FAMILY FUN IN FIJI
AL HORNSBY ATTENDS KIDS SEA CAMP WITH HIS CLAN IN TOW
RATED & REVIEWED
SCUBAPRO G2, DIVE RITE HYDRO LITE, AND XDEEP NX700/LS200
DIVING HOTSPOTS IN THE USA AND CANADA
ROATAN, HONDURAS
UW PHOTOGRAPHY HINTS & ADVICE
TECH: FLORIDA
WALT STEARNS GOES DEEP AT JUPITER’S HOLE-IN-THE-WALL
There are many moments like this in the future.
EUROPEAN MADE
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MEET THE TEAM
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Evans Email: mark@scubadivermag.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE (North America) Walt Stearns Email: walt@scubadivermag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@scubadivermag.com ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Ross Arnold Email: ross@scubadivermag.com CONTRIBUTORS Michele Westmorland, Martyn Guess, Richard Stevens, Hailey Elizabeth, Byron Conroy, Lena Kavender
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Living in interesting times
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ou’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase ‘May you live in interesting times’. While it has been proven to be nothing more than a faux Chinese proverb, the irony and profound nature of those words are certainly not lost to me. With the global spread of COVID-19, life has been anything but ‘uninteresting’. Given the fluid nature of this pandemic, the challenges it has created have been devastating to our diving community. With a number of countries closing their borders by mid-March and airlines simultaneously cancelling flights, the majority of dive resorts and liveaboards worldwide were left with no choice other than to go into hibernation. The good news is we are starting to see a change, with some resuming operations as countries open back up to tourism. Here at home in Florida, we were no less spared as we witnessed a statewide shut down that forced local dive retailers and charter operations to suspend the majority of services through most of March and all of April. It wasn’t until May that some semblance of normal life began to return as various counties (through the permission of the Florida government) allowed dive charter operations to reopen. These vessels now run with a reduced passenger capacity while also following a set of amended CDC social distancing guidelines during operation. And that’s a beautiful thing. The light at the end of the tunnel has started to peek out. In addition to Florida, North and South Carolina have reopened dive charter operations, with still more locations and businesses around the country following suit. Diving in the US is a go - and by all means we are ready to go! Need any more persuading about the delights of the diving that we have right here in our own backyard? Well turn to page 10 and ‘dive’ into our extensive and comprehensive overview featuring some of the wonderful diving spots available in the US, as well as an in-depth piece on a more-technical site right here in Florida, and whet your appetite for future foreign trips with articles on Fiji and Roatan, Honduras. This is sure to get your spirits up, and we can look forward to diving here and ‘there’ soon. As my colleagues and dear friends in the UK say – ‘Cheers’!
Walt Stearns Editor-at-Large (North America)
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FAMILY FUN IN FIJI
AL HORNSBY ATTENDS KIDS SEA CAMP WITH HIS CLAN IN TOW
RATED & REVIEWED
SCUBAPRO G2, DIVE RITE HYDRO LITE, AND XDEEP NX700/LS200
TECH: FLORIDA
WALT STEARNS GOES DEEP AT JUPITER’S HOLE-IN-THE-WALL
Canada DIVING HOTSPOTS IN THE USA AND CANADA
ROATAN, HONDURAS
UW PHOTOGRAPHY HINTS & ADVICE
Cover & Spine.indd 1
Uni ted States
13/07/2020 18:24
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF WALT STEARNS
Florida
Honduras
GET ONLINE! CAN’T WAIT FOR YOUR NEXT ISSUE OF SCUBA DIVER DESTINATIONS? THEN LOG ON TO THE WEBSITE: WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM You’ll find all the latest diving news from around the world, in-depth travel reports, unbiased and comprehensive equipment reviews, hints and advice on diving techniques, underwater photography and videography, insights into diving medical issues, articles on conservation initiatives, Q&As with industry icons and legends, exciting competitions, and much, much more
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Beach clean ups with Aggressor Adventures, an underwater music festival in the Florida Keys, the demise of Olympus cameras, a useful COVID-19 travel map from PADI, the rare auction of a US Navy Mark V diving helmet, and Kids Sea Camp celebrates its 20th anniversary.
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UNITED STATES AND CANADA
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FIJI
Like it or not, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the global diving industry, and travel in particular - who knows when our favorite foreign locations will be back on our radar? Never fear, there is great diving on our doorstep - and Destinations’ Editor-at-Large Walt Stearns presents an overview of the coastal diving hotspots in the US and Canada.
As Kids Sea Camp celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2020, Al Hornsby ventures on his first trip to the tropical
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Fiji
paradise of Fiji, for a Kids Sea Camp adventure with his wife Christine and daughter Juliet, who would be completing her PADI Open Water Diver certification.
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DIVERS ALERT NETWORK
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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
As divers around the planet prepare for a safe return to diving after the COVID-19 pandemic, Divers Alert Network offers some handy hints and advice on ways to safely get back in the water.
Following his last article on getting the basics right with macro photography, Martyn Guess provides some ideas on how to use different lighting techniques rather than just point the strobe straight at the subject.
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SHOOT LIKE A PRO
This issue, our panel of well-travelled experts - Paul ‘Duxy’ Duxfield, Mario Vitalini and Anne and Phil Medcalf explain how they prepare their camera systems for diving when they arrive at their destination, and what to do with it each evening.
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HONDURAS
Michele Westmorland embarks on a liveaboard trip on the luxurious Roatan Aggressor in the Bay Islands of Honduras, and is treated to a vast array of dive sites, which includes pristine reefs teeming with marine life, shipwrecks of all sizes, and some unexpected surprises.
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TECH: UNITED STATES
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GEAR TEST EXTRA
Walt Stearns waxes lyrical about the Hole-in-theWall, an advanced dive bordering on the fringe of technical diving which lies off the Florida coast and offers those who make the dive the chance to enjoy stunning topography, not to mention encounter some seriously big animals, including the enormous Goliath grouper.
Mark Evans and Walt Stearns get their hands on some test products, here rating and reviewing the Scubapro Galileo G2 dive computer, the long-awaited xDeep regulators, and the Dive Rite Hydro Lite BCD.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
KIDS SEA CAMP TURNS 20 IN THE YEAR 2020 PADI’S COVID-19 DIVE STATUS MAP SHOWS YOU WHERE DIVING IS AVAILABLE COVID-19 has disrupted travel and scuba diving operations across the globe but, as the world slowly opens again, PADI wants to help divers get back in the water so they can enjoy the sport they love. To this end, PADI has created a new interactive map to make it easy to identify in real-time where diving is permitted and what dive shops are open locally and around the world. This information is collated at source from 6,750 dive centres around the world and updated regularly as situations evolve. The handy, user-friendly map features clear navigation. Just click on any country to see what travel restrictions apply, accessibility of diving in that country, and the latest status for each PADI Dive Centre and Resort. PADI hopes this map will help people discover amazing underwater places, both close to home as soon as possible, and in far-flung destinations when the times allow. www.padi.com
BENEATH THE SEA DIVE SHOW RESCHEDULED TO MARCH 2021 The Beneath the Sea dive and travel show in New Jersey, which had already been rescheduled from March to October this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been shunted to March 2021. The show organizers tweeted to say the new dates are 12-14 March, at the Meadowlands Exhibition Center. They said: “We do so after much thought and consideration for the physical safety of our exhibitors and attendees… We believe rescheduling the show to March 2021 allows us to be able to make your vision of the future and the start of the dive season our main mission.” If you were down as an exhibitor, any existing contracts will apply to the March 2021 dates. www.beneaththesea.org
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Family diving specialists Kids Sea Camp hits its 20th anniversary milestone this year, but sadly, due to the massive disruption caused globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has not been the celebratory year founder Margo Peyton was hoping for. However, the always upbeat and enthusiastic Margo – along with her husband Tom and the rest of the KSC team – has refused to give up. She said: “I want to thank my entire team for being so wonderful, kind, generous, and caring while working through this difficult time for all. The loss of seeing each other and not being able to go diving has been disappointing to all. “As we all love adventure and diving and most of all we love being together learning about the underwater world. This has not been the 20th anniversary year Kids Sea Camp had hoped for. But we are looking forward to being together again soon. “A huge thank you to the awesome resorts we work with whom have been extremely generous, accommodating, and easy to reach and reschedule with.” www.familydivers.com
ICONIC US NAVY MARK V DIVING HELMET SOLD AT AUCTION An iconic US Navy Mark V diving helmet – believed to be one of the earliest helmets in existence – was sold at auction on 18 July. The helmet was discovered in a Wisconsin house in February this year – apparently it had been bought back in the 1950s as an ‘item of curiosity’. The helmet bears the serial number #2198, which shows it is an extremely early model made in the inaugural year of the Mark V – 1916. In a US Navy manual from 1916, there is a photograph of a Mark V helmet with the serial number #2178, so this helmet is only 20 ahead. Don Creekmore, the owner of The Nation’s Attic, which handled the sale through its Vintage Scuba Auction, said: “This truly was a unique opportunity to own arguably the most-important US Navy diving helmet made in the 20th century.” As we went to print, the auction was still live, but the bid on the helmet – which was a no-reserve auction – stood at $16,000.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
FLORIDA KEYS HOSTS ANNUAL UNDERWATER MUSIC FESTIVAL Despite the best efforts of COVID-19, the 36th annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival was back in July, with instrument-wielding divers taking to the water at Looe Key Reef. The annual event, hosted by local radio station US1 104.1, aims to promote coral reef conservation and protection, and sees the station broadcast ocean-themed music which is played underwater through waterproof speakers suspended below dive boats. Festival director Bill Becker said: “We put music underwater so that the divers and snorkelers and the marine life can enjoy it. At the same time, we have a serious message about preserving the coral reef and lessening our own impacts on it.”
AGGRESSOR ADVENTURES CELEBRATES OCEAN CLEAN-UP MONTH Aggressor Adventures recently pioneered international shoreline clean-up efforts in the Galapagos, Cuba, Belize, Palau, and the Bay Islands of Honduras. This company-led project involved 40 Aggressor personnel and was inspired by June’s Ocean Clean-Up Month, filling over 60 trash bags with debris over a span of more than 170 hours, covering an estimated 2.55-mile area. Ocean Clean-Up Month was an active way for Aggressor to engage with their employees while supporting the brand’s sustainability initiatives, inviting teams to join in on the efforts by cleaning up local waterways and wildlife habitats. “As global adventurers, we witness first-hand the impact pollution has on our environment, especially in our oceans. It’s our responsibility to change that,” explained Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures. “Humans must take initiative to restore nature through recovery efforts that promote real change, such as our shoreline clean-up actions and commitment to keeping our adventures environmentally sustainable.”
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SAD DAY AS OLYMPUS SELLS OFF ITS CAMERA SECTION Many underwater photographers will have fond memories of Olympus cameras, particularly compacts, which were at the forefront of digital underwater photography. So it is a sad day when the company calls a close to that part of the business. Olympus was once one of the world’s biggest camera brands, but after recording losses for the last three years, it is selling off the camera part of the business after 84 years. According to a spokesperson, the arrival of smartphones, which has shrunk the market for separate cameras, was one of the major factors in the decision. Olympus is now seeking to strike a deal to carve off the camera part of its business so that its brands – such as Zuiko lenses – can be used in new products by another firm, Japan Industrial Partners. The Olympus Corporation will continue, as the company never stopped making microscopes, and has turned its optical technology to other scientific and medical equipment, such as endoscopes.
