Scuba Diver Asia Pacific - Issue 6

GEAR GUIDE GROUP TEST:

SCHOLAR FREEDIVING:

MORETON ISLAND:

BUDGET-PRICED FINS RATED AND REVIEWED BY THE SCUBA DIVER TEST TEAM

OLIVIA JOHNSON TRIES HER HAND AT FREEDIVING WITH GURUS ALEX STERN AND ALEXEY MOLCHANOV

WHY MORETON ISLAND NEEDS TO BE ON EVERY WRECK DIVER’S HIT LIST

Whaleshark

WONDER AL HORNSBY IS LEFT MESMERISED BY DUMAGUETE IN THE PHILIPPINES

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Paralenz Dive Camera

Dive Like A Pro: Underwater communication

ISSUE 6 | FREE MAGAZINE!

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ALL WEATHER PONCHO

Perfect for:

Changing Warming up Staying dry

EDITOR’S NOTE

High-tech solution for THORNY THREAT TO GREAT BARRIER REEF The devastating damage wreaked on the Great Barrier Reef by crown-of-thorns starfish has long been documented, and while the battle against these destroyers has been waging for years, now a new weapon has joined the scientists’ arsenal in the form of RangerBot. This amazing piece of kit, developed as a result of a collaboration between QUT, Google and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, can stay underwater for almost three times longer than a human diver, and it is equipped with computer vision to ‘see’ where it is going. It can deliver a fatal injection to crown-of-thorns starfish, and can identify these predatory animals with 99.4 percent accuracy.

Find out more about this extraordinary development in News on page 8, along with the depressing news that acclaimed English sculptor and environmentalist Jason DeCaires Taylor’s Maldivian installation, The Coralarium, has been partially destroyed by police officers after the government declared that it was ‘anti-Islamic’, and following on from last issue’s report on plastic pollution in our oceans, we present details of a study which found

that even one piece of plastic ingested can be fatal for sea turtles.

Thinking of your next foreign trip? Need some inspiration?

Check out our articles on Dumaguete in the Philippines, which left even well-travelled photo-journalist Al Hornsby mesmerised by the diving diversity, on page 18, and Neil Bennett’s expedition to the Solomon Islands to explore the 70m-deep wreck of the USS Aaron Ward on page 48. Plus there is an eight-page guide to the wonders of Wakatobi in Indonesia on page 37.

Closer to home, on page 28, Adrian Stacey heads for Moreton Island, a popular dive hotspot near Brisbane, and reckons with more than 30 wrecks off its shores, it deserves to be on any metal-head’s must-dive list.

The Gear Guide Group Test this issue looks at budget fins, and our test team braved chilly waters in North Wales to rate and review these important propulsion systems - heh, without them, we wouldn’t be going anywhere!

MARK EVANS, Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR IN CHIEF

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP

DESIGN

MAGAZINE

CONTRIBUTORS

PUBLISHERS

Mark Evans Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.co.uk Martyn Guess, Adrian Stacey, Al Hornsby, Neil Bennett, David Diley, Dr Richard Smith

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Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers.

Copyright for material published remains with Rork Media Limited. Use of material from Scuba Diver is strictly prohibited unless permission is given. All advertisements of which the creative content is in whole or in part the work of Rork Media Limited remain the copyright of Rork Media Limited.

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ISSN 2515-9593

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GEAR GUIDE GROUP TEST:

SCHOLAR FREEDIVING:

MORETON ISLAND:

BUDGET-PRICED FINS RATED AND REVIEWED BY THE SCUBA DIVER TEST TEAM

OLIVIA JOHNSON TRIES HER HAND AT FREEDIVING WITH GURUS ALEX STERN AND ALEXEY MOLCHANOV

WHY MORETON ISLAND NEEDS TO BE ON EVERY WRECK DIVER’S HIT LIST

ON THE COVER

Whaleshark

WONDER AL HORNSBY IS LEFT MESMERISED BY DUMAGUETE IN THE PHILIPPINES

+

Paralenz Dive Camera

Dive Like A Pro: Underwater communication

ISSUE 6 | FREE MAGAZINE!

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: AL HORNSBY

p001_APScubaDiverIssue6.indd 1

27/09/2018 09:54

REGULAR COLUMNS

FEATURES

A robot that can tackle crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef, sculpture destruction in the Maldives, plastic threat to turtles, and details of a blocked whale sanctuary.

Well-travelled photo-journalist and veteran diver Al Hornsby has explored areas of the Philippines before, but even he was left mesmerised by the macro and wide-angle opportunities afforded to him by the sites of Dumaguete.

8 News

32 Underwater photography

Martyn Guess looks at the importance of backgrounds in macro photographs.

36 Our-World UW Scholar

Olivia Johnson heads to Bali for Deep Week and learns how to freedive with Alex Stern and Alexey Molchanov.

66 GO Diving

Freediver, stunt diver and TV presenter Meghan Heaney-Grier is announced as a keynote speaker at GO Diving 2019.

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18 The Philippines

24 DIVE LIKE A PRO: Underwater communication Our eclectic panel of industry training gurus look at underwater communication, and the many varied ways in which this can be accomplished.

28 Australia

Adrian Stacey visits Moreton Island, and finds that even though it is only a short distance from Brisbane and a popular diving destination, it is not really known as a ‘wreck-diving hotspot’, but with more than 30 wrecks surrounding it, he believes it should be on every metal-head’s radar.

37 Eight-page guide to Wakatobi

Wakatobi in Indonesia is world-renowned for both its exquisite, diverse

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CONTENTS

GEAR GUIDE waters and the luxurious resort that is your gateway to this diving paradise. Our comprehensive eight-page guide gives you all the information you need to get the most from a trip to this bucketlist destination.

45 SPEARFISHING

We link up with DeeperBlue.com to bring a Beginner’s Guide to Spearguns. Plus, What’s New takes a look at the Viper Pro DS speargun from Mares.

46 FREEDIVING: Daan Verhoeven

The freediving photography expert takes us behind the scenes of his photo shoots, and explains the challenges of taking photos on breath-hold.

48 TECH: Solomon Islands

In the first of a three-part series, Neil Bennett waxes lyrical about the deep-water shipwrecks of the Solomon Islands, this time focusing his attention on the USS Aaron Ward, which lies in a depth of 70m.

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54 What’s New

New products recently released or coming soon, including Fourth Element’s Dry Sac range, DIRZone reels, the Mares Epic 82X and XR Tek shorts, Omer Aqua mask, Aqua Lung Aqualux torches, and the Zeagle Scope Mono mask.

56 Group Test

The Scuba Diver Test Team heads to the wilds of Llanberis in North Wales’ Snowdonia National Park to trial a selection of budget fins from a range of manufacturers.

62 Test Extra

David Diley reviews the Paralenz Dive Camera while on assignment in Egypt.

64 Long Term Test

The Scuba Diver Test Team gets to grips with a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Mares Quad Air dive computer, Apeks RK3 HD fins and the innovative Aqua Lung Rogue BCD.

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NEWS

Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as all over our water planet. To find out the most up-to-date news and views, check out the website or follow us on social media. www.scubadivermag.com/news | .com/scubadivermag | @scubadivermag

UNDERWATER ROBOT TO PROTECT

GBR AGAINST CROWN OF THORNS An underwater drone that can keep watch on reef health and accurately identify and inject the devastating crown-of-thorns starfish is ready to be put to the test on the Great Barrier Reef PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF QUT

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angerBot, which can stay underwater almost three times longer than a human diver, has been developed as a result of a collaboration between QUT, Google and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Equipped with a high-tech vision system which allows it to ‘see’ underwater, and operated using a smart tablet, RangerBot is the low-cost, autonomous robot concept that won the 2016 Google Impact Challenge People’s Choice prize, enabling QUT roboticists to develop innovative robotics technology into a real-life reef protector.

Launching RangerBot at Townsville’s Reef HQ Aquarium, QUT Professor Matthew Dunbabin said after almost two years of research, development and testing, RangerBot’s industryleading technology was ready to be put through its paces by those working to monitor and protect the reef.

“RangerBot is the world’s first underwater robotic system designed specifically for coral reef environments, using only robot-vision for real-time navigation, obstacle avoidance and complex science missions,” said Professor Dunbabin.

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“This multifunction ocean drone can monitor a wide range of issues facing coral reefs, including coral bleaching, water quality, pest species, pollution and siltation. It can help to map expansive underwater areas at scales not previously possible, making it a valuable tool for reef research and management.

“RangerBot can stay under water almost three times longer than a human diver, gather more data, and operate in all conditions and at all times of the day or night, including where it may not be safe for a human diver.

“The robot is fitted with computer vision to ‘see’ where it’s going and avoid obstacles as well as multiple thrusters so it can move in every direction.

“We’ve ‘trained’ RangerBot to detect crown-of-thorns starfish – and only these coral-destroying starfish – in much the same way as people learn to differentiate between various forms of sea life. Using real time computer vision processed on board the robot, RangerBot can identify these deadly starfish with 99.4 percent accuracy.”

“Once the identification is confirmed, RangerBot can instigate an injection which is fatal for the crown-of-thorns starfish, but doesn’t affect anything else on the reef,” he said.

Professor Dunbabin said unlike single-purpose marine robots – which are more manual and based on expensive acoustic technologies – RangerBot uses innovative visionbased technologies.

“We believe this represents a significant technology leap in both marine robotics and reef protection – the only autonomous, affordable, multi-function solution for effectively detecting and addressing threats to coral reefs,” explained Professor Dunbabin. “It’s an impressive piece of technology, but RangerBot is also deliberately low cost, to allow production to be scaled up once the next level of operational testing is completed and all the necessary approvals are in place.

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“Weighing just 15kg and measuring 75cm, it takes just 15 minutes to learn how to operate RangerBot using a smart tablet. “Our vision is to make RangerBots readily available and accessible to be deployed on the Reef where they’re most needed and to put them in the hands of reef managers, researchers and communities worldwide.

“Environmental robotics is a real passion of ours and we see so much potential for these advanced technologies to transform the way we protect the world’s coral reefs.” RangerBot is the result of the Great Barrier Reef teaming up with QUT roboticists Professor Dunbabin and Dr Feras Dayoub in 2016 to enter the Google Impact Challenge. As the People’s Choice winner, they secured $750,000 to take the project to the next level. “We’re thrilled to see RangerBot come to fruition because this project is about giving those looking after our coral reefs the tools they need to protect them,”said Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden.

“Combining the expertise of innovators like Google and QUT, this project is a great example of harnessing technology to benefit the reef.

“More than a billion people depend on coral reefs for their food and livelihood – they stand to lose the most if those important ecosystems are not protected.

“This project and partnership with QUT and Google is about putting these costeffective, flexible and readily deployable ‘drones of the sea’ into the hands of the people at the front line of looking after and managing our coral reefs, as extra ‘hands and eyes’ to manage those critical environments.

“Even though the Great Barrier Reef is internationally acknowledged as the best managed reef globally, due to its size and complexity, effective management is a mammoth and expensive task.”

“RangerBot has the potential to revolutionise the way we manage our oceans and is an important tool to have at our disposal in the quest to save our coral reefs,” she added. n

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INDUSTRY NEWS JASON DECAIRES TAYLOR ‘HEARTBROKEN’ OVER DESTRUCTION OF MALDIVIAN SCULPTURE Acclaimed English sculptor and environmentalist Jason DeCaires Taylor said he was ‘extremely shocked’ to learn that his Coralarium sculpture, which sat just offshore from the Fairmont Maldives’ Sirru Fushi Resort, has been destroyed by the Maldivian authorities.

The Coralarium, which according to DeCaires Taylor was conceived to ‘connect humans to the environment and nurture a space for marine life to thrive’ was the first-ever museum of its kind. The large steel frame had cut-outs that aimed to mimic the marine world and allowed sea life to explore freely within, acting as a new habitat for coral and other species, while 30 human figures were positioned on top and inside the frame at tidal level, with others submerged beneath. Nine months in the making, its creation involved a large team of marine engineers, steel fabricators, divers and mould-makers. Changing according to light and tides, the artwork was open to resort guests and day visitors.

However, despite the government of the popular holiday destination being involved in a constant dialogue regarding the Coralarium, and having regular consultations, on Friday

21 September, local police officers carried out a court order to destroy the exhibit, using pickaxes and other tools to very publicly smash the human-like figures that – as with most of his works - formed the focal point of the installation.

The destruction of the installation followed condemnation by local Muslim leaders and politicians, including outgoing-President Abdulla Yameen and President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, of what they deemed to be the ‘un-Islamic depiction of human figures’ and ‘a threat to Islamic unity and the peace and interests of the Maldivian state’.

The Accor hotel group, which owns the Fairmont resort, said in a statement: “Permissions were sought and granted before the installation. This artwork was intended as an immersive way to educate people about the environmental concerns impacting the Maldives and the world, while helping to rejuvenate and restore local coral reefs.”

The main Coralarium structure remains intact and the hotel group says it has initiated ‘re-imagination plans with the artist that will be in harmony with the locals and environment’.

INTRODUCING SOLOMON ISLANDS DISCOVERY CRUISES Heralding a long-awaited return to dedicated Solomon Islands small ship cruise programmes, newly-formed Solomon Islands Discovery Cruises (SIDC) has announced its plans to operate six adventure itineraries in 2018-2019.

Operating ex-Honiara and timed to dovetail with Solomon Airlines’ Brisbane-Honiara services, SIDC has employed the 30-metre MV Taka to operate the six- and seven-day cruises, each of which have been designed to highlight two of the South Pacific’s truly unspoiled and culturally-rich regions - the Florida and Russell Islands archipelagos. Passengers will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in both region’s distinctive cultures and environments. The cruise itineraries feature visits to remote villages along with plentiful opportunity to discover the region’s amazing coral pastures and abundant marine life with daily dive and snorkel options.

Both areas are also rich in World War Two history giving passengers insight into the infamous Guadalcanal campaign in 1942 via the many wrecked US and Japanese aircraft, warships and relics which literally litter the seabed.

Congratulating SIDC on its initiative, Tourism Solomons CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto said the very nature of the Solomon Islands archipelago of 992 islands lent itself to dedicated small ship adventure itineraries.

“Lindblad Expeditions left a big hole when it decided to redeploy its small ship operation to the Galapagos two years ago,” he said. “And while we regularly welcome Expedition Cruises’ vessels, these itineraries are always in conjunction with other destinations, such as Vanuatu and Papua New

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Guinea, and passengers only get a very small taste of what we have to offer.

