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NEWS SAFARI DIVING LANZAROTE Mauro Diaz
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YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD THE DIVING IS HERE UNTIL YOU TRY
✭ Proud winners of Lanzarote's Quality award and Trip Advisor's certificate of Excellence - So you know you are in safe hands. ✭ A safe family holiday resort with great diving all year round. ✭
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Ideal for all divers whether on your own or in groups.
We can assist with accommodation near to the dive centre. ✭
Located directly on the beach with our own boat too.
Contact Wendy Mobile: (0034) 625 059 713 Phone: (0034) 928 511 713 Email: enquiry@safaridiving.com Web: www.safaridiving.com
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British Museum to stage UW Egyptian cities exhibition The British Museum is to stage a major exhibition on two lost Egyptian cities and their recent rediscovery by archaeologists beneath the Mediterranean seabed. Opening in May 2016 for an extended run of six months, The BP exhibition Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds will be the Museum’s first large-scale exhibition of underwater discoveries. It will show how the exploration of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus – submerged at the mouth of the River Nile for over a thousand years – is transforming our understanding of the relationship between ancient Egypt and the Greek world and the great importance of these ancient cities. 300 outstanding objects will be brought together for the exhibition including more than 200 spectacular finds excavated off the coast of Egypt near Alexandria between 1996 and 2012. Important loans from Egyptian museums rarely seen before outside Egypt (and the first such loans since the Egyptian revolution) will be supplemented with objects from various sites across the Delta drawn from the British Museum’s collection; most notably from Naukratis – a sister harbour town to ThonisHeracleion and the first Greek settlement in Egypt. Likely founded during the 7th century BC, ThonisHeracleion and Canopus were busy, cosmopolitan cities that once sat on adjacent islands at the edge of the fertile lands of the Egyptian Delta, intersected by canals. After Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332BC, centuries of Greek (Ptolemaic) rule followed. The exhibition will reveal how cross-cultural exchange and religion flourished, particularly the worship of the Egyptian god of the afterlife, Osiris. By the 8th century AD, the sea had reclaimed the cities and they lay hidden several metres beneath the seabed, their location and condition unclear. Although well-known from Egyptian decrees and Greek mythology and historians, past attempts to locate them were either fruitless or very partial. The exhibition will show how a pioneering European team led by Franck Goddio in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities made use of the most up-to-date technologies to find them. Thanks to the underwater setting, a vast number of objects of great archaeological significance have been astonishingly well preserved. Pristine monumental statues, fine metalware and gold jewellery will reveal how Greece and Egypt interacted in the late first millennium BC. These artefacts offer a new insight into the quality and unique character of the art of this period and show how the Greek kings and queens who ruled Egypt for 300 years adopted and adapted Egyptian beliefs and rituals to legitimise their reign. The exhibition will feature a number of extraordinary, monumental sculptures. A 5.4m granite statue of Hapy, a divine personification of the Nile’s flood, will greet visitors as they enter the space. Masterpieces from Egyptian museums such as the Apis bull from the Serapeum in Alexandria will be shown alongside magnificent recent finds from the sea. One such piece is the stunning sculpture from Canopus representing Arsinoe II, the eldest daughter of Ptolemy I, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The on-going underwater archaeological mission continues to bring to light new masterpieces and further research every year as the most recent finds from 2012 will show.
NDAC sinks Caroline The National Diving and Activities Centre (NDAC) has sunk a new attraction: Caroline. The 35-tonne, 11-metre steel trawler was successfully scuttled in an upright position and now sits at a depth of 25m. Regulars to NDAC will know Caroline well - she’s been sat on the quarry side for a couple of years waiting patiently for her moment. We’re pleased to say that moment has finally arrived and she’s ready to be dived!
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NEWS BFA Great Northern International winners announced
Freedivers Alice Hickson and Adam Drzazga have won the 7th Great Northern International and the BFA UK National Pool Championships. Alice Hickson, who won last year’s Newbie Award and was named DNF World Champion in 2015, won with a 6:33 STA and 130m DNF. Adam Drzazga, from Blue Water freediving club, won with a huge 7.18 STA and 154m DYN.
The winners of this year’s Newbie Awards were Delphine Brise and Phillip Fennell. The Great Northern is organised by Steve Millard of www.learn2freedive.com and sponsored by Omer Breathless Emotions (www.omersub.com), part of the Aqua Sphere UK and Aqua Lung UK family, Blue Orb (www.blue-orb.uk) and the British Freediving Association (www.britishfreediving.org).
New Underwater Art Exhibition in Florida Keys An underwater art exhibition has debuted on the world’s second-largest artificial reef, the 523-foot Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, which is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) about seven miles south of Key West. On Sunday 3 April, divers finished installing a dozen photo illustrations on the Vandenberg’s weather deck, which sits more than 90ft below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Each art piece is 3ft by 4.5ft. Created by Austrian art photographer Andreas Franke, the images are encased in plexiglass and mounted in stainless steel frames sealed with silicone. They are a continuation of the artist’s Sinking World series, which debuted on the Vandenberg in 2011, two years after the former Air Force missile tracking ship was sunk as an artificial reef. According to the artist, the manipulated photographs depict a flamboyant era of European style and cultural history. Among visuals are women gossiping over a picnic and other ladies engaged in a leisurely stroll twirling umbrellas. How to reach the exhibition: To dive the Vandenberg artificial reef, UK visitors can book the Morning Wreck and Reef tour operated daily at 8:30am by theKey West Dive Center. Prices start from $85 per person (around £60) for the four and a half hour trip. Equipment rental is available at extra cost. About the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS): In its 25th anniversary year, the FKNMS protects 2,900 square nautical miles of waters including the world’s third-largest barrier reef and stretches from Biscayne National Park near Miami to the Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles west of Key West in the Florida Keys. It is one of 14 marine protected areas in the National Marine Sanctuary System and within its boundaries lie spectacular, nationally significant marine resources, historic shipwrecks and other archaeological treasures, extensive seagrass beds, mangrove-fringed islands and more than 6,000 species of marine life. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary information: floridakeys.noaa.gov. Florida Keys diving information: www.fla-keys.com/diving. About the Vandenberg Dive Site: www.fla-keys.com/diving/vandenberg.cfm. For further information on the Florida Keys & Key West, visit: www.fla-keys.co.uk.
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NEWS
Lanzarote
Dive Centre Training you to new Depths Experience the safe, warm, blue waters of the Atlantic in Lanzarote! Stunning wildlife from Angel Sharks, Sting Rays and Giant Atlantic Groupers to seahorses and much much more!
FREE BOAT AND NIGHT DIVES with any 6 dive package or more
Regaldive adds Socorro liveaboards to portfolio Diving holiday specialist Regaldive has expanded its liveaboard portfolio with the introduction of the Socorro Islands, a destination renowned for its large animal encounters. The dive operator is now offering trips aboard Solmar V, a 34-metre luxury liveaboard based in Cabo San Lucas and Nautilus Explorer, a 35-metre luxury long-range liveaboard customdesigned for divers. The Socorro Islands lie approximately 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The area is famous for close encounters with giant manta rays, seven species of sharks, humpback whales, whalesharks and dolphins. The Islands have been compared to the Galapagos because of the regular big animal encounters. Pods of wild bottlenose dolphin are encountered on a regular basis, and from January - March the islands are home to a large population of humpback whales that visit the islands to breed and calve. Divers also frequently see extremely large tuna (the world record yellowfin is from these waters), wahoo, large schools of jacks and endemic tropicals found nowhere else in the world. For further information, or to book, visit www.regal-diving.co.uk.
Scuba Tours Worldwide reveals new 21-day Maldives itinerary
W: lanzarotedivecentre.com E: info@lanzarotedivecentre.com T: 0034 928 51 4 290
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Scuba Tours Worldwide has announced a new 21-day Maldives itinerary. Divers on the new ‘Ultimate Expedition’ trip can expect great diversity - both in the type of diving and the underwater life that they can expect to see. The itinerary includes exhilarating channels, shallow reefs, wrecks, thilas and manta cleaning stations where divers sometimes just ‘sit’ and watch the action! As well as mantas, they will be seeking out everything from tiny reef fish to massive whalesharks. Dive guides Dave and Lisa Allison will be leading the trip on board MV Sea Spirit and have drawn on their ten years of Maldives experience in putting together the Ultimate Expedition. Dave said: “This trip realises a dream for Lisa and I - to dive the Maldives, from top to bottom, in one BIG amazing trip! We’ve made thousands of dives all over this beautiful archipelago and it’s been really exciting planning a route that will take in the very best dive sites. We can’t wait - it really is going to be the ultimate Maldives experience!” Visit www.scubascuba.com/news for full itinerary details.
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NEWS Egypt launches new plan to boost tourist numbers The new Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Yehia Rashed, has unveiled the new ‘6x6 Tourism Impact Plan’, which aims to bring visitors back to dive hotspot Egypt. The plan focuses on six main priorities to improve Egyptian tourism and is designed to deliver real and impactful results within six months. The six themes are: 1. A New Partnership: Working with international tourism partners to restore success. 2. Bring the World to Egypt: Working in partnership with Egypt’s national carrier, EgyptAir, to develop new destinations, and to support charter and low cost airline companies in bringing more tourists to Egypt. 3. Innovation and Investment: Enhance Egypt’s tourism infrastructure by supporting investors and innovators. 4. Raise the Bar: Meet the highest international standards through upgraded product and service levels at tourist facilities.
5. Attract International Investment: Work to bring foreign direct investment to Egyptian tourism. 6. A Future in Green Tourism: Develop the growing trend in Egyptian tourism of sustainable eco-friendly accommodation, transportation, and activities. Announcing the 6x6 Impact Plan, Minister Rashed said: “My one and only goal is to bring huge numbers of tourists back to Egypt. To do this we need concerted action and partnership with Egyptian and international tourism stakeholders. The 6x6 Tourism Impact Plan is all about action that brings together the priority areas of Egyptian tourism, providing support and enhancements as we move forward. This is the start of an exciting time and opportunity for Egyptian tourism. This will return Egypt to being one of the most sought-after places to visit in the world.”
Pro Dive International announces new SHARKSCHOOL event
After the premiere of SHARKSCHOOLT RIVIERA MAYA in February this year, Pro Dive International, one of the Caribbean’s most established PADI 5* Dive Resorts, has announced SHARKSCHOOLT RIVIERA MAYA - THE SECOND!in collaboration with WiroDive and Dr Erich Ritter. The event will be held at Pro Dive´s partner hotel OCCIDENTAL ALLEGRO PLAYACAR, located at one of the finest white sandy beaches on the Riviera Maya, from 13-19 December, 2016. Markus Fleischmann, CEO & founder of Pro Dive International, said: “We will provide experienced divers with the privilege of encountering bull sharks in their natural habitat. The participants of our SHARKSCHOOLT, no matter if in love or scared of sharks, will learn about their behaviour, practice to interpret situations, react appropriately and, above all, to feel comfortable. Divers will also get all their questions answered about the top of the food chain during our daily SHARKSCHOOLT workshops with Dr Ritter, a leading shark communications and interactions researcher.” For more information, visit www.prodiveinternational.com.
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www.sportdiver.co.uk
NEWS
Dive operator adds Cocos Island to dive portfolio Diving holiday specialist Regaldive has just expanded its dive portfolio with the introduction of Cocos Island. A lush, uninhabited island resting 340 miles off Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, the rocky pinnacles surrounding Cocos are beacons for big animals and big action. The only way to visit the island for diving is by liveaboards, which operate year round. The island is surrounded by deep waters populated by whalesharks, schooling hammerhead sharks, whitetip sharks, tuna, manta rays and three species of turtle. Dolphins are often seen and the odd whale, if you are lucky. For more information on the Cocos Island liveaboards available, visit www.regaldive.co.uk.
Dive centre wins Beneath the Sea award for second year running Pro Dive International, one of the Caribbean’s most established PADI 5* Dive Resorts, has been awarded the Beneath the Sea Certificate of Excellence for the second consecutive year. The award recognises companies’ continued efforts and contribution towards the marine environment. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Beneath the Sea is the largest dive, travel and international oceans exposition in the US, hosting more than 400 exhibitors, 70 workshops and seminars, as well as a film festival. Markus Fleischmann, CEO and founder of Pro Dive International, said: “The protection of our underwater world has been one of Pro Dive International’s major concerns for decades. We put great efforts in particular in shark conservation, in order to protect the top of the food chain that keeps the ocean’s ecosystem healthy and balanced. “Not only do we support non-profit organisations internationally, like SHARKANGELS, and SHARKS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, but also actively right in front of our door SAVING OUR SHARKS, a local project focusing on the protection of bull sharks in the Mexican Riviera Maya.” Markus Fleischmann, CEO and founder of Pro Dive International. For more information about Pro Dive International, visit www.prodiveinternational.com.
Werner Lau extends Egypt Buddyweeks offer Werner Lau is extending its Egypt-based Buddyweeks offer until 30 June, a six week extension from an initial end point of 15 May. The Werner Lau Buddyweeks scheme also now includes a 50% buddy discount on hotel bookings at the the Oasis Dive Resort, Marsa
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Alam. The offer is valid for bookings made on www.wernerlau.com for travel up until 30 June. The offer cannot be combined with other discounts. For more information, as well as T&Cs, visit www.wernerlau.com.
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NEWS THE Zenobia Wreck Specialists 5★ PADI INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT
DIVE DOCTOR:
Medical Q&A 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: I’ve recently got into UK diving which
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means, of course, that I’ve had to do a drysuit course. I’ve always been a little bit ticklish around the neck, hate wearing scarves and polo necks, and so I was worried about how I would tolerate the neck seal. As it happens I managed fine in the pool, didn’t even feel it after I descended; but someone in the club highlighted to me that my previous history of discomfort might indicate I am more susceptible to fainting with neck pressure, and I should talk to an expert. So that’s what I’m doing! Is it likely I might faint underwater? And if so, should I give up drysuit diving altogether? A: Two explanations of this phenomenon occur to me. The first is “gargalesis” - sounds very ominous, almost like a form of torture, but this term was coined by American psychologist Granville Stanley Hall to describe the heavy type of almost unbearable tickling that induces uncontrollable laughter - so, much like a form of torture, then. Hypergargalaesthesia (trying saying that after a pint) describes an extreme sensitivity to tickling, and sufferers have been known to pass out after a particularly brutal tickle. So your club member may be right. The other possibility is that a tight neck seal can indeed exert undue pressure over the carotid bulb and may, in exceptional circumstances, lead to fainting through stimulation of the carotid sinus reflex. Some individuals do have a particularly sensitive reflex and can even feel light-headed or faint with a turn of the head, or very delicate pressure, such as shaving. It’s encouraging that you managed well in a pool scenario, so I would continue with confined water diving only for now, until you are entirely comfortable. Normally a sensitive individual would give a history of previous episodes of blackouts or fainting, not merely being “a little bit ticklish”, so I think your
chances of graduating to open water diving in a drysuit are good; but just be cautious and dive with someone trained to rescue you should the need arise. Q: Hello, I wonder if you can help. I have been waiting all my life to try diving and retired at the age of 65 last month. I immediately contacted my local club to book up some lessons, but the medical form highlighted a condition I had many years ago that I’d almost forgotten about: syringomyelia. Not a lot of doctors know about it, but I had some operations on my brain and spinal cord 20 years ago that fixed it. Nowadays I have a bit of a weak right leg but I am otherwise fine. Can I dive? A: Well, coincidentally, this doctor does know one or two things about syringomyelia, as another case came my way recently. As is the law of nature (“they come in threes”), I’m expecting another shortly… ‘Syrinx’ derives from the Greek word for “tube” and refers to a cyst or cavity within the spinal cord, that can expand and elongate over time, destroying the surrounding nerve fibres. This can result in anything from minor sensory disturbances and weaknesses to complete paralysis. It’s a rather odd condition that can either be present from birth, due to an anatomical abnormality in the floor of the brain; or acquired later in life, due to an injury, infection or tumour of the brain. Correcting the cause surgically may not completely cure the symptoms, but it should stop them progressing - as it seems to have done in your case. If your symptoms have remained stable for 20 years, and are confined to a mild weakness only, then it’s highly unlikely they will progress further now. For more Q&As from Dr Oli, check out: www.sportdiver.co.uk/divedoctor
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TASIK RIA RESORT SPA & DIVING www.tasikria.com Here with its peaceful and scenic palm fringed backdrop is a family owned and run resort that offers not only luxury and comfort but also a level of warmth and hospitality which in today’s frantic world is such a rarity.
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GRENADA ON A ‘BREATHER WILL HARRISON COMPLETES HIS PADI ADVANCED REBREATHER COURSE IN THE CARIBBEAN’S WRECK CAPITAL
DIVE SITE TOUR HITS WALES THIRD OF SIX GUIDES TO INLAND DIVE SITES IN THE UK THIS TIME WE HEAD FOR NDAC IN CHEPSTOW
MESMERISING MANATEES THE FROGFISH PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE MANATEES OF FLORIDA
THE END OF THE LINE ADRIAN STACEY’S EPIC LIVEABOARD TRIP COMES TO A STUNNING CLOSE AS HE SAILS INTO RAJA AMPAT
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DIVE INTO LEMBEH www.diveintolembeh.com A true macro photographer’s paradise - just off the north east coast of Sulawesi and is famous for it’s “muck diving” on black volcanic sand.
SPORT DIVER takes a look at the UK’s best inland dive sites. This month, we head north to Lancashire’s Capernwray Photographs by MARK EVANS
The Apeks van was the latest arrival
Take a ride on Shergar, direct from Blackpool Pleasure Beach
There are several large sturgeon in the quarry
apernwray is the premier inland dive site in the north, and has secured this reputation by constantly adding to its diver facilities, be this in the water (the virtually fully intact HS-748 airplane, for instance) or on land (the lavish clubhouse really shines against the competition). Sport Diver has visited this northern gem many times over the years and there is always something new to capture your attention. With depths dropping to 21m, the majority of the underwater diver attractions are within reach of Open Water Divers, and you can plan various routes which will allow you to tick off several in one go. There is a huge car park, two heated changing/shower rooms, the ‘wet’ Porthole Restaurant for much-needed post-dive munchies, and a wellequipped shop.
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UNDERWATER ATTRACTIONS Hawker Siddley HS-748 Aircraft / 18m - The undoubted star of Capernwray is its HS-748, which sits in 18m virtually intact. The tail section is separate, but lies right behind the plane, which looks as if it flew into the quarry and landed on the bottom. It is possible to swim the entire length of the fuselage, with light streaming through the windows, and the 30-metre wingspan makes for an impressive sight. Podsnap / 18m - The Podsnap is a Dickens Class Harbour Minesweeper, built in 1944 specifically to clear mines in and around harbour entrances during World War Two. She is 15 metres long, is lying on her starboard side, and still has her large rudder in place. Wessex Dragonfly Helicopter / 14m - This ‘old bird’ first flew in 1943 and was commissioned to HMS Eagle in October 1953. She moved to the Advanced Training and Development Unit in 1953 and continued in service in a variety of roles until her last flight in 1962. She then moved to the
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“Possibly Capernwray’s most-photographed attractions, the two fibreglass horses from Blackpool Pleasure Beach are a significant addition to the novice training area and provide a unique underwater feature” Civil Aviation Fire School at Stansted, where she was used extensively for crash rescue training techniques. Scrapped in 1991, she was brought to Capers in 1996 and now sits atop a ‘cave’ (a container with holes cut out of it). She has seen better days, but is still of interest. Wessex Helicopter / 15m - Resplendent in bright day-glo yellow, sitting atop a container to keep her clear of the bottom in about 15m, she is fully intact and in great condition, making for a great dive. Make sure to check out inside to see her ‘passenger’. The African Queen / 12m - A look-a-like for the famous vessel in the Humphrey Bogart film of the same name. Shallow and accessible, worth a look as you fin by.
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The HS-748 is the centrepiece of Capers
The rudder on the Podsnap
The Wessex Whirlwind
Thunderbird 4
marine fashioned after the star of the famed TV series. Dreamer / 8m - One of the original sunken attractions in Capernwray, this small cruiser sits at the end of the training area, so makes a great ‘starter wreck’ for beginners. Orca / 12-14m - This large cabin cruiser, named after the famed boat in Jaws, sits on the far side of the quarry and is not visited that often, so is well worth checking out. A regular haunt of some of the sturgeon which live in the depths of Capers. The Gypsy Moth / 17m - A spitting image of the yacht of the same name made famous by Sir Francis Chichester’s solo non-stop round-the-world voyage. Lord Lucan and Shergar / 6m - Possibly Capernwray’s most-photographed attractions, the two fibreglass horses from Blackpool Pleasure Beach are a significant addition to the novice training area and provide a unique underwater feature. Thunderbird 4 / 6m - Another addition to the training area is a homemade sub-
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Apeks VW van / 6m - The latest arrival at Capernwray is the old Apeks Marine Equipment VW Transporter box van. Various / 6-16m - There are a plethora of other cruisers on the bottom of Capers, as well as a diving bell, an oil rig, Sandy the She-Devil (another attraction courtesy of Blackpool Pleasure Beach), and a Cessna airplane just waiting to be discovered. Novice training areas / 2-6m - There are two purpose-built areas in safe, shallow water, specifically designed for beginner training. There are two platforms, one at 2m and one at 6m, which are suspended on lazy shots, within each area. Importantly, the sections are on a ledge or a very gradual slope so trainees can be monitored and are able to carry out drills in safety without the dangers of ‘drifting-off’ into deeper water. Both areas are buoyed off and are easily accessible.
