AUSSIE ROADTRIPPIN’ RICHARD SMITH EMBARKS ON AN EPIC DIVING ROAD TRIP IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
DIVE INTO HISTORY MARK EVANS RETURNS TO THE RED SEA IN SEARCH OF SHARKS, SHIPWRECKS AND MUCH MORE
BACK-UP LIGHTS THE TEST TEAM RATES AND REVIEWS A SELECTION OF BACK-UP DIVE TORCHES
KEYNOTE SPEAKER!
See Steve Backshall at the interactive dive show GO Diving at the Ricoh Arena on 22–23 February 2020! www.godivingshow.com
STEVE BACKSHALL Q&A WITH
WE CHAT ABOUT UNDISCOVERED WORLDS, DEADLY 60 – AND STRICTLY COME DANCING!
ISSUE 29 | JULY 19 | £3.25
7
+
Above 18m: Cornwall
‣ Indonesia ‣ Scholar ‣ Bikini Atoll
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EDITOR’S NOTE TRAGIC NEWS FOR THE SCUBA DIVING WORLD The scuba-diving world was rocked by two tragedies in June, with the loss of two well-regarded British instructors, one to a diving accident in a North American river, the other to an aggressive form of cancer. Highly experienced PADI Platinum Course Director and technical instructor trainer Andy Phillips of Utila Dive Centre died after a dive in the St Lawrence River in Canada. The 46-year-old Scot, who was a regular fixture on the global dive show circuit, went missing early on 11 June and a huge search was launched involving multiple agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the US Customs and Border Protection. His name was not immediately released when the first news reports hit the internet, but those of us ‘in the know’ were hoping for a miracle, but as yet more days passed, and the search proved fruitless, we were forced to accept that he was gone. As yet, his body has not been found, so it is still not known what happened. Closer to home, the UK diving scene is mourning the loss of Caroline Sampson, who together with husband Martin had been at the helm of the popular Anglesey Divers dive centre in Holyhead for 20 years. Lively, friendly, enthusiastic and caring, she was sadly struck down at the age of 51 by pancreatic cancer just two weeks after being diagnosed with this horrendous condition at the end of May. Cruelly, this happened not long after Caroline had provided solid support for Martin as he battled back to fitness from his own brave fight with prostate cancer. Our thoughts are with the families of Andy and Caroline at this difficult time.
Mark Evans Editor-in-Chief
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AUSSIE ROADTRIPPIN’ RICHARD SMITH EMBARKS ON AN EPIC DIVING ROAD TRIP IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
DIVE INTO HISTORY MARK EVANS RETURNS TO THE RED SEA IN SEARCH OF SHARKS, SHIPWRECKS AND MUCH MORE
BACK-UP LIGHTS THE TEST TEAM RATES AND REVIEWS A SELECTION OF BACK-UP DIVE TORCHES
ON THE COVER KEYNOTE SPEAKER!
See Steve Backshall at the interactive dive show GO Diving at the Ricoh Arena on 22–23 February 2020! www.godivingshow.com
STEVE BACKSHALL Q&A WITH
WE CHAT ABOUT UNDISCOVERED WORLDS, DEADLY 60 – AND STRICTLY COME DANCING!
ISSUE 29 | JULY 19 | £3.25
7
+
Above 18m: Cornwall
‣ Indonesia ‣ Scholar ‣ Bikini Atoll
WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF: STEVE BACKSHALL
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REGULAR COLUMNS
FEATURES...
6 News
22 Q&A: Steve Backshall
26 Dive Like A Pro
30 Australia
64 Underwater Photography
38 ABOVE 18m: Cornwall
98 OWUSS Scholarship
42 Sudan
Tech and pro instructor Andy Phillips tragically lost on Canada river dive, crawfish protection scheme, a new plane dive site in Bahrain, and a shark attack in the US.
Martin Sampson warns of the dangers of neglecting the low- and high-pressure hoses on your regulator set-up.
Anne and Phil Medcalf discuss etiquette for underwater photographers.
Kim Hildebrandt completes a course with DAN, goes diving with whales in the Azores, and does a Divemaster internship in Malta.
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Mark Evans chats to BBC star - and keynote star speaker at GO Diving Show 2020 - Steve Backshall, famous for his Deadly 60 series of programmes, as well as the more-recent Undiscovered Worlds, about diving, sharks, full-face masks - and Strictly Come Dancing.
Dr Richard Smith kicks off a three-part series in which he is joined by four dive buddies to conduct diving roadtrips down the coastline of Australia.
Stuart Philpott heads to Cornwall to join the Porthkerris Dive Centre team on a mission to dive with thornback rays.
Mark Evans returns to Sudan - often touted as his best dive trip ever - and while there was a distinct lack of sharks this time around, the Umbria shipwreck still proved to be a massive hit.
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CONTENTS
...CONTINUED
GEAR GUIDE
48 THE NEW GENERATION
82 What’s New
Luke Evans notches up his PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course at Roots Red Sea in Egypt.
50 Indonesia
Overview of the diving around Bunaken Marine Park and the Lembeh Strait, and how you can ‘dive around’ this area with Murex Resorts.
56 The Caribbean
We take a look at new products to market, including the Mares Silver Knight backplate-andwing, Santi Flex 80 undersuit, Aqua Lung i200C dive computer, Beuchat’s Iceberg Pro Dry drysuit, and Sea Life Sea Dragon 5000F video light.
84 Group Test
Jeremy Cuff provides a guide to some of his favourite dive destinations throughout the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands and Grenada.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans and the Test Team head to Vivian Dive Centre in North Wales to focus on back-up dive lights.
72 DAN Europe: Incident insights
94 Long Term Test
This month, the DAN team looks at the case of a woman who goes diving in the Caribbean and comes back with an unusual souvenir.
74 TECHNICAL: Bikini Atoll
Aron Arngrimsson waxes lyrical about Operation Crossroads, and then explores the famous wreck of the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier.
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The Scuba Diver Test Team rate and review a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Apeks VX1 mask, Shearwater Research Teric computer, Finnsub 20D and Comfort harness, Otter Watersports Atlantic drysuit, and Mares Epic Adj 82X regulator.
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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
GO DIVING SHOW 2020 The interactive and immersive GO Diving Show is back in 2020, bigger and better than ever – and with some huge names as keynote speakers, including Deadly 60’s Steve Backshall! PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON BROWN / WWW.BARDOCREATIVE.CO.UK
A
fter the immense success of the inaugural GO Diving Show in February this year, the dates have been announced for 2020 – 21-23 February. Get them marked in your diary now, as GO Diving Show 2020 at the Ricoh Arena promises to be the perfect kickstart to the new diving season. The dive show will be split across three days, the Friday being trade-only, and two consumer days over the weekend. The trade day will feature break-out rooms for seminars, member forums, etc, and there will be presentations on how to develop and improve your online presence for your dive centre/school, utilise social media more effectively, and so on. As before, there is plenty on offer over the weekend for both existing divers and those looking to get into our exciting sport. First-timers can take their inaugural fin-steps into the underwater world in a gigantic 100 sq m trydive pool, while without even getting wet, you can sample shark dives, seal dives, wreck dives and cave dives through the magic of Virtual Reality. After being such a hit last year, there’s even an actual cave system for you to explore! Existing divers are also well catered for at GO Diving, with dedicated sections focusing on the disciplines of Underwater Photography and Technical Diving. Think your trim is up to scratch? Got your S-drills nailed? Navigation in the bag? Come and showcase your abilities at our interactive sessions. Want to try something new? Sign up for a sidemount trydive, or a dive on a closed-circuit rebreather. There’s even an area for The Next Generation of divers, all those keen kids and talented teens already attracted to the underwater realm. New divers or veterans alike will be inspired and entertained by our bountiful line-up of speakers. Come listen to BBC stars Steve Backshall, Andy Torbet, Miranda Krestovnikoff and Monty Halls, from Beyond Bionic, Deadly 60, The One Show, Undiscovered Worlds, Operation Iceberg, Great Escapes and Wreck Detectives, discussing how they got into diving, what they love about exploring beneath the surface, and hear about some of their underwater adventures.
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NEW: Faarufushi Maldives
INDONESIA THAILAND EGYPT S PA I N
NEW: Roses, Costa Brava
OMAN M AU R I T I U S JA PA N C R O AT I A FOUR STAGES The Main Stage – hosted by BBC presenters Andy Torbet and Miranda Krestovnikoff, this will cover everything from all aspects of the world of diving. They will be joined by Steve Backshall, Monty Halls and award-winning underwater photographer Alex Mustard MBE, who will also be unveiling the winners of the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020 competition on the Saturday afternoon. The Inspiration Stage – stories to lift your spirits, and drive you on to greater heights in diving, whether that is simply getting your entry-level certification, climbing on to the first rungs of the professional ladder, or some other aspect of diving. Be inspired! Speakers already signed up include PADI Course Director, technical diver and photographer/videographer Luke Inman, technical diver Gemma Smith, and acclaimed UW photographer and conservationist Jorge Hauser. Watch this space for more speakers! The Tech Stage – awe-inspiring tales from some of the biggest names in the world of technical diving, including Phil Short, Garry Dallas, Mark Powell, Tim Clements, Aron Arngrimsson, Ian France and John Kendall. More speakers TBC! The Underwater Photography Stage – Covering all aspects of underwater photography, this boasts a veritable who’s who of top-class ‘snappers’, including Jason Brown, Stuart Philpott, Martyn Guess, Mario Vitalini, Richard Smith, Saeed Rashid, Paul Duxfield, Bryan Stanislas and David Diley. More speakers TBC!
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CRUISE SHIP COMPANY CARNIVAL FINED US$20M FOR POLLUTING OCEANS The world’s largest cruise ship company, Carnival, has been hit with a US$20 million penalty for pumping pollution into the ocean, violating terms of probation from a 2016 criminal conviction – which included a US$40 million fine - for similar conduct, prompting fears they will just continue to disregard environmental laws in the future. Carnival Corp. reached a settlement with federal prosecutors on Monday 3 June – Senior US District Judge Patricia Seitz approved the agreement after the cruise company’s CEO Arnold Donald openly admitted the company’s responsibility for probation violations linked to the previous court case, stating ‘the company pleads guilty’ no less than six times to a packed courtroom. He commented: “We acknowledge the shortcomings. I am here today to formulate a plan to fix them.” The 2016 criminal conviction was for discharging oily waste from its Princess Cruise Lines ships and covering it up. As well as the hefty fine, it was put on five years’ probation, which affected all nine of its cruise brands that boast more than 100 ships. Now the cruise ship heavyweight has admitted that in the years since, its ships have committed environmental crimes such as dumping ‘grey water’ in prohibited places such Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, and knowingly allowing plastic to be discharged along with food waste in the Bahamas. The company also admitted to falsifying compliance documents and other administrative violations, such as having clean-up teams visit its ships just before scheduled inspections. Under the settlement, Carnival promised there will be additional audits to check for violations, a restructuring of the company’s compliance and training programmes, a better system for reporting environmental violations to state and federal agencies, and improved waste management practices.
US SHARK ATTACK VICTIM CALLS FOR ‘RESPECT FOR SHARKS’
www.puredivinggrenada.com
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A North Carolina teenager was airlifted to hospital on Sunday 2 June after a serious shark attack left her with severe injuries to her legs and hands. According to reports, 17-year-old Paige Winter was enjoying some time at Atlantic Beach when she was attacked. Her father Charlie, a marine, firefighter and paramedic, apparently had to punch the shark five times before it broke off its attack. The Atlantic Beach Fire Department described her injuries as ‘deep lacerations to her leg, pelvis and hand areas’, and after being taken to the Vidant Medical Centre in Greenville for emergency surgery, it was reported she had lost some fingers and her left leg from above the knee. However, despite this traumatic experience, the teenager has apparently been cracking jokes post-surgery, and spoke out from her hospital bed – her mother Marcy Winter said ‘she wants everyone to know that sharks are still good people’. A family statement said: ‘Despite this unfortunate circumstance, Paige is an unwavering advocate for the marine life and the animals who live in the water. She wishes for people to continue to respect sharks in their environment and their safety’. A GoFundMe page for Paige and her father has already received over US$5,000 (£3,900). It has not yet been announced what species of shark was responsible for the attack.
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RENOWNED INSTRUCTOR TRAINER ANDY PHILLIPS DIES ON CANADA RIVER DIVE The worldwide diving industry is in shock with the announcement that PADI Platinum Course Director and technical instructor trainer Andy Phillips died after a dive in the St Lawrence River in Canada. The highly experienced diver went missing on Tuesday 11 June near Cornwall in Ontario. According to the Ontario Provincial Police, they received a call just before 9am regarding a diving incident – two divers had entered the water at Lock 21, a submerged lock system on Macdonnell Island in South Stormont Township that is popular with divers, but only one had returned. There were reports they were on closedcircuit rebreathers, but this has not been confirmed. Multiple agencies were involved in the search operation, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, South Stormont and Cornwall Fire Services, US Customs and Border Protection, and a helicopter from CFB Trenton. Local residents were asked to avoid the area while the search for the missing diver continued, but after several fruitless days, it was called off.
OBITUARY: ANDY PHILLIPS
Andy Phillips had been a figure in the pro diving scene for over 20 years. He first certified as a diver in 1990 on a holiday in Greece, but had been drawn to water since he was five. In 1997, after finishing university and working in the world of insurance for six months, he made the decision to turn professional and became a PADI Divemaster on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. Thankfully, his employer persuaded him he would make a good instructor, and he duly enrolled in 1998 on the PADI IDC in Utila, Honduras, and never looked back. After working on the island for a while, he then moved to Costa Rica, then on to Dahab in Egypt, where in 1999 he discovered a love for deep technical diving and exploration. In 2000, he returned to the Caribbean and began managing Utila Dive Centre. Two years later he became a PADI Course Director (and held the Platinum level from 2005), and then at the age of 28, one of the youngest PADI Tec Rec Instructor Trainers in the world.
Through his role at Utila Dive Centre – and his previous centres – Andy brought many new PADI Instructors and technical divers into the diving fraternity. He was a highly experienced closed-circuit rebreather diver, overwhelmingly positive whenever you saw him at diving events and shows, and an enormous inspiration to many. He discovered and named the epic dive site Neptune’s Throne at Isla Espiritu Santo in Mexico, which starts in 55m and drops to more than 100m, and fellow Course Director and close friend Luke Inman has named the top of this site Andy’s Pinnacle in his memory. He is survived by his life partner Marie-Claude Dupras, his father and his sister.
FROM THE EDITOR
It is always hard to write about diving fatalities, but especially so when the person in question is a good friend. I had known Andy Phillips from when I first started in the industry way back in 1999, and he was hugely supportive from the get-go. I always looked forward to catching up with him at dive shows around the world, and his infectious personality and massive perma-grin will stay with me forever. I will always remember one particular DEMA in Las Vegas where late into the evening Andy, myself and now-RAID supremo Paul Vincent Toomer presided over the ‘Table of Doom’ drinking far too many sambucca shots, inebriating anyone who joined us, and putting the world to rights. You will be sorely missed, my friend. n
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Keep your eye on the dive, not your dive computer.
DIVERS ASKED TO LOOK AFTER CORNWALL’S CRAWFISH AFTER DRAMATIC COMEBACK PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS WHITWORTH, MATT SLATER AND DAVID MORGAN
Scan to find a dealer near you.
