Scuba Diver #60 by scubadivermag

DIVING DUNBAR

LAWSON WOOD EXTOLS THE VIRTUES OF THE SHORE DIVING IN SOUTH-EAST SCOTLAND

GO BIG OR GO HOME

DON SILCOCK LISTS SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST BIG ANIMAL DIVES

Q&A: PAUL NAYLOR

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHOR OF GREAT BRITISH MARINE ANIMALS

FULL WEEKEND REPORT INSIDE!

Exploring IVANA ORLOVIC GOES ICE DIVING IN SERBIA AND AUSTRIA DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

ALEX MUSTARD

SCHOLAR ISSUE #60

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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mark Evans Tel: 0800 0 69 81 40 ext 700 Email: mark@scubadivermag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@scubadivermag.com CONTRIBUTORS Lawson Wood, Don Silcock, Paul Naylor, Janez Kranjc, Ivana Orlovic PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Ross Arnold Tel: 0800 0 69 81 40 ext 701 Email: ross@scubadivermag.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Penney Evans Email: penney@scubadivermag.com

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Positive vibes to usher in 2022 season The 4-6 March saw the first UK dive event in two years when the GO Diving Show took place at the NAEC Stoneleigh exhibition halls, and there was an amazingly positive vibe and atmosphere the entire weekend, both from the exhibitors there, and the visitors who flocked through the doors. Understandably, there was still a little reticence among some sectors of the industry as we emerged from the throes of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions and so some of the larger retailers and manufacturers were sadly absent, but with the last of the rules being lifted in England 10 days before the actual event, the subsequent crowds which filled the hall - especially on the Saturday, which was totally rammed - showed that there is a pent-up demand among the diving fraternity for getting back to some sort of normality. Literally hundreds of drysuits were purchased over the weekend, along with all manner of other scuba equipment, and there was seemingly a real thirst among the visitors to find out information about potential future diving destinations, as well as actually get out their wallets and book dive trips for the coming year or so. It was great to see all of the stages - the Main Stage and the Photo Stage and Tech Stage - were well attended on both days, with standing-room-only for keynote speakers Steve Backshall, Andy Torbet and Monty Halls. The Cave and the trydive tank were busy all weekend, as was the new attraction for 2022 - Bruce the bucking rodeo shark. This fun ride - dubbed ‘the only shark you should be riding’ was popular with kids and adults alike! The 2023 dates are 3-5 March - make a note in your diary now! Mark Evans, Editorial Director

DIVING DUNBAR

LAWSON WOOD EXTOLS THE VIRTUES OF THE SHORE DIVING IN SOUTH-EAST SCOTLAND

GO BIG OR GO HOME

DON SILCOCK LISTS SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST BIG ANIMAL DIVES

Q&A: PAUL NAYLOR

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHOR OF GREAT BRITISH MARINE ANIMALS

FULL WEEKEND REPORT INSIDE!

Exploring IVANA ORLOVIC GOES ICE DIVING IN SERBIA AND AUSTRIA DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

ALEX MUSTARD

SCHOLAR ISSUE #60

Cover.indd 1

PHOTOGRAPH © JANEZ KRANJC

25/03/2022 15:39

Regular columns

Monthly features...

10 News round-up

18 Scotland

Shackleton’s Endurance is found after major expedition, special ward to Carl Spencer, eerie photographs recovered from US shipwreck, and Roman amphora raised in the Med.

16 DAN Europe Medical Q&A

Divers Alert Network Europe staff offer advice on dental extraction and diving, and stress and diving.

42 Divers Alert Network

In part three of House of Cards, Audrey Cudel focuses her attentions on mastering proper trim.

66 Our-World Underwater Scholarship

Arzu heads off to Dubai to learn freediving, takes photos in Grand Cayman, and goes cave diving in the Bahamas.

Lawson Wood extols the virtues of shore diving Dunbar in Scotland, which while not being on most diver’s want-to-do lists, offers some sublime diving and myriad colourful species of marine life.

24 Q&A with Paul Naylor

We chat to the author and underwater photographer about his seminal book Great British Marine Animals, which is now in its fourth edition (the first for ten years) and is still the ‘goto’ book for UK marine life identification.

30 Mustard’s Masterclass

Alex Mustard explains how nailing down our diving skills is a core essential for improving and developing our underwater photography.

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...continued

Gear & testing

34 ‘Big animal’ encounters

56 What’s New

Scuba Diver Senior Travel Editor Don Silcock lists his top 10 big animal encounters from around the world.

42 GO Diving Show

Report from the GO Diving Show, which took place in early March and was the first main dive event since February 2020. It was very encouraging to see that people are ready and willing to get back out diving here and abroad.

50 TECH: Serbia and Austria

Janez Kranjc and Ivana Orlovic break out the thermal protection and the chainsaws to go ice diving in frozen lakes in Serbia and Austria.

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We look at new products hitting the market, including Fourth Element’s innovative Rec fins, which are made from post-consumer plastic waste, the stylish range of SDC dive watches, Scubapro’s GO and Level BCDs, and the Garmin Descent G1 dive computer, which comes in at a very competitive price.

58 Test Extra

Editorial Director Mark Evans rates and reviews the Scubapro Hydros Pro back-inflate BCD, and the Tecline Frameless Super View mask and LightJet fins.

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

ENDURANCE DISCOVERED ‘IN AMAZING CONDITION’

he Endurance22 Expedition, which has been employing state-of-the-art technology in the search for the fabled Endurance, has announced that Shackleton’s ship was discovered in early March lying in over 3,000m of water and ‘in amazing condition’. Sir Ernest Shackleton’s vessel has not been seen since it was crushed by the ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915. Now, 100 years after the explorer’s death, his ship has been located – just four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley as the crew abandoned the stricken vessel. The Endurance is protected as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, ensuring that the wreck would not be touched or disturbed in any way while it is being filmed and surveyed. Mensun Bound, Director of Exploration on the expedition, said: “We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance. This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation. You can even see ‘Endurance’ arced across the stern, directly below the taffrail. “This is a milestone in polar history. However, it is not all about the past; we are bringing the story of Shackleton and Endurance to new audiences, and to the next generation, who will be entrusted with the essential safeguarding of our polar regions and our planet. We hope our discovery will engage young people and inspire them with the pioneering spirit, courage and fortitude of those who sailed Endurance to Antarctica.

“We pay tribute to the navigational skills of Captain Frank Worsley, the Captain of the Endurance, whose detailed records were invaluable in our quest to locate the wreck.” He added: “I would like to thank my colleagues of The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust for enabling this extraordinary expedition to take place, as well as Saab for their technology, and the whole team of dedicated experts who have been involved in this monumental discovery.” Dr John Shears, Expedition Leader, said: “The Endurance22 expedition has reached its goal. We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most-challenging shipwreck search. “In addition, we have undertaken important scientific research in a part of the world that directly affects the global climate and environment, and have conducted an unprecedented educational outreach programme, with live broadcasting from on board, allowing new generations from around the world to engage with Endurance22 and become inspired by the amazing stories of polar exploration, and what human beings can achieve and the obstacles they can overcome when they work together.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY © FALKLANDS MARITIME HERITAGE TRUST AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

What happened to Endurance?

It was Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ambition to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea, and that was the focus of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The Ross Sea Party, which was landed at Hut Point on Ross Island, had the task of laying supply dumps for Shackleton’s crossing party, and achieved its objective, but at the cost of three lives lost. In the Weddell Sea, Endurance never reached land and became trapped in the dense pack ice and the 28 men on board eventually had no choice but to abandon ship. After months spent in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an extraordinary 800-mile openboat journey in the lifeboat James Caird to reach South Georgia. Shackleton and two others then crossed the mountainous island to the whaling station at Stromness. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life. Endurance22 documentary coming in the autumn. Set to premiere this autumn as part of National Geographic’s Explorer series, this documentary will air globally on Nat Geo in 172 countries and 43 languages before it heads to Disney+. n

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Carl Spencer – self-proclaimed ‘I’m only a plumber from Cannock – was an experienced and well-respected technical diver who was involved in a plethora of projects and expeditions, including the Bluebird Project, X5, Carpathia, Titanic and Britannic. Sadly, Carl lost his life on 24 May 2009 on Britannic, and now he has been recognised by The International Academy of Underwater Sciences and Techniques for his diving career and achievements with the ‘Trident in Memoriam‘ award. On Sunday 6 March, Carl’s family were presented with the ‘Trident’ in Memoriam‘ award on the Main Stage at the GO Diving Show at the NAEC Stoneleigh by tech diver Edoardo Pavia. Very few have been awarded this over the years, and the Spencer family want to continue encouraging youngsters to learn about the deep blue, so it was fitting the ceremony took place straight after a Youth Panel of teenage divers had been talking about what they love about scuba diving.

CARL SPENCER AWARDED ‘TRIDENT IN MEMORIAM’

EERIE PHOTOGRAPHS EMERGE FROM ‘SHIP OF GOLD’

Group

While the so-called ‘ship of gold’ – the SS Central America – is most famous for its haul of tens of millions of pounds worth of nuggets, ingots and coins, it is now finding new fame for a series of 19th century portraits that have been recovered from the seabed. British maritime archaeologist Dr Sean Kingsley is shining a light on these eerie, but strikingly beautiful, portraits, which have survived been on the bottom of the Atlantic since the ship went down in 1857 off the coast of South Carolina, with the loss of 425 lives. He explained: “Glass plate photos had preserved the faces of miners, merchants and their families; staring up at the living from the seabed.” Kingsley went on: “While the SS Central America is known as the ‘ship of gold’, for me, the gold is a distraction. The glass plates are the true star treasures from this wreck. There’s dozens more down there that I hope one day will be saved too.” The images of the glass plates appear in the latest issue of Wreckwatch – the online magazine edited by Kingsley – even though they were recovered back in 2014. There is a whole legal furore surrounding the wreck, the treasures and those who found it. Kingsley added: “This is the largest cache of early photographs found at sea – and unpublished until now. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to actually see faces from the deep.”

