Scuba Diver July 17 - Issue 5

WIN A DIVE TORCH FROM ANCHOR LIGHTS WORTH £650!

MERMAID INTERVIEW:

PORTUGAL’S OCEAN REVIVAL:

LINDEN WOLBERT GIVES THE LOWDOWN ON LIFE AS A PROFESSIONAL MERMAID

HOW THE SINKING OF FOUR NAVAL SHIPS HAS REVITALISED DIVING OPPORTUNITIES OFF THE ALGARVE

ABOVE 18 M Enter the Dragon DRAWNA ROCK – THE BEST SHORE DIVE IN CORNWALL?

SCAPA

FLOW WHY ALL DIVERS SHOULD MAKE THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE ORKNEYS

3

OF THE BEST

HIGH-END

BCDS RATED

CCR ON THE SIDE EXPLORING

LANZAROTE

WITH A

SIDEMOUNT

& REVIEWED

+

REBREATHER

ISSUE 5 | JULY 17 | £3.25

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Egypt ‣ Underwater communication ‣ Commercial diving WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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EDITOR’S NOTE Scuba Diver needs you!

HELP US TO HELP YOU We’re now on issue five of what should have been 12 free issues of Scuba Diver magazine, and from the feedback we’ve been receiving, you’re all loving the fact that it’s a free magazine which is also, crucially, a damn good read. While we obviously publish Scuba Diver to make a living, it has always been our goal to help the industry by providing dive centres and schools the opportunity to engage with enthusiastic qualified divers calling in to pick up a free copy, and to use the magazine as a tool to help inspire the next generation of novice divers. Because of this, we’ve made the executive decision that we’d like to continue offering our top-quality content at no charge for those picking up a magazine from our ever-expanding range of stockists, or at a minimal cost for those who wish to receive a direct copy.

To keep the magazine free, we have to generate a source of revenue through advertising to cover the production costs and wages. Our team works hard to ensure they provide advertising that is relevant to the articles we publish, and while many free mags will run at a 50/50 editorial-to-advertising ratio, Scuba Diver tries to keep to a 70/30 split so there’s plenty of decent content to sink your teeth into.

Why am I telling you this? Well, as the army moto goes, ‘We need you’. We need you to mention Scuba Diver every time you ring someone because of an article you read in Scuba Diver. We need you to mention Scuba Diver every time you respond to an advertisement placed in our magazine, on our website, or in our newsletter. We need you to help Scuba Diver remain a free source of high-quality, relevant and interesting content.

MARK EVANS Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Mark Evans Tel: 01691 661626 Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com

DESIGN

Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.com

MAGAZINE

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WIN A DIVE TORCH FROM ANCHOR LIGHTS WORTH £650!

MERMAID INTERVIEW:

PORTUGAL’S OCEAN REVIVAL:

LINDEN WOLBERT GIVES THE LOWDOWN ON LIFE AS A PROFESSIONAL MERMAID

HOW THE SINKING OF FOUR NAVAL SHIPS HAS REVITALISED DIVING OPPORTUNITIES OFF THE ALGARVE

ON THE COVER ABOVE 18M Enter the Dragon DRAWNA ROCK – THE BEST SHORE DIVE IN CORNWALL?

SCAPA

FLOW WHY ALL DIVERS SHOULD MAKE THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE ORKNEYS

3

CCR ON THE SIDE

OF THE BEST

HIGH-END

BCDS RATED

EXPLORING

LANZAROTE

WITH A

SIDEMOUNT

& REVIEWED

+

REBREATHER

ISSUE 5 | JULY 17 | £3.25

7

Egypt ‣ Underwater communication ‣ Commercial diving WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

PHOTOGRAPHER: JASON BROWN

REGULAR COLUMNS

FEATURES

An island covered in plastic waste, and good news for Egypt with more winter flights.

Mark Evans makes the long trek north of the border to the Orkney Islands, home of Scapa Flow, the final resting place of seven warships from the German World War One Imperial Navy.

8 News

30 Dive like a Pro

A panel of experts from all the main training agencies offer advice on UW communication.

42 Underwater Photography

‘Duxy’ takes an in-depth look at close-up, macro and super-macro photography.

64 Industry News

Up-to-the-minute news and information from the main dive training agencies.

98 The Commercial Diver

Warren ‘Sal’ Salliss goes into more detail about what it takes to become a commercial diver.

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24 Scotland

34 Egypt

El Quseir offers a real back-to-basics, chilled-out Egyptian vibe, and Stuart Philpott has made several trips to this region, which he thinks is perfect for underwater photographers.

46 Dive Master Insurance Consultants Ltd

Dive Master Insurance Consultants Ltd is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer, and founder Bob Archell looks back on how his addiction to the underwater world began when he was just four years old.

52 FREEDIVING: Interview with a Mermaid

Mark Evans talks to professional mermaid Linden Wolbert, while DeeperBlue founder and freediving guru Stephan Whelan presents a round-up of more freediving news from around the world.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

CONTENTS

58 Portugal

Did you know that the world’s largest artificial reef lies just a short flight away from the UK? Gavin Anderson revisits Portugal’s Ocean Revival project to see how the wrecks have been colonised.

68 Indonesia

Bunaken Marine Park must rank as one of the best diving destinations on the planet, and Al Hornsby is left awe-struck by his sightings in just a brief one-week whistlestop trip.

76 ABOVE 18m: Cornwall

The Above 18m series - which aims to showcase shallow dives around this country that are suitable for all levels of diver - continues, this issue travelling down to the South Coast and the Lizard Peninsula.

80 TECHNICAL: Lanzarote

Sidemount diving is all the rage these days, and now you can even get sidemount closed-circuit rebreathers. Stuart Philpott flew out to the Canaries to trial a new release in the warm, clear waters.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

GEAR GUIDE 88 What’s New

New products recently released or coming soon to a dive centre near you, including Fourth Element’s Argonaut Stealth drysuit, BeCam 200-metre-depth-rated video camera housing, and KUBI’s merino wool hat.

90 Group Test

The Scuba Diver Test Team convened at Vivian Quarry in North Wales once again, this time turning their attentions to a selection of top-ofthe-range BCDs.

94 Long Term Test

The Scuba Diver Test Team gets to grips with a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Shearwater Research Perdix AI dive computer, Apeks MTX-R regulator and Thermalution Red Grade Ultra heated undersuit.

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News

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. scubadivermag.com/news

PLASTIC DEBRIS DEVASTATES

PICTURES COURTESY OF: DR JENNIFER LAVERS

REMOTE PACIFIC ISLAND

A

small, uninhabited island in the southern Pacific Ocean has the dubious honour of boasting the highest density of plastic waste anywhere on the planet, according to an in-depth study by the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Centre for Conservation Science at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

The beaches on Henderson Island, which is part of the UK’s Pitcairn Islands archipelago, are blighted by an estimated 37.7 million pieces of debris. That equates to 671 items per square metre, or a total of a staggering 17 tonnes.

Dr Jennifer Lavers, from the University of Tasmania, explained that many of the items on the beaches are what are wrongly referred to as disposable or single-use, and include toothbrushes,

08

cigarette lighters and razors. In addition to ubiquitous fishing equipment, other pieces washed ashore included a vast number of hard hats! She concluded: “I hope these shocking images will make people rethink their relationship with plastic.”

But why Henderson Island? The tiny coral atoll, which is some 5,000km from Chile, sits near the centre of the South Pacific Gyre, a massive rotating current, and that means it ends up collecting rubbish and debris from myriad boats and South America.

Dr Lavers went on: “Plastic debris has affected the environment on a global scale, and almost every island in the world and almost every species in the ocean is now being shown to be impacted one way or another by our waste.”

She concluded: “There’s not really any one person or any one country that gets a free pass on this.”

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News

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New catamaran dive boat plying Maltese waters

The Leymor is the first purpose-built British diving catamaran to operate in Maltese waters, and it brings with it some of the comforts of home, including a dive lift.

She is 12 metres long and was purpose-designed as a dive boat. Powered by twin 350hp Caterpillar engines, she has a cruising speed of 20 knots even when fully loaded with divers and their equipment.

There are various packages on offer, depending on your qualifications, including Gozo, Malta and Comino. There are recreational packs down to 30m for Advanced divers (or 40m if you have a Deep speciality) and technical packs 40m+ depending on qualification.

All packages include boat fees, weights, cylinders, dive staff, transfer to jetty from hotel or dive centre, and tea/coffee on board. Recreational packages include nitrox up to 32 percent, and technical packages include gases (as outlined in ‘standard gases’ for the depth) and cylinders (twinset, CCR dil and 02, bailout and deco). www.wreckfindercharters.com

OBITUARY: JACK O’NEILL

Jack O’Neill, who opened a humble surf shop in San Francisco in 1952 that went on to spawn one of the world’s biggest surf and watersports wear brands, has died aged 94.

O’Neill – instantly recognisable thanks to the patch he began wearing in the early 1970s after an accident with a surf leash left him blind in his left eye – is credited with creating the forerunner to the neoprene wetsuit as-weknow-it, after experimenting with the material, which was being used in the US Navy. To combat the cold off the west coast, he started sewing pieces of neoprene into vests initially, and then developed the full-length suit which O’Neill became famous for, mainly in the surfing arena but also in diving.

According to friends, O’Neill passed away peacefully at his home in Santa Cruz, California, with his family by his side.

New winter flights tourism boost for Egypt After seemingly endless months of bad news for the Red Sea tourism industry, things have finally taken a turn for the better with the announcement of various new flights into Marsa Alam this coming winter from Thomas Cook and Thomson.

Both Regaldive and Emperor Divers have been quick to capitalise on these new flights, which will run from November 2017 to April 2018, and will offer a simple way to access the southern Red Sea resorts of El Quseir, Shams Alam, Hamata and Marsa Alam.

The Thomas Cook flights will be on Mondays from Birmingham, and Thursdays from Gatwick, and the Thomson flights will be on Wednesdays from Gatwick. www.emperordivers.com and www.regaldive.co.uk

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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News

Santi ‘Find the Eagle’ expedition is completed On 10 June, the expedition Santi Odnalezc Orla 2017 was completed. The 21-day exploration of the North Sea resulted in the verification of 34 unmarked wrecks, one of which has most likely been identified as the wreck of the British submarine HMS Narwhal. Alas, team members failed to locate the position of the legendary Polish submarine ORP Orzel.

Members of the Santi Odnalezc Orla expedition set out in search of the Polish submarine wreck on 20 May on board the hydrographic unit Mewo Navigator. The purpose of this year’s expedition was to verify the hypothesis that the cause of the ORP Orzeł sinking was an attack by a British aircraft on 3 June, 1940.

The searches were made using two basic research methods. The first was a systematic search of the seabed using a multi-beam probe in the direct vicinity of the alleged attack of the British aircraft. The other was to verify the previously identified wrecks of naval units on the assumed return route of the Orzel from its patrolling sector, marked A1, resulting in the discovery of four new wrecks.

Analysis of the technical parameters of one of the discovered wrecks, based on the obtained sonar images, indicates it is highly likely it is the wreck of the British submarine HMS Narwhal, which was lost under unknown circumstances during the Blyth patrol to the shores of Norway on 22-30 July, 1940. The wreck of 88 metres in length lies at a depth of 94m approximately five nautical miles from the route that the last patrol had to return to the base of the ORP Orzel. Location of the wreck and the archival materials collected by team members argue for the hypothesis that she was the victim of an air strike by a German Do-17 aircraft on 23 July, 1940.

“This year’s expedition was the longest in the history of the search for the Polish submarine. During the expedition, we were able to check an area several times larger than the area examined during all our previous expeditions put together.

This was possible mainly thanks to the extremely favourable weather conditions, excellent parameters of the Mewo Nawigator ship, on which we conducted the research, and the involvement of the crew as well as the expedition members.

Despite a bottom-up survey of more than eight nautical miles from the site of the attack, we have not been able to eliminate the hypothesis of the fratricidal attack of the British aircraft. It is impossible to exclude the possibility of a pilot carrying out a larger navigational error than assumed so far, or the possibility of leaving the submerged submarine from an air strike site. The conducted research allows us to move on to the next stage of the search,” said Head of Expedition Tomasz Stachura. www.santiodnalezcorla.pl

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Author Eric Douglas releases latest Mike Scott thriller Take a thrill ride to the Florida Keys in thriller author Eric Douglas’ latest adventure, The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water. This full-length novel includes ancient history, modern intrigue, treasure hunters and mysterious religious orders set against the backdrop of Key Largo, in the Florida Keys, both above and below water.

“Mike Scott has been all over the world for adventures, but I wanted him to be closer to home for this story. The history of the Christ of the Abyss statue in Key Largo has always interested me, so I wanted to tie in an alternate reality behind the creation and sinking of that statue into this story,” Douglas said.

The book’s hero, Mike Scott, is an international photojournalist with a love for scuba diving and the ocean. His travels often lead him to stories around the world.

Earlier books in the Mike Scott series have taken the character to Grand Cayman, southern California, Italy, North Carolina and Cuba, Mexico, and Curacao. Every novel takes readers to the location and gives them a look inside the local history, culture and scenery, as well as brings them along for an exciting story.

Description of The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water

Sharks are attacking divers in the Florida Keys and international magazine photographer Mike Scott barely survives the first incident. But it doesn’t make sense.

These sharks are especially aggressive, attacking in groups and not retreating.

It’s almost like someone is controlling them. The discovery that a narco sub full of drugs sank nearby is one explanation, but that doesn’t explain why all the activity is focused around the Christ of the Abyss statue in Key Largo and not the sub itself. Is there something else going on? Is it the statue itself? Or is there a larger conspiracy? It’s up to Mike to unravel the mystery before anyone else gets hurt. Or killed.

“I’m actually a big fan of sharks and love to see them in the water. They are beautiful, elegant creatures. I am hopeful that one of the takeaways from this story is that sharks are not mindless killing machines and the only reason they would act like that is if man is behind it,” Douglas explained.

The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water is now available in softcover and Kindle formats.

Visit Douglas’ website www.booksbyeric.com for more information.

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Raja Ampat cruise ship disaster firm hit with £350 million fine

The British operator of the cruise ship which destroyed swathes of pristine reef in the diving hotspot of Raja Ampat in Indonesia when it ran aground in early March has been slapped with an immense fine that equates to £350 million.

The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry based the level of the fine to Noble Caledonian on a calculation taking into account damage related to the Raja Ampat ecosystem, economy and society, ecosystem rehabilitation and costs involved in the damage claim, and ended up with a sum of 6 trillion Indonesian Rupiah.

The Ministry stated that the overall damage to Kri Reef caused by the Bahamian-flagged vessel MV Caledonian Sky on 3 March was 18,882 square metres, with some 13,270sq m being totally destroyed. Some 120 passengers and 70 crew were onboard at the time.

Noble Caledonian had released a statement in the aftermath of the grounding stating that it was working with the Indonesian government to establish a ‘fair and realistic’ financial settlement to cover the damage, but apparently the amount being negotiated by the ship’s insurance company – SPICA – had been a much lower figure.

The Indonesian government is standing firm, though, and while acknowledging that negotiations can take some time, it was not willing to reduce the amount of damages.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

News Deptherapy team herald mostsuccessful training programme yet A team from scuba diving rehabilitation charity Deptherapy has recently returned from their largest-ever and most-successful programme yet. 14 wounded-in-service veterans, all suffering from life-changing mental and/or physical injuries, took part in the programme in May at Roots Red Sea, El Quseir, Egypt.

Six veterans successfully completed the PADI Open Water Diver course, with five of these continuing on to qualify as PADI Advanced Open Water Divers during the Deptherapy week. A further five completed their PADI AOW Diver course and Deep Specialty.

Three of the wounded-in-service veterans assisted in the training programme as instructors and Divemasters. The teaching team included Chris Middleton, who lost both legs in Afghanistan and has subsequently worked through the Deptherapy programme from Open Water to Divemaster, as he aims towards his ultimate goal to become the first double-amputee PADI instructor.

The work of Deptherapy and Deptherapy Education does not stop when the veterans exit the water. As well as life-changing physical injuries, 80 percent of the programme members suffer from acute PTSD and can be considered ‘hard to reach’. The charity provides 24/7 support to programme members before, during and post diving through the Deptherapy Buddy Peer Support system.

Dr Richard Cullen, Founder and Chairman of Deptherapy and Deptherapy Education and who led the programme, added: “I am not sure that words can adequately describe our programme this May. It was amazing and humbling, inspirational and life-changing, emotional and ultimately, a massive success…”

The Deptherapy team is now working towards their next training programme, a liveaboard for 12 wounded-in-service veteran divers in the Red Sea in June, as well as continuing their active support for all those who have already taken part in the charity’s programmes and become part of the Deptherapy family. www.deptherapy.co.uk

WORKSHOPS WITH DAVID DILEY IN EGYPT more water

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Award-winning film-maker David Diley – the man behind documentary Of Shark and Man – has teamed up with Oonasdivers to host some week-long Underwater Film-Maker Workshops at Marsa Shagra in southern Egypt.

During your week you will gain underwater cinematography techniques such as the art of diving as a camera operator, editing and post production-colour correction and grading, topside cinematography, effective storytelling, sound design and how best to deliver your videos for either public performance or online streaming – basically, everything you need to turn your videos into engaging, short films.

The primary objective of the workshop is to allow you to flourish in a creatively stimulating and non-competitive environment which encourages you to try different things and truly find talents you may not have previously known you have. Team work, questions and enthusiasm are encouraged and you will have unrestricted access to an award-winning film-maker with professional expertise both behind and in front of the camera, as well as the entire post-production process.

Whether you want better holiday videos to share with friends or you want

to become a professional yourself, this workshop is the ideal place to do some world class diving, learn and most importantly, have fun!

The first workshop runs from 4-11 October and includes seven nights fullboard in a beach safari tent at Marsa Shagra, and five days of unlimited house reef diving with two orientation dives and one dive at Elphinstone.

Prices start at £1,495.

New dates will be added in 2018 – watch this space! www.oonasdivers.com

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Get to the bottom A wonder-full of all this. experience.

Whether it’s your first or 101st time diving The Florida Keys & Key West, North America’s only living barrier reef never disappoints. The truth is, with over a thousand different species, miles of corals, deep and shallow wrecks and countless dive centers offering charters, training and lodging, the wonders never cease.

fla.keys.com/diving

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News New Emperor Indonesia set to launch Emperor Divers is excited to announce the birth of Emperor Indonesia and the launch of MY Emperor Raja Laut in September 2017.

Raja Laut, which means King of the Sea in Bahasa Indonesian, is a beautiful traditional Dutch schooner-style sailing yacht built in south Sulawesi in 2005. She has spent much of the last 12 years sailing around Southeast Asia for private charter; Emperor Divers is honoured to have her as their introductory boat in the magical Indonesian archipelago.

With 12 berths, the attention to detail and the level of service expected from the seven crew and three dive guides will leave guests wanting to return time and time again.

MY Emperor Raja Laut will be sailing the world-renowned diving areas of Raja Ampat, Triton Bay, the Banda Sea and Komodo National Park. Expect to play with mantas, hammerhead sharks, whalesharks and pygmy seahorses as well as Komodo dragons on land. Indonesia offers riches for all and is a truly magical place.

A strong team will see Emperor teaming up with Andrew Laughlin, who has spent the last 10 years building and managing Indonesian liveaboards and has over 30 years’ experience in the diving and yachting industry. He is also a PADI Master Instructor and Yacht Master.

With an exciting mix of itineraries varying from between seven and 12 nights, Emperor Indonesia brings unprecedented value and something for everyone to one of the world’s top diving destinations.

