ew Year, new challenges, new options, but always on the basis of acquired experience and knowledge, which should still be increasing with time.
We also introduce a few changes to Perfect Diver. I would like to thank the people involved in editing our be-monthly magazine so far. From this issue, the Editorial Board consists of Ania Sołoducha, who has been supporting the PD Project from the beginning, and who works in Activtour on a daily basis, and Szymon Mosakowski, who has been involved in our activities in recent months. You could meet him at the Diving Talks Conference in Portugal or at the Baltictech Conference in Gdynia, Poland.
A few people part with us, and a few enter as the regular associates of the editorial office. You could follow all these people and their pen and passion in the pages of Perfect Diver Magazine before.
Our mission remains unchanged. We still want you to dive safely, in interesting places with all that passion that accompanies divers and freedivers. We also want the waters to be clean, and the animals and plants to be healthy and intact by human hands.
Encourage everyone around you to try diving, it can only bring good to them. It is on the first weekend of February (4–5.02.) in the Aquapark in Kalisz that the next edition of the Rafa Project is going to be launched. Just buy an entrance ticket and dive within this fee – at no extra cost! This is how Dominik Dopierała and the Deco Diving Center work.
To dive, you need to have, among other things, an efficient diving regulator. The way
it doses air (or other gas mixture) affects our diving manner, the CO2 level and the length of immersion. I declare 2023 the YEAR WITHOUT BREATHING RESISTANCE. I immediately refer you to the last article of this issue. Wojtek wrote a very practical article. Under his influence, I talked to several divers. It turns out that hardly anyone uses a screw and a handle while diving. It might be so because they do not know how to use it and what for. Remember that we control our diving regulator, not the other way around. If you know how the "knobs" work and what they are for, thank your instructor, because it is the instructors who give us knowledge at the very beginning of our diving path.
Inside the magazine you will find a text by Karen, who set a women's world record for scuba diving in a cave last year. She wrote this for us straight from Africa.
There are also plenty of articles about travel destinations. There is the first part of "Raja Ampat" by Ania Sołoducha, "Menjangan" by Sylwia Kosmalska-Juriewicz, a meeting with whales on the island of Sumbawa by Laura Kazimierska, "Marsa Alam" in the eyes of Krzysztof Brudkowski, or diving at the heel of an Italian "shoe". Łukasz Metrycki makes his debut with his material about the German quarry Wetro, and Jakub Banasiak writes for us about pilot whales and orcs. Did you know that they can live in very close relationships?
That's not all, of course. Check it out and read about women, twinsets and storks. Let the latter herald the joy of spring! Enjoy reading!
Wojciech Zgoła
Karolina Sztaba
Anna Sołoducha
Szymon Mosakowski reklama@perfectdiver.com
Agnieszka Gumiela-Pająkowska Arleta Kaźmierczak
Reddo Translations Sp. z o.o. Piotr Witek
Lawyer Joanna Wajsnis Brygida Jackowiak-Rydzak
WOJCIECH ZGOŁA
Passionate about diving and pure nature. He likes to say that he travels by diving. He learned to swim when he was less than 6 years old. At the age of 15, he obtained a yacht sailor's license and has been diving since 2006. He has completed over 750 dives in various regions of the world. He wrote and published many articles. Co-author of photo exhibitions. An advocate of leaving the place of residence clean and unblemished. Diving promoter. Since 2008 he has been running his own website www.dive-adventure.eu. Based on extensive experience, in 2018 he created the new Perfect Diver Magazine, which has been successfully published regularly every two months in Polish and English for over 4 years.
Karolina Sztaba, and professionally Karola Takes Photos, is a photographer by education and passion. She is currently working at the Trawangan Dive Center on a tiny island in Indonesia – Gili Trawangan, where she moved to live four years ago. She photographs above and below the water. In addition, she creates photographic projects against littering the oceans and polluting our planet with plastic ("Trapped", "Trashion"). She cooperates with NGO organizations dealing with environmental protection and actively participates in pro-ecological actions (coral protection, coral planting, cleaning the world, protection of endangered species). She is also the official photographer of Ocean Mimic – a brand that creates swimwear and surfwear from rubbish collected on the beaches of Bali. She cooperated with many brands of diving equipment for which she created advertising campaigns. In 2019, she became the ambassador of the Polish company Tecline. She has been a technical diver for two years.
A graduate of Geography faculty at the University of Wrocław and an incurable optimist… with a permanent smile on her lips! It was probably Destiny that led her to Activtour… and she's been here on permanent basis. She passionately fulfils the dreams of many, organizing diving trips around the world, and she has already been diving for more than half of her life. Each year she explores a different ‘piece of the ocean’, pinning another pin to her diving world map. In winter she changes fins into her beloved skis and gets away into the Alps. A recipe for life? ”The only a dead trunk flows with the current – the explorer's canoe flows up the river!”
of archeology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. A beginner diver starting his adventure with underwater archeology. A lover of photography, nature and basketball, and recently also diving.
ANNA SOŁODUCHA
KAROLA TAKES PHOTOS
Student
SZYMON MOSAKOWSKI
WOJCIECH A. FILIP
Has more than 8000 dives on his account. He has been diving for over 30 years, including over 20 years as a technical diver. He is a professional with great theoretical and practical knowledge. He is an instructor of many federations: GUE Instructor Mentor, CMAS**, IANTD nTMX, IDCS PADI, EFR, TMX Gas Blender. He participated in many diving projects and conferences as a leader, explorer, originator or lecturer. These included the Britannic Expedition 2016, Morpheus Cave Scientific Project on Croatia caves, GROM Expedition in Narvik, Tuna Mine Deep Dive, Glavas Cave in Croatia, NOA-MARINE. Professionally, he is a technical director at TecLine in Scubatech, and a director of training at TecLine Academy.
PADI diving instructor and videographer. She spends most of his time in the water documenting a fascinating underwater world. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in the field of Fashion Design in Łódź and Film studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, trained as a tailor, and with a love of nature and a large dose of adrenaline. She loves everything related to water. Her diving adventure began with a backpacking trip in 2016. During her stay in Thailand she dived for the first time and from then on she got hooked on at this sport. Spending the last years and most of her days under water, teaching and showing the beauty of the underwater world in Asia, she believes that diving means unity – unity with own mind, nature and unusual creatures.
@waterographyk
A diver since 2007. I always choose holiday destinations by asking myself: okay, but is there anywhere to dive?. Underwater photography is still new to me, but with each dive I learn something new.
"From the moment of birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders [...], but he only has to dive under the surface of the water and becomes free" – J.Y.Cousteau
Laura Kazimierska is currently working as PADI Course Director at TrawanganDive Center on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan. Founder of the Divemastergilis portal. www.divemastergilis.com @divemastergilis For over 7 years she has lived and discovered the underwater world of Indonesia. She is not only an avid technical diver, but also the face of the Planet Heroes platform and the ambassador of the Ocean Mimic brand. She actively contributes to the promotion of the protection of corals and the natural environment of fish and marine animals by taking part in scientific projects, campaigns against ocean littering and cooperating with NGOs in Indonesia.
@laura_kazi
A traveller and a photographer of wild nature. A graduate of journalism and a lover of good literature. She lives in harmony with nature, promotes a healthy lifestyle: she is a yogini and a vegetarian. Also engaged in ecological projects. Sharks and their protection are especially close to her heart. She writes about the subject in numerous articles and on her blog www.divingandtravel.pl. She began her adventure with diving fifteen years ago by total coincidence. Today she is a Divemaster, she visited over 60 countries and dived on 5 continents. She invites us for a joint journey with the travel agency www.dive-away.pl, of which she is a co-founder.
Belgium Military, underwater cave explorer and active technical/ cave/ rebreather diving instructor for IANTD. He started his diving career in Egypt on vacation, and his passion continues. Kurt is also the founder and CEO of Descent Technical Diving.
He dives on several CCRs such as AP, SF2, Divesoft Liberty SM. Kurt is involved in the creation of the document about the new salt mine in Belgium (Laplet). This project was featured in the news on Nationale TV.
Privately, Kurt's true passion is deep cave diving. His wife (Caroline) shares her husband's passions and also dives in caves. In his free time, he visits Belgian slate mines, and when he is not exploring, he takes his camera to document the dives.
SYLWIA KOSMALSKA-JURIEWICZ
LAURA KAZIMIERSKA
KLAUDYNA BRZOSTOWSKA
KURT STORMS
ŁUKASZ METRYCKI
WOJCIECH JAROSZ
A graduate of two Poznan universities, the Academy of Physical Education (coaching specialization – handball) and the University of A.Mickiewicz, Faculty of Biology (specialty of experimental biology). He connected his professional life with this first university trying to influence the direction of development of future professionals on the one hand, and on the other planning and implementing research, pushing laboriously in the right direction of the stroller called science. In his free time he spends his time actively – his main passions are sailing (sea helmsman), skiing (downhill skiing instructor), riding a motorcycle, recreational diving and many other activities, as well as photography, mainly nature.
Enthusiastic diver, scientist, and wildlife conservationist. Isadora is researching the biological significance on shipwrecks for marine ecosystems. Driven by curiosity, she wants to learn about nature, as well as “how to become a better diver”. Being still in the beginnings of her diving-career she is enjoying the path of overcoming obstacles by learning from more experienced divers, using adequate configuration and practicing. @isa_diving_nature
JAKUB BANASIAK
Diver from 2008. Passionate of the Red Sea and pelagic ocean predators. Devoted to the idea of protecting dolphins, sharks and whales. He dives mainly where you can meet these animals and monitor the level of their well-being. Member of Dolphinaria-Free Europe Coalition, volunteer at Tethys Research Institute and Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit, associate of Marine Connection. For 10 years he has been involved in research on wild dolphin populations and audits dolphinariums. Together with the team ”NO! For the Dolphinarium” he prevents dolphins from captivity and promotes knowledge about dolphin therapy unsaid or concealed by centers which make money on this form of animal therapy.
A legal advisor by profession, trying to help, not win at all costs. A fan of warm climates and blue water. He started diving in 2018 as a development of his favorite snorkeling. He now plans almost every trip to get his fins wet somewhere. His teenage son Damian is his partner in diving. Recently, he has been watching the underwater world through the camera's viewfinder, wanting to preserve fleeting memories. He has reached the Deep Diver level in diving and it probably will not end there.
Since I was a child, I had dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and I managed to fulfill that dream. I did a degree in oceanography, where I recently started my doctoral studies. My diving adventure began when I was 12 years old. I love observing the underwater life up close and I try to show other divers how fascinating the underwater, Baltic creatures are.
She is a Cave and Trimix Diver and Instructor based in South Africa. Karen along with her husband (Francois) are owners and founders of Somewhere Out There Diving Somewhere Out There Diving was created for the purposes of out of the ordinary, expedition and exploration type diving trips. Karen is very passionate about technical diving and cave diving and in March 2021 set a new Woman’s World Record for the deepest Scuba dive with a depth of 236.04 m, in Boesmansgat Cave in South Africa and in October 2022 bettered that record with a depth of 246.56. Karen has a passion for exploration and also enjoy teaching others and sharing her knowledge and passion for technical diving.