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“It is possible to swim the entire length of the fuselage, with light streaming through the windows, and the 30-metre wingspan makes for an impressive sight”
The Wessex Whirlwind has seen better days
The Podsnap is great for photos
TOPSIDE FACILITIES
Inside one of the ‘cave’ containers
Parking - Huge car park, all just a short distance from the entry/exit point. Changing rooms - Capernwray leads the way when it comes to getting kitted and de-kitted, with not one but two heated changing rooms, and hot showers. Gas fills - Air, nitrox and trimix are all available. Cylinders are also available for hire. Equipment hire - As well as cylinders, visiting divers can also hire a full range of gear. Food and drink - Capers boasts a stunning, state-of-the-art clubhouse, which has a spacious bar and restaurant (which is a ‘wet’ area, so you can come and go while wearing your drysuit/wetsuit), and a sprawling sun terrace overlooking the water. There is also a large conference room. Dive shop - Capernwray has a well-stocked onsite shop that stocks a wide selection of the latest gear. ■
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ADDITIONAL INFO Standard entry fee - £14 Opening times - 10am to 5pm (Tuesday to Friday) and 9am to 5pm (Saturday and Sunday); late-night opening (to 9pm) on Wednesday during the summer. Capernwray registration - There is a one-off registration payment of £15 for qualified divers. www.dive-site.co.uk
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Look Norse!
The Norwegian wrecks piece in last month’s Sport Diver served as an excellent reminder of the rich and varied diving fare served up by our Scandinavian cousins; I can’t do Nordic diving full justice in 400 words but, if you’ll allow me a little license in that direction, here are some random thoughts in no particular order: Sweden - Relatively low Baltic Sea salinity preserves wrecks rather well, making Sweden’s East Coast something of a local metalhead mecca. Conversely, the higher West Coast salinity supports the greatest volume and variety of marine life here, and this area is major summer hols territory for hard-working Swedes, so divers are superbly catered-for. PADI centres abound from Halden all the way down to Gothenburg, including the Gullmarsfjorden, Sweden’s only true Fjord. There’s also a high dive-centre density from Halmstad to Malmö, whose impressive bridge spans to… …Denmark - we can’t promise an encounter with The Little Mermaid, but there’s a lot besides (and much of it is beginner-friendly, too). There’s the Amager Strand dive park in Copenhagen itself, which rates well with divers on scubaearth.com; something like 20,000 wrecks around Danish coasts, if that’s your ‘thing’; and some zippy drifting to be experienced in the Lillebælt, where the tide squeezes in between Fyn and the Jylland peninsula.
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Norway also boasts a ‘little belter’ of a dive at Saltstraumen, where the planet’s strongest tidal currents also whip up one of its most-spectacular drift dives. Bodø airport serves both this area and the spectacular, natural beauty of the Lofoten islands, whose crystal-clear waters hold wrecks, kelp forests - and the world’s largest gathering of killer whales in January and February, thanks to high densities of the humble herring (a local staple diet both above and below the waves). Iceland’s limelight justly belongs to Silfra; gin-clear waters - and the opportunity to dive between tectonic plates! - have earned the ‘Silver Lady’ her place in logbook lore, but there’s more to Iceland’s offerings; think World War Two wrecks in the East, and Geothermal gems in various guises from bubbling benthic mud in shallow, clear puddles, to huge ‘smokers’ generally associated with miles-deep abyssal trenches. Finally, Finland is famed for the Åland islands; 6,500 verdant, rocky lumps collectively create a navigator’s nightmare, resulting in possibly the world’s highest shipwreck density, with some 500 identified wrecks from which to choose - including the Plus, from Scandinavia’s ‘top-ten tin’ list. It’s not just pony trekking and camping!
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The PADI Diving Society has been in existence since 1997, and from humble beginnings has grown substantially, within a few years reaching heady heights of ‘world’s biggest diving club’. With membership now standing at over 180,000 keen, active divers across the planet, the PADI Diving Society represents a formidable ‘tribe’. Now all three sectors of the PADI Diving Society - Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa - have moved from been connected but fractured, uniting under a global banner and becoming one entity, with a unified approach and single magazine title reaching all members, everywhere. www.padi.com/scuba-diving
FACEBOOK.COM/PADI | TWITTER.COM/PADI | WWW.SCUBAEARTH.COM
PADI Mola Mola Awareness Distinctive Specialty in Bali The newly opened Tamarind Divers Lembongan, Bali, are excited to announce a unique offering for divers in the form of the PADI Mola Mola Awareness Distinctive Specialty course. The course has been created specifically to develop understanding of the biology, behaviour and responsible diving practices with the heaviest bony fish in the sea. Mola (aka ocean sunfish) can be found year round in the Bali region, but most sightings occur in the months from August to October. The island of Nusa Penida, just 20 miles east of Bali, records the highest number of sightings of molas annually and Tamarind Divers, based on the nearby island of Nusa Lembongan, are ideally located to reach the best dives sites within 30 minutes boat ride. Did you know that molas can measure up to
three metres from fin to fin? Find out more through this insight into one of the mostwonderful creatures in the marine world. The course consists of a student manual, a classroom presentation and two open water dives, with successful students receiving their unique certification card from PADI. www.tamarinddivers.com
Sandals’ achievements recognised Sandals Resorts International has been honoured with the 2016 PADI Award of Recognition for achieving more than 70,000 PADI certifications and its contribution to diving education throughout the Caribbean. Sandals Resorts International is one of the top five diving operations in North and South America based on PADI certifications, and one of the top ten worldwide. Additionally, all Sandals and Beaches are PADI five-star Dive Resorts, providing quality diver training and continuing education programmes that include dive experiences and environmental awareness. Sandals and Beaches Resorts have also received the PADI
Green Star Award, reaffirming their commitment to environmental preservation. For more information on Sandals and Beaches resorts, visit: www.sandals.co.uk or www.beachesresorts.co.uk
Happy birthday, Vivian! Come to PADI five-star IDC Vivian Dive Centre to celebrate their first birthday since the reopening of the site in May 2015. Will and Katrine will be hosting a fun-filled weekend over 14-15 May from 9am till 4pm, with an underwater birthday present hunt and some great prizes up for grabs. There will also be rebreather trydives available on the AP Vision - these will need to be pre-booked with Will at Vivian Dive Centre. For any more information on Vivian, or the event, call 01286 870889 or visit: www.viviandivecentre.co.uk
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LEADING THE WAY Regular readers will recall that, on occasion, I have to eat a little humble pie and apologise to a few new PADI Master Scuba Divers, whose names have been missed from our regular honour roll. In this vein, I would like to introduce you to a couple of new aquatic achievers, the omissions of whom have been brought to our attention recently!: Dr Leong Chou Ching is a PADI Diving Society member and Sport Diver subscriber from Singapore, and attained his ‘black belt’ in October 2015, capping his other illustrious achievements with the instructional team at PADI IDC centre Marlin Divers in Singapore City. Meanwhile, back over here in Blighty, I am grateful to PADI member Chris Rixon who tells me that Neil Cowley and Ian Crouchman completed their latest diving goals together at Holborough Lakes in November last year. Chris tells me that Neil (from Colchester) and Ian (from Chelmsford) also started diving together on the same day back in 2013, so I wonder if there is maybe a competitive element with these guys…? The prestigious Master Scuba Diver certification recognises a diver’s mastery of personal diving skills in a minimum of five different Diver Specialty areas, as well as their ability to demonstrate dependable Rescue and Emergency Responder techniques. Not surprisingly, given our shared commitment to diving and all things aquatic, a significant number of PDS members have either achieved this award, or are currently working towards achieving it. If you would like to know more, contact your local PADI professional, or write to me here at the Society offices.
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Project AWARE Foundation is a growing movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet - one dive at a time. Over the past two decades of underwater conservation we’ve learned that divers are true leaders in ocean protection. We’re ocean heroes numbering in the millions across the globe. We believe together our actions will make a huge impact and will help to rescue the ocean. www.projectaware.org
JOIN THE MOVEMENT | PROTECT THE OCEAN
NEW EU REPORT ON SHARK FINNING
MY OCEAN NEWS Domino Albert, Project AWARE Communications Manager Two years after its establishment, members of the Marine Litter Action Network (MLAN) are meeting again in Birmingham, on 26 May, to reflect on what the network has achieved over the past two years. Since 2014, this Marine Conservation Society-led initiative has brought together people and their organisations, from across different sectors, to help tackle the global marine debris crisis. I’m delighted to represent Project AWARE to share our newest Dive Against Debris™ initiative - Adopt A Dive Site™, a global campaign urging scuba diving leaders around the globe to engage in ongoing, local protection and monitoring of their local dive sites. I look forward to catching up on various initiatives including the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), of which Project AWARE is an active member, with a group of like-minded conservationists, organisations, and marine debris experts serious about finding long-lasting solutions to the complex issue of marine litter. In 2015 alone, one third of Dive Against Debris™ surveys across the globe reported ghost gear that amounted to 13 percent of all items reported. Dive Against Debris™ surveys not only provide an immediate relief to undersea habitats and marine life through ghost gear retrieval, they also provide the detailed information and evidence necessary to advocate for change. Through participation in the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, Marine Litter Action Network and other partnerships against trash, Project AWARE advocates for long-term solutions to prevent marine debris, but we can’t do it without you! Activate your inner citizen scientist and help us provide, through your Dive Against Debris™ surveys, the quantitative evidence and accurate perspective about marine debris found on the seafloor that decision-makers cannot ignore.
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The European Commission has released a longanticipated report on EU Member States’ 2014 implementation of the EU ban on shark finning (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea), which found few infringements and reaffirmed the EU commitment to the most reliable means for finning ban enforcement requiring that sharks be landed with fins still naturally attached. Such a rule greatly eases enforcement and facilitates collection of key species-specific catch data. “We applaud the European Commission for underscoring its intention to maintain a strong finning ban for the EU, and also continue to promote the ‘fins-naturally-attached’ best practice approach on a global scale,” said Ania Budziak, Associate Director for Project AWARE. “We are pleased that support for enforceable rules voiced by conservation organizations and members of the concerned public was able to counter industry efforts to weaken the ban.” EU Member States are required to submit annual reports on their implementation of the finning regulation that include shark landings, inspections, and violations detected. Related compliance issues as well as the lack of EU catch limits for heavily fished shark species are cause for concern. Specifically: • France and Portugal, which ranked second and third among EU countries for 2013 volume of shark landings, failed to report for 2014. • Spain, the top EU country for pelagic shark take, is among the least likely in EU to inspect catches (only 0.4 times out of 100 in 2014), and yet this low inspection rate detected a finning regulation infraction.
• There are still no limits for the species that dominate EU shark landings (blue sharks, makos, smoothhounds, catsharks). “We are deeply concerned that the major shark fishing countries of France and Portugal have failed to report on this fundamental shark fishing regulation,” said Ali Hood, Director of Conservation for the Shark Trust. “Moreover, this report underscores the urgent need for additional shark safeguards, particularly catch limits for heavily fished blue and mako sharks.” Scientists have recommended capping catches of Atlantic shortfin mako and blue sharks, which range across the ocean and are fished by vessels from many nations. While the EU has not yet adopted this advice for its vessels, it has proposed such limits, often jointly with the United States, through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The EU has also joined forces with the US in efforts to secure international fins-attached requirements through ICCAT and most other relevant regional fisheries bodies. “The combined efforts of the EU and US to champion effective shark conservation measures around the world are vital to securing a brighter future for these vulnerable and often highly migratory species,” said Sonja Fordham, President of Shark Advocates International. “We urge the EU to follow its model finning ban with domestic shark catch limits, and we look forward to working with the Commission and like-minded governments to continue the momentum toward stronger international measures to prevent shark overfishing and finning.”
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WHEN ONE TANK IS NOT ENOUGH…
he briefing begins. Site: Bianca C. Depth: 50m. Sunk: 1961. Size: 180 metres long. As the briefing is done, I go to my seat and strap myself into my twinset. As I try to stand with two nitrox tanks strapped to my back, the harness pressing me into my backplate and the Caribbean sun piercing its way through my wetsuit, I ask myself - why? And the answer is simple, I just want MORE; more time, more depth, more sites, more knowledge but most of all I want MORE ADVENTURE. I balance myself and swing out of my seat. The load is much heavier than I anticipated and I haven’t even strapped on my 50 percent oxygen stage yet. Nostalgia kicks in and I realise that I am on the same emotional rollercoaster I was on when I did my first open water dive. I waddle towards the stern and focus on Grenada’s white sandy beaches stretching along the south side of the island which almost makes me trip, one of the Aquanauts crew members’ holds on to my tanks and allows me to catch myself. He smiles and helps me to the diving platform, I put my regulator in my mouth and hold my mask to my face and take a large step forward. My heavy gear hits the water; I give my okay sign and deflate my BCD. I’m heavy no more, but sinking quickly. I remember my bubble checks and undergo them with my buddy. The wreck Bianca C appears out of the deep blue. The top of the bow lays to my left and I look at the location where I’d normally start my dive. I breathe slower and notice a heavy joyful feeling as I approach the ocean floor. I invent a hand signal for ‘being narked’, which my instructor immediately picks up on and causes him to smile behind his regulator. He checks if I am okay and we begin our dive. I look at my gauge - 45m. The thought of how much water there is above me gives me a thrill. My dive plan shoots back into my head I concentrate and without stirring the sandy
T
bottom, I get my buoyancy under control and slowly swim under the keel, spooking a sleeping two-metre reef shark out. On the other side we swim to the end of the mast and look back at the wreck. What an enormous sight; not seen by recreational divers. Two eagle rays sail over the top of the bow while we are slowly ascending, abiding our decompression stops. After talking to my instructor Paul; I decide next dive will be with a sidemount rig. You still carry two tanks, but what a difference it makes in buoyancy control and coming out of the water. I just unclip my tanks, hand them back to the boat and literally jump up the ladder without any load. Tech diving is demanding, but can be a lot of fun. And it gets you places where not many divers go. Deeper wrecks, exotic marine life, undiscovered treasures. These are some of the reasons to take the next step underwater by going tech. Diving with multiple tanks increases the gas you can take, therefore allowing you to stay longer or, if you take multiple gas mixtures, you can go deeper. The wide range of technical diving courses offered at Aquanauts makes it very easy to choose the right one for you. And if your goal is to get better prepared for rebreather diving; you are definitely in the right place. Still uncertain if that is for you? Aquanauts gives you the chance to try technical diving during its annual TECH-WRECK-JAMBOREE from 1-8 October 2016. You may try diving with twins, a sidemount rig, closedand semi-closed rebreather diving and get an introduction to decompression diving. Of course, the 15 dives include many wreck and drift dives too. So mark your calendar and get your flights. Everything else you can book at: www.aquanautsgrenada.com ■
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GALAPAGOS ON A SHOESTRING well, almost... DAVID JONES is never one to shy away from a challenge, and he set himself a mission to dive the fabled Galapagos Islands on a budget Photographs by DAVID JONES
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A fleet of boats await at the jetty
e all have a diving bucket list and I expect many of you are a bit like me. There you are, just having a mooch around on the internet, maybe a quick social media session, when up pops a friend’s video from some amazing destination you have never even heard of. Then someone who you thought was a buddy shares a viral video with you that shows hundreds of mantas performing somersaults in the air. Oh, come on! These people have no idea how much we fantasise over these exotic locations that seem so far away, not only logistically, but also financially. Raja Ampat... dribbling now; the Socorro Islands… sigh; Cocos Island… if only. High on every diver’s bucket list has to be Galapagos, but it too is tantalisingly out of reach. Even a cursory search on Google will leave you in no doubt that ticking this one off the list is going to be big bucks - way out of most people’s price range. Oh, I do love a challenge! There are a few obstacles with going to Galapagos. First of all, it is a long way to go, ergo pretty substantial travel costs. Secondly, in order to go to Darwin and Wolf Islands, you need to be on a liveaboard and they are running at around US$5,000 for a week without the flight! The third issue combines the first two, because it becomes too far and too expensive for a short trip, so the compromise is to stay longer - which means even more money. Aarrgghhh, if only I could overcome those obstacles! Actually, the solution seemed simple enough. First task - get there as cheaply as possible. Second task - reduce the cost of going to Darwin and Wolf. Third task - stay longer for less money. See, simple.
W
Split-shot captures the rugged topside terrain
It doesn’t take long to realise that at some stage on the journey you are going to need a stopover and either spend a long night in an airport, or a hotel. It is also fairly obvious that the more convoluted the journey, the cheaper it ‘might’ be, but there are limits! Not been one for living rough, I went for the hotel option. After a bit of searching, the best flight I found was on Iberian Airlines via Madrid and Quito. The flight was still not ‘cheap cheap’ at £1,120, but it left at a reasonable hour and got us into Quito in time for cocktails. Cost for the hotel, including dinner and transfer from the airport, was around £30 per person for a shared room. Be aware that Quito is nestled in the Andes at an elevation of around 3,000m. It provides stunning views, but also explains the breathlessness experienced when carrying your bags up to your room! Nicely rested the following morning it was an early domestic flight to Galapagos, stopping briefly at Guayaquil. Park fees and a ‘Transit Control Card’, or TCT, will hit you for around £80 before you manage to take a step out of the airport, but a couple of short bus rides and an even shorter ferry ride later, we were in our hotel for just after lunchtime. In order to overcome the high cost of the liveaboard, the simple solution was to not go to Darwin and Wolf and be land based for the duration, staying at three of the main islands. First stop was Santa Cruz. This is the most populated of the islands with around 12,000 inhabitants and it is also surrounded by some cracking dive sites. I noted with some satisfaction that the liveaboard itineraries also went to many of the same sites - made me feel slightly better for taking the ‘cheap seats’ option. Using Puerto Ayora as a central base we covered well-known sites such as Seymour North, a fantastic dive where the shark and ray action is astonishing. Eagle rays, sting rays, white tips, and very often hammerheads are found in great numbers here. To the east of the island, the famous Gordon Rocks emerge off the coastline, jagged remnants of an ancient volcanic crater. On the leeward side of the rocks colonies of sealions rest in the sunshine, occasionally breaking off from their relaxation to demonstrate their incredible agility just for our pleasure. Cacti and low-growing shrubs dominate the rocky ground
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Turtle
“These people have no idea how much we fantasise over these exotic locations that seem so far away, not only logistically, but also financially” Red-lipped batfish
The Galapagos offer warm and temperate dives
DID YOU KNOW? • The red-lipped batfish is only found in Galapagos and off the coast of Peru and is closely related to the rosey-lipped batfish found in Cocos islands, Costa Rica. • It has a lure on its head similar to anglerfish, which it uses to attract prey. • When it reaches maturity, its dorsal fin turns into a spine. • They are not good swimmers, but their modified pectoral fins means that they can walk on the seabed. • In spite of their appearance, they do not use lipstick.
The archipelago is famed for huge shoals
Blue-footed boobies
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Sealions are one of the great joys of diving in the Galapagos and we encountered them on virtually every dive. The itinerary included two dives a day, and these departed from Puerto Ayora, or at ‘The Cut’ in the north. Transfers were included, as was a pretty good lunch, and we even ventured to other islands that surround Santa Cruz, including Pinzon, Seymour, Santa Fe, Bartolome and Floreana. We stayed for seven days in Santa Cruz and did six days of diving. No, it was not as convenient as a liveaboard and we didn’t do as many dives, but it was only £600. And at the end of the day, we saw everything you would expect - Galapagos sharks, mobular rays, hammerheads, eagle rays, white tips, more turtles than you know what to do with, even the extraordinary red-lipped batfish. We swam with iguanas, played with penguins and enjoyed our evenings at a range of reasonably priced restaurants and bars. Accommodation was £140 for seven nights in air-conditioned shared rooms, including breakfast. It was time to move on and leaving some of our luggage at the Santa Cruz Hotel, the next stop was the ancient island of San Cristobal. This island had a far more laidback feel about it. It is much smaller, less people, no noisy bars and sealions take over the park benches during the day. To move around the islands you need to take the two-hour ferry ride. There are always plenty of these available and a return journey is £40. Being such a ‘sleepy hollow’, there are, not surprisingly, some amazing deals here on accommodation. Hostels are around £20 a night, but if you don’t want air-con you can pay even less. We spent two nights on the island and did two days of diving. There are a few dive operators and most charge around £100 a day, including lunch. With so few dive companies we didn’t see any other dive boats except for ours on any of the dive sites. San Cristobal has one of the only wreck dives in Galapagos, situated in the rather appropriately named ‘Wreck Bay’. The wreck, thought to be a World War One German transport ship, the ‘Caragua’, is relatively shallow and covered in life. Although it is well broken, it is still a really nice dive and having spent six days purely looking at wildlife, it was actually a really nice change. The highlight of San Cristobal diving was Kicker Rock. During a two-hour boat journey to the site, you sail past totally isolated white sandy beaches that are quite stunning. Another volcanic remnant - there are a lot of those in Galapagos - Kicker Rock is split vertically down the middle. Dive one was a drift along the outside looking, unsuccessfully on this occasion, for whalesharks and hammerheads. The second dive was actually through
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The Caragua makes an interesting wreck dive Whitetip reef shark
“The wreck, thought to be a World War One German transport ship, the ‘Caragua’, is relatively shallow and covered in life” the crack in the rock. We had been told that it was home to schools of juvenile Galapagos sharks and we were not disappointed. Although some strong winds had whipped up the sediment and lowered visibility, it was still an exciting experience. Laying in 18m on a rocky bottom, scores of young sharks swam backwards and forwards around us. It was time to move again and we headed for our third destination, Isabella Island, stopping briefly at the Puerto Ayora Hotel for one night. The ferry journey to Isabella was also £40 return and took around two hours. Approaching the island, you instantly realise that you are entering another totally different world and culture. The island is overlooked by five active volcanoes so is rich with new forestation as well as huge lava fields. The tiny population of around 1,700 is mainly found in Puerto Villamil on the south coast. The youngest of the Galapagos Islands at around one million years, Isabela is still growing and Wolf Volcano (not to be confused with Wolf Island) had erupted spectacularly 100km to the north only weeks before our arrival. Accommodation can be really cheap, but once again we opted for £20-a-night room. Diving was £90 for the day. There was only one dive centre and we had only planned one day of diving, on Isla Tortuga, a crescent-shaped island that was once the crater of a small volcano. The guide told us we could expect lots of mantas, the only thing on the list to have evaded us so far, and hammerheads. Having been spoilt up until this point, I was not too bothered what I saw. As it turned out, this was probably one of the best dives of the trip. As we drifted over the lava fingers of this ancient volcano that reached into the depths, it was soon clear that every ridge was a manta cleaning station. Schools of scalloped hammerheads patrolled in the deeper water just out of camera range, but clearly visible. The guide was very undemonstrative about the diving here, but to be honest it was extraordinary and my one regret was that I hadn’t the time to do more. We stayed for another day in Isabela, making the most of the extraordinary place. Some of us watched blue boobies, some swam with penguins through
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW GALAPAGOS
Majestic manta ray
lava tunnels, others climbed one of the volcanos on horseback, but all of us were really glad we hadn’t just sailed by. As always it was over too quickly, but it had been one hell of a trip. Flights, accommodation, transfers, ferries, park fees and diving had come in at £2,460. Food and drink on top and you could manage this on a budget of £3,000. Was it a shoestring? Well, not quite, but it was not too bad. We had seen everything we had hoped and more, and I had ticked Galapagos off the bucket list. ■
HOW TO GET THERE
CURRENCY
We flew with Iberian via Madrid and Quito. Avianca also travel there via Bogota.