Emperor Divers has been a major dive centre and liveaboard operator in the Red Sea since 1992 and in the Maldives since 2014. www.emperorindonesia.com

Dive cylinders - risk-based approach for inspection accepted The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has recognised BSAC’s proposal for a risk-based approach to cylinder testing, meaning that for recreational divers, the current visual examination period is likely to remain at two-and-ahalf years.

This positive outcome has come following months of lobbying by the UK recreational diving sector against a new draft International Standard, which had an interval of 12 months for internal visual examinations of cylinders, rather than the two-and-a-half years currently required in the UK. Recently, BSAC attended several meetings with key bodies on behalf of UK divers to propose a risk-based approach to cylinder testing. BSAC, along with SITA, other training agencies including PADI and SAA, as well as various manufacturers, believed that an increase to annual visual examination was disproportionate and would have a negative impact on participation in the sport.

Gavin Anthony, a technical adviser for BSAC, attended a recent ISO standard meeting in London where his change to a risk-based approach to cylinder test-

ing was accepted, changing the draft International Standard.

At a subsequent meeting with the Department for Transport, the wording in the draft ISO standard for the risk-based approach for cylinder testing in the UK was unanimously adopted, subject to ratification of the standard at international level.

This means that subject to further consultation, annual visual cylinder testing is not likely to apply to recreational divers in the UK. BSAC advise that cylinders will continue to be inspected and tested by an independently audited and approved test centre, under the current HSE DVIS11 guidelines.

BSAC Chair Alex Warzynski welcomed the unanimous acceptance of the riskbased proposal. “This is the right result for UK diving. By adopting a pragmatic approach to the standard, it means we can ensure safety standards are maintained without putting unnecessary obstacles to the pursuit and enjoyment of our sport,” he said.

The ISO standard is expected to be published in the UK by the end of 2017.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

MEDICAL Q&A

News

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

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

Q: I’ve heard about a magical new substance that can supply enough oxygen to enable us to breathe underwater without tanks. Is this pure science fiction or does it have some basis in science fact? I remember seeing something of this sort in the 1980s film The Abyss, but I don’t know whether this new discovery relates to this or not… Any enlightenment, Doc? A: The substance you mention that featured in The Abyss was a perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsion, which initially held much promise to act as an artificial oxygen carrier. PFCs are colourless synthetic liquids, containing mostly carbon and fluorine molecules, into which can be dissolved significant quantities of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide – enough to support life with fluid-filled lungs. In effect, they can behave as ‘blood substitutes’, bypassing the need for blood products; and hence interest in their myriad potential uses has been huge. Experiments on mice (including one carried out ‘for real’ in the aforementioned film) demonstrated the proof of concept, some surviving for an hour. However, gas exchange in a liquid medium is somewhat reduced, and the increase in work of breathing too much for human trials to be attempted. Hence the ‘liquid breathing’ goal has been all but abandoned.

All may not be lost though, as there is ongoing research into whether PFC emulsions might be effective as an adjunctive therapy for DCI. As they take up nitrogen exceptionally well, there could be a role for PFC emulsions as a first-line intravenous treatment, particularly when access to recompression is difficult or likely to be delayed.

In theory, combined administration with oxygen would have many beneficial effects – increasing oxygen delivery (as it dissolves well into the emulsion), accelerating the removal of nitrogen (for the same reason), and acting as a surfactant to reduce bubble size (and hence reduce blood

20

vessel blockage and ischaemia).

Q: I am off travelling and have done a lot of diving but my girlfriend has a fake tooth which is attached to the teeth either side with metal/glue.

Although this is very well fixed she is worried about the pressure - any advice?

A: Firstly, I would suggest a quick dental check up for hidden vials of potassium cyanide or other suicide pills hidden within the fake tooth.

Then I think we’re okay to go diving. A tooth like this is going to be solid and therefore not susceptible to pressure effects. As long as the glue holds tight, there’s now’t to worry about.

There are occasional tales of exploding teeth and ballooning gums that make the scientific dive literature, but I think more as exceptional cases than as common problems. The term ‘aerodontalgia’ has been coined for this, mainly to confuse the layman – it literally means ‘air tooth pain’. You can get gas spaces forming around the roots of infected teeth or where old fillings cause little gaps to appear between the tooth and gum. During a descent the contracting gas spaces can suck in blood or make the gum swell, causing pain, or in the worst case scenario, a particularly fragile tooth can collapse.

Naturally, the gas expands again on ascent, again causing pain, or the occasional ‘blow out’, where the tooth literally explodes. Some older divers with lots of fillings can actually gauge their depth quite reliably on the basis of how much pain they’re in. But before anyone with fillings panics, cases like this are unusual. A dental check once a year should show up any problems. Pain in the teeth on a dive can sometimes be referred from a sinus squeeze, but if it persists a trip to the ‘drawer-tooth’ is probably a good idea.

Do you have a question for Dr Firth?

Email divingdoctor@scubadivermag. com with your query and we will pass it on to London Diving Chamber.

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SOUTH COAST SUPERSTAR

Stuart Philpott explains why the wreck of the Kyarra has such a hold on him

WONDERFUL WAKATOBI

Is this the ultimate Indonesian resort?

NORTH AND SOUTH

Exploring the undersea delights of Cyprus both sides of the border

TECHNICAL: BECKY KAGAN SCOTT

Interview with the deep-sea film-maker

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The pristine coral gardens of St Lucia

ABOVE 18M: FARNE ISLANDS

Shallow,sheltered water and friendly seals - what’s not to like?

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Phuket Dive Guide

*

“Just a quick - the rigid inflatables they use here are definitely quick! - 3.5km ride out from the beach, Pinnacles is a collection of mounds that rises up from a 50m sand bottom, the shallowest top at 30m”

WILD

THAILAND is world-renowned for its diving, and PHUKET is the gateway to some of the best sites, as well as offering a whole host of other daytime and nocturnal activities Photographs by AL HORNSBY

M

ention Phuket, Thailand, and most people envision long, sandy beaches, mountainous jungles and a party scene like no other. As Thailand’s best-known holiday island, Phuket is a world headquarters for revellers, with not only friendly locals, but crowds of people from around the globe – from Britain, Scandinavia, Italy, Russia and Australia, especially – there simply to have a good time. Accommodations run from five-star resorts and private bungalows to hostels and everything in between. Restaurants line the streets; besides local Thai and always-popular sushi, there are many others, especially European eateries, usually run by ex-pat visitors who decided they just couldn’t leave. And, the club scene… it’s electric, as funky as you could want it, and amazingly inexpensive.

Of course, there is also Thai massage, which is found everywhere and anywhere, in parlours, on the beach or in the hotels.

As to sporting options, there are many. While simply lying on some long stretch of beach or taking in the sights around town are never bad choices, you can instead hike to jungle waterfalls, golf, surf, kayak, elephant trek, rock-climb and mountain bike.

But, divers have a dirty little secret - there’s even more, much more. Indeed, Thailand’s most-exotic feature may actually be the incredible life that exists beneath the surface of the calm, warm waters of the surrounding Andaman Sea, with Phuket its major access point.

With many dive operators and dive charter boats operating in Phuket, reaching both local sites and more-distant dive areas (on multi-day liveaboard trips) is easy. And, there is an incredible range of world-class diving to choose from, with a wonderful density of marine life and many different topographical features. Anemones, soft corals and gorgonian fans grow on huge, granite boulders and walls, creating unique underwater landscapes. There are large schools of fish, rays, sharks and an assortment of macro-critters, plus a fascinating array of trademark creatures not often seen elsewhere, such as giant guitarfish and leopard sharks. And, if that isn’t enough, frequently, in the months of February through April, there are also mantas and whales.

DAY TRIPS

The most-popular day dives out of Phuket are conducted around several island groups within approximately one to two hours by boat. The visibility in the area is good, usually between 15 and 25 metres. These include:

MOZAMBIQUE

Anemone Reef – A submerged pinnacle 30km east of Phuket, it is a marine sanctuary. Its rocky ledges from 5-7m down are covered in anemones with clownfish, and soft corals; in the deeper areas, there are many large gorgonian fans. Dives are from near the surface to a maximum of 25m; moderate currents can be experienced. A good wreck dive, the King Cruiser, an 85-metre-long sunken car ferry, lies on the bottom just a kilometre away.

Koh (island in Thai) Racha Rai – One of two lovely islands about 20km south of Phuket, it has huge granite rocks above and below the surface, with lush coral growth and lots of reef fish, such as blue-ring angelfish and several species of butterflyfish. The water is typically calm and clear, with most dives averaging around 15m in depth, though the site reaches 30m. A number of different rays can be found in the sandy areas.

Koh Racha Noi – One of the most-dramatic day dive sites, with a maximum depth of 30m, the northern tip of the second of the Racha islands has huge boulders and pinnacles, with lots of fish and a healthy shark population, especially nurse sharks, leopard sharks and grey reef sharks. The southern tip is deeper, averaging 25m and exceeding 40m, with lots of soft corals on the boulders, and there is an old wooden shipwreck. The site features occasional sightings of mantas and whalesharks in the February-April season; currents can be moderately strong at times.

Hin Musang (Shark Point) – A line of three main pinnacles, one of which breaks the surface, the site is 1km southeast of Anemone Reef. With an average depth of 20m and a maximum of 24m, it is one of the most-popular Phuket day dives. It has lots of marine life, including sponges, gorgonians and big fish, such as trevally, barracuda and schooling snapper. A brilliant, soft coral-covered arch is a special spot, and a sandy bottom with a number of resident leopard sharks gives the site its name.

Mozambique’s picturesque coastal village of Ponta do Ouro promises lifetime memories both on the surface and underwater, as AL HORNSBY reports Photographs by AL HORNSBY

WildWEST

The west coast of Ireland boasts phenomenal vis, myriad varieties of marine life and some of the best topside apres-diving ‘craic’.

MARK EVANS headed for the Emerald Isle Photographs by MARK EVANS

I

reland has a strong reputation among those in the know for its fantastic diving conditions, friendly dive centres and, of course, unrivalled after-dive entertainment – i.e. Guinness, great food, live music, banter a-plenty… oh, and did I mention the Guinness? There are dive hotspots the length and breadth of western and southern Ireland, but I chose to base myself in the northwest, around Connemara.

There are a whole host of diving opportunities in this area, so you can either dip in on a long-weekend diving break, or quite easily fill a full week of undersea exploration, which is what I opted to do.

Photographers, novice divers and veterans alike will be kept well entertained on the house reef of PADI five-star IDC centre Scubadive West. Bursting with fish and invertebrates, not to mention every colour of seaweed you can imagine, the house reef is often where newbies take their first steps into sea diving, but it is so good even experienced divers will find plenty to keep them occupied. My buddy Paul Cushing and I were both armed with cameras, and spent our time working slowly along the barrier where the kelp beds met the sandy bottom. Before we knew it, our computers were showing a dive time of 100 minutes – and our bladders were telling us to get out of the water!

Egypt’s

INSHORE DIVE SITES

Want to get slightly further afield? There are numerous inshore dives sites that are accessed by Scubadive West’s rapid Marlin cataraman RIB, including Inis Barna, which has gained fame as the ‘conger dive’ thanks to the proliferation of large conger eels at the site; 35m-plus sheer wall dive Thanny Beag; and the Gaddys – two reefs diveable to 30m. Wreckies have not been forgotten, and divers can visit the Julia T. The Julia T is a 30-metre supply vessel which sank off the west coast of Ireland while on its way to be decommissioned. It now sits bolt upright in 27m of water and is an extremely popular dive. Visibility is not the best due to its location – it sits in the middle of a vast silt bed – however because it is washed by currents, it is smothered in dead man’s fingers, plumose anemones and bright orange, white and yellow sponges, so it is perfect for underwater photographers. Wrasse and crustaceans make the wreck their home, including edible crabs, spider crabs, shrimp, scorpion spider crabs and squat lobster.

Limited penetration is possible at the bow and in the crew’s quarters, but beware, the entire wreck is coated in fine silt, which can destroy visibility with one careless fin kick, so watch what you are doing.

OFFSHORE MARINE PARKS The offshore marine parks of the EGYPTIAN RED SEA offer some of the best diving in the world, and now, with the standard of liveaboards ever-improving, you can enjoy them in abject luxury

BRAVO

Photographs by MARK EVANS

F

COSTA BRAVA

irst impressions can sometimes be deceptive, but when Jan Boelen, the owner of Euro-Divers in Spain, said the Cala Joncols hotel reminded him of Fawlty Towers, I thought ‘oh s***, what have I let myself in for?’ I had visions of complete mayhem and disaster, with balmy Basil goose-stepping around the corridors all night long. Maybe I should have increased my life insurance policy before the visit? My concerns were further raised when Belgian-born Jan said the owner was called Manuel and he actually came from Barcelona. Que? This definitely had the makings of an entertaining week and I hadn’t even discussed the diving yet!

I booked a flight with one of the budget airlines from Gatwick to Girona. The transfer to Cala Joncols took about an hour, so there was plenty of time to quiz Jan on what other surprises lay in store for me. I noticed that Jan had some disturbingly similar ‘Basil’ traits. The moustache was missing, as were the ‘crazy eyes’, but there was a very distinctive loud laugh. Spending the past 15 diving seasons at the secluded little bay had probably taken its toll.

Jan turned out to be a really likeable character with bags of energy and enthusiasm. He began diving in 1991 and has worked in the Caribbean, Thailand and the Maldives. Even though Jan had been offered more prestigious dive centres under the Euro-Divers banner, he was content to stay at Cala Joncols. Jan had even bought an apartment in the nearby town of Roses, so there were no plans to move away just yet.

I arrived at the Cala Joncols hotel early evening and to my relief the place was nothing like Fawlty Towers. The three-storey building was surrounded by olive trees, shrubs, flowers and overhanging plants. From my balcony I could see the swimming pool, pebble beach and then the sea approximately 30-40 metres away.

The bay itself is flanked on either side by steep-sided cliffs. There were no other hotels, restaurants or bars in the vicinity, so don’t expect a pub crawl. Everybody congregated around the patio area at dinner time. Clientele was mainly German, French and Spanish

with a few Brits scattered about here and there.

Manuel Gomez Fernandez had worked at the hotel since 1968 and became the owner in 2000. It was 100-percent family owned and family run. There were 35 rooms and four bungalows (four people per bungalow) on offer. I had a good look around and could see that all of the white-washed rooms were well-maintained.

Some had ultra-modern bathrooms and sea-view balconies. On the ground floor there was a bar with wi-fi. This was definitely a full-on divers resort with a good number of rooms allocated for Euro-Divers clientele. The rest of the rooms were occupied by guests enjoying other outdoor activities including kayaking, walking and mountain biking. During my stay the hotel was full of Thai Chi enthusiasts and a group of naturists. The crescent-shaped beach was big enough to accommodate everybody, although I did get an eyeful of bare flesh on a daily basis.

In the summer months the protected bay was full with yachts and power boats visiting the top-rated restaurant. Food is typically Spanish. Full-board diving guests are served up a set three-course menu every evening at around 7.30pm. There’s only one choice available but the kitchen will rustle up an alternative if someone has a specific dislike. Fresh fish in some form or other is normally on offer.

The whole diving set up runs extremely well and, in fact, it reminded me of a kind of ‘land-based’ liveaboard operation. A normal diving day consisted of two boat dives, the first at 10am and the second at 4pm. Jan said they offer double boat runs (four dives a day) in high season. There’s also unlimited shore diving and night dives available.

The main season is between April and November, but this peaks in July and August. Jan said the best time to visit is around September. The weather is still warm and the evenings are slightly cooler. I sat down and filled in the usual liability and release paperwork and was pleasantly surprised when Jan said ‘we don’t ask you to do a check dive. You have a qualification and a logbook. We treat everybody as a diver. We do a good briefing and then you do your dive. Divers don’t have to be guided’.

STUART PHILPOTT makes the short hop to Spain and finds that Cala Joncols offers a diverse mix of dive sites to keep even the most-hardcore diver satisfied Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT

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THE SCAPA PILGRIMAGE

Scapa Flow, widely regarded as one of the world’s best wreck-diving sites, should be on every diver’s hit-list, as dedicated fan MARK EVANS reports Photographs by MARK EVANS

A

rriving at the bottom of the shotline, which was festooned with gigantic plumose anemones, the side of the silt-covered battleship just dropped off into darkness in front of us. Switching on our torches, we descended into the gloom, watching the metres rise steadily on our dive computers until the seabed loomed into view at 38m. What looked like a cave opened ominously before us, and we carefully ventured in, keeping our movements as gentle as possible to avoid causing a silt explosion. A wall of steel rose up, and after a couple of moments our narcosis-addled brains realised this was the side of an upturned main gun turret.

Heading left towards the bow of the Kronprinz Wilhelm, the barrel protruded from the turret and just seemed to go on forever. Even half-buried in the silt, the diameter of the barrel looked enormous, and we took some photographs with divers alongside to show how large these 12-inch monsters really were. Throughout all this, I tried not to think that I was underneath an upturned, 26,000-tonne German battleship that had been on the seabed for 97 years‌

SCAPA FLOW

The virtually landlocked natural harbour that is Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands is one of those places that many divers have heard of and long to visit, but only relatively few experience, which is a huge shame when this hotspot genuinely should be on the hit-list of every diver. I’ve made several pilgrimages up to the very northern tip of Scotland to explore this wreck-diving Mecca, which is right up there with Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll, thanks to the remains of monstrous German warships from World War One lying on the seabed.

There are various reasons why this place is not jam-packed with thousands of divers – one, it is a long old trip from just about anyway in the UK and when costs end up being similar to a Red Sea liveaboard, often the tropical destination wins hands down; and two, Scapa has an undeserved reputation for being deep, cold, dark and dangerous and only suitable for highly trained techies, when in fact any Advanced Open Water Diver comfortable in a drysuit and with their Deep Specialty is more than qualified enough to dive the main wrecks (there are also plenty of sites

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suitable for Open Water Divers as well). In fact, on previous trips I have taken divers up to Scapa who had never dived in UK seawater before, only inland sites, and they went on every dive the more-experienced divers in the party did.

As for the cost - yes, it is relatively expensive (as far as UK diving goes) once you factor in fuel costs, ferry charges, accommodation, boat charter, nitrox fills and food and drink, but the diving available is like nowhere else on the planet and it really is one of those places that all divers should experience.

But believe me, you might think the one visit will be enough to ‘tick the box’, but most people I know well and truly catch the Scapa bug and can’t wait to come back.

“You can still see the teak decking, 5.7-inch deck guns, capstans, bollards, armoured conning towers and much more on the cruisers, and the big 12-inch turrets, massive rudders and a last-remaining impressive bow across the three battleships”

THE HIGH SEAS FLEET

Scapa Flow probably wouldn’t really factor on any ‘must-dive’ list if it wasn’t for the actions of a certain Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter. He was the commander of the German Imperial Navy’s High Seas Fleet, which was interned in the Flow with weapons disarmed and just skeleton crews on duty.

On midsummer’s day on 21 June 1919, he mistakenly believed that hostilities were about to resume and gave the signal to scuttle the entire fleet of 74 warships, comprising five battlecruisers, 11 battleships, eight cruisers and 50 destroyers.

A total of 52 of the great ships sank beneath the surface, the remaining 22 were beached or prevented from being sunk by Royal Navy boarding parties.

Now, with all that intact metal on the seabed, including the huge 200-metre battlecruisers Seydlitz, Moltke, Von Der Tann, Derfflinger and Hindenburg, you can imagine what sort of scene wreck divers can witness underwater today. Right? Wrong. Sadly for divers, what followed from the early 1920s right up to 1946 was what is still the greatest marine salvage operation in history. The firm of Cox and Danks raised, towed and dismantled no less than 45 of the sunken vessels, and the remaining seven – battleships Konig, Kronprinz Wilhelm and Markgraf, cruisers Dresden, Coln and Karlsruhe, and mine-layer Brummer - were left in various states of disrepair after some further salvage and blasting work by other parties.

