4534twr

26 TOP

PICKS FROM SCUBALAB

GEAR YEAR OF THE PAGE 60

PLUS:

SNEAK PEEK AT WHAT’S NEW & HOT

SCUBA D

I

BEST OF 2014 OUR FAVORITE DIVE SPOTS, ADVENTURES, & MORE

V

I

N

G

WIN A MASK PAGE 9

COLD-WATER WETSUITS PAGE 66

DIVE LIGHTS PAGE 65

REGULATORS PAGE 63

PAGE 29

BCs

PAGE 64

DIVE COMPUTERS PAGE 62

DIVING NAKED IN LITTLE CAYMAN PAGE 20

THE SEA HERO OF THE YEAR IS …

PAGE 13 scubadiving.com // November/December 2014

" Ů Ů Ż ūżżŷ Ż 'Ŵūū Ž r %ŧ Ŷ ũ ūŻ 'Ŵūū Ž - Ű ſ ū " Ũ ŷ ŧ Ż Ūż

WorldMags.net Become a Member of the Exclusive

r Caribbean Sea r Western Atlantic r r (DVWHUQ 3DFLş F r Indian Ocean r Andaman Sea r r Red Sea r 6RXWKHUQ 3DFLş F r

Dive all Seven Seas aboard an Aggressor or Dancer Fleet yacht

DQG HQMR\ WKH EHQHß WV RI WKH 6HYHQ 6HDV ([SORUHUV &OXE Ý Complimentary Upgrades on all LiveAboard Yachts

Ý Recognition in the Seven Seas Explorers Hall of Fame, listed online Ý Inclusion in AquaLung Gear Drawings Ý Seven Seas Explorers Club Free Gifts Worldwide LiveAboard Adventures Since 1984

· Alor · Bahamas · Belize · Cayman Islands · · Cocos Island · %PNJOJDBO 3FQVCMJD · Fiji · · (BMBQBHPT · Hawaii · Komodo · Maldives · · Myanmar · 1BMBV · 3FE 4FB · 1VMBV 8FI Indonesia · Thailand · 5VSLT $BJDPT · WorldMags.net

+1-800-348-2628 www.aggressor.com www.dancerfleet.com

WorldMags.net Red Sea Aggressor, Egypt

Desert Majesty Explore the Southern Red Sea with Four Thrilling LiveAboard Itineraries

Port Galib, Egypt’s up-scale resort community, is home to the new 130-foot, 20-passenger Red Sea Aggressor yacht. Called the “Port of Serenity,” Galib offers easy access to the Red Sea’s most pristine diving and it’s far from the crowded northern region. While the Red Sea is most famous for brilliantly colored soft corals, Aggressor divers will enjoy pelagic encounters with Thrasher Sharks, Dolphin, Hammerhead Sharks and Manta Rays.

Choose from Four Fantastic Itineraries: Brothers/Daeldalus/Elphinstone Itinerary (7 nights) Southern/St. John Itinerary (7 nights) Best of Both Itineraries (10 nights - select dates) Brothers/Daeldalus/Elphinstone & Southern/ St. John Itinerary (14 nights)

Red Sea Aggressor LiveAboard offers: Five-Star Yacht Five-Star Service Five-Star Dining Five Dives a Day

Save 25% on Red Sea Aggressor Dive the World weeks

+1-800-348-2628 redsea@aggressor.com www.aggressor.com

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

CONTENTS NOV/DEC 2014

VOL . 23

ISSUE 8

scubadiving.com 1

TALK Editor’s Letter 8 Win This 9 SECRET SPOT 10 CURRENTS 13 What It’s Like 20 DRIVE AND DIVE 22

29

Best of Scuba Diving 2014 From travel and

advanced adventures to innovation and conservation, we’re taking a look back at our favorite stories and photos from the past year.

54

Advanced Adventure: Cave Country

Sidemount diving in the Dominican Republic’s secret cenotes is no easy feat — but if you’re up to the challenge, the risk is worth the reward.

60

ScubaLab: Gear of the Year After a

TRAINING Imaging+ 70 Lessons for Life 72 Ask an Expert 74 LOOK 82 84

year of rigorous testing, we present the best gear 2014 had to offer. A BY ROGER ROY

Scuba Diving (ISSN 1553-7919) is published eight times per year (J/F, M/A, May, Jul, S/O, N/D, w/ bonus issues in June and August) by Bonnier Corp., 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789. Vol. 23, No. 8, Nov/Dec 2014. Periodicals postage paid in Winter Park, FL, and additional offices. Subscription rate for one year (eight issues): U.S., $21.97; Canada, $30.97; all other foreign countries, $39.97. U.S. funds only. Contents copyright 2014 by Bonnier Corp. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Scuba Diving, P.O. 6364, Harlan, IA 51593-1864. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: IMEX, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. For subscription questions, email: SCDcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 4

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: CARLOS SUAREZ; COURTESY NUYTCO RESEARCH; FRANCO BANFI; MICHAEL KRAUS; JORI BOLTON (ILLO); JOSE ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ; GREG LECOEUR; RAFFAELE LIVORNESE; VIKTOR LYAGUSHKIN

ON THE COVER Here’s our idea of a dream diver, outfitted in ScubaLab’s 2014 Gear of the Year. Look inside for the lowdown on these pieces and more.

Photograph by Zach Stovall

E

PICK

GE

1 20

1

S

PO

A R G UID

EDITOR ’

S

RT

DIVER

SCUBALAB

WorldMags.net

2011 TESTERS’

CHOICE

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

GEAR UP, DIVE IN, BE AMAZED, REPEAT.

Website scubadiving.com Editorial Email edit@scubadiving.com Editorial Patricia Wuest E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F Mary Frances Emmons D E P U T Y E D I T O R Ashley Annin M A N A G I N G E D I T O R Roger Roy S C U B A L A B D I R E C T O R Cindy Martin C O P Y E D I T O R Caroline Glenn, Samantha Henry E D I T O R I A L

BOOK NOW!

INTERNS

Contributors Jori Bolton, Jim Decker, Anna DeLoach, Ned DeLoach, Eric Douglas, Lila Harris, Michael Kraus, Lea Lee, Travis Marshall, Eric Michael, Brooke Morton, Zach Stovall

Fly Delta on Friday & Saturday to Bonaire via Atlanta! And check out our Bonaire Fall Festival!

Art Monica Alberta A R T D I R E C T O R Kristen McClarty P H O T O E D I T O R Digital Steve Spears D I G I TA L C O N T E N T D I R E C T O R Alex Bean D I G I TA L E D I T O R Becca Hurley D I G I TA L P R O D U C E R Jake Lamb D I G I TA L I N T E R N

Bruce Bowker’s Carib Inn 011-599-717-8819 bb@caribinn.com www.CaribInn.com Den Laman Condominiums 1-800-382-1094 denlaman@diveres.com www.DenLaman.com Divi Flamingo Beach Resort and Casino 011-599-717-8285 or 1-800-367-3484 info@diviresorts.com www.DiviResorts.com Go All Inclusive at Plaza Beach Resort Bonaire 1-800-766-6016 usa@plazabeachresortbonaire.com www.PlazaBeachResortBonaire.com

Sales Laura Walker G R O U P P U B L I S H E R laura.walker@bonniercorp.com Jeff Mondle A S S O C I AT E P U B L I S H E R jeff.mondle@bonniercorp.com David Benz T E R R I T O R Y M A N A G E R 850-934-3173; david.benz@bonniercorp.com Linda Sue Dingel T ER RI T O RY M A N AG ER 407-913-4945; lindasue.dingel@bonniercorp.com Kelly Freygang A DV ER T ISIN G A S S O C I AT E 407-571-4743; kelly.freygang@bonniercorp.com Tracey Voorhees A D V E R T I S I N G S A L E S C O O R D I N AT O R 407-571-4534; tracey.voorhees@bonniercorp.com Matt Hickman VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR OF BRAND STRATEGIES David Butler V I C E P R E S I D E N T , D I G I TA L O P E R AT I O N S Shawn Bean E D I T O R I A L D I R E C T O R Dave Weaver C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R Leigh Bingham C O N S U M E R M A R K E T I N G D I R E C T O R Haley Bischof G R O U P M A R K E T I N G D I R E C T O R Jeff Cassell C O R P O R AT E P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R Michelle Doster G R O U P P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R Alicia Rivera P R O D U C T I O N M A N A G E R alicia.rivera@bonniercorp.com Suzanne Oberholtzer D E S I G N S E R V I C E S D I R E C T O R Julia Arana, Jennifer Remias G R A P H I C D E S I G N E R S Sheri Bass H U M A N R E S O U R C E S D I R E C T O R

Jonas Bonnier C H A I R M A N Dave Freygang C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R Eric Zinczenko E X E C U T I V E V I C E P R E S I D E N T David Ritchie C H I E F C O N T E N T O F F I C E R Nancy Coalter C H I E F F I N A N C I A L O F F I C E R Lisa Earlywine C H I E F O P E R AT I N G O F F I C E R Elizabeth Burnham Murphy C H I E F M A R K E T I N G O F F I C E R Leslie Glenn C H I E F H U M A N R E S O U R C E S O F F I C E R Sean Holzman C H I E F B R A N D D E V E L O P M E N T O F F I C E R John Graney V I C E P R E S I D E N T , I N T E G R AT E D S A L E S John Reese V I C E P R E S I D E N T , C O N S U M E R M A R K E T I N G Perri Dorset V I C E P R E S I D E N T , P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S Jeremy Thompson G E N E R A L C O U N S E L All contents copyright 2014 Bonnier Corporation.

No use may be made of materials contained herein without express written consent. For inquiries, please contact us at Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789.

Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40612608 Canada Post Returns: IMEX Global Solutions, P.O. Box 25542, London ON N6C 6B2 Canada Printed in the USA. Employment opportunities at bonniercorp.com.

See our Packages:

www.scubadiving.com/bonaire

FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS, such as renewals, address changes, email preferences, billing and account status, go to scubadiving.com/cs. You can also email SCDcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com.

In the U.S., call toll-free 800-666-0016. Outside the U.S., call 515-237-3697 or write to Scuba Diving, P.O. Box 6364, Harlan, IA 51593.

Retail Single-Copy Sales: ProCirc Retail Solutions Group, Tony DiBisceglie

@Bonairetourism www.tourismbonaire.com | 1-800-BONAIRE |

Doing Our Part for the Environment This product is made from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources .

Photo: David Benz ©

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 6

WorldMags.net

Locally Grown

We learned from playing the game "telephone" as children that messages get more and more muddled with each pass. So when we make a DSLR housing, we build in direct flash communication between your camera and our strobes. The difference is clear: accurate exposure, rapid firing capability, and extended battery life beyond the abilities of any fiber optic based system. From macro to wide angle, we're here to help you get your point across.

FindWorldMags.net an Authorized Ikelite Dealer at ikelite.com.

WorldMags.net

TALK

EDITOR’S NOTE

LET TERS

WIN THIS

scubadiving.com

A Labor of Love THE EDITORS OF SCUBA DIVING BRING YOU THE BEST OF 2014

F

or the 17th annual publication of “Best Gear of the Year,” we decided to celebrate an entire year of bests. Creating the content became a labor of love for Scuba’s talented, indefatigable — not to mention fun-loving — staff. In fact, this team stamps its passion for diving on every issue it produces. There is not one piece of content that 1 Deputy Editor Mary Frances Emmons does not touch, from writing many of the features to editing the rest of them. The amazing choices in design and photography made by 2 Art Director Monica Alberta and 3 Photo Editor Kristen McClarty make us wish we were diving instead of looking at our computer screens. 4 Managing Editor Ashley Annin is the glue who holds it all together and a jack-of-all-trades, from tweeting (@scubadivingmag) to ensuring every headline, caption, and image is in place. 5 Roger Roy and his test team bring a meticulous, rigorous approach to gear testing that is ScubaLab’s hallmark. 6 Digital Content Editor Alex Bean — along with 7 Becca Hurley and 8 Martin Kuss — makes scubadiving.com shine, and produces our four monthly e-newsletters. Copy Editor Cindy Martin (not pictured) has a graceful touch as our grammar cop, and Production Director Alicia Rivera (not pictured) manages to keep a sense of humor while making printing deadlines.

They are the best in the business, and I’m grateful for their contributions in creating another stellar issue.

1 7

4

9

2

3

5 6 8

— 9 Patricia Wuest, Editor-in-Chief

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 8

>LET

T E R S

WorldMags.net

<

many more dives together — and the Jaws Blu-ray disc we’re sending you.

my descent, so I started clawing my way up the wall. I took a breath and felt that terrible feeling when you realize you have no air left. I grabbed my Spare Air and took my first breath from it.

At that point, I was still 120 feet down — I would have only one or two more breaths. My last breath was at 60 feet, and then I kicked for my life, popped to the surface and took a huge breath.

I was lucky — no DCS. My computer showed a max depth of 205 feet. I lost all my air because as I inflated my BC to stop the descent, all the air was pouring out the dump valve.

Thank you, Spare Air. — MARK KAY >

N O V/ D E C W I N N E R

A Reader’s Lessons for Life

OPPOSITE: ZACH STOVALL (2)

Full Circle As a military brat, we lived in many places while I was growing up, including Guam, where my dad, two brothers and I became certified divers.

I now travel overseas for a living. My eldest daughter was certified in Singapore, and when we moved to Japan, we took a family vacation to Guam.

As we waited at Gunn Beach, the site of my very first checkout dive some 30 years before, tears filled my eyes looking at my daughter. She asked what was wrong, and I told her that I dove here as a 13-year-old and now, 30 years later, I was standing on the same beach, with my daughter, ready to dive.

It was one of the 10 best moments of life. Thanks for bringing back great memories. — JOEL W. HUNT > Tyumen, Russia

I have been diving in Cozumel for more than 30 years, have 500 dives, and started solo diving about seven years ago. Before my last trip to Coz, I decided to order a Spare Air. On my first solo dive, I swam to a ledge known for eagle rays. As I hovered above the ledge, the rays appeared, but as I dropped down, I was swept over the edge by a down-draft current.

I inflated my BC to slow my descent, but nothing helped. I had no time to dump my weights. I knew I had to stop

Win This!

Pinellas County, Florida

IST SPORTS SPEAR MASK Let us know what you think about this issue, and you could win an IST Sports SMP204 Spear dual-lens mask with an exceptional field of view and soft skirt. Write to us at edit@scubadiving.com or post on our Facebook wall.

Joel, we loved your letter, and we hope you and your daughter enjoy

Dive into our website for more packages in Cozumel, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman, Turks & Caicos, Curacao and Honduras!

BONUS

!