ISADORA ABUTER GREBE
KRZYSZTOF G. BRUDKOWSKI
AGATA TUROWICZ-CYBULA
KAREN VAN DEN OEVER
A GIANT SHARK ADVENTURE SUMBAWA
WITHOUT A DOUBT, INDONESIA IS ONE OF THE DREAM DIVING DESTINATIONS FOR MOST OF US. WHILE SEARCHING THE WEB WITH THE INTENTION OF PLANNING YOUR NEXT TRIP, SOME OF THE FIRST RESULTS ARE: RAJA AMPAT, KOMODO, SULAWESI OR BALI. YET IT IS WORTH DELVING INTO LESS POPULAR, BUT VERY REWARDING PLACES.
If you're interested in the company of gentle giants, be sure to deviate from the marked route to visit Sumbawa.
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island located east of Lombok. Although still quite wild, in recent years it has been gaining popularity. It is hardly surprising. Like many other islands in Indonesia, it offers a beautiful and sandy coastline, waterfalls, as well as surfing and diving possibilities. What sets it apart from others is the easy access from nearby Bali or Lombok, but also the huge attraction of snorkelling or diving with whale sharks regardless of the season.
The whale shark is the largest fish in the animal kingdom. It impresses not only by its size, but also by its characteristic coloration. The white spots on the body of these giants form a unique pattern, like our fingerprints. It is extremely helpful for identifying individuals and tracking their
Text LAURA KAZIMIERSKA Photos ONE FOR THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS
oceanic voyages. The whale shark is constantly on the move, spending on average half of its life feeding by filtering plankton through its thousands of thin teeth, and can dive to depths of under 2,000 meters. Scientists openly admit that many aspects of these majestic sharks' lives still remain a mystery. What is certain is that places where whale sharks can be seen attract millions of tourists from all over the world.
It is those “millions” of tourists who have always repelled me from visiting this type of attractions. As well as the fact that in many places sharks are terrorised by excited tourists, and you can often see the wounds on their bodies caused by collisions with speedboats. Because of this, I wasn't sure what to expect when organising a trip to Sumbawa.
The adventure started on Gili Trawangan early in the morning. A small motorboat took us to Lombok where a local driver
was already waiting in a car. After four hours we arrived at Labuan Kayangan, the port where a ferry departs for Sumbawa. For a small fee, you can rent a mattress on the ship and take a nap in the company of the locals. The picturesque landscape of small islands unfolds after an hour's crossing to the other shore and then another couple of hours spent in the car to get there.
Sumbawa has a magical atmosphere of a tropical paradise that many seek in vain in Bali. Lush, tropical vegetation mingles with corn-covered hills. You won't see five-star hotels or restaurants here. In many places, even right on the beach, you can pitch a tent and spend the night looking at the stars without seeing a living soul.
We did not spend the night outdoors, but in a traditional Indonesian house. We were greeted with a traditional dinner which we ate on the floor in the company of the whole family. Indonesian hospitality reminds me very much of ours, the more you eat the more you please the hostess. Receiving guests from abroad is a great honour for the average Indonesian, so after the meal, half the village was invited, along with the mayor to welcome us. And to take hundreds of photos of course!
Bules (as Indonesians call foreign people) are a rare sight in Labu Jambu.
The next day, still at dusk and still sleepy, we loaded into a fishing boat and headed out into the waters of Saleh Bay in the hope of coming face to face with the largest shark. Whale Sharks feed in the shallow waters of the bay just after sunrise.
Whale sharks appeared in the bay almost 10 years ago. They were most likely attracted by the so-called Kapal Bagan, the fishing boats. The remains of the catch thrown overboard,
and the smell of fresh prawns is a very tempting option for the lazy giants. Fishermen began to complain about these somewhat intimidating hungry creatures attacking their nets, so they tried to scare them away. Until a local tourist organisation started an education and funding programme making everyone aware of the huge potential of protecting these creatures.
The topic of feeding sharks is very controversial. Many environmentalists believe that it may disrupt the migration route and thus the reproduction. On the other hand, the financial
benefits of diving and snorkelling tourism motivate efforts to protect the species that so often falls prey to industries exporting their fins to the Asian food market.
The refreshing morning breeze and strong coffee quickly set us on our feet as we sailed closer to one of the many Kapal Bagan scattered in the bay, the fishermen were just starting to pull up their nets. The sunrise and the surrounding landscape were breathtaking. We waited in suspense to see what would happen next. Suddenly we hear the shouts of excited
Sumbawa, a giant shark adventure
fishermen. At the same moment a huge fin appeared right under our small boat. We quickly jumped into the water. One, then two, then three, suddenly six, seven giants headed for the net. Their huge but cute mouths filter the murky shrimp water, and they disappear into the depths of the ocean only to reappear a moment later for another portion of fishy delicacies.
Tears of joy filled my mask and two hours in their company felt like several minutes.
There was no hoard of tourists, no speedboats, it was just us, five overjoyed divers surrounded by mother nature's extraordinary creations dancing around us in the blue.
To this day, my close encounter with this majestic creature
makes my heart beat faster and makes me feel butterflies in my stomach. Our quick trip to Sumbawa proved to be an unforgettable adventure worth recommending to anyone.
The whale shark is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. In Indonesia, it is fully protected under the Ministerial Decree No. 18 of 2013. However, research on whale sharks in the area is still scarce. The lack of knowledge about them prevents its proper conservation. In Sumbawa, a non-governmental organisation for the conservation of marine species is working with fishermen and the tourism board to introduce appropriate regulations to protect, and at the same time, study the behaviour of these gentle giants.
HERE YOU WILL FIND SEVERAL RULES TO FOLLOW WHEN DIVING WITH WHALE SHARKS:
´ Do not touch, pursue, or harass the whale shark.
´ Do not swim in front of it or block its path, let it swim freely.
´ Do not use equipment that
could disturb or harm the whale shark, such as cameras with intense flash, underwater scooters etc.
´ Do not dive under a shark. Scientists say that whale sharks have very sensitive stomachs and do not like the bubbles we exhale.
´ Maintain a minimum distance of 3 metres.
If you are interested and dream of a trip to Sumbawa let us know at: info@oceanadvocates.com
THE LAST OF PARADISE RAJA AMPAT
Text ANNA SOŁODUCHA
INDONESIA, AN ISLAND COUNTRY WITH AN ARCHIPELAGO OF 17,000 ISLANDS, OF WHICH ONE IN THREE IS UNINHABITED, IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR DESTINATION FOR DIVERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT IT IS OFF THE COAST OF THE COUNTRY SYMBOLISED BY THE "INVERTED POLISH FLAG" THAT 15% OF THE CORAL REEF IN THE WORLD IS LOCATED.
Afew years ago, being on a diving safari in PM Komodo, I found that there are some of the most beautiful reefs I had seen in my diving life, and a very diverse underwater fauna. Well, that statement was relevant up to the very moment when I plunged into the turquoise water of the Raja Ampat archipelago. Water there is just "humming with life"...
RAJA AMPAT ISLANDS
Raja Ampat is also called the Four Kings, because the Raja Ampat archipelago includes the 4 largest islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati and Misool and hundreds of smaller islands. The islands lie in the center of the so-called Coral Triangle, the area with the largest underwater biodiversity in the world. Located in the northeast of the country, it belongs to the Indonesian part of Papua, and is sometimes also called the bird-headed seascape. In contrast to the volcanic nature of
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
most of the country, more than 600 islands that belong to Raja Ampat are made of limestone, the product of coral growth over millions of years. They created a landscape of spectacular limestone formations, surrounding blue lagoons and covered with lush tropical forest. "Raja Ampat is the place where all the fish in the world live", this is how Max Ammer, adventurer, pioneer of diving on Raja Ampat, used to say quite boldly about this destination. He came to the region of West Papua in the 90's of the last century from the Netherlands, guided by his passion for searching for sunken planes from World War II. After spending a long time in Raja Ampat, Max fell in love with the local nature, people and diving, which resulted in the launch of a number of initiatives to support local Papuan communities and promote diving among foreign visitors. Subsequently, resorts began to be established on the islands and liveabord boats were built to encourage divers to visit the area. The explorers also appreciated the importance of this area in terms of
protecting marine treasures and, together with the local community and environmental agencies, they created a network of Marine Protected Areas. The creation of the Marine Park is financed by fees of the visitors to the region. It is worth noting that since 2002 – the archipelago has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List!
The history of these places is not written in words, but is passed in the legends of the people living here. Tradition, culture and customs form the true historical heritage of this region. People have inhabited these lands for about 42,000 years, when West Papua was part of the ancient continent of Sahul.
Photo Anna Sołoducha
Photo Anna Sołoducha
More than a century ago, the British naturalist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace, arriving on these distant islands, established the existence of an invisible line separating them. Officially named the "Wallec's Line", it separates Bali from Lombok, running through the Lombok Strait – the deepest sea trench of
the region. The islands west of the line have the tropical climate of Southeast Asia, and those to the east resemble drier Australia. West Papua, despite the fact that it belongs to Indonesia, is culturally, ethnographically and naturally definitely closer to the coast of Australia
RAJA AMPAT EXTRAORDINARY VARIETY
In the area of the Raja Ampat Islands we can meet 1223 species of fish, including 25 endemic species of fish, 600 species of hard corals (10 times more than in the entire Caribbean), 75% of all known coral species, 57 species of Mantis Shrimp, 13 species of marine mammals, 5 species of endangered sea turtles. During a diving safari, we can penetrate different parts of the archipelago – the northern one at Wayag Island, the central one at Waigeo Island or the southern one – with the famous Misool Island.
Our diving exploration began when I "left" the port in Sorong behind and we sailed out to the open sea... If you are planning an expedition to Raja Ampat – you have to get to Sorong, because it is from this city that boats depart to Raja Ampat.
On the horizon I begin to notice sparkling blue water, and then the full shape of the forested hills of the Dampier
Photos on page
Anna Sołoducha
Strait Islands. These hills are located on Waigeo, the largest of the "Four Kings". Here are some of the most famous dive sites of the archipelago. The name of the strait comes from the names of the British navigator, explorer, pirate (!), nature historian and writer – William Dampier. He was the first Englishman to discover the area of today's Australia and circumnavigated the world three times! The influence of his person and research had a wide reach in the world at that time. James Cook and David Nelson relied on his research on ocean currents and wind strength and direction. Alfred Wallece and Charles Darwin, on the other hand, referred extensively to his analysis of the phenomena of natural history, which he discovered and recorded in his book "A New Voyage Round the World". Dampier also had an accidental but profound influence on the development of world literature. His account of the rescue of the ship of former crew member Alexander Selkirk inspired the novel about Robinson Crusoe. Dampier is also mentioned by name in Gulliver's Travels, and is cited over 80 times in Oxford English Disctionary as the first person to use words like grill, avocado and chips in written English. So much about the fame of this place. What was the most important for us was diving! We have a whole range of great dive sites: Mioskan, Kri Island, Manta Sandy, Penemu
In the area of the Raja Ampat Islands we can meet 1223 species of fish, including 25 endemic species of fish, 600 species of hard corals (...), 75% of all known coral species, 57 species of Mantis Shrimp, 13 species of marine mammals, 5 species of endangered sea turtles.