Thankfully, German craftsmanship back then was as good as it is now, and so while the Karlsruhe, Konig and, to a lesser extent, the Brummer are deteriorating rapidly from a recognisable ‘ship-shape’, the other ships – in particular the Coln – are holding up pretty well considering they are only three years away from celebrating 100 years underwater! You can still see the teak decking, 5.7-inch deck guns, capstans, bollards, armoured conning towers and much more on the cruisers, and the big 12-inch turrets, massive rudders and a last-remaining impressive bow across the three battleships. Coated with a thick layer of silt and draped with sponges, plumose anemones and dead man’s fingers, it can sometimes be hard to make sense of certain objects, but get your brain orientated as the ship lies – on its side for the cruisers and mine-layer, upside down for the battleships – and you can soon build up a picture of what it must have looked like pre-sinking. The sheer size of the ships is daunting, but concentrate on one area – like bow to midships, for example – and you will be able to really enjoy what the wrecks have to offer.

DIVING THE FLOW

There are several dive charter boats operating in Scapa Flow, ranging from large fishing boats-cum-liveaboards to smaller dayboats, and most cater for everyone from raw novices making

MV HUSKYAN

The MV Huskyan is a purpose-built steel and aluminium dive boat with a square stern to maximise space for the dive deck, a handy crane to assist with loading and unloading kit, twin engines for super manoeuvrability and redundancy, a large diver lift for easy water exit, and a wet changing area fitted out with drysuit hangers, and hooks for your gloves and hood.

Inside, divers are treated to two metres plus of headroom throughout and what can only be described as a luxury interior, which includes massive galley - serving up delicious home-made grub between dives and on the way back to the harbour at the end of the day - and spacious dining/sitting/ briefing area, plus downstairs a dry changing room complete with multiple lockers. Skipper Emily Turton’s briefings are legendary, as she has an intimate knowledge of the wrecks through diving them herself extensively, and now she has added further technology that allows her to ‘draw’ on the ADUS 3D scans and her own sketches of the sites, which is then displayed on two large flatscreen TVs. Emily can offer the complete diving-and-accommodation package, with superb self-catering facilities available in Number 15, an impeccably presented house with multiple bedrooms/bathrooms, massive kitchen, wifi, flatscreen TV and more. Check out the websites: www.huskyan.com and www.number15orkney.com

GETTING TO THE ORKNEYS

As mentioned earlier, the Orkneys are a long way from just about anyway in the UK, but there are several ways to get there: You can drive all the way up to Scrabster on the northern-most tip of mainland Scotland and then catch a ferry to Stromness, which is where all of the dive charters operate from. However, this involves a lengthy drive, the last section of which is on the A9, which is scenic but not exactly the quickest road!

You can drive to Aberdeen and catch a ferry with Northlink Ferries (www.northlinkferries.com) that sails up to Kirkwall, and from here it is just a 20-minute drive to Stromness. The ferry journey from Aberdeen to Kirkwall takes some six hours, but you can relax, enjoy some food and even watch a movie in the on-board cinema.

You can fly to Aberdeen, and then get a hopper flight to Kirkwall, but flights are not cheap – particularly the latter part of the journey – and if you decide to take your kit with you, excess baggage fees could get enormous!

their first foray into the Flow to seasoned techies emblazoned with CCRs, slingtanks and other nifty paraphernalia. On my last trip we were diving from the purpose-built MV Huskyan, expertly skippered by Emily Turton (see box out).

We had a mixed group of CCR, twinset and single-cylinder divers on board, and all agreed that they wanted to concentrate on the seven German warships.

Although this meant missing out on diving the purpose-sunk blockships, or the World War Two vessel F2, it is the best way to get the most out of the ‘main event’ - with two dives a day for six days, it enables you to get two ‘hits’ on most of the German wrecks and really get a feel for them.

Diving the German fleet is a doddle. The skipper tells you when you are 15 minutes out from the site and you get into your kit. Once over the wreck, you stand near the exit point and the skipper will motor close to the buoys marking the shotline. On their command, you leap into the water, head over to the line and then make your descent to the wreck. Once on the wreck you can either go off exploring and then just fire up a DSMB for your ascent or you can make a circular route and use the shotline for reference on the ascent. There is generally not too much current on the ‘big seven’, and visibility is generally anywhere from three to nine metres – we were blessed with good vis of seven or eight metres plus on virtually every German wreck dive during our week in May – unless you hit the dreaded plankton bloom.

28

CONCLUSION

Scapa Flow deserves its reputation as one of the best wreck-diving locations in the world, and as explained earlier, don’t be put off by the macho bull often heard when people talk about diving in the Orkneys. To get the most out of the German wrecks, just make sure you are comfortable in your drysuit, don’t mind dropping down shotlines in relatively low vis and have your Deep Specialty.

The diving isn’t hard, but you do need to treat the wrecks with respect – they are still in remarkable shape considering the length of time they’ve been on the seabed, but they are covered in a fine layer of silt, and certain parts are collapsing, so only do any penetration if you are fully trained and have the appropriate equipment to do so.

Having dived the High Seas Fleet many times in the last 20-odd years, I did notice some major changes to certain wrecks this time around. The cruiser Dresden has a huge area of the bow decking peeling away which is now almost down to seabed level. The mine-layer Brummer is fairing even worse, with various areas now becoming increasingly unstable. At the bow, sections of the hull have now rusted away, leaving just the scythe-like bow intact.

Having said that, to say that the ships have been lying on the bottom of Scapa Flow for 97 years, they are still holding together remarkably well in the main. Yes, the Dresden and the Brummer are slowly succumbing, but the Coln still looked pretty much the same as when I last dived her. Elsewhere, things were also much the same - dropping to 37m on the Kronprinz Wilhelm and venturing beneath her vast hull to see the barrels of her main gun turrets, I had a serious case of déjà vu, the scene was so familiar. Long-time Scapa divers will still find much to keep them entertained, and the slow decline of the shipwrecks is continually opening up new areas for exploration, while Scapa virgins will just be blown away by the sheer size of the vessels. The shipwrecks offer a multitude of subjects for avid photographers, from the main gun turrets and deck guns to conning towers, windlasses, anchors and, of course, the actual vessel’s themselves. n

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DIVE LIKE A PRO

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

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON BROWN

UNDERWATER COMMUNICATION

W

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

Martin Robson, PADI TecRec Instructor Trainer, said: “There seem to be a lot of black dry/wet suits and black gloves in the diving world. Your black gloved hand against a background of your black suit does not make for easy-to-read hand signals.

Hold your hand away from your body when signalling, and illuminate with a torch if necessary.”

Emily Petley-Jones, UK Regional Training Consultant at PADI and a PADI Course Director, commented: “Always review your hand signals with your buddy, especially if you are diving with someone new or that you haven’t dived with for a while. Hand signals can vary significantly from person to person, and it is especially important to review how you are going to communicate how much air you have left to your buddy.”

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

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

“Once underwater, divers should commit to follow the plan unless a situation arises that requires the plan to be changed, and this is where clear communication is key. It is far too easy to over-communicate when diving. A long sequence to hand signals will rarely be understood by your buddies, and often we can condense the whole lot into one signal. Keep your signals slow, try to make eye contact and then signal with your hands at eye level, and make sure you get confirmation from your buddy.

I have often found on dives that the simplest communication (‘Thumb the dive’, ‘Go this way’) is all that is actually needed.

Most of the time, you will find that your buddy is thinking much the same, but is simply waiting for someone else to say it.”

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

“Communication underwater can be difficult, not just due to the reg in your mouth. This is obviously a major problem, but one that can be overcome with some foresight. The most-basic signals are taught at Ocean Diver, so everyone should be able to

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say they’re okay, not okay, going up or down and so on, but once you start diving more for pleasure, rather than training, you need to expand your repertoire.

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

“In practice I find that on most dives you can often make up a signal on the fly and be understood. There are a few typical ones people use - counting on your fingers for gas, pinching your thumb and forefinger to signify a lobster, and even some ruder ones when someone has just swum in front of you and destroyed what little vis there was in Stoney anyway!”

Garry Dallas, Director of Training RAID UK & Malta (Rec/Tec/ Cave Instructor Trainer) explained: “It doesn’t matter what language we speak on land, for divers underwater, the most-common form of communication is a universal underwater sign language. Simplifying a sentence, question or statement is extremely difficult without some ‘keyword’ signals. When trying to describe more-detailed or informative communication, we may even rely on a string of signals. Above all, they must be clear, concise, accurate, visible and almost always require a confirmation reply back.

“However, it has been observed that divers sometimes disregard replying back to ‘okay’, ‘are you ok’, ‘do you agree’, ‘do you understand’ and ‘end dive’!

These are all, by definition, command signals that require an acknowledgement

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gesticulation in response.

A good buddy team showsrespect and communication is always twoway.

“There are several ways to communicate underwater within a team, such as writing on wetnotes or a slate, by torch, touch contact or most commonly by hand signals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Written communications - slates or wet books

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and pencils give the ability to record data such as survey information along with the ability to communicate information too complex for hand signals or not understood by hand signals. The problem with written communications underwater especially in cold water scenarios with thick wet or dry gloves and dexterity loss is the questionable legibility of the notes.”

Gary Asson, National Diving Officer with the Sub-Aqua Association, said: “One of the first things we learn when we start scuba diving is the need to communicate underwater. If you don’t have the equipment to talk underwater, then you must rely on signals.

Two basic rules - keep your them simple, and agreed pre-dive.

“Keep your signals simple. The more complex the hand movement, the more likely the signal is to be confused with something else. Think about the basic diving signals and the teaching signals - these are all one-handed signals.

“Agree the signals beforehand. Even the basic signals can be slight different between agencies. A diver approaches making a chopping motion to their throat, another drawing their fingers from one side of their throat to the other. Same message - I need something to breathe now! - different signal. The few extra seconds it can takes to process the unexpected signal can make all the difference to the outcome.

“Body language can signal the state of mind your buddy is in. Swimming too close, constantly fiddling with kit, checking contents gauge or computer every few seconds, can be a signal that your buddy is not in a happy place. Actions out of character, overconfidence, panic, can be signs of narcosis. Read the signs, and take the appropriate actions.”

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

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

“Poor communication and buddy skills often go unnoticed on recreational dives but for technical dives or on dives with three divers, these skills become much more important.

“In a buddy pair you only have one other person to keep track of, this makes communications fairly straightforward. When diving in a trio you now have two others to keep track of and so you spend more time looking for the third person. As you are unfamiliar with diving in a trio, all three of you are likely to be moving around and looking for the other two, which makes the task even more difficult.

“This problem occurs because divers don’t usually know where to look for the other divers, especially in a trio or more. If you don’t even know where your buddy is then you have no chance of communicating with them. One of the key principles of team diving is having agreed positions. Common positions when diving in a three are to dive in a line, either one in front of the other or side by side, or alternatively in an arrow head position.

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

32

behind can use their torch to signal the diver in front if they need to get their attention.

“The skills required to be a good buddy are the same as those required to be a good team diver and vice-versa. By adopting some of the team diving methods used by technical divers we can improve our communication skills even if we are carrying out a recreational dive no-stop dive.”

NB: All following content is taken directly from the following SSI student course materials: SSI XR Cavern Course/SSI XR Wreck Course/SSI Night and Limited Visibility Course One aspect of which makes scuba diving appealing is the ability to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the environment. Communication without the ease of verbal exchange is an obstacle which divers must overcome.

The ability to communicate can be compounded by either an overhead environment, team member’s distance of separation, visibility and differences in lighting systems.

Communication is only successful if the message transmitted is understood by the intended receiver. Divers have a common language used underwater which can be just as effective as surface communication so effective that divers of different languages may understand and safely conduct a dive in a team formation.

There are various methods of communication that can be used underwater: Light communication - If dive team members each have compatible light sources, light signals are a very effective form of communication especially in any type of overhead diving or ares of low visibility. If detailed signaling is needed, light can be shined on normal hand signals.

Hand communication - Hand signals may vary from one geographical location to another, so it is important that you are familiar with a common understanding of the most widely used hand signals.

Touch communication - Touch communication is sometimes referred to as the Rimbach method, so named after pioneer cave diver Donald N Rimbach invented several ways of silent touch communication. Touch communication is used widely in overhead environments.

Written communication - Written communication is the most reliable form of communication, but it takes time, needs visibility, and requires the use of both of the diver’s hands. Written messages should be short and specific to avoid endless writing. n

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STUART PHILPOTT is a virtual regular at the off-the-beaten-track destination of El Quseir in Egypt, and here he sums up the appeal of this hidden gem Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT

a i n i d r a S t Egyp a i s e n o d n I Mauritius

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N

estled between the bustling tourist resorts of Hurghada and Marsa Alam is the ancient port of El Quseir. In comparison, daily life is much quieter and far less commercial, more in keeping with old-style Egypt. Since my first visit nearly a decade ago, I have been summoned back more times than I can remember. My last trip covered the Miss Scuba UK finals and as part of the experience, the four girls were invited along to the primary school, meet local dignitaries and get involved with beach clean-ups as well as learn the art of underwater modelling. I actually got to see a different side to El Quseir, one showing a strong community spirit with traditional values.

Scuba diving has to be the top activity with a huge variety of shore and boat diving sites on offer, including caverns, drop-offs and coral gardens. Accommodation is not as plentiful as the other major tourist destinations, but there is still a reasonable selection of budget camps, two- and three-star hotels and all-inclusive five-star luxury resorts to choose from.

The Mövenpick, Flamenco Beach and Radisson Blu resort hotels are located to the north of the main city centre. A few km still further north is the ever-popular Roots Camp owned and managed by Brit couple Steve Rattle and Clare Meadows. Moving south there are a number of smaller hotels, including the Fanadir. Extra Divers are resident at the Mövenpick and Subex at the Radisson Blue. There are also a number of independent dive centres operating around the harbour area.

Getting there couldn’t be any easier as both Hurghada and Marsa Alam receive direct flights from the UK. Some airlines are even laying on

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additional flights this coming winter. Marsa Alam is probably the best choice as the airport is much closer (approximately 70km) with a transfer time of around one hour. Hurghada is twice the distance but offers a broader range of flights, including Easyjet, Egyptair, Thomson and Thomas Cook. If transfers are not included in the package deal, it’s a case of haggling with a local taxi driver, but make sure the price is agreed before leaving. The main Highway 65 reminded me of something from a Mad Max movie set. It’s just a long, straight, desolate stretch of tarmac with nothing but rolling sand dunes on one side and sparkling blue sea on the other. Having experienced the seat-gripping journey several times, I’m sure that most Egyptian drivers think they are playing a part in the movie.

Most of the coastline is one giant shore-diving site. The only real restriction is gaining access to the shoreline and, in some cases, clambering across the fringing coral reef. My very first dive was at a site called Serib Kebir, which has a labyrinth of caverns to explore. We kitted up under a shaded area on the sandy beach and then just waded in. I was guided around the coral wall to a gloomy-looking entrance. The cavern system turned out to be far more elaborate than I had expected. Sunbeams broke through the coral ceiling reminding me of laser lights in a nightclub. At times it was quite a tight squeeze through the rocky corridors, but some of the inner chambers were big enough for the whole group to fit inside. Good buoyancy and finning skills are essential otherwise we would have been immersed in a sand cloud. This was the ideal site to run a Cavern Diver course. Back in the blue I was followed by a school of 20 or more barracuda. The hard corals were in good condition but marine life was

“From what began as a few chalets and a main restaurant now includes an on-site swimming pool, bar/reception area, beachside restaurant and a shore-diving base” 37

a little sparse. I had a quick look around the canyon and found a huge leopard ray buried in the sand. Frustratingly I didn’t have my camera and it was far too deep for a closer inspection.

After a few days of intense shore diving, it made a welcome change to jump aboard a day boat. At a site called Irg Lassal, we waited at least an hour for the waves to calm down but it was well worth it. The dive guide circumnavigated the big seamount in a clockwise direction. I was teased by two Arabian angels nibbling on the hard corals. I tried to get them both in the frame, but heavy surge kept throwing me off balance. The site was teeming with fish life from anthias and lionfish to coral grouper. I checked out three or four smaller pinnacles nearby and they were also awash with colourful corals and marine life. We went around the site twice and then started to ascend to the surface. I glanced back and there was a turtle staring right at me. The metre-long hawksbill was totally un-phased and not put off by our exhaled bubbles. In fact, the feisty character even started to munch on my camera dome. We spent at least ten minutes with the hawksbill.

Most of the time I was rebuffing its advances, for once the turtle was just too close for my autofocus lens to lock on to.

Further up the coast we stopped at a site called Utopia, which just happened to be the reef directly in front of the Utopia Hotel.

We got dropped off by the support Zodiac and drifted along the coral wall back towards the day boat. Maximum depth at the site was around 40m. I had set my camera for wide angle so was looking for bigger subjects. There was a nice-sized pufferfish but

it didn’t stick around for very long. A non-moving giant clam shell was an easier target. Just before reaching the boat, we came across a small shoal of juvenile batfish and for once they weren’t camera shy.

El Quseir has a jetty but don’t expect to see a plush marina loaded with bars, restaurants and mega yachts. There are a few reasonable places to eat - El Ferdous fish restaurant is probably the most popular. Normally I visit with a big group of divers and we reserve a long table outside at the rear of the restaurant overlooking the sea. It’s a really nice atmosphere and they always serve up a great spread. Even the local cats come out to say hello!

Most of the beachside hotels have a house reef dive. At the Fanadir conditions weren’t the best, but at least I managed to get a feel for what was on offer. I walked across broken corals to the entry point about 30 metres off the beach. Boots are essential as the uneven corals are awkward to walk on, especially in full diving kit. The entry itself was quite novel and involves swimming through a cave. There is a line to follow, or if need be, grab hold of. This brought me out on to the open reef. The stirred-up sand had reduced visibility to around five or six metres. I could see a big boulder in front but this turned out to be a huge one-and-ahalf metre turtle. It was obviously trying to take refuge from the choppy conditions. Throughout the rest of the dive my two guides acted as a spotters, pointing out macro subjects for me. These included scorpionfish, blue-spotted rays, crocodilefish, octopus and a selection of nudis.

Over the years I have managed to sample a variety of accommodation from dead plush to clean but basic. The award-winning luxury five-star Mövenpick is located a few km outside of the central hubbub. This was the first hotel to open in the area back in March 1995. They are usually busy all year round and have more than 50 percent repeater guests. One couple had returned a record 44 times! The hotel management describe divers as their ‘bread and butter’. This is a big, sprawling, family friendly hotel (200,000 sq metres) with numerous beachside bars, swimming pools and a white sandy beach with safe, shallow water.

Roots Camp is a popular choice for visiting UK divers. Joint owners Steve and Clare really do make everybody feel right at home. Over the past seven years I have seen Roots Camp go through many changes. Each development phase has revealed another round of improvements. From what began as a few chalets and a main restaurant now includes an on-site swimming pool, bar/reception area, beachside restaurant and a shore-diving base. There are different types of accommodation to suit all budgets. I’ve always stayed in the chalets. They

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“This attracted an army of predators starting with bottom-dwelling scorpions, stonefish, morays and octopus to mid-water trumpets, jacks, titan triggers and barracuda”

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Roots Red Sea is managed by British-owned-andrun PADI five-star IDC Pharaoh Dive Club, and this chilled-out, laid-back dive resort lets you get away from the hubbub of daily life and relax, dive and soak up the Egyptian atmosphere.

It has a restaurant, bar, the all-important sheesha corner, freshwater pool, and its own private beach on Abu Sauatir Bay, which provides access to a colourful house reef. Accommodation ranges from basic-but-comfortable Eco Huts through Deluxe Chalets to Boutique Rooms. www.rootsredsea.com

are clean and comfy with air-con, satellite TV, fridge, mini bar and an en-suite.

