of us, but it wasn’t high season. The diving was world class though, and that is why you would come to Moalboal. As a twin-centre holiday with Magic Ocean, we were pleased that they organised everything at a really reasonable price, including airport transfers, ferry tickets and birthday requests! n
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W
hile there are plenty of scenic reef and the odd wreck dive around the Farne Islands, these little specks of land just off the Northumberland coast would probably not have the enormous following they currently enjoy among the British diving fraternity if it wasn’t for the colony of grey seals that call them home. People will happily travel up from the far reaches of the South Coast to spend time in the water with these charismatic mammals. The Farnes actually have the UK’s largest population of Atlantic grey seals, some 5,000 plus in total, with numbers increasing every year. More than 1,500 pups are born on the islands annually, mostly in October and November.
ARRIVAL AT THE SITE
You can head up and dive the Farne Islands as an individual or couple, or you can head up north with a club or dive centre group. The gateway to the Farnes is the small port of Seahouses, and there are several companies offering RIBs and hard boats that will take you to the best diving areas. You just drive on to the harbour wall, park up and then cart your kit to your chosen dive boat. No long walks carrying heavy dive kit are required, which is a nice bonus, and when you come back, it isn’t far to the nearest chippy for some much-needed post-dive grub!
DIVE BRIEFING
Your dive boat skipper will give you a detailed briefing on your particular site, but when it comes to interacting with seals, most of the hotspots will be nice and shallow, usually less than 6-8m, so perfect for all levels of diver, and even snorkellers can get in on the action. The best thing to do with seals is get down on to the bottom, find a spot where you can settle and then wait for them to come to you. It all depends on how playful they are feeling, but if you allow them to get used to your presence, they will often become very bold and approach extremely closely. Of course, if the seals don’t show up – which is very rare – there is all the usual British marine life to enjoy in among the kelp, including various crabs, lobster, pollock, wrasse, anemones and so on, so you will never be short of things to look at.
18m
ABOVE
This issue, ABOVE 18M ventures into Northumberland to the Farne Islands, which are famed for shallow dives given the ‘wow factor’ by the colony of grey seals that call the area home Photographs by MARK EVANS
PREFERRED PARTNER
BILLY SHIEL’S FARNE ISLANDS DIVING
Billy Shiel runs a veritable fleet of Glad Tidings hardboats and the Ocean Explorer ten-metre RIB, providing plenty of options for exploring the Farne Islands. The experienced skippers provide detailed dive briefings, and have a wealth of knowledge about the area. www.farne-islands.co.uk
“You can head up and dive the Farne Islands as an individual or couple, or you can head up north with a club or dive centre group” THE DIVE
TOPSIDE ATTRACTIONS
There is plenty to do when you are not diving - Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian’s Wall, Lindisfarne and Alnwick Castle are all within a short distance.
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The thick kelp was whipping wildly in the surge, often going in the opposite direction to us, and I could see from the look in her eyes that my wife Penney was not doing well. She gets a bit seasick at the best of times, and being in just a few metres washed helplessly around by the movement of the sea, surrounded by undulating kelp fronds, the feeling of nausea was growing by every second. It was only being exacerbated by the fact that this was her first drysuit dive in saltwater in a long time. I had the feeling that if the star attraction of the Farne Islands didn’t put in an appearance soon, it might well end up being her last! Right on cue, a flash of silvery grey shot past my right shoulder, pulled an impossibly fast turn behind Penney and then nestled in the kelp under her fins, its big brown eyes twisting the cuteness factor up to 11. I motioned for her to remain still and tried to bring my camera to bear. Keeping its eyes locked on mine, it opened its mouth and took one of Penney’s Scubapro Seawing Nova fins between its teeth and gave it a good tug. As she spun round to see her attacker, it let go and vanished into the murk with an effortless flick of its flippers. Penney turned back to me, a look of delight clearly evident in her eyes - she was still queasy, but the arrival of the grey seal gave her something to focus on and any thoughts of aborting the dive were forgotten. For the next 50 minutes, we were buzzed by several different seals, but Penney’s original fin-tormentor, a lovely mottled young adult, became her nemesis. It would sneak up behind her and grab her fin tip, give it a good shake and then take off in an instant before she had time to spin around. I was getting front-row seating to this battle royale, but I could tell that Penney was getting frustrated at not being able to really see the seal. As if taking pity on her, our furry friend then began to slowly cruise around our perimeter, giving us both plenty of time to get a good look at its sleek lines, and by the time we were climbing up the ladder back on to our RIB, Penney was grinning from ear to ear. Seals encountered, warm-water-loving wife happy and comfortable in a drysuit - mission accomplished! n
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FARNE ISLANDS WHAT TO EXPECT TYPE OF DIVE
Shallow boat dive (hard boat or RIB)
FARNE ISLANDS
DIVING WILLIAM SHIEL
DEPTH
6-8m, but some sites are deeper
MARINE LIFE
Grey seals, various crabs, wrasse, anemones, pollock
VISIBILITY
Can be ten metres plus, but five or six metres is the norm
SEABED
Kelp, sand, rock
HAZARDS Boat traffic
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
Grey seals, obviously, but also common, shore, edible, spider and velvet swimming crabs, lobster, pollock, wrasse, and snakelocks and dahlia anemones.