When you wake up in the morning in Dampier Strait, you will see a small island that seems to float in the air – as if suspended between a flat, calm sea and a foggy dawn. It is MIOSKAN ISLAND with an unusual cloud of bats over a beautiful, white, sandy beach, surrounded by a reef on the shore. Schools of yellow snappers floating around soft corals and sponges will surely attract your attention first. This is a bit of a "basic" attraction of Raja Ampat – you will meet them on almost every dive ! While diving along the reef with the current, you simply fall into the so-called "fish soup" – they are everywhere ;) When the current is raging, fusiliers, surgeonsfish and rabbitfish stay close to the reef. The top of the reef is magnificent – the colours are amazing, the number of fish is surprising. Pastel-coloured corals are home to Chromis. And watch out! Don't miss the world's largest shells ;) This big shell is a monster. Gigantic. It is not without reason that he is called a “giant clam”. The giant clam, also called the giant tridacne (Tridacna gigas from its scientific name), is a giant crustacean that can measure up to 1.5 m in length and exceed 200 kg. Interestingly and surprisingly – it can be eaten – the meat of the calm is edible, but it is forbidden. Its yellow-brown meat
Lagoon, Melisa's Gardens, Sardine Reef, Blue Magic, The Passage... Let's start diving!
It's an untamed coral kingdom. Strengthened by plankton, which is crucial for the lushness of this ecosystem, with often dark waters, disturbed by currents so strong that we have the impression that we found ourselves in the washing machine ;)
gives the impression that it pulsates, pouring out of the shell with large, fleshy, purple lips. The species is endangered and, of course, protected. But Mioskan is just a foretaste of all the wonders that await every diver in the Raja Ampat Archipelago. We can see here not only the reefs from holiday posters, washed by bright, gentle waves. It's an untamed coral kingdom. Strengthened by plankton, which is crucial for the lushness of this ecosystem, with often dark waters, disturbed by currents so strong that we have the impression that we found ourselves in the washing machine ;) When we swim over the edge of the reef at the rocky island near the ISLAND OF KRI, the sea chang-
es colour from joyful blue to dark green. The purple fields of leathery corals ripple like menacing gusts of wind. Reaching under the cover of the cliff, we enter a garden of orange, red and yellow gorgonians surrounded by a hedge of Octocorallia. Gorgonians hover over the edge of the rushing current, while a group of flat Batfish the size of a plate patrols the outskirts of this coral garden. Hundreds of sweetlips "hanging" over the sandy bottom for about 36 m, huge jacks schools spinning up and down creating a tornado, resembling a whirlwind, surgeonfish, fusiliers (they are always and everywhere), snappers, blue trevallies, steel-gray chevron barracudas staying very
Photos on page Piotr Szczodrak
close to divers ... From time to time we also see small blacktip sharks piercing the sea depths...
BLUE MAGIC is an underwater ridge, constantly swept by a strong current and teeming with schools of fish... I wrote about it a moment ago, didn't I? No, it's just another – let's call it a "standard" dive on Raja Ampat, again in Dampier Strait and again under the category "must see"! The place owes its name to excellent visibility and clear, blue water compared to other places equally rich in nutrients. And of course, it is an absolutely magical place. Expect trevally, surgeons fish, fusiliers, beautiful triggerfish and pompano fish, as well as unusual "lemon" barracudas with yellow tails, suspended motionless in the current, away from the swirl of fish.
Most livaboard boats are built as "Phinisi", which means traditional Indonesian two-masted sailing ship. Most often built of
"iron wood" and teak looks extremely noble, especially when the sails are spread. With such a sailing ship we cross the waters of the Pacific, heading... to the South!
MISOOL, an island located in the southern part of the archipelago, was discovered for divers relatively recently, when single safari boats stopped here on their way from Raja Ampat to Komodo. There was no end to the delights!! Studies carried out on local reefs have confirmed that there is the largest coral condensation in the world! Now you can see these wonders of the underwater world with your own eyes! Misool is also known for its stunning mangrove forests, on the roots of which there are... soft corals! Mangrove forests are a critical habitat; they act as a defense against waves and harsh weather, bind the soil to prevent erosion, filter out silt and sediment that could harm coral reefs, and provide a source of protein to com-
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
Photo Anna Sołoducha
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
munities in the form of mangrove crabs. In addition, many animals use mangroves, which serve as breeding grounds for young fish and lodging for fruit bats.
Misool is one of the last bastions of our untouched natural world. Many divers who visit the area may not know that in 2005 the area was home to several active shark fin encampments and the ecosystem was doomed to collapse due to unregulated, destructive fishing. Misool Eco-resort together with local communities has established a no-fishing zone. This greatly helped to increase the fish population. Finally, the resort is built on the site of an old shark fin fishing camp. Fortunately, for several years it has been one of the greatest successes in the field of nature protection in the world of diving. Misool Foundation is a registered Indonesian charitable and non-profit foundation. Its mission is to protect the future of the most biodiverse marine environments on earth by enabling local communities to reclaim their traditional ownership of reefs. In my opinion – the plan has been implemented flawlessly because life under water once again delights (provided there is a good visibility). Frequent sights here are large schools of fusiliers, snappers, surgeon fish, barracudas, large Napoleonic wrasses, trevallies, whitetip sharks and gray reef sharks. You can also meet Wobbegong sharks here, and the corals are breathtaking. It is a sensational place for underwater photographers, because the macro world and the intensity of critters, or microscopic creatures, makes you dizzy... From September to December, large
Photo Anna Sołoducha
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
concentrations of tiny anchovies can be seen throughout the area, especially in Missol. This, in turn, attracts predators such as mobulas, which can be seen hunting in groups. It is a real underwater show!
During the 10-day cruise we had several additional attractions planned. One of them, during our stay on Misool, was snorkelling with young blacktip sharks in the lagoon. It was absolutely adorable! Thanks to the aforementioned foundation and activities that have ended shark fishing, the population of these predators is reviving wonderfully under the control of biologists and oceanographers. anna@activtour.pl, www.activtour.pl
to be continued...
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
Photo Piotr Szczodrak
Photo Anna Sołoducha
Photo Anna Sołoducha
MENJANGAN VISITING ISLAND
Text SYLWIA KOSMALSKA-JURIEWICZ
Photos ADRIAN JURIEWICZ
We often find ourselves in an amazing place. But then we decide that we should go somewhere else, so we leave a safe haven and go where we can get to know ourselves better.
John Francis
To Pemuteran, lying in the west of Bali, leads a winding, narrow road that leads through the mountains, crosses rivers, picturesque towns and numerous waterfalls, hidden in the rainforest, which cannot be seen from the road, but our driver and the signposts assure us that they are there.
The peaks of the hills covered with dense, green forest are shrouded in clouds, which like a heavy white veil fall towards
the valleys. The view is captivating, and the route is extremely charming and picturesque.
We reach the place in the late afternoon. The road from Denpasar to Pemuteran takes us almost four hours. We stay in one of nine intimate villas located in a beautiful garden right on the beach. I open the door to our cottage, the island breaks in, the smell of the ocean and sand warmed in the sun, fills its
interior. Also, the sounds of nature, a whole bunch of different sounds echo from the wooden walls. This bustling rainforest located just behind our houses makes itself felt and reminds of its existence. Due to its remote location, Pemuteran Bay has retained its pristine climate and unique biodiversity. It is surprising that in this area of Bali there are no waves, and sea currents are negligible.
We immerse slowly in this extraordinary world, enjoying its delicate beauty. The reefs and their inhabitants are safe here because there is a total ban on fishing in this area, which makes it a real paradise for animals that inhabit these waters.
The next morning I get up before dawn. I wake up to the sounds of geckos and birds long before the alarm goes off. I make a cup of delicious coffee, open the door of the cottage wide and sit down by the ocean. I look at the calm, velvety water, colorful fishermen's boats moored right next to the beach, a white heron wading in the ocean, tropical orange flowers, which densely cover the beach and the sky painted with pastels in pink and amaranth.
After breakfast in Indonesian style, we sail to Menjangan Island, which is part of Bali Barat National Park and belongs to the protected area. It was for this island, its unusual inhabitants and fantastic dives, that we visited the western part of Bali. The captain unmoores the and we leave the shore in no hurry. The further we move away from the island, the more beautiful view we leave behind. From the perspective of water everything looks different, the village, in which we live disappears in the arms of the greenery that surrounds it. After a while, you can only see the strip of the beach with dark volcanic sand and mountains covered with dense, green forest. We swim along the evergreen mangrove forest that grows out of the ocean. The plants adapted to life in high salinity water and created a home for numerous species of sea creatures. Mangroves act as guardians of the coastal ecosystem and are unfortunately an endangered species, mainly due to human activity.
After forty minutes of sailing in a speedboat we reach the coast of Menjangan Island. It is surrounded by beautiful pristine beaches with white coral sand. The island owes its name to the local inhabitants: "Menjangan" in Indonesian means "deer". It was the local community that in the spring observed herds of deer that sailed to the island, covering considerable distances. The sight of these beautiful creatures walking along the beach, taking a dip in the ocean is absolutely surprising and unbelievable.
While the captain moores the boat off the coast of the island, I look down. The transparency of the water and the number of sea creatures swimming right off the shore is astonishing. The sea is very calm, pleasant, warm wind gently wrinkles its surface. We put on our diving equipment and jump into water as clear as crystal. We slowly plunge into a vibrant Ocean, the water temperature is thirty degrees, and visibility exceeds forty-five meters. We dive by a steeply sloping wall, overgrown with both hard and soft corals. We immerse slowly in this extraordinary world, enjoying its delicate beauty. The reefs and their inhabitants are safe here because there is a total ban on fishing in this area, which makes it a real paradise for animals that inhabit these waters.
We sail slowly, admiring the unusual shapes, colours and species of sea creatures, sharks, eagles, barracudas, tuna, and mobulas, appearing and disappearing in the navy blue abyss immortalised on a camera card. The sea turtle slowly devours the jellyfish, which like a ragged, white veil floats limply in the water, small anemone fish fiercely defend their anemones, and almost invisible shrimps clean the jaws of the moray eel, whose gigantic head protrudes from a small crevice in the rock. I know these creatures, I've seen them so many times that I'm not able to count them, and yet every time their presence makes my heart rate speed up and my body is flooded with a wave of delight. Time passes inexorably fast under the surface of the
water, my computer indicates that we are already diving over an hour. The guide releases a signalling buoy and we begin to slowly emerge.
After diving, we rest on the island of Menjangan. A long, wooden pier leads to it, at which the captain moored the boat.
We pass through a stone, carefully carved gate that opens onto a kind of patio. On the right side we see a traditional temple hidden among greenery, made of volcanic dark stone, decorated with shells and broken corals, washed up by the ocean on the shore. Two stone, large statues guard the entrance to the
temple, immersed in flowers, and attract colourful butterflies. Every day, the local community makes gifts in the temple in the form of fruits, flowers, rice, and at the end, they light incense and ask for prosperity for themselves and their loved ones.