Steve has always said that Roots is more like a club than a dive centre. In the evenings, everybody sits around chatting about diving and life in general - there might even be a guitar strumming. It certainly oozes a relaxed, chilled-out atmosphere.

Even though I am quite familiar with Roots Camp house reef, there are always a few marine life surprises. On one occasion, I watched a big grouper preying on a pufferfish. The puffer had blown up like a balloon and was stuck inside the grouper’s mouth. After five minutes of stalemate, the grouper swam off behind the honeycombed coral wall so I didn’t get to see the outcome. Either way, I bet the grouper had serious jaw ache. This site is ideal for underwater photography, especially beginners. I have even taught one or two courses here in the past.

My favourite dive site has to be ‘The Rock’, which is about a 1km Zodiac ride

40

from the main harbour jetty. Steve found and named the site a few years ago. We passed between two giant coral-carpeted sea mounts. From my vantage point above I could see bannerfish, grouper, puffer and a free-swimming giant moray foraging for a meal. A shoal of yellowtail barracuda cruised past us, probably en-route to The Rock.

Steve pointed out an isolated pinnacle surrounded by sand at a depth of 18m. It was awash with huge anemones, and the intense red outer casings really stood out in my camera strobes. There must have been around 300 to 400 anemones creating a vast field of activity across the sea floor. Each anemone had its resident clownfish family, domino damsels, shrimps and crabs. This attracted an army of predators starting with bottom-dwelling scorpions, stonefish, morays and octopus to mid-water trumpets, jacks, titan triggers and barracuda. After searching for about 15 minutes, I managed to find my ideal anemone and as if on cue, an octopus moved into the foreground just as I lined up for a shot. Click-click, with Clare in the background, blonde locks flowing and shining a torch beam at two posing anemonefish, the composition couldn’t have worked out any better. As a reward I even got a magazine front cover.

El Quseir might not be the liveliest place in the world, but after a hard days diving, a few ice cold beers and a tasty bite to eat, I was more than content. Maybe I’m just getting old! No doubt I’ll be heading back to El Quseir again sometime in the future, probably to cover another interesting and exciting storyline. Roots Camp is having its tenth anniversary birthday bash later this year, so if I needed an excuse this would do very nicely. One of Steve’s infamous beach parties will definitely stir up a sandstorm or two! n

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CLOSE UP, MACRO & SUPER MACRO DUXY turns his attentions to the smaller end of the scale, looking at close-up, macro and super macro photography PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL ‘DUXY’ DUXFIELD

L

ast month, we had a look at one of the mainstays of underwater photography, which was wide-angle shooting. This issue, I would like to look at the other end of the scale and this is close-up photography, and its variants macro and super macro.

First of all, we’ll look at the kit involved and then we’ll look at the differences, the techniques and finally how to inject a bit of style and substance to your shots.

WHAT KIT DO I NEED?

If you’re shooting with a mirrorless camera or a DSLR, then you will have probably made the decision on lenses, as part of the initial buying decision, but the major difference is that in all but a few scenarios you will choose a specific macro lens to attach to your camera before you get in the water, but you can extend the range still further by attaching extra lenses, or diopters as they are more commonly known, to the end of the port, and just like with the compacts, these can be attached and detached underwater. With the main advantage being that you can now really achieve huge levels of magnification, you can shoot things as tiny as the rhinopore of a nudibranch or just the eyes of a shrimp perhaps.

Just a final word about GoPros and similar cameras here. As they are primarily designed as an action camera, they have a very wide field of view, and also don’t have any sort of flash

matter

Even if you have a fairly modest compact camera, they nearly all have the ability to zoom in and also to access a variety of close-up modes, usually found within the menu as a tulip symbol. If accessed, it will let you get much closer than usual, and to shoot within the range of under a foot or so away.

This brings you into the zone of being able to fill the frame with things like a lionfish, a blue spotted ray or even a portrait shot of a giant moray, all subjects that are pretty straightforward to shoot, as long as you go nice and steady, not making twitchy movements, and quite rewarding when you first start taking underwater pictures.

To be honest, even after many years of shooting, I still feel drawn to a craggy-looking moray or a curious lionfish, and they are still great subjects that I love to shoot. That’s the beauty of underwater photography - every shot you take is unique, and you never stop honing your skills.

If in shallow water with plenty of light, there’s no reason you can’t shoot using available light, shooting RAW, or carrying out a custom white balance reading to get your colours correct and banish those blues.

However, once you get a little deeper, or are shooting in more murky conditions, then you’ll really need to use some extra light. This can even just be the little flash on your camera to start with, as below a foot or so, you shouldn’t get too much backscatter, and it’s one less piece of kit to think about when you’re learning to get the dive skills to get closer to the subject. Within time, though, most people will gravitate to using external lighting.

They will often buy a video light thinking that it can be pressed into service for shooting short clips, beware of this though, as even very powerful video lights are actually much less powerful than even the built-in flash on the camera, despite how it may appear.

I’m not saying it can’t be done, in fact I have

used them myself in certain circumstances for stills, but you need to be really close - less than a couple of inches to achieve any sort of fast-enough shutter speed to keep yourself steady enough, or resorting to using high ISOs, which will lower your quality.

Often using the built-in flash is better, but even better still is to purchase a strobe, mounted on a tray and arm, that will quickly become indispensable to you as your macro-shooting rig.

If shooting compact then there are also third-party external lenses attached by way of adapters or screwed into your housing at the front port that will extend the range of close up you can achieve. Now you will be in the realm of capturing shrimps and nudibranchs, and other subjects as tiny as your little fingertip.

This will vary depending on camera used and accessories available, and just like with the wide-angle lenses is an important consideration, and questions to ask when you buy a camera for use underwater.

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option, so they aren’t the best option for macro photography, however undeterred a lot of folk have achieved good results, by attaching third-party macro lenses, and providing light using video lights, so if this is all you’ve got available, don’t give up. You may not be able to achieve the same sort of results that those with regular compacts, mirrorless or DSLRs get, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t try.

It’s more power to your elbow at the end of the day.

ALL VARIATIONS ON THE SAME THEME

I often get asked what is the difference between close-up, macro and super macro. As I said earlier, close up is usually what the camera can achieve unaided, and this is normally tested to its limit within six inches or so depending on the model.

The actual definition of true macro used to be if the subject is the same size on the film (remember that) as in real life, which is sometimes seen defined as 1:1. These days though, with such a variance in sensor size, it’s a bit of a moot point.

I usually explain to folk that it’s around the range of recording everything from about six inches to an inch or so away from the camera, but this can vary so much with different cameras and lenses that it’s

a very variable concept of where close up starts and macro finishes.

The realm of super macro using differing power diopters is when you end up very close to the subject, with high magnification, shooting really tiny creatures or parts of creatures that may be smaller in size than your fingertips.

TECHNIQUES USED

First and foremost the most-useful technique to improve is your diving skill. A personal bugbear of mine is underwater photographers using sloppy diving technique and poor weighting and trim, and then getting close to the subject by simply laying down on the bottom - it gets us all a bad name, and isn’t necessary. Think twice about embarking on your underwater photography journey prior to you getting your basic dive skills mastered.

The best way to look at this is that it can be a win-win all round. Your underwater photography will improve, but possibly even more importantly is that your overall dive skills will get a boost.

Last month, there was a great article in the mag about the benefits of proper weighting and trim - it was a really useful read.

MY ESCORTED TRIPS

matter

A great way to learn how to use new kit and develop your skills is on a dedicated trip. My escorted trips are for all and if you have a GoPro or compact, I can improve your skills and realise your full potential in an easy-going, relaxed environment. If you’re a more-experienced shooter, my itineraries and locations are carefully picked to be very photographically productive.

My first this year is at Marsa Nakari on 27 September - contact Oonasdivers on 01323 648924 and speak or email: Lydia@oonasdivers.com I will help you have a great holiday, and improve your photo skills along the way. I have further trips to the Philippines and two more to the Red Sea this year, both land-based and on a liveaboard. You can access more trip info on Facebook with my Duxy Trips Page, or contact Oonasdivers, or Ultimate Diving on 0800 112 3275 or email: Marcelina@ultimatediving.co.uk

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THE NEXT STEP

Macro photography can be very rewarding, and just not spooking a lizardfish and capturing it in fine detail as a fish ID shot is often all you might want. I like fish ID shots as much as the next person but, I like to exercise my creative muscles a bit by using different techniques to try and inject a bit more style and substance to the pictures. I don’t always succeed, but half the fun is in the trying.

One way is to use wider apertures than the norm. Shallow depth of field macro photography is very much in vogue at the moment. It allows you to inject a dreamy smoothness to the out of focus areas of your pictures, and concentrates your attention on the main point of interest, often the eyes. It’s also very useful when you find yourself in parts of the world famed for extreme macro photography - I’m talking about the muck diving hotspots, in parts of the Philippines or Indonesia, where the main issue is often that your subject, while beautiful, may well be living on an awful messy dingy background. Shallow depth of field can be a godsend in these areas as you can play down the negative aspects of the backgrounds by accentuating the creature itself.

By going slowly and carefully find your subject, and decide how you want to shoot it. If there is a queue for a shot of something, what I do is I set up my camera exposure, and flash positioning while I wait for the other shooter to get their pictures. I do this by previsualising the picture, and getting things lined up by using my hand or fingers as a proxy for the shot in hand.

For example, if the subject is the size of my fist, I will simulate the picture using my fist at roughly the same distance and change my settings until I get a correctly exposed shot of my fist, while I wait. This then means that I have the minimum of tweaking to do when it’s my turn to get in close, as my aperture, shutter speeds and strobe settings will be already pretty close to ideal. If the subject is smaller than my fist, I simply use my fingers to line up my shot and camera settings beforehand.

When starting out in macro photography keep things simple traditionally this type of photography has meant that it’s pretty normal to choose the smaller apertures available to you. With compacts this is usually around f8 or f11, with mirrorless cameras this may be from f16 to f22, and with full frame and DX sensor DSLRs this may be from f16 to as small as f45.

These tiny apertures will give you the maximum amount of margin for error with your focusing, as when you’re really close, the depth of field (amount in focus) becomes increasingly less or slim, and so you’re chances of getting the eyes in focus are a bit higher.

FINALLY, BE CAREFUL YOU DON’T BECOME AN ADDICT!

Macro photography is very rewarding, and is often the type of underwater photography that attracts the most converts. It’s rewarding because it very quickly allows you to get great results with just basic skills, and thus you find that you’ll get great feedback from your friends, and what’s not to like about a hugely magnified shot of a nudibranch, or a tiny crustacean, printed up and framed on your wall. But don’t let it stop you branching out into other areas of underwater photography, although there’s much worse things you could be addicted to I suppose… n

BIOGRAPHY

matter

Since returning from Egypt working as a guide in the early noughties, Duxy has been at the forefront of underwater photography technology and how it has changed the way we all now take underwater photographs. Working as Sales Manager for the two leading underwater photography retailers, and more lately as the Photography Travel Specialist for a multi-award-winning dive travel agent, his light-hearted take on the diving world and underwater photography has resulted in him being a regular speaker at the Dive Shows and at clubs up and down the country, sharing his knowledge and experience with all levels and abilities of underwater photographer.

He likes nothing better than to get a beginner started on the route to rewarding pictures, and approaches the subject with an inclusive, rather than exclusive, manner.

He now has more than 40 escorted trips under his belt and is continuing to develop new ways to pass on the knowledge and share the love. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter @takeiteasyduxy and Facebook as Take iT Easy.

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Making your hobby

YOUR BUSINESS

BOB ARCHELL - diver, Member of the Institute of Professional Investigators, ex-Marine Loss Adjuster of 26 years standing and Managing Director of 30-year-old Dive Master Insurance Consultants Ltd – looks back at how his addiction to the sea started at a young age Photographs courtesy of DIVE MASTER INSURANCE CONSULTANTS LTD AND MARK EVANS

N

ever make your hobby your business can be a wise phrase to keep in mind, because working in the recreational dive trade is hard physical and technical work, but for most people that fall in love with the amazing underwater world on their first dive, it can be a compelling reason to make it their occupation.

For me, however, fate provided a different path to my career choice, and it started with a visit to Barry Island beach when I was four years old on a day trip with my mother. This started my love affair with the sea, and the intoxicating smells of ozone and the ‘roar of the sea’ even when only holding a shell to my ear, and squawking seabirds overhead in a crystal-clear blue sky, and silvery fish darting about in the clear blue waters. I was ‘hooked’ as a child and I still recall that glorious memory from 1955!

Life for my parents in post-war Warwickshire wasn’t that rosy and so they decided, like many thousands did in those days, to up sticks and emigrate to Australia. The journey to Australia on board the Sitmar Line ship the Fair Sky continued my addiction to the vast ocean and those wonderful far-flung places we visited enroute.

In Australia, we thrived and prospered and there were many trips to the coast for all sorts of watersports, including ‘skin diving’ (mostly breathhold spearfishing), but my addiction to the underwater world and my imagination was also fed by the must-see TV series Sea Hunt! The main character Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges) played the irrepressible and clearly indestructible underwater private detective, and he fast became my role model, and by 13 years of age I had experienced my first scuba dive!

A family tragedy forced us to return to England in the early 1960s and by 1967, after leaving school, I’d started my insurance career at a Lloyd’s Syndicate.

By 1977 I had moved careers from conventional insurance to the investigation of marine claims and losses.

Being perceived as the ‘diver’ in the Loss Adjusters Company I worked for, I was singled out to handle the more-bizarre ‘wet claims’ no one else wanted to do. My first underwater investigation was to investigate the reported theft of an eel boat based above Thurrock on the River Thames. This was when eel trapping was still continuing on the Thames. I met the owner who, of course, gave me a glowing report on the condition of his eel boat and

46

“We put all our efforts into building the Dive Master Insurance brand and business, and the company continues to develop and diversify on an international basis” WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

its undoubted high value. It seemed an open-andshut case on his say-so, but curiosity got the better of me and I started asking around to see if anyone had seen the boat go missing.

There was an architect’s office that overlooked the trot of moorings, so I buzzed the door bell and was met by the occupant. I asked if he’d seen the boat being taken away. Somewhat surprised, he told me that no one would want to steal it as it had sunk many times before and was in derelict condition. Then he asked me if I could count, and I agreed I could. “Then count the bloody mooring buoys,” he said, and closed the door. There was one missing, and clearly the missing eel boat was on the end of it sitting on the bottom of the River Thames.

Later I returned with my scuba kit and a friend with a very large inflatable boat. We waited for slack high water and I did my first dive in the Thames Tideway. At first it was like sticking my head into a pot of tea, just brown and getting darker as I descended. Then I landed on the deck of the sunken eel boat. What happened then was remarkable and if anyone dives in the Thames Tideway I am sure they will agree with this. The suspension of silt in the water column just started to drop down to the bottom and in a few minutes, I had about a meter of vis. That was enough to make a tow rope fast to the boat and detach the mooring buoy that had collapsed.

“The main character Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges) played the irrepressible and clearly indestructible underwater private detective, and he fast became my role model, and by 13 years of age I had experienced my first scuba dive!”

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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I surfaced and my friend gunned the engine and ‘up raised the missing eel boat’! Towed to the shallows and pumped out, we returned it to the mooring trot and notified the owner that apparently, his boat had been ‘returned’.

Further and equally bizarre scuba investigations followed, including a couple more in the Thames, the last one in the Thames being ‘The Case of The One-legged Fisherman’, who was picked up by a local angling boat with a party of anglers on-board. Witness statements were that the one-legged fisherman was seen standing on the superstructure of his sinking boat trying to rock it from side to side. That was difficult to ignore when all ‘12’ anglers and the skipper said the same thing!

The angler’s boat took him off but were suspicious he had deliberately sunk his vessel and was trying to rock the last bit of air out of it so it would finally sink to the bottom. This time the search was out in the outer Thames Estuary and aided by the angler’s boat that had picked up the fisherman, we had a pretty good Decca fix on where the wreck should be. We would dive on the site to see if we could establish the cause of the loss, which had happened in flatcalm conditions.

We ended the day’s search without finding the wreck, which may have drifted away and sunk elsewhere, but when I got back to the office, I was advised the fisherman had ‘withdrawn’ his claim. Apparently, he knew we were out there looking for it and decided not to pursue his claim further.

There were many more interesting investigations, many abroad and some involving the investigation teams within the UK’s Marine Intelligence Team and Customs Investigation sections, where I was able to use my scuba-diving background. But regulations in the 1980s were starting to change and for the right reasons. Commercial diving was becoming a risky activity and it was clear the UK government would legislate to control it more rigorously.

By 1983, I had started my own Marine Loss Investigation Bureau investigating marine losses, accident and death claims, but in 1986 over lunch with an underwriter, the concept of Dive Master Insurance Consultants was born and my wife Sue and I launched the new company on 1 June 1987.

Giving up on diving at work in 1991, I continued with the investigation side of our business, but retired from active claims investigations in 2003 to devote all my time to Dive Master Insurance. We put all our efforts into building the Dive Master Insurance brand and business, and the company continues to develop and diversify on an international basis.

Dive Master Insurance is now an international brand and its reputation is second to none on the quality and range of insurance products it has innovated, and continues to develop for divers and the dive trade, resort operators and related service providers.

Most recreational divers will know us from the dive shows that we attend both here and overseas, and seeing our adverts and sponsorship of worthwhile marine-related charities when those are rescuing or defending the marine life that is so dear to all us divers.

Our UK staff of eight is divided into underwriting, claims and administration. We are also supported by a number of overseas producers and commission-based representatives and brokers. So we have an extensive network of connections to the various uses that diving is put to recreationally, professionally and commercially.

We do business in the UK, EU, Red Sea, Central and Southern America, Maldives, Southeast Asia and Australia. And insure underwater projects of all kinds, from the films and TV series you see to underwater scientific and commercial diving projects.

We have also diversified into resort leisure risk activities of various kinds, including four different types of ‘Sea Bobs’, SNUBA, helmet diving and, of course, SCUBA and SSUBA. We are authorised by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, have been Approved Cover Holders at Lloyd’s since 1991, and underwrite on a direct basis or reinsurance terms based platforms.

We provide much more than just recreational diving insurance, so if you have an underwater project you know where to come, but we have never forgotten where are roots are!

Our firm is built on the same love and passion for the ocean that that little boy of four had on that day on the beach. And we have been blessed to work in this unique industry populated by the most-amazing, talented and passionate people you can imagine.

So my advice is that if you see the opportunity to turn your hobby into your career, why not go for it! n

“At first it was like sticking my head into a pot of tea, just brown and getting darker as I descended. Then I landed on the deck of the sunken eel boat” WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR SHARK & RAY CONSERVATION Ask your PADI® Instructor for the New Silky Shark Limited Edition Diver Certification Card

The silky shark is classified as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species™.

Popular with divers in many places, the silky shark is among the shark species most commonly captured in pelagic longline and purse seine gear set primarily for tunas. Much work remains to control its overfishing, but thanks to support of divers like you in 2016, Project AWARE – working alongside other organizations and governments – successfully advocated for international trade controls coming into effect in 2017.

WWW.PROJECTAWARE.ORG Photo copyright Rodrigo Friscione

To be in the running to win this fantastic prize and truly light up your life, simply log on to the website: www.scubadivermag.com/competition and fill in your contact details. It’s as easy as that.

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AN ANCHOR DIVE LIGHT SERIES 3K 20° SPOT WITH UMBILICAL AND WRECK CANISTER WORTH £650!

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FREEDIVING Q&A

INTERVIEW WITH A MERMAID Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief MARK EVANS chatted to Linden Wolbert, who has found fame as one of the most-successful professional mermaids in the business, but how did she get started?

