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DIVE BAGS RATED AND REVIEWED INSIDE

FAMILY DIVING ON THE VIBRANT REEFS OF BELIZE

100 9%!23 /. #HANNEL DIVERS commemorate 7ORLD 7AR /NE

EXCLUSIVE! BRAND-NEW DIVE BOAT FOR SCAPA

LIVEABOARD LUXURY IN THE CURRENT-SWEPT WATERS OF PALAU

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EXPERTS

Should divers ever enter a wreck without the right training?

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GRAVEYARD IN 11 DAYS

%UROPE DIVE N DRIVE ROADTRIP kicks off in Germany

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Deep off Ireland’s -ALIN (EAD

EDITOR’S LETTER 3 The Courtyard, Denmark Street, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2AZ

EDITORIAL Editor Mark Evans 0118 989 7265 mark.evans@sportdiver.co.uk Deputy Editor Will Harrison 0118 989 7266 william.harrison@sportdiver.co.uk Art Editor Matt Griffiths 01242 216067 matthew.griffiths@archant.co.uk Reprographics Manager Neil Puttnam 01242 264788 neil.puttnam@archant.co.uk

ADVERTISING Commercial Brand Manager Ross Arnold 0118 989 7220 ross.arnold@sportdiver.co.uk Sales Executive Scott Jarvis 0118 989 7226 scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

PRODUCTION Publishing Production Manager Kevin Shelcott 01603 772165 kevin.shelcott@archant.co.uk Production Team Leader Mikey Godden 01603 772876 michael.godden@archant.co.uk Creative Designers Andy Crafter, Adam Kimberley

PUBLISHING Publishing Director Peter Timperley 0118 989 7243 peter.timperley@archant.co.uk MD Archant Specialist Mark Wright 01242 264760 mark.wright@archant.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS Address Sport Diver, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF Email sportdiver@subscription.co.uk Website www.subscriptionsave.co.uk/sd

2,400 miles, four countries, 11 days = great diving With Sport Diver being affiliated with the Europe, Middle East and Africa office of PADI, it made sense to start branching out our coverage into more of mainland Europe, and with all the countries being handily attached, a dive-n-drive roadtrip seemed the perfect approach for a whistlestop tour of just a handful of these.

A bit of Googling later, and I had the bare-bones of an idea. Then realisation set in, and I had to curb my expectations of what I could achieve on an 11-day trip. Zoning everything down somewhat, a morefeasible plan came into being - four countries, 2,400 miles, and all in an 11-day travel period. Perfect.

Of course, these ideas always look easy on paper, and it was only when I embarked on the first leg of the trip - a 495-mile run to southern Germany - that the distances involved really hit home. However, this was all part of the adventure and the fact I was surrounded by stunning scenery along the way helped enormously with making the miles pass by quickly. Throw in some great dive sites, and you’ve all the ingredients for a superb holiday.

Check out my full report of diving-and-driving in Germany (page 76), and look out for Austria, Italy and France coming up over the following months. This inaugural trip has given me a thirst for this sort of expedition, and a northern route featuring the likes of the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland and Norway has got me thinking. I might invite a few readers along on the next one - so, who is up for it?

PRINTING/DISTRIBUTION Published by Archant Community Media Limited trading as Archant Specialist under licence from Bonnier Dive Publishing Limited

To buy a back issue of Sport Diver call 0844 848 5232

NEVER MISS ANOTHER ISSUE - You can now buy individual issues of Sport Diver and have them delivered direct to your door via: www.buyamag.co.uk/sportdiver Use code: BM121 and get £1 off the August 2014 issue!

Mark Evans, Editor mark.evans@sportdiver.co.uk

Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers or PADI. Copyright for material published remains with Bonnier Dive Publishing Ltd. Use of material from Sport Diver is strictly prohibited unless permission is given. All advertisements of which the creative content is in whole or in part the work of Bonnier Dive Publishing Ltd remain the copyright of Bonnier Dive Publishing Ltd.

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JULY 2014

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We’re Magical.

We’re Serene.

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We’re Egypt.

Egypt - The Diving Destination of the Year 2012 & 2013

Join us by the Red Sea SHARM EL SHEIKH - HURGADA - MARSA ALAM www.egypt.travel

CONTENTS

July 2014 | www.sportdiver.co.uk facebook.com/sportdiveruk

ON THE COVER

Tweet us! @sportdiveruk

HINTS & ADVICE

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Sport Diver’s acknowledged diving experts offer useful tips and sound advice on a host of dive-related topics to help you dive like a pro

COVER PICTURE: Diver looking through a ship’s anchor in Statia PHOTOGRAPHER: Nick Robertson-Brown

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REGULARS 8

News

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PADI Diving Society News

A purpose-built dive boat being constructed for Scapa Flow tours, Manchester divers tackle shark-finning trade, and a new man-made lake for divers.

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Simon Chance discusses the construction of a wind farm off the Isle of Wight, how dive sites are set to be preserved and how divers can voice their concerns.

Project Aware page Project Aware’s New Media Specialist, Domino Albert, discusses one of the dive world’s real fundraising successes Finathon - set to take place again this year.

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PADI Diving Society Benefits Find out how much money you could save by joining the PADI Diving Society - there are a host of benefits from a wide selection of dive-related companies.

Letters The pick of the Sport Diver postbag, including a reader who was blown away by the quality of diving in Dahab and another compelled to dish out some praise for an established liveaboard operator.

146 Paul Rose

Paul talks about his recent trip to Mozambique, a place that offered him the chance to experience some wonderful dives as well as wonderful people.

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Dive Doctor

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The Conservation Diaries

Dr Oliver Sykes discusses helium, a gas with which most technical divers will be familiar, but one that many probably just associate with balloons.

Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown speak to founder and expedition leader of OCEARCH, Chris Fischer (pictured above) about the organisation’s aims and how divers can do their bit.

128 Photo Workshop

Martin Edge continues his ‘how that shot was taken’ theme, this month looking at how to make the most of opportunities in less than 1m.

ere GET out ltdih ve centre, Find your loca 138 see our guide on page

www.sportdiver.co.uk

Trial 6 months for only £10 P36

TURN TO

DIVE UK

DIVE WORLDWIDE

KIT & REVIEWS

Sport Diver brings you more regular UK diving features than any other magazine

Sport Diver travels the world to bring you the best diving destinations

Sport Diver’s Test Team rates and reviews the new releases

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102 What’s

PADI Specialty: Wreck Diver Making the most of the many Advanced Open Water certification spin-offs, Sport Diver art editor Matt Griffiths ventures into the fascinating world of shipwrecks, notching up his PADI Wreck Diver Specialty.

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Cornwall ScubaFest Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown journey down to Pentewan Sands for 2014’s Cornwall ScubaFest, an event blessed with a vast array of manufacturers, plenty of happy punters and even glorious sunshine!

www.sportdiver.co.uk

Steve Jones drops into the deep, warship-filled waters of Malin Head.

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Australia

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Egypt

WWI centenery With the 100th anniversary of the commencement of World War One fast approaching, Simon Volpe dives some of those wrecks that never made the war’s end and reveals the captivating stories behind their demise.

Ireland

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North Stradbroke Island is a haven for sharks, so discovers Adrian Stacey.

Though the Red Sea is suffering at the hands of politics, its reefs are as glorious as ever, reveals Patrick Shier.

Palau Eric Michael enjoys the dive trip of a lifetime aboard the Palau Siren.

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Euro dive-n-drive: Germany

84

Belize

Mark Evans heads for the continent on an epic Euro dive-n-drive, Germany providing the first stop.

Jeremy Cuff enjoys an unplanned trip to the small country of Belize.

New

A selection of new products, including new ranges of clothing from Fourth Element and Divesangha, Scubapro’s Everflex Steamer wetsuits and Sub Gear’s Pro Zip Boots.

104 Gear Guide: Dive Bags

The Sport Diver Test Team rates and reviews a selection of dive bags from a variety of manufacturers.

114 Long Term Test A range of gear is tested over a six-month period, including the Exposure SUB M3 dive light, Scubapro’s Chromis dive watch, and the Fourth Element Argonaut Kevlar drysuit.

JULY 2014

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NEWS

Send your dive industry news to: Email: news@sportdiver.co.uk Or write to: News, Sport Diver, 3 The Courtyard, Denmark Street, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 2AZ

EXCLUSIVE

Brand-new dive boat for Scapa Flow Exciting times ahead for the new dive season in the Orkney Islands as Radiant Queen Charters announce that they are constructing a purpose-built dive boat to operate in the Flow and further afield.

Photographs by Emily Turton

T

he 2015 season in the Orkney Islands will be exiting times for the Radiant Queen Charters team and their diving clientele, as Ben Wade and Emily Turton have announced that they are in the throes of building a brand-new boat to operate in the Flow and beyond.

Named Huskyan - which means ‘strong’ in Orcadian - the new boat will measure some 16 metres long, with a beam of six metres, and will be constructed from steel and aluminium. Powered by twin 230hp engines, with central heating and 240v power throughout, the vessel will boast two showers and two toilets, a large dry changing area with individual lockers, wet changing room/kit store, and an equipment prep bench with camera dunk tank.

There will also be separate lounge seating, a fully equipped galley and dining area (for anyone who has dived with Emily before, they will know that this is vitally important!), and even cabins for an

Naval architect’s drawing of the Huskyan

Divers lodge accommodation block

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afternoon snooze or the occasional overnight adventure.

On the diving side of things, the team will be able to offer air, nitrox, helium and sofnolime for CCRs, and the sturdy, giant-sized lift from the Radiant Queen will be making a welcome reappearance on the Huskyan.

Skipper Emily Turton said: “Huskyan’s clever design means that we will double the space of the Radiant Queen without needing to be double the length.

She has been specifically designed by our naval architect to be a comfortable and stable diving platform.”

“The benefits of a new-build mean that Huskyan is tailor-made to suit the needs of the diver with no need to compromise because of existing layouts of second-hand vessels.

“Couple this with our shore-based accommodation - Divers Lodge - and we tick all the boxes when it comes to diving Scapa Flow.”

There will be no additional price increase for 2015, and those who have already booked for next season will be automatically upgraded from the Radiant Queen to the Huskyan. ■ www.divescapa.com

www.sportdiver.co.uk

For the latest diving news, join diving’s liveliest online community now at: www.sportdiver.co.uk

The vessel’s dimensions

The Huskyan will have plenty of space for divers to move about

www.sportdiver.co.uk

JULY 2014

Sport Diver

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NEWS MANCHESTER SHOPPERS ‘HACKED OFF’ AT CITY’S SHARK SECRET

DIVING LANZAROTE THE ALL YEAR ROUND DIVE RESORT. © Tony Gilbert

Campaigners make their presence felt

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YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD THE DIVING AND THE HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE IS HERE UNTIL YOU TRY!

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We will not be beaten on like for like quotes! © Tony Gilbert © Tony Gilbert

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■ Daily shore, boat and night dives – we can offer the most dive sites all at the same price!

■ Flights from many UK airports with some great winter prices, ■ Ideal also for a long weekend!

■ Accommodation near to the dive centre and local amenities

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A nationwide environmental campaign to make Britain the first country in the world to ban shark-fin soup was celebrated in Manchester over an April weekend with dozens of Bite-Back supporters taking the ‘Hacked Off!’ campaign message to the streets to educate and inspire consumers and restaurants to shun the contentious dish.

Every year, around 36 million sharks are killed mainly for their fins - as the title ingredient in sharkfin soup. Controversially, many of these sharks are still alive when they have their fins hacked off before the body is dumped overboard to die. As a result, some shark populations have fallen by 90 percent in the past 60 years.

During the weekend, the ‘Hacked Off!’ protest focused on three restaurants in Manchester’s city centre - on Faulkner Street, Princess Street and Deansgate - plus one in Worsley, each selling shark-fin soup.

Welcome support for the charity’s goal also came from handmade cosmetics company LUSH, which gave up part of its Arndale Centre store, allowing Bite-Back supporters to collect over 400 customer signatures to present to Manchester’s offending restaurants.

Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “Considering that Manchester has the second-largest concentration of restaurants selling shark-fin soup outside London, this weekend has been hugely significant for the ‘Hacked Off!’ campaign. There’s no doubt that the passionate and enthusiast support we received gives us hope that we’ll be able to declare the city shark fin-free by the end of the year.” For more information on Bite-Back’s ‘Hacked Off!’ campaign, visit: www.bite-back.com

New purpose-built lake for divers Andark Lake - a purpose-built inland scuba diver training lake - is now open to the public and is ready to welcome individuals, diving schools and diving clubs.

The concept of Andark’s Andy Goddard, the lake is designed specially for scuba diver training from beginner to more-advanced courses; or for trained divers to keep their hand in or check out new kit. The lake can also be used by swimmers.

The lake is situated 300 metres from Andark’s main base at Lower Swanwick on the A27 near River Hamble in Hampshire. Public car parking is at Andark’s main car park - the lake has limited parking for disabled and club vans/minibus, but needs to be pre-booked.

The lake is fresh water filled by bore hole and is gravel lined, approximately 60 metres by 48 metres, and the numbers of divers will be restricted, so early booking at weekends is advisable. The lake will be open on Wednesday evenings from May to August.

Andark Lake has two beach-type entry points and a pontoon is planned shortly. The maximum depth is 7m and there are two stepped platforms at approximately 1.5m and 3.5m at each end/entry point.

Underwater features include a mirrored wall at Zone B end, as well as a sunken jet-ski and the ribs of a bow section of 17th century barge (donated by Nautical Archaeology Society).

Lake facilities above water include a large terraced area with chairs and tables, and benches for kitting up above entry points.

The new pavilion building has a reception /shop area, small café, free public wi-fi, male and female changing rooms with toilets, hot showers and lockers. There are disabled facilities. A classroom/conference room for 24/30 persons with teaching facilities is available for hire, and you can get air to 232 bar.

The lake is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 9am-5pm (plus Wednesday evenings from May to August). It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (apart from Bank Holiday Mondays when it will be open as usual).

For more information or to book a slot, check out: www.andarklake.co.uk

www.sportdiver.co.uk

NEWS

Photo credit: Martin Davies

DIVING INTO HISTORY

Diver on the HMS/mA1 submarine

Britain’s first underwater submarine dive trail opens today on the protected wreck of HMS/mA1 - the first British-designed and built submarine used by the Royal Navy, which sank in 1911 in only 12m of water in the Solent.

Launched by English Heritage and the Nautical Archaeology Society, the HMS/mA1 submarine dive trial is the fourth underwater tourist trail for protected wrecks to open since 2009 and is part of an English Heritage project to create up to a dozen trails by 2018 for historic wreck sites dating from the 17th to the mid-20th centuries.

The trails that are already running are three sunken wooden warships and have attracted hundreds of licensed divers. They are: HMS Colossus, a 74-gun warship built in 1787 which sank off the Isles of Scilly in 1798; the Coronation, built in 1685 and lost off the coast of Plymouth in 1691; and the ‘Norman’s Bay Wreck’, possibly a Dutch ship which sank during the

Battle of Beachy Head in 1690 near Bexhill on Sea in Sussex.

Built in July 1902 by Vickers Sons & Maxim Ltd, the HMS/mA1 submarine was actually sunk twice, first in 1904 and again in 1911 while unmanned and being used for underwater target practice using an automatic pilot. It was designated in 1998 under the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973).

Licensed divers on the new trail will be able to see a complete submarine resting upright on the seabed with the bow clearly visible. Divers will be given an underwater guide to help them navigate the wreck and recognise key features such as the conning tower, torpedo loading hatch, and the stern towing and lifting cable.

Terry Newman, Assistant Maritime Designation Adviser for English Heritage, said: “We are diving into history with the launch of our first submarine trail.

Protected wreck sites are as much part of our national heritage as castles and country houses, although they are not as widely accessible unfortunately! By giving licensed divers access to these historically and archaeologically important wrecks, we are encouraging greater understanding and recognition of England’s underwater heritage.”

Mark Beattie-Edwards, Programme Director, Nautical Archaeology Society said: “This is the second trail that we have designed for accessing protected shipwrecks. We are sure that the visiting divers will be amazed at the condition of HMS/mA1 which, despite having spent over 100 years on the seabed, is still to a great degree intact. It is our hope that visitors will be inspired to help us to protect other example of our maritime history that now lie on the seabed.”

Divers wishing to dive the trail must be licensed to access it. Access is being managed by the Nautical Archaeology Society and the wreck’s licensee, Sport Diver contributor Martin Davies. Licenses are issued

by English Heritage. A fifth dive trail is due to open in June for the paddle steamer Iona II, which sank off Lundy Island enroute to the Bahamas in February 1864.

For details of obtaining a licence, contact: 02392 818419, email: nas@nauticalarchaeololgysociety.org, or visit: www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org

COMMERCIAL DIVER TRAINING RETURNS TO THE WEST COUNTRY After over three years of development, Commercial Diver Training Ltd, based in the west of England, has successfully achieved accreditation from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to conduct all levels of commercial air diver training, from marine biologists to offshore oil rig and wind farm divers.

CDT is the only facility in England and Wales to offer such training, and the only school globally to accommodate students aboard a fully operational dive vessel.

The individuals behind the school, George Gradon (43) and Warren Salliss (44), already operate a Cornish-based inshore construction diving company and undertake sub-sea operations for the North Sea offshore oil and gas producers.

“All too often the newly trained guys entering the industry are completely under-prepared for the challenges ahead of them. This is a widely held view both inshore and offshore. We felt a change was long overdue, hence we formed CDT,” says George.

“Our team has been selected from personnel who still work in the real world. Over 75 years of diving experience has gone into the make-up of our programmes. Our facilities are purposebuilt and ultra-high-spec, as is our approach to training.”

‘We are working divers, who train divers to work’ seems to be the CDT motto.

While commercial diver training is expensive (upwards of £1,000/week for four to nine week courses), the earning potential for CDT graduates is between £150-£600/day.

To view the school’s facilities, and to see if a career as a commercial diver is for you, visit: www.commercialdivertraining.co.uk NB: CDT also runs two-day aptitude courses for those that want to try helmet diving in hot-water suits, while attempting to complete a simulated task sub-sea.

Join our Marine Researchers & Experts

Close Encounters with Humpback Whales, Whale Sharks &

Africa - Asia - Arabia - Arctic - Antarctica - East Pacific

NEWS Charity dive for Help the Heroes Text and photographs by Stuart Philpott

I’ve always been a soft touch for a good cause, so when PADI diving instructor John Elysee organised a fundraising event for Help the Heroes armed forces charity, I grabbed my camera and made tracks for one of the South Coast’s most-popular shore-diving sites, Swanage Pier.

Weather conditions turned out to be bright and clear, with a chilly wind blowing from the east.

When I peered over the railings, the sea below had a similar consistency to my cup of coffee, which didn’t bode well for underwater photographs. But this didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirit; in fact, it would probably make the race more interesting.

John mustered the troops for a pre-dive briefing.

Everybody had received an email outlining the race rules. The basic idea was to jump off Swanage Pier in buddy pairs and then navigate underwater to the finishing line, which in this case would be the concrete slipway located along the shoreline. But there was a slight catch - only one diver in each buddy pair was allowed to wear fins (the other diver could carry fins, but they had to be cable-tied together and could only be used in emergencies, any sign of tampering would result in an automatic disqualification). UK divers are renowned for their compass navigation skills, so what could possible go wrong?

There were one or two other rules to consider. Losing your buddy gained a 15-minute time penalty.

Popping up for a sneaky look would cost each team an extra five minutes, and ending the race with less than 40 bar was another automatic disqualification.

Buddy teams were randomly selected on the day.

Who would be wearing fins and who wouldn’t was also down to luck of the draw. Each team had to work out the best way of keeping together and how to get from point A to point B in the quickest possible time.

Although this was just a fun event, reputations were at stake. With watches synchronised and compass headings set, the official timekeeper counted down the last ten seconds and at dead on 10am, the first pair performed giant strides into the turbulent water. I watched the first finless diver bob up on the surface and turn turtle. He was really struggling to get the air out of his drysuit and descend feet first.

But after a couple of minutes both divers had sorted themselves out and were somewhere close to the seabed. I watched two streams of bubbles and an SMB marking their position moving towards the

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Tired divers emerge after the dive

The plucky dive teams

“Which way’s the beach?”

shore. Then, for some reason, they began to deviate off course and ended up going under the pier, out the other side, and onwards to another beach!

After a ten-minute interval, the second pair jumped in and thankfully headed off in the right direct. They really were moving quickly and would be hard to beat. Apparently they had adopted the ‘lobster’ technique - ie, the finless diver crawled along the bottom on all fours while his buddy was on top finning and navigating.

I watched the third team jump into the water and then hurried off to the finishing line. It took around 15-20 minutes for the first team to scramble up the slipway. Apart from team one’s disaster, everybody

was pretty much on target. Strangely enough, the winner was John’s team with a two-minute lead. I’m sure he had surfaced for a sneaky peak.

When the event was over, everybody converged at the Black Swan (aka the Mucky Duck) for a bite to eat and a beverage or two. Not a bad way to end the day! Congratulations to Vic, Steve. Darren, Andy, Jason, Dave, Richard and their families for attending the event. John collected around £1,000 for Help the Heroes charity. As it’s such a good cause, I won’t name and shame the pair that couldn’t use a compass! John said: “We will probably be making this an annual event”, so hopefully there will be a few more teams entering next year’s race.

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by Sport Diver readers

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NEWS Emperor Divers awarded TripAdvisor ‘Certificate of Excellence’ Emperor Divers is delighted to announce that it has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award for its Hamata, Marsa Alam and Sharm El Sheikh dive centres. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor.

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a registered algorithm to measure the account reviews ratings. Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor rating of at least four out of five in volume and on-going reviews.

“We are very proud of the entire team at Hamata, Marsa Alam and Sharm for winning the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence. Many thanks to all our guests who took the time to complete a review,” said Luke Atkinson, Area Manager for Emperor Divers Red Sea. “Being recognised like this always creates a feel-good factor, especially when it comes from those very people who enjoyed the diving and service at Emperor.”

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honour exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence,” said Marc Charron, President of TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most - their customers.” www.emperordivers.com

Shipwreck School graduates its first class

World-renowned side-scan-sonar expert Garry Kozak recently completed the first ‘Side Scan Sonar Operators Course’ for Shipwreck School. The five participants received three days of comprehensive training on the school’s new EdgeTech model 4125 Dual Frequency Side Scan Sonar System.

The course consisted of eight hours of classroom and eight hours of hand’s-on sea time over a three-day weekend.

Shipwreck Schools offers professional training courses anywhere in the world on various side scan sonar systems, marine magnetometers, ROVs and more.

For more information, visit them online at: www. shipwreckschool.ca

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NEWS Photo credit: Rob Drake Knight

Charity seeks 10,000 volunteers to get down and dirty on UK beaches

Collecting garbage from Britain’s beaches

The UK’s leading marine charity, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), says recent figures showing the highest amounts of litter on British beaches in 20 years have prompted it to launch a mass beach participation event - The Great British Beach Clean to highlight the issue of Britain’s dirty beaches. The charity says that in a year when pride about all parts of the UK will reach a peak with the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup, we should try and reconnect with our coastline to ensure it’s a safe, clean place for this generation and those to come.

Last year MCS’ annual litter clean and survey found on average 2,309 pieces of litter per every kilometre of the coast cleaned. The charity says that between 19 and 22 September 2014, it hopes to make Britain’s beaches clean for one weekend.

MCS Beachwatch officer Lauren Eyles said: “We want to break the record for the greatest number of beaches cleaned in one event. We’re aiming to clean at least 400 beaches for our ‘Great British Beach Clean’ this September, and do a litter survey on all of them.

“Beach litter is a serious environmental problem, but the solution is in our hands. The first step is the register as a volunteer. We want the ‘Great British Beach Clean’ weekend to offer a snapshot of what the future could look like for the British seaside if we turned the tide on litter.”

The Great British Beach Clean - be part of the biggest and most-influential fight against marine litter in the UK. Find out more at: www.mcsuk.org/ beachwatch or telephone 01989 566017.

Jellyfish invasion off the South Coast Over the last few weeks, divers and boats in the Falmouth area have been encountering more and more barrel jellyfish (Rhizostoma octopus, Rhizostoma pulmo). These large pelagic species can reach up to 90cm across, which is the sort of size that have been encountered.

Feeding mainly on plankton, they are thought to spend most of their time at depth, coming up when the plankton blooms. With the increase in water

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visibility, as the plankton starts to die back, they are getting easier to spot. Despite its large size, the barrel jellyfish’s sting isn’t strong enough to be harmful to humans.

Mark Milburn from Atlantic Scuba has seen many of the jellyfish. He said: “If you manage to see one and get close, look for the various creatures that live within the jellyfish.” www.atlanticscuba.co.uk

GO BOND FOR BITEBACK AND LDC Marine conservation organisation Bite-Back and the London Diving Chamber have joined forces to put on a fantastic 007-themed event at HMS President on Victoria Embankment on Saturday 13 September.

Get in now, and tickets are just £20 per person instead of £25, but this is for the first 100 tickets only. Included in the ticket price are entertainment - including a live band on deck and a DJ on each floor - plus BBQ food and a raffle entry.

007 Licence to Dive is being run to raise funds for Bite-Back’s Hacked Off campaign, and all ticket proceeds will go to this worthy cause.

There will be a prize of a speedboat ride along the Thames for the best-dressed guest, and this could range from a traditional Bond tuxedo to a more-marine-themed get-up. To book your tickets, head to: www.londondivingchamber. co.uk and click on the ‘events’ page.

CORRECTION

In the June 2014 issue, we incorrectly stated that the currency in Norway was the Euro – it is, of course, the Norwegian Krone. Apologies for any confusion caused.

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AUGUST ISSUE ON SALE Wednesday 9 July

INTO THE CARIBBEAN OF THE ALPS Mark Evans continues his epic European diven-drive roadtrip, this time heading for Austria

Going under New Zealand Martyn Farr explores a new Kiwi cave system PLUS • Fort Lauderdale ‘wreck trek’ • Above 18m heads to East Sussex • Aggressor sets sail in the Red Sea after a ten-year hiatus - and we climb aboard to dive the Brothers • PADI Specialty of the Month - Boat Diver • The Sport Diver team head en-masse to Lanzarote for a long weekend • Stuart Philpott joins a Deptherapy disabled diving course • And not forgetting the latest edition of Tech Diver, with more hints and advice from the PADI TDD team

Pre-order the August issue today and SAVE £1 off the shop price! Go to www.buyamag.co.uk SportDiver and enter discount code ‘BM121’ www.sportdiver.co.uk

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DIVE EUROPE Ireland

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DIVE EUROPE Ireland

Malin Head The waters off Malin Head in Ireland were the doom of dreadnoughts, the graveyard of the great ships of World War One and Two, the final resting place for many seldom-explored supersize wrecks. Steve Jones made the long descent, and was in awe of what he found Photographs by STEVE JONES

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DIVE EUROPE Ireland Exploring inside the Justicia

S

hafts of sunlight reflect back at me as I follow a descent line that seems to stretch to infinity. My computer reads 40m, yet there’s still no sign of the large wreck we are dropping onto - among the most powerful warships the world had ever seen when it sank. At last, as we pass 52m, the colossal HMS Audacious comes into view, every bit as spectacular as I had imagined.

Audacious was a ‘super dreadnought’, an evolution of a design first seen in 1906 that rendered all other battleships obsolete, and fuelled the arms race between Great Britain and Germany. The design principles of these mighty ships could still be seen in the last of the great battleships, such as the USS Missouri and Iowa, in action until the early 1990s.

We slowly drop in formation toward a huge cylindrical shape beneath us. Measuring 14 metres across, this was the giant barbette that protected one of the five main gun turrets with 10 inches of armour. Despite those defences, Audacious met its end in October 1914 at the hands of a German

ocean liner. The warship struck a mine laid by the SS Berlin; despite attempts to tow the ship to safety, a massive explosion sent it to the seabed 65m below.

The explosion blew off the bow with such force that it now lies some distance away; also in that debris field we find a solitary four-inch secondary gun, one of 16 designed to engage fast, manoeuvrable attack boats.

A helium-rich trimix ensures clear heads; navigation proves easy with more than 30 metres of visibility. We head toward one of the main turrets, where two 13.5-inch guns are still attached - this 23,400-ton ship had ten of these main guns. Within two years of Audacious’ loss, the true horror of dreadnought-to-dreadnought combat was seen as its sister ships went toe-to-toe with the German fleet at the North Sea Battle of Jutland, off Denmark. Thousands died as the battleships rained down huge explosive shells from guns such as these.

With little bottom time remaining, we head toward the main hull, which lies upside down, a common way for battleships to settle due to the

“The liner SS Laurentic was enroute to the United States at the height of World War One when it struck two mines and sank in 40m of water, killing more than 350 of its crew” www.sportdiver.co.uk

The Laurentic

weight of guns and deck armour. More than an hour of decompression stops await us as Audacious fades into the distance, but the memories of diving on this warship of revolutionary design won’t be forgotten.

LIVE AND LET DIE The shipping lanes near Malin Head were strategically vital for Allied supply lines. During World War Two, Hitler’s forces recognised that if they could do enough damage to the convoys, they could strangle US and British forces. U-boat ‘wolfpacks’ were deployed to destroy as much shipping as possible. On 8 September 1944, as more than 100 ships in convoy HX-305 neared the Irish coast, U-482 fired a single torpedo into the SS Empire Heritage, a former whaler carrying

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DIVE EUROPE Ireland The awesome main guns of the Audacious

The Empire Heritage was carrying tanks

“We head toward one of the main turrets, where two 13.5-inch guns are still attached - this 23,400-ton ship had ten of these main guns” 16,000 tons of fuel. A catastrophic explosion sank the ship so quickly that no distress signals were sent. But for the survivors, the ordeal was not over.

Just over 30 minutes later, their rescue vessel Pinto was also struck. Pinto was gone in 90 seconds, and the double sinking caused huge loss of life.

As we descend onto Empire Heritage, myriad dark shadows reveal a scene of total chaos. Sherman tanks lie entangled with trucks like discarded toys, spread across the wreck and seabed. Empire Heritage had been carrying nearly 2,000 tons of war supplies; some sit upright and intact, while others are still racked neatly in the holds up to three deep.

While visibility remains good at around 25 metres, rougher sea conditions have reduced ambient light, casting an eerie gloom over the wreck.

Years of wave action have smashed in the superstructure of this 15,702-ton wreck - one of the largest ships sunk in World War Two - which now rises very little above the gravel seabed at about 68m. At this depth, to see its entire 152-metre length in one

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dive would require diver propulsion vehicles; without them we don’t attempt to reach the aft areas of the ship. Here we would have found the engines and six huge boilers arranged in rows of three.

Instead, we head forward, where the remains of the holds teem with fish. Our bottom time soon nears 30 minutes, so we look for the flashing strobe that marks our ascent line to a decompression platform.