On the patio there are several pagodas that resemble small wooden gazebos. A narrow concrete path leads to each of them We sit in one of them and have lunch. A delicious, simple meal consisting of tofu, fried mushrooms, rice and vegetables. From the Pagoda there is a beautiful view, on one side of the Ocean, and on the other of the forest and clearing, on which deer walk. They feed on plants, and the vegetation in Indonesia at this time of year is very juicy and lush, because the rainy season is at its best. Deer spend their days eating, walking on the beach, resting, or taking sea baths, swimming in the ocean ignoring the people who are watching them.
After lunch, we leave the island and sail for another dive, very similar to the one that we have already completed. This time we also dive next to the wall, steeply descending down. Visibility is a little worse, but the amount of underwater life is staggering. We dive among an astonishing number of small fish that appear and disappear in the crowns of hard corals. Three, large black tip sharks swim parallel with us, accompany us for a while and disappear into the depths of the ocean. Stonefish, one of the most venomous sea creatures, Intriguing, extremely difficult to spot fish thanks to its camouflage imitating the environment, carefully looks for prey. Frogfish moves on the sand on its small "paws", puffing up its mouth and from time to time it puts a lure, which is located on the top of the head
and resembles a worm hooked to a fishing rod. In this way it lures, tempts a potential victim...
After diving we return to Pemutran. We sail in the pouring rain, which is coming at us from all sides. This year in Bali the rainy season is much more rainy compared to previous years that we spent in Indonesia. We reach the shore dripping wet, but happy that the ocean showed us its beauty and the island Menjangan charmed us with its unique atmosphere and unique inhabitants.
In the late afternoon, when the rain stops and the fishermen prepare their nets and boats for the evening fishing. We put on our diving gear and enter the ocean from the beach. We slowly plunge beneath the surface of the velvety water, which closes above us like an invisible cocoon. This time we are looking for small and sometimes millimeter-sized creatures. We float above the bottom, swim slowly so as not to disturb it. The sand is dark, and in it we look for tiny creatures, so much like those we discovered with such enthusiasm in the Strait of Lembech in the north of Sulawesi. After a while, we see two blue and white nudibranchs, and right next to them a leaf-like fish swaying limply on the water moved by tides. A bunch of small catfish comb the sand in search of food, and we swim over them closely watching this process. It is so peaceful and quiet, only us, the ocean and the millions of creatures that live in it, have no place for galloping thoughts or other human affairs that occupy our minds. It is difficult for us to part with this beautiful underwater world... I close my eyes and try to remember every detail, every moment I spent here in this peaceful, underwater world.
IN MARSA ALAM
DIVING ATTRACTS LIKE A MAGNET. THIS TIME IN NOVEMBER, WE DECIDED TO RETURN TO THE AREA OF EGYPTIAN MARSA ALAM, WHICH OVER THE YEARS HAS TRANSFORMED FROM A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE INTO ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR REGIONS, VISITED BY BOTH ORDINARY TOURISTS AND DIVERS.
After earlier visits to the northern part of Marsa Alam (closer to El Quseir) and its southern part (up to the border of Wadi el Gemal National Park) Marsa Alam, we decided to place our base closer to Elphistone Reef to make a one-day trip with sharks. The Whitetip Shark season lasts from October to December, so we couldn't miss this opportunity.
This time we chose the Aurora Bay Hotel because of the bay, praised for the abundance and diversity of marine life and the easy accessibility of the reef, stretching along both arms of the bay (northern and southern). In the immediate vicinity of the hotel there are two well-known diving bases Ducks Diving Superior (https://ducks-superior.com) and Beach Safari Marsa Blue (https://beachsafari.marsablue.pl). We used the services of the Ducks for sentimental reasons, because some of us did our first intro diving with Piotr, who worked some time ago at this base.
Text KRZYSZTOF G. BRUDKOWSKI Photos KRZYSZTOF G. BRUDKOWSKI, DAMIAN BRUDKOWSKI
Check dive begins at the so-called house reef, on the northern side of GEBEL EL ROSAS BAY (this is the correct name of the bay, popularly called the bay at the Aurora Bay Resort). From the base, you need to walk a short distance (equipment is carried by car) to find yourself near the narrow entrance next to a small pier at which zodiac boats moor. The entrance is sandy. The magical world under water amazes us with the amount of wildlife we meet on the first dive. We start the dive shallowly, and then we continue along the specific slope of the bottom and finally we reach the set depth. We manage to see, with excellent visibility, blue-spotted ribbontail rays, clownfish, young barracudas, lionfish, moray eels, parrotfish, puffers, triggerfish and boxfish, a green turtle, a group of mackerels swimming with a characteristically open mouth, and a mass of small reef fish. The reef is in good condition (a few days later I will snorkel along it, up to the open sea), we note the presence of both soft and hard corals. On this side of the bay, the reef wall descends down to about 40–50 meters, reaching the greatest depth near the open sea. We finish this dive with big banana-like smiles on our faces, happy and excited.
Almost before the end of the northern arm of the bay you can admire fantastic coral gardens, and even further the place of numerous colonies of clownfish (anemone city). However, to get there for diving purposes, a zodiac is necessary. You can start diving in these places and end diving next to the beach entrance to the house reef or by being picked up by the boat crew. That's how we did the second dive a little later that day, starting from the coral garden and ending at the entrance point
for the first dive. What was our surprise when, after immersion, it turned out that the transparency of the water had clearly changed for the worse. Diving and snorkelling a few more times on both sides of the bay, we came to the conclusion that the high and low tides, and the light current that appears then, cause changes in visibility, to such an extent that the conditions underwater change like in a kaleidoscope (at least this was the case during our stay from 5 to 12 November 2022).
The reef is also located on the south side of the bay and is frequented by snorkelling guests of the Aurora Bay Resort. Even without our heavy equipment, swimming in the ABC, in addition to the standard inhabitants of the reef, we watched here every day several alligator gars, blue-spotted ribbontail rays, green turtles, parrot fish, and above all two small eagle ray (spotted eagle ray), which liked the central, sandy part of the bay. Divers can enter small, shallow caves located on this side, whose frequent guests are large orbicular batfish, which swim there in a stately manner surrounded by shady spaces. We also meet moray eels, clownfish and an alligator gar lying still during this dive, but we do not meet any turtles this time, which are often seen on the side of the southern bay.
For further dives, we go much further, encouraged by the guide who said there was an opportunity to meet young grey reef sharks and a dugong. This requires sailing on a zodiac towards ABU DABBAB BAY, often, for the use of tourists, called
the turtle house. However, despite quite a long search, we are unable to locate in the depths this large and calm aquatic mammal, which comes to the surface only to take a breath. So we sail further to a place called Abu Dabbab V, where, according to the guide, we have a 100% chance to meet young sharks. With little faith in what the guide has assured us about we fall into the water flopping over the board of the boat. After a while, we sail past the blocks of corals to see the first young shark at the bottom. The grey reef shark shows the most activity at night and spends the day in groups, so we could count on meeting more individuals. This is also the case, because during the dive we see several more shyly escaping pieces of these predators. They stay in small caves, or lie at the bottom and drift away when one of us gets too close. We are very lucky to admire this species of shark listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The second dive is done on the way back, in the vicinity of MARS SHAGRA BAY, on its northern side. This time we do not have any spectacular encounters, which does not mean that we only find common species of Red Sea fish. In the reef depressions we see holocentridae fish standing still, we are passed by groups of snails, we watch clownfish, we find a moray eel, rays and a large turtle resting on the reef shelf, surrounded by a cloud of reef groupers. This is one of the views I will remember long after this dive.
The next day we split into two groups. Divers from the OWD go to the house of dolphins ("Sha'ab Samadai"), and me and Damian go to Elphistone Reef ("Sha 'ab Abu Hamra"), one of the most famous dive sites in Marsa Alam. We get up early in the morning, because we leave from the hotel at 5.20 am so that the bus can collect other divers from the surrounding resorts. We move to the base of the Viva Sub diving centre at the Blend Elphistone Resort hotel, which is located about
The grey reef shark shows the most activity at night and spends the day in groups, so we could count on meeting more individuals. This is also the case, because during the dive we see several more shyly escaping pieces of these predators.
5 km in a straight line from the reef. The helmsman has no mercy for us, a 250 h. p. engine throws our boat on the waves so that every wave hitting the bottom of the boat seems to be a collision with a concrete obstacle. Splashes of water stings in the cheeks, and the wind blows at an insane speed, and all this was to get there as soon as possible.
THE REEF OF ELPHISTONE reminds me of the shape of a ship, others claim that it is similar to a cigar pointing northwest and south-east, lying parallel to the coast. The English name of the reef was given by the British captain Robert Moresby, who mapped the Red Sea in honour of Lord George Elphinstone, a Scottish soldier and politician, colonial administrator in Madras and Mumbai. This formation is a typical lonely block deprived of the vicinity of other reefs, thanks to which all the surrounding marine life is concentrated in this place, rich especially in medium-sized specimens (i.e. of the hand size and larger ones).
We are the first to dive deep from the western wall, from north to south, hoping to find in the depths a hammerhead, al-
though it is long after the season for these predators, which are most often encountered here from May to August. We slowly descend to around 40 m, along vertical walls full of gaps and recesses covered with soft and hard corals. In the distance some elongated shadow is looming, maybe a shark, or we just think so. The bottom is almost invisible. We swim in a light current to the south, having a reef on the right, and a deep blue sea on the left. We see a lot of underwater life, but these particular emotions caused by close encounters with predators are missing. At the end of the dive, the guide shoots a buoy so that the crew of our boat knows that we are almost ready to get out of the water. We look around, we wait, but we are surrounded only by blue water.
After the required break, the next dive will be carried out further towards the northern plateau of the reef. All of us jump into the waves and follow our guide deep into the big blue. We are surrounded only by the endless sea and penetrated by reflections of sunlight. Only the sounds of our breaths accompany us, apart from that there is blessed silence. Pure diving magic. We swim and after a while somewhere on the edge of the field of vision, above us, we see the first whitetip shark (carcharhinus longimanus) surrounded by the so-called pilot fish.
I think everyone experiences excitement at such meetings, but we will be able to share our impressions only on the surface. We follow the guide towards this predator, but after a quick return, the shark disappears from our sight. A few swings of the fins and we see the silhouettes of divers from other boats, and not far from them another, or maybe the same shark. Cameras, lamps, our cameras and other divers are aimed directly at him, but it does not make any impression on the shark. This time it swims slowly, with the pectoral fins spread wide, so we have time to admire its silhouette, greyish skin tone and white fin ends. We notice a few more such meetings on this dive, and at some point we even observe two sharks swinging around each other and completely uninterested in our strange shapes. We finish the dive happy, hanging at the security stop and watching sharks swimming nearby. After coming out of the water, already in the zodiac, there is a great enthusiasm.
From the chronicler's duty, I must note that the crew that went to Sha'ab Samadai saw dolphins, but from quite a distance, and the only adventure they had was a "traffic jam" in the reef passages caused by the influx of two groups of divers from opposite directions. However, Egyptian guides can also cope with such situations.