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEPHAN WHELAN/DEEPERBLUE.COM, GREG BROWNING, RIC FRAZIER AND COURTESY OF MERMAIDS IN MOTION LLC

Q: When did you first get into freediving?

A: I learned about the sport of freediving in 2004, tried a monofin for the first time in 2005, and then trained with PFI and got my Advanced Freediver rating. I then travelled to Tokyo with the US Freediving Team for a televised competition in November 2006 and received my Level E AIDA International Judge certification.

Q: When did you first don a mermaid’s tail, and did you expect to become a professional mermaid?

A: The first time I tried on a monofin was when Mandy-Rae Cruickshank-Crack let me try hers on in Grand Cayman after she finished her dives for the day during the Sink Faze freediving competition. I was instantly hooked... I loved it! I went so fast underwater, I couldn’t believe it. I truly felt like a mermaid!

At that moment, I dreamed of creating a mermaid tail to accompany this amazing piece of dive equipment. I knew there was a lot of potential there for creative outlet... which manifested into ocean ‘edutainment’ for children. My dream was realised!

Q: What events and shoots do you get involved with as a professional mermaid?

A: I have such a wide range of things I do as a mermaid. My ethos is to educate and inspire children to learn about and protect our oceans. My YouTube series, Mermaid Minute, has garnered millions of views and is the project I am most proud of.

I began my career doing high-end parties and events in Hollywood, which really took off quickly. Since I was the only mermaid performing in Los Angeles, word got around rapidly about my company. I swiftly gained a list of A-list clientele, which has made for some ‘mermazing’ experiences and stories! I have many repeat clients today who have hired me since my humble beginnings in 2005. I do birthday parties, al-fresco hotel rooftop pool parties, aquarium swims, commercial events, fundraisers and charity benefits, you name it. In addition, I have done underwater stunt doubling for films and commercials. Perhaps my favourite performances as a mermaid have been granting wishes for ill children around the world with life-threatening conditions.

NEW IN FREEDIVING GEAR simplyscuba W W W . S I M P LY S C U B A . C O M

DeeperBlue.com is the World’s Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. We’ve been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

Q: Back to that amazing tail. What are the most-important attributes for a mermaid’s tail, and how was your tail constructed?

A: I am a minimalist. I like things to look simple and sleek... and my mermaid tail is no exception.

I dreamed of creating a tail that was very realistic, hiding my legs and heels very effectively. I desired a tail built for speed and endurance, that would withstand all manner of challenging environments. Swimming pools, oceans, hot springs, puddles, lakes/lochs, sandy beaches, rocky coastlines. With the ‘kelp’ of my friend and Hollywood special effects artist Allan Holt, this vision became a reality after seven months of true blood, sweat and tears. The shape of my tail fluke is a crescent, unlike many of the other ‘tails’ out there, which are shaped like a whale or dolphin tail. I wanted my design to appear unique, but also to emulate some of the fastest fish in the world.

We created a mould of my body, and then sculpted clay around a fiberglass replica of my legs. A large negative mould of that clay tail was created after we hand-sculpted the entire thing, scale by scale. It was painstaking. We injected a medical-grade silicone into the mould with some neoprene and a customised monofin and voila... (well, I really simplified the process for you here!) we had a gorgeous, realistic, resilient mermaid tail that lasted me for almost ten years! Tail 2.0 was created from the same mould by Vincent Van Dyke Effects. I am still using that tail today!

It weighs roughly 50 pounds on land and is neutrally buoyant in the water. It is a true ‘mer-sterpiece’, but is a real bugger to travel with!

Q: What is your most-memorable experience as a professional mermaid?

A: My most-memorable experience was granting a wish for a little girl called Lauren Cosgrove in Scotland. I swam out of the frigid waters of Loch Lomond and sat with her on the shoreline, answering her questions about mermaids and the ocean. It was so captivating being there with her that I forgot how cold I was. When I got out of the water over 20 minutes later, I was severely hypothermic. It was worth every goose bump! Little Lauren’s face, her energy and the sense of wonder I shared with her was nothing short of pure magic.

Q: What is your most-embarrassing experience as a professional mermaid?

A: Hmmm. Great question! I’ve never had a wardrobe malfunction (thank goodness!) and I truly love what I do. I mean... I guess being asked to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Justin Timberlake at his surprise birthday party was quite embarrassing... since I have a horrible singing voice... and he clearly doesn’t... but he was very polite and smiled anyway. Bless him.

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FREEDIVING Q&A Q: You host the Mermaid Minute educational videos, and work tirelessly to promote the undersea world to children. Why are kids so important to you?

A: Yes! Mermaid Minute and ocean ‘edutainment’ is my passion. I fell in love with the oceans from afar. I grew up in landlocked Pennsylvania, and my only window into the ocean was the TV. I watched PBS, namely. I was enchanted by Jacques Yves Cousteau, NOVA, and wildlife documentaries from the BBC. Since my heart was captured by wildlife films and books at that tender age, I believe other children should be able to have that same experience, too. It is an age for seeds to be planted, and love of certain things to blossom. Kids are inheriting the planet from us. They are heralds for the future of our oceans and our earth. If they love something and care about it, they will shout about it from the rooftops! Why not encourage them to be ambassadors for our seas, so they will share it with all who will listen? They are little sea sponges who have boundless energy and enthusiasm to make a positive difference in this great world of ours! Kids are the best!

Q: You worked with BodyGlove to create a child’s monofin. What was that experience like, and how have they been received?

A: I partnered with BodyGlove in 2013 and designed my signature kid’s swim line, complete with monofins, PFDs (personal float devices), towels, boogie boards, masks, goggles and much more... and am continuing to develop adult monofins and other mermaid-inspired swim products for 2018. I never expected to be an ‘entrepremermaid’, but that is what has happened! It’s been a very exciting process, from which I have learned volumes! I could never have imagined I would be a product designer, but the experience has been extremely enriching. Taking what I know of swimming, ‘mergonomics’ and the water, I have done my best to help design functional, beautiful products with the support of an incredible team. We are thrilled with the continued growth and popularity of the Mermaid Linden by BodyGlove line. I truly

believe we created the best children’s monofin on the market.

I cannot wait for the adult monofin release in several months, along with some other top-secret products!

Q: What does the future hold for Mermaid Linden?

A: Based on my career history, anything is possible! My wildest dreams have been granted beyond expectation. Opportunities have come up beyond my wildest imagination! I sometimes reflect back over the past decade or so and cannot believe how much has happened... where I’ve travelled, the people I’ve met, the work I have produced, the children I have smiled with. And yet, there is so much more I’d love to do! My ultimate dream for the future is to have a full-length ocean educational programme for children both online and on network television.And that’s just the start! We’ll have to ‘sea’ where the currents take me, I suppose… n

NEW IN SPEARFISHING GEAR simplyscuba W W W . S I M P LY S C U B A . C O M

FREEDIVING NEWS CROWDFUNDING FOR NEW OCTOPUS FREEDIVING LANYARD Pascal Berger of Switzerland-based Octopus released an innovative noseclip in 2016 to critical acclaim, and now he is back with a new product – a freediving lanyard.

A competitive deep freediver on the international circuit for a long time, he never found a lanyard he was totally happy with, so he decided to create his own version.

The Octopus lanyard combines a carbon composite polymer, which means it is super-light and hydrodynamic, as well as being corrosion-resistant. It is linked to a 360 degree swivel and a 100cm plastic-coated stainless steel cable, and a marine-grade polyester Velcro wriststrap.

Pascal is launching a crowdfunding campaign for May and June 2017 to raise the initial costs of €25,000 for injection moulding and production of the elastomer parts. In return for helping with initial costs, crowdfunders get a great initial discount of up to 60 percent off.

To find out more, head to the Octopus lanyard page on www.indiegogo.com.

Dahab freedivers hosts Homar Leuci for freediving workshop Freedivers who want to improve their relaxation and deep diving should head to Dahab in Egypt between 1-4 July 2017.

Dahab Freedivers is hosting a four-day workshop on new breathing patterns as well as diving in the Blue Hole with Italian CMAS World Champion Homar Leuci.

The workshop will cost €450 – this includes airport transfers and six nights at the Red Sea Relax Resort in an air-conditioned double room with breakfast. Should you want a single room there is a €50 supplement.

There is an option for just the workshop without any accom or transfers for €300.

For additional information and reservations, contact Dahab Freedivers on Facebook or email: info@dahabfreedivers.com

MESSAGE FROM THE DEEP

While the temperature is reaching boiling point over here in the UK HQ of DeeperBlue.com, we can see the summer freediving season hotting up too!

The lull between the ‘Wimbledon of Freediving’ Vertical Blue (check out last month’s extensive coverage) and the next major international competitions later in the summer means that freedivers across the world are taking the time to hone their skills in training sessions and courses across the world.

Now might be the perfect opportunity for you to find your local freediving club, instructor or dive centre and take inspiration from world-class athletes to get your freediving career started. (NB: If you are looking for a local freediving instructor or centre, take a look at: www.freedivingcourses.com).

Talking of major competitions, we’re getting rather excited about the back-to-back competitions in Roatan later this year. The Caribbean Cup and the AIDA Freediving Depth World Championships will see some amazing diving between August 19th and September 2nd. Stay tuned to these news pages for more on that in a later issue.

Stephan Whelan Founder, DeeperBlue.com

America’s Cup sailors undertake freediving training You would not expect that learning freediving would factor that highly in the arduous training undertaken by professional sailors, but the physical performance manager for the US team in the America’s Cup believes it all helps to get to the peak of fitness. Craig McFarlane compiled a tough mental and physical training regimen for the sailors on Oracle Team USA, which incorporated everything from brain games and weightlifting to freediving.

McFarlane believes that the freediving training helps aid the team members’ decision-making, and means they will not panic as much, and their heart rates won’t go so high. He also thought that the breathing exercises and lung expansion in freediving assists the sailors with keeping calm and in control when things get hectic in the prestigious America’s Cup.

MAYAN PRINCESS TO HOST 2017 CARIBBEAN AIDA FREEDIVING WORLD CUPS

Mayan Princess Beach and Dive Resort in Roatan, Honduras, will host a pair of freediving competitions this coming August - the AIDA 2017 Freediving World Cup, as well as the Freediving Caribbean Cup 2017.

Top athletes from five continents will be participating in this premier event just a couple of minutes away from Roatan’s famous West Bay Beach.

Caribbean Cup 2017 will take place 19-21 August while the AIDA 2017 Freediving Depth World Championships will happen 22 August 22 through 2 September.

San Simon Beach Club at Mayan Princess Beach and Dive Resort will be the event’s headquarters.

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l e v a r T

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REDISCOVER YOURSELF

“Here, often in shimmering sunlight, shoals of triggerfish, bream and barracuda enjoy hanging out under the massive ship’s crane which spans a large proportion of the wreck”

THE COMPLETE

ALGARVE GAVIN ANDERSON reports on how Portugal’s Algarve offers divers colourful reefs, myriad varieties of marine life and wrecks a-plenty, all a short flight from the UK Photographs by GAVIN ANDERSON

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ntil recently, I’d never thought of Portugal as somewhere to go diving, but while on a press trip to the Algarve back in the summer of 2014, I discovered there are some exciting the possibilities old and new. I’d been reporting on a very-exciting project known as ‘Ocean Revival’, which involved the sinking of no less than four ex-Portuguese Navy ships. Along with the other journalists who came from all over Europe and as far as the States, I’d been lucky enough to watch as explosives and fireworks spectacularly sent the largest and most-impressive of the four wrecks, the Hermenegildo Capelo, to the seafloor. We dived on the newly sunk frigate within 24 hours and found it upright sitting perfectly in 30m. Back then she was devoid of life, but it was exciting to see and imagine what she’d soon look like. That was made easier when I dived on two of the other ships that had already been sunk, a patrol boat and a corvette. They were sunk in October 2012 and despite the relatively short time underwater had already attracted an amazing amount of marine life.

The waters around this area are within a transition zone between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean environment, with several oceanic currents bringing a huge variety of marine life and deep-water nutrients. When biologists visited the wreck in 2014 they were amazed at the speed of colonisation.

Back then reports of the stern section, which is rarely dived and used as control study, had a garden of gorgonian fans approaching a foot in height. The biologist reckoned the wrecks were colonising at twice the speed on other artificial reefs such as the Scylla off Plymouth in the UK. The whole purpose of the Ocean Revival project was to attract divers to the area outside the busy tourist summer months of June, July and August.

Although there is good diving already along the Algarve, it’s not well known - and what better way to raise awareness than sinking four navy ships and inviting the world diving press to your backyard.

While we were there to watch the frigate sink and dive on the existing Ocean Revival wrecks, the host dive centre Subnauta were keen to show us that the area had lots of existing exciting dive sites to visit within the area.

The Algarve coast has for a long time been a busy route for commercial and military ships on their way to and from the Mediterranean and the rest of the world. There are ancient and more-recent shipwrecks lost in battle or in storms here. We were taken to just a few of them. They included a couple of cargo ships sunk by German U-boats in World War One, a beautiful old barge thought to have been lost in a storm sometime just after World War Two, and a much-older wreck that dated back to the 18th century – the Ocean. The Ocean was the Admiral ship of a group of 14 French vessels involved in the Battle of Lagos, the last big battle of the seven-year war between the British and French.

She was sunk in shallow water off the village of Salema in August 1759. In her time she was an impressive man o’ war, 60 metres long and armed with no less than 80 cannons.

She was discovered by local divers in the late 1960s and extensively salvaged.

Then in 1984, an underwater archaeological study group researched the wreck’s history and created information plaques and links between parts of the wreck that remained, enabling divers to take an underwater tour of the main points of interest. These included her massive anchor of mercy, which weighed more than three tons and spanned five and a half metres, some of the ship’s iron cannons, a large pulley block and hitch, and parts of the remaining wooden skeleton of

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the old ship are included in the tour. Not only is the dive a fascinating underwater museum, but it’s home to plenty of marine life. When we dived on the wreck we found conger eel inside the cannons, octopus on the sand, and schools of fish hovering around the wreck.

As well as many wrecks, there are some good reef dives along the Algarve where you can encounter a huge variety of fish and invertebrates, including cuttlefish, tompot blennies, gobies, huge scorpionfish, colourful wrasse and numerous species of nudibranch.

An amazing 150 species of nudibranch have been recorded along the Algarve coastline, including one nudibranch reckoned to be so rare a reward was posted for the first diver to produce a photograph of it. It’s called Algarvia alba and is around 6mm in length, pure white with a touch of orange around its head and rhinophores.

Most of us that have been to Portugal on holiday already will know the weather is normally great, with around 3,000 hours a year of sunshine. There are plenty of lowcost flights from most UK airports, and some great value-for-money accommodations to choose from. When you get there, you’ll also find your money goes quite far when it comes to eating out. If you want to explore two or three different diving areas, you’ll need at least ten days and a hire car, which is fairly cheap if organised in the UK - just watch out for ridiculous-priced damage waivers if you haven’t organised an annual overseas insurance before you go.

It’s generally best to dive in the mornings when the sea is often flat calm, as the afternoons can be a little on the breezy side.

Although we are talking about the Atlantic and cold water, the sea is generally around 7 degrees C warmer than the UK with temperature reaching highs of 21 degrees C in summer and never dipping much below 15 degrees C in winter. You do need to watch out for thermoclines, and though a 7mm wetsuit is usually perfect, if you feel the cold I’d advise bring a drysuit with you. n

OCEAN REVIVAL UPDATE

The Ocean Revival project was started back in 2007 by Luis Sa Couto. Its goal was to provide a unique underwater theme park for divers consisting of four ex-Portuguese Navy ships - Oliveira e Carmo, Ocean Patrol Zambezi, Hermenegildo Carvalho and Hydrographic Almeida Carvalho - sunk within a marine park just three miles off the coast from Portimao, one of the Algarve’s biggest towns and tourist hotspots.

I’ve dived on the wrecks each year since they’ve been sunk. Early on my favourite wreck was the Corvette. Although she was broken in two, the stern was dragged 200 metres away from the bow by incredibly strong surge and swell during a winter storm. She quickly attracted huge concentrations of mussels, which hung from her railings and other parts of her superstructure, along with barnacles, hydroids and even sponges. Up until 2016, the Corvette sat relatively upright but a winter storm has broken her hull and she is twisted at quite an angle now and looks like she’s been down a lot longer than just five years.

Although still a great dive, I’m not sure she’s my favourite anymore.

The Zambezi became listed almost right over on her side after one of the first winter storms. The smallest and deepest of the wrecks, she rests on a limestone ridge and being the nearest to the shore, suffers from the poorest visibility. Due to much of the wreck lying deeper and the often poor visibility, she is definitely an advanced dive. The last two years I’ve dived her I’ve never had more than three metres, which was a pity. The Zambezi does have something the other wrecks don’t - she rests on a rocky bottom metres away from a lovely gorgonian garden with myriad multi-coloured fans and sponges.

The Hermenegilgo Carvalho admiral frigate has become my favourite of the wrecks and is the one most divers want to see. Having dived her 24 hours after she sunk and again each year since, I have really enjoyed her amazing transformation. In 2014 her impressive bow gun and huge imposing bridge were no longer white and grey but clothed in camouflage green, while inside almost all the blue paint on the ship’s wheel was gone and a small group of bream were grazing on a healthy covering of algae. In 2015, loads more encrustation had appeared and many small schools of fish had made the wreck their home. In 2016, the wreck was looking incredibly covered in life and the fish arriving on the ship were getting bigger. Up towards the radar and main superstructure, huge shoals of mackerel and bream jostled for position in the current, along with the odd sea bass, bluefish and Atlantic triggerfish. Down on the deck level, octopus and congers can be seen poking their heads out of vents and pipes, while damselfish graze on thick algae.

The last of the wrecks to be sunk was the 64-metre Hydrographic Almeida Carvalho, which was sent to the bottom in October 2013. Like the frigate it rests upright on the seafloor in 30m, with much of her superstructure reaching up to much shallower depths of between 15-20m. Here, often in shimmering sunlight, shoals of triggerfish, bream and barracuda enjoy hanging out under the massive ship’s crane which spans a large proportion of the wreck. Her bridge isn’t as impressive as the frigate’s, but she has some impressive winching machinery on her bow. I haven’t dived her as much as the frigate so look forward to seeing how she is progressing the next time I fly out to the Algarve!

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HIDDEN DEPTHS

Hidden Depths is the only UK operator organising trips to the Ocean Revival, and has been since the project was completed. They also have knowledge of other wrecks in the area and where to go to find the many indigenous species of nudibranchs and Europe’s largest population of seahorses. Trips can be organised for a long weekend or longer, and as part of a two centre with Porto or Lisbon. www.hiddendepthsdiving.com

“You do need to watch out for thermoclines, and though a 7mm wetsuit is usually perfect, if you feel the cold I’d advise bring a drysuit with you” WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Dive Agency News Each month, we invite all the main dive training agencies to showcase new courses, forthcoming events, staff changes and promotions, and so on. scubadivermag.com/agencynews

The late Spring and early Summer has been a busy time for IANTD UK. Bob Scullion has progressed to Normoxic OC IT enroute to Trimix OC IT, bringing his decades of technical diving and instructing to a new level of instructor training. Bob’s speciality is the wrecks of North East England, where he is diving several times per week.