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EGYPT

GREAT BARRIER REEF BLEACHING AGAIN

A new major coral-bleaching event has occurred on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the sixth since the global event of 1998, and the fourth in the past six years. And the underwater heatwave is affecting the reef just as international experts are expected in Queensland to re-assess its World Heritage Site status. The UNESCO / IUCN monitoring mission visit was scheduled last year, when the GBR narrowly avoided being placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. At the time Australia was warned that ‘accelerated action at all possible levels is required to address the threat from climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement’. Widespread bleaching damage is now occurring on the GBR at a rate of more than once every two years. “Coral-bleaching is directly attributable to climate change caused by rising global greenhouse-gas emissions,” says Richard Leck, head of oceans at conservation body WWF-Australia. “Reducing Australia’s domestic and exported emissions fast, this decade, is the main solution within our control.” To have any chance of keeping ocean temperature rises below 1.5°C, it has been calculated that Australia’s domestic emissions must be limited to 4 billion tonnes. Yet according to new independent analysis by Climate Resource scientists commissioned by WWF-Australia, by the nation’s target date for reaching net zero, those emissions will be 9.6 billion tonnes. “We’re going to blow our emissions budget by more than double,” says Leck. “We expect the IUCN and UNESCO experts will be given an opportunity to witness first-hand what an underwater heatwave does to the reef. It’s not too late for Australia to make changes that give the reef the best chance of survival and avoid downgrading its World Heritage status.”

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15/01/2022 07:54

AMPHORA FOUND OFF MALLORCA BEACH

A massive haul of 300 ancient amphora dating back to the 3rd or 4th century have been recovered from a wreck just off a busy tourist beach in Mallorca, and it has been hailed as one of the most-significant shipwreck finds in the Mediterranean. A couple spotted some broken fragments of amphora back in July 2019, which led to maritime archaeologists fully investigating the site and making the discovery of the Roman merchant wreck in just 2m of water off Ca’n Pastilla Beach in the Bay of Palma. Divers have now finished raising the contents of the ancient vessel, and many of the clay amphora have retained not only remnants of their contents, but the inscriptions painted on the outside – amazing considering they have languished underwater for over 1,700 years. Also recovered were two intact shoes, one made of leather and the other, espadrille-style, of esparto rope; a cooking pot; an oil lamp bearing the symbol of the goddess Diana; and a woodworking drill. The project to recover the contents of the vessel, which was felt to be at risk of damage from waves due to the shallow location, not to mention potential looters, became part of Aequeomallornauta, run by regional authority the Conseil de Mallorca and maritime archaeologists from the universities of the Balearic Islands, Barcelona and Cadiz. Now known as the ‘Ses Fontanelles’ wreck, the 12-metrelong vessel is thought likely to have anchored at the site, and to have sunk when a storm forced it onto rocks.

GREENLAND SHARK WASHES UP ON CORNISH BEACH The body of a Greenland shark was found on the beach in Newlyn Harbour, near Penzance, on Sunday 13 March – only the second one ever recorded in UK waters. Abby Crosby, from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, saw the animal on the beach and said: “It’s absolutely amazing that one has come into Cornwall. It shows just how incredible our coast and seas are.” Prof Rosie Woodruffe, from the Institute of Zoology, identified the creature as a Greenland shark on Twitter. Unfortunately, it was washed back out to sea before experts could fully examine © Rosie Woodroffe the rare creature. However, the dead shark was later located floating out at sea by the crew of the Mermaid Pleasure Trips, Penzance vessel Vanessa Jane, who were out on a crew-training session. They spotted the corpse and initially thought it was a dolphin or seal, until they got closer and realised it was much, much bigger. They managed to take the shark in tow and took it back to land, where they handed it off to the Marine Strandings Network, who have now sent it off to be examined. This is only the second record of Greenland sharks, also known as sleeper sharks, to strand in the UK, so this is an extremely rare find and exciting for fisheries biologists. The shark will now be post-mortemed by vet pathologist James as part of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme- UK strandings.

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KRAKEN RUM DONATES TO PADI AWARE

The second limited-edition bottle of Kraken Rum from the ‘Unknown Deep‘ collection has a bioluminescence finish, and comes in a distressed diving cage. And ‘The Beast’ is doing its bit for charity as well, with a donation of £1 for the sale of every bottle of Kraken Rum going to marine conservation group PADI AWARE to aid in their mission to reduce ocean debris by half in targeted countries within the next decade. Ian Amos, Operations Co-ordinator at PADI AWARE, said: “Kraken Rum has a rich history of supporting marine life, from the smallest sea critters to the biggest sea-dwellers, so we’re proud to be working together once again to save and protect the ocean. Every single bottle sold will help us continue our vital work of removing ocean debris, as well as training new volunteers to help us make an even bigger splash in 2022.” The limited-edition Kraken Rum is available from Amazon and from ‘The Beast’s online portal, www.theleagueofdarkness.co.uk

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NDAC TO BECOME ‘RESEARCH FACILITY’ The UK diving fraternity were dismayed by the news that the popular National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Tidenham had closed at the end of February, and now it seems the quarry will have a new life as an underwater research facility. As reported in Scuba Diver last month, NDAC closed its doors © NDAC with no real explanation given by the then-owners. Now news reports have stated that councillors in the Forest of Dean were recently given a confidential briefing about the potential future of the site, and were told that it would be used for research and development for equipment to enable people to live deep underwater. The company in question has already bought the quarry, and is understood to be set to invest £150m into the project, which would employ 100 people. A councillor told Gloucestershire Live: “They didn’t tell us their company name. We were just told it was for a deep engineering facility. They are also understood to be talking to Cornwall Council. “They are doing research and development for equipment for people to be able to live in pods quite deep under the water. “That’s all the information councillors were given. Councillors are all for it because it will put the Forest on the map, but the company is very selective about the information they are giving out.”

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Ask DAN

DAN medical specialists and researchers answer your dive medicine questions

Dental extraction and diving

Q: I’m 20 years old and will be having four wisdom teeth (third molars) removed soon. I understand I’ll have air pockets where my teeth were, and I assume those could cause problems while diving. How long should I stay out of the water? A: Following an uncomplicated dental extraction, four to six weeks is normally sufficient time for the risk of infection to resolve. This assumes good healing and that gum tissue has filled in the empty sockets, eliminating any air pockets. An unhealed socket can be a route for infection as well as for air to enter subcutaneous tissues and cause further injury. Pain medication can impair your judgment underwater, so wait at least a couple of days after you finish taking it to resume diving. Following the extraction of upper wisdom teeth, the dentist should verify that there is no sinus involvement. The root tip of a molar can breach the maxillary sinus floor, resulting in a communication (abnormal connection) between the mouth and the sinus. This is not common, but if it occurs it will further delay your return to diving. If there is sinus involvement, you should wait until the fistula (hole) is closed and healed before you resume diving. Your dentist or oral surgeon will be able to tell you how long this should take. Discomfort, tenderness or delayed healing can make it difficult to hold a regulator mouthpiece, depending on the tooth or teeth involved and the length of the mouthpiece’s flanges. After your dentist or endodontist approves a return to diving, consider taking your scuba gear to a local pool. Swim laps underwater to confirm that breathing through your regulator does not cause any discomfort.

Antibiotics use

Q: My wife and I love to travel to exotic destinations, and my previous doctor used to give me antibiotics in case I got sick in a remote location. I have a new primary care physician who is hesitant to do this. What does DAN recommend? A: For some time now prescribing guidelines regarding antibiotic use for various conditions have favored a much more conservative approach due to increasing antibiotic resistance. Many illnesses are viral in nature, and antibiotics are of no benefit in these cases. If you get sick while travelling, a local physician is your best resource; he or she will be aware of the common pathogens that cause problems in the area you are visiting. When travelling, your best defenses against illness

are handwashing, careful sourcing of water and food, getting relevant travel immunizations and taking appropriate precautions in areas where mosquitoes and other living organisms can transmit infectious diseases to humans. Talk to your doctor or visit a travel medicine clinic if you will be going to a region in which medical care is lacking. The doctor can advise you about any medications you should take with you and when to use them.

Stress and diving

Q: A few days ago, I started a drug treatment for stress using the following medications: Wellbutrin (brupropion hydrochloride) and Xanax (alprazolam). Is my diving activity still compatible with the use of these medications? A: It is important for you to visit a specialist in diving and hyperbaric medicine, before you keep diving while taking the drug treatment you describe. It will also be imperative to obtain, before the above-mentioned visit, a written medical consent from the psychiatrist currently providing treatment. As a general rule, alprazolam and brupropion are drugs that are not compatible with safe diving practices, since they have different side effects such as, for example, a sedative effect on the CNS; in particular alprazolam, which would impair your attention levels, and create a synergy with the potential effects of nitrogen narcosis when diving. Join DAN to get a number of benefits, including answers to all your diving-related medical questions: www.daneurope.org

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Clawed lobster typically have two differently-sized pincers. The larger of the two is the crusher, and it’s used for -- you guessed it -- crushing through the shells and carapaces of its prey. The smaller of the two claws, the cutter or seizer, grabs onto meat and shreds it.

Take a walk around a historic harbour and ancient castle to enjoy a dive (but only at high tide!), as Lawson Wood explores Dunbar Photographs by Lawson Wood

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unbar isn’t usually on most diver’s want-to-do list, but for those who love shore diving, this was one of the first areas that local divers did as it was so convenient. There was ample parking nearby, fairly quiet and easy access off the shore, but preferably at high tide, as like many of the coastal sites along the southeast coast of Scotland, the lower shore is a mess of algae-covered small rocks and rounded boulders. With this stretch of coastline having a six metre tide, this is really significant for this type of shore dive. This is quite a simple dive as the entry bay is sheltered from the worst of any sea swell by a protective outer ring of rocks, as well as a secondary barrier further out to sea. The entry is at the seaward side of the harbour, so there is a bit of a walk with all your kit on. Almost at the end of the harbour is a small sea

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wall between two outcrops of rock on the right-hand side (seaward side), a small scramble over this and you are into the water at high tide. Once in the water, the seabed is covered in kelp and green algae-covered boulders with sea urchins, edible crabs, small lobster and plenty of squat lobster and juvenile fish. The protective rocks are cut with fissures and here you can find the strident squat lobster (Galathea strigosa) with its brilliant orange/red shell and almost-fluorescent blue markings. The kelp above has a huge amount of nudibranchs and this congregation changes during the season as the water warms up. The largest of these is the Triton nudibranch (Tritonia hombergi) as it grows over a second season and lives exclusively on dead man’s fingers soft corals. Swimming over the algae-covered rocks at the start of the dive you will see small beadlet anemones (we used to call them ‘blood-suckers’ as kids!), a brilliant dark blood red in colour surrounded by a ring of bright blue eyes. Winkles, whelks, small green crabs and thousands of small two-spot gobies (Gobiusculus flavescens) and the white-stripe shrimp (Hippolyte inermis) swim over this moving green mat. Hermit crabs are everywhere, scavenging on any dead pieces of algae or marine critters, but look out for the ones with a fuzzy coat, as these are covered in a particular hydroid that only grows on a particular shell, this is the hermit crab hydroid (Hydractinia echinata).