In Marsa Alam you can see everything… underwater
We are all tired of speedboat swimming, so we decide to do another dive on the home reef, in GEBEL EL ROSAS BAY. We start by looking for two small eagle rays in the middle of the bay, which we regularly see while snorkelling, but unfortunately we do not manage to find them. We explore the southern part of the bay, entering small caves, but we find nothing interesting except a typical reef groupage, rays, orbicular batfish, parrotfish or alligator gar. Visibility is also lower than the first time.
Since visibility can negatively surprise in Gebel El Rosas, then we change the place of subsequent dives. The next day we take a few minutes bus to the nearby bay of Marsa Egla. On the spot, we find that another large group had the same
plan and we decide to drive a little further to the BAY OF MARSA ASSALAYA.
After reaching this nice, natural bay, well sheltered from the wind, it turns out that we have it almost exclusively for ourselves, not counting the group that just finished swimming in the bay. We learn from them that they have just seen four turtles, which we do not want to believe in. We agree with the guide that the first dive will be devoted to searching turtles or dugongs in the central part of the bay, the latter can also often be found here when nibbling sea grass. However, a longer search ends in failure, so we head for the south side of the bay towards the reef. Life on the reef is fantastic, and the multi-coloured reef itself begins on the shallow and descents
Personally, I also have the impression that the reduced number of tourists and divers, and thus boats, noise and pollution during the pandemic, had a good impact on the state of the reef.
gently towards the bottom. The reef is well sheltered by the arm of the bay, so the corals are protected from the waves and beautifully illuminated in the morning sun. We are able to spot nudibranchs, rays, blowfish of large sizes, as well as a green turtle. The second dive is only swimming along the northern side of the bay. Here, too, the corals are in a very good condition and fantastically illuminated, because the reef also descends very gently. So you can enjoy the colours and shapes of hard corals, or admire the variety of forms of soft corals. There is more wildlife on this side, or at least we think so. Almost at the beginning of the dive, slightly to the left of the reef, we find a green turtle that nibbled at the sea grass and did nothing about our presence. It posed beautifully for this photo. We see squid alone or floating in groups, blue-spotted ribbontail rays, lionfish. We come across a black moray eel swimming around a block of the reef, whose head is difficult to find much below the tail. It was really sad to get out of the water and go back. We decide to do another night dive on the home reef, as the last dive before returning. We enter the water with flash-
lights around 5.30 pm. Camera lamps give too much continuous light and you have to set them to a minimum to feel the magic of night diving. We wander with flashlights through the sleeping reef, looking for buried fish and specimens of soft corals that can only be seen at night. We are unlucky because we only find sleeping lionfish, a bunch of shrimps whose eyes reflect the light of flashlights, glowing with small dots, and also a diodon. The latter has scared us a little bit, because we have clearly disturbed its peace. It starts to inflate and swims towards the photographer. So we move away quickly with the light, and then the diodon loses interest in us. We calmly finish the dive, coming out of the water happy and a bit sad at the same time, because tomorrow we only have to rest.
Five days of diving went by very quickly. We all came back happy that we have seen so much. Personally, I also have the impression that the reduced number of tourists and divers, and thus boats, noise and pollution during the pandemic, had a good impact on the state of the reef. I don't recall seeing turtles on almost every dive in the area in previous years. Subjectively, it also seems to me that there is no phenomenon of coral dying (bleaching), which I observed in 2021 in the area of the northern Marsa Alam. Biodiversity is delightful, and the opportunity to meet turtles and large predators during the diving day is one of a kind. It's worth going back to this place. See you in Marsa Alam
ITALIAN HEEL
Text and photos WOJCIECH ZGOŁA
I LIKE TO DIVE IN SPOTS WHERE NOT MANY PEOPLE DIVED BEFORE ME. WHAT IS REALLY INTERESTING IS THAT SUCH SPOTS CAN BE FOUND IN EUROPE, SPECIFICALLY IN ITALY
From coast to coast, Italy has the sea on both sides, as if the whole shoe, with its high upper and spur, plunged into a large puddle
This time we decided to throw on our exploratory grate the far or rather – in divers' language – deep south of Italy.
After two days of driving from Poland towards the heel, we reached the place. We were accommodated at a fancy holiday farm, just 500 m from the rocky sea shore.
We had about a 40-minute drive to the nearest cities where diving centres operated. Throughout our stay we were accompanied by heat with temperatures ranging from 37–41°C.
It is worth knowing at least a little bit of the language of the country in which you rest. It makes life much easier, especially when you have to make a call to book a diving day... and on the other
side of the telephone there is probably a rally nice Italian woman, who very quickly gives you an answer in a language that is nice to your ear but hard to understand.
In any case, we decided to dive in Leuca and went there without an appointment, because one of the centres did not answer us by e-mail, and in the other there was no way to communicate. Fortunately, it turned out that there was another 5 star PADI diving centre here. It was about 7 minutes away from the port. We went there and it was success!
Gnu Diving turned out to be a very pleasant place for up to 15–16 divers. The nearby parking was free of charge and in the shade of trees. And the owners turned out friendly and helpful. Well-organised facility with a place for a shower, toilet, shop and office, a place to rinse and dry the equipment. New cyl-
inders, valves in great condition and of course equipment rental for travellers with a minimum number of suitcases.
After completing the formalities, the dive started with getting the right cylinder. I took 15 for myself. After assembling the equipment, it all was deposited on a trailer, which was pulled by a tiny tractor, taking the whole thing directly under the Zodiac boat. Divers in halfdressed in wetsuits walked this short distance on foot. It is worth adding that with this heat it is very helpful that you do not have to drag this equipment on your back!
There are no spectacular diving spots here. Many of them are among rocks and sandbanks, among the fauna and
flora typical of the Mediterranean. There are turtles here and one, a small one, we saw after diving from the surface.
I WILL TELL YOU BRIEFLY ABOUT TWO INTERESTING, IN MY OPINION, PLACES
I recommend diving on the Turkish wreck "TEVFIK KAPTAN 1", which carried 1000 tons of iron wire. She sailed from the port of Ortona (Chieti) to Algeria. Less than a mile from the coast of Torre Vado, the ship tilted about 40 degrees due to a shift in cargo and rough seas. It sank at 21:30 on June 28, 2007 off the coast of Salento near the town of Torrevado. The ship rested at a depth of 21 m. It was an ecological hazard and therefore the relevant services, in cooperation with divers from the Fire Brigade, Coast Guard and Castalia
Ecolmar, immediately implemented procedures to clean up the wreckage. The work lasted until July 6 and all hazardous substances were retrieved. Among other things, 19000 litres of diesel from the bow tank, oil from the mud box, from the service tank, from the engine room, from the aggregate, etc.
Tevfik Kaptan 1 is ideal for divers of all training levels. It lies broken and a little disintegrated, with the shallowest fragments being 5 m deep. It is ideal to start by diving to the bottom and circumnavigating the wreck spirally upwards. We can meet there, among others, moray eels, barracudas, groupers, oblades, salema porgys (Sarpa salpa), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), Mediterranean chromis (Chromis chromis) and others.
An interesting place for advanced divers is a diving spot called MELISO. Initially, it seems that it is an ordinary
dive, like many others in this location. After about 10 minutes of diving, a slight current appears. We descend below 25 m deep. We see crawfish, moray eels and nudibranchs. The current intensifies and we reach a kind of an underwater peninsula at a depth of about 28 m. On three sides, the walls fall to 40, 50 m. In front of me I see a shoal of barracudas, on the left there are 2 large
groupers. Everywhere there are shoals of common two-banded sea bream and oblades swimming around us, and in the distance we can see several jackfish. Visibility reaches a good 20 m, and the temperature at 30 m depth dropped from 31 degrees at the surface down to 24 deg.
Returning and surfacing after the safety stop, we again see single crawfish
and snails. There are as many as 5 species of the latter. It is very nice to dive in such a place. I wouldn't refuse seeing a turtle and a few dolphins, though ;) However, you can't always have everything you want.
If you dive with Gnu Diving, send kind regards to the Perfect Diver team, maybe they will even show you a printed edition of our magazine!
SCUBA DIVING
DEPTH WORLD RECORD
IN BOESMANSGAT CAVE IN SOUTH AFRICA
KAREN VAN DEN OEVER WOMENS SCUBA DIVING DEPTH WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT ON 27 OCTOBER 2022, BOESMANSGAT CAVE, MOUNT CARMEL SAFARIS FARM, NORTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
Breaking the womans world depth record for scuba has been a personal goal of mine since about 2004/2005 when Verna van Schaik and Nuno Gomes respectively broke the female and male depth records. Since be-
ing a member of the Wits University Underwater Club, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to know both these individuals and their achievements were a large inspiration for the attempt on this record. I started technical diving under the tutelage of Nuno Gomes at Wits Underwater Club and continued to develop as a technical diver after leaving Wits Underwater Club when myself and my now husband started our own dive club/ dive school called Somewhere Out There Diving where I have been involved as a part owner ever since. The idea of Somewhere Out There Diving was to create a business entity for the purposes of out of the ordinary, expedition type diving trips and this married up well with the technical diving
Photos TEAM
Text KAREN VAN DEN OEVER
After dive
endevours that have been embarked upon as part of the leadup to the world record attempts.
I started SCUBA diving in 2001 and proceeded into the realm of technical diving in 2006 and have gradually and progressively built-up experience and skills to the extent where
I was sufficiently competent and comfortable to attempt the women’s SCUBA diving depth record.
The first women’s depth record attempt dive took place on the 26th March 2021 in the Boesmansgat Cave, Mount Carmel Safaris Farm, Northern Cape, South Africa. On my descent I passed the first 2 tags (226 m and 231 m) and upon reaching the 236 m tag I hesitated briefly considering if I should continue to the next tag but decided to stop at the 3rd tag of 236 m. I clipped the 236 m tag off the line and onto a d-ring attached to my dive computer strap for this purpose and then proceeded to inflate my wings to start my ascent. However, when I inflated my wings, nothing happened, I was not starting to ascend, something was not right. I then started to fin, trying to assist my ascent by swimming upwards and by pulling myself up on the record line. I started to slowly ascend. However, exerting oneself at that depth is not a good idea, due to the density of the gas, developing hypercapnia will occur very quickly with exertion. The exertion of finning and pulling myself up on the line did cause me to become out-of-breath and I struggled to catch my breath again. To make matters worse, whilst pulling myself up along the line, I got snagged on the 226 m tag which I had to unclip and drop to free myself. When I reached 211 m I briefly stopped and it was then that
Scuba
I felt the tug on one of my legs, it was at this point that I realized that my legs and fins had become tangled in what looked like polypropylene line that was attached to something at the bottom of the cave. I managed to shake off the line and was then able to continue my ascent. This was a very close call and so it took me some time (a few months) before I decided that I wanted to go back and do it again. My target for the first record dive had been 250 m and I still had a goal of reaching 250 m, and I eventually decided to try again.