A DIVE TRIP FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Farne Islands Diving available all year round in our hard boats and RHIBs for both groups and individuals. Air station with air fill collection service (no queuing for air fills).
T: 01665 721297 / M: 07799 666573
Email: diver@farne-islands.com
www.farne-islands.co.uk
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SCHOTT
AT THE BIG TIME JASON BROWN talks to Emmy Award-winning underwater film-maker, photographer and cutting-edge technical diver, BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT Photographs by BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT
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Stay passionate, be persistent, have patience, and keep practicing” – that’s the sage advice from film-maker Becky Kagan Schott to those seeking to follow in her footsteps. In many respects, these simple words encapsulate Becky herself – she’s a unique individual who, in a few short years, has taken the underwater film-making world by storm through perseverance, passion and sheer hard work. Becky is an Emmy Award-winning underwater film-maker, photographer and technical diver who has gained a reputation for ‘getting the shot’ on productions for major networks including National Geographic and Discovery Channel. A fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club and an inductee of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, she’s brought back breathtaking video from the deepest caves, under ice, inside shipwrecks and even up close and personal with sharks. Her projects have taken her across the globe – from the Great Lakes, filming under ice in the Bering Sea and even diving in open water - sans cage, we might add - with nature’s most-fearsome predator, the great white shark. And all this at the tender age of just 35. Like most divers, Becky’s fascination with the underworld world started at an early age. “I was really into marine life and aquariums when I was around nine years old - my father helped me set one up and fish just always fascinated me,” she says with an infectious glee. “I started diving when I was 12 and have been active ever since. From the first time I put a mask on and a regulator in my mouth, I knew I would do this the rest of my life. “Most of my teenage years I thought I’d become a marine biologist. After some deep thought and meeting some producers and cameramen, I decided that what I really love is documenting different environments and educating others about marine life, caves, history, science, and technology. In college, I majored in journalism and interned at an NBC news station in Tampa, Florida. They let me shoot and edit my own stories and even aired some of them. I landed my first job at CBS just a few weeks before graduating. I knew that I wouldn’t stay in news as a photojournalist, but it helped me do what I’m doing today. “Working as a news photojournalist and an underwater cameraman are similar - you don’t have a lot of time to get the story, sometimes equipment doesn’t work and you have to improvise. Animals and people don’t always co-operate and sometimes conditions aren’t what you expected you have to think fast and failure isn’t an option because you may not get a second chance. I also learned the power of media during this time and how I have the opportunity to make a change and inspire others.” With such a strong background in journalism and broadcast news, it’s no surprise that ‘story telling’ has become an important part of what Becky does. “Humans beings are natural story tellers - we like telling stories, listening to them and showing them through pictures and videos. It sparks imagination and can inspire us to visit places we never dreamed of or to teach us something about history or science.
“Distractions and task loading can be a dangerous combo so anyone doing it should take their time and be comfortable in the environment and gear first�
“In fact, I think being female has helped me stand out among all of the male photographers and technical divers. I’m also small and fit in smaller places underwater”
“It doesn’t matter if I’m shooting a still photograph or moving image - it has to tell a story and capture the viewers’ interest. It has to make them want to stop and learn more or ask questions or even make a change in their own lives. You’ll usually see a diver in my imagery. I like to tell my stories with people in them - whether it’s a freediver interacting with wild dolphins, or a technical diver exploring a shipwreck. We can look at those shots and want to be that diver in the shot, experience that place or moment with that animal. It’s one thing to just see a shipwreck on the bottom, but to see a diver in the shot gives it life and scale. The human is interacting with the environment in some way and that’s a powerful connection. It tells the story of the person and the place and evokes some kind of feeling.” Most successful individuals can cite one event as the ‘big break’ that propelled their careers forward. For Becky, that moment came in 2011 when she won her first Emmy Award for a cave-diving feature she shot in the Eagles Nest system in Florida. “For me, things came full circle and the award showed me that all of my sacrifices and crazy obsessions with this career was worth it. I was honoured to be recognised for my work and afterwards I gained more credibility as a serious underwater shooter”. She’s living proof too that being female is no obstacle in the male-dominated world of technical diving. “I don’t feel like it’s been an issue. In fact, I think being female has helped me stand out among all of the male photographers and technical divers. I’m also small and fit in smaller places underwater,” she quips. Even before her Emmy propelled her into the big time, Becky worked hard to get