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After nearly 40 years, crawfish have made a dramatic comeback as large numbers of young crawfish have reappeared on wrecks and reefs all around the Cornish shores. The crawfish, or spiny lobster, is a spiky and ornate relative of the common lobster, with incredible long antennae and a powerful finned tail. This species was overfished back in the 1970s and 1980s by both fishermen and divers, but in recent years marine conservationists have been thrilled to see their return. However, Cornwall Wildlife Trust is now calling on divers to show that they care about crawfish by pledging not to catch them through a new national campaign called #HandsOffOurCrawfish. They hope through education to get a high proportion of divers supporting this campaign, with the eventual aim to see crawfish better protected in our waters, ensuring a sustainable fishery for the species. Dive schools, dive boats and dive clubs will be provided with stickers saying ‘no crawfish on this boat’ and the Trust hopes to provide a much-needed clear message for the benefit of these creatures. Crawfish can live to up to 60 years and are very slow growing. They have long antennae which are used to taste the water to help them look for food as they scavenge on the seabed. They also communicate by generating a strange creaking sound by rubbing the bases of their antennae against their shell. Matt Slater, Marine Awareness officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: “Divers all around the south west are reporting crawfish at their favourite dive sites and everyone is really pleased to see them back. However, there is a strong concern from many that we must ensure that they are back for good and that fisheries for this species are carried out at sustainable levels to ensure that history does not repeat itself and they become over fished again. “We already have the support of many of Cornwall’s dive operators and dive schools but we would ask everyone to get involved and to pledge not to take crawfish – that’s why we started the ‘Hands Off Our Crawfish’ campaign.” Dive Newquay were the first company to sign up to the campaign. Paddy Maher of Dive Newquay said: “Since we first set up our dive company, five years ago we have always made our customers return any collected crawfish back into the sea. No one wants to see these creatures wiped out again as they were in the 1980s. It makes absolute sense to educate divers and to ask people to think more about their impacts on the underwater world.” To pledge, visit: www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/crawfishproject and look out for the hash tag #HandsOffOurCrawfish on social media.
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BONAIRE – NEW DIVING DESTINATION FROM DIVERSE TRAVEL When you want uncomplicated and stressfree diving, Bonaire is the perfect holiday destination that will appeal to all levels of dive qualification. With a distinct absence of strong currents, this is ideal for learning to dive, and experienced divers and underwater photographers will be glad of excellent visibility and extended bottom times. Newly added to the Diverse Travel portfolio, this small island in the South Caribbean is just 21 miles long and offers a welcoming and chilled-out way of life, with lively bars, numerous restaurants serving tasty menus and a good selection of shops. The waters surrounding Bonaire are rich in nutrients and fabulous marine diversity, including over 300 species of fish. Over 50 dive sites are accessible from the shore, most at depths of less than 10m. Average water temperatures are 26°C all year-round and visibility is typically 30 metres plus. Divers often encounter seahorses, turtles, jacks, friendly tarpon and, on rare occasions, a frogfish or two. Diving is with Buddy Dive, a small, friendly resort situated directly on the ocean front with steps down to the sea. Divers will appreciate easy 24-hour access to the excellent house reef, while the dive centre is conveniently located on-site. Buddy Dive’s studios and apartments offer great value for money. Prices from £1,599 per person, including flights with KLM, transfers, seven nights in studio room on B&B basis (twin share), with the chance to add a Drive and Dive package. Diverse Travel is dedicated to giving their clients the best value for money on diving holidays around the world, hence their ‘Happy Guarantee’ makes sure the team is offering the best price where they will match the cost of any identical diving holiday offered through another UK tour operator. www.diversetravel.co.uk/bonaire
BOEING 747 SUNK OFF BAHRAIN AS ‘ULTIMATE UNDERWATER THEME PARK’ The operation to sink a 70-metre-long Boeing 747 passenger aircraft in the waters off Bahrain as part of a massive ‘underwater theme park’ took place in early June. The huge aircraft is the centrepiece of an area some 100,000 sq metres, which at a depth of 20m will also include a replica of a traditional Bahraini pearl merchant’s house, artificial coral reefs, and sculptures made from eco-friendly materials. The 747 headed for the bottom after similar aircraft sinkings in Jordan and Turkey – in fact, Aqaba is set to gain its second sunken airplane in the next month or so. The park is due to open this summer, and is located just over 30km from the Amwaj Islands, north of the mainland. As well as attracting hordes of tourists, it is hoped that it will also be used by marine biologists, environmentalists, university students and researchers. The project has involved the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, the Supreme Council for Environment, the office of the First Deputy Prime Minister, and several private companies.
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102 DIVING DOCS DESCEND ON SOLOMONS FOR 2019 SPUMS CONFERENCE In May, the Solomon Islands played host to the South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society’s (SPUMS) 48th Annual Scientific Meeting. The conference, held at the Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel in Honiara, attracted just over 100 delegates. While many delegates came from Australia and nearby Pacific nations, some came from as far away as South Africa, the Middle East, Washington DC and the United Kingdom. The five-day conference included practical underwater sessions each morning, with scientific meetings each afternoon. Providing conference facilities for 100 delegates is not a challenge for most hotels around the world, even in small Pacific nations such as the Solomon Islands. The challenge for organisers Diveplanit Travel, however, was getting this large group of delegates diving every day – with only one small dive centre in Honiara that has a normal capacity of around 12 divers. This enormous task was managed by Diveplanit Travel with help from many local businesses. Transportation for divers was provided by Travel Solomons, and dive guides were flown in from Dive Munda to assist the team at local dive centre Tulagi Dive. Help also came in various ways from other dive operators around the Solomon Islands, including Raiders Hotel & Dive, Dive Gizo, the Bilikiki and Solomons PNG Master liveaboards, the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and Solomon Airlines. Here are the numbers: 102 – total number of SPUMS delegates 124 – scuba tanks filled at Honiara Fire Station each day 68 – divers in the water every day (81 divers in total) 94 – day trips managed by Travel Solomons
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According to Diveplanit’s Deborah Dickson-Smith, benefits to the tourism industry are already evident. “Thirty or so delegates chose to extend their time in the Solomon Islands on pre- and post-conference trips visiting other dive-rich areas including Tulagi, Munda, Gizo and Uepi Island and many more have enquired about return trips.” Speaking of the mammoth undertaking, Diveplanit’s Simon Mallender acknowledged the tremendous support received from the Minister for Tourism and Culture and Tourism Solomons. “We’re incredibly thankful to Tourism Solomons, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and Solomon Airlines for their unwavering support, and to local business owners for stepping up to the challenge of managing such a large group of divers,” he said. Tourism Solomons CEO, Josefa ‘Jo’ Tuamoto, said that with tourism - growing in importance as a key economic driver for the Solomon Islands, the opportunity to host the SPUMS event represented a huge opportunity for the country. “International divers make up a large percentage of the 30,000-odd international visitors we host every year and the positive feedback we know will emanate from our staging of this event will undoubtedly create major awareness of our dive capability within the international dive community,” he said. According to Diveplanit’s Deborah Dickson-Smith, while the SPUMS Annual Scientific Meeting is fairly unique conference, organisations are looking more and more to marine-based activities to compliment conferences and corporate events.
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SEA OF CHANGE FOUNDATION EXPANDS MISSION Founded in 2015 by leaders in the scuba diving industry, the Sea of Change Foundation is expanding its core mission while maintaining focus on creating positive change. The Foundation will now fund terrestrial conservation in addition to marine conservation to include all of the natural world. Examples of current and pending projects funded by the Foundation that encompass the new mission include: • Innovations in reducing plastics-use at sea turtle nest monitoring sites, Mexico • Limiting negative interactions between subsistence farmers and elephants, Sri Lanka • Conservation of African manatees in Lake Ossa, Cameroon • Educating military communities and families about daily sustainable choices, USA RedBare CCR - redefining the state of the art in robust and intuitive CCR technology... Class leading CE tested performance 100m ready CO2 sensor Live monitoring backup computer as standard UK designed manufactured and supported Full resource monitoring Crystal clear displays and HUD
The three conservation focus areas of the Foundation will continue as: Ocean Pollution – Public Awareness and Action, Coral Reefs – Restoration and Resilience, and Threatened Species and Habitats, with the latter to now encompass terrestrial conservation. Recognising the value of scuba divers and coastal communities to local marine conservation, the Foundation will continue its successful Reef Rescue and Rapid Response grants programme; and will also continue to support annual marine science scholarships with the Womens Divers Hall of Fame. It is the hope of the Board of Directors of the Sea of Change Foundation that the new expanded mission will help support even more meaningful conservation with positive, measurable outcomes. “Our mission will now better align with the expanding ecotourism of Aggressor Adventures and, as always, 100 percent of donations to the Foundation will support conservation,” concluded Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation. www.seaofchange.com
DIVER MISSING IN TUBBATAHA REEF MARINE PARK
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A huge search operation was conducted in the Sulu Sea after a diver went missing while diving in the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in early June. The diver – who was identified by the Philippine Coastguard as 43-year-old Bryan Nazareno – had been diving in a group with acclaimed photographer Scott ‘Gutsy’ Tuason on Amos Rock in the marine park off the M/V Palausport when he went missing. According to reports, he had been lost since 4pm on Monday 3 June, but the coastguard said it only received the report at 11am on Tuesday 4 June. The national Philippine Coastguard subsequently liaised with the PCG District Palawan to co-ordinate with the diver’s group, and conducted extensive search and rescue operations. As we went to print, he had not been found.
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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: Despite never having played a round of golf in my life, I have inexplicably been diagnosed with ‘Golfer’s Elbow’, or a case of tendonitis, as it was also put. I work in a dive centre and so the cause was put down to repetitive lifting of cylinders and kit. I have been given anti-inflammatories, and have an appointment with a traumatologist. Relaxing the lifting is easy... get the customers to do it! But, I am concerned with the uptake of nitrogen in the ‘traumatised’ tissues. I generally dive twice per day, six days per week. Am I unduly concerned, or should the diving stop for a while? A: Technically what you’ve got is a case of medial epicondylitis, but we could justifiably re-christen it as ‘Tank Lifter’s Elbow’. It will generally settle down with rest, ice, some anti-inflams and a few exercises to stretch and strengthen the tendons. But to your main question: this is one of those perennial diving concerns, which seems to stem from many anecdotes of recurrent symptoms in previously injured areas of the body. I have to say that I’ve yet to see any convincing evidence that DCI is more likely at the sites of old trauma or scarring. That said, I do not dismiss the fact that many divers seem to get aches, pains and odd sensations in areas of prior damage. Quite why this happens is a bit of a mystery. The bottom line is that we don’t really know whether this connection between scar tissue and DCI exists. However, when we’re talking major surgery, especially around regions prone to DCI anyway (eg. spinal operations), it might be prudent to take a few extra precautions with regards to conservative diving – minimising bottom depths and times, using nitrox, keeping profiles square and avoiding deco where possible.
Q: Can you please explain to me why it is that I want to pee in my wetsuit almost as soon as I get in the water? It’s really frustrating as I feel embarrassed to admit to it, and I know it’s a health hazard. Help! A: Firstly, don’t panic – what you’re experiencing is common to every diver. It’s all down to your kidneys, those bean-shaped organs that filter waste products from the blood and help regulate your blood pressure. When you are immersed in water, your peripheral blood vessels constrict in an attempt to minimise heat loss by shunting blood away from the skin’s surface and extremities, towards the warm body core and vital organs. Although the total volume of blood in the body has not changed, the volume of blood flowing through the body core (particularly the heart) increases. This causes stretching of the chambers in the heart, fooling the body into thinking it is fluid-overloaded; a chain of hormone releases is activated, which results in an increase in urine production in the kidneys (diuresis) – and an uncontrollable urge to pee. So what can you do to dampen down this response? Stay warm by using a thicker wetsuit, or stay warm and dry by using a drysuit (preferably with a pee valve). You might assume that consuming less water before a dive will reduce the need to pee, but this is not the case: the core blood volume will still increase, regardless of hydration level, and not drinking will only serve to predispose the diver to dark, smelly wee and decompression sickness. And finally, although not the most-fragrant fluid, urine is sterile – so not the health hazard it may seem.
SINGLE-USE PLASTICS TO BE BANNED IN CANADA BY 2021
be on the ‘banned’ list, but it is expected to include plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates and stir sticks. According to the United Nations last month, some 180 countries have now reached a deal to reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the planet’s oceans.
After the European Union and other nations announced bans on certain single-use plastics in October last year, Canada has now followed suit and put a ban in place which will also take effect by 2021. In Canada, less than ten percent of plastic gets recycled, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who labelled the issue of plastic pollution a ‘global challenge’ - said that ‘targets’ will be established for companies that manufacture or sell plastic products to be more-responsible for their waste. He commented: “As parents, we’re at a point when we take our kids to the beach and we have to search out a patch of sand that isn’t littered with straws, Styrofoam or bottles. That’s a problem, and one that we have to do something about.” It has yet to decide which single-use plastic products will
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END TO DOLPHIN AND WHALE CAPTIVITY
In another positive move for marine life, a bill was also passed on Monday (10 June) that banned the wild capture, captivity and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises in the country. However, organisations are to be allowed to keep cetaceans in captivity for rehabilitation, or ‘in the best interests of their welfare’ to continue to do their work, and all cetaceans currently in captivity will be exempt from the ruling.
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ROADTRIP, AUSSIE-STYLE - PART TWO
Richard Smith continues his epic roadtrip Down Under, this time checking out the Melbourne Jetties and the delights of Tasmania
ABOVE 18m: PORTLAND PARK
Q&A: GEMMA SMITH
TECHNICAL: DEEP THOUGHTS
INDONESIAN ODYSSEY
GEAR GUIDE: BACKPLATE-AND-WINGS
The accomplished technical diver, and star of ethereal short Dive Odyssey, chats extreme dives, and being a girl in a man’s world Well-travelled photo-journalist Al Hornsby is literally left flabbergasted by the sheer quality of the dive sites throughout Raja Ampat
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Stuart Philpott checks out phase two of the Portland Underwater Curiosity Park Tech instructor Neil Bennett looks at the path that prospective technical divers need to travel in order to safely dive to beyond recreational depths The Test Team heads to North Wales to rate and review backplate-and-wing set-ups designed specifically for single-cylinder diving
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“The reef systems here are some of the most pristine I have seen anywhere in my dive travels around the globe, and Wakatobi resort and liveaboard are second to none. The diversity of species here is brilliant if you love photography.� ~ Simon Bowen
An experience without equal
At Wakatobi, you don’t compromise on comfort to get away from it all. Our private air charter brings you directly to this luxuriously remote island, where all the indulgences of a five-star resort and luxury liveaboard await. Our dive team and private guides ensure your in-water experiences are perfectly matched to your abilities and interests. Your underwater encounters will create lasting memories that will remain vivid and rewarding long after the visit to Wakatobi is concluded. While at the resort, or on board the dive yacht Pelagian, you need only ask and we will gladly provide any service or facility within our power. This unmatched combination of world-renowned reefs and first-class luxuries put Wakatobi in a category all its own.
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See Steve Backshall at the interactive dive show GO Diving at the Ricoh Arena on 22–23 February 2020! Early bird tickets available now from: www.godivingshow.com
STEVE BACKSHALL 22
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Q: When did you first start diving, and what captured your imagination about the underwater world in the first place? A: My love for the underwater world started way before I started diving. I used to be obsessed with snorkelling on family holidays (according to my folks and photos, from about five I would be in the sea all day long with my mask on!) It wasn’t until 1990 when I got my first certs, while travelling around Asia. I adore everything about being underwater; the weightlessness, the freedom, and most of all the wildlife. Q: You often employ the use of a full-face mask when presenting to camera underwater. How long did it take you to get used to using this piece of equipment? A: I worked up to it. We started with old-fashioned Kirby Morgan-style masks, but now I do all my diving on a mask with no oral nasal. This means you can see my whole face while I’m talking, but you have to be super-careful about CO2 build up if you’re talking lots or swimming hard. I’ve now done hundreds of dives using it, including exploratory cave diving, which is crazy committing. It’s the most-liberating thing ever when I get to use half mask or freedive!