The rocky reef is cut with small fissures and holes for critters to hide in, but once you swim around to the far side the depth drops to around 15m and the marine life changes, with large plumose anemones, dahlia anemones, brittle starfish beds and large sun starfish which are quite rare to be able to find on a shore dive. This region of the outer rocks channel is almost an entirely different ecosystem. The upper regions have kelp, but below the kelp line you can find Devonshire cup-corals, once considered quite rare in this region as it is predominantly a British west and south coast species. Similarly, the long-clawed squat lobster and feather starfish or crinoids were also exclusively west coast, but over the years, these and many more species once considered rare are now found on virtually every east coast dive. The rock strata is more open, making it the perfect habitat for leopard-spotted gobies and various shrimps, living quite happily together. Here you can also find plumose anemones, deep water dahlia anemones and tons of elegant anemones in various colours. This line of rocks is nice and open, so if you have had enough, you can just turn back in towards the shore gully. For those wanting more, you can turn in the opposite direction, turn out to

Plumose anemone

This is quite a simple dive as the entry bay is sheltered from the worst of any sea swell by a protective outer ring of rocks, as well as a secondary barrier further out to sea Ballan wrasse

Colours you’d expect in the Caribbean

Flabellina pedata nudibranch

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There are some great diving spots just outside the harbour with good shore diving and four small islands nearby worth exploring. If you have a boat there are some wrecks a little further offshore that are rewarding dives. Aerial view of Dunbar harbour Hermit crab hydroid

Diver in the kelp beds Velvet swimming crab

sea and locate the outer line of this three-layer reef, which runs parallel to the harbour wall. Larger schools of juvenile pollock and sand eels are found here and again, the dive has an entirely different feel. Among the seaweeds you can regularly find the snake pipefish (Entelurus aequorus). On the more scrubby rocks, Dunbar is one of the few places on the southeast coast of Scotland where you can find the northern polycera (Polycera faeroensis). Looking very much like its cousin Polycera quadrilineata, which are seen in abundance feeding on hydroid-covered kelp fronds, the northern polycera is more uniformly white in colour with brilliant yellow tips to all its appendages, of which it has many. Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) are everywhere

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The upper regions have kelp, but below the kelp line you can find Devonshire cup-corals, once considered quite rare in this region as it is predominantly a British west and south coast species

Colourful dahlia anemone

and very synonymous of east coast diving, but in the summer months, various other inshore species show up. So keep diving the site to enjoy it in all seasons. What started out as a fairly easy dive is able to evolve into an area for greater exploration, a wider range of marine life encounters and overall, a perfect place for all levels of expertise - and all above 18m! As this dive is quite far from the public eye, it is better to let someone know where you are going – just in case! There are no hazards per se, except perhaps for some small lobster and crab boats which also only venture near these rocks at high tide. There is no current to speak of, but the dive can be greatly influenced by any sea swell as this does stir up the visibility of this shallow site and can be troublesome on entry and exit from the water. n

Two-spot goby

Vivid strident squat lobster

Harlequin shrimp

Got gas?

There is no air compressor in Dunbar, so divers must take everything with them and get air or enriched air elsewhere. The closest place is at Eyemouth, where Dive Stay at Eyemouth operate the Ship Hotel, Home Arms Guest House and the Glenerne Guest House in Eyemouth. Contact email: gary@divestay.co.uk

The entrance to the harbour

PAUL NAYLOR

We chat to the author and underwater photographer about his seminal book Great British Marine Animals, which is now in its fourth edition (the first for ten years) and still represents the ‘go-to’ tome for divers wanting to identify species in UK waters. Photographs by Paul and Teresa Naylor, and Dave Roswell

Photographing a sizeable lion’s mane jellyfish

Paul in a rare photo above water in Brighton

Q: As we always do with these Q&As, how did you first get into scuba diving? A: I started snorkelling in Norfolk and then Devon as a teenager, and learnt to scuba dive as soon as possible after that so I could spend more time happily submerged. Q: When did your love affair with marine life begin, and did that become a driving force in your scuba diving? A: I think it was the first time I put my head underwater! The shore crabs I saw in Norfolk lagoons entranced me and started it all off; they were busy doing stuff and getting on with their lives even though I was watching them. I wanted to see more! Q: You are well known for your book, but a core element of that are your stunning underwater photographs. When did you first get into underwater photography? A: Believe it or not, it was when snorkelling for a University project on marine life in a disused Mersey dock that had been turned into a mussel farm. Sounds awful? It was wonderful with calm clear water, courtesy of the mussels, and it helped that my supervisor was very positive about my ultra-grainy results on fast 35mm slide film (remember that!) with a Nikonos camera but no flashgun.

Q: You have a doctorate in marine biology, and obviously that plays a crucial part in the creation of Great British Marine Animals, but how did you come up with the idea for the book in the first place? A: Yes, my background in marine biology and natural history plays a big part. The idea for the books started with wanting to produce a guide that helped identification and also showcased what incredibly intriguing creatures we’re lucky to encounter around the UK.

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Q: This fourth edition of Great British Marine Animals is by far the biggest upgrade to date, with some 500 new underwater photographs and far more behavioural stories. What was the driving force in the creation of this new edition? A: It was mainly those behavioural stories, plus meeting more species. The third edition had sold out so it was a case of reprint or upgrade, and the decision was easy as soon as I started to think about all the amazing things I’d observed and photographed over the last ten years. Q: You – and your footage – have appeared on TV programmes as diverse as The One Show, Coast, Countryfile and Blue Planet UK. What is it that makes you a ‘go-to’ person for these productions? A: I think it’s the footage I have showing animal behaviour, which comes from patience, understanding the creatures and getting to know dive sites, and sometimes individual animals, really well.

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Tompot blenny Buster evicts a velvet swimming crab Pair of goldsinny

I think watching a spider crab moult its armour and a tompot blenny confront a conger, both on dives with my son, Sam, are top of a long list Q: What is your most-memorable diving moment? A: That’s extremely hard, there have been so many! I think watching a spider crab moult its armour and a tompot blenny confront a conger, both on dives with my son, Sam, are top of a long list. Q: On the flipside, what is your worst memory when it comes to scuba diving? A: These have been mercifully few but near misses I guess, like losing control of an ascent when some idiots hauled up my SMB (fit a clip that releases easily under tension, Paul!) and nearly going overboard with an unzipped drysuit in winter when everyone else was below decks - another lesson!

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Q: What does the future hold for Paul Naylor, and Great British Marine Animals? A: For me, it’s various education projects, conservation work and continued research on the behaviour of tompot blennies and other species, particularly where their markings make individuals recognisable; it’s such a powerful tool for studying them. For the book, it’s ‘getting it out there’ to show a wide audience, including in schools (all ideas welcome) what wonderful-but-too-often-under-appreciated marine life is in our seas and how important it is to look after it. n

Cuttlefish warning rivals

Paul with a moon jellyfish

Tompot blenny Bob investigates Paul’s camera

Starfish eating Brighton Pier mussels

Shore crab eating soft edible crab

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THE RECYCLED DIVE FIN

R E C R E D U C E

F I N S

Y O U R

F I N P R I N T

F I N D O U T M O R E AT F O U R T H E L E M E N T. C O M

Mustard’s MASTERCLASS Alex Mustard explains how nailing down our diving skills is a core element for improving our underwater photography Photographs courtesy of Alex Mustard / www.amustard.com

t’s said that ‘the most important piece of photography equipment is the nut that holds the camera’. I know that you are all here for photo tips, camera techniques and hard-won insight, but before we get to that over the coming issues, the easiest way for many of us to rapidly improve our underwater images is to develop our diving skills. Experienced photographers will already be thinking of skimming through this article. But I am not just speaking to new divers here. I know plenty of highly experienced, prize-winning photographers who would get far better images with more diving finesse. An underwater camera can be a terrible distraction and can cause us to lose sight of our buddy, our dive computer or the delicate marine life below our fins. Being on top of our in-water skills ensures we’re as safe as possible too. Underwater we are the transport, tripod and hide for our camera and being stable in the water improves our framing, helps autofocus work better, stirs up less backscatter, and most noticeably keeps our subjects relaxed and close to our lenses. It’s win, win, win, win. Many dive schools offer buoyancy classes, or if you’ve been out of the water for a while, plan a dive or two at the start of a trip without your camera to rebuild those skills. That said, I’d actively encourage you to train with camera in hand. There is no point developing perfect trim that is thrown totally off balance as soon as you handle a camera. Diving educators can preach pretty fanatically about the virtues of diving completely horizontally in the water. That’s fine for normal divers, but the best underwater compositions are unlikely to come when you are in that comfortable horizontal pose in the water. Practice and set up your weights to work as you are likely to shoot. An underwater photographer will regularly end up in all positions, including upside down to get the camera as low as possible, with legs above, away from the reef. Getting close to subjects is essential for powerful underwater pictures. Slow, smooth and steady body movements and breathing are the key skills and

make a big difference to the quality of our marine life encounters. Learn to be sympathetic to wild subjects, don’t surprise them, instead exude non-threatening body language. Taking a few extra moments when stalking will usually greatly extend an encounter. Don’t swim straight at a subject. With a turtle, for example, we should track almost parallel to it, slowly closing the distance, staying low and minimising eye contact. Once a creature is spooked, the chance of standout images is gone. Notoriously shy species like eagle rays and hammerheads usually require a different approach. If we spot them, we are better off hiding out of sight until they are very close, then popping up and grabbing our shot. A golden rule of scuba diving is ‘don’t hold your breath’, however, most photographers quickly learn that controlling their breathing at peak moments is beneficial. The eruption of exhaled bubbles can scare subjects and will shake the camera when precisely framing a picture. Our own bubbles will also appear in upward-looking fisheye shots and they can even block the light from a strobe positioned above the camera. The biggest watershed moment in the development of most underwater photographers is when they start to dive for their pictures, not just take photos while they dive. Photo dives tend to be most productive when we stay within our diving comfort zone, so we can give photography our undivided attention. In short, this means that photographers often stay shallow. Of the eight UPY winners featured in last month’s Scuba Diver magazine, seven of them were taken shallower than safety stop depth. Of course, we all have different comfort zones, and various types of dives we are most at ease doing. So, there are no hard and fast rules about depths, temperatures, visibility, etc. You will know your own comfort limits and if you are planning a dive to push them, it is probably best to leave the camera behind, because at best the dive is likely to be unproductive for images. Another reason for staying shallow is time - time to experiment and time to improve an image.