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N o r t h Walt Stearns, Mike Bartick, Maxwel Hohn and Becky Kagan Schott present an overview of some of the most-popular scuba diving destinations in North America. Photography Walt Stearns, Becky Kagan Schott, Mike Bartick and Maxwel Hohn
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Florida BY WALT STEARNS
Florida has more than 825 miles of accessible beaches to enjoy, is the only state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and wherever you are in Florida, you are never more than 60 miles from the nearest body of salt water.
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ith more than 1,300 miles of coastline and a wealth of inland springs, the State of Florida provides a lifetime of diving adventures. And there’s something for everyone, with activities that include relic hunting, game collecting, fish watching and underwater photography, and experiences ranging from snorkel drifts in clear-water streams or shallow coral gardens to big animal encounters, worldclass wrecks, shark dives and challenging cave explorations. In fact, there are few other places in the world where so much diving diversity exists in one place. The ice diving, on the other hand, does suck… To further sweeten the equation, there’s no need for passports or inter-island connecting flights. All of the state’s diving hot spots can be reached by road and are served by a network of professional dive shops and charter operators. To introduce you to the diving adventures awaiting you in Florida, we’ll start at the bottom geographically that is - with the Keys.
The Florida Keys The Keys are America’s tropical islands, connected by the world’s longest overseas highway, which leapfrogs
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across 31 islands and 40 bridges on a 110-mile path to Key West. They also face the world’s third-largest coral barrier reef system. This massive aquatic habitat, which is under the supervision of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, encompasses some 2,900 square nautical miles and stretches south from Miami to the end of the road at Key West and onward west some 90 miles to the remote island of the Dry Tortugas. Within this sanctuary, some of the major reefs in the Upper Keys region like Carysfort, the Elbow, French and Molasses are high-relief structures set at middle depths that provide opportunities for long bottom times. Sites closer to deep water often transition to gentle slopes that continue on to depths below 100ft. Halfway down the island chain near Marathon Key is an expansive coral ridge that makes up Sombrero Reef. This offers something for everyone, from snorkelers to advanced divers, with profiles that include both shallow patch reefs and deep drop-offs washed by Gulf Stream waters. Further south past the Seven Mile Bridge lies the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, which features a comprehensive spur-and-groove reef formation of high-profile coral fingers (spurs) running more than a hundred feet in length and rising 25 feet off the bottom. In between are deep sand valleys
LEFT Lemon sharks with a large tiger shark during a shark dive offshore of Jupiter Florida ABOVE A classic ledge formation full of colorful sponge growth and fish life off of Florida’s Southeastern Coastline
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Florida BY WALT STEARNS (grooves) and a multitude of large coral overhangs, with ceilings high enough for a diver to swim under. Wrecks are as much a part of the Keys diving experience as are the reefs. There are more than twodozen significant wreck sites regularly visited by Keys dive operators. Among the most popular are the 510foot dock landing ship the USS Spiegel Grove, and the US Coast Guard cutter Duane in the Upper Keys, along with the 522-foot military troop transport and former missile-tracking ship Hoyt S Vandenberg in Key West. And for the more-tech-minded, there is the 610-foot Wilkes-Barre, a World-War-Two-era Cleveland-class cruiser complete with intact guns, sitting in 250ft of water, with a profile coming up to 140ft of the surface.
Florida’s Southeast Coast - the Realm of Wrecks and Big Animals Moving up from the Keys, Florida’s southeastern coast from Miami to Palm Beach changes dramatically from the spur-and-grove coral formations the Keys are known for. Instead, the reefs are primarily composed of ancient limestone ridges riddled with ledges and deep undercuts that provide shelter for schooling fish and colorful tropicals, as well as larger subjects like sea turtles, sharks, and Goliath grouper. While some in the Fort Lauderdale area begin in as little as 20ft of water and can be explored as a shore dive, the majority begin farther offshore and run parallel to the coast at depths from 50ft-90ft or more. Offshore of Miami and Fort Lauderdale’s glittering skyline of palatial oceanfront mansions, condos and resort hotels is Southeastern Florida’s Iron Reef Tract, featuring well over 50 large dive-able wrecks. This extensive collection of wrecks is no accident, and is instead the work of various organizations in Dade and Broward County. Over the span of three decades, these organizations have successfully placed an impressive collection of ships ranging from 50 feet to more than 240 feet in length to the bottom for the sole purpose of creating artificial reefs. While the primary intent was to create Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), most - particularly those between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton in Southern Palm Beach County have been summarized more as Diver Aggregating Devices (DADs). This is due to their depths (between 60ft and 120ft) as they’re ideal for recreational diving. Most were well-orchestrated in their sinking to land upright on the bottom. Because these wrecks are recipients of the Gulf Stream’s passing flow, they have become magnets for all forms of marine life. Over many of these wreck’s superstructures, dense layers of coral and sponge growth provide a colorful patina
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JOHN PENNEKAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK The green moray eel is the largest moray eel in the western Atlantic and Caribbean and can attain lengths of more than eight feet.
while schools of baitfish seek these structures for protection, drawing marauding jacks and barracuda in from open water. For those eying deeper pursuits, this same stretch of coastline can just as well be called ‘Tech Central’. Favorites among local technical divers include the RBJ, a 226-foot freighter sitting cross ways atop a 130-foot US Army dredge, the Corey N Chris, in 260ft of water off Pompano Beach. A little shallower in 179ft is the Hydro Atlantic, a 320-foot freighter that went down during a storm as it was being towed. This natural wreck has long been considered one of the Top 10 Best Dives in the United States. Venture further northward from Broward County into Palm Beach County and the underwater landscape and what it offers changes again. Here, the Continental Shelf narrows significantly, allowing the Gulf Stream to sweep closer to shore than anywhere else along the Eastern Seaboard. Hence dives are generally conducted as drifts, during which divers are sometimes carried as much as a mile. But that’s not why underwater explorers come here. To be certain, there are plenty of reefs, as well as a few wrecks off the Palm Beach Coast, but the real signature attraction here is the big stuff. In addition to near-guaranteed
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The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo became the USA’s first underwater state park when it was established in 1963. Together with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it covers approximately 178 nautical miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps.
sightings of sea turtles and Goliath grouper, at some sites divers often encounter a variety of sharks (reef, bull, and lemon are the most prominent species).
Florida’s Gulf Coast Diving on Florida’s West Coast presents a different flavor from the southeastern coast; the underwater terrain in the Gulf of Mexico side drops gradually and uniformly. To reach depths greater than 100ft between Naples and Tampa often requires runs as far as 40 miles offshore. In addition, the few natural formations that exist on the bottom - mostly ledges - are usually miles apart. Scattered across the broad expanse of sand are a limited number of natural wrecks, the bulk spread out between the Naples/Fort Myers area and Tampa, typically some 20 to 40 miles offshore. Topping the list is the Baja California, a 266-foot freighter sunk by a German submarine in 1942 in 115ft of water; the 400-foot-long Bay Ronto, a British steamer sunk by a hurricane in 1919, now resting keel-up in 110ft of water, and the Fantastico, a 200-foot Honduran freighter that went down in the Gulf of Mexico’s famed ‘storm of the century’ in 1993. Moving up to Florida’s panhandle yields an underwater attraction that cannot be ignored as
ABOVE Bow of the Hydro Atlantic wreck MIDDLE Diver going eye to eye with a very large green moray eel on the United Caribbean Wreck off of Boca Raton LEFT Staghorn and elkhorn corals are an imposing sight on Florida reefs BOTTOM LEFT Large Goliath grouper on a wreck in the Gulf of Mexico
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it offers a wreck even bigger than the Keys’ Spiegel Grove and Vandenberg. Measuring 890 feet in length, the USS Oriskany is an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was put down offshore of Pensacola in May 2006 to create the world’s largest single artificial reef. Referred to as the ‘Mighty O’, the carrier sits upright at a depth of 220ft, placing the flight deck at a depth of 145ft with its island rising another 80ft upwards.
North Florida’s Spring and Cave Country The Florida peninsula is a vast bed of limestone riddled with sinkholes and underground reservoirs of fresh water. In the northern half of the state these freshwater pockets expand to become flowing underground rivers that eventually emerge as cool (72 to 74 degrees F) clearwater springs with stunning clarity approaching 200 feet. Florida is blessed with an abundance of springs that range from small artesian vents to the largest underwater cave systems in North America. This includes 17 first magnitude outflows - springs that discharge at least 100 cubic feet of water a second. One of the most impressive is Wakulla Springs, where a cavern entrance the width of a six-lane highway leads down to tunnels that measure 100 feet across and 175 feet in height. The Forty Fathom Grotto near Ocala plunges to a depth of 240ft. Of course, not all Florida spring basins are that dramatic. Most are large, bowl-shaped basins no more than 10ft-20ft deep, with the entrance to a cavern or cave at the bottom. The techniques of cave diving originated and evolved in the dark underwater passages of North Florida’s landscape, and as such still remains among the world’s most-popular destination for this specialized sport. Divers with appropriate training and equipment have access to dozens of cave systems, most famous of which are the Peacock Springs systems and the Devil’s Ear system at Ginnie Springs. Equally popular are the cavern zones where sunlight penetrating through the entrance remains clearly visible, making exploration less-demanding and gear-intensive than cave diving while providing enough of an experience to satisfy the taste of being underground. Among the most prominent is the Ballroom at Ginnie Springs, which features a large cavern (aka Ballroom) bottoming out at a depth of 50ft, with its sunlit entrance clearly in view. Some of the spring basins present excellent opportunities to see and swim next to nature’s fabled mermaid, the manatee. As winter temperatures drop and rivers run cool, these gentle giants make their way to a select number of springs such as Crystal River and Blue Springs to take refuge in the warm (72 - 78 degree F) waters. In addition to the manatee, many of the springs also hold a wide assortment of freshwater and in some cases saltwater species of fish, as well as turtles and, on rare occasions, alligators.
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CHRIST OF THE ABYSS
Italian dive equipment manufacturer Egidio Cressi donated this nine-foot-tall bronze statue to the Underwater Society of America and it was placed off the coast of Key Largo in August 1965. ABOVE Diver framed by port holes on one of the many wrecks found off of Broward County’s coastline LEFT The famous Christ of the Abyss statue near the Elbow reef system in the upper Florida Keys
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North Carolina BY WALT STEARNS
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North Carolina’s coast was a favorite haunt of Blackbeard, who spent years plundering ships before finally being killed by British naval forces in a battle off Ocacoke Island in 1718.