We put more facts, more conservation, more gore, and more science in Deadly than I would ever dare do on primetime Steve Backshall is a TV presenter and author best known for his children’s TV series Deadly 60 and its subsequent spin-offs, and his latest primetime series, Undiscovered Worlds. Scuba Diver caught up with the globe-trotting adventurer – who is the headline act at GO Diving Show 2020 - to talk diving, climbing, kayaking, the perils of dealing with animals, and Strictly Come Dancing! PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN HARTLEY, EMMA COLE, SIMON ENDERBY, BRITISH MARINE AND COURTESY OF STEVE BACKSHALL
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Q: From viewing the awesome photographs on your Twitter feed, you have been doing some amazing cave/ cavern diving for Undiscovered Worlds. Is this your first experience of venturing into an overhead environment underwater, and what was it like? A: I’ve been certified for overhead environments for more than a decade, and have done under ice, penetrating wreck and a good amount of cave, but this was the biggest cave-diving project I’ve ever been involved in. I was in Yucatan for six weeks; the first week was pretty much just spent re-learning how to swim, using micro movements with my fins to glide through the caves without kicking up silt. Q: Fellow TV presenter and friend Andy Torbet has embraced the world of technical diving, using a closedcircuit rebreather to head off into the depths to visit shipwrecks like the Britannic, or explore flooded mines in Finland. Are you tempted by the lure of technical diving and rebreathers? A: Rebreathers have no benefit for me working in television. With rebreather you need an oral nasal, which obscures the face, and makes speaking muffled. I’d probably need to be subtitled on screen, and it removes any connection you have with the audience. Some of my camera ops work on rebreather - it is great once you’re down, and the lack of bubbles can be great for filming wildlife, but the pre-dive checks are paralysing if you have a chance encounter and need to hop overboard quickly! Q: Like Andy, you are a true action man, and over the years as well as diving we have seen you climbing and kayaking while in front of the cameras. What is it about these adrenaline sports that attracts you to them? A: Increasingly the paddle, rope, ice axe and dive cylinder have become tools for me; a gateway into another world. Over the last year I’ve led ten expeditions into places human beings have never been before, and it’s been the greatest privilege of my working life. Having a working knowledge of the skills necessary has been the big thing that’s enabled me to take the first steps in forests, caves and cliffs where humans have never been before. That’s pretty special!
Q: You are a proud ambassador for The Scouts, and through your televised adventures have probably inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of children (and big kids!) to explore the great outdoors, be that topside or underwater. Why do you think it is so important to connect with the natural world? A: Great (and essential) question. We are at a crux point in history. A huge amount of our young people are hungry for change, valuing our planet and their future place in it more than ever before. This growing youth activism is the hope for the future of Planet Earth. Scouting is the largest and most-important movement that gets young people outside, into adventure, embracing the natural world. I am beyond proud at our messages of inclusivity, diversity, and building skills for life. The next big step has to be making Scouting available and attractive to young people who might never otherwise get those opportunities. Diving and Scouting is a natural mix, and I’m right behind projects to forge those connections. Q: You filmed several documentaries for the National Geographic Channel before joining The Really Wild Show for a few years, but it was the BAFTA-winning Deadly 60 series that really put you on the map. What are your fondest memories of filming for this immensely popular programme, and its follow-ons Deadly Pole to Pole, Deadly 360, Deadly On A Mission and Backshall’s Deadly Adventures? A: Deadly was my baby; from the locations, to the animals, to the crews, to the very style of filming. To see it go from an idea to a proposal to the most-successful kids wildlife series around the world (going to 157 countries and seen by an estimated half a billion people!) will always be my proudest achievement. Well, other than my little boy, of course! I think going nose to nose with a leopard seal under a jade-green Antarctic iceberg is the memory I treasure the most, though it’s pretty tough to choose!
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A huge amount of our young people are hungry for change, valuing our planet and their future place in it more than ever before
Q: Having come into contact with all manner of lethal creatures over the years, particularly on the Deadly series, did you have any dicey moments when it all went horribly wrong? A: Our definition of ‘Deadly’ is the dictionary one – the animals we film are not dangerous to us as human beings, but deadly in their world, to other animals. We mostly feature things like dragonflies, kestrels, whalesharks and conger eels. If we ever do cover sharks, snakes, spiders and scorpions, I am always at great pains to break down the myths and fears people may have of them. In all the years of Deadly, the only animals we have talked about in terms of their danger to us are parasites; particularly the mosquito. Q: You were on Strictly Come Dancing. How did that experience compare with facing up to sharks, big cats, snakes and other potentially deadly animals? A: My normal life is exactly what you see on screen. Last year, I had 120 nights under canvas; most of it in tropical rainforests in a hammock, covered in leech bites and itching with chiggers. I spent the summer of 2014 climbing Mount Asgard up in the Arctic Circle… then a week after I landed was up to my armpits in flashbulbs, sequins and spray tans. It was weird, bizarre, utterly bonkers, and made me realise how glad I am that my life is led outside of the public eye, but I have made dear friends like Jake, Judy, Thom, Pixie, Sunetra and the others, who would otherwise never have been a part of my life. Q: You became a household name with Deadly 60, but recently you have been doing more mainstream TV, including BBC One’s Wild Alaska Live, BBC2’s Undiscovered Worlds, and Channel 5’s Hedgehog A&E. You always come across as hugely enthusiastic regardless of the programme in question, but how do behave differently when you are filming for ‘adults’ rather than a younger audience? A: I pitch each programme to the demographic of the channel and timeslot, but I think people would be surprised at how kid’s shows are different… We put more facts, more conservation, more gore, and more science in Deadly than I would ever dare do on primetime. Kids are used to learning; they do it every day. Adults feel preached to if you put in lots of factual content. On Deadly series three, we had a media graduate writing his doctorate come in and visit us because he’d worked out that Deadly had the highest factual hit-rate of any natural history programme on TV. It’s so liberating – and I think so, so important to keep making programmes aimed at kids, who just haven’t made up their minds how they feel about the world yet. Q: Finally, a bit of a tongue-in-cheek one - there were howls of anguish in playgrounds across the UK when the news broke about your marriage in 2016. You have always been a firm favourite with the ‘mums’ – and I have witnessed first-hand how vociferous they can be when you are on stage – but surely that can’t phase someone who has handled or been in close proximity to some of the most-dangerous animals on the planet? A: I think it’s something that most kid’s presenters get! Having just had our first baby, Hels and I haven’t watched television in months, but when Logan gets older, Mr Tumble will be my best friend; and that’s how families treat me. It’s the mostbeautiful sensation to be in public, and meet people who treat you like an honorary part of their family! n
Expedition with Steve Backshall starts Sunday 21 July on Dave, and his Expedition book is available on 18 July, published by BBC Book
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Martin Sampson warns of the dangers of neglecting the low and high-pressure hoses on your regulator set-up PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN SAMPSON
HOSES: DO’S AND DON’T’S
T
his month I’m going to try to achieve the impossible by trying to make regulator hoses sound interesting. I admit I might have already lost some of you right there, but if you stay with me you may save a lot of money on your next regulator service. As I write this, I have just done an estimate for a regulator service that should have come out in the region of £65-70. Instead, it will be closer to £160 because of three damaged hoses. Most regulator hoses cost around £25-35 with one or two brands considerably more expensive than that. Besides the cost there’s the risk that a hose failing underwater might lead to something far worse – e.g. a rapid ascent. Fortunately, hoses don’t often rupture - after thousands of dives I can honestly say that the number of hoses I have seen burst number less than ten. But that’s not the point, you wouldn’t
want a hose to burst once, never mind ten times. Rubber hoses are designed with a large safety factor and have burst pressures about four times higher than their maximum rating of 34 bars. Typical hose construction features an inner liner surrounded by a single, spun polyester cord for reinforcement. Outside of this is a cover of rubber that should protect the liner from the ravages of abrasion and the environment. This outer layer of rubber can add weight and stiffness to the hose and, frankly, is not really the best of materials to withstand the environment in which diving hoses are used. The more a hose is stressed and flexed, the quicker it can dry, crack and break down in the presence of salt, ultraviolet light and atmospheric ozone. If any of your hoses are cracked or leaking air at the fittings, then you should regard it as failed and replace it without delay. At the very least get it checked at your local service centre. In diving, rubber hoses are gradually being superseded by lighter and more-flexible hoses manufactured by companies such as Miflex. These hoses feature an inner liner of tough polyurethane, fully covered with a multi-strand
BCD hose is stressed and presents a snag hazard
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braided polyester reinforcement. Above this is a braided nylon outer that is much more suited to the job. Once cut to length, most hose fittings are attached to the hose ends with crimped brass ferrules. Some traditional rubber hoses feature a small hole in the ferrule where you can clearly see the rubber of the hose. If you can’t see the rubber through the hole then the hose is beginning to pull out of the ferrule and may separate catastrophically from the hose fitting. On the more-modern braided flexible hoses, the fittings are specifically designed so that the hose cannot be pulled out of the fittings and this obviously increases safety at this critical point of the hose. Miflex regulator hoses have a burst pressure eight times the normal maximum pressure of 34bars. Any stress in the hose, for example, caused by coiling the hose too tight, is also concentrated at the ferrule. This is where the majority of hose failures occur. So called ‘hose protectors’ have been available for years. These plastic sleeves that slide over the ferrule and hose are supposed to relieve the stress in the hose. However, many of them are poorly designed because they are either too stiff (especially in cold water) or the wrong shape at the edge. Consequently, the stress is simply moved along the hose. In addition, many of them don’t allow water to drain, and rather than
1st Stage positioned at an angle with suit DF on end port
protecting the hose they do the opposite by trapping salt and promoting corrosion of the ferrule. If you can avoid stressing your hoses as well as generally looking after them, there is no reason why they shouldn’t last for many years.
Removing the hose protector reveals trapped sand
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TOP TIPS • Use flexible hose protectors that are easy to remove for cleaning and inspection. When fitting them don’t push them over the hose nuts at the 1st stage. Leave enough room for a spanner so that hoses can be changed without pulling on the hose protector and stressing the hose. • Clean and check your hoses on a regular basis, to ensure you remove any salt and other debris. Look for tell-tale signs of wear from abrasion, especially those nasty cracks in the rubber. • Don’t coil hoses too tightly. If you want to use a regulator bag, choose one that will easily accommodate the whole set up – including an instrument console. • Check the height of your BCD on the cylinder to make sure that there is enough room for hoses to naturally follow the contours of the jacket, especially when the BCD is fully inflated. • First stages such as the Scubapro Mk2 have ports that are arranged radially around the valve body, with the result that when all the ports are occupied there is usually one hose that is stressed. A great accessory for these regulators is a 90-degree swivel, especially for the BCD hose. • Make full use of the ports on balanced first stages by experimenting with the position of the first stage body. The Scubapro Mk25 first stage has five low pressure ports including one on the end that is very useful, particularly for the drysuit direct feed hose. This useful feature is unique to balanced piston first stages. However, Apeks have come up with a device for their DST balanced diaphragm regulator called ‘The 5th Port’ that overcomes this problem. A fifth port is also handy for routing the shorter direct feed hoses beloved of side-mount divers. • Keep the pressure gauge and the alternate air source hose stowed neatly so that there is little chance of these becoming snagged. One memorable hose failure I witnessed was when a diver exited a hard boat with a backward roll and then spent the next few seconds suspended by his SPG that was jammed in a cleat. • Some manufacturers offer hoses in a range of lengths, including some custom lengths. This can be useful if, for example, you need a drysuit hose or high-pressure hose to reach round a 46” chest and size XL BCD without being stressed. • If you do need to replace damaged hoses look into using the more-modern braided type of hose. They will last longer and are lighter. Both of these features will save you money in the long run. • Make sure you only use diving hoses that are manufactured to the EN250 standard. This will be clearly marked on the hose. n
Fortunately, hoses don’t often rupture - after thousands of dives I can honestly say that the number of hoses I have seen burst number less than ten Hose has ruptured near end of hose protector
This badly kinked hose is both weakened and reducing the air flow to the diver
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SEADRAGONS Richard Smith and four buddies start their 2,000-mile Australian diving road trip around Adelaide’s cool waters PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD SMITH
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W
hen Marvel’s superhero crack team - The Avengers – assemble, they don’t seem to have problems with multiple flat tyres thwarting their every move, or end up accumulating more 7-Eleven snacks than you could shake a stick at. I’m not saying that our little team are quite The Avengers, but I know my way round a seahorse, Wendy Brown has organised and led liveboard charters for 20 years and has at least 15,000 dives under her belt, Yann Alfian is one of Indonesia’s most-experienced dive guides and has amazing critter-hunting eyes that can easily spot a needle in a haystack, while Ned and Anna DeLoach, two of the mostinspiring people, whose natural history observations have informed scientists for decades, have helped the rest of us identify all the reef’s fishes and critters with their ubiquitous ID book series. This concluded the quintet of divers for our inaugural Australian road trip that would be the trip-of-alifetime around Australia’s cooler southern waters. Between us, we had an elaborate and unusual critter wish list, one that hopefully we were in with a good chance of finding given our collective backgrounds. We were fresh off a similar adventure that I had organised for the same group about 18 months prior in temperate Japan. So, we were already in the groove and decided to really embrace the chilly water diving. In Japan we had heated vests and 7mm semi-dry suits, but we decided that wouldn’t cut it in Australia. With temperatures in Tasmania as low as 13˚C, I ditched my old and leaky drysuit and got fitted out with cosy new one. I didn’t want uncontrollable hypothermic shaking to affect my seadragon encounters.