So I found myself back at Boesmansgat in October 2022. In the days preceding the record attempt, the dive team placed the stage shot line in the cave and over a number of dives, to different depths, placed stage cylinders with a variety of gas mixtures that would be needed for the record attempt dive on this line. Once complete, the record line, with the necessary depth tags, was placed and no further diving was allowed before the main record attempt dive.
The women’s depth record attempt dive took place on the 27th October 2022 in the Boesmansgat Cave, Mount Carmel Safaris Farm, Northern Cape, South Africa. The whole team had an early start, waking up at about 4 am that morning in order that the dive could start as early as possible. This meant that the team descended down the hole to the waters’ edge
whilst a beautiful dawn was breaking over the rim of the hole. The intention was to start the dive at 6.30 am, but eventually got underway with my descent just before 7 am that morning. I descended to 30 m where I switched gases and then continued to 110 m where I again switched gases and dropped off stage cylinders. After switching gases at 110 m I finned over from the stage line to the record line and began my descent to 246.56 m. My descent was slower than I had planned for and for this reason I used more gas on the descent than I had planned for and so had to turn a little earlier than I had hoped for.
I clipped the depth tag onto a d-ring on my dive computer strap, at this point I realized that I had mild HPNS (high pressure nervous syndrome) as my hand was shaking and I struggled a little to clip the tag onto myself. I then inflated my wings to start my ascent. My first support diver Peter Reid was at 209 m and I passed him on my ascent to the surface, he later caught up with me at approx 160 m. Again, back at 110 m I swam over to the stage shot line where I picked up additional cylinders and did my first gas switch for the ascent. I also met another support diver at 110 m (Don Hauman). At 60 m I met another 2 support divers – the support divers at 60 m were supposed to be Jakob Item and Atish Dayal – Jakob Iten came down but then later Joseph Birtles arrived and not Atish Dayal (I later found out that Atish had a problem with his drysuit and had to swop out with Joseph Birtles who was supposed to meet me at 30 m). At 30 m I again had 2 support divers (Atish Dayal, in place of Joseph Birtles, and Francois Bain). From 30 m
upwards the support team started bringing me fluids to drink. At 18 m I met additional support divers (Hani Williams and Iain Hickman).
Once I surfaced, I handed the depth tag to Theo van Eeden one of the impartial witnesses. The total dive time was 8 hrs and 11minutes, with 14 mins and 50 secs spent on the descent.
The dive went incredibly well and I really enjoyed the dive. On my ascent from 246 m I saw the polypropylene line that I had got tangled in on the previous record dive. The end of that line is at approx. 169 m and it runs all the way to the bottom, I considered swimming over to the line and tugging on it but thought better of it. I was very lucky that on this dive that the record line was placed a few meters away from this line so there was no danger of entanglement.
NURKOWANIE
Dive Team
After dive with my husband Francois Bain
Handing tag to Theo van Eden
Karen and Theo van Eden (whitness)
WE TRO QUARRY
Text and photos ŁUKASZ METRYCKI
WETRO – ONE OF THE SAXON QUARRIES, LOCATED LESS THAN A 30 MINUTES DRIVE FROM THE BORDER CROSSING JĘDRZYCHOWICELUDWIGSDORF, IN THE TOWN OF SPROITZ. THE AREA IS RELATIVELY LARGE, AS IT STRETCHES FOR ALMOST HALF A KILOMETER LONG AND 140 M WIDE.
It is an extremely charming place, because the quarry is covered with trees along the coastline, which naturally contributed to the demarcation of the area for a diving base and a place for divers. The rich vegetation on the surface means that divers and their companions do not treat this place only as a dive site, but as a way to spend a free day. In addition to the main purpose of the expedition, i.e. immersion in the emerald water, we meet many picnic
people and other visitors enjoying the beautiful surroundings.
The diving infrastructure itself is at a high level. The base works very dynamically: the filling of cylinders runs smoothly, and the vastness of the terrain results in the fact that even without arriving at the place at dawn, we will always find a place for ourselves and our equipment. Tables, pallets and shelter are prepared on the premises of the base, ideally suited to clear our
"stuff". The base fee is 10 euros. Filling the cylinders costs 50 cents/litre. It is also possible to use other gases such as nitrox 32 (1 euro/litre) or 50 (2 euro/ litre), but also on request you can get trimix. For those who want to start their adventure with diving, there is also an offer of a course, among others, in the CMAS federation.
When we are ready, the time will come for the only and the most difficult aspect of diving on Wetro, namely,
overcoming several dozen of very steep stairs, leading us to the platform on the water. For me, it was a special challenge due to the recent knee surgery. So these stairs, I will remember for a long time The dive itself was already very pleasant. Across the basin, at a depth of several meters, we find a dike, which conventionally divides the quarry into two parts, the deeper and shallower ones. Admittedly, for less experienced divers, the first moment after jumping
into the water can be a bit stressful, because we are immediately in the "deep water", but heading to the right, the depths become reachable even for OWD divers.
However, we initially went to the left to check the visibility at a depth of about 30 m. While up to 20 meters it was not delightful and ranged between 5 and 7 m, after exceeding about 25 m we saw a delightful "crystal" limited only by the power of our flashlights.
The water temperature did not surprise us, because while at the surface it was pleasant 21 degrees, so after 20 meters it fell to 7–5 degrees. In the "deeper area" you can meet many freshwater fish, but rather they should not draw our attention, because the rock formations along which we sailed were just spectacular and I immediately associated them with the underwater landscape of "our" beautiful lake Hańcza.
On the second dive, we went to the right, around the aforementioned dike. During this dive, we reached a depth of 20 m, but most of the time we held up
to 10 meters. From underwater attractions, you can see a folding bike, a mannequin with a wheelbarrow "speaking" to empty chairs, as well as plaques commemorating Thomas – the long-time owner of the quarry, tragically deceased in Croatia after a deep dive. Coming back to the platform, we swam very shallowly, admiring the underwater forest, beautiful lilies and numerous perches and roaches at the very shoreline.
To sum up, the Wetro quarry is an ideal option for a day trip. Even considering the economic aspect with accom-
modation in Poland, it is not a problem to get to the place in the morning and enjoy the charms of this unique place. As for the dives themselves, I think that everyone will find something for themselves there. Photography enthusiasts will be attracted by the very good visibility and eye-catching water emerald, and technical divers will certainly be tempted by the depth of over 50 m, which can be reached on the left side of the dike. Entire families will be attracted by the opportunity to combine pleasant diving with a weekend picnic.
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GIRLS CORNER TWINSET-DIVING
Twinset-diving is for technical divers who only dive long and deep. It needs a lot of strength to carry double-tanks and women are not built to handle such weight.
This was for a long time a strong belief I had. In this article, I would like to tell you how I changed my mind on diving in twinset configuration as a girl.
WHAT IS TWINSET?
A standard twinset is a set of two scuba cylinders, connected with a manifold and tank bands. The manifold is a set of two single tank valves, typically bridged with an “isolator”.
Text ISADORA ABUTER GREBE
Photo Jon Borg
Photos Bartek Trzciński
WHY TWINSET: THE MAIN ADVANTAGES
1. REDUNDANCY
In a twinset configuration, you are breathing from a source of gas, which can be transformed into two, independent systems. In case of a leak or malfunction of any part of the breathing apparatus (regulator, hose, valve etc.) you can just shut the gas flow and still use the other, working side of your system.
2. MORE GAS AND EASY GAS MANAGEMENT
Two cylinders mean twice as much gas – simple. The difference is easy to calculate. For instance: if you have 50 bar in a 2x12 L twinset, it is approx. the same amount of gas as 100 bar in a single 12 L tank. This means that you can make longer and/or deeper dives. It is also easy to monitor your gas consumption – as the tanks are connected, one SPG will show you the gas pressure in the whole system.
3. STABILITY AND TRIM
Doubles are wider than a single cylinder configuration. As the weight is distributed not only in the center of your back, the tanks lay very stable on your back. This is why you will find it easier to keep your horizontal trim and side-balance, which is what many divers aim for.
Warning! In some cases it may feel less comfortable, but with proper adjustment and personalization you will be able to create a much more comfortable configuration than in a single-tank. I highly recommend training with an experienced instructor to achieve this.
MAIN OBSTACLE: WEIGHT
Carrying a lot of weight requires a lot of strength, and women aren't built to handle it. This was a belief I held for a long time. Most of the double-tank divers are men, whilst female divers tend to stick to single-tank configurations. Just like me. Being short and not the strongest, I was afraid of doubles.
A TWINSET STORY
Last summer I was faced with a big challenge – writing my master thesis about the significance of wrecks as artificial reefs. For this research project I needed to spend many hours with full concentration underwater. It was simply impossible to do it in single tanks. I did not want to compromise efficiency, gas planning and most importantly – safety of my dive team. Due to the logistics
Practising Valve-Drill
Photo Bartek Trzciński Scientific Data Collection
Photo Adam Dive
convenience, high need of standardization, and my future ambitions (technical diving), I chose double tanks.
For this reason, I needed to become stronger and train myself as a twinset diver. I made an effort to visit the gym as frequently as possible and focused on lifting more weight. When the underwater work began, I wondered how I would manage the upcoming dive marathon with such heavy gear. At first, it was uncomfortable to lift the tank from the trunk, walk up the stairs, or manage the slippery entrance without falling.
However, the more I lifted the tanks, the longer I walked, the more comfortable I became. I also realized that I had increased my strength and mobility to the point where I was no longer afraid to use a twinset – simple as that!
Interestingly – during this time, I changed my workout regime from weightlifting at the gym to practicing yoga. I concentrated on a holistic approach to my body, combining strength, flexibility and mobility. To make myself feel more at ease, I also walked around with twinsets on my back whenever I could. I did not push myself too much, but challenged my capacities. Whenever I felt that it was too much, I took a break and concentrated on my wellbeing rather than on pushing myself to the extremes.
TIPS FROM TWINSET GIRLS TO THE FUTURE TWINSET GIRLS:
There are always gentlemen eager to help. (...) The easiest dives are from a boat, as they are less demanding. In fact, you dress your equipment on the bench, then two steps and jump into the water. And there you no longer feel the weight. It's harder to get out of the water, but you have to make the effort – for the pleasure of diving.
Wiesia Łaszyn
After some weeks of diving in double-tank configuration, it was hard to believe that I achieved something I was sure I would never achieve: feeling good with a twinset. I got so used to it that I would almost always choose a twinset over a single tank!
My example illustrates that double tank diving is not just limited to men. If you confront your discomfort with gentleness you may actually turn it into comfort!
Do you want or need to become a twinset diver? Just begin gently.
Be persistent and you will realize that it brings a lot of fun and satisfaction!
The difference in the weight of the 12L bottle can be really big from 12 to 15 kg. A 3 kg difference in one bottle is a 6 kg difference in the twinset. I was looking for bottles that would be as neutral as possible, so the volume of the bottle = approximately their weight. I chose concave bottles with a pressure of 200 bar, which weigh 12,1 kg each.
Janka Havlickowa
Photo Bartek Trzciński
Photo Tomasz Płociński
I've learned, through twinned diving, that everyone needs help. Everyone. It's not that you are weaker, or less capable. Never forget that as women we are naturally calmer and able to handle situations better. Since we are used to reaching behind our backs every day we are more flexible and nail those valve drills with ease.