US dollar (£1 = US$1.41).
WHEN TO GO December to May is the warm season and is slightly wetter. Due to El Nino the water was still warm in June when we travelled. Colder water tends to bring in more species, but then, there is so much animal life all through the year, who cares!
Staying on the mainland means there is a good selection of bars and restaurants. Puerto Ayora is a little more expensive than the other island due to the number of visitors, but still reasonable. Seafood, as you would expect, is exceptional.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Passport with six months. Park fees and TCT cards are payable on arrival.
It is not a liveaboard, but still a really good way to tick off the Galapagos.
WHERE TO EAT AND MEET
VERDICT
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LETTERS
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Dreamy diving Down Under Hello, Just wanted to send in some feedback on an article I read in the March 2016 edition. Refreshing to see an article about diving in South Australia over the popular region of the Great Barrier Reef. I myself have recently returned from this region and had the pleasure of diving off the Rapid Bay pier with Diving Adelaide. Rapid Bay is well known for its imposing cliffs, caves, beach, two jetties and artificial reefs, and deserves its listing as one of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premiere scuba diving sites. Just as we entered the water a leatherback turtle came up to greet us and I knew it was going to be a wonderful day. I was pleasantly surprised by the colours and varied sea life that we found. Lots of cuttlefish, including a baby hidden under a rock, nudibranchs, jellyfish, eagle rays and fish a plenty gathered in large shoals around the old jetty T section called the Gallery. To top the day off we found three majestic leafy sea dragons. It was a hugely enjoyable day and was far better than expected. As mentioned in your article, shark expeditions are an exciting adventure to be had in this region, but be warned the cost may burn a hole in your pocket. Sam Stretton, via email
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Lights, camera, action! Hello! I’ve been diving for years - first as a hobbyist, then as a club helper and finally as an Instructor. After a little while teaching I decided to go back to my day job and try to rediscover my love of diving again (you know, that real thrill rather than teacher thrill!) and I’m happy to say I’ve found it thanks to underwater photography. Initially, after all that busy instructing, I felt a little bored on pleasure dives, but with a camera in hand that really has changed. That hunt for the next shot is exhilarating and I have become totally obsessed. I’ve just upgraded to a Panasonic Lumix GX7 too, so expect to see some pics on your gallery soon. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Sally Birnt, via email
The quay to diving... Howdy fellas, Now I’ve been a little naive and I don’t mind admitting it. Who knew there were inland dive sites in the UK? I moved over to Portugal with my folks when I was 12 and learned to dive while living out there (the Algarve has some good diving, btw). At the age of 24, I decided to move back to the UK and have settled in Bristol. Keen to carry on diving, I’ve signed up to plenty of boat dives during the decent summer months, but hung up my fins during the cold periods of the year... Last month I read about Vobster Quay - just round the corner! Amazing! We’re back round to the warmer months already, but when winter lands again I’ll be checking it out for sure! Thomas Whitaker, via email
Exhilarating bump Hi there, I got bumped the other day and I loved it. Not birthday bumps, or an unwelcome bump in the car... nope, a shark bump! Scary? Sure. Awesome? Hell yes! I was diving with oceanic whitetips in the Red Sea and on one particular dive, my group were in the water with about half a dozen of these creatures - totally amazing. I was busy taking shots of one individual, when my buddy signalled that another was approaching from behind. Just as I turned, it hit me. Full-on shoulder barge! The adrenaline was pumping, let me tell you! Roger Kendrick, via email
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GOZOHOTSPOTS The Blue Hole and the Inland Sea - iconic dive sites on the island of GOZO in the middle of the Mediterranean Photographs by MARK EVANS
Divers swim towards open sea from the Inland Sea
onsistency is only a good thing when it relates to positive experiences, alas the Sport Diver Team Trip to Malta and Gozo towards the end of last year saw the islands buffeted by strong winds, heavy rain and generally unsettled stormy weather similar to that which blighted previous outings to the Mediterranean archipelago. Thankfully, these conditions were not bad enough to prevent us making an early morning ferry crossing from Malta to its more-laid-back sibling, Gozo. Unfortunately, on arrival at Gozo Aqua Sports, owners Gail and Patrick Bugeja announced that the prevailing winds meant that many of the island’s dive sites were rendered off-limits. Luckily, Gozo has a couple of aces up its sleeves, in the form of the Blue Hole and the Inland Sea. These two dive sites are diveable in all but the very worst conditions, and they were still on the cards for us. It is also satisfying to note that the ‘back-up bad-weather
C
There are swim-throughs galore outside the Inland Sea
locations’ also happened to be two of the most-famous dive sites on the island, handily positioned a few hundred metres away from one another! We loaded up our dive kit into one of Gozo Aqua Sports’ vehicles and made the short, scenic trip across the island to our first dive site, the Inland Sea. There was a sea of pick-ups, minibuses and hire cars in the car park, but we managed to find a spot close to the entry/exit point, and got changed gazing at the turquoise lagoon, complete with tourist boats buzzing back and forth. The Inland Sea is a large pool of water dominated by a sheer wall that is split in two by a vertical crack rising up out of the lagoon and piercing two-thirds of the way to the top. This gash in the rock slices straight through to the open sea, and creates a unique route to and from the dive site. In fact, the swim-through this crack is seen by many as the highlight of the entire dive. Geared up and buddy checks completed, we waded into the
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MORE TO SEE. MORE TO DO. SO MUCH MORE TO REMEMBER. THREE ISLANDS OFFERING GREAT DIVING
AMPLE CHOICE OF SITES FOR RECREATIONAL & TECHNICAL DIVING
MALTA - DIVE CENTRES Adventure Diving Malta Aquaventure Blue Waters Dive Cove Buddies Dive Cove Dawn Diving Divewise Maltaqua Ocean Mysteries Diving OrangeShark H20 Diving Centres Seashell Dive Centre
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GOZO - DIVE CENTRES Atlantis Dive Centre Gozo Aqua Sports Moby Dives St. Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Divers Cove Scuba Kings Utina Diving College
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Gozo is blessed with crystal-clear water
Check out crevices and overhangs for crustaceans
Spot the scorpionfishes
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Swimming through the crack is an eerie experience. There is little marine growth on the walls, and few fish in evidence, but this is all about the underwater topography, and it is truly spectacularâ&#x20AC;? water, donned our masks and fins and then slowly swam on the surface towards the crack. Once we were in enough depth to descend, we dropped down to a couple of metres and then proceeded in single file into the monster swim-through. This entrance point can get a little congested with divers coming and going, but once you are into the crack proper, it widens considerably and there is plenty of room. Swimming through the crack is an eerie experience. There is little marine growth on the walls, and few fish in evidence, but this is all about the underwater topography, and it is truly spectacular. Looking up as you head towards the open sea, the deep blue is framed by the black walls, and it is a great photo op shooting your buddies as they fin overhead. You emerge from the crack on to a sheer wall, and you can then opt to go left or right. Here you will encounter more marine life, with sergeant majors and bream in particular a regular sight munching on the seagrass and algae, but again, it is the topography that takes top billing. Huge boulders sit atop one another, creating swim-throughs, overhangs, gullies and crevices, all smothered in colourful encrusting
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algae and coral growth. After a circular route, you arrive back at the crack and make the return journey back to the lagoon. Just be aware that the tourist boats whizz back and forth through the crack as well, so make sure you stay at a reasonable depth well away from their props, especially at the point where the lagoon enters the huge swim-through. After a spot of lunch at the little snack bar on the side of the lagoon, watching other divers head off to explore the Inland Sea, or returning with broad smiles on their faces, it was time to drive a couple of hundred metres over the hill to find a parking space close to our second dive site, the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is perhaps even more iconic than the Inland Sea, with the stone archway of the Azure Window towering over the top of the Blue Hole itself one of the most-recognisable images from any tourist literature on Malta and Gozo. The Blue Hole is not a blue hole in the classical sense, like the Blue Holes in the Bahamas or Belize, which are formed when limestone caverns collapse, but instead a roughly circular hole in the harsh, unforgiving rock that then opens into the open sea through
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Below the Azure Window
GOZO AQUA SPORTS You know you are in safe hands with Patrick Bugeja and his team, who set up PADI five-star IDC centre Gozo Aqua Sports - then the only dive centre on the island - way back in 1981, making 2016 their 35th year in operation. The dive centre boasts a shop, servicing centre, and kit rinsing and drying facilities. The team offer guided diving, cylinder hire and kit rental for independent diving, technical diving, and a wide range of PADI courses. www.gozoaquasports.com Colourful sponges and encrusting corals
Emerging from ‘The Chimney’
“The Blue Hole is perhaps even more iconic than the Inland Sea, with the stone archway of the Azure Window towering over the top of the Blue Hole itself one of the most-recognisable images from any tourist literature on Malta and Gozo” an archway. Divers trudge over the rough terrain - make sure you have a stout pair of dive boots to protect your feet - to the edge of the Blue Hole, don their fins and mask and then push off into deeper water. Descending inside the hole, the blue of the open sea is framed through the archway, tempting you out on to the rocky wall beyond. There is a small cave in the bottom of the Blue Hole, but make sure you take a torch to illuminate the shrimp and other critters which call this place home. Leaving the Blue Hole, you can explore various overhangs and crevices before reaching ‘The Chimney’, a one-diver-width tunnel which punches up through the rock for several metres, emerging in the shallows and depositing you into a sheltered ‘bowl’ where you can chill out and complete your safety stop, before swimming back round into the Blue Hole to exit the water and make the epic walk back to the car park. Just be aware this swim-through is quite tight, so when you first head in, make sure you look up and ensure that no one is swimming down, otherwise one of you is going to have to back up! The Inland Sea and the Blue Hole are an enviable combo that the Gozo dive centres are lucky to have on their doorstep. The fact that they are diveable in most conditions is just the icing on the cake. Whether you have dived them a hundred times before or are going to be making the pilgrimage for the first time, these iconic dive sites should be high on your ‘must-dive’ list when you are heading to this chilled-out little island. ■
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X LENDI B AY , I SLE OF G OZO , M ALTA T EL : +356 21551301 standrew@gozodive.com | standrew1989@gmail.com
www.gozodive.com For all your diving and holiday needs including: Airport Transfers, Accommodation (hotels, apartments and farmhouses), Car Hire. All Divers from beginners to professional; try dives, courses as well as fun dives from shore or by boat. Plus Dive Shop, considered the best stocked in the islands!
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SCHOLARSHIP DIARY The Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society is a non-profit, educational organisation whose mission is to promote educational activities associated with the underwater world. It has offered scholarships for more than 35 years. owuscholarship.org
SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH And so it has come time to draw a close to the epic, globe-trotting year of 2015 Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society Scholar Danny Copeland. Here, in a montage of images, we look back over his tumultuous 12 months - and look forward to welcoming 2016 Scholar Felix Butschek, who hails from Austria, next month. ■
© OWUSS
© GUY STEVENS
© RICHARD VEVERS
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WANT TO EXPERIENCE NASSAU AND THE EXUMAS FOR YOURSELF? Join Editor Mark Evans on our reader trip www.aquacatcruises.com/sportdiveruk2016
The
Bahamas SHARK DIVING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD NICK AND CAROLINE ROBERTSON-BROWN give the lowdown on diving with sharks in the Bahamas, while also encouraging prospective visitors to ‘go local’ if they follow suit Photographs by NICK AND CAROLINE ROBERTSON-BROWN
s we jump off the back of the dive boat, splashing into the crystal-clear, warm, blue water we are filled with excitement on what the next hour or so might bring. Cameras ready to go, we head to the white sandy bottom, and wait for our first shark to appear and languidly swim up close to the divers. We can feel the excitement and buzz of the other divers around us, as they signal and smile at one another, at least until the next big shark comes around and attracts everyone’s attention. This description is one that matches up to our experiences on several of the Bahamian islands. These islands have become famous for their shark encounters, and rather wonderfully, each island seems to specialise in their own species of shark, making it the perfect island-hopping trip for any shark lover (selachophile). The islands of Bimini are renowned for diving with great hammerhead sharks and you can also grab a peek at some bull sharks too. Cat Island is the place to go for oceanic whitetip sharks and Nassau is the leading destination for Caribbean reef sharks. The Exumas have a dive where nurse sharks sit on a dock in a few inches of water, and Grand Bahama boasts the Tiger Beach dive site where both tiger and lemon sharks will entertain you. Of course, all these species and more (the Bahamas is home to around 40 species of shark) swim around all of the islands, so you have a chance of seeing any of these on any island you visit. However, it is worth visiting each of the specialist dives on each of the islands for the ultimate shark-diving adventure. In 2011, the Bahamian government decided to ban commercial shark fishing, and to ban any import or export of shark products. Local dive centres went along to these discussions and argued, successfully, the case that the sharks that swim in Bahamian waters are worth more in the sea alive and swimming than they were dead in someone’s soup bowl. Divers who sign up to dive with local dive centres on these islands bring in a lot of money to the local economy, not only the dive centres, but also to bars, restaurants, hotels, local island hopper airlines, taxi drivers, government funds and more. It is estimated that a single Caribbean reef shark is worth more than $250,000 in its lifetime if it is allowed to live freely, but worth only $50 if killed for its meat and fins. Because of this, more than 240,000 square miles of sea around the Bahamas gives protection to its sharks. So what about the diving? Let’s guide you through some of our favourite dives...
A
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We have just celebrated our 32nd year in service! Nick and Karen Rolle are thrilled to have two families which have three generations still diving with them! We cater to small groups of ten divers maximum, even though our vessel is coast guard certified for 23 plus crew! We are proud of our zero accident record; and as Nick says, “We didn’t get that record by accident!” Check out our website – www.sunnodysseydivers.com to find out why we have divers coming back year after year!
BEN’S CAVERN 50 FEET DEPTH This inland blue hole is a national preserve and open to only four divers at a time. A little scheduling will pay off as you watch sunlight dapple the water to play off stalactite formations, fossilized coral and glow-through crystal columns. SHARK ENCOUNTER 45’–75’ Experienced Divers swim with Caribbean reef sharks and interact with them in their natural state! The sharks are four to eight feet and at times can be too numerous to count. The location is near an old Recompression Chamber with coral reef surrounding it. FISH FARM 10’–20’ Novice and snorklers More fish than you can count, more color than you can imagine. A photographers’ dream come true! Swim with marine life to many to name! Dolphins have been know to venture on the deeper sections of this reef. PYGMY CAVES 55’–80’ Moderate Nicknamed ‘Tunnels’ because of the high coral formations that run perpendicular to shoreline with overlapping ceilings; thus the name Pygmy Caves or Tunnels.
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BIMINI
NASSAU, NEW PROVIDENCE
Bimini offers one of the very few chances to get up close and personal with the great hammerhead shark. We always dive with Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Centre. Neal pioneered diving with hammerheads here and runs an excellent outfit. You barely have time to get your wetsuit on, and you are at the dive site, but you will not be jumping in straight away. First, Neal will give you a thorough briefing on how to behave with the sharks, what is going to happen on the dive and things to be careful with (like holding small action cameras that might look a bit like a fish). While you are listening to this, and the excitement is mounting, the dive guides are putting a little chum in the water to attract the sharks. The water is so clear, and the dive is done in such shallow waters, that you can see the sharks from the boat. Once they arrive, the guide goes down first to set-up and get the bait box in position. Once the divers are given the go-ahead, everyone gets in the water as soon as they can. On our first dive, we descended down to about 7m, landed on the sandy bottom and chose to be at the end of the line, furthest away from the bait, in the hope of getting a shot of the sharks against the blue water. During the 90-minute dive, we encountered eight individual hammerheads, ranging from three to five metres in length. They are wonderful to dive with. Their freakish good looks, the rarity of such an amazing encounter and the close proximity of these sharks make this one of our top five dives ever! The surface interval, for us anyway, was a quick change of tanks, not bothering to stop for a drink or snack, but rather wanting to make the most of this unique opportunity. This time, we headed to the position next to the bait box, where you get right in the action and the sharks go eyeball to eyeball with you. They move slowly, and are careful not to bump into divers, hoping to get a small hand out of a fish from the guide. The hammerhead season is from December to April, so you need to book early. As the weather can be a little unpredictable at this time of year, it is also best to book a few days on Bimini. We lost one of the three days we had booked due to high winds (we also got soaked going to the airport on a golf buggy). If you fancy a more-local experience, which is always our preference, then stay with Doug’s Magical Vacation B&B. Doug offers rooms in his house and will cook breakfast and dinner for you (included in the price). If you are lucky with the weather and the sea is flat, Neal Watson will also offer trips out to snorkel with dolphins in the afternoon. If the weather is not perfect, then there is also great diving on local reefs and wrecks to fill your afternoon. If you are looking for something a little different, then pop over on the local ferry to North Bimini, and drop into Bimini Big Game Club, where you can jump into a shark cage to watch the bull sharks swim by as fishermen clean their catches. There is a nice bar that even sells a draught ale to make us Brits feel at home.
Stuart Cove’s Dive Centre has been running in Nassau since the 1970s and it is now one of the leading operations in the Caribbean. The centre is impressive and usually busy with divers getting ready to head out for some epic shark diving. The Caribbean reef shark is the star of the show here, and a two-tank dive with Stuart Cove’s offers a pair of contrasting dives. On our first dive, a bait box was hidden inside a small wreck and we spent a very happy 70 minutes watching these magnificent sharks gracefully patrolling the wreck site. It was a photographer’s dream, being able to spend a long time in the water, trying out different angles, to find the shark image you liked best. The second dive was a shark feed, and here the sharks came in very close to all the divers as they tried to get into the best position to receive a fish snack from the feeder. This was also done on a wreck site and provided some amazing images as well as the chance to get very close to the sharks.
TIGER BEACH, GRAND BAHAMA Tiger Beach is perhaps one of the most-famous dive sites in the world. As its name suggests, it is famous for its tiger sharks and divers from around the world flock here to see them. But alongside the tigers, and equally wonderful, are the lemon sharks that also aggregate here. The dive site is nearest the West End of Grand Bahama and so it was there that we headed to stay at the sumptuous Old Bahama Bay. In our drive to keep our diving based with only local companies, we teamed up with Old Bahama Bay, Captain Kenneth Christie and Stuart Cove’s. Stuart Cove’s sent over one of their most-experienced shark wranglers, Andrea, who flew over from Nassau to jump on board with us and be our shark Caribbean reef shark
You can even interact with stingrays
“Their freakish good looks, the rarity of such an amazing encounter and the close proximity of these sharks make this one of our top five dives ever!”
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Frenetic feed off Nassau
Great hammerhead
Nick relaxing after a hard day of sharking
THE SHARK TRUST Diving with sharks is a special part of being a diver and, as divers, we understand the importance of safeguarding the future of sharks. The Shark Trust, based in the UK but working in partnership around the world, is committed to helping us all gain a better understanding of sharks and ensuring that fisheries and trade are managed responsibly, with sustainability as a goal. Shark conservation isn’t always glamorous and it’s often difficult to get large sections of the public to engage positively with sharks. You can help now by visiting: www. sharktrust.org and find out how you can join the Trust in their mission to transform the future of sharks.