involved in a number of high-profile diving projects. In 2011, she joined explorers Brett Hemphill and Andy Pitkin along with a small team exploring Phantom Springs – the deepest natural cave in the United States. By her own admission, the project was far from easy, but Becky found it very rewarding to be part of such a great team. Following her Emmy Award, more projects would follow. “I love documenting exploration projects and being able to share amazing discoveries with the world. I never dreamed I’d be helping to document virgin shipwrecks or caves when I started diving! I love that not everything has been found and explored so I get really excited to be a part of these projects.” Being in such high demand does bring with it a unique set of challenges, of course. “My biggest challenge is dealing with between seven and 17 cases of gear depending on the location and project. Sometimes getting that equipment to the location is challenging we’ve had to rent private planes and put it all on snowmobile sleds in Alaska. When you’re working in a remote area, you have to take everything along with you, including tools and back up gear. Sometimes we are on a boat for a month, or camping out in the jungle, so power can be an issue and, of course, Mother Nature always comes in. This is all
before we can even go diving! We spend a lot of time planning and prepping for worst-case scenarios. The only thing you can really plan on is the plan changing constantly, so we also have to go in being flexible even though it can be frustrating.” By its very nature, shooting in remote and inhospitable locations is technically challenging and Becky is often weighed down with a mountain of equipment underwater. “I’ve spent 23 years underwater now and constantly learning, evolving, doing more training and keeping up on skills so that when a job comes up I’m ready for any configuration. I didn’t just put it all on and jump into the water - I believe in baby steps and I’ve added things over the years. What you see is decades of commitment to be able to do what I do well, safely, and not damage the environment.” With the added burden of all that equipment, safety is an important factor on every dive and – as Becky is keen to stress – it’s something she takes very seriously. “There is a lot of behind the scenes work that no one sees. If I’m shooting while diving CCR, then the rebreather comes first - it’s my life support, and I’ve been diving my Megalodon for almost ten years. It’s second nature to me, as is the camera since I shoot it on land and know it well before putting it in a housing. When I’m filming underwater I’m hyper-aware of everything going on around me - where my safety diver is, my fin tips, my PPO2, my depth, the line, where my lights are positioned, directing my models, my exposure, focus, framing and – of course - time. “I typically take a safety diver with me when I’m filming because I want someone with me at all times. Shooting on CCR or in an overhead environment is dangerous and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Distractions and task loading can be a dangerous combo so anyone doing it should take their time and be comfortable in the environment and gear first.”
It’s clear that inspiring others is far more important to Becky than any award. “I bubble up with joy to know that people are following my work and are inspired by it in some way. I’ve had people come up to me and say they saw one of my videos and they decided to take a cave-diving class - one guy had a tattoo of one of my images! I guess I’m proud to have somehow touched some other divers lives through my work and helped inspired the next generation.” So how does one go about becoming the next Becky Kagan Schott? Becky offers these pearls of wisdom. “Stay passionate, be persistent, have patience, and keep practicing. Become good at your craft on land and become a solid diver, then combine the two slowly. Know that it will take time but if you do it as a hobby first and put all of yourself into it, then maybe someday you’ll get paid for it. Nothing happens fast - just enjoy the journey and learn as much as you can along the way”. n
2017 , 4 – 1 R E B r NOVEM ntion Cente e unty Conv Orange Co South Hall
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What’s New
FOURTH ELEMENT OCEANPOSITIVE 2017 SWIMWEAR COLLECTION
Wear something that is good for the ocean! Fourth Element has introduced subtle imagery and exciting new designs with the eagerly awaited OceanPositive 2017 Swimwear collection, made using recycled ‘ghost’ fishing nets. Ghost fishing nets have been lost or abandoned at sea, and continue to catch wildlife, ensnaring and killing them, or end up snagged on reef, scouring their surfaces, leaving them dead and barren. More than 600,000 tonnes of these nets are lost every year. Teams of divers all over the world, along with fishermen, reclaim these nets, often working in extremely dangerous conditions, and the nets are then recycled along with other post-consumer nylon waste into ECONYL® before being knitted into Lycra® fabric for the OceanPositive swimwear line. The 2017 collection features new designs to fit a greater variety of body shapes and a unique printed fabric design that is reminiscent of the net from which the fabric is made. The addition of
‘yoga pant’ style leggings for women and a co-ordinated range of long-sleeved rash guards, extends the range into broader categories than simply swimwear, and are at home as much above as below the water. The launch coincides with much greater awareness of the issues of plastic pollution in the ocean, and marine conservation issues in general. Fourth Element’s Managing Director Paul Strike was invited to present the company’s vision for commercialising plastic pollution at June’s Ocean Conference at the United Nations in New York. “It is possible to imagine a world where there was no way to make any new plastics (perhaps we’d run out of oil). We’d find a way to recycle all this waste we produce and as a result reduce our impact on the planet. We want to be a part of this solution now,” said Paul. www.fourthelement.com
NARDI COMPRESSORS | SRP: £2,395-£23,495