“Having a dedicated niche adventure cruise programme, operated by a local company with local experts and one that offers insight into our unique culture, history and environment plus the opportunity to experience our amazing underwater world is a huge build on our existing tourism product.

“Add to this, the amazing benefits our local people will accrue from this environmentally-oriented program are immeasurable. This product is long overdue and one that I see as being highly successful going forward.” www.sidcruises.com.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS PRO-WHALING COUNTRIES BLOCK BID FOR SOUTH ATLANTIC WHALE SANCTUARY

Conservation and environmental groups are in an uproar after pro-whaling nations blocked a near 20-year effort to create a South Atlantic haven for the endangered marine mammals, at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Brazil.

The South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary was backed by 39 countries, with 25 voting against and several countries not casting a ballot, and so failed to get the required twothirds majority from the 89-member body when it was put to the vote on Tuesday 11 September.

The IWC currently recognises two other sanctuaries, the Indian Ocean Sanctuary created in 1979, and another in 1994, in the waters of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, and it was hoped this would be the third.

Brazil’s Environment Minister Edson Duarte, whose country has been proposing the creation of the sanctuary (supported by Argentina, Gabon, South Africa and Uruguay) since a 2001 IWC meeting, said he was disappointed but would continue to enlist support worldwide.

He said: “As minister for the environment in a country with 20 per cent of the world’s biodiversity in its forests, we feel highly responsible for the stewardship of our wealth, for the whole world, and this goes for cetaceans as well.”

Pro-whaling Japan voted against the project, backed by commercial whaling states Iceland and Norway, as well as Russia. The Japanese delegation also pushed for a rule change at the biennial meetings that would allow decisions to be made by simple majority instead of the current three-quarters minimum, which would make it easier for them to push through its proposal to end a 32year moratorium on commercial whaling and re-introduce ‘sustainable whaling’ – a move that has infuriated nations opposing the practice.

Patrick Ramage, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, commented: “A sanctuary in this region would have provided strong protection to a wide range of whale and dolphin species.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS AGGRESSOR LIVEABOARDS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH STREAM2SEA

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About Oasis Explorers Oasis Explorers is a newly launched technical training facility located at Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort and Spa in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The facility is the first in Bunaken Marine Park to offer multi-agency technical training, trimix and CCR compatibility, and a vastness of unexplored deep dive sites, all in the setting of an award-winning luxury dive resort.

Expect a state-of-the-art filling station, specialised equipment, experienced surface support and expert advisors.

Oasis Explorers will also be working on opportunities in North Sulawesi for more detailed scientific surveys, environmental awareness for deep-water marine species and the first comprehensive mapping project beyond recreational depths.

Please send enquiries to

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As part of its international ‘Green the Fleet’ environmental initiative, Aggressor Liveaboards has announced a partnership with Stream2Sea to further the company’s commitment to protecting the marine environment. Through the partnership, Aggressor Liveaboards will provide environmentally-safe Stream2Sea sunscreen and personal care products in staterooms aboard five select Caribbean-based Aggressor yachts.

The programme provides every guest on the Bahamas Aggressor, Belize Aggressor III, Belize Aggressor IV, Cayman Aggressor V and Turks and Caicos Aggressor II yachts a customised package of products, including SPF 20 sunscreen, sting gel and other assorted items. All the items are free of harmful chemicals and agents that are causing damage to the environment in many parts of the world.

Aggressor Liveaboards is one of the leaders in promoting the protection of the environment. The company launched the ‘Green the Fleet’ initiative two years ago and has been at the forefront of marketing and promotional efforts designed to make the liveaboard lifestyle environmentally sustainable for divers and protect the health of the world’s oceans.

The ‘Green the Fleet’ initiative sees all captains’ briefings welcoming guests aboard their yacht include information about the company’s environmental initiatives, conserving water, and respectful interactions with marine life, while new sustainability initiatives will build on existing green operations already in place across the fleet.

These include switching from single-use plastic bags to small, compostable, non-plastic garbage bags, participating in local recycling efforts, purchasing beverages in glass bottles or cans only, and providing each guest with a complimentary re-usable water bottle, and using primarily non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners. www.aggressor.com

READY TO GO DEEPER INTO YOUR OWN MIND WITH FREEDIVING? If the answer is yes, you’re invited to awaken your own potential with champion freediver William Trubridge, who is set to co-host a personal development retreat in Hawaii this December. From 3-10 December 2018, Trubridge will team up with lifestyle coach Tom Bilyeu, to run workshops on freediving and personal growth.

The retreat will cost US$15,000, which includes seven nights at Lumeria Resort on Maui in a king room (couples will get a US$1,500 discount for the second person), plus three meals a day, ground transport to and from Maui airport, and freediving gear. The only thing not included is the flight to Maui. www.deeperdevelopment.net

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ScubaDiverUK.ai 1 17/5/2018 14:27:43

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Keep your eye on the dive, not your dive computer.

PHINISI TAKES TO THE SEAS IN THAILAND The Phinisi yacht is the new addition to The Junk brand and will operate diving liveaboard cruises in Thailand and Myanmar starting 1 November 2018. She will offer four different routes that cover the best of diving in Thailand – Similan and Surin Islands, including the famous Richelieu Rock, as well as Phi Phi Islands, Koh Haa and the two famous dive sites Hin Deang and Hin Muang. Itineraries vary between four and six nights, and are ideally combined into a ten-night itinerary.

On top of that, Myanmar is added to the schedule from 2019 onwards with sevenand ten-night cruises around the Mergui Archipelago.

Officially known as Cheng I Sao, the Phinisi (pronounced: Pinisi) is fully equipped to accommodate 18 divers in seven en-suite cabins with individual air-conditioning units. Guests can choose between flexible double/twin, fixed twins, and quad cabins. Full of character and charm, the Phinisi also has quite a remarkable history.

Custom-built in 2007 as a liveaboard yacht in classic Indonesian-Phinisi style, she became part of the WWDAS fleet as Sampai Jumpa Lagi. In 2008, she was renamed Siren; the first vessel to bear the name of what later became the well-known Siren Fleet. She successfully operated in Thailand, Myanmar, the Andaman Islands, Indonesia, and the Maldives. The Phinisi has had a break from hosting liveaboards for the last couple of years; instead, she has been cruising with guests on day trips around the islands near Phuket. Now she is back! New colours, new name, but with the same characteristic style and outstanding service that people have become accustomed to on The Junk.

For more information and bookings, consult our website: www.thejunk.com

THAI CAVE RESCUE – UK DIVER HONOURED A British cave diver who assisted in a rescue mission to free 12 teenagers and their football coach trapped in a Thailand cave system has been honoured with an award from his home city. Former firefighter Rick Stanton, 57, from Coventry, was awarded the Award of Merit and a Good Citizen Award by Coventry City Council. Stanton was one of the first rescuers to reach the stranded group in the flooded Tham Luang cave network back in July, alongside his diving partner John Volanthen. In a story that gripped the entire world, elite divers from around the world converged on Thailand along with thousands of local people in a massive rescue bid to locate the missing children, aged between 11-16, and their coach. All 13 people were extracted safely from the cave following the monumental effort. Rick Stanton told the BBC: “I really believe people in Coventry followed me and were supportive of me [when I was in Thailand] and for that I’m really grateful because it actually meant a lot to me.”

According to the news outlet, ‘Councillor Abdul Khan, the cabinet member for policing and equalities, said that the local authority had been keen to recognise Mr Stanton’s ‘act of heroism’.’

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Dr Oliver Firth has gained considerable experience in the field of diving and hyperbaric medicine since joining LDC in 2006. He is an Approved Medical Examiner of Divers for the UK HSE, and a medical referee for the UK Sport Diving Medical Committee. He is involved in the management of all types of diving-related illness, including recompression treatment, as well as providing hyperbaric oxygen therapy for non-diving conditions.

He remains a passionate diver and has participated in various expeditions and conservation projects throughout the globe.

Q: I have just returned from a trip to Mexico, where one of our group had some sinus congestion at the beginning of the trip. They used Sudafed on the first day, and all was well, but when this was mentioned in conversation at the dive centre they (the dive centre staff) stated that under no circumstances whatsoever should Sudafed be used before diving.

I have noted on several occasions you mention the use of Sudafed; what do you think the Mexicans were so worried about?

A: A very common question. I thought I ought to deal with this once and for all, as Sudafed and the like are so often used and talked about.

The active ingredient in Sudafed is something called pseudoephedrine.

Its therapeutic effect occurs by stimulating receptors on the muscles of blood vessel walls, causing them to constrict. This means that the vessels leak less fluid, and so congestion in the sinuses and nasal passages is in theory reduced. All well and good, but as with most drugs the effects are not limited to the airways alone – the same receptors being stimulated elsewhere can cause the heart to race, blood pressure to rise, and generate anxiety, excitability and insomnia.

Generally this would only occur with consumption of elephantine quantities, but nevertheless these side effects are what lead to its use being discouraged.

As far as diving with Sudafed goes, the usual caveats apply – there has been little rigorous scientific research on it and so many of the recommendations are based on anecdotal case reports and extrapolation. Some research suggested that sympathomimetics (the class of drug to which Sudafed belongs) can enhance oxygen toxicity.

So taking Sudafed and diving on gas mixes with high partial pressures of oxygen is not recommended.

Q: I want to try diving but when I was pregnant last year I was diagnosed with sickle cell trait. My doctor doesn’t know whether it’s safe for me to dive, and I’ve heard about sickle cell disease and I’m not sure what the difference is. Can you clear up my confusion?

A: Let’s do a basic biology lesson first. Red blood cells have evolved a particular shape to help them flow easily through blood vessels, the so-called ‘bi-concave disc’. Imagine two Frisbees opposite each other and squashed in the middle. Or a doughnut with a thin flat piece filling the hole. In sickle-cell disease, an abnormal form of haemoglobin (HbS) means that the red cells become distorted into a sickle shape. These get stuck in blood vessels, cutting off blood supply to tissues further on, which leads to organ damage and painful ‘crises’, which can be completely incapacitating. It is genetically inherited: if both genes code for HbS, then a person will develop sickle cell disease, but if only one HbS gene is inherited (and the other gene is normal HbA), then you have sickle cell trait. Those with trait only don’t develop the full-blown disease, but are carriers.

Unfortunately, if you have sickle cell disease, diving is out. The increased risks of DCI are too great. For those with the trait, some authorities cite evidence that low oxygen levels can trigger sickling and crises, but others quite reasonably point out that in these conditions, drowning would be more of a worry. I tend to agree with this last point. Those with trait are unlikely to develop any dive-related problems under normal conditions.

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Nudis of all shapes and sizes

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he Dumaguete coastline, on the southeastern corner of the large Philippines’ island of Negros, is a tranquil, pleasant place. It’s lovely, with palms and large trees hanging over a long, dark-sand beach. Its fringing ocean is typically flat calm, so much so that dive boats can pull right up onto the sand at our resort (Atlantis Resort Dumaguete), meaning that from dive centre to boarding was a matter of but a few strides.

Equally reachable are the dive sites, which stretch oneafter-another along the coastline from Atlantis’ just-offshore House Reef, in both directions to as far, and to as many sites, as one could dive in weeks of trying. Dropping in, you find a warm, calm world of muted colours among dark sand, scattered corals and turtle grass fields. Reaching the bottom, your relaxed frame of mind is soon replaced by intense interest as you realise you have stumbled into a vast treasuretrove of strange, lovely (or bizarre) species, more than you can count, seemingly something new every few metres, whichever way you turn. The contrast is striking… an effortless, utterly relaxing diving environment versus your acute, energised mental state, built around pending – and near constant – discovery.

Scorpionfish

Mantis shrimp

Topside is lush and green

If you have ever been curious about what muck-diving is really about – or (especially) if you are already an experienced, muck-diving fanatic – you must prepare to be amazed by the sheer number of species and individual animals crawling about or hovering over the bottom, seemingly crammed into every nook and cranny, and perched on hard corals, tube anemones and soft corals. It’s not an accident – this coastline borders the Sulu Sea, oft-acclaimed as being an epicentre of bio-diversity in the Indo-Pacific.

Equally important to this diversity and population density is that, especially due to the large amount of marine research that has occurred along this coastline, the locals understand the value – both to tourism and ongoing, sustainable local fishing – of protecting their near-shore waters, and every town and village along this coastline maintains its own Marine Protected Area (MPA), often with each one abutted against the one before and the next one to follow. The result is an assortment and population of undersea creatures that really must be seen to be believed. Conveniently, it also means that there are remarkable dive sites found every couple of hundred metres – and less.

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On our trip, we came to realise that House Reef – reached by boarding the boat from the beach and swinging around only far enough to reach the shallow mooring just offshore – was one of the most-diverse, critter-find areas we visited (dived by day and as one of the most-populated night dives one will ever find). In just two dives there, we saw and photographed a sea moth, porcelain and decorator crabs, many species of nudibranch, schooling coral shrimpfish, starry puffers, moray eels, several species of lion and scorpionfish, live shells, an orange-banded pipefish (a male carrying eggs), a bizarre maculate spearer mantis shrimp and more. On the night dive, my guide found a coconut husk in the sand, and turning it over, found a clutch of flamboyant cuttlefish eggs attached to its inner surface.

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What would you think of snorkelling or diving, as close as you might want to be, with a large gathering of whalesharks?

Dumaguete An exotic surprise Well-travelled photo-journalist Al Hornsby has seen a lot in his globe-trotting, but even he found this part of the Philippines held some surprises in store PHOTOGRAPHS BY AL HORNSBY

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Outrigger dive boat

Shrimps on anemone Flambuoyant cuttlefish

Turtle grazing on the reef

With such short boat rides and five dives a day on the regular schedule, it was easy to shoot huge numbers of images – without even straining

Knowing that flamboyants don’t move very far from their eggs, we began a search, and within moments had found the exotically beautiful parents hunting nearby, who calmly endured my picture-making, exhibiting no noticeable concern.

To the south, about five minutes from the resort, the Punta site is a sand, rubble and scattered-coral slope reaching 20m that was another muck-diving, critter center. On just one dive, I photographed several species of butterfly and anemonefish, a juvenile sweetlips, a number of nudibranchs (including the unusual P. postulosa and P. briarium), a strange, whitehatted Galathea squat lobster, a lovely pair of Periclemenes shrimp on an anemone, a live Diana conch and, a special find, a yellow warty frogfish. With such short boat rides and five dives a day on the regular schedule, it was easy to shoot huge

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numbers of images – without even straining (Oh - and, did I mention the regular, sunset mandarinfish dive at a site called Bahura, which could be done in lieu of a night dive?).