Decompression proved uncomfortable. Worsening weather caused a swell that tossed our platform up and down like a matchstick, forcing us to position ourselves away from it - a reminder that we are fully exposed to North Atlantic weather here.

By the next day the sea was calm, so we ventured farther, to a casualty of World War One, the wreck of the 32,234-ton SS Justicia. Demand for transAtlantic passenger crossings abated after World War One commenced, so the British government took over Justicia, putting it into service in 1917 as a troopship capable of carrying 4,000 soldiers. A year later, while heading to New

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DISCOVER & EXPLORE

A HIDDEN WORLD. Add depth to your life

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Learn to dive with Divestyle, the diving professionals

DIVE EUROPE Ireland A monstrous barbette on the Audacious

York, the unladen Justicia came under attack from UB-64, which sent four torpedoes into the liner before Royal Navy destroyers forced the persistent U-boat to break off. The submarine radioed the location to German high command, and the following day, UB-124 took up the assault, finishing off Justicia with two more torpedoes.

The huge liner was sunk 25 miles from shore on 20 July 1918, with the loss of 16 men. UB-124 was not as lucky in its escape as UB-64 - forced to surface by the destroyers, it too was sunk.

Our skipper, Al Wright, knows this wreck well - he helped discover it in the 1990s. He precisely places the shotline near the bow; as we descend, the spectacular forward deck appears. Thereafter, progress seems slow as we explore the exposed lower decks - the wreck is so large that getting anywhere takes time.

We make our way to the tip of the bow, and I sit on the seabed at 72m with the great ship towering before me, one of the most awe-inspiring sights of my diving career. But the tide waits for no diver, and we need to return to our shotline before the current starts again after the slack-water period. On our return journey, we fin over a deck that resembles a giant pinball machine due to capstans thrust

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upward through the decks. Finally, the remains of the bridge appear, giving us one last glance of this once-magnificent ship, one of the largest sunk in World War One. Deteriorating weather keeps us within the sheltered waters of Loch Swilly for our last dive. The liner SS Laurentic was enroute to the United States at the height of World War One when it struck two mines and sank in 40m of water, killing more than 350 of its crew. In its holds were 43 tons of gold ingots to pay for war supplies, valued then at more than US$8 million, now equivalent to a staggering US$1.8 billion.

Recovery of the gold was top priority for the Royal Navy dive team, ‘The Tin Openers’, which was already renowned for its exploits penetrating sunken U-boats. After two weeks of extremely hazardous diving, they entered the strong-room filled with stacks of gold-bullion boxes, but storms suspended diving operations - when the divers returned, the wreck had shifted. The strong-room entrance was now in much deeper water, and the gold was gone, scattered among the wreckage by wave action. The team persevered, recovering all but 25 bars; five more were recovered during private salvage operations in the 1930s. Twenty bars

still remain unaccounted for, today worth nearly US$10 million.

Nearly 100 years later, the atmospheric wreck of Laurentic teems with life. Inshore water here is green, rather than the deep blue of offshore, but visibility still exceeds 15 metres, allowing us to see the whole of the picturesque bow, which lies on its port side. The extensive salvage, combined with sea action, has left the wreck broken up and quite flat, with decking and hull plates lying over each other like a collapsed pack of cards, but it is still easy to appreciate the huge scale of this 168-metre liner.

As we make the swim aft, numerous compass jellyfish hover above the wreck, and we eventually reach a perfectly intact deck gun. Remembering a navigational tip from our briefing, we head in the direction the gun points, finally reaching row after row of giant Scotch boilers, which provided the huge amounts of power needed to propel this classic steamship across the Atlantic.

The mammoth ships that lie on the seabed at Malin Head are testament to how vitally important the supply link between the US and Great Britain was during times of war. Many of the sailors who manned these immense ships made the ultimate sacrifice to keep those routes open at all costs. ■

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0

STAND 28

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NEWS Join the world’s biggest diving club

SIMON SAYS...

Simon R Chance, manager, PADI Diving Society, and executive, PADI Retailer and Resort Associations

REAPING THE WILD WIND

Become part of one big global family The PADI Diving Society has been in existence since 1997, and from humble beginnings has grown substantially, within a few years reaching the heady heights of ‘world’s biggest diving club’.

With membership now standing at over 180,000 keen, active divers across the planet, the PADI Diving Society represents a formidable ‘tribe’.

Now all three sectors of the PADI Diving Society - Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa - have moved from been connected but fractured, uniting under a global banner and becoming one entity, with a unified approach and single magazine title reaching all members, everywhere.

The magazines in each region will be targeted at their members, with reports and features on dive sites throughout their turf, plus tantalising glimpses of what lies across the world.

Benefits and Society partners will also remain regional, but there is now the opportunity for a global focus, giving PADI Diving Society members the chance to make great savings wherever they travel through the scuba world.

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The constant hunt for new and more sustainable energy resources continues and, as a result, few will have failed to notice the growing number of windmills, solar panels and other energy-capture devices throughout Europe and beyond.

Although modern designs may be controversial in some respects on land these days, humans have used windmills for millennia as a convenient method of harnessing wind power and turning it to whatever purpose has the most immediate need.

In days of old it was mostly for pumping water and grinding flour to make life-sustaining local bread; these days we tend to turn the energy potential into electricity, so it can be distributed and used away from the initial capture point, but the principle remains the same. It takes a lot of them, though, to make a significant contribution toward meeting our daily demand, leading to something of an offshore windmill bloom along the extensive coastlines of Great Britain and Ireland.

One of the latest such enterprises, the Navitus Bay Wind Park, is proposed within a carefully selected area just west of the Isle of Wight. Considerable research and studies have been undertaken in relation to the project, allied to extensive consultation with commercial, recreational and military activities in this busy, historically charged shipping area, so the original proposals have been dramatically re-drawn already to occupy an area with the fewest practical, operational and aesthetic constraints.

Lowest-possible noise impact during construction,

minimisation of sediment disturbance and balance of physical obstruction with surface and sub-surface user requirements have all been considered, and design parameters have even been adjusted to give potential for each windmill support pile to become a small reef ecosystem and species nursery; think clay / concrete reef recovery skeletons, or the superb diving to be had on old oil platform support legs in the Gulf of Mexico, and you have the general idea.

From our perspective as divers, all the most popular sites in the area have been mapped and, as far as possible, avoided - all wrecks in the area, for example, will remain undisturbed and “open for business” during the operation phase of the Wind Park, and consideration will be given, where possible, to managing construction during key tides, hours and weekends to aid access to popular dive sites.

The Navitus Bay team is determined that their development should enhance the experiences of as many stakeholder communities as possible. To this end, a Diving and Fishing Liaison Officer has been tasked with engaging the diving and fishing community.

The project team is open to any feedback regarding the development in order to maximise benefits and minimise disruptions. The development is now in the Pre-Examination stage of Planning Inspectorate process.. Visit http://www.navitusbaywindpark. co.uk/consultation for information on the project and how you can put your ideas forward, or drop me a line to prra.emea@padi.com if there’s anything you would like PADI to bring forward on your behalf.

“From our perspective as divers, all the most popular sites in the area have been mapped out and, as far as possible, avoided - all the wrecks in the area, for example, will remain undisturbed”

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Did you know?

LEADING THE WAY When preparing our monthly recognition of recent PADI Master Scuba Divers, I’m always cautious to avoid featuring divers for whom our records indicate a preference for privacy, however this occasionally leads to divers being missed; thankfully, these divers have buddies, so I am indebted to all who have brought a few such recent omissions to my attention: • James Sheward of Horsham, Surrey, who completed all his certifications in the Bournemouth/Brighton area.

• Arron Pavitt and Mark Phillips, both near neighbours from Kingstanding in Birmingham.

• Husband-and-wife team Sarah and Colin Boness of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, who completed their challenge together in January.

UNDERWATER CLEAN-UP ON THE COTE D’AZUR

NEWS

With more than 40 years experience, over 135,000 PADI professionals and more than 6,000 dive shops and resorts worldwide, PADI training materials and services let you experience scuba diving from nearly anywhere. Scuba diving with PADI instructors, dive centres and resorts can help transform your life through education, experience, equipment and environmental conservation.

As we go to press, I hear that Sarah, Arron and Mark have all started PADI Divemaster programmes as well, so congratulations and best wishes to all the above, and all PADI Master Scuba Divers everywhere, for continued success wherever your diving may take you!

The prestigious Master Scuba Diver certification – the highest non-professional certification awarded by PADI – recognises a diver’s mastery of personal diving skills in a minimum of five different Diver Specialty areas, as well as their ability to demonstrate dependable Rescue and Emergency Responder techniques.

Not surprisingly, given our shared commitment to diving and all things aquatic, a significant number of PADI Diving Society members have either achieved this award already, or are currently working towards achieving it.

If you would like to know more about the PADI Master Scuba Diver programme, contact your local PADI Professional, or write to me here at the Society offices and I will be pleased to provide any information you require on the topic. As always, if you – or someone you know – has attained a PADI Master Scuba Diver award recently, and we’ve missed the event from this regular announcement column, please just drop me a line to prra.emea@padi.co.uk and I’ll be happy to recognise the accomplishment in the next available issue of Sport Diver!

BLUE O TWO NOW RUNNING PADI SHARK CONSERVATION COURSES blue o two are excited to announce that they can now offer the PADI AWARE Shark Conservation specialty course onboard their Red Sea fleet.

Taught by popular dive guide and shark expert Dr Elke Bojanowski Ph.D (founder of the popular blue o two ‘Project Shark’ itinerary and the Red Sea Sharks trust), the specialty will be the ideal chance to receive more one-on-one time with Elke to learn more about these majestic creatures.

Consisting of two open water dives and theory sessions, guests can request the course ahead of travel.

Those participating in a Red Sea ‘Project Shark’ week hosted by Elke will benefit from the option to qualify at a special, reduced rate.

Elke’s charity, the Red Sea Sharks Trust, will benefit from a share of the profits generated from running

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this specialty onboard the blue o two fleet vessels.

For more information about the PADI AWARE Shark Conservation specialty course or the Project Shark weeks, visit the blue o two website www.blueotwo.com

Diamond Diving, the English-owned, South of France-based five-star IDC Resort, successfully ran their annual Project Aware Dive Against Debris on Sunday 18 May at a site called Plage des Ondes.

Among the stranger items recovered included an entire carpet and a loudspeaker cover. Eight of the centre’s local clients dived for 45 minutes in crystal-clear water to keep the site as trash-free as possible, bringing up over 20kg of rubbish.

Alex Diamond, owner and Course Director, added: “Our divers get a genuine buzz and feel-good factor each and every time they participate in this event. It really is important to the local marine environment and over the years we’ve been running this activity, we’ve witnessed the increased health and diversity of life encountered at the site. Long may this trend continue and thanks to all for their participation”. www.diamonddiving.net

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You’re in great company!

Your PADI certification aligns you with the world’s largest affinity group of its type, in company with a phenomenal wave of divers world-wide; with well over 22 million PADI certifications to date, and a new PADI certification having been issued every 33.7 seconds on average over the last decade, PADI divers really do cover the globe – just like the oceans!

The PDS explores the Philippines The PADI Diving Society recently went on an ‘ocean safari’ in the Philippines. Theresa Kaplan reports on all the below- and above-water fun and games.

Photographs by Budd Riker

T

he PADI Diving Society’s Ocean Safari Philippines event, which took place at Atlantis Dumaguete, offered something for all of the roughly 50 Society members who made the trek to this welcoming resort. From the moment the guests arrived, Atlantis pampered them all.

First up for the Society members was the resort orientation, which I would not typically write about, but this was far from your typical orientation. While the guests relaxed at Toko’s, the resort’s open-air restaurant and bar, a host of masseuses from the on-site spa expertly rubbed their travel-weary necks and shoulders as they sipped citrusy calaman-si juice, a local favourite.

As I watched more than one pair of eyes drift dreamily closed, I questioned the wisdom of a massage during a resort orientation. Luckily, the lively resort manager, Toby Truelove, and the always-exuberant dive-shop manager Paul Ancla, were there to lead the charge. In the most-entertaining and painless way possible, they quickly described the lay of the land to the guests and prepared them for a week filled with amazing diving.

Of course, the PADI Diving Society staff were onhand as well, including Niccole Sherman, Budd Riker and newbie Adrianne Miller, along with myself, to welcome guests with hugs, and swag bags full of goodies and amenities from Ocean Safari sponsors Divers Alert Network (DAN), Sport Diver and PADI .

On the first dive day, divers explored the local reefs, made up primarily of muck diving. I’ve always wondered at the term ‘muck diving’ because it conjures visions of diving in the deepest, darkest and, well, muckiest of places and, for me at least, doesn’t inspire a jump into the water.

My experience with muck diving is actually far from this, and I prefer Atlantis’ term, ‘local reef diving’, instead. While the local reefs don’t offer the same pristine coral of some of the neighbouring islands, the chatter at dinner that evening was all the same: “When I first got in the water, I didn’t think I was

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going to see much. And then I saw….!” On my team’s first dive out, guided by eagle-eyed Divemaster Wing, we spotted two blue-ring octopus, two flamboyant cuttlefish, more sea anemones and clownfish than I could count (including a blood-orange variety I have never seen before), several species of frogfish, and at least a third of the nudibranchs depicted on the wall chart back at the dive shop.

Our three underwater photographers - Bud Thomas, Justin Williams and PADI’s own Budd Riker - were in underwater photo heaven.

The group spent the week diving local reefs, as well as those of neighbouring Apo and Siquijor Islands. While all of the diving was amazing, the clear favourite was Apo. It’s here where we saw the cotton-candy reefs, with corals so healthy, we could almost watch them grow. Schools of fish swarm these reefs, and if you’re lucky, you’ll spot a banded

sea krait gliding above and through the reef’s nooks and crannies.

John Miller, owner of Texas Dive Centre, surfaced excitedly describing an enormous krait directly beneath the boat. I’m happy to report that I heard about it from the deck of the boat and not while I was still floating in the water, but John was thrilled!

When Society members weren’t diving - which wasn’t often since Atlantis Resort offers tons of diving, including specialty night dives such as mandarinfish and fluoro dives, using special fluorescent lights to view the reef in a whole new way - there was plenty going on topside. In addition to Atlantis’ nightly fish-identification seminars, the Society staff hosted a series of contests and parties, including a beach party where Lisa Wayne proved herself to be the queen of the crepe-paper race (you had to see it to believe it), and Rick Zingery beat out the girls in

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Check out your Benefits on-line!

As well as PADI Diving Society Partner benefits featured at www.sportdiver.co.uk/PADI-Diving-Society-Benefits, you can view offers from PADI Dive Centres and Resorts world-wide using the Online Benefits Directory at www.sportdiver.com/padi-member-benefits/welcome . While you’re there, why not check out PADI’s new-look website at www.padi.com/scuba-diving It’s in Beta at the moment, so bear with us while we iron out any bugs, but the new format gives better viewing on all platforms - so you can take padi.com with you wherever you go!

NEWS

the sarong-tying contest.

There was also a yummy beach barbecue and breathtaking fire dancers to thrill guests, courtesy of Atlantis Resorts. Guests participated in a duck ‘hunt’ and exchanged their quarry for treasure, mixed and mingled at an afternoon pool party, and (from what I heard) closed down Toko’s Restaurant and Bar following a traditional Filipino feast and bon voyage party. Rumour has it that Midwest Diving Specialists owner Dick Smith was dancing on the tables to the sounds of the Nitrox Band that night, too.

The Society also hosted a Photo Safari scavenger hunt, where guests were tasked with capturing a variety of images, both topside and underwater.

Congratulations go out to winner Dan Kouba, who received a new GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition camera, courtesy of GoPro. Society member Carol Myers captured second place, winning a PADI Diving Society dry bag.

NB: A big thank you goes out to all Society members who joined us for this event - each of you made this a week to remember. We’d also like to extend special thanks to DAN COO Panchabi Vaithiyanathan, whose contagious enthusiasm for life was enjoyed by all, and to all the staff at Atlantis Resorts Dumaguete, who exemplify stellar customer service every day.

Thank you from all of us for introducing us to the warmth and beauty of the Philippines. ■

“When I close my eyes, I can still see it: vibrant, healthy reefs of coral bursting with purples, oranges, yellows and pinks. It’s like swimming over a sea of multi-coloured cotton candy” www.sportdiver.co.uk

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About the movement Project AWARE Foundation is a growing movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet – one dive at a time. Over the past two decades of underwater conservation we’ve learned that divers are true leaders in ocean protection. We’re ocean heroes numbering in the millions across the globe. We believe together our actions will make a huge impact and will help to rescue the ocean.

MY OCEAN

NEWS

Making a splash for Sharks

DOMINO ALBERT, MANAGER PROJECT AWARE EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

With so many ways to raise funds and so many worthwhile causes, finding an inspirational challenge for the dive community to embrace was no easy task, but divers’ passion for sharks sparked what is today one of the largest fundraising challenges in support of shark conservation. When UK PADI Course Director Katy Bloor organised a swimming event in support of Project AWARE in 2011, she had no idea that her local event would inspire divers around the world to get swimming to end shark finning.

Finathon® - Project AWARE’s global campaign to raise funds and awareness for the plight of sharks - was born. Today, Finathon® makes the headlines in Dubai, Germany, Thailand and many other corners of the globe. Divers are rallying to say loud and clear that sharks are worth more alive than dead. Finathon® events raise critical funds to help put an end to the unsustainable shark fin trade, one major cause for the rapid decline of global shark populations.

In 2013, scuba divers clocked up over 800km swimming to end finning. And in 2014, they’re doing it all again! What’s new in 2014? We’ve partnered with a global company offering lifestyle designer products. The first 100 fundraisers to reach the top of the Finathon® leaderboard and raise US$500 will receive a shark-tastic Ocean Tank Top cover as a special thank you for their fundraising. To find out more about organising or taking part in a Finathon®, go to: www.finathon.org - get your fins on and start swimming to end shark finning!

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Ever since Hans Christian Andersen put pen to paper, it has been every little girl’s dream to become a mermaid! With a little help from Kat Felton, professional mermaid, underwater model and PADI scuba instructor, this year’s Miss Scuba UK finalists were in for a treat when they headed to El Gouna, Egypt, during the week of Earth Day last April!

The beauty queens - joined by Jaime-Lee Faulkner, crowned Miss Scuba International in 2013 - turned into mermaids just for one day to show their support for marine conservation and to take part in a unique mermaid-themed Finathon challenge.

“So far, Finathon fundraisers have demonstrated their support for sharks by taking on some of the mostinnovative, inspiring and fun challenges,” says Orsi Fulop, Project AWARE Development and Outreach co-ordinator. “From shaving hair to cycling across Europe, swimming long distances from one island to another or playing golf, we thought we had seen it all, but mermaids swimming to end shark finning was definitely a first! What an exciting way to kick off

Finathon 2014!”

Turning her mermaid dream into a career has enabled Kat Felton to swim with whalesharks and manta rays in the Philippines, Indonesia and many other beautiful places around the world. Like many divers and ocean activists, Mermaid Kat is well aware that sharks and rays are facing an alarmingly elevated risk of extinction. So when the opportunity came up to show her support for shark conservation and raise critical funds for their survival, she jumped in! She decided to make a splash for sharks by setting up a Finathon challenge for the Miss Scuba UK 2014 finalists in the beautiful Red Sea town of El Gouna.

The tide is turning for shark conservation but sharks continue to suffer from a bad public image. The global Finathon® campaign, a swimming challenge to raise funds and awareness of the plight of sharks, is a fun way to rally support for sharks.

“I really enjoyed organising a Finathon for all the Miss Scuba UK finalists and it’s an honour for me to be an ambassador for Project AWARE,” commented Mermaid Kat. Taking place from 26 April to 3 May 2014, the Miss Scuba competition saw the UK finalists put through a series of water-based and scuba-diving-related challenges and fun activities, including a three-day scubadiving PADI certification course and free-diving, but the highlight of the contest was most definitely Mermaid Kat and Project AWARE’s mermaid-themed Finathon.

To find out more about taking part or organising a Finathon, and to join the race to save sharks in peril, go to: www.finathon.org

SHRINK YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT As part of its newly revised 10 Tips for Divers to Protect the Ocean Planet - a code of conduct for scuba divers to safely interact and protect underwater environments at the same time - Project AWARE is encouraging divers to assess their carbon footprint and, more importantly, to take action to tackle it.

Global warming and ocean acidification are putting your favourite animals and the whole ocean planet at risk. Do your part by understanding and reducing your carbon footprint and look for ways to offset what you can’t reduce.

Did you know that electricity is the biggest single source of carbon emissions in Britain? Start shrink-

ing your carbon footprint today! Switch your gas and electricity to Ecotricity to help protect the ocean from the adverse effects of carbon emissions. By switching to Ecotricity not only will you be doing your bit for the environment, but Ecotricity will donate up to £60 to support our conservation work on your behalf. Just remember to quote ‘PROJ1’ when you switch!

Visit: projectaware.org to take the 10 Tips for Divers Pledge to Protect the Ocean Planet and join the movement of divers who protect the ocean planet one dive at a time.

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Travel light with free BCD & regulator rental for groups of 4 or more divers!

Take advantage of our free BCD and regulator rental for all dive groups of 4 or more divers.

For groups of 8 or more divers, not only will we offer free BCD and regulator rental, but we will also throw in 10% DISCOUNT for all group members on their dives!

Larger groups of 12 or more divers will enjoy a 15% DISCOUNT on their dives in addition to the free BCD and regulator rentals!

Pre-book your group: info@prodivers.com Follow us on Facebook!

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MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS The PADI Diving Society is the largest diver affinity group of its kind offering Society members a vast range of benefits for a lifetime of scuba diving adventures. Whether you’re a raw novice, an experienced diver, or even a seasonded PADI Pro, take advantage of our trial offer and enjoy. • 6 month trial membership to the PADI Diving Society • Subscription to Sport Diver Magazine (6 issues) • Thousands of pounds in valuable rebates and discounts on gear, dive training and more! • Personalised PADI Diving Society Membership Card

EASY WAYS TO ORDER www.subscriptionsave.co.uk/SPD 0844 848 8049 and quote code CSDPG147

BT calls to 0844 cost no more than 5p per minute, calls made from mobiles will cost more. Lines are open 8am-9.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-4pm Saturdays.

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Trial offer is for a six month (6 issues) subscription and will continue at ÂŁ16 (saving 36%) by 6 monthly DD unless the Direct Debit is cancelled. Savings are based on the cover price of ÂŁ4.20. For overseas subscription rates, please visit www.subscriptionsave.co.uk. Offer ends 31/08/2014.

Wreck Diver In this instalment of the PADI Specialty of the Month series, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Matt Griffiths (Sport Diver art director) tries his hand at wreck diving in a variety of UK locales Photographs by Frogfish Photography

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W

reck Diver is a popular PADI Specialty course and it is easy to see why. Whether you are in the UK or somewhere more exotic, there are always wrecks and, with no two alike, there is a lot to keep even the keenest divers satisfied.

Since learning to dive last year, wrecks have always intrigued me; exploring wrecks from years gone by must feel like you are diving back into history! As mentioned previously, all wrecks are different, each with a unique story and a reason they are there - well, this certainly appealed to me, so I began working towards this Specialty as part of my Advanced Open Water Diver course.

Before the first dive I was conscious about getting my equipment streamlined and my buoyancy spot on.

This is very important because wrecks can have tight areas which dangling equipment could snag on, and they also generally have silt on the bottom which,

without good buoyancy control, could cause you to kick the bottom up and reduce visibility, turning the dive into a dangerous situation for you and your buddy.

I knew on this dive I wouldn’t be penetrating any wrecks, just observing for potential hazards, entry/exit points, getting a general observation of the wreck and practicing fining techniques. It was a good dive and it enabled me to start developing my penetration plan with my instructors Nick and Caroline.

The next couple of dives I practiced various different skills, most notably how to deploy a line using a reel. I first practiced this on the outside of the wreck and I was surprised how tasking I found it. There is a lot to think about when trying to deploy a line; keeping your buoyancy tight, making sure you don’t kick or collide with the wreck and keeping an eye on your gauges. It is also notably more difficult when you have thick 5mm gloves on!

For the last dive I gave the briefing. I explained the

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SPECIALTY OF THE MONTH PADI say…

Whether sunk on purpose as an artificial reef or the result of mishap, wrecks open fascinating windows to the past. Most divers find wrecked ships, airplanes and even automobiles nearly irresistible because they’re intriguing to explore, exciting avenues of discovery, and usually teeming with aquatic life. The PADI Wreck Diver course teaches you the ins and outs of rewarding, responsible wreck diving.

For more information about the PADI Deep Diver course, visit www.padi.com or contact your local PADI dive shop or resort.

“There is a lot to think about when trying to deploy a line; keeping your buoyancy tight, making sure you don’t kick or collide with the wreck and keeping an eye on your gauges” hazards I had observed, the entry point I had chosen and how we were going to conduct the dive. As we approached the wreck I made sure I had adequate buoyancy and began looking for a suitable place to tie the line. Once inside I tied off again and then gestured to my buddies waiting outside to follow me in. It felt great to be leading the dive (under instructor supervision) and we soon emerged at the other end, posed for a few photographs and then I turned around and wound the line in, un-doing the attachment points as I went.

I knew I was going to enjoy this course before it had begun. I now feel better prepared to conduct a wreck dive correctly. If you are planning on doing wreck diving primarily, get yourself signed up to this fantastic course! ■

PREREQUISITES

NB: Matt’s continued PADI education has been supported

• Minimum age: 15 • Adventure Diver or equivalent qualifying rating ----------------------------------------------------

by Frogfish Photography, PADI EMEA, Mares, Apeks, DiveLife, Suunto and Fourth Element.

Next month: PADI BOAT DIVER

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Australia

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Australia

THE SHARKS OF

STRADDIE

Adrian Stacey enjoys some serious shark action during his visit to North Stradbroke Island, which lies a short distance from the hustle and bustle of Brisbane Photographs by ADRIAN STACEY

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GRO

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Australia

C

oming from London, I do not usually associate living in a city with good diving, so when I found myself living in Brisbane for a few months I was surprised to hear that there were some excellent dive sites on my doorstep. Just one hour from central Brisbane is North Stradbroke Island.

Straddie, as it is known by locals, is located 30km southeast of Brisbane and is the second largest sand island in the world, 32km long and 11km wide.

It has a population of around 2,000 locals, but is also a popular place for the citizens of Brisbane to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and can swell to up to 60,000 on holidays. Straddie has the requisite white sandy beaches, picturesque lakes and lush forests. It also offers the usual above-water activities associated with life in Australia. There is, of course, surfing but also sea kayaking, whale-watching and fishing. If you have had enough of been in or on the water, hiking or taking a 4WD tour of the island is a drier option.

The diving at North Stradbroke Island has two distinct seasons. The summer months from November to April are when leopard sharks can be found resting on the ocean floor, and manta rays use the reef as there playground. The manta rays aggregate in large numbers here at the aptly named Manta Bommie. A study by the university of Queensland (Project Manta) is been carried out to learn more about these impressive and graceful creatures. As the temperatures drop, the mantas head north for warmer waters, many of them arriving at Lady Elliot Island. They can be identified by the unique markings on their bellies or from the tags that have been attached to them. Unfortunately, these majestic creatures are now listed as vulnerable, in part due to the use of their gills in Chinese medicine.

The winter months, as the water temps begin to drop, welcome the arrival of humpback whales on their annual migration. The cooler water also attracts the ferocious-looking but placid grey nurse sharks. The sharks begin arriving in ones and twos around June, soon swelling to a much-larger population as the water gets cooler. Divers are sometimes treated to 30+ specimens in a single dive.

There are three main diving areas around North Stradbroke Island: Manta Bommie, Flat Rock and

MANTA LODGE

Fantastic coral growth adorns the walls

“However, my joy at having had such a fantastic dive soon ebbed away upon hearing that the group that had descended a mere minute before me had seen the aforementioned humpback whale cruise gracefully past them as they made their way down the mooring line�

Shag Rock. Manta Bommie is a large cleaning station that can be prone to strong currents. It is usually dived in the summer months when the manta rays and leopard sharks are in residence. I was diving in the winter months, however, so instead visited Flat Rock, where the grey nurse sharks congregate, and Shag Rock, which is the closest dive site to shore and the most-sheltered from adverse weather conditions.

Several dive centres from the mainland make the hour-long boat journey to North Stradbroke most weekends. We chose to dive with Manta Lodge, who are located on the island and who go out on a daily basis, provided they have the numbers required. Passenger ferries leave Cleveland, which is about a 30-minute drive from the centre of Brisbane, on an hourly basis, so it is possible to take

Located on North Stradbroke Island, this offers basic, but clean and cheap accommodation in the YHA hostel conveniently located above the dive centre. There is the option of dorm or private rooms. A large kitchen and comfortable lounge area complete with TV, DVD, pool and tennis tables makes Manta Lodge a very pleasant place to stay. You can simply roll out of bed and walk the few hundred metres to the beach where the boat launches from. But the real strength of Manta Lodge is their friendly, professional staff and their attention for detail. The little things like padding a container with foam for cameras, providing wind/rain jackets to keep guests warm during surface intervals, and even providing hot water to tip down your wetsuit before hyperthermia sets in. Everyone there is eager to help and does it with a genuine smile on their faces.

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an early ferry, do two dives and then catch a ferry back the same day. A more-relaxed option is to stay at the YHA hostel above the dive centre and enjoy more than one day of diving without the painfully early commute.

The day began with an early 4.30am start in order to catch the 5.55am ferry. While approaching the ferry, the heavens decided to open - not a great omen. Things only got worse when the ferry decided to break down. Fearing the worst I was relieved when a replacement boat was hastily organised. Thirty minutes later, we landed on North Stradbroke Island, where we were picked up and whisked off to the dive centre.

After a detailed safety briefing, a tractor towed the RIB we would be diving from down to the beach. We climbed aboard and were launched into the surf. Ten bumpy minutes later, after having sighted several humpback whale water spouts in the distance, we arrived at Flat Rock, which has around five dive sites to choose from. The captain somewhat unsurprisingly opted for Shark Alley.

This site offered the best chance of finding the grey nurse sharks that had started to arrive in the area.

On my travels I have quite often found that if a dive site is named after a particular creature, the chances of finding said animal there are usually slim to none. Thankfully, this was not the case at Shark Alley.

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Australia Spectacular soft corals

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

N STRADBROKE ISLAND,

AUSTRALIA WHERE IS IT

Close to Brisbane off the east coast of Australia in the state of Queensland.

HOW TO GET THERE Ferries run hourly from Brisbane and take around 30 minutes to reach the island. The first ferry is at 4.55am and the last at 7.25pm.

WHEN TO VISIT The summer months (October to March) offer the warmest water temperatures and the chance to see manta rays, while the winter months see the arrival of the grey nurse sharks and humpback whales.

“Deep channels and gutters gouge through some of the terrain, while other areas are strewn with boulders, creating an almost-lunar landscape”

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Visa required, apart from those with Electronic Travel Authority.

