Scuba Diver Magazine Issue #35

DIVING ARCHAEOLOGY

DEEPER INTO DEPTHERAPY

WORLD EXCLUSIVE!

DETAILS OF A NEW COURSE IN UTILA – AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP WORTH £2,000!

WE JOIN THE CHARITY’S BIGGEST-EVER EXPEDITION TO ROOTS RED SEA IN EGYPT

FIRST REVIEW OF AQUA LUNG’S NEW LEG3ND REGULATOR RANGE

P hotographer

OFTHEMONTH PORTFOLIO SHOWCASING THE TALENTS OF STEVE JONES

#35 | £3.25

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THE MALDIVES

‣ SCHOLAR ‣ INDONESIA ‣ TIMOR-LESTE

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

STEVE BACKSHALL MIRANDA KRESTOVNIKOFF

ANDY TORBET MONTY HALLS + MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED! WHAT’S ON

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EDITOR’S NOTE GETTING EXCITED FOR GO DIVING SHOW 2020!

As you read this, we will be one month away from THE diving event of 2020 - the GO Diving Show at the Ricoh Arena from 21-23 February - and I am starting to get really excited about the packed weekend.

I am pleased to welcome back on to the Main Stage popular stalwarts like Andy Torbet, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Monty Halls, but it will be awesome to see TV favourite Steve Backshall entertaining the masses with his tales of derring-do while filming his wide variety of TV series.

We are also moving Alex Mustard from the Underwater Photography Stage to the Main Stage as he announces the winners of the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year competition.

The images this year were simply mind-blowing, and so we thought they deserved to be shown on the giant screen adorning the Main Stage.

Elsewhere, there will also be the Tech Stage, Underwater Photography Stage and Inspiration Stage populated with faces old and new, the monster 100 sq m pool for entry-level and tech trydives, and other interactive elements such as VR dives, and a navigation challenge. The massively popular The Cave will be returning, this time joined

by The Wall, to see how good people are at getting to challenging dive sites!

There are also more exhibitors than ever before, with virtually all of the major manufacturers displaying all of their shiny new equipment, alongside tour operators, tourist boards, training agencies, dive resorts and liveaboards.

Book tickets now at www.godivingshow.com and use the promo code MAG2020 to get a 2-for-1 offer!

Mark Evans Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Mark Evans Tel: 0800 0 69 81 40 ext 700 Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.co.uk

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DIVING ARCHAEOLOGY

DEEPER INTO DEPTHERAPY

WORLD EXCLUSIVE!

DETAILS OF A NEW COURSE IN UTILA – AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A TRIP WORTH £2,000!

WE JOIN THE CHARITY’S BIGGEST-EVER EXPEDITION TO ROOTS RED SEA IN EGYPT

FIRST REVIEW OF AQUA LUNG’S NEW LEG3ND REGULATOR RANGE

P hotographer

PORTFOLIO SHOWCASING THE TALENTS OF STEVE JONES

#35 | £3.25

01

+

THE MALDIVES

p001_ScubaDiver-35.indd 1

‣ SCHOLAR ‣ INDONESIA ‣ TIMOR-LESTE

PHOTOGRAPH BY: STEVE JONES

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18/12/2019 12:09

REGULAR COLUMNS

FEATURES...

6 News

22 The Maldives

Girls That Scuba celebrates 40,000 member milestone, Scuba Santas invade Vobster Quay, the Giannis D loses its iconic H-frame, and the Philippines win big at WTA awards.

66 Underwater Photography

Anne and Phil Medcalf turn their attentions to video - most cameras will shoot decent-quality video - and offer some handy hints and advice.

70 Photographer of the Month

Lena Kavender and Byron Conroy are seduced by the serenity and beauty - both topside and underwater - at the newly opened Faarufushi Resort in the Maldives, and log some memorable dives.

30 Q&A: Luke Inman

Scuba Diver chats to Luke Inman, who has made waves in the diving industry as both a talented underwater photographer and videographer, as well as being a PADI Course Director.

34 GO Diving Show 2020

New series showcasing talented underwater photographers, kicking off with Steve Jones.

Find out more about THE diving event of next year, including details of speakers - Deadly 60’s Steve Backshall is the keynote speaker! - as well as information on exhibitors, new interactive areas, and much more.

98 OWUSS Scholarship

40 Timor-Leste

Kim Hildebrandt gets to grips with Gates housings, visits the DEMA trade show, and then qualifies as a PADI instructor in Mexico.

6

Following our short series on specific areas of Timor-Leste, this issue we take a more in-depth look at this area of Southeast Asia which is rapidly establishing itself as the ‘next big thing’.

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CONTENTS

...CONTINUED

GEAR GUIDE

44 The Next Generation

82 What’s New

Grace Westgarth notches up her first technical diving certification, getting her sidemount qualification with Garry Dallas.

46 Egypt

Mark Evans heads out to Roots Red Sea on Deptherapy’s largest-ever expedition, and finds it an eye-opening, humbling experience.

52 Utila

Report on a brand-new marine archaeology course on the island of Utila - and your chance to win a space in 2021 worth over £2,000!

58 Indonesia

Overview of the stunning diving opportunities around Gangga Island Resort in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

76 TECHNICAL: Greece

Stuart Philpott dusts off his technical-diving skills to explore several shipwrecks lying off the coast of Athens in Greece.

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We take a look at new products to market, including the Fourth Element’s Hydra neoprene drysuit, the Omniswivel 2.0, Scubapro D420 regulator, and the Santi Silver Moon jacket.

84 Gear Guide

Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans heads for North Wales to get a WORLD EXCLUSIVE first test dive on the Aqua Lung Leg3nd regulators, as well as reviewing the Apeks backplate-and-wing and the KUBI Icelandic wool thermal gloves.

94 Long Term Test

The Scuba Diver Test Team rate and review a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Mares Genius dive computer, Suunto D5 dive computer, the Apeks VX1 mask, and the Aqua Lung Bali and AquaFlex wetsuits.

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

GIRLS THAT SCUBA CELEBRATES

40,000 MEMBERS IN THEIR FACEBOOK GROUP

G

irls that Scuba celebrates the milestone of reaching 40,000 members on their original Facebook group platform with a retrospective look at the community’s achievements.

On an unremarkable evening in July 2016, Sarah Richard created a Facebook group called Girls that Scuba, and then promptly shut her laptop and went to sleep. On waking up to over 100 members she considered her work done - she had 100 new women to chat about diving with, which was a welcome contrast to the all-male crew she worked alongside on a liveaboard.

If you’d told her then that three-and-a-bit years later, the group would have 40,000 members, and that she would be leading groups of ocean-loving women on scuba adventures around the world, she might have been somewhat disbelieving. Yet those humble beginnings have spawned an incredible community, and in celebration of reaching the huge milestone of 40,000 members on their original platform, we thought we’d share the highlights of the GTS journey so far!

A MULTITUDE OF NEW ONLINE HOMES

As the group continued to grow, its content needed a home outside of the Facebook group, and so in October 2016, the GTS website was born. As well as developing their core groups to include Girls That Scuba, Girls That Freedive, and Girls That Tech Dive, they’ve worked to serve the moreniche corners of their community – and in doing so, they’ve expanded to a network of 17 groups across numerous platforms!

They’ve been pairing women with buddies all over the world through Girls that Scuba Together, encouraging mothers to get back underwater with Mums that Scuba, seeing what the literary world has to offer to divers through the GTS Book Club, and so much more. If you’re not already a member of any of their groups, what are you waiting for?

THE POWER OF A MOVEMENT

Sarah’s original vision for the group was a place for women to discuss the specifics of being a female in the diving world, away from the comments (and sometimes criticisms) of on-looking men. With that in mind, the group became a safe space for female divers to speak openly, and they have never been afraid to discuss more difficult topics.

In fact, some of their most-significant posts have covered more challenging subject matters, including sharing their scuba-related stories of sexual harassment in light of the #metoo movement. This post really served to illustrate why a female-only community was required in the scuba-diving world, and has empowered people of all genders to speak up when they witness unfair treatment of women within the wider dive community.

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DS N E I R DIVING WITH F

MALDIVES

NEW: Faarufushi Maldives

INDONESIA THAILAND EGYPT S PA I N

In continuing to break down boundaries, one of the fantastic GTS members came forward with an open letter to wetsuit manufacturers to challenge the equipment industry and question why women’s exposure suits rarely reflect the variety of female bodies out there. If they’ve challenged all of this in their journey so far, we can’t wait to see what else they have the power to change!

NEW: Roses, Costa Brava

FROM ONLINE CONNECTIONS TO REAL LIFE INTERACTIONS

With the community flourishing through online connections, more and more members were sharing stories of meeting other Girls That Scuba in all corners of the globe. This was partly in thanks to spotting other women sporting GTS merchandise, which came into existence purely because people asked for it. Yet the demand went deeper than just requesting mask straps and T-shirts – people wanted a more-structured way to meet other Girls That Scuba, and Sarah and her team duly delivered. May 2018 saw the first of these more-organised GTS events, and since the success of this initial trip, GTS now host over ten trips per year.

There is still space on a number of upcoming trips in 2020.

OMAN M AU R I T I U S JA PA N C R O AT I A

HOSTING MORE THAN JUST TRIPS

It’s not just trips GTS have been hosting over the years. They all about celebrating female accomplishments in every corner of the dive industry, and with females being hugely under-represented in the realm of underwater photography and videography, they took matters into their own hands and hosted a Girls That Scuba Photography Competition. With prizes generously gifted by amazing brands such as Paralenz and Emperor Liveaboards, GTS loved having the chance to exhibit the talents of these awesome photographers.

Another proud moment for GTS was creating and launching their exclusive GTS Membership Card. In most industries, there’s a price premium when products have a ‘female’ label to them, despite often being identical to the ‘male’ counterpart.

This so-called ‘pink tax’ is just as prevalent in the dive industry as in any other, so they wanted to create a system to allow women to fight to gain that money back. Allied with dive business owners, they put together their Membership Card to offer discounts on products, trips, and liveaboards across the world – they estimate that the average diver can save approximately $410 per year. Most divers will gain back the cost of membership by booking just one liveaboard trip!

THERE’S NO COMMUNITY WITHOUT YOU!

Whether you were member 39 or 39,999, Girls That Scuba would like to say an enormous thank you to those of you who’ve been with them on this journey so far. Sarah said: “Here’s to the next 40,000 members - and we can’t wait to see what else GTS can achieve!” n

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LET´S DO IT: DIVING WITH EURO-DIVERS! B O O K I N G A N D I N F O R M AT I O N :

www.euro-divers.com ED_scuba_diver_mag_55x251.indd 1

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EXCLUSIVE OFFERS FROM SCUBAPRO EXTENDED UNTIL 29 FEBRUARY 2020!

Scubapro has extended its fantastic offer of a free transmitter with every purchase of a Galileo HUD or Galileo G2 dive computer until the end of February 2020.

The Galileo HUD is a revolutionary mask-mounted, hands-free dive computer with a virtual floating heads-up display, giving you more freedom to experience your dive. It delivers constant, easily viewable, critical dive information without taking your eyes off the dive – it’s all the important dive information you expect from the Galileo G2 dive computer in a convenient heads-up display.

A flip-up hinge allows you to easily tilt the computer up and out of view when necessary, and the predictive algorithms and decompression calculations can be customised for all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.

The Galileo G2 offers everything a diver is dreaming of. A brilliant full-colour TFT display screen, Bluetooth, a rechargeable battery which provides up to 50 hours of dive time per dive are only some of his highlights. Furthermore, it offers four screen configurations that enable the user to customise the data presentation, and multiple dive modes (Scuba, Freediving, Gauge, CCR, Sidemount and Trimix) for total in-water versatility. Even though it’s a fully loaded dive computer, the G2 is surprisingly easy to use and perfect for every diver, from beginner to professional.

NB: Offer valid until 29 February 2020 and only at participating authorised Scubapro dealers. Not available in all countries. Only while stocks last. This offer is not valid for the G2 Console. For details, ask your dealer. www.scubapro.online/uk/free-transmitter2019/

US NAVY DIVERS ASSIST STRICKEN LIVEABOARD IN CHUUK LAGOON

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US Navy divers recently stepped in to assist the liveaboard SS Thorfinn, which had run aground in the famous Chuuk Lagoon during a fierce storm. The salvage ship USNS Salvor was in Chuuk’s Weno Harbor conducting salvage training, but headed out in response to distress calls from the SS Thorfinn, which had run aground on a reef in the lagoon.

After ensuring everyone on board the Thorfinn was safe, divers from the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit-1 (MDSU-1) worked with the Salvor’s civilian mariners to refloat the stricken Thorfinn and get the charter boat to a safe anchorage.

Captain Robert Williams, commodore of Military Sealift Command Far East, commented: “It was a great example of what we can accomplish when we work together as a team. Our civilian mariners and Navy divers were ready to respond when needed, and worked seamlessly together to execute the rescue.”

This is not the first time that the US Navy stationed in Micronesia have offered assistance. Back in September 2018, US Navy sailors from the Underwater Construction Team-2 (UCT-2) joined local fishermen to rescue passengers from an Air Nuigini 737 passenger jet that crashed in a lagoon just short of the international airport in Micronesia.

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EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONSE MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS DISTINCTIVE COURSE Mental health in the workplace is a growing concern, and the spotlight is on employers to evaluate the need, and provide adequate provision, for the mental wellbeing of their staff. This may include training staff in the awareness of mental health issues, and how to recognise signs and symptoms, and provide support to someone who may be experiencing mental health issues.

Emergency First Response has developed a half-day Mental Health Awareness (MHA) Distinctive course. The course launched on Tuesday 26 November, when 20 EFR Instructors completed the prerequisite training needed to apply for this EFR Instructor credential.

Becoming an EFR MHA Instructor is a fantastic new business opportunity. The course takes half a day, so can easily be bundled with other EFR courses. Many corporations and institutions want their staff to have an awareness of the issues around mental health, and the EFR MHA Distinctive introduces both management and employees to mental health issues, how to be aware of them and ways in which to provide support. You are invited to register for the next Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme, conducted by Richard Castle of MHFA England, at the end of which you will be authorised to conduct the EFR Mental Health Awareness (MHA) Distinctive course.

Registrations for the two-day Adult MHFA course are strictly on a firstcome, first-served basis, and spaces are limited to 20, so early registration is recommended to avoid disappointment. www.emergencyfirstresponse.com

THE PHILIPPINES NAMED WTA’S WORLD’S LEADING DIVE DESTINATION The Philippines continues to enjoy recognition as one of the world’s premier diving destinations, this time bagging back-to-back diving accolades at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony held recently in Oman.

Winning WTA’s 2019 World’s Leading Dive Destination award for the first time, the Philippines bested eight other global dive destinations also nominated under the same category, namely the Azores, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Maldives, and Mexico.

“Dubbed by marine experts and scientists as the heart of marine biodiversity in the world, our country is home to the highest concentration of coral reef life and astounding variety of marine species. This latest recognition is a validation that the Philippines is truly a premier dive destination,” said Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat at the event, which was held at the Royal Opera House in Muscat.

Meanwhile, Palawan’s prestigious Amanpulo Resort also emerged victorious as the World’s Leading Dive Resort at the gala event.

Last October, WTA held its gala event for Asia and Oceania in Vietnam, where the Philippines earned its first Asia’s Leading Dive Destination award after multiple nominations since 2006. Conversely, the PDOT was also recognised as Asia’s Leading Tourism Board for its efforts to increase visitor arrivals for the Philippines in the previous year.

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6TH BRISTOL BLUE FREEDIVING COMPETITION A HUGE SUCCESS

© Neil Wood

Red Sea Sharm el Sheik

The end of November saw the sixth Bristol Blue Freediving Competition and the second as a team format. Teams of three freedivers made their way to Henbury Leisure Centre in Bristol to take part in Static, Dynamic No Fins, BiFins and Monofin disciplines, with the winners being the team with the highest combined score for all three athletes.

A total of 12 teams and 36 athletes took part, ten of whom were newbies to the competition scene. There were some fantastic performances - 69 official starts, 17 personal bests and 1 new DNF National Record for a Brazilian athlete.

The competition was very close at the halfway point. With each athlete having completed their first performance, there was just nine points separating the top five teams, equivalent to 15 secs per athlete in STA, or 6m in dynamic disciplines. The final results were just as close, with seven points separating the top three teams!

The best newbie award was even closer, with the top two males being separated by just a single point, and the top two females separated by 0.6pts!

Congratulations to the winning team Shark Fin Troup (Charlie Bradford CG KB, Jake Costello and Anita Jasso). In second place was Silly Willies and the Pussy Power (Alex Barton, Adam Drzazga and Danica Maynerd), and in third Kiss My Apnea (Lorena Prieto Cacabelos, Valeria Olives Babler and Lucelle Simms).

Interestingly, the top three teams were the only three with full white card count, all of the other teams either had illness or Red Card events, showing how important white card mentality can be in these competitions. And huge well done to the Best Newbies - Charlie Bradford and Danica Maynerd.

The event was sponsored by Mares (www.mares.com) and British Freediving, who generously gave some fantastic prizes for the winning teams and athletes.

BFA Press Officer Steve Millard said: “Well done to all who took part and all who helped make it happen behind and in front of and behind the scenes! We are so grateful to our community of freedivers, your efforts and enthusiasm all help keep this wonderful sport growing.”

GIANNIS D LOSES ICONIC H-FRAME FROM REAR SUPERSTRUCTURE The popular shipwreck of the Giannis D in the Egyptian Red Sea has lost its iconic H-frame from the rear superstructure, after it appears a boat anchored to it directly.

Kevin Murphy, from Severntec Diving in Shrewsbury, was out with a group from his dive centre on a liveaboard in November, and he took these photographs showing the famous ‘rear’ of the vessel sans its familiar H-frame.

According to local sources, the H-frame – which came to within 5m of the surface – came free from the shipwreck back in October, and is now sitting in around 24m-25m on the seabed. It is not known exactly what happened, but there are still mooring lines attached to the framework, which lends itself to the theory that a boat anchored on to it and tore it off the stern of the Giannis D. Apparently some dayboats without RIB support had been seen mooring up directly on to the wreck in the days before the H-frame was reported damaged.