And, if this non-stop bounty of muck, macro-critter findings and images might leave aside a moment for a completely different sort of great diving, that was also easily accomplished. Another superb option was a day trip to nearby Apo Island, just an hour’s boat ride to the south. The small, jungled-covered islet juts up out of the sea and is surrounded by coral reefs, drop-offs and walls decorated with soft corals and gorgonians. Fish life is rich, and green and hawksbill turtles are common.

Our family’s favourite place was the Apo Island Marine Sanctuary area, a large, utterly-calm bay along the southeast coast. With crystalline water and marvelous stands of hard corals jutting up from a 15m-deep, white-sand bottom, the spot was lovely for divers and snorkellers alike. My 11-yearold daughter Juliet and I spent a carefree hour freediving,

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Landscape shot of anemone shrimp

spotting snapper, sweetlips, chub and many colourful reef fish, while my wife, Christine, snorkelled alongside.

After lunch aboard the resort’s large boat, the Titana, we moved a couple of hundred metres southward to the island’s tip, to a beautiful site named Rock West, for a highexcitement dive. Dropping down, we rode a moderate current along a steep, hard and soft coral-covered slope. Nearing the bottom at about 23m, there is sand with intermittent coral ridges and lots of marine life. We saw green turtles, a large resident school of big-eye trevally, a huge malabar grouper and several banded kraits, which were much less shy than I have experienced in other diving areas. The end of the dive was a long, shallow glide over beautifully rich coral gardens, the water thick with damsels, chromis, moorish idols, anemonefish, butterflyfish and more.

This transition, from muck and small critters to some of the loveliest coral reefs one could ever hope for, was delightful, with the sharp contrast making both extremes somehow even more enjoyable. But… our diving hadn’t ended yet. The next day-trip was, if anything, even more remarkable. What would you think of snorkelling or diving, as close as you might want to be, with a large gathering of whalesharks?

Just a few hours away, by van and ferry, the small Cebu Island fishing village of Oslob has transformed itself into one of the most-popular whaleshark diving locations on the

planet. Some years ago (as a local biologist studying the Oslob phenomenon explained to me), a local diver/fishermen noted, after the regular migratory-group of whalesharks had moved on, that one had stayed, and was frequently seen hanging about, just offshore. Aware that the sharks migrated seasonally through the area for swarms of a small local shrimp, on a whim he obtained some from local fishermen and tried feeding the shark from his boat. To his surprise, the shark readily fed, and the interaction became a regular event.

At some point, another shark joined in, then more as time went by. The villagers, formerly fishermen who might occasionally take one of the huge sharks for their fins, became involved as word reached the local diving community, and tourist divers began showing up. By the time I had first visited four years ago, 186 different sharks had been identified as having participated in the daily, morning feedings, which last from around 8am until noon. As the fishermen throw handfuls of shrimp and squid into the water, generally eight to ten big whalesharks, typically around eight metres in length, casually come and go, moving closely (like really close) among the gathered snorkellers and divers to feed. When the hand-outs end, they gradually disappear back into open sea…

This rare opportunity for interaction is in some ways one of the most-incredible shark protection stories one will ever find. A small, struggling fishing village has transformed itself into a successful marine park, the local population thriving economically by protecting the local sharks and educating their children, neighbours and tourists about them. And, in so many ways, we lucky divers benefit most of all… n Atlantis Resort

The reef is very healthy

ATLANTIS DIVE RESORT DUMAGUETE

For the resort and dive operation, a PADI Five Star Dive Centre, the owners’ designed goal was ‘To create a great resort that makes sure guests don’t have to sacrifice anything in their search for the best diving’. They work to provide an allinclusive offering centred on great service, great diving, modern, comfortable rooms, wide-ranging activities (including a luxurious spa), delicious food and a friendly, well-trained staff.

The resort’s 44 rooms, some at the water and the remainder in a garden setting just back from the beach, have full facilities and amenities, including Wi-Fi. The dive centre, photo room and classroom are well-designed and close to where the boats board. The dive centre itself is spacious, with gear and camera wash tanks, individual diver storage, complete gear-handling service and choices of cylinder size, with air or EANx. The entire staff is local, and thoroughly trained, including two PADI instructors and five Divemasters, whose specialty is local marine life knowledge – and where to find specific species. www.atlantishotel.com

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Communicating underwater is an important skill, and there are various ways you can talk to your buddy. Here, our panel of industry experts give their hints and advice.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF JASON BROWN

UNDERWATER COMMUNICATION

W

e all learned basic hand signals when we qualified to dive, regardless of training agency, but there are many other ways to communicate with your buddy or dive team, including slates, wetnotes, dive lights and so on. It is worth mastering or utilising various methods so you are prepared for any situation.

Emily Petley-Jones, UK Regional Training Consultant at PADI and a PADI Course Director, commented: “Always review your hand signals with your buddy, especially if you are diving with someone new or that you haven’t dived with for a while.

Hand signals can vary significantly from person to person, and it is especially important to review how you are going to communicate how much air you have left to your buddy.”

Vikki Batten, Director of Rebreather Technologies, Training Supervisor and Instructor Examiner at PADI, said: “Signals need to be clear so practice them in the mirror and make sure they are confident. Simple signals can be used to communicate most of our needs underwater, so use the ones you were taught rather than ‘made up’ signals that others may not understand. Carrying wetnotes and a good pencil (that won’t break) is also a good idea, just in case you need a more accurate way to communicate.”

John Kendall, GUE Instructor Trainer, said: “Communication is an incredibly important part of safe diving and is so much more than just a few funky hand signals. Underwater communication starts a long time before the dive itself - a dive team need to make sure that they are on the same page as each other, and that there is a solid dive plan that is understood and agreed by everyone.

“Once underwater, divers should commit to follow the plan unless a situation arises that requires the plan to be changed, and this is where clear communication is key. It is far too easy to over-communicate when diving. A long sequence to hand signals will rarely be understood by your buddies, and often we can condense the whole lot into one signal. Keep your signals slow, try to make eye contact and then signal with your hands at eye level, and make sure you get confirmation from your buddy. I have often found on dives that the simplest communication (‘Thumb the dive’, ‘Go this way’) is all that is actually needed. Most of the time, you will find that your buddy is thinking much the same, but is simply waiting for someone else to say it.

“It’s important for all divers to take responsibility for communication. If you are not sure what is going on, then ask.

Don’t blindly follow. This is a major part of technical diving,

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and should be taken seriously on all dives.”

Davs Brander, BSAC Diving Officer at University of Nottingham SAC, said: “We all know that feeling on a dive; you’ve turned to your buddy and signalled that you’ve seen the most-amazing creature, only to be met with a blank stare.

By the time you’ve managed to convey your meaning or given up, the creature has disappeared anyway…

“Communication underwater can be difficult, not just due to the reg in your mouth. This is obviously a major problem, but one that can be overcome with some foresight. The mostbasic signals are taught at Ocean Diver, so everyone should be able to say they’re okay, not okay, going up or down and so on, but once you start diving more for pleasure, rather than training,” you need to expand your repertoire.

“If you haven’t dived with someone before you should discuss signals before the dive starts. When you dive with friendly and familiar club divers, you are likely to be on the same wavelength but out on a liveaboard in the Red Sea, when you get buddied with someone at random, you should make sure you are able to understand each other underwater.

“I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, has written a list of signals and what they mean, however in practice I find that on most dives you can often make up a signal on the fly and be understood. There are a few typical ones people use - counting on your fingers for gas, pinching your thumb and forefinger to signify a lobster, and even some ruder ones when someone has just swum in front of you and destroyed what little vis there was in Stoney anyway!”

Garry Dallas, Director of Training RAID UK & Malta (Rec/Tec/ Cave Instructor Trainer) explained: “It doesn’t matter what language we speak on land, for divers underwater, the mostcommon form of communication is a universal underwater sign language.

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“Simplifying a sentence, question or statement is extremely difficult without some ‘keyword’ signals. When trying to describe more-detailed or informative communication, we may even rely on a string of signals. Above all, they must be clear, concise, accurate, visible and almost always require a confirmation reply back.

“However, it has been observed that divers sometimes disregard replying back to ‘okay’, ‘are you ok’, ‘do you agree’, ‘do you understand’ and ‘end dive’! These are all, by definition, command signals that require an acknowledgement gesticulation in response. A good buddy team shows respect and communication is always two-way.

“There are several ways to communicate underwater within a team, such as writing on wetnotes or a slate, by torch, touch contact or most commonly by hand signals. When using a rebreather, it is also quite possible to talk through the DSV/ BOV mouthpiece of the loop.

“To ask ‘how much pressure is in your tank’ or say ‘there is a big shark behind you’ requires firstly, visual contact and a comfortable distance to be able to see the signals. Even with this in mind, it can be very difficult to see the signals when the divers’ gloves are the same colour as the backdrop of the divers’ suit, i.e. black on black. So, to make life easier when communicating, wear different colour gloves to your suit or hold your hand up higher using the backdrop of the water to highlight your signals. When in the dark, shine the light on your hands to illuminate them. This, however, gets quite interesting when you need to use both hands for signalling while holding a torch.

“To combat this problem, technical divers have developed an effective way to communicate single handed. This has proven very useful for all elements of diving in any environment and at any level of qualification and yes, that includes recreational diving too.”

Phil Short, Dive Industry Consultant, responded on behalf of IANTD and said: “We as divers in most circumstances when underwater have lost our most basic and normal means of communication when we enter the underwater world talking. As such we need to utilise alternative methods to keep in touch and communicate with our buddy or team of divers while diving. There are several means of underwater communication that we shall review below.

“Hand signals - the most-used communication system among divers from recreational though technical to commercial and military has been since diving’s beginnings to date hand signals.

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“There are a well-developed universally recognised diving hand signals such as ‘okay’, but further communication can be achieved through specialist signals, specifically cave diving signals, and even the use of full sign language.

“One difficulty in poor visibility or low light with communication by hand signal is the ability to see the hand making the signal. In cave diving, all signals are made with one hand illuminated by the primary light in the other hand.

I add to the effectiveness of this system by using white dry gloves that show up clearly against the background.

“Light signals - rather than having to illuminate a hand to express communication via hand signals in a dark environment, a simplified method of communication for primary messages evolved from the cave diving community using the dive light. The ‘O’ of ‘okay’ being replicated as a question and answer via a slow circular motion of the light beam, a slow side-to-side slashing for ‘attention’ and a rapid up-and-down slashing for ‘emergency’.

“With a well-practiced buddy pair or team there is often no requirement for any communication other than the necessary light signal confirmation of comfort on a regular dive.”

“Written communications - slates or wet books and pencils give the ability to record data such as survey information along with the ability to communicate information too complex for hand signals or not understood by hand signals, however training, practice and buddy/team familiarity should remove this need. The problem with written communications underwater especially in cold water scenarios with thick wet or dry gloves and dexterity loss, is the questionable legibility of the written communication.

“As we can see, many forms of communication enable us to remain in contact with our team and or buddy during a dive, and as with many other areas of diving simplicity and understanding are key!”

Mark Powell, Business Manager for TDI/SDI, said: “Communication becomes even more complicated when diving in a team of three. Recreational diver training has traditionally encouraged divers to adopt the buddy system.

Diving in a group made up of more than two people has been described as undesirable. This view must be balanced against technical dive courses where divers are encouraged to dive as a team and often cite three as the optimum team size.

“Poor communication and buddy skills often go unnoticed on recreational dives but for technical dives or on dives with three divers, these skills become much more important. It is possible to get away with poor communications skills when there are only two divers, but this becomes less feasible as the number of divers increases.

“In a buddy pair you only have one other person to keep track of, this makes communications fairly straightforward.

When diving in a trio you now have two others to keep track of and so you spend more time looking for the third person.

As you are unfamiliar with diving in a trio, all three of you

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are likely to be moving around and looking for the other two, which makes the task even more difficult.

“This problem occurs because divers don’t usually know where to look for the other divers, especially in a trio or more.

If you don’t even know where your buddy is then you have no chance of communicating with them. One of the key principles of team diving is having agreed positions. Common positions when diving in a three are to dive in a line, either one in front of the other or side by side, or alternatively in an arrow head position. Swimming in a line, one in front of the other, works well for swimming along the side of wrecks or reefs or through restricted areas. In this case the person in front only has to keep track of the person immediately behind them – no different to a buddy pair. The person in the middle has to keep an eye on the person in front and the person behind. This is more work but they have two people keeping an eye on them.

The person at the back just has to keep an eye on the person in the middle however this is the most-exposed position as there is no one looking at them unless the person in the middle looks back to monitor them.

“In each case it is essential that each diver is monitoring the relevant member(s) of the team closely enough to stay in contact and to be close enough to assist should they get into trouble. A high level of awareness is required in order to achieve this. The use of powerful torches for signalling can make keeping track of other members of the team much easier. If you can see the torch beam of the diver behind then you don’t need to turn around in order to check that they are still there. In addition, the diver behind can use their torch to signal the diver in front if they need to get their attention.

“The skills required to be a good buddy are the same as those required to be a good team diver and vice-versa. By adopting some of the team diving methods used by technical divers we can improve our communication skills even if we are carrying out a recreational dive no-stop dive. Effective communication between buddies will help them stay together and avoid any potential problems. In this way, we can take some of the communications aspects of team diving and increase our safety on all of our dives.” n

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DOWN UNDER

f someone were to tell you of a dive destination that boasts over 30 wrecks, places like Scapa Flow or Truk Lagoon might spring to mind. Moreton Island, on the other hand, would probably not. But this sand island, just a stone’s throw from the city of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia, is home to at least 31 regularly dived wrecks and some pretty impressive coral reefs.

Moreton Island is located in the bay of Moreton, 58km from Brisbane. While a number of wrecks are littered around the island, the majority of them have been sunk at Tangalooma and Curtain Artificial Reef on the western side of the island. Tangalooma was the site of Queensland’s only whaling station. It operated between 1952 and 1962, but is now a marine conservation centre and tourist resort. In 1963, the first of 15 vessels were deliberately sunk on a sand bank only a hundred or so metres from shore. The original purpose was to form a breakwater, protecting the shore and giving small vessels a safe place to anchor. The creation of this reef also had the added benefit of providing an adventure playground for wreck enthusiasts. Comprising of barges, whaling ships and dredgers, the wrecks are clustered together

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in a line parallel with the beach. Several of them break the surface, giving the site the appearance of a flooded, rusting theme park.