CURRENCY Australian Dollar (£1 = AUD1.7).

WHERE TO EAT AND MEET The bowls club close to Manta Lodge dive centre serves good food and cheap beer. The Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel is another popular watering hole and offers good food.

VERDICT North Stradbroke Island is a major habitat for manta rays in the summer months and grey nurse sharks in the winter months. Whale watching in the surface intervals makes North Stradbroke Island well worth a visit.

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“This prehistoric-looking creature, unfazed by our presence, nonchalantly cast his eye over us before going back to staring at the rock directly in front of him” While I patiently waited on the surface for the rest of my group to enter the water, I heard the captain exclaim that he had seen another whale water spout not too far away. Once the others had joined me, we descended down the mooring line that dropped 25m to the ocean floor. A wide sandy alley cut through the reef, gradually becoming narrower and narrower. Our guide had told us to hug the reef walls rather than plough down the centre of the alley as this would probably scare the sharks away.

Throughout the dive, we had a good number of shark encounters. Although they were not as close as I would have liked to get a really good picture, they were fascinating to watch. Apart from the grey nurse sharks, Shark Alley provided us with several varieties of turtles, eagle rays and wobbegongs.

However, my joy at having had such a fantastic dive soon ebbed away upon hearing that the group that had descended a mere minute before me had seen the aforementioned humpback whale cruise gracefully past them as they made their way down the mooring line. After saying how pleased I was for them for witnessing such a breath-taking spectacle, I then began cursing them under my breath.

The surface interval was spent watching numerous humpback whales getting tantalising close to the boat; at one point, a pod of three or four came within 100 metres of us. Even seeing these massive creatures from the surface is a memorable and humbling experience.

The next dive we spent at the Nursery. Tufts of multi-coloured soft corals clung to the surface of the large boulders that are scattered across this site.

A large school of barracuda swam back and forth in the shallows. Schools of colourful fish drifted out from the reef, quickly darting back to the shelter of the rocks as we approached. Once a little bit away from the reef, a current pushed us swiftly over a rocky plateau, where I lost count of the number of turtles we came across.

The diving around Shag Rock is shallow, no deeper than 16m and consists of large rock shelves that rise to the surface. Bamboo sharks hide in their numerous crevasses. Wobbegongs bask on large sandy patches or sprawl over small coral bommies.

Aggressive damselfish guard their territory ferociously, nipping at anyone or anything that enters their domain. Many different types of nudibranch inhabit the reef, including very large Spanish dancers. Turtles are also regularly found at Shag Rock, as are cuttlefish and octopus.

The diving from North Stradbroke Island offers some interesting topography. Deep channels and gutters gouge through some of the terrain, while other areas are strewn with boulders, creating an almost-lunar landscape. Colourful corals appear in sporadic patches over the reef, while turtles and wobbegongs can be found everywhere. But the draw of Straddie for me is the chance of seeing the big animals, massive ones if you are very lucky. ■

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Open 7 days 8am - 5pm Award-winning Manta Lodge YHA & Scuba Centre has been operating since 1992, specialising in Scuba Diving, PADI Courses, Snorkelling and Youth Hostel Accommodation.

Straddie's reefs are teeming with a variety of marine life like Manta Rays and Leopard Sharks during summer (Nov-Apr), endangered Grey Nurse Sharks and Humpback Whales during winter (Jun-Oct).

Visit our website or call us for more info:

Dive Doctor Doctor Oliver Sykes looks at helium, its properties, uses, dangers and usefulness in diving

Dr Oliver Sykes is an experienced PADI Divemaster with nearly 20 years experience under the surface, logging dives in the UK, Red Sea, Zanzibar, Australia, Greece, Spain and the Caribbean, as well as spending three months with Coral Cay Conservation in Belize.

He qualified as a doctor in 2000, spent a year working full-time at the renowned DDRC in Plymouth in 2002/2003, and has written and run a Royal Society of Medicine course for doctors on diving medicine. He is approved for sport diving and HSE medicals, as well as giving advice on all diving problems.

All views expressed in this column are the personal opinions of Dr Oliver Sykes. You must consult your own doctor if you have any doubts about your physical or mental ability to dive.

HELIUM

T

here are some pretty incredible things about helium. For example, helium is the second lightest element and the second most abundant element, being present at about 24% of the total mass of the universe. However on Earth it is relatively rare: 5.2 ppm by volume in the atmosphere. Helium is named for the Greek god of the Sun, Helios and was first detected as an unknown yellow spectral line in sunlight during a solar eclipse in 1868 by French astronomer Jules Janssen. Most terrestrial helium is created by natural radioactive decay, although large reserves of helium are found in natural gas fields in parts of the United States, which is by far the largest supplier of the gas. Helium is a finite resource and is one of the few elements with escape velocity, meaning that once released into the atmosphere, it escapes into space.

As with any gas whose density differs from that of air, inhaling a small volume of helium temporarily changes the timbre and quality of the human voice. The speed of sound in helium is nearly three times the speed of sound in air and because the fundamental frequency of a gas-filled cavity is proportional to the speed of sound in the gas, there is a corresponding increase in the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract, resulting in a reedy, duck-like vocal quality. The opposite effect, lowering resonant

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frequencies, can be obtained by inhaling a dense gas such as sulfur hexafluoride or xenon.

The thermal conductivity of helium is greater than that of any other known substance and several hundred times that of copper and because of this, when helium boils it does not bubble but rather evaporates directly from its surface. This also explains why people breathing helium mixtures get colder more quickly. Helium is also known as a superfluid with some strange properties. For example, when it flows through very thin tubes, such as blood capillaries, it has no measurable viscosity.

It will also creep along surfaces in order to reach an equal level and therefore inside an enclosed container, the levels in a further two containers will equalize. The so called Rollin film also covers the interior of the larger container and if it were not sealed, the helium would creep out and escape!

Helium as a breathing gas has no narcotic properties and is relatively insoluble in blood, so helium mixtures such as trimix, heliox and heliair reduce the gas load and the effects of narcosis in deep dives. However below 150m, divers breathing helium–oxygen mixtures begin to experience tremors and a decrease in psychomotor function, which are symptoms of high-pressure nervous syndrome.

This effect may be countered to some extent by adding an amount of narcotic gas such as hydrogen

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or nitrogen to the mixture. At these depths the low density of helium is also found to considerably reduce the effort of breathing.

Inhaling pure helium can be dangerous because it washes out oxygen from the lungs and causes hypoxia even more quickly than simply not breathing.

Fatalities have been recorded, including a youth who suffocated in Vancouver in 2003 and two adults who suffocated in South Florida in 2006. In 1998, an Australian girl from Victoria fell unconscious and temporarily turned blue after inhaling the entire contents of a party balloon. â–

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Technical divers, such as these shot on a PADI Tec Trimix dive, use helium in their mixes

Credit: Courtesy of PADI

Your Q&A Session with Doctor Oli Q: Why is helium expensive?

A: The simple answer is that obtaining helium from natural gas deposits is more expensive than simply compressing air.

However the USA supplies 80% of the world’s helium, but is currently selling off its reserves at an artificially low price. Therefore the price is actually likely to rise in the next few years.

Q: How many helium balloons would it take to lift a person?

A: If you have a balloon that contains 5 litres of helium, the balloon can lift 5 grams.

A normal balloon at an amusement park might be 30 centimetres in diameter. To determine how many litres of helium a sphere can hold, the equation is 4/3 x pi x r x r x r. The radius of a 30-centimeter-diameter balloon is 15 centimetres, so: 4/3 x pi x 15 x 15 x 15 = 14,137 cubic centimetres = 14 litres. So a normal amusement park balloon can lift about 14 grams, assuming that the weight of the balloon itself and the string

is negligible. If you weigh 50 kg, then you weigh 50,000 grams. Divide your 50,000 grams by the 14 grams per balloon and you find that you need 3,571.42 balloons to lift your weight. You might want to add 500 more if you actually would like to rise at a reasonable rate. So you need roughly 4,000 balloons to lift yourself if you weigh 50 kilograms, and you can adjust that number according to your weight.

Q: What else is helium used for?

A: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the biggest user of helium. The helium is used to cool MRI scanners’ superconducting magnets. Helium is also used for filling air ships, for pressurising liquid fuel rockets, as a gas shield in the vicinity of arc welding, as an inert atmosphere for growing silicon and germanium crystals, at high temperature in titanium and zirconium production and as a carrier gas in gas chromatography.

Q: What is the melting and boiling point

of helium?

A: At atmospheric pressure, helium will boil at -267 degrees centigrade but does not solidify and therefore has no melting point.

However at 25 atmospheres, helium will melt at -272 degrees centigrade.

Q: Can we dive using any of the other noble gases?

A: These are unreactive, rare gases found in extremely small amounts in the atmosphere, including helium. I have not heard of krypton being used in diving, although neon and argon have been experimented with and do work, however production is currently prohibitively expensive. Xenon has anaesthetic properties, rather like nitrogen, and therefore would probably cause narcosis and radon is radioactive. Therefore argon is probably your best bet once our helium reserves run out, as it is the most common noble gas in our atmosphere, at 0.9% of the total and 500 times more common than neon.

The Dive Doctor is sponsored by Divers Emergency Service UK, London Hyperbaric Medicine, Whipp’s Cross University Hospital Tel (Enquiries): 020 8539 1222 Emergencies: 07 999 292 999

Email: mail@londonhyperbaric.com Website: www.diversemergencyservice.co.uk and www.londonhyperbaric.com

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Egypt

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The Red Sea Dive Specialists Red Sea Diving Holidays Designed for You Sharm el Sheikh ● Dahab ● Nuweiba ● Taba Heights Hurghada ● El Gouna ● Soma Bay Marsa Alam ● Liveaboards

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Egypt

E

gypt’s recent troubles are having a devastating effect on tourism. After watching daily news reports on TV, reading the national newspapers and surfing the web for more information, it is easy to see why - Foreign Offices across the globe are warning against all but necessary travel to parts of Egypt; airlines are reducing the number of flights or, in extreme cases, cancelling all flights to the country. But are these measures really necessary, or even justified? After all, the troubles are confined to small pockets in some cities and certain parts of the Sinai Peninsula. Southern regions of the country remain peaceful, remote and unaffected by the unrest of the revolutions.

As an avid supporter of Egyptian tourism and a Red Sea veteran, with over 20 diving tours to date, you can imagine my surprise when, on a recent flight to Egypt in the Easter school holiday, I got up to stretch my legs and found many empty seats.

April marks the start of the holiday season here in the UK and, as such, this would normally be one of the busiest periods of the year, with holidaymakers bustling to part with their hard-earned cash to reach the diving capital of the world.

It is no secret that divers have, for decades, classed Egypt’s Red Sea as their second home. It’s a safe bet that any diver with over 50 dives in their logbook would more than likely have registered half of them in one of the many resorts dotted along the Sinai’s coast.

Most surprising, however, was the fact that when we landed at Marsa Alam International Airport, we noticed that our plane was the only plane on the tarmac. As soon as we had disembarked and were in the arrivals terminal, our group of six managed to purchase the necessary visas and pass through immigration and the baggage hall in record time.

Security at the airport was, as usual, evident but Clownfish

The soft corals are looking very healthy

Lionfish

“This is a far cry from the thousands of travellers from around the world who would have descended on this land of historical and natural beauty every week” relaxed. There are, as you would expect, armed guards, but those can be found at every airport across the world.

Once out of the terminal we were warmly greeted by our tour rep and driver and then it was all aboard the minibus for the two-hour scenic journey to our destination, Red Sea Diving Safari’s eco-village Marsa Nakari. With the Red Sea mountains to the right and the Red Sea itself to our left, we headed south. I should point out that at no time did we have, or was it necessary for us to have, an armed guard or escort. We passed many large hotels standing empty and construction sites, with partially built structures, lying idle. Our driver told us that the Egyptian Tourist Board can no longer

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gauge the holiday seasons. Before the troubles began, it was possible to accurately estimate how many guests would arrive at any one time; now there’s just a trickle of guests arriving each month.

This is a far cry from the thousands of travellers from around the world who would have descended on this land of historical and natural beauty every week.

The quietness of the area became even more obvious when we reached our holiday destination Marsa Nakari. This particular eco-village can cater for 160 guests, and offers every conceivable diving adventure possible; truck dives, dayboat diving, zodiac dives, shore dives on its outstanding house reef, as well as more-

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“We took advantage of the unlimited diving on offer, squeezing in as many dives as possible throughout the week”

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Egypt

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

The reefs are teeming with life

EGYPT Fish shoal above the reef

HOW TO GET THERE You can fly direct into Marsa Alam International Airport from numerous UK airports, and then it is just a two-hour minibus transfer to the eco-village. You can also fly into Hurghada Airport, but will then need to tag on another three-hour bus trip.

WHEN TO VISIT You can dive in Egypt all year round.

“I imagine that the diving here is now much like it once was back in the 1980s, with just a few divers exploring an unknown reef at their leisure”

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A visa (priced around £10-15) can be purchased on arrival in the country.

CURRENCY Egyptian pound (£1 = EGP11.80).

WHERE TO EAT AND MEET The restaurant in the eco-village serves up delicious local and international dishes, and sitting back admiring a star-lit sky with a cold beverage is a superb après-dive activity.

THE LOCAL BREW Sakara Gold lager.

VERDICT Now is the perfect time to visit Egypt - the reefs are getting back to their prolific heyday, there is marine life everywhere, and there are only handfuls of divers. If you want to see the Red Sea as it was back in the 1980s, get on the phone and book now!

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demanding technical dives. However, because of Egypt’s troubles and international concern for the safety of travellers to the country, our group of six divers were, for part of the week, the only guests on site.

We had a fantastic time - the service was second to none, the food was delicious and plentiful and the diving out of this world. I suppose the one positive to come out of all of the uncertainty is that the reefs have had time to rejuvenate and are absolutely teeming with marine life. Also, divers aren’t tripping over each other while trying to take those all-important shots of a clownfish or flamboyant nudibranch. I imagine that the diving here is now much like it once was back in the 1980s, with just a few divers exploring an unknown reef at their leisure. This resonates along the entire length of the Red Sea. No longer are the reefs a victim of their own success - bleached white, damaged by fins or overcrowded with divers. They are, once again, vibrant, colourful, living underwater landscapes.

Unlike other hotel complexes, Marsa Nakari isn’t surrounded by a fence and there are no security guards patrolling its perimeter. In fact, the whole Egyptian population could have popped in at any time of day or night for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake and yet not once did I feel threatened or afraid for myself, my wife or our fellow holidaymakers’ safety. We enjoyed truck dives, visiting deserted beaches and diving with fantail rays and guitar sharks. We took advantage of the unlimited diving on offer, squeezing in as many dives as possible throughout the week. And at the end of the stay, a unanimous vote by the four novice divers in our group revealed that they would return in the very near future.

So why are people staying away from the Red Sea? I couldn’t say, but while you sit at home contemplating the answer, I will be busy booking my next trip so that I can, once again, enjoy the warmth, hospitality and superb diving that this fascinating country has to offer. ■

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RED SEA - SHARM EL SHEIKH - SINAI COLLEGE - DIVE CENTRE At our British managed dive centre, Sinai College, we are pleased to offer you a high level of professional service in a friendly and welcoming environment. Our services include daily guided dive trips & liveaboard guided dive trips - as well as shore diving and special dive excursions. We offer PADI courses with our experienced instructors from introduction experiences up to dive professional and beyond.

■

Professional friendly service Family friendly ■ British managed ■ Group offers ■ Divemaster internships available ■

www.sinai-college.com | info@sinai-college.com | Tel: +201154055100

Is this the death of Dahab? I hope not!

Just wanted to share my thoughts on my recent trip to Dahab...

Following a recent hiatus of nearly five years since my last dive, I had the opportunity to return to the water at the end of February and was about to book a week in Sharm when I recalled Monty Hall’s TV documentary about the Blue Hole, so looked into Dahab as well.

Given the flight would be the same and accommodation costs similar, I decided to try Dahab as the prevalence of shore rather than boat diving meant the cost per dive was about half: either way, I’d get wet, the method of entry wasn’t important.

Egypt has always been one of those countries where unrest is possible, so I monitored the advice on the FCO website and although the Dahab area was regarded as an Amber risk, I chose to go.

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From a diving perspective I was amazed at the variety and abundance of corals and amount of fish on each dive site, with the added excitement of getting there on the back of a 4x4 pickup, and needing to develop the balance and grace of a ballerina (while in full scuba kit) to navigate some of the shore entries (improved with practise and helpful dive guides to explain the best routes to take).

But it was out of the water that was more of a concern. Dahab was a veritable ghost town. Many places were closed, and those that were open were desperate for business. On the plus side, this meant great deals and dive sites that weren’t crowded; but Dahab deserves better than that!

In terms of the FCO ratings, Cairo remains Green and yet there have been more instances of unrest in the run up to the impending elections. Unlike

some European countries, at least the UK is still allowing flights to Sharm, but FCO rate Sharm as Green due to the security checkpoints around it.

In my experience there was greater diligence on the checkpoints along the only road from Sharm to Dahab, and Dahab has checkpoints on its entry points just like Sharm.

I know security is paramount but I just hope this seemingly inconsistent logic being applied by European governments in their attitude to travel to this area won’t lead to the death of Dahab, as it has a lot going for it and is a completely different vibe to Sharm.

Jonathan Martin, by email

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Praise where it’s due...

I have just returned from the Northern Red Sea Wreck s and Reef tour on Blue Fin. I felt I just had to contact you. People are sometimes very quick to criticise but are not always so forthcoming to give praise where it is due. Everyone at blue o two, you need to give yourse lves a big pat on the back. From the staff in the UK office to the crew on-board nothing was too much trouble and I always felt that I was being put first. Even to the point that on the last day, after we had moore d up, I asked for a tour of the engine room, and even though the engine ers were in the middle of a big maintenance job on one of the engine s, Khaled - Head Engineer - took time out to personally guide us not only round the engine room of Blue Fin but also Blue Melody which was moored up next door.

The food on the boat was varied, healthy and tasty.

Blue Fin from the top deck to the lower cabins is very clean and comfo rtable. Mohammed the Saloon Manager was always happy to help.

Our dive guides (Mustafa and Abdu) made sure we always had fun on our dives by giving us good knowledgeable dive briefings but above all were very safe.

Very happy diver.

Jim Gould, by email

Sampson’s sage advice commended I found Martin Sampson’s article on “shake down dives” the best safety statement I’ve read. I’ve completed 2,300+ dives but over 48 years so some fairly long gaps between dive expeditions.

I dont mind admitting to carefully planning and taking it easy at the start of all new periods of diving, it takes me two or three dives to get comfo rtable again. The day I don’t feel apprehensive on the first dive of a new dive campaign, I will hang up my fins.

Philip J Seymour, by email

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DIVE UK World War One wrecks

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28 July marks the passing of 100 years since the start of World War One, and to commemorate this historic occasion, Simon Volpe explores some of the shipwrecks left in the wake of the ‘Great War’ Photographs by SIMON VOLPE

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DIVE UK World War One wrecks The wrecks appear hauntingly out of the green

Heading out into the Channel

W

orld War One stretched from 1914 to 1918 and consumed every ocean and virtually every continent. However, it was Europe that saw the greatest conflict. For many it is the network of stagnant trenches, the use of chlorine, tear and mustard gas, the appalling conditions, the injuries and the colossal loss of life that leaves the most-harrowing and indelible images.

In some way it is in stark contrast that those who lost their lives at sea as a result of the conflict did not receive the same measure of acknowledgement.

The primary hazard at sea during World War One for Allied shipping was the U-boats, with their torpedoes and mines, which sank more than 12.8 million gross tons of shipping. Put into context, more than 5,000 merchant ships were sunk by U-boats, with the loss of 15,000 Allied sailors’ lives.

Most of these sinkings occurred in the English

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These are fairly deep dives

“Diving the Warilda is a deep dive, with some 48m to the upper deck and beyond 50m to the sea floor, but our chosen day provided excellent sea and meteorological conditions” Channel. It was Germany’s attempt to interrupt trade routes. The UK then, as now, relied heavily on imports to feed its nation.

The legacy for the diver as a consequence of World War One is a vast number of wrecks to dive.

While we focus on the English Channel, the same can be said throughout the coastal British Isles. The 100th commemoration of World War One affords us the moment to reflect on the consequences of war; a time to ponder on the shameful loss of life and injury, and sheer waste of endeavour; a pointless tragedy. But it is also a time to marvel and pursue, with respectful curiosity, knowledge of our maritime past.

For the period between 1914 and 1918, there are no less that 750 registered shipwrecks. These were busy waters then as they are now. Food, raw material, munitions and fuel had to be distributed.

Germany had the weapon to tear this distribution chain apart.

Initially, at the start of the war, German submarine commanders behaved impeccably to the crew of survivors’ vessels. Things changed by 1917. The British naval blockade of Germany had resulted in starvation conditions. An unrestricted campaign then ensued from 1 February 1917. This said that all Allied and neutral shipping was to be sunk on sight, without warning.

The U-boat offensive inflicted blow after blow on Britain. It was the convoys, the limiting of access to the Straits of Dover and the Northern Barrage from Orkney to Norway, with mines, that took Britain back from the brink.

From the enormous list of charted World War One Channel wrecks accessible from Land’s End in the

Kit ready for a day’s diving

west to Dover in the east comes the task of choosing where to dive. It would be possible to spend two decades seeking these out, allowing for the fact that one is regularly put back by the weather, the sea state and the underwater visibility, but then there is the elation of being mid-English Channel on a summer’s day, with 15-metre visibility.

To single out just two examples of wrecks in the English Channel that incurred the most-depraved assault by U-boats; we have the British hospital ships the Warilda and the Lanfranc. These are in close proximity mid-Channel, 40 miles from Brighton.

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DIVE UK World War One wrecks THE WARILDA The 125-metre Warilda sank on 3 May 1918 while on a passage from Le Havre to Southampton. She was owned by the Adelaide SS Co Ltd and her port of registry was Adelaide, though she was flagged as a UK vessel. She was constructed in 1907 from steel by W Beardmore & Co of Glasgow, and was powered by an eight-cylinder expansion engine.

Her crew totalled 117 and she had 684 passengers.

The Warilda was an Australian steamer and had been requisitioned by the British Government for use as a hospital ship. In this capacity, she was carrying injured soldiers. The holds had been hastily converted to makeshift wards. The lowest (Ward 1) held 102 patients. It was this area that was specifically allocated to the walking wounded; the logic of this was that if the ship was catastrophically attacked, they would have the best chance of evacuating onto the deck without delay. Their efforts were to prove futile.

Warilda left Le Havre on 2 August 1918 with two destroyer escorts, HMS P39 and HMS P45. They made good speed at 15 knots, steering north 10 degrees east.

It was a dark, cloudy night, but the second mate was alert and spotted the outline of a submarine 150 yards off the port bow at 1.35am. He yelled to the helmsman to turn directly towards the submarine, with the intention of ramming it. Seconds later the master arrived on the bridge and approved the second officer’s course of action.

Disastrously for the Warilda, the submarine was too fast and manoeuvrable. Before anything more could be done, a white streak began to leave its trace through the ink-black water. A moment later there was a deafening explosion. The Warilda had been hit deep on the port side between the engine room and, sickeningly, number four hold - Ward 1.

Most of the patients were killed, no less than 101 in total. The ferocity of the explosion was so massive that the damage was completely catastrophic.

The engine room quickly filled with water. By now anyone who had survived the explosion had the potential to be drowned by the torrent of sea water.

The master’s work resumed - if the engine room bulkhead held, there was a chance of getting the rest of the passengers and crew off.

The inside of the hold

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Down the shotline to the wreck

“The deck railings, the winch gear, the riveted deck plates, much of which remained intact, were all plain to see” Any surviving walking wounded patients were ordered to assemble on the promenade deck and the lifeboats to be lowered down to them. No boat was to be released until the Warilda was stationery.

The ship’s engine refused to die and ran in spite of the sea water ingestion to the cylinder heads.

Slowly, as if by suffocation, it drew its last breath and the Warilda began its final chapter, sinking to the seabed some 50m below.

In the nightmare interlude before the Warilda’s inevitable fate, the first boat with the wounded and the nurses reached the water but somehow jammed, causing it to swamp with the loss of two nurses. Most of the boats did come clear, although on the port side, two officers, four crew and eight male patients were lost in failed emergency manoeuvres.

HMS P39 did make an abortive attempt to take Warilda in tow, but ten minutes were all that could be utilised before the Warilda buckled and sank at 4.10am. There was a subsequent court of enquiry on board the HMS Victory at Portsmouth. Here the facts came to light. One hundred and thirteen patients, one nurse, two RAMC staff and seven crew had died in the tragedy. The perpetrator, UC-49 commanded by Oberleutnent H Kukenthal - was itself destroyed off Torquay in August 1918, with the loss of all 26 hands.

Diving the Warilda is a deep dive, with some 48m to the upper deck and beyond 50m to the sea floor, but our chosen day provided excellent sea and meteorological conditions. The water temperature was 14 degrees C and our moderate visibility at 12-15

metres exceeded expectations.

Our descent through the bubble stream of green to grey and eventually black water brought us to the stern of the Warilda. Here the railings, the wash basins and the portholes remained intact. Finning to the midship saw the wreck’s hull sitting at a different angle to the stern, hiding its contents from view. There were long-defunct gill nets entwined in the rusting hulk. With such clear water, they did not represent a menace or a threat. Fish life was prolific.

Ling, pollack and cod had made the Warilda their home.

Once aboard, Steve Johnson, our long-time Channel diving skipper and charter boat owner was able to refill our cylinders as we leisurely motored towards Fecamp in France. We exchanged accounts of what we had individually seen, as the breeze swept gently over the sea. The sun turned from gold to amber, the shadows grew longer and the warmth began to fade. With the arrival of evening, Fecamp in France was to be our overnight stop before returning to our charter boat to dive our second wreck in the English Channel, only six miles from the Warilda.

THE LANFRANC The Lanfranc was another hospital ship from the same era. This too was to be brutally consigned to the sea floor with terrible loss of life.

The Lanfranc was a 6,287-ton ship which sank on 17 April 1917, while enroute from Le Havre to Southampton. She was a British vessel built in 1907, and owned by Booth

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DIVE UK World War One wrecks A thick layer of silt covers the wrecks

Exploring the remnants

Spending the evening in France

Steamship Co Ltd. She was carrying 234 British and 167 German wounded from the battlefields of Northern France and 52 RAMC medical staff. Her crew numbered 123.

The Lanfranc left Le Havre at 3.22pm bound for Southampton. At 4.33pm she rounded the barrage at Le Havre. From here two escorts, HMS Badger and the P37, took up their respective positions, port and starboard. Her course was adjusted to allow for the flood tide and she steered this path for 38 miles. While the wind from the north west created a rough sea, visibility was good.

At 7.40pm the Lanfranc’s passage was abruptly corrupted. A massive explosion lit up the twilight sky. The ship’s bulkhead on the port side had been ripped into between the engine room and number three hold. The engines had died, and the Lanfranc listed to its port side.

The blast had shattered the lifeboats on the port deck, along with the port quarter boat. The radio room and all its equipment on the after end of the boat deck were also obliterated.

The master of the Lanfranc waited patiently for his vessel to come to a complete standstill before lowering the remaining lifeboats. The commanding officer of P37 tried to overrule the master and get the survivors into boats prematurely, but Captain Ponter was acutely aware of how easily a lifeboat could overturn. Eight boats were able to get away,

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but one failed, going down stern first. There were complications - German PoW’s jumped into a boat as it descended past them and all the occupants were thrown into the sea. It was good fortune that several sailing trawlers were in the vicinity and were able to offer assistance.

With all the boats free, the master gave orders for the davits to be swung in. The intention was to allow an escort vessel to come closer and secure lines. The instructions were for the crew to save the rest of the British wounded first, and then, if possible, the German prisoners. Unruliness broke out, and some of the Germans had to be forced out of the boats on several occasions.

At 8.15pm, the Lanfranc began to sink. Both escort ships pulled away and picked up the lifeboats.

By 8.40pm it was all over. The Lanfranc sank upright.

The brave actions of the escort boats, and those who came to the Lanfranc’s assistance, were later commended by the master.

Four British and 15 Germans were wounded and five crew were drowned. The survivors were taken to Portsmouth. It was suspected that UB-40 was the perpetrator of the Lanfranc’s demise. This submarine, too, was ill-fated and rests in the English Channel.

Diving the Lanfranc was to be a memorable dive, with the same underwater visibility as seen on the Warilda from the previous day.

Our dive commenced at close to slack water, as the shotline plugged in an almost-perfect vertical line; a seemingly infinite line; an umbilical attachment to the ghostly wreck some 42m below.

The Lanfranc appeared initially as a huge black shadow. As the wreck came closer, all the detail began to emerge; akin to cinematic movement, only more personal. The deck railings, the winch gear, the riveted deck plates, much of which remained intact, were all plain to see. The wreck rested at a 45-degree angle, and there were holes in the side big enough to swim through, a welcome sanctuary for marine life. A slight current had pulled the shotline over the wreck, but it still held its position close to midship. On the stern section, a proportion of the hull was missing, giving a cross-sectional view of the Lanfranc’s interior deck levels, but with our precious dive time expiring, it was time to return slowly to the first deco stop.

Back onboard our charter vessel, the dive equipment was stowed away and we motored back to Brighton Marina. Thoughts were shared on what we had encountered over the two days. The Warilda and Lanfranc for me are the best examples of UK English Channel wreck diving. These are challenging wrecks with a rich historical back-story, and the fact that we are marking the centenary of World War One this year means divers are offered a privileged insight into our maritime past. ■

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PROFILE Since 2007, Chris Fischer has led 17 global expeditions to advance science and education while unlocking the many mysteries surrounding the life history of great white sharks and other giants of the ocean. He has facilitated million s of dollars in collaborative ocean research, supporting the work of over 50 scientists from over 20 international and region al institutions.

Fischer’s ultimate goal is to explode the body of knowl edge forward by enabling scientists and governments around the globe to generate groundbreaking data on the ocean’ s apex predators in an open source environment.

Fischer believes that being inclusive is inspiring and that education creates generational change, ensuri ng a future where we manage the world’s oceans in a centrist, data-d riven way. By breaking down collaborative barrier s, institutions and researchers come together for resource-focused projec ts that allow us to learn at a rate otherwise not possib le.

OCEARCH is a non-profit organisation with a global reach for unprecedented research on the ocean’s giants , suppo rting leading researchers and institutions seeking to attain groundbreaking data on the biology and health of sharks, in conjunction with research on shark life history and migration.

The researchers OCEARCH supports work aboard the M/V OCEARCH, a 38-metre vessel equipped with a custom 75,000lb hydraulic lift and research platform, which serves as both mother ship and at-sea laboratory. The data is shared on the Global Shark Tracker with the world for free, enabling studen ts and the public to learn alongside PhDs.