ADD 3r BOAT d TANK DIVES $ EACH

16

Hotel Cozumel

BEST DEAL IN THE CARIBBEAN! 7 NIGHTS HOTEL, ALL MEALS AND UNLIMITED BAR, 5 DAYS 2-TANK MORNING BOAT DIVES, TAX Tour the hotel & do a virtual dive!

COZUMEL 939 $

only

p.p.

Valid for travel 1/3/15 - 1/31/15 and 4/6/15 - 8/16/15. Single travelers add just $25/night!

Get the smart phone app to play our video tours at

http://gettag.mobi

bayadventures.com

888-599-3483

WorldMags.net

Rates are US dollars, per person, based on dbl. occ. unless otherwise stated. Please call or email for airfare, for single/triple/other occupancy, non-diver rates, kids rates and prices for dates other than specified. Taxes are included. Rates subject to availability & subject to change; other restrictions may apply. Not responsible for typographical errors. Call for group, dive club and dive shop rates!

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 10

WorldMags.net

Mystic World UNIQUE BEAUTY AWAITS AT THE PEARL OF TYROL

Located not far from Sameranger Lake in Tyrol, Austria, is the otherworldly Lake Fernsteinsee.

The delicate algae and plants covering the lake’s bottom take years to grow, so diving is strictly limited to those with excellent buoyancy control. The crystal-clear water has visibility of more than 130 feet, allowing divers to appreciate the logs, fallen trees and plants that make up this mystical world. It’s an underwater experience unlike anywhere else. » GO NOW FERNSTEINSEE.AT » WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEA LEE

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 11

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

CURRENTS

WorldMags.net

of the

>2014 W I N N E R

year

<

Ken Nedimyer Passion and dedication help a father/daughter project grow into one of the world’s biggest coral-restoration programs

COURTESY DAVID GROSS

Ken Nedimyer is no stranger to awards.

The lanky, laconic former fish collector was named a CNN Hero in 2012 for his success in fostering and transplanting baby corals as a way to conserve Florida’s threatened reefs.

Today he’s being named Sea Hero of the Year by Scuba Diving and Oris Watches USA — and that simple, original idea has taken root beyond his wildest imaginings. Nurseries created using Nedimyer’s techniques have birthed more than 50,000 new corals from Florida to Bonaire to Colombia and — soon, Nedimyer hopes — well beyond.

Pretty impressive for an idea that began as a high school project for

Nedimyer and his daughter.

“It became a consuming passion, to try to find ways to protect and restore coral reefs,” Nedimyer told Scuba Diving in 2012. He founded the Coral Restoration Foundation (coralrestoration.org) as a result of that passion.

Divers who’ve experienced a nursery — which includes pretty much any diver willing to come to Key Largo or one of the satellite nurseries and be trained to participate — will find that easy to understand. Helping Nedimyer prune “teenage” corals at a nursery site and transport them to nearby reefs for “planting” feels like a sacred act, an almost religious experience for those

GET INVOLVED “Coralrestoration.org is the place to find out more about who we are, what we do and where we’re going,” says Sea Hero of the Year Ken Nedimyer. “From there you can connect with us on Facebook or Twitter, and for some of the more traditional people (like me), you can sign up for our monthly newsletter.” For divers who want to get more involved, Coral Restoration Foundation has limited space available at Bonaire’s Buddy Dive Resort for a coral planting in December. Contact coralrestoration.org for details.

WorldMags.net

People of action, devoted to protecting the planet’s oceans and marine life through conservation, technology or by simply helping others. If you spot a Sea Hero, join Scuba Diving, Oris and the 2014 Sea Heroes program by nominating him or her at scubadiving.com/seaheroes

WorldMags.net “WE AT ORIS

who care about the future of our ocean planet.

For Nedimyer, divers who care are the linchpin of that future. “I believe an engaged recreational-dive community is going to make a huge difference in the health of our oceans over the coming decades, so it’s quite an honor to be recognized by the community as the Sea Hero of the Year,” Nedimyer says.

The $5,000 prize awarded by Oris Watches to the Sea Hero of the Year will help ensure that future. Nedimyer plans to use the prize as seed money to help start a new reef-restoration program, most likely in the Caribbean.

“We have been approached by several different groups throughout the Caribbean that are interested in starting a restoration program in their area, and in many cases, the lack of financial support is what is keeping us from starting.”

Ever the campaigner, Nedimyer challenges all of us to get involved: “I would hope that some of your readers will be interested in matching

the award money so we could start programs in more than one country.”

An engaged community of real divers is the heart and soul of the Sea Hero awards, sponsored by Oris Watches. “We are delighted to honor Ken Nedimyer as the 2014 Sea Hero of the Year for his work in coral reef restoration,” says V.J. Geronimo, CEO, North America, at Oris Watches USA. “As in past years, it was difficult to choose just one winner, when each of our Sea Heroes has done tremendous work — this year’s causes included coral-reef conservation, protection for manta rays from Hawaii to Indonesia, and battling the lionfish

WATCHES ARE PROUD TO BE THE SPONSOR OF THE SEA HEROES PROGRAM.” — V.J. Geronimo, CEO, North America, Oris Watches USA

invasion in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

“We at Oris Watches continue to be strong supporters of marine conservation and are proud to be the sponsor of the Sea Heroes program, now in its fourth year,” Geronimo says. “These individuals have made selfless contributions to the marine environment and personify ‘real people.’”

What is a Sea Hero? The Sea Heroes award is sponsored by Scuba Diving and Oris Watches.

Each Sea Hero featured in Scuba Diving receives an Oris Aquis Date watch. At the end of the year, a panel of judges selects an overall winner, who receives a $5,000 award from Oris Watches to further his or her work. Nominate a Sea Hero at scubadiving.com/nominate-seaheroes.

WorldMags.net

COURTESY ORIS WATCHES USA

CURRENTS

WorldMags.net Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.

NEWTON

Yes … we already know that Newton is elegant with its mineral glass face and rubber strap with stainless steel buckles. Yes … we are aware that Newton is precise, light and offers visual and auditory alarms, and a backlit display in a 48 mm case diameter. We also want you to realize that Newton has the largest screen for a dive watch computer in the world, which simplifies the use and the comprehension of every data you might need in and out of the water. There is a lot more to learn about “Newton”. Get more info at www.cressi.com www.cressi.com

WorldMags.net

MADE IN ITALY

Follow us:

BLACK/GREY

BLACK/YELLOW

BLACK/PINK

DIVE COMPUTER WATCH

BLACK/BLUE

BLACK/BLACK

Hard-wearing premium materials and heavy-duty reinforced case

Elegant Italian style

Stunning, compact design

Largest Screen design

Isaac Newton

CURRENTS

WorldMags.net

5 TIPS FOR COMPASS NAVIGATION

BY TRAVIS MARSHALL

Underwater navigation is one of the most important dive skills, but it’s also one of the hardest to master. If you don’t know your lubber line from your bezel, use our compass-navigation cheat sheet to help find your way.

Sending Out an SOS Gobies come to the rescue when corals send out distress signals BY CAROLINE GLENN

C

oral reefs are in danger due to a number of threats — pollution, overfishing, climate change — but seaweed as a deadly adversary? Corals crying out for help? And 4-inch-long gobies as superheroes? The answer is “yes” to all three questions.

Corals compete with seaweed for sunlight and real estate — and some seaweeds are poisonous to the invertebrates. The corals “communicate” the threat, and gobies arrive like underwater caped crusaders.

When coral colonies are depleted, toxic algae begin to grow, bleaching and drying out the tissues of the corals. However, a recent study by Danielle Dixson, assistant professor and coral reef ecologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has revealed that the corals send out a chemical cue, or a “sort of chemical distress call,” that wafts through the water, luring gobies.

“We found that when the coral is in contact with the algae and has a coral goby living within the

branches, the coral is not as affected by the algae,” Dixson says. “This is because the goby is actually acting like a lawn mower, trimming the algae back so it is no longer in contact with the coral.”

Dixson and her team exposed a coral colony without residential gobies to the toxic algae. She then pulled water from three different points: the algae alone, the contact point between the coral and algae, and the coral with all traces of algae removed. After separately injecting the samples into a coral containing gobies, she found that the fish did not move toward the water taken from the algae alone, but were drawn to the water taken from the contact point and coral alone — in a matter of minutes.

“This last test shows that the corals are releasing compounds to ‘call in’ the gobies’ help,” Dixson says. Gobies usually settle in a single coral for their entire lives, so it’s in their best interest to keep their habitats clean.

1 Line it up.

Point the long line on your compass — the lubber line — in the direction you want to swim, and make sure your body is pointed in the same direction.

2 Take a heading. Rotate the bezel — the spinning wheel on top of the compass — until the two hatch marks sit over the tip of the north arrow. As you swim, watch to make sure the north arrow stays between those marks.

3 Proper positioning. Hold the compass flat and in line with your body at all times. If you get off-course, turn your whole body, not just the compass, until your heading is back on track.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 16

4 Avoid tunnel vision. Look up and around periodically to keep an eye on your surroundings. If there is a current or heavy surge, you can be pushed off-course, even if your heading stays true.

5 Happy returns.

To return to your starting point, turn your body until the north arrow points at the single hatch mark on the opposite side of the bezel and follow steps 1 to 4 on the reciprocal heading home.

FROM LEFT: COURTESY DANIELLE DIXSON; CHRIS A. CRUMLEY/ALAMY

Scientists believe that gobies like this Gobiodon histrio respond to chemical cues emitted by corals threatened by poisonous seaweed.

Share the Encounter WorldMags.net

The first permanently sealed, flood-proof underwater camera.

No O-Rings. No Maintenance. No Worries.

The innovative new SeaLife Micro HD features 13 MP, full 1080p HD video, a 140-degree fisheye lens, and wireless connection to your smartphone or tablet. At just 4 inches wide, it packs all the features needed to capture and share your amazing underwater encounters.

TM

Micro HD+ connects wirelessly to iOS & Android devices

Permanently sealed with no doors or O-rings

(above) Camera back features large â&#x20AC;&#x153;Piano Keysâ&#x20AC;? for easy underwater use (below) Micro HD with optional Flex-Connect Micro Tray and powerful Sea Dragon 2000 Lumen Light

sealife-cameras.com facebook.com/SeaLifeCameras

WorldMags.net

CURRENTS >CRIT

T E R

WorldMags.net H U N T

<

Little Fish, Big Splash Finding a new species of goby leads to more marine discoveries

B

efore scuba diving, the study of marine life revolved around bottled specimens obtained by line, net and dredge. These primitive techniques left behind all types of animals for today’s explorers. More and more often, divers and cameras are playing important roles in locating new species.

As an example, Anna received an email with a fish photo just taken in Ambon, Indonesia, by a diver requesting identification help. His image of a nifty little goby perched in the folds of a lacy bryozoan immediately got our attention. It was a species we had neither encountered underwater nor seen in guidebooks. By chance, we received

the message while en route to Ambon on a liveaboard. It is always a thrill to have a new animal to hunt for, especially such a unique creature. The critter hunters on board inspected every colony of

lacy bryozoan they sighted during our voyage to Ambon, but without success.

Things changed after we sailed into Ambon Harbor. On our first dive in the famed muck sites lining the harbor’s northern shore, we found the tennisball-size bryozoan colonies far more common than during our trip. And sure enough, almost immediately we began spying tiny heads of half-inch gobies peeking out from the lace. Photos were forwarded to an ichthyologist in Australia, who confirmed that the goby was probably not only scientifically undescribed, but also possibly represented a new genus — a big deal in the fish world.

From the gobies’ matching colors and markings, it appears to be a symbiotic species living only in association with lacy bryozoans. Often discoveries lead to discoveries. Our poking around for gobies led us to three symbiotic invertebrates also living within the convoluted colonies: a snapping shrimp, a top snail and a crab with Joe Palooka claws — like the goby, all three possibly new to science.

— By Ned and Anna DeLoach

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

Dreaming of a Caribbean get away?

GEAR UP & GO! Purchase any Aqua Lung or Apeks gear package* and receive a 40% discount on a Caribbean dive vacation package!

Dreaming of paradise? Well Aqua Lung and Stuart Coveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s are making it easy for you to Gear Up & Go! Just in time for your next vacation, purchase any Aqua Lung or Apeks gear package* between June 20th and December 31st, 2014 and receive a 40% discount on the dive vacation of your dreams at Stuart Coveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dive Bahamas and the All Inclusive Melia Beach Resort in beautiful Nassau, Bahamas.

For more details, visit aqualung.com/gearupandgo *Restrictions apply Download the Aqua Lung Catalog App for iPad!

WorldMags.net

W H AT

WorldMags.net L I K E …

I T ’S

... To Dive Naked A BY DOTTIE BENJAMIN, AS TOLD TO BROOKE MORTON

Diving naked didn’t start as my idea.

I was working on a Belize-based liveaboard when two female customers asked if I’d help them skinny dive. I said, “Sure, I guess we could figure out a way to do it.”

As I said this, I was thinking, “Shoot, that sounds like fun.” So I joined them.

We waited for all the other customers to finish their normal dive, and when they were back on the boat, we jumped in. We skipped the wetsuits, wearing just swimsuits, until we reached the sandy bottom. There, we took off fins and BCs, stripped naked, then put our BCs and fins back on. That was a hoot.

It’s fun — you’re naked, and the fish are naked.

Then I came to work at Reef Divers at the Little Cayman Beach Resort. There was already a standing joke among the divemasters that when you reach a 100th dive, you’re supposed to plunge in naked. I’d seen a few guests follow the tradition, so I figured, “Shoot, if they can, so can I.” But I don’t celebrate every 100th — that would be too many. I show skin every 1,000 dives. And there was certainly a learning curve. The first time, I’m hanging off the wall with my fullfoot fins tucked under my arm. I got my bottoms off no problem, but I couldn’t get them back on. I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically, but I was also nervous that if anything happened, I would be in so much trouble with my mother. I pictured headlines about a naked girl found in the Caymans! From then on, I made sure that my skinny dives were at sites with sandy patches where re-dressing is much easier.

Then one year, I asked a female guest to snap my photo. I did my thing and appeared around a coral head. I flashed open my Diva BC to show my ladies.

This woman taking the photo signaled that I should pose one more time. Again I open the jacket, and the next thing I know, my boobs are being squeezed so hard! The photo captured just how shocked I was and how tightly this guy had grabbed me. Unbeknownst to me, a 70-something customer had snuck up behind to goose me. When we were back on the boat, he tipped me a $100 bill. Then he thanked me for the best dive of his life.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 20

COURTNEY PLATT

CURRENTS

WorldMags.net

GIVING YOU A DIFFERENT DIVE SITE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. THAT’S CAYMANKIND.

WWW.DIVECAYMAN.KY

GRAND CAYMAN CAYMAN BRAC LITTLE CAYMAN A WORLD AWAY. JUST ONE HOUR FROM MIAMI.