A few kilometres further north is Curtain Artificial Reef, 500 metres in length; 16 barges and pontoons were sunk here by the Underwater Research Group of Queensland to create a new dive site, the first of which was sunk in 1968. The west side of the island is more sheltered but it is also more prone to strong currents, so the best time to dive the wrecks is at either low or high tide. Visibility here can range from 5-15 metres and on very rare occasions can get up to 20 metres.

The water temperature in the winter, April to September, can drop down to 18 degrees C, but is usually around 20-22 degrees C. In the summer months, the temperature is usually between 25-27 degrees C. Various dive centres around the Brisbane area offer trips to explore the wrecks and reefs of Moreton Island. Our target for day one were the wrecks at Tangalooma.

The first dive was used as an orientation dive. We started at the southern end of this mass of steel and snaked our way north along the perimeter of the wrecks. The undulating

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Adrian Stacey explores an Australian island that is home to more than 30 wrecks, yet barely registers on the radar of metalheads

Some wrecks protrude from the water

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADRIAN STACEY

sandy bottom of the site has a maximum depth of 13m and in some places rises to only 2-3m from the surface. A massive school of diamond batfish swarmed around the stern of one of the whaling ships. At another wreck, a wobbegong shark was resting in the shadow of a huge dormant propeller. Trevallies patrol the site relentlessly while their prey makes use of the multitude of hiding places the sunken vessels provide. Turtles are regular visitors and the occasional dolphin has been known to swim past.

For the second dive we took more time to explore this underwater labyrinth. While trying to pick a path through the middle of the wrecks, we sometimes encountered a dead end; other times we had to squeeze between two gnarled hulls, or swim through the rusted-out holds of one of the barges.

The whole dive felt like being on an underwater adventure course, some areas with only a metre or so between the sandy bottom and the steel lattice-work of the ships hold above.

There are some patches of hard coral growth and a mass of marine life. But it is the tangle of various metal structures and the almost-limitless potential for exploration that makes Tangalooma such a great site to dive. Due to its shallow depth, there is virtually no chance of running out of bottom time, which is often a factor when wreck diving.

The second day was spent at the wrecks of Curtain Artificial Reef. They are more spread out and tend to enjoy slightly better visibility due to their location further away

As soon as I let go of the mooring line, I was whisked away slaloming between the wrecks like a downhill skier WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

The wrecks are well encrusted with marine growth

Trumpetfish

Some wrecks are easy to penetrate

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Diver with propeller

Perfect for entrylevel divers

from shore and in deeper waters. The deepest of the barges is at around 30m and the shallowest is at about 12m. We descended down the mooring line onto the gentle sandy slope, where the wrecks were randomly scattered. Starting at the stern of one of the deeper vessels, I was confronted by several gormless-looking but small-car-sized grouper. Despite their massive size these creatures are very apprehensive around divers and beat a hasty retreat as we approached. We spent the next 50 minutes exploring a number of the wrecks, poking around in the wheel houses and venturing inside their cavernous holds. The sandy slope between the barges is the ideal habitat for bull rays and whip rays. The barges themselves host a wealth of colourful reef fish, nudibranchs and pipefish.

After a nice long surface interval, we were ready for the next dive, but by this time the current had picked up and the visibility had dropped to around ten metres. As soon as I let go of the mooring line, I was whisked away slaloming between the wrecks like a downhill skier. Occasionally, my buddy and I would seek shelter from the current to watch some marine life glide past, and then it would be back into the stream to do our best impression of Superman. The second dive was not as relaxed as the first, but it was great fun.

On my third day, the plan was to visit a site called Gotham City, followed by a dive on the close-by Flinders Reef. These reefs are past the north tip of Moreton Island in more exposed waters and take about one hour 30 minutes to reach. The visibility here is usually better than on the wrecks, often reaching 30 metres. Gotham City is a deep pinnacle which starts at around 15m and is

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The wrecks are home to plenty of fish

reported to have abundant coral growth, walls covered in sea fans and schooling fish everywhere. Unfortunately, on the journey out, and contrary to weather reports, the wind became stronger and the swell grew bigger so we headed to the slightly more sheltered Flinders Reef. This large reef barely breaks the surface; eight permanent moorings are dotted around its circumference, offering access to around 20 dive sites. One side of the reef drops to around 28m with a topography of pinnacles, swim-throughs and caves. Our first dive of the day was on the other, shallower side. A gentle slope, populated by a large number of turtles, eased its way to 15m. Rocky spires and boulders were covered in both hard and soft corals, providing excellent grazing for a large posse of rainbow wrasse that frenetically swam from one feeding ground to the next. A very inquisitive flutefish shadowed us for most of the dive, using us for cover as it searched for prey. Due to worsening

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weather conditions, we made our way back to Tangalooma for the second dive. The waves were not nearly as big here and although it is not usually dived when there is a ripping current, it made for a great dive. The rushing water swirled and eddied around the wrecks and we did not know where we would be taken next. All too quickly, the ride was over and the boat was there to pick us up and take us back to Brisbane.

Moreton Island itself covers an area of approximately 168 square km, 95 percent of which is national park. It has endless white sand beaches, lush forests and spectacular sand dunes. It is reputedly home to the world’s largest coastal sand dune, making sand tobogganing a popular activity, along with hiking, 4WD tours and whale watching. The island has a number of resorts, hotels and camping facilities, and is accessible by both car and passenger ferry. Alternatively, like me, once the day’s diving has finished, you can make the short journey into Brisbane and enjoy all that a bustling city has to offer.

Flinders Reef hosts 175 different species of fish and over 120 types of coral, which would not be out of place in the waters of its larger neighbour further north, the Great Barrier Reef. Barges, whaling ships and dredgers might not inspire the same awe or possess the same allure as the battleships and cargo vessels of Scapa Flow and Truk Lagoon, but the dive sites of Curtain Reef and Tangalooma provide some fantastic and truly original wreck diving. n

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Dive boat in the marina

Fish swarm around some of the wrecks

The whole dive felt like being on an underwater adventure course, some areas with only a metre or so between the sandy bottom and the steel latticework of the ships hold above

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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

DEALING WITH DISTRACTING BACKGROUNDS Following his last article on underwater macro photography and looking at different lighting techniques, Martyn Guess provides some more ideas on how we can all get better underwater macro images by dealing with distracting or bland backgrounds PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTYN GUESS

A

s I said in my first article of this series, good macro photography requires us to follow a few basic rules and then to apply these to our images. As well as being well composed, striking and colourful, with maybe some interesting behaviour, it is critical that the image is creatively and well lit.

Most photographers have been in the situation where the guide points out, or you find for yourself, a really nice subject, but it is sitting on black or light brown sand or some other mucky position. Maybe with some weed or other distraction too. You can take a shot, but the subject gets a little lost, or the picture just looks a little bland.

I covered different strobe positions which help to darken the background in my last article, but what also works really well on small subjects is using a snoot or a tube of light that can be positioned to only illuminate the subject, or just a part of the composition. Rather like a stage set with a narrow beam of light shining on the actor or singer.

When I started to get better results with my macro photography, I was very keen to make the subjects really pop and rather than buying a purpose-made snoot, as at that time they were not really available, I went down to my local DIY store and bought some plumbing bits and pieces which I cobbled together and fitted onto one of my strobes.

Nowadays I use a snoot made by a company called Retra, which they call a light shaping device or LSD. This fits neatly onto the strobe with a strong clip. It has a glass magnifier to focus the strobe’s modelling light through various shaped card holes that you can slide through the main Snoot tube. See the image with the Snoot connected to my strobe and camera.

Snoot lit Emperor shrimp on nudibranch 1/320th F25 ISO 64

In the image of the Emperor shrimp on the nudibranch (above), the narrow light from the snoot illuminates only the subject when the flash goes off, thus hiding the rather ugly background of sand and weed where the subject was sitting.

Sounds difficult, but with a bit of practice on land and then in the water it is easy to get great results.

I showed this technique to a student on one of my recent macro workshops and within a single dive he was taking welllit images without any distracting backgrounds.

Snoot lit 1cm long clown frogfish 1/250th F22 ISO 200

The light coming through the snoot is fairly harsh, as you take off the strobe’s diffuser when attaching everything together.

This helps amplify the texture of the skin of subjects such as frogfish or shrimps, as can be seen with this image of the tiny clown frogfish, which was not much more than 1.5cm long.

I get the best results by setting the camera to manual F-stop to give a good depth of field, say F22, and enough speed to freeze any camera movement or action and fast enough to help darken the background. I set the ISO to say 200 and the strobe on 3/4 power. When you start shooting, simply adjust the light intensity by increasing or decreasing the ISO, not the strobe. That way you don’t risk moving the strobe once its position is set up so that the strobe’s light hits the subject. Because the light is more concentrated, be careful not to burn out highlights.

When I find a suitable subject at the beginning of the dive, I first set up the strobe/snoot position by looking through the viewfinder or LCD and practice with a pebble or something close by, which is roughly the same size as the subject and move the position around until it is lighting what I am practicing on. You can then move onto the live subject without having to disturb it. Another easier way is to ask the guide or your buddy to assist. Give them the strobe with the snoot attached and show them how to aim at the subject. You can leave the strobe connected by the optical or electronic cable to your housing, as you will both be working close together. Vary the camera-to-snoot distance to light just what you want, and also the angle either straight down or coming in from one side to create shadows across the subject. It is possible to find the optimum snoot-to-subject distance to get a fairly hard line around the pool of light, as seen with the image of the boxer crab (right) or move the snoot further away to soften the edge of the light. The picture of the hairy frogfish took a long time to perfect, as I did not want any light from the snoot spilling onto the sand below and getting

Snoot lit boxer crab 1/320th F25 ISO 200

the angle and position just right took a lot of shots. The joy of the Retra card inserts is that you can choose differentsized holes through which the light is emitted. Start with the biggest and work your way down to a small hole to light just the part of the subject you want. There are other brands of snoots, depending on your budget. The snoot made by 10 Bar has a red laser light to direct the snoot and can be easy to use. It is also lighter than the Retra and fits into a pocket. The 10 Bar model has different-sized tubes which screw together.

You simply take off the smaller tube sections if you are looking for a bigger pool of light. Saga also make a good and well-made snoot.

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY Snoot lit striated (hairy) frogfish 1/250th F18 ISO 320

MY ESCORTED TRIPS

Want to learn how to take or improve your underwater images?

Why not come on a photo specific trip? These trips are meticulously planned to the best destinations at the best time of year where the conditions should be perfect for building a portfolio of great images.

The workshops, which are for all levels of experience but mainly aimed at people with a few trips under their belts, include classroom sessions and presentations as well as in-water help and guidance, all done in a relaxed and non-competitive friendly environment. As I sit here writing this article I am on my way back from the Azores with a group of photographers. We are returning there in September 2019. There is also a trip to Bali in August 2019 as well as a joint trip with Mario Vitalini to the Red Sea in May next year and others to the Philippines and Sulawesi in the pipeline. www.scubatravel.com Open aperture thornback cowfish 1/250th F 6.3 ISO 50

This all sounds complicated, but I assure you it is not, and this lighting technique can easily be mastered in a few dives and the results can be simply stunning. Once you have the strobe/snoot set up on a dive, you can move around and shoot whatever subjects you like as long as they are roughly the same size so that the camera distance is similar for each subject. Another way to deal with a poor background is to simply open the aperture and blur everything but the subject.

By choosing a more-open aperture (small F-stop) which provides less depth of field, everything behind the subject or even the part of the subject you don’t want sharp will have a nice blur or bokeh.

The image of the thornback cowfish (right) shows how the distracting background can be softened and thus the subject clearly stands out against it. When using a moreopen aperture remember that the strobe light will need to be turned down and the speed increased as more light will be getting onto the subject through the wider lens aperture.

If you use a really wide aperture you may also need to turn down the ISO to compensate.

I like to work a good macro subject so while I like snooting, I will also try other techniques and opening the aperture by different amounts will give you a very different-looking image than a snooted shot with a black background. Some photographers are now also introducing a coloured back light to snooted shots to give another dimension to just a black background. Try snooting and I guarantee you will be amazed with the results after a bit of practice. n

BIOGRAPHY: MARTYN GUESS Martyn has been diving for over 30 years and taking underwater images for over 25 years. He has been very successful in national and international competitions and regularly makes presentations to camera and photography clubs as well as BSoUP (The British Society of Underwater Photographers) and other underwater photography groups. Today he shares his passion and knowledge - as well as teaching underwater photography courses, he leads overseas workshop trips for Scuba Travel.

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 over 35 years. owuscholarship.org

FREEDIVING WITH ALEXEY MOLCHANOV AND ALEX STERN PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF OLIVIA JOHNSON

I

have always loved holding my breath and being underwater. It is an escape from the city life and noise to a whole different world, and one that I am always so grateful to be able to get away to.

For me, it also hasn’t mattered if it was the sea or the pool, just to be able to be in the water felt fantastic.

Converting from years of squad swimming, I’ve been playing underwater hockey for over ten years now (if you’re not sure what this crazy sport is, I suggest Google or YouTube videos) and have represented Tasmania multiple times, and even Australia back in the day. Applying my breath-hold skills over the last few years to my underwater photography has also been something I’ve been working on, and even more so recently with Alex Kydd on the beautiful Ningaloo Reef, where I undertook my photography workshop.

But underwater hockey and recreational breath-hold is quite different to the art of freediving. So, when the opportunity arose to receive formal training in freediving with Australian champion Adam Stern, along with the current World Champion Alexey Molchanov, for a week of intensive workshops and diving sessions, I was extremely excited to dive in head-first without all the gear!

I headed off to Amed in Bali, which was about a threehour drive from Denpasar, for Deep Week 2018. The air was warm, the people so friendly with smiles and with the water of Jemeluk Bay a deep crystal-clear blue, I knew I would be in for a fantastic week. This was the launch of the freediving company Molchanovs Education Programme - and we were the first students in the world to be undertaking this course!

Founded by Alexey Molchanov and his late-mother, the former world champion Natalia Molchanov, the Molchanov’s way of teaching aims to bring the best of the best in freediving education, that previous freediving certification companies (often linked to scuba diving companies) could not.