Top notch diving skills are required when we close to subjects and the seabed

Underwater photography usually requires close manoeuvres, rewarding top diving skills

Use buoyancy arms so that your camera is comfortable to carry and use

A golden rule of scuba diving is ‘don’t hold your breath’, however, most photographers quickly learn that controlling their breathing at peak moments is beneficial Underwater photography is always against the clock. None of us gets to dive as much as we’d like, gets to stay as deep for as long as we’d like. It is a fundamental skill to use this time well. Remember that boat time is free time, it is time to get both our camera and our head ready. Dives tend to be most productive when we have a plan for the shots we want and optimise our camera gear accordingly. Of course, we might get better opportunities once underwater, but trying to photograph everything we see is a sure-fire route to a lot of mediocre images. The final, and most important, consideration is an ethical approach to fragile environments and our subjects. There are lots of valuable advice around, but most comes down to respecting marine life and its home. What’s critical is that we make this part of our diving, not just pay it lip-service. Ask yourself when was the last time you turned down a subject, such as a pygmy seahorse, because it was poorly positioned. Also do your photo sessions always end with the subject swimming away, or do you regularly leave that hawksbill turtle happily foraging on the reef when your photography is done. Being an ethical photographer is not measured in how much you rant on social media, but on how you actually behave when you are in the water. n

Macro photography rewards excellent in water skills for framing and focusing on subjects

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here really is something quite unique about an eyeball-toeyeball underwater encounter with a big animal. You are but a temporary visitor to their domain – one they may not be the absolute master of, but are far more in control than you can ever hope to be. So, the first thing to understand is that the encounter will take place on the animals’ terms. You can (and I have…) travel half-way around the world, at not inconsiderable expense, to get the opportunity to be in the water with the specific animal, only to discover they just are not interested in any kind of interaction. The second thing about big animals is that no matter how big the animal actually is, the ocean is much, much bigger and, because it’s a three-dimensional medium, there are multiple directions for them to disappear into that endless blue! But all that said, when the creature does interact with you it’s hard to describe the sheer intensity of the experience – a unique mixture of fear, incredible excitement, and absolute wonder. Here are the 10 best such experiences I have had over the last five years or so…

Great white sharks

Great whites have an ‘image problem’ and are widely demonized as ruthless man-eaters responsible for the deaths of numerous surfers, swimmers and divers. And while it is true they are superbly evolved apex predators, they are not the fiendish killer they are made out to be. There are over 400 species of sharks and they have a specific role in the oceans – removing the dead, the dumb and the dying - and are a key part of how nature keeps the world’s marine ecosystems healthy, vigorous and balanced. To understand how the great white fits in that process you need to see them underwater and the only way you can really do that safely is in a cage…

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Scuba Diver Senior Travel Editor Don Silcock lists his top 10 big animal encounters from around the world Photographs by Don Silcock

Great white sharks are the world’s biggest predatory fish, measuring on average around four-and-ahalf metres in length. The largest recorded is thought to be around seven metres and weighing in at an incredible two-anda-half tonnes.

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Great white shark cage diving was pioneered in South Australia and is one of only four locations where you can do it globally – the others are Guadalupe Island in Mexico, Gansbaai in South Africa, and Stewart Island in New Zealand. For more information on South Australia, Google ‘Australian Great White Sharks - The Complete Guide’ for all you need to know on these incredible creatures.

Humpback whale

Humpback whales

The ‘Tonga Tribe’ is one of six southern hemisphere humpback whale populations and every autumn, they embark on a 6,000km-long migration from their Antarctic feeding grounds to the Tongan archipelago. They make that epic journey to mate and allow pregnant females to birth and nurse their calves in the warm waters of the archipelago. Tonga is one of a few locations where limited numbers of people can enter the water and the encounters possible across the archipelago could fill several bucket lists! The incredible bond between mothers and their calves will pluck all parent’s heartstrings, while dropping into the path of a large female and entourage of competing male suitors during a ‘heat run’ is potentially heart-stopping! The restricted number of operators means that availability is limited, so do your research and be prepared to book up to a year in advance. Google the ‘Complete Guide to the Humpback Whales of Tonga’ for comprehensive insight to the annual aggregation in the Pacific.

Oceanic manta ray

Tiger sharks

Tiger sharks are just below the great white on the apex predator index with a reputation for being dangerous and unpredictable. They are pelagic, open water animals and encounters can be quite rare, apart from at Tiger Beach on the western end of Grand Bahama, which has become the tiger shark capital of the world. Being in the open water with tigers is a life-changing experience as their intense physical presence and size is, shall we say, somewhat intimidating! While there have been ‘incidents’, given the number of divers who have experienced Tiger Beach, the encounters are remarkably safe – largely, it seems, because the rich waters of the Bahamas mean the sharks are very well-fed. The season is from October through to May and Google ‘Is Tiger Beach Safe’ for more details on this amazing location.

The largest fish in the sea appears to move through the water at a leisurely pace, until that is you are swimming alongside one and desperately trying to keep up

Tiger shark

You might assume that the tiger shark and the sand tiger shark are cousins, but the latter is more closely related to the great white than it is to the tiger shark.

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American crocodile

American crocodiles hunt by remaining completely motionless in the water. When prey is close they attack, grabbing the animal and drowning it with a manoeuvre referred to as the ‘death roll’.

American crocodiles

Oceanic manta rays

Oceanic mantas are true giants with a seven-metre wingspan - yet despite their size and rather sinister sobriquet of ‘devil ray’ are totally harmless to humans. Plankton feeders with few natural predators, they spend their life in the open ocean and so encounters with them are unusual, but absolutely enchanting, as they are social animals with large brains and are known for their intelligence. The only reason for oceanic mantas to come to you is curiosity - something their intelligence has given them in spades – and when you look in their eyes, you can sense that inquisitiveness as they check you out! The best place to see them is Mexico’s Revillagigedo Archipelago, where significant numbers of oceanic mantas aggregate together. Known as the Mexican Galapagos, the UNESCO listed archipelago is 450km southwest of Cabo San Lucas on the tip of Baja California, and also known as the Socorro Islands. Google the ‘Diving Socorro Indopacificimages’ for an in-depth insight into the Revillagigedo Archipelago.

Sperm whales

The ocean’s largest toothed predator, sperm whales are elusive creatures probably best known as the rogue albino whale Moby Dick in Herman Melville’s famous book. Another true pelagic, they hunt for the much-feared giant squid in depths in excess of 1km for up to an hour at a time. The underwater mountains of the North Atlantic Azores archipelago are one of the few locations they gather regularly. Similar to the matriarchal groups formed by female elephants, female sperm whales form pods with their calves, while the male bulls live apart. September is the end of the calving season and the optimum month for a ‘Holy Grail’ encounter with a pod of females socialising at the surface. Google ‘Sperm Whales of the Azores’ to understand more about these incredible creatures and the Azores archipelago.

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American crocodiles are cousins of the hyper-dangerous saltwater crocodile, but unlike ‘salties’ are not considered aggressive towards humans. They are found from the Florida Everglades, throughout Central America and into South America, but by far the best place for encounters is Banco Chinchorro, in south-east Mexico. Chinchorro is one of the largest coral atolls in the northern hemisphere and the crocodiles are resident at Cayo Centro, the atoll’s main island. Being in the water with any big animal is an exciting experience, but American crocodile encounters take that to a higher level as they are large, powerful creatures that sit watching like a coiled spring - full of intense kinetic energy. It’s 35km from the town of Xcalak and the only accommodation at Cayo Centro are the palafito fishermen’s huts in the lagoon. In a word, it’s basic… Google ‘Chinchorro Crocodiles’ for details of these exciting encounters.

Great hammerhead sharks

Large solitary animals great hammerheads are extraordinarylooking creatures that sashay towards you as their large hammer-like head and wide-set eyes sweep from side to side. Nomadic in nature, they prefer the deeper waters along continental shelves, making encounters almost impossible to predict and when one occurs, it’s typically brief and fleeting. Except in the shallow waters off the west coast of South Bimini in the Bahamas, where they gather during the Great hammerhead shark

Whaleshark

Once whale sharks have reached sexual maturity (around 30 years old) and fallen pregnant, they give birth to live young that are already 16 to 24 inches long. Unlike true whales, whale sharks do not stay together with their young after birth.

With a reputation for aggressive hunting, but rarely towards humans, the daytime encounters with great hammerheads in Bimini seem almost choreographed - until the night dive, but that’s another story… winter months. The annual aggregation was discovered by the Bimini Shark Laboratory, who managed to keep it quiet for ten years - but the word is out and South Bimini is now Great Hammerhead Central! With a reputation for aggressive hunting, but rarely towards humans, the daytime encounters with great hammerheads in Bimini seem almost choreographed - until the night dive, but that’s another story… Google ‘Bimini Great Hammerheads’ for more!

Close encounters with a whaleshark are always memorable

Whalesharks

The largest fish in the sea appears to move through the water at a leisurely pace, until that is you are swimming alongside one and desperately trying to keep up. Whalesharks roam the world’s tropical seas in search of their food of choice – plankton and small fish they filter feed through their huge mouths - but will gather in significant numbers when nature creates an opportunity for them to gorge, such as the annual coral spawning at Ningaloo in Western Australia. By far the biggest event is the Afuera north of Isla Mujeres near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where every August some 500 of these giant creatures gather for the massive spawning of little tunny fish eggs. Google the ‘Whalesharks of Isla Mujeres - the Afuera’ to read more.

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Don Silcock

Scuba Diver’s Senior Travel Editor, in more normal times Don is based on Bali in Indonesia, but is currently hunkered down in Sydney rediscovering Australian diving… His website has extensive location guides, articles and images on some of the best diving locations in the Indo-Pacific region and ‘big animal’ experiences globally. www.indopacificimages.com

Ragged tooth sharks Sand tiger shark or grey nurse Sand tiger sporting a fishing lure hook

‘Big enough to get your undivided attention’ is how an encounter with South African ragged tooth sharks was once described to me. Large creatures with an impressive set of teeth, their size and appearance instil an irrational fear in the uninitiated as they patrol the caves they hang out in. One of the best-known aggregations of ragged tooth sharks is at Protea Banks, about 130km south of Durban on South Africa’s east coast. Every year, come winter, hundreds of ‘raggies’ gather at Protea to mate - providing a wonderful opportunity to get up-close and personal with them.