Sarah Pierce
Don’t let anyone (including your own brain) tell you that you can’t do something if that is what you want to do. If your kit is just too heavy for you, can you build up your strength with some gym sessions? If you’re struggling with your valve drills, can you spend five minutes each night working on your shoulder mobility?
Alana Dempsey
You may choose warm-water dive destinations at the outset of your twinset adventure to avoid wearing thick undergarments (which could restrict flexibility and mobility). It is challenging enough to handle doubles, so it is wise to practice in an environment that is comfortable for you.
Start with a small twinset (2x7 L is a friendly start) and slowly build your capacity – there is absolutely no rush. Take the twinset on your back and practice standing up, walking and sitting down as much as you can.
Train your body with exercises that focus on whole body stability, strength and mobility
In the water I am like an astronaut. I fly. Longer time in „space” requires more air. Double tanks are simple double air. (...) and one more thing – being a Twinset Girl stimulates me to go to the gym and stay fit :)
Ella Ceklarz
Don’t doubt yourself! The gear might seem big and intimidating but it opens up a new skill set and expands what you’re capable of, both above and below water.
Colleen Riley
Support each other! We are all in this together! Ask for help with carrying your doubles and vice versa: offer your assistance with carrying your friends' doubles. It has a double advantage:
1. Strengthening your muscles
2. Strengthening your team spirit
Isadora Abuter Grebe
Did you enjoy this read? I have good news: my next article will be about girls who use twinset configurations due to their commitment to marine life conservation and other underwater projects... Stay tuned!
In the meantime: Visit your girls-corner at: @isa_diving_nature (Instagram)
OF PILOT WHALES EXTRAORDINARY FATE
Text and photos
JAKUB BANASIAK
OIt is said that we only protect what we love, and we only love what we know. So get to know the extraordinary life of pilot whales, especially the calves of these great (largest after orcas) black and grey dolphins. We can encounter them while heading to dive sites such as in the Canaries, Hawaii, Fiji and the Galapagos.
f the listed diving destinations, pilot whales are most often found in the Galapagos. They swim in large pods in the nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current. In the open sea, they often accompany bottlenose and common dolphins. They travel between islands in search of squids, small fish, and octopuses. They prefer deep waters and are often fo-
und in large pods of up to several dozen members. They can be easily approached by boat, and if we turn off the zodiac's engine, curious individuals will often swim up to us on their own.
They can sometimes be confused with other marine cetaceans of the blackfish family – pigmy killer whales, although they differ in head shape and body slenderness.
Young pilot whale is approaching the boat
Young pilot whale curious about our boat off the coast of Tenerife
Pilot whales can be recognized by their distinctive bulbous heads and prominent, rounded dorsal fins located more anteriorly. They are sleek and slender when young, and gain weight and girth as they age. A fully grown pilot whale can weigh up to four tons and measure up to 6.5 meters in length.
As with all other dolphins, special care should be taken when encountering pods with younglings, so as not to interfere with calf care, feeding, schooling, and to avoid stressing the mothers and other family members involved in caring for them.
In short-finned pilot whales, calves are born after a gestation of nearly 15 months. Their weight and length measurements are about 55 kg and 1.4 m. Although weaning occurs after about two years, females can continue to feed the young for a period of years to come. This shows a complex social structure in which older females can give their own or related calves a "reproductive advantage" precisely through extended feeding. Females give birth to an average of four to five calves. Mating takes place throughout the year. For example, in the waters between Tenerife and Gomera, newborn pilot whales can be encountered basically every month.
Interestingly, young pilot whales, at least in this part of the Atlantic, do not swim exclusively beside their mother – they also take turns swimming beside other adults – both females and males.
Pilot whales often gather into larger groups that stay together for up to several weeks, allowing them to travel, feed, rest and socialize together.
Researchers observing a population of more than 3,000 pilot whales that spend summers off the coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, observed 356 identifiable calves during more than 600 encounters with the animals over a three-year period. Roughly a quarter of them was observed occasionally sticking close to an adult individual that was not their mother. One baby took turns swimming next to an average of five adult companions. It is believed that the calves can thus learn social behaviour from their experiences with different pod members.
Pigmy killer whale in the Galapagos
Adult pilot whale dives under boat
Do not get too close
Female with her young
When one or more members of the pod dives in search of food, we can observe calves and young on the surface left in the care of an adult. These groups are the so-called "nursery groups". If we just turn off the engine of our boat and wait patiently, it may happen that curious little ones come very close to us. They often then show one or both pectoral fins, lift their heads out of the water to look around (known as spyhopping), or bump their fins against the surface to attract attention.
However, the most interesting things happen at the interface with other cetacean species.
On May 17, 2021, a research team from Far Out Ocean in New Zealand reported that they had observed a female bottlenose dolphin interacting with a pilot whale calf as if the newborn was her own offspring. Scientists believed that the dolphin had adopted the young whale over a month earlier and had been caring for the calf the entire time.
Far Out Ocean has confirmed that this is not the first time a bottlenose dolphin
has been observed caring for the young of another ocean mammal. It is unclear why this species seems to be comfortable with the role of surrogate parent. Perhaps it is giving off a strong maternal instinct after losing its own offspring. Such mixing between species is not uncommon off the coast of New Zealand, so it is possible that a pilot whale calf later met its pod and was reunited with its biological parents or other individuals of its species. Such adoptions usually don't last more than a few months – and given that the size of even young pilot whales is much larger than that of a dolphin calf, the pilot whale's baby needed more milk than a bottlenose mother can provide.
The calf in the foreground demonstrates the pectoral fin
Cetacean surfacing behaviour – spyhopping
Perhaps it was an awkward accidental "kidnapping". Scientists believe that pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins get along well, and the Far Out Ocean team has never yet observed any interspecies aggression between the two groups which are together in 50 percent of pilot whale sightings in the area.
A similar event also occurred in the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the adopted calves here usually belong to species that are the same size or smaller than bottlenose dolphins, such as common dolphins. The case of the adoption of a pilot whale calf is something new in the area.
In August 2021 observers from Orca Guardians Iceland spotted a newborn pilot whale calf (still with fetal folds visible on its skin) swimming in an echelon formation with a female orca that was well known to local researchers in western Iceland. Other orcas were seen nearby, but no other pilot whales were observed.
In June 2022, scientists from the Icelandic Orcas project had very similar observations in southern Iceland. Again, a pilot whale calf appeared among the orcas, even though no pilot whale pod was observed nearby.
This is surprising, as pilot whales and orcas have already been found to behave antagonistically to each other on several occasions in all these areas, with pilot whales actively chasing off pods of orcas, pursuing them at high speed until the orcas left the area.
For the most part, when both species were observed simultaneously in the waters around Iceland, the orcas generally exhibited avoidance behaviour by keeping their distance from the pilot whales and quickly moving away when they began to approach. Yet this did not prevent the orcas from taking care of the pilot whale calf.
Alloparenting, or surrogate parental care of young individuals that are not the direct offspring of the caregiver or caregivers, including young representatives of other species, is an
extremely interesting phenomenon. It probably has to do with the highly developed brains of these animals. Perhaps the so-called spindle neurons play an important role here. In the mammalian brain, spindle neurons are part of the limbic system, which is involved in processing and regulating emotions. Spindle neurons were previously thought to be found only in humans and great apes. However, cetaceans also have a large number of these neuronal structures, making them highly empathic, emotionally intelligent, and capable of forming complex social structures.
Could orcas have adopted a pilot whale calf that had separated from its own pod? Despite the very complex and seemingly unfriendly relationship between the two species, perhaps the family's strong sense of social structure and high level of empathy gave this calf a second chance.
The world of dolphins still holds many mysteries. At the same time, it proves us every year that humans are not the only ones who are unique, empathetic, and extremely emotionally intelligent.
Bottlenose dolphins often share the same body of water with pilot whales
The calf usually stays fairly close to the caregiver
The cub bravely follows the adult female
GENERATORS OF HAPPINESS… AND DESCENDANTS
Text and photos WOJCIECH JAROSZ
Storks are our good friends. Over the centuries, we have managed to get so close to them that not only do we share the roofs and chimneys of our houses with them, but we have also made storks an important part of our culture. This actually applies not only to European culture. In central Europe, the stork on the roof is a sign of prosperity, while in Islamic countries, these birds are considered to be the pilgrim souls of the dead.
One of the manifestations of the friendship between storks and humans is giving them human names. For example, in many regions of Poland, a common stork name is the most beautiful male name in diminutive form, i.e. Wojtek (the beauty of that name lies not in the similarity of it to the name of the author of this text, but, naturally, in its similarity to the name of the Editor-in-Chief of Perfect Diver).
In the village where my grandparents' family home is located, the stork couple returning to their nest every year are named Hela and Marian, which is obvious to all residents of the tiny town hidden among the fields and forests of the border of Warmia – no one tries to call them otherwise. This is also true for other parts of the wold. The name Yaren was given to a stork from the Turkish village of Eskikaraağaç. He
became well-known by establishing a close relationship with the man he accompanies on a rowing boat while fishing. This acquaintance has been going on for over a decade! Until recently, it was also possible to follow an incredible love story, whose heroes were Malena and Klepetan. Malena is a female who, due to injury, could not fly away to distant wintering places. However, her partner, Klepetan, returned to his beloved every year. The story happened in Croatia. A similarly romantic story is told in Hungary, where every season Sophie flies back to the flightless Macus living in one of the rural courtyards. These love stories would not have happened if it wasn't due to human help. Birds battered in various circumstances without human care would not be able to survive and function in the environment.
In spite of such closeness, do we really know everything about storks? It turns out that not necessarily, and the more so that there are many myths about the lives of storks. We will certainly not falsify all of them in this text. Anyway, much wiser individuals have dealt with this topic and when the need arises, there is always some source to get the knowledge from. I recommend here the book of real birds (not only storks) specialists, Adam Zbyryt and Piotr Tryjanowski "Storks. Unauthorized Biography", if any of the esteemed Readers would like to expand their knowledge about storks.
What readers of Perfect Diver are probably particularly interested in is the question of whether storks are water birds at all – after all, we are on the pages of a magazine for divers and water sportsmen. Storks taxonomically belong to wading birds – family Ciconiidae (storks) in the order Ciconiiformes, which is confirmed by their physique, especially long legs. However, white storks (Ciconia ciconia), as this is the species the article is about, we see most often not wading "waist-deep" in water, but strolling through meadows and fields. It turns out, however, that they are attached to wa-
The stereotype, widely spread mainly by children's literature, that frogs are the main food of the stork community does not turn out to be entirely true.
ter and that aquatic organisms, including fish, are no small part of their daily diet. Wading in shallow water, they search for tasty morsels which they catch effectively with their long beaks. Storks prefer not necessarily large water reservoirs, but they usually stick to river valleys and wetlands, where they can feed more effectively. As for the stork diet, apart from the already mentioned fish, storks willingly eat all small animals, invertebrate and vertebrate. Sometimes even those slightly larger, such as rodents, become their prey for which they can wait patiently and motionlessly at the the entrance to their burrows. The stereotype, widely spread mainly by children's literature, that frogs are the main food of the stork community does not turn out to be entirely true. Storks willingly use a much more varied menu collected in low thickets and shallow water, in which, next to the grasshopper and earthworm, there will be a stickleback, sand lizard or mole or a vole. The earthworms, mentioned above, are unfortunately quite similar in stork's eyes to some waste left in the environment by man, such as rubber bands. Eating these can end badly for birds, as well as using pieces of string left by farmers in
fields and meadows to build nests. These strings are also a significant threat to chicks, so after all field work is finished, all waste, not only strings, should be meticulously collected. After all, we want the storks to still be among us because, as the hero of the classic Polish film entitled "Sexmission" said: "Look at the stork! If the stork can survive, so can we!" Therefore, taking care of the environment of storks, we take care of ourselves at the same time!
