Dive times August 2013

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

THE DIVE TIMES News from below the surface at Dive Otago

Kia Ora, What a magical place Dunedin is for seeking adventure. A few days ago I took a couple of staff out training for their Master of a Small Commercial Dive Boat certificate. The day was misty and there was some concern negotiating the harbour channel to the heads. Kelly piloted the boat across Blueskin Bay towards Seacliff with the help of the chart plotter and after 30 minutes the trainees were engaged in laying out and weighing the anchor. We managed to squeeze in a little fishing between the exercises and mused at the variety of species that came to the line. Blue and red cod, trumpeter, scarlet and banded wrasse were caught and released. The magnificent mollymawks feasted on the frames of the blue cod that we kept and the gulls fed on the scraps left behind by our opportunistic friends.

There is some interesting “rough” (jargon for a likely fish/dive spot) along that coast and whilst the depth may not be challenging there is a lot to see when reasonable visibility permits. If diving, fishing and kayaking floats your boat then don’t discount the area as a destination for adventure.

Cheers Dave and Mary It’s all about exploration, escaping the daily grind and discoving something you have never seen before both here in Dunedin and abroad.

Above -The 2013 International Trip team gear up for a dive in the beautiful waters of the Solomon Islands.

Below - Adam Illingworth has been exploring in the harbour basin and found some interesting creatures like this Painted Prawn.

Dive Centre News Dive Otago becomes the first and only New Zealand dive shop to be awarded the PADI 5 STAR Career Development Centre status!

Dive Otago has just been awarded the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) 5 STAR Career Development Centre status.

The PADI Career Development Center (CDC) classification is awarded annually to PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centers and Five Star Instructor Development Dive Resorts that dedicate their businesses to professional development beyond regular scuba instructor training and meet the highest requirements for training PADI scuba diving leaders. PADI CDCs offer career-oriented training to prepare scuba diving professionals for employment in the dive industry, as well as offering job placement assistance for program graduates.

Contents News 1 Solomon Islands 2013 2 Have a Go 6 Short Courses 6 School Programmes 7 Trips and Events 7 Dive Club 8 Career Courses 10 Graduate Stories 13 Shop Dive Otago 16 Adams Spearfishing Tips 18 Spearfishing Trips 19 Traceys Photography Tips 20 Adam’s Marine Identification Guide 22 The Last Word 24

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

Solomon Islands Dive Trip | 13th - 25th June 2013 After growing up watching countless slide shows of my parent’s dive trips to the Solomon Islands, last month it was finally my turn to explore this true diver’s paradise. I was given the very envious job of escorting six fabulous guests to these sometimes troubled islands to experience some of the most impressive dive sites in the world.

Over the next few newsletters I will and give you a taster of what we saw and a brief history of the sites we dived.

My overall impression was varied and rich. The juxtaposition of opposites made this one on the most memorable places I have ever visited. In one breath it is beautiful, calm and friendly and in the next dirty, dysfunctional and hostile. This is a place whose history is bound in global conflict yet whose future seems similarly affected by the aid and influence of its regional neighbours.

Impressions Of Guadalcanal Above The Water Line

By Virginia Watson Our trip began in Honiara, where we landed at the infamous Honiara International Airport, formerly known as Henderson Field. The airfield itself was a focus of Japanese and American forces during world War II and the battles that ensued led to the creation of the wreck diver’s paradise, called Iron Bottom Sound.

As we pulled out of the airport excited about what lay ahead I was immediately struck by the site of a war memorial, rows and rows of trees with a plaque at each base, a swift reminder that while this was the start of our adventure, this land was the last adventure for so many. The group were almost completely silent for the 8km van ride to our accommodation. For some, this was their first experience of a third world country, there were bare feet, barbed wire, palm trees, machetes, blue skies, burning rubbish, bright eyes and betel nut smiles.

The accommodation, The Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel, was located right in the heart of the capitol Honiara. It was really beautiful and upmarket in one wing and a little less so in the other. Vern and Nigel definitely won the room lottery here but everyone was happy to get a little air conditioning, After unpacking our bags we set off as a group to explore downtown Honiara. We stopped in at a few local dairies/mixed business stores and tried to get a feel for the place. It was a public holiday and the footpaths were pretty busy with people milling around.

We found the local market that sold a vast array of local produce.

The main things for sale were watermelons, peanuts, limes, chillis, capsicum, aubergine and a root vege that looked a lot like kumara. The heat was intense, people were everywhere and the energy of the place was frantic. We weaved our way through to the fish market where the smell was putrid and almost too overwhelming. Tuna, kingfish and many other species sat under shade in long rows with women and men waving long coconut fronds to ward off the flies.

After the market we were done and it was agreed that we all went back to the hotel. We bought coconuts, limes, a watermelon and some coke that could be put to good use with our duty-free stash. It was pretty hot at this stage (around 32 degrees) and we all agreed it was time to check out the pool and hydrate.

The pool overlooks the main Honiara harbour, so we laid back as

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the boats rolled in and out. The watermelon was sacrificed and was used as a pool toy. After an hour or so we jumped out and got ready for dinner. The hotel restaurant was international in its offerings and the beer on hand was the local Sol Brew. We had a great meal a few drinks outside and a local band provided some entertainment. They had quite a following of locals who cheered after all the good bits and even got up for the occasional dance.

This was repeated over the next four days we had in Honiara.

The next few days we spent diving with Dive Tulagi. (More on this later) On the first day we dived the Japanese Submarine the I1 and the American B17 Bomber and on the second we dived the massive Japanese war ship wrecks of Bonegi 1 (Hirogawa Maru) and Bonegi 2 (Hirokawa Maru.) We were picked up each morning around 5:30am in a huge truck where we loaded up the back and headed west to the dive sites that were all located a close surface swim from a beach.

The drive was bumpy but the view from the back of the truck was well worth it. All the smells and noise were all the more vibrant with the roof and windows removed. As we got further away from Honiara the scene changed quite dramatically-the shops became less frequent-the towering trees more abundant.

We crossed many rivers each busy with daily activities including washing of bodies, utensils and even the odd car. Children played in groups everywhere. There were local stalls in front of each village selling a wide variety of produce.

On day four we had an off gassing day before our flight to Gizo.

We had bit of a sleep in and organised a World War II tour with a guide from the hotel. After breakfast we all went across the road to National Museum which was small but gave us an insight into Solomon Islands cultural objects and histories. A Maori carving in the pacific garden was a nice wee touch of home. After meeting up with our guide and driver for the day, we made our way along the now familiar road to the west.

We stopped at a memorial at the local police station and then continued on to Vilu War Museum which was about 40 kms away. On arrival everyone was gobsmacked by this beautiful garden littered with rusty planes and war artillery. I’m not quite sure what we were expecting but it would be fair to say this place really blew every one away.