WHAT IS OCEARCH?

OCEARCH is a not-for-profit organisation that is trying to bring different groups together, to pioneer new research on the oceans, and put everyone on a common missio n with the selfless disposition to disrupt the institu tional approach to research and get all the different scientists in differe nt disciplines to come together on collaborative projec ts that put the oceans and the sharks first, rather than an individual’s agenda. We just don’t have time left with over 73 million sharks being killed a year for a bowl of soup. We have to collaborate to solve the puzzle of the lives of these sharks and figure out where they are breeding, where they are giving birth and where they are migrating, so that we can help them recover. OCEARCH aims to share the data collected on its expeditions with scientists around the world, charities that lobby for the protection of marine life, and with the general public to engag e them in the work that they do. Anyone can log on to the website and track the sharks that are currently tagged and watch their progress. Recently, one great white shark, called Lydia, looked like she was on her way to the UK coastline and made it into the national news, causing quite a stir.

Describe the shark-tagging project, including specie s tagged, methods used, and locations in the world where this has been done. I am just about to head off on my 19th expedition. This time I am heading out to Chile and then onto Brazil. Our last expedition was in the Galapagos Islands for about 20 days, where we tagged tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks and silky sharks in an effort to help local conser vation teams to understand how their sharks are movin g around, whether or not the Galapagos National Park is large enough to protect them, and how they are moving between here and other local islands. We capture large things. In the past these very large marine creatures were too big for the science community to handle. We have teamed up with worldclass mariners and with scientists from around the world to make this possible and it is why we are making so many breakt hroughs. We actually capture the sharks, we swing them over on a lift on the side of the ship, and we lift them up out of the water; while they are out of the water the team execut e 12 scientific projects in just 15 minutes, including fitting a monito ring tag to track their locations, and then we drop the shark back into the ocean and let it swim away. The 18 completed expeditions have taken the team all over the world, from USA to South Africa, with more planned for the rest of the year and beyond.

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WHAT SUCCESS HAS THE PROJECT HAD SO FAR?

We started our work in Guadalupe Island back in 2007 and the data that we collected meant that we were able to determine where the sharks were breeding, where they gave birth and what their movements were around these important waters. The Mexican government is now using this information to protect the great white sharks in these areas. These sharks bring divers from all over the world to get the chance to see and photogra ph them and this brings in money to the local communities. This is how our work is going to save the sharks. Scientist s will not save them, the data we present to public officials and policy makers, which they have never had before, will create policy that will save the sharks.

All publicity helps! The media coverage that surrounded the great white shark called Lydia helped all sharks. It gets people taking about sharks and, now that people have all this information, they are talking about sharks with a tone of curiosity.

Where is Lydia? Where is she going? Is she pregnant? And that is a much-be tter curious tone to the conversation rather than a conversation based on fear. So I think that the publicity gets those positive conversations going.

HOW CAN UK DIVERS HELP?

UK divers can come together to make sure that the possession of shark fin (and shark-fin soup) is banned in the UK. It should be easy to get that type of law passed with enough public pressure and when you do, you will be saving thousands of sharks. Visit our website to see more about what we do.

More information on OCEARCH can be found at www.ocearch.org, including

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access to the Global Shark Tracker.

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Palau

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Palau

Shark Parade

Experiencing the underwater action of Micronesia from the Palau Siren may ruin you for all other dive trips, reckons Eric Michael Photographs by ETHAN GORDON, DOUG SLOSS/SEAPICS.COM, ETHAN DANIELS/SEAPICS.COM, FRANCES PEREZ, TIM ROCK/SEAPICS.COM AND FRANCO BANFI/OCEAN-IMAGE/PHOTOSHOT

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Palau

B

ucking at the end of a reef hook at Palau’s legendary Blue Corner might be diving’s most-exciting thrill ride. From the deep ocean, a three-knot river rushing up and over the wall tries to blow me away like a sadistic teenager spraying ants on a pavement with a garden hose. But this is far more fun, tethered to a bare spot on the hard-coral reef by a two-metre length of nylon line, BC inflated for positive buoyancy and blasted by the brute power of the sea. And it’s not just the wild ride that makes this dive so pulse-pounding, it’s the view: a near-constant parade of predators.

54 ... 55 ... 56 ... 57 - I stop counting when the sheer number of sharks passing by reaches the level of ridiculous. And that’s not including the dogtooth tuna, big-eye jacks, midnight snapper and other predators, plus the smaller tropicals - scarlet soldier fish, black durgons and bright butterflyfish - that fill in the visual blanks between n’s. Glancing over to my buddy, his strobes ring furiously at the scene, I laugh into my reg at the near-horizontal torrent of exhalation streaming from his face, as if blown through a child’s bubble wand. He’s clearly as stoked as I am by the show.

Twenty minutes earlier, we had descended into a dark hole in a shallow coral garden some distance up the reef at a site called Blue Holes. Inside the large cavern, which drops to around 36m, we searched for pulsing disco clams and black-coral trees before breaking out into the bright sunlight through a window at 14m to cruise along the wall toward Blue Corner, where we would hook onto the reef. That’s when the parade began.

Cruising lazily into the current slows down the normally swift-moving grey reef, blacktip and whitetip sharks enough to enable a close inspection - and a deeper appreciation - of their sleek design, smooth, matte skin and piercing white eyes. Periodically, individuals hang in front of me for minutes at a time. And I love every second of it.

Palau’s Jellyfish Lake

Diver admiring WW2 wreckage

“Snorkelling in the dark water through throngs of gelatinous orbs is every bit as surreal as one would expect, and typically accompanied by a soundtrack of excited laughing from the other visitors” Blue Corner is just one of the perception-changing dives that Palau can count as commonplace.

Although this bevy of world-class sites is accessible by dayboats, the best way to experience the island nation’s underwater splendour is by liveaboard.

THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE The Palau Siren, which began operating in the region in October 2012, is the newest liveaboard serving the Micronesian archipelago of more than 250 islands. It’s a traditional Indonesian Phinisi design, with graceful curves, a pair of tall masts rigged in bright blue sails and the romantic symphony that only a wooden vessel can orchestrate. At a length of 36 metres and with a wide beam of nine metres, the yacht accommodates

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Palau

“54 ... 55 ... 56 ... 57 - I stop counting when the sheer number of sharks passing by reaches the level of ridiculous”

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SIPADAN GO ADVANCED Seaventures has the adventure variety you need to advance further in your diving skill set.

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Palau

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

A typically healthy Palau reef

PALAU,

MICRONESIA WHEN TO VISIT Palau’s diving is good year-round; June to November is rainy season and January to May sees the biggest crowds.

HOW TO GET THERE Airlift to isolated Palau is limited from the west, and with many of the divers coming from the US, the Honolulu-Guam-Palau route is the firm, and well-serviced, favourite. However, for tourists coming from Europe, it is possible to reach the country via the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

“Wreck lovers will discover an impressive amount of history on display beneath the surface of Palau’s waters”

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A valid passport with six months left to expiry.

A $20 departure tax and a $30 conservation ‘green fee’ are payable in cash before leaving the ticketing area at the airport.

CURRENCY US dollar (£1 = US$1.68).

WHERE TO EAT AND MEET The Palau Siren serves up delicious local and European fare at all times of the day, and sitting back with a cold drink and enjoying the stunning views on an evening is the best way to see out the day.

guests with its luxurious teak finishes, open-air ambience and ample space for everyone. Meals are served at an expansive U-shaped dining area on the breezy stern deck, and the dive deck at midship is equally user-friendly, with plenty of personal space for gearing up, plus convenient storage for wetsuits and equipment.

The Siren’s dive operation benefits greatly from guides who come from the staff pool at Sam’s Tours, one of Palau’s longest-running operators, so they know when the best sites are prime and can show their divers the best of everything. Guests are chauffeured to dive sites in a pair of nine-metre fibreglass pangas, fully outfitted with ladders and large canopies, which increases the comfort level greatly. And they’re fast, which puts divers on Palau’s best sites well before the dayboats from Korror have even left the dock. That’s one of the top benefits of a trip aboard the Siren - being the early bird. Because the captain can move the floating dive resort to the most-advantageous moorings on a daily basis as determined by weather and tides, passengers are typically the first divers on the best sites each day. And that’s a very nice bonus, because Palau offers incredible variety to discerning divers of every breed.

Wreck lovers will discover an impressive amount of history on display beneath the surface of Palau’s waters. Near the end of World War Two, the US

Navy struck a deadly blow to a group of Japanese warships hiding among the Rock Islands during Operation Desecrate One. The result is a ghost fleet of dozens of sunken vessels decorated with growth from more than six decades underwater. Most are massive hulks, heavily populated with marine life and loaded with compelling artefacts. A single dive on the famed Helmet Wreck yields massive sake bottles, gas masks, torn boots, used ordnance of varying calibers, and much more, like a close-up encounter with a stealthy crocodilefish.

Jellyfish Lake is a signature Palau experience that’s a staple of the Siren itinerary. The isolated marine lake in the Rock Islands is world famous for the millions of virtually stingless golden jellies that thrive in the brackish water. Snorkelling in the dark water through throngs of gelatinous orbs is every bit as surreal as one would expect, and typically accompanied by a soundtrack of excited laughing from the other visitors.

Aside from the unique sites, World War Two wrecks and other atypical attractions, Palau’s reefs deliver all of the South Pacific idyll that divers expect from the region. From the high-octane drift dives of Ulong Channel and Pelelui Express to the manta encounters at German Channel, and the plunging underwater cliffs at Ngemelis Wall and New Drop-off, the archipelago delivers big on the fantasy. Experiencing it all from the comfort and convenience of the Palau Siren seems like an unfair

THE OPERATOR VERDICT Palau is one of those destinations that absolutely lives up to the hype, and whether you are a wreckie, reef lover, adrenaline junkie or shark addict, you are sure to find something to tickle your fancy.

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Palau Siren (sirenfleet.com), in partnership with Sam’s Tours (samstours.com), offers seven- and ten-night itineraries for up to 16 guests in eight staterooms with air-conditioning and private baths. Diving is from two nine-metre fibreglass pangas, and photographers will find two dry camera tables with charging outlets.

LIVING AT SEA There are various other liveaboards operating in the area around Palau: Aggressor II www.aggressor.com Ocean Hunter www.oceanhunter.com Palau Siren www.blueotwo.com Solitude One www.solitude-one.com Tropic Dancer www.aggressor.com

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Scholarship Diary The Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society is a non-profit, educational organisation whose mission is to promote educational activities associated with the underwater world. It has offered scholarships for more than 35 years. owuscholarship.org

Rolex: A commitment to the ocean

Elina with last year’s Scholar Chloe Marechal

Elena Salim Haubold journeys to NY to collect her Rolex and meet fellow scholars and explorers TEXT BY ELENA SALIM HAUBOLD

Last week I traveled to New York to attend the 40th anniversary and annual meeting of the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society. There I met all the volunteers who work for this incredible organisation. They are all passionate explorers of the oceans and work for its long-term preservation. That is the main reason for their investment of time and resources in the education of young divers like me - to ensure that the next generation takes care of our underwater world. As a selected beneficiary of the 2014 European Rolex Scholarship, I am engaging myself in this challenge and I cannot feel more honoured, happy and excited.

Every year the society chooses one representative from each region: North America, Australasia and Europe. This year I had the opportunity to share this experience, simultaneously, with two strong and determined women: Ana from USA/Mexico and Courtney from New Zealand. The event was spread over four days and everyone there immediately made us feel like part of the family. We also had the opportunity of meeting many important sponsors who shared their love

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for the ocean with us. Many explorers invited us to visit their diving operators all over the world, including Mr. Lindblad, the owner of the prestigious and world renowned travel company Lindblad Expeditions partnered with National Geographic, who offered us the great opportunity of going to one of his expeditions to the Galapagos Islands! I cannot wait to see the places that inspired Darwin’s Theory of Evolution!

From all the amazing people I met, some of the most inspiring for me were the past Rolex Scholars. Each one of them have already achieved outstanding careers, like Joe Stevens, the first European Rolex One of nature’s most Scholar, who is a naturalbeautiful sights ist for the BBC and works producing documentaries about aquatic life hand in hand with, the man himself, David Attenborough. I met other past scholars like Jade Berman and Josh Stewart, who enthusiastically showed us their interesting research with sponges and manta rays respectively.

I also got membership to the Explorers Club from the current president. This group has members from all fields of exploration, like Stephen Hawking, for his achievement in aero spatial science. I cannot express with words how proud and grateful I feel for being part of such a prestigious group of scientists.

Moreover, we were overwhelmed by gifts from sponsors and other supporters. I received so much diving equipment (a dive computer, safety equipment, lights, a very cool rain jacket, shirts, etc.) that I had to take an extra suitcase on my return to Germany!

We also received an elegant Rolex submariner that, more than a luxury watch, is a reminder of the commitment I made with the Society. This indestructible piece that epitomizes sophistication and accuracy will join me on all the dives, trips and adventures of my mission - to learn everything I can about the sharks ecotourism industry to be able to work towards their conservation. The tick-tock is a reminder of the obligation we have to use the time we still have to save our oceans and the marine life within them.

Elena

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DIVE EUROPE

Germany

Castle above Meersburg

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www.sportdiver.co.uk

DIVE EUROPE

Germany

EUROPEAN DRIVE-N-DIVE ROADTRIP PART ONE

Constance is calling The stats: 2,400 miles, four countries, 11 days. It all sounded perfectly feasible on paper, but looking at some of the distances involved between dive sites, had Mark Evans bitten off more than he could chew on his inaugural drive-n-dive European roadtrip?

Photographs by MARK EVANS

A

s I pulled off the ferry at Calais and glanced at the Sat Nav, which was showing 495 miles to my first stop-over point - in southern Germany - I started to question my decision to conduct a whistle-stop, drive-n-dive roadtrip around four countries in such a limited timeframe.

What had I been thinking? On a map, Germany, Austria, Italy and France all look fairly close together, but once you factor in the scale and the sheer size of some of these countries, particularly in relation to tiny little Britain, you start to realise just how much distance needs to be covered.

However, the miles passed relatively painlessly as I sat in the comfort of my trusty VW California, loaned to me for the trip courtesy of VW’s press fleet. This was a great vehicle for the roadtrip - not only was it going to be providing my accommodation at certain points of the adventure, but it was a comfy motorway cruiser, and being high up, I had a commanding view of the road ahead and could soak up the scenery, which got all the more dramatic the nearer I got to the border with Germany.

From the endless toll motorways and rolling green fields of northern France, I began to encounter more hilly terrain, and then entered some stunning valleys sweeping through lush forested mountains before arriving at my first destination - Promarine Dive Centre in Radolfzell, a stone’s throw from my first dive sites in Lake Constance.

Lake Constance, or Bodensee in German, is a huge lake on the River Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps which is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Measuring 39 miles long and, at its widest point, nearly nine miles across, it is central Europe’s third-largest body of freshwater and was created by the Rhine Glacier in the Ice Age. Sitting at 395m above sea-level, it boasts depths in excess of 250m in the middle of the eastern portion, making it a prime dive site for everyone from raw novices to seasoned technical divers.

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DIVE EUROPE

Germany The promenade in Uberlingen

Divers enter the water at Parkhaus Post

My dive guide, buddy and driver was one of Holger’s regular instructors, Dr Adalbert Glaspr, though everyone referred to him by his nickname, Adi. He had plans to take me to a couple of the prime dive sites in the Uberlingen area of Lake Constance, and we started with Parkhaus Post, which rather uniquely began in the bottom of a multi-storey car park! There were only a couple of cars containing divers on our dive day, but Adi said that in the winter the whole place is jam-packed with divers and their kit. I have to say that gearing up into full drysuit and scuba equipment surrounded by shoppers walking to and from their vehicles certainly made things interesting!

From the car park, it is a few hundred metres walk to the entry point into the lake, which thoughtfully is a stone stairway built into the shoreline protection. There is even a handrail for keeping your stability going up and down. It is all very civilised.

Once in the water, you can descend to around 2m and make the short swim to the edge of the drop-off, and I do mean drop-off. Whether you turn left or right on entering, the topography is the same - a sheer wall punctuated by the odd mild overhang and crevices. We were down to 30m plus, and it was still going beneath us. Vis wasn’t fantastic, at only seven to eight metres, but we saw a couple of burbot and a nice pike lurking in the algae in the shallows. The main draw was the wall itself, which I can imagine on better-vis days is simply amazing.

Returning to the car park to de-kit, we got dressed in our normal clothes and went for a brief

The expansive Promarine dive shop

ROADTRIP TOP TIP!

Have your credit card - or plenty of Euros easily accessible for paying the motorway tolls. These can build up to a decent amount if you are covering long distances, so be aware if you are planning on paying in cash.

Card is the easiest way forward.

www.sportdiver.co.uk

“If I’d been impressed by the stone stairs at Parkhaus Post, then the sturdy metal ladder descending several metres to the water’s edge here totally blew me away” JULY 2014

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DIVE EUROPE

Germany A bloom affected the vis in the shallows

“I have to say that gearing up into full drysuit and scuba equipment surrounded by shoppers walking too and from their vehicles certainly made things interesting!”

The vis improved somewhat at depth

VW CALIFORNIA As far as wheels go for a diving roadtrip, you couldn’t get a better fit than a campervan. All your basic accommodation needs (beds, cooking facilities and a fridge) are incorporated into the vehicle, along with plenty of storage room for clothes, and then you have a shedload of room in the back for your dive kit. Throw in the fact that you then get an awesome view of the countries you are travelling through due to being high up in a van, and it is easy to see why so many divers opt for a camper. The California is the quintessential campervan, harking back to the good old days of the legendary, iconic VW combi-van, but bringing it bang up to date with nifty features like a powered roof, remote heating, cleverly stored chairs and table for outside use, and a foldaway awning for keeping the sun at bay. www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/california

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walk around Uberlingen itself. There is a scenic promenade lined with bars, cafes and restaurants, and tour boats dock right in front of this area. It would certainly provide ample entertainment for non-diving friends to wile away an hour or so while you went diving.

Leaving Uberlingen, we stopped for a quick drink through our surface interval at nearby Meersburg.

Again, this is a very pretty lakeside town, with a colourful main street lined with bars and eating establishments, all overseen by a typical Germanic castle.

Then it was back to the outskirts of Uberlingen for our second dive site, Campingplatz, which again began in a handily located car park. Not a multi-storey this time, but still well placed just a stone’s throw from the entrance point. And what an entrance point! If I’d been impressed by the stone stairs at Parkhaus Post, then the sturdy metal ladder descending several metres to the water’s edge here totally blew me away. I think it is pretty safe to say that Lake Constance divers are well taken care of!

Once we were safely down the ladder and had negotiated the slippery rocks into chest-deep water, we descended and headed over the edge of yet-another drop-off. However, this wall proved to be much-more-interesting, with deep overhangs and various nooks and crevices for exploring. Again, marine life was limited to a few more of the burbot, but the wall itself was dramatic enough to hold your attention. Vis was similar to Parkhaus Post, if not a little less.

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the destination of choice for diving

The Ocean Revival Underwater Park, unique in the world, consists of a fleet of Portuguese Navy ships. It is made up of four ships sunk three miles from Portim茫o as their last act of service to Portugal: the Oliveira e Carmo corvette (85 metres long), the Zambeze ocean patrol (45 metres long), the Almeida Carvalho hydrographic corvette (45 metres long) and the jewel in the crown, the Hermenegildo Capelo admiral frigate, which is more than 100 metres long.

Diving Packages: Contact Subnauta to find out about the packages that has been set up with the main hotels within a short distance of the diving centre in order to make your stay even more comfortable and at the most competitive prices.

ALGARVE, PO ORTUGAL

UK Contact Paul Hughes 0 1722 780810 E: info@hiddendepthsdivetours.com www.hiddendepthsdivetours.com

DIVE EUROPE

Germany The spectacular Basilica Birnau church

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

GERMANY HOW TO GET THERE I took the ferry across to Calais in France and then drove to southern Germany, but you can always fly if you don’t want to make the long-haul roadtrip - but that’s part of the fun!

The nearest airport is Friedrichshafen, which coincidentally was the home of the Zeppelin airships.

BEST TIME TO VISIT You can pretty much dive in Lake Constance all year round, though obviously the water temperatures can vary immensely depending on the time of year.

“You get an awesome view of the countries you are travelling through being high up in a van”

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS You just need a valid passport with six months left to expiry.

CURRENCY Euro (£1 = Euro 1.22).

WHERE TO EAT AND MEET While Holger and Monica can lay on a nice spread in the dive centre itself, the area around Lake Constance offers a wide variety of traditional restaurants where you can sample local delicacies and the odd tipple of the legendary beer.

VERDICT Lake Constance is a great location for divers and non-divers to make a combined trip.

There is plenty to do for those not going into the water to keep themselves occupied, and divers will find the lake itself an interesting place to add to their logbook.

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On our way back to Promarine, Adi stopped off at the picturesque Basilica Birnau church, which stands in a prominent position on a hillside overlooking Lake Constance. This is obviously a popular tourist spot as the car park was rammed with cars and coaches, but it is well worth a quick stop to admire the architecture.

We rounded out the night with a fabulous steak dinner and a few deco beers right in the dive centre itself (the spacious facility is a bit like a Tardis, with seemingly never-ending rooms, and one of them contains a large kitchen, which is often put to good use by Holger’s wife, Monica), accompanied variously by Holger trying to up his game on the indoor golf, or AC/DC on tour playing loud and proud on one of the other simulator machines! ■ Next month: Austria, and the ‘Caribbean of the Alps’, the Weissensee.

PROMARINE DIVE CENTRE

Promarine has been in existence for many years, and is headed up by owner and Course Director Holger Gohdes. A highly experienced diver and instructor who still has a visible passion for the sport, Holger is also a keen golfer, so next to the extensive, well-stocked dive shop and compressor room, you’ll find three digital indoor golf simulators - his secondary business running alongside the diving.

He conducts training in a local pool and in Lake Constance, but also regularly runs trips to the Red Sea and the Maldives, both with experienced divers and those just learning. He can offer courses from Open Water Diver right up to instructor-level certs, as well as DSAT technical courses, including sidemount. www.promarine.de

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■ PADI dive centre ■ The only dive center within the Lighthouse Reef Atoll ■ 2/3/6 day dive packages ■ Custom small groups of 8 ■ BSAC & dive clubs welcome ■ Larger groups catered ■ Fully inclusive: dive, stay, eat & play! ■ Your “liveashore”, with benefits!

■ PADI courses available.

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Belize

Lighthouse reef shines

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A cancelled trip to the T&Cs meant that Jeremy and Amanda Cuff ended up in Belize, but the last-minute change of plans delivered a luxury liveaboard trip littered with memorable moments Photographs by JEREMY AND AMANDA CUFF/WWW.JA-UNIVERSE.COM

B

elize had been on our ‘to do’ list for some time, almost making it to the top a couple of years back, but our recent trip came as a bit of a surprise, due to our planned Turks and Caicos Islands liveaboard being cancelled. Belize was offered to us as an alternative - and a fine alternative it turned out to be…

On our descent through angry-looking clouds towards Belize City, we could see large amounts of standing water in the rainforest clearings. There had been lots of rain in recent times. The squalls continued after our touchdown, giving us the chance to watch a classic tropical downpour from the shelter of the airport bus stop.

Lots of rain is a double-edged sword when it comes to diving. Rain causes run-off from the rivers and streams into the sea, which in turn can badly affect the visibility. Nowhere was this more evident than when we travelled from the airport on the hotel minibus alongside the swollen Belize River. The weather was most certainly our ‘hot

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topic’ as we mulled over whether or not it might affect our diving plans further out at Lighthouse and Turneffe Reefs, the areas of Belize’s best diving.

On the jetty just outside the Radisson Hotel, the Belize Aggressor (along with her sister vessel, the Dancer) was saying farewell to guests, while busily restocking and cleaning up to be ready for our departure the following afternoon. Here, close to the mouth of the river, the visibility was horrific, so we asked about the conditions further out where we were headed. It would be fine we were assured, much to our relief.

There had actually been some nasty weather systems lurching around the Caribbean during the days leading up to our arrival, which we’d first picked up on a couple of days previously while on our outbound stopover in Miami. We were relieved to hear that the worst of a large tropical storm had largely missed Belize and was heading north, though the side effects were still unsettling the weather somewhat.

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Belize

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JULY 2014

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Thatch Caye Resort hatch Caye Resort is a dive destination

T

No other dive resort can boast dives at all four of

Mayan ruins and the world famous Actun Tunichil

like no other in the world. The resort is

these locations in just one week.

Muknal (ATM) Caves.

South Water Caye Marine Reserve, 9 miles off

ocean kayaks and sail boats, guests can explore

cabanas which boast large wrap around decks

the coast. Guests enjoy easy access to diving

nearby Tobacco Caye where, most mornings,

and private hammocks. For a luxurious jungle

on the world’s second largest barrier reef with

manatees can be found feeding. In the afternoon,

setting with 360 degree ocean views and a

most sites less than 10 minutes from the dock.

a kayak out to Man-o-war bird sanctuary allows

rooftop deck, choose a spacious casita. As an

We are centrally located to offer regular dive

sightings of magnificent frigate birds in this

eco-friendly resort, Thatch Caye derives most of

trips to each of Belize’s three best known atoll’s

government protected nesting site. For those

its power from wind turbines and solar panels

- Turneffe, Lighthouse and Glover’s Reef. In the

who prefer something more energetic, island

- rooms are all fan cooled and are strategically

months of April through June, divers have the

hopping tours and fishing expeditions are easily

situated to make the most of the gentle island

opportunity to seek out the magical whale sharks

arranged. Our close proximity to the mainland

breeze. Gourmet meals are served at the island’s

which visit Gladden Spit, just south of the resort.

allows us to offer day trips including zip lining,

restaurant which is known as a must stop

situated on its own 12 acre island inside

With complimentary use of paddleboards,

For romance, choose the over the water

destination by sailors travelling through Belize.

For adventure travellers looking for an exclusive private getaway that provides access to the best of Belize’s unique diving, it would be hard - let’s make that impossible - to do better than Thatch Caye Resort.

Pay for 7 Nights and Stay 10 Thatch Caye Resort thrives in making every guest’s visit special by offering top notch accommodations, excellent diving, great food and personalised service.

Book any 7 night or longer diving package and we will throw in three extra nights for free. Your additional nights stay includes accommodation, meals and diving!

This offer is valid on any new booking in our 2014/2015 season (black-out periods may apply during Christmas and Spring Break).

Mention SPORTDIVER10 when making your reservation.

BOOK TODAY: toll-free: 1 800 435 3145 email: info@thatchcayebelize.com website: www.thatchcayebelize.com

DIVE WORLDWIDE

Belize Belize boasts some supremely healthy reefs

So, after a night onshore in Belize City at the conveniently located Radisson (don’t stay anywhere else if you’re liveaboard diving), we would board the Belize Aggressor to head out into slightly overcast and unsettled weather, though it would kindly improve as the week progressed. We considered ourselves fortunate - firstly, to be there at all after our Turks and Caicos cancellation, and secondly, that we’d avoided a potentially ‘trip-cancelling’ storm.

Though Belize is a small country, it actually boasts a lot of attractions for adventurous travellers, such as pristine tracts of jungle and well-preserved Mayan ruins. It also lays claim to a large barrier reef system, coming second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in terms of size, a fact that many people find surprising.

Our first impressions of the diving, at the Long Caye Wall site, was that it’s similar to the Cayman Islands, which made sense, as we weren’t actually that far from the Caymans as the crow flies. The visibility was okay, but certainly not as fabulous as we’d experienced in the Caymans two years previously, Lionfish

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Heading off in the tender

Inside the fabled Blue Hole

“On the first of the two dives, I made a beeline to the cave, which positively brimmed silversides”

where we’d experienced near-perfect conditions.

Fortunately though, it seemed to improve along with the weather as the week progressed.

Most dive sites are combinations of spectacular walls, slopes and drop-offs cut with swim-throughs, fissures and overhangs that are adorned with sponges (including the gigantic barrel variety), plus a multitude of corals, gorgonians and other assorted reef growth. This would be our underwater backdrop for the week.

On the reef tops at some sites, such as Half Moon Caye Wall and Lighthouse Wall, there’s a maze of overhangs, gulleys and ledges to explore, plus some interesting sandy expanses and seagrass beds which are home to garden eels, stingrays grubbing for molluscs, the occasional eagle ray, jawfish,

pipefish and possibly seahorses, though they are incredibly hard to spot, try as we might.

In the open water, especially along the reef edges, you can spot wary eagle rays along with reef sharks that were sometimes quite inquisitive, and there’s always a chance of turtles. Barracuda, tarpon, grouper and jacks can also be encountered with regularity, sometimes allowing a close approach from a patient diver. Fans of smaller things may also be rewarded with reef squid, octopus, flamingo tongues, moray eels (though some aren’t small!) and cleaner shrimp, sometimes in the act of cleaning an eel or a grouper.

I found Silver Caves to be a particularly interesting site, named after the silversides that frequent a cave in the reef, often num-

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DIVE WORLDWIDE

Belize Belize’s reefs are awash with colour

bering in their thousands. On the first of the two dives, I made a beeline to the cave, which positively brimmed silversides. There was a lot of activity going on, with tarpon and grouper everywhere, feeding on the bonanza. I immediately saw that it had great photographic potential.

On the first dive, things proved frustrating for the first 20-30 minutes as most of the other divers from the boat also went to check out the action, often kicking up sand in the cave entrance. Photographically, it was very difficult, so I decided to move away and wait until everyone had tired of the spectacle.

Once they’d all moved off along the wall, I spent some time having a look, checking out the cave and trying a few things, including working with my wife Amanda, who models for me when required.

During the surface interval, I had a look at what I’d captured and decided to go back and spend the whole of the second dive around the cave. Though I had a couple of nice images from the first dive, what I really wanted to capture was the feeding tarpon surrounded by silversides in the cave.

There were always several tarpon in the area, all going in and out of the cave to seize a snack before coming back out into the open. However, I soon worked out that if I waited inside the cave, among the mass of silversides, the tarpon wouldn’t enter,

Diver admiring a scorpionfish

so I needed a different approach.

With a change in tactics, I would wait outside the cave until a tarpon was ‘committed’ to going inside, whereby I would follow it in. On each attempt, I couldn’t see the tarpon through the wall of fish, so I had to be ready for it to suddenly appear as the silversides parted. I also worked out that I needed to switch on my strobe’s pilot light so that I could see what was going on, and to prevent my auto focus ‘searching’ in the gloom, and being unable to lock on to the subject.

With each tarpon encounter in the cave, I would probably get a chance for only one image in most instances, so it was a difficult and time-consuming shot to capture. On some attempts, the tarpon would escape from the cave without me seeing it at all.

That said, it was worth the effort, as I did get a couple of images along the lines of what I was hoping for.

The Blue Hole is Belize’s signature dive, known the world over from the spectacular aerial shots that often adorn tourism and dive travel brochures.