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SANTA DIVERS RAISE THOUSANDS FOR CHARITY Vobster Quay’s annual charity Santa diving event continues to go from strength to strength, with this year’s event attracting more than 100 hardy scuba divers for a mass sponsored scuba dive in aid of the RNLI and the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance.

Divers from across the country converged on Vobster Quay to get involved in what has become a popular final fixture in the diving calendar. Despite the often-inclement weather and the winter water temperature, there was no shortage of smiles and festive cheer as divers climbed into their red pantaloons and strapped on their fluffy beards for a dive like no other. Vobster Santas has always been a great leveller, with divers of all levels – from recently-certified Open Water divers to hardcore rebreather techies – rubbing shoulders and sharing the free mince pies in a goodnatured last dive of the year.

Since the event’s inception in 2007, Vobster Santas has raised well over £40,000 for the RNLI – a charity very dear to the hearts of all divers. Once again, Santa divers were invited to seek sponsorship from friends and family for the event, which took place at Vobster Quay in Somerset on Sunday 15th December.

With sponsorship money continuing to roll in, 2019’s event is look set to be another great show of support for the RNLI from the diving community, with an additional £2,000 likely to be added to the fundraising total.

The Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance charity was well represented at the event, with local volunteers manning the collection buckets. Running alongside the sponsored scuba dive, a very special raffle was laid on with prizes donated by some of the biggest names in diving, including Nautilus, BestDivers, Maxshow, Otter Drysuits, KUBI Drygloves, Kent Tooling and Fourth Element. Divers and festive swimmers alike dug deep to raise over £1,400 for this worthwhile charity.

Tim Clements from Vobster Quay said: “We are over the moon! The day was full of festive cheer with red and white fluffy outfits everywhere you looked. We are absolutely delighted that we managed to get over 100 Santa divers underwater at the same time. What a result! Vobster Santas is one of the highlights of the Vobster year – we’re thrilled that so many divers, their friends and family members have given so generously to support both the RNLI and the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. Each and every year, these two charities are responsible for helping to save the lives of so many people across the country. Vobster Santas is our way of saying a massive thank you for the life-saving work that they do.” © Jason Brown/bardophotographic.com

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• Open to AOW with Nitrox and above • No gear? No problem!

• No tech experience required • Bespoke schedule tailored to your ability and ambitions suits divers of all levels • Survey and photogrammetry workshops • CCR & DPV try dives, controlled ascents, team skills, cave navigation & more!

• Wallet-saving gear offers for attendees

GAS FILLS & CCR SORB NOW INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA COST!

www.tekcamp.co.uk

01373 814666 18

Are you ready to become a better, safer and more-capable diver in 2020? The world’s most-popular biennial tech ‘masterclass’ event returns to Vobster Quay in Somerset between 7–10 September 2020. Whether you’re simply tech curious, looking to become a seasoned explorer, or simply looking for renewed direction in your diving, TEKCamp 2020 will make your diving ambitions a reality.

Sponsored by Fourth Element and Apeks, TEKCamp 2020 is a unique opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge to take your diving to a whole new level.

TEKCamp is not a formal training course and does not culminate in a certification - it is an award-winning, four-day biennial coaching programme designed to develop your diving skills and ability beyond recognition under the direct guidance of the industry’s leading technical instructors. Regardless of your experience level, our talented team of top tech teaching talent from leading tech agencies will help you to achieve your diving goals - from pin-point buoyancy control and streamlined trim to greater confidence and in-water ability, TEKCamp 2020 will make you a more-capable, more-confident and far-safer diver!

Regardless of your diving background, TEKCamp is designed to suit divers of all levels with every diver’s TEKCamp experience tailored specifically to their needs and ambitions. Want to make the jump to more-advanced diving but don’t own your own gear? Thanks to Apeks, you don’t need to - Apeks will loan you a set of twinset gear to use for the duration of TEKCamp free of charge with the option to purchase at an unbeatable price! All you need to bring is your drysuit, fins and mask and the TEKCamp team will sort out the rest.

Each day you attend TEKCamp, you’ll participate in two great diving workshops designed to give you the skills and knowledge you need to progress your diving.

Want to master your shutdowns? Not a problem. Fancy trying to hand at a spot of stage bottle juggling? Not a problem. Fascinated by rebreathers and want to give you a try? The team will make it happen. Whatever your diving ambitions, the TEKCamp team will work with you to create a bespoke TEKCamp experience that matches your experience level, needs and ambitions. By the end of your TEKCamp visit, you’ll have the knowledge, skills and confidence to take your diving to the next level.

Tickets are extremely limited for this award-winning event that only runs once every two years. In fact, the team is positive that the most-difficult decision will be which ticket you’d like to sign up for! Everyone likes flexibility, which is why they offer three booking options for TEKCamp - a no-nonsense two-day package for the tech-curious, a no-compromise three-day package for the tech-keen, and a full-on four-day package for the tech-committed who want to squeeze every last drop of value from their TEKCamp experience. New for 2020, your TEKCamp ticket now includes your gas and sorb (for CCR divers) at no extra cost!

All the TEKCamp packages offer great value for money and include either two, three or four days of great training, access to an exciting line up of fascinating tech presentations and so much more!

Whatever package you choose, your diving will develop in leaps and bounds.

You’ll become a better, safer and more-confident diver, gain a real sense of direction in your diving and make a whole load of new friends - and dive buddies - along the way… www.tekcamp.co.uk

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Underwater

and out of this world

If you’re looking for a Caribbean dessnaaon with a difference, then look no further than Dominica.

Unspoiled and unforgeeable, the seascape surrounding the island is as breathtaking as its towering mountains bathed in tropical mists. Submerse yourself in world of volcanic vents and plunging sea walls, reefs teeming with colourful sponges and water lilies, towering pinnacles and alluring caves. So get beyond the beach — and reach into the heart of Dominica's azure coloured coastal waters laden with life-renewing splendour.

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Get social with us below or scan here DiscoverDominica

DiscoverDominica

to win £500 off your next diving trip! www.DiscoverDominica.com

Dr Oliver Firth is a diving doctor with over 22 years of diving experience. He is an Approved Medical Examiner of Divers for the UK HSE and a medical referee for the UK Diving Medical Committee, performing many hundreds of diving medicals a year. As the senior doctor at London Diving Chamber for the last 13 years, he has supervised the treatment of hundreds of cases of decompression illness. He has now set up Hyperdive (www.hyperdive.co.uk) to continue his diving medical work with a global audience. With his accumulated experience, he has seen most things a diver might come across, but remains eager to hear from anyone with a medical conundrum they need a solution to! divingdoctor@scubadivermag.com Q: I am congenitally deaf in both ears and was lucky enough to be the recipient of a cochlear implant when I was three years old. I’m now 24 and have been wondering for the last few months whether there is any chance of ever going diving. My ears are fine when I fly on planes and I don’t get infec-tions or any other problems from them. Is there any information available on the safety of cochlear implants when diving?

A: Indeed there is. But first a little history, as some of this is great ‘eccentric scientist’ stuff. Apparently, the lengthily named Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (from whom we get the well-known electrical unit) was the first to discover that sound could be perceived by directly stimu-lating the auditory system. This he did by sticking a couple of metal rods in his own ears and con-necting them to a 50-volt circuit. He experienced a ‘jolt’ and a noise ‘like a thick boiling soup’ (pre-sumably his brain curdling). Nearly two centuries later, some adventurous surgeons zapped an ex-posed acoustic nerve, whose owner heard sounds like ‘a roulette wheel’ and ‘a cricket’.

These macabre experiments laid the groundwork for the cochlear implant, or ‘bionic ear’. Essential-ly, it’s a surgically implanted electronic device which directly stimulates auditory nerves. External parts (including a microphone and speech processor) transmit sound signals to an internal receiver (implanted in bone behind the ear) and thence into the cochlea (the hearing bit of the inner ear) via electrodes. Not your average hearing aid, which is basically an amplifier. The results are pretty im-pressive, especially in those who have grown up with the implants, whose brains have presumably learned to ‘hear’ in a different way. Older recipients are often not as enamoured with the devices - one described a human voice as sounding like ‘a croaking Dalek with laryngitis’.

Anyway, the deal with these and diving is that we need to be sure the various bits will not implode, explode, rust or generally become defective in water and under pressure. In this sense the situation is similar to the heart pacemaker.

The implant manufacturer or surgeon who carried out the procedure should have some data on the safety of your

particular device at depth, so you’d be well advised to consult them initially. If all is okay with them, and as long as your middle ears can equalise effective-ly, then there’ll be nothing stopping you.

Q: I’m in my mid-40s and am fed up with my wife’s snide remarks about the size of my pot belly and rather puny muscles. So I’ve started a weightlifting programme. My fellow body builders at the gym all swear by creatine supplements. I read that it’s a ‘nitrogen-containing substance produced naturally in your body and is found in meat, poultry and fish’. From a diving perspective, the scary words here, obviously, are ‘nitrogen-containing’. Any worries that I’ll increase my likelihood of getting bent if I use these supplements?

A: ‘Protorexia’ – not an escaped man-eating dinosaur from the Jurassic World set, but a new term coined to describe the increasing consumption of protein shakes by obsessive and unfeasibly muscular gym addicts. Many do indeed contain creatine, which helps provide energy for muscle contractions – and those few extra reps in theory lead to bigger muscles, faster, as well as im-proving recovery times.

Whether these claims are true or not, taking nitrogencontaining supplements will not affect your chances of developing decompression illness (DCI). The nitrogen in the supplements is molecu-lar (solid) nitrogen and its absorption into the blood won’t be affected by depth or pressure. In order to get bent, a diver has to have nitrogen in gaseous form (i.e. bubbles) in the tissues; this comes from the breathing gas (usually air, which is about 80 percent nitrogen). Most significant dives will saturate at least some of the body’s tissues with nitrogen at depth, and it will come out of solution as bubbles on ascent. If these bubbles cannot be cleared sufficiently quickly by the lungs, they may produce symptoms of DCI. Finally, an encouraging leaf out of the sweetly named Pot Belly Seahorse’s book: “they can’t move very fast and don’t do well in water that moves quickly – they try to keep up but simply get too exhausted and end up dying”. A good incentive to clear that excess tummy flab!

AVATAR 2 - THE MOST-SIGNIFICANT DIVING MOVIE EVER MADE? Principal photography has finally wrapped on the longanticipated first sequel to Avatar - and one of the crew has said the film will be ‘the most-significant diving movie ever made’.

Now this may be stretching things a little, but what is known is that the movie will explore the ocean realm of Pandora, and to this end, PFI’s Kirk Krack has spent the last two years

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working on the film, and just recently returned home after stints on sets in Los Angeles and New Zealand.

Talking about the rigours of filming underwater, he said: “I think it’s safe to say that even though it takes place in the future, on another planet with the Na’vi and Metkayina as the focus, that Avatar 2 will be the most-significant diving film ever made.”

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AVAILABLE 12TH FEBRUARY

Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia

Q&A: SARAH RICHARD

We talk to the founder of Girls That Scuba, and discuss why women needed a ‘voice’ in diving, and explain how GTS got started

COLD-WATER ESSENTIALS

As the temperatures plummet, Mark Evans extols the virtues of diving through the winter months in the UK

WHALE SONG IN DOMINICA

Walt Stearns is entranced when he goes diving with sperm whales in the waters off the island of Dominica

ABOVE 18M: SCOTLAND

Lawson Wood explores the Burnmouth Caves, which lie close to the border with England and offer myriad macro critters to find

TECH: MIKHAIL LERMONTOV

Pete Mesley provides a fascinating insight into the wreck of the Mikhail Lermontov, a cruise liner which sank off New Zealand in 1986

TEST EXTRA - EXCLUSIVE!

Bunaken National Marine Park

As the water gets cold, it’s the perfect time for the Test Team to rate and review a selection of budget regulators

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w w w.s i l a d e n.c o m

Siladen-UK half--88x262.indd 1

09/10/2019 09:04

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Magical

ENCOUNT MALDIVES IN THE

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Byron Conroy and Lena Kavender are seduced by the serenity and beauty – both topside and underwater – at the Faarufushi Resort in the Maldives

NTERS

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BYRON CONROY

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Over-water relaxation

I

am diving along the reef wall of the Faarufushi house reef together with my partner Byron and our guide Stephane. We are at about 15m depth when we spot a family of four adult eagle rays cruising towards us at the same depth. The rays are swimming along the wall and with seemingly no intention of changing their route. The three divers and the four eagle rays pass each other from a close distance in perfect harmony. ‘Wow, this will be a cool story to tell!’ I think to myself. Byron is busy working energetically with his camera to catch this unique and magical moment.

We are in Raa Atoll, a 50-minute flight north of the Maldivian capital Male. Faarufushi Maldives, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, opened in early 2019 and is located on a small, dreamy tropical island. Green banana trees and other rich vegetation and fruit trees dominate the middle of the island. Surrounding the trees is the whitest sand beach imaginable, along with a 30 degree C turquoise lagoon. Yet outside this sits the coral reef wall sloping down to the deep blue ocean. And this is where our small team of divers have just had a fantastic encounter with some graceful residents of the Indian Ocean.

Loungers by the pool

The fantastic dining area

COCKTAILS AND FINE DINING WITH A VIEW

Water villas

The previous day, we arrived at the island and had the great pleasure of meeting General Manager Jean-Marc and Resort Manager Marjorie. While enjoying probably the best cocktail in my life at the over-water sunset bar Boli, we soon understand that Faarufushi is the place where all your tropical dreams can come true. Whether it´s dining on a private sand bank island, watching dolphins on a private sunset cruise, learning to cook with an award-winning Maldivian chef, or snorkelling with sea turtles.

When the drinks are finished and the sun has set, we move on to Eclipse. This restaurant built over the water offers fine dining European-style with an Asian twist. Over a delightful dinner we get to know the island´s dive centre managers Cornelia and Stephane from Switzerland. The dive centre is operated by Eurodivers Maldives (www.euro-divers.com), and Cornelia and Stephane have many years of experience in the Maldivian waters and dive operations. Since this is a new resort, they have had the exciting, although sometimes challenging, task of discovering new dive sites suitable for divers with different level of experience. Even though Cornelia and Stephane have now established around 40 dive sites, they keep exploring and looking for new underwater paradises.

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MALDIVES

Submerge with Prodivers Maldives

LHAVIYANI ATOLL Famous dive spots such as Kuredu Express and Caves are reachable by boat within a few minutes. The Lhaviyani Atoll is an absolute must if you want to see big fish. Schools of grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks and eagle rays can be seen on a scooter dive through the channels!

Our Islands: Kuredu Famous 4* Hotel Komandoo Pure Relaxation 4*+ Hurawalhi Luxurious 5* Island Kudadoo Private Island 5*+ Innahura New 3* Divers Hotel

SOUTH ARI ATOLL The South Ari Atoll offers some of Maldives' best dive spots and a enormous diversity of marine life. Strong currents provide the atoll with enough nutrition so that even manta rays and whalesharks can be seen all year round.

Our Islands: Vakarufalhi 4* Island Paradise Lily Beach 5* Luxury for the whole family

www.prodivers.com

Anthias swarm around the coral

A VERY SPECIAL DIVE

On day two, Stephane asks us if we are interested in diving one of his personal favourite sites called Lundhufushi Thila (Thila meaning coral bommie or pinnacle in the local language Dhivehi). We are told it´s not the easiest site for a few reasons. The first challenge is to actually find the dive site.

The reef starts at 24m depth, meaning that if visibility is less than that, we simply have to trust the GPS co-ordinates and hope we will descend down to the right position. The second challenge can be the current. Again, if the current is pushing, a 24m free descent can cause a drift away from the site, or make it hard to stay on site once we reach it, as it offers little protection. However, when the conditions are right, we will have the chance of see some of the Maldives’ best marine life, Stephane promises us. We don’t need a second to think - of course we want to do this dive!

When arriving at Lundhufushi Thila, we unfortunately can’t spot the reef from the surface. The experienced skipper tells us it’s the right spot and we giant stride into the water.

Luckily there´s only a small current as we descend into the blue. Once we reach 10m, I start to spot what looks like a structure spinning around in circles and moving in figures of eight. As we get closer, we can see literally thousands of fish swimming around like maniacs on top of the reef. The water is so densely packed with fish that I can hardly see Stephane, who is just a few metres in front of me. Soon we get the explanation to this erratically fish behaviour. Towards us swims a beautiful leopard shark. It´s like he is aware of his good looks, as he lays down to rest on the reef just in front of Byron´s camera. What a considerate leopard shark!

A moment later, we spot several good-sized blacktip reef sharks swimming at a distance. We have been told there´s also a resident guitar shark living in the neighbourhood, and we start to look to see if he is home. As I put my head into a large overhang, I see a huge brown-marbled grouper looking back at me. These grouper grow to one to two metres, but due to current fishing practises, it is unfortunately a rare event

As we get closer, we can see literally thousands of fish swimming around like maniacs on top of the reef 26

Expect huge shoals of fish

to meet a fully grown grouper in these waters. The Maldivian government has done a great job in banning shark fishing in 2010 and extending the ban to also include all ray fishing in 2014. However, the grouper are still under pressure from overfishing, mainly due to high demands from East Asia.

Our next dive site for the day comes with the catchy name Lun´boakandhooo. It´s named after the island whose reef wall we will be diving. The Maldives´ close to 2,000 islands mainly consist of four types - uninhabited natural islands, agriculture islands which are uninhabited but used for plantations, resort islands, and so-called local islands inhabited by the Maldivian population of about 400,000 people. This specific island is used as a fruit plantation. During the dive we encounter two large Napoleon wrasse, some fast-moving tuna and schools of jacks. The reef wall consists of mostly hard corals lit up by anthias and other small reef fish.