Elsewhere, IANTD has been talking to Gareth Lock of Human in the System about the inclusion of Human Factors training in their instructor training programme. His approach to upgrading and fine tuning how we work as individuals and teams is a natural fit with the IANTD philosophy, and they are looking forward to supporting his work here and with IANTD HQ in the US. In July, IANTD shall be supporting the CCR Trydive event at Vobster Quay. www.iantd.uk.com

Dive Guernsey are now offering SSI courses following their SSI crossover course in May, and Seastyle Diving in Worcester are now offering SSI courses following their SSI update course in April - welcome on board, guys. www.divessi.com

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THIRD ANNUAL PADI WOMEN’S DIVE DAY On 15 July, PADI dive centres, PADI divers and non-divers from every corner of the globe will come together to celebrate the third annual Women’s Dive Day. PADI members across the territories have shown great initiative to encourage more women, men and families to take up diving through their brilliantly imaginative events. This growing phenomenon has already surpassed the number of events held in 2016, which is testament to the support our members are giving the dive community. With less than one month to go, make sure you find a local Women’s Dive Day event near you and support the dive community through a day of fun, adventure and comradery: http://www2.padi. com/women-dive/

PADI REMAINS FOCUSED ON CONSERVATION 2017 marks a new chapter for PADI as the deeper purpose vision to inspire all divers has been reinforced by new, conservation-minded owners. Through ocean conservation, marine animal protection, community support and the healing powers of scuba, PADI aims to promote preservation to divers across the world.

“There’s been an exciting change of PADI® ownership to a consortium of conservation-minded family investors.

As PADI president and CEO, I’m committed to leading the organisation into its next 50 years, as is the entire PADI executive team. Together, we will continue to grow the PADI brand and through our stewardship efforts ensure PADI is not only the best in the world, but also best for the world.

“This is a positive transition for the organisation as the family wealth investors will hold and nurture PADI for many years. This group is closely aligned with PADI’s mission and supports PADI’s efforts to remain stewards for this amazing brand we all love. The new ownership group includes philanthropists drawn to PADI’s commitment to ocean conservation and preservation,” said Drew Richardson.

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RAID’s recently released First Aid programmes are proving increasingly popular with divers and non-divers alike. Rob Mackins, RAID’s First Aid Manager, has been travelling the country conducting a number of Instructor Cross Over courses due to high demand.

Certified RAID First Aid Instructors can deliver the Diver First Aid course as part of the RAID Master Rescue Course. However, the RAID suite of First Aid courses stretches far beyond diving-related skills. RAID Dive Centres can train their staff to deliver OFQUAL-accredited First Aid at Work programmes. This is the type of qualification that employers need their staff to hold in order to satisfy First Aid at Work HSE requirements.

RAID believes that First Aid Training is the perfect product to create additional income for Dive Centres in a time where diversification is becoming a necessity. This avenue is open to all RAID Dive Centre staff, not just RAID Diving Instructors. As the RAID First Aid at Work programmes are OFQUAL-accredited, all individuals delivering the training require a teaching qualification. In order to make this revenue stream accessible to all RAID Dive Centres, RAID UK and Malta can even deliver the Level 3 Award in Education and Training to allow potential First Aid At Work Instructors to meet the pre-requisite.

As RAID focuses ever more on the success of their instructors and dive centres, they took a bold move to incorporate the annual membership of First Aid Instructors into the yearly Scuba Instructor Membership. There is no additional cost for a RAID Instructor to be able to teach First Aid. www.diveraid.com

Fifty divers took a 30-minute rebreather trydive at Stoney Cove over the weekend of 20/21 May as part of BSAC’s veryfirst Try Tech event.

Hosted by BSAC East Midlands Coaching Region with support from BSAC’s Technical Group, Try Tech offered have-a-go sessions for ‘CCR first-timers’ as well as the chance for existing rebreather divers to try a different unit. The event was supported by APD Inspirations, Poseidon Se7en, Dive Soft Liberty and VMS Redbare.

Alongside half-hour, instructor-led open water dives, the weekend also provided presentation sessions and the opportunity to talk one-on-one with members of the technical and regional team.

Mike Rowley, BSAC Technical group lead, said the weekend surpassed all of the Try Tech team’s expectations. “I think we can safely say it achieved the aims of promoting BSAC Technical and our technical training courses, introducing people to rebreathers and BSAC as well as providing rebreather divers with the opportunity to try different rebreathers in a real dive. We were very grateful for the support from all four manufacturers,” he said.

The Try Tech event was a pilot which the BSAC team now hopes will point the way for future similar events. www.bsac.com/trainingdays

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The Biddulph Sub Aqua Club have been very busy training recently and have added three new Dive Leaders to the club. James Beech, Marc Lawrence and Phil Ector all successfully passed their assessments and have reached the 2* CMAS level, Dive Leader.

Members of Ilkeston and Kimberley Sub Aqua Club recently took part in a diver rescue training day at Dosthill Quarry.

Some members are also participating in the Sea Grass surveys, taking place 17/18 June. During the sea grass surveys, volunteers help collect information on seagrass density, animal abundance among other data to support the conservation efforts.

John Penny has passed his assessments and has now become a Club Diver with Calne Divers.

The active club Selby Aquanauts have had two recent trips to the Farne Islands.

As is often the case, the playful seals joined the fun, with one of them hitching a ride on a diver’s fin! The seal even bobbed up to the surface at the end of the dive as if to say goodbye to his playmates. www.saa.org.uk

Global Underwater Explorers have announced the dates and location of their 2017 conference. GUE is inviting all divers to join them in Gainesville, Florida, on 28-29 October.

There will be a range of international speakers, talking about a wide selection of diving topics, including John Kendall and Christine Grosart from the UK. We will also be running various workshops on the Sunday, and there will be social events each evening. For more information, or to book your place, then please visit: www.gue.com

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SCHOLARSHIP DIARY

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

FLOATING IN THE AMBIENCE PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MAE DORRICOTT

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pening the delivery box, I’m faced with the yellow shell of a complex-looking machine, the AP Evolution rebreather unit. This was to be my first challenge of the Scholarship, leaning how to dive again.

The difference between closed-circuit rebreathers and the more-commonly used open circuit set-up is that exhaled air in a rebreather system is recycled. Carbon dioxide is removed and a little bit of oxygen is added every so often to the ‘loop’ to maintain the best mix of gas possible at any given depth. Bearing in mind I’ve never attempted any kind of technical diving before, I was concerned that this may be out of my league.

Luckily, I had the guidance of Dive Tech legend Mark Powell to help me understand this intimidating device.

I was totally spoilt having such a renowned instructor all to myself for four days to complete the TDI CCR Air Diluent Course, and Mark’s patience and thoroughness gave me confidence in my new endeavour of diving.

It was during the pre-breathe, checking all components were in working order before the dive, that I started to become unnerved. It was a difficult balancing act trying to find the minimum volume of air required in the loop without struggling to get a full inhale and without feeling like you couldn’t breathe out a complete breath. This apprehension followed me into the water while we attached out bail-out cylinders and prepared to descend.

Kneeling down into the water, I exhale out of my nose to release gas from the loop to allow myself to break the surface tension of the water and descend. Hovering just underneath the blue side of the waterline I breathe in and out, no bubbles. It takes me a moment to soak in this strange experience.

Mark shows me the okay signal. I resist from sending him a huge smile back that would have broken the seal my lips form around the mouthpiece that prevent the release of air from the loop. So, I send the usual okay signal back… but I’m not just okay… I’m fantastic! Once I achieve minimum volume needed in the loop, additionally with a little bit of air in my drysuit, the buoyancy becomes effortless. Like a hoverfly, helicopter… a fish! We’re solid in the water column. Breathe in, breathe out… you haven’t moved but stayed in the exact same depth. You’re floating in the water column like an astronaut drifting in the vacuum of outer space. Gravity no longer has a hold on you and you’re in flight, ambient pressure diving.

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Due to the mechanics of the rebreather there isn’t a build of nitrogen in your system to the same extent as open circuit, which enables the diver to have a much longer dive. No complaints here! Not only that, since there are no bubbles you can get closer to wildlife without scaring them away, which is an invaluable tool in scientific diving and documenting wildlife. So, it’s safe to say that I am converted and cannot wait to take the rebreather away with me on the adventures to come!

A huge thanks to Mark Powell for his amazing instructing and to the Our-World Underwater Scholarship Society and Rolex for helping me make this step in my diving career. n

Mae Dorricott

Tales from

THE TANK

BY SOPHIE MONTGOMERY, DIVE OFFICER

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his month, I thought I would write about something a bit different to what’s going on in the aquarium, as we are really busy at the moment prepping for the summer holidays, so if you’re in the area, you should come down for a visit, meet everyone and perhaps even book yourself onto a dive!

So here in the aquarium everyone sees the sharks and all the different animals we have around the building, but not everyone gets to see or hear about what goes on behind the scenes, so I will tell you a little about that this month!

Quarantine is one of the most-important areas of the building, not only is it where are divers get in and out of the water, it’s where we prep all the food for all the animals in the building.

Due to the vast amount of animals we have here at the aquarium, we require a large amount of food and all have different things. The food we use needs to be taken out the night before and defrosted in the fridge in time for the next morning. All the animals’ food gets weighed and enriched with vitamins before being fed, and most of our animals are target-fed, meaning we know exactly which bit of food is going to which animal.

So to give you an example of the different things we feed - the octopus will generally have live crabs although occasionally we give her chunks of mackerel; seahorses get mysis, a tiny type of shrimp; our jellyfish are fed on juvenile Artemia (brine shrimp); and then our two caiman are given trout or roach and as much as they will eat once a week.

Then not to miss off our sharks and rays that everyone loves.

The dive team prep the food for the main tank, which takes about 45 minutes every day, and that is just for their section, so imagine how long it takes for the whole aquarium!

Our sand tiger sharks get fed three times a week on a fish called trevally, each weighing about 1kg as a minimum, and our lemon sharks have octopus, squid and haddock and are fed daily. The reason that sharks aren’t all fed every day is because they have different metabolisms.

Lemon sharks have a faster metabolism and swim around the tank quicker, meaning they are burning energy more rapidly and therefore get hungrier quicker, whereas sand tiger sharks have a slower metabolism and don’t swim as fast. Both of these species of shark have food that has been gutted, so when we weigh it every morning we then add vitamins and dry food.

The nurse sharks, zebra shark, guitar sharks and bamboo sharks all get fed in water by hand and all get a mixture of whiting and mackerel. The food preparation is the same process as the sand tigers with being weighed and enriched using vitamins.

Once the shark has eaten, we record it on our feed sheets stating the amount that the sharks have eaten and if there is any wastage. We also take note of how many vitamins each individual has taken. Once this is finished it is entered onto the computer database ensuring we have a full history of feed records. n

If you would like more information on diving with our sharks, please call us on (0151) 357 8800, or send us an email to: info@blueplanetaquarium.co.uk WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

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I

’m gliding along a long, smooth slope of fine, black sand, which stretches away in all directions, as far as I can see in the 20-metre vis. As clear and still as the water is, the light seems muted, like on a deeply-clouded day, creating a subdued, utterly peaceful scene. I find myself still occasionally chuckling at the local Bunaken divers’ name for this site – Betlehem. It’s a sort-of acronym for ‘Better than Lembeh’, a good-natured reference to Lembeh Straits, long regarded as one of the world’s most-famous muck/critter dive sites, which is located some 70km due east, on the opposite side of Sulawesi.

This dive immediately becomes a wonder… it’s apparent that every small obstruction, rock or sponge colony is a tiny oasis of critter life. At one, there are two yellow thorny seahorses; as I move in close for macro-images, I become aware of a tiny, three-centre-metre-long baby broadclub cuttlefish, so utterly camouflaged as to have been practically invisible. Before reaching the next oasis, a faint outline in the dark bottom becomes the barely exposed mouth and face of a horned flathead, then, moments later, there is the pale, skull-like face and jagged, toothy grin of a stargazer. Then there is a large, dark anemone; I look closely to find that it is shared by a pair of porcelain crabs and a family of saddleback anemonefish…

The long, effortless dive – at 20m of depth, my 15-litre, EANx-filled cylinder lasts seemingly forever - goes on and on this way, with small pockets of life, one after another, with many species I’ve never before had the opportunity to photograph. When it is finally time to turn the dive, we move up into shallower water, through a broad, grass bed. There, we find pufferfish, crabs, more cuttlefish, and many more small species… especially unique is a green, six-centimetre-long roughsnout pipefish, bobbing head-down, almost indistinguishable from the blades of grass around it.

As we arrive at the pick-up point, an old mooring base of small stone blocks, Betlehem just won’t let us go. In the crevices are two white-eyed morays, scores of white-banded cleaner shrimp, several nudibranchs and two magnificent, long-spine lionfish, a variety I have never photographed before.

As I hang in the quiet water on my safety stop, I marvel at the memory of all the remarkable creatures I’ve just seen, along with the muck night-dive I was able to do immediately following our late-afternoon arrival at the resort the previous day. Although I’ve done a lot muck shooting over the years, I’ve never before found so many species, or captured so many images, in such a concentrated, short time – ever. As amazed as I am at that moment, however, it’s what I yet don’t know that will really make this first day of diving around Bunaken so unique.

Before the day is done, I’ll have a second critter dive just up the coastline, at Bulo Cape, a coral and rubble-covered slope where we find peacock mantis shrimp, blue-ribbon eels, many different nudibranchs, a dusky-red, spine-cheeked anemonefish, numerous live sea shells, boxfish, several orangutan crabs… and much more.

We’ll also have made the quick trip back to Bunaken Island for a lunch in the Bunaken Oasis Resort’s hillside (gourmet, by the way) restaurant, which overlooks the sea and Manado Tua volcano. Then we will have headed back out to a favourite Bunaken dive site, just minutes from

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Bunaken AL HORNSBY finds an oasis in the dive hotspot of Bunaken Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, which is giving back to the community as well as providing a five-star experience Photographs by AL HORNSBY

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the resort’s dock. Known as Lekuan, this site is a steep, gorgonian-covered, overhang-laden wall, beautiful in its own right, but unique in the numbers of large (I mean very large) green turtles that seemed to be everywhere, resting at various points along the wall. Especially nice was that the coral-covered wall top is shallow and still… my wife and daughter were able to snorkel above us, also marveling at repeated close encounters with the turtles, as we slowly made our way along the wall at 15-20m.

From there, we had motored to a nearby shallow reef area off the end of Bunaken for a snorkelling session over huge growths of coral in clear, still water. Swarms of schooling fish of several different species moved about, and damsels, butterflyfish and angelfish moved in and out of coral crevices.

Even with all this, we were back at the resort in time to take pictures of the sun setting behind the volcano in a blaze of golden glory. Later, relaxing in the resort’s open-air lounge, I had to conclude that day one in Bunaken had been remarkable; in the dive sites’ and species’ variety, as well as in the ease of the diving – with short, comfortable boat trips, superb dive logistics and the calm, clear water conditions. I could only wonder – with a big smile - what day two would bring.

What I was to discover was that my first day, as unique as it had seemed, was actually merely typical of this incredible dive location. Located just a brief, 20km boat ride out from Manado, the capital city of Sulawesia, Indonesia, the island sits at the edge of the Bunaken Marine National Park, formed to protect a large area of complex reefs and walls known for its variety of marine life and

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healthy corals. Remembering that Sulawesi is also considered the world’s most-known muck-diving destination, the entire area is also blessed with an amazing number of species that live on sand – white and black - and muck, rubble, low-coral and grass-covered bottom.

Diving from Bunaken, there is the park, plus many kilometres of the western Sulawesi shoreline, available in boat runs generally of 20-40 minutes. And, the small island’s house reefs are prolific as well, inhabited by many of the same species. It’s no wonder that the Bunaken Oasis’ Dive Centre’s ‘nearby’ dive site map shows 68 different sites. Besides the ones already described, my favourites were: Tiwoho night dive – Less than a half-hour from Bunaken, Tiwoho is due east, just off the mainland shoreline. Black sand covers a plain at 20m, at the bottom of a coral-covered slope. The life was remarkable… in our dive I photographed carpet soles, lionfish, stargazers, a helmut gunnard, an ocelated frogfish, a leaf scorpionfish, horned flatheads, an exquisite ornate octopus, large, red hermit crabs in volute shells and many others.

Pangulingan – Just off Manado Tua, the massive extinct volcano that rises from the sea off the western end of Bunaken, this dive site is a classic deep slope, high-energy, current-drift dive. Moving down to 30m, we flew past coral structures, gorgonians and soft corals, with schools of circular spadefish and meandering whitetip sharks. Often seen is a swirling, resident school of blackfin

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barracuda, which congregate in the very clear – at least 30 metres on our dive – water. Toward dive’s end, we came up to drift along the gentle current at less than 10m, moving over fields of hard corals and small bommies, and many reef fish, especially snapper, sweetlips, grouper and squirrelfish.

Siladen Point – At the end of small Siladen Island, just off Bunaken’s northeastern coast, a beach and anchorage is popular with snorkellers as well as divers during surface intervals. Out from shore the wall drops away steeply, forming a series of beautiful dive sites. In very clear water, the wall is rich with gorgonian fans, delicate corals and soft corals of many different colors, as lovely a wall as one will ever see. Schools of fusiliers and redtooth triggerfish moved about in the water off the wall, and at one point, a large, tightly-packed school of long-jawed mackerel made several passes by us.

CONCLUSION

With all that can be said about the wonderful diving here, our host resort, Bunakan Oasis, can’t be left out of the story, because it is also an important part of our Bunaken visit. Conceived by long-time divers and environmentalists, its goal in being created was to be world’s finest five-star diving resort, built and operated upon a commitment to environmental principles. As goals go, these were lofty ones; in our experience, they are goals well-met.

If you are wondering if we enjoyed our dive trip to Bunaken, I’d have to say yes; yes, indeed. n

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Diving in Bunaken National Marine Park

“Diving with a difference”

Lumbalumba Diving Resort – Manado

www.lumbalumbadiving.com

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THE BUNAKEN OASIS STORY

Like most fine things, Bunaken Oasis Resort and Spa did not come about through a direct, simple path, but at the end of a marvellous story. English couple Elaine and Simon Wallace, long-time divers who frequented the fine dive resorts and liveaboards in the Asia-Pacific region, had come to be friends with well-known Sulawesi dive instructor and guide, Maruf ‘Acho’ Tajudin over the years.

Acho, from Bunaken, finally returned home after a long period working abroad, and seeing a need for local children to learn to protect their local marine environment – plastic debris is an institutional problem in many island nations in Asia – and to have improved job opportunities, he envisioned a dive centre and school for children, to teach them to dive; about diving tourism and about protecting the environment. In seeking to put together support for turning the idea into reality, he contacted his old friends, the Wallaces, and told them he had found a nice piece of land for sale where he hoped he could build his centre. They came to visit, and in Elaine’s words, ‘We simply fell in love with the beautiful place’.

They bought the five-hectare property, and decided to not just support Acho’s school, but to build the dive resort they had always dreamed of, using everything they had learned in visiting the world’s best-known resorts over the years. Along with their partner Acho, they also envisioned how a small, island resort, by committing itself to the environment and the betterment of the local residents’ lives, could make a real difference there, and serve as an example throughout the region.

Having opened in October 2016, Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort and Spa has built the following, in a truly five-star dive resort setting: A dive and environmental practices programme for local schoolchildren (their ‘donations’ for the programme, instead of money, are bags of plastic debris picked up around the island), Free English-language education for island residents, A self-contained, water desalinisation plant that supplies the resort (which includes having a modern cold and hot water dispenser in each guest cottage) and free water for all local Bunaken residents, All resort furniture and boats having been built on-island, Organic gardens, which provide much of the resort’s fine dining restaurant’s fresh produce and fruits, The establishment of an NGO that has arranged regular pick-up by the government of plastic debris collected by local residents and other on-island resorts and taken to a central drop-off point, Daily cleaning of local beaches for plastic debris.