WorldMags.net ISLAND: GRAND CAYMAN | SITE NAME: AMPHITRITE, SIREN OF SUNSET HOUSE REEF | PHOTO BY: STEPHEN FRINK

DRIVE AND DIVE

WorldMags.net

The wheelhouse of the artificial reef LuLu, sunk in 2013, is an interesting mix of structure and fish aquarium.

’Bama Girl

The freighter LuLu off Orange Beach has local divers cheering for their artificial reefs

BY PATRICIA WUEST PHOTOS BY LILA HARRIS

Divemasters John Rice and Cheynne Milan are as excited as two Alabama football fans who have just been told that the Crimson Tide has rolled to its 16th national championship.

“I was on the first trip we took customers to the LuLu,” Rice says. “I had opening-day jitters. I probably have about 80 dives on her, and there’s always something surprising to see. I can’t wait to dive it today.”

“I got to see it right after the day it was put down,” Milan chimes in. “We get to see it grow.”

Despite the gray skies, their enthusiasm is contagious. We’re aboard

the 46-foot Down Under and have just pulled out from SanRoc Cay Marina in Orange Beach, Alabama. Down Under also puts divers on the Oriskany off Pensacola, Florida. Rice loves that wreck too, “but I love the LuLu’s shallow depth and the shorter trip to get to it,” he says of our 90-minute ride. “She’s just a great all-around dive.”

With the 888-foot Mighty O in 200 feet of water — the flight deck is at 145 — Alabama dive operators wanted to sink a ship that was less daunting to open-water divers. They got what they hoped for in LuLu, a 271-foot, steelhulled former coastal freighter originally

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 22

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

DRIVE AND DIVE

WorldMags.net Marine life abounds on LuLu, including

Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Ala.

ITINERARY

check in at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Orange Beach (starting at $99 per night,

schooling spadefish (opposite).

Tourism, is making the dive with us.

“Having played a part in sinking the LuLu, she’ll always have a special place in my heart,” Wright tells me. “I walked that ship from bow to stern while she was topside, and now I have the privilege of seeing her grow as a dive site with new marine life on each trip. She’s getting

person. Then eat dinner at Nolan’s Restaurant & Lounge on Gulf Shores Parkway in Gulf Shores (nolans restaurant.com).

DAY After

2 making a

DAY Rent tanks

1 from Down

Under Dive Shop (downunder diveshop.com) and make a shore dive on the Perdido Pass Jetties at Alabama Point.

After the dive,

depending on season; fairfield orangebeach .com). Book a 90-minute sunset dolphin cruise with Cetacean Cruises (cetaceancruises .com) for $15 per

two-tank morning dive on LuLu, plan lunch at the laid-back marina bar and grill Tacky Jack’s (tackyjacks .com). You can’t go wrong when you can get shrimp every way (peel-’ em-yourself,

tons of snapper of all sorts.”

Wright is not just whistling Dixie.

After tying up, we drop down and find the wreck smothered in schools of fish.

On our way to the wheelhouse, we pop into the cargo hold, which is in about 90 feet of water, and measures 200 feet long and 28 feet deep. We watch a moon

DAY Eat brunch

3 at the Brick

firecracker, pickled and in a salad). Just before sunset, dive the Whiskey Wreck, approximately 150 yards from the public beach.

Make lateevening dinner reservations at Fisher’s at Orange Beach Marina

(fishersobm .com). This is casual, open-air dining with a view of the water or gardens, and the fish tacos rock.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 24

& Spoon restaurant on Canal Road in Orange Beach (brickandspoon restaurant.com) for inventive Cajun- and Creole-inspired dishes. Then make a relaxing afternoon dive on 3 Mile Barge, or schedule a zip-lining, paddle-boarding or kayaking excursion with Gulf Adventure Center at Gulf State Park (gulfadventure center.com).

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: SHUTTERSTOCK (2); COURTESY FISHER’S

named Yokamu. Purpose-sunk on May 26, 2013, LuLu sits upright on a 115-foot sand bottom; its picturesque wheelhouse tops out at a rec-diver-friendly 60 feet.

“Orange Beach is my home, and I’m proud when I hear divers talk about their experience on LuLu,” says Vince Lucido, president of the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef and Restoration Foundation. The foundation, the state of Alabama, the cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Baldwin County Commissioners and private investor Mac McAleer were instrumental in raising and donating the $500,000 necessary for successfully sinking the ship 17 nautical miles off Perdido Pass.

A sprinkly rain has started, but the seas are calm on the October morning we make our dives. On the ride out, as divers and crew settle into conversations, I ask Rice about the dive profile.

“We’ll tie up to the bow,” he says. “On your first dive, you can start inside the cargo hold, but on your second, you’ll want to head to the wheelhouse where there are lots of levels to explore.”

Chandra Wright, a former attorney who is now the nature tourism specialist at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

DRIVE AND DIVE

WorldMags.net first put down, but it’s still discernible.

BE YOND LULU

of white sand and clear waters, and a delightfully fun wreck to explore, Orange Beach — and Gulf Shores — is poised to become a hot spot for Southeast divers. And LuLu is just the beginning: The state plans to establish

Alabama is home to one of the largest artificial-reef programs in the world, with more than 17,000 reefs covering 1,200 square miles.

There are hundreds of barges, Three miles offshore is the army tanks from the Vietnam aptly named 3 Mile Barge.

War era, oil rigs, and limestone reef pyramids off its coast.

Typical among the sites visited by Orange Beach divecharter companies is 3 Mile Barge, named for its location 3 miles south of Perdido Pass. This inshore artificial reef lies in just 37 feet of water.

Although it lacks the drama of LuLu, the barge provides structure for small sea fans. “If you’ve got keen eyesight, you might see a flamingo tongue hiding in more nearshore snorkeling opportunities the branches,” Chandra Wright says. and will sink another ship by 2016.

“There’s an abundance of fish species, “Though no agreements have been made from juveniles to adults, so be prepared yet, we’re looking at another vessel now,” to spend your surface interval debat- says Lucido. ing your buddy on fish ID.” Indeed, the Now that we’re ’Bama wreck-diving variety of fish in Alabama waters rivals fans, we can’t wait for it to become the Caribbean — amberjack, Atlan- reality — and help celebrate its sinking. tic spadefish, queen angelfish, spotted drum, gag grouper and red snapper were To find the best dive sites, shops, operators and more near you — all on a handy locator among the fish we saw. map — visit scubadiving.com/dive-local.

With 32 miles of gorgeous stretches

NEED TO KNOW WHEN TO GO Alabama is great to visit year-round, though the diving is most comfortable between April and October. Air temps are in the 90s during summer months; September offers a combination of warm water, fewer tourists and lower hotel rates.

DIVE CONDITIONS When we visited in October, the water

was remarkably ALABAMA warm and there was Orange Beach no noticeable Gulf Shores 3 Mile current. In Barge Whiskey summer, water Wreck temperatures Gulf of Mexico average in the LuLu mid- to upper 80s; December OPERATOR upper-deck seating, through March Down Under Dive freshwater showers, temps are from low Shop (downunder two camera tables, 60s to low 70s. diveshop.com) and a roomy dive Water clarity tends offers charters deck. Down Under’s to be better on aboard a 46-foot marina, SanRoc Cay, deeper sites, with an Newton with two is on Perdido Beach average of about large dive ladders, Boulevard in 50 feet. plenty of storage, Orange Beach.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 26

WorldMags.net

ISL

KEY W EST

BIG PINE KEY & THE LOWER KEYS

MARA

THO

AM

OR

RG

LA Y

KE

Dive at least one designated reef in each of the five regions in The Florida Keys, and you’ll receive a poster certifying that you’re an official Florida Keys Reef Explorer. Whether you’re a novice or experienced diver, it never hurts to toot your own horn. fla-keys.com/diving DA

O

The Reef Explorer Challenge.

Sound the trumpets.

A

N

Dive Key West, Inc. Keys’ premiere dive shop. 44th year.

Custom dive pkgs. Call today.

800-426-0707 or 305-296-3823 divekeywest.com

Hilton Key Largo Resort A secluded island retreat with breathtaking surroundings, an hour from Miami.

888-871-3437 or 305-852-5553 keylargoresort.com

Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost, Islamorada Beachside Resort & Bayside Townhomes with boat slips. Full kitchens & free WIFI. 800-753-6002 or 305-664-2031 guyharveyoutpostislamorada.com

Holiday Inn Key Largo Located next to deep-water marina.

Spacious guest rooms. Restaurant on-site.

866-733-8554 or 305-451-2121 holidayinn.com/keylargofl

Amy Slate’s Amoray Dive Resort, Key Largo Waterfront rooms/pool/beach/scuba/snorkel instr. & boat charters. 3/nt, 2/dive pkgs from $285 ppdo.

305-451-3595 or 800-426-6729 amoray.com

Hall’s Diving Center & Career Institute, Marathon Beautiful Wreck and Reef diving. Lessons for starters and Career Training for professionals.

Great fun at Hall’s. Come see us.

800-331-4255 or 305-743-5929 hallsdiving.com

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

(+=,5;<9, (>(0;:

3LHYU TVYL VU [OL (X\H 3\UN *H[HSVN (WW MVY P7HK

0U[YVK\JPUN [OL HSS UL^ 796 /+ H MLH[\YL YPJO QHJRL[ Z[`SL I\V`HUJ` JVTWLUZH[VY [OH[ OHZ L]LY`[OPUN `V\ ULLK [V Q\TW VU `V\Y UL_[ HK]LU[\YL The Aqua Lung PRO HD features: Î kƚų ĺåƵ Úƚų±ÆĬå ±ĺÚ ü±Úå ųåŸĜŸƋ±ĺƋ åŸĜŸƋåUƕ ĵ±ƋåųĜ±Ĭ ƋŅ ŞųŅƋåÏƋ ƼŅƚų ĜĺƴåŸƋĵåĺƋ Î Ɩ ÏŅĺƴåĺĜåĺƋ ĘŅŸåěĵ±ĺ±čåĵåĺƋ ŸĬååƴåŸ ±ĺÚ Ă ŸƋ±ĜĺĬ域 ŸƋååĬŸ %ěųĜĺčŸ ƋŅ ųŅƚƋå ±ĺÚ ĵ±ĺ±čå ±ĬĬ ƼŅƚų ±ÏÏ域ŅųĜåŸ Î eŧƚ± Xƚĺč Ş±ƋåĺƋåÚ ƚųåXŅÏĩƕ FF ĜĺƋåčų±ƋåÚ ƵåĜčĘƋ ŸƼŸƋåĵ Î eŧƚ± Xƚĺč Ş±ƋåĺƋåÚ ĬŅƵ ŞųŅĀ Ĭå ā ±Ƌ åěƴ±ĬƴåŸ üŅų ± ĵŅųå ĘƼÚųŅÚƼĺ±ĵĜÏ ŞųŅĀ Ĭå Î eĺ 屟ƼěƋŅěƚŸå ϱųųƼ ʱĺÚĬå Î XŅ±Ú ÚĜŸƋųĜÆƚƋĜŅĺ ÏĘåŸƋ ŸƋų±Ş Î Ɩ kƴåų ŸĜDŽåÚ ŞŅÏĩåƋŸ ƋŅ ŸƋŅųå ±ĬĬ ƼŅƚ ĺååÚ Ņĺ ƼŅƚų ÚĜƴå Ņĵå ±ĺÚ Ÿåå ƋĘå ĺåƵ { k B% ±Ƌ ƼŅƚų ĬŅϱĬ eŧƚ± Xƚĺč Úå±Ĭåų Ņų ƴĜŸĜƋ ±ŧƚ±ĬƚĺčţÏŅĵ üŅų ĵŅųå ĜĺüŅųĵ±ƋĜŅĺţ

WorldMags.net

ROW ONE, FROM LEFT: CARLOS SUAREZ; GREG LECOEUR, ROW TWO, FROM LEFT: TANYA G. BURNETT; FRANCO BANFI, ROW THREE, FROM LEFT: RAFFAELE LIVORNESE; WAYNE MACWILLIAMS; CARLOS SUAREZ; JO-ANN WILKINS, ROW 4, FROM LEFT: MICHAEL AW; COURTESY NUYTCO RESEARCH; FRANCO BANFI; GREG LECOEUR, ROW FIVE, FROM LEFT: STEVE JONES; SHUTTERSTOCK; VIKTOR LYAGUSHKIN

WorldMags.net 2014

BEST OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

Oh, the places we’ve been! (And the places we’ve sent you, dear divers.) For our final issue of 2014, we wanted to take one last look at all the fabulous diving that was — from wrecks to reefs to critters galore, from Baja to Bali to Bonaire, through the lenses of the world’s best shooters. Turn the page to see if our favorite dive stories were yours too.

CURRENTS p. 30 // LIVEABOARDS p. 32 // COVERS p. 36 // ADVANCED ADVENTURES p. 38 // PHOTOGRAPHY p. 42 // TOP 100 p. 51

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 29

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA

To read more, visit our site at scubadiving.com.

OF

I

V

I

N

G

CURRENTS CONSERVATION

Sea Change It is estimated that during the course of its lifetime, a single manta ray can generate $1 million in eco-tourism. Yet at Indonesia’s largest fishery, Tanjung Luar, mantas — relatives of sharks — are being butchered and sold for $365. Fortunately, conservationists are working to collect data on the devastating effects of the fishery while educating local villagers about the profitability of aquaculture and tourism. Peter Bassett, co-founder of Project Momentum — a collaboration between Gili Eco Trust and Aquatic Alliance — is optimistic that villagers can be taught to protect the rays. “Through education, a true appreciation for the intrinsic value of their seas can be cultivated, along with the awareness of the need for management, preservation and protection,” Bassett says.

5

SUNK IN 2014

BY BROOKE MORTON

The newest artificial reefs across the globe

THETIS, 1 LADY LIMA SSOL , C Y PRUS

On Feb. 22, the south coast of Cyprus gained the 99-foot-long pleasure cruiser, Lady Thetis. The vessel sits at an average depth of 70 feet, making it accessible to most divers.

HTMS KLEDKAEO, 2 PHI PHI, THAIL AND The HTMS Kledkaeo served nearly 60 years

as a supply ship in the Royal Thai Navy before being sunk on March 19.

The 155-foot vessel sits in 39 to 85 feet of water and is prone to currents.

3

HAILEY GLASRUD, STUART, FLORIDA

Formerly the cargo ship Dm One, the 220-foot freighter Hailey Glasrud was sunk off the coast of Stuart, Florida, on April 24. It’s for tec divers,

though the smokestack is at 103 feet.