Rich algal growth in South Australian waters
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Inquisitive Tasmanian blenny
Having missed out on the Japanese species, when Wendy spotted a juvenile Port Jackson horned shark swimming under the jetty she disappeared in pursuit WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
Crab feasting on fish discarded by anglers above
Shore dive with bountiful gorgonian growth
The charismatic and unique pyjama squid
I was based in Australia for seven years for my PhD research on pygmy seahorses, and had used the opportunity to do plenty of diving road trips during that time. The most extreme had been after submitting my thesis, when my friend Laura and I drove a good 4,000-mile round trip from Brisbane to Tasmania. We shore dived all along the coast, allowing me to really tailor this trip for my friends knowing what animals they wanted to see. In fact, Laura and I had driven from Adelaide to Melbourne just a year before, and I had decided this would be the best place to start our current dive safari. It turned out that the dry-run Laura and I had made the year before had taught me some valuable lessons. Our first stop had been Edithburgh Jetty, an amazing cold-water muck dive three hour’s drive to the west of Adelaide. I hadn’t had as much time as usual to plan our spontaneous trip, so we turned up in Edithburgh to find that you couldn’t hire cylinders. Only the local petrol station did fills, but had no tanks to rent out. So, after spending the night at the local caravan park, we drove back to Adelaide and picked up four cylinders. We seemed to have spent about 12
hours out of the first 24 in the car, but it was a good learning experience nonetheless. With Wendy, Yann, Ned and Anna, I was prepared. We picked up our minibus and went off to Diving Adelaide, a great little shop near the centre of town. There, we filled the bus with ten cylinders, plus all our dive gear, tons of weights and several big cameras. Unfortunately, pulling out of the car park we picked up a screw in one of the tyres, which we only noticed upon hearing air hissing out at our first supply stop just down the road. Wendy drove us into a Sparring male southern pygmy tyre repair centre just as the last puff of air leatherjackets left the tyre and, holding our breaths, we scraped in on the tyre rim. Luckily, they had a new tyre for us and off we went on our merry way, hoping we’d put all disasters behind us. Several hours later we had driven almost to the tip of the Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide and arrived in Edithburgh. It’s a quaint and sleepy town, with one main street and a couple of shops and cafes, but little else. The Edithburgh Caravan Park has simple rooms with a kitchenette, which was more than ample for our needs. After settling in, we took a walk along
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BIOGRAPHY
Richard Smith, a British underwater photographer and writer, aspires to promote an appreciation for the ocean’s inhabitants and raise awareness of marine conservation issues through his images. A marine biologist by training, Richard’s pioneering research on the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses, led to the first PhD on these enigmatic fishes. Richard organises and leads marine life expeditions, where the aim is for participants to get more from their diving and photography by learning about the marine environment. His book, The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs will be released in September 2019. www.OceanRealmImages.com Rock crab off Edithburgh jetty A tiny southern pygmy leatherjacket
the foreshore and to the jetty that was the main reason for us visiting. Like many shore dives, the best time to dive Edithburgh is on a slack tide. The currents are reduced and visibility, as a result, is often better. We took the rest of the afternoon to put cameras together and prepare for the slack tide the following morning. One of the first critters that we all wanted to see is the cheerfully striped pyjama squid. At just a couple of inches long, they would be easy to miss, so together we looked at an image of the animal and discussed where we might find them. It seemed like a good omen that within two seconds of Anna putting her head into the water, before even descending, she’d found one! The rest of us were still negotiating our entry, but very happy to finally get in The Maori, the world’s third-largest octopus and see one of these spectacular blackspecies at Rapid Bay and-white cephalopods so quickly. Once we were all in and had watched the pyjama squid for a while, we followed the jetty away from shore. The deepest we ever got to over the four dives we made there was 6m, but three of the dives were to just 4m! I hadn’t got the hang of weighting in my new suit yet, so had a very awkward underweighted dive in the shallow water. We didn’t want to stray too far from the jetty structure as this is an area well known for great white shark sightings. In fact, there have been a number of fatal attacks, including one just off Edithburgh in 2014. However, a different local shark was of particular was happy that she had her dream fulfilled. interest to us. In Japan, Wendy had been very keen on seeing Over the next few dives we found many unusual critters the indigenous Japanese horned shark, which is a prehistoricand many endemic animals too. Southern Australia has plenty looking small striped shark, with diagnostic horns in front of of marine creatures found nowhere else on Earth, and this the dorsal fins. There are nine species of horned shark found particular area has more than its fair share. I spotted a scarlet around the world, with two in Australia. Having missed out cardinalfish found only in this particular part of Australia. The on the Japanese species, when Wendy spotted a juvenile Tasmanian blenny, with its elaborate long cirri, was another Port Jackson horned shark swimming under the jetty she highlight. Another, the warty prowfish, was a species I was disappeared in pursuit. I only caught a brief glimpse of it, but
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unaware of until I looked it up after the dive. It is a type of grumpy-looking fish, which is variable in colour but in this case was a rusty orange hue. Among all these southern Australian endemic fishes, probably the most striking and memorable is the male ornate cowfish. It has great horns at certain spots over the body, is covered in elaborate hexagons and stripes, and just to add to the wild attire tops it all off with a bright orange tail. After several daytime dives, we were shocked by the transition of Edithburgh by night. Between us, our group has dived all the tropical muck dive locations, but none of us had ever seen so many blue-ringed octopuses. I lost count at a dozen, but there were probably double that. Again, these were an endemic Australian species, the southern blue-ring, found only in these cooler southern waters. When not watching their antics, I was excited to see the huge numbers of short-head seahorses. Usually they are hard to find, being just 10cm in length, but at night they emerged to the edge of the algae bushes and there were many dozens of these too. All in all, although I’m not a huge night dive fan, this was one of the best I have ever done and
All in all, although I’m not a huge night dive fan, this was one of the best I have ever done and it made for a great conclusion of diving in Edithburgh
it made for a great conclusion of diving in Edithburgh. Our next location as the crow flies was very close, just across the bay on the Fleurieu Peninsula, but to access it we needed to drive back up the Yorke Peninsula, past Adelaide and a further couple of hours south. We kept the cylinders with us, as we would be planning our own dives in search of one of Australia’s most-beloved of marine animals, the leafy seadragon. We had allowed for a couple of day’s diving around the Fleurieu Peninsula, to pick the best site for dragon action, but our first dive at Rapid Bay yielded five leafies, so we were more than happy. The old jetty has lots of algal growth around its pylons, and is just a short swim from the new jetty. It’s a fair walk from the carpark to the access stairs at the end of the jetty, probably around 1km in scolding sun and mid-30s heat. With full gear, camera and all the weight required to stay down in a drysuit, it’s a pretty arduous trek. We decided to invest in a small trolley to help with the steel tanks and made several trips back and forth for the gear. The water in early February was in the low 20s both here and at Edithburgh, so we were cosy in our drysuits. We did two 90-minute dives with these majestic beasts, swaying
Tasmanian blenny and rich invertebrate growth
One of at least a dozen southern blue-ringed octopuses at Edithburgh jetty by night
Yann and Wendy observing a leafy seadragon
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back and forth in the gentle swell. None of the others had ever seen a seadragon before, so there was rather a lot of pressure to find one. I was very happy that we all had a good amount of time to observe these animals in their natural habitat. These large pipefish are not considered to be endangered, but they are only found in this small part of the world and do suffer a certain amount of poaching for the aquarium trade, for which they are highly sought after. With a couple of seadragon dives under our belts, we decided to spend a little time at the world-famous local wineries before starting our long drive to Melbourne’s jetties that would be the next stop on our journey. Soaking up the local sights above the waves is surely part of the adventure too, and the Great Ocean Road’s 12 Apostles was next in store for us! n
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ABOVE
You don’t have to go deep to see big animals in UK waters, as Stuart Philpott explains when he goes hunting thornback rays in the Helford River Estuary PHOTOGRAPHS BY STUART PHILPOTT
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he owner of Porthkerris Divers (www.porthkerris. com), Mike Anselmi, said the Helford River Estuary was one of the best dive sites in the area. The shallow seabed attracted a huge diversity of marine life, including sea hares, cuttlefish, clams, scallops, hermit crabs and blonde rays. But from May through to August, the star of the show has to be the thornback rays (Raja clavata). Mike said the rays congregate in larger numbers around mid-August. During this period, it’s not unusual to encounter at least five or six different individuals on a single one-hour long dive. The rays normally stick together in loose packs so when one is spotted, there’s a good chance of finding several more. This site is ideal for divers and photographers that want to get an up-close view of the thornbacks. I even managed to fin side by side with several rays as they effortlessly soared across the seabed. Thornbacks shouldn’t be confused with their close relatives, stingrays. They are totally non-aggressive and don’t pose any threat to divers. There is no lethal-looking barb protruding from the tail. Instead, they have 30-50 spines which I guess could possibly give somebody a graze, but only if they were intentionally grabbed or man-handled. The mouth is located on the white-coloured underside. Inside are rows of very small teeth which make perfect tools for crunching on crabs, prawns and flatfish.
ARRIVAL AT THE SITE
Porthkerris Divers is a family run business located way down on the southwest coast near the Lizard in Cornwall. RNAS Culdrose is a good landmark to aim for and then follow the signs to St Keverne. The last few miles of road can be quite confusing (I managed to take the wrong turning), but there’s still several bars of mobile signal available if you need to call the dive centre for emergency directions. The narrow hedge-lined lanes eventually open out onto a very picturesque little bay. The dive centre building is located next to the pebble beach. On-site facilities include a dive shop, two camp sites, self-catering apartments, toilets, cafe, car park, gas fills and plenty of shore-diving possibilities. There’s even a number of decent pubs and restaurants situated close by. The local seal sanctuary at Gweek is also worth a visit après-dive.
The mobile jetty for the Celtic Cat
THE CHARTER BOAT
Porthkerris Divers have two hard boats ferrying divers to and from the local sites. We went out on Mike’s flagship, the 14-metre Celtic Cat. Getting onto the boat is quite a novel experience. There is no jetty, so divers have to walk along a high-rise gangplank which is then pushed into the sea by a tractor. Mike’s other hard boat, the smaller eight-metre Celtic Kitten is equipped with a bow ramp so it can come right up to the beach. Celtic Cat has plenty of room onboard for kitting up and gear stowage. There is also a big enclosed cabin area where I could get hot drinks. A double diver lift has been fitted to the stern. This is controlled by CCTV linked to the high-rise bridge. Mike usually offers the thornback ray dive on request. He said the rays come closer inshore during calm weather. They don’t like rough seas.
Picturesque Porthkerris
Thornback buried in the sand
When the tide eased off we found two or three different rays buried in the sand and they were much easier to approach WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
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THE DIVE
Thornbacks are quite placid
PRE-DIVE BRIEFING
The Helford River is approximately 20 minute’s boat ride from Porthkerris beach. At high water the mouth of the estuary is around 12m deep. This shallows off to about 8m inside by the boat moorings. The seabed mainly consists of sand and shingle in the central channel. Nearer the edges and further up the estuary, this changes to a maerl-like composition interspersed with patches of weed (perfect for scallops). At times there can be strong currents, so it’s best to dive a few hours before high water on the flood tide when things are calming down. The visibility is usually better and there is more chance of seeing some thornback rays. Keep a close eye on air supplies, as chasing after rays can be quite a tank-draining experience. All divers should carry a delayed SMB. Mike asks that they are deployed at the end of the dive before starting any safety stops. This is a busy waterway, so be extra vigilant on ascents. Propeller haircuts are definitely not recommended! Divers can approach extremely close
Mike dropped us in the middle of the channel right by the river mouth. The tide was still flooding which meant the current would take us inside the channel rather than out to sea. We would also have ‘cleaner’ water for my photographs. We made a free decent without reference to the seabed. The rays are not in any particular area, so there is no set direction to take, it’s basically pot luck. We drifted along with the current scanning the seabed for any signs of ray-like indentations. Creeping up on thornback rays turned out to be much easier than expected. I had brought along Brian Hayes, a diving friend of many years, to act as a ‘model’ and chief ray spotter. We found ray number one within the first two to three minutes of our dive. I could clearly make out the diamondshaped outline hidden beneath the sand. A pair of eyes and a sharp pointy nose were the only parts visible. Working as a team we managed to get within touching distance of around five or six different individuals on both dives. The rays seemed to react differently depending on the tides. During flood tide they were more active and on the move. Mike thinks this is when they are feeding. On three occasions we had to swim like lunatics just to keep up with them. When the tide eased off we found two or three different rays buried in the sand and they were much easier to approach, in fact, I could have touched them with my camera dome and they still wouldn’t have budged. Maybe they thought their camouflage blended in so well we couldn’t see them? As the tide turned there seemed to be less rays about and they were moving much more slowly. We had also moved up the estuary nearer to the boat moorings. The seabed composition had changed and there were far more sea hares around. We swam along with one extremely relaxed ray for a good five minutes and then bumped into a very photogenic cuttlefish. None of the rays shot off in an erratic manner or seemed distressed by our presence. Considering they were being sandwiched by two divers this was quite surprising. The thornbacks we encountered varied in size from small 20cm wingspans to much-larger 50cm plus specimens. The colour schemes were usually grey or brown with a kaleidoscope pattern of spots and splodges on the topside. Most had two claspers dangling from the tail area, meaning they were males. We only bumped into one small female throughout the entire dive. Average recorded sizes are around 60cm weighing in at 3kg-4kg. Mature rays can grow to more than a metre in length and weigh over 15kg. If you are visiting Cornwall this dive is an absolute must. Sitting at a maximum depth of 12m, it’s shallow enough for every certification level to enjoy. Our close encounters were total natural. There was no provocation or feeding enticements going on in the background. They say a picture paints a thousand words, so hopefully my photographs show just how close we managed to get. With rather more luck than judgement, we had chosen a perfect day for weather. There was plenty of sunlight and very little wave action to worry about. Underwater visibility averaged eight metres throughout and the current took away any silt kicked up during our power-finning spurts. For once I actually have to admit this
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Thornbacks are harmless...
...but very eye-catching
was pretty good going for UK conditions. The toughest part of the day was keeping Brian focused on the job at hand. He was getting more and more distracted by the number of decent-sized scallops scattered all over the seabed. He even threatened to get out his goody bag! Mike offers a single dive on Celtic Kitten at £30 per person, or £45 per person for two dives. The Helford River is also used as a second dive site on some day trips. Two dives on Celtic Cat cost £60 per person, this also includes hot drinks and snacks. Porthkerris Divers offers a range of PADI and SSI diving and freediving courses, as well as blue shark and basking shark snorkelling trips. n
Scuba Diving in Cornwall • Family run business with private beach on the Lizard Peninsular in Cornwall • Fantastic on site shore dive “Drawna Rocks” • 2 hard boats – The Celtic Cat and the Celtic Kitten • Access to over 30 dive sites • Compressor room and kit hire • Dive shop and office • Self catering accommodation for up to 20 people • Camping and electric hook-ups • Beach cafe • 3m dive pool • Blue shark and basking shark snorkelling trips • SSI and PADI Scuba Diving and Free Diving Courses • Try dives and guided shore and boat dives
Phone: 01326 280620 Email: info@porthkerris.com www.porthkerris.com
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dive into history Sudan was one of those iconic, never-to-be-forgotten trips for Mark Evans back in 2007, but would it live up to his high expectations on a return visit 12 years later? PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK EVANS
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harks. Lots of sharks. Lots of different species of sharks. That is what I remember from my inaugural trip to Sudan way back in 2007. During a two-week stint on the Royal Evolution, we encountered more than ten different species, including grey reef sharks, whitetip sharks, hammerhead sharks, silky sharks, silvertip sharks, thresher sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, and best of all, a monster four-metre tiger shark on no less than four occasions. So when Jim and Cary Yanny from Diverse Travel invited me to join them on a week-long trip into Sudanese waters, I jumped at the chance. Of all of the assignments I have been on in 20-odd years of dive magazine editing, that Sudan trip was one I longed to repeat. Things started positively. Our vessel for the week, MV Oceanos, was spacious and well-presented, and the weather was good. A little breezy, but nice and warm, and the water was teetering around the 25 degrees C mark. Our itinerary was called Mythical Sudan, and over the course of a week, we’d be taking in sites both north and south of our start/finish point of Port Sudan. After a quick check-dive at Sha’ab Umbria, we headed north to the famous Sha’ab Rumi, home to the remnants of Precontinent II, but more about that later. Sha’ab Rumi also has two stunning plateau dives at the north and south ends of the reef. On my last visit, the south plateau was swarming with chunky grey reef sharks, probably more than 60-70, and on four of five dives in this area we got up close and personal with the huge tiger shark, so to say I was looking forward to these dives was a bit of an understatement. So you can imagine my disappointment when we rolled off the RIB and dropped down to the plateau and there was not a single shark in sight. Not one. The stunningly pristine soft and hard corals, with their array of reef fish inhabitants, were all present and correct, but there were no sharks, or any other big fish, like trevally or tuna. Okay, so a minor blip, they’ll be there on dive two. No. And neither did they put in an appearance on dive three. I just couldn’t understand it. I was expecting the shark numbers to be less, but to not see anything on three consecutive dives on a reef known for shark encounters was mystifying. The reefs are truly amazing, and just awash with colour and fish life, so the dives were still enjoyable, and we were treated to a visually stunning swirling vortex of barracuda. Next we headed to Sanganeb, which is similar to Daedalous Swirling school of barracuda on Sha’ab Rumi
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The urchin-like hangar at Precontinent II
in that it is dominated by a Victorian lighthouse at one end. This vast reef offers numerous dive sites, and again is a shark hotspot. In 2007 it offered large groups of hammerhead sharks, so I thought this would be the one to break our shark duck. No, wrong again. We hung out in the blue seemingly endlessly and to no avail – we were out of (shark) luck. After two damp squibs on the shark front, we journeyed south to the Suakin Reef system. This was totally new to me, as we didn’t get any further south than Port Sudan on my 2007 trip. Here we dived the reefs of Pinacolo, Jumna, Logan and Ambar. Finally, we did see some sharks, but only a handful, and worryingly, the first one we saw was a lone large grey reef sharks with a shiny fresh hook in its mouth and about five metres of monofilament streaming behind it. Had a long-liner cruised through Sudanese waters and taken out all of the sharks and the larger fish? These four reefs offered vibrant corals, sheer walls, all manner of the usual Red Sea suspects, such as bannerfish, pufferfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, snapper, grouper, fusilier, moray eels, lionfish, the ubiquitous anthia and scorpionfish. We briefly spotted a couple of grey reef sharks, a few hammerheads and enjoyed some shallow-water flypasts from juvenile silky sharks, but with the lack of sharks, other fish stepped into the limelight, such as more barracuda, trevally and chunky snapper.
Cary Yanny underneath the hangar at Precontinent II
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It has often been said that if the bombs inside the Umbria detonated, they would destroy Port Sudan 29km away!
Anemonefish central!
Thankfully, as well as having most of the dive sites to ourselves, and them absolutely teeming with marine life – other than bloody sharks! – Sudan had two aces up its sleeve that more than made up for the lack of ‘men in grey suits’. The remnants of Precontinent II, and the shipwreck of the Umbria.