Giant Australian cuttlefish

It has been called the ‘premier marine attraction on the planet’ where every May, giant Australian cuttlefish arrive along a stretch of coastline near Whyalla in South Australia’s Spencer Gulf. And, by the mid-June, some 100,000 of these wonderful creatures will have gathered to mate. It’s a fascinating experience to observe the tricks used by the males to get the female’s attention. Google the ‘Complete guide to Australian Giant Cuttlefish’ to understand more about the cuttlefish and their unique annual aggregation, or turn to page 60 for a full article on this incredible encounter. n Giant Australian cuttlefish

Cuttlefish have not one, not two, but three hearts! Two hearts are used to pump blood to the cuttlefish’s large gills, and the third heart is used to circulate oxygenated blood to the rest of the body.

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HOUSE OF CARDS PART THREE

Audrey Cudel focuses her attentions on mastering proper trim, and how being able to maintain this position offers many benefits while diving

hile mastery of breathing and buoyancy control is the ability of a diver to achieve and hold a specific position in the water column, trim defines the angle of the body in the water, in either static or propulsion mode. Have you ever spotted a seahorse? It’s vertical trim in the water is typically the opposite of what a diver’s trim should be. In fact, in theory, a diver’s trim could be identified as neutral, positive (slanting upward) or negative (slanting downward). However, in practice, and apart from constraints imposed by overhead environments, keeping the trim as neutral as possible throughout the dive and avoiding slanting upward or downward, is the true skill to master. If you think of a diver as a helicopter taking off, flying at various altitudes before landing, a diver’s body line should remain horizontal at all times, knees and ankles bent 90 degrees in order to keep the fins above the body level and parallel to the bottom, just like a helicopter’s blades rotating parallel to the ground. Laying face down as if on a virtual platform, the diver’s hands, arms, chest, hips and upper legs are all at the same level and no part of his or her equipment should dangle below the line of the body. Beyond being environmentally friendly, the less resistance a diver creates passing through the water and staying aligned with the direction of motion, the better the hydrodynamics, the less the swimming effort and subsequent gas usage, and the safer the dive. Many factors can offset a diver’s horizontal axis. However, apart from the body tension required in shoulders, core and gluteal muscles, holding a horizontal posture should not be too much of an effort provided all weight components and gas distribution don’t alter the diver’s center of gravity. As Greek mathematician and physicist Archimede once observed ‘equal weights at equal distances are in equilibrium and equal weights at unequal distances are not in equilibrium but incline towards the weight which is at the greater distance’. Achieving proper trim is largely a matter of weight positioning. In the case of a diver, the weight components are cylinders (and all related equipment: valves, regulators, backplates), ballast weights and potentially fins. Whether you’re diving a single, or twinset, there is a limit to the adjustments that can be made to the cylinders’

position relative to the body be they back- or side-mounted, independent of the type of cylinder. Also for safety reasons, divers need to be able to reach their valves in case a valve shutdown is required. However, the distribution of a diver’s ballast weights is a major contributing factor to their trim, and something that they can act on. Once a diver has determined the amount of ballast weights required, wrapping a metaphorical anvil around the waist on a heavy, ill-fitting weight belt is arguably not the smartest nor the safest strategy. The effect is the one of an unbalanced seesaw that can force a diver into a vertical position that many divers with poor skills tend to experience before surfacing, usually with back pain. Instead they need the right amount of weight, positioned and secured in the right place. Securing one’s ballast weights in the proper location not only guarantees that none of the weights will be dropped accidentally, but it avoids having them shifting in a dissymmetric way that would make the diver roll sideways. Fins can also have a major impact on a diver’s trim - travelling considerations should not be the main concern when choosing their dry weight. Beyond obvious requirements such as an appropriate foot pocket size and a blade surface matching the diver’s leg power, the dry weight and salt water buoyancy weight can vary tremendously from one model to another and from one size to another. Selecting the appropriate size and weight of fins makes the use of ankle weights unnecessary and prevents the knees from dropping under the horizontal axis. Provided the weight is distributed properly enabling the diver to position themselves face down, gas distribution is the second major factor to consider when tuning a diver’s

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Provided the design and sizing of such equipment is appropriate, finding the balance between the centre of gravity and the centre of buoyancy is the skill to master trim. The action of inflating or deflating a wing (or buoyancy compensator device), a drysuit, or ensuring the right amount of gas flows through a rebreathers diver’s counter lungs during the dive, are done to maintain buoyancy and comfort. However, where the gas flows, the diver goes. Provided the design and sizing of such equipment is appropriate, finding the balance between the centre of gravity and the centre of buoyancy is the skill to master. Wings and buoyancy compensator devices come in different designs which have different gas distribution characteristics. For example, gas spreads more easily in a donut-shaped wing bladder compared to a horseshoe design. To be in equilibrium underwater, the centre of buoyancy must be directly above the centre of gravity. Any variation requires exertion on the part of the diver to maintain a hydrodynamic position. This can increase gas consumption when static in the water compared to the propulsion phase, where the speed makes up for a positive or negative trim. Drysuits tend to be disregarded by many divers who find them hard to manage, and only see them as providing thermal comfort. However, the amount of gas required to provide thermal protection, while avoiding squeezes or vasoconstriction, plays an active role in a diver’s trim and should allow for slight trim adjustments. This is accomplished through the efficient distribution of gas within the suit, which can only be achieved in horizontal or neutral trim position. Once a diver has performed a buoyancy check, a trim check will enhance their underwater experience. It only takes a few minutes for one to maintain proper body tension, remain still in shallow waters, deflate his drysuit, look forward, find neutral buoyancy by inflating the wing

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and adopt a normal breathing pattern to find out whether they shift forward, backwards or sideways. This check is not about a diver’s ability to perform but a verification of proper weight distribution together with the alignment of centres of buoyancy and gravity. Trim mastery together with breathing and buoyancy control represent two of the fundamentals of safe and advanced diving. Any deviation can create numerous hazards and jeopardizes the diver and the team’s safety, and the environment - loss of buoyancy and breathing control, along with the seesaw depth profile created by being out of trim, can negatively impact team awareness and ability to communicate effectively, impact the environment, create depth and gas management issues, and even result in less than optimal decompression. Once entropy has turned into equilibrium, the resulting balance and order enable the diver to focus on their surroundings and the team rather than themselves, perform tasks, and move on to the next level of their ‘House of Cards’. n

About the author

Audrey Cudel is a cave explorer and technical diving instructor specializing in sidemount and cave diving training in Europe and Mexico. She is also renowned in the industry for her underwater photography portraying deep technical divers and cave divers. Her work has appeared in various magazines such as Wetnotes, Octopus, Plongeur International, Perfect Diver, Times of Malta, and SDI/TDI and DAN (Divers Alert Network) publications.

The ‘new kids on the block’, the GO Diving Show, and The Dive Show – set to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year – merged to put on one super-event in early March and any worries about post-COVID jitters were soon erased as the hall was full of visitors all weekend Photographs by Jason Brown

The GO Diving Show will be returning to the NAEC Stoneleigh on Stoneleigh Park from 3-5 March 2023. Keep an eye on the website for details of next year’s speakers, etc, as more information is added throughout 2022. www.godivingshow.com

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he GO Diving Show in 2020 wrapped just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill. It seemed so bizarre to be in a countrywide lockdown mere weeks after the dive industry from around the world was playing host to hordes of divers eager to get away on their next dive trip or buy that new piece of shiny dive kit. Fast forward two years, and the GO Diving Show – now in its new home of the NAEC Stoneleigh and merged with the venerable Dive Show – opened its doors just days after all pandemic restrictions were lifted in England, and what was most pleasing to see was the crowds of people thronging into the hall from the moment it opened on the Saturday morning. There was such a buzz and positive atmosphere around the show that apart from the odd mask here and there, you could have been mistaken for thinking ‘what pandemic’?

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Keynote speakers

One of the main attractions of the GO Diving Show since its inception has been the quality of its speakers, both on the Main Stage and across the dedicated Photo Stage and Tech Stage. Headlining the Main Stage on the Saturday was the everpopular TV adventurer Steve Backshall, and it was literally standing-room only for his two talks, as it was for the talks by fellow TV presenters, authors and explorers Andy Torbet (who was also on MC duty as well) and Monty Halls. The Main Stage talks by the likes of the Deptherapy team, the well-received Youth Panel and dynamic young cave divers Maria Bollerup and Rannva Joermundsson were also well-attended, which was awesome to witness. On Sunday afternoon, the Main Stage also played host to a touching presentation by celebrated technical diver Edoardo Pavia to the family of fellow tech diver Carl Spencer, who tragically died while diving the Britannic in May 2009.

Edoardo Pavia presents the Trident in Memorium award Monty Halls talking to a capacity crowd Could you climb out of an extreme freediving location?

Rum tasting in the BVI

Trydives for young and old

He awarded them the Trident in Memoriam from the International Academy of Underwater Sciences and Techniques in honour of Carl’s legacy and achievements. The Photo Stage was the home of the likes of wellrespected photo pros Dr Richard Smith, Anne and Phil Medcalf, Martyn Guess, Byron Conroy, Roisin Maddison, Jason Brown and Mario Vitalini. The Tech Stage read like a who’s who of technical diving gurus, with John Kendall, Phil Short, Mark Powell, Lanny Vogel, Marcus Blatchford and Tim Clements all giving interesting talks.

Interactivity

Another mainstay of the GO Diving Show right from the beginning was to make it totally interactive, with plenty of hand’s-on elements to keep everyone interested. For the 2022 show, the ever-popular Cave made a welcome return,

and there were queues all weekend as people waited to don a helmet-and-torch and kneepads and then scramble through the pitch-black 30-metre tunnel system. The huge trydive pool was busy all weekend, with both children and adults enjoying their first-ever scuba dive experience, as well as qualified divers donning two cylinders to see what sidemount was all about. The NoTanx freediving squad were busy all show running breath-hold training sessions, and had a frame on their stand where you could try your hand at ‘climbing’ out of a moreextreme freediving location. John Kendall, as well as talking on the Tech Stage, was also manning the GUE VR Booth, which allowed nondivers and divers to explore the deep Mars shipwreck. This amazingly realistic and totally interactive experience was a massive hit the entire show.