A few words about biological curiosities about storks. These birds are characterized by the absence of pronounced sexual dimorphism. This means that distinguishing Marian from Hela is not such an easy matter. In fact, only the moment of copulation gives a certain chance of qualifying an individual to the group under the sign of Venus or Mars. To be sure, stork researchers conduct laboratory blood tests, the results of which make the matter clear. Judging gender by singing is also impossible, because storks cannot sing due to the structure of their larynx. Sometimes they quietly hiss at something, the chicks even miaow a little, but basically the only recognisable and strongly characteristic stork voice is a clatter, i.e. simply a sound made by snapping with their beak. Adult birds greet each other in this way, often arching the long neck so that the head touches the back. Chicks cannot, and in fact are not able to clatter. This is a consequence of the softness of their
beaks – they need time to harden. Besides, they also need time so that, as befits nesters, thanks to the food supplied by parents, they develop and grow enough to be able to safely fly away from the family nest. It happens sometimes, that not all birds from the brood will live to see it. In a situation where there is too little food, the weakest chicks do not survive. It is the parents who play some role in it. This is somewhat reminiscent of the style of selection practised by the ancient Spartans, and from the point of view of the genetic pool of the population, it is a positive procedure – only the strongest and most adapted to the environment individuals survive to be able to pass their "good" genes to the next generations. It is thanks to these genes, among others, that birds are strong and efficient enough to safely fly half the world from nesting sites to wintering sites, e.g from Central Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa. In the breeding season, white stork can be seen in a wide, although discontinuous band from North-West Africa, through the Iberian Peninsula to Central and Eastern Europe (with one quarter of the world's population nesting in Poland!), as well as in the western part of Asia. For a long time, white stork completely disappeared from Western Europe and only recently it begins to return slowly to selected sites. Storks start the season in early spring, being, not without reason, a symbol of its arrival (a short quote from another Polish classic
poet – this time Adam Mickiewicz: "As the stork has already came back to its home pine and spread its white wings, the early banner of spring"), heading towards the sites from which they come. They choose nests, sometimes heroically fighting for them, form couples (not always the same, although this does not fully agree with what we think about stork lovemaking) and prepare for breeding. As a rule, they improve the nest beforehand, which makes them grow larger and heavier from year to year (up to several hundred kilograms, and the record weighed as much as 1.5 tons!). The stork nest, don't confuse it with crow's nest replacing a radar on a ship, is not only home to a stork family. It is used by many species of smaller birds, such as sparrows and Eurasian tree sparrows, wagtails and even jackdaws. After about two months, young storks leave the nest, but a few more weeks they are actively supported by their parents. Large assemblies of birds forming before departures are traditionally called "stork dietines" in Polish and they are one of the indications of the ending summer. I will also end this article so as not to torment the Dear Reader any longer, and to avoid Editor-in-Chief expressive complaints. We may return to storks in the PD one day, e.g. thanks to the black stork (Ciconia nigra) or its other closer and further cousins. Meanwhile, look out for the first storks in the early spring sky!
BALTICTECH
Text SZYMON MOSAKOWSKI Photos PERFECT DIVER
WHAT IS BALTICTECH?
BALTICTECH IS A DIVING CONFERENCE, ONE OF THE THREE LARGEST TECHNICAL DIVING EVENTS IN THE WORLD.
The other two are held in Australia and the United Kingdom. It has been organised regularly since 2007, during two days of this event guests from all over the world give their speeches. The previous Baltictech conference took place in 2019, after a pandemic break we had the pleasure to participate in the 10th edition of this event. 26-27.11 2022 were the days when the eyes of the diving community were directed to Gdynia, namely to the Main Library of the Naval Academy, where this year the conference took place. The new location was a perfect fit for this event, with many large lecture halls and spacious corridors that accommodated many exhibitors.
A long break from the previous edition definitely took its toll on people, because during these two days the attendance was over 1200 people, which is almost double the result of the previous edition. Despite the unfavorable, cold and rainy weather outside, the interior of the building, in the intervals between the lectures, was teeming with life. It was loud, the faces were smiling
and satisfied. The catering section provided everyone with a warm meal and plenty of coffee. Among the crowds of diving enthusiasts, you could meet people who have nothing to do with diving, and yet somehow the conference interested them.
Despite the topic of technical diving, everyone could find something interesting for themselves, and there was really something to choose from, the number of speakers was really impressive. In addition to technical topics, the lectures also concerned new diving equipment, diving medicine, safety or even underwater archaeology. Each of the lectures was extremely interesting, as evidenced by the rooms bursting at the seams, simultaneously as many as three lectures were conducted – of course each in a different room. Even in the largest auditorium of the library
with a capacity of about 500 people, there was a shortage of seats. Two smaller rooms were designed for 100 people, but there was also no free centimeter in them. Undoubtedly, an important aspect of the lecture was their translation, in the main auditorium everyone entering the hall could get special headphones enabling listening to the lecture in a language they understood.
In addition to the lectures, there were also exhibitors at the disposal of the participants, among whom representatives of companies selling diving equipment dominated, they presented mainly novelties in their assortment, you could test, try on and buy any equipment
from masks to a rebreather. However, among the whole mass of diving equipment were also representatives of other organisations related to diving – insurance offers, diving bases, representatives of the press and even something for lovers of underwater history, i.e. Underwater Cultural Heritige Unit from Malta. Here, too, surely each of the visitors had something to pay attention to.
The atmosphere of the confer ence was indescribable. Two days of exhausting and interesting lec tures. Lots of conversations and discussions, and all this in an un derwater atmosphere. The tenth edition of the Baltictech conference is certainly one of the successful ones and left an amazing impres sion. We just have to wait for the next edition.
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F reeflow
Text WOJCIECH A. FILIP
OR HOW TO USE YOUR REGULATOR
READ THIS SHORT TEXT TO LEARN HOW TO COPE WITH BREATHING PROBLEMS DURING DIVING.
NOTE!
You will need a bottle with a twist cap, e.g. a juice or soda bottle, a diving mask and gloves.
IN TODAY’S ARTICLE, WE WILL FOCUS MOSTLY ON PRACTICE. LET’S GET STARTED!
Have a closer look at your second stage regulator.
Find two elements that control its operation (usually, they are located on the side of the regulator, on the opposite side from the attached hose)
´ knob (highbrows call it “breathing resistance”)
´ lever (the same guys would say it’s a “venturi”)
Check whether you are able to move both elements freely. IF SO, let’s move on! IF NOT, have your regulator serviced to avoid damaging it during diving or practicing on land.
Photo Jon Borg
KNOB
1. Grab your bottle with your right hand, with the cap pointing to the left.
2. Slowly unscrew the bottle with your left hand.
3. Slowly screw the bottle back.
Do you need to check the direction before unscrewing the bottle?
INSTRUCTOR’S TRICK
Give the bottle to someone else, asking them to grab it as you did during practicing. Before they unscrew it, show them the unscrewing movement with your hand from a distance. Ask them to repeat exactly the same move, trying to unscrew the bottle. Check whether you got it right when showing the move.
Now you can ask them to make the same move with the knob on the second stage regulator. Make an unscrewing movement and then, of course, check whether you have shown them the right direction
Photo Bartek Trzciński
KNOB
LEVER
Photo Bartek Trzciński
IF SO, repeat the activities without haste.
When you GET IT RIGHT, do the same while holding your bottle under the table and then behind your back.
Put the bottle down and grab the second stage regulator with your right hand. Locate the knob and unscrew it as you did with the bottle.
NOTE!
Do not use force – if you feel any resistance, stop the movement.
` Screw the knob in, just like when closing a bottle.
` Repeat this several times, controlling the right closing or opening direction.
` If you managed to get it right in each case, try doing the same while holding the second stage under the table and then behind your back.
Is everything OK?
` Put on your diving mask and gloves, insert the second stage into your mouth.
` Turn the knob out – check whether you did it right.
` Turn the knob in – check whether it is OK.
Now, the very important thing!
If you close a bottle which was already screwed down, you might have trouble breathing, feel uncomfortable or expe-
Photo Isadora Abuter Grebe
Photo Bartek Trzciński
rience dyspnea, thus using up more air. Hey, you do know that the bottle cap is our second stage regulating knob, don’t you ?
Make sure THE KNOB is always unscrewed:
´ before diving
´ during the dive
´ when you are not diving (this way you protect your regulator)
LEVER
1. Move your left hand as if you were… yawning, as if you wanted to bring more air into your mouth.
2. Move your left hand away from your mouth, as if you were pushing something away from your mouth.
` Grab the second stage, holding it against your mouth.
` Locate the lever, move it like when yawning – towards your mouth, as though you would want to get more air.
` Did it work? You have just enabled respiratory assistance!
` Now move the lever towards the outside – as if you were pushing it away from your mouth – your assistance is off.
The lever is a part of the regulator that you should be able to locate instantly, even if you are not looking at the regulator. Practice enabling (towards your mouth) and disabling (away from your mouth), holding the second stage so that you cannot see it when moving the lever.
NOTE!
Make it easier for yourself, trying to locate the mouthpiece – movement towards the mouthpiece enables assistance, the opposite movement disables it.
Photos on page Bartek Trzciński
ACADEMY
By disabling the assistance, you stop free flow of the gas from the regulator. If your, or someone else’s, regulator activates when entering the water, locate it and disable the assistance like you would move the lever away from your mouth.
Another important point – enable breathing assistance to make sure that stress levels will be lower in the diver with whom you’re sharing your air (lack of gas), minimize narcosis, but also to make the most out of your regulator.
How to set the lever (i.e. assistance)?
` before attaching the regulator to a cylinder – disable ` only after submersion – enable ` before removing the regulator from your mouth – disable (both under water and on the surface
Dive safe, WAF
INVITATION!
Learn to control a free-flowing regulator! Do it step by step, at your own pace, under the supervision of an experienced instructor. Use your regulator to reduce gas consumption – this really works!
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED?
About 2 hours.
Reach out to Tecline Academy, take your friends with you and drop in!
https://teclinediving.eu/tecline-academy/#/
Photo Mocean Images
Ask in DIVING CENTERS
In front of you is a GUIDE to a selection of the Island of Aphrodite’s dive spots, hopefully the best or most interesting ones.
Ideal for divers, free divers, lovers of the azure water and water sports, but also for those who accompany them.