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Leopard shark

The reefs are full of life

MARINE BIOLOGIST AT YOUR SERVICE

We´re back on Faarufushi in the early afternoon and get a chance to catch up with the resort´s marine biologist Guilia, from Italy. All guests have the option to participate in a complementary Fish Identification Lab, as well as a Discover Coral Reef workshop. During these sessions, guests get an introduction to the most-common families of fish found in the Indian Ocean. It also involves learning about the different species´ ecological role in the coral reefs, and the important of the coral reef itself. The workshop includes a theory session on land as well as a guided snorkelling session in the lagoon. Guilia explains to us how this is a great opportunity to spread the knowledge to the guests on how to act ‘reef smart’, and what people can do on an individual level to support a sustainable marine environment. Using reef-friendly sunscreen, minimising the use of plastic, choosing ecofriendly toiletries and never buying souvenirs taken from the ocean being a few examples.

BABY SHARKS

We have already experienced the rich house reef of Faarufushi where we had the amazing encounter with a family of eagle rays. Today, we decide to explore the shallow lagoon surrounding the island. The water is turquoise, warm and very inviting. It is shallow so we opt for snorkelling rather than diving. Just off the beach lives Faarufushi’s resident baby sharks. A group of juvenile lemon sharks and blacktip reef sharks seem to get along well in their shared residence.

Juvenile sharks use this shallow lagoon as a nursery before moving on to deeper water. Since sharks do not look after

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their babies, this nursery provides protection and food for the juveniles. It also gives the guests of Faarufushi a chance to observe these beautiful animals from a close distance. As we are snorkelling around in the lagoon watching the sharks swimming around us, I’m thinking to myself how this must be the perfect cognitive therapy for all those poor people who watched Jaws as kids and grew up to become afraid of sharks!

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Anemonefish

NIKA SPA

Even though we choose to spend most of our days in the water or under the surface, there´s a lot more to do at Faarufushi. We decide to stay dry from lunch onwards in order to explore what else is on offer in this tropical paradise. While walking around the island we notice some beautiful wooden huts built on stilts high up in the trees. These turn out to belong to the Nika Spa. The wooden huts are treatment rooms for massage, body scrubs and manicure. Nika also contains two plunge pools, steam rooms and relaxation areas. As we enter the spa we notice a yoga session has just started. The peaceful music along with the soothing aromas creates a feeling of calm and wellbeing just from standing here. For a moment, I feel like I´m in a different world.

I’m thinking to myself how this must be the perfect cognitive therapy for all those poor people who watched Jaws as kids and grew up to become afraid of sharks! name and my favourite drink, or how I like my coffee in the morning. But also the friendly little conversations and curious questions about our day. All these little things are what create the sought-after ‘home away from home’ feeling. In my opinion, that´s what makes the difference between just any luxury holiday and a true dream vacation.

We spend our last day in paradise by simply enjoying our stunning beach villa, having more dips than I can count in our private pool, and enjoying the ocean view from our balcony.

Having a waterfall shower in our fantastic open-air bathroom, and just enjoying walking barefoot on the white beach in front of our living room. All good things come to an end, but we will keep our memories from Faarufushi in our mind - as well as on the camera’s SD-cards - for a long time to come! n

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Our time at the island is coming towards an end. This week has offered us the best of two worlds. On one hand, we´ve had action-packed dives with the most-amazing marine life encounters, many thanks to Eurodivers Maldives and Cornelia and Stephane. On the other hand, the time spent on the island itself has been the most-relaxing and joyful experience.

At a five-star luxury resort, one can expect a high level of service and professionalism. However, what makes Faarufushi stand out for me, is the personal connection I have felt with the people working here, and the friendly atmosphere on the island. Things like the restaurant team remembering my

Pristine gorgonian seafan

Beach villas

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Q&A: Luke Inman

Scuba Diver talks to Luke Inman, PADI Course Director, underwater videographer, photo pro, technical diver - and the only Mexican citizen we know with a British accent PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE INMAN

Q: How did you get into diving in the first place?

A: The ocean and being underwater always fascinated me – inspired I think from growing up watching the BBC Natural History Units productions and having the incredible imagery accompanied by Sir David Attenborough’s voice. The freedom of being underwater, the joy of retrieving coins from the bottom of the pool on holiday, was the best fun I can remember being aged six or seven years old.

The first thing I remember that pushed me into underwater photography and film was the French movie The Big Blue - I think it was a huge catalyst for many of my generation. The Big Blue was incredible storytelling and visually stunning. I was hooked straight away.

Q: What was it that drew you into becoming a professional diving instructor, and then to attain Course Director, the highest ranking in the PADI system?

A: I honestly never imagined I was ever going to become a diving instructor. I was happily working on underwater film sets as a Divemaster and with my HSE Part IV back in the mid-

1990s. As is common in the media industry, suddenly I had no work. After working on numerous adverts and some very highprofile feature films, there was no underwater work.

A camera assistant I worked with popped into my house one day and mentioned a dive shop had opened up down the road. I went to check it out the following day. I met with the owner and just started helping hang dive gear on the walls and chatting.

I had, during school and university, worked for Quiksilver, so I was pretty experienced with retail and designing shop space. The owner (a certain Paul Toomer) made it quite clear to me that he only had work for instructors. There was a PADI IDC the following week, and two weeks later there I was in Stoney Cove accepting my PADI Instructor certificate… and the following Monday working at a dive shop in London.

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Sponsored by

MAXSHOW LIMITED

OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTOR OF QUALITY BRANDS

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Q: You have done photo-shoots for a huge range of clients, from well-known brands in the world of diving to more-mainstream names. What’s the story behind your photography?

A: I always think photography is about capturing a moment, telling a story. It does not matter if you are using a camera phone at a family event, shooting the front cover of a magazine, or a portrait of someone very famous. The essence is to tell stories, convey an emotion. I find photos a far-moreintimate and personal way of telling a story and building a friendship or interaction with the subject or person you are shooting. Video is completely different for me.

Q: You are also an accomplished videographer, and have done shoots for some major channels over the years. How did you start out in the world of video, and what have been some of the more-memorable moments?

A: There have been some very memorable moments. From amazing wildlife encounters to working with some very famous actors and celebrities. The two that I reminisce about most are BBC’s Deadly 60 Squid. The shoot pushed everyone

to near-exhaustion and that delirious tiredness, but the producer/director did such an amazing job of bringing together an awesome team. We ended up getting the best squid footage and winning a BAFTA. The other moment is being asked to shoot a video underwater for a Mexican pop band I had never heard off. I arrived in Mexico City and ended up being interviewed by all the music press. There was a massive fuss being made.

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It was a little intimidating at first, but George Lucas and all the folks at ILM introduced themselves to us and made an effort to ensure we knew we were part of the team.

It is nice to have a credit with Lucas Films, certainly for my generation...

I could not understand why thousands of people were involved in the production. The band treated me like a rock star. The idea of being shot underwater fascinated them. They shot everything in slow motion and had the band mime underwater to the song at high speed. So, when the slow motion played back, it looked liked the music was synced at normal speed, but their movements were slow…

The song and video was the most-downloaded video and song of 2009 and we ended up winning an MTV Latin-America music award. It was a little embarrassing to be honest. I had no idea who the band was, and they were like the Mexican equivalent of Take That or One Direction. I guess I was either too old, or just not a fan of pop music.

Q: You are also a technical diver, both open circuit and closed circuit. What is it about technical diving that attracted you to this niche aspect of the sport?

A: I do enjoy the meticulousness of planning and prep for tech and CCR diving, but they are simply tools for adventure, exploration or whatever the mission is. The bus to work if you would. I see them as methods to achieve what you need underwater. More time? More depth? Silence?... Just tools…

Q: What is your most-memorable diving moment?

A: My local dive site… Los Islotes! Sea lions, sea lions, sea lions, sea lions… Blue whales and humpbacks are bad, but honestly… sea lions, always every day and whenever I can dive with sea lions… Did I mention sea lions?

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Q: You are based in Mexico, with your dive centre Cortez Expeditions in La Paz, and hold Mexican citizenship. How on Earth did you end up in this part of North America, and what is the attraction to this part of the world?

A: The Sea of Cortez has always fascinated me and has such diverse wildlife and ecology. Not many places in the world you can dive with giant mantas and tropical reef fish, but get huge schools of temperate fish like tuna and mackerel… oh, and did I mention sea lions?

That French pirate Cousteau was correct, the Sea of Cortez is truly the world’s aquarium.

Q: On the flipside, what is your worst diving moment?

A: I have 100 percent safety record on productions, technical and recreational diving, so fortunately no nasty moments like that. I have suffered a couple of leaky drysuits in cold water, andhad a jellyfish sit on my head and face while doing deco in current… that was horrible.

But I remember demonstrating a beach entry at Portland on the rocky beach years ago… myself and the other instructor got swept up by waves and turned around in a washing machine-style and thrown up by the ocean in front of our students. Presented in a nice heap… more embarrassing than anything else!

Q: I know that you have recently been involved in a shoot for a forthcoming major wildlife documentary series, but what does the future hold for Luke Inman?

A: Ah, the major upcoming documentary series… I am not allowed to mention… I think I can say I was dive safety officer on this little BBC thing… coming out soon! n

Q: You have the dubious pleasure of helping to bring the character of Jar Jar Binks to the big screen for the Star Wars film The Phantom Menace. What was it like being involved with such a massive production?

A: It was a little intimidating at first, but George Lucas and all the folks at ILM introduced themselves to us and made an effort to ensure we knew we were part of the team. It is nice to have a credit with Lucas Films, certainly for my generation - we both know a few Star Wars fanatics. Just because I was responsible for carrying the digital referencing dome for Jar Jar Binks’ head does not make me responsible for creating him… and hey… I did have Ewan and Liam either side of me…

There’s nothing cooler than diving with Quin Gon and Obi One!

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ARE YOU READY? The ultimate interactive and immersive event celebrating all aspects of diving is back, bigger and better than ever! Whether you want to find out more about diving, are just getting started in this exciting sport, or are an experienced veteran, GO Diving has something for you!

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON BROWN / WWW.BARDOCREATIVE.CO.UK

The GO Diving Show is headlined by an array of celebrity divers who have each had a major impact on the diving world in their own unique way.

They will be on the Main Stage on Saturday 22 February and Sunday 23 February for a mix of must-see presentations, ‘fireside chats’ and Q&A sessions - TV stars, authors and adventurers Steve Backshall, Andy Torbet, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Monty Halls (Andy and Miranda are also acting as comperes for the Main Stage as well as doing their own presentations) will be joined by underwater photography supremo Alex Mustard.

As well as the Main Stage, there are no less than three other stages at GO Diving dedicated to specific disciplines and interests – Technical Stage, Underwater Photography Stage, and the Inspiration Stage – playing host to more than 50 speakers, including the likes of Phil Short, Gareth Lock, Garry Dallas, Mark Powell, John Kendall,

Paul ‘Duxy’ Duxfield, Jason Brown, Stuart Philpott, Mario Vitalini, Phil and Anne Medcalf, and many more.

Alongside these four stages, there is also a huge 100 sq m trydive pools, for entry-level trydives, technical trydives and freediving sessions, masterclasses in underwater photography, a range of interactive challenges, including a 30-metre dry cave system, a climbing wall (representing challenging access to a dive site), a navigation trial, plus several different Virtual Reality ‘dives’, including great white sharks, seals, cave systems and more.

All of this is interspersed by some 80+ stands from virtually all of the major manufacturers, top training agencies, travel specialists, big retailers, and a selection of resorts and liveaboards from around the world.

To book your tickets in advance - use code MAG2020 for a 2-for-1 offer - check out: www.godivingshow.com/tickets

FRIDAY 21 – SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2020 (Friday – trade only) RICOH ARENA, COVENTRY, CV6 6GE

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Headlining the GO Diving Show are our celebrity divers, who will be on the Main Stage on Saturday 22 February and Sunday 23 February for a blend of awe-inspiring presentations, intriguing ‘fireside chats’, and interesting panel discussions

STEVE BACKSHALL

Adventurer Steve Backshall has travelled extensively across the globe. During his adventures he has scaled some of the world’s mostchallenging mountains and terrains, experienced tribal rituals in Indonesia, faced riots in East Timor, got a black belt in martial arts and come face to face with the most-deadly creatures on earth.

He is one of the busiest presenters on television, presenting award winning shows across the BBC, ITV, Discovery and National Geographic channels.

His most recent ten-part series Expedition saw him travel to some of the most-remote areas of our planet, including one episode in which we see Steve cave diving in Mexico’s cenotes.

Steve is particularly well known to younger audiences for his incredibly popular Deadly 60 series on CBBC.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Headlining the GO Diving Show are our celebrity divers, who will be on the Main Stage on Saturday 22 February and Sunday 23 February for a blend of awe-inspiring presentations, intriguing ‘fireside chats’, and interesting panel discussions

MIRANDA KRESTOVNIKOFF

ANDY TORBET

Andy Torbet is a professional underwater Born in land-locked explorer, cave and Buckinghamshire, technical diver, Fellow of Miranda never thought the Royal Geographical she’d end up as a water Society and Member of baby, but an attractive The Explorers’ Club. At vet in the queue for the last count he’s written scuba diving club at over 200 articles and University persuaded presented on 21 TV series, her to sign up and including programmes she was lured into the which saw him dive HMHS Britannic, underwater world, never to look back. under iceberg in the Arctic, inside Little did she realise that diving glaciers in Greenland, freedive would shape her career. Her very COMPERES under Alaskan ice, with giant first job as a TV presenter involved Andy and Miranda spider crabs in Japan, pilot the diving with reef sharks and her will be acting as Oceanworks 1ATM Hardsuit and first shark bite! Presenting two comperes for the Main dive shipwrecks and caves all series of Wreck Detectives for Stage as well as around the world. He’s been lead Channel 4, she went on to explore doing their own diver and supervisor on a number underwater wonders around presentations of archaeological and scientific the UK for BBC2’s BAFTA-awardexpeditions, and spent ten years in winning series Coast. She now dives the British Forces where one of his roles and presents wildlife stories on BBC1’s was commander of the Army’s Underwater The One Show and has even presented radio Bomb Disposal Unit. programmes underwater for BBC Radio.

He’s also a professional skydiver and climber, Her husband and two children have no option amateur father and seems to spend half his life but to follow suit and they are all divers, too. She living out of his campervan, though his last gig writes regularly about her diving adventures in – as a stuntman for the new Bond movie – saw the UK and abroad and the challenges of taking him moving in completely different circles. family to far flung places to pursue her hobby.

MONTY HALLS

A former Royal Marines Officer who worked for Nelson Mandela during the peace process in the early 1990s, Monty left the forces to pursue a career in expeditions, travel journalism, and marine biology. Monty has since led teams in some of the most-challenging environments on Earth, presented numerous multi-award-winning documentaries, launched his own production company, and become a renowned inspirational speaker and writer.

Monty is a Land Rover global ambassador, president of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, a Help for Heroes patron and numerous conservation organisations. He is best known for his three BBC2 series Great Escapes, where he lived on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland with his dog Reuben. He also presented the multi-award-winning series Great Barrier Reef.

His latest Channel Four series, My Family and the Galapagos, aired to great acclaim and featured the whole Halls family in a poignant conservation mission to the Galapagos. A second series has just wrapped filming and will be out later this year. He has written several books, and is a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers.

FOUR STAGES OF INSPIRATION AND EDUCATION As well as the Main Stage, there are no less than three other stages at GO Diving dedicated to specific disciplines and interests – Technical Stage, Underwater Photography Stage, and the Inspiration Stage – playing host to more than 60 speakers

TECHNICAL STAGE

This stage will be home to some of the biggest names in the world of technical diving, talking about a wide range of subjects, including ancient shipwrecks, deep wreck photography, expeditions, citizen science, cave diving, risk management, and 3D photogrammetry.

Those speaking include Phil Short, John Kendall, Mike Thomas, Gareth Lock, Mark Powell, Ian France, Tim Clements and Sally Cartwright.

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY STAGE

This will have notable talks from the likes of established pro-shooters Paul ‘Duxy’ Duxfield, Phil and Anne Medcalf, Mario Vitalini, Martyn Guess, Stuart Philpott, Jason Brown, Bryan Stanislas and Saeed Rashid, as well as some of the industry’s newcomers, including Byron Conroy, Richard Smith and Roisin Maddison.

They will be discussing topics as diverse as macro, super-macro, wide-angle, marine life, basic set-up, using full manual control, lighting, post-processing and modelling, as well as the pros and cons of compacts, mirrorless systems and DSLRs.

INSPIRATION STAGE

Dedicated to showcasing inspiring stories and people in all aspects of diving. Expect speakers from the main training agencies, as well as specialist organisations like Deptherapy and BDMLR, plus the likes of Gemma Smith, Nick Lyon, Lanny Vogel, Clare Dutton, Steve Jones, Robert Thomas and Luke Inman.

UP FOR A CHALLENGE? Come and try your hand at caving in our interactive cave experience, or see how your climbing skills stack up in our take on a challenging access route to a remote dive site

THE CAVE

What is it like to scramble around in the pitch-black, your way forward through winding passageways lit only by the light on your protective helmet? Welcome to the world of caving – and you can try it first-hand at the GO Diving Show at our interactive caving experience!

You will don kneepads and a helmet with bright LED light and then venture into the daunting cave system. Through a clever and convoluted design that takes you up and down as well as left and right, you will traverse some 30 metres of dark, narrow cave passageways before emerging back into daylight. Along the way you will have to make your way through constrictions, around tight corners, over obstacles and even scramble through a deep ball pool in the middle of the route – and with four camera inside the cave system linked into a TV mounted outside, your friends and family can see how you fair on your journey into the darkness!

Suitable for children (aged 4+) and adults alike, this interactive experience was massively popular last year, and according to our cave-diving experts who gave it a go, does give you a real flavour for what genuine caving feels like, but fear not, if the tight spaces and cloying darkness get too much for you, there are several emergency exits the team can open to get you quickly out.

THE WALL

As Andy Torbet, among others, has demonstrated, some dive sites are in remote, out-of-the-way places, and just getting to the entrance of the dive itself can be a monumental task in its own right. To give everyone a taster of the effort needed to get to some hard-to-reach spots, we’ve got a four-man climbing wall at the GO Diving Show, so you can test your head for heights! There will even be a timer on one of the climbs, and over the weekend it will display the fastest time to the top, so crack open that competitive streak and see if you can top the leader board! Suitable for 5+, height dependent.