Through a series of workshops and practical sessions over a week, we learned all about the different disciplines of freediving – this included photography, competitive

and recreational. Then within the disciplines, the types of freediving: static - holding your breath in the pool for as long as you could; dynamic – how far you could swim horizontally; constant weight – kicking down next to a line to a given depth; and free immersion – pulling yourself down a line to a given depth. The week was focused on improving our techniques to make us better and more-confident divers. It was also all about relaxation, as this was key to a successful dive!

The hardest part of this week for me was learning to get my zen on – really relaxing myself and letting my thoughts go. The mental thoughts that come to you when you’re 20m deep or more is ‘what am I doing’, ‘I’m running out of air’, ‘I should turn around and go back up’, and everything else you can imagine. Through a series of yoga, meditation, practical and theoretical classes on mental strategies, plus positive imprinting, we learned all about how to listen to our bodies and letting our thoughts go. Mental programming is also critical in freediving and this was emphasised, particularly to make the time disappear. It allows you to create a positive scenario in your head, or even visualise an everyday task.

I was enjoying and learning so much from the course that I managed to progress from the Wave 1 course to complete both Wave 1 and 2. Through all the techniques we learned, I was able to completely relax myself to achieve a personal best depth of 35m on one breath and I even won the fastest progression award for Deep Week! I can’t believe how much I was able to learn in just one week, and how truly amazing the human body is, but I guess most of all how much of an influence our mind has over the task we are trying to achieve.

A huge thank you in particular to Adam Stern for continually supporting Rolex Scholars to experience freediving. n

Olivia Johnson

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PRESENTS A GUIDE TO

WAKATOBI TOP DIVE

SITES

WAKATOBI DIVE RESORT’S MUST-DIVE SITES REVEALED

PHOTOGRAPHER’S

PARADISE

+

IS THIS THE ULTIMATE MACRO DESTINATION?

10 THINGS YOU MUST DO AT WAKATOBI DIVE RESORT

10

THINGS

YOU MUST DO AT WAKATOBI DIVE RESORT Photographs by WARREN BAVERSTOCK, GLEN COWANS, MARCO FIERLI, SHAWN LEVIN, DIDI LOTZE, WAYNE OSBORN, RICHARD SMITH, WALT STEARNS, MARK SNYDER, JASON WOLCOTT

1

ROMA DIVE SITE

Visit the outstanding coral rosette at the dive site ‘Roma’ – The site has some of the best hard coral growth in the area, and the rosette is the jewel in the crown. Make sure the dense schools of fishes in the shallows don’t distract you from reaching your goal though.

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HOUSE REEF

Walk right off the beach and experience the worldrenowned ‘House Reef’ - there are few places on the planet where such a rich reef is accessible so easily from shore. You can head off with your buddy to explore at anytime of the day.

3

SPA TREATMENTS

Relax, with a variety of invigorating and sumptuous spa treatments - you’re on holiday after all, so treat yourself to one of the various treatments on offer. The fusion of European and Asian offerings will leave you relaxed and ready for the dives ahead.

4

SEAHORSES

Find your own pygmy seahorse with the help of your eagle eyed guide - of course, pygmy seahorses are preposterously small, but imagine the thrill of finding your own. Once you know where to look, you’ve already cleared the biggest hurdle.

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WATER SPORTS

Try other water sports: wakeboarding, paddleboarding or kayaking – calm waters and little boat traffic make Wakatobi Dive Resort an excellent loca-tion to sample other watersports. Or try kitesurfing during June through September when the resort has a dedicated kiting instructor on staff.

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FROM THE EDITOR

6

PRIVATE DINING

For a romantic treat, enjoy a private dinner for two by the beach - why not have the resort arrange a quiet and intimate dinner for two. With the sand beneath your toes, you can celebrate a special occasion in memorable fashion.

7

NATURE TRAIL

Spot birds and lizards along the nature trail to a local village - a small village at the far corner of the island is linked to the resort by a nature trail. Along the trail, you can spot stunning tropical birds and other colourful local wildlife.

8

CORAL LAGOON

Join non-diving friends and family to snorkel the resort’s shallow coral lagoon – the lagoon in front of the resort is full of fascinating reef creatures, so you needn’t don your scuba equipment to share this with non-diving loved ones.

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NIGHT DIVING

I’ve had a long history with Wakatobi Dive Resort spanning more than a decade. I first visited as a guest in 2005; I loved the diving and was drawn to its environmental awareness, the friendliness of its staff and outstanding natural beauty of the region. The resort had already long established a marine reserve protecting their local area, and the bustling reefs brimming with life were a testament to this. I returned several times over the next few years to spend more than six months collecting data for my PhD research on the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses. Fortunately, they welcomed me with open arms, as few sites would have provided sufficiently rich and pristine reefs accessed straight from shore.

After several hundred dives at Wakatobi, I have understandably had countless amazing encounters. Some of my highlights have included swimming with a pod of pilot whales enroute to the dive site Blade, and melon headed whales from the liveaboard Pelagian. I shall never forget the sense of awe as a herd of 40-plus enormous bumphead parrotfish ponderously grazed the coral buffet around me. Although, most certainly the icing on the cake was watching a pair of pygmy seahorses give birth and almost immediately begin to dance and mate again, just 30 minutes later.

I consider Wakatobi my second home and I’ve been back as often as possible since completing my research. As the world’s ecosystems change before our eyes, thankfully Wakatobi Dive Resort is remote enough, and protected with enough forethought, that its bounty remains. The bustling reefs with their fantastical tropical fishes, kaleidoscopic corals and many special resident characters keep bringing myself and other divers back year after year.

DR RICHARD SMITH

BIOGRAPHY: Richard Smith, a British underwater photographer and writer, aspires to promote an appreciation for the ocean’s inhabitants and raise awareness of marine conservation issues through his images. A marine biologist by training, Richard’s pioneering research on the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses led to the first PhD on these enigmatic fishes.

Over the past decade, Richard’s photographs and marine life focused features have appeared in a wide variety of publications around the world. 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

Join a night dive to meet a whole new cast of coral reef characters - night dives are a time of serenity and calm. They also provide a rare glimpse into the private lives of the nocturnal creatures that emerge as the regular diving day ends and the sun sets.

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JETTY BAR

Enjoy the buzz and beverages of the Jetty Bar at sunset – located at the perfect vantage point to soak up the almost-guaranteed sunset spectacular. You can sip a great cocktail at the same time. What could be better?

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A DIVERS PARADISE As man inexorably encroaches upon the world’s last remaining wildernesses, it’s increasingly hard to find pristine places to dive. Sadly, mass tourism now intrudes upon locations that only a decade ago were considered extraordinarily remote. It is reassuring that some places remain beyond the reach of human interference. Wakatobi Dive Resort in southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, is one such place. The Wakatobi archipelago stretches in a south easterly direction from the tip of the Sulawesi mainland; starting with Wangi-Wangi, then to Kaledupa, Tomia and finally Binongko Island. The first two letters of each island create the acronym WA-KA-TO-BI, after which the resort gets its name. To reach this forgotten corner of the planet, you can’t hop on an easyJet flight. During the resort’s early years of the 90s, long ferry and overland journeys lasted several days. Thankfully, in order to more easily share their magnificent reefs, Wakatobi decided to build a private airstrip on a neighbouring island. Exclusive flights now run twice a week directly from Bali to the resort, making access easier than ever.

LUXURY LODGINGS

Several aspects of Wakatobi Dive Resort stand it apart from other dive resorts: the extremely high level of service, fivestar accommodations and gourmet food - not to mention the diving. There are three tiers of accommodation offered at the resort, from Palm Bungalows nestled among tropical vegetation just a stone’s throw from the lapping waves, to the middle tier Ocean Bungalows, which offer a porch affording stunning views out across the flat tropical waters. The most opulent level of accommodation options are the villas. With unobstructed views of the ocean, and sunsets, the four spacious yet private villas are surely the gold standard of dive resort lodgings anywhere in the world. With a butler to optimise your holiday on land, and a private dive guide for your in water experience, what could be better? One and two bedroom villas offer different options for families and the latter even have private pools.

If food is high on your list - and let’s be honest, what diver doesn’t need a good feed after a long day of diving? - then you’ll be more than catered for at Wakatobi, with buffet style international cuisine served in an open air dining room overlooking the ocean. It’s very easy to forget how remote Wakatobi actually is when you have such outstanding fresh food served daily. Most of the supplies come from Bali by plane and the logistics behind the operation, that go on seamlessly behind the scenes, must surely be military in their planning.

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HEART OF THE MATTER

It is well documented that, sitting at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the biodiversity in the waters around Wakatobi is extremely high. Twenty kilometres of reef are protected around the resort and here literally thousands, or more likely millions, of reef creatures flourish. While the resort is a perfect base to explore the immediate area, to voyage beyond the Sawa reef systems to even more remote and unvisited sites requires a liveaboard. In 2005, Wakatobi Dive Resort acquired Pelagian to do just this job, and she has been cruising there ever since. Together, Wakatobi Dive Resort and Pelagian offer the perfect combination for experiencing the wider region.

Wakatobi is one of the world’s most well-known dive resorts, and for good reason. Over the years Wakatobi has developed into a leader in quality of diving accommodations, ambience and dining. Ultimately, however, the key to the resort’s success has been the outstanding diving. The diving is accessible to all levels, with corals growing all the way from the surface to the deepest realms of the rebreather diver, so let’s explore some of what its reefs have to offer...

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THE MACRO LIFE OF WAKATOBI

Wakatobi Dive Resort has reefs to suit everyone. Snorkellers can see fishes up close and personal in the shallows, while divers easily burn through their 70-minute dives pouring over luscious coral growth deeper below the surface. The resort also offers rebreather diving, which is beyond my remit but sure to deliver mesmerising marine life encounters too.

Whichever depth is your preference, macro life flourishes from the shallowest reefs to the deepest ridges.

STARTING SMALL

Pygmy seahorses obviously initially attracted me to this remote corner of Indonesia. Wakatobi is one of the best places in the world to see these diminutive fishes. Three species are commonly encountered there: Bargibant’s, Denise’s and Pontoh’s. All of these are shorter than the diameter of a two pence coin, and Pontoh’s is even shorter than a five pence! Never fear, if critter spotting isn’t your forte, a knowledgeable and eagle-eyed guide, who will find a huge variety of macro life on your trip, leads each dive group. If there’s something you’d specifically like to see, within reason, you need just ask.

If the abundant pygmy seahorses are too small for you, then the reefs also accommodate multitudes of other macro critters. Pairs of Halimeda ghost pipefish blend effortlessly into their namesake algae; here even the weeds have eyes. Unlike their seahorse relatives, females brood developing eggs in fused pelvic fins (male seahorses brood their young in a pouch).

If you see a pair of ghost pipefishes, keep an eye out for the larger female fanning open the paired fins on her belly. If you’re very lucky, you might just catch a glimpse of the eggs within. Another newly discovered member of the seahorse and pipefish family is the thread pipehorse, Kyonemichthys rumengani. It’s as long as a pygmy seahorse, but very much thinner, it’s hardly surprising that these fish went undiscovered for so long. Wakatobi is also a great spot for nudibranch aficionados. Year-round there are many species that you can find on the reef. It helps if you know their food sources, or have a good eye for these gaudy slugs.

There are also a variety of species that come and go seasonally, which makes sightings different each time you visit. Guides carry a slate and can often help with identification if you’re interested. This is true of any creature you see during your dives.

CRITTER HUNTING

Every invertebrate at Wakatobi seems to accommodate a tiny hitchhiker; you just need to know where to look. Crinoids (also known as feather stars) accommodate a multitude of creatures from squat lobster to shrimps and even tiny clingfish. The nocturnal counterpart of the crinoid, the basket star, also has a stunning little shrimp hitchhiker, found only on their arms. Most recently, the giant clams revealed their own residents in the form of jewel-like spotted shrimps living deep inside and exposed only to the most patient and observant of divers. The dive guides at Wakatobi are trained not just to help spot all these tiny creatures, but to assist with your interaction too. Sometimes it’s not the easiest trick to get in and have a proper look at the smallest animals. Your guide can provide a steady anchorage if you’d like to stabilise yourself, while they use a pointer to indicate the animal’s location. What I love about the guides is that they never manipulate or harm the creatures while showing it. If you’ve read my Critter Hunting series, you’ll know that I’m very much in favour of leaving animals undisturbed. I’m always so happy to dive with resorts that respect and value their marine life.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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UNPARALLELED SERVICES Wakatobi’s famously high standards of service become apparent as soon as you start to plan your visit. Before even getting to the resort, the concierge team are at your disposal. They are able to organise a stay in Bali to take in the sights, relax to get over your jetlag or sample some local cuisine. Even if you only have transit time between your Bali arriving or departing flight and your flight to the resort, the concierge team can happily arrange a transfer to a local restaurant or spa, to kill a few hours in style.

However, it really all starts after dropping your bags with the Wakatobi team at Bali domestic airport. Amazingly, you won’t need to worry about these again until they’re seamlessly deposited at your bungalow or aboard Pelagian.

After an easy and personalised check-in, you’re escorted to a private lounge to have a short and relaxed wait to join the flight. There are snacks available, and you have the opportunity to make some new buddies who’ll also be heading to the resort.

STREAMLINED DIVING

For most of us, however, diving is paramount and any little ways that this can be made more streamlined and personalised is often greatly appreciated. Dive group sizes are always small at the resort, in the region of one guide to four guests, and sites are never crowded; however, at Wakatobi they can go one step further. It’s possible to charter your own private boat. You can do this by the day, or for your entire trip. With your own boat, guide and crew you can head off wherever you want, whenever you want. You can choose to take a packed lunch and stay out all day, staying at the same site for all your dives, or head off further afield. Is there a certain site you want to revisit or animal you really want to see? Then this service would suit you perfectly and it’s surprisingly affordable. Definitely one for the photographers.

Taking their dive services a step further, Wakatobi now offer the skills of a resident photo and video pro. Whether you are a total beginner and want help setting up your first underwater camera, or you’re an experienced shooter wanting to hone your skills, these one-on-one classes are sure to be beneficial.

You can even learn how to organise your pesky Lightroom catalogue or sharpen your post production techniques.