“They are lovely sharks with a toothy grin and they like to swim very close, even brushing your fins behind you as they circle around”
expert for the day. The dive site is just over an hour away, so we packed up quickly and set off on a beautiful day to make the most of the daylight hours. Tiger Beach is another shallow dive site, only reaching around 10m. The plan was to dive for as long as our three tanks would last, taking very short breaks to pop up to the boat to change tanks, grab a snack and drink and return back down to the sharks. It was not long after anchoring that our first few lemon sharks arrived. They are lovely sharks with a toothy grin and they like to swim very close, even brushing your fins behind you as they circle around. As usual, we had a bait box sitting on the seabed to attract in the sharks. Kenneth was also doing his bit by chumming from the boat. He had an additional job of looking out for the approach of our tiger sharks, and adding some food onto the surface to attract the lemons away from us, giving the tiger sharks more confidence to come in close. The day went by in a flash. It was hard to believe the time when we were dragged back to the boat and found the sun had started its descent. Caroline insisted on taking a few minutes, lying on the wooden dive platform, dangling her camera in the water, to get split shots of the lemon sharks, but then it was time to go. Ideally, we would take a month or more off and spend it island hopping in the Bahamas during the winter months. Leave the cold, wet UK behind and venture to the sunshine, taking in the shark nurseries in the mangroves, oceanic whitetips of Cat Island and the nurse sharks of Exuma (which, along with Nassau, will feature in the Sport Diver Bahama Bash reader trip that departs in November - www.aquacatcruises.com/ sportdiveruk2016 for more details). We would do all of this using local Bahamian operators, and here is why: The Bahamian Islands are very
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close to the USA. There are many operators that run shark trips from Florida, and I am sure that all of them are great people, but… The Bahamas has made its waters a shark sanctuary. This took a real commitment from the islanders and they should see the economic benefits. In contrast, these same sharks, protected in Bahamian waters, are at real risk the minute they swim into US waters, where NOAA has set shark fishing quotas to be some 36 sharks per boat per day. The ‘season’ has been allowed to start early (on 1 January 2016) during a time when huge numbers of sharks aggregate in the channel of water that separates the Bahamas from the USA. We spoke to Neal Watson, who said: “I would have to say that ecotourism and the idea of conservation only really works if the local population is receiving a substantial portion of the financial benefit of the resource. That goes for sharks. Here in the Bahamas we convinced our people and politicians to protect all sharks. In meetings held with the government we explained the financial benefits of sharks. It is a shame that so many of the operations making money out of Bahamian resources take virtually all their revenue overseas, and employ only foreigners. Of all the liveaboard boats that offer shark diving in the Bahamas, not one boat hires Bahamians. Each one of those boats takes two or three jobs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, away from the local economy. I am sure they are owned and operated by very nice people that truly care about sharks, but I don’t think that’s enough anymore. Until they begin to hire Bahamians, or the government has a chance to change regulations, I urge the consumer to ‘buy local’, stay in a hotel, and use your consumer dollars in a conscious way to benefit the struggling economies of the Bahamian Islands.” ■
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Indonesian
EXPEDITION Mqoqfq"vq"Tclc"Corcv PART TWO
ADRIAN STACEY continues his epic, once-in-a-lifetime voyage taking in some of the most-revered dive locations in Indonesia Photographs by ADRIAN STACEY
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Pristine corals adorn the reefs...
...and the walls
The local fish traps look like extravagant decorations
The locals always sport a smile
very year around October, the KLM Jaya, a traditional phinisistyle liveaboard, makes its pilgrimage from Komodo to Raja Ampat. It is an expedition that takes 19 days and provides those on board a host of unique and amazing experiences both above and below the waterline. The first leg of the trip was from Komodo to Alor (see the May issue of Sport Diver). We had left the small town of Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo, seven days earlier and already there had been some fantastic dives, stunning topside scenery and even an exploding volcano. Now it was time for the second leg of the expedition - Alor to the Banda Islands. The second leg would take us from Alor, across the Banda Sea, to the Banda Islands. These relatively unexplored territories promised to provide even more wonderful sights and memorable encounters, especially as this was hammerhead season in the Banda Sea. Before venturing out into the wilderness of the open ocean we had our first scheduled dry day. While the crew stayed behind to restock the boat with more fuel, water and provisions, we ventured onto land to soak up the local culture. Located east of Flores, the Alor archipelago is beautiful. Villages dominated by domed mosques or spire churches are perched sporadically on steep, tree-covered slopes. The inhabitants, especially the children, are always happy to meet new visitors to the
E
“Then gliding along the reef came the creature we had all been hoping to see and what this reef is well known for - a hammerhead shark”
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area. They would paddle out to where we were diving in tiny carved-out wooden canoes. Some would duck dive under the water and stare at us through unusual homemade goggles while others would wait until we popped up from our dives before greeting us with wide similes. The locals are still very reliant on fishing but it seems to be carried out in a sustainable way and the intricate wooden traps they use sit on top of the reef looking like extravagant decorations. The diving in Alor is spectacular. It is not yet as well-known as it more famous neighbours, Komodo and Raja Ampat, but I think it will be in the not too distant future. The reefs are varied and pristine and the currents can be every bit as strong as Komodo. There is also a rich diversity of marine life in the area, ranging from rhinopia to thresher sharks and occasionally even mola mola. At Arch Wall we found a beautiful drop-off boasting numerous overhangs, colonised by sponges, sea fans and whip corals. Large gatherings of fusiliers hung out in the blue while schools of red tooth triggerfish stayed close to the safety of the reef. My favourite dive was at the stunning Clown Valley Boulders. A slope covered in hard coral leads down onto an immense plateau littered with pinnacles, every inch of its substrate covered in hard corals, soft corals, whip corals and sponges. Fighting for space in amongst this profusion of growth were literally hundreds of anemones with resident clownfish. Great visibility, schools of fusiliers, tuna and a multitude of small reef fish contributed to the sensory overload. Fish Galore provided more stunning reef and a close encounter with a thresher shark. The night dive showed off Alor’s critter credentials with a variety of nudibranchs, scorpionfish, decorator
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crabs and many other weird and wonderful nocturnal creatures. The next three days would be spent island hopping across the Banda Sea, diving by day and travelling by night. The first island we reached was Pulau Wetar, followed by Pulau Nyata, Pulau Mitan, Pulau Damar and Pulau Terbang Utara. At each of these destinations we had some amazing dives along sheer, plunging walls, all with their own characteristics and all teeming with fish. At Wetar the walls were scarred with deep crevices and decorated with sea fans and sponges. Nyata boasted soft corals and whip corals along with a beautiful hard coral garden on the fringing reef. Mitanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s walls were home to several species of nudibranchs and were infested with feather stars, as was the shallow, bommie-covered plateau that sat on top of this spectacular drop-off. Damar offered a great mixture of hard and soft corals while Terbang Utara was covered in thick, bushy black coral. Due to choppy seas hindering our progress on some of our night-time crossings, we were only able to dive twice a day on this stretch of our journey. However, a close encounter with a huge fin whale and her calf, a visit to a beautiful palmfringed beach and an ill-fated attempt to snorkel with a large pod of pilot whales, more than made up for the two dive days. Not to mention
that it gave us the chance to relax, off gas and simply enjoy that fact that we were cruising through a beautiful and remote part of the world. With only two days left before arriving at the Banda islands we reached the huge, submerged reefs of Dusburgh and Nil Desperandum. Karang Dusburgh (Karang is the Indonesian word for reef) was our first port of call. Hiding only a few metres under the surface, a vast plateau sits on top of steep walls adorned with sea fans and barrel sponges. Blacktip reef sharks patrolled the shallows and large schools of shy humphead parrotfish grazed relentlessly on hard corals, reef conservation clearly not a priority. Out in the blue was a frenzy of activity as massive tuna torpedoed through the ranks of a large school of the constantly picked-on fusiliers. Then gliding along the reef came the creature we had all been hoping to see and what this reef is well known for - a hammerhead shark. The moment was fleeting but it was a good start to the day. Three hours northeast was our next site, its topography and marine life very similar to that of Karang Dusburgh, but out of the two, I preferred Karang Nil Desperandum. The reef was just a little bit prettier, the marine life a tad more prolific and the action slightly more frenzied. Not to mention it has a much cooler name. Translated Karang
Hard and soft corals jostle for position
The reefs are wide-angle heaven
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Sea snakes were a common sight
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Starfish hunting among the corals
The Jaya under sail at sunset
“Completely unfazed by our presence the sea snakes would creep up stealthily from behind, materialising just in front our masks. It was great fun to watch when it happened to other divers, but a little scary being on the receiving end” Nil Desperandum means Do Not Despair Reef. We dived twice on this fabulous reef and where Dusburgh had provided a great start to the day, Nil Desperandum gave us a fantastic finish with at least four hammerhead sightings throughout our final dive. The privileged feeling, mixed with a hint of smugness, which accompanies such sightings soon evaporated upon hearing that a few days earlier another liveaboard had seen a school of hundreds of these unique creatures. The final destination before our next restock and land visit day was the amazing Gili Manuck. This small volcanic island in the middle of the Banda Sea looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel. Its steep slopes are covered in thick forest which is home to hundreds of noisy seabirds. They endlessly circle the island, occasionally plunging into the water to search for food. While we were there we rescued two frigates and a boobie that had injured themselves on entry, their fishing techniques clearly needing a little more practice. But what makes this place really special is beneath the surface. On a single dive we encountered at least 50, sometimes quite large and often over friendly, sea snakes. Completely unfazed by our presence they would swim between our legs or creep up stealthily from behind, materialising just in front of our masks. It was great fun to watch when it happened to other divers, but a little scary being on the receiving end. We had three dives here, all of them superb. The snakes were the undoubted stars of the show but by no means the only stars. We had a fleeting glimpse of a hammerhead, several encounters with eagle rays, a huge marble ray and for the macro enthusiast, there was a good smattering of large, colourful nudibranchs. The reefs themselves are also beautiful and varied. There were plunging drop-offs and huge plateaus, littered with coral-covered boulders and bommies that sat in warm volcanic sand. Massive barrel sponges and huge patches of plate coral engulfed some areas of reef while ridges of jagged black rock supported abundant soft coral growth. Gili Manuck really is a magical place, unless you have a phobia for snakes! After a 12-hour night time crossing we arrived at the Banda islands. On this leg of the expedition we had travelled more than 500 miles, enjoyed 16 dives and had encounters with hammerhead sharks, eagles rays, whales and, of course, plenty of sea snakes. The journey so far had been an amazing experience and we had not even reached Raja Ampat yet… ■
Seabird rescue, Indo-style
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PHOTO WORKSHOP
About the light, part five: Light at midday MARTIN EDGE rounds out his series focusing on making the most of light in your photographs Photographs by MARTIN EDGE
his month is the last in the series of ‘About the Light’. Since Christmas, I’ve discussed all manner of photogenic light underwater. Light at sunrise, light in the shallows, dapple light towards dusk, and I intend to wrap it up with the way in which we can exploit light in shallow water during midday. Above water, light is the bedrock of photography, and it’s human nature to shoot a vibrant sunrise or sunset. At these times of day we point our cameras into the sky to capture the colour. We don’t need to think to do this, our eye simply responds to the stimulus of the beauty before us and off we go. It’s an automatic response, it’s second nature. Underwater we can train our eye to detect different qualities of light, but in my opinion we are often so busy with our diving that we fail to notice the light in the sea. The last four parts of ‘About the Light’ have been specifically time orientated. This month is different. There is a quality of light underwater, which can provide wonderful opportunities either side of midday, but you have to look for it and learn how to exploit it. When the sun is high in a cloudless sky and the water is calm, you can
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shoot great sunbeam opportunities, but there are conditions to being successful, which unfortunately you have little control of. This month’s image is a prime example. These pristine hard corals came to within 2m of the under surface, which was flat calm. The sun was in a cloudless sky and the water visibility was good. All the elements required came together. I noticed the sharp rays of light pervading the surface, which were accentuated by the mirror-calm conditions. It was just a matter of determining the angle of view to compose the coral. I chose to shoot into the light at a horizontal angle towards the area where the beams were most accentuated. If I had tilted my camera anymore upwards, I would have got total burn out from the sunball at midday. It’s the quality of the corals which makes this image successful, but without the beams it would have been flat and two-dimensional. The best light for wide-angle underwater photography is early morning and late evening when the sun is rising and falling above the horizon. Dive to deep and you will miss the subtlety. Dive too late and you will miss the light show of an early morning sunrise. If you have to be back to base mid-afternoon, you can miss the glow of the light towards
NEED GIFT IDEAS? Martin runs one-day photo tuition courses designed for one, two or three persons. He promises to improve your photo skills by at least five years. Go to: www.edgeunderwaterphotography.com for details, or email Martin direct on: martin@edgeunderwaterphotography.com
ABOUT MARTIN Martin grew up without any inclination towards underwater photography. He moved to Dorset in 1977 and learnt to dive in temperate seas off Swanage and Portland, where he developed a yearning to shoot underwater. Frustrated by his lack of knowledge he joined BSOUP - British Society of Underwater Photography- and set out to understand the mind’s eye of those whose work he most admired. He eventually became a gifted teacher and over the last 30 years has taught and mentored many hundreds of UW photographers, including the finest in the UK today.
sunset. Above everything I’ve written during the last five months, I will leave you with my top tip, my one piece of advice above anything else. The best light underwater for photography is in the shallows, between 1m-5m. When you follow your dive guide down to 15m-20m, don’t expect to see the same light show that your friends will experience in 4m-5m of water. Consider whether you want a photo dive or a run-of-the-mill exploration dive. There is a huge distinction between the two.
IMAGE DETAILS Nikon D7000 in a Nauticam housing. Tokina 10mm-17mm at the 10mm end. ISO 200 at f8 with a shutter speed of 320th sec. Misool Eco Resort, Raja Ampat. The sea was flat calm and the sun was in a cloudless sky. My depth was no more than 2m and the top of the corals were about 1m. These beams were so accentuated due to the stillness of the water. To point my lens any higher would have included the sunball, which would have totally overexposed the image. By including the sun shafts at the top of the frame I’ve managed balance the exposure. ■
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR The fourth edition of Martin’s book,The Underwater Photographer, is considered the bible book on underwater photography worldwide. For a signed copy, phone 01202 887611 or email: martin@edgeunderwaterphotography.com
Want to see your image here? Upload your photographs now to the Sport Diver website! Want to be in with a chance of winning an Epoque video light? It’s easy - simply select your favourite underwater images and upload them to the Gallery section of the Sport Diver website. Each month, we will choose the best, most eye-catching image as Photo of the Month. But to be in with a chance of winning, your images must be in the Gallery, so don’t sit back and think ‘I wouldn’t win that’, get your images on the website - after all, as with any competition, you have to be in it, to win it!
The Atlantis ruins make great photo props
Sharks patrol the Ambassador Lagoon
The Resort towers over the top of the lagoon
Fkxg" k pvq Atlantis MARK EVANS discovers remnants of an ancient civilisation during a dive-with-a-difference in Dubai Photographs by MARK EVANS
he Lost City of Atlantis. A legend passed down through the ages. Rumours of its existence have been handed down from generation to generation, but it was always assumed to be a myth. Well, no more. I can reveal that the final underwater resting place of Atlantis is located in the manmade playground that is Dubai… Well, there is also ‘another’ Atlantis in the Bahamas, but this Middle Eastern monster is the undoubted ‘Daddy’. I am, of course, talking about the truly fantastical Lost Chambers Aquarium that lies within the vast Atlantis Resort at the very tip of the Palm. There are multiple tanks and exhibits showcasing the legend of Atlantis as you make your way through the atmospheric, labyrinth-like catacombs beneath the resort, holding everything from hundreds of spiny lobster to giant Goliath grouper, but the centrepiece is the immense Ambassador Lagoon, which comes complete with ‘artefacts’ including pillars, ruins, thrones and even a ‘crashed’ aircraft. Measuring 76 metres long by 34 metres at its widest, this 10mdeep behemoth holds a staggering 11 million litres of water. Standing in awe in front of the main ten-metre by ten-metre viewing window, the tank just seems unbelievably huge - but that is nothing compared to when you actually venture into it yourself. A veritable squadron of divers complete four 75-minute dives a day painstakingly vacuuming and brushing clean all the Atlantean remnants and cleaning the windows, but the sharks, rays and other fish within the lagoon have this annoying habit of causing the fine sand smothering the bottom to end up everywhere. It is a never-ending job, but one that the team divers seem to relish - and what a place to call ‘the office’!
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Bowmouth shark
“Standing in awe in front of the main ten-metre by ten-metre viewing window, the tank just seems unbelievably huge - but that is nothing compared to when you actually venture into it yourself”
Jacks and trevallies cruise the immense tank
Dropping into the Ambassador Lagoon for the first time, you could be forgiven for thinking you were on a real reef dive among truly ancient artefacts. The lagoon is open to the elements, so with natural sunlight streaming through the water, and vast shoals of fish everywhere you look - there are apparently 65,000 marine animals in your vicinity - you have to remind yourself you are in an aquarium, not the sea. Photographers will be in their element, as the whole Atlantis theme presents a range of interesting backdrops, but the real stars are the marine creatures themselves, and the Ambassador Lagoon holds a staggering number of species, from angelfish, grouper, honeycomb rays and golden trevallies to hammerhead and blacktip sharks. During my brief time in Dubai - we stopped off for a couple of days en route back from assignment in the Sultanate of Oman - I also got the opportunity to dive in the Shark Lagoon that lies beneath the ziggurat (pyramid, to you and me) in the middle of the sprawling Aquaventure waterpark within the resort grounds. A waterslide drops down the structure into the tank and a clear tube allows thrillseekers to glimpse various species of shark as they rocket through on their way to the pool at the end of the slide. The last time I was in here, way back in 2010, I was helping to feed the sharks, but on this occasion, I merely spent ages stalking the different sharks for photographs. Dive Atlantis centre
DIVE ATLANTIS Mike Ceci and his team at the Dive Atlantis centre offer a huge array of dive experiences, both for qualified divers and those yet to take the plunge. Non-divers can complete the Ultimate Snorkel through the Ambassador Lagoon, don a helmet to stroll through the Aquaventure Shark Lagoon on the Shark Safari, or sample the Atlantis Dive Discovery, an epic trydive in the depths of the Ambassador Lagoon. You can even opt to get your PADI Scuba Diver rating as you dive in the main lagoon, or the full PADI Open Water Diver course, which will take you into the lagoon and then the coastal waters off the Aquaventure waterpark beach. For qualified divers, there is a range of dives to tempt you. The Atlantis Dive Explorer sets you off on a single-tank dive in the Ambassador Lagoon, while the Predator Dive gets you into the lagoon to hand-feed up to 14 different species of sharks and rays. Or how about a Shark Night Dive, which will see you venture into the Shark Lagoon once darkness has fallen, armed only with a torch and a glowstick. Dive Atlantis also caters for the younger generation, and eight to ten year olds can do their PADI Bubblemaker, and those with more time to spare who embark on their PADI SEAL Team Aquamissions can actually dive a ‘submarine’, which has been constructed in one of the centre’s two massive training pools. www.atlantisthepalm.com Mike and his team pulling a Life Aquatic pose
Fooling around in the trydive pool
The view from the Atlantis Resort down the Palm
Eagle ray swoops overhead
Golden trevally
DIVERSE TRAVEL Dubai is a popular transit hub for those travelling to long-haul destinations. Mark stopped off on his way back from a trip to Oman with Diverse Travel, but as well as this Sultanate, the company also utilises Dubai as a stopover for holidays to the Maldives, SE Asia and South Africa. Diverse Travel classes itself as a ‘personal holiday consultant’ rather than your usual travel agent, and with well-travelled and highly experienced managers and divers Jim and Cary Yanny at the helm, you can be assured of great service. Check out the website for their array of destinations. www.diversetravel.co.uk ‘Crashed’ aircraft
DID YOU KNOW? Grade-A restaurant-quality food is used in the tanks at Atlantis, and every day, the divers have to prepare 160kg of squid, 36kg of shrimp, 30kg of milkfish, 26kg of anchovy, 60kg of krill and 60kg of lettuce.