NARDI breathing air and nitrox compressors are available in 2.1cfm (60lt per minute) to 30cfm (850lt per minute) capacities and with single phase and three phase petrol and diesel options. Single, double and triple filtration is available, along with real-time inline air quality monitoring through NARDI’s Air Control System (ACS), which monitors Co, Co2, humidity, temperature and oxygen and then turns off the compressor should limits exceed those set. NARDI also provide pre-mixing systems for nitrox and trimix to compliment their MX Nitrox range of compressors. Storage systems and a filling panel are also available to complete the system. www.blue-orb.uk
MOMENTUM DIVE WATCHES | SRP: £99-£495
The St Moritz Watch Corp. designs, assembles and services high-quality sports watches under the Momentum brand. As life becomes more active and a more casual style becomes the norm, the straightforward designs and outstanding waterproof performance of the Momentum range, combined with their high quality and fair pricing, resonate more and more with active people everywhere. The Momentum range starts at £99 for a 200m-rated Torpedo dive watch and goes through to £495 for the steel bracelet version of the top-of-the-range M30 model. www.blue-orb.uk
SCUBAPRO UPF COLLECTION | SRP: from £31
Benefitting from the latest technology and premium materials, the UPF collection brings you the best in form and function. More than just a simple rash guard, Scubapro has developed a full line of flattering gear, from leggings to suits and even loose-fit tops. www.scubapro.co.uk
TYPHOON DS1 | SRP: £895 The Typhoon DS1 is the new limited-edition 70th anniversary suit. It pays homage to the first membrane dive suit that Typhoon produced, featuring all the original logo designs, and is still made in the UK at Typhoon’s factory in Redcar. Constructed from Typhoon’s TX6 fabric, with two-layer rubber-taped seams, it features heavy-duty latex neck and wrist seals and comes complete with neoprene socks as standard, with the option of a thermic boot. The two large leg storage pockets feature two compartments, an internal D-ring and attachment loops. The hook and loop tabs make it easy to open and close. It comes with a YKK plastic zip to help reduce weight and increase flexibility, and benefits from a three-year warranty. www.typhoon-int.co.uk
Gear Guide
THIS ISSUE: BUDGET FINS
Each month, the SCUBA DIVER test team assembles to rate and review a selection of dive equipment from a range of manufacturers. Products are split into price categories and are then evaluated for performance, comfort, ease of use, build quality, looks and value for money. The Test Team comprises Editor in Chief Mark Evans and a squad of volunteers, whose dive experience ranges from a couple of hundred dives to well over 6,000.
BUDGET FINS This issue, we kick off our fin reviews, with a look at the budget models. There are many types of fins available these days, but at the wallet-friendly end of the scale, they were all in the large paddle style, but with a few little twists (vents, flexible sections).
ON TEST THIS MONTH: • AQUALUNG EXPRESS • OCEANIC VIPER • SCUBAPRO JET SPORT
Location: Tested at Vivian Dive Centre, Llanberis
www.viviandivecentre.com
Date tested: 13/07/17 Water temp: 10 degrees C
AQUALUNG EXPRESS ADJ | SRP: £70 The Aqualung Express Adj are a seriously robust, well-made pair of fins, which have a good heft to them and are quite an impressive size. According to Aqualung, the core of the Express Adj is a highly elastic ‘armadillo’ hinge at the base of the blade, which absorbs energy during the power stroke and releases at the end of the kick cycle to maximise thrust. The rubber side ribs channel water down the length of the fin, minimising wasted energy from the spill-over effect. The spring straps are equipped with a large thumb loop and make putting the fins on and off very easy. The non-slip rubber pads on the bottom of the fin work really well, just the thing for when you are on a wet dive deck. The Aqualung Express Adj fins are large, solid paddle fins, and while they do generate an awful lot of thrust, especially with a normal fin stroke, you need strong leg muscles to get the best out of them. A frogkick is possible, and again has plenty of get up and go, but with the length of the fins, this does put a fair amount of pressure on your ankles and feet. You can back kick, but it isn’t that straightforward with such long, wide fins. The fins are very well made and look attractive to the eye, and the spring strap is a joy to use - so easy even with drygloves on. Well priced, and built to last, but just be ready to get a workout when you start using them.
VERDICT
Well-mad, durable, good-looking fins at a decent price - just need strong leg muscles to get the best out of them. SCORE
••••••••••
OCEANIC VIPER | SRP: £47.99 The Oceanic Viper is a lightweight but well-made dual-material fin that is equally at home in the tropics as it is in more temperate waters. According to Oceanic, it uses a flexible channel built into the blade to more effectively capture and control water as it flows down the length of the blade during a kick cycle. The reinforcement bars on either side of the fin provide strength but also are shaped to prevent the water from spilling over the edge of the blade, thus lowering efficiency. The traditional rubber heel strap is easily adjusted and has quick-release buckles. The Oceanic Vipers are very lightweight, so would be perfect for the travelling diver, but equally they have enough power to push a drysuited diver through the water as well. However, thanks to its neat design, which incorporates vents and a large flexible section in the middle of the blade, it manages to generate this power without requiring you to have super-strong thigh muscles. You can frogkick in them as well, though thanks to the flex in the blade, you don’t get great thrust. They are very comfortable, and the heel strap is easy to adjust, but a set of spring straps would not go amiss on these. Thankfully, they are a bargain price, so you could buy these and some retro-fit spring straps and still not spend a fortune.