EMBARK ON A VIRTUAL DIVE

Whether you are already an avid diver, or looking to take the plunge into this exciting sport, you cannot miss the opportunity to don a VR headset and find yourself in the midst of the action on an adrenaline-fuelled dive with great white sharks, an exciting cave dive, and much, much more!

AND THERE’S MORE...

As well as four stages, over 60 speakers, the virtual reality dives, the caving experience and the interactive wall, there is plenty more at GO Diving to occupy your time!

TRYDIVE POOL

GO Diving features a monster 100 sq m pool for entry-level trydives, technical trydives (opencircuit and CCR) and freediving sessions, so this is the perfect time to take the plunge for the first time, or try your hand at a new discipline.

MASTERCLASSES

There will be masterclasses in underwater photography/videography over the weekend, where you can be part of a small group getting personalised tuition and advice from acknowledged experts in their field. These will be strictly space-limited, so check out the website for details of how to book!

INTERACTIVE CHALLENGES

Reckon your navigation skills are up to scratch?

Think you have got lining out nailed? Then come

and showcase your talents at our interactive zones! Our lining out course will see how well you cope with laying a trail and then returning in zero-vis, while the navigation trail will test your abilities to accurately read a compass.

EXHIBITORS

The stages and other immersive elements of the GO Diving Show are scattered around the venue, and filling the space in between are a host of stands from major manufacturers like Aqua Lung, Apeks, Mares, Fourth Element, Santi, Halcyon, Suunto, Beuchat, Finnsub, AP Diving, Scubapro, Tusa, Cressi and Otter Watersports, top training agencies such as PADI, BSAC, RAID, SSI and SAA, travel specialists like Scuba Travel, Dive Worldwide, Regal, Caribbean Fun Travel and Diverse Scuba, and a wide selection of resorts and liveaboards from around the world.

2-FOR-1 TICKET OFFER FOR SCUBA DIVER READERS!

The GO Diving Show is taking place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry from 21-23 February.

Kickstart your 2020 dive season with the perfect day out for you and your buddy! Use the promo code MAG2020 to get a special 2-for-1 ticket offer! Book your tickets now – go to: www.godivingshow.com/tickets

Timor-Leste is one of those hidden gems in the diving world that only a select few have heard of – something which is becoming increasingly more difficult to find in this modern era.

Scuba Diver was keen to find out more…

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF ATAURO DIVE RESORT, AQUATICA DIVE RESORT, COMPASS CHARTERS & ADVENTURES, DIVE TIMOR LOROSAE AND DREAMERS DIVE ACADEMY

T

imor-Leste, or East Timor as it is also known, might be well off the beaten track when it comes to dive destinations, but what’s even more extraordinary is that it is not some distant speck of land somewhere in a remote sea, it is located in Southeast Asia.

Timor itself is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with Australia sitting to the south across the Timor Sea, while to the north are the Ombai Strait, Wetar Strait and the greater Banda Sea, the latter which is becoming increasingly known in diving circles thanks to liveaboards making the trip to the diverse waters.

The territory of Timor-Leste is comprised of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an enclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. It is the only Asian country to be located completely in the southern hemisphere.

Timor-Leste has a wild, untamed natural beauty, and as a result of differing micro-climates, things change as you travel around, from dry, open savannah vegetation to dense forest cover into the mountains. Monkeys and spotted cuscus (a tree-dwelling marsupial) live in the forests, ruse deer can be found in the highlands, and reptiles including snakes and tokay lizards can also be encountered, along with estuarine crocodiles around the coast and in Lake Ira Lalaro, while sea turtles are common visitors to the beaches to lay their eggs.

However, what is really starting to put Timor-Leste on the map are the pristine fringing reefs, abyssal drop-offs and clear tropical waters. Lying within the famed Coral Triangle, Timor-Leste boasts amazing marine life – in fact, Atauro has recently been found to have some of the most biodiverse waters in the world in terms of reef fish. Researchers

You can expect some awesome vis in-country

Whitetip reef shark

Checking out a coral bommie

discovered a total of 642 species around the island, and saw a maximum of 314 at a single site.

As if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, Timor-Leste is also regarded as a global hotspot for whales and dolphins, which can be spotted year-round, but especially during the migration season, which runs from October to December.

HISTORY OF TIMOR-LESTE

Timor-Leste (although the official name is the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) has had quite a colourful past.

Archaeological evidence, including ancient rock art and stone carvings, show that people have been living there for over 4,000 years.

It was heavily involved in trading networks with the Chinese and Indians, in the 13th century exporting sandalwood, honey and wax, and it was the abundance of the former – sandalwood – that first attracted European explorers in the 15th century.

The Portuguese founded the city of Dili in 1769, and the colony of Portuguese Timor was declared. A definitive border between the Dutch-colonised western half of the island and the Portuguese-colonised eastern half of the island was established in 1914, and interestingly it remains the international boundary between the successor states of Timor-Leste and Indonesia.

During World War Two, first the Allies and then the Japanese occupied Dili, and the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor, which was waged by Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the Japanese. The Japanese eventually drove the Allied forces out, after a bloody conflict that cost between 40,000 and 70,000 Timorese, but

As you explore around the pinnacle, which starts in around 12m-14m and drops to over 40m, you can see turtles, whitetip reef sharks, jacks and schooling barracuda after the war ended, Portuguese control was reinstated.

This continued until November 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared the territory’s independence. Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, the Indonesian military – with support from Australia, Britain and the United States – invaded just nine days later and occupied the territory. It was then declared Indonesia’s 27th province on 17 July 1976.

There then followed a 24-year conflict between separatist groups and the Indonesian military, which cost the lives of more than 200,000 Timorese, until in 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored independent referendum, Indonesia finally relinquished control.

Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002, and joined the UN soon after.

THE DIVING

Most of the diving operations and dive sites are located around Dili itself and Atauro Island, and as you can imagine, there are a multitude to choose from, but we have selected some of the top sites that you absolutely have to explore.

Haruina has been described as one of the most-biodiverse

Photographer with baitball

A mouthful of young A happy diver returns to the surface

Timor-Leste has some great snorkelling sites

reef systems on the planet, and it has to be said that the coral architecture – comprising stunning hard coral tables and terracing staghorn gardens – is simply stunning. As well as the vibrant soft and hard corals and sponges, myriad varieties of reef fish can be seen, along with all manner of macro life, not to mention turtles, banded sea kraits, eagle rays and even, if you are lucky, the elusive dugong.

Located alongside the reef is a deep wall smothered in coral growth, in particular vast table coral formations in the mid-section along with seafans, sponges and sea whips.

As well as the colourful and impressive coral growth on an immense wall that leaves even veteran divers open-mouthed, expect to encounter schools of snapper, sweetlips and jacks, as well as the occasional hammerhead, blacktip, silvertip or grey reef shark, or other pelagic species, such as mola mola.

Big Fish is a thrilling drift dive for experienced divers only, but those with the necessary skills and abilities will be blown away by this ripper off the southwest end of Atauro.

Thanks to the swift water movement, you have much higher chances of seeing big fish – hence the name! The list is endless – Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, giant trevally and sharks all put in an appearance, while on the surface you can see superpods of pilot whales, Risso’s dolphins and melon-headed whales.

Iliana is often touted as one of the prettiest dive sites on the whole of Atauro, Iliana promises a wide variety of coral and fish species, and the dramatic wall is home to schooling sweetlips, snapper and unicornfish, while the occasional pelagic can also put in an appearance.

Watwai Reef is an extensive reef system of hard and soft corals featuring both a sloping terrace and an impressive drop-off. Along the sheer wall are many overhangs, caverns and swim-throughs which attract vast numbers of shoaling fish, from red bass, midnight and twin-spot snapper to grouper. In the shallows, endless streams of neon fusiliers are preyed upon by blue-fin trevally, and black-and-redtooth triggerfish fill the water column in constant movement.

Keep an eye out for the smaller stuff, too.

Like Big Fish, Akrema Point is reserved for moreexperienced divers, as it is often exposed to strong currents.

The reef system comprises of extensive ancient hard coral bommies peppered across a wide field of white sand that leads to an abrupt corner and drop-off. You can see swirling tornadoes of schooling barracuda, roaming groups of large bumphead parrotfish, not to mention hammerhead sharks.

In the shallows towards the end of the dive, you can find garden eels and several species of ray on the sand.

Tasi Tolu is a classic muck dive located close to Dili. It

DIVE CENTRES

Atauro Dive Resort – www.ataurodiveresort.com Aquatica Dive Resort – www.aquaticadiveresort.com Compass Charters & Adventures – www.compassdiving.com Dive Timor Lorosae – www.divetimor.com Dreamers Dive Academy – www.timordiveacademy.com Anemonefish

Topside is just as stunning as underwater

Pristine soft corals adorn the reef

is excellent for smaller critters such as seahorses, pygmy pipefish, shrimps, octopus, leaf scorpionfish and so on. It is also known as a feeding ground for dugongs, so while you might be concentrating on searching for the small stuff, keep an eye out underwater or on the surface for a dugong sighting.

Dili Pinnacle is a boat dive just five minutes from Dili, and it makes for an exciting, adrenaline-fuelled dive for experienced divers. As you explore around the pinnacle, which starts in around 12m-14m and drops to over 40m, you can see turtles, whitetip reef sharks, jacks and schooling barracuda, but remember to scour the wall too, as you can find all manner of nudibranchs and other little critters.

Lone Tree (also known as Anemone City) is a shore dive one-and-a-half hours drive out of Dili. It offers gorgeous corals and unusual topography, and as well as the usual selection of reef dwellers, and a massive anemone garden, you can also see the occasional big trevally or tuna off the deep wall a short distance from the sloping reef.

Black Rock is a boat dive off the east coast, and is famed for its unique topography – a wall accessible from the beach drops off to well over 100m, and can often be swept by strong currents, especially in the shallows. However, this does mean that experienced divers are treated to a gorgeous display of a diverse range of coral, various species

of schooling fish, and the chance of pelagic encounters, including thresher sharks.

TOPSIDE ATTRACTIONS

There is far more to Timor-Leste than simply fantastic diving, there is also a wealth of activities topside to keep non-divers, and divers on non-diving days, occupied.

You can hike on some of the many trails that criss-cross the country. Go with a guide, and you can embark on epic, multi-day treks into the interior.

The mountainous nature means that the territory is perfect for some high-energy mountain biking, and in fact it is host to one of the world’s toughest races every year – the Tour de Timor. If you relish a challenge, head into the hills.

It is not just underwater where Timor-Leste has scored highly in terms of species counts. For those who like their creatures airborne, more than 240 species of bird have been recorded, including some globally threatened species.

If you just can’t get enough of Timor-Leste’s underwater realm, you can explore many of the sites by snorkelling. And as mentioned earlier, Timor-Leste is regarded as a global hotspot for whales and dolphins, with a huge variety of species being sighted, including blue, orca, sperm, shortfinned pilot, beaked, melon-headed and pygmy killer. n

GRACE GOES SIDEMOUNT Grace Westgarth is a regular in the pages of The Next Generation, and now she has embarked on her first technical course, completing her sidemount certification with sidemount supremo Garry Dallas PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANT WESTGARTH

S

idemount is a way of diving that has appealed to me ever since I started diving in 2013. It made so much more sense in my head. Having a completely redundant air source with you always, being more streamlined in the water, and not carrying heavy tanks on your back are just a few of the many positives, I believe.

Maryse Dare, the top instructor at Ocean Diver, the club I belong to, had put me in touch with PADI Course Director Alex Griffin, and he happened to be running a trydive day at Wraysbury. This was in the summer of 2018, and luckily, I had just turned 15, so I was able to do my first sidemount dive.

Surprisingly, even though the kit is completely different, I was so relaxed! I had heard so many people say that it feels like you are an Open Water student again, but this was not the case for me. The dives were so much fun and after completing a couple of basic skills like mask removal and valve fluttering, I had made my mind up - I wanted to do the course.

Skip to the GO Diving Show in February last year and I got the chance to meet a few people at the RAID stand, including Garry Dallas who, after reading many fantastic reviews, I decided to choose as my instructor. Fitting this in with his action-packed schedule plus my many injuries and GCSE

exams was no easy task! However, we manged to find three days in September that would work.

The time soon came around, and I was extremely excited.

When we arrived on day one, I was introduced to Fiona, who was also doing the course. We then had a quick tour around the Delph Watersports Centre, as I had never been there before, and then it was time for tea and coffee (hot chocolate for me) and then straight into the classroom for the first day of training.

Garry fitting the harness correctly

Mask-off drill

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RECOGNISING AND CELEBRATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCUBA DIVERS The Next Generation section is aimed squarely at keen kids and talented teens, those youngsters who have embraced the underwater realm and are driving new blood into the diving fraternity. Tune in each month for Case Studies, reports, kit reviews and articles from our diving youth.

Got a story to share about a young diver? - Email: mark@scubadivermag.com to be included in a future edition of The Next Generation!

Rigging the cylinders

In the classroom, Garry went through our online quizzes and gave us the opportunity to ask all the questions we needed to. Shortly after, we watched a slideshow recapping the online manual, allowing us to clear up anything we didn’t understand. Lunch followed and we went back to be shown how to set up the tanks and route the hoses correctly. Finally, Garry fitted my harness properly, which made so much difference, as I found out in the water the next day. Plus, I certainly could not have done that good of a job myself.

Day two was the day I had been waiting for. It was diving day! We used the first dive for a few skills, such as DSMB deployment, reverse fin kicks and a no-fin hover (which was unexpectedly difficult). Hearing Garry explain how to do these skills in the unique way he has perfected really helped to minimise risk, even when applied to what seems like the simple task of putting up a DSMB.

Preparing to go diving

I used the second dive of day two to perfect trim and buoyancy - moving weight up the spine of my harness was all that was needed to feel more balanced. When we got back to the training platform, we tried freeflow reg scenarios, which led onto valve fluttering. After we surfaced, we had a very detailed de-brief that gave me some useful information about how to improve on my next dive.

The final day began. In the morning we practiced a few new skills, including tank roll off and bungee failure, while trying our best to put the previous days teaching into action.

On the last dive, we were not told what skills we would be doing. It was purely scenario-based, and this made it more realistic and beneficial for real life. Garry really did push us on this dive - it was intense but comical at times, watching my buddy get tested (sorry Fiona, I know you probably laughed at me as well!). With a dive time of an hour and 25 minutes, we were exhausted, but I know I came out with a huge grin on my face and so happy with what I had achieved.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Garry for the incredibly high standard of training, Fiona for being a great buddy, and to my parents for supporting me with everything I have done so far. n Demonstrating great trim

Grace and Fiona with Garry

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Dept herapy GOES BACK TO ITS ROOTS

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I

f you think divers can deliver some killer banter – lavishly illustrated with some choice swear words – then you haven’t been around any military, either serving or retired. Combine the two and you are in for a belly-aching, ear-burning treat. I was literally thrown into the deep end of this when I joined the charity Deptherapy for their largest-ever expedition out to their Egypt ‘base camp’ at Roots Red Sea last year.

I have been diving a long time, but have zero military experience, and other than a few friends and relatives being in the armed forces, it was an area I had no real experience of. So on that first evening, to sit in the main restaurant at Roots The Advanced Opem Water and hear first-hand from all of the veterans taking Diver team part in the expedition, was a truly humbling experience. Deptherapy has shown time and again the benefits of scuba diving on rehabilitation and recovery for veterans suffering from a variety of issues, from life-changing physical injuries to severe PTSD, and I was about to see it all unfold first-hand.

Josh with a giant moray

Triple-amputee Josh Boggi is an avid diver

EXPEDITION TIME

Deptherapy’s Egypt homeaway-from-home - Roots Red Sea - welcomed the charity back for its largest-ever expedition last year – and Mark Evans joined the 30-plus members to delve behind the scenes of this hard-working organisation PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK EVANS AND DMITRY KNYAZEV

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I had known Richard Cullen, chairman and head of operations for Deptherapy, for many years, and myself – and the magazine – have long been a supporter of the charity, so when he invited me to come along on their Roots expedition, I jumped at the chance.

Roll on a few months, and I arrived at Gatwick Airport to meet up with the gang. There were only a couple of people lurking with intent, but we gravitated together, and everyone was very friendly and welcoming, though I could tell that I was viewed as an ‘outsider’. The Deptherapy lot are a tightknit bunch, and I knew I would have to earn my way into the ‘inner circle’, so to speak.

The banter flowed immediately, and I did have to laugh at Richard reminding them to watch their language around other people – it was like being back at school! Once we all donned our blue Deptherapy T-shirts, we were whisked through security and on to the plane, after various scans and checks of wheelchairs and artificial limbs. Made a change from me always being collared with my underwater camera gear! A swift flight, and we were in the Middle East.

On arrival at Roots Red Sea, managers Steve and Claire Rattle welcomed the group with open arms. Deptherapy have long used Roots as their base camp in Egypt, and it was obvious from the way that team members who had been before immediately relaxed into the surroundings. It was like going to a mate’s house, rather than to a resort.

The great thing about Roots is that everything is selfcontained. The accommodation is staged around the restaurant/bar/terrace area, and the pool and dive centre.

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The Rescue Diver team in mid-scenario

Ben Lee delivering an Open Water Diver briefing

A short walk away across a road to the beach, there is another restaurant (used for lunches, and the weekly beach BBQ) and another dive centre, along with sun loungers, etc.

Pharoah Dive Club – the on-site dive centre – offers boat dives and minibus dives to local shore sites, but for the majority of the week, the house reef was going to be the main port of call for the Deptherapy divers. This was perfect for those taking part in courses – we had brand-new divers tackling their Open Water, others moving on to Advanced, and some doing their Rescue Diver, while there were also a few completing their Deptherapy pro course. The house reef offered easy access – essential when you have people missing limbs – but is extensive enough that there was more than enough room on the north and south reefs for several groups without them all getting in one another’s way. Talking of access, the Roots team had that nailed – for transporting double amputees, they had fitted out a wheelbarrow with a thick rug, and the divers were whisked down a concrete pathway to the water’s edge. From here they could get kitted up in the shallows and then make their own way through the channel onto the house reef proper.