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manager Mike Ceci was in stitches watching my wife Penney and I trying to ‘wrangle’ a large, prehistoric-looking bowmouth shark which knew every trick in the book when it came to avoiding the paparazzi. Our persistence paid off and we got the shot in the bag, but whether that was down to us, or the shark merely playing ball to get rid of us, we will never know… The Atlantis Resort should be on your ‘must-see’ list if you are venturing to, or passing through, Dubai. Forget the aquarium, just the hotel itself - which again revolves around the myth of Atlantis - is a jaw-dropping, visually stunning spectacle, with award-winning restaurants, bars and nightclub, sumptuous spa, and more than enough boutique stores to keep even the hardcore shopaholic sated. However, the Ambassador Lagoon and its associated smaller tanks are the real jewels in the crown of this watery heaven, and I saw several people sitting mesmerised for hours on end in front of the many viewing windows. As divers, or those wanting to experience diving for the first time, we are privileged to be able to actually enter this giant playground ourselves, so what are you waiting for? ■
“Dropping into the Ambassador Lagoon for the first time, you could be forgiven for thinking you were on a real reef dive among truly ancient artefacts”
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SCUBALAB WHAT’S NEW SEAC SUB RESORT 7MM | £179 (€223.94) Extremely functional one-piece, practical and easy to wear. The 7mm version is fitted with inserts of Superelastic Techspan material and with reinforcements in Powertex on the shoulders as well as the knees. Wrist and ankle closure system with zipper and Batwing Flap, with external indication of the size for quick identification. www.seacsub.com
OCEANIC HERA | £419 (€524.20) The Oceanic Hera BCD has been developed and built for women and offers significantly enhanced comfort and fit compared to a standard scuba diving BCD. This is not just a BCD with fancy graphics or pink/white trim, the Hera is a BCD designed for women that want to enjoy their diving without the need to constantly adjust the fit or reposition equipment to make the most of things. Everything about the Hera from the harness to the height of the BCD has been carefully tailored and positioned. www.oceanicuk.com/hera
AMMONITE PRIME LED AND ACCU 7AH KIT £725 (€907.03)
This kit comprises of the Ammonite Prime LED Head with Accu 7aH Battery Pack. It also includes a heavy-duty umbilical cable, charger, tools and a carry case. A versatile and all-around source of light boasting light intensity of 1,200 lumen. Exceptionally small size and low weight. Very long operation time - up to 20 hours without extra charging. www.blue-orb.uk
SCUBAPRO ALADIN SPORT | £195 (€243.96) Compact and intuitive, the Aladin Sport is an excellent starter computer for new divers and a reliable back-up for any diver. It features three dive modes and is nitrox capable to 50 percent. It is also available as a three-gauge console. Then there is the Aladin Tec 3G (£259). While targeted primarily to technical divers who need multi-gas and CCR support functions, the 3G is also the perfect dive computer for recreational divers striving to evolve in their sport. www.scubapro.co.uk
TYPHOON THERMAFLEECE UNDERWEAR £29.99-39.99 (€37.52-€50.03)
The Thermafleece top and trouser (Short sleeve £29.99, Long sleeve £34.99, Trouser £39.99) provides a comfortable warm base layer, mid layer or thermal rash vest when worn on its own. Performance is delivered through a combination of Hi-Tec thermal fabrics and super-stretch lycras. Available in either long sleeve or short sleeve versions for the top. www.typhoon-int.co.uk
SCUBAPRO KIDS LINE | £39-£269 (€48.74-€336.20)
Scubapro now offers a complete line of equipment for children. This gear is made from the best-quality materials and produced according to all legal requirements. But most importantly, this gear has been specially designed to address the unique fit and performance needs of children. With a BCD (Rebel, £269) that grows with the child to a lightweight regulator with a shorter hose (R095, £169), Scubapro has it covered. www.scubapro.co.uk
BARE NIXIE | £102-£213 (€31.60) The Nixie ladies wetsuit is made from S-Flex full-stretch neoprene for extreme comfort and mobility, with Glideskin collar and rolled Glideskin wrist and ankle/thigh seals (3/2mm and 2mm shortie) or skin-in seals at forearm and calf (5mm and 7mm). Armour Flex kneepads protect against abrasion, and a 19” long rear zipper makes for easy donning. Available in a range of sizes, and in Glacier Blue or Pink and Black. www.baresports.com
AQUALUNG BALANCE COMFORT 5.5MM | £230 (€287.46) This ultra-stretch neoprene suit has a ‘G lock’ closure, double seals on the wrists and ankles which comprise a 2.5mm ultra-stretch ‘glideskin’ and a 3.5mm with a zip closure. It has ultra-soft 5mm neoprene flex panels on the arms, a ‘Water Flap System’ and the three-way zipper seal minimises water entry. The new V Lycra collar adds an additional level of comfort and the internal ‘glideskin’ around the neck prevents water entry. www.aqualung.com/ uk
SCUBALAB GEAR GUIDE Each month, the Sport Diver test team assembles to rate and review a selection of diving equipment from a range of manufacturers. This issue: Regulators priced over £400 REGULATORS. The most-important thing in the diver’s arsenal of equipment. And there is a vast array on the market, ranging from under £200 to nearing a grand, so we have split them into three price brackets - under £275, £275-£400, and over £400. This issue we will be looking at the top end of the scale. We test the regulators in Vivian Quarry in the heart of Snowdonia in January for the annual review, firmly in the belief that if they can put up with our robust approach to reviewing in these extreme diving conditions, then they will be more-thanfine come the British diving season when water temps will be significantly higher than low single figures. We do everything you shouldn’t do when cold-water diving purge and rapidly breathe them topside prior to diving, then repeat these exercises underwater as well as looking at the comfort of the mouthpiece, ease of use of the purge and any other controls, and the efficiency of the exhaust.
THE TEST TEAM MARK EVANS • Sport Diver editor • PADI Divemaster • 30 years of diving experience
MATT MARTIN • Dive officer, Blue Planet Aquarium • PADI OWSI • 10 years of diving experience
WILL HARRISON • Sport Diver deputy editor • PADI TEC 50 • 6 years of diving experience
BARRY HENDERSON • Rope access specialist • NAUI OW Diver • 5 years of diving experience
Regs on test MODELS • Apeks XTX200 • Aqualung Legend LX Supreme • Atomic Aquatics B2 • Hollis SE500 • Oceanic Zeo/FDXi • Sherwood S2
DATE TESTED 19/1/16 WATER TEMPERATURE 6-7 degrees C Test dives conducted at Vivian Diving Centre, Llanberis, North Wales www.viviandivecentre.co.uk
“Regulators are the most-important thing in the diver’s arsenal”
BEFORE YOU HIT THE WATER: Give it a once-over - inspect the second stage for a tight casing cover and exhaust tee, and make sure the mouthpiece is secured with a clamp or zip-tie. Connect it to your cylinder, turn on the gas and then check everything works as it should, i.e. purge button, user controls, etc.
APEKS XTX200 | £528 (€668)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW The XTX200 is the ‘blinged-up’ Big Brother in the Apeks line-up, and any criticisms about the looks of the company’s regs can’t be levelled at this set-up. It is just as robust and durable as its younger siblings, but the addition of some chrome elements gives it just the facelift it needed to stand toe-to-toe with its rivals. The XTX200 comes with an environmentally sealed diaphragm first stage, braided hose, large venturi lever, chunky cracking resistance control, big purge button, Comfo-Bite mouthpiece, four low-pressure ports and two high-pressure ports. TEST TEAM COMMENTS It is safe to say that the Test Team universally gave the thumbs up to the XTX200. Matt Martin said ‘this
WE LIKE Performance, looks, build quality, comfort
AQUALUNG LEGEND LX SUPREME | £500 (€633)
is the best reg on the market in my mind, it sets the industry standard.’ Barry Henderson followed on from this high praise by commenting that it was ‘a cracking reg’. Mark Evans and Will Harrison both highlighted the smooth breathe, comfy mouthpiece and chunky controls. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Nothing worth mentioning
PRODUCT OVERVIEW The Aqualung Legend LX Supreme is one of the regulators that helped boost the reputation of Aqualung’s breathing apparatus when it was launched. The Legend LX Supreme features a large purge, chunky Master Breathing System control, braided hose, Comfo-Bite mouthpiece, and an environmentally sealed first stage with four low-pressure ports and two high-pressure ports. TEST TEAM COMMENTS The Legend LX Supreme faired well in our Group Test of top-ofthe-range regulators. Will Harrison thought it was ‘fantastic’ and reckoned it was a close second to the Apeks in his opinion. He liked the Comfo-Bite mouthpiece, and said that it ‘breathes and generally works well’. Barry Henderson focused on the
WE LIKE Looks, performance, comfort, MBS control
large control knob for the Master Breathing System, which combines the effects of a cracking resistance control and a venturi lever into one - ‘simple and easy to use’ was his verdict. Matt Martin praised the looks, and Mark Evans singled out the smooth breathe as a major plus. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Nothing worth mentioning
RETURNING HOME AFTER A DAY’S DIVING: Seal it - first, make sure the dust cap is in place. Never allow water to seep into the first stage’s inner workings. Give the reg a quick rinse with a low-pressure water hose to wash away any salt or sand. Then soak the reg in fresh water for ten to 20 minutes to loosen or dissolve any residual dirt.
ATOMIC AQUATICS B2 | £508 (€643)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW Atomic are renowned for their high-end, expensive regulators, but with the B2 - and its cheaper sibling, the Z3 - all this tried-andtested technology is more in-reach of the average diver. The B2 has a chrome-plated brass and 316 stainless steel piston first stage featuring a swivel turret with five low-pressure ports, and two high-pressure ports. The all-titanium second stage has a stainless steel swivel, AFC control, and large purge (the entire front of the second stage!). It has a two-year, 300-dive service interval, and boasts a limited lifetime warranty. TEST TEAM COMMENTS The Atomic garnered a good response from the Test Team, with Mark Evans saying it had ‘a smooth breathe’, and Will
WE LIKE Performance, build quality, lifetime warranty
Harrison commented on the ‘efficient purge’. The mouthpiece was described as being on ‘the large size’. The only slightly negative comment from the Test Team was that they all thought that the Z3 was more eyecatching than the B2, despite this reg being more expensive. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Test Team thought the cheaper Z3 looked better than the B2
HOLLIS SE500 | £419 (€530)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW Hollis gear seems to have caught the imagination of the British diving public, with more and more of the distinctive black-and-red kit showing up at dive sites around the country. The Hollis SE500 certainly continues the family look. It has a compact environmentally sealed first stage with four low-pressure ports and two high-pressure ports, a braided hose, side-exhaust and a thumbsized purge. TEST TEAM COMMENTS The Hollis SE500 has scored well with the Test Team in the past, however, this time around the test unit was lightly freeflowing from the get-go, which was only exacerbated once we got into the cold water, which was a shame, as if it had performed the same as it
WE LIKE Unique looks, purge, comfort, price (for a working one!)
has in the past, it would have faired much better. As it was, everyone agreed that the mouthpiece was comfortable, and that the purge was very efficient. Barry thought it was ‘James Bond-esque’. Sadly, the constant freeflowing meant we couldn’t report on the breathe. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Test unit freeflowed from the off
protect yourself from the elements
www.liquidsports.co.uk
RETURNING HOME AFTER A DAY’S DIVING: During the soak phase, give the second stage a couple of gentle swishes (without depressing the purge button!) to get water flowing through the mouthpiece and exhaust tee. Then remove the reg and give it a final rinse with the low-pressure hose to get rid of any final detritus.
OCEANIC ZEO/FDXI | £439 (€555)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW The combination of the Oceanic Zeo second stage and the FDXi first stage makes a formidable, yet great value or money, reg set-up. It boasts an environmentally sealed diaphragm first stage with two high-pressure ports and four low-pressure ports, braided hose, comfort swivel on the second stage, big purge button, venturi lever and large cracking resistance control. TEST TEAM COMMENTS The Zeo has done well in previous Group Tests, and it held its own here. The Test Team was split on the colour scheme of the test unit - Barry Henderson and Will Harrison said they would prefer it in the standard black, Matt Martin liked the white, which he said’ glowed’ underwater - but all agreed that the mouthpiece was
WE LIKE Price, looks, performance, comfort
comfortable, that the purge was efficient, and that the comfort swivel was a nice addition. Mark Evans noted that the large venturi and cracking resistance control did make a difference to the performance. All thought if offered good value for money at £439. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE The white colour scheme split opinion, but it is available in black
SCUBAPRO A700/MK25 | £609 (€770)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW The ‘King of Bling’, as I christened it on its launch, has been around for a few years now, and consistently comes near the top of the tree in group tests. It has a piston first stage with two high-pressure ports and five low-pressure ports on a swivel turret, all-metal second stage, venturi lever, large purge and big cracking resistance control. TEST TEAM COMMENTS As in previous years, the A700 scored highly with the Test Team. Matt Martin praised its ‘steampunk styling’ and commented that it looked expensive. He liked the soft mouthpiece, and found the venturi and cracking resistance controls were easy to use and functional. Barry Henderson thought that the second stage
WE LIKE Looks, performance, comfort, build quality
was very ‘retro’, and Will Harrison said it was ‘cool looking’. He also praised the smooth breathe and excellent exhaust. Mark Evans was also taken by the ‘industrial looks’ and reckoned the controls were among the best on test. Quite a noisy breathe, but strangely reassuring. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Nothing worth mentioning
RETURNING HOME AFTER A DAY’S DIVING: Give both first and second stages a gentle shake to clear any excess water from the yoke and exhaust tee. If there’s a tank handy, run some air through the system to blow out any residual water. Then towel off the reg while inspecting for damage or wear, coil loosely, and lay it (not hang it) out of direct sunlight to dry thoroughly.
SHERWOOD SR2 | £439 (€555)
PRODUCT OVERVIEW Sherwood has been around for many years, and the SR1 represented a major leap forward in their regulator quality. The SR2 builds further on this. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to a certain expensive American brand, the SR2 features an environmentally sealed piston first stage with two high-pressure ports, five lowpressure ports on a swivel turret, one-dial control knob and a large purge button. TEST TEAM COMMENTS The Sherwood SR2 gives a decent showing in the Group Test. Mark Evans highlighted its ‘decent breathe through a lightweight second stage’ and thought that it had ‘subtle good looks’. Barry Henderson disagreed, saying it looked ‘cheap’, though he
WE LIKE Price, build quality
acknowledged that it performed more than adequately. Matt Martin said it was a ‘definite upgrade over other Sherwood regs’, but found the single dial rather stiff in use. Will Harrison thought it was the ‘weakest in this price bracket’, but that it still ‘did the job it is supposed to’. SPORT DIVER VERDICT PERFORMANCE COMFORT LOOKS VALUE FOR MONEY
★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★
WE DON’T LIKE Looks split opinion
CONCLUSION. As we have found over the last few years, regulator technology has moved on, and the regs in the top-ofthe-line price category offer a sublime blend of looks, performance and build quality. When it came to the Best Value, it was a battle between the Oceanic Zeo/FDXi and the Sherwood SR2. The Sherwood gave a decent account of itself, but the Oceanic came out on top thanks to a solid all-round performance and so it took the Best Value award. The Hollis would certainly have been in the mix had it been performing properly. A few regs were in the running for the Choice award, including the Scubapro A700, the Aqualung Legend LX Supreme, the Atomic Aquatics B2 and the Apeks XTX200, and all four delivered excellent results, but in a unanimous vote, the Test Team all went for the XTX200 . It boasts a peerless performance, is exceptionally comfortable and benefits from a serious injection of shiny chrome to improve the asthetics, which all combines to make the Blackburn bruiser a worthy winner of the award.
SCUBALAB TEST EXTRA BUDDY WATCHER | £157 (€199.98)
Will Harrison: I was on a dive in Raja Ampat when a great hammerhead shark appeared out of the blue directly behind my dive guide. He’d been a guide in the region for more than ten years and never seen one - he was the focus of relentless local industry teasing for being a jinx. And here he was, totally oblivious, a great hammerhead shark mere metres away. I waved frantically, pointing over his shoulder, palmed shark symbol plastered to my forehead. Nothing. He wasn’t looking at me and he certainly wasn’t looking at the shark. I was convinced he was going to miss it, and then, just in the nick of time, he turned his gaze toward me and got the message. He turned and got a face full of shark, and was quite happy about it too. So why am I telling you this story? Simply really: it’s all about those moments in between me seeing that shark and him seeing that shark - the impossible frustration of underwater communication and the fact that he nearly missed a once-in-a-lifetime sighting as a result of my inability to get his attention. Problem is, I don’t carry a rattle or a tank banger - they annoy the hell out of me and destroy the tranquillity of the underwater world. If only there was something that allowed me to get his attention without shattering the surrounding silence… That’s exactly what the Buddy Watcher aims to do, courtesy of wrist-mounted units and ultrasound connectivity. The process is simple: you grab your buddy’s attention by pressing the call button on your unit, which sends a signal to their unit (up to 20 metres away) and causes it to vibrate and flash. Hey presto, attention grabbed. No frantic waving, no exasperation and no noise (bar a gentle hum akin to a ringing phone buzzing on a tabletop). Underwater photographer Jason Brown and I took two units on a test dive during a recent trip to the National Diving and Activities
Centre in Chepstow. We were there to photograph the newly scuttled Caroline wreck, which represented an alternative environment in which to test the gear - communication on photoshoots can be particularly challenging, especially during shots where the photographer and model do not maintain eye contact. The effectiveness of the Buddy Watcher was highlighted on one particular occasion while I was modelling. Turned away from Jason and hovering just above the quarry floor, I was holding my pose diligently while flashes went off to my right. Ordinarily I’d turn my head occasionally to see if my position needed altering or a new shot was sought. Invariably this leads to accidental shots of me eyeballing the camera. On this occasion, however, with the Buddy Watcher strapped to my wrist, I could instead remain motionless, allow Jason to get all the shots he required, and wait for the call to move. My arm buzzed. I turned. The signal came to ‘move up a little’. Done. Back to work. It streamlined the process, no doubt about it. Whether on photoshoots or grabbing your buddy’s attention to point out a passing great hammerhead, there are real uses for this bit of kit. Yes, the price tag will put many people off - it is, ultimately, a luxury item - but if these manage to replace tank bangers and rattles in the long run, I think we’d all be happy. And it is perhaps the chief rattlers and bangers out there (busy resort instructors and guides) who have the most to gain from buying into this: Buddy Watchers can be linked in groups, with the guide able to send a call to all their group with the touch of a button. Popular dive sites at peak time would never be the same again. Just think of that quiet… Wouldn’t it be nice? This is an interesting product, no doubt about it. www.buddy-watcher.com
SCUBALAB LONG TERM SCUBAPRO MANTIS M2
ZEAGLE EXPRESS TECH
NEW ARRIVAL
Offering everything a recreational diver wants, and everything a technical diver needs, the M2 is a wristwatch-style dive computer like no other. Building on the legacy of the Mantis M1, the M2 is loaded with topside features and underwater functions, including the ability to handle three gas mixes, CCR compatible, hoseless air integration and electronic navigation, plus it incorporates cuttingedge biometrics through Human Factor Diving that enable you to live your life in dive mode. It comes complete with a transmitter and a state-of-the- INFORMATION DATE ACQUIRED APRIL 2016 art heart-rate monitor. Mark Evans, www.scubapro.co.uk
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE NUMBER OF DIVES TIME IN WATER
£799 0 0 HRS O MINS
The Perdix is still in the wind, but we have been assured it will be landing in our offices soon. While we await its arrival, let’s look at what the computer is capable of. It can handle up to five gases open and closed circuit, and has adaptive menus, but we like the fact it uses a standard AA battery, though it is best used with a 3.6v SAFT LS14500, which typically gives INFORMATION 130 hours of diving at medium DATE ACQUIRED FEBRUARY 2016 brightness. Mark Evans, www.narkedat90.com
Dave Hope, www.zeagle.com
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE £236 NUMBER OF DIVES 24 TIME IN WATER 22 HRS 40 MINS
URSUIT FIR VEST
SHEARWATER RESEARCH PERDIX
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE NUMBER OF DIVES TIME IN WATER
The minimalist design of this BCD is both its asset and issue. Just buying the BCD will not be the end of your spending, if you want integral weight pouches, a pocket or pouch for reels, DSMB or nick nacks, then you need to add these to your budget. A couple of D rings for clipping bits and bobs to would be useful but most importantly get a crotch strap (it has a fitting for one), a decent amount of air in it on the INFORMATION surface of a choppy sea will see DATE ACQUIRED SEPTEMBER 2015 it ride up around your ears.
£636 0 0 HRS 0 MINS
The appeal of the Ursuit FIR vest is becoming more apparent on every UK dive trip. It is proving virtually impossible to pry it from the fingers of Test Team member Barry Henderson, who revels in boasting how warm he is on exiting the water after a long dive. He has even taken to donning it and turning it on before he builds up his equipment, thus ensuring he has a toasty core before venturing into the water. I don’t know what he is going to INFORMATION do when it goes back... Mark Evans www.liquidsports.co.uk
DATE ACQUIRED DECEMBER 2015 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE £300 NUMBER OF DIVES 15 TIME IN WATER 13 HRS 50 MINS
SEAC SUB F1 S
OTTER BRITANNIC MKII
The F1 S fins have been wet a few more times with the Test Team, and while they are quite a long paddle fin, the flexible mid-section of the blade and the well-positioned vent certainly take a lot of the pressure off your ankles and calf muscles, while at the same time ensuring that you get a decent amount of propulsion. We have also been enjoying the ease of donning/doffing the fins thanks to the bungie strap, INFORMATION which has a great finger loop. Mark Evans www.seacsub.com
DATE ACQUIRED JANUARY 2016 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE £125 NUMBER OF DIVES 6 TIME IN WATER 5 HRS 15 MINS
The Britannic MKII is proving to be a very comfortable suit, especially with the neoprene neck seal I opted for over a latex version. I much prefer neoprene around my neck than latex, and Otter will fit whatever seal you want when you order. However, I was thinking it would be standard latex around the wrist under the factory-fit KUBI rings, and I can deal with this, but instead I found that my test suit was equipped with silicone seals - and man, what a revelation these are! They are unbelievably comfortable, and slip around your wrist with a velvety touch. After two long dives, I had no marks around my wrists from the seals at all. Absolutely fantastic addition to a great suit - if your INFORMATION suit, whatever the brand, has the DATE ACQUIRED FEBRUARY 2016 option of silicone seals, do it! SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE £1,445 Mark Evans, www.drysuits.co.uk
NUMBER OF DIVES TIME IN WATER
4 3 HRS 55 MINS
ROBIN HOOD WATERSPORTS X-FLEX TECH END OF
TERM
BARE X-MISSION
I’ve talked plenty about the supreme comfort this suit offers, but what is it exactly that makes it such a delight to dive? Primarily, it’s its slim fit, or ‘cave cut’ as BARE calls it. The suit has been designed for a snug fit, optimum room left (provided you get your sizing right, of course) between body and suit for the SB Layer System to most effectively do its work - which, as I have previously mentioned, it does with aplomb. BARE’s ‘anatomically shaped torso, arms and legs’ naturally add to the fine fit - it isn’t just about making it snug, it has to fit right. The ability to fine-tune the fit, courtesy of the telescopic torso, is an added bonus and INFORMATION definitely helps.
The Robin Hood Watersports X-Flex Tech has come to the end of its six-month stint in the Long Term Test line-up, and it has gained a firm thumbs up from my wife Penney, who was pressed into Test Team action for this suit. Penney is best described as a ‘warm-water only’ type of diver, so getting her into UK conditions is no mean feat, but it proved less of a chore with the X-Flex, which she found comfortable, non-constricting INFORMATION and, most importantly, warm.