BEST VALUE
VERDICT
Lightweight but tough set of fins, which come in at a bargain price. Get yourself some spring straps and you are sorted. SCORE
••••••••••
SCUBAPRO JET SPORT ADJUSTABLE | SRP: £69 Scubapro have a great reputation for making top-quality dive kit, and the Jet Sports continue this tradition. They blend the vent design from the more-expensive Twin Jet Max with a broad paddle section. According to Scubapro, the blade is a tri-material design featuring a pair of soft rubber panels framed in semi-stiff plastic and flanked by thin side rails, producing just the right amount of flex. There are also drag-reducing vents between the blade and the foot pocket to decrease resistance on both up and down strokes. The Jet Sport is equipped with a traditional rubber adjustable heel strap, with pinch-release buckles. The Scubapro Jet Sport Adjustable fins are pretty big units, sitting comfortably between its rivals in terms of size and weight. The foot pocket is very comfortable, and the non-slip bottom works well. I would trade the rubber heel straps in for a set of retro-fit spring straps, which would make things a lot easier when it comes to getting them on and off. The design - combining a blade with vents - works well, and generates great power in a normal and frog kick, and is not bad in a back kick either. Like the Aqualungs, strong leg muscles help get the best out of them, but overall, these are a solid performer at a decent price.
CHOICE
VERDICT
Robust, well-made fins with plenty of thrust, and all at a decent price. They are good-looking to boot. SCORE
••••••••••
VERDICT Due to a few brands being noshows for this group test, we were down to just three sets of fins for this price bracket. All of the fins on test performed well overall, and all represented good value for money. The Best Value award went to the Oceanic Viper fins, which at under £50 are a total steal. They are lightweight, so would suit someone looking for a travel as well as UK fin, and yet they generated decent thrust as well. I would just buy a set of spring straps and retro-fit them. The Choice award went to the Scubapro Jet Sport Adjustable
fins. These were good-looking, solidly made units, which gave a great overall performance, with noteable power from normal and frog kicks, and yet still came in at a decent price. Again, I would purchase a set of spring straps to fit to these fins.
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LIGHTWEIGHT
Test Extra
SANTI E.MOTION PLUS STANDARD SRP: £1,500 | MADE TO MEASURE SRP: £1,750
Mark Evans: Polish-brand Santi Diving are rapidly building a name for themselves for drysuits – and associated accessories, such as undersuits and heating systems – that exude quality, toughness and well-thought-out designs. The E.Motion PLUS drysuit on test here is designed to be the ultimate combination of the flexibility and lightness of the E.Motion Ripstop quality, but with the durability and comfort of the E.Lite. It is immediately recognisable in the Santi line-up as it comes in a unique colour combination of black, grey and silver. The E.Motion PLUS design and innovative use of different fabrics in different areas is what enables the suit to effectively gain the best of both worlds. The upper part and top front of the legs are made of flexible and lightweight 235 g/m2 Ripstop trilaminate fabric, while the back of the legs, at the belly and lower back area, elbows, crotch pad and lower part of the front legs utilise the exclusive E.Lite trilaminated fabric of 535 g/m2 for maximum protection where needed. The drysuit is equipped as standard with the innovative and comfortable Santi Smart Seals system – soft rings that allow fast and easy seal exchange for any seal you like, or have to hand, so no more cancelled dives due to ripping a seal right at an inopportune moment. Just keep a couple of spare seals in your kit bag and you are sorted. The suit is also fitted with a YKK Aquaseal plastic zipper, which is durable but also light and flexible. It is highly resistant to dirt and needs only minimal care of the docking area. Best of all, if you are a bit old school and still slightly dubious about plastic zippers, Santi offers a two-year warranty on the zipper. And unusually, but for good reason – for better and most convenient outlet valve placement on the arm – the zipper is installed in this model from the right shoulder to the left hip.
Made to Measure Available
NEW DIVE SUITS
COMING SOON SEPTEMBER 2017
SPECTRE | NAUTILUS | DS1
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TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE
“THE LAST DRYSUIT YOU WILL EVER BUY” “The Britannic II drysuit has accompanied me on numerous dives now, and it has never once let me down. It is comfortable, easy to get on and off, looks fantastic and is built to last. Otter’s customer service is renowned, and their build quality is off-the-chart. This genuinely could represent the last drysuit you ever buy, it is that good.”