It was formed by the collapsed ceiling of a large underground cavern, resulting in the circular skylight that we see today.

Around the world, there’s several blue holes that

“The dive itself involves an exciting freefall down the sheer wall into the black, to a depth of around 40-45m, so it’s most certainly a dive to be taken seriously, and where the briefing must be strictly adhered to” 88

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Hawksbill turtle

can be dived, such as the ones in the Bahamas, but Belize’s version is reputedly the largest. It was visited by the intrepid Jacques Cousteau in the 1970s, who brought this fascinating place to the public’s awareness and ensured its subsequent ‘dive icon’ status.

Though liveaboards like the Belize Aggressor endeavour to include the site in each of their charters, it isn’t always possible to do the dive if the weather doesn’t allow, as it’s a tricky location for the boats to reach. We felt fortunate to have the opportunity after the unsettled weather at the start to the trip.

The dive itself involves an exciting freefall down the sheer wall into the black, to a depth of around 40-45m, so it’s most certainly a dive to be taken seriously, and where the briefing must be strictly adhered to. At around 35-40m, the first shelf of the original cavern begins, where large stalactites descend from the ceiling. Divers have just a few short minutes to explore

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NEW for 2014

GRENADA

The best of

Turks and Caicos Islands Scuba Diving

Photograph by Stuart Philpott

West Caicos • Pine Cay • Northwest Point • Grace Bay • French Cay

Tel: Island (001) 649 946 5040 or US (001) 954 351 9771 or email: diving@diveprovo.com www.diveprovo.com

DIVE WORLDWIDE

Belize

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...

Happy divers (and snorkellers)

BELIZE WHERE IS IT? Belize is located in the western Caribbean and is part of the Central American ‘mainland’.

HOW TO GET THERE To reach Belize, we travelled via Miami using a combination of British Airways and American Airlines. Other options could include flying to other ‘hub’ destinations in the region (such as Houston) and connecting to Belize from there.

WHEN TO VISIT The Belize Aggressor runs a year-round itinerary, although it can be subject to changes/cancellation in the event of adverse weather, especially in the storm/hurricane season.

LANGUAGE English is the official language.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Visas are not required for Belize by British citizens, but if you are travelling via the States, you will need to ensure you have a valid ESTA.

CURRENCY Belize Dollar. (£1 = BZD$3.35).

WHERE TO EAT AND MEET The Aggressor serves up delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, plus plenty of snacks, so you’ll never go hungry, and chilling on the sundeck with a frosty beverage is the perfect end to a diving day.

VERDICT Belize is a fantastic destination for all levels of diver, particularly those with an interest in photography, with prolific marine life, awesome walls and reefs, and some unique sites, such as the Blue Hole.

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this unique topography before heading back up the wall.

A single dive there doesn’t cut a photographer much slack, as you get to spend very little time at the most-interesting depth. As well as carefully watching depths and times, you must very quickly decide what settings you’ll need in order to best capture the vistas, and also try to make visual sense of the scrum of divers in what is a tightly packed dive group, unlike the reef dives where buddy pairs can do their own thing. It wasn’t easy to get it right.

To be honest, I wondered if the Blue Hole might be a bit of an anti-climax after all the hype that surrounds it, but no, this was an enjoyable and unique dive. We would thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for something different.

Night dives on Belize’s reefs also turned out to be very productive. My friend Simon, who joined us with his wife Tonya and son Thomas, really (and I mean really) wanted to see an octopus, so we set off most evenings in search of his holy grail.

On our first night dive we found plenty, including groups of squid, crabs and even a rare toadfish while increasingly bold tarpon, eyes orange in the strobe lights, cruised somewhat menacingly around us on the hunt for any unwary (or unlucky) fish revealed by our lights. But we hadn’t seen an octopus, even though other divers had.

Another night dive later in the week proved to be ‘the one’, as we eventually found an octopus. To Simon’s delight, this specimen wasn’t in a hurry to disappear into a hole, and instead treated us to an incredible display of colour change, contortion, that strange ‘slinky’ movement unique to octopuses, and the bizarre ‘tenting’ behaviour while we looked on.

At this stage, late into the dive, my strobe had

started to die after I’d spent a lot of time photographing some squid earlier, exhausting its power supply. As a result, I wasn’t able to get any images of the ‘best bits’ of the octopus display. Luckily, Megan (one of the crew) came to the rescue and filmed the performance as my strobe flashed on and off in the background. She later put some music to the footage and posted it on her website and YouTube!

Like our aforementioned Cayman trip, this charter was also one of the Aggressor Fleet’s ‘family weeks’, unique in that children of six years or older are welcomed onboard. The family week itinerary is based on the normal ‘grown ups’ trip, but with a few subtle tweaks to make it more ‘child-friendly’ both onboard and in the water.

For kids, it’s a great step towards becoming a diver. We watched Zac practice his giant-stride entry and dive with a SASY (Supplied Air Snorkelling for Youth) set-up, which is a self contained regulator and tank, but for surface swimming only. With this equipment, a child can breathe through a regulator like a diver, check air and view the reefs from above, but without the snorkel filling with water.

In Belize, he was in the company of three other children of the same age, and we can honestly say that we’ve rarely seen children so happy and ‘in their element’ - free of toy shops, shopping malls and TV, just kids being kids, having fun together, always happy and always smiling; it was a joy to behold.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the best of Belize’s diving. Our special thanks must go the Aggressor Fleet team, who at short notice were able to offer us a great alternative to our original plans. It all turned out well in the end, and we came away with some very fond memories. ■

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ASK THE EXPERTS

Wreck penetration

ASK^ŚŽƵůĚ LJŽƵ ĞǀĞƌ ĞŶƚĞƌ Ă ǁƌĞĐŬ THE EXP ERTS ǁŝƚŚŽƵƚ ƚƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ͍

Are purpose-sunk wrecks safe for basic penetration, or are they an accident waiting to happen? Eric Douglas poses the question to a bank of experts Photographs by MARK EVANS

E

very year, divers get in trouble when they venture under the ice or into caves unprepared for potential problems. In these situations, a dive can’t simply be aborted with a normal ascent to the surface. But what about shipwrecks? Is it really a problem to swim inside the pilothouse of a wreck to get a photo of yourself looking out through a porthole?

Well, it depends. There are some intentionally sunk artificial reefs that have been prepared for divers with no special equipment or training for basic penetration. There are others that went down in a more-traditional sense that are dark, dangerous and deadly.

NO, ALL WRECK DIVING REQUIRES TRAINING “I’ve taken thousands of people out to intentionally sunk shipwrecks, and thousands of them did penetrations of some of the above-deck passages.

Hundreds did advanced technical penetrations of major parts of the interiors. My skin crawled every time. With alarming frequency, out-of-air emergencies and narcosis-panic dense-air trouble occurs on these wreck dives. The number of near-misses is astonishing.

“Overhead environments should first be experienced while under the guidance of an instructor.

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Understanding recreational limits in places like wrecks should not be listed under ‘things I learned the hard way’. Buy the book. Read it. Pay the instructor. Only bad things happen quickly.” - Bob Bates, dive instructor and commercial boat captain

YES, BUT UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS “If you are competent and the wreck is intentionally sunk with openings everywhere, it is a safe endeavour. The Yukon in San Diego is a great example. On a good day, light penetration is perfectly safe, even for relatively new divers. You should do it with the utmost care and with (at a minimum) someone experienced in wreck diving, and that wreck in particular. There just aren’t that many fatalities in intentionally sunk wrecks, and there are thousands of divers in them without the card.” - Brian Netzel, Divemaster and technical diver “Beginner wrecks, where there’s direct access to the surface from some interior areas, I think that is fine. Missing deckplates and open cargo hatches make it reasonably easy to go inside the skin of the ship, though they still tell you not to go down into the cargo holds. Wreck penetration where there’s an overhead environment is an entirely different thing.

That most-definitely requires specialised training.”

– Eroc Hexdall, retired US Navy salvage diver who is now the clinical director of Duke Dive Medicine

CONCLUSION There are always degrees of risk with diving.

Divemaster Marie Sharp noted: “Any well-trained diver understands that every dive is a risk. With acceptable diving conditions, and with briefing and guidance by a certified, insured instructor, a wellcontrolled swim-through into a wreck designed for divers with two or more visible outside openings can be okay.”

Most dive leaders accept that penetrating a shipwreck set up to be penetrated is probably all right under good conditions. Venturing beyond those prepared areas, or assuming that experience in one artificial reef means you can penetrate any shipwreck, is a recipe for disaster.

Shipwrecks come with great mystery and excitement. They can draw divers to go just a little bit farther, or to look into one more room. It’s easy to become disorientated inside a ship that’s lying on its side, or to lose the way out when you stir up silt.

While accidents where divers get lost in shipwrecks are rare, they do happen. Divers can get in trouble when they attempt to push their limits without understanding what those limits are. ■

www.sportdiver.co.uk

ASK THE EXPERTS

Wreck penetration

Artificial reefs are playgrounds for divers...

...but they do still pose risks to those who enter them

“Missing deckplates and open cargo hatches make it reasonably easy to go inside the skin of the ship�

Good buoyancy is essential

For those who are new to wrecks, an instructor is of paramount importance

Deeper holds should only be accessed by those with the necessary experience

www.sportdiver.co.uk

JULY 2014

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DIVE UK Cornwall ScubaFest

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DIVE UK Cornwall ScubaFest The Bauer team hard at work

Venturing in for a shore dive

Dean from Apeks/Aqualung took third prize

“We were amazed at how many of the divers, who were now packed into the bar, had made the effort to get into the spirit of the ‘Computer Games’ fancy dress theme” Richard Corner from Mares going for a dive

D

ue to the fact that we had had two photo gigs up in Manchester on the Saturday morning, we didn’t arrive at Pentewan Sands for Cornwall ScubaFest until 7.30pm. Despite that, it was a great time to arrive; the campsite and caravan park were bursting with a riot of colours and smells, with dive flags and marine-life-based kites and wind socks flying from every pitch, and the unmistakable scent of barbecues heavy in the air. We could instantly see that the first day had been a success, with lots of divers attending the SITA-organised event. There were happy, smiling faces - a little bit red from perhaps a little too much sun - everywhere you looked. Of the 450 people or so who had turned up for the first ScubaFest of the year, many had been diving either from the shore, in the pool or on one of the several boats that were ferrying people to the dive sites in the area. Before we had even booked in, we got the feeling there was a real festival atmosphere.

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Having checked in, emptied the VW Caddy into the static caravan and put the cameras and housings together for the next day’s diving, we wandered down to the Seahorse Club for the evening’s entertainment. It was Saturday night and this means fancy dress and karaoke - and many people were taking it very seriously. There were Supermarios, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris, a Lara Croft and there were Sims everywhere. We were amazed at how many of the divers, who were now packed into the bar, had made the effort to get into the spirit of the ‘Computer Games’ fancy dress theme. There was a great atmosphere in the Seahorse; everyone had clearly had a lovely day and were looking forward to more diving on the Sunday. Later in the evening,

Simon Chance outside the PADI yurt

the karaoke started up, with some confident, if somewhat tuneless, performances fuelled by some Cornish beers!

The event is held at Pentewan Sands, near St Austell in Cornwall, and this is an ideal venue, with a boat launch, on-site pool, a huge bar/restaurant as well as a beach bar, takeaway food, supermarket and a wide range of camping and caravan options for those who come along. The ScubaFest village, or ‘Toy Town’, had been set up on a large field near the shore, with yurts housing a host of equipment manufacturers, clothing companies, dive holiday operators and training agencies. When you were not out diving, you could take a casual look at the latest equipment from Apeks,

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DIVE UK Cornwall ScubaFest Posing goby was among the marine life encountered

“By the end of the day, most faces were even redder than they were the day before from another glorious round of sunshine and wind burn” Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the fancy dress faves

Fourth Element, Prawno Apparel, Liquid Vision, Typhoon, Suunto, Atomic, Sea&Sea, Aqualung and Ocean Reef. PADI, BSAC and SSI were there to offer advice on training, and Oonas Divers, along with their in-house photographer Alex Tattersall, were there to tempt divers on trips overseas. The superfriendly team at Bauer Compressors were there to fill your tanks, offering this service from early in the morning until late at night so that no divers went

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without the air they needed for the next dive. They really did a great job!

Sunday brought much the same weather-wise.

The wind was coming in at a reasonable pace at an angle that was hardly conducive to diving.

However, this failed to put many people off. Local hard boats and RIBs shuttled divers throughout the weekend, with some offering four trips per day, so that no-one was disappointed. Mark from Atlantic Scuba kept running his RIB all day and, having shore-dived Mevagissey in the morning, we jumped onto the RIB Stingray and headed out to Curran’s Reef. Despite the not-insubstantial onshore wind, the vis was quite acceptable by UK standards; we had at least a metre and a half on the shore dive, and probably two out on Curran’s Reef.

The diving in the area can be suited to all levels of diver, which makes this area perfect for the event.

Our shore dive entailed just a few steps into the sheltered bay next to the harbour and it offered a series of shallow gullies that threw up a wealth of marine life. Anemones and seaweed hugged the rocky outcrops, with nudibranchs, tompot blennies, sticklebacks and wrasse all hiding among the flora. Our boat dive gave us a harder climb up and down the harbour stairs (all good for working off the food and drink of the weekend) down to where our RIB was waiting. As the wind had picked up a little, the ride out to the site was a little bumpy, but once under the water, it was well worth it, with pink seafans, spider crabs and cat sharks as some of the highlights of this colourful reef that was covered in dead man’s fingers. The dive ended somewhat humorously with blood everywhere; Nick cut his

finger before the dive and, having hastily donned his gloves, forgot all about it until he took them off at the end. Isn’t blood red when it is hyperoxygenated!

Back at Pentewan Sands, PADI offered rebreather and technical try-dives, SSI provided free-diving courses in the pool and workshops on technical configuration, and BSAC were also offering try-dives to the many children who attended over the weekend. This is a very family friendly event, with plenty for all the family to do each day.

By the end of the day, most faces were even redder than they were the day before from another glorious round of sunshine and wind burn. Everyone looked happy and the feedback from the sponsors and exhibitors was really positive. There had been good footfall and the BSAC Beach Nature Watch was a brilliant success with the younger people. I spoke to several attendees who had tried some of the kit that the exhibitors had brought along for people to try. It is always great to ‘try before you buy’ and I think several of the people who had tried the kit were off back to their local dive shop to buy their own.

The Sunday was finished off with the awards going to those that had entered the underwater photography splash-in competition. All the images were displayed and then Charlie Hood, who had judged the competition, handed out some great prizes, donated by the dive companies attending, to those that had been placed. The winning shot was

by Dave Peake, of a freediver posing in the sunny shallows. After that, a live band played until late.

Monday morning was a little quieter, with revellers getting a lie-in as the teams packed away. The wind had picked up overnight and so the boats were lifted out of the water, or safely moored in the harbour. We decided that we wanted to get in one last dive of the weekend, but decided to make it a detour dive on our way home, to see if the cuttlefish of Babbacombe were still in residence. Alas, the wind had taken its toll, and we would not have been able to see them, even though I am sure they were there. As if to finish off the weekend, and wave us on our long journey back north, a seal popped his head up, gave us a nod and sent us on our way up the steep climb out of the bay.

Now we are very much looking forward to the next ScubaFest event, which is going to be a great weekend in Anglesey on 16-17 August (go to: www. scubafest.co.uk to book your spot now). Many of the exhibitors will be returning, and several new ones too. The Northern Underwater Photography Group (NUPG) have thrown open their Summer Splash-In to all attending, and there are some great trophies for all categories, including compacts.

Everyone there will get the chance to be a judge by voting for their favourite images on the Saturday evening. Summer has finally started! ■

www.sportdiver.co.uk

ESSENTIAL ADVICE

DIVE LIKE A PRO

Is it safe to get in the water?

Martin Sampson urges divers to do a pre-dive check of the conditions at their chosen dive site before taking the plunge Photographs by MARTIN SAMPSON

M

an flu is frustrating at the best of times. Apart from feeling critically ill with symptoms worse than those of anthrax that girls never seem to understand, I can’t go diving. It’s even worse today because outside it’s actually warm in the sun and there’s not a breath of wind - the way UK weather has been behaving lately means that you just have to take advantage of calm weather when it arrives. It’s certain that the school holidays in July will mark the start of monsoon season…

Even quarries are not guaranteed to have consistent conditions, but at least you can access them all year round and the changes are a little more predictable. You can take a shrewd guess that the visibility might deteriorate in the summer as algae blooms in warmer water. Even then, in our local quarry, visibility is seldom less than about four metres. In the winter the visibility might be sparkling, but there’s the increased risk of cold water free flow when temperatures drop well below 10 degrees C. If you arrive at your inland dive site to find that you are the 150th diver that morning who wants to swim around the sunken boat, then you can always plan to be there on a Monday if it’s good pictures you’re after.

Sadly, in the sea we don’t have the luxury of saying that the visibility is always better on a Monday.

Occasionally though we get divers turning up at local dive sites, not only expecting conditions to be better than they are, but patently not checking them before throwing themselves in. Last year, this was a significant factor that led to the rescue of an exhausted, near-drowned diver on the beach at Porthdafarch, Anglesey. This isn’t restricted to the UK. In Gozo, Malta incidents sometimes take place on the razor-sharp rocks at popular sites such as

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Exiting the water on calm days is easy

Reqqa Point and the Blue Hole because although easy to access in a mild swell, the exit proves to be a nightmare. It’s easy to forget that when you have been neutrally buoyant for an hour it can be hard to quickly find your feet to exit the water with heavy kit on your back. On one occasion, a whole group of 12 divers couldn’t exit the water at Reqqa Point, requiring rescue by a local dive centre who just happened to have their RIB in Marsalforn Harbour about a mile away. I talked to Richard King, owner of Scuba Kings Dive School in Marsalforn, about this. “Most of the incidents that take place here involve independent, unguided groups,” he said.

Making use of a local guide means that you have access to someone who knows the area and appreciates the likelihood of conditions quickly changing.

It’s all very well staring meaningfully at a marginal sea state while thinking: “Yeah, I should be able

to cope with that”. Will you be able to cope in an hour’s time if it worsens?

Assessing the conditions before you commit divers to the water is part of the Approved Codes of Practice that the Health and Safety Executive produce in the UK. All professional diving projects have a dive plan and generic risk assessment that may have been produced in the comfort of an office. On the day, the dive plan is reassessed in the form of a Daily Risk Assessment that takes account of variables such as weather, ease of access and exit, etc.

As an amateur diver you are not required to produce a written daily risk assessment, however, just like a pre-dive buddy check, it’s hard to argue against the sense of doing one.

It’s not an onerous task as it rarely requires more than one sheet of A4 to run through a check list that could include:

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TOP TIPS

MARTIN SAMPSON PROFILE

A checklist helps to assess the conditions against divers’ capabilities

Martin is a PADI MSDT and BSAC National Instructor with 30 years of diving experience, much of it spent running Anglesey Divers, the only PADI five-star dive centre in North and mid-Wales.

Based in Holyhead, Martin runs Anglesey Divers with wife Caroline, who is also an instructor. Since 1989 they have taught hundreds of divers, specialising in small groups and individual tuition.

Anglesey Divers have received several teaching awards from PADI as a result of glowing customer testamonials.

Both Caroline and Martin are keen underwater photographers and they regularly run overseas dive trips with photographers and beginners in mind.

THE WEATHER FORECAST: Be aware that the weather may change sooner than predicted. The early arrival of clouds and a freshening breeze can give you a good clue and lead you to put ‘Plan B’ into action.

WIND STRENGTH AND DIRECTION: Winds ‘come from’, which is to say that a south westerly wind will blow onto a south westerly facing shore line. Described as an ‘onshore wind’, this could easily lead to a hazardous sea state for divers trying to enter or exit the water. A north easterly wind in the same bay would be an ‘offshore’ wind and more likely to produce calm conditions.

EASE OF ACCESS AND EXIT: When you look at a potential entry/exit point, try to imagine yourself in the water, stood on one leg trying to slip your fins off. Then try to imagine having to help someone else out as well. On a sandy beach in surf this might be a challenge, in among rocks it might be lethal.

OBSTRUCTIONS: Is there evidence of lobster pot buoys in the vicinity? If so there may be rope to contend with. Are you close to a pier or jetty or some other structure that you could unwittingly swim under or in to?

POLLUTION: Is there an unhealthy looking or smelling scum on the surface? Are you diving close to

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manmade structures such as occupied buildings (e.g. beach restaurants) or storm drains?

VISIBILITY: This is not impossible to assess from the surface. Seasonal plankton blooms (May/June in the UK) can be expected to reduce the visibility, as can heavy rainfall on some shore dives. I usually try to scramble up to higher ground and look down into the water. If the water looks murky, has sand and debris swirling in it, or even looks the same colour as coffee, I usually find another site.

CURRENTS/TIME OF SLACK WATER: This is where local knowledge is invaluable, but like the weather, it’s only a prediction. If diving at slack water (no current) is vital, always get to the site early.

SURFACE COVER: Agree a time and point of return and stick to it.

BOAT MOVEMENTS: Avoid slipways and reconsider using the site if it is particularly busy with boats.

Otherwise use surface marker buoys throughout the dive.

MOBILE PHONE RECEPTION: Also check out the nearest public phone in case your mobile fails.

Depending on the complexity of the dive you might add other points to this list, but this is a good place to start. ■

Before becoming a full-time instructor, Martin was a design engineer in the aerospace industry. He has put this experience to good use and become a highly regarded expert in dive equipment servicing.

His other instructor qualifications include PADI TecRec, Emergency First Response and RYA Advanced Powerboat.

Martin also puts a lot of time back into the local community, and is a navigator on the Holyhead all-weather RNLI lifeboat.

Tel: 01407 764545 Email: martin@diveanglesey.co.uk Web: www.diveanglesey.co.uk

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Monthly round-up of new product releases into the diving equipment marketplace

What’s New FOURTH ELEMENT CLOTHING (SRP: £24.95 | €30.65)

SCUBAPRO EVERFLEX STEAMER 3MM7MM (RRP: £229-£319 | €281.36-€391.94)

As you may have seen in the catalogue included with your issue of Sport Diver last month, Fourth Element have released a new range of men’s and women’s clothing, just in time for the summer of 2014. The men’s T-shirts are funky, and include a bold cave arrow, a diver made up of country passport stamps, and even manage to blend the adventurous and iconic image of a Land Rover Defender with the FE brand. www.fourthelement.com

SUBGEAR PRO ZIP BOOT (SRP: £49 | €60.20) The SubGear Pro Zip boot is a chunky, rugged wetsuit or semi-drysuit boot made from 6mm neoprene that features a special moulded ‘tennis shoe’ sole, zipper for easy donning and doffing, and a handy fin-retainer on the back of the heel.

Perfect for the rigours of UK diving or hitting the rough shores of, say, Malta and Gozo. www.subgear.com

Scubapro have completely revitalised their Everflex steamer range, and the suits - available in male and female versions - now boast an eye-catching new design and are built from 100 percent X-Foam neoprene.

All of them feature glideskin seals at the wrists, ankles and neck to minimize water transfer; the 7mm suits (£319) have double seals with zipper at the wrist and ankle, the 5mm (£249) a double seal with zipper at the ankle, and the 3mm (£229) a single seal at the wrist and ankle. The 3mm male version has a two-way front zipper. Abrasion-resistant yet stretchy material is used on exposed areas, there is a smooth-cut neckline, and there are seamless under-arm panels. www.scubapro.co.uk

What’s New DIVESANGHA CLOTHING (SRP: £40-£90 | €51.43-€117.44)

Divesangha is an exciting and bold new fashion, lifestyle and leisurewear clothing brand aimed at divers and dive enthusiasts around the globe. It provides comfortable, practical and fashionable surface wear for divers and dive enthusiasts to wear between dives, on holiday, at home or wherever you want to express your love for diving.

The designers wanted to make a connection between the equipment worn by divers and the Divesangha lifestyle clothes, so they came up with black, matt, rubbery textures together with quick-dry and waterrepellent material focusing on quality.

Divesangha clothes feature the unique ‘Hung Dry™’ system, which is currently being patented. Hung Dry™ is a simple system that allows clothes to be hung to dry or air on a rail or a line without the need for pegs and, more importantly, with no risk that the wind will blow them away. This is a problem faced by divers at sea, where it’s a struggle to keep clothes from becoming wet and damp.

The men’s range includes various T-shirt designs (SRP: £40) and basic shorts (SRP: £70), and the women’s range features T-shirts (SRP: £40), basic shorts (SRP: £70), wrap-around skirts (SRP: £70) and a basic dress (SRP: £90).

Divesangha products are exclusively designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom, and the company focus on producing limited-edition, quality, unique garments. Plus, all orders come with a free dry bag, and delivery within the UK is free. www.divesangha.com

Dive bags Aqualung T9 roller

Beaver Dive-Lite wheeled trolley bag

PR

PR £10ICE 5 Mark: The Aqualung bag follows the traditional design route, and has plenty of room for dive kit and clothing. It has backpack straps - if you really want them - along with a T-bar extending handle, rubberised wheels, a solid base, and numerous grab handles. The main compartment is gigantic, and can take a lot of kit. Very lightweight for its size.

Dave: This bag is deceptively light - you look at the size of it, and then when you pick it up you can’t believe how light it is. The top grab handle has what appears to be a piece of clear garden hose around it, but it should be durable. There is a further grab handle on the bottom, which is integral to the base. It is more than capable of taking a full set of dive kit and all your clothing.

Weight: 3.48kg

WE LIKE...

Weight, build quality, looks, price

Plenty of room for clothing

Rubber covers on zippers

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

£11ICE 5 Mark: The Dive-Lite does live up to its name, coming in a shade over 3.5kg, which isn’t bad for a bag of this design and shape. One thing we did notice that was different about the Beaver bag was the fact that the extending handle is on the outside of the bag. Now I can understand why this was done - it gives more room inside by not taking up any valuable storage space - but in doing so, it has become a bit of a snag hazard, particularly for any over-enthusiastic airport baggage handlers. It took all the dive kit, and had some room left over for clothes, but don’t get carried away with too many T-shirts!

Dave: First thing we discovered was that the Dive-Lite came with a couple of nifty accessories, a reg bag and a laptop bag. The Dive-Lite follows the basic dive-bag design - extending handle, free-rolling wheels, grab handles on the top and side, and two narrow pockets on the main compartment flap. There were also

WE LIKE...

Weight, build quality

two pockets on either side that looked like fin pockets, but didn’t extend all the way down the sides.

Weight: 3.68kg Room for travel gear

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Possible snag hazard with extending handle

Dive bags Mares Cruise Backpack Pro

ce O

ic n a

l o R

r le

PR

PR £16ICE

£11ICE 5

6

Mark: The Cruise Backpack Pro is the typical dive bag - large, rectangular shape with dual fin pockets, two zippered pockets on the main flap, multiple grab handles and a zip-away extending handle. It is nicely padded to keep your gear safe, and for such a large bag, surprisingly light. It also comes with a nifty little matching washbag. It had one of the largest capacities of the bags tested, taking all the dive kit and leaving plenty of room for clothing and other bits and bobs.

Dave: Very light for such a big bag.

The extending handle zips away and locks in place, and when it is up is a good height for taller people. There is a grab handle on the top, and one on the base (integral to the base support). It has rucksack straps – if you ever desired to use them – and is well padded in all the right places.

Good-looking bag to boot.

Weight: 4.64kg

WE LIKE...

Weight, build quality, looks, capacity

Huge storage space

Solid grab handles

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

Mark: The Roller 5 is a subtly styled dive bag, with neat zipper pulls, that follows the traditional square, dualfin-pocket design - and does it well.

There is no extending handle, but the grab handle on the top is more than sufficient. The main compartment easily took all of the dive kit and left acres of room for clothing. Like many bags of this style, it had hideaway rucksack straps, but really, who uses these?

Dave: Traditional dive bag design two fin pockets, two zipped pockets on the main flap, and multiple grab handles. This is quite a narrow bag, and there is no extending handle, but the top grab handle works fine, though it is a bit of a lean for a tall person. Plenty of room for dive kit and clothing, and not too heavy.

Weight: 4.36kg

WE LIKE...

Capacity, looks, build quality

Plenty of room for clothes

Detailed zippers

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

Dive bags Scubapro Porter Bag

Stahlsac Curacao Clipper

P

£16RICE 9.15

P

£13RICE 9.9 0 Mark: The Porter Bag is ingenious, and folds up to shopping-bag size when not in use as a dive bag. This makes it easy to store at home and, more importantly, when you are on your next liveaboard. Open it up and it becomes a more-traditional rectangular dive bag, complete with wheels. It is lightweight, and can take all your dive kit along with your clothes, though it wasn’t as spacious as some of the others.

Dave: Nifty fold-up bag makes storage a doddle. There are rucksack straps, grab handles on the top and side, and wheels on the bottom.

Very clever design. It won’t take up half your loft space when not in use.

Cavernous interior, but not quite as roomy as some of its rivals.

Weight: 3.5kg

WE LIKE...

Weight, build quality, looks, folding design

Folds up when not in use

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

Mark: I have long been a fan of Stahlsac bags, one for their robust build quality, and two for their lifetime warranty, which means you will have the luggage for a long, long time. My Stahlsac bag is still going strong 12 years on! The Curacao Clipper thankfully comes in black/blue and black/ grey, as I am not personally a fan of the black/yellow finish, and like its older siblings, has a surprising capacity, its compact lines hiding a design that is deceptively spacious.

Dave: Stahlsac means ‘steel bag’, and the build quality of the Clipper lives up to this name. It has a locking extending handle, solid base, and grab handles on the top and side, along with a combined base/handle.

There is a pocket down the back, and a selection of little mesh zipped pockets inside. Tardis-like, this took all the dive kit and still had room for clothing.

Weight: 3.9kg

WE LIKE...

Weight, build quality, looks, lifetime guarantee

Surprisingly spacious

Subtle branding

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

Dive bags Sub Gear XP Pack Duo

PR

£13ICE 9 Mark: The first thing you notice about this bag is its classy finish. The copper-coloured logo and matching wheels certainly make it look one step ahead of its competition.

It is very spacious, offering plenty of room for dive kit and clothing. It comes in at slightly over 5kg, but you do get a big bag to play with.

Certainly a few notches up from previous luggage from Sub Gear.

Dave: Nice-looking bag - not in your face, but subtle. The extending handle goes into a recess to tuck away.

There are grab handles on the top and side, and a combined rest/handle on the bottom. Two fin pockets, zipped pocket on flap, two internal zipped pockets on sides, zipper inside main flap, and a lot of room.

Weight: 5.02kg

WE LIKE...

Build quality, looks, capacity

Lots of storage space

Chunky grab handles

SPORT DIVER VERDICT Performance Comfort - N/A Looks Value for money

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

WE DON’T LIKE...