Will Harrison, www.baresports.com
Mark Evans www.roho.co.uk
DATE ACQUIRED NOVEMBER 2015 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE £1,330 NUMBER OF DIVES 23 TIME IN WATER 21 HRS 45 MINS
DATE ACQUIRED OTCOBER 2015 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE from £829 NUMBER OF DIVES 8 TIME IN WATER 7 HRS 30 MINS
MINE
QUEST ROBERT OSBORNE reports on an expedition to explore the depths of a flooded iron ore mine on Bell Island in Newfoundland, which was beset by disaster from day one Photographs by ROBERT OSBORNE, SABINE KERKAU, SANDRA SPURRELL AND CAS DOBBIN
magine a world frozen in time - the debris of people’s lives laid scattered on the floor; the machinery that ran the world looking vaguely like a quick polish might put it back in commission; even the graffiti that once illustrated the workers’ lives still clearly legible on the walls. It may sound a bit like a scene from the ancient town of Pompeii, but it’s not. It’s a snapshot of an underwater mine that lies deep beneath the surface of Bell Island in Newfoundland, Canada. With a little luck, you may be able to explore this world in a few months. In mid-February, some of the best cave divers on the planet mounted an expedition to penetrate into this subterranean world. Along with scientific and support teams, Jill Heinerth, Phil Short, Gemma Smith and Steve Lewis travelled to Bell Island on an expedition called Mine Quest. Their purpose was threefold. First, they wanted to explore and create an archaeological inventory of the artefacts left in the mine, and they’d be working with the local mining museum to make a photographic and video record. Secondly, they would be taking part in a couple of ground-breaking scientific experiments with the Divers Alert Network. And finally, they would be laying guidelines so that other divers could safely experience this world for themselves. The last miner walked out of the Bell Island iron ore mine in the mid-1960s. When they left, they dropped everything - they thought they were taking a Christmas break. The owners had other ideas, as the mine was losing money. As soon as the mine was empty, they closed the doors and shut down the pumps. The cold water rose and preserved a perfect snapshot of a working iron ore mine. For 100 years, men lived and died in this mine. They recorded their triumphs and tragedies in these dark tunnels. Local historians think their lives should be honoured and preserved and these divers were taking the first step to do that.
I
Massive amounts of snow needed to be cleared
“A group of local volunteers had to spend a week doing back-breaking labor in the old mine just to clean up the debris in the tunnels to allow the divers clear access to the water” Lines needed to be laid in the mine
Old mine workings
But Mine Quest had to overcome a number of hurdles to accomplish their goals. The first hurdle was perhaps the least glamorous. A group of local volunteers had to spend a week doing back-breaking labour in the old mine just to clean up the debris in the tunnels to allow the divers clear access to the water. They scraped 50 years of accumulated muck off the tunnel floor. It was, according to expedition manager Rick Stanley, painful. “I had galls on my hands after a few days,” he said. When the muck was cleared, then came the construction of the staging area, ensuring a proper lighting system was installed and building tables for the divers to set up their gear. They also had to build a floating dock to get the divers out to the deep water, saving them from wading though metres of broken, half-flooded tunnel. Of course, the challenges didn’t end at the water’s edge. The divers knew they had to prepare for some extreme diving. The layout of the mine made the fabled labyrinth of the Minotaur seem simple by comparison; the old equipment presented a series of jagged obstacles ready to trap unwary divers; fine sediment that could shut down all visibility just waited to be stirred up. The tunnels run as deep as 600 metres and, of course, they’re pitch black. An earlier attempt to penetrate the mine discovered just how dangerous they can be - the expedition ended with the death of one diver. Rigid safety protocols were drawn up by the dive team. By 13 February, the prep work was done, the divers were about to fly in and the expedition was ready to set off for Bell Island. Now a superstitious person might believe that there were some cos-
mic forces trying to prevent the Mine Quest Expedition from succeeding. It’s not an unreasonable conclusion. From the minute it launched, it was plagued with one natural opposing force after another. It started with an epic snowstorm that locked down the entire province of Newfoundland. Nearly 30cm of snow fell on the airport at St John’s within a few hours, closing the airport for the better part of the day. Flights from around the world were cancelled. Divers Phil Short and Gemma Smith, arriving from the UK, were left hanging around the airport in Halifax for nearly 24 hours. Photographer Sabine Kerkau, flying in from Switzerland, was held up in Toronto for half a day. She finally arrived at 3.30am in the morning. Scientists Neal Pollock and Stefanie Martina, coming in from the US, were lucky they were only delayed they finally arrived at 2am. The opposition continued. On the day the expedition set out for the first dives, 15 February - more snow. The crew had to dig out the entrance to the mineshaft before they could even start to take equipment down to the water. Then there were the windstorms blowing across ‘the bite’ on Conception Bay. Each day the team had to catch a ferry across to Bell Island. But the winds kicked up and the ferry was cancelled, leaving more than half the team stranded for one night. On another day, the team was forced to abandon its vehicles just to be able to walk on to the last ferry leaving that night.
Kitting up in the glare of video lights
Following an old pipeline
Everything was photographed and documented
The Mine Quest team fought back. They moved over to the island to avoid delays. But before the move could be completed, once again the winds kicked up, shutting down the ferry, leaving half the expedition’s supplies on the mainland, including bottles of oxygen vital for the rebreathers. In an act of almost desperation, Rick Stanley loaded the gear in his seven-metre RIB, put on a drysuit and headed across the bay with the supplies. He said: “We’re adventurers, this is what feeds us… we weren’t going to put our lives in jeopardy.” But his easy dismissal of his actions defies belief - remember a 50-metre steel ferry had stopped running because of the high waves and winds. As if that weren’t enough, that same day, the mine flooded. The huge storms dumped massive amounts of snow on the ground. The next storm brought in rain and warm temperatures. It all melted and started flowing downhill - into the mine. The water rose, effectively shutting down the staging area where the divers worked. Volunteers had to be called in to move thousands of kilograms of equipment into a new area. The dive team had to rework all their plans and adjust their safety lines. And to prove the old saying that bad things happen in threes, a third problem arose. There were no open hotels on Bell Island. Rick Stanley managed to track down the owner of a B&B that operates in the summer and convinced them to open. One minor problem - there were 11 beds and 20 people. Do the math. Stanley took it all in his stride, saying: “I love a challenge… yes, there’s the element of the weather gods, but we’re on an island, it’s going to happen.” And yet… Despite the constant adversity, the project managed to accomplish all of its goals. Phil Short and Gemma Smith laid down more than 400 metres of mainline. Jill Heinerth, Cas Dobbin, Steve Lewis and John Olivero made huge strides on creating a video and photographic inventory of the artefacts. All in all, exploring the mine was a sobering experience, according to Jill Heinerth. “The mine feels a bit like a church… If I wasn’t underwater, I would want to whisper. I feel the presence of those souls who spent their lives and worked for their families there,” she said.
“The layout of the mine made the fabled labyrinth of the Minotaur seem simple by comparison; the old equipment presented a series of jagged obstacles ready to trap unwary divers; fine sediment that could shut down all visibility just waited to be stirred up” The scientific part of the expedition was also a success. A massive biological life mass was discovered that seems to survive in the pitch black and survive on… well, nobody is quite sure how it survives - iron ore particles? Samples have been collected and sent to the University of British Columbia. DAN researcher Dr Neal Pollock’s experiments proceeded well. He took blood samples, and ultrasounds of the divers’ hearts, pre- and post-dive. The samples were part of a study to see if micro-particles (fragments of plasma shed by cells) are indicators for the onset of decompression sickness. His theory hasn’t borne out yet, but he has made a new discovery about divers using electronic vests. He says they may keep a diver warm, but they also cause “better circulation delivering inert gas into tissues. If the garment fails and the diver gets cold as they surface, they can’t eliminate inert gas… that will increase decompression stress”. By the end of the week, everyone felt the expedition had been a resounding success. The divers believed they have wedged open the door of a whole new world to explore. Heinerth said: “We have just scratched the surface… Explored a small piece of the mine… We have to come back and do some deeper and longer penetrations to some of the portions of the mine that were worked last.” And Rick Stanley thinks he’s started to build something very important for the province of Newfoundland. He hopes to have the mine open for certified divers in the summer of 2016. ■
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STEALTH 2.0 TEC Overhead environment diving allows no room for error. The equipment used must exceed the divers needs in every conceivable situation. This is why the Stealth 2.0 Tec has become the go to system for many of the world’s top explorers.
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SCUBALAB TEST EXTRA XDEEP STEALTH TEC 2.0 | £419 (€536) Mark Evans: Although sidemount originally developed through cave diving, it is now commonplace on wreck and reef dives across the globe. However, there is a vast array of styles within the ‘art’ of sidemount, with ways of mounting the dual cylinders on to the harness varying depending on how the user was trained or how they prefer to dive. The Stealth Tec allows cylinders to be mounted in a wide range of fashions, and you can tweak it to match your own individual style. The streamlined wing provides 19kg of lift, and handily, the dump valve is positioned in the middle of the wing at the bottom, so you can vent gas with either hand. Equally, the inflator hose can be mounted on the left or the right hand side, depending on your preference. One thing I particularly liked was the weight management system Swathes of Velcro and webbing can hold several weights along your spine, which is just where you want it relative to your centre of gravity. Underwater, the xDeep is a joy to use. The harness holds the bladder tightly in place, so there is no unwanted movement, but the design still allows plenty of flexibility, especially around your waist and hips, where there is a natural pivot point. I also liked how the bladder fastened around the sides of your body with a couple of P-clips - not only did this make it look neat and tidy, but it also kept unwanted air movement to a minimum. The xDeep Stealth Tec 2.0 is hugely over-engineered, but that makes it robust, durable and faultless in performance - it will still look this good in ten years. http://xdeep.eu/ UK distributor: www.blue-orb.uk
Kit handling
LIKE A PRO VIKKI BATTEN stresses the importance of practice, practice, practice when you are attempting to hone new or existing dive skills Photographs courtesy of PADI
ollowing a cave dive I led in Peacock Springs, Florida, many years ago, one of the divers commented afterwards that I had managed the navigation, reel deployments, cylinder staging and the team so smoothly it was as though I had been there before, which I hadn’t. I was absolutely delighted to hear that because that was the aim, and the culmination of lots of effort. But it hadn’t always been this way. In stark contrast, I recall my first rebreather course, when I was trying to run the rebreather manually and send up a DSMB. I ended up swimming in circles trying to do everything faster and faster because I didn’t have enough hands, buoyancy control or any other kind of control. When the DSMB was finally launched, I looked up to see Tom Mount, my instructor, and the two instructor candidates taking cover and laughing their socks off! So what happened in between and what can you do to improve and speed up the process?
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BUOYANCY CONTROL This is the most-important skill in diving at any level and in any kit. It is probably also the one that takes the longest to learn and that we need to relearn the most often. Every time we change our kit configuration, or the diving environment, or the skills we are mastering, in fact. Sometimes buoyancy control just needs a little fine tuning, but when you change a lot of things, it can take a lot of time to perfect. So, whether you are still getting it right for the first time or fine tuning your skills further up the experience tree, here’s what I do: • PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! • Be brave! What do I mean by that? I mean don’t give yourself any excuses. Don’t waft your hands, kick your legs, swim around like a loony, etc. Compensating for, or trying to disguise, poor buoyancy control won’t help it improve. Keep trying to be still or moving slowly while controlling where you are in the water. And if you make a mess of it? Well, hopefully you’ve picked somewhere to practice where it doesn’t matter if you touch down! • Improving buoyancy goes in stages. Initially we use visual references to help us, so use them. Look at something that won’t move and try and stay on a level with it. The next step is to be less reliant on the visual reference and feel neutral buoyancy. Do this for small amounts of time at first. Take your eyes off your reference and try and maintain position in the water. Your ears give you clues, but more than that you can feel the water buoying you up so that on open circuit you gently rise and fall. On a rebreather, this effect is even greater, I feel like I am almost lying on a cloud - buoyed up by an invisible force and incredibly stable. Once you can do it in your basic kit, try it while doing other skills. • Don’t forget about balance. If your kit is well set up and your buoyancy is good, you should be able to move fairly easily in three dimensions, even in bulky tech kit. Good buoyancy control allows you to pivot on your balance point. For me, this is my hip line. It can be slightly different for each person, plus men and women have different proportions, but it will be somewhere around your midpoint. This balance allows me to dive in a flat/sky diving position most of the time, but also to easily adjust position when needed, such as in a sloping passage in a cave. • Make adjustments slowly and methodically. So, if you do need to adjust your kit, make a note of what you are doing and what effect it has in the water. Don’t forget it can take a little time to relax into a new kit configuration and what felt difficult on the first dive may improve with time. Take baby steps. Add new equipment a little at a time. If you are changing to double cylinders for the first time, it’s easier if the rest of your kit (e.g. drysuit, etc.) is the same as normal and also if the environment you are diving in is familiar. A new suit, additional cylinders plus a few DSMBs, reels, torches and a DPV may be overcooking it! • As with buoyancy, you need to practice and not just by swimming around. Practice skills, drills and using your new equipment until it is easy. I usually find that the skills we like the least are the ones we need the most practice with! • Take is slowly at first. Going back to my rebreather course and the infamous DSMB deployment, I decided (seemed like a good idea at the time) that if I went faster, my buoyancy control wouldn’t have time to go completely pear shaped - wrong!
Regularly practice skills like DSMB deployment
The first step when doing a new skill, or a skill in new kit, is to think through and plan each step. This doesn’t have to be done in any kind of yoga pose (although feel free…) but it does give your brain a practice run. For example, ‘disconnect spool/reel from D-ring with my right hand’ (picture the D-ring, which way the clip connects and the action your hand will need to do), ‘retrieve DSMB from pocket’ (which pocket, how do I undo, is there a cylinder in the way?), ‘undo spool/reel line’ (while holding the spool so that only a small amount of the line is extended)… and so on until the end of the skill. Picture yourself doing it. If possible, actually do it on land first - or at least as much of the skill as practical. Always end on a success. So if you picture yourself having difficulties, work out how to solve them and then think through it again so that it works. Once underwater, take your time when you are practising new skills or skills in new kit. Check/correct your buoyancy and depth between each step (small steps) and DON’T RUSH. It may seem clunky at first, but once you have done it a few times you’ll find that your movements naturally flow better and you complete the skill faster without needing to rush. When you have mastered individual skills, start combining them, e.g. deploy your DSMB then manage that while also ascending, switching gases as appropriate, while using a torch (and without blinding your buddy). All simple skills separately, but combining them adds an extra level of complexity. New equipment or new combinations of equipment can take time to master. Auxiliary equipment has the added problem that you may not use it all the time e.g. DSMBs, reels/spools, lights and DPV are usually only used when needed/desired so even if you have got comfortable
Stage cylinder handling
Vikki Batten Vikki Batten is PADI’s Director of Rebreather Technologies in the Technical Diving Division. However, despite the title, her first love is cave diving and her love of rebreathers stems from their ability to help her dive further and deeper in caves. Vikki went from hating reels/spools to absolutely loving them, following lots of practice and lots of bird’s nests when it went wrong at first. Like everyone, she sometimes struggles to push herself to practice skills she doesn’t like, but has learnt that no pain, no gain can apply to new diving skills. Maintaining buoyancy with a visual aid
using them, it’s easy to get out of practice, so make time to refresh your skills before dives when you will need them. Task overload is one of the potential stressors in tech diving, so it’s important to ensure that your comfort levels are maintained during normal diving, otherwise where will they end up if you have a problem? New environments will benefit from the same preparation and practice. At the very least I like to get a good look at the dive site map before I do the dive. If there are videos then I watch those too. For the cave dive I mentioned at the start, I already knew the site, but not the route, so I was familiar with the entrance and first hundred metres, but then it was all new. First I memorised the route, much like driving before Sat Navs - swim 100 metres then turn right, the cave bears around to the left and splits, take the left branch. Continue to a junction… and so on. Cave maps also show depth, so I knew what depth I should be at each point of the dive and sometimes the maps show additional info like the passage shape at a particular point, so you know what it will look like. Next I watched a video of someone diving the route. This was back in 1999, so lights were basic, quality was poor AND there was no editing. I watched someone’s brown, fuzzy cave dive in real time - not the most-thrilling video I’ve ever seen, but it gave me additional insight into where the lines were placed, particularly in the side passages and also how each section looked e.g. one passage looks like the head and shoulders of a person. Finally, I thought through the dive. Particularly considering at which point I would retrieve each reel. This included not only retrieving my own reels, but team reels being passed forward when I requested them. I also planned when and where we would stage our cylinders, using my experience to choose a point where they were safe, not in anyone else’s way and calculating/estimating gas consumption for the team. Finally, during the dive I worked hard. I was thinking ahead looking for the next step, where was the line going, where is the next jump (the name for a place where your transition into a side passage), where will I tie off, what is the best position in the passage for the team? It paid off. My skills and dive lead-
DSMB deployment while ascending and handling gas switches
ing were improved and the rest of team worked well together to support each other. The result was an exciting dive in a new part of the cave (for us) that went smoothly and we all loved. For me there was a huge buzz that everything went according to plan and my hard work was paying off. So, if you have some new toys, or are planning a dive that is more complex than you have done before, just remember that it doesn’t have to be a nightmare, but getting it right doesn’t just happen - it takes time and effort. Practice and preparation can make the difference between doing a dive that could push you beyond comfort and safety, or a dive where you all come out buzzing with that unique adrenaline rush of accomplishment. ■
TECH NEWS EUROTEK TICKETS ON SALE NOW ought-after tickets for one of the best scuba conferences in the world have gone on sale. EUROTEK attracts divers from all over the planet to Birmingham, England. This year, EUROTEK (www. eurotektickets.com) is being held on Saturday 8-9 October at the ICC in Birmingham, England. “I am really excited about the talks that are going to be given in October”, stated EUROTEK co-founder and co-organiser Rosemary E Lunn. “I know that deep wreck photographer Leigh Bishop is hard at work sourcing some pretty amazing speakers. We have got some great headline acts - deep sea detective Richie Kohler, Dr Simon Mitchell, Dr Neal Pollock and PADI Course Director and shark whisperer Cristina Zenato - have already confirmed their place. One of the lovely things about EUROTEK is that you will often find that talks are given by divers you have never heard of. They are the ones out there, doing some remarkable diving in quite remote destinations. “The stories we hear are so varied. What is it like to have a scooter implode at depth when you are four hours into a cave system? Or discover that the passageway home has shut behind you and no longer exists as you explore an iceberg? How did it feel to dive a 16th century warship for the first time, having searching for it for 20 years? Or recover the F-1 rocket engines used to launch Apollo 11 into space in 1969? There is something for every diver to enjoy. “I am often asked by recreational sport divers if they can and should come to EUROTEK. Of course! You don’t have to own an Aston Martin to appreciate the car. Not every diver is going to dive below 30m, let alone beyond 100m. The fact you don’t dive deep doesn’t make you less of a diver. You are a diver. We all are. And your current diving qualification doesn’t stop you from having a ‘glimpse behind the curtain’, and hearing real exploration stories, that you would normally only be able to watch on television. “You also get to access proper accurate advice. We fly in the top experts from around the world who specialise in dive research, to give you the right answers and help keep you safer. Who would you rather get your information from? An ‘armchair guru’ on a forum? Or the real thing? And one of the lovely things about this event is that the speakers have time for you after their talks. I often find a speaker stood outside of their door answering questions from divers long after their talk has finished.