VOODOO JE TS , 4 PANAMA CIT Y BE ACH, FLORIDA On June 27, two F101 Voodoo Air Force jets were sunk as artificial reefs off Panama City Beach, Florida, at 76 feet. One of the jets is upright as planned; the other flipped during the underwater landing.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 30

SUPER REEFS, 5 ME XICO CIT Y BE ACH, FLORIDA

On April 1, six super-reefs — concrete-and-limestone structures that mimic real reefs — were sunk by Walter Marine in Mexico City Beach, Florida.

FROM TOP: SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY WALTER MARINE GROUP. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY NUYTCO RESEARCH; SHUTTERSTOCK (2); MASA USHIODA/SEAPICS

D

WorldMags.net

The Superdiver’s Supersuit INNOVATION

Capable of reaching depths of 1,000 feet in minutes and effectively eliminating all symptoms of decompression, the Exosuit is a game-changer for underwater explorers. The 600-pound metal suit is basically a submarine that a diver wears, and its next mission is an archeological “dig” 200 feet below the surface in the Aegean Sea. Off the Greek island Antikythera lies a 2,000-year-old shipwreck thought to carry artifacts from the era of Julius Caesar. Working with the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, archeologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will don the suit to bring the ship’s treasures to the surface. Exosuit is equipped with claws that will allow the wearer to sift through sediment and locate ancient artifacts. The wearer can spend five hours at the site and resurface without decompression. (It would normally take hours to ascend from that depth, plus recovery time in a decompression chamber.)

MPAs

PROTECTED IN 2014 New marine conservation areas offer hope B Y B R O O K E M O R T O N CHILE On Feb. 26, the pristine waters of Tic Toc Marine Park became Chile’s largest marine protected area at 90,000 hectares.

NEW CALEDONIA NEW ZEALAND New Zealand’s subAntarctic waters include three new marine parks as of March 2. In these new areas (which are nesting sites for penguins), fishing, mining, marine farming and petroleum exploration are all banned.

On April 23, New Caledonia created the Natural Park of the Coral Sea. The

SARGASSO SEA On March 12, government officials from around the world met to

500,000-squaremile area is the biggest in the world.

S CO T L A N D To preserve its prolific marine life, Scotland doubled the size of its MPAs, which now cover 12 percent of Scottish seas. sign the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea. This gyre is a hotbed for free-floating seaweed, which nurtures hatchling loggerhead turtles.

WorldMags.net

PHOENIX ISLANDS The government of Kiribati decided on Jan. 29 to close its Phoenix Islands Protected Area to commercial fishing, effective late 2014.

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA

To read more, visit our site at scubadiving.com.

OF

D

I

V

I

N

G

LIVEABOARDS

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net G R E AT B A R R I E R R E E F, A U S T R A L I A // S E P T/ O C T

5

REASONS TO DIVE SPOILSPORT

1 MINKE S

Spoilsport has a 98 percent success rate of providing guests in-water encounters with dwarf minke whales during June and July expeditions.

2 REEF CRIT TERS

Divers have the option to choose between blubber and reef life, and the GBR delivers beautifully in both categories.

3 SUPERB STAFF

Professional, personable and flexible, the 12-person crew is lauded as one of the best in the business.

Mike Ball has a passion for underwater photography, so the ship is stocked with resources catering to photographers.

5

CITIZEN SCIENCE

Divers can contribute to research on dwarf minke whales by sharing photos and observations.

Book now: mikeball.com

T U B B ATA H A AT O L L , PHILIPPINES // A U G U S T

5 Reasons to Dive Philippine Siren 1

T U R T L E S Whether at a cleaning station, having a bite to eat or soaring overhead, hawksbill and green sea turtles abound on almost every dive from Siren.

2 D E N S E M A R I N E L I F E The Eden that is Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is teeming with schooling fish, whitetip reef sharks and, if you’re lucky, the occasional whale shark.

3 CO M F Y C A B I N S Both twin and double-configuration berths have plenty of room, soft cotton robes, fresh towels, and an in-room computer loaded with movies you’ll likely not find time to watch.

4 E XC E L L E N T S E R V I C E Whether it’s ordering a hot cappuccino, getting a massage on the aft deck or making sure your laundry is clean, the crew is ready to help.

5 F R E E B I E S Among the ship’s many perks, nitrox, soft drinks and beer are always free aboard Siren.

Book now: sirenfleet.com

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 33

TANYA G. BURNETT (2), OPPOSITE: BRANDON COLE (2)

4 PHOTO FACILITIE S

2014

BESTWorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

LIVEABOARDS

SEA OF CORTEZ, M E X I C O // M AY

5

REASONS TO DIVE M/V VALENTINA

1 HAMMERS

Watching hundreds of hammerhead sharks congregate on the ocean floor will mesmerize you, but when dozens of these curvy, sexy creatures glide through the water just below your fins, it will take your breath away.

2 PL AY FUL SE A LIONS 3 BRE ATHING ROOM

At Los Islotes, the friendly critters put on a show full of flips and pirouettes. If you’re lucky — or your tender captain gives you a rope — the younger ones will play with you while their mothers watch unconcerned.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 34

A former cruise ship, the 130-foot Valentina has 10 cabins and three generous decks — more than enough space for the 20 passengers on board.

4 CULINARY CRE ATIONS

Traditional Mexican specialties and succulent

WorldMags.net More Liveaboards Featured in 2014 LIVE-ABOARD decorative flags, while others form a pseudo mustache and goatee as they are either packed inside the shark’s wide maw or riding upside down underneath it. There are even remoras stuffed inside its spiracles like radical head piercings.

Manuelita is only one of many electrifying dive sites around Costa Rica’s Cocos Island. This former pirate haven is 340 miles off the Costa Rican mainland in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Cocos is the epitome of raw, wilderness diving. No other location offers the same dynamic, heart-pounding opportunities to dive with pelagics such as billfish, marine mammals, rays and sharks yearround. It’s not unusual for divers to see six i species i off sh sharkk — G Galapagos, l scallloped hammerhead, silky, tiger, whale and whitetip reef — on a single dive.

Even marine mammals like bottlenose dolphin, false killer whales, humpback whales, killer whales and pilot whales are no strangers to the underwater playy ground of Cocos. The most productive pelagic hot spots are usually Alcyone, Dirty Rock, Manuelita and Punta Maria.

Hammered!

Okeanos Aggressor takes you on extraordinary dives where the wild things roam

Hiding in plain sight is my goal as I slowly slip beneath swarming blue-and-gold snappers and big-scale soldierfish that carpet the boulders on the sloping outer wall of Manuelita Island. A living camouflage of fish swirls about my head, while the barnacle-laced rock both shields me from the strong current and serves as the front wall of my makeshift blind. I am not on a rebreather, but the 2-knot current dissipates my noisy bubbles and quickly carries them away from my quarry.

The objects of my desire are the 100-plus muscular scalloped hammerhead sharks that are combing the sand at 110 feet, then circling back to busy cleaning stations near my position at 70 feet. Stealth is essential if I am to fill my viewfinder with the elongated head of one of these otherworldly creatures as it stops for industrious barberfish and king angels to clean mating wounds and similar sensitive areas.

Distractions abound as the minutes tick past. Countless creolefish extend to the surface, each seeming to dance to its own melody. A fine spotted moray hunts with

four leather bass that stop to investigate a prickly black sea urchin. Large marble rays and patrolling whitetip reef sharks repeatedly cruise past. Just when I start to feel at ease with the abundant life encircling me, chaos reigns supreme.

Scalloped hammerheads sweep over the reef en masse. I fire in bursts of two to three shots as I pan my camera from one shark to another. The unrelenting action momentarily overwhelms my senses and leaves me in awe. Then, emerging from the haze of the nutrient-rich water, a 25-foot juvenile whale shark takes center stage. Suddenly heedless, I leave the security of my VIP seating to swim alongside the largest species of fish in the sea.

This massive whale shark hosts an astounding number of groupies that actually resemble the handiwork of some deranged fashion designer. Remoras clinging to its prodigious tail look like

Legends of buried pirate booty have clung to Cocos through the ages.

Though no golden doubloons have ever been found — or, at least, not publicized — small natural treasures abound on every site. It’s so easy to be fixated on the big prizes here that smaller jewels lie in anonymity. For instance, Manuelita’s protected coral gardens are home to stately Commerson’s frogfish and endemic red or rosy-lipped batfish.

NEED TO KNOW

✲

> > > > >

Suddenly, you’re in a whole different state of “Pool’s open!”

“Talk about decompressing!”

“Looks like Happy Hour!”

You don’t have to travel to an exotic locale to find some of the most unique diving. Just venture out about 17 nautical miles off Orange Beach into the Gulf to experience the 271-foot freighter, LuLu, resting at depths accessible enough for beginners, yet challenging enough for advanced divers. Here, you’ll find a whole different state of adventure.

877-852-3615

H A M M E R E D ! // M A R C H /A P R I L

Okeanos Aggressor Round-trip excursions from San Jose to Cocos Island, Costa Rica, year-round scubadiving.com/okeanosaggressor; aggressor.com

LIVE-ABOARD

Where the Whales Are Their song is the soundtrack to your Kona Aggressor II adventure

The excitement is palpable when we come aboard, from the crew as much as the guests. Everywhere around us, as soon as we leave the wharf at Kailua-Kona Village, are humpback whales.

It’s mid-February on the Kona Aggressor II II, sailing the sheltered western side of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is the time of year when whales come here to calve and mate — humpback, pilot, beaked, sperm — in an area where they are jealously protected. Boats cannot approach closer than 100 yards. They cannot cut off a calf from its mother. They cannot impede the whales’ movements in any way, or interfere with their heading. They cannot put divers in the water on top of whales.

But you might just get lucky and see one cruise by while you’re underwater. That’s the secret hope of every diver on the Kona Coast.

Our checkout dive is at a site nobody expects to be very special; it’s mostly a chance for the crew to assess skills. But something comes along that makes everybody forget all about the whales: a 10-foot tiger shark — “Shirley” to the divemasters, who recognize her. Meeting a battle-scarred predator face to face

will reset your idea of what counts as a shark: This is an animal that commands your full attention. (She didn’t share the feeling, deciding after a quick look that we weren’t worth further investigation.)

Next dive we meander around the same site, until I start hearing a strange squeaky sound in the distance, like squealing rubber. It would drop several registers and sound like a cow, or a wolf, then rise again in pitch, an arpeggio of mournful, beautiful, eerie notes. Every diver rotates slowly in the blue, trying to pinpoint the direction — harder than you’d think underwater. The noises get loud, then louder.

Suddenly our divemaster, Hale Tomasson, 29, is furiously scribbling on his slate. He flips it around: THEY’RE CLOSE Then he takes off finning madly into the blue, with most of us swimming hard behind him. But the calls begin to weaken, and we quickly abandon the quest. No whales for us today.

We surface a short while later to a dripping crew with strangely guilty looks. There had been whales all right — right under our yacht, in about 50 feet of water. Crew members snorkeled with two until not long before we got back.

It’s that possibility of a new adventure every minute that makes everybody jump up from the dining table and rush the bow, cameras in hand, every time whales are sighted, which is more or less constantly. It must be frustrating for chef Chris Mercier, 34.

While every live-aboard will tell you “our cook is a chef,” on KAII, II it’s the truth. (He’s also an avid free diver.) From the first night’s teriyaki-marinated grilled steaks with coconut-infused creamed spinach, to black marlin on risotto with lime beurre blanc, to surface-interval snacks laid out like upscale-resort offerings — fine cheeses, canapés, spiced and sweetened nuts, tapenade, bruschetta, fruit trays — you will eat well and often on KAII. It’s all part of the live-aboard life, Kona-style.

Reading that Hawaii has nearly 700 fish species — 25 percent of them found nowhere else — is one thing; seeing them is quite another, since you may feel as if you are bumping into several hundred.

If you are a fish nut, Hawaii is your tree.

Ellie Briscoe, 62, a dive instructor and retired National Geographicc librarian, is taking what I think of as a game and making something important of it. She has brought blank forms and does fish surveys on several dives, noting sightt ings and numbers of dozens of kinds of butterflyfish, surgeonfish, wrasse and more, results she’ll upload to REEF.org databases on her return home to Alexandria, Virginia — I resolve to take a fish-ID specialty after seeing how much fun Ellie is having. She and husband Mel Briscoe, 72, a dive instructor and oceanographer, are pros who lead trips to Bonaire, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Kona, and elsewhere through Blue Octopus Scuba in Alexandria. They’ve pretty much seen it all but appreciate

SUDDENLY OUR DIVEMASTER IS FURIOUSLY SCRIBBLING ON HIS SLATE. HE FLIPS IT AROUND:

THEY’RE CLOSE

how thorough KAII’s dive staff is about pointing out fish unique to Hawaii, and to the Kona Coast. “There’s stuff here you will see nowhere else,” Mel says.

Divers actually got possessive of the fish-ID books — KAII II carries many — there’s that much to identify for the logbooks. Some divers were practically sleeping with them, memorizing things seen and things hoped for on the next day’s dives — or the next night’s dives.

The mother of all Kona dives is the famed manta night dive, which takes place at Garden Eel Cove and off the Keauhou Sheraton pretty much every evening.

Sixteen boats full of eager divers and snorkelers are arrayed at Garden Eel

NEED TO KNOW

✲

Kona Aggressor II Cruises on the Kona Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, year-round scubadiving.com/konaaggressor; aggressor.com

LIVE-ABOARD

My Little Valentine In the mood for love, with the humpbacks of Dominican Republic’s Silver Bank

seafood are often found on the chef’s menu — it’s not just food, it’s cuisine.

5

There are few guarantees in life, fewer still when it involves marine life. Shark feeds are one, but when it comes to natural encounters, nothing’s a sure thing. Except for the humpback whales of the Dominican Republic’s Silver Bank.

“I guarantee you will see humpbacks,” says Rob Smith, second captain of Turks & Caicos Aggressor II, as we settle in for the crossing to Silver Bank, nine hours north of Puerto Plata.

Boats have been coming here for 27 years, and they’ve got the whale watching down to a science. “North Atlantic humpbacks arrive here on Silver Bank to calve, mate and frolic,” says Capt. Amanda Smith. Whales start arriving in late November, departt ing for the North Atlantic to feed in late April; boats offer a brief 10-week schedule to coincide with the busiest period.

As certain as beach traffic in summer, the humpbacks are here. Within minutes, we are treated to half a dozen breaches and tail slaps, a few tail lobs, and a fluke display.

Hot and Heavy We enjoy some brief mother-and-calf engagements our first afternoon, but we’re skunked the second day. On the morning of our third day we see a handful of whales, but they are all going somewhere other than where we are.

An hour into the afternoon session, our spirits are lagging. The mother-and-calf pairs have disappeared, and the possibility of another day without an in-water encounter looms when a pair of whales pops up beneath the tender. They forge ahead, circle back and swim under the tender. Smith tells us to get our fins on; we’ve stumbled upon a “Valentine.”