Mark Richard Evans
Editor-in-Chief, Scuba Diver Magazine
WWW.DRYSUITS.CO.UK l SALES@DRYSUITS.CO.UK
CALL US ON 01274 379480
@Typhoon_international
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Test Extra
SANTI E.MOTION PLUS STANDARD SRP: £1,500 | MADE TO MEASURE SRP: £1,750 If you are used to the normal routing from the left shoulder to the right hip, it does take a bit of getting used to – a couple of times, I instinctively reached up to my left shoulder to pull down the zip! – but you soon get familiar with it. Inside the suit, at the base of the braces, is a handy zippered pocket, which is ideal for stashing car keys and money for post-dive snacks. It is ideally positioned so that when you want to get into it, you can just pull up the main drysuit zip by 30cm or so and then pop your hand through access the pocket. No more faffing around having to completely get out of your drysuit when you remember you need to get something out of your vehicle, but have already locked it and put your keys into an undersuit pocket. The same as any other drysuit in the Santi family, the E.Motion PLUS is equipped with two big cargo pockets with bungee strings to mount any slates, etc. In this model, both pockets have a useful additional zipper-fastened pocket in the main flap, which is a handy size for a back-up torch. Down at the business end, the drysuit is equipped as standard with Santi’s comfortable but robust Flexisole boots, which allow plenty of freedom of movement in the ankles for minor fin movements underwater, but are durable enough to handle the roughest terrain. The suit has a hood collar made from 7/9mm soft neoprene, which paired well with the supplied 9mm hood. This felt very thick at first, but it is made from super-soft neoprene and is exceptionally warm – just the ticket when temperatures get into low single digits. As with a previously tested E.Lite, the E.Motion PLUS is exceedingly comfortable, offering little resistance to movement, but it still feels like it could put up with whatever you can throw at it. Another superb suit from the Polish drysuit masters. www.santidiving.com NB: The E.Motion PLUS comes in 16 mens sizes in standard and 12 ladies sizes in standard, with MTM/ Custom and an additional choice of options available. It is also possible to customise any standard size with up to four slight amendments.
& CR Testing We care for compressed air
W31 MARINER High Pressure Compressor Charging Rate: 105 or 140 lt/min Working Pressure: 225/310 bar Dimensions (CM): W44 L81 H52 Weight: 65 kg
Alkin and Aykom Compressor Distributors
C & R Testing Ltd
W32 CANOPY High Pressure Compressor Charging Rate: 180, 250 or 300 lt/min Working Pressure: 225/310 bar Dimensions (CM): W70 L100 H130 Weight: 280, 290 or 300 kg
Unit 1, Owenshaw Mills, Old Cawsey, Sowerby Bridge, Halifax HX6 2AF Telephone: +44 (0) 1422 410 466 | Email: info@candrtesting.co.uk | Website: www.candrtesting.co.uk Opening Times: Monday to Friday 9.00am-17.00pm | Saturday and Sunday - Closed
Long Term Test ANCHOR DIVE LIGHTS SERIES 3K Mark Evans: The new arrival this month is the Anchor Dive Lights Series 3K 20 degree spot. This dinky NEW ARRIVAL little torch is made from aviation-grade aluminium, depth rated to over 100m, and has various power settings - 100 percent, 50 percent and 25 percent, as well as three pre-set signalling rates, and a neat incorporated battery indicator that lets you know the remaining charge. The 4,315 lux beam delivers 75 minutes burn time at 100 percent, and it can even be upgraded to an umbilical system, boosting the burn time. It performed brilliantly in INFORMATION Grenada - a full report on Arrival date: July 2017 Suggested retail price: £695 how it really lit up our dives Number of dives: 0 will be in the next issue’s Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins Long Term Test.
ZEAGLE HALO
Mark Evans: Art Director Matt Griffiths donned the Halo for our group fin tests, and while he has been using wing-style BCDs for a few years, he soon got to grips with the Zeagle and INFORMATION found it to be very comfortArrival date: January 2017 able and supportive in the Suggested retail price: £567 water, as well as being very Number of dives: 14 quick and easy to put on and Time in water: 13 hrs 45 mins take off.
THERMALUTION RED GRADE ULTRA Mark Evans: The weather might be steadily improving, but if you are plunging into lakes and quarries, then it certainly gets to 10 degrees C or below pretty sharpish once you drop below 10-12m. So, the Thermalution Red Grade Ultra heated undersuit has been a blessing when I have been conducting lengthy test dives in Vivian and Stoney, but I can really see it coming into its own in the winter when good thermal insulation is paramount, especially for technical divers with long deco obligations. The wiring from the batteries to the suit itself is well thought out, too, to avoid any restrictions to movement.
INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2017 Suggested retail price: £1,050 Number of dives: 9 Time in water: 8 hrs 45 mins
DEEPBLU COSMIQ+ DIVE COMPANION Mark Evans: The DeepBlu Cosmiq+ Dive Companion did well in Grenada, when it adorned the wrist of Publishing Director Ross Arnold for our multitude of dives. Often we were doing four dives a day, and some of these we were pushing the NDLs to a minute or two, and the Cosmiq+ coped fine. It was more conservative on the second dives onward than other computers, but it handled the odd few minutes of decompression with aplomb.
INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2017 Suggested retail price: £230 Number of dives: 45 Time in water: 43 hrs 35 mins
AQUALUNG REVEAL X2
Mark Evans: Publishing Director Ross Arnold make good use of the Reveal X2 while we were on assignment in Grenada, and he found it to be very comfortable, and easy to get settled on his face without any leaks. In fact, it was so good, he forgot it wasn’t his usual mask, and INFORMATION that is testament to how soft Arrival date: March 2017 the silicone skirt is. Being Suggested retail price: £46 black, it was a pain to phoNumber of dives: 41 tograph, but it is available in Time in water: 39 hrs 155 different colours if you want.