Our guide was part of a family that had looked after the museum for generations. She said that after the tension of 1999-2000, the museum had become neglected and overgrown but slowly the

Dive Times family along with locals had worked hard at transforming it into a tourist attraction Dive Times once again. There was an American F4 Wildcat (American fighter plane) complete with foldable wings that was definitely a highlight for all. Our guide demonstrated for us how the wings folded back so it could fit on an aircraft carrier. There was a small entrance room that was filled with pictures of the planes we had seen and some of the wreck we had dived in the previous days.

The mercury was definitely at is peak as we piled back into the van for the next part of the tour. Next stop was the American Memorial. The Memorial is located on Skyline Drive overlooking Honiara. There are four directional walls pointing to the four major battle areas. Inscribed on these walls are a description of the battles and a listing of the U.S. and Allied ships that were lost. It was great to see references to the NZ effort in the area and the metres and metres of inscriptions gave us a good

Issue 57 August 2013

sense of tumultuous scenes that played out all around where we where standing.

island in the north west of Honiara and our home for the next 7 days.

We then made our way to the Japanese Memorial. The route there took us through some pretty derelict areas, with small shacks precariously perched on top of steep cliffs. The Japanese Memorial was a towering white sculpture surrounded by a very Zen like garden. It was a lot more eerie that it’s American counterpart but just as beautiful. There was also a bronze sculpture of a fisherman facing the sea with a fishing net over his shoulder.

The sculpture was of Seiichi Takahashi a soldier killed on Guadalcanal, His home town donated the sculpture.

Gizo was a whole new story and I will fill you in the coming newsletters

We made our way back down the hill to the hotel with memory cards full to the brim. After a few relaxing drinks in the pool we had our last dinner at the The Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel and set off to our rooms to pack for our early morning flight to Gizo. Gizo is a small

To anyone planning a trip this way I would definitely recommend add some extra dry days into the itinerary to get a full picture.

The sights we saw on land gave extra depth to what we saw under the water.

Guadalcanal is often skipped, as divers make a beeline to the outer islands which is a shame as the wrecks we dived here were just as impressive and fish life just as abundant.

This dive trip is one I will certainly not forget in a hurry and one I would do all over again in a heartbeat.

A big thanks to my fellow travellers Verne Smith, Nigel Hooper, Sandy King, Darrin Burke, John and Shonagh Laverty for being great buddies and not giving me too much stick about forgetting stuff.

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Issue 57 August 2013

I-1 Submarine - Dive 1 The big Japanese cruiser submarine I-1 lies on a reef off Tambea which is a small village about 40 km west of Honiara. After the long drive we unloaded the gear, set up and were briefed by our dive guide Samson.

The surface swim was around 300m to the point where we were began our descent. The sun was out and the temp on the computer read a balmy 30 degrees water temp. We dropped down to about 5m and swam along a beautiful wall covered in sponges and giant fan coral. Visibility was 1015m with no surge.

After about 10 minutes we hit the giant sub at about 7m. It was fully encrusted with bright coloured sponges, table coral, nudibranchs and hundreds of tropical fish species. We descended on the right side peering into openings in the twisted metal. When we reached about 21.5m we entered a large opening in the sub and swam through a small round opening that must have once been a watertight door. We exited the stern at around 27m. We hung around there for a few minutes and then took a line back up the opposite side. Everyone was busy taking photos of the wreck as well as small stuff.

Towards the end of the dive I saw a small table top coral that was reminiscent of a bonsai, a fitting tribute, I thought, the heritage of the sub.

We headed back along the wall and after a safety stop ascended to the point where we began. At the surfaced we were all pretty excited about what had just seen, the first dive in the Solomons had been a success.

After John retrieved Darrin’s mask (sorry Darrin) we made the long swim back to shore. Back on the beach we stripped down, rehydrated and packed up the truck. Darrin found a 50mm rusted out machine gun lying on the beach a relic that had remained there all those years.

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Builder: Commissioned: Class & type: Length: Depth:

Kawasaki, Kobe 10 March 1926 J1 type submarine 320 ft (98 m) 5 - 30m

The Japanese I1 Submarine had participated in campaigns in both Pearl harbour and Guadalcanal. On 29 January 1943 The New Zealand minesweepers, Kiwi and Moa detected the phosphorescent outline of a submarine.

HMNZS Kiwi dropped 12 Depth Chargers a the submarine was forced to the surface and made a run at ship while exchanging gunfire. The submarine altered course to starboard just before HMNZS Kiwi rammed it on the port side aft of the conning tower. HMNZS Kiwi again rammed the submarine and aboard, an officer, was seen to be hit by machine gun fire. A third ramming damaged both vessels and HMNZS Moa took up the chase, following the submarine and continually firing its 4” gun at the target. More than two hours after the first attack, the I-1 hit the reef near Kamimbo Bay and was disabled. Critical codes remained on board and the Japanese command tried unsuccessfully to destroy the boat with air and submarine attacks. The US Navy salvaged 200,000 pages of intelligence: code books, charts, manuals, and the ship’s log.

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

B17 Bomber - Dive 2

Dive Times

After the I1 dive we travelled 20km towards Honiara to our next dive spot, the American B17 Bomber. This plane lies offshore at Domo (Ndomo) Village. After a quick word with the security guard, who was sitting in a little hut just off the road, we drove down a long palm tree lined road to the beach and unloaded the gear. Samson gave us another informative fun briefing about the American B17 Bomber unfortunately nicknamed “Bessie the Jap Basher.”

The surface swim to the plane was only around 30m and we descended down a sand bank into the clear warm water. The plane was lying perpendicular to the shore with its right wing sitting at 8m and the left wing at 27m. We swam straight to the cockpit which was at 15m. The bomber was still largely intact with 3 engines lying in front, the yoke, throttles and instrument panel all distinguishable. The fuselage from the bomb bay back is missing, salvaged on January 31, 1944. The ball turret lies on the sand behind the fuselage.

The dive was about 55 mins long and everyone was pretty excited when we got to the surface. We packed up again on the beautiful beach as little kids played on homemade surfbords. On the ride home the skies really opened up and we all got a good face massage from the fat drops of rain!

Mission History “Bessie” was on a bombing mission Shortland Island when approximately twenty Japanese Zero fighters intercepted from the front and both beams with determined attacks.

Two of the attackers were claimed as shot down and another probably damaged. Despite the attacks, this B-17 dropped its bombs on a cargo vessel, which ‘took on a decided list’. Hit, the Fortress was last seen descending to the water smoking and disabled with fighters pursuing it to sea level. In fact, the B-17 travelled 290 miles from where it was last seen to the coast of Guadalcanal at sea level, and ditched off Domo Cove.

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Issue 57 August 2013

Have a Go PADI Discover Scuba Diving Only $25 7th August, 4th September PADI Discover Snorkelling- $100 For a group of 5 Please note we do take private and group bookings for all of these courses.