It is a marvelous courtship: The female is in a fuguelike state — slow moving and with a glaze in her eyes. The male swims beneath her with open pectorals before surfacing to slap the water with his pectoral fins, or fluke.

An hour in, two new males appear.

Smith calls us out of the water; we watch as the original suitor battles his rivals using an array of bubble screens, pec slaps and tail lobs. Just 20 minutes in, and the interlopers are defeated. Our Valentine couple re-emerges, inviting us once again to watch their amorous dalliance.

I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, but as our tender

forward to whaleshark encounters — sightings in La Paz bay are nearly guaranteed.

Book now: fun-azulfleet.net

✲ NEED TO KNOW

SNORKELING Look

M Y L I T T L E VA L E N T I N E // J U LY The Sea of Cortez is a playground for sea lions, hammerheads and more.

Turks & Caicos Aggressor II Snorkel cruises in the Silver Bank, Dominican Republic, January through early April scubadiving.com/ tcaggressor; aggressor.com

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 35

FROM LEFT: LUIS JAVIER SANDOVAL/GETTY IMAGES; MARY FRANCES EMMONS

W H E R E T H E W H A L E S A R E // J U N E

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA

To read more, visit our site at scubadiving.com.

OF

D

I

V

I

N

G

COVERS Our Favorite Fronts MARCH/APRIL V I K T O R LYA G U S H K I N Orda Cave, Russia

YOU’VE BEEN LEFT BY THE BOAT. NOW WHAT?

NEW COLD-WATER SCUBALAB 16 WETSUITS TESTED

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

EXPLORE THE WRECKS OF IRELAND’S MALIN HEAD

“The diving was physically challenging — the water temperature was about 41 degrees F inside the cave and -4 degrees F on the surface — but we wanted people to see this beautiful cave.”

MAXIMUM ICE: DIVING SCUBALAB 15 NEW DIVE IN THE WHITE SEA LIGHTS TESTED

D

MAY 4 MUSTHAVE SAFETY TOOLS

THE PLANET’S BEST

FRESHWATER DIVING 25 INLAND SEAS, LAKES, RIVERS AND CENOTES

I

V

I

N

5 BUCKETLIST BAJA DIVES

THE BEST OF SoCAL SHORE DIVING

G TOP 100: MAUI WOWS PHOTO ETIQUETTE 101

MASA USHIODA Lahaina, Hawaii

BEST USA

“I tried to capture a sense of scale by placing a diver near the Carthaginian II — a whaling-ship replica — and a sense of forward movement by composing the shot from a diagonal perspective.”

WRECK DIVES

JUNE CARLOS SUAREZ Gardens of the Queen, Cuba “I was looking for American crocodiles with marine biologists in Jardines de La Reina. I sneaked up to the croc to take this photo — I was just 16 inches away.”

AUGUST V I K T O R LYA G U S H K I N White Sea, Russia YOU VOTED!

BEST IN PALAU: REEFS & WRECKS

SCUBALAB

16

BRAND-NEW BCs TESTED

SCUBA D

SECRET WORLDS: PIERS, BRIDGES & OIL RIGS

I

V

I

N

G

GO BIG IN KONA: HUMPBACKS, MANTAS & LAVA TUBES

¡CUBA!

The Caribbean’s Next

Hot Dive Spot

“You have to wear a thick undergarment and a lot of weight, so you feel like a cosmonaut. A few drops of water in my cable froze, and my strobes started to work sporadically. It was a beautiful place to shoot.”

THE SECRET DIVE SPOT YOU SCUBALAB THE BEST BAGS HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE TO HAUL IT ALL

SCUBA D

O

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 36

I

V

I

N

G

15 OF THE WORLD’S MOST EPIC DIVES 3 CORAL ATOLLS, 1 GREAT BLUE HOLE, 700 MILES OF REEF? BELIZE IT!

5 RULES FOR WRECK DIVING WEIRD SCIENCE: CAN CORALS WALK?

WorldMags.net

TITANIUM

3

The latest evolution of an elite element

LIGHTER. Weighs even less than our legendary T2 LONGER. Now go up to 3 years before servicing

SCUBALAB

LIVELIER. Fresh styling and ultimate performance

2013 TESTERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CHOICE

atomicaquatics.com WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA

To read more, visit our site at scubadiving.com.

OF

D

I

V

I

N

G

PHOTOGRAPHY Stellar photos are the backbone of Scuba Diving magazine. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look at the images that brought our travel features, photo contest and Secret Spots to life.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 42

WorldMags.net

T O P 1 0 0 // J A N / F E B

PHOTOGRAPHER Christian Vizl L O C AT I O N Quintana Roo, Mexico CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens ISO 500 F-stop f/5.6 Shutter speed 1/160 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT

I love this shot of ‘The Pit’ cenote because it represents the internal connection we must have to be connected to the life that surrounds us.

T H E W E L L-S T R U C T U R E D L I F E // J U N E

PHOTOGRAPHER Todd Winner L O C AT I O N Long Beach, California CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM lens, Nauticam housing, two Ikelite DS160 strobes ISO 160 F-stop f/9.0 Shutter speed 1/200 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT

California sea lions are some of the most playful and mischievous animals on Earth, and Eureka oil platform typically has a frisky group ready to interact with divers.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 43

2014

BESTWorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

PHOTOGRAPHY

C R Y S TA L B L U E P E R S U A S I O N // M A R C H /A P R I L

PHOTOGRAPHER Alex Mustard L O C AT I O N Husavik, Northern Iceland CAMERA SPECS Gear Nikon D700, Subal ND700 housing, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm lens, Zen 230mm Superdome ISO 640 F-stop f/16 Shutter speed 1/60 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT

Nes Canyon is a fissure in the Earth’s crust between the Eurasian and North American continental plates. Although it’s shallow, this location is amazing because you can see exactly how the rocks fit together before they were ripped apart.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 44

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

2014

BEST WorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

PHOTOGRAPHY

PRIDE OF THE DEEP // M AY

PHOTOGRAPHER Jo-Ann Wilkins L O C AT I O N Alexandria Bay, New York CAMERA SPECS Gear Nikon D300, Aquatica housing, Tokina 10-17mm lens ISO 800 F-stop f/9 Shutter speed 1/125 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT

I love how the colors of the American flag contrast with the green water surrounding the Keystorm. The flag, the sunlight and the divers looked perfect, and I rushed to get the shot.

PHOTOGRAPHER ADRENALINE OD Alex Tyrrell // J U LY L O C AT I O N Cocos Island, Costa Rica CAMERA SPECS Gear Nikon D7000, Subal housing, AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 12-24mm lens, Inon Z240 and LMI Sola 1200 strobes ISO 1,000 F-stop f/6.3 Shutter speed 1/125 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT

The low camera angle captures the frantic hunting behavior of Cocos’ whitetip reef sharks in Manualita Garden — from a shark’s perspective.

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

The island’s leading dive school

Saint Lucia simply beautiful • • • •

PADI Five Star Dive Centre Purpose-built 15m pool Two spacious, fully-equipped, 30 diver capable dive boats Partnered with London School of Diving (LSD), one of the UK’s top dive centres and a PADI Career Development Centre.

• Beginner to Instructor level courses and guided dives conducted in English, French and German • State-of-the-art facilities & equipment • Big dive and watersport shop

Dive Saint Lucia | P.O. Box GI 2042 | Rodney Bay | Gros-Islet | Saint Lucia

WorldMags.net

Phone: +1 758 451-DIVE (3483) | info@divesaintlucia.com | www.divesaintlucia.com

2014

BEST WorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

PHOTOGRAPHY

P H O T O C O N T E S T // S E P T/ O C T // H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N

PHOTOGRAPHER Martin Klein L O C AT I O N Lembeh Strait, Indonesia CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Seacam housing, Canon EF 100mm IS USM lens, Kenko 1.5 teleconverter ISO 200 F-stop f/4 Shutter speed 1/200 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT I wanted to take some pygmy pictures, but at 30 meters down, I noticed some problems with my lens, and I could not change the aperture.

So I had to shoot with an f-stop of f/4 to make the best of the situation, which resulted in this shot.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 48

WorldMags.net

P H O T O C O N T E S T // S E P T/ O C T 1 S T P L A C E // D I V E R

PHOTOGRAPHER Francis Pérez L O C AT I O N Tenerife, Canary Islands CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon EOS 5D, EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens, Seacam housing ISO 400 F-stop f/5 Shutter speed 1/80 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT This baitball spun and spun, constantly changing shape. Dolphins, shearwaters and seagulls attacked it as it spun. When the scene was quiet, I captured this moment.

JUPITER’S best kept secret!

P H O T O C O N T E S T // S E P T/ O C T W I N N E R // G R A N D P R I Z E

PHOTOGRAPHER Raffaele Livornese L O C AT I O N Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt CAMERA SPECS Gear Nikon D90, Hugyfot housing, Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 lens, two Inon Z-240 strobes ISO 100 F-stop f/18 Shutter speed 1/250 sec WHY I LOVE THE SHOT While diving with my wife on vacation, she pointed out this scene: a clownfish in an anemone, caring for its eggs.

+HPS` +P]PUN PU 1\WP[LY 7HST )LHJO *V\U[` ° ;YH]LS -S` SLZZ HUK +P]L PU [OL < : ° *SVZLY [V [OL N\SM Z[YLHT TLHUZ JSVZLY [V Ä ZO

561-745-7807 Q jupiterdivecenter.com WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 49

2014

BEST WorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

PHOTOGRAPHY

S E C R E T S P O T // A U G U S T

PHOTOGRAPHER Enrico Pati L O C AT I O N Bevagna, Italy

S E C R E T S P O T // S E P T/ O C T

PHOTOGRAPHER Wayne MacWilliams L O C AT I O N Jupiter, Florida

WHY I LOVE THE SHOT I arrived at this hidden gem after drift-diving in the Chidro River and walking through dense Mediterranean vegetation. The view from below is amazing — it’s as if you’re flying along a snowy mountain.

WHY I LOVE THE SHOT While swimming through the water column between the surface and the reef below, we discovered this swarm of moon jellyfish drifting north in the Gulf Stream.

SECRET SPOT // S E P T/ O C T

A R T I S T/ P H O T O G R A P H E R Conor Culver L O C AT I O N Colorado WHY I LOVE THIS SHOT Every image has its own meaning ... and I always want to convey something about the animal that is true in the ocean, and then bring that story into a scene above the surface.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 50

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA

To read more, visit our site at scubadiving.com.

OF

D

I

V

I

N

G

TOP 100

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MASA USHIODA; ED ROBINSON; LEA LEE; ED ROBINSON/PACIFIC STOCK

Since 1994, thousands of readers have rated their dive trips to dozens of destinations to determine Scuba Divingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Top 100 Readers Choice Awards. This year we introduced the Top 100 Spotlight, a monthly feature that showcases favorite destinations that are among the top award-winners in our annual reader survey.

Destinations highlighted this year include:

MAY

Maui Winner of five Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, including Best Visibility and Best Shore Diving, U.S. and North America scubadiving.com/Top100/maui

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 51

2014

BESTWorldMags.net OF

SCUBA D

I

V

I

N

G

TOP 100

JUNE

Palau Winner of six Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, including Best Wall Diving, Pacific and Indian oceans scubadiving.com/Top100/palau

MARCH/APRIL

Grand Cayman Winner of 11 Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, including Best Overall Destination and Best Underwater Photography, Caribbean and Atlantic scubadiving.com/Top100/grandcayman

TOP 100 READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Here’s a look at some of the winners of our 21st annual Top 100 — check out the 22nd annual results in our January/February 2015 issue.

BEST OVERALL DESTINATION C A RIBBE A N A ND AT L A N T IC

U. S. A ND N O R T H A MERIC A

PACIFIC A ND INDIA N O C E A N S

1 Cayman Islands 2 Bonaire 3 Mexico 4 Belize 5 Bahamas 6 Bay Islands, Honduras 7 Turks and Caicos 8 U.S. Virgin Islands 9 Grenada 10 British Virgin Islands

1 Hawaii 2 California 3 Florida 4 North Carolina 5 Canada (British Columbia) 6 Texas 7 Michigan 8 Washington 9 Alabama 10 New Jersey

1 Indonesia 2 Palau 3 Micronesia 4 Philippines 5 Cocos Island, Costa Rica 6 French Polynesia 7 Thailand 8 Mexico (Baja California) 9 Galapagos Islands 10 Red Sea (Egypt)

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 52

WorldMags.net Bahamas Winner of seven Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, including Best Overall Diving, Best Big Animals and Best Advanced Diving, Caribbean and Atlantic scubadiving.com/Top100/bahamas

AUGUST

Belize Winner of four Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, including Best Overall Destination, Best Big Animals, Best Wall Diving and Best Underwater Photography, Caribbean and Atlantic scubadiving.com/ Top100/belize

SEPT/OCT

Raja Ampat Winner of seven Top 100 Readers Choice Awards (for Indonesia) in Pacific and Indian oceans, including Best Marine Environment scubadiving.com/Top100/rajaampat

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 53

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: TIM CALVER; FRANCO BANFI; JURGEN FREUND/NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY; ETHAN DANIELS; KERI WILK. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PREDRAG VUCKOVIC/ISTOCKPHOTO; CLAUDIO GAZZAROLI; BRANDON COLE

JULY

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 54

WorldMags.net

CAVE COUNTRY THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC’S ANCIENT UNDERGROUND RIVER SYSTEM IS A NEW FRONTIER IN DIVING

CURT BOWEN

B Y T R AV I S M A R S H A L L

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 55

CAVE COUNTRY

As dawn breaks over Bayahibe — a once sleepy fishing village turned bustling dive hot spot in southeast Dominican Republic — the usual suspects begin to stir along the dirt road outside my apartment. Roosters warm up their vocal cords across the street. Dogs flop down in patches of early light. From my balcony, I spot a rising dust cloud from my ride as Uwe Rath rolls up, truck bed loaded with cave-diving gear.

Our plan is a full-penetration dive into the first leg of Chicho Cave, a crystal-clear freshwater cenote that lies beneath the arid scrub brush of the DR’s Parque Nacional del Este (National Park of the East). Most divers know about the cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, but few realize that similar systems can be found elsewhere in the Caribbean. That goes double for the Dominican Republic, where aboveground cave systems boast a wealth of native, pre-colonial Taino cave paintings and artifacts, and the underwater rivers that connect them remain largely untouched and unexplored.

Rath is one of only two cave instructortrainers in the country, and a local cave-diving pioneer who has been an integral member of initial expeditions to explore and name the caves that comprise the Dominican Republic’s underwater-river network. A past expedition turned up a skull and bones from a previously unknown species of ancient mammal, which is now being studied by the Museum of the Dominican Man in Santo Domingo.