The resort has 12 luxury cottages; swimming pool with deep, scuba-training tank; hillside cocktail lounge and a gourmet restaurant; full spa; dive centre, photo room (which could easily be nominated as ‘the world’s finest’), guest gear locker, classroom and four dive boats (generally four divers per boat except for groups wishing to dive together) and a catamaran; Wi-Fi; and, everything, from the décor, amenities and cuisine to the friendly, attentive service, are just what one would envision in a truly five-star experience. Plus, as a special treat, a local Sulawesi cuscus - a very cute opossum-cousin pays periodic visits, to the delight of both young and old alike. www.bunakenoasis.com

DIVE BUNAKEN WITH ECO DIVERS AND DIVERSE TRAVEL

GREAT SERVICE | VALUE FOR MONEY GROUP OFFERS | ATOL PROTECTED

MANADO

THE BEST CHOICE TO DIVE BUNAKEN

Enjoy the amazing dive sites of Bunaken National Park with Eco Divers Manado, operating from the beachfront 4 star Mercure Manado Tateli Beach Resort. This resort’s many facilities include a large swimming pool, spa, gym, tennis court and of course Eco Divers, a 5 star PADI dive resort, for a personalized, organized, relaxing and safe dive service.

Simply the best value for money in the Bunaken area.

LEMBEH Superior

Renowned service

THE ONLY DAY LIVEABOARD IN LEMBEH Combine a fantastic trip to Bunaken National Park with the Lembeh Strait, “Critter Capital of the World”. Eco Divers is the only operator offering all the comfort of a resort with all the convenience of a liveaboard. Dive the best of North Sulawesi for the best value for money.

BOOK YOUR ADVENTURE ✆

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18m ENTER THE DRAGON

ABOVE

This issue, we head down south to the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, for a shore dive with a monster reputation - Drawna Rock Photographs by MARK EVANS

D

rawna Rocks, or Dragon Rocks when translated from Cornish, is often cited as one of the best shore-diving sites in the UK, and it is easy to see why. It is very accessible, sheltered in all but east winds, boasts an immense variety of marine life, is extremely easy to navigate and, perhaps most importantly, there is an awesome little beach café within staggering distance for apres-dive coffees, teas and pasties!

The site consists of an island group of rocks some 100 metres from shore, with depths ranging from a maximum of 18-22m depending on the tide, to low single digits on the shallower portions. Marine life is prolific, with plenty of colourful jewel anemones, dead man’s fingers, snakelocks anemones, encrusting algae, myriad varieties of seaweed in all manner of colours, and even delicate sea fans.

ARRIVAL AT THE SITE

To get to the entry point, you need to head for Porthkerris, which is found between Porthallow and Porthoustock on the Lizard. Travelling south you drive through Cornwall along the A30 and head towards Helston. You will the pass the helicopter base Culdrose on both sides of the road and, after passing the base, you will come to an island - turn left here following the road to St Keverne. At the next island turn right again towards St Keverne - you will now travel for five to ten minutes (speed depending) over ‘’Goonhilly’ past the telecommunications centre. You then arrive at St Keverne, turn left into the square keeping the White Hart pub on your left, then turn left out of St Keverne past the fire station on your left. Follow the road towards Porthallow and you will pass some gates on your right with stone eagles at their entrance; shortly after this take the next right, (signposted), then next left to Porthkerris dive centre. There is plenty of parking a short distance from the entry point for the dive.

DIVE BRIEFING

The best entry point is at the northern end of the beach,

where Porthkerris Dive Centre has erected a handrail to guide you safely over the steepest – and slippiest – part of the rocks. Walk into the water, don your fins and then you can either descend and head east towards Drawna Rocks, or you can surface-swim out and then drop down next to the most-southerly pinnacle protruding from the water.

The dive then consists of slowly exploring all the nooks, crannies and gullies – with names such as Cauldron, Chimney Cove, Steep Corner and The Canyon - along the deeper seaward side of the rocks, before eventually making your way around the northern end and coming back along the shoreside of the rocks in shallower water and then making a right turn on to the beach for your exit.

THE DIVE

I have dived Drawna Rocks on a couple of different occasions, and each time I was impressed by the sheer amount of marine life that could be found. As well as the usual array of seaweeds in a rainbow mix of colours, and varying greens of encrusting algae, certain areas were adorned with vivid jewel anemones, as well as ghostly dead man’s fingers. I even found a couple of bright pink sea fans, rising delicately from the seabed. Then there were dahlia and snakelocks anemones adding splashes of colour on the sandy bottom or on the rocks/weed. Fish life is great – shoals of bass and pollack abound, red gurnards forage in the sand, and various species of wrasse will inquisitively follow divers as they explore the reef. Common lobster and spider crabs can be found sheltered in the rocks, along with common and velvet swimming crabs. I even spotted a distinctive John dory, and a well-camouflaged cuttlefish.

Photographers will love this dive, as there is plenty for the macro enthusiast to hone their skills, but equally, enough wide-angle opportunities for those wanting to capture their buddy alongside some colourful marine life.

You can easily spend a good 45-60 minutes pootling around Drawna Rocks, and as well as making a cracking dive in its own right, it is the perfect afternoon accompaniment to a morning boat dive further down the Lizard. n

PORTHKERRIS DIVE CENTRE

Porthkerris Dive Centre doesn’t just boast a spectacular shore dive, it also offers boat diving from a small hardboat and a whopping great catamaran, as well as having camping available right on site.

Porthkerris is a family run dive centre located on a private beach offering spectacular views out to sea. It has been owned by Mike and Jo Anselmi since 1991 and is a PADI five-star IDC centre, offering everything from Open Water Diver to Instructor level courses, including several Specialties.

The dive shop is relatively small but well stocked with a variety of equipment, and there is a wide range of rental equipment available for hire, including drysuits and semi-drys.

The Porthkerris fleet is the Celtic Cat, a 14-metre catamaran, and the 8.5-metre Celtic Kitten Power Cat. They are all fully licensed and coded to MCA standards; the latter has a 20-mile operating radius, the larger Celtic Cat has a 60-mile operating radius. www.porthkerris.com

Drawna Rocks WHAT TO EXPECT TYPE OF DIVE

Easy-entry shore dive

DEPTH

18-22m possible on high tides, but usually 12-15m

MARINE LIFE

Wrasse, gurnard, John dory, lobster, crabs, pollack, bass

VISIBILITY

Varies, but can be 6-8 metres or more

SEABED

Sand, small rocks and pebbles

HAZARDS

Infrequent boat traffic

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

Cuttlefish, spider crabs, common lobster, sea fans, jewel anemones, corkwing and cuckoo wrasse, red gurnard, John dory

FOOD ON THE GO

The Porthkerris Galley Beach CafĂŠ, located right on the beach, serves up fresh pasties, paninis, burgers, even Cornish cream teas!

Made to Measure Available

protect yourself from the elements

www.liquidsports.co.uk

“THE LAST DRYSUIT YOU WILL EVER BUY” “The Britannic II drysuit has accompanied me on numerous dives now, and it has never once let me down. It is comfortable, easy to get on and off, looks fantastic and is built to last. Otter’s customer service is renowned, and their build quality is off-the-chart. This genuinely could represent the last drysuit you ever buy, it is that good.”

Mark Richard Evans

Editor-in-Chief, Scuba Diver Magazine

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GO SIDEMOUNT...

SILENTLY! STUART PHILPOTT gets to grips with the Scuba Force SF-2 ECCR sidemount rebreather in the warm, clear waters of Lanzarote Photographs by STUART PHILPOTT

T

he past few years have seen a growing interest in sidemount rebreathers, probably due to the popularity of recreational sidemount. Presently there are only a handful of SCR and CCR units on the market.

Scuba Force, based in Germany, is one of the leading brands promoting a full-blown ECCR with CE approval down to 100m. During a visit to Rubicon Dive Centre at Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, I managed to get my grubby mitts on a production unit which yielded some interesting results.

Christian Massaad, the owner of Rubicon Dive Centre, runs a unique tech diving set-up offering a broad range of OC and CCR training as well as guided dives. There can’t be many tech centres in the world that have at least six different types of rebreather sitting on the shelf ready to go. I was swapping from rebreather to twinset and then back to rebreather more often than I change my underpants! Chris is an accomplished instructor or instructor trainer for nearly every make of rebreather on the market, and runs courses in seven different languages.

At Boot DĂźsseldorf in 2016, Chris met Tom Jaspers, the owner/ designer of the SF-2, and agreed to support the sidemount rebreather under the ANDI banner. ANDI is currently writing training materials for all certification levels up to Instructor and will soon be offering courses in Germany, Holland, Norway and Spain. The basic user course is five days and costs 1,500 euro.

This includes all gas, sofnolime, boat dives and certification. The SF-2 rebreather itself retails at around 7,000 euro.

Chris introduced me to experienced rebreather diver Stefan Schmidt, who has been using the SF-2 for the past year, completing around 50 dives. Stefan was so impressed with the unit he has just sold his current rebreather and bought a brand new SF-2. Now that has to be a good advertisement for the product!

Stefan, an avid cave diver, is hoping to use the SF-2 on an expedition to Duan Guangxi in China later this year.

I wanted to get some shots of Stefan using the rebreather, so we took the RIB out to a dive site called Playa Berrugo. There were a few rock formations, plenty of sand and a huge shoal of swirling bastard grunts. I tried to corral the fish around Stefan for an interesting composition, but they just kept scattering, probably due to my exhaled bubbles. On this occasion I was using a twinset in preparation for our 75m mystery shipwreck dive planned for later in the week (this story will be covered in the October issue of Scuba Diver).

“There can’t be many tech centres in the world that have at least six different types of rebreather sitting on the shelf ready to go”

Stefan had the SF-2 hanging from his right-hand side with a bail-out fitted on the left, which balanced out quite nicely. The two three-litre cylinders, one for oxygen and the other for diluent, are fitted on the back of the wing. Stefan said: “There’s no reason why the oxygen cylinder can’t be attached directly onto the rebreather. Any configuration is possible”. For serious users, it’s even possible to hang a separate rebreather from each side.

Most of the time, Stefan had his head down and seemed to be in a world of his own. I had to make do with some side view and overhead shots showing how the wing and rebreather looked. After 60 minutes, we ended up back at the shotline and directly beneath the rocky ledge I found a shallow cave full of glassfish. I managed to wake Stefan from his catatonic state just long enough to get my

best and only artistic shot of the day.

Back at the dive centre, Stefan showed me how to take the unit apart so I could rebuild it the next morning before my test dive. Scuba Force’s mission statement is ‘keep it simple’ and they have definitely achieved this with the SF-2. The in-line unit consisted of the head, scrubber and counterlung, which altogether is no larger than a standard 12-litre cylinder. It couldn’t have been any more streamlined.

I just had to fit the counterlung inside the carbon-fibre outer casing, attach the scrubber section which is pushed into

place via a rubber O-ring seal and then do the same with the head. All three sections are snapped together using two bolt-snap retaining clips and, hey presto, in about five minutes the unit was ready for use.

There are only three hoses to connect up on the outside. One of the hoses goes to the manual add O2 injection button and the ADV. The other two hoses go to the head and the counterlung.

The SF-2 comes in either backmount or sidemount versions. Scuba Force also offer a conversion kit allowing users to swap from one to the other. On this occasion

I was testing out the sidemount version.

There are three O2 sensors fitted to the head powered by a standard nine-volt battery. Scuba Force have built in two ports for attaching wrist-mounted computers.

Stefan had connected up a Shearwater, but said other varieties could be used. The head fits onto the scrubber unit, which takes about 2kg of sofnolime. Each fill lasts for approximately three to four hours. Stefan had spoken to the factory based in Jüchen near Düsseldorf and they were considering increasing the scrubber size for a longer range version.

Neither Chris nor Stefan knew how much the SF-2 weighed, so we got the scales out.

I couldn’t believe that the complete ECCR minus the sofnalime weighed in at less than 12kg. This has to be one of the lightest rebreathers on the market. I guess for travelling I would have to add 2-3kg for two first stages and another 2kg more for a travel wing, but still, that’s less than the standard airline baggage allowance. Chris, who has more than 150 dives on the SF-2, said: “It’s the ideal travel companion for CCR divers”.

We changed the backplate and harness to accommodate my bigger frame. I also needed to add a few extra kgs for neutral buoyancy. Chris had recently bought what seemed to be Mares’ entire stock of the new tech XR range of products. There were brand-new drysuits, wings, backplates, masks and fins lying about all over the place. Chris offered me an XR membrane drysuit, plus some new heavy-duty fins.

Compared to my own 5mm crushed neoprene drysuit it was like wearing pyjamas! It felt so light and manoeuvrable.

The quick-change wrist and neck seals were a really nice touch. I was even tempted to buy one on the spot.

“As a lightweight travel companion, this rebreather definitely has to be awarded a gold star”

Find your local retailer or buy online at

www.anchordivelights.com

Before the dive it was a simple case of clipping the rebreather onto the wing and pushing together the two chunky-looking Swagelok connectors which fed to the two three-litre cylinders on my back. Stefan had already started to make some personal ‘tweaks’ to the SF-2. When the counter-lung inflates and deflates, the unit moves up and down slightly so Stefan had added an additional clip to snap onto the bottom D-ring.

Rubicon Dive Centre is open for business all year round. They offer more than 20 tech dive sites, including two very nice shipwrecks at 75m and 85m. Chris has invested over 200,000 euro on new tech kit in the past few years, and he has even installed his own hyperbaric chamber. I really liked the fact that there was a ‘Craig’ around for support. Ex-Londoner Craig had become part of the Rubicon furniture. Employed as full-time technician he was always running around mixing/blending, boat driving, equipment servicing, filling cylinders and constantly moaning and whinging. An all-round diamond geezer!

The RIB headed out to the dive site called Emisario, or Twin Pipes, for my test dive. Underwater I immediately felt comfortable using the SF-2.

My buoyancy was spot on and I rarely had to add or dump gas. Breathing from the unit is very sensitive to posture. I had to be relatively horizontal to breathe comfortably from the unit. If I inverted more than 15 degrees from the horizontal position, there were implications. Angling my head and body down meant it became harder for me to breathe and moving upwards meant my cheeks were bursting with too much gas. Edoardo was following behind me and could see the bellows counter-lung inflating and deflating through the bottom of the cylindrical unit. Stefan said: “I’s virtually impossible to flood the SF-2. The lung acts as a big water trap and has to be almost full before the rebreather will stop working”.

I carried out a few bail-out exercises while finning along the reef. I thought the DSV mouth piece felt comfortable and was not too heavy and the shut-off switch didn’t seem too stiff. There was no HUD attached, but I’m sure one could easily be adapted to fit. I noticed that Scuba Force is promoting the Shearwater NERD (near-eye remote display) on their website. I practiced locating the manual-add O2 button and, after a few attempts, could put my finger on it every time.

I managed to fit in another photo dive with Rubicon’s resident tech-diving instructor Edoardo Bruni at a site called Colorades. This was Edoardo’s first time on the unit so it was good for me to get another diver’s perspective. There were a couple of narrow swim-throughs loaded with fish life that would really test out the rebreather. Edoardo unclipped the SF-2 from his side and held it out in front of him while he negotiated the narrow gap. The counter-lung is situated at the end of the unit so when

he breathed in and out it would rise and fall. Edoardo was struggling to keep the rebreather in the horizontal position and on one occasion it actually got wedged in the rocky ceiling, sending a plume of silt billowing down, which put an end to any picture opportunities!

Edoardo was impressed with the simplicity and portability of the SF-2, but he wanted to try out the back-mounted version before coming to any conclusions. It was a luxury to walk down to the boat wearing just a wing with two three-litre cylinders attached. Chris said: “The SF-2 is a good choice for divers with mobility (back) problems”. As a lightweight travel companion, this rebreather definitely has to be awarded a gold star. The unit was easy to lift off the bench and I could use just one hand to carry it down to the boat (a custom-designed carry handle would be a nice touch). I also liked the fact that in ‘tight’ situations underwater I could easily unclip the unit and push it in front of me. Chris said: “This is ideal for cave divers that need to be streamlined while going through restricted areas, or for wreck penetration”.

Simplicity is usually the best option, especially when considering maintenance and reliability. Combining simple with solid German engineering can only raise confidence levels. I wanted to spend some more time with the SF-2 before making any firm decisions, but initial assessments looked very favourable. This could well be leading up to a seriously large credit card bill! n NB: I have tried to contact Scuba Force to confirm the full specification of the unit, but failed to get a response. The information contained within this article has come from conversations with Chris and Stefan, so my apologies if there are any technical inaccuracies or misinterpretations.

What’s New

SCUBAPRO GALILEO G2 | SRP: £665-£899

BEST DIVERS APN1000 NECK WEIGHT SRP: £55

From the Best Divers Apnea product range, this Cordura neck weight has four compartments.

Two are fixed with 500gm weight, and two are pockets where you can add extra weight as and when required. Waterproof and adjustable, with a collar size of 38-44, it can hold a maximum weight of 3kg. www.BESTDIVERS.co.uk

KUBI MERINO WOOL HAT | SRP: £24

In 2007, Scubapro’s ground-breaking design of its Galileo dive computers changed the diving world forever. The Galileo won awards for its design – and the hearts and minds of its legions of fans through incredibly easy menus, intuitive usability and technology that made diving easier and more fun. Loaded with computing, navigation and personalisation features unavailable anywhere else, you simply couldn’t get a full-featured wristmount dive computer better than a Galileo… until now.

The G2 is everything you’d expect from Scubapro – in colour.

The air-integrated G2 uses the same menu structure, the same simple three-button control system, and the same diver-friendly functions that helped earn the Galileo its reputation as the most-technologically advanced computer available – and also the hands-down easiest to use.

Scubapro offers the only dive computers in the world that take heart rate, skin temperature, breathing rate and water temp into account during a dive. This provides you with extremely reliable no-stop and decompression stop calculations, even under the most demanding diving circumstances. The G2 easily goes where you do – from open water, to freediving, to CCR to sidemount. Even your dive profile is one of a kind – based upon your real-time breathing rate, your skin temperature and your heart rate. It’s as unique as you.

The G2 set with Heart Rate Belt and LED transmitter is £899, the G2 with LED transmitter is £829, and the G2 on its own is £665. www.scubapro.co.uk

KUBI have added a branded, woven Merino wool hat to their range, so now not only can you keep your heat in on the surface, but you can look good after a cold dive too! www.KUBI store.com

BECAM DEEP HOUSING | SRP: £295 Designed to work with the BECAM Action Camera – and also, handily, the ever-popular GoPro4 - this is a deep dive camera housing that is rated to a whopping 200m. With an impressive design and finish, this housing offers great value for money, and is sure to find favour with all those deep-water explorers out there who want to record their epic dives. www.BECAM.co.uk

FOURTH ELEMENT HOODY CLARET RED SRP: £64.95 These cosy fleece-back pullovers are perfect postdive, or for cool summer evenings. Featuring a large appliqué design across the chest for a laid-back collegiate look.

We recommend ordering a size up to get a perfect fit.

This classic-fit pullover made from 100 percent combed organic cotton has been responsibly sourced and tested for harmful substances. Save the climate - wash at 30 and line dry. www.fourthelement.com

STAHLSAC STORM BACK PACK | SRP: £128

FOURTH ELEMENT STEALTH SRP: £1,875 MADE-TO-MEASURE The full Kevlar version of the Fourth Element Argonaut drysuit, and the Hybrid 2.0 version which blended this high-end material with the company’s Flex fabric, were acclaimed when they were released, and now they are following up with an all-new material – Stealth.

As well as sounding cool, Stealth material is apparently lightweight but hardwearing, and flexible yet tough, and it looks pretty sweet too.

Divers can choose from a full Stealth suit, or a Hybrid mixing Stealth on the upper body and Flex on the lower half, with sizing done using the unique Biomap system.