XDEEP NX ZEN
SHEARWATER RESEARCH PERDIX AI
Mark Evans: The Perdix AI got a great workout in Grenada, as we were banging in up to four dives a day, and on several were pushing out NDLs, as well as racking up a few minutes of decompression. The Perdix handled it all with no dramas, and I really like the colour-coded green countdown for the safety stop it runs down in minutes, and once it is done, you get a nice big green ‘tick’ and INFORMATION ‘complete’ - how Arrival date: February 2017 simple is that? Suggested retail price: £870 (comp only) Deco obligations Number of dives: 38 are also clearly Time in water: 37 hrs 45 mins displayed.
APEKS MTX-R
END OF TERM
Mark Evans: The xDeep NX Zen continues to impress. I have always admired the build quality of everything this Polish manufacturer brings out, and its wings are no different. Everything from the beautifully crafted backplate to the robust stitching in the heavy-duty material oozes quality. For those who INFORMATION like to tinker with their kit to Arrival date: February 2017 get it fitting and performing Suggested retail price: £535 just right, there are plenty of Number of dives: 17 tweaks and adjustments that Time in water: 15 hrs 55 mins can be done to the Zen.
Mark Evans: And so the Apeks MTX-R reaches the end of its run in our Long Term Test stable. This no-frills regulator - it has no venturi or cracking resistance controls - just works, and it works extremely well. Designed for very cold water use, it is equally at home in the tropics, and the white-and-matt-silver colour combo is very eye-catching. Belting reg from the Blackburn-based company, which is set to be a classic. Little details, like the swivel INFORMATION at the first stage end of the Arrival date: December 2017 primary hose, and the hidden Suggested retail price: £529 extra low-pressure port, all Number of dives: 57 help to make the MTX-R stand Time in water: 56 hrs 15 mins out from the crowd.
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INDONESIA SILADEN RESORT & SPA
Sialden Island, Bunaken National Park, Manado, North Sulawesi, 95011 T: +628114300641 | E: info@siladen.com W: www.siladen.com Siladen Resort & Spa is an exclusive boutique dive resort located on a lush tropical island in the heart of the Bunaken National Marine Park.
MEXICO PRO DIVE INTERNATIONAL
Head Office: Carretera Federal, Parcela 4 MZA 293 Lote 2 Local 5-6, Ejido Norte, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77712, Mexico T: +52 (1) 984 745 0763 E: info@prodiveinternational.com W: www.prodiveinternational.com World-class diving: Cozumel, cenotes, bull sharks, Whaleshark & Sailfish safaris, Live-Aboards Socorro/ Guadalupe, located at 4-5* Resorts Riviera Maya & Cozumel, PADI CDC, Stay&Dive packages, FREE NITROX.
96
MALDIVES LILY BEACH RESORT & SPA
Huvahendhoo Island, South Ari Atoll, Maldives T: +960 668 0013 | E: lilybeach@prodivers.com W: www.prodivers.com/lily-beach-maldives Prodivers 5* PADI Dive-Centre. Whaleshark and Manta all year. Free Nitrox, Underwater Scooters and repeater discount available. House reef accessible from shore. 60 dive sites.
KUREDU PRODIVERS
Kuredu Island Resort, Lhaviyani Atoll, 07080, Maldives T: +9606620343 | E: info@prodivers.com W: www.prodivers.com Renowned PADI 5 star IDC center with on site decompression chamber. Multi lingual guides and instructors, more than 60 dive sites, scooters, rebreathers and nitrox-forfree!
MALTA MALTAQUA
Mosta Road, St Pauls Bay, SPB3114, Malta T: 0035621571111 | E: dive@maltaqua.com W: www.maltaqua.com A Multi agency centre providing training for BSAC, PADI, RAID, TDI & IANTD. Dive excursions or tank hire for qualified divers. Courses for complete beginners.
DIVE DEEP BLUE MALTA
9/11 Ananija street, Bugibba, St Paul’s Bay SPB 1320, Malta T: +356 21583946 E: Dive@divedeepblue.com W: www.divedeepblue.com Dive Deep Blue Malta. Operating 20 years. PADI, BSAC, SSI and TDI Center. Providing recreational, technical training, plus guided and independent diving services.
PHILIPPINES EVOLUTION
Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, Daan Bantayan, Cebu, 6013, Philippines T: +63(0)917 631 2179 | E: info@evolution.com.ph
W: www.evolution.com.ph
Progressive Recreational and Technical Diving in the Philippines best all-round diving location. 4 dives/day including
Thresher Shark encounters. All PADI/TDI classes available, Tech/CCR Friendly.
BUCEO ANILAO BEACH & DIVE RESORT Anilao, Barangay San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines T: 0063 919 510 57 65 E: info@buceoanilao.com W: www.buceoanilao.com Cozy resort - sophisticated camera / video room - dedicated spotters - easy access from Manila Airport - Critters - Healthy Reefs - Biodiversity!