Rath is also a gregarious German who has spent more than two decades in the DR, owning and operating dive shops in every corner of the country. His latest operation, UweScuba, is a custom dive center that has its storefront in the exclusive Casa de Campo resort, about 14 miles from Bayahibe. But don’t worry if, like me and most divers, you can’t afford Casa de Campo’s presidential digs — Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush all have vacationed here — Rath also makes house calls to meet divers who are down for a personalized, off-the-beaten-track experience.

Bottom line: If you’re an advanced or technical diver looking for an out-ofthe-ordinary underwater adventure in the Dominican Republic, Rath is the fixer who can make it happen.

Fantastical forms in Chicho (opposite, clockwise from top); bones of an extinct primate, discovered near Chicho; the author, Juergen Riedl and Rath.

WorldMags.net

BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JOSE ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ; CURT BOWEN; COURTESY UWE RATH

WorldMags.net

NEED TO KNOW

WorldMags.net

OPERATOR UweScuba (uwescuba.com) is one of a select few operators that can arrange proper technical dives into DR’s cave systems, as well as teach

PADI Tec Rec programs for Sidemount, Intro to Cave and Cave Diver courses.

WHEN TO GO Bayahibe and nearby Punta Cana are

year-round dive destinations, with warm, protected water. As with most Caribbean destinations, winter is the high season; late summer is the low season.

DIVE CONDITIONS Ocean conditions stay calm yearround in Bayahibe, with water temps ranging from high 70s to mid-80s and visibility from 60 to 120 feet. In the freshwater

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 57

caves, the water always stays in the mid-70s, with a visibility of 150 feet.

PRICE TAG A single guided cave dive costs $110; two dives in different caves run

$170. If you don’t have cave-diving experience, UweScuba offers classes. PADI’s TecRec Sidemount course costs $420; a TDI Intro to Cave certification costs $590.

CAVE COUNTRY

WorldMags.net

Before we go underground, we plan to make our first dives together in open ocean, so Rath commandeers a local dive boat, and we head out of Bayahibe’s bustling loading dock to the DR’s signature wreck dive, the St. George.

We’re diving sidemount, a technical BCD system that has clips to carry tanks under our arms rather than on our backs. The benefits are many, the main one being redundancy — every diver has two tanks, each with its own regulator. It also helps us keep a flat swimming position in the water, ideal for penetrating wrecks and caves where we need to avoid kicking up sediment on the bottom. Carrying the tanks protected under our arms helps reduce snags, and makes us more flexible in tight interior spaces.

Less than 10 minutes from the loading ramp at the heart of Bayahibe — now buzzing with activity as boats vie to board gaggles of European divers, snorkelers and sun seekers — our boat idles into position, mooring over the wreck.

WHAT IT TAKES Cave diving requires special training, equipment and experience.

UweScuba uses sidemount gear for cave diving; a sidemountcertification class can provide you with all the necessary skills and equipment.

Any openwater diver who is at least 15 years old can take a PADI Sidemount Diver course;

you can apply the dives to an Advanced certification. You should also have a Cave Diver cert, or you can join an Intro to Cave course to learn to properly use guidelines, line markers, dive lights and redundantair supplies.

Prerequisites for Intro to Cave are a Cavern Diver certification and a minimum of 25 logged dives.

The St. George looms in the deep; the sponge-encrusted wreck offers exploration-worthy walkways; accessing Chicho Cave is difficult but worth it.

We clip our tanks under our arms as we make our final checks and slip into the water. As I sink beneath the swim step, angling for the down line, I see the tower of the St. George rising proudly from the sandy seafloor about 140 feet below, amid swarms of jack fish that seem like they’re raining upward in slow motion.

The nearly 250-foot steel freighter was sunk as an artificial reef in 1999; today it remains intact and upright, with a profusion of fish and corals. Nearing the sandy bottom, we flare out with our arms forward and glide into the ship’s superstructure with methodical frog kicks, exploring deep beneath the deck of the cargo holds, along the exterior walkways, and through the wheelhouse.

We finalize our afternoon plans over pizza on the Bayahibe waterfront before loading into Rath’s truck and heading inland. Much of the area surrounding Bayahibe — on land and in the water

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 58

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JOSE ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ; BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT (2)

Sidemount on St. George

WorldMags.net

— is the protected National Park of the East. This includes offshore dive favorites at Saona and Catalina islands, as well as the inland Padre Nuestro area, a hot, arid jungle of scrub brush atop karst limestone, which is where we’re headed.

Into Chicho Cave We pull off the main road at a gate that opens onto a steeply inclined, rutted dirt track. As we bounce our way up the road, men materialize from the forest and approach the truck. Rath gestures for them to hop in back — once we arrive at the dive site, I understand why.

We park in a clearing at a trail head that winds steeply down rough steps hewn from logs and rocks. The men who joined us jump into action, making quick work of carrying our tanks, weights and gear bags down the rugged

path. The final steps of the trail lead down slick rock into the gaping maw of the cave. From the surface, the electric blue of the water illuminated by the overhead sun beckons like a siren, singing songs of exploration and adventure.

After hiking under the hot Caribbean sun in a 5 mm wetsuit, I relish the cool rush against my skin as I dunk into the cenote and don my gear. As we descend into the freshwater basin beneath us, we turn our dive lights toward the darkness.

The beam of my light picks up the telltale glint of a bright-white cave line, and I see the ghostly string disappear through a hole in the wall: our entrance to Chicho Cave. We make a final check, then frog-kick inside, hovering just above the guide line that leads the way to the end of the passage.

Inside the tunnel, the water is deceptively clear, playing tricks with my mind.

My bubbles are the only sign that I

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 59

haven’t already come up for air. We wind an undulating path around incredible rock formations. Fat stalagmites sit like half-melted candles, while sections of the ceiling bristle like pincushions, blanketed by spiny stalactites. After 25 minutes, the tunnel angles upward and soon opens into a wide room. I watch Rath above me and see his head disappear as he surfaces into an air chamber above us.

I follow him to the surface, where he explains it’s safe to remove my regulator — though dark, the room is connected to the outside world, and thus there’s fresh air for us to breathe. I flash my light on the ceiling above, watching the beam bounce over rock in the humid air. I can’t help but feel privileged to be here. Rath and others may have only just started exploring the Dominican Republic’s cave systems, but if those caves that remain to be found look anything like this one, they won’t remain secret for long.

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

2014 // GEAR OF THE YEAR

REGULATORS

SCUBAPRO MK21/S560 $499; scubapro.com

In ergo tests, this reg was a pussycat, delivering smooth, effortless comfort that earned raves from test divers.

It became a lion on the breathing machine, where it racked up excellent scores and performed within test parameters, even at torturous breathing rates down to 220 feet.

Its performance was unmatched by any other reg in the test despite a midrange price. The MK21/S560 was our Best Buy.

IN OUR JULY ISSUE, SCUBALAB TESTED THE PERFORMANCE AND COMFORT OF 14 NEW REGS ON AN ANSTI BREATHING MACHINE AND IN THE WATER. THESE THREE LET US BREATHE EASY.

HOG ZENITH

BEUCHAT VR200 SOFT TOUCH HF $899 (includes octo and reg bag); spearotek.com

$124.95 Zenith second stage, $209.95 D3 first stage (hose not included); edge-gear.com

Easy breathing, dry, comfortable, lightweight — that’s what our test divers had to say about the VR200 Soft Touch, which racked up the best ergo scores in its class. On the breathing machine, the reg demonstrated very good performance well beyond recreational depths and breathing demands. The VR200 Soft Touch was our Testers’ Choice in the Over $500 category.

On the breathing machine, the Zenith was rated excellent at max rec depth, and very good well beyond — not surprising, giving the company’s stated tec orientation. But in real-world conditions, our test divers also found the Zenith an exceptionally comfortable, smooth dry-breathing reg, awarding it the highest ergo scores in our test.

The HOG Zenith was our Testers’ Choice in the Under $500 category.

TESTERS SAID ...

“THIS IS A SOLID REG – EASY BREATHING AND DRY” (B E U C H AT V R 20 0 S O F T T O U C H H F) “REALLY SMOOTH BREATHER; ZERO BUBBLE INTERFERENCE” (S C U B A P R O M K 2 1 /S 5 6 0) “GREAT USER CONTROLS; THE KNURLED KNOB IS SUPER EASY TO GRAB” (H O G Z E N I T H)

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 63

WorldMags.net

2014 // GEAR OF THE YEAR

BCs

IN JUNE, SCUBALAB TESTED 16 NEW BCs, FROM FEATHERWEIGHT TRAVEL MODELS TO TEC WINGS. HERE ARE THREE THAT FLOATED TO THE TOP.

MARES PRESTIGE 2 MRS+ $510; mares.com

APEKS WTX $750; aqualung.com This lightweight rig assembled from Apeks’ tec-oriented WTX components seemed a little unlikely as a travel BC — until we got it in the water. Divers raved about its stability, comfort, precise valving and secure tank straps, and rated its integrated-weight system “excellent.” The WTX was our Testers’ Choice for travel BCs.

Competition was tough among this year’s jacket BCs, but after crunching the scores, the Prestige 2 won by a nose. Testers praised its stability, nofuss integrated weights, excellent inflation and exhaust valving, and large pockets. The Prestige 2 was our Testers’ Choice for jacket BCs.

TESTERS SAID ...

“NICE ALL-PURPOSE, FULL-FEATURED BC” (M A R E S P R E S T I G E 2 M R S+)

“SNUG AND COMFY; PROVIDES A STABLE AND WOBBLE-FREE RIDE” (A P E K S W T X ) “GOOD STABILITY, NICE WEIGHT SYSTEM, COMFY SURFACE-FLOATING POSITION” (CRESSI TRAVELIGHT)

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 64

CRESSI TRAVELIGHT $449.95; cressiusa.com Upgraded with a new inflator and integrated-weight system, the Travelight offers full-feature performance in a 6-pound package that stows easily in a suitcase. Test divers loved its stable comfort, and appreciated features rare to travel BCs: roomy pockets, a right-shoulder exhaust and 10 alloy D-rings. The Travelight earned our Best Buy award.

WorldMags.net

2014 // GEAR OF THE YEAR

DIVE LIGHTS

IN OUR MAY ISSUE, WE TESTED 15 NEW DIVE LIGHTS FOR BRIGHTNESS, BEAM DIMENSIONS AND ERGONOMICS. THREE TORCHES HAD PERFORMANCE THAT SHINED.

UK VIVID ELED $159.99; uwkinetics.com

IKELITE GAMMA $120; ikelite.com Weighing just 5 ounces and measuring less than .75 inches in diameter at its narrowest, Ikelite’s Gamma fits easily into a small BC pocket. But it pumps out an impressively bright, wide beam for its size. Its machined-aluminum body, robust tail switch and 400-foot depth rating are nice bonuses, considering its modest price. We named the Gamma our Best Buy.

IST SPORTS DOLPHIN TECH T-24040 $855; istsports.com This wrist-mount canister light’s white beam recorded the highest meter reading in our test; the dual-light head is so bright, we were grateful the push-button switch offers three power levels. The battery is compact and rated for 1.9 hours on high power.

The T-24040 was our Testers’ Choice among primary and canister lights.

Despite its compact size, the Vivid strikes a nice balance between brightness and beam diameter to produce a light pattern that’s intense and broad enough to be really effective.

The push-button tail switch is easy to use, and the Vivid has screw mounts for use as a video or camera light. The Vivid eLED was our Testers’ Choice for pocket lights.

TESTERS SAID ...

“PERFORMS AND FEELS LIKE IT SHOULD COST A LOT MORE” (I K E L I T E G A M M A) “BLAZINGLY BRIGHT – GOOD THING IT HAS THREE POWER LEVELS” (I S T S P O R T S D O L P H I N T E C H) “DELIVERS A LOT OF PERFORMANCE IN A SMALL PACKAGE” (U K V I V I D E L E D)

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 65

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

2014 // GEAR OF THE YEAR

DIVE BAGS

CRESSI CARGO 145L $249.95; cressiusa.com Though it was the largest bag in our test, the Cargo 145L has a clever internal folding frame and hinged bottom so it collapses for storage — a convenient feature in such a big bag. Good compression straps, rugged construction and protective padding — and a relatively modest price — made the Cargo 145L our choice for Best Buy.

IN OUR AUGUST ISSUE, SCUBALAB EVALUATED 14 FULL-SIZE AND CARRY-ON ROLLER TRAVEL BAGS. THESE THREE WERE OUR WINNING CHOICES. ARMOR API-3R $350; armorbags.com

STAHLSAC RANGI ROLLER $219.95; stahlsac.com The Rangi Roller provides the kind of protection we want in a carry-on, with rigid sides and back, and a padded front flap that unzips fully for easy packing. Handles at top, side and bottom make it easy to carry, and it rolls like a dream. It’s built to last, with lots of reinforcements. The Rangi was our Testers’ Choice for roller carry-ons.

This is a go-anywhere bag, with large all-terrain wheels and well-designed, zip-away backpack straps that make it surprisingly easy to tote — even with a 50-pound load. It’s ruggedly built with heavy-duty materials and big enough to hold everything for an extended dive trip. The Armor API-3R was our Testers’ Choice for full-size bags.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 67

WorldMags.net

2014 // GEAR OF THE YEAR

FIRST LOOK

EACH ISSUE SCUBALAB INTRODUCES BRAND-NEW GEAR TO OUR READERS. THESE ARE OUR PICKS FOR THE BEST OF THE YEAR â&#x20AC;&#x201D; PRODUCTS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE YOUR DIVES EASIER, SAFER AND MORE FUN.

SEALIFE SEA DRAGON 2000 WITH FLEX-CONNECT HANDLE $449.95; sealife-cameras.com Pumping out 2,000 lumens, this new LED photo/video/dive light has three power levels and is rated to 200 feet.

The rechargeable Li-ion battery has a 60-minute burn time on its highest setting.

NAUTILUS LIFELINE $299; nautiluslifeline.com Waterproof to 425 feet when closed, the Lifeline can send a digital distress message with your GPS location with the press of a button. It also functions as a radio that lets you chat with your boat crew or dive buddies on marine VHF frequencies.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 68

WorldMags.net

TRENDING

SCUBAPRO X-CUT TITANIUM $79; scubapro.com Made from a single piece of hardened titanium, the X-Cut is corrosion resistant, and comes with a soft sheath that will attach to BC straps or fit in a pocket. The 2.5-inch blade has smooth and serrated edges, as well as a line cutter.

GET STOKED FOR THE YEAR AHEAD: HOT NEW TOYS ARE SCHEDULED TO HIT DIVESTORE SHELVES SOON.

SUUNTO EON STEEL $1,440 ($440 for optional transmitter POD); aqualung.com This new computer has a vibrant color display with a wide-angle view, intuitive three-button navigation, a customizable screen, 3-D compass, air integration, and up to 30 hours of dive time per charge. The cover is brushed stainless steel, the case is made of advanced composites, and the screen is high-durability glass.