As with previous Argonauts, it comes with tear-resistant latex wrist seals, telescopic torso, reinforced flat seams, YKK composite zip, a choice of Si-Tech or Apeks valves, and a warm neck collar that combines with a HD latex neck seal. www.fourthelement.com

THERMALUTION POWER HEATED OUTDOOR VEST DV1 | SRP: £240

The Storm backpack has a 26-litre capacity, and weighs in at 2.5lb. It has a completely waterproof roll top construction with reflective screen print and a strap containment system that ensures all straps are secured.

There is a quick-access pocket on the outside, and it has a comfortable ventilated back panel, with a two-way adjustable sternum strap. The dual-density shoulder straps provide maximum comfort, and there is a removable high-visibility inside liner.

Other useful additions include a laptop sleeve and tablet sleeve, and an interior organisational panel with two zippered pockets. www.stahlsac.com

The Thermalution Outdoor Series is a great choice of products for people who work in harsh weather conditions or boat crew, hikers, fishermen, skiers, snowboarders, and even people who are just generally cold. NB: This is an above-water product!

With the Outdoor Series, you will be able to control your own temperature anytime, anywhere with the four-level setting Smart Li-ion battery. The dual heating zones heat up your core temperature, while still retaining agility thanks to the light-weight design.

Emitting safe Far Infrared Ray, it will help blood circulation, promote cell and tissue regeneration, relief pain and stress, and bring comfort to the whole body.

Available in sizes from XS to XXL. www.thermalution.co.uk

Gear Guide

THIS ISSUE: HIGH-END BCDS

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

HIGH-END BCDS This issue, we continue our BCD reviews, with a look at the top-of-the-range models. There are many types of BCD available these days, so this time we concentrated on traditional-style jackets, leaving back-inflate and backplate-and-wing set-ups for another group test. We examined their build quality, comfort, fit, ease of use (particularly weight pockets and accessory pockets) and the performance of dump valves and power inflators.

ON TEST THIS MONTH: • AQUALUNG AXIOM • SCUBAPRO X-BLACK • ZEAGLE HALO

Location: Tested at Vivian Dive Centre, Llanberis www.viviandivecentre.com

Date tested: 18/05/17 Water temp: 8 degrees C

AQUALUNG AXIOM | SRP: £396 The Axiom is a durable, full-featured, SDV-style, wrap-around jacket with a super-streamlined air cell and Aqua Lung’s proprietary Wrapture harness system, which uses swivel shoulder buckles and an ultra-thin back plate to provide unsurpassed comfort and stability, holding the cylinder close to your centre of gravity and transferring the weight on to your hips.

This is combined with the innovative Griplock tank band, which is strong, secure and easy to alter, and has the added benefit of preventing trapped fingers.

Rounding out the package is the tried-and-tested SureLock integrated weight system, built-in octo pocket, five stainless steel D-rings and one plastic D-ring.

The Axiom is a good-looking BCD with subtle colours that will not date quickly. It is extremely comfortable, and the Wrapture system really does seem to work - standing around prior to entering the water, the weight of the cylinder does seem to be spread out between your shoulders and hips. In the water, the cylinder is held close to your body, there is zero tank movement, and you can get into any position with little effort.

The test team all liked the Griplock tank band, which is simple to use and very effective, and the SureLock integrated weights are one of the best on the market.

The pockets are a reasonable size and fairly easy to access, but don’t expect to put anything too large in there.

BEST VALUE

VERDICT

Well-made BCD with some neat design features that really do improve the performance. Good price for a comfortable jacket.

SCORE

••••••••••

SCUBAPRO X-BLACK | SRP: £569 The X-Black is a well-specced BCD that benefits from Scubapro’s exclusive AirFlex system (niftily highlighted by the red bungee threaded throughout the BCD), which simplifies buoyancy control and guarantees an extremely stable ride at depth.

It is constructed from a combination of durable 1000 denier and 420 denier nylon, and has an adjustable cummerbund that compensates for suit compression.

The Super Cinch tank buckle system locks the tank into place, and the quick-release integrated weight pockets lock in place via a secure pinch-to-release system.

There are eight aluminium D-rings, and no less than three main pockets, plus a zippered pouch on the cummerbund.

The X-Black has always scored highly with the test team, and this time was no different. It looks great, feels solid, and is immensely comfortable, providing enormous lift yet not squeezing you thanks to the AirFlex system - see, those red bungees really do work! We also liked the integrated weight pockets, which are held securely and will only release when you want them to. The Super Cinch tank buckle is simple to adjust but locks in place with little effort. This BCD has a plethora of pockets, and they are all easy to access. We liked the dual-pocket arrangement, and you will have plenty of room for spools, DSMBs, slates, small torches and so on. A lot of money, but extremely well built and one of the most eye-catching on test.

CHOICE

VERDICT

Solid, durable and good-looking BCD, which has many nifty features. Top price, but built to last and very eye-catching.

SCORE

••••••••••

ZEAGLE HALO | SRP: £567 Zeagle are well known for their durable, hard-wearing wingstyle BCDs, but the Halo represents their first foray into the more-traditional jacket-style BCD. It is made from a mix of 1000/1680/420 denier material for toughness, and it is equipped with Zeagle’s Ripcord emergency weight-release system.

It has seven stainless steel D-rings, a depth-compensating cummerbund, non-dumpable trim pockets, and two large accessory pockets.

It also benefits from Zeagle’s lifetime warranty.

The Halo has been in our Long Term Test stable for several months, and it holds it own here against strong competition. It is an expensive piece of kit, but it does have a lifetime warranty and is made to be extremely robust. It oozes quality.

The accessory pockets are simple to access, and handily, the zippered pockets where you stash the included mesh weight pockets are colour-coded with red zippers, so you don’t accidentally open the wrong one.

The jacket is comfortable and holds you well underwater and on the surface, and there is next-to-no tank movement.

The Ripcord system is operated one-handed, and is one of the most-effective on the market for emergency jettison. Handing up your weights into a RIB involves opening zippers to get to them, but the included pouches help make that less of a chore.

VERDICT

Expensive, but well-made jacket, which benefits from a lifetime warranty. Ripcord system is effective for emergency use.

SCORE

••••••••••

VERDICT

Due to splitting our back-inflate jackets into a separate test, we were down to just three jackets for this Group Test. All of the BCDs reviewed performed well, as you would expect at this price point, offering plenty of support underwater and on the surface, and were comfortable when walking about topside as well.

The Best Value award went to the Aqualung Axiom, which is a great all-round BCD with some neat features - SureLock integrated weights, Wrapture harness and Griplock tank band - all at a decent price.

The Choice award was a tough

one. The Scubapro and Zeagle are both high-end, robust units, with great performance, but the X-Black just took the title thanks to its mix of good looks and features. The test team are also not fans of the Halo’s integrated weight pouches, though the Ripcord system is good in an emergency.

Venom Frameless Eye Candy just took on a new meaning.

60m DEPTH RATED

Exclusive features include...

• “Gummi Bear UltraSoft” silicone creates an incredibly soft yet reliable face seal • Rigid silicone skirt that is soft but won’t collapse, distort or fold • Schott Superwite® UltraClear lens allows up to 96% of available light to reach your eyes • Exclusive Atomic “Wicked” styling makes a striking design statement.

Co-Molded Silicone Two different hardness silicone materials are co-molded together to form the mask skirt which is bonded directly to the glass, eliminating the need for a frame and providing maximum viewing area.

Atomic Aquatics Europe GmbH www.atomicaquatics.co.uk

LIGHTWEIGHT

Long Term Test THERMALUTION RED GRADE ULTRA Mark Evans: I have been very impressed with the Thermalution Red Grade Ultra. This full-length suit really does bring a whole new dimension to keeping warm on a dive in cold waters.

Charging the batteries is a doddle - you can connect both of the compact batteries to the charger at the same time, so within a few hours you are ready to go again, though I have been getting several hours of use out of a single charge, so you’ll get a good day of diving in the bag easily and can then stick them on while you pop out for apres-dive beverages. The controller is INFORMATION similarly easy - just sit it in Arrival date: April 2017 its charging dock to boost Suggested retail price: £1,050 its power when necessary, Number of dives: 6 though this little unit seems Time in water: 5 hrs 55 mins to last for a long time.

ZEAGLE HALO Mark Evans: The Halo continues to impress, and I really like the feel of it both on the surface and underwater. It is just so supportive.

I am still not a fan of the integrated weight pouches. I acknowledge that the Ripcord system is effective in an emergency situation, but for day-to-day use on a Red Sea liveaboard, for instance, when you are passing up your weight pockets into the zodiacs three or four times daily, unzipping pockets and fishing around for the weight pouches is a bit of a pain. This isn’t such an issue in their native USA, as most of the time they dive from hardboats, so weights are not handed up from in the water.

APEKS MTX-R

Mark Evans: The MTX-R is proving to be the perfect companion when diving - it is so comfortable and efficient, I forget that it is a test unit! It excels in the INFORMATION cold waters it was designed Arrival date: December 2017 for, but it will be in warmer Suggested retail price: £529 waters in a few weeks when Number of dives: 34 it heads to the Caribbean for Time in water: 33 hrs 25 mins my Grenada assignment.

DEEPBLU COSMIQ+ DIVE COMPANION

INFORMATION Arrival date: January 2017 Suggested retail price: £567 Number of dives: 9 Time in water: 11 hrs 55 mins

Mark Evans: The DeepBlu Cosmiq+ Dive Companion will be heading back to Grenada when I head off on assignment in a couple of weeks, but for now, it has been back into the depths of Vivian.

Such a great little computer and so easy to use.

Everything has been well thought out, including the charging system - simply locate the magnetic clips in the right general area and it clicks into place solidly. It is then just a case INFORMATION of plugging in the USB and Arrival date: February 2017 you are off charging. StraightSuggested retail price: £230 forward but highly effective, Number of dives: 16 and it is only dinky, so easy Time in water: 15 hrs 45 mins to travel with.

AQUALUNG REVEAL X2

Mark Evans: The Aqualung Reveal X2 has found favour with all of the test team members, who like its traditional twin-lens styling combined with some nifty modern touches, including subtle ‘grip’ sections on either side of the nose pocket to aid getting some purchase when INFORMATION you equalise. We also all Arrival date: March 2017 commented on the vision Suggested retail price: £46 the mask provides, which is Number of dives: 12 quite broad to the sides and Time in water: 11 hrs 15 mins downwards.

RATIO iDIVE SPORT EASY

Mark Evans: The iDive Sport Easy makes a fine addition to your arm, looking an extremely smart and functional sports watch, but it also very capable as a wristwatch dive computer, and as we have said before on the Long Term Test pages, it boasts far more features than even the most dedicated and technolINFORMATION ogy crazed diver would ever Arrival date: March 2017 access. It will also be heading Suggested retail price: £375 to Grenada on assignment Number of dives: 4 in a few weeks for some Time in water: 3 hrs 20 mins warm-water testing.

SHEARWATER RESEARCH PERDIX AI

Mark Evans: The Perdix AI has been with me for me test dives in Vivian, and will soon be getting a treat - heading off to the warmer waters of the Caribbean for an assignment in Grenada.

The battery life is quite outstanding on the Perdix AI, but when it does eventually run out, it is a simple matter to pop open the battery compartment and slot in a new one - being an AA cell, you can find INFORMATION these virtually Arrival date: February 2017 anywhere, so Suggested retail price: £870 (comp only) no fear of being Number of dives: 11 computer-less on Time in water: 10 hrs 15 mins a trip.

XDEEP NX ZEN

Mark Evans: As discussed last month, the xDeep NX Zen is a seriously well built piece of kit, and it has some nice accessories that can be fitted if you so desire. We got the integrated weight system, which nearly attaches to the backplate for security and slots over the waist webbing strap. I hate wearing weightbelts, and only need a couple of kilogrammes when in warmer waters anyway, so compact pockets like these are perfect. That said, you could INFORMATION probably cram about 8kg into Arrival date: February 2017 these bad boys if you needed Suggested retail price: £535 to, so that would cover you Number of dives: 11 for UK and temperate water Time in water: 9 hrs 45 mins diving in a drysuit as well!

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T: +1-904-346-3766 E: info@trukodyssey.com W: www.trukodyssey.com Live-aboard dive vessel in Truk Lagoon.

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Head Office: Carretera Federal, Parcela 4 MZA 293 Lote 2 Local 5-6, Ejido Norte, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77712, Mexico T: +52 (1) 984 745 0763 E: info@prodiveinternational.com W: www.prodiveinternational.com World-class diving: Cozumel, cenotes, bull sharks, Whaleshark & Sailfish safaris, Live-Aboards Socorro/ Guadalupe, located at 4-5* Resorts Riviera Maya & Cozumel, PADI CDC, Stay&Dive packages, FREE NITROX.

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MALDIVES LILY BEACH RESORT & SPA

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KUREDU PRODIVERS

Kuredu Island Resort, Lhaviyani Atoll, 07080, Maldives T: +9606620343 | E: info@prodivers.com W: www.prodivers.com Renowned PADI 5 star IDC center with on site decompression chamber. Multi lingual guides and instructors, more than 60 dive sites, scooters, rebreathers and nitrox-forfree!

MALTA MALTAQUA

Mosta Road, St Pauls Bay, SPB3114, Malta T: 0035621571111 | E: dive@maltaqua.com W: www.maltaqua.com A Multi agency centre providing training for BSAC, PADI, RAID, TDI & IANTD. Dive excursions or tank hire for qualified divers.

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PADI, BSAC, SSI and TDI Center. Providing recreational, technical training, plus guided and independent diving services.

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Bounty Beach, Malapascua Island, Daan Bantayan, Cebu, 6013, Philippines T: +63(0)917 631 2179 | E: info@evolution.com.ph

W: www.evolution.com.ph

Progressive Recreational and Technical Diving in the Philippines best all-round diving location. 4 dives/day including

Thresher Shark encounters. All PADI/TDI classes available, Tech/CCR Friendly.

BUCEO ANILAO BEACH & DIVE RESORT Anilao, Barangay San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas, Philippines T: 0063 919 510 57 65 E: info@buceoanilao.com W: www.buceoanilao.com Cozy resort - sophisticated camera / video room - dedicated spotters - easy access from Manila Airport - Critters - Healthy Reefs - Biodiversity!

THAILAND SAIREE COTTAGE DIVING 5* IDC CENTRE 1/10 Moo Sairee Beach, Koh Tao, Suratthani, 84360, Thailand T: +66872650859 E: info@idckohtaothailand.com W: www.idckohtaothailand.com One of the Best PADI Diving Instructor IDC Courses on Koh Tao, Thailand.

For more information please visit: www.idckohtaothailand.com or www.saireecottagediving.com/instructordevelopment-course-idc-koh-tao-saireecottage-diving-koh-tao.

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UNITED KINGDOM DEEP BLUE DIVE

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OYSTER DIVING

Maritime House, Basin Road North, Hove, BN41 1WR, UK T: 0800 699 0243 W: www.oysterdiving.com www.oysterdivingshop.com The UK’s premier PADI scuba diving and travel centre. Equipment sales, PADI courses from beginner to Instructor and holidays around the world.

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MARKETPLACE

Diving Medicals Nottingham

Sport Diver medicals £55

HGV/PSV/taxi medicals £55

Occupational Health Medicals

HSE commercial diving medicals £120

Oil and Gas UK Offshore Medicals £110

Discounts for students and large groups

For appointments call 0780 2850 084

or email: mclamp@doctors.org.uk

URCHIN DIVE

CHARTER

Expert Knowledge – 25+ years diving experience. Warm Saloon – Lunch & snacks provided. Wet/Dry Storage – Moon pool entry.

Accommodation available on site.

Contact: Oban Scotland | 01631 566088 www.puffin.org.uk

Help us keep the magazine FREE by mentioning Scuba Diver when responding to business you’ve seen in our magazine.

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THE COMMERCIAL DIVER Warren ‘Sal’ Salliss is a Director of Commercial Diver Training Ltd, based in Cornwall, and here he offers an insight into the commercial diving arena, and how the company aims to ensure that all students leave equipped with the necessary skills to take on this competitive environment. www.commercialdivertraining.co.uk

GETTING INTO COMMERCIAL

DIVING AS A CAREER PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF COMMERCIAL DIVER TRAINING LTD

S

o, you’ve decided that a career in commercial diving is for you. You’re bored in your present occupation, you feel life is passing you by… you want to have a job that’s cool!

Well, it certainly ticks the boxes, so how do you go about it, and what will the training be like?

Some candidates already dive recreationally and just as many don’t, so at CDT we welcome requests for a visit. It’s good to come and have a look, and we also offer a free try dive in all the Surface Supplied gear at a time mutually agreeable to all.

Okay, had a visit, liked the look of the school, met your instructors, talked to current students, all your questions answered and this is for you, so what now?

Before you start diving with CDT, you need to have an entry-level recreational diving qualification from any agency (BSAC Ocean Diver, PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent) and an HSE Diving Medical. The reason for this is simple - we have a lot to teach you, we want you to learn about your job and not spend wasted weeks learning to be comfy in the water.

The start date of your course has arrived and with much trepidation you make your way down to Fowey in Cornwall, where you are met by myself and other members of the instructional staff. The first evening is spent settling in, learning all the routines associated with living aboard the Dive Support Vessel and getting acquainted with the other guys on your course. Lashings of pizza always helps! You are fully catered for during your course, you won’t go hungry!

Week One: First Aid at Work, O2 Admin, Dive Theory, Diving Legislation, Dive Tables, Lifeline Signals, Deck Skills and lots more. This is done in our shorebased classroom located within the harbour shipyard to introduce you to a working marine environment.

Week Two: Diving! You will start with a standard scuba set-up (with lifeline) and then by day three you are on to FFM (full-face mask), and by day five you are now on HWC (hard wire comms) where you can talk underwater and someone talks back!

Week Three: HWC, TWC (through water comms), FFM PP (positive pressure), NP (neutral pressure) AGA masks, and Kirby Morgan EXO 26 along with depth progression dives.

Week Four: 40m Chamber Diver and how to ‘drive’ it along with how to be an in-chamber attendant to a casualty. Kirby Morgan 18 Bandmask and deep dives, oh, and some exams… don’t worry, you’ll be prepared.

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Well, that’s the HSE Professional Scuba done, it’s now time for the toys to get bigger! Bring on HSE Surface Supplied Diver Training!

Week One: Introduction to Surface Supplied diver helmets and systems.

Rescue drills, and the start of tools phase. At CDT, we figure that you have to be doing something underwater, so you should learn how to use some of the most-commonly used tools in the industry – it makes sense to me.

Week Two: More diving and more tools, and you spend a decent amount of time on BROCO (thermic underwater cutting equipment).

Week Three: Surface Decompression, LARS (launch and recovery system) and diving from a diver cage.

Week Four: Deep phase, underwater inspection techniques, rigging and Hat Cam systems. Also, if you are on the full training package of nine weeks, you will receive your RYA Powerboat Level 2 course for free. We work on the water, and boats are a big part of that. Oh, and more exams…

You have come far, but there is still one more week of training to make you ready for the commercial diving world… Surface Supplied Offshore Top-Up. This is a one-week course that teaches Wet Bell techniques, Hot Water Suits (how cool) and offshore procedures, and one exam.

With all this training completed, you will be ready and equipped. Sorry, I forgot to mention that if you do the full nine-week diver programme, you will receive (to keep) all this: O3 Drysuit, O3 undersuit; Drysuit bag; Twopiece Fladen foul-weather suit; Crewsaver lifejacket; CDT T-shirt; SUBMEX manual; Diver log book; Fire retardant overalls; Safety glasses; Work gloves; Hard hat; and… RYA Powerboat Level 2 and all food/accom free! n NB: Next time I will talk about some of the work done by commercial divers, including the good and the bad. Until then, safe diving.

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NEW 2017 COLLECTION

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Image Credits: Daan Verhoeven & Luke Inman

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