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Getting this kind of face to face interaction with explorers and experts is brilliant and invaluable. “If I had to describe this event to a non-diver I would say it was the Glastonbury of diving. You get unprecedented access to top talent from across the world. Over the weekend over 30 different talks are given (none are repeated) covering everything from shipwrecks to ‘just how should I store my sorb’? EUROTEK has it all!” During the weekend, in addition to the exciting talks and useful workshops, there is a storming Expo with over 35 UK and overseas specialist companies exhibiting. And because this is a ‘show and tell’ event, this is the perfect opportunity for you to talk directly to the manufacturers and get your questions answered, without being actively sold to. So if you are seeking a new rebreather, lighting system, DPV, mixed gas computer, sidemount system, thermal protection or the perfect dive destination, EUROTEK has got it covered. On Saturday evening EUROTEK celebrates successes and raises funds for diving charities. Where else can you win a fully loaded rebreather, a topof-the-range scooter or a trip to Truk? The EUROTEK Gala Award dinner is truly good humoured and great fun. The team regularly get 400 divers all dressed up, catching up with old friends and making new ones. It’s a night to remember! To get your ticket for the European advanced and tech diving event of the year, log onto: www.eurotektickets.com. ■
ENGLAND
:?H;9JEHO A;O CORNWALL KENNACK DIVING Sea Acres Holiday Park, Kennack Sands, Helston, Cornwall TR127LT Tel: 07816 903260 Email: mail@kennackdiving.co.uk Website: www.kennackdiving.co.uk Opening Hours: 09.00-1800 Air to 232 Bar. PADI 5★ Dive Resort. EH, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. PADI Courses from Bubblemaker to Assistant Instructor, specialities & guided dives all with friendly local Instructors. Equipment Hire, Heated indoor pool, on site, accommodation available. ■
CORNISH DIVING CENTRE Bar Road, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4BN Tel: 01326 311265 & 07885771282 Email: info@cornishdivingcentre.com Website: www.cornishdivingcentre.com Opening Hours: 09.00-17.30 Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. Boat Dives. NoviceInstructor. Dive Shop. Shore diving. Escorted Dives. Onsite Pool. Friendly Helpful Staff. Suit Repairs. DSD. Watersports. Snorkeling. EH, ESI, AYRD, UWP, CAOS, FCF, NDCF. ■
DERBYSHIRE CHESTERFIELD ADVENTURE CENTRE
I>EF A;O
Wheatbridge Road, Off DockWall, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AB Tel: 01246 245408 Email: info@divenut.co.uk Website: www.divenut.co.uk Opening hours: Tues-Sat 10am-6pm Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ IDC, OSS, BS, EH. Full range of courses from beginner to instructor. Equipment sales, dive club, group holidays. Nitrox, Poseidon rebreather sales & training. Easy parking. ■■
EII $$$$$$$$Edi_j[ i[hl_Y_d] EIJ $$$$$$$$Edi_j[ j[ij_d] 8I $$$$$$$$$$$J[ij_d] je 8h_j_i^ IjWdZWhZi
EL;HI;7I 788H;L?7J?EDI 799 $$$$$$$$7YYecceZWj_ed 7?F $$$$$$$$$7bb _dYbki_l[ fWYaW][ 7J $$$$$$$$$$$7_hfehj jhWdi\[hi 7OH: $$$$$7bb o[Wh hekdZ Z_l_d] 8> $$$$$$$$$$8eWj ^_h[ 97EI $$$$$9ecfh[ii[Z W_h edi_j[ 9> $$$$$$$$$$9Wh ^_h[ ;7 $$$$$$$$$$$;dl_hedc[dj WYj_l_j_[i ;>$$$$$$$$$$$;gk_fc[dj ^_h[ ;I? $$$$$$$$$$;d]b_i^ if[Wa_d] _dijhkYjehi <9< $$$$$$$$$<Wc_b_[i YWj[h[Z \eh B8 $$$$$$$$$$$B_l[WXeWhZi D:9<$$$$$$Ded#Z_l[hi YWj[h[Z \eh EMi $$$$$$$Ej^[h mWj[hifehji J: $$$$$$$$$$$J[Y^ Z_l_d] KMF $$$$$$$KdZ[hmWj[h f^eje]hWf^o
ESSEX DIVERSE SCUBA Ye Olde Plough House Motel, Brentwood Road, Bulphan, Essex, RM14 3SR Tel/Fax: 01375 892444 Mob: 07814 570165 Email: jeanne-marie@diverse-scuba.co.uk Website: www.diverse-scuba.co.uk Opening Hours: Office & Shop: Monday to Thursday 10.30am -7pm. Saturday 10am to 2pm. Training pool: 6pm to 9.30pm. Closed Friday, Sunday & Bank Holidays. Our own On Site Pool, Air to 300 Bar, PADI 5★ IDC. OSS, EH,On Site Pool FCF, Acc, Restaurant Facilities. Complete range of PADI courses available, from Discover Scuba through to Instructor, with resident course director, Full range of specialities, classroom. Dive shop. Social events and holidays. ❏■■■■■
HAMPSHIRE ANDARK DIVING AND WATERSPORTS 256 Bridge Road, Lower Swanwick, Southampton SO31 7FL Tel: 01489 581755 Fax: 01489 575223 Email: bookings@andark.co.uk Website: www.andark.co.uk Andark Lake Tel: 01489 885811 Email: lake@andark.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon/Thu and Sat 9am TO 6 pm, Fri 9am TO 8pm, Sun 9:30 to 5pm NITROX/TRIMIX. Onsite pool and classrooms. Fully equiped friendly shop. Online sales. Powerboat courses. Underwater escape training. Holidays. Andark lake. Kids Parties. Activity Club. Onisite Servicing. Commercial diving Courses. Parking PADI 5★ IDC. BSAC Premier Centre. RYA Centre. HSE Commercial Diver Training and First Aid Centre EH. LB. ESI. TD. EA. AIP. FCF. AYRD. UWP. NDCF. CAOS ■ ■ ■ ❏ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
KENT DIVE MACHINE Unit 11 Orchard Business Centre, SandersonWay, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1QF Tel: 01732 773553 Fax: 01732 773663 Website: www.divemachine.com Email: robert@divemachine.com Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 09.30-17.30,Weds 09.30-19.00. Air to 300 bar, nitrox, trimix, idest. PADI CDC, PADI Courses from beginner to instructor. IANTD, Nitrox. Specialities: Enriched air, Dry suit, Photographer, Deep, Night, Underwater navigator, wreck, Oxygen first aid, DAN 02, Boat, Equipment and Drift. Authorised dealer for most leading mfctrs. Large display area. Classrooms. Large free car park. Professional, friendly service & advice. Regulator Services. Suit repairs. Holidays abroad and in the UK. ■■■■■■
LONDON AQUANAUT SCUBA & SNORKELLING CENTRE 34 Coombe Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 7AG Tel: 0208 546 8882 Email: info@aquanautscuba.co.uk Website: www.aquanautscuba.co.uk Opening Hours: Monday - 11am-6pm, Tuesday 11am-6pm, Wednesday - 11am-6pm, Thursday 11am – 7pm, Friday - 11am-6pm, Saturday – 10am – 6pm, Sunday – by appointment. Nitrox & Air to 300bar, 5★ IDC Centre / IDEST and BSAC Centre. SITA member. OSS OST BS CAOS EH TD. Courses from beginner to instuctor, Fully stocked dive shop with excellent purchasing advice, Friendly and very active dive clubwith UK and overseas trips and social. ■ ■ ■ ■ ❏ ■ ■ ■
MIDDLESEX G & H DIVING SERVICES LTD Unit 1, Willow House, River Gardens, N Feltham Trading Estate, TW14 0RD. Tel: 020 8751 3771 / 020 8890 3302 Fax: 020 8751 2591 E-mail: gerryhassell@gheng.com Website: www.gheng.com Opening Hours: 8.30 - 5.30 Mon to Friday. 8.30 - 12 noon Sat. Air to 300 Bar. BSAC, TDI, SDI & PSA. EH, TD, CAOS. Cylinder testing IDEST 2v, Regulator servicing, Air, Nitrox, Trimix, TDI Technical courses. Suit repairs. ■ ■ ■
THE DIVERS WAREHOUSE
911 Wakefield Road, Tong, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 7QA Tel: 01274 307 555 Email: sales@diverswarehouse.co.uk Website: www.diverswarehouse.co.uk Opening Hours 8:30 - 17:30 Mon - Sat , Thursday 8:30 - 20:30, Sunday Closed. Air to (BAR) 300. EH, ESI, TD, EA, FCF, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. Nitrox. PADI 5★, SSI. Servicing, Cylinder testing (IDEST approved), Equipment Hire, Large Equipped shop with changing facilities, classroom, online sales, large parking area, PADI + SSI courses. Everything Scuba!
ROBIN HOOD WATERSPORTS 152 Leeds Road, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire WF16 9BJ Tel: 01924 444888 Fax: 01924 474529 E-mail: sally@roho.co.uk Website: www.roho.co.uk Opening Hours: Open Times: Mon, Tues, Weds, Fri - 9.15-6pm Thurs 9.15-8pm Sat - 9.15 -5pm. OSS,OST, BS, IDEST, EH, Nitrox. PADI Dive Centre, BSAC Premier level. Training in our on-site heated pool and lecture rooms. Home of the renowned ROHO drysuits. Nitrox courses & fills. Gigantic 5000sq ft showroom fully stocked with dive watersports & snowboarding equipment. Friendly, helpful staff and instructors. Equipment hire. ■■■■■
IRELAND CO CORK OCEANADDICTS
Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland Tel: 00353 (0)87-7903211 Email: anne@oceanaddicts.ie Website: www.oceanaddicts.ie Opening Hours: 9.00am to 6.00pm. Air to 300, PADI Resort, DAN, LB, ESI, ACC, AT, UWP, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox. Liveaboard and day-boat diving, groups and individuals welcome, friendly atmosphere, wrecks and reefs, great photo opportunities, courses available, live the adventure on Ireland’s South Coast. ■❏■
CO DONEGAL MEVAGH DIVE CENTRE LTD
Milford Road, Carrighat, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Ireland Tel: 00353 749154708 Mob: 00353 8765 90264 Email: reception@mevaghdiving.com Website: www.mevaghdiving.com Opening Hours: 9am to 7.30pm. Air to 300 Bar, PADI 5★ Dive Centre, EH, ESI, TD, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox, Tri Mix. Mevagh Dive Centre PADI 5 *. All levels of diving including Technical diving. 11m catamaran with dive lift. Accommodation with Swimming pool. ■
NORTHERN IRELAND COUNTY DOWN DV DIVING
SUSSEX OCEAN VIEW DIVING SERVICES LTD
160 South Street, Lancing, West Sussex BN15 8AU. Tel: 01903 767224 Fax: 01903 754361 Email: info@oceanviewdiving.co.uk Website: www.oceanviewdiving.co.uk PADI 5★ IDC Centre. IANTD, TDI. OSS, OST, EH, BS. Air to 300 Bar, Nitrox. Padi Tec Rec. Tri-mix. Mail order, suit repairs, holidays abroad, on-site indoor pool. Licenced bar and club. Largest selection of equipment in Sussex. ■■■■■
108 Sport Diver JUNE 2016
YORKSHIRE
138 Mount Steward Road, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2ES. Tel: 02891 464671/861686 Fax: 02891 464671 Email: info@dvdiving.co.uk Website: www.dvdiving.co.uk OSS, OST, BS, EH. DV Diving offer one of Europe's most comprehensive ranges of scuba, technical & commercial diving and powerboat training courses - for the complete beginner through to instructor development for the most experienced professionals ■■■■
PORTSTEWART
CYDIVE DIVE CYPRUS
LIVEABOARD
AQUAHOLICS DIVE CENTRE
:?H;9JEHO A;O
20, Myrra Complex 33, Poseidonos Ave 1, Paphos 8042, Cyprus. Tel: 00 357 26 934271 Email: info@cydive.com Website: www.cydive.com
14 Portmore Road, Portstewart Tel: 28 70832584 Email: dive@aquaholics.org Website: www.aquaholics.org Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ CENTRE. NITROX, TRIMIX. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, ACC,FCF,AT, AYRD,UWP,CH,BH, NDCF, CAOS.Offering the full range of courses from Beginner to Trimix. Diving the spectacular clear water of the North Coast from Rathlin Island to Malin Head. ■ ■
Australia - Cairns, Queensland
Spoilsport www.mikeball.com Passengers ......28 Cabins ..............14 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........30m Hull.......Aluminium
SCOTLAND ARGYLL
Elec. ................240 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.....................Y
UK LIVEABOARD
Gaelic Rose
BALI AQUAMARINE DIVING - BALI
Scotland - Argyll 07778 965618
MV Gaelic Rose www.gaelicrose.wordpress.com Passengers ...... 12 Cabins ................ 4 En-suite ..............N Camera friendly . Y
Onboard Elec. 230 Nitrox .................. Y CCR..................... Y Dive Lift .............. Y
ORKNEY
2A Jalan Petitenget, Kuta, Bali, 80361, Indonesia Tel: +623614738020 Email: info@AquaMarineDiving.com Website: www.AquaMarineDiving.com Opening Hours: We are open 7days a week and from 7am to 7pm. Air to (BAR) 200. EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. 5★ Dive Resort. AquaMarine Diving – Bali is dedicated to ensuring you experience Bali’s best diving, from Day Trips to fully–inclusive underwater macro-photography Safaris, Intro-diving and Snorkelling, PADI courses to Divemaster and many Specialties (including the Manta Ray Awareness Specialty). ■
UK LIVEABOARD
Sunrise Charters
I>EF A;O EII $$$$$$$$Edi_j[ i[hl_Y_d] EIJ $$$$$$$$Edi_j[ j[ij_d]
Kirkwall - Orkney 01856 874725
8I $$$$$$$$$$$J[ij_d] je 8h_j_i^ IjWdZWhZi
Sunrise Charters www.sunrisecharters.co.uk
EL;HI;7I 788H;L?7J?EDI 799 $$$$$$$$7YYecceZWj_ed 7?F $$$$$$$$$7bb _dYbki_l[ fWYaW][ 7J $$$$$$$$$$$7_hfehj jhWdi\[hi 7OH: $$$$$7bb o[Wh hekdZ Z_l_d] 8> $$$$$$$$$$8eWj ^_h[ 97EI $$$$$9ecfh[ii[Z W_h edi_j[ 9> $$$$$$$$$$9Wh ^_h[ ;7 $$$$$$$$$$$;dl_hedc[dj WYj_l_j_[i ;>$$$$$$$$$$$;gk_fc[dj ^_h[ ;I? $$$$$$$$$$;d]b_i^ if[Wa_d] _dijhkYjehi <9< $$$$$$$$$<Wc_b_[i YWj[h[Z \eh B8 $$$$$$$$$$$B_l[WXeWhZi D:9<$$$$$$Ded#Z_l[hi YWj[h[Z \eh EMi $$$$$$$Ej^[h mWj[hifehji J: $$$$$$$$$$$J[Y^ Z_l_d] KMF $$$$$$$KdZ[hmWj[h f^eje]hWf^o
Passengers ...... 13 Cabins ................ 7 En-suite .............. Y Camera friendly . Y
Onboard Elec. 230 Nitrox .................. Y CCR..................... Y Dive Lift .............. Y
OVERSEAS DIVE OPERATORS AUSTRALIA LIVEABOARD
Passengers ......26 Cabins ..............11 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........37m Hull................Steel
Elec. ................240 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.................... N
24/7 Emergency Diver Response. Air to 232 Bar. If you are concerned or feel that you have unusual signs or symptoms after a dive please always get it checked. We have a 24/7, 365 days service with a full Hyperbaric Medical team on standby at our 14 man fully computerized, HAUX 2200 Starmed Unit. We are the Preferred Provider for IDAN, UK Armed Forces, US Armed Forces, NATO and many more. We offer Direct Insurance billing for all treatments. Also Dry Dives to 40 metres, PADI Chamber Specialty Courses, DAN In-Chamber Tender Courses, DAN Chamber Operator Courses, DAN Consumer an
SUNSET HOUSE - GRAND CAYMAN'S HOTEL FOR DIVERS BY DIVERS
EGYPT
390 South Church Street, PO Box 479GT Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Tel: 1-345-949-7111 Fax: 1-345-949-7101 Email: keith.sahm@sunsethouse.com Website: www.sunsethouse.com Opening Hours: 7:00 - 17:30 (Dive Centre Hours). Air To 200 Bar. Stingray City and ex-USS Kittiwake Adventures. PADI 5★ IDC. EH, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT (with packages), AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS (with packages). Full-Service dive operations located at Sunset House. Recreational boat dives. Incredible shore diving. Nitrox. Cathy Church. U/W photo centre. 53 Rooms for accommodations. Bar, restaurant onsite. Stepping out of my room, catching that breath of fragrant tropical breeze, gazing into the alluring blue water…I found the essence of Sunset House.
ALPHA DIVERS
www.spiritoffreedom.com.au
LARNACA DIVE-IN
HTTC Ltd (Hyperbaric Therapy Treatment Ctr) Poseidonia Medical Centre 47a Eleftherias Avenue, Aradippou, Larnaca, CYPRUS 7102 Tel: 00357 24 252501/24 hr Emergency Diver Help Line 99 518837 Fax: 00357 24 252502 Email: info@hbocyprus.com Website: www.hbocyprus.com Opening Hours: 9-5 Mon -Sat.
Instructor Courses to all Levels. ❏ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
CYPRUS
Spirit of Freedom
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CAYMAN ISLANDS
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Australia - Cairns
PADI. The First PADI 5★ Career Development Centre & Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. CAOS, EH, CH,AIP,Acc, FCF,AT, ESI’s, EAs’, BH, AYRD, UWP, OW’s, NDCF. Fantastic Location, an exciting programme with 2 Boat Dives & Daytrips Daily. Instructor programmes 4 times a year.
2 Pyla Gardens, Dhekelia Road, Larnaca, Pyla Tourist Area, 7081, Cyprus Tel: +357 24647519 +357 99866383 Email: info@alpha-divers.com Website: www.alpha-divers.com 5 Star IDC, Tec Rec & Seamanship Centre who love what we do & understand what a privileged it is to serve you, ensuring everything is perfect from initial contact, diving, accommodation to whatever your holiday needs may be. Come, Dive and Live The Difference.
LIVEABOARD
Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh
VIP One www.vipone.com Passengers ......16 Cabins ................8 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........29m Hull.............. Wood
Elec. ................220 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.................... N
EMPEROR DIVERS 15 New Kawthar, Airport Road, Hurghada, Egypt Tel: (+20) 122 234 0995 Email: info@emperordivers.com Web: www.emperordivers.com Opening Hours: See website. EH, LB, ESI, TD, Acc, FCF , AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF. Nitrox, PADI 5★ Year-round diving: the Maldives and Red Sea: El Gouna, Marsa Alam, Hamata and Sharm El Sheikh and Emperor liveaboards. Day diving, dive courses, resort packages. ■
JUNE 2016 Sport Diver 109
ELITE DIVING'S DIVERS UNITED
Uni Sharm Hotel, Sharm Elysees St, Um El Sid Hill, Hadaba, Sharm El Sheikh Tel: 0020 1224 308 780 Email: info@elite-diving.com Web: www.elite-diving.com Opening Hours: 8.00am to 19.00pm Air to 220 Bar. Divers United PADI 5 Resort. Elite Diving. BSAC Diver Traning Center.EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. NITROX, ATOL Bonded through UK Tour operator. British Owner managers, offering Daily Boat Diving on some of the best reefs in the world, House reef, PADI & BSAC courses, Liveaboards, Special excursions. ■ ■ OCEAN COLLEGE
Naama Bay Hotel, Naama Bay, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Tel: 0020 1228075516 Email: info@ocean-college.com Website: www.ocean-college.com Opening Hours: 0800 – 1700. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★IDC, Nitrox, ATOL Bonded. EH, ESI, EA, AIP, FCF, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Ocean College dive centre's are located at the Naama bay hotel, the Hilton Waterfalls and the Sensatori resort.. ■ ■ ■ RED SEA DIVING COLLEGE
Sultana Building, Naama Bay, South Sinai, Egypt Tel: 0020 69 3600145 Email: info@redseacollege.com Website: www.redseacollege.com Opening hours: 8am - 9pm. Air to 200 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, National Geographic. PADI 5★ CDC. Multi Award winning centre offering all courses from entry level to professional. Conducted from a stunning beachfront location, boasting the best facilities in Sharm. ■ SHARKS BAY UMBI DIVING CENTRE
P O Box 275, Sharks Bay, Sharm el Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt Tel: +20 122 714 2029 +20 69 3600942 Email: info@sharksbay.com Website: www.sharksbay.com Opening hours: 8am to 6pm Mon - Sun. Air to 200 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, PADI 5★ and SSI Dive Centre. Sharks Bay Umbi Diving Village combines Bedouin style, warm hospitality and modern facilities. You really will come as a guest but leave as a friend. ■ SINAI COLLEGE - DIVING CENTER
Sharm Inn Amarin, Hadaba, Sharm El Sheikh South Sinai 60907, Egypt Tel: +201154055100 Email: info@sinai-college.com Website: www.sinai-college.com Opening hours: 7.30am till 7pm every day of the year. Air to 200 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, COAS. Nitrox, PADI Dive Centre. We are an European run and managed dive center based in Sharm El Sheikh with a friendly and professional atmosphere. We provide daily diving, mini safaris and liveaboards. ■
FUERTEVENTURA DEEP BLUE DIVING S.L
Barcelo el Castillo, Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura, 35610 Tel: +34 606 275 468 or +34 928 163172 Email: info@deep-blue-diving.com Website: www.deep-blue-diving.com Facebook: Deep.Blue.Diving.Fuerteventura Opening Hours: All year 9am-5pm Air to 200. PADI 5★ GOLD PALM IDC CENTRE & IE LOCATION. EH, ESI, AIP, ACC, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. WIFI, Equipment Washing and Storage Rooms. Discover Scuba to Instructor. All year round, water front location, small groups, 20-25m visibilty. Exclusive dive sites, after dive sector. ■
110 Sport Diver JUNE 2016
GRAN CANARIAS
LIVEABOARD
BLUE WATER DIVING
Holiday Club Puerto Calma, Avenida Joaquin Blanco Torrent 2,City: Puerto Rico, Mogan State, Las Palmas, 35130, Spain Tel: +34602080208 / +34633963248 Email: info@divingingrancanaria.com Website: www.divingingrancanaria.com
Wicked Diving, Indonesia
Jaya Opening Hours: 9am until 6pm Monday Sunday. Air to 200 bar. EH, ESI, Acc, AYRD, NDCF, CAOS. PADI 5★ Dive Centre. All year round diving, boat and shore dives. Ideal for all level of divers. Special offers for groups, families and dive packages. Divemaster internships available.
www.wickeddiving.com
HONDURAS
Passengers ......14 Cabins ................6 En-suite ........... No Length ...........25m Hull.............. Wood
Elec. ................220 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ................. N CCR.................... N
UTILA DIVE CENTRE/MANGO INN
GREECE CRETE UNDERWATER CENTER
Mirabello Beach Hotel, Agios Nikolaos 72100 Crete, Greece. PO Box 100 Tel/Fax: 00 30 284 1022 406 Mobile: 0030 6945 2444 34 / 0030 6944 1268 46 Email: info@creteunderwatercenter.com Website: www.creteunderwatercenter.com PADI Resort D.C.,Day Boats/ Servicing/ Accommodation/ Technical/ IANTD/ PADI/BSAC ResortCenter/Air /Nitrox/ Trimix/ KitonSale. Based within a hotel complex directly on the beach, we provide a great variety of diving services for Beginners through to Advanced and TechnicalDivers .As a well equipped resort and diving centre, we tailor packages to suit your individual or group needs.