BACKSCATTER MACROMATE MINI FOR GOPRO $89; backscatter.com To capture close-up action, this new macro lens for GoPro threads into Backscatter’s 55mm FLIP 3.1 adapter.

The Macromate Mini has an aluminum frame and a lens of precision optical glass. The design allows you to easily change lenses and filters, even underwater.

SEALIFE MICRO HD SHERWOOD SCUBA AMPHOS AIR

$1,150 (with transmitter and download cable); sherwoodscuba.com Sherwood’s newest version of its Amphos wristwatch computer now offers air integration. Using an algorithm shared with Sherwood’s Wisdom 3 console computer, the Amphos Air has easy four-button navigation and a stylish design with a stainless-steel bezel.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 69

$399.95 (HD+ $499.95); sealife-cameras.com The new, permanently sealed Micro HD eliminates O-rings and openings, and is waterproof to 200 feet. It has one-button recording for 1080p HD video and 13 mp images, and you can capture stills while shooting video.

The Micro has built-in 140-degree wide angle and is compatible with SeaLife accessories. You can choose between the standard 16 GB version or the HD+ 32 GB version with Wi-Fi.

WorldMags.net

TRAINING IMAGING +

LESSONS FOR LIFE

A SK AN EXPERT

scubadiving.com BEHIND THE LENS

<A F T E R>

[ GEAR ] Canon G16, Recsea housing, UWL-04 wide-angle lens, Sea&Sea YS-D1 strobes [ CAMERA SPECS ] SHUTTER SPEED 1/60 F-STOP f/8 ISO 200 [ LOCATION ] Roatan [ BACK STORY ] The most cooperative moray eel ever had a few friends around. When the shrimp started crawling toward the eel’s head, I fired off as many shots as quickly as I could to capture the moment.

Double Trouble

Capturing multiple subjects isn’t easy, but the rewards are worth it A BY JIM DECKER , CEO, BACKSCATTER UNDERWATER PHOTO AND VIDEO

Shooting wide-angle is challenging.

Adding multiple subjects increases the difficulty, but it also can result in a much more interesting photo.

forget to line up background subjects.

This can be anything from a sun ball to the dive boat to more-complicated subjects such as a model in the background.

I prefer a 1 fisheye, to allow more subjects in 4 When I see something about to USE THE WIDEST LENS

the frame. It also has the most depth of field, to get all of your subjects in focus.

2

DETERMINE YOUR PRIMARY

FOREGROUND SUBJECT This will be lit by your strobes and will be the main focus of your composition. It will also tend to be the closest subject in the frame. Make sure your focus point is on your foreground subject, even if it is not centered. By having the focus point in front, you’ll have the rest of the photo — behind the focus point — in focus.

I will be shooting and pull off a shot — even if there’s nothing in the foreground — then I make adjustments before my primary subject comes along.

5

GIVE THE LEAST COOPERATIVE

SUBJECT PRIORIT Y In any multisubject shot, there are things you can control and things you can’t. The toughest is marine life. If there is unique behavior happening, give priority to that in your photos.

TAKE A FEW “JUNK” SHOTS

happen that I want to capture, I take a couple of test shots to see what my background exposure will look like. I point my camera in the direction that

6 Cooperative subjects might not be SHOOT PLENTY OF FRAMES

cooperative for long. Bang off a series of shots in order to capture that one special moment you didn’t expect.

PHOTOLAB <B E F O R E>

HOT SPOTS One of the challenges of shooting close to the bottom is not blowing out the exposure on the sand. To adjust specific areas, I used the adjustment brushes to tone down the exposure of the problem spots.

3 Don’t get so wrapped up in your

LOOK AT YOUR BACKGROUND

primary foreground subject that you

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 70

www.cressi.com

WorldMags.net

Crystal Clear Evolution In the 1940’s, the mrst Cressi mask, the Sirena, was handcrafted in Genova Italy.

Nine years later, equalization was possible due to Cressi’s invention of the Pinocchio, the mSTt mask in the world with a dedicated nose pocket.

By the year 2000, the Big Eyes was introduced: an innovative patented design (U.S.PAT 6272693 B1) which provides a 30% wider mFME of vision in all directions. Then, began the Crystal Clear

Silicone Evolution.

BIG EYES EVOLUTION CRYSTAL SILICONE is an exclusive CRESSI material that revolutionizes mask skirt clarity.

CRYSTAL Silicone prevents premature discoloration, educes fogging, and guarantees many years of clear viewing.

NANO INTEGRATED DUAL FRAME

Lowest volume mask in the world >> 85cm

EYES EVOLUTION

PIUMA EVOLUTION

Download the Cressi

Catalog for iPhone and iPad App!

WorldMags.net MADE IN ITALY

TRAINING LESSONS FOR LIFE

WorldMags.net

was “straight.” He thought pot made him more aware of what was going on around him.

THE DIVE

Drugs and Diving Don’t Mix A one-hit wonder suffers fatal consequences from his habit A BY ERIC DOUGLAS

THE ACCIDENT

THE DIVER

An experienced cave diver, Alton was 40, fit and in generally good health.

He liked to have the occasional cheeseburger, and his doctor had warned him about his cholesterol, but other than that, he was in good shape.

He rarely drank and didn’t smoke cigarettes. But he did smoke pot. He liked the relaxing feeling it gave him, but there was more to it than that. He often told his friends that smoking marijuana helped him focus on the task at hand. He felt he could do most things better “with a little buzz” than when he

Alton made good progress into the cave system. He had moved slowly, mapping everything he saw. He was already thinking about what they would need to explore even deeper into the cave the next time.

Heading back to the surface, Alton reeled in his cave line as he swam. He glanced at the map he had sketched during the dive and smiled. He loved the feeling of “getting there first,” and knew his buddies were going to be impressed.

Nearing the surface, Alton’s thoughts shifted ahead to deco and the boredom that came with it. It was a necessary evil, but it nonetheless frustrated him.

Still, he knew he had pushed the dive a

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 72

JORI BOLTON

Alton loved the peaceful feeling he got from cave diving. Friends of his, even other cave divers, got nervous or tense when the walls got close, but that was when Alton felt most at home, reveling in the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

He also liked to catch a little buzz before he went for a dive. He could get lost in the feeling of relaxation, just swimming slowly for hours, exploring and experiencing sights and places no other human had ever seen. He could almost lose track of time, just floating.

Until he did.

Alton was exploring a new cave system he and his buddies had found. A couple of other divers were in the water at the same time, exploring different sections of the system, but Alton was effectively alone. He wanted to map a narrow passage and didn’t think there was room for more than one person in the space.

Alton arrived at the dive site with a slight head cold. Rather than putting off the dive, he took some cold medicine to help him equalize and keep his sinuses dried out. Other than that, everything about the dive was normal. Just before he got in the water, as was his habit, Alton took a couple of hits from a joint.

The maximum depth for the dive was 100 feet. Alton was using mixed gas to reduce the decompression requirements of the dive, and had planned it as a decompression dive. Alton placed two stage bottles just inside the cave mouth, behind a couple of rocks so no one would move them. When he finished the dive, he would use them to decompress and off-gas the nitrogen that had accumulated in his body. The tanks contained a breathing-gas mix with a high concentration of oxygen.

He didn’t want to take them with him because accidentally breathing from one at depth would cause him to have a seizure. Leaving them behind also kept him from having too large a load inside the narrow passageways.

WorldMags.net

little bit, breathing into his reserve. He wasn’t about to cut corners with deco.

He thought he should be getting close to his stage bottles and looked forward to starting the process — the sooner it began, the sooner he could surface.

Rounding a bend that Alton thought would lead to the exit, he took a breath to find that there was no air. In confusion he looked at his pressure gauge and realized he was out of air. His eyes darted forward, scanning the cave ahead for the stage bottles and his deco gas.

NO MATTER YOUR EXPERIENCE LEVEL, INTOXICATION WHILE DIVING IS A BAD IDEA. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER THE INTOXICATION IS FROM COLD MEDICINE, ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS.

He would be fine if he could make it to those tanks quickly. They should be right there, he thought.

But Alton wasn’t where he thought he was. He hadn’t made it back to the entrance yet. He tried swimming forward as quickly as he could, following the cave line, but he was out of breathing gas. And out of time.

Rescuers recovered Alton’s body 150 feet from the decompression tanks he had staged near the entrance to the cave. The tanks on his back were empty.

ANALYSIS

Cave divers follow the Rule of Thirds, using one-third of the breathing gas

they carry for the exploration, heading away from the cave entrance. The second third is used for the return to the surface. The final third (at least) is held in reserve, in case there is an emergency.

Alton broke this basic rule and paid the ultimate price. The medical examiner ruled Alton’s death a drowning due to insufficient air and entrapment in a cave.

In this column, I often talk about triggering events that lead to the actual problem that causes the dive accident. In this case, the trigger was Alton’s intoxication. His blood toxicology included cannabinoids from the marijuana and codeine from the cold medicine. Either the medication or the drug in his system could have impaired Alton to the point that he made poor decisions. Combining the two, even accidentally, affected his judgment: He failed to follow his training, rules and experience.

Being “very experienced” doesn’t make you invincible. Very experienced divers can get in trouble because they violate their own rules, relying on their experience to make up for bad decisions.

You might get away with it for a while, but eventually it catches up to you. The skills you learn during training and the rules and procedures of diving aren’t there to help you handle the dive when everything goes right: They are there for when things go wrong.

No matter your experience level, intoxication while diving is a bad idea.

It doesn’t matter whether the intoxication is from cold medicine, alcohol or other drugs. In this case, it’s likely Alton would be here today if he hadn’t chosen to make a dive under the influence.

Inside the cave, he made poor judgments quite likely because his decision-making was impaired.

Water is an unforgiving medium when you run out of air.

LESSONS FOR LIFE 1 Stay sober when diving.

When you open your first drink, your diving should always be done for the day.

2 Seek proper training in cave

exploration, and always remember the Rule of Thirds.

3 Do not allow personal experience to convince you to make

poor decisions.

4 Dive with a buddy, or take additional precautions and training, and carry extra equipment, to dive solo.

Eric Douglas

FROM THE MAKERS OF THE MOST VERSATILE, LIGHTEST WEIGHT, ALUMINUM ARMS ON THE MARKET

Visit us the DEMA at Resource Image Cen Booth #2 ter, 926

Lots of GoPro accessories available!

MADE IN USA

We make adapters for all housings, strobes, video lights and spotting lights.

The original arms with o-rings in the ball for ease of use.

Often copied, never equaled

co-authored the book Scuba Diving Safety, and has written a series of dive-adventure novels and short stories.

Check out his website at booksbyeric.com.

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 73

(805) 484-3334 www.ulcs.com

TRAINING ASK AN EXPERT

WorldMags.net

Should New Divers Carry Cameras and Other Underwater Extras?

A BY ERIC DOUGLAS

CARRYING A CAMERA IS A GOOD THING “As an instructor with more than 20 years’ experience, I love the digitalcamera revolution and how all divers have access to capturing memories. All of my young certified divers want to be able to take photos of themselves and one another — as well as what they see — underwater so they can share with their friends,” said Annie Crawley, a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and noted underwater photographer.

“I encourage them to use cameras in the pool first before taking them to the open water to see how this changes their buoyancy and how they interact with their buddy.”

“If I were not ‘allowed’ to have a

camera when I was a new diver, I would not be a diver today,” said Jill Synowiec, co-owner of Divers Incorporated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Photography is my passion, and I needed the distraction from the head games I played with myself. The camera, for me, was something to focus on (ha!).”

NO TASK LOADING WITHOUT EXPERIENCE “Newbies and their expensive toys are soon parted. If something distracts you from your air consumption, your buoyancy or your orientation; it’s a liability,” said Carrie Caignet, a former SSI dive instructor. Caignet currently serves as a divemaster on board a charter boat that allows spearfishing, and advises on spearfishing best practices

WorldMags.net

NOEL HENDRICKSON/GETTY IMAGES

There is no scuba police. No one is going to arrest a diver for doing something wrong — at least not underwater.

But in diving, there are rules and guidelines intended to keep divers safe: Never hold your breath, ascend slowly, plan your dive, make safety stops, etc. But should there be a rule to regulate what new divers can carry before they’ve mastered buoyancy control (a camera or speargun, for example)?

Diving involves several complex actions in a hostile environment. Anything that distracts the novice diver from those actions should probably be avoided. The issue is task loading: A camera adds one more thing they will have to focus on. Even the most experienced underwater photographer can get so wrapped up in “the shot” that monitoring air supply falls by the wayside. (See half of the “Lessons for Life” columns.)

On the other hand, some divers feel that photography is the point of being in the water. If those divers couldn’t take photos, they probably wouldn’t dive at all. But is there a compromise?

WorldMags.net Old Style MEXICO

Baja

East Cape

East Cape Is the perfect destination that provides excellent opportunities for those interested in marine life, underwater photography or simply explore a new diving adventure.

Mexico: 624-197-0957 / 612-348-9215 USA: 1-877-777-8862 Ext. 1003 www.eastcapedivers.com

Cabo San Lucas

and techniques.

PADI course director CJ Goodrich was definitive about when divers should be allowed to carry cameras and other gadgets underwater: “Not until they have shown mastery and continued vigilance with regard to neutral buoyancy and awareness of their surroundings.”

Adam Cassidy’s expertise comes from leading groups of teen divers in the SPLASH program. “I don’t think newbie divers are ready for underwater photography, and they’re definitely not ready for scooters or spearfishing. It is very easy to start chasing a fish and lose track of your depth, even without a camera or speargun. New divers should spend their time acclimating to diving in general, and dive with buddies who are experienced,” he said.

CONCLUSION Even the most experienced, well-trained divers can get distracted and fail to monitor their breathing-gas supply or their depth. Some newbie divers should definitely focus on the task of staying alive and exploring the underwater world. Others are right at home in the water and can easily take on new challenges, so making a “rule” is probably not practical.

There is one more thing to consider: As a diver, you aren’t just looking out for yourself. If you do get distracted and do something stupid, you can easily put your buddy’s life at risk as well as your own. Cassidy summarized by saying, “I don’t want my buddy task loading, getting into trouble, and then possibly injuring both of us.”

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 75

Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos All Inclusive Resort

Live the legend at the new All Inclusive Resort located in the “Heart and Soul of Cabo”. Ocean and Bay view Suites, 4 great pools, private beach, short walk to Marina, dive centers, shops & night life.

1-866-336-4083 reservas.web@sandos.com www.sandos.com

For Dive Deals visit: www.scubadiving.com/baja

SCUBA DIVING MARKETPLACE

WorldMags.net BECOME THE BEST CAVERN, CAVE OR SIDEMOUNT DIVER A DREAM EXPERIEN CE!