As mentioned earlier, that first evening in the restaurant as everyone introduced themselves, and how they had come to be involved with Deptherapy, was quite emotional, as we heard some intensely harrowing tales, but it was incredible to see the level of support the veterans had from not only their fellow comrades, but also the Deptherapy instructional dive team. Some of the guys were quite open and chatty from the get-go, but others were withdrawn and kept themselves to themselves, but as I was to see over the course of the week, the transformation that some of them went through was nothing sort of sensational.

To see them propelling themselves around the reef, with the degree of weightlessness offered to them by the water, was incredible 48

ANDY SEARLE 27, TORQUAY, DEVON Andy was in 1 Rifles, and during the search of a village in Afghanistan, he fell victim to an IED which caused catastrophic damage to his legs and lower torso. He was taken back to Camp Bastion, and then flown back to the UK (with a plane all to himself, he was keen to point out) and was in ICU for four weeks before he woke up. He has since endured multiple surgeries and treatment.

He first found out about Deptherapy back in 2013, but due to medication and surgeries, he didn’t actually start diving until 2015-2016. He has been on various Deptherapy trips, including to Truk Lagoon, and says that he likes being on the same level as someone who is able-bodied. “When I am in the water diving, I am not confined to my wheelchair, I can do anything I like. Totally weightless. And pain free,” he said.

He is now a Rescue Diver, and happy at that – ‘I want to enjoy diving for myself, I don’t want to make it a job at the moment’ – and loves his coral reefs and marine life.

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TH I S Y EAR E SC APE TH E OR D I N A R Y .

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THOMAS OATES 29, LEEDS, YORKSHIRE Tom was 21 when he joined the Scots Guards as a sniper. He was stationed in Afghanistan in 2012-2013, when he was involved in a vehicle explosion, which killed some of his fellow soldiers and left him, while not physically injured, with serious mental issues.

As if his situation was not bad enough, just a few months after he returned to the UK, he and his fiancée were crossing the road when she was hit by a car and tragically died.

Understandably, both these incidents left him with serious PTSD, but he found himself being, as he puts it, ‘passed about’ from one therapist to another. Then he found Deptherapy and met Richard Cullen, and it was truly life-changing. Tom did his Open Water in 2018, his Advanced a few months later, and on this week, completed his Rescue Diver course, before jumping straight into being a trainee Divemaster. He says: “This is where I wanted to be, underwater, away from home, where all my demons await. That’s the therapy that diving does – you can zone out underwater, and concentrate on what you are seeing.” He added: “Deptherapy is my family away from home, and it helps with life in general.”

Ben leading the Open Water Divers

It was an eye-opening, humbling and immensely rewarding week, and I extend my thanks to all of the guys on the trip for allowing me to share that time with them, and I am now proud to call many of them my friends

The Deptherapy members conducted a Dive Against Debris

The two Toms on the Rescue Diver course

THE DIVING

I basically left myself out of the group order, which left me to drift about through all of the different teams throughout the week. I was often dashing about underwater trying to see, and photograph, all of the guys, which certainly kept me fit, especially when half of them were down the south side, and the rest were on the north!

It was simply mind-blowing to see how the veterans got on underwater, especially the amputees. Among the group we had single amputees who had lost one leg, double amputees who had lost both legs, and even a triple amputee, who had lost both legs and one arm. To see them propelling themselves around the reef, with the degree of weightlessness offered to them by the water, was incredible. Never mind the camaraderie with their fellow vets and the Deptherapy team, which it was

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clear to see helped with their various situations, but just the ability to move with such freedom. Everyone was effectively back on a level playing field.

As the week progressed, and I had been spending long days with the group, both in and out of the water, it became clear that I was being brought into the ‘gang’, and it was wonderful to have some great chats with certain members about diving, and dive kit, as this new-found sport gave them a real focus.

It was an eye-opening, humbling and immensely rewarding week, and I extend my thanks to all of the guys on the trip for allowing me to share that time with them, and I am now proud to call many of them my friends. n For more information about Deptherapy and Deptherapy Education, check out: www.deptherapy.co.uk

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John McIntyre delves into a brand-new diving archaeology course which is being set-up on the Caribbean island of Utila – and you can win a place next year!

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alling all would-be diving archaeologists. A golden opportunity is being created for lovers of all things historical underwater on Utila. The plan is to establish a diving archaeology course on this tiny Honduran island, which has the remains of an 18th Century wreck – known locally as ‘The Oliver’ - on its doorstep. The course aims to teach all the skills needed to learn the art of the underwater detective.

Diving archaeology is all about investigating in minute detail the historical significance of a site, whether a wreck or the remnants of an ancient underwater civilisation. Such investigations require rigorous recording and analysis to decipher of a site, using techniques old and new.

Wreck Hunters is the brainchild of Bristol-based businessman Mike Haigh, who has a long track record in the subject, having graduated in archaeology and geography at Leeds University. Mike’s history in the field ranges from being Chief Diver for Oxford University MARE; Chief Technical Photographer on the Studland Bay wreck project; to lecturer in diving archaeology at Bristol University. He’s also a highly qualified instructor and trained as a HSE (Health & Safety Executive) Commercial Scuba Diver.

Mike explains that Wreck Hunters came about as a result of the ‘collision of two ideas.’ The first was based on his experience as an undergraduate excavating Roman forts on what were called ‘training digs’, and then wanting to create the same in diving archaeology, but being unable to do so because there were no ‘suitable’ wrecks that could be worked on. The lightbulb moment happened on a chance visit to the island of Utila, where just such a wreck was located.

Mike said: “Wreck Hunters is a unique opportunity for people to learn the skills of diving archaeology in an environment which is not stressful, but gives the chance to work on a real wreck, a real time capsule, and to help unravel the secrets of this historical treasure.”

Those of us who’ve been around long enough could not forget the raising of perhaps Britain’s most-famous wreck, the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s favourite flagship, which sank off the coast of Portsmouth in the 16th Century. This remains one

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Salvage vessel on station

Exploring a site using DPVs

Aerial shot of coral reef

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Using a vacuum to remove silt

Sediment covers the wreck

Surveying the wreck site

of the world’s greatest examples of professional and amateur divers coming together to create a major diving archaeology team to unravel the secrets of this 700-ton wooden Tudor vessel. Mike says: “The work on the Mary Rose remains an inspiration for all of us who have a passion for diving archaeology. So we have set out to ensure that the skills used to investigate and raise the Mary Rose include precisely the same sort of skills that will be taught in Utila. Not forgetting of course that times have moved on and we now have new technology to help piece together the jigsaws of wrecks being mapped out today.”

To this end, Mike has enlisted a team of highly talented experts to contribute to the project, among them Dr Toby Parker, an internationally acclaimed marine archaeologist.

He’s led numerous archaeological expeditions, mainly in Europe. He also pioneered Marine Archaeology as an undergraduate course, and latterly a Master’s Degree in a subject to which he’s dedicated his professional life.

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According to Toby: “Diving archaeology teaches us there is almost no limit in time to which we can look back to find out about people venturing onto the sea in boats, rafts and using the sea’s resources to help feed them.

“From this came many of the earliest contacts between different human communities in areas of the world as yet uncolonised. So marine archaeology is right now at the cutting edge of all these interesting questions about the early development of culture.”

This particular Utila story goes back nearly half a century, when an expedition known as Operation Fathom II set about hunting for treasure. It was a well-funded, professional team which included a characterful Austrian diver, Gunter Kordovsky, who has become something of a local legend. He and the team discovered a late 18th Century wreck, in around 18m of constantly warm water. It was a voyage which was to change Gunter’s life. He has remained on Utila to this day. Those hoping to become rich financially were disappointed.

SEASON ONE (2020)

The Wreck Hunters project starts this year, within a one-month window in the summer, and provides an exciting opportunity for divers to be a part of a diving archaeology team. There will be availability for all or part of the season-one challenge, which is all about generating the archaeological parameters for carrying out a detailed survey of this 18th Century wreck.

Participants, who will be required to be relatively experienced divers, will execute a range of tasks: Establishing grid points, a baseline, an outline plan of the site, the orientation of the wreck, photographically recording the visible sections, a probe survey, and just as importantly creating a detailed video library of the site.

Season one will most likely appeal to divers with some experience of performing tasks underwater.

Joining the team as part of an all-inclusive package (prices to be announced soon on the website) will provide an opportunity to be among the pioneers getting to the heart of the story of this wreck, its rich history and role in the world of 18th Century mariners.

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WRECK HUNTERS

COURSE CONTENT This is a comprehensive course aimed at teaching all the skills needed to achieve the training required to carry out diving archaeology. It will comprise a combination of classroom and practical lessons on the wreck site itself.

Courses can be anything from one or two weeks up to three months, and will run from June to September. What makes Wreck Hunters different is the ability to customise.

So, if you have attended other courses but have ‘gaps’ in your learning, this course can help. Equally, if you are a complete beginner - and have the time and resources – the team can take you through the complete experience.

SEARCH METHODS

• Tow/scooter – using traditional and modern methods to search large areas for wrecks • Swim-line search – using a large number of divers to cover a significant area • Grid search – a more-structured method to search smaller areas thoroughly • Electronic (echo sounder, etc) – using a range of modern equipment to locate wrecks remotely

Instead, the discovery of this sunken trading ship led to a veritable treasure trove of historical artefacts. Among the haul retrieved from the seabed was pottery, pewter, glass, ship fittings, two large anchors and cannon, the latter now being displayed on the island. It’s Mike’s ambition for the candidates who embark of the course to turn the wreck site into a professional diving archaeology classroom.

“The wreck for me gives us the opportunity to go back 50 years to that time when it was first found and do a proper excavation job. We need to answer the questions that were not answered then: about where she was going, where she was from, what she was constructed of, what she was carrying, who were the people on board, what happened to them? All of these questions could now be answered with the right approach,” he explained.

“This is where we get a bit nerdy. To get good results, students will need to learn the essential tools of the diving archaeology trade - search methods, for example, ranging from basic ‘swim-line’ mapping, plus the use of powered scooters, or the more-sophisticated underwater metal detectors available today.

Divers conducting a probe survey

TRADITIONAL METHODS

• Grid construction – laying a basic grid to assist in an initial survey of a site • Baseline positioning – how to position a baseline to effectively survey a site • Probe survey – to determine the possible format of a wreck site • Photo-mosaics – creating a photomontage of a site • Video recording – of site before excavation

EXCAVATION/ASSOCIATED SKILLS

• Airlift construction and use – how to construct and use an ‘underwater vacuum’ cleaner • Techniques – for the recovery of artefacts • Site photography – for effective recording of an underwater site • Drawing techniques – practice in recording a site by nonphotographic means

SAFETY

• Wet bell use – use of an underwater ‘telephone booth’ underwater comms – from traditional methods (rope signal) to through-water communications • Boat skills/dive boat management – use of small boats (zodiac) and the supervision of a diving project • Compressor operations – the use and maintenance of portable compressors • Decompression – instruction and use of relevant tables

RECORDING OF FINDS

• Post-fieldwork processing – both drawn and photographic record

EXPEDITION PLANNING

• How to plan and organise – a small project devoted to maritime archaeology • Preservation and maintenance – of underwater sites

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SEASON TWO (2021)

As the diving archaeology course in Utila gets into full swing next year, Wreck Hunters will be looking for people to work on the project, most notably instructors, and the more-experienced the better. We’re looking for PADI-instructor-level divers (or equivalent) with a minimum of 100 dives under their belt, especially those who can help teach the art of underwater photography or videography. You should have a first-aid qualification and be trained in O2 administration. Boat skills would also be useful. The jobs will be available from June through to mid-September. Please contact the team via www.wreckhunters.co.uk for more details.

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Stunning Caribbean beach scene

DIVING STANDARDS

For someone to get the most out of the Wreck Hunters diving archaeology course, they will need to have a minimum level of scuba-diving experience.

With advice from Neil Brock, one of the top film and television HSE dive contractors/supervisors often working for the BBC, the team has opted for the following requirements: • PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent, with at least 30 dives • Minimum age of 18 • Recognised diving medical + completion of a medical questionnaire • DAN insurance is mandatory • Candidates should have a first-aid qualification • Participants will be required to take a pre-course assessment dive • Modern, well-serviced diving equipment is included, but feel free to bring your own gear, including mask, fins and computer The centre staff provide safet cover and all diving safety has been

“Surveying the site will likely include a grid assessed on the basis of professionally recognised standards of construction – baseline positioning – and more working underwater. commonly these days the use of video cameras, Utila also has easy access to emergency facilities, with an on-site with the possible end result of a photomosaic.” hyperbaric chamber on the island.

He continued: “Recording techniques are especially important. Perhaps the most-significant Archive shot of a wreck survey element of the work is the excavation of the site with a range of methods deployed, including everything from the construction of a scaffold frame, to use of an airlift (an underwater vacuum) and, of course, the use of lifting bags to recover heavier objects.”

No doubt qualified divers (See Diving Standards for detail) will get the hang of these techniques relatively quickly, especially as Utila is a tremendous place to dive. It’s got warm tropical water, light winds and the wreck lies in 18m of crystal-clear water.

“It’s a fantastic environment to teach diving archaeology – an advanced underwater classroom,” says Mike.

Crucially, this course – which plans to start in earnest in 2021 – is intended to provide the foundation for people who could see themselves wishing to take part in underwater archaeology projects at all levels, from volunteer to full-time practitioner. Another member of the Wreck Hunters team is Joanna Yellowlees-Bound, who has an impressive list of credentials in the field, having worked on excavations all around the world, from an Etruscan 6th BC shipwreck to other important wrecks such as the German ‘pocket battleship’ Graf Spee from World War Two to Lord Nelson’s ship, the Agamemnon, both found in Uruguay.

Old-school diving system

Joanna says: “If you want to have diving archaeology as a career or another string to your bow as a diver, you will have to put a lot of hard graft into it. It’s no mean feat to make a success for yourself in diving archaeology. You need people who are dedicated, passionate about the subject and always looking for that new angle of knowledge - and the rewards can be huge.”

If you’ve read this far, clearly your attention has been grabbed. Perhaps Wreck Hunters is the inspiration needed to inspire a new passion for diving archaeology, as an amateur or professional, starting in the stunning location of Utila. n

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CALLING ALL

WRECK HUNTERS!

WIN A DIVING ARCHAEOLOGY COURSE IN THE CARIBBEAN

WORTH MORE THAN £2,000!

TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING!

Qualified divers who meet the Diving Standards are asked to submit a 60-second video (recorded on a smart phone or video camera) with a personal message talking directly to camera about why you would make the best candidate for a free diving archaeology course.

It’s a chance of a lifetime for a diver who loves all things wrecks, not to mention the opportunity to enjoy some of the other dive sites of Utila.

Simply record your video and go to the website competition page at: www.wreckhunters.co.uk and follow the instructions, as well as submitting your details.

This fantastic prize is a two-week trip to the Caribbean island of Utila in 2021.

It includes all flights and transfers from the UK, accommodation, full-board, the diving archaeology course itself, and all diving.

The winner will be flown to Roatan, from where transfers to the island will be by light aircraft or boat. Dates will be available from June to mid-September 2021.

Terms and conditions. See ‘Diving Standards’ for minimum qualifications. This competition is restricted to those over the age of 18.

The winner will be chosen by a panel of experts and announced later in the year. Closing date is 31 August 2020. A full list of the terms and conditions can also be found on the competition page of the website.

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Lena Kavender and Byron Conroy immerse themselves in a watery world full of weird and wonderful critters when they stay at Gangga Island Resort and Spa in Indonesiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North Sulawesi PHOTOGRAPHS BY BYRON CONROY

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Vibrant soft coral

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lose your eyes and picture a warm tropical island with white beaches and coconut palm trees, surrounded by turquoise waters and coral reef.

That is Gangga Island (www.ganggaisland.com) for you. A real-life dream destination where you can dive some of the most-pristine coral reefs in the world, and an hour later relax in a hammock on the beach with a cocktail in your hand.

On arrival, we were greeted by Debbie, who gave us an introduction to the island and the resort - all while we were enjoyed some truly delicious coconut/strawberry milkshakes served in fresh coconuts, along with sandwiches and fruits - before being shown to our room. All rooms are sea-view bungalows with a large terrace including sunbeds and drying rack. The resort is well planned and although it has a capacity for 50 people, it never feels crowded.

During the welcome briefing with dive centre manager Paulus, we learned that Gangga Divers offered a unique variety of dive sites. Bangka Island stands for the best local diving in the area, while you can also choose to dive the famous walls of Bunaken National Marine Park, and do critter spotting in Lembeh Strait. A real treat for underwater photographers to get access to some of the world´s best wide-angle and macro, all without having to move resort.

Gangga Divers also offer nitrox fills at no additional charge for all divers with relevant certifications.

Lena checks out a large bunch of soft coral

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Expect a riot of colour on every dive

Sahaung has a reputation of having some of the mostcolourful and beautiful soft coral reef in North Sulawesi, and after diving it we dare to say even in the world

Whip coral goby

Anemonefish

The walls are adorned in coral growth

THE BEAUTY OF BANGKA

We spent three days diving around the stunning Bangka Island, a 25-minute boat ride from Gangga. The dive sites Batu Gosoh, Batu Tiga and Busa Bora made it a real challenge for an underwater photographer to choose between wide-angle or macro. The reef was covered in beautiful soft corals, large schools of glassfish, yellow snapper, batfish and sweetlips were spotted on every dive, and there was also a reasonably good chance of seeing dugongs during the safety stops in the shallows. At the same time, the macro at these sites was also astonishing. In one single gorgonian fan, we found no less than eight Bargabanti pymgy seahorses, just to find another five of them in the next fan along.

SOFT CORAL HAVEN SAHAUNG

On the fourth day we had the pleasure of visiting a site that we had heard so much about. Sahaung has a reputation of having some of the most-colourful and beautiful soft coral reef in North Sulawesi, and after diving it we dare to say even in the world. The colours you get to see on these walls are simply stunning. Blue, pink, red, yellow and orange soft corals are literally covering the dive site, along with an abundance of marine life such as yellow snapper and tons of reef fish.