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Steve Backshall was mega-popular yet again

Bruce the bucking rodeo shark Maria Bollerup and Rannva Joermundsson talking cave diving John Kendall discussing photogrammetry in a cave system

Resident mermaid Sarah Daily had an undersea-themed stand where people could get photographs with a striking mermaid or swashbuckling pirate. New for 2022 was Bruce, the bucking rodeo shark. Now when we first booked this attraction in, the accompanying image showed a very smiley shark who was far more Finding Nemo than he was Jaws, but the actual bucking shark we got had a more-fearsome set of gnashers complete with dripping red, but I like to think he just had a penchant for jam sandwiches… Regardless of his looks, the bucking shark proved very popular over the weekend with both young and old (and there was some serious husband-versus-wife competition!), and generous people having a go raised £170 in donations for Bite-Back Shark and Marine Conservation.

Exhibitors The Youth Panel on the Main Stage

Of course, the stages and the interactive attractions were all interspersed among the core exhibitor stands, which included myriad booths from manufacturers like Otter, Hammond, Santi Diving, Miflex Hoses, Avatar, KUBI, Anchor Dive Lights, O’Three, Kent Tooling, Custom Divers, JJ-CCR, Fourth Element, Nammu Tech, Alkin Compressors, SMP, Strand Line Studio, Submerge, SIP Industrial, and specialist tour operators such as Diverse Travel, Dive Worldwide, Regaldive, African and Oriental, Aqua-Firma, Blue O Two, resorts like Roots Red Sea, Wakatobi and Siso Dwana Lodge, and tourist boards like the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Tobago, Malaysia, the Philippines, Barbados, Cyprus and Grenada.

Then there were artists such as Below and Beyond Art, charities like BDMLR and the Woodland Trust, dive centres such as Dune, Arctic Adventures, AquaMarine Diving - Bali, Pro Dive International, Aquatica Dive Centre Malta, Scuba School, Elite Diving, Red Sea Diving College, Emperor Divers, dive shops like Scuba Dive Store, and liveaboards like Aggressor Adventures, Scuba Scene, and Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. There were also organisations such as Deptherapy, Blue Planet Aquarium, Skegness Aquarium, Celtic Quest Coasteering, Divers Alert Network, WaterDragon Entertainment, Midlands Diving Chamber, the RNLI, Wreck Hunters, Professional Diving Academy, IDEST and SITA, along with training agencies like PADI, RAID, NAUI and SSI.

Why the NAEC Stoneleigh?

The NAEC Stoneleigh is located pretty much slap-bang in the middle of the country on Stoneleigh Park. This location offers purpose-built exhibition halls, is close to major transport links (the M6 and M40 motorways are close by, it is just five miles from Warwick Parkway and Coventry train stations, and only one-hour travel time from London Euston) and, perhaps best of all, has 19,000 complimentary car parking spaces. Gone are the days of limited parking spaces at the Ricoh Arena, or the extortionate parking prices at the NEC. Young and old flocked to the mermaid

Luke Atkinson on the Diverse stand Sidemount trydives were very popular

Conclusion

After an extremely tough two years for the diving and travel industry, it was fantastic to feel the positive vibe as everyone got back together again. Even on the trade-only day on the Friday afternoon, there was a palpable buzz about the hall, as industry players were able to chat face-to-face with people who had previously just been on the end of the phone, or on a screen for a Zoom meeting. The consumer weekend had an even-better atmosphere, as thousands of divers – and want-to-be divers – flocked to the event. The hall was completely rammed with visitors on the Saturday, and there was a steady footfall on Sunday, and it was great to see families with young children, groups of teenagers, and then plenty of 20-, 30- and 40-somethings among the more-mature crowd. Coming out of two years of a pandemic, before the show there were undoubted concerns about potential visitor numbers, and still a few Covid-related worries for some exhibitors, which meant that a few of the usual big names were not in attendance, but after the success of the weekend, many have already expressed a desire to be at the GO Diving Show in 2023, which means it will be even bigger and better. Get the dates in your diary – 3-5 March – and see you there! n Exploring the cave system

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Janez Kranjc explains the allure – and the challenges - of ice diving when he heads to Austria and Serbia on a photoshoot Photographs by Janez Kranjc and Ivana Orlovic

ce diving - short to pronounce, but extremely challenging. It requires a bit of adventurous spirit, a lot of knowledge, a desire to get out of your comfort zone - and a crumb of madness. However, isn’t it a fact that every good diving day starts with the sentence ‘WTF I’m doing here?’ At the start of 2022, the year was showing all the ‘charms’ of a real winter. The outside temperature had been in a serious minus for days, the snow had been falling and falling, with short intervals of calm, but still cold, weather. The ideal conditions to embark on an ice-diving adventure.

Weissensee Lake, Austria

As soon as you get out of the Karavanke tunnel, you enter Austria from Slovenia. It seemed to us that after coming out of the tunnel we fell into a real winter. The heavy amount of snow on the other side of the mountain seemed like the perfect winter scenery. Lake Weissensee was the target of our journey - one of the best places for ice diving in this part of Europe. The lake itself is of glacial origin, and is located in the province of Kärnten, 945 metres above sea level. The town of Techendorf is located on the shores of the lake, with only a few hundred inhabitants, most of whom live from tourism. The lake is 11.6 kilometres long and 0.9 kilometres at its widest part. In total, there are about 27 kilometres of coastline. The northern part of the lake is inhabited, while the southern part is a ‘Nature Park’, which is wild and untouched. It is in that part that the greatest depth of the lake is about 100m, depending on the water level. The icy period begins in late-December and usually lasts until the first days of March. It is interesting that in that period, topside sports activities on the ice are very frequent. However, that is also the case under the icy surface... The main person controlling the ice is the ‘Ice Master’. He checks the condition of the ice sheet every day and directs activities on the lake. It is up to him to approve the opening of diving holes, but also to ban any activity if he estimates that the ice is in bad condition. However, when the ice covers the lake during the winter, it generally remains stable and solid until the end of the season.

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We design, manufacture and retail scuba and rebreather equipment. We have fully equipped test and certification labs, and can pressure test large items in our vacuum chambers, as well as run fully automated leak test and dive simulations down to 400m. Our EMC and EMF lab is filled with state-ofthe-art equipment for testing electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic fields. We also have a large in-house laser for cutting and engraving on plastics and metals. www.narkedat90.com

Unlike most recreational diving, ice diving requires constant surface support. Don’t expect to jump in all at once — only one diver per team goes in the water.

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Computers • O2 Cells • Gas Analysers Cables & Connectors • Rebreather Parts PathFinder Strobes • Sensors Tools • Solenoids Right above us was a gondola from which two black holes could be seen. If I ever imagined a gateway to another world, this was pretty much in line with my fantasies

Some people really love ice diving!

Below the surface of the water, the chief is Ernest Turnschek, owner of the diving centre Yacht Diver, which specializes in diving under the ice. Divers from all over Europe come to dive under the ice plate at this place and enjoy ice diving. The whole endeavour of such dives is very well organized here, including opening holes, transporting equipment on ice and security systems or The Serbian water had access to remote parts of the lake. Sledges, an eerie orange tint quads and snowmobiles are available. That is why some specific events are being organized here, such as breaking records for freediving under ice, or days of underwater photography and the water was of the usual greenish colour. We had under ice. Ernest and his experienced team are those who great sunny weather, with an outside temperature of a few make all of that possible. Interestingly, back in 1987, some degrees Celsius below zero. Indeed, almost ideal conditions scenes from the James Bond movie The Living Daylights for diving. were filmed on the lake. The ice is usually 20-30cm thick, which enables safe Ribnica Lake, Serbia movement on its surface. Holes are cut with chainsaws, About 1,000km away from Weissensee, in the Balkans, in which use bio-oil for lubrication. Austrians take care of Serbia, on the mountain of Zlatibor, there is Ribnica Lake. nature protection in extreme detail. We had the opportunity This mountain is extremely rich in water, so the lake is fed by to dive in different parts of this lake and saw flooded forests, water from mountain streams and serves as a large reservoir rocky mouths of mountain streams, but also shallow areas of drinking water. Therefore, special permits are required to overgrown with reeds. Visibility was always 10-15 metres, dive in it. We got them relatively quickly and found out that we were the first to dive it in the winter, when it is covered with ice. It is 2km long and is located at an altitude of 956m. Ivana heads off on an ice dive The maximum depth is about 25m. Around our dive days, meteorologists announced a cold wave, which was supposed to cover the Balkans and Serbia. On Zlatibor, the scale on the thermometer has been in minus for days, which was in our favour. Those were some of the coldest days during the winter of 2022. During the night, the temperature dropped to -20 degrees C. This made us happy on the one hand, because we knew that the ice would be of good quality, and on the other hand, we were worried about the diving equipment that could freeze.

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Ice diving requires a team of divers and handlers

This made us happy on the one hand, because we knew that the ice would be of good quality, and on the other hand, we were worried about the diving equipment that could freeze On the first day of diving, we were greeted by an idyllic winter landscape of a lake surrounded by snow and ice, and Zlatibor in its full beauty. Across the lake is a tourist gondola, which climbs all the way to the ski peak Tornik. We agreed with the crew of the gondola intermediate station to clear the way through the forest that descends to the lake. With such an open driveway, our vehicles descended almost to the ice sheet without any major problems. We decided to open two holes, one circular and the other classically triangular. Soon, the sound of a chainsaw was heard across the snow-covered meadows of Zlatibor. Our team consisted of experienced and trained divers, so the opening of the holes went smoothly. Expectations that the ice would be solid were soon confirmed. The thickness of the ice plate was 15-20cm, which was enough for safe movement. Right above us was a gondola from which two black holes could be seen. If I ever imagined a gateway to another world, this was pretty much in line with my fantasies. We were divided into two teams, whose tasks were to gather basic information about the conditions in the water under the ice and take photos. The water temperature of 2 degrees C. We soon noticed that the water, although dark, was extremely clear. Then came a surprise, when we realized that the surface was almost orange. Professional underwater model Ivana Orlovic has posed in various seas, oceans, lakes and rivers around the planet, where the water is usually bluish, green or sometimes completely transparent, as if it does not exist, but this was

Ivana exploring beneath the Austrian ice

the first time she had dived in perfectly transparent, orangeyellow water – the nearest place she had encountered similar water of this colour was in Mexican cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula. The colour of the lake water is influenced by the type of sediment at the bottom (on Ribnica Lake, the bottom is made of characteristic orange dust), the amount of nutrients coming from the surrounding forests (in this case, conifers) and the presence of algae. As you descend deeper, the light almost completely disappears, but the vis becomes better and the water usually colourless. In those few dives, larger specimens of perch were noticed, and if the stories of sports fishermen are to be believed, the lake is very rich in fish. n

The challenges of ice diving

Ice diving can create all sorts of issues, and it can change from day to day. Our first diving day was sunny and cold, with an outside temperature of -17 degrees C, while the second day was slightly warmer (-10 degrees C), but cloudy and moderately windy. This caused us big problems because everything started to freeze. Ropes and BCDs became stiff, and regulators began to freeze on dry land. However, with the help of a few little tricks of the trade - and upon entering the water - every-thing started to work correctly again. Organizing such dives is not easy. It requires precise planning and preparation of equipment. When you add photo shooting in icy conditions, things get even more complicated. Many small things can go wrong and make it difficult, or even completely impossible, for us to realize our plans. That is why it is important to plan everything well, stick to the plan, but also be ready for changes and improvisations in the field, depending on the conditions. You also need a healthy dose of good luck with the weather! During these icy adventures, the dice came together and our photoshoot went according to plan.