Nothing worth mentioning

All these bags would suffice for a week-long holiday where you need clothes for seven days and all your diving equipment. Some were heavier than others, and some had more room than their rivals, but they all fulfilled the criteria.

The Best Value was a tough one. The Beaver and the IST bags were well priced, but the Aqualung T9 roller was an absolute steal at £105, and it was a good-sized bag to boot, easily taking all the dive kit and leaving room for clothes.

When it came to the Choice award, there were several bags in the running – the Scubapro Porter Bag for its neat design, the Mares Cruise Backpack Pro for its vast capacity, and the Stahlsac Curacao Clipper for its lifetime warranty, but in the end, the Beuchat Voyager XL, with its classy design, deceptively spacious capacity and keen price, took the top slot.

Each issue, members of the Sport Diver Test Team report on a range of diving equipment being put through its paces on a six-month cycle of diving

Long-term test Exposure Sub M3

Atomic Aquatic BladeFins Atomic Aquatics has introduced a new fin design to expand its line of premier scuba diving equipment BladeFins.

BladeFins are designed as a ‘paddle’ fin concept popular with divers who prefer a powerful swimming style to sprint through the water in the most-demanding conditions.

Atomic BladeFins differ significantly from conventional paddle fin designs by uniquely combining two frame structures that work in tandem to maximize kicking power. A ‘Power-Loop Monocoque’ engineering structure is paired with a specially-designed ‘Frame Rail’ design INFORMATION to give divers more power and thrust Date acquired May 2014 to move efficiently through the water.

Mark Evans, www.atomicaquatics.com

Suggested retail price Number of dives Time in water

Don’t just get in the water and expect to be able to use this light, practice with it on the surface. The on/off switch is replaced by a little internal gizmo that means you turn it on/off and increase/decrease the light level by moving it in circles. Tapping it means you can turn it into a strobe or SOS mode. Good things really do come INFORMATION in small packages, oh and it is made in Date acquired Britain.

Suggested retail price Dave Hope, www.use1.com/exposure- Number of dives marine/diving-lights.com Time in water

April 2014 £374.99 2 2hrs 5mins

£118.25 0 0hrs 0mins

Fourth Element Argonaut Kevlar The Argonaut Kevlar accompanied me on my European roadtrip and was well-received by my fellow divers, who were impressed with the look and feel of the suit. I was happy to have it with me, especially in some of the lakes where the temperatures were down to 6-7 degrees C! The dives in Germany and Italy, in particular, involved walking a bit to the dive sites, and so I was pleased that the Argonaut comes with comfort inserts that make the boots feel more like a pair of walking boots than something attached to a drysuit.

Mark Evans, www.fourthelement.com

Sherwood SR2

INFORMATION Date acquired December 2013 Suggested retail price £1,699 Number of dives 27 Time in water 25hr 35mins

The SR1 was a bit of a revelation and the SR2 is an evolution of it, similar styling on both first and second stage. The breathe is smooth (although I was not able to notice that much difference when using the flow adjuster) and the purge is easy to use - some manufacturers out there could learn from it. Diving into current and increasing the demands on the reg, this little gem supplied me with all the air flow I could want in a smooth breathe. The exhaust is very good, moving about underwater, all the bubbles pass you by, even when stationary in a vertical position very few bubbles obscure your vision. This is a very good reg that deserves your consideration if you are in the market for a INFORMATION new one- a fine reg at a good price.

Date acquired January 2014 Dave Hope, www.sherwood.com

Suggested retail price Number of dives Time in water

£439 11 10hrs 0mins

Long-term test O’Three Port 10 The Port 10 has been a faithful companion through the last few months of training dives and recreational dives when I didn’t have my instructor hat on. It has been comfortable, kept me warm and, just as importantly, it looks a smart suit as well.

But all drysuits are reliant on component parts, and O’Three have gone down the tried-and-tested route and stuck with Apeks inflation valves and shoulder dump valves. These tough, durable units have performed faultlessly, and are easy to operate even with the thickest drygloves on. I also like the swivel on the inflator, as this makes it a doddle to attach the drysuit whip before the dive.

Hollis M3 The Hollis also went to Europe with me and was dived in Germany, Austria, Italy and France, and it was absolutely spot-on every single time. No faffing to ensure a good fit and eliminate leaks, just pop it on my face and away I go. The fairly stiff silicone just sucks on to your face and is immensely comfortable, and the lens shape gives a good field of vision, particularly INFORMATION downward and to the sides. Plus, it looks Date acquired March 2014 good as well, especially in this clear-andSuggested retail price £69 black configuration.

Mark Evans, www.hollis.com

Number of dives Time in water

Paul Cushing, www.o’three.co.uk

INFORMATION Date acquired November 2013 Suggested retail price £595 Number of dives 35 Time in water 33hrs 30mins

18 16hrs 55mins

Zeagle Ranger Scubapro Chromis I have to deal with this bit first and get it out of the way, its orange! Not only is it orange on the surface it looks even more orange in the water (not a big fan of orange computers me). The strap is quite short, okay on your wrist just about okay on a thin suit but you will need the extender for anything more.

Can cope with 21-100% nitrox mixes INFORMATION and depths to 120m.

Dave Hope, www.scubapro.co.uk

Date acquired Suggested retail price Number of dives Time in water

January 2014 £339 10 9hrs 50mins

The Ranger has proved to be a useful addition to the Long Term Test stable, and has been well dived in the UK and abroad. It is robustly constructed and built to last, and has some neat features, including the ability to easily and quickly adjust the size of the cummerbund so that it fits snugly whether you are in a drysuit or a 3mm wetsuit.

Yes, at £501 it is towards the top-end in price brackets for BCDs, but you get a unit that will give you years of service. The rip-cord system lets you dump the weights in an emergency very quickly, INFORMATION but we are still not convinced by the Date acquired October 2013 zipper set-up for everyday loading Suggested retail price £501 and unloading of the weights.

Number of dives 45 Mark Evans, Time in water 39hrs 50mins www.zeagle.com

Tales from the tank

By MATT MARTIN, DIVE OFFICER, BLUE PLANET AQUARIUM

I

have been interested in sharks for years, so it’s great to work with them, and take members of the public into the tank to meet them too.

My team mostly comprises of a new batch of recruits taken onboard over the last year - keen, able and passionate about diving and sharks, but more about them in future editions of this column.

Blue Planet Aquarium houses Europe’s largest collection of sharks, including six sand tiger sharks, one lemon, two guitarfish, loads of bamboo sharks, a whitetip and a blacktip, not to mention Dotty our zebra shark. We feed daily our family of southern stingrays and cow nose rays, alongside hundreds of other displays featuring thousands of animals from around the world.

My aim as Dive Officer here at BPA is to get as many certified and new divers in the water with our sharks, hang out with them and be blown away by their ‘jawsome’ (see what I did there?) majesty.

If you want to come and dive with us here, Blue Planet Aquarium is situated near Chester off Junction 10 of the M56.

A typical shark divers’ day is split into different elements, including handfeeding and pole-feeding sharks and other species, food prep, paperwork, maintenance on exhibits cleaning, teaching and media dives.

PADI Courses offered include, at present, DSD Shark Encounter, Shark Dive, Shark Awareness, Junior Shark Encounter and disabled diving instruction. ■

CONTACT INFORMATION Blue Planet Aquarium, Longlooms Road, Cheshire Oaks, Cheshire, CH65 9LF Phone: 0151 357 8804 Email: info@blueplanetaquarium.co.uk Web: www.blueplanetaquarium.co.uk

DEDICATED TO ALL THINGS PHOTOGRAPHIC

MARINE LIFE

BEHAVIOUR

Part two: Predation Capturing shots of feeding activities

IN THE SHALLOWS

Martin Edge shows you don’t need to go deep

+ READER’S PHOTO OF THE MONTH www.sportdiver.co.uk

JULY 2014

Sport Diver

117

Get more from your UW Photography Hermit crab tucks into a free lunch

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Lizardfish midmeal

Porcelain crab feeding

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Dr Richard Smith turns his attention to feeding time, explaining how predation can offer the photographer a prime opportunity to capture stunning images Photographs by DR RICHARD SMITH (WWW.OCEANREALMIMAGES.COM)

W

hile some behaviours occur relatively predictably, such as cleaner wrasse cleaning their clients, others require slightly more planning to photograph or observe. Predation is one such behaviour, the photography of which, at first glance, might appear to be based purely on luck alone. In reality, a little planning and getting to know your subject can certainly put you in the right place at the right time and help you get the shots you want. Images of predation and feeding can be some of the mostdramatic behavioural images, so taking the time to hone your craft and capture some of these images is well worth the extra effort.

FAVOURITE FOODS A good place to start when photographing feeding is knowing what your quarry likes to eat. Nudibranchs are often quite specific about their food preferences. Learning what these preferences might be can result in some nice predation and feeding images. As it happens, some nudibranchs considered to be very rare are, in fact, quite common if you know their food source. The miniature, but stunning, nudibranch Costasiella usagi feeds on the lollipop-like alga Avrainvillea. Once I realised this, I found the nudibranch snacking on almost every one of these algae that I came across.

Another, more-extreme example of the tight links

between nudibranchs and their food source is demonstrated by the southern Australian slug Hallaxa michaeli. This almost-transparent nudibranch feeds exclusively on one species of sponge, Halisarca laxus, which in turn only grows on the surface of one type of large stalked sea squirt, Pyura.

SCAVENGERS Certain animals make our lives easier by feeding on the dead and decaying flesh of others, making them more predicable to find and photograph. This might sound disgusting, but their role is very important in the cycling of nutrients in marine systems. Crustaceans are particu-

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ETHICAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Herding dinner

Whether your aim is to capture amazing shots of underwater behaviour or simply to shoot a few nice shots to share with friends, we should always aspire to taking shots without disturbing or damaging any marine life. Sometimes, underwater photography can become so task-orientated that it’s easy to forget about fins or dangling gauges, which go on to damage corals or other slow-growing marine life. Countless studies, including my own on diver interactions with pygmy seahorses, have shown that even small breakages do have a cumulative deleterious effect on a reef, affecting biodiversity and health. Sadly, photographers are some of the worst offenders, so please take the utmost care while shooting for the sake of the marine life we all love. larly content to feed on this type of food and will more than likely continue to do so while being photographed. Carrion isn’t always easy for them to come across and they will be reluctant to give up a good meal. An excellent place to find the carrion that these animals like to snack on is beneath jetties. Fishermen often dispose of their discards by throwing them off jetties and scavengers will likely be abundant. The presence of fat moray eels is a good indicator that you’re in the right place.

AMBUSH PREDATORS Actively pursuing prey is a tiresome activity. Even remaining neutrally buoyant in the water requires bony fish to use a special organ, called a swim bladder, which acts much like our own BCDs. Some fish, however, have decided this is altogether too tiresome and simply remain negatively buoyant on

the seafloor, waiting for their prey to come to them.

Many of these fish have lost their swim bladder altogether and are lumbering, awkward swimmers, preferring to ‘walk’ along the bottom to a better hunting position. Frogfish are a good example of such ambush predators. They have a lure, or esca, at the tip of a rod that they cast out in front of the mouth to attract hapless fish. The lure mimics the prey of the animals they are attempting to attract, some resembling fleshy worms and others transparent shrimp. When an inquisitive fish approaches to investigate the wiggling morsel, the frogfish opens its huge mouth in a flash, creating a vacuum, which draws the prey inside.

Another fish that uses a lure of sorts to attract its prey is, surprisingly, the stargazer. These nocturnal fish bury themselves in the sand, with only their mouth and eyes protruding. They have a bold

TECHNIQUES: WHEN TO SHOOT An appreciation of when to shoot will significantly increase your hit rate with behavioural photography. Certain times of day, such as late afternoon into early evening, are particularly fruitful especially for hunting octopus and other cephalopods. Equally important, however, is knowing at what point to actually start taking shots if you come across a situation where you can photograph feeding in action. In this case it is very important not to startle or disturb the subject.

While the animal will be reluctant to give up a hard-earned meal, if it feels threatened then giving up its prey is better than succumbing to a perceived mortal threat. A very slow approach, as low to the ground as possible and without flailing arms, is very important. Reading the reaction of the subject is also important. If it flinches or starts to back away, then stop for a few minutes before beginning to inch closer again. On other occasions, when the action is furious, there isn’t always time for a slow approach. Being able to read the situation takes time, but always be as empathetic to the animal as you can.

strategy of using the tip of their tongue, which they wiggle and that resembles a worm, to attract their prey. I have seen this behaviour on a couple of occasions, and it is always necessary to be quick with your photography to catch the tongue before it’s whisked safely back into the mouth. On one occasion in Lembeh Strait, I saw a stargazer that was using its entire tongue and a mass of glandular tissue to attract its prey. I have no idea what prey it was hoping to draw in, but it made an interesting image nonetheless.

Some other fishes are slightly more active in their pursuit of prey. Dragonets have modified pectoral fins that they use to rummage through the substrate in search of small invertebrates. There is also a rare and interesting nocturnal species, the longfin waspfish, which swims with its large pectoral fins open wide to startle small organisms hiding in the sand below. The fish has sensitive barbels beneath the chin that detect any minute movements in the water, enabling it to capture its prey as it attempts to flee.

ACTIVE HUNTERS To get a nice hunting or feeding shot there are certain species that seem to be insatiable and voracious feeders, making them worth stalking or watching for out of the corner of your eye. Lizardfish are very common predators of small fishes in many parts of the world. They sit and wait on the sand or rocks and select their prey before darting up and impaling them in a mouth full of needle-like teeth. A study found that

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Flamboyant cuttlefish

Net-feeding wunderpus

Turtle coralcrunching

they make an attack on average every half an hour, with one in ten attacks resulting in a meal. They are, however, a very common fish, so the chances of coming across a strike are more likely than you might think. Half the battle with behavioural photography is being aware of what you’re looking for and at.

The flamboyant cuttlefish is another glutton, which at the right time of day is worth dedicating some time to follow. Like many cephalopods (the group made up of cuttlefish, squid and octopus), the flamboyant is most active in the late afternoon and early evening. Any active cephalopod is worth following at this time of day, as feeding is likely to be its top priority. Flamboyants are easy to stalk, compared to other members of the family, due to their habit of walking along the bottom rather than swimming. If you give them space, they are confident enough in their camouflage and toxic flesh to continue hunting as you watch on. They have a pair of modified tentacles dedicated to feeding, which are as quick as a bullet and are used to catch small shrimp and fish. There are a few seconds when the feeding tentacles are exposed when you can capture an image, but they by no means catch prey on every attempt.

Photographing feeding and predation is a challenging but very rewarding project. Learning more about your subjects helps a great deal in capturing unique and memorable images. As with all photography, there is also an element of luck, but being prepared and having a considered approach will help you get the shots you want. ■

BIOGRAPHY INTERMEDIATE PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE: FILTER FEEDERS Filter feeders provide a great opportunity to capture behaviour, without having to spend too long hunting for the subject. There is a range of difficulty levels, from the easy and ubiquitous Christmas tree worms and feather duster worms, which are even easy to find in British waters, to filter-feeding crustaceans.

There are several crustaceans that filter feed, which make interesting photographic subjects.

Sharing hard corals with Christmas tree worms are coral hermit crabs. They maintain a hole in a coral, so are unable to leave this hole for fear of losing it to another animal. They are fulltime residents of these holes, so simply use modified appendages to feed on passing plankton. Since they aren’t going anywhere, there is ample opportunity to fiddle with settings and get a nice arty shot, ideally with some pleasingly negative space.

A slightly harder challenge is photographing filter-feeding porcelain crabs in their anemone home. Again, like hermits, they use modified arms to filter food particles from the water; however, unlike the hermits, porcelain crabs are much more skittish and a clumsy approach will send them scurrying for shelter in the anemone. A nice shot to aim for catches some light on the filter-feeding arms, which glisten slightly in the light as it strikes their delicate form.

Richard Smith is a British marine biologist and photojournalist who aims to inspire a passion for the ocean and raise awareness of marine conservation issues through his images. He has been diving since 1996, which began his fascination with the sea. In 2011, he completed a PhD in the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses. Richard leads marine life expeditions where the aim is for participants to get more from their diving and photography by learning about the marine environment. www.OceanRealmImages.com

FOCUS ON…

Keldan Lights

Coelocanth SHINING A LIGHT ON THE PAST

An expedition tasked with photographing one of the most mysterious, deep-dwelling fish in the ocean discusses the importance of using the right lights Photographs by LAURENT BALLESTA

F

ew marine species have gained such international attention as when a single coelacanth was accidentally caught in a net in 1938 off southern Africa. Until that time the species was assumed extinct for millions of years and so began a mysterious riddle that is still being unraveled today.

The Gombessa Expedition was tasked with expanding that knowledge and capturing images and video of this ancient creature in its own environment - at depths from 100-60m. Laurent Ballesta and Gil Kebali took on a challenge that would place enormous demands on divers, their equipment and their collective imaging skills.

Laurent describes the approach: “I wanted to use the natural light to create this atmosphere characteristic of a deep ecosystem, where there is normally very little light. But it was essential to add artificial light to restore color to this incredibly

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unique fish. For me, the clear choice was Keldan lights. They are compact, self-contained and, importantly, very simple to operate during a dive that entails a lot of complexity!”

The Coelacanth is unique in the marine world and only a handful of humans have ever seen this living fossil alive - the Gombessa Expedition sought to change that. To capture the natural subtle-blue shading of the scales and eyes that are described as “glowing” requires the most natural spectrum achievable in a submersible light. Fortunately Laurent discovered the right tool for the job: “I don’t know how they do it, but in every case, the Keldan LED light excelled with a color temperature that is truly neutral, really clean, with all colours being restored properly. The simple variable power control was critical at depth, where balancing exposure requires very subtle lighting output. The Keldans were easily up to the task and provided

extraordinary diffusion of the light. This is especially important with moving animals. I do not need a light intensity which is fine at a three metre distance but doesn’t work well when approaching close to the subject. When using the Keldans, the transition is smooth and almost unnoticeable.”

While the extensive product line of Keldan Lights are designed for demanding video applications first and foremost, Laurent discovered they were equally competent as still photography lights at depth.

“Past a certain depth, I no longer relied on my flash.

Because the Keldan lights have this very uniform distribution, this neutrality and perfect colour, I was thrilled that I could just use the Keldans for my photos.

“Small form factor, brilliant colour rendering, and rugged reliability to 200m - this is why I relied on Keldan lights for both the video and still photography.” ■

www.sportdiver.co.uk

FOCUS ON...

Keldan Lights

LUNA 8 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (86W FLUX MODULE)

Five power levels: 21 Luminous flux of LED Arra - 86 watts y: 2500 Available luminous flux w/9 - 9000 lumen 0 deg reflector: 2000 - 7500 lum ree en Colour temperature (CCT): 500 Colour rendering index: 75 0 kelvin Battery (Li-Ion): 14.8V / 6.2ACRI (Ra) h (88W Burn time: 55 - 210 minutes h) Charge time: 3 - 4 hours Diameter /Length: 12cm / 29c Weight w/90 degree reflectom r (in water): 1.1kg (0.14kg) Maximum depth: 200m

VIDEO LIGHT LUNA 4 FLUX TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Five power levels: 14 - 55 watt lumen Luminous flux of LED Array: 1800 - 6000 - 5500 lumen Luminous flux measured at window: 1600 la Luminous intensity: 1000 - 3300 cande Colour temperature (CCT): 5000 kelvin Colour rendering index: 75 CRI (Ra) Beam angle: 100 degrees Battery (Li-Ion): 14.4V / 3.1Ah (44 Wh) Burn time: 45 - 180 minutes Charge time: 4 - 5 hours Diameter /Length: 7.2cm / 16cm Weight (in water): 0.7kg (0.22kg) Maximum depth: 200m

www.sportdiver.co.uk

JULY 2014

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HOW THAT SHOT WAS TAKEN Expert advice from respected underwater photographer Martin Edge

PHOTO

WORKSHOP

POPULAR OPPORTUNITIES: IN THE SHALLOWS Martin Edge continues his ‘popular opportunities’ series with a look at capturing photos in less than a metre of water Photographs by MARTIN EDGE

I

’ve received a number of emails over the last few months and it would appear that you like the idea of viewing the number of frames I shoot in order to achieve ‘the one that worked’. With this in mind I’ll try to use ‘screen grabs’ in future to illustrate the opportunity.

Last month I presented to the Northern Underwater Photography Group in Manchester and a discussion ensued concerning underwater photographic subjects. In my opinion there is little doubt that the majority of shooters consider a photo subject to be something one could name. For example, a fish, a diver, a wreck etc. For some of you, a subject may be something that you would make a note of in your logbook of having seen during your dive.

Part of my talk was to dispel this myth and look at the less obvious. There is little doubt in my mind that we swim over numerous potential opportunities, oblivious to the fact that they could make an appealing image. Usually these opportunities are so familiar to us that we seldom give them a second thought. I think this is why they are often ignored.

My presentation to the group was photo opportunities found in less than 1m of water - typical opportunities, so often overlooked, unseen, and disregarded.

My example this month relates to subjects above

the waterline. There are so many opportunities to be found by shooting topside subjects located directly above you, through the surface. In Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, there is a dive site called Batu Angus. It’s one of my favourite photo dive sites throughout Indonesia. It’s directly adjacent to the shore and the shallow inlet is bordered by trees, rocks and mangroves.

ANGLE OF VIEW, COMPOSITION AND SETTINGS Before I entered the water I was aware of trees and other foliage directly above the water line.

Equipped with a wide angle 10mm- 17mm Tokina lens I entered the water with the intention of exploring these topside subjects shot through the surface. I’d already spotted, a sparse tree growing from a rock just above the surface. In these circumstances it’s essential that you compose carefully through the viewfinder. By shooting upwards, through the surface with a 10mm lens you will notice the effects of ‘Snells Window’, the circular ark.

I worked this particular tree, adjusting my depth between 1-2m, moving around the tree, popping my head above water to check the position of the sun in the sky, which on this occasion was directly behind the subject. Shooting in less than a metre of water the effect of the sun in the sky was so bright

that I had to use a shutter speed of 1/1000th to prevent overexposure. My aperture was f16 at 200 ISO. I used natural light and had my Inon flashguns turned off. Once I had tested my exposure settings, I concentrated on the following: • Holding my breath to reduce my air bubbles on the under-surface above • Positioning my housing parallel to the surface • Composition of the tree together with the symmetry and balance of the tree within the frame.

SCREEN SHOT OF IMAGES TAKEN Notice the six examples shown. At top left, my first option was to shoot the tree in a landscape/ horizontal format. This didn’t work at all so I rotated my housing shown in top middle. Notice how top middle is unbalanced in the frame particularly the circle of Snells window. Top right was my best attempt and I rated this image 4 star in Lightroom 4.

The three frames below are an alternative idea with surface interest in the bottom half of the frame.

This was ok but left no room in the picture frame to include the tree so I moved on. I achieved this month’s image in only three frames, which for me was very good news as it usually takes me longer

MARTIN EDGE FIG 2 - THE RESULT

PROFILE Martin Edge was born in Staffordshire, England in 1955, where he grew up without any inclination towards diving or photography.

Years later, he moved to the Dorset coastline and in 1977 it was here that he learnt to dive.

He had never had any particular interest or tuition in photography, but his desire to shoot pictures underwater grew into a passion bordering on an obsession. Over the last 20 years he has introduced, developed, motivated and mentored hundreds of underwater photographers.

FIG 1 - SCREEN SHOT FROM MY LIGHTROOM 4 CATALOGUE

SIGNED

BY THE AUTHOR! The fourth edition of Martin’s book, The Underwater Photographer, is now available.

For a signed copy, phone 01202 887611 or email martin@edgeunderwaterphotography.com

NEED GIFT IDEAS?

to capture what I envisage in my mind’s eye. I swam over to the shadows of a large rock and in reduced light I checked the image in my camera’s LCD to see if I had captured the opportunity to my satisfaction.

I zoomed in and checked for sharpness, exposure and composition. I could have returned and taken

more frames but I considered the shot was ‘in the bag’ and there was little I could do to improve on the opportunity.

I used a Nikon D7000 in a Nauticam housing with a Tokina 10mm-17mm lens set to the 10mm end. F16 at 1/1000th sec, ISO 200. No flash. ■

Treat someone to a Photo Course with Martin. Martin runs one-day photo tuition courses designed for one, two or three persons.

He promises to improve your photo skills by at least five years.

Group bookings at discounted rates are available. Go to www.edgeunderwaterphotography.com for details or email Martin direct on martin@edgeunderwaterphotography.com

Book launch NEW BOOK TARGETS ALL LEVELS

Grand Cayman’s Kittiwake

International-award-winning underwater photographer and author Paul Colley will launch his next book, Winning Images with Any Underwater Camera: The Essential Guide to Creating Engaging Photos, at 6:30pm on Wednesday 11 June at Ocean Leisure Cameras in London.

Alex Mustard will open proceedings with his thoughts about the book, for which he wrote the foreword, judging that it will ‘...arm and inspire you to transform your underwater photographs, whatever camera you use’.

Paul parachuted into the underwater photography scene a few years ago and took the competition circuit by storm, winning international and national gold medals, plus dozens of other awards. He now writes a regular column for a US dive magazine about compact cameras, and is widely published in the UK and international dive press.

One of few professional cameramen to concurrently use and teach both compact and SLR cameras, his philosophy is that technology only gets you so far. At a time when people are producing myriad good images with some outstanding cameras, he argues that a deeper knowledge of composition will help define who produces the winning images.

Frustrated by a lack of information, he researched the subject in depth and within two years produced his book.

He believes that the best underwater images don’t just capture the subject well; they also capture

Thistlegorm motorbike

Author Paul Colley

mood, emotion and atmosphere. So unlike most other underwater photography books, Winning Images with Any Underwater Camera focuses on composition and techniques, rather than the often all-consuming camera technology. It makes it a supremely cost-effective tool for improving your images and there is no discrimination between different camera system users; this truly is a book for all. Paul reveals the vital bits of artistic theory,

grappling with composition in depth. He also provides easy-to-remember reference models for underwater composition: pre-planned concepts for 12 typical underwater scenes, with the principal considerations boiled down to those essentials that will help you achieve great results, time and again.

And some incredibly helpful post-production tips.

Paul generously extends an open invitation to the launch, so drop by to enjoy a drink and light bite on 11 June, when you will meet some of the UK’s top underwater photographers and have an opportunity to buy a copy of this important new book, which Paul would be delighted to sign for you.

Ocean Leisure Cameras is next to Embankment tube station. To see more about Paul, visit: www.mpcolley.com ■

Want to see your image here?

Upload your photographs now to the Sport Diver website!

Want to be in with a chance of winning a GoPro Hero 3 White Edition? It’s easy simply select your favourite underwater images and upload them to the Gallery section of the Sport Diver website. Each month, we will choose the best, most-eyecatching image as the Photo of the Month.

But to be in with a chance of winning, your images have to be in the Gallery, so don’t sit back and think ‘I wouldn’t win that’, get your images on the website - after all, as with any competition, you have to be in it, to win it!

COMPETITION WWW.JOHNHOPEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

COULD YOU BE CROWNED A WINNER? The UK’s biggest magazine for the professional photography market is running its annual photo competition and is calling for your entries PRIME LENSES CATEGORY JOHN HOPE’S ALTERNATIVE SUNSET “I love the deliberate crop, removing part of the faces stops the viewer from looking at them as individuals and presents the couple purely as husband

ompetition season is in full swing and Professional Photographer magazine is on the look out for their 2014 winners. With 14 single categories to enter ranging from black and white to weddings, medium format and street there’s room for all kinds of inspiring photography to make our judges go “wow!” On top of that there is a Portfolio of Three category, the only category you can enter three images, and of course there is the crowning glory of winning the title of the 2014 Professional Photographer of the Year. With entries coming in thick and fast, a

and wife. The minimalist composition, which is carved out by the setting sun, reinforces this too.”

handful of our prestigious judges have taken a look at the submissions so far from the 15 categories and have picked a few favourites – look, read and learn. The

Judge: Mike Deere, Overall Winner of the PPOTY 2013 competition

competition will be closing on 31 August 2014 and the winners will be announced at an awards night, held in Cheltenham, in early November 2014. To enter, visit www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/PPOTY2014

Chaudigital CATEGORY – Portfolio of Three Chaudigital provides professional goods and services, from paper and inks to hardware and storage.

WWW.NILSWILBERT.COM

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Elinchrom CATEGORY – Fashion Elinchrom is a Swiss manufacturer of leading studio lighting systems. www.elinchrom.com

ACTION AND EXTREME SPORTS CATEGORY NILS WILBERT’S IN THE WOODS 2 “I love the fact that this image screams serenity and peace, despite the fact the subject is

Morgan Richardson

upside down and probably travelling very fast. I’ve always thought that in every sport, in each action

CATEGORY – In the Studio

there is a moment of full extension, the fraction before a volley is struck, the top of a golfer’s back swing, just before a swimmer kicks off the wall in a turn. Nils has captured that moment perfectly for

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me.” Judge: Ben Duffy Celebrity Sports Photographer

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LOCATION FLASH CATEGORY, GEORGE FAIRBAIRN’S CODY

Asuka Books CATEGORY – Black & White Asuka aims to break the mould in producing beautifully designed

“What I like about this image is that the lighting

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Unique Capture Studios

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Judge: Craig Fleming,

this studio offers the space and facilities to realise your unique

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Lexar CATEGORY – Street Trusted by top professionals worldwide, Lexar are leaders in card media, renowned for speed and reliability. www.lexar.com

COMPETITION

OUR SPONSORS

BLACK AND WHITE CATEGORY ZUZANA KISSOVA’S ROUND, ROUND “A black and white image needs to illustrate a strong understanding of light; ideally, that will be coupled with narrative, composition and moment.

I really like this image because of

are the people going? The control of the tones, the shadows and the highlights, is well executed and in a black and white category, that is imperatively important.”

Judge: Kevin Mullins, Wedding Photographer

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the compositional pull and there is a story within the image. Where

TRAVEL CATEGORY ROY LONSDALE’S MOONRISE OVER LOCH LOMOND “It’s a classic and Roy’s done a great job. It’s technically and artistically spot on, from the moon to the glow of civilisation to the mist rolling across the water – it’s got it all.”

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Judge: Ben Duffy, Celebrity Sports Photographer

To enter, visit www.professional photographer. co.uk/PPOTY 2014

TURNING PRO CATEGORY AGATA LENCZEWSKA-MADSEN’S UNTITLED “Today’s professional photographers have to produce work that is a mile away from what the consumer could

seeking images. The content of this image magnetises your attention. It instantly caught my eye.”

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achieve themselves. It’s all about having the ability to create and form attention

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MEDIUM FORMAT CATEGORY PATRIZIA BURRA’S NINA III

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“I have chosen this shot as my favourite of the batch so far. I love the simplicity of it.

The subtle lighting and tone is lovely. The young model’s facial expression and delicate

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the perfect photograph, not to see how good you are at retouching.”