Adventure Dives Guided by Experienced Instructors Cenote/Cavern & Cave Tours Available TRAINING: Cavern to Full Cave Sidemount • Poseidon Rebreather

www.cavetecnow.com • cavetecnow@gmail.com Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 76

SCUBA DIVING MARKETPLACE

WorldMags.net

Luxury THE

LIVE- ABOARD

of the Bahamas • Departs Nassau • Up to 26 out island dives – walls, reefs, blue hole, swift drifts and shark dive!

• Fully en-suite cabins • Eco-adventures

888.327.9600 www.aquacatcruises.com

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 77

SCUBA DIVING MARKETPLACE

WorldMags.net

BOOK 10 DIVE PACKAGES AND

GET ONE FREE PACKAGE 2015 BELIZE WHALE SHARK DIVING PACKAGE DATES: March 5 – 14 • April 4 – 13 May 3 – 12 • June 2 – 11

EAT, SLEEP & from

DIVE 138 $

Rate Code:

SDM2014

*Price

per night*

per person based on double occupancy in Eco Bungalows. Other options available. All taxes included.

PACKAGE INCLUDES: • Round-trip flight between Belize City and Placencia • Land transfers between Placencia Airstrip and Hotel • Accommodations at any of the resorts listed below (see individual pricing) • 7 nights/8 day stay • 3 days of Whale shark diving at Gladden Spit • 2 days of diving on Belize Barrier • 1 inland tour • Whale shark dives includes, 2 tanks, weights, entrance fee, lunch and taxes

SEA SPRAY HOTEL SEA VIEW SUITES MIRAMAR APARTMENTS LARU BEYA

US $1500 US $1750 US $1850 US $2000

www.cabopulmo.com diving@cabopulmo.com

www.splashbelize.com Tel:011-501-523-3080 Or 011-501-610-0235 patricia@splashbelize.com

Quiet. Unpretentious.

Golden Tank Retailer Partner Directory

US/Can: (562) 366-0722 Mexico: (624) 141-0726

FLORIDA Panama City Beach - Dive Locker 850-230-8006 divelocker.net MICHIGAN Farmington Hills - Sea the World Scuba Center 248-478-6400 seatheworld.us MISSOURI Bridgeton - BonneTerre/West End Diving Centers 888-843-3483 2dive.com

In the true Mexican sense.

All diving services in one convenient place. See the difference a dedicated dive resort can make.

NEW YORK Brooklyn - Stingray Divers 718-384-1280 stingraydivers.com New York - Pan Aqua Diving 212.736.3483 panaqua.com PENNSYLVANIA Erie - Diver’s World of Erie Inc 814-459-3195 scubaerie.com CANADA Langley, BC - Langley Diving, Inc. 604-514-8190 langleydiving.com

www.istsports.com (909) 622-9600 info@istdivingsystem.com

For information on participation in the

800.847.5708 www.scubaclubcozumel.com Isla de Cozumel, México

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 78

Golden Tank Retailer Partner Directory call Jonathan at 407-571-4575

SCUBA DIVING MARKETPLACE

WorldMags.net

,QFOXGHV DOO PHDOV EHYHUDJHV DQG transfers )UHH Nitrox

THFK GLYLQJ available 1LQH VSDFLRXV suites

Dive Deals DIVE CENTERS Cozumel

DIVE WITH MARTIN SCUBA Dive your computer limits!

4 day/2-tank boat dive $250 x FREE Sherwood gear use x FREE Video 4+ day pkg x Dive, Hotel & Condo pkgs.

1-888-512-8747

STACEY@VACATIONCONNECTIONNRH.COM

DIVE RESORTS Grand Cayman

DIVETECH & COBALT COAST RESORT Spectacular diving!

Shore diving 24/7 and best dive package, great menus, full bar, and All Inclusive option available Check TripAdvisor to learn what other divers say and click onto:

WWW.COBALTCOAST.COM Promote Your Dive Deals!

Contact: Kelly Freygang 407-571-4743

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 79

WorldMags.net advertiser DIRECTORY Atlantic Caribbean and Latin America Amigos Del Mar - Belize - Ambergris Caye to Blue Hole & Turneffe Atoll on largest boat fleet. SSI & SDI Certifications. P. 77 www.amigosdivebelize.com Avalon Cuban Diving Centers – Gardens of the Queen - Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen: the ultimate sharks paradise. P. 79 www.cubandivingcenters.com Bay Adventures - offers one-stop shopping for air, lodging & diving in Cozumel, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman, Curacao, Turks & Caicos, and Roatan. P. 9 www.bayadventures.com Belize Tourism Board - Belize is home to the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. See the difference. P. C4 www.travelbelize.org Bonaire Tourism - Bonaire, long-known as the Diver’s Paradise, offers the ease of boat diving with the adventure of shore diving.

P. 6 www.tourismbonaire.com Bruce Bowker’s Carib Inn - Bonaire - Carib Inn is a smaller resort catering to the vacationing diver. P. 6 www.caribinn.com Buddy Dive Resort - Bonaire - experience an unspoiled natural paradise offering spectacular susets, gentle breezes and crystal-clear turquoise waters. P. 76 www.buddydive.com Cabo Pulmo Beach Resort and Dive Center - Diving the Aquarium of the World. PADI Courses. Diving Tours. Eat, Sleep & Dive Packages. P. 78 www.cabopulmo.com Cave Training Mexico - Riviera Maya’s experts in cenote/cavern, cave & MKVI Poseidon rebreather diving & training. P. 76 www.cavetrainingmexico.com Cayman Islands Department of Tourism Only 1 hour and 10 minutes from Miami - fly in the morning, beach in the afternoon! P. 21 www.divecayman.ky Costa Baja Resort - La Paz, Mexico’s only 5-Star hotel & resort. Luxury amenities, with golf course & spa on-site. P. 79 www.costabajaresort.com

East Cape Divers - Cabo Pulmo Marine Park – Perfect for marine life, underwater photography or for simply exploring a new diving adventure. P. 75 www.eastcapedivers.com

Vacation Connection/Dive With Martin Islands fastest boats & best Divemasters, NO crowds, approximately 8 divers per boat! P. 79, 81 www.vacationconnectionnrh.com

Fun Baja - The best service in La Paz: Daily dive trips, Camp & Dive, and Live-Aboard Cruises. P. 79 www.funbaja.com

Hawaii

Honduras Institute of Tourism - Honduras offers reefs, beaches, natural adventures, colonial cities including the Maya ruins of Copan and the Bay Islands. P. 25 www.letsgohonduras.com Indepth Watersports - Adventure diving on one-of-a-kind converted Navy Seal RIB; expert training from resort to CCR trimix.

P. 26 www.indepthwatersports.com Jupiter Dive Center - P. 49 www.jupiterdivecenter.com Laguna Beach Resort- Utila - Our oceanfront resort offers unlimited shore diving as well as 3 boat dives/day. P. 25 www.lagunabeachresort.info

Aqua Kauai Beach Resort - With 4 swimming pools, exotic waterfalls, 4 dining options, and numerous resort amenities, you’ll enjoy a full-service island retreat.

P. 39 www.aquahospitality.com Dive Oahu - PADI Gold Palm Dive Center just 3 minutes from Waikiki. We dive all the major wrecks. P. 39 www.diveoahu.com Hawaiian Rafting Advenutures - The best Maui has to offer with dive shop in Lahaina offerin a range or tours and services. P. 39 www.hawaiianrafting.com Jack’s Diving Locker - Kona, Hawaii Jack’s Diving Locker is the right place to take your IDC training. P. 39 www.jacksdivinglocker.com

DivEncounters - The Worldwide representative of the luxury live-aboard M/V Galapagos Sky. P. 81 www.divencounters.com Truk Odyssey- Live-aboard in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia. 132’ vessel for 16 divers. Nitrox included. World’s finest wreck diving. P.79 www.trukodyssey.com

Photography/Video Backscatter East & West Underwater Video and Photo - Now with 2 locations & the most experienced staff to serve your underwater imaging needs. P. 77 www.backscatter.com Ikelite - Manufacturer of underwater camera housings, strobes, mounting arms and flashlights. P. 7 www.ikelite.com SeaLife Cameras - Underwater cameras and accessories to help you explore the underwater world. P. 17 www.sealife-cameras.com Ultralight Control Systems - Manufacturers of trays and arms for your cameras, lights & strobes for digital, video or film. P. 73 www.ulcs.com

Phocea Mexico - Training & Dive Resort to: Cenotes, Cozumel, Local Reefs, Whalesharks, Bull Sharks, & Sailfish. P. 45 www.phoceamexico.com

Seasport Divers - Kauai, Hawaii - Fullservice dive shop specializing in local Kauai scuba diving tours, snorkeling tours and scuba certification courses. P. 39 www.seasportdivers.com

Plaza Beach Resort Bonaire – The resort that has all. PADI 5-star IDC, beach, spacious villas and great restaurants. P. 6 www.plazabeachresortbonaire.com

Waikiki Diving - PADI 5 Star IDC in the heart of Waikiki! Best Wreck & Reef Diving on Oahu. Two Boats Daily! Full Service Dive Center! P. 39 www.waikikidiving.com

Gogh Jewelry - Collection of bracelets, necklaces and earrings are crafted locally using metal smithing techniques. P. 81 www.goghjewelrydesign.com

Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort & Spa - Cozumel’s only AAA FourDiamond award winner is surrounded by the pristine waters and colorful coral reefs. P. 18 www.intercontinental.com

Pacific and Exotic

ORIS - Maker of fine Swiss mechanical timepieces since 1904 including a full line of professional divers pieces. P. 12,13 www.oris.ch

Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos All Inclusive Resort - Live the legend at the best Resort for divers located in the ”Heart and Soul of Cabo”. P. 75 www.sandos.com Scuba Club Cozumel - Mexico Spanish colonial-style, located on the waterfront one mile south of downtown, built by divers for divers. P. 78 www.scubaclubcozumel.com

Deep Blue Resort - Utila – Oceanfront dedicated dive resort with unlimited shore diving, Utila, undiscovered jewel of the Caribbean. P. 25 www.deepblueutila.com

Southern Cross Club - Little Cayman A small, very comfortable, award-winning resort with world-famous diving and sport fishing in Little Cayman. P. 49 www.southerncrossclub.com

Den Laman Condominiums - Bonaire - 16 modern A/C apartments perched atop the waterfront Sunset Restaurant. Dive & Photo shop on property. P. 6 www.denlaman.com

Splash Dive Center - Placencia, Belize: PADI Full Service Dive Center, Whale Shark, Manatee, Glover’s Reef & Blue Hole trips.

P. 78 www.splashbelize.com

Dive Saint Lucia - a PADI 5 Star centre offering all PADI courses from beginner to instructor together with guided dives on all the beautiful dive sites of our island. P. 47 www.divesaintlucia.com

Stuart Cove’s Tiger Beach Seafaris - Snorkel with Wild Dolphins or dive with Tiger Sharks at TIGER BEACH with Stuart Cove!

P. 23 www.stuartcovesharkdiving.com/ tigerbeach

Divi Flamingo Beach Resort - Bonaire Oceanfront dive resort features PADI 5-star dive operation with custom boats, instruction, dive packages & shore diving.

P. 6 www.diviresorts.com

The Cortez Club - La Paz, Mexico: World class diving with Giant Manta Rays, Hammerheads, Sea Lions, Whalesharks & More! P. 81 www.cortezclub.com

Sam’s Tours - Palau’s #1 ranked dive operation, we specialize in amazing diving.

P. 77 www.waikikidiving.com

United States Panhandle Shipwreck Trail - The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail consists of 12 unique shipwrecks along Florida’s Panhandle. P. 27 www.FloridaPanhandleDiveTrail.com

Instruction/Training The Ocean Corporation - Offering commercial diver training, under water welding, ROVs and NDT weld inspector training since 1969. P. C3 www.oceancorp.com

Live-aboards Aggressor Fleet & Dancer Fleet – The largest fleet of live-aboards in the world serving 15 yachts. Providing professional service for 25+ years. P. C2-3 www.aggressor.com Aqua Cat Cruises - Weeklong All Inclusive Luxusry Liveaboard Diving Adventure Cruises Depart Nassau, Bahamas to the Exuma Cays.

P. 77 www.aquacatcruises.com

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 80

Scuba Accessories

Spare Air - Smallest redundant breathing device to get you to the surface in an emergency. P. 14 www.spareair.com

Scuba Equipment Analox Sensor Technology - Manufacture of a wide range of sport diving analysers from US Navy approved Nitrox units to a highly accurate Trimix analyser, Analox is the preferred choice for sport divers. P. 76 www.analox.net BARE - Manufacturer’s of the best fitting wetsuits and drysuits on Earth. P. 5, 37 www.bare-wetsuits.com Cressi - A company close to its Italian sea-loving heritage providing superior designs for discriminating divers. P. 15, 71 www.cressisubusa.com Dive Rite - Florida-based pioneer and manufacturer of technical and advanced open water diving equipment since 1984.

P. 25 www.diverite.com IST Sports - Manufacturing and wholesaling quality SCUBA and watersports equipment worldwide for 33 years. P. 78 www.istsports.com

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net

2014

BEST WorldMags.net SCUBA OF

D

I

V

I

N

G

LOOK Eye-catching shots that deserve a second look JAN/FEB PHOTOGRAPHER Keri Wilk L O C AT I O N Car Wash Cenote, Quintana Roo, Mexico CAMERA SPECS Gear Nikon D800, Nauticam housing, Zen 230mm dome port ISO 400 F-stop f/9 Shutter speed 1/125 sec

MAY PHOTOGRAPHER Franco Banfi L O C AT I O N White Sea, Karelia, Northern Russia CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon 5D MKII, Subal housing, Canon 100mm macro f/2.8 lens, Seacam strobes ISO 200 F-stop f/16 Shutter speed 1/200 sec

AUGUST PHOTOGRAPHER Franco Banfi L O C AT I O N White Sea, Karelia, Northern Russia CAMERA SPECS Gear Canon EOS 5D MKIII, Subal housing, Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens, two INON 240 strobes, Sola Photo 1200 modeling light ISO 200 F-stop f/11 Shutter speed 1/125 sec

WorldMags.net

scubadiving.com NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 / 82

Dive — to— L ive

WorldMags.net Ever think of turning your passion for

oceancorp.com

Scuba Diving into a professional career?

Worldwide, countless divers and nondestructive testing inspectors are living their passion in the field of commercial diving. Watch our videos to see how Ocean Corporation has helped passionate divers Dive to Live.

HOUSTON, TEXAS WorldMags.net

Ultimate Diver Training

Nondestructive Tech Training

WorldMags.net

WorldMags.net