PRECONTINENT II (ALSO KNOWN AS CONSHELF II)
At Sha’ab Rumi, you get the opportunity to really dive into history, and explore something put on the seabed by the legendary Jacques-Yves Cousteau himself! The Precontinent experiments – named after the French word for ‘continental shelf’ - was an attempt at creating an environment in which people could live and work on the sea floor. Precontinent I, which was based off Marseille in France, saw two scuba divers spend two weeks in a small chamber at 12m in 1962, but for Precontinent II in Sudan, the stakes were raised. In 1963, eight ‘oceanauts’ (and a parrot named Claude) lived at 10m on the reef for 30 days. Their home for this period was a starfish-shaped habitat, and other structures included a submarine hangar for the two-man submarine Hydroject Saucer DS-2, and a ‘deep cabin’, a smaller version of Precontinent I, which was situated down at 27m and was home to two of the divers for a week. This was a massive undertaking, and air, water, food, power and other essentials were supplied from a surface support team on the iconic Calypso and a cargo ship Rosaldo, which were anchored at the reef and regularly made runs to Port Sudan, a mere 35km away. It was part-funded by the French petrochemical industry, who hoped that such ‘colonies’ could potentially serve as ‘base stations’ for future undersea operations, but after being involved in Precontinent III in the Mediterranean a few years later, Cousteau withdrew his support and channelled all of his efforts into marine conservation. At the end of the experiment, the main habitat and deep cabin were removed, but a few tangible reminders of this ground-breaking remain, namely a couple of fish cages, a tool shed, and the urchinshell-shaped hangar for the saucer-shaped submarine.
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The shark cages – one around on the plateau of Sha’ab Rumi, the other deeper down the wall below the other structures – are heavily encrusted with coral growth, as to some extent is the small tool shed, a low-lying construction in the shallows which resembles a Toblerone chocolate bar. These are great to see – you really are going back in time – but the highlight is undoubtedly the hangar. Perched on legs, it looks like a giant urchin shell, and even after this amount of time underwater, it is still in remarkably good shape, and doesn’t have too much coral growth on the outer ‘shell’. The legs are draped in soft corals, but if you are careful, you can swim underneath and swim up inside, through a grated floor, and into an air pocket. It is always bizarre to ‘surface’ when you are still several metres underwater - and I wouldn’t recommend breathing the trapped air! The shallow reef around the Precontinent II is okay, but nothing to shout about, while the nearby wall is more colourful and filled with marine life, but this dive is all about the remaining structures of this experiment. You probably won’t want to dive it more than once on your trip, but I guarantee that one dive will stay with you forever. Jim looks at munitions inside the Umbria
THE UMBRIA
During World War Two, the Red Sea was an important trade route linking Europe to colonies in Africa and India. On 3 June 1940, the Umbria visited Port Said in Egypt, which at the time was under British control. The Italian cargo ship was enroute to the Italian colony of Eritrea and was carrying 6,000 tons of bombs, 600 cases of detonators, 100 tons of various weapons, over 2,000 tons of cement, and three Fiant 1100 Lunga cars. Although Italy was expected to enter the war, at that moment it was technically neutral and had every right to transport weapons such as these, so she was allowed to continue on her journey three days later, with the escort of HMS Grimsby. Three days after that, on 9 June, as she entered Sudanese waters, she was intercepted by HMS Leander and forced by the two navy ships to anchor at Wingate Reef, just north of Port Sudan, under the pretext of searching for contraband. Not long after this, the captain of the Umbria, Lorenzo Muiesan, heard on the radio that Italy had, indeed, joined the war on the side of Nazi Germany. Not wanting to let the ship – and its valuable military cargo – fall into the hands of ‘the enemy’, the next morning he asked the British guards for permission to conduct a muster drill, and with the assistance of his crew managed to scuttle the ship. The captain and crew were subsequently shipped to India and detained in prison for four years. The 155-metre-long, 10,000-ton vessel – she is far bigger than The reefs are pristine
Switches inside the eng ine room of the Umbria
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Sweetlips
DIVERSE TRAVEL
Inside the Umbria
Fiat Lunga 1100 car inside the Umbria
her more-famous Egyptian neighbour Thistlegorm - now lies fully intact at a 60-degree angle on its port side with a maximum depth of 38m, and the upper sections reaching to within just 5m of the surface, making it the ultimate playground for wreck divers. The three enormous holds can be easily explored, with plenty of ambient light through the open tops and through the endless rows of portholes. The 360,000 aerial bombs are stacked up much as they were when it sank, with a few ominously slid forward half a metre or so, and create a feature you will never see anywhere else. Another hold is chock-full of intact wine bottles, now sadly empty, but not smashed as are the collection on the Carnatic on Sha’ab Abu Nuhas in Egypt. Once you have orientated yourself to the Umbria and done a couple of dives to get over the sheer size of the thing, you can start to really explore, and that is when you find cargo like the three Fiat cars, nestled side by side where they slid when the ship went down. They are slowly rusting away, but still in remarkably good condition overall – you can see dials, steering wheels, headlights, tyres, seats, even the glass in some of them. If you are comfortable in confined spaces and suitably trained, it is well worth venturing further into the superstructure. You will go through the dining room with the remnants of tables and chairs, the kitchen with its tiled floor, pizza ovens and dough mixer, and the engine room with its massive engines, switch gear, lathe and generators.
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Diverse Travel is a specialist dive tour operator that creates tailored itineraries for its clients, and is operated by a small team who are all keen, well-travelled divers who have actually sampled the multitude of resorts, boats and destinations they offer. Whatever you want to achieve on a trip, the Diverse team will work with you to craft the perfect holiday. The boat they partner in Sudan is the MV Oceanos, which is owned and operated by Belgian-Egyptian couple Ayman and Angelique – Ayman skippers the vessel, while Angelique, along with Momo, guides the dives. At 39 metres in length, it is a large boat, capable of taking 24 guests in its 12 cabins with ease, and still not feel overcrowded in the vast salon or on the huge sundeck. The two RIBs have tank racks and ladders, making them some of the most user-friendly and comfortable diving tenders I have been on. www.diversetravel.co.uk
CONCLUSION
Whether we had just hit a bad week, caused by the water temperature being higher than usual, or if a long-lining boat had indeed done a hit-and-run in Sudanese waters, who knows, but I was mightily disappointed at the lack of shark action. However, on a happier note, I have seen some images from more-recent trips to the exact same reefs, and these all feature hammerheads, grey reef sharks, silky sharks, and more, so I’d like to think that we had a freak week and it’s now back to something more like I remembered. Thankfully, the Precontinent II and especially the Umbria more than made up for the lack of sharks. The Precontinent II is a real ‘dive into history’, but for me, the real star of the show is the Umbria. This massive ship is without a doubt one of the best wreck dives in the world! Sudan might border Egypt, but getting there is more of a chore than simply jumping on a direct flight from the UK. However, if you are adventurous and prepared to put up with the extended travel time via Dubai, Sudanese waters give you a glimpse into what the Red Sea was like before hordes of tourists arrived. n
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CLIMBING UP THE CERTIFICATION LADDER Luke Evans notches up his PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver certification during a family diving trip to Roots Red Sea in Egypt PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK EVANS
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here is a bit of a misnomer with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Many people refer to themselves as ‘Advanced’ once they have this ticket, and some people pour scorn on it, saying you can’t be advanced after only a handful of dives, but PADI are very clear in their literature that the Advanced Open Water Diver is called as-such because it ‘advances’ your skill set and diving education, allowing you to build your confidence and develop your diving repertoire. The PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course is exactly the same as the adult version, it is just aimed at kids aged 12-15. Luke still had to read the same manual and complete the same section tests and exams, and he had to demonstrate the same level of skills and understanding in the water, the only real difference is that once qualified, he is limited to 21m maximum depth because of his age (adults are allowed to 30m).
With the PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course, you complete Adventure Dives, which effectively means ‘sampling’ some of the various Specialty courses. Participants have to complete Deep and Underwater Navigation Adventure Dives, but the other three are up to the diver. Importantly, each Adventure Dive may credit towards the first dive of the corresponding full Specialty
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Luke displaying some nice trim On the Deep Adventure Dive
Fish ID with Mohammed
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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!
Diver course, so choose your elective Adventure Dives to suit your interests or where you will be diving. As well as his Deep and Underwater Navigation dives, Luke chose Fish ID – a perfect choice on the marine-life-rich reefs of the Red Sea! – along with Peak Performance Buoyancy and Night Dive, both of which will be useful in his future diving exploits. As Luke hadn’t really done any proper sea dives since qualifying as a PADI Junior Open Water Diver in the Florida Keys the previous year, we opted to spend the first day just going for a couple of dives as a family to get him back into the swing of things, and we were accompanied by his Pharaoh Dive Club instructor Fathy Abu El Fadel. This was a nice, relaxed way for him to get to know his main instructor, and he instantly bonded with the out-going, exuberant Egyptian. With children and diving, as well as the maturity and attitude of the child themselves, getting them comfortable with a good instructor who understands and enjoys working with youngsters is essential, and Fathy was absolutely fantastic. My wife Penney and I were proud to see how Luke effortlessly slipped back into ‘dive mode’. He cruised along the reef in a nice horizontal trim position, maintaining his buoyancy with ease, and notched up two 50-minute dives. These two dives, with no pressure or expectations, were just what he needed, and he was psyched to get started with his Advanced on day two. As we were completing six solid days of diving, Fathy wisely broke down the Adventure Dives into manageable chunks, so that portions of the dives were spent learning new skills, and the rest could be used for exploring and going for an actual dive. Still, we were surprised when we found out that the weekly night dive was on a Tuesday and so Luke would be doing his Night Adventure Dive that second evening. However, we needn’t have worried – after two more dives during the day learning skills for his Deep Adventure Dive and Peak Performance Buoyancy, he confidently entered the water as the sky turned black, and my enduring memory of the night dive is Luke zipping back and forth between us and his instructor Fathy like a frenetic human version of a flashlight fish! As the week progressed, Luke steadily ticked off his Adventure Dives. He had briefings pre-dive with Fathy – and On the Navigation Adventure Dive
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fellow instructor Mohammed Mansy, who stepped in to conduct Fish ID with Luke – did all the necessary in-water skills and drills, and then finished each day with a debrief, and the allimportant signing of the logbook. With his PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver ticket in the bag, we had a relaxed final day of diving together, and this time we left the Roots House Reef and went out in the Pharaoh Dive Club RIB for a couple of dives exploring just outside the harbour at El Quseir. Luke was excited because it was the first time he’d rolled out of an inflatable, and while this was a highlight, underwater I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head at The Rock, a dive site where the reef was literally smothered in anemones, each with several attendant anemonefish. Our final dive was along the fringing reef heading back towards the harbour, and I was overjoyed when halfway through the dive, I saw Fathy turn around and give Luke the unmistakable signal for ‘turtle’. Luke swam around the coral head and there, chilling on the bottom but just starting to make plans to head up for a quick breathe, was a monster green turtle. It dwarfed Luke, especially when it lazily swam up from its reef perch and slowly, effortlessly, did a wide circle around our little group and disappeared up into the gloom. A fabulous way to end Luke’s first – but surely not last – week of diving in the Red Sea. Luke was already a natural in the water, but the PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course definitely added to his skill-set. He already takes his diving seriously, but this further reinforced the need to monitor gas supplies, bottom time, ascent rate, etc. He is now eyeing up the Drysuit Diver course – the Aqua Lung Fusion in the garage is calling his name… - and his full Deep Diver Specialty, but I think we’ll aim to just go diving for a while and let him really consolidate his skills before jumping into another full course. Huge thanks to Steve and Clare Rattle at Roots Red Sea (www.rootsredsea.com), and to Luke’s instructors Fathy Abu El Fadel and Mohammed Mansy. n
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Passport to
PARADISE Indonesia’s North Sulawesi is renowned for its world-class diving, and as Sarah Wormald explains, it is possible to experience four very different regions within this area on one phenomenal trip PHOTOGRAPHS BY SARAH WORMALD & EDWIN VAN DER SANDE
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ndonesia is the largest archipelago on the planet and is made up of over 17,000 individual Islands. For divers, Indonesia is a Mecca - the place to dive - but with so many islands and so many options, how do you decide where to dive? One thing is for sure, if you want to explore all of the possibilities in Indonesia, it will take you some time! One of the best ways to maximise your Indonesian dive trip is to take a ‘Passport to Paradise’ with Murex Dive Resorts and dive four phenomenal regions in one easy trip. North Sulawesi is one of Indonesia’s most-famous and spectacular diving regions and the ideal place to visit if you are hoping to cash in on as much as possible of Indonesia’s diverse marine life and underwater topographies. Bunaken Island and its surrounding marine park has long been heralded for its spectacular walls that plummet vertically down to over 900m. Bangka Island is famous for its sloping reefs, which are adorned with stunning soft corals and excellent macro-life, combined with passing pelagics. Manado Bay is a relatively new diving area which boasts rare species of critters combined with both muck diving and reef. The Lembeh Strait, dubbed ‘The Critter Capital of the World’, is home to all things weird and wonderful, which inhabit its volcanic, black sand sites, including numerous endemic species such as the Banggai cardinalfish and the Lembeh sea dragon. Seasoned divers may have visited one or more of these areas over several vacations, but it’s actually possible to see them all in one trip – in as little as seven to ten days. Here is some logistical information that you might not be aware of: • When based at Murex Manado, it is just 40 minutes to the dive sites around Bunaken by boat. This means that two morning dives at Bunaken are the norm, with an afternoon dive around Manado Bay. • Murex Bangka Island Resort is one hour 45 minutes from Murex Manado by boat and it is possible to make two dives along the way. You board the boat in the morning for your dive trip and arrive in Bangka – a seamless, diving transfer and it opens up the opportunity to dive at remote sites in between the two locations which otherwise would not be available. • Murex Bangka Island is 60 minutes from the world-famous Lembeh Resort and the Lembeh Strait (by boat), and with a ‘Passport to Paradise’, boat diving transfers along the way are included – again opening up the chance to dive lesserknown sites and to absorb the dramatic scenery during the journey.
ASIA’S SHORE DIVING CAPITAL
Timor-Leste
If you love easy shore diving, big coral gardens, macro critter hunting and the biodiversity that the Coral Triangle brings. Look no farther than Timor-Leste for your next diving adventure. Don’t believe us? Speak with an operator today to learn more! Aquatica Dive Resort www.aquaticadiveresort.com Atauro Dive Resort www.ataurodiveresort.com Compass Diving www.compassdiving.com Dive Timor www.divetimor.com Dreamers Dive Academy www.timordiveacademy.com
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BUNAKEN DIVING HIGHLIGHTS
Aerial shot shows the tempting waters
MANADO BAY DIVING HIGHLIGHTS
Diving in Bunaken is famous for its wall dives, but there are other sites that offer sloping reefs and a range of topographies. When you are based at Murex Manado, look out for dolphins on the boat rides each day! Lekuan I and Lekuan II are two sites which epitomise the diving around Bunaken Island. They both offer dramatic vertical walls which feature ledges on which huge green turtles rest lazily, small caves which are often occupied by whitetip reef sharks and beautiful corals bursting with macrolife. The topography of these sites is breath-taking and the clouds of red-tooth triggerfish and pyramid butterflyfish in the blue are awe-inspiring. Ron’s Point is another exciting Bunaken site which offers a sloping topography instead of Bunaken’s classic walls. If you are hoping to see big fish, then Ron’s Point should be on your list! Large tuna, jacks, whitetip reef sharks, great barracuda and occasional passing eagle rays are all possible here. Sachiko’s Point is another wall diving site on the eastern side of Bunaken which is frequented by larger species. It’s not unusual here to see blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, banded sea snakes and stingrays as well as an array of smaller reef fish and turtles.