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he coastal waters of North Carolina have earned the nickname ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’, and not without some justification. Ships transiting north or south along the Atlantic Seaboard must clear the treacherous shoals that extend east from Cape Hatteras, and during the early days of the nation, vessels came to grief in these often-volatile waters – some 700 in all. One could argue that a far-greater number have perished elsewhere. Even the Great Lakes can boast more wrecks than the Carolinas - Lake Huron alone holds 1,100 documented wrecks in its belly. But what makes the wrecks off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, from Cape Hatteras south to Cape Fear, so interesting is that while half were befallen victims to raging storms, the other half were sent to the bottom by human conflict. As most any Atlantic wreck diver will affirm, many wreck sites were created by the Battle of the Atlantic. The most recognized in US history was the onslaught created by the infamous U-bootwaffe (U-boat fleet) during World War Two. During the early years of World War Two, Germany’s marauding U-boats brought the Battle of the Atlantic right to the doorstep of the North America seaboard. During summer, diving conditions, although at the mercy of North Carolina’s Outer Banks weather, often provide outstanding underwater visibility upwards of 120 feet, with water temps in the high 70s degrees F. In addition to wrecks, North Carolina waters offer a fascinating palette of fish life. Fish watchers can see everything from blue angelfish and damselfish to large schools of spadefish, a variety of jacks (from jack crevalle to greater amber), African pompano and greater barracuda. And there are also the sand tiger sharks. Going face to face with one of these brutes is something not easily forgotten. Beneath their conicalshaped snout are fearsome-looking jaws held partially agape as they brandish a nightmarish collection of long, spike-shaped teeth. But despite their fearsome visage, sand tigers are not monsters. What makes encounters with these sharks so enjoyable is their slow, unperturbed demeanor, making interaction easy, coupled with their nightmarish, snaggle-toothed appearance, which adds an unavoidable tinge of fear. But there is little to fear from these slow-moving animals as they use their impressive dental assets to snare bottom-dwelling fish, not divers. The best place to find sand tigers is usually on a wreck. In fact, almost every wreck below 60ft - WE Hutton, Suloide, Aeolus, Spar, Caribsea and Papoose to name a few - will attract sand tigers, and the farther out from shore, the higher their numbers.
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Texas Flower Garden Banks BY WALT STEARNS East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank made up the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary when it was established in 1992. Stetson Bank was added in 1996.
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ou wouldn’t think it, unless you have actually been there, but there is a remarkable reef system in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico 110 miles offshore of the Texas/ Louisiana coastline: the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary. Accessible by long-range dive boats, with the 100foot liveaboard M/V Fling being the primary provider, the Sanctuary’s two main dive sites are the coral caps atop the Flower Gardens East and West Banks. These large-scale topographic features were created by salt diapers (salt domes) pushing up from deep underground forming uplifts of sedimentary rock and clay. Rising some 200ft-400ft from the sea floor, these formations extend into the ocean’s photic (sun light) zone at depths as shallow as 60ft on top, presenting a reef scape dominated by 21 different species of hard coral, with perhaps a dozen species of sponges. What will seem strange is that there are zero gorgonians. The most prolific of the hard species are the Montastraea, or star corals as they are commonly called. If you are not sure what these corals look like, think of a series of overlapping plates that you will see growing down the side of a steep slope in the Florida
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Keys or Cayman Islands. The second most dominant is the variety of brain coral known as Diploria strigoas or Symmetrical Brain Coral. This is a species also found in Bermuda, the Bahamas and Tobago. In addition to corals, over 200 species of fish and 250 species of invertebrates inhabit the Flower Gardens. Loggerhead turtles are year-round residents. In February and March, small schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks are seen cruising the edge of the banks. In late summer around coral spawning season, whalesharks are frequently sighted. Other large pelagics include manta and mobula rays, eagle rays, southern and rough-tail stingrays, and silky sharks. There are a various factors that contribute to the health of the Flower Garden Banks reefs. The most important is water quality, as its location some 115 miles from land is well away from damaging effects associated with run off. Water clarity is in the 80-foot to 100-foot range, providing the light penetration needed for photosynthesizing organisms to exist. Weather and water conditions in the Northern Gulf of Mexico can be mercurial even in the milder summer months with water temperatures ranging from 64°F in mid-February to 86°F in August.
ABOVE The Flower Gardens East and West Banks dominate reef building corals TOP LEFT Sand tiger sharks on the wreck of the Caribsea MIDDLE LEFT U-352 German U-boat off the North Carolina Coast BOTTOM LEFT Roughtail stingray are among the largest species of stingrays in the Atlantic Ocean
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California BY MIKE BARTICK
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he rugged California coastline stretches more than 800 miles along the edge of the vast Pacific Ocean offering a cold-water dive experience with exotic creatures. The California dive community is active in nearly any coastal city or town from San Diego to Sonoma County, with dive boats or shore-entry diving. Dives can be co-ordinated through dive shops or directly with the boats, and some even offer guides to enhance your diving experience. San Diego’s Mission Beach offers weekly dive boats that service ‘Wreck Alley’, known for the HMCS Yukon, a specially re-purposed Canadian destroyer, the Ruby E and the Radio Tower. Picturesque Laguna Beach, more known for its art galleries, is also where many divers learn to dive. Laguna Beach is primarily shore entry and tank fills can be done at the dive shops located near the morepopular dive sites, in addition to great restaurants. One of the crown jewels for California diving are the Channel Islands. Accessed from San Diego all the way to Santa Barbara, dive boats offer weekly and weekend trips. The Channel Islands archipelago is made up of eight nearshore islands, where Santa Catalina is the only one that has on-island accommodations, a dive park and local dive boats that explore the local pinnacles and Farnsworth Banks, where cold water purple hydrocoral can be found. The Central Coast might be known for Monterey and Cannery Row, but the diving in Monterey and Carmel is supercharged. Dive sites such as Lovers Cove and Monastery Beach can be accessed by shore, but a dive boat and reservation will be needed for Point Lobos and Carmel. Walk-in diving at the breakwater is easy to do, with nearby parking, all-day tank fills and diver-friendly hotels nearby. Kelp forests, macro critters, colorful anemones, wolf fish, giant black seabass, sea lions and seals, California has something for everyone but be prepared. Water temps are anything but tropical and a full 7mm wetsuit will be needed in the warmest of months. Enduring the frigid waters will be well worth it, as nothing offers a better glimpse at cold-water diving then California diving.
TOP Garibaldi MIDDLE Blue banded goby BOTTOM Sea Nettles are common in the waters in Monterey TOP RIGHT The Typo sank in Lake Huron in 1899
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The Great Lakes BY BECKY KAGAN SCHOTT
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ard to believe, but North America’s Great Lakes – Lake Superior, Michigan, Heron, Erie and Ontario - are one of the best shipwreck diving locations in the world. The Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, with a surface area spanning some 94,250 square miles between all five. And these lakes remain instrumental for shipping for the upper mid-east region of North America and Canada. Connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence River, these inland seas have claimed thousands of ships over hundreds of years from wooden schooners to steel freighters. Diving here is like turning back the hands of time and visiting a time capsule. History becomes alive when you can see a ship’s name painted on the stern, century-old cargo including automobiles, train cars, shoes, coal, and even boxes of preserved lifesavers inside one cargo hold. The wooden sailing ships have masts standing 90ft tall with rigging still attached. They almost appear as if they are still sailing on the lakebed. So many artifacts can be seen because nothing is permitted to be taken. Wrecks range from recreational, some almost shallow enough to snorkel, to technical depths below 200ft. The cold freshwater is what keeps the ships preserved, but the summertime temperatures can range from 39 degrees F on the bottom to 60s on the surface, so a drysuit is necessary. If you like shipwrecks and history and are looking for a dive destination closer to home, then check out all that the Great Lakes have to offer.
Becky Kagan Schott Becky Schott organizes both recreational and technical trips to dive the Great Lakes. For more information, visit: http://megdiver.com/great-lakes-rec-tech-trip-2021
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Vancouver Island BY MAXWEL HOHN
VANCOUVER ISLAND
Vancouver Island is known for some of the best cold-water diving on the planet. Nootka Sound and Hornby Island are some of the few places in the world where you can dive with six-gilled sharks.
ABOVE Ruby red octopus displaying a brilliant colour while spotted on a night dive in Campbell MIDDLE Discovery Passage is known for some of the strongest tides in the world, which bring nutrientrich water to the diverse marine species that thrive in this area. This old wharf has become a metropolis for a brilliant display of life
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hat comes to mind when you imagine a scuba diver’s paradise? Most people envision a tropical destination filled with coral reefs, and warm currents, but what if we told you that one of the world’s mostfascinating dive destinations is Vancouver Island, Canada. The coastal waters of British Columbia were rated by Jacques Cousteau as the world’s secondbest diving destination, just behind the famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Vancouver Island is well known for the strong, fast-moving currents that wash through a labyrinth of channels and outlying islands. In areas like Seymour Narrows, water flow can reach upwards of 22 knots. This flow supports riotous growths of anemones, sea pens and many other organisms that thrive in the nutrient-rich currents. These same currents, combined with cold waters, can create some of the most-
challenging dive conditions in the world, but also create the conditions that make for abundant marine life, and organisms can grow to larger dimensions than seen in any other parts of the world. The waters may be cold, but dives can actually feel toasty if the proper gear is utilized. Full drysuits, with room for thick thermals, as well as a hood and gloves, will allow you to be comfortable as you explore the colorful metropolis below the surface. Sheer walls teem with hundreds of species trying to gain a vantage point to feed on the nutrient-rich currents. Painted anemones, red encrusting coral, goose neck barnacles, giant chitons and sea sponges all overlap, within inches of one another, creating a living masterpiece. Many sites provide high odds of catching a glimpse of the famous giant Pacific octopus. This species can grow up to 110lbs. and measuring up to 29 feet
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Vancouver aka Hollywood North, is second only to Los Angeles in TV production and third in North America for Feature Film production. That means there are occasionally high profile movie stars floating around. Lions Gate, Paramount and Bridge Studios have set up shop here.
in length! During the day you will find them resting in caves or cracks in the walls, but sneak out for a night dive, and you will see the real action come to life. These waters are also home to hundreds of species of nudibranchs in all colors and sizes. Spotting multiple nudis on a dive are almost a given and provides wonderful content for underwater photography. Another attraction is diving with Stellar sea lions. These large marine mammals shore up on some of the rocky islands off the east coast of Vancouver Island waiting for the herring spawn in the winter months. They are remarkably friendly, and curious creatures that will swarm divers with playful tugs, and puppy-like biting. The encounter is unlike any other in the world! No matter your diving needs, Vancouver Island has it all. The waters may be chilly, but with the proper gear you will find that the rewards are unending and will have you coming back for more. n
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Maxwel Hohn An adventurer, photographer and film-maker with a passion for showcasing British Columbia’s stunning natural diversity, Maxwel grew up on the Sunshine Coast before travelling around the world evolving his skills as a photographer. Honduras, Vietnam, Norway, Greece, the Bahamas, and Tanzania all helped sharpen his skills to become one of Canada’s leading nature photographers. Maxwel is a brand ambassador with Huish Outdoors (Hollis, Zeagle, Bare, Suunto, Oceanic), Light & Motion, a commercial diving instructor, tech diver, cave diver, certified drone pilot, published photographer, and proud Canadian. www.maxwelhohn.com
TOP Diving with Steller sea lions often feels like being swarmed by over sized puppies. They are incredibly gentle creatures, and love to feel a divers neoprene suit by delicately nibbling with their teeth ABOVE Giant green anemones get their green colour from the symbiotic relationship they have with the microalgae and dinoflagellates that live in their tissues
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The flag of Fiji consists of the British Union Jack (in its upper left), which is representative of the country’s long association with Great Britain. The flag’s blue field is symbolic of the surrounding Pacific Ocean. The coat of arms displays a golden British lion holding a cocoa pod, as well as panels displaying a palm tree, sugar cane, bananas, and dove of peace.