Have a Go

By Emma Young

Discover Scuba Diving We had a lot of awesome groups come through Dive Otago from the Kawa Dolphins, Alexandra Scout Group to a couple of Birthday Party Groups and a Corporate Group brought its workers along for a bit of team building. Our usual monthly public sessions were also well numbered throughout these winter months too.

Look below at the number of people that have completed our Discover Scuba Course! Give it a go and your name could be there as well.

at this stage. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t played ball with us over the last month with a lot of courses having to have catch up days. We want to thank our customers for their patience and it’s great to see their enthusiasm when they come back to finish the course. Come on Mother Nature give us a couple of weekends in a row with great diving weather.

A couple of great specialities coming up, firstly we have Search and Recovery at the end of September and Drysuit Speciality in early October. Give us a bell if you want more information and improve your skills in these areas......

Congratulations to the following students on their recent certifications!

PADI Open Water Diver Course Troy Jolly, Mohammad Alali, Olivia McPherson, Ibtisam Al Riyam, Stephanie De Hamel, Farah Al Barwani , Ilan Vonderwalde, Josie Kydd, Mark Welsh, Sabrina Loehr, Logan Cunningham, Glenn Hayes, Gregory Hyslop, Carlos Rouco, Daryl Beattie, Scott Johnston, Megan Johnston and Ryan Mason.

Advanced Open Water Divers Jason Eichstaedt, Tom Bliss, Alex Reid, Heidi Joseph, Jonathan Armitage and Brenton Twist.

Rescue Diver Course Marco Billia, Christopher Frantz, Rory Kyle, Tom Bliss and Heidi Joseph

A big congratulations to: Tamati Wallace, Rebekah Duxbury, Shyla Simpson, Jayden Simpson, Tyla Adams, Emma Hau, John Wallace, Kimiora Priestley, Tyrin Tutaki, Krishan Karetai, Samantha Russell, Luke Stanley, Jen Siegel, Alva Bennett, Tama Solomon, Joshua Paff, Zac Holt, Shay Thom, Kou Kitahara, Rhys Dunbar, Saeed Alshahrani, Ahmad Abulaban, Ali Alhamad, Ali Falakah, Edrees Alkrithi, Moyad Barnawi, Manaf Abdu, Bassam Sobahy, Melanie Park, Kai Xiang Chiew, Emily Duncan, Jason Williams, David Letts, James Millar, Rosanna Harris, Izaak Blair, Braxton MackenzieWhite, Ben Polley, Bessie Van Hale, Simon Beardmore, Sean Buchanan, Jack Waddell, Hannah Raymond, Casey Henry, Talia Oldham, Kate Campbell, Paige Smith, Heidi Pilgrim, Brent Rogers, Raymond Jocelyn, Sherman Weatherall, Johnny O’ Neill, Marica Niutabua, Kate De Lautour, Matthew Silvey, Timothy Ball, Christian Noakes, Kelsey Te Maiharoa, Tristan Hurndell, Jack Dalton, Fiona Hannah Schultz, Johnny O’ Neill, Erin Blanch, Emily Hall, Steve Lodge, Rose Newman, Craig Hughes, Fletcher Thompson, Riley Thompson, Fletcher Thoman, Daru Susilo-Knox, Chris Wright, Alex Foot, Fiona Hannah Schultz, Sophie Cooper , Amelia Willis, Natalia Tetlow, Bradley Tetlow , Tom Richmond, Jack Taylor, Jake Clearwater, Amy Johnston, Mark Hamilton, Trevor Hamilton, Nicholas Langley, Emily Tyrrell, Harry Johnston, Matt Langley, Ruby-May Taylor and George Taylor.

Short Courses

By Emma Young

New Certifications!

We are a hardy bunch down here and with the last of the autumn months and the winter months upon us it hasn’t deterred customers from learning or continuing to dive. Our open water courses have been fully booked and are that way until September

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Short Courses PADI Open Water Diver Course August 2nd (Full) August 30th (Places available) October 7th (Places available) PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course September 28th & June 29th October 19th & 20th PADI Rescue Diver Course September 25th - 29th Search and Recovery Specialty - Thursday 26th September 6pm, all day Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th September.

Drysuit Specialty - Friday 4th October 6pm and all day Saturday 5th October.

Deep Speciality - contact us for the timetable.

Please note we do take private and group bookings for all of these courses. Private cost a little more and group bookings (5 or more) can save up to $150.

Dive Times

Digital Photography Specialty Dive Times Sandy Webb and David Scobie Night Specialty Gordon McKendrick, Kelyn Witehira, Tom Bliss, Michael McBeath Enriched Air (Nitrox) Specialty Gordon McKendrick, Ross Flamank, John Laverty, Kieran Hyslop, Nigel Hooper, Shonagh Laverty and Tom Bliss.

Instructor Development Course and Instructor Exam Well done to Yvette Pauley who completed her Instructor Development course and went on to pass her Instructor Exams in may. Yvette is now working in Turkey with her certification.

Well done!

School Programme

By Emma Young

Congratulations to Wyntre, Hanri, Angus, Levi, Sam, Meg, Luc, TuWhare, and Taikaha! Awesome Job on completing your Open Water Certification Guys! Hope you loved it & we’ll see you back soon!

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certifications!

STAR Open Water Diver Course Sean Fields, Hamish Nimmo, Alex Yarnall, Alexander Pyper, Luke Pyper, Erica Bisset, Zoe Goom, Michael Henderson, Paul Bell, Maxwell Pennell, Ryan Bradley, Sinead Cormack, Gavin Stark, Garth Devereux, Megan McCall, Mathilde Van Baarle, Richard Scoles, Kawana Tokona, Liam Tompkins, Oscar Reid, Jack Harland, Robert Bloem, Aaron Fahey, Jessica Hewland, Ethan Hickey, Ella Barclay, Michael Ellison, Guy Guilford, Gwyn Jones, Max South, Wyntre Coleman-Clarke, Tu Whare Gillies, Levi Baker, Angus Grant, Luc Purser, Sam Perkins, Hanri De Bruin and Taikaha Wainui - Dunn.

STAR Advanced Open Water Course Alex McGrouther, Anna Do Young Lee, Sam Bull, Jack Nicoll and Liam Tompkins.

PADI Open Water Course – Alice Buxton – Gateway Student As mentioned in our previous newsletter Alice has been with us for 10 weeks over a 20 week period for work experience and also to complete her Open Water Diving Course. A super successful last diving day ensured Alice became a certified diver. It was a perfect day to dive but because of previous rough weather we had about 30cm of visibility. This didn’t deter her at all and she got through her skills beautifully then undertook a dive tour of the Mokoia wreck. Her very last day was in the office of Dive Otago where we swapped boxes of chocolates and had her doing a bit of shop displaying. We have missed Alice since she has left us. She has an awesome work ethic and bubbly personality, but........she is thinking about doing either a Diploma or National Certificate next year, so we are hoping to have her smiley face around in 2014!