NON DIVERS

If you are coming to Wakatobi with a non-diving partner or children, there are plenty of services and activities to keep them occupied and happy. For a truly relaxing non-diving activity, a significant other can spend some time at the spa—or enjoy a spa service right at your bungalow or villa. There’s a library for quiet times, and a wildlife media presentation several evenings of the week. Infants and young children can be trusted to the care of Wakatobi’s nanny service, and children 5 and up have exciting activities at the Kids Club. Active teens can go for kayaking, snorkeling trips, waterskiing or wakeboard runs. And, kitesurfing at the resort during June through September has become a very popular option. If shopping at the resort’s boutique isn’t enough retail time, there are tours to island villages that include stops at the local markets.

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life on Pelagian

Pelagian is the ultimate boutique liveaboard. With just ten guests, living on this floating lap of luxury for seven nights, it allows a select few to explore beyond the immediate vicinity of the resort. The dive sites differ quite markedly between the resort and the Pelagian’s itinerary, so a combination of the two offers the best of both worlds.

There are two flights a week to the resort and one of these co-ordinates with the Pelagian’s schedule. After she has set sail, she heads off to explore some of the other islands in the Wakatobi chain and she doesn’t return until seven days later, to co-ordinate with a departing flight. Obviously, it’s then up to you whether you stay on or head back to Bali.

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Day to day life on Pelagian is both busy and relaxed in equal measure. Four dives are offered per day, which keep you plenty busy enough. Fitting in delicious meals and snacks, plus the odd nap, takes a good deal of planning. Luckily the attentive crew are there to keep you on track. With the large and well-appointed cabins, it would be tempting to luxuriate in these but then you’d be missing out on the dives. With the family-style dining, you’d soon hear all about the creatures you’d missed and regret your lethargy.

Reefs encircle almost all of the islands in the Tukangbesi Islands, the other name for the Wakatobi chain. Pelagian has a varied route, but usually dives are conducted around three of the four main islands. One of the other diving highlights is off Buton Island, a large satellite of the Sulawesi mainland.

Here there is some of the best muck-diving in all of Indonesia.

It really is a hidden gem. Here, I have seen blue-ringed octopuses, rare poison ocellate (mototi) octopuses, frogfish, seahorses, ghost pipefishes and even a rare Rhinopias scorpion-fish. It’s also well known for the abundant and huge mandarinfish that live around Asphalt Pier. At dusk they gather and conduct their ostentatious courtship rituals. There are so many of these gaudy fish, that I once even witnessed a cheeky ménage à trois.

Its close ties with Wakatobi Dive Resort make Pelagian an excellent add-on to a land-based holiday.

The different sites visited perfectly complement each other. The diving aboard the Pelagian is perfect for new and experienced divers alike, with the outstanding biodiversity that the area has to offer providing new creatures around every coral head.

An experience without equal “The reef systems here are some of the most pristine I have seen anywhere in my dive

travels around the globe, and Wakatobi resort and liveaboard are second to none. The diversity of species here is brilliant if you love photography.� ~ Simon Bowen

www.wakatobi.com

SPEARFISHING NEWS & GEAR BEGINNERS GUIDE TO... SPEARGUNS Chad Carney has written a series of articles for DeeperBlue.com aimed at novices to the world of spearfishing. Below is a truncated version of his overview on spearguns

S

Most spearguns also have a shooting line attached to the shaft, which is wrapped once or twice under or alongside the barrel. The line is released by the trigger so that the shaft will have minimal drag when fired, and the diver does not have to manage the line before the shot. Spearguns typically come rigged with a short bungee cord and clip between the shooting line and the gun muzzle, but can be rigged with reels of float lines, depending on the type of prey the diver might be hunting. Spearguns, like Hawaiian slings, can also shoot a free shaft, without lines, like an archer shooting a bow.

Spearguns from as early as the 1950s might have been powered by rubber bands, but they might also have been powered by compressed air cylinders or ammunition shells. As the sport matured, it became clear that ethically guns needed to be powered only by the diver’s muscle power, which is also much quieter than other power devices, so they were better for stalking spooky fish.

Photo credit: Isaac ‘Shrek’ Daly / www.noobspearo.com

pearguns are the most-advanced types of spearfishing equipment available today and have been for more than half a century. They have several advantages over polespears and slings, most notable is the trigger which holds the power of the preloaded shaft, allowing the diver to be more relaxed and ready to take the shot when it develops. Spearguns can also be far more accurate than other spearing devices due to their increased power and design affording better aiming.

Today, most spearguns are powered by the diver stretching rubber bands of various lengths from the barrel to the notches or fins at the base of the spear shaft. Some pneumatic or airpowered spearguns are still in use, but they are not expelling air like early compressed air guns, but rather are loaded by the diver pulling the shaft down the barrel compressing an air chamber which will throw the spear shaft when triggered.

It is a good idea to think ahead about what kind of spearfishing you want to do and where you want to do it.

It’s very common to pick up a second or third speargun that is either longer or shorter and more suitable to diverse spearfishing styles and destinations. No one speargun can be the best for all conditions and all fish.

To read Chad Carney’s full, in-depth articles, head to: www.deeperblue.com/beginners-guide-spearfishing n

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This gun features a premium-quality anodised aluminium barrel which is both lightweight and strong, and allows the gun to stay neutrally buoyant when in the water while loaded. It has an open muzzle design and includes a ‘V’ cut out at the top of the handle, which allows the diver to look directly down the barrel to the tip of the spear with a clear line of sight, without obstructing the shot, giving you the best chance of accuracy. Hunters will also appreciate the WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

inverted, 100 percent stainless steel release mechanism, which give a greater propensity to pull the rubbers back to the last notch on the shaft, giving you more power than other guns. Viper Pro DS comes equipped with two circular 16mm s-power slings, Dyneema wishbone and a 6.5mm single barb Tahitian shaft, giving you everything you need to hunt larger fish and pelagics. A pre-formed handle with a new high-functionality anatomic grip and chest loading pad offer hours of comfortable usage to even the most-fanatical of spearfishermen. The open shaft rail, inferior line guide on the barrel, standard Vertical Spiro 65 Reel, and the new KJ grip equate to maximum control over the speargun.

Complete with Australian rigging, bungee and carabiner on the butt of the handle, and available in 120, 110 and 100mm lengths, Viper Pro DS will provide many hours of simple, safe and successful spearfishing to novice and expert hunters alike. www.mares.com 45

FREEDIVING PHOTOS

PHOTOS THAT CLICK

Daan Verhoeven explains how he seamlessly blends freediving and underwater photography, and the unique challenges he faces on a daily basis PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAAN VERHOEVEN

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hen preparation meets opportunity, we call it luck, and in our minds, it comes with its own sound effect. It clicks. If you are really lucky, you get a couple of these clicks in your life.

I had a literal ‘click’ moment once - it was the first time I used a DSLR underwater.

It was in Dean’s Blue Hole, in the Bahamas, and I borrowed a friend’s Canon 20D, in a Subal housing. At that point, I’d been making a part-time living as a photographer for a couple of years, and I’d been freediving for about seven years. Of course, the thought of combining these passions had occurred to me, but like my dad said: ‘I like mayonnaise, I like liquorice, I don’t necessarily like a combination of the two’. I’d tried some freediving photography with a compact, but it was nothing like what I had in mind, or what I could do on land. It hadn’t ‘clicked’ yet.

Not till that moment in Dean’s Blue Hole. I remember it vividly. I was very nervous about taking somebody else’s expensive piece of equipment down in the water, so I didn’t go that deep, maybe 10m, but soon as I lined up my eye to the viewfinder, my nerves calmed and something else took over. Being able to frame this way, the way I was used to on land, already put me at ease, and the lens itself was a 16mm equivalent, which offers a field of view that covers pretty much exactly what I’d hoped for. So I’m looking through that viewfinder to the surface, where my friend is breathing up, about ready to dive, and I know how they’re going to turn for the duckdive, so without thinking or effort, I adjust my position to be in front of them when they swim by, and I wait.

They dive, do a couple of strokes and soon as they are in position, I pull the shutter trigger, and the camera clicks.

I felt the click resonate through my body - I can still hear it to this day. Maybe it has something to do with the contact points of my mask on the housing, maybe the 20D has a loud click that is augmented by the aluminium housing, maybe I’m ‘bigging it up’ post-facto, but that click sent a shiver down my spine. My whole being clicked with it. It was in that moment, with that sound, that I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Took me 37 years, but that moment, where everything lined up, literally, and clicked, physically and metaphorically, was one of those rare defining moments that you recognise as such when they happen. That dive was my baptism as an underwater photographer.

Once you know where you want to be, you have to figure

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It was in that moment, with that sound, that I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up

Check out more of Daan’s work at:

www.daanverhoeven.com

out how to get there. I asked the two people whose work I admired most - Fred Buyle and Julie Gautier - which camera they’d recommend. Both said the same thing - the Canon 5D mark II, with a 16-35mm lens. Both of them were also using Hugyfot housings at the time, so that’s what I decided to go with too. Then it was just a matter of saving up enough money to buy the gear. I was lucky in that I was working for my girlfriend, who owns a landscaping company, so I could also get the occasional photo gig and safety freediving job.

She is a freediver as well and really supports me, and with her help I saved up enough to buy the camera and lens after six months, and with a loan I also got the housing.

Soon as I got the housing, the most-expensive piece of equipment I’d ever owned, I - of course - instantly messed it up by putting in a battery the wrong way around and frying the board. This meant it still worked but wouldn’t indicate if there was a leak, which made its maiden dip a rather nervous one. I soon learned how to work around it and then I hit the ground running - or the water finning, as the case would be. Turns out that I had been preparing for this job for years, completely by accident. Between an obscene amount of photography topside (I pretty much didn’t put the camera down from 2007 till 2012) and a ridiculous amount of diving (I’ve been more or less soaked since 2005, both as a

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competitor and as a safety diver), I was ready to start the new job instantly.

In a way, the best preparation for the job had been safety diving, where you spend long days in the water, doing repeats to 30m to meet the athlete coming back up. Both being a safety diver and a freediving photographer are endurance jobs - the athletes are more like sprinters, we do the marathon. For each athlete I tend to dive twice - once just before they start, so I can get down to 10m-15m and photograph them on the way down, and then again on their way up, so I can record the last phase and the celebration on the surface. Competitions usually have anywhere from 15 to 150 athletes, so I do a lot of dives during a comp day. I’d say on average 40-50, and the most I ever did was 83. The tricky thing is not so much the number of dives in a day, it’s that you have to do it again the next day. The bigger comps tend to last more than a week, and on day two you can already have concrete in your legs.

Day three is worse.

Since I’m giving you the hard sell, there’s also the odd fact that 90 percent of athletes will do their subconscious best to turn their back on you, and face away from the sun. If there is sun. Visibility can go from 40 metres to 40 centimetres overnight, temperatures I’ve worked in range from 4-32 degrees C, and the colours can be blue, green, yellow, brown, silver, orange, white, black, purple, and a combination of them all. Enjoy trying to white balance that. Sometimes you’re in a completely different world at 20m than the one you were in at 10m, and when the sea changes her mind, she can go from calm to storm in a matter of a minute.

Freediving is growing exponentially. That’s not only noticeable in competitions, but even more so in schools. I co-founded a freediving school with my partner Georgina Miller, Aquacity Freediving, and every year we are getting more students, more freedivers who don’t necessarily want to just go deeper and further, but to experience the ocean on her conditions. A lot of my friends have schools and they are saying the same - recreational freediving is growing fast. I enjoy competitions, and will never bore of the line, not even in a pool, but I can see the point of people just wanting to explore a reef, or a wreck. Some of my favourite diving is through caves and cracks, and though wetsuits are pretty cool, nothing beats the aesthetic of light on skin underwater.

Which are some of the millions of reasons I love working in water. The sea is such a paradox: both a home and a completely alien space, as familiar as my own salty tears and as strange as my dreams. Her sheer diversity is a challenge and its own reward. Combine that with the joy of freediving, and I feel very privileged to have the opportunity capture it. Cement legs and soggy ears are a small price to pay for something that clicks. n

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USS ARRON WARD

None of the USS Arron Ward has been recovered, having managed to escape the attention of salvagers during the 1970s, which is great news for divers

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Bow of the Arron Ward

The Solomon Islands are steeped in history from World War Two, in particular the epic naval and air battles of Guadalcanal. There are so many wrecks of ships and aircrafts here that the area was given the name Iron Bottom Sound. One of the most-famous wrecks is the USS Arron Ward PHOTOGRAPHS BY NEIL BENNETT

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uilt by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, the USS Arron Ward was launched on 22 November 1941 as a Gleaves-class destroyer.

The ship was named in honour of Rear Admiral Arron Ward before heading off to serve in the conflicts of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

The USS Arron Ward was an impressive ship, with a displacement of 2,060 tonnes and a length of 106 metres, plus she was capable of reaching 35 knots.

Her armament was no less formidable, with an impressive list of weapons – four five-inch DP guns, six .50-inch guns, four 40mm AA guns, five 20mm AA guns, five 21-inch torpedo tubes and six depth-charge projectors with two depth-charge tracks.

Today, her five-inch guns can be found still pointing to the skies as she went down fighting, as if in a symbolic gesture of defiance towards her enemies.

Having already seen heavy action in Guadalcanal, the USS Arron Ward was severely damaged and returned to Pearl Harbour for repairs, but not before her gallant actions received commendations for an example of fighting spirit in the heat of battle.

Five-inch guns pointing at the surface

supporting divers

Search light from the bridge

After rejoining the fleet, the USS Arron Ward was again involved in the midst of battle while escorting the LST-499 off Togoma Point. Upon this ship was a junior grade officer, Lieutenant John F Kennedy, who later became the President of the United States. During manoeuvres to avoid a dogfight over Savo Island, the USS Arron Ward was surprised by three enemy aircraft attacking from under cover of the sun. In an attempt to defend herself, she opened fire with her 20mm, 40mm and five-inch battery, but unfortunately the crew failed to shoot down the Japanese, who released a series of bombs that would eventually prove fatal to the ship. Three of these bombs managed to strike or near-miss the ship. The first proved to be devastating, tearing a hole in her side, allowing the forward fire room to flood. The second bomb made a direct hit into the engine room, causing loss of power to the main guns; however, shifting to manual control, the valiant

supporting manufacturers

Located 1 hour from Honiara on the waterfront of the historic Tulagi harbour.

•Reef & Wreck Diving •Accommodation •Bar & Dining •Snorkeling •Hiking & more...