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Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia
Perhaps the mostremarkable aspects of the dive sites there were the water-quality and the amazing richness of the hard and soft corals
Bunaken National Marine Park
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Al Hornsby’s first trip to Fiji proved to be a real eye-opener, and during a week with Kids Sea Camp, he found out why the island nation is such a hotspot for scuba divers Photography Al Hornsby
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One of the most iconic beverages from Fiji is referred to as Kava and not only is it a traditional drink but it is the country’s national drink. The citizens of Fiji believe that the drink has numerous medicinal qualities particularly in the treatment of insomnia, headaches, and stress.
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e are about 25 minutes into an exhilarating dive on a site known as Chimneys, in Fiji’s Namena Marine Reserve, looking up from a 100ft sand and rubble bottom towards where we have just descended, circling round and round, down a steep, Matterhorn-looking pinnacle. The dive had begun just below the surface, and all the way down the rock face has been absolutely covered in soft corals of yellow, orange, purple and white – seemingly every color of the rainbow – with hard corals, sponges, sea whips and gorgonian fans everywhere, crowded closely together. The water is very, very clear, the only seeming-limitation a blizzard-cloud of fish – especially purple anthias - that completely surrounds the spire (and us). The cloud repeatedly expands outward, then instantly contracts back among the corals as groups of marauding blue trevally streak in to strike. Then, like a pulse beat, the cloud swells back out, until the next pass by the trevally. The mesmerizing scenes had continued as we slowly spiraled downward along the sides of the spire. At the bottom, several gray reef sharks patrolled nearby, and coral grouper peeked from among the crevices and boulders scattered across the bottom. Looking about 100 feet off in the distance, a dark, looming mass marked the rise of the second of the paired spires, which we will circle back upwards to the surface, to spend many minutes at the end of the dive watching anemonefish and other reef fish on our safety stop at 12ft of depth…
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PREVIOUS PAGE Fiji is renowned for its soft corals RIGHT It is known as the ‘soft coral capital of the world BOTTOM LEFT Massive sea fan BOTTOM MIDDLE The Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort BOTTOM RIGHT Kayaks ready for adventure
This was my first dive trip to Fiji, and despite a lot of research, I hadn’t been able to form a clear expectation. I had heard of long-famous sites like soft coral-covered White Wall (actually also in Namena Reserve) and Fiji’s famous tiger shark dive in Beqa Lagoon. However, given the huge spread of Fiji’s hundreds of islands, the diving described was quite varied. Our destination on the island of Vanua Levu turned out to have been one of Fiji’s most-famed areas. Perhaps the most-remarkable aspects of the dive sites there were the water-quality and the amazing richness of the hard and soft corals. Fiji doesn’t have a large population, heavy coastal development, shipping, manufacturing or much commercial farming. As a result, there is little run-off, silting, fertilizerproduced algae, chemical pollution and so on – among the chief negative influences on coral health. Also, the island group is located farther south than most Asia-Pacific dive destinations, nearer to the cooling waters of Antarctica. While certainly warm enough to support massive
coral communities and comfortable diving (I was fine wearing a full-length skin with a long-sleeved, rash-guard underneath), it appeared that ocean global-warming, which has affected most areas of the oceans in recent times, had not had a noticeable effect on the reefs where we dived. In clear, sparkling waters that hovered around 77 degrees F, with lots of life-sustaining currents, the soft and hard coral life was as thick, unspoilt and vibrant as I have seen anywhere. While this particular trip, to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort to attend Kids Sea Camp (www. familydivers.com), was already special enough – my 12-year-old daughter, Juliet, would be completing her PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, and my wife, Christine, would be doing a refresher after some time away from diving (more to come on this wonderful experience!) - the diving itself was world-class, with unique photographic opportunities. But, before writing more about the diving, I will explain this article’s strange-sounding ‘bula bula’ title a bit. Fiji is oft-described as ‘the friendliest place on
Along the sides, there were crevices and large overhangs, home to a large number of many-spotted sweetlips who were surprisingly calm and unafraid of being closely photographed
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BE RESPECTFUL!
If you venture into a Fijian village, remember that unless you are the chief, wearing a hat and sunglasses is a big no-no.
Many people think of Fiji as one island, but actually, there are some 333 islands, about 110 of which are inhabited. The total area of the islands amounts to 7,095 square miles (18,376 square kilometres). The two major islands are Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.
Family fun in Fiji!
Fiji is the perfect destination for a funfilled familiy vacation. As well as all of the activities laid on during a dedicated Kids Sea Camp trip, if you head off on your own for a bit of special family time, or are visiting independently with the kids in tow, you will find a plethora of things to keep everyone - young and old - occupied. From the relaxing - kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, general treks through the lush green interior - to the extreme - off-road buggies into the rainforest, jet boats up rivers, hardcore hikes into the mountains, Fiji can cater for any desire. The other thing that makes Fiji perfect for some solid family fun is the people - they are so warm and welcoming. It is hard to ever find anyone without a huge smile on their face, and this infectious enthusiasm for life in general certainly rubs off, and you will see everyone walking around looking happy. www.fiji.travel
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TOP Anemonefish ABOVE The dive boats loading up for a day on the water RIGHT Fiji’s reefs are astoundingly beautiful
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Earth,’ and for good reasons. The local people are openly welcoming of visitors, and without exception, everyone you pass will give you a smile and the local greeting – ‘bula bula’ - which means, roughly, ‘wishing you continued health and life’. The big smile and greeting are quickly habit-forming, and one can’t help but respond in kind, with all the emotional rewards brought on by such simple kindnesses and personal interactions. Also, evenings at the resort were full of local music, song and traditional dances performed by nearby village groups, along with ceremonies featuring the local pastime, imbibing the mildly-sedating, local drink known as kava. Now, back to the fun stuff – the diving. With a lot to choose from, here are some of my other favorites… Not far from the resort, we dropped into flat, calm water, under a late-afternoon sky, on a site called The Corner. Beneath the surface, all seemed golden-lit and quiet, revealing a long, complex, sloping coral wall, cut through with narrow channels, gullies and crevices. The sheer density and variety of hard corals
was remarkable, with numerous acropora, pillar, star, table and other stony coral species crowded together. In the soft light, muted colors in yellow-browns, pinks and lavender seemed to almost glow all-round us, and large soft corals, most in pink-tipped white, sprouted here and there. At one point, as I paused to photograph a female tomato anemonefish with juveniles, a large eagle ray swooped past, giving us a quick look-over. At dive’s end, riding the gentle current up in the shallows, we spent a long, long safety stop gliding into a warm, setting sun… For our first night dive, we visited a lovely offshore reef known as Golden Nugget, a meandering collection of live coral mounds rising up from a brilliant, white-sand bottom at 65ft. Besides being a lovely dive with beautiful corals and schooling fish, it is also quiet, with protected water around the reef, with lots of life - perfect for night diving. We saw and photographed lionfish, lizardfish, surgeonfish and numerous live shells leaving long trails across the sand bottom. A favorite image was of a long, fimbriated moray, which
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CANNIBAL COUNTRY
Cannibalism was once common practice among NEIL TO REMOVE Fijians, but don’t panic – thanks to King KSC LOGO --> Ratu Cakobau, this all ended in 1871, so you will not end up on the menu.
boldly hunted across the reef, seemingly completely unconcerned over us and my flashing strobes. At one point, a white-tip shark, apparently confused by our lights, streaked into view, almost running us over as it fled… and yes, one can laugh underwater. Another favorite was my very last dive of the trip, on another pinnacle called Dreadlocks, which rises up to near the surface from a 60ft, hard-coral bottom. The entire pinnacle was basically bright yellow – it was near completely-covered by yellow soft corals. Along the sides, there were crevices and large overhangs, home to a large number of many-spotted sweetlips who were surprisingly calm and unafraid of being closely photographed. The water was very clear, with practically no current, making for both a beautiful and relaxing dive – a perfect ending for an extraordinary trip. Bula bula!
KSC at the Jean Michel Cousteau Resort, Fiji Beyond being one of the most-beautiful resorts you’ll ever see, the resort was a model of luxury and Cousteau-infused environmental ethic, planning and community involvement, with the effects on the local environment, the local population and its guests –
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especially the children – obvious. Moreover, for those unfamiliar with Kids Sea Camp, the (brilliant) concept is a collection of families-only, all-inclusive dive events conducted every year in many of the dive world’s top locations. It has solved the problem divers with families know all too well - how to continue diving actively once having children. Instead of the usual remedy (i.e. the diver doesn’t get to dive as often as he or she likes), KSC is designed to take care of every member of the family. Young children have kids’ group activities, including supervision, snorkeling and games; slightly older kids have PADI Bubblemaker and PADI Seal Team added to the mix. Children ten or older can also take PADI Junior Open Water or Open Water certification courses, and those already certified can take PADI Advanced Open Water, etc, or refreshers if they haven’t dived for a while (and adults have similar options). While all this is going on, the dive boats are operating at full schedule, typically with separate boats available for young teens, older teens, and adults, as may be desired. Uncertified adults can snorkel, take Open Water certification courses or participate in non-diving activities such as local
ABOVE At KSC events, youngsters can get in the water in the swimming pool first... TOP LEFT And then head out into the open ocean
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RIGHT Pool session to go over the basics BOTTOM RIGHT First the pool, then the ocean! BELOW Diving as a family is what it is all about
village visits and sight-seeing tours. And, it works – everyone is happy (especially the suddenly guilt-free divers in the family!). And, given that these events typically have 50 or more attendees, and dinners and evening entertainments (every night) are as a group, long-lasting friendships and new dive buddies quickly develop, at all ages. This aspect was especially impressive – while we were ‘veterans’ of KSC, it being our second event, most attendees had attended multiple times. The real veterans at KSC Fiji went back generations… one college-aged grandson there with his grandparents told us this was his 11th KSC, having begun as a child. Surrounded by lots of young, adept divers was very interesting, and their skills were impressive. A common thread among most of them, I quickly realized, was PADI Seal Team – PADI’s course for kids beginning at age eight. Basically, Seal Team is an introduction to scuba for kids. Conducted in a pool, kids learn the basic dive academic information and scuba skills through a series of fun, game-like Aqua Missions. My daughter, Juliet, then already a good freediver, had taken Seal Team two years ago at our first KSC, and wanted to wait until our next one to become Junior Open Water Diver-certified. Well, the time finally came, and in preparation for our Fiji trip, she took PADI e-Learning, so her first day at KSC could be in the pool, academics completed.
As a PADI instructor, I have always appreciated Seal Team. But until I saw the real, long-term effects on my own child, I had never appreciated it enough. The idea of dive academics is often a bit daunting, but to Juliet’s surprise, it was clear immediately that she understood practically everything, finishing the program rapidly, with very high scores. When I asked her how she could learn it so quickly, she replied that ‘she remembered most of it from Seal Team,’ or at least enough to figure it out, as ‘it seemed to all make sense’. At the resort, she confidently went into the pool, also remembering all her confined water skills from her Seal Team experience. More than anything, what I saw throughout was that she had no fear of or discomfort with the unknowns of learning to scuba dive - the normal, underlying impediments most people face as new dive students. Seal Team had simply taken care of all of that for her. Armed with these insights, I watched her and the other kids all week-long – careful, inspired divers and learners, already - like their older siblings who had attended typically five to ten previous Kids Sea Camps – lovers of the ocean and serious, motivated marine environmentalists, all. It was all very easy to enjoy… guilt-free diving, learnto-dive or luxury vacation. And, when Juliet asked her mom and me to dive with her and her new friends on the kids’ boat, it was the greatest diver’s gift one could ever ask for… Salud! n
IT’S ALL IN THE EYE(BROWS)
In a habit which is incredibly confusing to most westerners, many Fijians raise their eyebrows as a non-verbal way to say ‘yes’.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Fiji GETTING THERE You can fly direct into Nadi International Airport on Viti Levu from several major US airports, uncluding Los Angeles and San Francisco. WHEN TO GO You can dive Fijian waters all year round, but the best conditions in terms of visibility run from May through to October. CURRENCY The currency in Fiji is the Fijian dollar, but many resorts will accept credit card. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A four-month visa is granted automatically on arrival for visitors – you just need to have a valid passport with at least six months remaining, and a return air ticket. CHECK CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES. ELECTRICITY 240 volt with a three-pin socket – bring an adaptor to be able to use US-type-plug equipped devices.