If this program may suit you or a student at your school, please contact me.

Trips and Events

By Emma Young

STAR Open Water Course

Project Aware Finathon

We have had an excellent response from secondary school students participating in the Open Water Course in the school holidays. In a lot of cases not only do they earn credits towards their NZQA and their lifelong PADI qualification, but we also find it improves their confidence, organisational skills and they get to meet students from different schools. This course gives them a taster of what the tertiary programmes are like too. The schools involved over the April and July school holidays were South Otago High School, Roxburgh Area School, Napier High School, Cromwell College, Blue Mountain College, Queens High School, John McGlashan College, Otago Boys High School, St Kevins College, Te Wharekura O Arowhenua, Bayfield High School, Roncalli College Timaru and Columba College. Certainly a spread over the country which is great. We are off to a lot of upcoming Career Expos around Southland and Otago in the coming months, so make sure you make yourself known at our booth.

Thanks to everyone who turned up on Sunday the 21st of July to support and participate in our FINathon. We are still receiving donations so will have a final tally once this is confirmed, at this stage it is approximately US $2281. We had an awesome afternoon swimming with sharks, pirates, mermaids and a whale! Our younger participants thought it was great and we had a lot of people watching us and inquiring about the event. Overall our teams swam the length of the Otago Harbour which is approximately 21kms, well done to everyone. Super successful and we had a ball, well done to all.

Congratulations to the following students on their recent

Dive Against Debris Scuba divers have cleaned debris from underwater environments for decades. But despite our best efforts, the trash from our daily lives keeps piling up.

In response to the onslaught of marine debris, one of the biggest ocean issues of our time, Project AWARE launched Dive Against Debris.

Created by divers for divers, this global, underwater survey of

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rubbish is designed to increase debris removal efforts, prevent harm to marine life and connect your underwater actions to policy changes and prevention.

So once again, we intend to participate in the international clean up, on Saturday the 21st of September 2013. We encourage all divers to come along and help out. For those of you with no equipment, you can hire dive equipment free of charge for this event on a first in first served basis. We will be holding a beach clean up for all non-divers at the same time.

We are encouraged to repeat the clean up of Macandrew Bay in 2012, so we can compare the data and make sure it is decreasing in the amount of debris found. A free BBQ will warm your belly and revitalise you after the clean up.

So if you are interested to help us out please contact us to register, especially if you are a diver. We had a fantastic turn out last year and an awesome day, come and be part of it!

DOC Visit Whale & Dolphin Stranding Training A big thanks to local DOC Officer Jim Fyfe for an awesome talk and training session on Whale & Dolphin standings and giving us some hands on experience saving Wally the Whale. (Pictured below at the finathon) We were lucky enough to have three sessions of training with Jim, one for the public and then our students were able to learn how to help the following morning. During our time at Moana Pool (with the Finathon), Jim brought Wally along and we had a go actually in the water getting him off the pontoon. Well done to all that helped out. We have a list of trained people now, that in the unlikely event an actual stranding happening locally, we will be able to contact to help out.

Dive Club

By Chris Zinsli

Hola Amigos & Amigas! ‘El Presidente’ here… So as you may have noticed, Otago has been plunged into the thick of winter, and the weather has most definitely not been playing ball…

Unfortunately the windy southerlies have cancelled the Club

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Boat dive for the last allocated times but do not give up hope.

We will endeavour to reschedule these to keep you all happy and doing what we all love to do!

Shark Water Movie Night In other news we had a social event at Dive Otago with a great turnout of around 35 people. It was a movie night to screen ‘Sharkwater’, a film which highlights the plight of the sharks, and how vulnerable they have become due to the cruel practice of ‘Finning’. Drinks and Popcorn were consumed, and those present were educated about the danger the world’s oceans are facing. I highly recommend this flick for anyone that has not seen it before - the underwater footage is truly spectacular!

Club Dives The next Club Boat dive we have scheduled is for Saturday the 14th of September, and the next Shore diving on Saturday the 14th of August. That doesn’t mean that you can’t schedule your own dive days however. Why not keep an eye on the swells that could reduce visibility along the coast and try and get up to Karitane (Huriawa) Peninsula for a look? There’s a challenging surface swim to gain any real depth, but once submerged the topography is varied and fantastic. Ask in the shop for directions and advice for diving here, but we have an amazing coastline that is just begging to be explored.

Postcards Speaking of exploring, one of our local legend Club Divers, John Williams (pictured- below) has taken a holiday to Russia. Whilst there he has completed a couple of dives in water that is only 2 degrees! This would make our own backyard seem like a spa bath no doubt! Very brave John and I trust you enjoyed the experience!

We hope to see you all soon, keep in touch (send me photos of your own underwater adventures) and dive safe.

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

Dive Times

MILFORD SOUND 30 August to 2 September 2013 4 Days, 6 dives

World class diving in our own backyard!

There is something very majestic about diving in Milford Sound. Our transport will drive you over one of the most beautiful roads in the world, over a mountain pass and through a tunnel. As our boat takes off, you look out at arguably one of the most picturesque views in the world.

You will dive through a layer of blurry fresh water, which is stained with tannins from the forest trees, and when you reach the clear salt water huge trees of rarely seen black coral greet you, as well as an abundance of various marine life. When you exit the water, giant waterfalls surround the boat. This really is a trip you will remember for a lifetime!

If you are not a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver yet, why not complete a few of your dives for this course in this amazing location. If you sign up for your course in conjunction with this trip will discount your course by $150 to only $295.

MILFORD SOUND Our Personal Ratings Big Fish Action Crayfish Colorful Fish Soft Corals UW Photography

Trip Includes:

Drop off Shark Action

• 2 days diving off our boat Sea Horse • Three nights accommodation at Milford Sound Lodge •

Free Transport ex Dunedin

•

All Air Supplied

•

Discounted Hire Rates

Macro Life Remoteness of Dive sites Avg Visibility 15-30 m Avg Water . 12-16°C

TRIP PRICE

$699

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Career Courses

By Jen Clent

Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction February Group Half way through their 36 week programme the February group have now completed their Advanced First Aid training and been assessed for Pre-hospital Emergency Care (PHEC) so are nearly First Aid Instructors. Due to an unfortunate weather spell they fell just shy of completing their PADI Divemaster certifications but have shown amazing improvement in demonstration skills in the confined water, briefing dives and handling divemaster duties like surface support station setting and retrieval and general logistical support. They are all getting very excited about heading off for their week long practicum in Milford Sound, Fiordland in August.