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Blue-lined snapper

GETTING HOT AT YELLOW COCO

Topside at Gangga Island

Another very cool and fascinating site was the Yellow Coco Satu next to Bangka Island. It is a white sandy slope with coral reef in the shallows. As we descended down the slope I was thinking to myself that this must be the most quiet site so far, with not too much going on. That was until we hit a depth of 20m and I found myself swimming straight through a massive halocline with hot fresh water pumping up from the ground. We had reached the highlight of this dive, the Hot Spring. This hydrothermal vent pumps 90° C hot silica-rich fresh water into the surrounding ocean water. On the otherwise relatively empty sandy bottom, a community of sponges in particular but also other marine life such as whip gorgonians have evolved around the vent. We spent the remaining bottom time exploring this captivating area before it was time to surface. Hydrothermal vents within recreational dive limits are a rare phenomenon, and we were very lucky to experience this site.

COCONUTS AND SUNBEDS ON THE BEACH

Even though the diving is definitely the highlight of this area, Gangga Island is also the perfect location for relaxation, sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling. The white sandy beach surrounding the resort could have been taken from any dream holiday advert or postcard. Each guest has their own allocated sunbed on the beach, perfectly shaded by a nearby coconut palm. Anyone fancying a swim can do so in the ocean or in the huge swimming pool with a truly luxurious design.

A REAL TREAT

No relaxation day is complete without a traditional Indonesian massage. On our last day before check out, Byron and I treated ourselves to a couple´s massage at the Gangga Spa. The treatment rooms have a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. This gives you the impression of laying on the beach, but with the comfort of being in an air-conditioned room with soft Indonesian music playing. The feeling of relaxation is complete and while at Gangga, a visit to the Spa is a must-do.

The reef is extremely healthy

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On the otherwise relatively empty sandy bottom, a community of sponges in particular but also other marine life such as whip gorgonians have evolved around the vent

Idyllic beach scene

FUELLING UP

Breakfast, lunch and dinner is included for all guests at the Gangga Resort. In addition to this a snack with coffee, tea or hot chocolate is served by the swimming pool each afternoon, accompanied by acoustic guitar songs performed by a lovely member of the staff.

The meals in the restaurant are served either from an a la carte menu or buffet style. While my partner is a real meat lover, I tend to prefer vegetarian options and fruits and vegetables.

Both of us found the food delicious, with lots of options and variety pleasing our different tastes. The service at the restaurant and at the whole resort is outstanding, you will never wait long to get your glass refilled, or to receive the next dish.

Porcelain crab

LIFE IS EASY AT GANGGA ISLAND

As a guest at Gangga Island, you will be really well looked after and thoroughly spoiled throughout your holiday. Both from a diving aspect and at the resort in general. Everything is taken care of by the professional and friendly staff. All you have to do is to show up for your dives and for the meals, which gives you lots of time to relax and to enjoy this tropical dream destination to the fullest. n

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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GETTING INTO THE MOVIES You might be a stalwart stills photographer, but with more and more cameras capable of shooting video, Phil and Anne Medcalf look at how to get started with movie-making PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHIL AND ANNE MEDCALF / WWW.ALPHAMARINEPHOTO.COM

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f you have a digital camera for still photography underwater, it will almost certainly have some ability to shoot video. A lot of the cameras that divers buy when starting out are action cameras like the GoPro and its many copies. These cameras suit video much more than still photography. If you’d like to know more about what makes a good camera for underwater photography, check out our article in the February 2019 issue.

If you are buying a camera for underwater videography, bear in mind that cameras that often get great reviews for their video ability, such as many Sony models, are ‘good’ at video because of their higher-end features, such as the ability to shoot with picture profiles using so-called ‘gamma curves’ to give greater dynamic range and the ability to colour-correct.

These require more editing input to get the potential benefit from them, so aren’t useful if you have no intention of doing that type of editing.

Most cameras will shoot 1080HD video and newer models generally have 4K capability as well. Bear in mind that video resolution is not the only factor in the quality of video. The camera’s sensor size and the lens used are very important and, of course, the light levels and visibility will impact on your video as well.

The same simple rule of get as close as you can applies to underwater video as much as still photography. Some action

cameras don’t focus very closely, so you may find that for shooting small subjects you have to add some type of macro lens, if one is available to go with your camera and housing.

In the same vein if you are looking to buy a camera and housing for video, look at whether it supports wide angle and macro lens options.

There isn’t a limit to how much you can end up spending on underwater videography equipment. As well as some very serious high-end cameras, which require expensive housings, you can add not just video lights and arms but also separately housed monitors that as well as giving you a screen to view more easily, can vastly increase recording capacity.

You don’t need video lights to get started shooting video underwater, using available light is a considerably cheaper option. Depending on depth and the type of camera you are using you can use custom white balance and/or filters to colour-correct video down to about 15m depth. At that point you’ll have lost a great deal of the wavelengths of light and things will look blue and green without an additional light Turtles make a great video subject

Many cameras will shoot video

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Use divers in your videos

Barracuda look awesome in video

Macro subjects can be interesting

source. Of course, if you are working with a subject that doesn’t have a great deal of colour, this isn’t necessarily a major issue.

If you haven’t yet bought a camera for underwater videography, think about the camera’s ability to white balance for video underwater. Most high-end compacts and interchangeable lens cameras will let you set the custom white balance for video as well as stills. In fact, for most cameras being able to custom white balance for video is more important than for still images, because you take RAW format still pictures with available light and colour-correct them using software. Video shot on many cameras don’t allow as much colour correction when using editing software, so it’s better with many cameras to get the colour-correct in camera.

There are cameras available that have picture profiles or shoot actual RAW video, which allow for more control of the video’s appearance when editing, but you will usually pay a premium for cameras with those capabilities, with the notable exception of GoPro’s Protune Flat.

Adding video lights will increase the scope of when and where you can get colourful footage underwater. But cost varies wildly with build quality, power, burn time and the quality of the light produced by it being factors in cost. A

Most cameras will shoot 1080HD video and newer models generally have 4K capability as well. Bear in mind that video resolution is not the only factor in the quality of video

cheap light may well lose power very rapidly as the battery is depleted, while a higher-end model may give light more consistently. Look for lights with wide angles to give good coverage and mount them on an arm system that will allow you to move them out from the housing to increase coverage and reduce backscatter when needed.

One of the easiest ways to improve your videos is to shoot short clips instead of trying to keep shooting for long periods.

Multiple short clips of 15-20 seconds are much easier to manage when you come to edit too. Trawling through a whole dives worth of footage to find a couple of interesting excerpts to use gets tired pretty quickly. This will also keep the camera temperature down, which reduces the chance of your housing port misting up and also saves on battery life.

Even if you are videoing the same creature, you’ll get a better look to your movie by taking a short clip and then changing the camera angle or your position before the next shot. This makes for more interesting, documentary-style movies.

Do your utmost to keep the camera as steady as possible, nausea-inducing footage is a common complaint about underwater videos. Your aim should be to keep movements as smooth as possible with the minimum of camera shake.

Where your camera is positioned has a big impact on the amount of camera movement that appears in your videos.

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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY Head mounting, while useful if you want a hand’s-free black-box recording of your dive, doesn’t make for pleasant viewing. Human beings constantly move their heads and this translates on video to a lot of bouncing around. If you mount an action camera on a pole, be aware of how easy it is for small movements at your end of the pole to convert to much larger ones at the camera end. Two handles either on a tray or a housing itself is by far the most-stable platform and will give you mounting points for arms and lights.

When you see something on your dive that you want to film you need to get yourself ready and in the right position to achieve your shot. Make sure that you are steady in the water so that the video stays smooth, it is better to stop finning while you are shooting if possible. You will still be able to float forward just by using the momentum from your fin kicks before pressing record if you want the effect of swimming through the underwater scenery.

Editing is pretty much essential for underwater video. You’ll almost always need to cut down your footage. If you’ve shot a 20-second clip expect to turn it into five to seven seconds unless there is constant activity in it. I tend to look for the steadiest portion of each piece of footage and cut away the other parts. Then put a series of clips together to make a short movie. Avoid including zooming in your movie, you’ll find it tends to be unpleasant to watch unless done very smoothly and you’ll often pick up the sound of the zoom motor. Better instead to cut between a long shot and a close up.

There are a big range of editing programmes available spanning the simple to the very complex, and in a mixture of costs. The one we currently use is Da Vinci Resolve, which gives you the capability of doing quite complex work if you want to, and is available in a free version.

Sound and music quality is very important. For viewers

Big animals like mantas are always popular

poor sound quality or unpleasant music can play a big factor in why they don’t finish viewing a video. Bear in mind when choosing music that if it is copyrighted, you may have to pay royalties to share or show publicly. Royalty free music is available from a range of sources, or if you are very creative, you could write your own.

The final movie should be short. Especially if you are going to share your video online via social media. If you want people to watch it a short video of, say, no more than a couple of minutes is likely to get more views than a 20-minute marathon. This is even more the case when you aren’t well known. Attention spans are short these days and until your material is known to be good, you’ll struggle to snag interest.

Avoid boring people by keeping the content interesting and the editing snappy. Long introductory segments without any action will turn people off, as will lingering on the same subject and angle with no change in what’s happening.

Video has some genuine advantages over stills in some situations. It gives more opportunity to show behaviour and the dynamic nature of marine life, such as octopus or cuttlefish changing colour and texture. It can also impart a sense of scale when used to show wrecks being explored, or large marine creatures making their way past the camera for instance.

Producing videos is more time consuming than processing individual still images and that’s what often causes would-be videographers to fall by the wayside having accumulated large quantities of unedited footage. But if you can knuckle down and persevere with it, you’ll find that underwater There are lots of movies can have a substantial draw with the editing programmes online audience. n

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The assignments of photojournalist STEVE JONES have ranged from colossal battleship wrecks to sub-zero encounters with apex polar predators. Lorna Dockerill chats to him about deep dives, whaleshark sightings and creative lighting PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE JONES

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STEVE JONES

STEVE JONES

Steve Jones is a photojournalist whose award-winning work has been published in more than 30 countries during a career spanning three decades. A Blancpain Edition Fifty Fathoms photographer, Steve is an all-rounder, whose list of assignments has ranged from colossal battleship wrecks to sub-zero encounters with apex polar predators. More of his work can be seen at: www.millionfish.com

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Q: How did you get started in underwater photography?

A: I bought my first underwater camera while working as a professional diving instructor in the Red Sea in the early 1990s, and my interest soon led to assisting visiting professional photographers. A few years later when I was based in the Maldives, a well-known German magazine gave me my first assignment. I still photograph for them today.

Q: What came first - diving or photography?

A: My love of nature led first to my interest in photography and then I learned to dive at the age of 14. In my 20s, while working as diving instructor, I combined these two passions.

My bank balance has never been healthy since!

Q: What’s in your underwater photography kitbag?

A: I use SEACAM housings, which have fantastic build quality, durability and ergonomics. Housed in those are Nikon D850 and D4 cameras, and I use a full range of lenses from ultrawide-angle to macro. For lighting, I use SEACAM and Inon strobes and multiple LED lamps for off-camera lighting, including the high-powered Orcalights. Like most underwater photographers, I love gadgets, so my bag is also full of weird bits of kit that at the time I couldn’t live without, but in many cases I’ve still yet to find a use for!

Q: Favourite location for diving and underwater photography?

A: That would be Galapagos for mind-blowing wildlife encounters, Papua New Guinea for pristine reefs, and Truk Lagoon for the best wreck diving in the world.

Q: Most challenging dive?

A: I do a fair bit of wreck photography. Any deep rebreather dive with a camera is challenging due to the high task loading and amount of kit involved. Add low light, bad visibility and current into the mix and you’ve got the recipe for some of the most-challenging dives I’ve done. I readily find these in the

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English Channel. Photographing these deep wrecks has probably progressed me as both a diver and photographer more than any other thing I’ve done underwater.

Q: Who are your diving inspirations?

A: There are loads - far too many to mention them all! Firstly, the instructors at the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) where I learned to dive. The quality of the training I received as a teenager was second to none, and they did it for free in their spare time. Even though I lost contact with them years ago, I hold them in the highest regard.

Like many, my earliest photographic influence was David Doubilet, whose work is simply timeless and never fails to inspire. I also admired the work of Chris Newbert. I am constantly in awe of Laurent Ballesta and Paul Nicklen’s imagery, which is captured in extremely challenging conditions. I have learned a huge amount over the years from Alex Mustard’s work, someone who is always open and generous with his knowledge. The list goes on. I also love looking through the work of emerging talent. Instagram is full of images that are just jaw dropping.

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Q: Hairiest moment when shooting underwater?

A: In a momentous act of supreme stupidity, I once completely ran out of gas! Complacency and distraction led to me ignoring recognised safety margins so when I then suffered an equipment failure, I had no contingency. I got out of that one by a fine margin, and it caused me to hit the reset button on my whole approach to risk and once again start diving in the way I was taught, rather than bending age-old rules due to my own over-confidence. These days, as a hypoxic-trimix trained rebreather diver, I am meticulous in my approach to every aspect of the dive. My family’s welfare depends on it.

Q: What is your most-memorable dive and why?

A: Over the years there have been many that have left me with an unwavering grin. One that stands out was in 2004 when I had returned to the Maldives. I’d been diving regularly in a location on the outer edge of one of the atolls where there are often whaleshark sightings, but in three weeks of concentrated effort I’d had no success.

It was my last dive of that visit, I’d been in the water more than 60 minutes, was low on gas and hadn’t taken a single frame of the 36 exposures in my film camera. I saw a large ball of fusiliers in the blue, so swam out to get a few pictures to close the trip off. As I was looking through the viewfinder the ball of fish parted liked a curtain and the sky went dark as a huge shape swam through the centre. It was a whaleshark!

My favourite image from the set made the cover of a number of magazines and books around the world.

Q: Which of your photos are you most proud of and why?

A: This image of a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, the mighty World War Two US bomber. It lies at 72m near the island of Vis, Croatia, and I was lucky to be partnered with Andi Marović, owner of nearby Manta Diving Centre, who knows the wreck well. This aircraft crash landed on its way to Vis airfield after being badly damaged on a bombing mission in 1944. The co-pilot, Ernest Vienneau, had already been killed when the aircraft was initially hit, but the skill of the surviving pilot

enabled an intact water landing that saved the rest of the crew.

Research by Croatian historian Danijel Frka had already confirmed the aircraft’s exact identity, so I referenced Ernest’s name in the caption when it was commended in Underwater Photographer of the Year 2017. A few days later I was contacted by members of Ernest’s descended family after their friend had seen the image published in a US newspaper. They had no idea his aircraft had been located until they saw this image, as he had previously been listed as Missing in Action.

I’ve been in regular contact with them ever since and seeing imagery of Ernest’s resting place has meant a huge amount to them. My own grandfather, who I never got to know, served in RAF bomber command in World War Two, so there is a further strong personal element to this image for me.

Q: What responsibility do you think underwater photographers have to raise awareness about the marine environment?

A: We all have a collective duty to protect that which we love. We are lucky to be able to see beneath the waves, but we also observe the damage being done to the marine environment. Pollution, the decimation of sharks, bottom dredging, coral bleaching, these are all things that we can raise in the public consciousness, whether by bringing back imagery of these horrors or simply by reminding people that their children may only be able to look at our images of these wonders, because one day soon they’ll all be gone unless we change. Governments will only change legislation and act if the voters care about a subject enough, and as a society we are way behind the time when serious legislation should have been introduced globally to protect the planet. n

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MAURITIUS

AN ADVENTURE OF SURVIVAL Patrizia Vecchio recounts a salutary tale about a drift dive in Mauritius that goes horribly wrong and leaves her and her buddies adrift on the surface for several hours

I

t was my first time travelling alone on a scuba-diving holiday. During my two-week stay in Mauritus, I lived at an unassuming hotel in the Grand Gaube coastal area, by the Indian Ocean.

My last week quickly arrived, and I realised I was only two dives short of reaching my 100th. Quite a milestone for a scuba diver! This also meant I would successfully complete my Drift Diver certification.

With a big smile, I booked a double-tank dive and planned a beach party upon return. It was to be the perfect way to end my holiday - or so I thought. Who would have known this would be the longest drift dive of my life?

THE LONGEST DRIFT DIVE OF MY LIFE

It was winter time, so choppy crossings, strong winds and strong currents were a normal occurrence. However, on this particular Friday, the wind was extremely violent, causing rough waves. The crossing was treacherous, but we did not suspect any threat. The five of us soon arrived at the dive centre, loaded all our equipment on board, and left for Coin de Mire a little island which was one of our regular dive spots there.

It was not long after we plunged into the sea that we quickly came to realise the underwater current was exceptionally strong, causing us to crawl, holding onto corals.

Our instructor decided to abort the dive and the five of us surfaced after only half an hour.

74

We inflated our jackets and waited for our boat to spot us.

We had a clear view of the bay, and we could see two catamarans anchoring, but our vessel was not in sight. The current was pulling us out, so we inflated an SMB and used our whistles, hoping to draw attention. No luck. And we were drifting out.

We formed a close group – three divers in the front and two in the back - and started finning. Initially, the current was pulling us towards land. But then, high waves, rain and wind shoved us in the wrong direction. All our finning efforts seemed to be for nothing. We had already been in the water for two hours. Until then, we did not see or hear any boats, airplanes or helicopters looking for us. Being in such a situation with another four experienced divers was very

After three hours in the water we started seeing the first aircraft hovering in the distance. We waved with an SMB and tried to attract attention

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born and brought up in Milan, Italy, Patrizia lives in Brixen (Sudtirol) and speaks English, German and Italian. She first took the plunge in Egypt, back in 2007, and ever since diving has become a very important part of her life, the perfect way to meet people from all around the world, united by the passion for the blue.

beneficial. We were all capable of restraining our emotions and maintaining high spirits. We supported each other and kept one another motivated enough to keep going. We then decided to try to reach the island behind us. At least the rain had stopped and a blue, sunny sky was supporting us.

After three hours in the water we started seeing the first aircraft hovering in the distance. We waved with an SMB and tried to attract attention. But the plane was too far away.

Our survival instincts kept our minds and emotions busy and numb. Time passed and the plane returned, flying ever closer.

The plane flew over our area four times, and we suspect that in one of these passings they spotted us, because they sent the co-ordinates to the Coast Guard.