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Each issue, the Scuba Diver test team bring you the latest product and equipment releases from the dive industry. Cannot wait for the next edition? Keep up-to-date with all the latest gear news and reviews by heading over to the Scuba Diver YouTube channel! www.youtube.com/ScubaDiverMagazine

SCUBAPRO BCDS | SRP: £335-£405 Scubapro has launched two new BCDs, the upgraded Level, and the lightweight and foldable GO travel jacket.

Scubapro Level (SRP: £335)

The Scubapro Level for 2022 boasts a fresh design incorporating eye-catching silver, blue and white graphics and a bold Scubapro logo to make it stand out in any diving crowd. The bladder, made of EndurTex high-tenacity 420 nylon fabrics, is lightweight yet extremely rugged, and it’s designed to comfortably wrap around your body without squeeze. The new rotating quick-release shoulder buckles allow you to optimise the routing of your shoulder straps for comfort, and a sternum strap and adjustable cummerbund with double-pull over-strap make for the perfect fit. The full-sized backpack, working together with Scubapro’s Super Cinch tank band, holds the tank rock solid for maximum stability. The integrated weight system loads easy and ditches even easier with its low-profile 40mm flat buckles, and the new built-in trim weight pockets help distribute ballast weight and help ensure a comfortable swimming attitude while at depth.

Scubapro GO (SRP: £405)

The GO is loaded with the comfort and convenience features globe-trekking divers are looking for. A true travel BCD, the GO is constructed of 210 denier nylon covered

with polyurethane and then RF soldered for maximum wear resistance. It is the company’s lightest front-adjustable BCD (size medium weighs only 2.5kg) and is designed to fold into a compact package that fits easily into a travel dive bag. New compact rotating shoulder buckles make it easy to don the BCD and comfortably route shoulder straps. An adjustable sternum strap and a cummerbund with doublepull over-strap aid in dialling in the perfect fit www.scubapro.com

FOURTH ELEMENT REC FINS | SRP: £89.95 Fourth Element are well known for their OceanPositive range and efforts to reduce plastic usage, etc, and today they are launching their new Rec Fins – a recycled dive fin made from post-consumer plastic waste. With a fully recycled plastic blade, the Rec Fins deliver great diving performance with a much lower impact on the environment. The classic four-channel design generates thrust on both the down and upstroke of the fin, while the stiffening ribs ensure excellent control, making this the perfect combination of efficiency and eco-consciousness, minimizing your fin print on the ocean. The plastic is sourced from postconsumer and industrial plastic waste, with the equivalent of approximately 120 plastic bottles rescued from waste streams in every pair of fins. With the addition of a comfortable heel pad on an adjustable silicone strap, the Rec Fin’s soft foot pocket is comfortable for long dives and is available in three sizes to

fit shoe sizes from UK 5-12. Designed with the eco-conscious ocean user in mind, these fins are perfect for divers and snorkellers and come in Aqua/White and Black/Grey colours. www.fourthelement.com

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SDC WATCHES | SRP: £425 Reusing discarded materials in diving products is fast becoming a more-regular occurrence, with the likes of Fourth Element having products made from recycled waste in their range, and now a British watch brand is upcycling old wetsuits. SDC Watches is the brainchild of Sean Clements, who ambitiously actually launched the brand in 2020. A self-confessed watch fanatic and scuba-diving enthusiast, he is a natural ambassador for the aquatic environment, and as he explains, he sought to ‘challenge the status quo by creating luxury dive watches and combining upcycled materials’. To this end, his initial OceanRider range of four watches – Black Tip, Great White, Ocean Blue and Silky Grey – all feature straps made from upcycled wetsuits, which are collected from dive centres around the UK and then cut and stitched into silicone rubber to make the unique watch straps. The watches all feature a 42mm case crafted from 316L stainless steel, and are powered by the fully automatic Japanese Seiko NH35 movement. They are also all depth-

rated to 300m. The watches come in box that uses 100% biodegradable and sustainable FSC sourced materials, including a natural water-based, vegan-friendly glue. Not only is Sean using upcycled materials in his watches, but 5% of every sale goes to the Marine Conservation Society as well. www.sdcwatches.com

GARMIN DESCENT G1 SERIES | SRP: £479.99-£569.99 Garmin has added to its ever-increasing line-up of wristwatch dive computers with the launch of the Descent G1 series, which is sure to cause a stir in the market as it comes in at a very competitive price, but still boasts all of the smart/fitness watch functionality that marked out the company›s previous offerings. The Descent MK1 was superceded by the Descent MK2 and MK2i, which itself was then joined by the smaller Descent MK2S, and now this role-call has been joined by the Descent G1 (SRP: £479.99) and the Descent G1 Solar (SRP: £569.99). Featuring an easy-to-read, high-contrast display and 45mm watch case, the G1 Series introduces a new compact design into the dive line-up that is purpose built in both form and function. Water rated to 100m and tested to engineering standard EN133319 for dive compliance with leakproof inductive buttons and a sapphire lens, the Descent G1 Series is rugged and ready for excursions above and below the water’s surface. It is available in multiple colour options and compatible with Garmin QuickFit bands, so divers can switch between long and short straps for wearing over wetsuits when needed, or switch up their style in a snap to take their timepiece from a dive to dinner. Explore longer with the Descent G1 series, which offer a rechargeable battery with up to 25 hours in dive mode, up to three weeks in smartwatch mode, and up to four months in smartwatch mode with the solar charging models. The Descent G1 series has features for new recreational divers up through seasoned technical divers with support for multiple dive modes for single and multiple gas dives (including air, nitrox, trimix and 100% O2), gauge, apnea, apnea

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hunt and closed-circuit rebreather. The G1 series also includes a three-axis digital compass and vibration depth alerts. The Descent G1 Series delivers a multitude of wellness features, including advanced sleep monitoring with sleep score and features a variety of built-in indoor and GPS sports apps with favourites that include swimming, hiking, running, cycling, golf, yoga and surfing. The G1 series will track and measure performance with Garmin’s full suite of advanced fitness features like VO2 Max, Fitness Age, Training Status, Recovery Time, HIIT Workouts, and Daily Suggested Workouts3. www.garmin.com

SCUBAPRO HYDROS PRO | SRP: £769

Mark Evans: Scubapro have had back-inflate BCDs in their line-up for many years, ranging from larger units like the Knighthawk to more travel-orientated BCDs like the Glide Tec Pro, but the Hydros Pro treads a different path to its predecessors and, in fact, won the 2016 Red Dot award for product design. At first glance, it is more reminiscent of the Glide Tec Pro, which was a stripped-back, lightweight BCD that was ideal for travel. However, once you get over that initial overview, it is clear that the Hydros Pro is a completely different animal. The back pad and the straps are all made of injectionmolded Monprene, the same material that the innovative Seawing Nova fins are constructed from. This stuff is extremely resistant to UV, chemicals and abrasion, but perhaps more importantly, it is also virtually instantly dry when you exit the water – the water literally just sheds off it. Having had padded backpads balanced on top of doors to be in front of air-conditioning units, desperately trying to get them dry before a flight home, I really appreciate this development! With swivelling shoulder clips and a chest strap, the harness has a great fit, and snugly and comfortably hugs your body, reducing any cylinder movement both topside and underwater. The Hydros Pro has neat integrated weight pockets that slot into almost skeletal mounts, which not only cuts down on weight and looks cool, but as they are also made of Monprene, they don’t retain any water either. These can be removed quickly and easily, so if you were travelling

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somewhere where weight allowance was extremely tight, you can strip down the Hydros Pro to basically a harness and wing. You can also get these weight holders in different colours, so you can switch up your jacket to match your other kit, or just add a bit of vibrancy into your equipment. The weight ‘pockets’ are held in place with the tried-and-tested pinch-clip system – there is no way they will fall out accidentally once they are clipped securely in place, but on the flipside they are very easy to remove when you need to get them out, such as to hand up into a RIB. All this use of Monprene also has another benefit – the BCD is virtually neutrally buoyant, which means you will need less lead to get below the surface. However, for when you are diving in a thicker neoprene suit or a drysuit, and you need additional weight, there are also two nondumpable trim pockets on either side of the wing. Ah, the wing, let’s talk about that. It is streamlined and quite compact, and this is further enhanced by the use of a tri-bungee system which controls air distribution to maintain this compact shape underwater, and allow high lift at the surface. It has a pull dump at the bottom left side, and there is a pull dump on the right shoulder, so anyone coming from a Scubapro jacket-style BCD will instantly feel comfortable with where everything falls. These pull dumps are very efficient, and I like the large toggle, which is easy to locate even wearing thick neoprene or drygloves. The Hydros Pro is equipped with the latest version of Scubapro’s balanced power inflator, and I still maintain this is one of the best on the market. It is comfortable in the hand thanks to the ergonomic design, and it can deliver huge amounts of gas when required.