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DIVERS ALERT NETWORK
DAN is an international non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of divers. WWW.DIVERSALERTNETWORK.ORG
LIMIT YOUR RISK
Divers Alert Network offers hints and advice as divers across the planet prepare for a safe return to diving
O
nce restrictions are lifted, divers will be eager to get back in the water doing what they love, and they will certainly want to feel safe when they return to diving. To help you prepare, here are some answers to a couple of our most frequently asked questions about staying safe from COVID-19 while diving. Q: Is COVID-19 transmissible through water? If so, does the risk vary based on type of water, i.e. swimming pools, open fresh/saltwater and rinse tanks? Will adding a disinfectant to the water be sufficient to inactivate the virus? What about adding regular hand soap to the rinse tank water? A: Currently it is not known whether the new coronavirus can be transmitted in a rinse tank with communal equipment, however studies on other coronaviruses have shown that they survive well in surface water such as lakes and rivers. With this research in mind it would be prudent to assume that the virus will survive in a rinse tank and, although diluted, could remain infectious. According to the CDC, the virus would be inactivated in a properly treated swimming pool, however rinsing equipment in a swimming pool is not an acceptable method of disinfection. A disinfectant solution must be used according to the manufacturer’s directions, and these usually include specific dilution requirements and a statement instructing the user to thoroughly rinse the disinfected item and allow it to dry. Therefore, a disinfectant solution should be mixed and used separately from the freshwater rinse tank. Best practice in this case would be to have divers disinfect equipment before rinsing to avoid contamination of the rinse water. Hand soap is not a viable option for disinfecting. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a list of disinfectants that will kill the virus called ‘List N’; a disinfectant should be chosen from this list or from among registered disinfectants from other local governing bodies. Don’t be shy about asking your dive operator about their disinfection protocols.
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Q: Is there a chance that the compressed air inside my cylinder could be contaminated? Can the new coronavirus get into my filled cylinders? A: The coronavirus is small enough to theoretically enter the compressor without being caught by the filters. The compressor will heat the air up to well above 150°F after each stage of compression. In addition, during each stage, the peak, instantaneous temperature due to near adiabatic heating that occurs during compression, can be at least 360°F (182°C) inside the cylinder, irrespective of whether the compressor is cold or warm. This will therefore occur multiple times. These temperatures are hot enough to eliminate infectivity. Therefore, no live virus should enter a scuba cylinder during filling. It can, however, enter a cylinder if the fill whip or cylinder valve is contaminated, such as by being touched by an infected person. For this reason, it is important that staff at dive businesses practice hand washing and disinfection of high-touch areas including cylinders and fill stations.
ABOVE The gas in cylinders shuld be safe from COVID-19
For more information about disinfecting dive gear to limit the spread of the coronavirus, check out DAN’s article on how to thoroughly disinfecting scuba kit at www.diversalertnetwork.org
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New Insureds u New individual professional liability insurance customers have the option to pay 25% of the premium at the time of purchase with balance due within 90 days (valid May 1 – July 31, 2020). u New general or group professional liability insurance customers can place 25% down and finance the balance in 9 monthly installments.
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LIGHTING TECHNIQUES FOR MACRO Following his last article on getting the basics right with macro photography, Martyn Guess provides some ideas on how to use different lighting techniques rather than just point the strobe straight at the subject Photography Martyn Guess
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s I said in my last article, ‘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 colorful, with maybe some interesting behaviour, it is critical that the image is creatively and well lit’. There are various lighting techniques that you can use (or put simply – putting your strobe (flash) or strobes in positions that will help you get better results) that will help you to separate the subject from a messy and distracting background, make the subject pop and help show texture and a 3D effect. If used carefully these techniques will then show off the subject in the best possible light (no pun intended!). Most underwater photographers starting out are just happy to get enough light on a subject so that the viewer can see what it is. The strobe position at this stage is normally just pointing straight out from the housing, directly at the subject and the background behind. Everything in the frame is then illuminated and backscatter can be an issue. Compact users with just the in-built flash have only this choice of lighting. If, however, you have graduated to an external strobe or strobes then the position of the strobe can be adjusted so that the angle of light hitting the subject is directed in the best way to suit the subject and its position.
Cross Lighting Helps you separate the subject from the background and add texture. The picture shows the strobe positions for this technique, which are basically pointing straight at each other or the side of the port. Strobes have a remarkably wide angle of coverage so don’t be afraid to turn them away from the critter
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you are shooting. If only using one strobe, the position is the same and the lighting will be more directional, with strong shadows on the side of the subject without any light, which can be very effective. I regularly turn one strobe off when using this technique. Cross lighting limits the light hitting the background and it is this directional light which adds texture to your subject and can give a 3D effect (see the moray image which was lit using this technique). For smaller subjects the strobes are pushed closer together and to the port and pulled further apart for larger subjects and for softer lighting. Try and shoot upwards into the water column by getting low to the subject, as this will help darken the background. Backscatter is not an issue. Use longer strobe arms to enable you to push the strobes forward. If you move closer to the subject, you can introduce some back lighting where the rear of the subject is starting to
get light. Great for subjects like hairy frogfish. One of the strobes if using two can be turned down slightly to help create a softer and more natural light effect. Like anything in photography practice, practice and practice this technique and you will soon see the difference in your images.
LEFT Moray eel lit by cross lighting ABOVE Rhinopias Frondosa back lit with a blip of front light
Inward Lighting I use this when the subject is very close to a messy background. The strobes are set pointing back towards my head (see picture). Push the strobe or strobes forward. The diffusers can be removed as you are only trying to use the edge of the beam to light the subject and the edge will be harder without them. The harder light will help lift the texture of the subject too. Inward lighting is therefore a background problemsolver and is an extreme version of crossed strobes. Push the strobes forward and wide enough so they
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. Please contact the Scubatravel team or check out their website: www.scubatravel.com
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ABOVE Seahorse back lit with blip of front light MIDDLE Porcelain crab lit with inward lighting RIGHT Cardinal fish with eggs lit with inward lighting
are out of the field of view. If necessary, use longer strobe arms. While adjusting the angle of the light I use back button focus, and if yours does, I recommend you use this (see my last article). Compose the shot and focus and then leave the button alone. As I move the strobes around I can then go back to the same shot by moving the camera in and out - when it achieves focus I know it is in the same position and the light angle changes can take effect. With practice you will be able to isolate the subject. Try also using a small aperture and fast shutter speed to help darken the background. The porcelain crab was shot using inward lighting and I was able to hide the rest of the anemone, which was distracting.
Back Lighting You can use a strobe with a piece of old wetsuit arm attached to reduce the light beam and a long strobe arm or arms linked together. This will enable you to position the strobe behind the subject. Clearly this method of lighting can only be used where the critter is in a position which enables you to get a light behind without disturbing it or the reef! I prefer to use a narrow beam torch, which is far easier to position, or to get the guide or a buddy to hold. I always carry such a torch in my pocket on macro dives. Back lighting will transform anything hairy or see-through or something with an interesting shape or edge, such as a seahorse or Rhinopias. This technique will elevate the image to
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something very memorable if done well. It is also great for hiding backgrounds. It is an easy method of lighting to achieve good results without too much practice. You can just rely on the back light which will create a slightly mystical image, or you can also introduce a blip of light from your strobe position to light the front of the subject and allow the viewer to see the subject more clearly, but still maintain an edge light from the back around the subject to give it considerable impact. The image of the purple weedy Rhinopias is an example of back lighting with a little front light allowing you to see the wonderful pattern of the fish’s skin. The back lighting gives the subject great impact. The camera should be positioned so that it is in the shade of the back light, so move your position so you cannot actually see the light beam in the viewfinder. A strobe will give a bigger back light than a torch, so has to be positioned well out of the frame.
Conclusion All three techniques will help you get better images. As a photographer you can choose which to apply to suit the subject and its position. As a rule, I nearly always use one of these methods but in addition, also tend to take a diffuser off when shooting frogfish, and turn one strobe off when shooting a subject sitting on the sand. A lot of information to take on board, but concentrate on these basics and I am confident your images will start to take a quantum leap forward. n
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This issue, our panel of well-traveled experts explain how they prepare their camera systems for diving when they arrive at their destination, and what to do with it each evening Photography Mario Vitalini, Martyn Guess and Anne and Phil Medcalf
So, you finally arrive at your dive destination - absolutely wacked out MARTYN from the journey! If you arrive late in the GUESS day, my advice is - go to bed and get up early to prepare your camera rig in time for the first dive. The most-important thing is to assemble and test everything when you are feeling awake and hopefully fresh. I see so many issues with people rushing to get their cameras ready when they are tired and inevitably something gets forgotten or worse, an O-ring traps a hair, etc. When you assemble everything, do it in the quiet of your room where you are not going to be distracted. Check the batteries and card in your camera. Set the camera’s time zone and time for where you are now located (useful when you want to check back what time of the day a shot was taken for sun position, etc). I then set the camera for macro or wide-angle depending on what I intend to dive with first, including the focus settings. I take a few test shots out of the housing with the appropriate lens attached, then start to put everything together methodically. I first put the camera in the housing and check the housing controls are aligned. Next on goes the port, carefully checking the freshly greased O-ring for hairs, etc. I then assemble the strobe arms and attach strobes with fresh batteries. When the cables are attached between housing and strobes, I take what is probably the
most important shot of the day – you guessed it, a picture of my cabin or room through the camera port! I can’t tell you how many people don’t do this and then discover a problem when they go underwater! The last thing - if you have it, pump up the vacuum or if not check for bubbles with the rig placed in the rinse tank before you dive. Each evening thereafter is a simple process of changing the lens for the type of photography planned for the next day and change the strobe batteries and cards and check the camera battery. I see no point in trying to get another day out of your strobe batteries – they are the cheapest part of your dive trip! When all together, make that allimportant first shot again. Happy diving…
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Before any dive with a camera, there is one thing you can do once everything is put together that will prevent a vast range of grief, embarrassment and anguish. The test shot. It doesn’t have to be anything special. Our ones are often pictures of tables in the saloons on dive boats, bits of camera kit, selfies or unflattering shots of each other. What the test shot does is show that you can get a picture from your set-up before you get in the water. If it won’t produce a picture or it looks wrong, you can fix the issue in the dry. Some problems can be fixed underwater, others can’t. A camera not being aligned properly in the housing will lead to a frustrating dive where none of the controls work and you can’t fix this without getting out of the water to open it up. The test shot can detect all sorts of problems from a strobe cable not being plugged in or even left in the back of the car on a shore dive, to a compact camera being put in upside down in the housing (this can be done!). Other classics include leaving the lens cap on the camera, not putting batteries back in, or putting the flat battery back in instead of the charged one - the list goes on. Taking test shots also allows you to get things somewhat set-up for when you are in the water. You can get an initial handle on positioning of strobes if you have them and/or your camera settings by taking a string of images before you get in the water. When the diving day is over, and our camera setup is rinsed and dried, we’ll put batteries on to charge and then copy the day’s pictures from our memory cards.