Judge: Dr Andy Gotts MBE, Celebrity Portrait Photographer

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Judge: Chris Duffy, Black and White

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Portrait Photographer

COMPETITION

OUR SPONSORS

UK DIVE CENTRES Directory Key

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

ENGLAND BERKSHIRE DIVESTYLE DIVESYLE Unit A, Bridge Farm, Reading Road, Arborfield, Berkshire, RG2 9HT Tel: 0118 976 1729 Fax: 0118 926 9616 Email: info@divestyle.co.uk Website: www.divestyle.co.uk Opening Hours: M, T, T, F 10:00-18:00 W 10:00-20:00 S 10:00 - 17:00. Air To 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. Nitrox, National Geographic. EH, ESI, TD, EA, FCF, AYRD. PADI IDC centre, Nitrox, Trimix, equipment retail, PADI, SSI, BSAC, EFR, DSAT, TDI, rebreather friendly, Family friendly, child friendly, kids parties (4 weeks notice).

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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE SCUBADUCKS DIVE CENTRE LTD 34 Edison Road, Rabans Lane Ind. Est. Aylesbury, Bucks, HP19 8TE Tel: 01296 317787 Fax: 01296 398958 Email: u2us@scubaducks.co.uk Web: www.scubaducks.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon, Tue 10am - 5pm, Wed 10am 6pm, Thur 10am - 7pm, Fri, Sat 10am - 6pm, Sun 11am - 4pm. Air to 300 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, AIP, ACC, FCF, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix. PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre. Large on site heated pool, Huge retail area with all major brands, Poseidon Rebreather Centre, Dive Club, Dive Trips & Holidays, IDEST Service Centre.

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CORNWALL KENNACK DIVING Sea Acres Holiday Park,Kennack Sands, Helston,Cornwall TR127LT Tel: 07816 903260 Email: mail@kennackdiving.co.uk Website: www.kennackdiving.co.uk Opening Hours: 09.00-1800 Air to 232 Bar. PADI 5 ★ Dive Resort. EH, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. PADI Courses from Bubblemaker to Assistant Instructor ,specialities & guided dives all with freindly local Instructors. Equipment Hire, Heated indoor pool, on site, accomodation available. ■

SHOP KEY OSS ............................Onsite servicing OST ..............................Onsite testing BS ............Testing to British Standards OVERSEAS ABBREVIATIONS Acc ............................Accommodation AIP ....................All inclusive package AT..............................Airport Transfers AYRD..................All year round diving BH ........................................Boat hire CAOS ..............Compressed air onsite CH..........................................Car hire EA ....................Environment Activities EH ..............................Equipment hire ESI ..........English speaking instructors FCF ......................Families catered for LB ....................................Liveaboards NDCF ..............Non-divers catered for OWs........................Other watersports TD ....................................Tech diving UWP ............Underwater photography

138 SportDiver JULY 2014

PORTHKERRIS DIVERS Porthkerris, St. Keverne, Helston, Cornwall TR12 6QJ Tel: 01326 280620 Email: info@porthkerris.com Website: www.porthkerris.com Opening Hours: 7 days a week.

PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre. Diving tuition from novice to instructor. The manacles, wrecks and reefs, only 5 mins.

Hardboat and Rib charters, escorted dives, Dive shop, beach Café, basking Shark Trips, camping and best shore dive in the UK. ■■■

DERBYSHIRE

DIVERS DOWN SWANAGE

CHESTERFIELD ADVENTURE CENTRE

The Pier, High Street, Swanage, Dorset BH19 2AR Tel: 07977 142661 / 01929 423565 (April to October) Email: medina@madasafish.com Website: www.diversdownswanage.co.uk Opening hours: 9.00 - 17.00 weekends & most days in summer season.

Air to 260 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC EH, ESI,TD,UWP, CAOS Nitrox. Three charter dive catamarans all with rear diver lifts, shore diving equipment, hire shop, diver courses, air nitrox, parking. All on Swanage pier. Established 1958.

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Wheatbridge Road, Off DockWall, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AB Tel: 01246 245408 Email: info@divenut.co.uk Website: www.divenut.co.uk Opening hours: Tues-Sat 10am-6pm Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC, OSS, BS, EH. Full range of courses from beginner to instructor. Equipment sales, dive club, group holidays. Nitrox, Poseidon rebreather sales & training.

Easy parking. 3 pool nights.

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DEVON DIVERS DOWN 139 Babbacombe Road, Babbacombe, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 3SR Tel: 01803 327111 Fax: 01803 314728 Email: info@diversdown.co.uk Website: www.diversdown.co.uk PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre SSI, OSS, BS, EH, ES, CAOS, Nitrox. Active dive club, escorted dives, boat trips organised. Courses from beginner to instructor. Open 7 days a week. ■ ■ ■ ■

SANDFORD & DOWN 24 Pier St,West Hoe, Plymouth, PL1 3BT Tel: 01752 266248 Fax: 01752 226131 Email: dive@sandfordanddown.co.uk Website: www.sandfordanddown.co.uk Opening hours: Tues-Sat 9am-6pm.

Air to 300 Bar. EH, TD CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix, IDEST4W, Regulator Servicing. PSAI Tech Dive Centre. Retail Sales Most Major Brands, Rebreather Specialists, Technical Training To Mixed Gas Rebreather, Servicing & Testing On Site, Suit Repairs, Friendly Advice. ■■

DORSET OLD HARBOUR DIVE CENTRE 11 Nothe Parade, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8TX Tel: 01305 760888 Email: info@oldharbourdivecentre.com Website: www.oldharbourdivecentre.com Opening hours: 9.30 - 5.00 pm Monday - Friday but hours may vary.please check website.

Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC and RYA training centre.

EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix, 02. Dorset's most comprehensive scuba diving facilility. Well stocked shop.

Hardboat trips daily during the season. R.I.B. facilities outside our harbourside premises. Small/large Groups catered for.

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ESSEX DIVERSE SCUBA Ye Olde Plough House Motel, Brentwood Road, Bulphan, Essex, RM14 3SR Tel/Fax: 01375 892444 Mob: 07814 570165 Email: jeanne-marie@diverse-scuba.co.uk Website: www.diverse-scuba.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs 2pm-10pm. Sat & Sun 10:30am-5pm (Closed Fri).

Our own On Site Pool, Air to 300 Bar, PADI 5 ★ IDC. OSS, EH,On Site Pool FCF, Acc, Restaurant Facilities. Complete range of PADI courses available, from Discover Scuba through to Instructor, with resident course director, Full range of specialities, classroom. Dive shop. Social events and holidays. ❑■■■■■

HAMPSHIRE ANDARK DIVING AND WATERSPORTS 256 Bridge Road, Lower Swanwick, Southampton SO31 7FL Tel: 01489 581755 Fax: 01489 575223 Email: bookings@andark.co.uk Website: www.andark.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon/Thu and Sat 9am TO 6 pm, Fri 9am TO 8pm, Sun 9:30 to 5pm NITROX/TRIMIX. Onsite pool and classrooms.

Fully equiped friendly shop. Online sales.

Powerboat courses. Underwater escape training.

Holidays.

Kids Parties. Activity Club. Onisite Servicing. Commercial diving Courses. Parking PADI 5 ★ IDC. BSAC Premier Centre. RYA Centre. HSE Commercial Diver Training and First Aid Centre EH. LB. ESI. TD. EA. AIP. FCF. AYRD. UWP. NDCF. CAOS ■■■❑■■■■■■■

UK DIVE CENTRES

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk KENT BLUE OCEAN DIVING West Park Road, Maidstone, Kent ME15 7AF (NEXT TO MOAT PARK LEISURE CENTRE) Tel: 01622 212 022 Email: scuba@blueoceandiving.co.uk Website: www.blueoceandiving.co.uk Opening Hours: ***FREE TRY DIVES EVERYWEEK*** TUES-SUN 10-6pm. LATE 8pm TUES & THURS. PADI 5 ★ Instructor Development Centre. National Geographic Dive Centre. Scubaholics Dive Club. FREE MEMBERSHIP. UK Diving, Social events & Holiday Trips every month. Servicing, Testing, Spares and Repairs. Workshop on site. 300bar Air/ Nitrox. Large Shop Free Parking. 20+ Speciality Courses incl Rebreathers, DPV & TECDEEP. PADI Instructor Career Development Course (CDC). AI + OWSI + EFRI + 20x SPEC INST + DSAT ITC. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

DIVE MACHINE Unit 11 Orchard Business Centre, SandersonWay, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1QF Tel: 01732 773553 Fax: 01732 773663 Website: www.divemachine.com Email: robert@divemachine.com Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 09.30-17.30,Weds 09.3019.00. Air to 300 bar, nitrox, trimix, idest. PADI CDC, PADI Courses from beginner to instructor. IANTD, Nitrox.

Specialities: Enriched air, Dry suit, Photographer, Deep, Night, Underwater navigator, wreck, Oxygen first aid, DAN 02, Boat, Equipment and Drift. Authorised dealer for most leading mfctrs. Large display area. Classrooms. Large free car park. Professional, friendly service & advice. Regulator Services. Suit repairs. Holidays abroad and in the UK. ■■■■■■

LONDON AQUANAUT SCUBA & SNORKELLING CENTRE 34 Coombe Road, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 7AG Tel: 0208 546 8882 Email: info@aquanautscuba.co.uk Website: www.aquanautscuba.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon-11am - 6pm, Tues/Wed-10am -6pm, Thurs-11am - 7pm, Fri-10am - 6pm, Sat-10am - 6pm, Sun by appointment. Nitrox & Air to 300bar, 5 ★ IDC Centre / IDEST and BSAC Centre. SITA member. OSS OST BS CAOS EH TD. Courses from beginner to instuctor, Fully stocked dive shop with excellent purchasing advice, Friendly and very active dive clubwith UK and overseas trips and social.

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LODGE SCUBA 8 Hampton Road, Thornton Heath, London, CR0 2XG Tel: 0208 765 1036 Email: info@lodgescuba.co.uk Website: www.lodgescuba.co.uk Opening Hours: 10:30am-7pm Tues-Sat Air to 232 Bar. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix, Oxygen. PADI 5 ★ IDC, BSAC, TDI, NAUI, NACD. Servicing, cylinder testing, technical diving, equipment hire, large equipped shop with changing facilities, childrens parties, government run pool sessions, classroom, online sales, recreational diving, large parking area, courses and equipment, Cafe, BBQ Area.

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MIDDLESEX G & H DIVING SERVICES LTD Unit 1,Willow House, River Gardens, N FelthamTrading Estate, TW14 0RD. Tel: 020 8751 3771 / 020 8890 3302 Fax: 020 8751 2591 E-mail: gerryhassell@gheng.com Website: Under construction Opening Hours: 8.30 - 5.30 Mon to Friday. 8.30 - 12 noon Sat. Air to 300 Bar. BSAC, TDI, SDI & PSA. EH,TD,CAOS. Cylinder testing IDEST 2v, Regulator servicing, Air, Nitrox,

SCOTLAND BERWICKSHIRE

AQUASTARS DIVE CENTRE

Trimix, TDI Technical courses. Suit repairs. ■ ■ ■

New Harbour Buildings, Guns Green Basin, Eyemouth, Berwickshire, Scotland. TD14 5SD Tel: 018907 50904 Mob: 07886 314008 Email: info@aquastars.co.uk Website: www.aquastars.co.uk Opening Hours: 9am-5pm.

Air to 300 Bar. PADI School. SITA, OST, OSS, BS, EH. Guided dives, 10 metre rib, boat charter, shop, hot showers, holiday packages arranged.■ ■ ■

SUSSEX

IRELAND

OCEAN VIEW DIVING SERVICES LTD 160 South Street, Lancing, West Sussex.

BN15 8AU. Tel: 01903 767224 Fax: 01903 754361 Email: den@oceanviewdiving.co.uk Website: www.oceanviewdiving.co.uk PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre. IANTD, TDI. OSS, OST, EH, BS. Air to 300 Bar, Nitrox. Mail order, suit repairs, holidays abroad, on-site indoor pool. Licenced bar and club.

Largest selection of equipment in Sussex. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

PORTSTEWART AQUAHOLICS DIVE CENTRE 14 PORTMORE ROAD , PORTSTEWART Tel: 28 70832584 Email: dive@aquaholics.org Website: www.aquaholics.org Opening Hours: 9am to 5pm. Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ CENTRE. NITROX, TRIMIX. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, ACC,FCF,AT, AYRD,UWP,CH,BH, NDCF, CAOS.Offering the full range of courses from Beginner to Trimix. Diving the spectacular clear water of the North Coast from Rathlin Island to Malin Head. ■ ■

CO CORK

OCEANADDICTS Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland Tel: 00353 (0)87-7903211 Email: anne@oceanaddicts.ie Website: www.oceanaddicts.ie Opening Hours: 9.00am to 6.00pm. Air to 300, PADI Resort, DAN, LB, ESI, ACC, AT, UWP, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox.

Liveaboard and Day-boat diving, groups and individuals welcome, friendly atmosphere, wrecks and reefs, great photo opportunities, courses available, live the adventure on Ireland’s South Coast ■ ❑ ■

CO GALWAY YORKSHIRE

SCUBADIVE WEST

THE DIVERS WAREHOUSE

Lettergesh, Renvyle, Co Galway, Tel: 00 353 9543922 Email: info@scubadivewest.com Website: www.scubadivewest.com Opening Hours: 09.00 till 18.00 (closed Tuesday) Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5* IDC. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. NITROX, National Geographic.

Dive Cente ideally situated on the waterfront. 2 day Island boat safaris, daily boat & shore dives, all courses from DSD to instructor level, snorkelling. ■

911 Wakefield Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD4 7QA Tel: 01274-307555 Email: sales@diverswarehouse.co.uk Website: www.diverswarehouse.co.uk Opening Hours: 8.30-5.30pm Mon - Fri, Thur 8.307.00pm, Sat 9.30-5pm. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix, Oxygen. PADI 5★, IDC, BSAC, TDI, NAUI, NACD. servicing, cylinder testing, technical diving, equipment hire, large equipped shop with changing facilities, childrens parties, government run pool sessions, classroom, online sales, recreational diving, large parking area, courses and equipment.

THE DIVER TRAINING COLLEGE Malt Kiln Lane, Appleton Roebuck, York, North Yorkshire YO23 7DT Tel: 01904 744424 / 07967 742420 Fax: 01904 744724 Email: ops@cdms-diving.co.uk Website: www.dtc-diving.co.uk Opening hours: 9.00am-5.00pm Mon-Sat. Air to 300 Bar.PADI 5 ★ Centre, OSS-OST-BS-Nitrox.

Full range of PADI specialities, RYA courses and specialist commercial diving courses. Full range of equipment sales from our well stocked dive shop.Open Mon-Sat. ■ ■ ■

NORTHERN IRELAND COUNTY DOWN DV DIVING 138 Mount Steward Road, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT22 2ES. Tel: 02891 464671/861686 Fax: 02891 464671 Email: info@dvdiving.co.uk Website: www.dvdiving.co.uk OSS, OST, BS, EH. DV Diving offer one of Europe's most comprehensive ranges of scuba, technical & commercial diving and powerboat training courses - for the complete beginner through to instructor development for the most experienced professionals ■ ■ ■ ■

ROBIN HOOD DIVE SCHOOL 152 Leeds Road, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire WF16 9BJ Tel: 01924 444888 Fax: 01924 474529 E-mail: Dive@Roho.co.uk Website: www.Roho.co.uk Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9.15- 6.00.

Late night Thurs till 8.00.Sat 9.15-5.00.OSS,OST, BS, IDEST, EH,Nitrox. PADI Dive Centre, BSAC Premier level.

Training in our on-site heated pool and lecture rooms.

Home of the renowned ROHO drysuits.Nitrox courses & fills. Gigantic 5000sq ft showroom fully stocked with dive watersports & snowboarding equipment. Friendly, helpful staff and instructors. Equipment hire.

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JULY 2014 SportDiver 139

OVERSEAS DIVE CENTRES OVERSEAS AZORES

ARRAIA DIVERS Estrada Regional Nº 1, Silveira, 9700-193 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal Tel: (+351) 914 242 037 Email: info@arraiadivers.com Web: www.arraiadivers.com Opening Hours: 09:00-17:00 UTC Air to 225 bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. Arraia Divers is a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center which offers daily dive trips by both land and boat to Terceiras best dive sites.

CAYMAN ISLANDS SUNSET HOUSE - GRAND CAYMAN'S HOTEL FOR DIVERS BY DIVERS 390 South Church Street PO Box 479GT Tel: 1-345-949-7111 Fax: 1-345-949-7101 Email: reservations@sunsethouse.com Website: www.sunsethouse.com Opening Hours: 7:00 - 17:30 (Dive Centre Hours) Air To 200 Bar. Stingray City and ex-USS Kittiwake Adventures.

PADI 5★ IDC. Full-Service dive operations located at Sunset House. Recreational boat dives. Incredible shore diving.

Nitrox. Cathy Church. U/W photo centre. 53 Rooms for accommodations. Bar, restaurant onsite. EH, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT (with packages), ATRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS (with packages) ■■■

DIVE TECH 18 Sea Fan Drive West Bay, Grand Caymam, Cayman Islands Tel: (345) 946-5658 Fax: (345) 946-5659 Email: info@divetech.com Website: www.divetech.com Opening Hours: 7:30AM- 5PM 7 days a week Air To 213 Bar. EH, ESI, TD, A, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. PADI 5 Star,BSAC,NAUI,TDI,SSI,IANTD,SDI,DAN,PADI Rec/Tec,PADI Seals,PADI rescue,SSI Rangers,Advanced Nitrox,PADI Wreck,PADI Jr. Open Water. All you can dive eat and drink.

Unlimited shore diving at two Northwall locations. Beginner diving through advanced. Rebreathers. Warm water, awesome visibility all year round. Enjoy our underwater passion.

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CYPRUS CORAL BAY DIVERS Aristo Complex 1, Shop 17, Laxion Street 20, Coral Bay, Paphos, Cyprus Tel: 00 357 26 622980 Email: info@coralbaydivers.com Website: www.coralbaydivers.com Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox. PADI courses from DSD and Bubblemaker to Instructor offered. PADI Tec 40, Tec 45 and Tec 50 also offered.

Retail shop on site. Full day dive trips to the Zenobia, Akamas.

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CYDIVE DIVE CYPRUS

EGYPT

ILIOS DIVE CLUB

20,Myrra Complex 33, Poseidonos Ave 1, Paphos 8042, Cyprus.

Tel: 00 357 26 934271 Email: info@cydive.com Website: www.cydive.com PADI. The First PADI 5 ★ Career Development Centre & Centre of Excellence in Cyprus. CAOS, EH, CH,AIP,Acc, FCF,AT, ESI’s, EAs’, BH, AYRD, UWP, OW’s, NDCF. Fantastic Location, an exciting programme with 2 Boat Dives & Daytrips Daily. Instructor programmes 4 times a year.

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AQUARIUS DIVING CLUB

Steigenberger Al Dau Resort, Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt Tel: 002 065 3465442 Fax: 002 065 3465410 Email: info@iliosdiveclub.com Website: www.iliosdiveclub.com Opening Hours: 8am - 5pm

LARNACA DIVE-IN HTTC Ltd (Hyperbaric Therapy treatment Centre) Poseidonia Medical Centre - 47a Eleftherias Avenue, Aradippou, Larnaca, CYPRUS 7102 Tel: 00357 24 252501/24 hr Emergency Diver Help Line 99 518837 Fax: 00357 24 252502 Email: info@hbocyprus.com Website: www.hbocyprus.com Opening Hours: 9-5 Mon -Sat. 24/7 Emergency Diver Response. Air to 232 Bar. If you are concerned or feel that you have unusual signs or symptoms after a dive please always get it checked. We have a 24/7, 365 days service with a full Hyperbaric Medical team on standby at our 14¬ Man fully computerized, HAUX 2200 Starmed Unit.We are the Preferred Provider for IDAN, UK Armed Forces, US Armed Forces, NATO and many more.

We offer Direct Insurance billing for all treatments.Also Dry Dives to 40 metres, PADI Chamber Specialty Courses, DAN In-Chamber Tender Courses, DAN Chamber Operator Courses, DAN Consumer and Instructor Courses to all Levels. ❑■■■■■

POSEIDON Domniki Hotel, Protaras, Cyprus Tel/Fax: 00 357 995 45 650 E-mail: poseidon@netmail.com.cy Website: www.poseidon.com.cy Opening Hours: 09.00 - 18.00 Air to 200 Bar. PADI 5 Star IDC. EH, ESI, EA, AYRD, UWP. Poseidon is a PADI 5 star instructor development centre in Protaras, Cyprus.We offer PADI courses up to instructor and dive trips to Cape Greco and Zenobia wreck.

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SCUBA MONKEY LTD 36c Ayias Mavris Tel: 35723724622 E-mail: dive@scuba-monkey.com Website: www.scuba-monkey.com Opening Hours: 8.30 am - 7pm (or later)

Sheraton Hotel, El Pascha Coast, Sharm el Sheikh Tel: (+20) 01001232785 Email: info@aquariusredsea.com Website: www.aquariusredsea.com Opening Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 Air to 200 Bar. PADI 5 ★ EH, LB, ESI, EA, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP,BH, NDCF, CAOS. Dive centre's in Sharm el Sheikh, Hurgharda, Marsa Alam, Hamata, Makadi & Sahl Hashish. Diving for complete beginners to experienced divers. Diving trips from shore, daily boat, zodiac and liveaboards.

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Centre of Na’ama Bay, PO Box 10, Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt.

Tel: +20 69 3600 700 Fax: +20 69 3600 601 Email: info@cameldive.com Website: www.cameldive.com PADI 5 ★ Gold Palm IDC Centre, BSAC, Acc. AT, LB, ESI, EA, BH, AYRD, UWP, OW, NDCF, TD, CAOS, EH, FCF. The Red Seas friendliest diver hotel and dive centre. Join us for spectacular diving and the best apres dive in Sharm.

Established 1986 ■■■■

Hilton Fayrouz Hotel, Naama Bay, Sharm El Sheikh Tel: 0020 127792749 Email: info@ocean-college.com Website: www.ocean-college.com Opening Hours: 8am - 6pm.

Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC, Nitrox, ATOL Bonded. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Ocean College is one of the premier dive operators in the Red Sea and offers diving services for experienced divers and PADI diver education ■■■

CORAL SEA WATERWORLD PO Box 317, Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt.

Tel: +2 069 3710500 Fax: +2 069 3710511 Email: waterworld@coralsearesorts.com Website: www.coralsearesorts.com EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. PADI 5 ★ When it’s time to plan your next family vacation, choose Coral Sea Waterworld Resort and experience the newest water park in Nabq Bay, Sharm El Sheikh. ■

DIVE ONE ACADEMY The Mövenpick Resort, Naama Bay Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.

Tel: (002) 01099980908 Cell: (002) 01099980908 Email: sharm@dive1one.com Website: www.dive1one.com Opening Hours: 9:00 to 17:30 GMT+2 Air to 200 Bar. SDI/TDI/ERDI. EH, LB, ESI, TD, AYRD, BH, CAOS Resort Dive Center.

Dive One Academy is world of limitless choices, certified professional to produce joy and mitigate risks.

A certified facility to operate and teach scuba diving worldwide. ■

EAGLE DIVERS Based in Ocean Club Hotel, 23 City Council Street, Hadaba, Sharm el Sheikh Tel: 002 01200001590 Email: info@eagle-divers.com Website: www.eagle-divers.com Opening Hours: 8.00am - 8.00pm PADI Dive Centre. Nitrox. Air to 220 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Offering personalised and professional service to all levels of diver.

Eagle Divers will endeavour to give the best experience possible, every dive. ■

VIKING DIVE CENTRE

ELITE DIVING'S DIVERS UNITED

PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre, PADI Resort Association. Nitrox.

Acc, AT, ESIs, BH, AYRD, UWP, OWs, NDCF, CAOS, EH, CH, FCF. The Viking water sports centre 200m from the dive centre. Sports- Jet, bikes, parachute,water ski etc.

Beach facilities, Sunbeds, beach restaurant. Daily trips at Zenobia Wreck & RIB safari to exclusive dive sites ■■

EH, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Ilios Dive Club at Steigenberger Resort, Hurghada. Your PADI dive center and diving school at the Red Sea. Daily excursions and all scuba courses!

OCEAN COLLEGE CAMEL DIVE CLUB & HOTEL

Air to 300 Bar. PADI Dive Resort. EH, ESI, EA, AIP, ACC FCF, UWP, CH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. Retail, photography.

Non diver to professional. U/W Naturalist. Scooter DPV. Underwater Weddings. Education. DPV. Videography.

Intern Program. Fish Identification. Multilevel Diver.

Wreck, freediving, search and recovery. Equipment Specialists. Underwater Navigation. Deep, night and boat diving. Project aware.

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P.O. Box 42589, Larnaca, Cyprus, 6500 Tel/Fax: 00357 24644676 Email: vdivers@spidernet.com.cy Website: www.viking-divers.com

140 SportDiver JULY 2014

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

Uni Sharm Hotel, Sharm Elysees Street Um El Sid Hill, Hadaba, Sharm El Sheikh Tel: 0020 1224 308 780 Email: info@elite-diving.com Web: www.elite-diving.com Opening Hours: 8.00am to 19.00pm Air to 220 Bar. Divers United PADI 5 Resort. Elite Diving BSAC Diver Traning Center.EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. NITROX, ATOL Bonded through UK Tour oporator. British Owner managers, offering Daily Boat Diving on some of the best reefs in the world, House reef, PADI & BSAC courses, Liveaboards, Special excursions. ■ ■

RED SEA DIVING COLLEGE SULTANA BUILDING, NAAMA BAY, SOUTH SINAI, EGYPT Tel: 0020 69 3600145 Email: info@redseacollege.com Website: www.redseacollege.com Opening hours: 8am - 9pm.

Air to 200 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, National Geographic.

PADI 5★ CDC. Multi Award winning centre offering all courses from entry level to professional. Conducted from a stunning beach-front location, boasting the best facilities in Sharm.

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SINAI COLLEGE Sinai College, Sharm Inn Amarin, Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt Tel: (+20) 01154055100 Email: info@sinai-college.com Website: www.sinai-college.com Opening hours: 7.45am - 6.30pm, 7 days a week Air to 200 Bar. EH, LB, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, COAS. Nitrox, PADI Dive Centre. We are an European run and managed dive center based in Sharm El Sheikh with a friendly and professional atmosphere.

We provide daily diving, mini safaris and liveaboards.

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SINAI DIVERS Ghazala Hotel, Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Tel: 00 20 069 3600 697 Fax: 00 20 069 3600 158 Email: info@sinaidivers.com Website: www.sinaidivers.com Opening Hours: 08:00 - 20:00 summer/ 08:00 - 18:30 winter.

Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, FCF, CAOS, AT. Free Nitrox for Nitrox certified divers, NG. PADI 5 Gold Palm Resort. SSI, CMAS (Barakuda) CDC & TDI (Dahab).

Easy house reef in the centre Naama Bay, safari boats, north & south. Full tec centre in Dahab, Resort and dive centre in Marsa Alam and Taba.

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Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk FIJI SCUBA BULA FIJI P.O. Box 2748 Tel: 00 679 6280190 +34 928 163 172 Email: info@scubabula.com Website: www.scubabula.com Opening Hours: 08:00 - 16:00 GMT +12 Air to 200 Bar. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Scuba Bula - Diving’s Purest Experience. Only 10 minutes to the dive sites. Everyday is good, some days are just exceptional!

FUERTEVENTURA ABYSS Calle Gravina, 10 Corralejo,35660, Fuerteventura Tel: (+34)928949004 (+34)652958297 (+34)655678392 Email: info@abyssfuertevenuta.com Website: www.abyssfuertevenuta.com Opening Hours: 0900 - 1700 365 DAYS A YEAR Air to 200. PADI Resort with Detheraphy Education Pro Instructor. EH, ESI, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS, WIFI. Friendly & flexible family run centre. Small groups. Padi beginner to professional level. DSD and bubblemaker.

DDI qualified dive professional. Dive centre located in the town centre.

DEEP BLUE DIVING S.L Barcelo el Castillo, Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura, 35610 Tel: +34 606 275 468 +34 928 163 172 Fax: +34 928 16 39 83 Email: info@deep-blue-diving.com Website: www.deep-blue-diving.com Opening Hours: All year 9am-5pm Air to 200. PADI 5* GOLD PALM IDC CENTRE & IE LOCATION. EH, ESI, AIP, ACC, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. WIFI, Equipment Washing and Storage Rooms.

Discover Scuba to Instructor. All year round, water front location, small groups, 20-25m visabilty. Exclusive dive sites, after dive sector. ■

GOZO BLUE WATERS DIVE COVE Kuncizzjoni Street Qala, Gozo, Malta Tel: 00 356 7953 6874 Email: info@divebluewaters.com Website: www.divebluewaters.com Opening Hours: 08:00 - 17:00.

Air to 232 Bar. PADI 5★ IDC. EH, ESI, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD UWP, CH, BH, CAOS. Nitrox. Free wifi, washing and drying facilities. Classrooms, lounge area, coffee making facilities. ■ ■

GOZO AQUA SPORTS Rabat Road, Marsalforn, Gozo, Malta, MFN 9014 Tel: 00356 21563037 Email: dive@gozoaquasports.com Website: www.gozoaquasports.com Opening Hours: 7 days a week 08:00 - 18:00 Air To 235 Bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC Centre - DSAT Tec Rec EH, ESI, TD, Acc, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox upto 40%, Free Wi-Fi, Free tea/coffee Rinsing/ drying/ storage facilities, Wreck, Boat, Cave, DPV, DSAT gas & Trimix blender, Deep Digital photography, Drysuit, Enriched air, Drift Equipment, Fish ID, Multilevel Naturalist Navigation, Night, Oxygen profidor, PPB, Project aware Search & Recovery Specialities ■■

GREECE

BLUE MARLIN DIVE

NAVY'S WATERWORLD

Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, Gili Air, Senggigi, Lombok, Indonesia.

Tel: ++62 (0) 370 632424 Fax: ++62 (0) 370 642286 Email: info@bluemarlindive.com Website: www.bluemarlindive.com PADI 5 ★ Premier IDC Centre. Acc., AT, LB, ESI, EA, BH, AYRD, UWP, OW, NDCF, TD, EH, CH, AIP, CAOS, FCF. The Gili Islands most professional & friendly 5 ★ IDC Centre (estblished 16 years). Spectacular world class ocean diving. Ocean front restaurant, bar, night club & freshwater pool. Full retail dive shop on site. DM internship programmes. Full technical diving facility offering TDI & IANTD. Blue Marlin has it’s own luxury livaboard offering trips throughout the Indonesian Archipelago. Packages available.

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Kamari Beach, Santorini Tel/Fax: 0030 22860 28190 Email: info@navyswaterworld.gr Website: www.navyswaterworld.gr Opening Hours: 8.00 - 22.00 Air to 200 Bar. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. PADI 5 ★ IDC Dive Center.