NERO-SPORT DIVING CENTER
Limni Keri, Machairado, Zakynthos, 29092 Tel: 0030 269 502 8481 / 0030 698 566 6645 Email: dennis@nero-sport.de Website: www.nero-sport.de Opening Hours: Open 9-18h (all year except 15.01.2017 - 28.02.2017). Air to 200 Bar. PADI DIVE CENTRE, IAC 5★ EH, ESI, Acc, AT, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Free childcare. 2-5 trips a day. Day trips. Night diving. Own accommodation. Snack bar. Great family offers. Special group offers. Diving all year round. We are SSI Dive Center too. It's our 30 year anniversary in 2016
Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras Tel/Fax: (504) 24253327 Email: info@utiladivecentre.com Website: www.utiladivecentre.com www.goproutila.com Opening Hours: 7am to 7pm Air to 220 Bar. PADI Career Development Centre and IANTD facility. Nitrox, Trimix, Rebreather friendly, National Geographic Facility. EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. PADI certification courses from beginner to Instructor (monthly PADI IDC's) with diving packages and accommodation. The island of Utila offers spectacular Caribbean diving and Whale sharks. ■ ■
INDONESIA BIG BUBBLE DIVE
Turtle Beach, Gili Trawangan, Lombok NTB, Indonesia 83233. Tel: +623706125020 +62811390969 Email: info@bigbubblediving.com Website: www.bigbubblediving.com Open: 8am to 7pm daily all year round Established in 2001 by UK Owner Anna Walker, The crystal clear waters (up to 40m visibility) will ensure you see the very best of the aquatic life that diving in Indonesia has to offer. DIVE INTO LEMBEH
RT 08 Lingkungan III, Kasawari, Bitung, North Sulawesi, 95528, Indonesia Tel: +62 8114347718 Email: steve@diveintolembeh.com Website: www.diveintolembeh.com Open: Always open from April 1st 2016 Lembeh's newest purpose built dive resort. Great location in a macro photographers paradise with 9 deluxe sea view bungalows, all with private Japanese style onsen. Air to 200 Bar. Nitrox. PADI 5★. Full range of non tekkie PADI courses available.EH, ESI, EA, Acc,FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS
■ DIVING CENTER TURTLE BEACH
Limni Keri, Zakynthos, Greece Tel: 0030 6944 375597 / 0030 26950 49424 Email: infokeritravel@gmail.com Website: www.diving-center-turtle-beach.com PADI DIVE CENTRE, CMAS, SSI. ACC, BH, CAOS, EH, ESI, FCF, NCDF. Nitrox. Dive packages. Special offers for groups and families. Great accommodation and diving packages. ■
LANZAROTE MANTA DIVING LANZAROTE
Juan Carlos 1, No.6, Local 5, Puerto del Carmen Tel: (0034) 928 516815 Mobile: (0034) 649 121142 Email: info@manta-diving-lanzarote.com manta-diving-lanzarote-val@hotmail.com Skype: manta-dive-centre Website: www.manta-diving-lanzarote.com Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8.30-5.30pm all year round. Air to 200 Bar. PADI IRRA RESORT CENTRE, BSAC RESORT CENTRE. OSS, ACC, AT, AYRD, BH, CAOS, CH, NDCF, EA, EH, UWP, ESI, FCF. PADI. Courses & Specialties, Discover Scuba & Snorkelling. Fully equipped, spacious centre, 150mtrs from best sites in Lanzarote. Group Rates All level of divers welcome. NITROX. ■ ■
SAFARI DIVING LANZAROTE
Playa de la Barrilla 4, Playa Chica Puerto Del Carmen, Tel: 0034 928511992 or 0034 646752512 Email: enquiry@safaridiving.com Website: www.safaridiving.com PADI, PADI 5★ Centre, BSAC, PADI Premier Centre, NAUI, SAA.Acc,AT, LB,ESI, EAs, BH, AYRD, UWP, OWs, NDCF, ATOL,TD, CAOS, EH,CH,AIP, FCF. SSI & RYA. We are a PADI dive centre. BSAC Premier Centre and Seamanship Centre. SSI Diver Training Centre. British owned, beach based diving centre, established for over 18 years. Spectacular Ocean diving all year round which include reefs, drop offs, wrecks etc to suit all levels of diver and the complete beginner! Special offers available for dive packages for shore, night and boat dives. ■ ■ ■
MALDIVES DIVING & SAILING PVT. LTD
TWO FISH DIVERS
One operator/three tropical-island resorts: Bunaken Island, North Sualwesi Lembongan Island, Bali. Tel: 0062-811-432-805 Email: info@twofishdivers.com Website: www.twofishdivers.com Air to 200 bar. PADI 5★ IDC. Nitrox, EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Two Fish Divers is owned and run by Tina and Nigel from UK. Each of their three tropical-island resorts offer a friendly and relaxed atmosphere with some of the best diving in Indonesia: 1) Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi - the awardwinning reefs of Bunaken Marine Park. 2) Lembeh Straits, North Sulawesi - the muckdiving capital of the world. 3) Lembongan Island, Bali - home of the molamola's and manta's of Bali. All dive resorts are PADI 5★ , have european management, max 24divers, small dive groups, and a friendly and personal service. Organise a trip to one of more of these resorts, or book an Indo Dive Safari with all three resorts! ■■
Vivanta by Taj Coral Reef Resort, Hembadhu, North Male Atoll, North Male Atoll, 0000, Maldives Tel: 00960 7487511 Email: diving.vivanta@gmail.com Web: www.blueinmaldives.com Opening Hours: 08.30 - 12.30, 14.00 - 18.00. EH, ESI, EA, AYRD, UWP, BH. PADI 5★ Gold Palm Resort. The major appeal of our Dive Centre is the wreck, which was sunk in 1988, to attract marine life. ■
EMPEROR DIVERS 15 New Kawthar, Airport Road, Hurghada, Egypt Tel: (+20) 122 234 0995 Email: info@emperordivers.com Web: www.emperordivers.com Opening Hours: See website. EH, LB, ESI, TD, Acc, FCF , AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF. Nitrox, PADI 5★ Year-round diving: the Maldives and Red Sea: El Gouna, Marsa Alam, Hamata and Sharm El Sheikh and Emperor liveaboards. Day diving, dive courses, resort packages. ■
SUB AQUA DIVECENTER
GOZO AQUA SPORTS
Sub Aqua Dive Center - Thailand/Oman/ Maldives, Angaga, Thulhagiri & Furaveri Tel: +498938476959 Thailand: +66800523101 Email: info@subaqua-divecenter.com Website: www.subaqua-divecenter.com Opening Hours: 08.00 - 19.00 EVERYDAY. PADI 5★ SSI. EH, LB, ESI, EA, FCF, AYRD, UWP, BH NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. Located in Phuket (Thailand), Salalah (Oman) and Maldives. Thailand liveaboard experts. Quality services and full range of diving courses and facilities. Multi-lingual diving Instructor teams.
Gozo Aqua Sports, Rubat Road, Marsalforn, Gozo, Malta, MFN 9014 Tel: 00356 21563037 Email: dive@gozoaquasports.com Website: www.gozoaquasports.com Opening Hours: 7 Days a week 08:00 – 18:00. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ IDC - DSAT TECREC centre & BSAC Resort, ESI, TD, Acc, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox and Trimix Available, Technical & Rebreather Diver Support. Free WI-FI, Free Tea/Coffee/Water, Rinsing/Drying/Storage facilities, Wreck, Boat, Cavern, Digital Photography, Drysuit, Enriched Air, Equipment Specialist, Multilevel, Naturalist, Navigation, Night, PPB, Oxygen Provider, Search & Recovery, Project AWARE Fish ID Specialities. ■ ■
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MALTA
LIVEABOARD
LIVEABOARD
Mexico
Philippines
Nautilus Belle Amie
Discovery Palawan
www.nautilusbelleamie.com Passengers ......30 Cabins ..............17 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........41m Hull................Steel
Elec. ................120 Courses ............. N AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.....................Y
www.discoveryfleet.com Passengers ......32 Cabins ..............16 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........49m Hull................Steel
Elec. ................240 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.................... N
ADVENTURE DIVING MALTA
Triq-il Luzzu, Qawra, Bugibba, Malta SPB1981 Tel: 00 356 215 74526 Email: adventure.diving.malta@gmail.com Website: www.adventuredivingmalta.com Opening Hours: 8am till 6pm. Air to 220 Bar PADI 5★ Nitrox EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. We also have mixing station for Nitrox/Trimix, Family orientated, rebreather friendly on site private pool, toilets and showers(Hot),sun deck, tec/tec side mount. ■
ORANGESHARK H2O LTD
SCUBA CLUB COZUMEL
Ramla Bay Resort, Marfa Bay, Mellieha, MLH 1700, Malta Tel: 00356 79030049 / 00356 23561950 Email: steve@orangeshark.eu Website: www.orangeshark.eu Open: 08:00 to 17:30. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ IDC Centres. EH, ESI, TD EA, Acc,FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP,NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox.
Av R Melgar Prol S Km 1.5, Cozumel, Q. Roo Mexico 77600 Tel: 52+987-872-1133 US# 727-230-9613 Fax: 727-388-3638 Email: scubacozumel@ecozumel.net Website: www.scubaclubcozumel.com Opening Hours: 24/7/365. Acc, ESI, EH, AYRD, UWP, BH, FCF, CAOS. PADI 5★ Training center and Dive Resort offering dive packages including room, meals and diving. Full service 5 star training facility offering all levels of instruction and daily dive trips. ■ ■
■ DIVE DEEP BLUE MALTA
9/11 Annanija Street, Bugibba, St Pauls Bay, Malta SPB 1320 Tel: 00 356 21 583946 Mob: 00 356 99 868957 Email: dive@divedeepblue.com Website: www.divedeepblue.com Opening Hours: 8am till 6pm. PADI 5★ IDC. EH ESI TD EA AIP Acc FCF AT AYRD UWP CH BH NDCF CAOS.Nitrox /Trimix. Facilities include: Dive Shop, Private parking, swimming pool, sun deck, gas filling/blending station, euipment rental/ sales, drying and storage areas, toilets/ showers, A/C class rooms, techniclal facility, CCR support. ■ ■ ■ DIVESHACK SCUBA SCHOOL
14a, Qui Si Sana, Seafront, Sliema, SLM3111, Malta Tel: 00 356 2133 8558 00 356 9999 3483 Email: info@divemalta.com Website: www.divemalta.com Opening Hours: 7 Days a week from 08.00 till 18.00 (17.00 in winter). PADI 5★ IDC, National Geographic and TecRec Facility. Seafront Location. Resident Course Director. All PADI Courses Taught. Rebreather Friendly. Escorted Dives from Shore/Boat round Malta, Gozo and Comino. Fully Stocked Shop. Operating from Comino May to Oct. Nitrox, Trimix, National Geographic. Speciality side mount and Tec side mount. Acc, AIP, AT, AYRD, BH, BS, CAOS, CH, EA, EH, ESI, FCF, NDCF, OSS + OWS, OST, TD, UWP, ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ❏ DIVEWISE
Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta Tel: (+356) 21 356 441 Email: info@divewise.com.mt Website: www.divewise.com.mt Opening Hours: 7 days a week from 9am till finish. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ CDC Centre. Nitrox, Trimix, Boat Diving,Day trips. EH, ESI, TD, EA, ACC, FCF , AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. PADI's No1 centre in Malta offering all courses but specialising in Technical diving & Instrcutor level. ■ ■
PARADISE DIVING
Paradise Diving, Paradise Bay Resort Hotel, Cirkewwa, MLH9068, Malta Tel: 0035621574116 0035621524363 Email: alison@paradisediving.com Website: www.paradisediving.com Open: May to October 08.30-17.00 Daily. November to April by advance reservation. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ RESORT. EH, ESI, EA, ACC, FCF, AT AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF CAOS, Nitrox. Three summer boat dives daily, Malta, Gozo, Comino. No boat surcharge! Private beach location, Cirkewwa. PADI courses. Free group places. Free transport, Mellieha, Bugibba, Qawra.
PALAU
SEA SHELL DIVE COVE
SEA BEES DIVING
1/3 MOO 9, VISET Road, CHALONG, PHUKET 83130 THAILAND Tel: +66 (0)76 381 765 + 66 (0)76 381 943 Email: info@sea-bees.com Website: www.sea-bees.com Opening Hours: 0700 - 2100 Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox, National Georgraphic, SSI Diamond Instructor Training Centre. Located in Phuket, Khao Lak, Phi Phi & Pak Meng - with our fleet of daytrip and liveaboard vessels, we are "Adventure In good hands ■
LIVEABOARD
SIMILAN DIVING SAFARIS Co LTD
Koror, Palau
Ocean Hunter Palau www.oceanhunter.com Passengers ......18 Cabins ................9 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........31m Hull................Steel
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THAILAND
Elec. ................240 Courses ..............Y AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.....................Y
Marfa Road, Mellieha, Malta Tel: +356/21522595 / + 356/21521062 Fax: +356 2152 1062 Email: info@seashell-divecove.com Website: www.seashell-divecove.com EH, Nitrox, ESI, TD, CAOS, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH,BH, NDCF. Family run dive centre. Technical diving & courses. Escorted dives from shore/boat Malta, Gozo, Comino.Wreck dive specialist. Latest equipment for hire & for sale. ■■
13/19 Moo 7, Khao Lak, Khuk Khak, Takuapa, Phang Nga, 82190, Thailand Tel: +66 (0)76 485 470 Email: info@similan-diving-safaris.com Website: www.similan-diving-safaris.com Open: Monday-Sunday, 9:00 - 21:00, mid Oct - mid May. Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, ACC,FCF, ATF, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. PADI 5 Star Dive Centre. Livaboard specialist, PADI courses, Nitrox aboard our boat. Eco-friendly toiletries. Similan, Surin, Islands. Myanmar (Burma). Mergui Archipelago. Day trips, diving, snorkelling, European, established for 15 years. ■
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS MEXICO
DIVE PROVO
LIVEABOARD
PHILIPPINES THRESHER SHARK DIVERS
Mexico
Nautilus Explorer www.nautilusexplorer.com Passengers ......25 Cabins ..............13 En-suite ..............Y Length ...........35m Hull................Steel
Elec. ................120 Courses ............. N AirCon ................Y Nitrox ..................Y CCR.....................Y
Malaapscua Island, Cebu 6013 Philippines Tel: 00639176254195 / 00639177959433 Fax: +63324370985 Email: dive@thresherdivers.com Web: www.malapascua-diving.com Opening Hours: 5am-midnight. Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. PADI 5★ CDC. The premier PADI 5 Star CDC located on Malapascua Island, the only place in the world where thresher sharks can be seen daily. ■ ■ ■ ■
Ports of Call, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: 001 649 946 5040 (shop) Fax: 001 649 946 5936 Email: diving@diveprovo.com Website: www.diveprovo.com Hours: Hours 8am-5pm daily. Air to 200 Bar. EST. Hotel/dive packages to suit every taste. PADI 5★ Resort, SSI Resort. OSS, EH, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox 32%. Daily 2 tank dives to all areas around Provo; West Caicos, French Cay, N.W. Point, Grace Bay, Pine Cay. Air, Nitrox, instruction and dedicated snorkel trips. British owners Alan and Clare Jardine. 1990 - 2010: Celebrating 20 years of diving as it should be! ■■
JUNE 2016 Sport Diver 111
BUSINESS FOR SALE
ACCESSORIES
HOLIDAYS IN ENGLAND
FOR SALE EQUIPMENT
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Servicing on Site Wet/Dry Suits Regulators BCDs Cylinders (IDEST) Computers Watches Mail order
Probably the southwest`s longest established diving business. One owner only, well established for over 30 years. Great coastal location and catchment area plus great potential for growth. Agents for leading suppliers. Property leasehold with three year lease with options to renew.
Top-rated family-run South Devon B&B Very close to Torquay harbour for dive boats and easy drive of other local dive sites. Off road parking and fresh water wash down and drying facilities.
Price negotiable, based on value of compressors and ancillary equipment plus fixtures and fittings and stock and good will. Present owner retiring.
5 minutes drive to local dive shop for tank replenishing.
Full details and online booking at
www.theredholme.co.uk or telephone 01803 203647
Email: scarpentersteve@aol.com
Please quote “Sport Diver” when contacting us direct for free use of wash down facilities
INSURANCE
MEDICAL
01924 444888 dive@roho.co.uk
www.roho.co.uk
To advertise your latest dive deals online or in the magazine
Diving Medicals Nottingham ɀ Sport Diver medicals £50 HSE commercial diving medicals £110 Oil and Gas UK Offshore Medicals £100 ɀ HGV/PSV/taxi medicals £50 ɀ Occupational Health Medicals
ɀ
Call Sam on 0044 118 974 2502
ɀ
Discounts for students and large groups
For appointments call
0780 2850 084 email: mclamp@doctors.org.uk
HOLIDAYS OVERSEAS
WEBSITES
CHARTER BOATS NORTH
SCOTLAND
For offers quote: “SPORT DIVER”
DO SOMETHING
GREAT English owned award winning dive centre in the safe holiday resort of Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote. Located directly on a family friendly beach. We can offer you the most dive sites with daily boat, shore and night dives all same price! Suitable for beginner and all levels of divers - train your own students or complete courses with us. We will not be beaten on legitimate quoted prices. We can assist with flights / accommodation etc. Others promise - we deliver!
ADOPT A SHARK! Give to research, give to the Trust
“Help us safeguard the future of sharks through positive change” Safari Diving Lanzarote Phone: (0034) 928 51 19 92 Mobile: (0034) 625 059 713 Email: enquiry@safaridiving.com Web: www.safaridiving.com
DISCOVER MORE ON OUR WEBSITE:
WWW.SHARKTRUST.ORG Connect with the Shark Trust on social media:
REPAIRS
WEBSITES
www.lumb-bros-das.co.uk Quality diving products. www.otterboxes.co.uk Rugged waterproof cases for every environment. www.unidive.co.uk A quality range of masks, snorkels, fins and knives. www.tek-tite.co.uk Torches, strobes, marker lights for diving and outdoor pursuits.
SCOTLAND
Advertise your UK charter Boat with us now, call Sam on 0118 974 2502
PAUL ROSE Paul is the Vice President of the Royal Geographic Society. For 10 years he was the Base Commander of Rothera Research Station in Antarctica and was also the BAS Diving Officer. He presents television and radio programmes on the BBC. www.paulrose.org
CONSERVATION, KAYAKING AND TEA! LANDS END - THE END?
CARDIGAN BAY - DREDGING AWAY THE FUTURE
I’m just started filming my new BBC series, South West Coastal Path, and it’s a complete joy. My life is full of walking, wildlife, coasteering, tin mines, terrific views, Cornish pasties, singing in a pub and even joining in an art class at St Ives (limited edition sketches available!). Next up is climbing, hang gliding, festivals, fishing, foraging, dancing, a lot more walking, more pasties, more pubs and thank heavens - some diving. The natural beauty of this coastline combined with some enthusiastic adventures is making this an energy-giving journey full of surprises. It’s so good that I keep reflecting on the contrasting and single bad bit: Land’s End. Our iconic south-western tip should be one of the highlights of any visit to Cornwall, but sadly it has been overrun by an ugly, low quality commercial enterprise and festooned with fences, signposts and ugly buildings. The entire site is a blot on the landscape. I know the history of it and well remember when the National Trust was outbid by inves-
Cardigan Bay is an outstanding place and is home to the UK’s largest population of breeding bottlenose dolphins, I remember seals everywhere and I’ve always had great dives there. I always managed to dive the wrecks of the Sutton and Whirlwind in excellent visibility and I have wonderful memories of stacks of fish, crabs, lobsters, beautiful sponges, sea fans, anemones, cuttlefish, octopus and yes, even scallops. Cardigan Bay is considered so special that it is designated a Special Area of Conservation and so we should be able to celebrate this high level of protection and sleep peacefully. But instead we are in a battle with the Welsh Government who unbelievably want to open it up to scallop dredging. A massive 27,000 people have signed a petition pleading for the plans to be abandoned and yet, in the true style of bottom dredgers, the government is determined to plough ahead. We can’t let this happen, so please join me in signing the petition, write to your MP, use whatever influence you have to add your
“27,000 people have signed a petition pleading for the plans to be abandoned and yet, in the true style of bottom dredgers, the government is determined to plough ahead“ tors who only had eyes for profit. In 1996 it was sold again (Sold! Can you believe that anyone could actually buy and sell things like Land’s End) and is now owned by something called Heritage Great Britain. A total disaster and future generations will be right to ask how we let this happen. On my recent visit I could only stand it for 15 minutes and had to run away to Porthgwarra before I popped a pod. When it comes up for sale again, as surely it will because only profit is driving things, then we should all stand by to support the National Trust or any suitable non-profit conservation-based group, to ensure that this wonderful natural asset is in the hands of smart people who are motivated by things other than creating shoddy theme parks.
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Sport Diver
JUNE 2016
voice to help us protect this incredibly valuable part of our ocean.
HAVE KAYAK WILL TRAVEL Exciting business: I’ve fixed the rudder on my old, but beautiful Scupper Pro kayak and I’m ready for some UK diving-by-kayak adventures. There’s nothing else like it – my scuba gear all fits in the stern well, I have the small grappling hook fixed to 50 metres of line to the bow and I paddle wearing my wetsuit. When I’m in position I throw out the hook, secure my paddle, swim to the stern, get fins and mask on, slide the scuba gear on and descend to the hook. Once I’ve checked the hook I like to have about a 20 minute dive, then move to the next spot. In half a day I can have two or three easy dives followed by a vast amount of tea. Perfect!
www.sportdiver.co.uk