ANNE AND PHIL MEDCALF
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The approach we take to our photographic workflow is to use Adobe Lightroom Classic to copy our images from the memory card to a portable hard drive. In fact, we use two separate hard drives and create a back-up of the pictures as we copy them. We each use one hard drive to hold the pictures we are working with and the corresponding Lightroom catalogue file. The same hard drive also holds the back-up of the other’s pictures. This approach means we can clear the memory card for the next day and still have a back-up of our images in case something happens to one of the hard drives. Using a memory card reader or slot on a laptop is usually a quicker and more-reliable approach than the various wireless transfer options that cameras have to offer. Once the pictures are on the hard drives, we’ll usually have a quick review of them, normally with something chilled and alcoholic in hand while we plan out the next day’s diving and photography. When travelling we always keep the hard drives separate in our hand luggage so if one does suffer a mishap, we’ll still have all the pictures from the trip. When we are in a hotel room, they are the thing that we take the most care to make sure are in the room safe before we go out anywhere. Once we get home we move the back-up to a larger hard drive that is kept secure. There are plenty of variations on how to keep your images backed up, but this system works for us.
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Our underwater photography professionals have, between them, literally thousands of hours of dive time and countless hours spent traveling the world shooting underwater images and teaching workshops. If you have a question you’d like them to address, email: mark@scubadivermag.com
After flights and transfers, I finally get to my destination, check in with the crew MARIO and unpack my dive kit – then it is time VITALINI to sort out my camera kit. Word of advice here - if you feel tired and had a very long trip, it can be a good idea to set up your camera the next morning. Tiredness can lead to mistakes, that can cause floods… forgotten O-rings being a big one! It can help to lay all your camera kit out in front of you as you unpack. Have you forgotten anything? It’s good to know before your liveaboard leaves harbour! To make the system easier to transport, I remove the housing, so the first thing I do is to reattach them. Then I clean and set all the O-rings and set the port I intend to use. Finally, I put all my batteries on to charge. In the morning I load the camera in the housing, put the batteries in my strobes and set the vacuum alarm on my housing. These devices give you peace of mind but are more effective if set at least an hour before you jump in the water. Never be complacent, always inspect and clean your O-rings regularly. Leak alarms don’t replace the basics of camera care. In the evenings, I only open my housing if I need to charge the battery, change lenses or download my photos. Otherwise
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I leave the housing closed. Every time you open it you are reintroducing the risk of flooding, so the less you do it, the safer it is. As for my strobes, I know that the batteries last about a day, therefore, every evening I switch and charge them. If I’m on a liveaboard I tend to keep the housing on the floor in the saloon so it is well protected. If I’m land-based, I bring my set up to my room unless there is a lockable camera room. Better be safe than sorry. n
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Perception
While the other wrecks were dived on several occasions, The Odyssey only gave us one chance. Sitting in 108ft, she is a large 330feet-long freighter and Roatan’s largest wreck dive 44
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Michele Westmorland was captivated by the underwater delights around Roatan, in the Bay Islands of Honduras Photography Michele Westmorland
One of the most famous dive sites on Roatan is Mary’s Place. Located near Brick Bay, this site is easily recognizable by its vertical crevices formed by long-ago volcanic activity. You can spend the dive exploring these cracks and fissures, finding huge barrel sponges, spotted drum fish and a variety of other Caribbean creatures along the way.
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F
lying into Roatan off the coast of Honduras, the reasoning behind the name of the country becomes clear. Honduras means ‘the depths’ in Spanish, and there is deep blue water everywhere you look. Roatan and the other Bay Islands of Guanaja and Utila are part of Honduras and less than an hour from the mainland. Roatan, once the territory of Spanish conquistadors and pirates, sits on the southernmost point of the second largest barrier reef in the world. These extensive reef systems draw in divers from all across the globe, and the islands are bustling with dive activity. After organizing gear and getting a good night’s sleep on board the Roatan Aggressor, we made our first dive off Roatan’s far western point at a location called Eel Reef. Upon arrival at the site, I was surprised to observe a platform surrounded by several small boats. The Honduran flag was flying above the few people who were clearly preparing for an event. When I asked about what was taking place, I learned it was the Freediving World Championship. Teams and individuals from five continents were on this small island to participate in a sport that pushes the limits of the human body. I cannot imagine what it would be like to freedive to depths over 300ft without fins and hold my breath for over four minutes. There is nothing like the thought of that to make me feel grateful to have a tank of air on my back and scuba gear at the ready. It made me smile to know that I would be able to take my time to truly soak in the reef scenes and marine life below.
At the dozens of dive sites surrounding Roatan, you can expect to find colorful reef fish populating healthy reefs. Dive down between the many crevices in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef to find angelfish, surgeonfish, large black grouper, moray eels, crabs and more.
RIGHT The Bay Islands boast clear waters BOTTOM RIGHT Returning from an afternoon dive BELOW Chilling on the sundeck
It is a multi-level ship with lots of ladders, a large bridge area and plenty of holds to explore 46
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Roatan Aggressor Length: 131 feet | Beam: 23 feet Passengers: 18 | Staff: 6 Cabins: 1 Master Stateroom with queen-sized bed 8 Deluxe Staterooms All guest rooms come with private heads and showers, individually controlled air conditioning, monitor with media player USB/110 v outlet and hair dryer. There is a generous salon area, an upper sun and bar deck that is well laid out and also is complimented with a hot tub. The dive deck has ample space for dive equipment, including bench storage, camera table and plenty of dive suit hanging areas conveniently placed. Fill stations, which includes nitrox, are delivered to individual diver stations. www.aggressor.com
ROATAN’S OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Besides diving and snorkeling, Roatan’s beautiful waters can be enjoyed through kayaking, charter fishing trips, and glass-bottom boat tours. The island’s inland attractions include horseback riding, bicycling, museums, and miniature golf.
Walls, wrecks and reefs Depending on the weather conditions, the Roatan Aggressor’s itinerary includes well-known sites around the island of Roatan, and then crosses to Utila, Cayos Cochinos and an extraordinary seamount just off this small island. Over the two weeks I was aboard the boat, we dodged two big bullets – Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The weather was still respectable for us and although we could not cross to Utila, we still had plenty to explore. Tavianna’s Wall, our first stop, is a place to look at small subjects as well as the bigger reef system and fish life. This variety makes it difficult to choose which lens to put on the camera, but I was lucky – I had more than just the one dive at the wall. I planned to shoot macro on my first experience here because I heard there were some tiny creatures that snaked in and out of the reef structure. It took patience to find them and rest near a tiny little hole in a rock to watch for the male sailfin blenny to appear. It took even more patience to
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wait for him to come entirely out of his protected space to flare his pectoral fin in a territorial display. The next dive on Tavianna’s, we left the little creatures and headed for the larger corals, sea fans and marine life that form a winding pattern of structure and colors throughout them. What is actually a school of fish was, in my opinion, a ‘herd’ of blue tang. They moved over the reef, quickly stopping to munch on algae on the coral, then tromping on to the next mound providing the food source for a hungry mass of blue. It is a beautiful scene to watch but must be done hastily as it is challenging to keep up with these reef cleaners. The signature location in Roatan is Mary’s Place. Divers can remain shallow or explore the cracks that formed when a peninsula broke apart in a powerful earthquake. The cracks are anywhere from three to ten feet in width and are full of coral. With good timing, divers can not only enter and exit the swim-through, but they might find it filled with thousands of silversides.
TOP MIDDLE The Roatan Aggressor ABOVE The spacious salon inside the Roatan Aggressor
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WHILE THE WORLD IS CHANGING AROUND US,
there are some things on Bonaire that remained the same, such as our dedication to protecting nature. We continue our practices to protect our coral reefs, beaches, marine and land wildlife. Bonaire will continue to be a world leader in sustainable growth as we champion being the world’s first Blue Destination. Becoming a Blue Destination is aligned with Bonaire’s culture, history, and the heritage of people who have embraced and protected the ocean. Bonaire’s beauty awaits you. We hope to see you soon on Bonaire! For more information visit: www.tourismbonaire.com
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HERE BE PIRATES...
By the 17th century, more than 5,000 pirates lived on the island of Roatan, including some infamous pirates such as Blackbeard, Van Horn, and Henry Morgan. ABOVE The wrecks make great props for photography RIGHT Sailfin blenny
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If that doesn’t pan out, maybe a free-swimming moray eel out for a day of hunting will surprise you. We had more than one dive to look for creatures and the highlight for me was the discovery of a small frogfish who chose a picturesque location to settle in – a purple vase sponge. There he was, perfectly perched with antennae out to lure in a nice dinner morsel. Half Moon Bay, located on the north side of the island, displayed a variety of interesting fish life – and behavior. Angels and eels were present in large numbers but what I wasn’t expecting was to come across a red-lipped batfish. This is a species I have only seen once in the deep waters of Cocos Island off Costa Rica. I had no idea they could be found here in Roatan and in only 65ft of water no less. What was even more humorous than the fish with lipstick was a Nassau grouper, which appeared to like the attention of divers. He nudged, prodded and came right up to our dive masks as everyone admired the frogfish seemingly trying to tell us ‘Hey! Pay attention to me!’ Since the weather was not co-operating for traveling to Utila, heading south from Roatan to the small island grouping called Cayos Cochinos was a welcomed diversion from Roatan. It is a peaceful location made up of two tiny islands away from the hubbub of Roatan. The surrounding reefs are in a Marine Protected Area managed by the Honduran Coral Reef Foundation and part of the well-known Meso-American Barrier Reef. No wonder we had the opportunity to experience the reef shark population! Cara A Cara, which is Spanish for ‘face-to-face’, is just that. Divers are face-to-face with many predators coming in close including sharks and grouper. My personal favorite was a dive site named Toon Town. Want to guess where the name was derived from? Certainly not from any cartoon characters, but instead from the enormous numbers of tunicate colonies. At first, I did not see much in the way of these purple colonies until I rounded a corner on the reef. The little bunches of them looked like patches of flowers. Honduras and the Meso-American Reef is also known for many pirate stories and sunken ships. Divers do not have much chance of seeing remnants of the wooden ships of the past, but there is certainly a fabulous selection of vessels, large and small, that are used today as artificial reefs. I found diving three of the most-known sites on my list of favorite diving experiences on this trip. El Aguila is the remains of a 230-feet-long ship that was originally used as a concrete carrier. In 1997 she was sunk as an artificial reef and although now broken up a bit from a hurricane in 1998, she is still a dynamic home to many species from morays and grouper to the smallest of critters. Since we had the chance to make multiple dives, all the divers on our boat came to the surface completely satisfied with the experience. This was especially true for Chris and Patricia.