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I was very impressed with the Hydros Pro when I took it diving. It is very comfortable indeed, and the Monprene straps conform to your body shape extremely well. Once I had adjusted all of the shoulder and chest/waist straps, there was virtually no movement and the jacket felt almost adhered to my back. All of the controls – power inflator and pull dumps – fell easily to hand. It gave me plenty of lift on the surface and held my head well above the water, but underwater it offered plenty of stable support in a comfy horizontal trim position. Now it comes in at £769, which is a fairly hefty price tag, but you do get what you pay for. The Monprene construction means it will take a lot of abuse before showing any wear at all. There is no fabric, Velcro or zippers on the harness, and virtually every component – including the buckles – can be replaced without stitching, so you really have got a BCD for life, as if you ever do manage to wear out or damage an element, it can be quickly and easily fixed or replaced. The Hydros Pro comes with a carry-on backpack for storage and travel, and it is amazing how small this BCD will actually go once you strap it all up together. www.scubapro.com

TECLINE FRAMELESS SUPER VIEW MASK | SRP: £54.75

Mark Evans: Tecline is a brand which has been around for many years, but it never really gained a foothold in the UK, for many reasons. However, now it has a dynamic new distributor in this country, and they are going to great lengths to ensure that this Polish brand, which pretty much offers every conceivable element of diving equipment, gets the exposure it deserves. We got a box full of equipment to get wet with, and first up was the Frameless Super View mask. Now Tecline offers several designs of mask, but the Frameless Super View is the newest to the line-up, and it is hitting the market as single-lens frameless masks are all en vogue. The Frameless Super View is very low-profile, which means it is easy and quick to clear in the event of a flood or after mask removal, and this – combined with the distinctive shape of the single lens – gives excellent peripheral and downward vision. It is also blessed with a super-soft silicone skirt, which is very comfortable on your face, and seemingly fits a wide selection of face shapes and sizes. Dive buddy Richard Binks, who took it for a spin on a couple of dives, also commented that it had a generous nose pocket too. The strap is a straightforward tried-and-tested design, and it does the job it is intended for. Tecline has paired this up with simple but effective stainless-steel buckles, rather than some button-operated system. Some might see this as a downside, but they are easy to adjust, there is nothing to really go wrong with them, and they will be tough and durable thanks to their construction. Tecline is not afraid to add a bit of colour into their equipment, and the Frameless Super View is no different, being available in this vibrant orange as tested, along with white, black and pink. There is even an all-black ‘military’ version available. The Frameless Super View can also be purchased in black with a yellow-tinted lens for £59.25 if you want to add a bit more colour back into your dive. There are many frameless masks on the market these

days, but the Tecline Frameless Super View is extremely well-priced, coming in at under £55. Yes, it has very simplistic buckles, but I put far more importance on the fit and comfort than whether a buckle has one or two buttons, etc. In that respect, the Frameless Super View scores highly, being exceptionally comfortable thanks to its super-soft skirt – which as can be seen from my photographs of dive buddy Richard, will even seal over a beard – and offering a decent all-round view thanks to the low-profile design and broad lens shape. And that orange colourway really does ‘pop’ in photographs! The Tecline Frameless Super View mask comes with a sturdy plastic storage box. www.teclinediving.eu

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STREAMLINE WITH TECLINE Wherever you are on your diving journey, you’ll value the flexibility of our modular system. Tecline is the smart way to customize your own perfect configuration.

Aqua Active distributors of Tecline in the UK. To open a trade account contact: info@aquaactive.co.uk

TECLINE LIGHTJET FINS | SRP: £107.36 Mark Evans: Tecline offers a variety of fins, all harking back to the dependable old JetFin style of technical fin, but for this first review, I thought I’d take the company’s Lightjet fins for a trial. As with the masks, Tecline offer their fins in a selection of colourways, and for their Jetstreams that means black, yellow, red and orange, whereas the PowerJets follow the Henry Ford mantra of ‘any colour as long as it is black’. The LightJets fall somewhere between the two, being available in white and black. At first glance, the LightJets looks like the bastard child of a pair of Apeks RK3s and Hollis F1s, with a bit of old-school Scubapro JetFin thrown in for good measure. As far as a JetFin variant go, they are very easy on the eye, and I like the way that the foot pocket seamlessly merges with the three main vents and then forms the blade. The Apeks-style hold in the tip of the fins allows for you to hang them up for storage or when they are drying after a dive, although during testing I did actually see people with fins with this hole arrangement walking down to the water’s edge with their fins dangling from a clip on a D-ring of their BCD.

The line of additional holes along the blade below the three main vents also help the LightJets stand out from the crowd. I like the chunky stainless-steel spring strap, which is paired up with a rubber heel cover than incorporates a large thumb loop, which is easy to locate and grip even when you are wearing thick neoprene or drygloves, and at the end of a dive when you are dealing with cold hands. This made putting the fins on and taking them off very simple. I found the foot pocket to be comfortable and supportive, regardless of what fin stroke I was doing. As you’d expect from a broad, relatively stumpy fin such as these, they offer plenty of power. You could really motor giving a ‘normal’ flutter kick as the tip of the blade is very flexible and provides a great ‘snap back’, but they were also very efficient when frogkicking. When it came to manoeuvrability, they easily allowed me to back kick, helicopter turn, and make small adjustments as I moved about for photographs. However, it is when you pick up the LightJets that you realise why they have their name. They have to be one of the lightest JetFin-style fins I have ever used. A large LightJet barely tips the scales over 1kg. This means they are perfect for the travelling diver, as they won’t eat away at your precious luggage allowance as much as some of their weightier rivals. The LightJets are made from TPV (Thermoplastic Vulcanisate), which is 100% recyclable, which is great news for when your fins eventually reach their end-of-life, though they appear to be very durable, so I’d imagine you would get many years of service out of them before that happened. www.teclinediving.eu

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UNDERWATER EXPLORERS t: 01305 824555 e: info@underwaterexplorers.co.uk a: Unit 1, Maritime Business Centre, Mereside, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1FD Leading Dorset dive centre stocking all major brands, air, nitrox, trimix fills, rentals and servicing beside Portland Marina and across from Chesil Beach. www.underwaterexplorers.co.uk

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BLACK WATER DIVING t: 07841 561680 e: info@blackwaterdiving.co.uk a: 18 Lower Park Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 4NA PADI Dive training focussed on beginners. Try Scuba Diving for £20. Private swimming pools. Learn to scuba dive with 1:1 instruction at Blackwater Diving. www.blackwaterdiving.co.uk

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KENT BLUE OCEAN DIVING t: 01622 212022 e: scuba@blueoceandiving.co.uk a: West Park Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7AF 5* PADI scuba diving courses and training, organised diving trips and events, scuba equipment and friendly advice based in Maidstone. www.blueoceandiving.co.uk

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SUBLIME SOUTH COAST

We take a tour around some of the very best dive sites along the South Coast.

Q&A: MADISON BOWDEN-PARRY

We chat to the up-and-coming young naturalist, conservationist and marine photographer about her ambitious plans for the future.

RED SEA PHOTO ADVICE

Richard Aspinall offers hints on how best to capture wrecks, clownfish, pyjama nudibranchs and coral reefs on your next photo trip.

TECH: TULSAMERICAN PROJECT

Phil Short takes us behind the scenes of the emotive project to recover human remains from downed bombers from World War Two.

GEAR GUIDE: TEST EXTRA

Editorial Director Mark Evans dives the Tecline Teclight and SDC Great White watch.

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

FREEDIVING, PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAVE DIVING

have had a busy started to 2022! I entered into the New Year in the world’s deepest indoor and scuba diving pool at Deep Dive Dubai, trading my heavy dive equipment for the freedom provided by only a dive suit, a low-volume mask and long fins. I spent two weeks working on my breathhold techniques and finning techniques under the guidance of world champion freediver Nataliia Zharkova. During my time at Deep Dive Dubai, I also had the opportunity to take my first rebreather try-dive supervised by Dirty Dozen Expeditions founder Aron Arngrimsson, and join Jesper Kjoller in the development of a new PADI Triox Specialty, allowing divers to immerse themselves deeper. Afterwards it was time for a transatlantic flight to the Cayman Islands and straight into a two-week photography workshop led by award-winning photographer and marine biologist Alex Mustard. Based at Ocean Frontiers dive centre, the workshop included everything from the optimum positioning of strobes for wide-angle photography to the selection of subjects and the art of macrophotography. After capturing countless images of marine life on the pristine reefs of the Cayman Islands, and feeling more confident than ever before with my camera equipment sponsored by Reef Photo & Video, and Nauticam, I then joined the expert photographers and film-makers behind Ocean Culture Life for an underwater storytelling workshop on the wrecks of Nassau, Bahamas. Working on shooting sequences for my end-of-year film to be screened in New York was nothing short of exciting. Together with HayleyJo Carr and Richard Carr from the Perry Institute of Marine Science and Stuart Cove’s Dive Centre, I then spent some very rewarding hours underwater working on coral restoration and cleaning coral trees that support the growth of endangered staghorn corals. Following my passion for sharks and the true depth of what lies beneath the surface, I then conducted research work with sharks and the exploration of Bahamian caves on the island of Grand Bahama. I had the incredible opportunity to dive deeper into handling large groups of sharks from noone else but the shark listener and pioneering cave explorer Cristina Zenato herself. Donning chainmail during intimate encounters with Caribbean reef sharks and data collection

Arzucan

using laser photogrammetry, I got to meet and study some of the individual sharks close to Cristina’s heart. The chainmail was then swapped for cave diving helmets and sidemount kit and a very rewarding NSSCDS / TDI Apprentice Cave Diver certification at the end of long days of dive training amid the beautiful speleothems of local caves. Shortly after, I returned to the Maldives to conduct further research on anthropogenic injuries in tiger sharks and join the Manta Trust team on a scientific expedition to the Deep South for the study of oceanic manta rays through tagging, microbiome as well as biopsy sampling and photo identification. My next adventures will be to obtain further technical dive qualifications, followed by the study of coral growth on Captain Kidd’s wreck in the Dominican Republic, and the excavation of a 17th century Spanish ship with Dr Sam Haskell. n You can read more about Arzu’s diving experiences and the opportunities enabled by the OWUSS EU Rolex Scholarship on www.owusseurope.org and get to know her on www.arzucan-askin.com

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PHOTO: Silvano Barboni

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Scuba Diver #60

Articles inside

Our-World Underwater Scholarship

Scotland

News round-up

Test Extra

What’s New

Q&A with Paul Naylor

‘Big animal’ encounters

DAN Europe Medical Q&A

TECH: Serbia and Austria