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After fighting for our lives for more than five hours in the rough ocean, we finally heard a boat. None of us believed it to be so close. When we spotted the speedboat sent by the Coast Guard, we just looked at it in utter disbelief.

WHAT I LEARNT FROM THIS EXPERIENCE

Our adventure was over. We were out of the water at last, finally safe and alive. On the boat we euphorically embraced one another - no further comments needed. The biggest lesson I learnt from this experience is to always be critical - to always double-check every detail of what dive centres are doing, to use your own experience, as well as that of your diving buddies, to rule out possible risks, and then maybe you can prevent these accidents from happening in the future… maybe.

In the end, I did not hold the beach party after all. But, at least, I was alive to tell the tale. n

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BEYOND TECHNICAL

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T

he nine-metre-long RIB sped past the temple of Poseidon perched on Cape Sounion high above. The early morning sunshine reflecting off the tall stone pillars made the monument look even more impressive.

Hopefully, the mythical Sea God was watching over us as we headed out to the wreck site, a paddle steamer lying in two pieces at a maximum depth of 50m. We passed by the final resting place of the HMHS Britannic and the SS Burdigala, the latter wreck being the main purpose of my visit, scheduled for later in the week.

Several days earlier, I had touched down in Athens, Greece, where I met up with diving friend Marinos Giourgas, who manages Aegeantec (www.aegeantec.gr), a tech-diving outfit based just outside of the capital. I first met Marinos in 2017 while diving in Malta with Techwise, and then again in 2018, when we explored a German JU-52 transport plane lying off the coast of Rhodes at a maximum depth of 75m.

Marinos works closely with Athens Divers Club, a PADI five-star facility owned by IDC Staff Instructor Petros Delagrammatikas. The dive centre is also an authoriszed PADI Tec Rec centre, where Marinos manages the technical diving section. He offers PADI DSAT coursestraining up to full trimix, level are offered along with tech guided dives for both OC and CCR divers.

The majority of tech divers visiting Athens are lured by the main attraction, HMHS Britannic, which is a great shame, as the seabed around Piraeus harbour is absolutely loaded with historical and modern-day shipwrecks. Marinos had made plans for us to explore as many wrecks in the 50m and 60m range as possible leading up to the grand finale, ocean liner SS Burdigala, lying upright at a maximum depth of 76m. The Burdigala is normally used as a ‘warmup’ dive for a Britannic expedition, but many divers have said the wreck was as good as the main act, while some say even better.

Journey time from the airport to Athen’s dive club, based at Anavyssos, is about 25-35 minutes (taxi fare approximately €35 each way). The centre is open all year round for both recreational and tech diving. I had left my trip a little late in the season. Marinos recommends visiting either in May or September, when it’s not too hot and not too busy with tourists. Early October was extremely quiet, with some of the restaurants already closed up for the winter.

Marinos had put together a loose package offering various standards of accommodation ranging from extreme basic to comfortable. I opted for ‘basic’, which even went below my own estimation of the word. The Calypso hotel had been caught in a time warp, with 1970’s-style pine furnishings and bathrooms. I even found a couple of old Juke boxes gathering dust in the corner of the restaurant. But on the upside, everything was functional and spotlessly clean, and the sea view made up for any feelings of discomfort. I have never had my bed sheets changed three times in a week!

Prices for a double or twin room are €60 B&B even during peak season. The family owned hotel sits right next door to the beach, boat mooring and dive centre, which was a huge plus.

The major downer is there are no other restaurants or a decent-sized supermarket within walking distance, so choice is limited somewhat unless I hired a car or paid for a taxi.

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I followed Marinos over to the remains of the bow, where the sunlight streaming through the deck supports looked very dramatic and was probably the my best shot of the day

Burdigala

OR BUST!

Stuart Philpott broke out his tech-diving equipment and headed for Athens in Greece with one mission in mind â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to dive the SS Burdigala. Would Poseidon support his efforts?

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STUART PHILPOTT

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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www.narkedat90.com Marinos said he was happy to ferry me down to the shops to gather provisions a couple of times during the week, and would do the same for any visiting tech divers. There is also a little shop selling pastries, ice creams, biscuits and crisps next door to the dive centre. They even rustle up a tasty home-cooked lunch most days. During the evenings I managed to sample a few of the local restaurants. The moussaka and souvlaki were particularly tasty, and prices were not too expensive, even with a carafe of wine thrown in.

The three-star Alexander hotel and the four-star Ever Eden beach resort are located just a few miles down the road. I took a look inside the Alexander and some parts of the hotel had been modernised, while some of the rooms were still 1980’s decor. But there was a good-sized swimming pool, bar and beach facilities, so probably a better choice for families. Prices were in the region of €70 B&B. I didn’t bother checking out the neighbouring Ever Eden, as internet prices quoted €170 a night, which was way too classy for most of the divers I know! The final option was an AirBnB apartment that sleeps six for €200 per night, which is located right next to the Calypso hotel and has an uninterrupted view of the Monster picturesque little bay. propeller Aegeantec offer nine normoxic wrecks at depths between 40m-65m, this include planes, paddle steamers and freighters, and six full trimix wrecks at depths between 70m-120m, including a U-boat, and the one-and-only Britannic. Some of the wrecks require permits, so booking up in advance will avoid any disappointments. Boat journey times vary from 15 minutes to one hour 30 minutes. I spent my first day warming up on several shallower wrecks. It had been a number of months since my last tech dive, so I wanted to get comfortable again wearing a twinset and stages. The remains of SS Eleni lie about ten minutes RIB ride away. Even though the wreck is well broken up, there are still one or two overhead sections to negotiate at a maximum depth of 29m. The second dive site was located close to the steep cliff face at Legrena. Over the years a number of cars, vans and trucks had been driven

Greek waters off superlative tech diving

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There is some great wreck penetration

off the road either as an insurance scam or stolen and then dumped. Depths range between 20m-35m. The first car we sighted had been badly crushed, so I couldn’t make out what it was, but the Jeep Wrangler complete with B.F.Goodrich tyres was still recognisable. We followed the wall, stopping to look at various bits of wreckage, most covered in a thick layer of growth. On our deco stop a bottlenose dolphin swam around us and then disappeared into the blue. Marinos said they were often sighted due to the nearby fish farms.

My first ‘serious’ dive was on a World War Two Italian Savoia Marchetti SM79 fighter bomber lying at a maximum depth of 59m. I was using OC, so opted for 19/35 in my twins, a 32 percent deco gas one 1 and a 72 percent deco gas two, giving me a bottom time of 25 minutes. Marinos had prepped his JJ rebreather. Weather and surface conditions couldn’t

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have been any better. An hour later we were at Poros Island kitting up for the dive. I had already watched a video of the wreck site on YouTube and discussed the optimum positions for my pictures. A wide-angle plan view of the intact plane with Marinos shining his light inside the cockpit was my number-one picture composition. The three radial Alfa Romeo engines with props still attached came a close second, followed by the cockpit complete with dials, throttle and glass canopy. As far as World War Two aeroplane wrecks go, it wouldn’t get much better than this!

The descent was uneventful until we hit 54m. For some reason, the seabed had erupted into a cloud of silt which was steadily rising up towards us. I caught site of the plane’s propeller tip and could just about make out the fuselage, but with only one to two metres of visibility, I had absolutely no chance of getting any decent pictures, let alone explore the wreck. Marinos had no idea what had caused the silt cloud.

There was a hotel on the shore nearby and he thought there might be an effluent pipe flushing out somewhere. If so, there was a whole lot of effluent coming out! The wind had changed direction while we were preparing to dive, so maybe this had caused an upwelling? Marinos last dived at the site in June where water clarity on the day had been 30 metres plus. Whatever the reason for the extreme variation, this was a huge disappointment for both of us.

The following day Marinos planned a dive at Kea Island, the final resting place of paddle steamer Patris. The ship hit the reef and sank in 1868 without any loss of life. She now lies in two pieces at a maximum depth of 50m. I was feeling quite apprehensive as we kitted up for the dive. I wasn’t concerned about my equipment, surface conditions or the dive itself, just the underwater visibility! Again I checked out several YouTube videos just to see where the most-photogenic areas were likely to be. In this

80

case, the giant paddle wheel, squared off stern with lifeboat davits, and the skeletal remains of the bow section. Costas, our support diver, peered over the sponson and assured me the water clarity looked much better, which raised my confidence levels. We did a bubble check and made our descent down the shotline to the wreck site. I was relieved to see the visibility was at least 25 metres, maybe more. I got some great shots at the stern, and my strobes illuminated the bright red sponges growing over the metal structure. I followed Marinos over to the remains of the bow, where the sunlight streaming through the deck supports looked very dramatic. We made our way up the side of the reef wall and finished our deco watching the reef fish nibbling on the flora.

The advanced weather forecast was beginning to look grim.

Strong winds coming from the north didn’t bode well for diving, but for now we soldiered on. Close to Piraeus harbour at a maximum depth of 52m lies the Pilaros. In September 1976, the 59-metre-long freighter was carrying a cargo of timber from Dubrovnik to Syria when she capsized and sank. The crew had already abandoned ship, so no fatalities were reported. The bridge, the rudder, and propeller and the openings on deck area are well worth exploring.

Athens, Greece, is not just about the Britannic. There is a good range of wrecks suitable for all experience levels, depths ranging from 20m to 120m. I was surprised to hear that there had only been around 30 small groups visiting the area in the past few years, so this is still pretty much virgin territory.

Currently, it’s just Marinos running the tech show, with some strong support from Athen’s Dive Club staff and facilities.

Unfortunately, on this trip, shit did happen. I had the foresight to add one or two contingency days to my trip just in case, but I didn’t expect to be battling with the weather and underwater visibility in the Med of all places. I guess if there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the past 30 years of diving, it’s that nothing is ever predictable. As soon as I returned to the UK, the weather conditions around Athens returned to mirror calm with excellent underwater visibility every day! This time around I had lucked out on the Burdigala, but I did manage to explore some of the shallower wrecks ranging from 20m-60m. From what I could see, the area has a lot of potential, enough for me to book a followup trip sometime next year. I will get on the Burdigala! n You can get epic vis in the Mediterranean

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The Hydra Neoprene Drysuit has a close-fitting, streamlinedstyle, and is warm and flexible thanks to the use of 4mm High-Density Neoprene (HDN) throughout the suit. HDN fuses the thermal protection of neoprene with a greater consistency of buoyancy throughout the dive. HDN is laminated with hardwearing fabric on the outside for excellent abrasion resistance, and smoother linings on the inside to increase comfort and aid donning. Supratex linings protect critical wear areas in the crotch and underarms without limiting freedom of movement. Parts of the suit normally exposed to additional abrasion, such as shoulders, waist and knees, have a tough Durawear print.

Seams are fused and blindstitched before being taped on the inside, and external plasma seams prevent abrasion from your equipment or environment.

Mobility is often the trade-off when choosing a neoprene drysuit. The Hydra maximises this mobility with underarm gussets and the same composite YKK dry-zipper used in the Argonaut drysuit, which is much more flexible and lighter in weight than the traditional brass zips. These zips, if looked after properly (a small amount of silicone grease applied to the zipper head every few dives) will give excellent performance. The 4mm compressed neoprene dryboots used on the Argonaut are fitted as standard on the Hydra. With double-layer reinforcement, good grip and Fourth Element’s now-ubiquitous ergonomic footbed, these boots are comfortable and reliable. Fitted with Apollo Bio-Dry inflate and dump valves, the specification of this suit makes it the ideal companion for many cold-water adventures.

Available in Men’s and Women’s styles in off-the-peg sizes. www.fourthelement.com

SCUBAPRO MK25 EVO/D420 OR MK19 EVO/D420 (SRP: £695) Combining the iconic design of the original D-series regulators with the latest advances in breathing performance technology, Scubapro engineers have created the D420, which features a brand-new balanced valve inside a housing supported by a full metal structure.

Called the Progressive Flow Control Valve, it is able to deliver abundant airflow for the best breathing performance, with a natural smoothness comparable to what you might experience breathing on the surface.

The uniquely shaped fibreglass-reinforced nylon casing is ultra-durable and allows the LP hose to be connected on either the right or left side for maximum rigging flexibility.

A new dive/pre-dive system includes a switch on the top of the casing with a thumb tab for adjusting the direction of airflow right out of the valve.

It is paired with the tried-and-tested MK25 Evo balanced piston first stage, or the brand-new MK19 Evo balanced diaphragm first stage, which is environmentally sealed to prevent water and pollutants from fouling the inner mechanism, and is substantially smaller and lighter than the original MK19. www.scubapro.com 82

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OMNISWIVEL 2.0 (SRP: £70-£108)

A swivel fitted between a regulator second stage and the hose can make things a whole lot more comfortable when you are diving, and that is where an Omniswivel comes in.

The original Omniswivel was very popular, but now there is a 2.0 version out, which has an O-ring to keep sediment out of the main swivel screw, and a new side interlocking feature makes it impossible for the swivel to come apart. Best of all, existing swivels can be retrofitted with the new features! www.miflexhoseshop.co.uk

SANTI FLEX 2.0 HEATED UNDERSUIT (SRP: £490) The Flex 2.0 heated undersuit is designed as part of the complex Santi heating system.

Made of high-quality Climashield Contour fabric, with a weight of 180g/m2, it allows for full flexibility of fabric in every direction, which leads to unique mobility and less bulk when compared with BZ400 Thinsulate insulation. The undersuit contains very efficient heating wires that provide optimal thermal comfort during long and cold dives.

In this configuration, most of the generated heat is passed on directly to the diver’s body. www.santidiving.com

SANTI SILVER MOON EXPEDITION JACKET (SRP: £171)

FOURTH ELEMENT TECH SHORTS (SRP: £149.50)

Streamlined, back-to-basics backplate-and-wings BCs are all well and good, but they lack storage space. When you are in a drysuit, no dramas, you can just tuck your back-up torch and DSMB and reel in your thigh pockets, but what do you do when you are in a wetsuit? That is where the Fourth Element Tech Shorts come in.

Made from neoprene with hardwearing Supratex (made with recycled polyester) on the seat and crotch, the Tech Shorts have a sturdy plastic belt buckle – offset for comfort - to keep them in place, and two spacious thigh pockets (based on the same design as those on the Argonaut drysuit) for storing all your accessories. The pockets have a wetnotes sleeve, bungee loops and a mesh panel in the bottom to assist rapid draining. www.fourthelement.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

The Silver Moon Expedition jacket is the newest product in the limited Silver Moon series commemorating 50 years of landing on the moon. It is yet another Santi-made product designed with divers’ needs in mind for the most-reliable equipment in the most-harsh weather conditions.

Ideal for stormy days, made of polyester, breathable, waterproof MVP, the jacket is equipped with eight different inner and outer pockets. The sleeves and bottom of the jacket have reinforcements made of special waterproof, resistant-to-dirt, abrasion and greasy substances, Reflexgarn material, with a reflective honeycomb pattern.

The left sleeve has a special Velcro pad to which you can attach any emblem with a name, flag or logo. Quilted, internal polyester insulation provides thermal comfort and lightness and is easy to wash and use. www.santidiving.com 83

Test Extra

AQUA LUNG LEG3ND | SRP: £608-£825

Mark Evans: Aqua Lung’s Legend series has been around for many years, first appearing in the line-up back in 2002, with a Mark II version in 2012. Each time new technologies were introduced into the regulators, which always scored highly in our challenging group tests.

Now the Legend – sorry, it is now the Leg3nd – is back, but the line-up has been cut back to just three regulators.

The Leg3nd (available with matching octopus for £608), the Leg3nd MBS (available with octopus for £695), and the top-of-the-line Leg3nd Elite (available with an octo-pus, pressure gauge and bag for £825).

Designed and built in France, all three have the same ‘family’ resemblance – well, they all have the exact same first stage – and as you move up the price range, you get extra features and addi-tional detailing on the balanced second stage, but I have to say, all three are good-looking units.

The chromed overbalanced diaphragm first stage offers total environmental protection, giving it phenomenal coldwater performance, and the new heat exchanger, which has a bigger surface area and a co-moulded end cap, gives it excellent resistance to freezing. It has two high-pressure ports and four low-pressure ports, which are positioned to give optimum hose-routing. It is equipped with Aqua Lung’s ACD (Auto Closure Device), which keeps corrosive water out of the first stage inlet by automatically closing as the reg is removed from the cylinder valve.

On all three second stages, the soft co-moulded purge button is effective and easy to locate and operate even with thick neoprene gloves, the Comfo-Bite mouthpiece is still one of the best on the market in my opinion, and the co-moulded exhaust tee efficiently vents exhaled bubbles ei-ther side of your face. All three come with the over-sized lipshield, which helps keep your lips warm (it is removeable if not to your liking). It is not just all looks, though – there is a method to the design. The cover of the second stage features side openings, and these help reduce the inhale pressure peak by 20 percent.

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WORLD EXCLUSIVE REVIEW!

The Leg3nd is equipped with a co-moulded venturi control lever, which is big enough to find and move when you are wearing thick gloves, though one of our testers did have to take it out of his mouth to look at where the lever was before operating it. This helps to prevent freeflow at the surface, or when the reg is out of the diver’s mouth.

The Leg3nd MBS has, as the name suggests, Aqua Lung’s Master Breathing System, which allows the user to fine-tune the breathe through one control knob. This one control does two functions at one time – it controls the direction of air, which alters the venturi effect, as well as changing the cracking resistance effort. This fell to hand very easily, even with thick neoprene gloves or drygloves on, and was simple to operate.

The Leg3nd Ultra has a venturi lever and a cracking resistance control knob, for complete inde-pendent control over the ease of the breathe. Again, regardless of thickness of exposure protec-tion on the hands, the controls were easy to use, especially the cracking resistance control knob.

In use, all three of the Leg3nd regulators breathed exceptionally smoothly, and it required min-imal effort to start inhaling, especially with the MBS and the Ultra when you fiddled with the MBS knob or cracking resistance control.