Daily 2 tank trips around the volcanic shoreline of Santorini. Dive in the marine protected area, and enjoy the caves, wrecks, wall diving, reefs and more.

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NERO-SPORT DIVING CENTER Limni Keriou, Zakynthos / GR-29092 Tel: 0030 26950 28481 0030 698 5666645 0030 26950 49125 Email: info-diving@nero-sport.de Website: www.nero-sport.com Opening Hours: 9.00 - 18.00 Air to 200 Bar. PADI DIVE CENTRE, IAC 5 ★ EH, ESI, Acc, AT, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Free childcare.

2-5 trips a day. Day trips. Night diving. Own accommodation. Snack bar. Great family offers. Special group offers. Diving all year round. ■

WATERHOPPERS DIVING SCHOOL Kritika 45, Rhodes, 85100,Greece Tel: 0030 22410 38146 Fax: 0030 2241030819 Email: info@waterhoppers.com Website: www.waterhoppers.com Air to 200 Bar. PADI 5 ★ INSTRUCTOR DEVELOPMENT DIVE RESORT. EH, ESI, EA, FCF, UWP, NDCF.Wide range of PADI courses from DSD to Divemaster. Fabulous sites for all levels of qualified divers, special discount for clubs. Snorkelling for all ages. ■

HONDURAS UTILA DIVE CENTRE/MANGO INN Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras Tel/Fax: 5044253327 Email: info@utiladivecentre.com Website: www.utiladivecentre.com www.goproutila.com Opening Hours: 7am to 7pm Air to 220 Bar. PADI Career Development Centre and IANTD facility. Nitrox, Trimix, Rebreather friendly, National Geographic Facility. EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CAOS. PADI certification courses from beginner to Instructor (monthly PADI IDC's) with diving packages and accommodation. The island of Utila offers spectacular Caribbean diving and Whale sharks.

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IBIZA Cala Martina, Es Cana, Santa Eulalia, Ibiza, Spain.

Tel: (0034) 971 33 67 26 (0034) 971 31 94 13 Email: info@puntadive.com Website: www.puntadive.com Opening Hours: 9:00 - 19:00.

Air to 225 Bar. PADI 5★ IDC. EH-ESI-EA-FCF-AT-UWPCH-BH-NDCF-CAOS. 3 centres on Ibiza. Dive don Pedro, sunken fish farm, the cathedral etc. 2 fast RIB's. Group and club offers available. Fun, friendly and professional.

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INDONESIA AQUAMARINE DIVING - BALI

UTINA DIVING COLLEGE Calleja Building, Rabat Road, Xlendi XLN 1101, Gozo, Malta Tel: 0035621550514 Email: utina@gozomail.com Website: www.utina-diving.com Opening Hours: March to November. PADI 5 ★ IDC Gold Palm Resort,Nitrox, Air to 300 bar. Friendly Proffessional - Individual Attention - Experienced and Novice Divers are very Welcome at Utina. EH, ESI,TD, EA,Acc, FCF,AT, UWP,CH, BH,NDCF ■

OVERSEAS DIVE CENTRES

Jalan Petitenget 2A, Kuta-Legian-Seminyak, Bali 80361, Indonesia.

Tel: +62 361 4738 020 Fax: +62 361 4738 021 Email: info@aquamarinediving.com Website: www.aquamarinediving.com Opening Hours: 8:00-18:00 Air to 200 Bar. PADI 5 ★ Gold Palm Resort 6344. EH, Nitrox, ESI, EA, CAOS, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF. Bali’s only British owner-operated dive company.

Only offers Bali’s better dive locations (wrecks, drifts, Mantas, shore, deep). Daily Trips and Customised Dived Packages. UWP Specialists.

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TWO FISH DIVERS Bunaken Island & Lembeh Straits, North Sulawesi, Indonesia Tel: +62-811-43-2805 Email: info@twofishdivers.com Website: www.twofishdivers.com Air to 200 bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. Nitrox, EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. Tina and Nigel are from the UK and they owe & run Two Fish Divers, a small and friendly PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Dive operation with two dive resorts that offer some of the best diving in Indonesia: 1. Bunaken Island - dive the award-winning reefs of Bunaken Marine Park 2. Lembeh Straits - dive the muck-diving capital of the world. ■ ■

LANZAROTE MANTA DIVING LANZAROTE JUAN CARLOS 1, No.6, Local 5, PUERTO DEL CARMEN, Tel: (0034) 928 516815 Mobile: (0034) 649 121142 Email: info@manta-diving-lanzarote.com manta-diving-lanzarote-val@hotmail.com Skype: manta-dive-centre Website: www.manta-diving-lanzarote.com Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8.30-5.30pm all year round.

Air to 200 Bar. PADI IRRA RESORT CENTRE, BSAC RESORT CENTRE. OSS, ACC, AT, AYRD, BH, CAOS, CH, NDCF, EA, EH, UWP, ESI, FCF. PADI. Courses & Specialties, Discover Scuba & Snorkelling. Fully equipped, spacious centre, 150mtrs from best sites in Lanzarote. Group Rates All level of divers welcome. NITROX. ■■

SAFARI DIVING LANZAROTE Playa de la Barrilla 4, Playa Chica Puerto Del Carmen, Tel: 0034 928511992 or 0034 646752512 Email: enquiry@safaridiving.com Website: www.safaridiving.com PADI, PADI 5 ★ Centre, BSAC, PADI Premier Centre, NAUI, SAA.Acc,AT, LB,ESI, EAs, BH, AYRD, UWP, OWs, NDCF, ATOL,TD, CAOS, EH,CH,AIP, FCF. SSI & RYA. We are a PADI dive centre. BSAC Premier Centre and Seamanship Centre. SSI Diver Training Centre. British owned, beach based diving centre, established for over 18 years. Spectacular Ocean diving all year round which include reefs, drop offs, wrecks etc to suit all levels of diver and the complete beginner!

Special offers available for dive packages for shore, night and boat dives.

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ISLAND WATERSPORTS LANZAROTE 35510 Puerto Del Carmen, EL VARADERO 36 Tel: 34928511880 Email: info@divelanzarote.com Website: www.divelanzarote.com Opening Hours: Mon till Sat from 09:00 - 18:00 EH; ESI; EA; AYRD; UWP; BH; CAOS; FCF; NDCF. NITROX. PADI DIVE CENTRE. Best equipped dive centre directly situated in the harbour with house reef and close to all popular dive sites. ■

MALTA AQUAVENTURE LTD #3083 The Waters Edge, Mellieha Bay Hotel, Ghadira, Malta MLH 9065 Tel: +356 2152 2141 Fax: +356 2152 1053 Email: info@aquaventuremalta.com Website: www.aquaventuremalta.com PADI 5 ★ Gold Palm Resort. BSAC, Acc, ATs, ESIs, BH, EAs, AYRD, UWP, OWs, NDCF, CAOS, EH, CH, FCF. Services: Air conditioned audio/visual classroom plus 3 training pools on-site, free daily pick-up service, scheduled daily escorted shore & boat dives, full range of specialities, retail shop, on-site showers. One of Malta’s leading dive centres, with total commitment to customer care and satisfaction. ■ ■

ATLANTIS DIVING CENTRE Qolla Street Marsalforn Gozo Malta Tel: 00356-7956-2888 Email: diving@atlantisgozo.com Website: www.atlantisgozo.com Opening Hours: 07.30 to 18.00.

Air to 300 bar. PADI 5 ★ EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox. Tailor-made packages including airport transfers car hire accommodation diving, etc… Try-dives & courses, Specialities & Technical Training. Boat trips. Air, Nitrox, & Trimix, spacious Wetroom & Shop with Free WiFi access. Best Facilities on Gozo!

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DIVE DEEP BLUE MALTA 9/11 Annanija Street, Bugibba, St Pauls Bay, Malta SPB 1320 Tel: 00 356 21 583946 Fax: 00 356 21 583945 Email: dive@divedeepblue.com Website: www.divedeepblue.com Opening Hours: 8am till 6pm.

PADI 5 ★ IDC. EH ESI TD EA AIP Acc FCF AT AYRD UWP CH BH NDCF CAOS.Nitrox /Trimix. Facilities include:Dive Shop, Private parking, swimming pool, sun deck, gas filling/blending station, euipment rental/sales, drying and storage areas, toilets/ showers, A/C class rooms, techniclal facility, CCR support. ■ ■ ■

OVERSEAS DIVE CENTRES DIVESHACK SCUBA SCHOOL 14a, Qui Si Sana, Seafront, Sliema, SLM3111, Malta Tel: 00 356 2133 8558 Fax: 00 356 2134 5670 Email: info@divemalta.com Website: www.divemalta.com Opening Hours: 7 Days a week from 08.00 till 18.00 (17.00 in winter) PADI 5 ★ IDC, National Geographic and TecRec Facility.

Seafront Location. Resident Course Director. All PADI Courses Taught. Rebreather Friendly. Escorted Dives from Shore/Boat round Malta, Gozo and Comino. Fully Stocked Shop. Operating from Comino May to Oct. Nitrox, Trimix, National Geographic. Speciality side mount and Tec side mount. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, OSS + OWS. ■■■■■

MAURITIUS

SOUTH AFRICA

ATLANTIS DIVING CENTRE

UMKOMAAS LODGE DIVE CHARTERS

Coastal Road, Beach, Trov Aux Biches, Mauritius Tel: (00 230) 4227126 / 2657172 Fax: (00 230) 2657219 Email: atlantis_divers@yahoo.co.uk vb@atlantisdiving.info Website: www.atlantisdiving.info Opening Hours: 08.30 - 17.00 + Night Dive PADI 5 Gold Palm, BSAC member, CMAS, MSDA. EH, ESI, EA, CAOS, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, Nitrox. Certification, exploration, wreck, night, photo. Dive Centres consistently recommended for their professional and friendly services nautilus diving and Atlantis Diving. Lonely Planet Guide.

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2 Roland Norris Drive, Umkomaas kwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Tel: 27 (0) 39 973 2542 27 (0) 82 800 4668 Fax: 27 (0) 86 603 6819 Email: umkomaaslodge@gmail.com Website: www.aliwalshoalscubadiving.com www.cagesharkdive.com Opening Hours: 7:00am - 16:00pm

MEXICO SCUBA CLUB COZUMEL

DIVEWISE Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta Tel: (+356) 21 356 441 Email: info@divewise.com.mt Website: www.divewise.com.mt Opening Hours: 7 days a week from 9am till finish.

Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5 ★ CDC Centre. Nitrox, Trimix, Boat Diving,Day trips. EH, ESI, TD, EA, ACC, FCF ,AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF ,CAOS PADI's No1 centre in Malta offering all courses but specialising in Technical diving & Instrcutor level.

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Av R Melgar Prol S Km 1.5, Cozumel, Q. Roo Mexico 77600 Tel: 52+987-872-1133 US# 727-230-9613 Fax: 727-388-3638 Email: scubacozumel@ecozumel.net Website: www.scubaclubcozumel.com Opening Hours: 24/7/365.

Acc, ESI, EH, AYRD, UWP, BH, FCF, CAOS. PADI 5 ★ Training center and Dive Resort offering dive packages including room, meals and diving. Full service 5 star training facility offering all levels of instruction and daily dive trips. ■ ■

PHILIPPINES D'DIVERS AT BUSUANGA BAY LODGE

PARADISE DIVING Paradise Bay Resort Hotel, Cirkewwa, Mellieha, Malta Tel: 00356 21574116 / 00356 21524363, 00356 99491877 Email: sales@paradisediving.com Website: www.paradisediving.com Opening Hours: 9.00-17.00.

Air to 300 Bar. PADI 5★ RESORT. EH, ESI, EA,ACC, FCF, AT AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF CAOS, Nitrox.Three summer boat dives daily, Malta, Gozo, Comino. No boat surcharge! Private beach location, Cirkewwa. PADI courses. Free group places. Free transport, Mellieha, Bugibba, Qawra. ■

Busuanga Bay Lodge, Barangay Concepcion, Busuanga Island 5317 Palawan, Philippines Cell: +63 (927)4183126 or +63 908 8541655 Email: reservations@ddivers.com reservations@busuangabaylodge.com Web: www.ddivers.com www.busuangabaylodge.com Opening Hours: 08:00 to 17:00.

Air to 200 bar. TDI/SDI 5 ★ CDC & Resort Facility. EH, ESI, TD, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Wreck diver. Nitrox diver. Intro to tech. Adv. Nitrox.

Decompression procedure. Extended range. Advanced diver levels. Instructor.

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SEA SHELL DIVE COVE Sea Shell Dive Cove, Marfa Road, Mellieha, Malta Tel: +356/21522595 / + 356/21521062 Fax: +356 2152 1062 Email: info@seashell-divecove.com Website: www.seashell-divecove.com EH, Nitrox, ESI, TD, CAOS, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH,BH, NDCF. Family run dive centre. Technical diving & courses. Escorted dives from shore/boat Malta, Gozo, Comino.Wreck dive specialist. Latest equipment for hire & for sale. ■ ■

ST. ANDREW'S DIVERS COVE 2, St. Simon Street, Xlendi Bay, Gozo, XLN1302 Malta Tel: (00356) 21551301 / (00356) 99829733 Email: standrew@gozodive.com Website: www.gozodive.com Opening Hours: 08.30 - 15.00 (winter) 08.30 - 18.00 (summer).

Air to 300 Bar. PADI / FFESSM / CMAS. EH, ESI, Acc. FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, NDCF, CAOS. Established in 1989 St. Andrews Divers Cove enjoys a reputation for friendly professional service. Offering: Night, PPB, boat, deep wreck, EAN dives. ■

DIVE MED Zonqor Point, Marsaskala, MSK 1570 Malta Tel: +356 21 639981 Email: info@dive.com Website: www.divemed.com Opening Hours: 8:00am - 6:00pm Air to 300 bar. PADI 5 ★ IDC. EH, ESI, ED, EA, AIP, Acc, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Diving is SAFE, EASE and FUN when done with Professionals. Our 5 Star centre offers a genuine service to make your trips memorable and exciting. All diving services at excellent prices. Special offers available on our website. ■

142 SportDiver JULY 2014

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

THRESHER SHARK DIVERS

PADI 5 ★ Gold Palm Resort. Air to 220 Bar. Nitrox.

EH, ESI, TD, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, NDCF, CAOS. Shark diving is our speciality!!! (cage dives for nondivers). Tropical reefs at Aliwal Shoal. Join us for the Sardine Run, the greatest shoal on earth.

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SEA BEES DIVING

SPAIN FLEET DIVE SPAIN Avda Port Canigo, Santa Margarita, Roses, Spain Tel: 0044 7766 985353 Mobile: 0034 6781 36570 Email: info@fleetdive.com Website: www.fleetdive.com Opening Hours: 24 hrs

FleetDive

BSAC Resort EH, ESI, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, CH, BH, NDCF. Here at Fleet Dive we offer a complete package holiday equally suited to the small group of prolific divers as it is to the family with individuals with a passion for the underwater world. We are based on the Costa Brava where the diving is truly first class.

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S’ALGAR DIVING Paseo Martimo, S/N S’Algar, San Luis,Menorca, Tel: 0034 971 150 601 Mobile: +34 605 054 607 Email: info@salgardiving.com Website: www.salgardiving.com Opening Hours: 9.00-18.00 PADI 5 ★ RESORT, BSAC RESORT CENTRE, IEH, ESI, FCF, AT, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Air to 220 Bar. Best location in MENORCA! Professional Captains. Diving, snorkelling, Boatexcusri Divesites within 15 mins. Reefs, caverns, caves. Divesites for beginners and pro's alike.

Clubs/groups welcome! NITROX for courses.

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Malaapscua Island, Cebu 6013 Philippines Cell: +63 917 795 9433 Landline: +63 32 406 6414 Fax: +63324370985 Email: dive@thresherdivers.com Web: www.malapascua-diving.com Opening Hours: 5am-8pm.

Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox, Trimix. PADI 5 ★ IDC, IANTD, TDI, BSAC. Daily thresher shark dives (as seen on Monty Halls), mantas, wrecks, reefs, macro, muck diving, great walls dives. British owned and run, PADI courses available.

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Palm Cottage, New Bridge, Jamestown, St Helena Tel: 00 290 2758 Website: www.stsa.co.sh Email: sub-tropic.scuba@cwimail.sh

INDIGO DIVERS

New and exciting diving with Sub-tropic adventures St Helena Island. Great Diving sites including night diving whales sharks Mantas and much more.

Rua do Mercado Lote M Loja A, Areias de São João, Albufeira 8200-269 Portugal Tel/Shop: 00351 289 587013 Mobile: 00 351 913 999 913 Fax: 00351 289 587 013 Email: info@indigo-divers.pt Web: www.indigo-divers.pt Opening Hours: 8:30 - 18:00 - later if night dives. EH, ESI, EA, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, CAOS. We personalise our dives for you! Experienced professional, friendly instructors. All courses to instructor level. Plus specialities. Guided dives from boat, beach. New wreck dives!

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SCUBA CAT DIVING Main shop: The Kee Plaza, Second Floor, C1 152/1 Thaweewong Road, Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand 83150 Opening hours: 9.30am - 10pm Soi Watanna, 78/19 Thaweewong Road, Patong Beach, Phuket Thailand 83150 Opening hours: 8.30am to 9pm 7 days a week Tel: 00 66 76 293 120/1 Fax: 00 76 293 122 Email: info@scubacat.com Web: www.scubacat.com www.scubacat-idc.com PADI 5 ★ CDC. EH, Nitrox, LB, ESI, TD, EA, CAOS, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF. At Scuba Cat we pride ourselves on the wide range of services and facilities we have on offer including Liveaboards, Daytrips, Half day trips, Tech diving, Handicapped Diving, Environmental and all PADI Courses. http://www.youtube.com/user/ScubaCat2007 ■■■■■

ST HELENA SUB-TROPIC ADVENTURES

THAILAND

1/3 MOO 9, VISET Road. CHALONG, PHUKET 83130. THAILAND Tel: +66 (0)76 381 765 + 66 (0)76 381 943 Fax: +66 (0)76 280 467 Email: info@sea-bees.diving.com Website: www.sea-bees.com Opening Hours: 9am to 9pm.

Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS, Nitrox, National Georgraphic, SSI Diamond Instructor Training Centre.

Located in Phuket, Khao Lak, Koh Phi Phi & Pak Meng with our fleet of daytrip and liveaboard vessels, we are 'Adventure In Good Hands' ■

SIMILAN DIVING SAFARIS Co LTD 13/19 Moo 7 Kukkak, Khaolak, Takuapa, Phang-Nga 82190, Thailand Tel: 076 485 470 Fax: 076 485 471 Email: info@similan-diving-safaris.com Website: www.similan-diving-safaris.com www.burma-diving-safaris.com Opening Hours: 9am to 9pm.

Air to 200 bar. EH, LB, ESI, EA, AIP, ACC,FCF, ATF, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. PADI 5 Star Dive Center. Livaboard specialist, PADI courses, Nitrox aboard our boat. Ecofriendly toiletries. Similan, Surin, Islands. Myanmar (Burma). Mergui Archipelago. Day trips, diving, snorkeling, European, established for 15 years. ■

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS DIVE PROVO Ports of Call, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: 001 649 946 5040 (shop) Fax: 001 649 946 5936 Email: diving@diveprovo.com Website: www.diveprovo.com Hours: Hours 8am-5pm daily. Air to 200 Bar. EST. Hotel/ dive packages to suit every taste. PADI 5 ★ Resort, SSI Resort. OSS, EH, ESI, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF, AT, AYRD, UWP, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox 32%. Daily 2 tank dives to all areas around Provo;West Caicos, French Cay, N.W. Point, Grace Bay, Pine Cay.Air, Nitrox, instruction and dedicated snorkel trips. British owners Alan and Clare Jardine. 1990 - 2010: Celebrating 20 years of diving as it should be!

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WEST INDIES

BLUE LABEL DIVING

EXTREME MARINE SCUBA LTD

Indonesia - Bunaken, Lembeh and Bali Phuket - Thailand Australia - Brisbane

Compton Building, Dockside Dr, nglish Harbour, Antigua, W.I. Tel: (268) 725 7777 Email: info@exttrememarinescuba.com Website: www.extrememarinescuba.com Hours: 7-3pm Air to 200 Bar. ESI, FCF, AYRD, UWP, NDCF, COAS. PADI Dive Shop & Boat. Bathroom on board, Kitchen, Large boat, Wreck Diver, Night Diver, EFR Instructor, Deep Diver, Search & Recovery, Nitrox, PADI MSDT Instructor, Crew know CPR. ■

Tel/Fax: +66(0)76289801 Mobile: +66(0)884509508 Website: www.bluelabeldiving.com www.ccr-cave.com | www.divemedics.org www.benreymenants.com | exclusive-liveaboards.com PADI Dive Center and TDI 5* Instructor Training Facilities ■■

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OVERSEAS DIVE CENTRES

DIVE GRENADA

SCUBATECH DIVE CENTRE

ZANZIBAR

PO Box 771, St Georges, Grenada, West Indies Tel: (0044) 1 473 444 1092 Email: info@divegrenada.com Website: www.divegrenada.com Hours: 0800 - 1600

PO Box 771, St Georges, Grenada, West Indies Tel: (0044) 1 473 444 1092 Cell: (0044) 1 473 414 6229 Email: info@divegrenada.com Website: www.scubatech-grenada.com Opening Hours: 8.30am - 4pm Air to 300 Bar. PADI Resort, TDI. EH, ESI, TD, EA, AIP, Acc, FCF,AT, AYRD, UWP, CH, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Nitrox.

YOUR friendly & flexible, dive, snorkling & watersports center. Customer orientated & most individual service.

Private jetty. Shuttle Service. Recreational, technical & rebreather diving. Nitrox for FREE! ■ ■

Air to 200 Bar. Dive Grenada are the longest established Dive Operation in Grenada and offer a warm welcome from Phil, Helen and their dogs Jack & Jerry. Based at the award winning Flamboyant Hotel we are perfectly placed to offer you the best dive destination in Grenada.

ZANZIBAR WATERSPORTS P.O Box 1784, Zanzibar, Tanzania Tel: 255 773 235030 Email: info@zanzibarwatersports.com Website: www.zanzibarwatersports.com Opening Hours: 08:00-18:00 Air to 220 Bar. Gold Palm PADI 5 ★ IDC. EH, LB, ESI, EA, ACC, FCF, AT, AYRD, BH, NDCF, CAOS. Zanzibar Watersports operates three PADI dive and watersports centres. Longestablished and focusing on professionalism, safety and customer satisfaction, we service over 25 Zanzibar hotels.

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LIVEABOARDS

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk Pax Cab EnS Lth Hull

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Australia, Cairns, Queensland

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Pax Cab EnS Lth Hull

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Maldives

MALDIVES

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JULY 2014 SportDiver 143

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

ACCESSORIES

HOLIDAYS OVERSEAS ■ English owned legal dive centre in Puerto del Carmen,

Lanzarote, located directly on a family-friendly beach.

■ We can offer you the most dive sites with daily boat,

shore and night dives – all same price!

■ Suitable for beginner and all levels of divers – train

your own students or complete courses with us.

■ We will not be beaten on legimate quoted prices.

■ We can assist with flights/accommodation, etc.

■ Others promise – we deliver!

CLOTHING

HOLIDAYS IN SCOTLAND

MEDICAL Diving Medicals Nottingham • Sport Diver medicals £50 • HSE commercial diving medicals £110 • UK and Norwegian offshore medicals £100 • HGV/PSV/taxi medicals £50 • Occupational Health Medicals Discounts for students and large groups

For appointments call 0780 2850 084 email: mclamp@doctors.org.uk

EQUIPMENT

Drs McCann, Roberts and Bettley-Smith - Poole, Dorset HSE, Sport & Phone advice Medicals done promptly at your own convenience Phone 01202 741345 Email:madeira.medical@dorset.nhs.uk

Servicing on Site Wet/Dry Suits ● Regulators ● BCDs

Cylinders (IDEST) Computers ● Watches ● Mail order

●

●

●

●

01924 444888

Diving Medicals in the Midlands HSE / Sport / Advice – Email: doctor@midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk / Tel: 01788 579555

INSURANCE

dive@roho.co.uk

www.roho.co.uk

www.bowstonediving.com DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF HIGH QUALITY DIVING EQUIPMENT #1 UK MANUFACTURER Weight Systems • Bags & Pouches • Marker Buoys • Flags • Bottle Accessories • Accessories

Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk 144 SportDiver JULY 2014

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising: T: 0118 989 7226 E: scott.jarvis@sportdiver.co.uk

JEWELLERY

English Heart, Swiss Movement Exclusively available online

REPAIRS

CHARTER BOATS SCOTLAND M.V GAELIC ROSE OBAN

Liveaboard diving holidays around the West Coast of Scotland.

Weekend, full week and mid week bookings available.

Accommodation, meals and airfills included in the price.

Nitrox available. Diver lift on board.

For more information please contact Nicki 01967 421714 or Bob 07778965618 Website: www.gaelicrose.com, Email: info@gaelicrose.com

E-mail: scott.jarvis @sportdiver.co.uk WEBSITES www.lumb-bros-das.co.uk quality diving products www.otterboxes.co.uk rugged waterproof cases for every environment www.unidive.co.uk A Quality range of masks, snorkels, fins and knives. www.tek-tite.co.uk Torches, strobes, marker lights for diving and outdoor pursuits.

DIVE SCOTLAND’S WEST COAST aboard the

“KYLEBHAN” Dive from Oban to Mull, Coll, Skye Hebrides and St Kilda or The Islands of Jura, Islay, Rathlin or The Coast of Northern Ireland.

Tel: Jim (01389) 877028, Boat: 07775508242 Email: kylebhan@aol.com

SCAPA FLOW 2014 TO HELP CELEBRATE OUR 21ST BIRTHDAY WE ARE OFFERING AN AMAZING 10% DISCOUNT For a great diving package from our 20m hard day boat, O2 clean 15lt tanks, air to 300 bar, minibus, complimentary airport & Stromness ferry pickups. Self-contained accommodation with hot breakfast in central Stromness, all inclusive plus onboard nitrox. All sizes of parties catered for.

Email: leigh@divescapaflow.co.uk Tel: 01856 850 055 | www.divescapaflow.co.uk

SOUTH Isle of Wight Penetrater. Diving East & West Wight, English Channel. Mainland pick up. All experiences/groups welcome. Electric lift, easy access and parking. Owner/Skipper Mick Martin.Tel: 07890 372958 Email: matzenmarine@btinternet.com

NORTH FARNE ISLANDS DIVING William Shiel

Farne Island Diving available all year round in our hard boats and Rhib for both groups and individuals. Air Station with air fill collection service (no queuing for air fills).

Tel: 01665 721297 / Mob: 07799 666573 Quote: “SPORTS Quote: “SCUBA” for diving Email: diver@farne-islands.com DIVER” foroffers offers www.farne-islands.co.uk | www.farneislandsdiving.co.uk

SportDiver JULY 2014

145

T

he Mozambique coast is a globally significant biodiversity hotspot with well-populated and busy coastal communities on the brink of vast economic development opportunities. We were very fortunate to be made welcome by the fishing communities, families, government officials and even the fish in our quest to reveal the true value of Mozambique’s ocean resources. We love Mozambique and it was hard to leave the “land of the good people”.

Our job takes another tack now as we work with our Mozambican partners to convert our wonderful interactions and learning experiences with local people, 240 hours underwater, 30 days at sea, hundreds of road miles, mini helicopter and DropCam deployments, thousands of hours of underwater, topside and aerial footage into the science, field

all giving big “OK” signs and making big glorious gestures about the beauty of the reef.

Large honeycomb moray eels were out hunting in the open water and creating havoc at the normally organised cleaning stations, thousands of trigger fish and snappers were schooling around us, the vibrant green corals were barely visible behind curtains of small fish and the massive potato cod dominated the gullies with their commanding presence. Rather than exploring the reef I felt more like getting a lawn chair and sitting down for a few hours to just watch things!

But on a pristine reef a little effort goes a long way and by swimming across the top of the reef we came across grey reef and white tip sharks cruising like fighter jets. Studying these top-of-the-foodchain predators is exciting business and as we were

calm conditions and having to hold on tight, stare at the horizon and use all of my will power to not throw up. Dave, our great Diving Officer, put me on oxygen. I took an aspirin, lay down and waited for the world to stop spinning. The next day I spoke to a government delegation to report on our work and I don’t think they noticed that I was still a bit wobbly. It took two days for my inner ear to recover enough so that I could balance and a further week for things to feel normal. I feel lucky - the ear is fine and in future I’m going to use the “I need a lawn chair down here” moment as an indicator that things might be going wrong! In the first few days of the expedition I fell down a deep hatchway that was left open at night. Nothing broken - just scared witless as I disappeared, some big bruises and a strong reminder to the crew to put a rope across

“Our last dive in Mozambique was a celebration of a pristine reef.

After a magical descent into the blue I arrived at the bottom with a large shoal of angelfish either side of my mask who then acted as occasional personal outriggers as I cruised the reef drop-offs and gullies for more than an hour” reports and documentary film.

Our last dive in Mozambique was a celebration of a pristine reef. After a magical descent into the blue I arrived at the bottom with a large shoal of angelfish either side of my mask who then acted as occasional personal outriggers as I cruised the reef drop-offs and gullies for more than an hour.

We know when a reef is in pristine condition because we study the number and range of species, the balance of predator biomass to prey biomass, the numbers of corals, the types of algae and reef builders and we carefully analyse how the ecosystem is working. But for an immediate impression of the quality of the reef I only have to look around and see the very happy faces of the dive team,

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JULY 2014

on re-breathers we got close enough to be part of the hunting action.

The powerful Mozambique currents and big seas demand respect and the only way we could make progress in the early days of our expedition was to take our chances and “dive on the wild side” so it was a gift to make our 315th dive in perfect calm conditions. Arriving at the surface we just relaxed in the easy swells knowing that we didn’t have to go into our normal bruising battle to board the boat in heaving seas.

It was the perfect end to a great expedition. And then suddenly it wasn’t: severe vertigo overwhelmed me. After weeks of happily whizzing around the boat in rough seas I found myself in flat

the steps when the hatch is open - especially at night. As we know, legend has it that these things come in threes so I’m expecting the worst today at Buckingham Palace as I am a guest at the Royal Garden Party and only hope that my expected third little disaster isn’t too embarrassing for the Royal Family. After all - what could possibly go wrong? ■ Paul is the Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society. For 10 years he was the Base Commander of Rothera Research Station in Antarctica and was also the BAS Diving Officer. He presents television and radio programmes for the BBC. www.paulrose.org

www.sportdiver.co.uk

Sport Diver July 2014

Ireland • Egypt • Australia • Cornwall • Belize • English Channel • Germany • Palau • Gear Guide: Dive bags

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