Manado is the provincial capital of North Sulawesi and the city sits on the edge of a large bay. Outside of the city there is beautiful countryside which stretches up to the volcanic and picturesque highlands. Manado Bay is garnering fame for its diversity of sites and marine life. The majority of the diving is classed as muck diving, but these are not plain sand sites, they are littered with coral outcroppings and reef. Dives sites such as Bethlehem are favourites with macro photographers who are keen to spot seahorses, pipefish and nudibranchs on the shallow-water seagrass beds, and frogfish and longfin squid on the deeper sandy slope. City Extra is a great site for cephalopod seekers; mimic octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, reef cuttlefish and blue ring octopus are all possible here – not to mention Ambon scorpionfish and a plethora of others. Night diving at these sites is a real treat! Manado Bay is also home to the Molas shipwreck, which sank in World War Two. Its history is unclear, but the diving is far from it. The wreck lays on a sand slope which many divers enjoy as much as the wreck itself – it’s littered with critters! Tanjung Pisok is located close to the Molas wreck and is a hard coral slope with a large density of green tree (tubastrea) corals, as well as sponges and table corals. This is a great site for finding interesting bottom dwellers, including crocodilefish (flatheads), flounders, leaf fish, dragonets and scorpionfish. Keep an eye out to the blue as eagle rays and tuna are known to pass through. Pristine soft corals
Nudis of all shapes and sizes
BANGKA ISLAND DIVING HIGHLIGHTS
Murex Bangka’s dive sites range from sloping reef drift dives, small walls, rock pinnacles and everything in between. The diving at Bangka is a kaleidoscopic experience with world-class soft corals draped from every hard surface they can inhabit. These soft corals are home to pygmy seahorses, candy crabs and beautiful cowries as well as soft coral shrimps. When you are not diving in Bangka, it is the perfect place to relax and unwind in peace and tranquility surrounded by nature. Sahaung is one of Bangka’s most-colourful dive sites and it offers decent currents to boot. Schooling blue-striped snapper hover over the reef, juvenile whitetip reef sharks hideout underneath table corals, clouds of red-tooth triggerfish occupy the blue and passing dog-tooth tuna and barracuda are known to cruise by. If you are looking for critters, then Batu Mandi is an excellent site to visit. There are a series of underwater pinnacles rising up from around 25m and the hard corals here are the highlight, along with giant and warty frogfishes, cuttlefish and more pygmy seahorses.
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Nudifalls is a combination site that offers something for everyone; a small wall, rubble patches, sand and a deeper garden of soft corals Whitetip reef sharks
Pygmy seahorse
LEMBEH STRAIT DIVING HIGHLIGHTS
Lembeh Strait has been referred to as the Twilight Zone because of its rare and unusual marine life. The majority of dive sites are black sand slopes which may appear barren at first but after a second glance, their secrets are revealed. Iconic Lembeh Strait critters include the hairy frogfish, blue ring octopus, mimic octopus, wunderpus, flamboyant cuttlefish, rhinopias, Ambon scorpionfish, harlequin shrimps, bobtail squid, pygmy seahorses (three species) - the list goes on! TK, Hairball and Jahir are three of Lembeh’s best-known black sand sites. The trick to diving at these sites is to go slowly and check out every item of debris, rock and even pieces of trash that you see. These items are all potential hotspots for critters. A guide with good eyes for spotting macro-life is essential at these sites. Nudifalls is a combination site that offers something for everyone; a small wall, rubble patches, sand and a deeper garden of soft corals. The anemones towards the foot of the wall are where divers can catch a glimpse of the rare and endangered Banggai cardinalfish. This small fish grows up to 8cm and has the most-exquisite markings with a mix of stripes and dots. Nudifalls, as its name suggests, is where you’ll see a wide variety of nudibranchs as well as soft coral crabs, pygmy seahorses, ribbon eels, giant frogfish and occasional rhinopias. Another great site for finding Banggai cardinalfish is Bianca, a dive site next to, and sometimes a little bit underneath, a permanently moored ship named… Bianca. It’s also a site for seeing mandarinfish weaving in and out of the staghorn corals – in the day time! If you are looking for rare species, then Lembeh should definitely be included in your itinerary. Lembeh Resort offers some of the most-luxurious accommodation in Indonesia and as winners of the Blue Green 360 Dive Operator of the Year award, their environmental efforts are commendable. Sunset over the dive boats
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HOUSE REEFS AND GUIDES
When taking a ‘Passport to Paradise’, all three resorts (Murex Manado, Murex Bangka and Lembeh Resort) offer exceptional house reefs. Your guide will be with you from start to finish, so you won’t have to have the same information explained in each location.
DRY TIME
Both Murex Dive Resorts and Lembeh Resort offer a range of land tours, so for those who want to soak up some culture during their stay, there are a number of fantastic options: • Tangkoko National Park – This is a nature lover’s dream. Tangkoko is home to the black-crested macaque, which is indigenous to North Sulawesi and, if you are lucky, you may also spot the tarsier monkey, which is the world’s smallest primate species. Tangkoko Nation Park protects at least 127 species of mammals, 233 bird species and 104 reptile and amphibian species. There is a lot to see! • Minihasa Highland tour – The Minihasan highlands offer fresh air, stunning scenery, traditional flower markets, volcanic peaks and crater lakes. This is a great way to see rural North Sulawesi, experience the culture and enjoy the friendly North Sulawesi people. • White water rafting – If you are looking for some additional excitement, then white water rafting through the jungle should be enough to get your adrenaline pumping! • Spas and massages – Many dive resorts have spa facilities and a relaxing day of massages, manicures and pedicures is the perfect way to unwind at the end of your diving trip. n To make a booking, or for more information about your ‘Passport to Paradise’, contact: reservations@murexdive.com
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T
he Caribbean is a general area bounded by the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of Central America, the north coast of South America and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. To be pedantic, some of the destinations covered in this feature fall outside of the Caribbean, but are usually classified as ‘Caribbean’ in most marketing of dive holidays (the Bahamas, Florida Keys and the Turks and Caicos Islands). These days, there’s a lot of choice for all levels of diving, with good options for the occasional holiday diver, the discerning naturalist or photographer, or the deep wreck and tech specialist. Though by no means comprehensive in coverage, this overview paints a picture of some of the possibilities. The Caribbean area covers over a million square miles, and more if you choose to include neighbouring territories such as the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas. It’s a very diverse area which includes the large arc of islands bordering the Atlantic stretching from the north and east of Venezuela all the way to Cuba, and also, a large swathe of coastline from Mexico to Venezuela. There’s plenty of options for diving the Caribbean, ranging from dayboat trips, island resort visits with local diving options, to short liveaboards, and also longer liveaboards that reach further flung and less-accessible locations. It’s a case of picking the right kind of trip to match available time, geography, budgets, diving experience, interest levels and expectations.
Caribbean
CAPERS Jeremy and Amanda Cuff have visited various dive destinations in and around the Caribbean, and here they provide a potted overview of some of the most-diverse locations PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEREMY AND AMANDA CUFF / WWW.JA-UNIVERSE.COM
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THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
Shark in the shallows off the Bahamas Inside the Thunderdome
In many ways very similar to the neighbouring Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands also offer great diving possibilities. It’s also ‘Atlantic’ rather than ‘Caribbean’ and consists of around 40 islands. Like the Bahamas, there are direct flights from the UK and regular connections to and from Florida, so it’s not difficult to reach. For casual and occasional holiday divers staying at a resort such as Beaches on the popular Grace Bay, there are daily two-tank dive trips visiting local reefs, which give a good introduction to Caribbean diving, but if you want to get away from the scrum, then a liveaboard is the best option. The Aggressor Fleet run an excellent week-long itinerary from the hub island of Providenciales, beginning at Northwest Point at sites like The Chimney and the Thunderdome before heading off to the more remote sites off French Cay, where there’s great underwater topography and plenty of shark action, including a night dive where hunting nurse sharks are ‘guaranteed’. It was a trip we enjoyed immensely. Be aware that in season (mid-January to mid-March), the Turks and Caicos Aggressor moves away from the Turks to the Silver Banks area of the Dominican Republic for the annual gathering of humpback whales. Amanda with huge array of sponges
It’s an old-style cruise liner that sank in 1961 and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Titanic of the Caribbean’ THE BAHAMAS
Technically classed as sitting within the Atlantic, the Bahamas covers a large geographical area and contains around 700 islands. It’s easy to reach, with regular direct flights from the UK to the Bahamian capital of Nassau. It’s also easy to ‘top and tail’ a Bahamas trip with a visit to Florida, so access is straightforward. The Bahamas has many diving options and is especially renowned for its shark diving. Way back in 2000, we travelled to Walker’s Cay, a small island in the north of the Bahamas and enjoyed excellent shark diving, as well as seeing turtles and schools of Eagle Rays cruising the reefs. Though Walker’s Cay is no longer available – though there are plans afoot to re-open this iconic island - there’s plenty of other similar options, such as the popular Stuart Cove’s Shark Adventure based out of Nassau, and the further flung Bimini, which is known for the annual visitations of the elusive great hammerhead between January and March (which Amanda and I have booked for 2021!). In terms of liveaboards, the Aggressor Fleet runs a weeklong Tiger Beach itinerary covering an area in the West End of Grand Bahama, which is a renowned for dolphin and shark encounters, including tiger sharks. They also offer an Exuma Cay voyage and a new ten-day itinerary called the West End Northern Adventure that also takes in Bimini.
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Caribbean reef shark
THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
The Keith Tibbetts wreck on Cayman Brac
Tiny reef squid in Belize
The Cayman Islands are located in the western Caribbean and consists of three main islands - Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. There are direct flights to the Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman, to be precise) from the UK and also from the USA, so access is fairly straightforward. There’s top-quality diving all around Grand Cayman, particularly off the north wall, the East End and along the south coast, where you can even encounter a mermaid ‘guarding’ the reef. There are plenty of options for both shore and boat diving, with lots of well-regarded dive centres catering for everyone from novices to experienced veterans. Most divers visit the iconic Stingray City, dubbed ‘the best 4m dive in the world’, where you can interact with the afore-mentioned stingrays, and there is also the Kittiwake shipwreck, which is shallow enough for all levels of diver. Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are characterised by dramatic wall dives, such as the former’s Bloody Bay Wall, although the latter also boasts a wreck dive in the form of the Keith Tibbetts, a former Russian destroyer. If you wish to stay on either of these islands, there are small resorts and hotels with diving options, or alternatively you can do it by liveaboard. The Aggressor Fleet runs an itinerary from Grand Cayman, but spends time at sites around Little Cayman and Cayman Brac as well.
Tame grouper off Little Cayman
BELIZE AND HONDURAS
Belize is very established in the diving consciousness, due in no small part to the iconic Blue Hole that was brought to attention by Jacques Cousteau. To reach Belize (and Honduras), the best option is to travel via Miami or Houston in the USA, though it pays to ensure that you’ve got sufficient transfer time to navigate these airports due to long immigration queues and security checks that aren’t conducive to tight time windows. We enjoyed an excellent liveaboard trip in Belize, again on an Aggressor Fleet boat that is based out of Belize City. The itinerary covers the best areas such as Lighthouse Reef, Half Moon Caye and Turneffe Reef and includes a weatherpermitting visit to the Blue Hole, where suitably qualified divers can drop down to view the stalactites at around 45m. If you prefer, it’s also possible to stay on small secluded resorts on some of the cays where diving is offered. Belize is also known for its wildlife and Mayan ruins, so it’s worth building in some time to allow for these excursions whilst in the area. Close by is Honduras, which offers similar diving to Belize, though no one place is the same. The Honduran island of Roatan is very popular with divers, with Anthony’s Key Dive Resort being a long-established favourite, though there are plenty of other options. The Aggressor Fleet also run a liveaboard here which includes visits to Utila, Cayos Cochinos and the Sea Mount within the itinerary.
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Glassfish in Belize
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The area usually enjoys fantastic visibility and is characterised by spectacular walls cut with fissures, swim-throughs and ledges that are a pleasure to explore
Wreck diving in Grenada
GRENADA
Sculpture park in Grenada
BONAIRE
Down in the south, just north of Venezuela is the island of Bonaire, which is very popular for diving. As the island has a Dutch colonial heritage, the easiest way to travel there is via Amsterdam, though you could also do it through the USA. Bonaire’s dive resorts are known for their ‘diving freedom’ in that divers can shore dive on resort house reefs at any time of day or night provided they’ve logged out at the dive centre. Several years back, we enjoyed two visits to Bonaire and enjoyed back-to-back days of ‘eat, dive, sleep, repeat’. As well as boat dives, there’s also a big culture of shore diving, where buddies can hire a vehicle and drive to a site of their choice. Most diving tends to happen on the sheltered west side of Bonaire and Klein Bonaire (a nearby island), but if the weather allows there’s good diving on the morerugged Atlantic side. For wreckies, the Hilma Hooker is very worthwhile.
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Grenada is sometimes known as the ‘Spice Isle’ and is a pleasant and diverse island to visit. There’s direct flights from the UK, though the flight may stop at nearby islands such as St Lucia to drop off and pick up enroute. In terms of diving, there’s quite a diversity to choose from that includes wrecks of varying sizes and depths, reefs, sandy expanses, and even an underwater sculpture park. There are a host of experienced and well-run dive centres on-island who will be able to discuss dive sites, itineraries, excursions and other options. For more-experienced divers, the wreck of the Bianca C is a must. It’s an old-style cruise liner that sank in 1961 and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Titanic of the Caribbean’. The Shakem and the Veronica L are also good wrecks but less challenging and therefore accessible to less-experienced divers. In terms of lifeforms, the seas around Grenada are quite productive; we saw plenty of schooling fish, stingrays, snake eels, seahorses and even a manta ray. For novelty value and for interesting photographic potential, the underwater sculpture garden is well worth a visit. Other diving options for the area can be unlocked by travelling over to Carriacou, which is possible to arrange in Grenada. Also, it’s worth knowing that leatherback turtles nest on Grenada (March to August) in a protected area in the north east, though diving isn’t possible there.
Crow’s nest on the Hilma Hooker
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DOMINICA
Some years ago, we enjoyed an excellent visit to the ‘Nature Island’ of Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic). To get there, we had to travel via Antigua, which is by far the easiest option. Currently, things are somewhat fluid on the island as it recovers from a devastating hit courtesy of Hurricane Maria in 2017. During our visit, we enjoyed great dives at sites such as Swiss Cheese and even managed a dive on the normally rougher Atlantic side. I especially remembered the volcanic bubbles at the Champagne site, and a great night dive where we enjoyed an extended encounter with an arrow squid. Dominica is also renowned for whale watching, where there’s a resident population of sperm whales a few miles offshore. Hopefully, as infrastructure is rebuilt, more things will become possible there again. Diving in Montserrat
USA – THE FLORIDA KEYS AND DRY TORTUGAS
Though officially Atlantic (Florida Keys) and Gulf of Mexico (Dry Tortugas) respectively, the diving in these areas are very much Caribbean in terms of vibe. Florida is a major tourist destination, so there’s a big choice to flights from the UK to cities such as Orlando, Sanford, Tampa and Miami, with the latter being closest geographically to the Florida Keys. We enjoyed some really good dives in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park based out of Key Largo, where it’s possible to dive good reefs and also wrecks such as the impressive Spiegel Grove. There’s also decent diving all the way down the Florida Keys, with Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary being an area especially worthy of a visit. For those wanting to get ‘off the tourist trail’, a visit to the Dry Tortugas might be for you. You can take a small seaplane flight over from Key West and spend a few hours on the improbable Fort Jefferson, but if you want to dive the area (which is a National Park), options are more limited. We were fortunate enough to do it some years ago, on a liveaboard called the Ultimate Getaway that operates out of Fort Myers Beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It still operates, though you need to be careful that you don’t end up on a spearfishing trip, unless that’s your thing.
Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas
Blenny
OTHER PLACES OFF THE GRID
It’s certainly possible to go ‘off the grid’ in the Caribbean, and away from the mainstream. We enjoyed a fantastic version of this on a recent visit to Montserrat, where island life forever changed after the devastating eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano, which started in 1995. Though the eruption has now ceased, thousands were forced to evacuate the island not to return. Montserrat can be reached by travelling via Antigua and is a very interesting and rewarding place to visit, with decent diving as well. We dived with Andrew from Scuba Montserrat and really enjoyed it – the highlight being the Bat Cave, a dive site where you can pop up inside a cave and see a large colony of bats above.