June Group This group of 4 Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction students and 1 National Certificate in Diving (Foundation) student have already gained their PADI Open Water Diver credentials and have been loving going for a hoon in their buddy pairs without an Instructor! They have now also started completing some of

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the PADI Adventure dives including Underwater Naturalist where they are learning to passively interact with the marine life to minimize disturbance. They have also learnt to identify different vertebrates, invertebrates and plants in our local environment.

We are currently taking applications for our Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction Course starting on August 5th.

We will continue to enrol up to the end of August.

If you are keen to join this crew don’t panic there is still time.

Simply contact the store today for some more info or to make an appointment to have a chat about what works best for you National Certificate in Diving (Foundation)

By Tracey Channon March Part Time Group This years Foundation group have had their fair share of cancellations this winter but are now nearly PADI Rescue Divers!

They have recently completed the required 20 logged dives and met the prerequisite to jump into unit standard assessments in Deep diving along with Search & Recovery. They have done really well and with just a few assessments left to complete their qualifications will hopefully be looking at the next step...PADI Divemaster!

Dive Times

Dive Times National Certificate in Diving (Leadership) + Recreational Dive Master The Part Time Leadership group are currently nearing the end of their divemaster training, with only a couple of sessions left to go. It sounds as though they are keen to start helping out with some of our recreational students completing their training. Recently they have completed their skill assessments and can now demonstrate diving skills in the confined water to an excellent standards, they’ve also learnt how to help with Discover Scuba, Open Water and continuing education students. A couple of the students also have covered supervising deep dives and search and recovery dives. Congratulations to April Brown who finished her Divemaster qualification last weekend, and soon we will have a couple of more divemaster eager to help out.

Career Student’s Report

By Jonny McCallum February Diploma 2013 Last term began with everyone doing their Medic First Aid Instructor qualification. There was lots to learn and everyone enjoyed it, especially the role playing and scenarios. There was plenty of bandaging going on and a few people resembling mummies being stretchered around which was fun and made the learning all the more enjoyable! We’re now moving on to the more professional level and it was certainly a good start to it with everyone taking turns of playing patient or First Aider. There was a lot of work to get through but everyone succeeded in completing the qualification and overall had a great experience.

After this we went onto developing our pool skills - it is a lot different being able to do the skill and then doing it to demonstration quality. It was a challenge for us all but something we were really motivated to get right, with some of us coming in at the weekend using the pool to make sure we got our demonstration skills perfect! It was just a case of slowing everything we did right down and making it look easy and completely natural, remembering all the PADI acronyms which help a great deal. We started briefing the skills in the pool which was a lot of fun, playing instructor and looking out for any problems that could arise with students and putting them right. We did dive briefings on the dive sites at Aramoana and Wellers Rock also which were challenging but enjoyable. It was funny to see everyone furiously scribbling on their dive slates to make sure we got our briefings perfect. Then we had our class presentations, everyone worked really hard on these with some students making really good powerpoint presentations, while others went old school and just drew on the white board! In the end everyone got over any public speaking fears they had and the experience was a good one with everyone enjoying being teacher for a while.

Issue 57 August 2013

Career Courses Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction Beginner to Instructor Apply Now! National Certificate in Diving Foundation Beginner to Rescue Diver National Certificate in Diving Leadership Rescue Diver to Divemaster National Certificate in Diving Instruction PADI Instructor Development Course, IE and Specialty Instructor Course Taking Applications Now! Call Jen for more information 0800 DIVE OTAGO or email careercourses@diveotago.co.nz

Overall the course has been brilliant, a lot of us had never dived before we came to Dive Otago and to now be going onto being Divemasters and seeing our skills improve so much is very satisfying. Everyone is really enjoying learning new things all the time. We have learned so much about the underwater world and a lot about aquatic animals with most of us coming in contact with a friendly sea-lion at some point! We’ve just started our 3rd term and we are all looking forward to everything that lays ahead for us. It has certainly been a life changing experience.

Instructor graduates! (Pictured right) A huge congratulations to our August 2012 Group who have all successfully completed their Diploma and are now PADI Specialty Instructors: Kevin Piere, Jaden Beange, Lance Cameron, Campbell McIntosh and Yvette Pauley. Well done team!

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Issue 57 August 2013

10 Great Reasons

to do a Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction at Dive Otago 1. Ditch the 9 to 5 - we weren’t built to sit behind a desk why not get paid to scuba dive and make the ocean your office!

2. Get an Internationally recognised qualification in just one year - none of this 3 years plus a 2 years post grad business. Our course is just 36 Weeks.

3. The best job to travel with - Forget pulling pints in a smelly London pub and think sunset cruises in Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, the Pacific or the Caribbean.

4. Explore your creative side - Underwater Photographers and Videographers are needed in tourist areas around the world. Right here in Dunedin we have the world renowned Natural History New Zealand Film Unit producing amazing underwater content for the likes of the Discovery and National Geographic channels!

5. Make a difference in peoples lives - New divers are timid, yet excited and it is you who will introduce them to something that will change their life forever.

6. Promote Sustainable Eco-Tourism - Dive tourism helps to promote an awareness of our oceans’ health and creates sustainable jobs for locals.

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7. Dunedin is a rad little city - We are known for a wicked student culture, great surf and mountain bike trails.

New Zealand’s best skiing and snowboarding resorts Queenstown and Wanaka just 3 hrs away.

8. Train to the highest level - With our Diploma Programme you will graduate as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor with Five Speciality Ratings. The highest qualification you can get without working in the industry.

9. Jobs - If you want one there are loads of dream jobs out there for the taking. There are new jobs listed on the PADI Website every day and the dive industry has been steadily growing, worldwide certifications have almost doubled since 2006.

10. Train with the Professionals - Dive Otago has a reputation both here and abroad as producing great Instructors.

We often have companies approach us to employ our graduates as they know the quality of the training is top shelf.

We are now taking applications for this course all year round!

Call or email Jen for more information gopro@ diveotago.co.nz

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

Dive Times

Graduate Stories Name: Clive Cox Current Certification: PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Course completed at Dive Otago: Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction Which year you Graduated: 2011 Where have you worked since graduating: Australia, Malaysia Where are you currently working: Olympia air and scuba adventures on Tioman Island, Malaysia Where has your job taken you in the world: “two years ago I drove past Dive Otago and was only by chance that I went in to see what this instructing thing is all about, 1 year later I had graduated with a diploma, made some lifelong friends, and had fallen in love with the underwater world! Today I am sitting on a beach on a tropical island in Malaysia, doing something I love and marvelling at the places this job has taken me. From Mexico, to Australia, to Malaysia, to Indonesia....and I’m only just beginning. None of this could have been if I didn’t get the expert training and education from Dive Otago”

“

Today I am sitting on a beach on a tropical island in Malaysia, doing something I love....

”

Graduate Map

Dive Otago Graduates taking on The World!