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West Bay
West End
Half Moon Bay Wall
El Aguila Wreck
Roatan Port
Roatan International Airport (RTB)
French Cay Forty-Foot Point
Valley of the Kings Mary’s Place
Mahogany Bay
Connie’s Dream
Brick Bay
French Harbor
Ferry Terminal
Mud Hole
Coxen Hole
Flowers Bay
Sandy Bay
Odyssey Wreck
Palmetto Bay
ROATAN
Dolphin Caves
Punta Gorda
Oak Ridge
Diamond Rock
Carib Point
Port Royal
Camp Bay Beach
Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
Old Port Royal
Camp Bay Town
Jagged Edge
Paul’s Wall
Pinnacles
Black Rock
Jado Trader
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WHAT’S IN A REEF?
Roatan is home to the second largest coral reef in the world, the Mesoamerican Reef, which stretches 700 miles all the way from the Yucatan Peninsula to the Bay Islands.
ABOVE Vibrant anemone on the reef TOP RIGHT Silversides swarm inside the wreck RIGHT Green moray eel
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With good timing, divers can not only enter and exit the swim-through, but they might find it filled with thousands of silversides
There was no one, with the exception of the two Mikes conducting the Jim Church School of Underwater Photography courses, who knew what was to happen. I had a confused look behind my mask when I saw a little sign brought out that said ‘Will You Marry Me?’. Even better was the confused look on the bride-tobe’s face when she saw the sign from Chris and a ring in his hand. We shared moments of celebration both underwater and later on board the Roatan Aggressor. While the other wrecks were dived on several occasions, The Odyssey only gave us one chance. Sitting in 108ft, she is a large 330-feet-long freighter and Roatan’s largest wreck dive. The ship was sunk as an artificial reef in 2002, but already hosts plenty of large predator fish and has good sponge coverage. It is a multi-level ship with lots of ladders, a large bridge area and plenty of holds to explore. Because of the depth, it does require a more-experienced diver to investigate the massive wreck. The one dive I made was exciting and had me wishing I could get back to it again. It will
just have to wait until another trip to Roatan. That brings me to the smallest but mightiest of the wrecks in Roatan – Mr. Bud. It is sometimes listed as an old shrimp boat, but many say it was a small cargo vessel at a mere 82 feet in length. It sits in 65ft of water while the bridge is only at 50ft. It sounded rather boring at the initial dive briefing, but I can tell you that I was never bored the multiple times I explored its small spaces. I discovered anemones on the hull hosting a species of shrimp I had not seen before. Toward the end I had a great time in the wheelhouse with thousands of silversides inhabiting the interior.. When we passed the location of the freediving competition on our way back to port, I wondered ‘Who won? What depth? From what country?’ Those thoughts quickly faded as I looked back on the magical creatures and underwater habitats my air supply had allowed me to see in the water around Roatan. Sometimes being slow and steady really does feel like winning. n
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Even though the island of Roatan is small, you won’t have a problem hailing a cab – incredibly, despite its diminutive size, it is home to more than 400 registered taxis! Most stay on the western half where the majority of the population live and tourists’ vacation.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Roatan, Honduras GETTING THERE There are direct flights into Roatan from several US hub airports, including Houston, Atlanta and Miami. CHECK CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES. WHEN TO GO Roatan has a tropical climate with trade winds and island breezes keeping the average temperature between 70-90 degrees F. The rainiest months fall between October through to February. CURRENCY The official currency is the Honduran Lempira (HNL), but US dollars are widely accepted and credit cards can be used on the Roatan Aggressor. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Visitors to Roatan must have a valid passport with at least six months left to expiry and a return airline ticket, and will be granted a 90-day visa on arrival. CHECK CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES. ELECTRICITY 110 volts in Roatan is the standard, which is the same as the United States and Canada. The Roatan Aggressor has 110 volt power throughout the vessel.
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Referred to by most locals as simply ‘The Hole’, the site is a cave within a deep-water ledge running north and south with depth range 120ft on top to 147ft at its deepest point
The area was originally named for the Hobe tribe of Native Americans. ‘Hobe’ was written in Spanish as ‘Jobe’, and then mistranslated by a mapmaker as ‘Jove’ – which is the Latin translation of the Roman god’s name Jupiter. Jupiter – also known as Zeus in Greek mythology – was the king of the gods.
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Walt Stearns pays a visit to Jupiter’s Hole-in-theWall dive site, one of the most-popular ‘technical depth’ locations in the area Photography Walt Stearns
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These days trips to the Hole-in-the-Wall are treated as a technical dive open to advanced nitrox and rebreather divers alike as the dive will entail a decompression profile. Due to its location near the southern end of Jupiter, access to the site is provided by both dive operators out of Riviera Beach Marina and up north in Jupiter, which offers a shorter run.
If Frank ran into a shark, it was often quickly dispatched, becoming another casualty of, as Frank put it, ‘accidental death due to inappropriate behavior’ ABOVE Goliath grouper are not afraid of divers TOP RIGHT Boats head out past the Jupiter lighthouse RIGHT Wrasse basslet, considered uncommon throughout the Caribbean, but a regular sight at the Hole in the Wall BOTTOM RIGHT Various shark species, including bulls, can be seen in the deep water
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E
very destination has its ‘signature dive’. In most cases it’s a particular wreck, reef or animal attraction that is touted as a must-do. But sometimes, a site can gain notoriety for its lack of visitors. It might be in a location that is difficult to reach, requires advanced diving skills, or presents a logistics challenge for the dive operator. This is the case with a dive off Jupiter, Florida, known as the Hole-in-the-Wall. Referred to by most locals as simply ‘The Hole’, the site is a cave within a deepwater ledge running north and south with depth range 120ft on top to 147ft at its deepest point. The cave itself features a 40-foot-wide by ten-foot high opening on the ledge formation’s eastern face that cuts back in some 35-40 feet before making a hard-right turn to an exit nearly the same size where the ledge makes a slight dog leg to the west before continuing north. In addition to the depth, which happens to be just over the edge of the 130ft limit most training agencies deemed for recreational divers, there is matter of
dealing current. On most days, the western edge of the Gulf Stream sweeps across the site, bringing a north-flowing current of one to two knots. As a result, The Hole can only be done as a drift, with divers being dropping in as much as 150 yards up current, and hopefully timing their descent to arrive on the bottom just up current of The Hole. This scenario can present a challenge for both diver and dive operator. The boat crew must anticipate the current’s often variable speed to give divers sufficient time to descend, but not place them too far up current causing them to come up short of the cave at such depths, or too close, risking overshooting the cave during the descent. And on some days, the currents are so strong that the only sensible course is to abort the dive before even attempting to reach the ledge. Bottom line, it’s not a dive for novices. But what truly gives the Hole-in-the-Wall its mystique is not the conditions, but its reputation for attracting the bigger players of the reef.
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FLORIDIAN FACTS
Florida has the longest coastline (1,197 statute miles) in the contiguous United States, with 825 miles of accessible beaches to enjoy.
After its discovery in the early 1970s, spearfishermen would return from a trip to ‘The Hole’ with huge cubera snapper 40-80lbs, large gray and goliath grouper (before became protected) together with tales of evading even all kinds of large sharks. The Hole was a favorite with a group of local hunters who called themselves the Guerrilla Divers. In an era when men were men, and risk was an accepted form of macho male expression, these guys were the ‘alpha males’ of the Palm Beach dive scene. They dove long and hard – and considered newfangled buoyancy compensators to be crutches for the weak. The saying was ‘anyone who needs a BC deserves to drown’. One of the best known of the ‘guerilla divers’ was Frank Hammett, owner of Frank’s Dive Shop. From the late 1950s through the 1970s, when the public still considered sharks to be evil eating machines, Frank was known as the ‘shark killer’, and the Hole-in-theWall was his personal playground. If Frank ran into a shark, it was often quickly dispatched, becoming another casualty of, as Frank put it, ‘accidental death due to inappropriate behavior’. According to the old timers, sand tiger sharks used to frequent the hole before Frank changed the natural order by inserting himself as the new apex predator. The coast’s resident population of giant Goliath grouper proved to be even easier targets.
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And on some days, the currents are so strong that the only sensible course is to abort the dive before even attempting to reach the ledge. Bottom line, it’s not a dive for novices
By the time I started diving this area in the late-1970s (with Frank in the beginning), the Goliaths where all gone, and it seemed they would never return The Guerrilla Divers like Frank are history now, having hung up their fins in retirement to be replaced by a different breed of diver, most with a greater appreciation for the sites Mother Nature gives them. As for the Goliath grouper that once frequented the Hole. Well, something remarkable one summer day in August of 2002 - the Goliaths returned. Twelve years from the date they were place under Federal protection in 1990, the Hole was once again a spawning aggregation site for immense grouper. To the local diving population was a spectacle most had never seen before, having been out of existence for nearly 30 years. The discovery was unprecedented as it was the first large-scale observable aggregation in recent years to take place over natural bottom instead of a wreck. Researchers identified 42 large fish at the aggregation. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Florida State University’s Institute for Fishery Resource Ecology Department placed tags in 24 adult fish ranging 120350lbs, and identified three others that were tagged 20 miles up the coast near Stuart the previous year. In the years since, animal activity at life at the Hole seems to have continued to increase. In addition to the Goliath grouper, which begin to show up in August and linger through October, the sharks have also made a healthy comeback. Venture out with some of dive operators that run specialize charters to see the gals (most are females) in the grey suits will get a
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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Jupiter has a unique geographical location that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean further than any other point of the Florida coast. Since 1550, ships have considered it an important stop when sailing to Central and South America, and today, the historic Jupiter Lighthouse is one of the area’s top attractions.
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Juno Beach in Jupiter is one of the favorite nesting ground for loggerhead sea turtles, with the white sands providing a home to more than 10,000 turtle nests each year.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Florida GETTING THERE If you are flying in, then Ft Lauderdale is probably the nearest airport, but there are fast and easy highway routes to drive to Jupiter. WHEN TO GO You can dive the Hole in the Wall all year round, as weather conditions are fairly constant, but the Goliath grouper tend to be in residence from August to October.
healthy dose of just about everything from large bull sharks (which are year round), silky, dusky and sand bar, to even tiger and greater hammerhead. Even great whites have been sighted by fishermen and spearfishermen on occasion, but as yet not shown interest in the baiting practices of the shark charters. For divers who have the skills needed to perform drift dives, and to function safely at the lower end of the recreational dive envelope, the Hole in the Wall is a site that shouldn’t be missed. n
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TOP LEFT You can get vast shoals of fish in the waters off Florida TOP Imagine living right on the ocean ABOVE Goliath grouper LEFT Technical diver
CURRENCY US dollar. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS If you are driving, you don’t need a passport. If you are flying in from abroad, check the entry requirements for your country of origin. CHECK CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES. ELECTRICITY 110 volt, two pin - standard US.