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There are, of course, many other destinations in the Caribbean that are worthy of touching upon. Cuba, for example, has a lot of diving options these days, from dayboats to liveaboards, with experiences such as diving with Cuban crocodiles and bull sharks being possible. Mexico also offers good diving from resort areas such as Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and the island of Cozumel. Out among the island chains, you’ve got attractive destinations such as St Vincent and the Virgin Islands group to tempt divers. For drift diving and the chance of manta rays and other pelagic encounters, there’s Trinidad and Tobago, down in the southeast corner of the Caribbean. I also wonder about the diving possibilities in areas such as Columbia, Nicaragua and Haiti – perhaps there’s some intrepid dive operators setting up there too. They would be interesting to visit, for sure. n
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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
UNDERWATER ETIQUETTE
Anne and Phil Medcalf explain how good manners and better behaviour can help underwater photographers get on with one another - and other divers PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNE AND PHIL MEDCALF
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t’s clear from listening to divers who do or do not take pictures underwater that there are some things that can cause annoyance among both groups and these can strain relations both in discussion and on trips. Some of these issues can lead to such severe schisms on diving holidays or social media that they can put a real damper on things. From personal experience I know of underwater photographers who will not dive with each other, or even book on the same photography trips, while many nonunderwater photographers consider us camera-users to be anathema and will avoid buddying with us at all costs. Some problems are hard to avoid. Underwater photographers have a tendency to move much more slowly on dives, so it’s worth exercising some judgement when planning dives and working out who is in a guided group. If you have a plan to stay in one place for the whole dive to get a particular photograph, then you need to let the rest of the group know. A keen macro photographer isn’t an ideal buddy for your first dive on the wreck of the Thistlegorm, as they won’t cover a lot of ground, so a buddy swap to ensure you enjoy seeing more of the wreck should be planned. Simple things can infuriate members of the diving community when it comes to photography. Who would’ve thought that rinse tanks could be so divisive, but wash your mask in the camera tank and watch the reaction - even worse if someone drops their BCD on top of a camera! Remember that as a photographer, you will take up more space due to having more kit so try to keep things tidy,
Getting others to model for you and returning the favour keeps everyone happy
Diving with a group of fellow photographers can be a good experience
An innocuous looking cone shell cam easily be knelt on if you settle on the sand
Master Macro 9th May 2020 £3495 inc flights from UK ESCORTED BY MARTYN GUESS
Holiday highlights... 10 nights in resort, full board divers plan & 24 boat dives – FREE Nitrox Join pro photographer Martyn Guess in the critter mecca Dumaguete. With 24 boat dives plus free nitrox (3 dives/day plus 1 day Apo reef) and Martyn’s workshop throughout, this workshop packs a real punch. Additional travel options available, ask for details.
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BIOGRAPHY: ANNE AND PHIL MEDCALF
Phil and Anne Medcalf have nearly 40 years of diving experience between them and have been using underwater cameras of one sort or another for most of that time. They have had substantial competitive success with their images and have now made their passion into a business. Alphamarine Photography Ltd is an underwater photography equipment dealer offering tailored solutions for any level of budget and also runs workshops in the UK and soon in the Red Sea. Anne and Phil also give talks to dive clubs and offer advice online through their Facebook group Alphamarine Photography Q&A and via a blog on their website: www.alphamarinephoto.com. For more information about what they do, email: info@alphamarinephoto.com
Spending a long time getting a shot of skittish anemone fish may annoy other divers who may also want a closer view or a photo
especially when diving on boats where there is little space. This can also allow yourself some peace of mind, as if you keep your camera tucked in your dive box it is unlikely to get damaged by being knocked over or sat on. Making efforts to consider your fellow divers, whether they have cameras or not, will make for better dives. How you behave towards marine life is a big consideration. Hopefully very few people will deliberately set out to disturb marine creatures, but often it can be seen happening on dives by mistake. Being aware of where you are going and how you approach and move away from animals has a big impact. A classic instance is when someone is looking at or taking pictures of an animal and then moves away over the top of it, causing it to retreat into a hole or swim away before the next person can get a look at it. Turtles are a good example. They are a favourite creature with a lot of divers and especially among those who are seeing them for the first time ‘turtle fever’ can set it in, divers swim straight at the turtle no matter which way it is facing. This very often results in the turtle spooking and swimming off, to the annoyance of the other divers in the group. Moving slowly, keeping low but not touching the bottom and positioning yourself at the front of the turtle before you come close is the best way to reduce the chances of it bolting away. Turtle’s main predators in many parts of the world are tiger sharks, which attack them from behind. If you approach from the back or side, the turtle will likely mistake you for a predator and swim away. Come from the front and you’ll get better pictures and the turtle will more likely hang around for the other divers in your group to see. Always bear in mind that unless you are diving solo or with a paid guide, you’ve at least got a buddy who will want to see
things and maybe take some pictures. Don’t hog the subjects, take some shots and then if there is a queue move on to something else. But this should be even handed, before a dive it’s best to establish ground rules with buddies and/or other members of your guided group that you’ll all give everyone an opportunity with each subject by limiting time or shots. If you don’t do this, you’ll find that people won’t want to buddy with you and may well ask to change to another guide. This also gives you time to review your pictures so that if you want to try a different approach or camera settings, then you can return to the subject when others have taken their photos. Resting on the bottom is a subject of great debate both within and outside of underwater photography, mentioning it on social media is an ideal way to start an argument. Generally lying on live coral is not considered appropriate, but sand is often seen as being okay to kneel or lie on when taking pictures or doing other tasks. But there are good reasons to not do this and some in particular apply to how it impacts on other divers. It is often argued that there are Rare subjects such as blue ringed octopus may have a queue of divers waiting to get a photograph
If your buddy or group are using a wide angle or fisheye lens, then do try to stay out of their field of view unless you are modelling for them
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11th July 2020 £1495 inc flights from Gatwick
Relaxed Red Sea
Holiday highlights... 7 nights onboard Whirlwind, tanks, weights and open dive deck at least once a day! Photographers can go at their own pace on a photography itinerary that is as relaxing as it is productive. Welcome to the world of the Red Sea Relaxed Photo Finish. Dive a host of incredible Red Sea dive sites with an open deck policy, chosen by our photo pro based on their reliability as top notch photo-worthy dive sites.
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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY Making efforts to consider your fellow divers, whether they have cameras or not, will make for bet-ter dives Approaching slowly from the front can allow you to get very close to turtles Observe rinse tank signs
creatures on the sand that could be harmed by divers resting on them and this is certainly true, although the classic counter argument is that if you shore dive, you are damaging marine life by walking in and that’s perfectly valid. It’s good practice to minimise the damage you do in general but the other reasons to not rest on the bottom even if it is sandy are pretty strong. Firstly, in most parts of the world there are marine creatures that live in the sand that are capable of doing harm to you. Weeverfish, stonefish and cone shells all like to conceal themselves on a sandy sea bed. An injury could ruin your holiday and at worst kill you. And if you have to be hospitalised during a liveaboard trip because you knelt on something during a dive, sympathy from other guests may not be forthcoming when their holiday is cut short to rush you back to a medical facility. For a group of photographers someone resting on the sand also spells the annoyance of them moving off in a cloud of debris which spoils everyone else’s photographs but usually not the culprits. By rooting themselves to one spot while taking pictures they are also doing their photography a disservice because they are losing the manoeuvrability that being able to move in three dimensions gives underwater photographers which every land-bound photographer would envy and only a skilled drone pilot can really match. Get used to using helicopter turns in the water and back-finning to make sure you are not having to push away from the subject although if you are struggling to move away without crashing into coral or stirring up the bottom, then use just one or two fingers on some bare rock to push gently away without raising a cloud of sand. If your buddy or group are using a wide angle or fisheye lens, then do try to stay out of their field of view unless you are modelling for them, although we all drift a wayward fin
into other’s shots now and again! If you are diving with a non-photographer you can’t expect them to know just how wide a view a fisheye lens has, so do speak to them pre-dive so they realise where they will be in your shot, although it is also good to take some pictures of them too and share these with them. Lighting can also cause some issues, strobes are generally less disturbing to marine life but constant flashes of light can get a little annoying for other divers. Most divers are underwater for the same reasons, to see marine creatures, wrecks and enjoy life beneath the sea, so we should all try to get along. If you are diving in a mixed group of photographers and non-photographers, you will likely need to make some compromises. Choosing a location where unguided or even if qualified, solo diving is an option can remove some of the stresses that us ‘toggers’ suffer and sometimes cause on diving trips. This is also often why diving holidays are booked with fellow camera users and there are many options of specialist underwater photography trips which will meet the needs of anybody from beginner to serious photographer. These trips also give the opportunity to pick up new ideas to improve your images from fellow guests, as well as the photographers leading them. Being among like-minded individuals is also a head start in having a good trip without the annoyances of a standard dive trip where scheduling and guiding may not be as suited to taking pictures underwater. n
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This month, we ask our team of photo pros for hints and advice on getting in and out of the water with a camera, and what to do with your camera between and after diving PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTYN GUESS, PAUL DUXFIELD, MARIO VITALINI AND ANNE AND PHIL MEDCALF
I have always been very careful with my camera rig when getting in and MARTYN out of the water. This stemmed from GUESS my Nikonas film camera days, when on a RIB heading out to the drop-off, I happened to notice my lens had fallen off and was rolling around the deck! I had intended to roll in with the camera! I always have the camera handed to me, whether jumping in or rolling. I have seen strobes fall off where they haven’t been tightened down, or a last -minute glitch, which the boat boy or you spot as he hands the camera to you, so why risk a flood or a bang on something by going in with the camera? I have heavy strobes and arms on my camera rig, so I have a rope handle attached between the top joints of the arms making it easy for the rig to be carried and handed to me, and also lifted safely out of the water. The minute the rig is in the air, it becomes very heavy and the arms otherwise flop down with the strobes on the end, risking damage. The handle is also very useful when walking to and from the boat or shore. When I get out of the water, the first thing is a quick camera dunk in the rinse tank. Never leave your camera there – firstly, its selfish and takes up room, and secondly, it could easily be bumped causing a leak or damage. I store the camera either securely on the camera table if available and it’s not too rough, or somewhere away from people on the deck in a safe position before drying it and moving it inside the camera room or cabin.
Best of Manado
ESCORTED BY MARTYN GUESS
29th Sept 2020 £3595 inc flights from UK
Holiday highlights... With an action packed 29 boat dives plus 9 unguided, house reef dives and free nitrox! Martyn Guess & Manado workshop will enable you to go hone and advance your key photographic skills at Murex Bangka and Lembeh resort. The workshop will spend 5 nights at Murex Bangka followed by 6 nights at Lembeh resort, both on a full board basis (2 people sharing).
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When it comes to attaching our camera to ourselves, we both use a simple but effective solution, a bodyboarding leash tied to our lighting trays and strapped around a wrist. These are strong enough that if need be we can let go of our housings and let them dangle without them coming away even with a quite negatively buoyant camera rig. They also stretch long enough for our rigs to be out of our way when we do let go of them. This is handy when dealing with an issue. For tasks like deploying DSMBs, we usually hook a strobe arm into the crook of an elbow or hold the housing between the knees. Getting into the water we hold our cameras rather than having them passed to us once we are in. Transferring the camera from a crew member to a diver is usually where fumbles occur and cameras can be lost or damaged. Not just when passed from hand to hand, but also when divers try to clip housings on to BCDs, failing to engage clips onto D-rings properly is common reason for a lost camera and can occur at the start or finish of a dive, especially when using a D-ring that isn’t clearly in your vision. The advantage with using the bodyboarding leashes is you can attach it before you get in and it is constantly in vision. If you need to ditch your camera, it is easily accessible and quick to unfasten and when getting back into a boat, you can hand it up still attached to your wrist and wait for it to be physically over the boat before you undo it. Remember to explain this to crew before doing this, otherwise you may get your arm pulled as they go to put your camera somewhere safe. Entering the water, we hold cameras above shoulder level for giant strides, this gives room for the impact of you entering to be dissipated before your housing hits the water. For backward rolls, hold the camera against your body with one hand and your mask and reg with the other. When it comes to buoyancy, we keep our set-ups negatively buoyant and trim our weighting to allow for it. This is a matter of personal choice, and while it works for still photography, for videography it’s better to keep your set-up neutral to improve the steadiness of shots. When back on the boat, retrieve your camera as quickly as possible from the rinse tank if it has been put in there. If it hasn’t, give it a quick rinse but don’t leave it unattended. The rinse tank is the graveyard of cameras. Scratches to ports and lenses are regular occurrences, as are floods caused by heavy
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rigs being dropped onto other housings. Leaving a housing in a rinse tank can also result in floods from large changes in temperature. The water in rinse tanks on sunny dive decks can get very warm and when you then jump into the water, the materials of the housing can cool rapidly and the seal can fail. Between dives, keep your camera somewhere safe and out of sunlight, such as your dive crate on a boat if you have one. For UK diving, a large cool bag or rubble bucket can be a good option, and be used for rinsing afterwards. Deploy an SMB with both hands free by hooking the strobe arms over your arms
A bodyboard leash lets you drop the camera out of the way if needed
Bodyboard leashes are coiled so stay out of the way underwater but stretch when passing up to a boat
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30th November 2019 £1295 inc flights from UK
Relaxed Red Sea
Holiday highlights... Join Martyn Guess for a week focused on getting more out of your camera! Departing from Hurghada, you will spend 7 nights on board on a full board basis (twin share cabin). Based in Northern Red Sea with up to 21 dives over the week but the itinerary will vary, depending on the photo opportunities. All marine park fees, 12lt tank and weights are included in your package.
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Our underwater photography professionals have, between them, literally thousands of hours of dive time and countless hours spent travelling the world shooting underwater images and teaching workshops. If you have a question you’d like them to address, email: mark@scubadivermag.com
First time I dived with a big camera rig, I was quite nervous and reticent about PAUL making a big splash. DUXFIELD So I’d get the camera rig handed down to me after first rolling or giant striding in. I had fears that the impact could cause some water ingress to the housing because of the extra stresses being placed upon it. Over time though, I’ve found that dilly dallying worrying about the camera rig could lose me a shot. A case in point happened quite recently when dolphins made a fleeting appearance alongside the zodiac, and the driver took pains to put us in front of them as they passed by and all we’d see is tails, which with spinner dolphins is a real possibility. I’m not slap dash about things though, so when back rolling from a zodiac, I keep the camera rig close to my body, with the strobe arms clamped down tight, so they don’t whack me or anyone else in the face. This way means I am protecting the camera rig with my body. If giant striding I will also lock things down securely, put plenty of air in my jacket, and hold the camera aloft - it’s possible even with a bigger rig. This will mean that the camera is barely breaking the surface, by the time me and my BCD have broken the fall, and I’ve done this thousands of times now with no issues. Modern housings are pretty tough things, and if like me you
Corals and Caves on
have a housing with a vacuum pump warning system, then if there were any issues with a rapid change in pressure, I trust it would have alerted me before too much trouble had been done. I don’t know this for sure, of course, because it’s never happened. It’s also worth mentioning that I don’t use a fancy leash attached to my person any more, as a simple bungee around 18-inches long with a carabiner on both ends, that I picked up from a pound store, is all I now use. I can clip it off if needs be, and loop and clip it around my wrist on the dive. Did I mention I’ve picked up a penny-pinching mindset now I live in Yorkshire!
Hurricane 21st May 2020 £1425 inc flights from UK ESCORTED BY MARIO VITALINI
Holiday highlights... Mario Vitalini will teach you to work with natural light and wide angle photography, as well as the secrets of amazing fish portraits and using strobes. He will help you build a stunning selection of classic Red Sea images, from the decks of the stable steel hulled Hurricane. There are 18-21 dives over the workshop, as well as all park fees included, 12lt tank/weights and FREE Nitrox.
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In all the years I’ve been diving, I’ve MARIO seen my fair share of camera floods. VITALINI In most cases, the cause is poor O-ring maintenance, but occasionally a housing can flood when mishandled getting in or out of the water. When entering the water, I always try to protect my rig from impacting the surface. Therefore, when jumping from a boat back platform, the easiest way is to leave the housing on the platform, and have it handed to you by someone else - especially if using a heavy system. I immediately secure a lanyard attached to my housing directly to my BCD. When using a lightweight set-up, such a compact, I preferer to jump with it. I make sure my BCD is partially inflated to keep afloat when I hit the water and jump holding my housing rig with one hand high above my head. When diving from a RIB, I hold the housing tightly against your chest as you roll back. This is the best way when making a negative entry. If I have time to sort myself on the surface, I always prefer to have the housing handed to me by the zodiac driver. After my safety stop, when I’m ready to surface, I fold the strobe arms in and protect my dome port with a neoprene or hard cover. On the surface, I hand up the camera first, only then unclipping it from my BCD. Once on the boat, I dunk it in a rinse tank but never leave it, as other divers may throw in torches or other pieces of equipment that can damage your kit. If there are no rinsing
facilities, I always make sure the housing stays wet or damp so the salty water does not dry and form crystals that can then damage the O-rings. Onboard I make sure my housing is secure on a flat surface, such as the floor of the saloon, especially when the boat is moving. I often use the strobe arms to make the rig more stable. n
ESCORTED BY MARIO VITALINI
11th Sept 2020 £1795 inc flights from UK
Photo Finish
Malapascua
Holiday highlights... Join photo pro Mario Vitalini on this Philippines workshop to hone your images of the biggest sharks to the smallest critters. The workshop includes 20 nitrox boat dives plus daily presentations covering all aspects of underwater photography. Your holiday package includes 7 nights in a deluxe room on an full board basis – optional room grades available. Airport transfers are included.