Put Yourself on The Map! We are taking applications our Diploma in Professional Scuba Instruction Progamme. Places are filling fast, so if you think you might want to be considered for one of these progammes email us your name and address we will send you some more information.

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Issue 57 August 2013

Shop Dive Otago

Staff Pick

Aeris ION Regulator “The ION feels light in the mouth due to its small size and ABS/Polycarbonate composite construction, plus it’s a great breather, as evidenced by perfect scores on the ANSTI breathing machine.”

Scuba Diving Magazine’s 2008 Scuba Lab Review

Ion Package • • • •

Oceanic Probe or Excursion BCD Aeris Ion Regulator Oceanic Second Air Octopus Oceanic Pro Plus 2

$2599 inc gst 16

The pneumatically balanced demand valve along with a highly responsive design allows the ION regulator to provide a high volume of airflow with even the slightest inhalation effort, making it seem nearly effortless to breathe at any depth. All in a second stage barely wider than the mouthpiece and connected by a swivel to make it comfortable in the moth. The ION means business as it comes equipped for any type of dive conditions, cold or warm.

The compact ION LT has been reduced in weight by removing the swivel and by adding our ultra-flexible braided MaxFlex hose.

Paired with the ultra-compact AT600; a brand new over-balanced diaphragm first stage weighing in at just 1.5 lbs.

$799

inc gst

Dive Times

Issue 57 August 2013

WINTER WARMERS

Dive Times

Photos: Jen Clent

INSTORE NOW Wet or dry, hot or cold, Lavacore helps control your core temperature longer and when wet maintains neutral buoyancy.

TOPSIDE SERIES | SAILING, BOATING, KAYAKING, WATERSKIING, WIND SURFING, WAKA AMA OR JET SKIING. The Elite series is the perfect multi-sport thermal garment for protection against wind chill and surface splash. The unique blend of Polytherm, Merino and Neoprene in the Elite Series eliminates constriction and allows for extreme movement and flexibility while protecting your inner core.

Merino lining for increased warmth and comfort Starting from

$199inc gst

BOTTOM SIDE SERIES | DIVING, SNORKELLING, SPEARFISHING, SURFING. Vests from

$139inc gst

Short-Sleeved Tops from

$149inc gst

Long-Sleeved Tops from

$179

inc gst

•

Wind-proof layer provides anti-wind chill properties and ensures warmth in cold conditions

•

Water resistant outer layer facilitates fast water run-off and quick drying

•

Lightweight and 4-way stretch makes Lavacore incredibly comfortable to wear

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Breathable middle layer allows moisture to be drawn away from the body on the surface

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Lavacore is neutrally buoyant

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Anti-bacterial inner fleece minimizes odour and eliminates bacteria growth

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Issue 57 August 2013

Adam’s Spearfishing Tips Using the right equipment will often lead to a longer, more comfortable and most importantly safer dive.

In this issue we are looking at the Wetsuit: Sufficient body warmth is necessary to keep the body functioning as well as possible. Spearfishing/ freediving suits are made of open-cell neoprene and are generally in two pieces consisting of a pair of long johns and a jacket with no zips and attached hood to minimise water flow and usually have a non slip loading pad for gun placement and elbow and knee pads for abrasion resistance. Common scuba suits are made to be more resistant to compression, sturdier to avoid damage, but they add stiffness and don’t allow the suit to mould to your body. Also most scuba suits come with zips (zips are the enemy they allow water to flow in and out of the suit). This is ok for scuba divers who move around a lot and only spend around an hour in the water at a time, unlike spearos who just hang in the water for multiple hours at a time.

Open cell neoprene is very flexible and elastic. It follows the contour of your body and sticks close and suctions onto the skin allowing minimal water inside of the suit, providing extra warmth and superior comfort. Because there is no nylon inside and your body is against the naked neoprene, you need to lubricate the suit to get inside. Use a small amount of cheap body wash or shampoo (Dish washing liquid is not good for your skin, and any petroleum based product will deteriorate the neoprene mixed with water and cover the entire surface of the inside of the suit so you can slip in easily.) Care is needed donning and doffing, beware of your finger and toe nails or any other sharp instrument as they can easily tear the inside neoprene.

Come in and check out our full range of Spearfishing products Beuchat Mundial Competition 2 Piece 7mm Spearfishing Wetsuit

Beuchat Mundial Competition Spearfishing Fins

A top-of-the range spearfishing and commercial diving wetsuit for colder waters.

The Beuchat “Mundial Competition” is an open cell pre-formed 7mm Spearfishing wetsuit with a jacket (without zip) and pants.

The pants have shoulder straps and beaver tail. The tail closes with plastic clips.

The Polyamide Blade is designed for Freediving up to 20meters

The “Mundial Competition” has supple open cell neoprene inside and Supratex reinforcements on the chest, lower legs and lower arms. The wetsuit has Titanium seals on the wrists and ankles with the Easy Wave System (EWS). The lack of seams in the joint areas assure the best possible comfort. The outside is nylon jersey and the inside is open cell.

Complete Suit $605 inc gst

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The materials used in the blade create a resistance to the water and in combination with the lengthened blade provide a superior whipping effect.

$265 inc gst Beuchat Sport Spearfishing Fins Using a slightly more flexible blade than the Competition fin, the Mundial Sport still provides excellent performance using three material technologies.

$240 inc gst

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Issue 57 August 2013

Dive Times

Spearfishing Trips

By Adam Illingworth

The spearfishing gear seems to be getting a good dry out this winter, the weather has not been favourable to us at all. Periods of high winds and torrential rain over the last couple of months have made for very poor visibility in the Otago region. This means a couple of things 1: The fish have been left without pressure of the gun chasing them, and 2: Things can only get better.

Trips Schedule Milford Sound Dive Trip 6-9th Sept 2013 Club Dive (Shore) 17th August 2013

We did manage to get out on one trip, the boat was privately chartered by a group of local and very keen spearos.

Club Dive (Boat) 14th September 2013

We sped out of the harbour and over to Brinns Point, we were riding on a sea of green after some pretty large Southwest swells, luckily for us the sea was glass and the sun was shining.

Club Dive (Shore) 21st September 2013

We had a go at the Point but nothing come back except moans of dirty water. We headed up to Karitane which was dirty and un-diveable, so instead we headed down around Purakaunui bay and shot up a few points on the way back to the harbour mouth, we managed to squeeze in a couple of metres of vis and the boys did well to secure a couple of Moki and few nice sized Butterfish as well as a few Paua for the bin. A final dive at Harington Point on the way back home brought back nothing on board but the guys were happy swimming amongst the smaller schools of Moki and Warehou.

One of the great benefits of a boat trip is being able to go to multiple sites on the same day when one is un-diveable or producing nothing. We have some more day trips coming up in August and September so contact Dive Otago to secure your spot if you’re keen or for more info.