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The Solomon Islands provide a beautiful contrast of island time and stunning diving that needs to be experienced by any diver The fatal damage to the bridge section

Resting on the trapeze during the deco stop

gunners kept firing until the end. The third bomb blew a hole in her port side, causing loss of rudder control. Now helpless, the USS Arron Ward could only turn in a circle, unable to avoid any approaching planes. The bombers attacked again, releasing bombs which all exploded near her port side, killing 20 men, wounding 59 others and leaving a further seven missing. Crippled and helpless, there was nothing she could do to defend herself. The ships Ortolan and Vireo immediately came to her aid in an attempt to beach her on a nearby shoal, however, she began to sink stern first just 550 metres from safety, coming to rest in 70m of water.

All of her guns point towards the skies, a testament to the last minutes of battle. The bridge has been completely destroyed, leaving a pile of debris in its place with the last remaining searchlight sitting upright on the deck as if it had been there all along. Don’t be misled to think there is little to explore - this is a huge ship and there is still plenty to see. All of her five-inch guns remain intact, as are many of the other guns. It is incredible to think that these huge objects actually stayed attached during her sinking. In front of the bridge are the torpedo tubes, still full and carrying live explosives, one of which has slid partially out of the tube. It is important to realise that these torpedoes self-arm when released from their tubes, so don’t tap the torpedo!

None of the USS Arron Ward has been recovered, having managed to escape the attention of salvagers during the 1970s, which is great news for divers. The deck is covered

THE DIVING In 1995, the USS Arron Ward was located by Ewan Stephenson, a marine archeologist. Today, the wreck lies upright in warm, clear water with her deck at approximately 60m and the bottom at 70m. The USS Arron Ward is too big to complete in one dive, so decide which area to dive first, taking into account the possibility of currents, especially heading towards the bow. The mooring line has been set at midships on her port side. Those intending to penetrate the wreck need to plan very carefully, remembering her structure has been badly damaged and collapsed in the centre.

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Propeller at almost 70m

with shells of every description; the telegraph system used to contact the engine room can also be found lying on the deck.

If you like to simply ferret around, then you will have found heaven. The bow is simply stunning! Fully intact, she waits to be photographed. Gorgonian corals now grow from her sides.

Plenty of ambient light reaches her deck and lights up the bow like a Christmas parade.

Moving towards the stern, the funnel remains undamaged, while the conning tower has now dropped off to the sea floor on the starboard side. Again, the guns are still there and the stern is in good condition, although the hull is now distorted from the impact with the seabed. The stern itself makes for a good photo opportunity, with both the props still in-place down at 70m. Gas in the Solomon Islands is very expensive; helium will cost around $300NZ per tank fill. Although not the ideal method, our choice was to run this as an extended range dive on air and decompressing on nitrox.

With a bottom time of 25-30 minutes, we were managing to run a deco time of approximately 45 minutes, depending of course where on the wreck you decided to spend your dive time. Tulagi Dive provides a trapeze with their operation and this is essential for this kind of dive. Without this and if the current is running strongly, you may find yourself halfway to PNG before you surface!

This is not a dive I would recommend without the right training or gear, and certainly any penetration should be for the experienced divers, simply due to its depth and the complexity of the dive the wreck itself presents. Having said

The team exploring the bow section

this, it is without a doubt one of the most-stunning and enjoyable wreck dives I have undertaken. I simply love travelling to the Solomons to explore this wreck.

Travelling here to dive is very easy, and due to the close proximity of the wrecks, it is possible to undertake this as a shore destination trip run from two locations, Honiara and Tulagi Island.

Honiara provides the base to explore the wrecks along her coastline while being hosted by Tulagi Dive, then simply move across the channel to Tulagi Island and dive the wrecks in this area while being hosted by the Raiders Hotel. Out on the island, nearly all of the sites are located within a 15-minute boat journey from the hotel. In Honiara, some of the sites on the mainland take a little longer to reach but that doesn’t present an issue. The service and quality of these operations are exceptional given the challenges remote destinations can provide. The Solomon Islands provide a beautiful contrast of island time and stunning diving that needs to be experienced by any diver.

It’s not expensive, and nor is it difficult to get to, with Brisbane providing the hub for flights. n NB: Next issue, Neil continues his Solomons adventure, this time exploring the wreck of the USS Kanawha.

Heading towards the bow past the 20mm cannons

This article was supported by New Zealand Diving Ltd, Go Dive Pacific, Raiders Hotel and Tulagi Dive.

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What’s New

ZEAGLE SCOPE MONO

The Zeagle Scope Mono is a low-volume, over-moulded single-lens frameless design mask which benefits from a large nose pocket and a wide field of vision.

It has a soft-touch silicone face seal for optimal comfort, and a one-button thumb-operated buckle for simple and easy adjustment. It also folds flat, so perfect as a travel or back-up mask.

What makes the mask stand out from the crowd is the elastic ‘ski-mask-style’ strap, with a built-in snorkel keeper. It comes standard with a grey elastic strap, but there are multiple colour options available with the strap/lens retainer for those who want to brighten up their kit. www.zeagle.com

MARES EPIC ADJ 82X

The Epic ADJ 82X is the new top-of-the-line regulator from Mares, combining the traditional advantages of the company’s regulators with the latest-generation technological innovations and an exclusive design.

The balanced diaphragm first stage incorporates a 360-degree swivel turret, and has a unique design for the high-pressure ports allowing you to orientate them to your preference regardless of the first-stage position. The high number of low-pressure ports allows for more flexible configuration.

The pneumatically balanced second stage features the ‘motorcycle-throttle’ venturi control and wide pivoting purge button first seen on the highly regarded Fusion regulator, both easy to use even while wearing thick gloves. The VAD/VAD+ Twin Power System offers more control over air flow in all situations. It also comes with a Superflex hose. www.mares.com 54

DIRZONE REELS

DIRZone 120-metre reel The DIRZone 120-metre reel features – as you would imagine – 120 metres of non-floating line, and a hardcoated aluminium frame with locking screw. It is designed so that the line cannot come off the spool. It also comes with a stainless-steel double-ender clip.

DIRZone Flyer Delrin reel This DIRZone Flyer reel is made out of tough but lightweight Delrin and is small and convenient, yet it holds 45 metres of non-floating line, and comes with a stainlesssteel double-ender clip. www.dirzone.com

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AQUA LUNG AQUALUX TORCHES

The AquaLux 5000 (£164) has a heavy-duty aluminium body and features three CREE XLamp XP-G LEDs pumping out 1,500 lumen. It is USB rechargeable (using Li-on rechargeable batteries) and has a double optical system (lens and mirror) and zoom adjustment focus. There is also a dimmer switch The AquaLux 2600 (£140) also has an aluminium body but has one CREE XLamp XP-L High Density LED putting out 500 lumen. It has the same features as the Aqualux 5000 – USB rechargeable, double optical system (lens and mirror), dimmer switch and zoom adjustment focus.

The AquaLux 1500 (£95) also has an aluminium body and one CREE XLamp XP-L High Density LED emitting 300 lumen. www.aqualung.com

OMER AQUA

MARES XR TEK SHORTS

The XR Tek shorts are highly innovative, thanks to the materials they are made from - just like the XR1 drysuit, bi-laminate and Kevlar provide a feather-light product that is both wear and abrasion resistant, while maintaining maximum comfort and wearability.

One of the many outstanding characteristics that makes this Mares product stand apart from the crowd is that it has no effect on the diver’s buoyancy. The shorts also have two large pockets which include a water-draining grommet and four compartments where you can store all your accessories. These are sealed with robust Velcro tape for increased accessibility and convenience. The new XR Tek shorts also dry in a jiffy thanks to the Flash Dry fabric.

These unisex shorts are available in a wide range of sizes (XS to 3XL), making them suitable for a variety of different body shapes and sizes. They can be worn over a wetsuit, even a very thin one, or even solo. www.mares.com

FOURTH ELEMENT DRY-SAC

The Aqua mask has been designed and developed as a tool for deep spearfishing and freediving. It features a 110 cm3 inner volume, which makes it one of the smallest masks on the market, reducing the amount of air used to equalise it.

With the use of pure 60 shores silicone, it was possible to obtain a great seal with comfort. The nose area is characterised by a rough texture that is designed to improve the grip when equalising. To obtain a good visual field despite the small size of the mask, an accurate distance of the lenses and their geometry was studied.

The strap is adjustable by the two clips on the side of the mask, and the strap is made out of a more-rigid silicone to increase its durability. The strap ensures that the mask always adheres to the face, even when the ascending speed of the diver increases. www.omersub.com

These super-lightweight dry-sacs feature a roll-top closure system, and are ideal for keeping equipment dry thanks to waterproof taped seams.

Available in five-litre, 15-litre, 20-litre and 30-litre sizes, these are handy for general storage on the boat and anywhere precious items might get wet, or for compartmentalising gear within larger bags. www.fourthelement.com

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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Gear Guide

THIS ISSUE: BUDGET FINS

Each month, the SCUBA DIVER test team assembles to rate and review a selection of dive equipment from a range of manufacturers. Products are split into price categories and are then evaluated for performance, comfort, ease of use, build quality, looks and value for money. The Test Team comprises Editor in Chief Mark Evans and a squad of volunteers, whose dive experience ranges from a couple of hundred dives to well over 6,000.

BUDGET FINS

This issue, we kick off our group tests of fins, this time looking at the budget end of the range. Fins are one of the most-important parts of a diver’s kit, as without them you will not be going anywhere! A set of fins is very personal, and once people find a fin they like, they can end up being very loyal. A good pair of fins needs to fit well, be comfortable, easy to get on and off, and work with a variety of fin strokes.

With each pair of fins, we looked at ease of donning and doffing, comfort of the foot pocket, and what power/control they provided in a selection of fin strokes, including a ‘normal’ finning action, frogkick, back kick, helicopter turns, etc.

In this price bracket, all the fins follow the paddle fin approach, albeit some with a few little tweaks (vents, etc).

ON TEST THIS MONTH: • AQUA LUNG EXPRESS ADJ • MARES AVANTI SUPERCHANNEL • SCUBAPRO JET SPORT • SHERWOOD ELITE 56

Location: Tested at Vivian Dive Centre, Llanberis

www.viviandivecentre.com

Date tested: 20/9/2018 Water temp: 9 degrees C WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

AQUA LUNG EXPRESS ADJ The Aqua Lung Express Adj are a well-made, robust pair of fins. They have a good, solid feel to them and are a pretty hefty pair of fins. According to literature from Aqua Lung, the core of the Express Adj is a highly elastic ‘armadillo’ hinge at the base of the blade, which absorbs energy during the power stroke and releases at the end of the kick cycle to maximise thrust.

The rubber side ribs channel water the length of the fin, minimising wasted energy from the spill-over effect.

The spring straps are equipped with a large thumb loop and make putting the fins on and off very easy.

The Aqua Lung Express Adj fins are large, solid paddle fins, and they do indeed generate a serious amount of thrust - especially with a normal fin stroke - but you do need strong leg muscles to get the best out of them.

Frogkicking and back kicking are possible, though with fins this long, it can be a little awkward. The spring strap with the huge thumb loop is a joy to use. Well made and built to last. Good-looking pair of fins. www.aqualung.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 2.66kg per pair | STRAP: Metal spring with thumb loop VERDICT: Well-made, durable, good-looking fins at a decent price - you just need strong leg muscles to get the best out of them due to the sheer size of that blade.

SCORE

••••••••

MARES AVANTI SUPERCHANNEL Mares Avanti fins of one form or another appear to be the staple footwear of instructors and Divemasters around the world. The Avanti Superchannels are the entry-level model, yet their price tag belies their looks they look far more expensive.

They have the classic three-channel Avanti design to force the water off the end of the fin and give added propulsion and they have a bungee strap complete with large thumb loop for easy donning and doffing.

I had to check the price point of the Superchannels as I genuinely thought they were in the wrong price bracket.

They are a good-looking, well-made fin, and feel like they will last plenty of years of hard diving.

The thrust with a normal fin stroke is impressive, but they are also great for frogkicking. Despite being quite long and broad, they are also easy to back kick or make helicopter turns.

The rubber bungee and thumb loop makes getting them on and off a simple matter. Fab price, fab fins. www.mares.com

CHOICE 2018 GROUP TEST

FINS

BEST VALUE 2018 GROUP TEST

FINS

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 1.89kg per pair | STRAP: Rubber bungee & thumb loop VERDICT: Well-made, robust and good-looking fins with that classic Avanti flair. Plenty of thrust in all fin strokes, and easy to get on and off thanks to the rubber bungee. Great price point.

SCORE

••••••••••

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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SCUBAPRO JET SPORT ADJUSTABLE Scubapro have a great reputation for making top-quality dive kit, and the Jet Sports continue this tradition. They blend the vent design from the more-expensive Twin Jet Max with a broad paddle section.

According to Scubapro, the blade is a tri-material design featuring a pair of soft rubber panels framed in semistiff plastic and flanked by thin side rails, producing just the right amount of flex.

There are also drag-reducing vents between the blade and the foot pocket to decrease resistance on both up and down strokes.

The Jet Sport is equipped with a traditional rubber adjustable heel strap, with pinch-release clips.

The Scubapro Jet Sport Adjustable fins are quite large units, but the foot pocket is very comfortable and the non-slip bottom works well. I would trade the traditional rubber heel straps for a stainless or rubber bungee version, which makes donning/doffing a lot easier.

The design combining a blade with vents works well, and generates great power in all fin strokes. www.scubapro.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 1.89kg per pair | STRAP: Rubber adj with pinch-clips VERDICT: Robust, well-made fins with plenty of thrust, though the clever design means it doesn’t feel too hard to push that blade through the water. They are good-looking to boot.

SCORE

••••••••••

SHERWOOD ELITE The Sherwood Elites were the cheapest fins on test in this price bracket, but they didn’t look out of place with their rivals in terms of looks.

According to Sherwood, the Elites are ‘lightweight, with a high-performance dual-composite fin blade featuring full-length power rails and a central flex channel’ The fins feature a stretchable silicone heel strap with a thumb loop.

The Sherwood Elite fins are quite eye-catching, especially in this black/yellow combo, and they blend vents with flexible panels in a large blade. However, despite being a decent size, they are indeed very lightweight.

They are easy to get on and off thanks to the silicone heel strap, and you could grab the loop even with thick gloves on.