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| Walt Stearns checks out the DIVE RITE HYDRO LITE BCD DIVE RITE HYDRO LITE SRP: $589
www.diverite.com
Walt Stearns: Traveling divers know that small and light is good when it comes to packing the gear. Nowhere does this come to light faster than when flying internationally on airlines that may impose unrealistic baggage allowances. In many cases, BCDs are the heavyweight space hogs of the gear bag. The obvious solution is to choose something lighter and leaner in a BCD. But at the same time, you don’t want to sacrifice durability or function. As an avid underwater photographer accustomed to doing a lot of diving both at home and abroad, I have some specific preferences in a travel BCD. I prefer a soft backplate design combined with a low-profile wing, as this combination is both lightweight and can be fitted or crammed into a gear bag in a number of ways to accommodate everything else that I need to carry. And because I dive often and year-round, the BCD needs to endure season after season of vigorous use. These were the criteria I had in mind when I had the recent opportunity to evaluate Dive Rite’s Hydro Lite BCD. The company describes this product as a ‘tech inspired, lightweight BCD for discerning single tank divers’. Out of the box, the size large Hydro Lite Dive Rite was kind enough to loan me came complete with an integrated wing providing 30lb of lift and weight pockets. It tipped the scales at 5lb 14 ounces dry. Playing around with how I could pack it into a gear bag, I found it worked best in one of two ways: lay it flat, or fold it over to create a mass just under 17 x 10 x 7 inch in size. Cool, this one will be easy to pack for a trip somewhere. I give the Hydro Lite equally high marks for construction. Like its big brother, Dive Rite’s TransPac XP harness, the Hydro Lite features a load-bearing mountaineering backpack-style harness utilizing two-inch webbing backed with 2-3/4-inch-wide padding for the over-the-shoulder segments, coupled to an integrated chest strap. It is available in five harness sizes from S to XXL, with quick adjustability for in-between sizes. The shoulder pieces are designed to be both user-replaceable and adjustable for fine tuning the fit and has the capability for adding extra D-rings for customizing the BCD. The weight pockets that came standard with Hydro Lite are user-removable and can be replaced by larger pockets that can hold 10lb or more each. Below the shoulder segments, the harness transitions to a low-profile quick release using 1-1/2-inch wide webbing with anchor points on the soft backplate located near the kidneys to better help transfer the load to the hips. For added stability the harness features a 1.5” crotch strap. Four two-inch D-rings are located on the chest and waist belt. An integrated lumbar pad, hip pads, and shoulder pads are included for additional comfort.
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Where Hydro Lite differs from the TransPac XP is that it is not at all suited for use with back-mounted doubles or having the tanks slung off the sides as a sidemount rig. If that is what you intend to do, better go with the TransPac, otherwise keep reading. No gear review is complete without getting to the part where the rubber meets the road, or in this case the BCD meets the water. Taking the Hydro Lite for a couple of spins at my favorite shore diving site, the Blue Heron Bridge, allowed me to really get a feel for what it offered. I suited up at the car with a highpressure steel 100 and 6lb of lead in each weight pocket — which is the max for the standard pockets. Walking some 120 feet across the parking area and beach to get to the water, I found the harness did a good job of distributing the load to my shoulders rather than my lower back. Underwater, my most-important criteria for a BCD is that it should not be constantly reminding you that it’s there by shifting or riding up your back when the tank is low, or when the aircell is partially inflated. As mentioned earlier, the Hydro Lite features an integrated aircell providing 30lb of in-water lift, which is more than sufficient for single tank. The wing’s aircell is constructed with a 600-denier polyester material outer bag with a 210-denier nylon laminated inner bladder. The cell follows a continuous 360-degree oval configuration to prevent the aircell from wrapping around the tank like a taco or trapping air to one side. That last part can be annoying when there is the negative weight of a high-pressure steel tank on your back trying to roll you onto your side. The Hydro Lite scored high marks in both areas working fully with me instead of against me. I didn’t even think about it as I
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went about my hunt for subjects to photograph. To sum it up: The Hydro Lite is lightweight and relatively compact for travel; constructed with durable materials that should provide many years of use; very comfortable in water without any apparent annoying traits in regard to fit and trim. Overall, it delivers the convenience of an all-in-one streamlined system that is ideal for warm water diving and travel, all without sacrificing the features that advanced divers would demand most in a BCD. n
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| Mark Evans takes a look at the SCUBAPRO GALILEO G2 DIVE COMPUTER SCUBAPRO GALILEO G2 SRP: $1,050 INCLUDING TRANSMITTER
Mark Evans: I was always a massive fan of the original Galileo series of computers, loving the clear display, how it told you on screen the function of the three buttons, the ease of changing the battery, and so on. It was so simple and easy to use. When the colourscreen revolution started, I said all Scubapro needed to do was make the Galileo with a colour screen - and that is essentially what the G2 is. I couldn’t wait to get diving it and see how it stacks up against my old Sol. Just taking the G2 out of the box, it instantly feels familiar, if just all on a slightly smaller scale than I am used to. I was a firm devotee of the Galileo Sol, and the G2 is, to all intents and purposes, a Sol with a fullcolour screen in a smaller package. Yes, there are a few other differences, but for anyone used to the old
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Galileo series, this will feel like a comfortable shoe. First dives with the G2, and the familiarity I had on the surface with the unit - after my long history with the Galileo Sol - continued underwater. It is just so simple and intuitive to use, with the screen displaying what the buttons on the top activate at that particular time. For instance, what is one of the things you are most often going to do on your computer? Change the O2 setting, right? Well, with the G2 - as with the Galileo series - when you go into the menu, the initial highlighted next stage is the O2 setting. One more click and you are at the stage where you can alter the mix, and set the PPO2 max. Just so easy to use. The energy-efficient TFT (thin-film transistor) screen is vibrant, and so easy to read on the sur-face or underwater, especially when the conditions deteriorate, or on a night dive. As with the original Galileos, there are a choice of screen display configurations – Light, Classic, Full or Graphical – allowing you to personalise how the data is presented. I am a bit fan of wrist-mounted dive computers, and always
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www.scubapro.com wear them with the screen on the inside of my wrist. This way the face of the computer is protected from any impacts, but most importantly it is automatically facing you when you are relaxed into a nice, comfortable trim position underwater, or holding on to your camera or video system. No need to rotate your wrist to read the information on the screen. I also like the thick rubber strap on the G2, which keeps the computer nice and solid on your forearm whether you are in a wetsuit or in a drysuit. The G2 is genuinely a computer that can grow with you. If you are new to diving, it is so simple to use, it is the perfect partner for your first forays into the underwater world. As your skills and certifications develop and grow, so the G2 and its Predictive Multi-Gas ZHL-16 ADT MB al-gorithm is more than capable of handling your needs, such as nitrox and even trimix mixes (up to eight), additional cylinders (for sidemount or technical diving), and if you head off into the realm of closed-circuit rebreathers, it can even deal with that. As well as scuba, gauge mode (for technical diving) and CCR, the G2 also has a freediving mode. The G2 is different from its older brethren in that it doesn’t have a user-replaceable battery, in-stead it is equipped with a rechargeable battery that provides up to 50 hours of dive time. It does, however, have a full-tilt digital compass, which is even better than the original. The G2 comes in a neat zippered storage case with a little carry handle, which contains the computer itself and the download cable, and if you opt for them, the heart-rate chest monitor and elasticated strap, which measures your heartbeat and skin temperature and factors both into your decompression calculations, and wireless transmitter for hoseless air-integration, so air consumption can also be a part of the calculations. The G2 can actually connect to up to nine transmitters. n
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| Mark Evans reviews the XDEEP NX700 / LS200 REGULATOR SRP: €580 SINGLE-TANK SET / €840 DOUBLE-TANK SET
www.xdeep.eu
Mark Evans: Polish company xDeep has really earned itself a solid reputation for its robust, well-made and stylish backplate-and-wings, and its no-nonsense fins and mask, and its forthcoming drysuit is sure to follow this tradition. But before we get our hands on the drysuit, xDeep is releasing its long-awaited regulator, the NX700 / LS200. I first saw a prototype of this at a dive show a couple of years ago, and at the time I was struck by the design, which is unlike anything else on the market, at least when you are talking first stages in particular. xDeep’s Piotr Czernik explained: “The goal for the design of all of our recent products was to set a completely new level of efficiency, streamlining and overall comfort of use. We hadn’t planned to launch the regulator, but over the years, we came to a conclusion that while with the NX Series BCDs we optimised the BCD design to the absolute limits, there was no regulator that could match the ‘configuration cleaness’ of our NX Series wings in terms of hose routing and efficiency. “In 2017, we determined the perfect regulator should work great in any configuration, perform in any environment, be compact, robust, and easy to service with simple tools. The result was the NX700 / LS200.” Fast forward to now and I got hold of one of the first NX700 / LS200 regulators out of the Italian factory. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a slight upset, as I had lots of shiny new kit sat in my office that I was unable to test-dive, but finally, as restrictions were lifted, I was able to get out and into the water with it all. Let’s talk about that first stage. The NX700 is the definite show-stopper when it comes to this regulator. It has two highpressure ports and five low-pressure ports. The forged body is protected by a shiny chrome finish. It is an environmentally sealed overbalanced diaphragm design, abd a heat exchanger ‘wrapped’ around the HP valve, so perfect for cold-water diving as well as warm-water adventures. So far, so normal. Where it all goes xDeep is in the design of the body. The two high-pressure ports and two of the low-pressure ports come straight out of the main body
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Image by Alfred Minnaar
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| Mark Evans reviews the XDEEP NX700 / LS200 REGULATOR SRP: €580 SINGLE-TANK SET / €840 DOUBLE-TANK SET
www.xdeep.eu
of the first stage, as per the norm, though they are routed at quite a steep angle, which sets the hoses to perfect flow under your arms - your drysuit hose, for example, and your SPG. This reminded me of the OMS regulator from a couple of years back. However, the NX700 then pulls its party piece. On the front of the first stage is a large circular addition, which has another three low-pressure ports. This is a unique swivel, mounted on the face of the first stage instead of on top, as with some other regulators, such as the Scubapro MK25 EVO. In another first, it can also be locked in place, or left to move freely. xDeep recommend it be locked in place for use as a singlecylinder regulator, or for the secondary first stage on doubles. For other configurations, such as the primary first stage on twinsets, in sidemount, or on a stage, it should be unlocked. There are four grooves in the swivel, which dovetail with a small threaded pin, which has two locations to screw into the main first stage body. This offers up lots of customisation by the diver, and it is a very quick and straightforward operation to move or remove the pin. When it comes to the pneumatically balanced LS200 second stage, things get back to a more-traditional style. There is a large circular purge button on the front, and the primary has a large venturi lever and a chunky cracking resistance control. The secondary regulator just has the purge and venturi lever. All of these controls can be easily located and operated even when wearing gloves. The mouthpiece is quite large, but comfortable, the right blend of soft and firm. Interestingly, the cover can be removed with no tools, even during the dive, to remove sediments during cave diving, for instance. Connecting the second stages to the first stages are braided hoses which have a smooth covering. In use, I liked the routing of the hoses from both the main first stage and the swivel. I played around with different angles for the swivel and found one that nicely brought the primary reg over my right shoulder and fed the secondary under my right arm, while keeping the ‘bunny ear’ loop of hose to a minimum. I was expecting the xDeep regulator to be a decent performer, given the quality of all of their past products, and I was not disappointed. It provided a smooth and dry breath in all positions, and was not found wanting even when I upped my breathing rate considerably - it just kept delivering all of the gas I needed for minimal effort. The venturi and cracking resistance controls did make a difference to the breathe, and I had no problems using them even wearing thick neoprene gloves. You can buy the xDeep regulators are single stand-alone first and second stages, as a single-tank set, and as a set for doubles. n
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AMBER OCEANOGRAPHER
D420 REGULATOR
“RELIABLE, NATURAL BREATHING AND EASY TO MAINTAIN.”
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