We put the three units through our usual rigorous testing procedures – breathing them in all positions, purging them extensively – and excessively – underwater and on the surface, and regardless of what we subjected them to, we could not get any of them to freeflow or be even-remotely troubled in single-digit conditions. www.aqualung.com/uk

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AN APEKS MTX-RC STAGE 3 REGULATOR WORTH OVER £800!

Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans recently reviewed the brand new Apeks MTX-RC – and now we have one to give away to one lucky fan! To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous regulator, simply log on to www.scubadivermag.com/mtx-rc-competition/ and follow the instructions.

You can read Mark’s full review on www.scubadivermag.com or in the December issue of Scuba Diver, but here is an excerpt: “The MTX-R breathed fantastically well, but Apeks were swift to realise that not everybody needed a regulator that was tuned to perfection to deal with extremely cold water use – and thus the MTX-RC was born. Effectively, the MTX-RC is an MTX-R (without the militarystyle laser-etching on the front) but with the addition of a venturi lever and a cracking resistance control, which allows the user to finetune the performance to the conditions they are diving in, or for their own personal preference.

“As well as the aforementioned venturi lever and cracking resistance control, the MTX-RC is instantly recognisable from its stablemate thanks to its subtlebut-effective grey-and-satin-finish colour scheme.

“In use, the MTX-RC provides a sublime breathe.

With the cracking resistance dialled fully open and the venturi set to ‘dive’, inhalation is effortless and silky smooth, regardless of orientation, but in situations where you need to temper this performance – in extreme cold water, for instance, or if you were using a powerful scooter, you can increase the cracking resistance, which in its highest setting is more akin to the original MTX-R.”

TERMS AND CONDITIONS. THE EDITOR’S DECISION IS FINAL. THE CLOSING DATE IS 29TH FEBRUARY 2020.

Aqua Lung ocean ambassador and National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Greg Lecoeur

True legends are born from respect.

LEG3ND is for the passionate, the explorers, the ones for whom diving is more than a sport. Aqua Lung, the original pioneer of the scuba regulator, brings you the most capable, coveted and advanced line of regulators ever created: This is the new LEG3ND, a masterpiece of engineering, built for all conditions, all depths and all dives. After all, the ocean is the ultimate proving ground - a place where respect is given and earned equally, where true Legends belong.

Available at better dive dealers worldwide. aqualung.com | @aqualungdivers

Test Extra

APEKS WTX-D30 | SRP: Modular system, parts from £61-£322 Mark Evans: Apeks are world-renowned for their regulators, but they also have a wide range of harnesses, buoyancy cells and accessories in the WTX and WTX-D series. The modular nature of these ranges mean that each component can be configured into a highly technical rig, or scaled down for a more-travel-friendly set-up.

Backplate-and-wings were once seen as being very technical pieces of kit, but that mindset is slowly starting to change, and now you see more and more recreational divers wearing them.

I love a back-inflate wing, as it leaves the front of you nice and uncluttered, and if you can add a set of integrated weight pouches, you have a clean, compact and streamlined BCD perfect for use right here in the UK or as a lightweight travel rig for when you head off to warmer climates.

The set-up I had to test from Apeks comprised the onepiece webbing harness, stainless-steel backplate, D30 air cell, twin GripLock tank cambands, and SureLock II integrated weight pockets and attachment accessory pack.

Let’s talk about the D30 wing (£322) first.

Single-cylinder wings, often referred to as ‘donuts’, are oval-shaped air cells, which bolt on to the backplate/harness of your choice. Apeks’ single-cylinder wings have a neat design which allows your cylinder to nestle deep inside them, so in use the cell sits tight up along either side of the cylinder, there is no loose material flapping about. This is very streamlined when you are in a horizontal ‘trim’ position, and it also provides a very stable platform when you are diving, with minimal roll, as the air can continuously

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Test Extra

APEKS WTX-D30 | SRP: Modular system, parts from £61-£322 move around within the cell. The D30 has 30lb of lift – hence the name! – and that is more than enough for most recreational divers. The wing is not too big for use in a travel environment, but still good for UK use. If you really want to go compact, there is also a dinky 18lb-lift air cell too. It is made from 1000D Armourshield Cordura, so is very durable and hard-wearing, which is what you want if you are going to be ferreting around in wrecks, etc. It has a flat dump valve positioned on the lower left side, facing your back, so it is a doddle to drop your hand down and back behind your waist and you can find the toggle with no issues, even wearing thick neoprene gloves.

This D30 was paired with a stainless-steel backplate (£149, or you can get an aluminium version for £134), that was threaded with the one-piece webbing harness (£84), which features neoprene shoulder protectors over the 5cm webbing, a heavy-duty stainless-steel buckle, six stainlesssteel serrated retainers, a 5cm-wide crotch-strap, and six 5cm D-rings. I personally prefer harnesses with ‘breaks’ on the shoulders, as with normal BCDs, so you can just slacken or tighten accordingly. I find one-piece harnesses a pain in the backside to wriggle in and out of. However, there is no getting away from the fact that once you have got the Apeks harness properly adjusted, it is extremely comfortable in use. It holds the backplate tightly in position, and there is minimal movement both topside and underwater.

This set-up was completed with Aqua Lung’s tried-andtested SureLock II integrated weight system (£118), which can take 4.5kg of lead per side. That’s more than enough for travelling divers, and should be enough for many UK divers, depending on what drysuit and undersuit they are using. It was attached to the backplate via the SureLock attachment system (£61), which bolts the pockets securely in place. There were useful stainless-steel D-rings on the outside of each pocket, as well as grommets for attaching any of the Aqua Lung knife range. I like the SureLock II system – you get a welcoming ‘click’ when the weight pouches are slotted into position properly, and they only release when you get hold of the handles and give them a good, hard tug. www.apeksdiving.com/uk

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HEATED VEST FLEX 2.0

Test Extra

KUBI DRY GLOVES ICELANDIC WOOL THERMAL INNER GLOVE | SRP: £27-£30

Mark Evans: Diving in cold water is not for everyone, but there are a hardy bunch of British divers who continue to dive even when the temperatures plummet. You can combat the cold with a decent undersuit and drysuit combo, and a thick hood, but one of the biggest gamechangers in recent years has been the development of drygloves. Now drygloves have been around for quite a while, but past versions were, to be frank, a pain to use. They were bulky in the shallows, and even at depth dexterity was compromised, but now it is a different matter, with user-friendly and efficient efforts from the likes of Santi, etc.

KUBI are past masters when it comes to drygloves, and the KUBI DryGlove System has become immensely popular with both recreational divers and technical divers for its ease of use, and the ability to alter the amount of thermal protection. KUBIs have a rubber dry outer glove that is tough and durable, but very thin, and so any thermal protection comes from the inner glove.

KUBI offer a wide range, from their standard thermal gloves, through the mid-weight Sub Zero Factor 2 glove, to

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the Merino wool and alpaca gloves, which are both supersoft and extremely warm – perfect for very cold conditions.

These latter two have now been joined by high-quality knitted 100 percent Icelandic wool gloves, which are unbelievably warm.

I have got factory-fitted KUBI versions on my Otter drysuits, and a set retro-fitted to my Fourth Element Argonaut, and over the years I have tried virtually all of their glove offerings. I have to say, the Icelandic wool versions are the warmest I have sampled yet, even surpassing the alpaca and Merino wool. They have a nice, dense feeling when donned, and I think this helps keep the warm concentrated on your hands. My fingertips are always the first thing to go, and in the past, at the end of an hour or so in low single-digit conditions, they are starting to go numb, but with the Icelandic gloves, my hands were still toasty warm.

They are also excellent as day-to-day gloves, keeping my hands nice and warm while walking the dog on frosty winter mornings! www.kubistore.com

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YOUR DIVE DATA’S NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD.

NEW

GALILEO® HUD™ HANDS-FREE COMPUTER

Introducing the revolutionary mask-mounted, hands-free dive computer with a virtual, floating heads-up display, giving you more freedom to experience your dive. scubapro.com

This picture is for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary due to product enhancement of the dive mask paired with the Galileo HUD hands-free dive computer.

Long Term Test BEST DIVERS ALDEBARAN TORCH SET

Mark Evans: This anodised torch, which comes complete in a hard case containing the torch itself, a lantern-style handle, batteries, and charging station, is depthrated to 150m, and apparently pumps out an impressive 3,500 lumens via a 14-degree beam. We can’t wait to get this in the water! www.bestdivers.co.uk

INFORMATION Arrival date: January 2020 Suggested retail price: £300 Number of dives: 0 Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins

SCUBAPRO G2

Mark Evans: Just taking the G2 out of the box, it instantly feels familiar, if just all on a smaller scale than I am used to. I was a firm devotee of the Galileo Sol, and the G2 is, to all intents and purposes, a Sol with a full-colour screen in a smaller package. Yes, there are other differences, which I will explore in the coming months, but for INFORMATION Arrival date: December 2019 anyone used to the old Suggested retail price: £759 Galileos, this will feel like Number of dives: 0 a comfortable shoe.

Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins www.scubapro.com 94

ROHO X-FLEX SOLO Mark Evans: Roho has built up a solid following within the UK diving fraternity for its wide range of diving drysuits, and the X-Flex Solo, which has come in as one of their top-of-the-line suits, is sure to continue that trend and gain them plenty more loyal devotees.

It is a well-equipped suit, with all the necessary feratures you’d want in a high-end telescopic torso drysuit, but it doesn’t break the bank, coming in at under £830. which is a fantastic price. www.roho.co.uk

INFORMATION Arrival date: July 2019 Suggested retail price: £829 Number of dives: 0 Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins

MARES GENIUS Mark Evans: The Genius has been on location with us around the UK, and mostrecently took the plunge in Eccy Delph during a regulator Test Extra. Test Team member Gavin Jones took it for a spin, and was hugely impressed with the large colour screen, and the clear, concise layout of the display.

He also liked the chunky buttons for navigating the menu, which were easy to use even with his drygloves. www.mares.com

INFORMATION Arrival date: August 2019 Suggested retail price: £711 Number of dives: 24 Time in water: 22hrs 40 mins WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

AQUA LUNG BALI

Mark Evans: The corasl polyps on the Bali certainly prove a talking point, with lots of people asking about it. The newer versions of the suit include the Coral Guardian logo on the arm, which is the non-profit organisation Aqua Lung is partnered with, and who supplied the amazing image of the coral polyps that decorate the Bali suit. They work to preserve coral reef ecosystems and raise INFORMATION Arrival date: October 2019 public awareness of the Suggested retail price: £112 threats facing our planet’s Number of dives: 19 coral reefs.

Time in water: 18 hrs 45 mins www.aqualung.com/uk

AQUA LUNG AQUAFLEX Mark Evans: As we have explained in previous reviews, the AquaFlex is incredibly easy to get on and off, but is also extremely warm for a 5mm wetsuit. Part of the secret of its success is the Skin-in neck seal, which provides for a comfortable fit and seals out water, preventing cold water flushing in and out during use, and the internal chest and back panels being lined with a thermal loop laminate, which retains warmth INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 around the body’s core Suggested retail price: £260 area and seriously reduces Number of dives: 124 heat loss.

Time in water: 120 hrs 15 mins www.aqualung.com/uk WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

APEKS VX1

Mark Evans: The VX1 has been getting plenty of mileage, and I am really getting used to this mask now. It is just so comfortable on your face, and offers such a range of peripheral vision - and it looks fabulous in the bright white-and-black combo. There is the all-black version for those who don’t want to stand out from the crowd, but I am really digging the white, though there is a new colour in the wings which is pretty neat too! When you buy the VX1, it comes in a nifty zipped case along with a different strap, a webbing-and-neoprene version, and I duly gave that a try, but I have to say, personally, I prefer the INFORMATION Arrival date: September 2019 rubber white strap that it is Suggested retail price: £69 equipped with straight out Number of dives: 53 of the box.

Time in water: 52 hrs 25 mins www.apeksdiving.com/uk

SUUNTO D5 Mark Evans: So the Suunto D5 has reached the end of its stint in the Long Term Test stable, and it has proved itself to be a capable wristwatchstyle dive computer.

It is extremely user-friendly - as demonstrated by the fact that a 13-year-old was comfortably navigating menus within minutes of picking it up - and we love the colour screen. We also like the ability to swap out the straps quickly and easily.

Definitely a winner for Suunto on the full-colour wristwatch computer front. www.suunto.com

INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 Suggested retail price: £545 Number of dives: 86 Time in water: 85 hrs 15 mins 95

ANTHONY’S KEY RESORT STUART PHILPOTT VISITS THE AMERICAN DIVING FAVOURITE OF ROATAN

INDONESIA ADVENTURE 1,300-MILE LIVEABOARD VOYAGE FROM KOMODO TO RAJA AMPAT

DIVING ON A BUDGET

THE SCUBA DIVER CREW GOES CAMPING ‘N’INDONESIA ADVENTURE DIVING IN DORSET 1,300-MILE LIVEABOARD VOYAGE FROM KOMODO TO RAJA AMPAT

TECHNICAL: DEEP DIVING NEIL BENNETT EXPLORES THE MINDSET NEEDED TO SAFEL Y MASTER TECHNICAL DIVING

DIVE LIKE A PRO: BCDS HANDY HINTS ON HOW TO PROLONG THE LIFE OF THE HUMBLE BCD

Deeply

INSPIRATIONAL GEMMA SMITH TALKS AB OU DIVES, BEING A STRONG T EPIC TECHNICAL ROLE MODEL, AND FIGHTING BACK TO FITNE SS AFTER A SERIOUS ACCIDENT

Something for EVERYONE EAT FOR WHY MALTA AND GOZO ARE GR ELS LEV D AN ES DIVERS OF ALL AG OF CERTIFICATION

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ANTHONY’S KEY RESORT STUART PHILPOTT VISITS THE AMERICAN DIVING FAVOURITE OF ROATAN

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WHAT’S YOUR WATCH?

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ADRIAN STACEY FINISHES HIS 1,300-MILE LIVEABOARD ADVENTURE IN RAJA AMPAT

INDONESIA ADVENTUR E

THE SCUBA DIVER CREW GOES CAMPING ‘N’ DIVING IN DORSET

1,300-MILE LIVEABOARD VOYAGE FROM KOMODO TO RAJA AMPAT

TECHNICAL: DEEP DIVING NEIL BENNETT EXPLORES THE MINDSET NEEDED TO SAFELY MASTER TECHNICAL DIVING

DIVE LIKE A PRO: BCDS HANDY HINTS ON HOW TO PROLONG THE LIFE OF THE HUMBLE BCD

ALEX MUSTARD

SHOOT TO WIN

THE MAESTRO OFFERS SAGE ADVICE ON CREATING COMPETITION-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHS

ALL AT SEA

Entry and exit techniques when boat diving

Stunning SHORT FILM showcases cave diving – and GIRL POWER!

INSPIRATIONAL GEMMA SMITH TALKS ABOUT EPIC TECHN ICAL DIVES, BEING A STRON G ROLE FIGHTING BACK TO FITNESMODEL, AND S A SERIOUS ACCIDENTAFTER

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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

UNDERWATER CINEMATOGRAPHY, AND BECOMING A PADI OPEN WATER SCUBA INSTRUCTOR PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER LIGHTOWLER, LUKE INMAN, RODOLFO GUILLEN AND KIM HILDEBRANDT

I

n November, I first further followed my interest in underwater videography by flying to San Diego to participate in a workshop at the Gates Underwater Housings Headquarters. On this workshop I learned how to set-up, test and operate different Gates housings for RED Cinematography cameras.

Not having known much about RED cameras, RAW video formats and the specifics of settings in videography compared to photography, I was luckily quickly taken under the wing by all the other workshop participants, who all already had experience in underwater flming. I experienced a steep learning curve and had a whole lot of fun handling the huge housings! The STO course was followed by a workshop in Editing and Colourgrading Underwater Video footage with Davinci Resolve, which was taught by Peter Lightowler from Downunder Aquatic Imaging. Amazing what difference the right Colourgrading can make in a video!

As the next stop on the itinerary, I then participated in my first-ever DEMA show in Orlando. It was a great opportunity to meet sponsors and OWUSS supporters in person, as well as to meet many people again whom I have been lucky enough to cross paths with already in the past Scholarship months. At the OWUSS DEMA breakfast, a gathering of hosts, supporters, sponsors, and many members of the Board of Directors of the OWUSS, my Scholarship Sisters Neha and Joanna, and I, all got the chance to share our experiences of the first half of the Scholarship year in the videos that we had been working on for many weeks in preparation to DEMA. After DEMA, I took the next step on the ladder of diving certifications

Kim Hildebrandt

and turned into a PADI scuba diving instructor in an Instructor Development Course taught by Luke Inman from Cortez Expeditions in La Paz, Mexico. As I have always enjoyed introducing people to different sports and to work with them towards achieving their dreams and goals in these sports, becoming a diving instructor had been a big goal of mine for a long time. The course involved ten full-on days of learning about PADI´s teaching philosophy, and brushing up my own underwater skill demonstration and Knowledge Development presentational skills, and it was particularly fun acting as an Open Water student again to give every Instructor Candidate the chance to practice their problem-solving skills. The course was then followed by two intense examination days and in the end, we all got to proudly call ourselves freshly-certified PADI Dive Instructors!

Following the course, I then couldn´t wait to jump into the Sea of Cortez at Isla Los Islotes to experience the adorable sea lions there. Such interactive and photogenic animals!

In the week after the IDC course I met up with researchers of the Whaleshark Mexico Programme, who monitor and conduct research on the local population of whalewharks.

As a last experience in Mexico, I got the chance to accompany the Shark and Ray Research NGO Pelagios Kakunja on their bull shark Surveys in the Cabo Pulmo Marine Protected Area. The researchers come here every weekend to monitor the abundance and population structure of the shark species through in-water as well as aerial surveys, and Cabo Pulmo is nowadays indeed a great example for a thriving marine ecosystem which has undergone an amazing recovery since the inception of the National Park. n

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LET´S EXPLORE. TOGETHER.

SUUNTO D5 The new Suunto D5 is designed to be so clear and easy-to-use that you can just enjoy and focus on exploring the wonderful underwater world.

Play with style by changing the strap to match your looks. After diving, connect wirelessly to the Suunto app to re-live and share your adventures with friends. www.suunto.com

Suunto Diving UK

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