If you would like to privately charter the boat for you and your mates or even just yourself get in contact also to discuss and arrange a date.

Spearfishing Trip (Boat) 7th September 2013 Spearfishing Trip (Boat) 6th October 2013 Spearfishing Trip (Boat) 10th November 2013 FOR MORE INFORMATION ON:

Club Dives chris@diveotago.co.nz

General Trips emma@diveotago.co.nz Spearfishing Trips Contact adam@diveotago.co.nz

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Issue 57 August 2013

Dive Centre Name Here

Macandrew Bay When: Underwater and beach clean up day!

Where:

Saturday September 21st 2013 All Divers - 8.30am at Dive Otago First in first served with free hire of gear and transport to the Bay. All Non Divers - 10am at the Yacht club FREE BBQ weather permitting in the yacht clubs carpark commencing late morning over lunch. We should be finished and back at Dive Otago by 1pm.

Contact:

TO SIGN UP

At Dive Otago or Call 03 466 4370

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Issue 57 August 2013

Tracey’s Photography Tips

Dive Times

Tip #7 Shutter Speed Exposure is defined as the amount of light your camera lets in basically shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open for or the amount of time that the sensor of your camera “sees” the thing you’re trying to capture for. Shutter speed is measured in seconds (or fractions of a second). For example if you set your camera to 1/30 this means the shutter is open for 1/30th of a second. On land anything with a shutter speed of 1/60th or longer will result in camera shake if you are hand holding - to avoid this use a tripod or something similar. If you are underwater this isn’t such a problem but motion blur will be a major problem if you haven’t got top notch buoyancy control along with the correct shutter speed. If you move while the shutter is open you will get a blurred photo.

Your camera may allow you to use very slow shutter speeds (for example 1sec to possibly even 30 seconds plus). These are used for very low light situations or when you are trying to get a lot of movement in a shot (waterfalls, racing cars etc.). Some cameras might also have a “B or Bulb” setting which allows you to keep the shutter open for as long as your finger in on the shutter button.

Shutter Speed Underwater Underwater shutter speed is going to affect the amount of ambient light in a picture. Changing the shutter speed does not affect the strobe light. If you are taking wide-angle pictures with strobes, the close up subject will be illuminated by the strobe, while an interesting reef, diver or silhouette is composed in the background. Adjusting the shutter speed effects the background exposure.

When shooting macro photography with a strobe, changing the shutter speed doesn’t affect the photo or sharpness - this

is because the strobe generally fires faster than 1/500th of a second, and is not affected by shutter speed changes unless you have a lot of ambient light (closer to the surface). If you are using a strobe, most will have a strobe sync speed. This is the Photo:fires.

Kelly If Boal speed at which the strobe you try to use your strobes and have a shutter speed set faster than this speed, you will get a black or partially black photo which is due to the shutter closing while the strobe was still firing.

Motion Blur When shooting subject in motion, a fast shutter speed or a strobe must be used to freeze the motion. Generally underwater 1/125th or 1/200th of a second will freeze motion, depending on how fast the subject is moving. If the subject is lit by a strobe, this does not apply due to the strobe sync speed. The strobe will fire fast enough to freeze the motion.

Some photos will have “trails” before or after a moving object this happens when the lighting is a mix between strobe light and ambient light and a slower shutter speed is used. The strobe freezes part of the subject, while the ambient light allows the trail before or after the subject Here are some general guidelines for minimum shutter speeds underwater •

Subject is still - 1/20th - 1/125th, depending on focal length of the lens to eliminate camera shake blur.

•

Slowly moving subjects - 1/50th - 1/125th, to freeze their motion.

•

Fast moving subjects - 1/125th - 1/250th, depending on their speed. Very fast moving subjects may even need a faster shutter speed.

The Last Word

By Dave Watson

The debate goes on about the remedy required to stabilise the St Clair waterfront. Having visited the north of Scotland a few years ago I reckon they should recruit an adviser from there to fix it once and for all with substantial sea walls not seen in New Zealand before. Aesthetically they are monolithic but practically they have stood the test of time and so constructed to add value to the local economy by providing safe harbours for fishing fleets and recreational users. Imagine a sea wall extending from the headland at the south west end of St Clair beach towards Lawyers Head, substantial enough to provide protection for the esplanade. It would enable locals and visitors to enjoy a different perspective of our magnificent coastline, provide opportunities for recreational fishers, a safe area for yougsters to swim in the sea and and include a small harbour to launch small recreational vessels engaged in sightseeing, fishing and diving. An artificial right hand surf break could be created at the end of the extension which would allow easy access for surfers. Lets face it, Taieri Mouth and Brighton Beach are dangerous for accessing our beautiful south coast by boat so this could be the opportunity to build something that benefits all of the community. Imagine lauching the tinnie at St Clair, cruising down to Green Island to dive on the newly sunken wreck then catching a couple of bue cod on the way back for dinner. Pigs might fly and oh for a spare $200m.

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Issue 57 August 2013

Adam’s Marine Identification Guide

This section is a quick way to learn about our local marine species. Every newsletter I will give you some basic information on one species from each section of vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant. I will add a photo of the particular species to aid in your Identification. I pride myself on my knowledge of being able to identify what I see during my dives, and love the challenge of finding out what the new species are I have seen. Hopefully this section is helpful for all you other passionate marine advocates, enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW?

Vertebrate Pipefish Photo: Adam Illingworth

Like other pipefish species, the long-snouted pipefish does not have scales, and is instead encased in a series of bony rings.

Long-snouted Pipefish (Stigmatopora macropterygia) We have spotted quite a few of these skinny critters at Wellers Rock recently hiding in amongst the kelp and shallow seagrass.

They come from the family (Syngnathidae) which includes the seahorses. If you imagine getting a seahorse and stretching it out until it looks like a pencil you have a pipefish. This particular species is named after it’s form of snout which is a narrow tube protruding from the face ending in a small mouth that’s used to snap up small crustacea. They are fairly common, but the hard part is finding them, they vary in colour from green and yellow to red brown and camouflage very well.

Like Seahorses it’s the males that carry their young after the female deposits the eggs into his brood pouch until they are ready to hatch. common fish shot by spearfishermen in southern New Zealand.

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Dive Times

Invertebrate Mantis Shrimp (Squilla armata) The Mantis Shrimp is named after the similarity between itself and the insect Praying Mantis,There are over 400 species of Mantis Shrimp across the globe, and they can be divided into two groups: Spearers and Smashers.

Smashers use their appendages as a club to smash their meals apart, such as well armoured crabs. But they also have a sharp blade like appendage that can be used for cutting. Large smashers have even been known to smash through aquarium glass.

Mantis Shrimp Both photos: Adam illingworth

Spearers are armed with spiny appendages topped with barbed tips, used to stab and snag their prey.