They provided reasonable power in all fins strokes, but it was noticeably less than the other fins on test here. They would probably work well with a wetsuit, and the light weight means they would be good for travelling divers. www.sherwoodscuba.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 1.67kg per pair | STRAP: Silicone strap with thumb loop VERDICT: The Sherwood Elite fins are lightweight and comfortable, and easy to get on and off. Not as powerful as some of the other fins, but a bargain for the price.

SCORE

•••••••

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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SMART AIR

CENTRE OF INTELLIGENCE.

EDGE OF PERFORMANCE.

• • • • • • • •

Hoseless tank data integration for up to three transmitters Graphic and numeric display of tank pressure Three-row layout comprises all relevant data including tank pressure Multigas, bottom timer and apnea modes Option to view dive time including seconds Two customisable fields for additional information Logbook capacity in excess of 95 hours of dive profile at 5-second sampling rate (scuba) Decompression dive planner with additional surface interval function

Be intelligent. Take the edge of performance.

VERDICT

It is interesting to see how the fin market changes from year to year. It doesn’t seem two minutes since everything was ‘split’, but now the good old paddle fin definitely seems to be back in vogue, at least at the budget end of the scale.

The Best Value was a battle between the Mares Avanti Superchannels and the Sherwood Elites. The Elites are very lightweight, so ideal for travelling, but they lack the sheer power and thrust that the Superchannels can develop. Plus, the Superchannels were extremely well made and look like they cost a lot more. An absolute bargain, and well deserving of the title.

The Choice Award once again saw the Mares Avanti Superchannel lay down the gauntlet to the Aqua Lung Express Adj and the Scubapro Jet Sport Adjustable.

Both of the latter had some plus points - the Express is very well made and looks great, and the Jet Sport provides a solid amount of thrust - but in the end, the build quality, performance and comfort of the Mares Avanti Superchannels just saw it edge ahead of its rivals.

A close run thing - all three are superb fins - but the Superchannels made it a double-whammy.

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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Test Extra

PARALENZ DIVE CAMERA

David Diley: There are a lot of action-style cameras on the market at the moment, a revolution spearheaded by GoPro who, it would be fair to say, revolutionised the concept of a small, portable camera that could deliver both decentquality photos and videos, while providing seemingly endless mounting possibilities. In a short space of time, numerous copycat cameras from the likes of Sony, Nikon, Garmin, TomTom and others were flooding the market, many of which came with, or at least offered, housing options for use underwater.

So where does the Paralenz Dive Camera fit into this already-saturated market?

Describing their product as a camera ‘made by divers, for divers’, you’d expect the Denmark-based company to have addressed some of the niggles and annoyances with products from their competitors when it comes to underwater use, and they certainly have, but is it any good?

I was given the opportunity to find out for myself on a recent three-week shoot in the Red Sea. It would be my first opportunity to use my brand-new Panasonic EVA1 in the field, but part of my set up for these jobs is always a housing-mounted action camera for cutaways, mounting and anything else I wouldn’t use my main rig for. For the past few years, I’ve used a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition, but as I’m now finally in the land of 4K, the Paralenz replaced the GoPro. It was with me on most dives, so here are my thoughts, starting with the good!

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Build Quality – The build quality is very, very good, it’s rugged - far more rugged than a GoPro - and its aluminium body means you could drop it (which, let’s face it, happens!) and still be confident it could handle it without any serious damage. The selection switch is solid and locks reassuringly in place, and it’s also pretty light, weighing only 155 grams.

Depth Rating – The Paralenz is rated to 250m, so for all you tech guys and girls, the Paralenz can certainly handle what you throw at it.

Vibration Alert – No barely audible beeps and lights here, when you turn it on or off, hit record or stop, it vibrates to let you know. Gone are the days of not being able to hear a beep through 5mm of hood. When you hit record, you know you’ve hit record.

No Filters Required! - The automatic depth colour correction, or DCC, would, on the face of it anyway, make me think that the camera comes with a gimmick which probably doesn’t work very well. I hate auto-anything on cameras, I do everything manually and besides, as a Colourist also, I understand the science of colour and have generally found that simply ‘auto-ing’ anything is usually nothing more than an insufficient mask over something which looks bad ‘out of the box’.

With all that being said, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the DCC, it really does work rather well! Is it as good as someone who knows what they’re doing, manually adjusting white balance using RGB Parades, scopes and histograms? No, it’s never going to be, but it does do a good job of handling depth changes, at least in my experience of using the ‘Blue’ setting in good visibility.

Speaking of colour, the Paralenz also has quite a nice image in regards to saturation and colour. Is it too saturated and contrasty? Well, yes, but then I always shoot log profiles and handle the grade in post. Your average Paralenz user probably doesn’t want to go through that hassle and wants something that looks nice out of the box, and the Paralenz delivers that.

4K – Yep, it shoots 4K, very compressed 4K but still 4K. It’s not too sharp, which is good, and the file sizes are also easily manageable - recording onto Micro-SD cards means 4K on cheap media, and that is always a positive!

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The Ball Mount – Easily the best mounting option Paralenz offers. Well made, incredibly light and rock solid.

Battery Life – Charged via USB, the Paralenz has good battery life, about the same as my GoPro Hero 3, but with the Paralenz I’m shooting 4K as opposed to HD, so at around one hour 45 minutes, I’m getting more than enough time from the camera.

Now time for the not so good...

The Third Person Viewer – It feels a bit cheap, I know it has to be light and it does work as a ‘selfie stick’, but when I tested it with the floaties for that rear view, trailing POV which I thought could be interesting, the floaties would be more accurately described as ‘sinkies’. I think water must have somehow made its way in because testing this out was a bit of a disaster, but I have a spare set so will be trying again. I also struggled to extend it to its full length (stop giggling at the back...) as it seemed to tighten up too much and became very fiddly to use. Maybe I just got unlucky? As a selfie stick, it’s fine, but in my limited experience, the rear-view option wasn’t actually an option.

No 25 or 50fps – There’s no PAL options and only 30 fps in 4K. I’m hoping this can be addressed in a firmware update.

No Option To Check Viewpoint On The App – The GoPro app allows users to mount a camera then check what the viewpoint is via the app, the Paralenz doesn’t so it’s a bit of a guessing game. I do understand that it might be a little early in the day for this and I’m certain Paralenz will look at suggestions like this, so I’m absolutely going to cut them a little slack but it would be really, really helpful if this happened one day.

Hard To Frame A Shot – This is a little harsh of me to include because adding some form of monitor to the Paralenz would be totally counter-intuitive to what it’s

designed for. Obviously, you can’t see what you’re filming which, for a novice, is going to result in lots of badly framed and wobbly footage. The solution is to practice, attach the ball mount as a kind of pistol grip and don’t get too close to your subject. If your dive chops are up to par, then there’s no reason you can’t get some nice footage.

Including this is a little harsh on the Paralenz, but I’m trying to be as objective as possible.

So, my overall thoughts? As I point out in my video review on my YouTube channel The Scarlet View (go subscribe and hit the notification bell), I wouldn’t use the Paralenz as a main camera for a professional shoot, but then again, I wouldn’t use a GoPro either. The Paralenz is just not designed for that, but if you’re a diver looking for a good underwater camera in a neat package that’s reliable (three weeks of solid diving, zero failures or corrupted files) and doesn’t require a load of additional gadgets, then the Paralenz is definitely a good option. I found the majority of the footage we shot with the Paralenz more pleasing on the eye than that coming from the GoPro we had with us, both shooting 4K, but then again, that’s just my personal opinion.

In short, the Paralenz shoots a decent 4K image in small file sizes to cheap media with good battery life, it colourcorrects for you and it’s really well built. The pluses far outweigh the cons, so much so, it has now become my housing-mounted action camera of choice. www.paralenz.com

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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Long Term Test AQUA LUNG ROGUE

SHEARWATER RESEARCH TERIC

Mark Evans: The Aqua Lung Outlaw impressed us, and the Rogue is following in its footsteps. Built in a very similar fashion - with the innovative ModLock system the Rogue is also very streamlined and uncluttered, but it is perhaps more suited to UK or cold water diving as it can mount both integrated weight pockets and trim weight pockets at the same time. It also has drop-down Velcro INFORMATION Arrival date: August 2018 pockets, an octo holder and Suggested retail price: * mounting grommets for a Number of dives: 0 dive knife.

Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins www.aqualung.com

MARES QUAD AIR Mark Evans: While the Quad Air doesn’t break the bank, coming in at a very walletfriendly price, it is a supremely capable dive computer. As the name suggests, it can handle hoseless air integration, but impressively it can deal with up to three transmitters.

Combine this with its multi-gas capabilities and you have a budget entry-level tech diving unit on your hands. Certainly one to consider if you are watching the pennies. www.mares.com 64

Mark Evans: In fantastic news for Shearwater Research - and lousy news for me, for the time being at least the demand for the Teric has far outstripped what the company was envisaging - they got three months worth of production in just three days! So, I am down the queue for a test unit, and will be shelving the Long Term Test for the foreseeable future, reinstating it once I have one in-hand. www.shearwater.com

INFORMATION Arrival date: July 2018 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 0 Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins

AQUASKETCH MINNO 1

INFORMATION Arrival date: May 2018 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 15 Time in water: 14 hrs 50 mins

Mark Evans: Some slates are not the easiest thing to use when clad in a bulky drysuit and wearing thick neoprene gloves or drygloves, but the Aquasketch Minno 1 has been well-thought-out and is suited to both cold- and warmwater diving.

The chunky Velcro-closing strap is big and robust, INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2018 and just the thing to securely fasten around your Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 12 drysuited arm.

Time in water: 11 hrs 20 mins www.aquasketch.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

MOMENTUM DEEP 6 Mark Evans: I like it when you look at a product and can see the attention to detail that has been applied to it. That is certainly apparent with the Momentum Deep 6 dive watch.

Only a little thing, but a niggle with watches for me is how the rubber loops to hold the end of the strap can slide around. The Deep 6 has a ridge on the end of the strap to stop one coming off, while the other INFORMATION Arrival date: June 2018 is secured between little Suggested retail price: * rubber notches. Neat and Number of dives: 3 efficient.

Time in water: 2 hrs 30 mins www.momentumwatch.com

APEKS RK3 HD Mark Evans: Had the RK3 HDs in the water a handful of times now, including two dives up at the Delph while shooting images for a forthcoming tech feature, sidemount v twinset. The fins provided plenty of power for when I needed to nip ahead of the group and prepare for a shot as they emerged from the gloom - buddy Kev Murphy actually said he could feel the thrust coming off them when I did a big frogkick.

They are also stumpy and wide, so backing up and moving around for photographs was no issue either. And that INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2018 orange! Boy, it sure shows Suggested retail price: * up when you are in murky Number of dives: 4 green plankton-rich water.

Time in water: 3 hrs 25 mins www.apeksdiving.com

SUUNTO EON CORE

Mark Evans: One thing I am always conscious of when testing equipment is its useability. It is all well and good something looking the bomb, but if it doesn’t work, then it is a waste of time. The EON Core is a well-thought-out little unit, and I particularly like how it is constructed with the three push buttons for menu navigation mounted on the right-hand side. This makes it an absolute doddle to operate, with your thumb braced against the opposite side INFORMATION Arrival date: March 2018 and your forefinger on the Suggested retail price: * buttons. Even with gloves, Number of dives: 19 there are no problems.

Time in water: 18 hrs 50 mins www.suunto.com

AQUA LUNG OUTLAW Mark Evans: I have been very impressed with the Outlaw.

I normally dived a stripped-back, minimalistic wing-andharness combo, and so this was exactly my style.

With integrated weight pockets neatly slotted behind you either side of the cylinder tucked under the bladder, your front is totally uncluttered, and it just feels so slick in the water. There are plenty of webbing D-rings if you do want to attach a camera lanyard, etc, but otherwise you can just revel INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2018 in how steamlined you feel Suggested retail price: * on a dive. Great unit for the Number of dives: 35 UK and abroad.

Time in water: 33 hrs 55 mins www.aqualung.com * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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65

MEGHAN HEANEY-GRIER

ANNOUNCED AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER The GO Diving team is excited to reveal that world-class freediver, adventurer, stuntwoman and TV presenter – and not forgetting a Mum twice over – Meghan Heaney-Grier will be appearing at the February 2019 show

#GODiving

M

hunting expeditions in South America that were later featured ehgan Heaney-Grier is a life-long adventurer on the Discovery Channel series, Treasure Quest: Snake who specialises in pushing boundaries and Island. Most recently, Mehgan was Series Host and Executive thrives on personal challenges. Her drive and Producer for a documentary web series called A Rising passion for the ocean helped her establish the Tide. The series featured the journey of eight high-school first US freedive record for both men and women in the students on scholarship from Colorado, as they earned their constant weight category in 1996, with a dive to 47m on a scuba certifications, got an introduction marine science and single breath of air. learned about current ocean issues. For the series, Less than one year later she bettered that record Mehgan mentored and worked one-on-one with a dive to over 50m. In 2000, Mehgan with the students, helping to foster their was one of the original inductees into connection to the sea and gain a better the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame for her understanding of the impact we all have leadership and outstanding contribution on the ocean - and most importantly, to the field of diving. She holds the positive difference we can all a degree in Ecology Evolutionary make, no matter where we live.

Biology, and Anthropology, and has Follow us on social media Mehgan’s love of freediving and worked in the field with sharks, at /godivingshow to get the ocean environment ignited alligators and other marine and landthe latest updates on the a strong passion for science, based predators more than 20 years. show – use the hashtag conservation, and exploration from An accomplished athlete, stunt #GODiving a young age. Today, these passions diver, television personality, and continue to fuel and give substance marine conservationist, Mehgan is a to her pursuit of water and land-based strong female figure and a positive role adventures. Through mentoring and her work model for youth around the world. She has with a variety of non-profit organizations, Mehgan been featured in publications worldwide such as is dedicated to doing what she can to be ‘part of the Life, People, and Outside magazines, and has starred-in solution’ when it comes to raising awareness about issues and appeared on hundreds of television shows. important to her, like the critical health and future of the Hollywood films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, and Into world’s oceans. n the Blue, have utilised Mehgan’s underwater expertise to See Meghan at GO Diving at the Ricoh Arena on 23/24 perform difficult underwater stunts for leading ladies such as February 2019 – head to www.godivingshow.com to find Keira Knightly, Jessica Alba, and Olivia Wilde. Starting in 2015, out more details and to book early bird tickets!

Mehgan worked as the team Divemaster for two treasure-

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