THAILAND SAIREE COTTAGE DIVING 5* IDC CENTRE 1/10 Moo Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, Suratthani, 84360, Thailand T: +66872650859 E: info@idckohtaothailand.com W: www.idckohtaothailand.com One of the Best PADI Diving Instructor IDC Courses on Koh Tao, Thailand. For more information please visit: www.idckohtaothailand.com or www.saireecottagediving.com/instructordevelopment-course-idc-koh-tao-saireecottage-diving-koh-tao. Professional Underwater Photography: https://www.instagram.com/peachsnapsphotography/
UNITED KINGDOM DEEP BLUE DIVE
55 Marden Road, Whitley Bay, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE26 2JW, UK T: 0191 253 6220 E: emmet@deepbluedive.com W: www.deepbluedive.com The UK’s number one diving equipment store with all the top brands, at competitive prices. Your one stop shop for diving equipment.
OYSTER DIVING
Maritime House, Basin Road North, Hove, BN41 1WR, UK T: 0800 699 0243 W: www.oysterdiving.com www.oysterdivingshop.com The UK’s premier PADI scuba diving and travel centre. Equipment sales, PADI courses from beginner to Instructor and holidays around the world.
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MARKETPLACE
Diving Medicals Nottingham
Sport Diver medicals £55
HGV/PSV/taxi medicals £55
Occupational Health Medicals
HSE commercial diving medicals £120
Oil and Gas UK Offshore Medicals £110
Discounts for students and large groups
For appointments call 0780 2850 084
or email: mclamp@doctors.org.uk
URCHIN DIVE
CHARTER
Expert Knowledge – 25+ years diving experience. Warm Saloon – Lunch & snacks provided. Wet/Dry Storage – Moon pool entry. Accommodation available on site.
Contact: Oban Scotland | 01631 566088 www.puffin.org.uk
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THE ZEN DIVER
Tom Peyton, Vice President of Kids Sea Camp and Family Dive Adventures, is called ‘the Zen Diver’ by his wife, and here he offers some hints on how to use diving to create the ultimate ‘chill-out zone’ www.familydivers.com
ZEN DIVE BUDDY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF KIDS SEA CAMP/FAMILY DIVERS
Z
en as a practice is about finding awareness of the self, and with this awareness comes acceptance of the self. From this acceptance comes peace of the self and maybe, from this peace, you may experience enlightenment — an even deeper awareness of the self. One benefit of self-awareness is that by understanding oneself, you can understand and accept others. With this awareness, one can then become a better partner. As a diver, you need to be aware of who you are as a diver to be a good Zen dive buddy. Your own self-awareness as a diver can make or break your Zen partnership underwater. A well-matched dive buddy team is important in enjoying and being safe underwater. WHAT KIND OF DIVER ARE YOU? Air-hog: Are you always using a 100 to do a 50-minute dive? You might want to tell your dive buddy and also learn some better breathing techniques. You need to know your air consumption and tell your Zen dive buddy the truth. Mismatching only happens when the other diver is unaware of the other’s abilities as a diver. Mermaid or Merman: If you are never really using air and diving with a 60 — you might not want to be matched with an air-hog. The reality is most recreational divers are mismatched, women tend to be much better on air, and most men are air-hogs. Dive-hard: Are you always ready to go diving and basically need a tank on your back the moment you roll out of bed? Dive-hards, please be aware you will need to quickly accept you are going to be going through a lot of dive buddies. If you do find another Dive-hard, only travel with him or her. And please stop telling the rest of the world that they are crazy for not being in the water all the time! Green Flasher: Are you a beer drinker dressed as a diver? Is the main point of the day to dress like a diver and act like a diver but really, you are just waiting for the green-flash sunset as you pound down your fifth cocktail? Fair Weather Diver: You’re a diver and you are just not sure about diving yet. You sort of like it but if there’s a shopping trip in town, you might just not tell the dive boat and leave your dive buddy at the dock. But then the next day, you can’t wait to go diving and even do the night-dive.
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King of the Ocean: Are you obsessed with killing lionfish? Do you bring your own spear? Do you always have a 100 just in case you find some lionfish at 30m? Are you almost always on the verge of deco because you are cleaning the reef? Shutter-fish: Do you love shooting photos more than knowing the location of your dive buddy? Photographers are wonderful people, but the truth is they make terrible dive buddies. If your dive buddy is a photographer, always know they are never watching where you are or what you are doing. Zen Dive Buddy: You love diving but are not defined but it. You’re good on air, flexible, confident and just love being in the water. You tend to get at least two dives in a day and will at the very least do a shore dive and a night dive during a dive week. And you always know where and who your dive buddy is. The reality is some days we are lionfish killers and the next week we can be fair-weather divers — most divers are a little of everyone listed. Please note Shutter-fish are always Shutter-fish, most cannot dive without a camera in their hands. If the Shutter-fish does do a dive without a camera, you can be guaranteed it’s the one dive they will see something they have always wanted to shoot. Most married couples are good Zen Dive Buddies, not because they are the exactly the same kind of diver, but because they know where each other is as a diver. The acceptance is what brings a peaceful Zen diving partnership. n
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GETTING LOST IS EASY
But looking for an item of black dive kit, in a black bag, in a black cave, isn’t.
Introducing the Expedition Duffel Bag
fourthelement.com