Our Mantis Shrimp - Squilla armata, which is the only species in New Zealand can grow up to approximately 6 Inches. As it is a spearer they prefer the meat of softer animals that can easily be sliced or snagged.

Commonly found at our local dive site Wellers Rock, they are found in the shallows having built small tunnelling homes. They appear to be perfect circles tunnelled straight down in the silt. If you move slowly you will see their small heads gaping at you from their home before they disappear as you get close. They rarely leave their home except to feed and relocate so are not commonly seen.

They are also sometimes referred to as thumb splitters because of the injuries they cause when handled inappropriately.

Check out their power in action on this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti2Uoc1RXuQ

Plant Neptunes Necklace (Hormosira banksii)

Neptunes Necklace Photo: Adam Illingworth

This plant may also be known by the common names of Neptune’s pearls, sea grapes or bubbleweed. It’s a species of brown algae found commonly found in rockpools and the very shallow so four local dive sites. It’s beads have a slimy layer which conserves moisture, which helps it to live whilst exposed to the air when the tide has lowered. They also contain gas causing them to float towards the surface of the water, and helps obtain more sunlight and move with the flow of the current. Neptune’s necklace is a food source for sea urchins, crustaceans and some fish. Young crustaceans and molluscs often live in the moist areas of the plant, for protection from predators and to retain moisture under low tide conditions.

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Issue 57 August 2013 to fight. If the diver is able to signal the boat, it’s an easy fix. If not, things get dire quickly.’

uses Channel 16, the international hail-and-distress channel.

Lever spent years examining potential solutions to lost-diver scenarios, yet every one of them fell short. Transmitters sending signals to a base unit severely restricted potential options because not every boat able to render assistance would receive the signal. Transmissions to satellites created a delay that rendered the information useless by the time it was received. Lever’s eureka moment occurred when he finally asked himself one very simple question: What is common to virtually every commercial boat in the world?

Distress button. Pressing the button for 3 seconds initiates a DCS transmission of distress, sending and displaying an emergency message and your GPS coordinates on other vessels’ marine radios within an eight-mile radius.

‘A VHF radio!’ said Lever. ‘Almost every commercial boat on the water has a VHF radio. If the diver can use that to communicate in real-time with boats in a given area, the odds of him being picked up quickly are exponentially improved.’

The revelation became the idea behind the Nautilus Lifeline.

Technology Meets Opportunity. The idea was one on which Lever worked for years, but the final piece that would bring all boats together eluded him. That piece came close when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required that digital selective calling (DSC) protocols be included in all new VHF radios. The piece fell fully into place in February 2009, when DSC compliance became the international standard, required by law by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Nautilus Lifeline

by Stephen Frink, Alert Diver On Line

Let no diver be left behind.

Of all the things divers fear, none looms more frightening than the prospect of being stranded at sea. It’s not an idle concern, for no matter how many safety precautions are taken by boat operators, it happens. Hollywood even made a 2004 movie about it, Open Water; its story is loosely based on a true-life incident about two divers left behind by their dive boat, never to be found again.

In the Summer 2010 issue of Alert Diver, we looked at all of the surface signalling options available to divers. But in November 2010, a revolutionary new safety product was introduced to the market that offers divers the ability to send a GPS-specific distress signal and stay in two-way contact with responding boats. It is called the Nautilus Lifeline.

Why was this critical? By the time the technology became law, the FCC requirement had been in place for years, meaning that any radio purchased in the last seven or eight years is almost certainly DSC-compliant. Each DSC radio is encoded with a unique nine-digit ID called a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) that functions much like a cell phone number. Once registered, the information is entered into the US Coast Guard’s national distress database. DSC radios are capable of sending emergency ‘mayday’ signals that identify the radio, and if the radio is GPS-enabled, it can also send its precise location. Lever knew that if he could find a way to utilize that technology for divers, they’d have an unprecedented ability to communicate with not only the boat from which they dive, but any area boat in the event of an emergency.

It was from this remarkable seed a very sophisticated personal safety device grew: the Nautilus Lifeline.

How Does It Work?

Its inventor is Mike Lever, a liveaboard boat captain with more than 19 years experience running operations in the sometimes-challenging conditions of British Columbia and offshore Pacific islands.

Lever is relentless when it comes to safety, yet the thought of leaving a diver behind keeps him awake at night.

The Nautilus Lifeline incorporates a personal DSCversion VHF radio into a compact, waterproof enclosure not much larger than a smartphone. With the clamshell latched, the unit can be taken as deep as 425 feet. On the surface, it can be opened to access the radio and GPS-beacon controls, all still waterproof to surface splash. The antenna pops up, and robust push-button controls engage the various functionalities, allowing divers to talk to their base boat with the two-way radio or, if in an emergency, alert boats for miles around to their situation and location. It accomplishes this remarkable communication through several built-in functions:

‘I know that despite all the best intentions, stuff happens,’ said Lever. ‘When it does, it’s usually the result of something painfully simple. Maybe a diver is just 100 feet from the stern, but the seas are a bit too bumpy to see him or a current too strong for him

Boat button. This button also allows communication with the boat, but it automatically

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Chat button. This can be preselected to a given VHF frequency to allow for two-way communication between divers or between divers and the boat.

LCD display. On the side of the unit is a clearly legible readout for GPS position, signal lock, the channel in use, remaining battery power and other important information.

Speaker and microphone. Used to send and receive messages while floating on the surface, these features are actually submersible to 3 feet without the clamshell closed.

USB port. Used for charging, downloading software updates, logging dive sites onto Google Maps or other advanced options.

Battery. Powered by an 1850 mAh lithium-ion battery, it provides 24 hours of power in distress mode.

In use, the Nautilus Lifeline will likely be tethered to a diver’s BCD for easy reach and the prevention of losing it while in use. It is small and virtually weightless underwater. Maintenance is simple; since the unit is waterproof, a postdive, freshwater rinse should keep it in working order (though, of course, you should conduct a predive check like you would any piece of equipment).

The Nautilus Lifeline charges via the USB port, which conveniently uses either a standard 110/220volt AC adapter, or it can be plugged directly into a PC or Mac laptop. The GPS display is easy to read, and the radio’s audio is excellent, whether transmitting or receiving. The ergonomics of the clamshell latch, antenna deployment and button navigation are logical and reliable.

The Nautilus Lifeline is unlike any other safety device on the market today. It utilizes modern marine-safety technology and makes it available to every person in and on the water. Divers and boaters are no longer reliant on someone else to send a distress signal in the event of an emergency; that ability can now rest in each individual’s hand.

For more information visit www.seatech.co.nz Staff Pick Nautilus Lifeline is available in New Zealand at $400, Pouch $40 +p&p inc gst from Sea Tech Ltd, P: (09) 521 0684, E: info@seatech.co.nz, F: (09) 521 3675

$449

In store now.