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DIVERS ALERT NETWORK: EUROPE DAN Europe is an international non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of divers. WWW.DANEUROPE.ORG
INCIDENT INSIGHTS Marty McCafferty, EMT-P, DMT, looks at the case of a woman who goes diving in the Caribbean and comes back with a decidedly different kind of souvenir THE DIVER
The diver was a 49-year-old female with more than 200 lifetime dives. She had no known medical history, took no medications regularly and was generally healthy and fit.
THE DIVES
Her trip was to a popular Caribbean island for a week-long dive vacation. Over six days she completed 21 problem-free dives, all of which were on air and were within the nodecompression limits of her computer. She performed a safety stop at the end of each dive. The maximum depth of her deepest dive was 34m; the rest of the dives ranged from 9m to 27m deep. The diver refrained from excessive consumption of alcohol and other behaviors that might have negatively affected her health or safety while on vacation.
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THE SYMPTOMS
On the day of her departure from the island, the diver’s preflight surface interval was greater than 24 hours. She had no specific complaints, but did have a general sense of feeling unwell. During the first of her two flights, she began to experience deep muscle and joint aches. The discomfort was in multiple areas and was accompanied by nausea and a severe headache. The symptoms did not resolve on the ground between flights, and they did not worsen during the second flight. She arrived home and hoped to recover by getting some rest. After a less-than-recuperative night’s sleep her symptoms did not diminish and, concerned about the possibility of decompression sickness (DCS), she decided to contact DAN. The DAN medic to whom she spoke suggested that she seek
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medical attention at the closest emergency department. While the possibility of decompression injury could not be excluded, the timing and the nature of her symptoms made other possible explanations more likely. When she arrived at the emergency department she had a fever of 39°C. She underwent a variety of diagnostic procedures, including several laboratory tests and thorough physical and neurological examinations. All indications pointed to a diagnosis of dengue fever, not DCS. The hospital staff administered appropriate supportive care, which included IV fluids and medications to help manage her pain and nausea. She was ultimately discharged, and the doctor instructed her family on how to monitor her condition and continue her care. The fever and nausea subsided within three days, and the aches and headache finally resolved after two weeks.
The importance of receiving a medical assessment that considers multiple possible diagnoses cannot be overstated. While localised pain and severe fatigue are common symptoms of DCS, generalised muscle pains and fever are not. The evaluating physician recognised this and expanded the differential diagnosis list accordingly. The diagnosis of dengue fever is made on the basis of clinical findings (signs and symptoms) as well as history of travel to known risk areas. Fortunately, this tropical disease is not generally lifethreatening, and full recovery is expected within a few weeks, as occurred in this case. Most divers are familiar with the signs and symptoms of DCS, but it is important to remember that these signs and symptoms are not exclusive to DCS and may indicate other maladies.
ABOUT DENGUE
DISCUSSION
This case should serve as a reminder that travel to tropical areas exposes divers to risks beyond those associated with diving. The timing and nature of this diver’s symptoms justifiably led her to suspect the symptoms may not have been related to diving. However, she wisely deferred to the expertise of medical professionals and, in doing so, received prompt evaluation and care for the illness she had (It is worth noting that the established flying-after-diving guidelines are associated with a consistently high safety record.)
The maximum depth of her deepest dive was 34m; the rest of the dives ranged from 9m to 27m deep
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Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection. There is a documented rise in infection rates throughout the Caribbean and in the southeastern United States. Rates have not increased to an alarming level, but travellers should be aware of the disease. The infection is characterised by an acute onset of a fever three to 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The classic dengue fever presents, after this incubation period, as follows: • Acute fever • Muscle and joint aches/pain • Severe frontal headache • Acute pain behind the eyes • Nausea and loss of appetite • Rash • In rare cases, bleeding The pain associated with the disease can be severe, especially in subsequent infections. This severe pain gave rise to dengue’s nickname, ‘breakbone fever’. Medical care for infected people is aimed at symptom reduction, as there is no cure (nor is there a vaccine). The fever and pain should be managed with acetaminophen (Tylenol); avoid aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as these can promote bleeding. In most cases the fever resolves within a few days, but fatigue may persist for days to weeks. To learn more about dengue and other tropical diseases, check the online information and updates from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control or the World Health Organisation. As always, if you develop symptoms after diving, do not hesitate to contact DAN. n
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BEYOND TECHNICAL
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F
or most divers, Bikini is almost like an urban legend. A remote atoll in the middle of the Pacific where 23 nuclear tests were performed, where the Able and Baker blasts famously destroyed some of the most-significant warships of our time, and the local Bikini Islanders were left nuclear refugees to this day. It is a place where, after 40 hours of travel and a brief stop at a secret army base, you are still only halfway there. Historic wrecks, shark-filled waters, and exploration define it. Welcome to Bikini Atoll.
OPERATION CROSSROADS
After World War One, and following a mandate from the League of Nations, Japan took over the administration of the Marshall Islands. In anticipation of World War Two, military presence in the islands intensified. Bikini, Truk Lagoon, and other low-lying coral atolls became strategic points of interest. Life for the Islanders wasn’t peaceful anymore as the Japanese began building watchtowers to keep an eye out for an American invasion. Kwajalein, in particular, became a key headquarters for the Japanese. American forces took Kwajalein and the Marshalls by force in February 1944. Japanese control was lost. There were five Japanese soldiers left on Bikini Atoll. Instead of allowing themselves to be captured, they blew themselves up with a grenade while hiding out in a foxhole. Post-World War Two, in December 1945, then-US President Harry Truman informed the US Forces the testing of nuclear weapons would be undertaken ‘to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships’. Unluckily for Bikini, its isolation from the sea and air routes meant it was chosen as a nuclear testing point - these tests came to be named Operation Crossroads. Helmets found in a diving locker
Five-inch guns pointed towards the surface
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HAVING A
BLAST Aron Arngrimsson, founder of The Dirty Dozen Expeditions, waxes lyrical about Operation Crossroads and how it made Bikini Atoll an iconic dive destination, as well as exploring the most-famous wreck – the USS Saratoga PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARON ARNGRIMSSON, JESPER KJØLLER AND GEOFF CREIGHTON
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Looking into the forward elevator shaft
Doorway still sealed shut
Commodore Wyatt, then-military governor of the Marshall Islands, went to Bikini in February 1946. After church on a Sunday, he gathered the native Bikini Islanders and asked them to leave their homes so the US could test bombs. He stated it was for ‘the good of mankind and to end all world wars’. King Juda, the Bikini monarch, was understandably confused but entered into discussions with his people. They decided to leave: ‘We will go believing that everything is in the hands of God’. While the Islanders were preparing for their enforced exodus, the US testing programme advanced swiftly. A total of 242 naval ships, 156 aircraft, 25,000 radiation recording tools, and 5,400 animals arrived. The latter were to serve as test subjects. More than 42,000 US personnel played a part in the testing programme. The Crossroads tests were the first of other nuclear tests in the Marshalls. They were also the first to be announced in public beforehand and were observed by a large audience, including press from around the world. Operation Crossroads was led by a joint Army and Navy Task Force. The target ships were placed in Bikini’s lagoon. They were hit with two rounds of Fat Man plutonium implosion weapons, the same type of nuclear bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Each implosion yielded 23 kilotons of TNT. A total of 95 vessels - the equivalent of the sixth-largest navy in the world - were caught in the crossfire of the Able and Baker bombs. Among the sunken ships were four US battleships, two aircraft carriers, two cruisers, 11 destroyers, eight submarines, and three surrendered German and Japanese warships. These vessels had been bunkered and were filled with ammunition. Some even carried sheep and other animals acting as stand-in soldiers so that the effects of radiation could be observed.
Following the mainline penetration
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COMPUTERS • O2 CELLS • GAS ANALYSERS CABLES & CONNECTORS • REBREATHER PARTS PATHFINDER STROBES • SENSORS TOOLS • SOLENOIDS The way it makes you feel going down corridor after corridor is like no other, endless amounts of mindblowing exploration Sick bay sign
Bikini Island
500lb bombs in elevator shaft
The first blast, Able, was dropped from a B-29 and detonated at an altitude of 158 metres at 9am on 1 July, 1946. Designed to replicate the Hiroshima bomb over water, it didn’t go as planned as the bomb missed its target, the USS Nevada battleship. It did, however, sink the USS Gilham, USS Carlisle, USS Anderson, USS Lamson, and IJN Sakawa. Baker, a bomb of the same yield, was used for the second test. It was detonated at 27m underwater beneath LSM-60 on 25 July, 1946. No part of LSM-60 has been identified since, it’s presumed to have been completely vaporised. A Defense Nuclear Agency report detailing the weather briefing the day prior to Castle Bravo test stated there would be ‘no significant fallout for the populated Marshalls’. The 6pm briefing was contradictory though: ‘the predicted winds were less favourable; nevertheless, the decision to go ahead was reaffirmed, but with another review of the winds scheduled for midnight’. It was known that high winds were ‘headed for Rongelap to the east’. Furthermore, ‘it was recognised that both Bikini and Eneman islands would probably be contaminated’. The decision to go forward with the testing, knowing full well that the winds were blowing toward inhabited islands, was in essence a decision to contaminate the northern Marshalls. And to irradiate the people who were living there. The dramatic bow
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BEYOND TECHNICAL
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A lot of the targets also represented symbolic killings. The Japanese battleship IJN Nagato is famously known as the vessel from which Admiral Yamamoto issued the order to attack Pearl Harbour, which brought the US into World War Two. During Operation Crossroads, the US Navy placed it in the direct crosshairs of the Able and Baker tests. For the few ships that survived the blasts, radioactive contamination in the lagoon proved more problematic than expected. Prinz Eugen, a German heavy cruiser, sank in December outside of Kwajalein just five months after the tests. The high radioactivity levels made repairs to the leaking hull impossible. Only nine surviving ships were decontaminated and then sold as scrap. Other vessels, when decontamination wasn’t successful, were sunk near Kwajalein. Bikini Lagoon became the graveyard for some of the most-significant naval ships in war history. The dangers of the radioactivity and the remoteness of the area led to an extremely limited exploration of this diving site for many years. Now, from the misery and destruction wrought by the nuclear tests, Bikini Atoll has risen as the world’s preeminent wreck-diving site.
The business end of a gun barrel
Crockery still in one piece
A total of 95 vessels - the equivalent of the sixth-largest navy in the world - were caught in the crossfire of the Able and Baker bombs The dentistry is a ‘must-see’
THE USS SARATOGA
The USS Saratoga entered service in 1928 and spent her whole career with the Pacific Fleet. She was the third cruiser to be converted into an aircraft carrier. The Japanese claimed to have sunk the Saratoga seven times during World War Two. It was only when the vessel was struck by five kamikaze attacks on 21 February, 1945, killing 123 men and tearing a huge hole in the side of the ship, that the end started getting near for the Saratoga. In July 1946, the ship was part of Operation Crossroads. After surviving the first nuclear blast, the Saratoga was not so lucky during Baker. The explosion forced the vessel out of the water, knocking everything off the flight deck and destroying her funnel. Her ammunition and fuel loads were at
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CCRs help on extended explorations
67 percent and 10 percent capacity respectively Eight hours after the blast, as he watched the aircraft carrier sink below the water, a correspondent for the New York Times wrote ‘Outside the reef... the observing ships cruised, while the Sara slowly died. There were scores who wanted to save her - and perhaps she might have been saved, had there been a crew aboard. But she died a lonely death, with no man upon the decks once teaming with life’. The USS Saratoga now rests 51m below the water in the lagoon at Bikini. The bridge is accessible at 18m, with the deck at 29m. The bombs and scattered Helldivers are on the bottom, flung from the carrier during the explosions, with their controls and dials still somewhat intact. The forward elevator shaft offers a range of penetrations including the sick bay, scullery, dive locker, and the blacksmith shop, among others. There are over 1,000 watertight compartments on the Saratoga with many closed doors still unexplored for over 70 years. The way it makes you feel going down corridor after corridor is like no other, endless amounts of mind-blowing exploration. While the wreck itself is teeming with life - tiger sharks and even occasional juvenile whalesharks like to hang around the wreck the sheer size combined with the number of artefacts is simply unparalleled. That it was blown up by a nuclear device, and it is in one of the remotest places on the planet, stands testament to the old adage that the most-extraordinary things in life are hard to get, but for the most part, there is a very good reason for it. Saratoga is one of them. n
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THE DIRTY DOZEN EXPEDITIONS The Dirty Dozen Expeditions came about when two passionate wreck divers shared a beer, while running a boat in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia, and discussed their dream-trip itinerary. They decided to organise a special one-off trip and invite old friends and industry leaders to join. Since then, The Dirty Dozen Expeditions has gone from that first trip to 20-plus expeditions in Truk Lagoon, Bikini Atoll, and beyond. Dirty Dozen trips foster a close-knit family atmosphere between passionate wreck junkies and distinguished guest divers who conduct onboard workshops. Their unique itineraries are combined with full support for the most-demanding OC/CCR divers. The expedition-ready vessel Truk Master travels to Bikini Atoll between May and October every year and is the only regularly scheduled dive operator since the land-based dive centre was abandoned. The yacht provides ample space for relaxation, big cameras, rebreathers and all the tech kit their divers need. There are redundant oxygen generators onboard, ample supplies of helium and Sofnolime, underwater scooters, twinsets, and dedicated sidemount and rebreather cylinders. Logistical challenges in Bikini are about as hard as they can get because of the atoll’s isolation. But with their vast experience operating in remote areas, you’ll find that the crew makes it look easy and you can have the wreck-diving trip of a lifetime in both style and comfort. Email: info@thedirtydozen.org for more information, pricing, and availability, or check out: www.thedirtydozen.org
What’s New
SEALIFE SEA DRAGON 5000F PHOTO-VIDEO LIGHT (SRP: £725) SeaLife has introduced their new compact Sea Dragon 5000F Photo-Video Light. The Sea Dragon 5000F photo-video light delivers 5000 Flumens in an even 120° wide beam. The light offers an unmatched 96 CRI (colour rendering index) with a proprietary COB LED array that replicates natural sunlight (A CRI of 100 would be just like natural sun-light). Most other LED lights offer a much lower CRI, and miss criti-cal colour components necessary to produce natural and colourful still images and videos. The Sea Dragon 5000F also delivers aTLCI (Television Lighting Consistency Index) value of over 97. With 100 being the highest possible TLCI value, this index value is especially important to underwater video photographers. It features Auto Flash Detect mode, which cancels the light for one second when a strobe is fired. Two integrated 220-lumen red LEDs cast an 88 degree beam. The red LEDs are powerful enough to assist the camera’s auto focus, and will turn off when the strobe is fired, but don’t scare fish or reduce your night vision. The size and weight of the new Sea Dragon 5000F have
been minimized - the 5000 is the over 20 percent lighter, and smaller than its 4500 lumen predecessor, but you still get a burntime of 50 minutes at full power from its li-ion rechargeable battery. www.sealife-cameras.com
AQUA LUNG i200C (SRP: FROM £299)
The i200C is an intuitive, sporty dive computer with versatile features and Bluetooth wire-less connectivity to the free and easy-to-use DiverLog+ app. It features four operating modes (air, nitrox, gauge and free), a user-changeable battery, as well as no restriction switching between Free and Dive modes. It can handle up to three nitrox 82
mixes (up to 100 percent O2), and has audible alarms, plus a high-visibility LED warn-ing light for increased safety. It comes in six striking colours – blue, aqua, hot lime, bright pink, grey and dark grey - so you can either co-ordinate with your kit, or make a statement and stand out from the crowd! www.aqualung.com/uk WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
APEKS HP TWIN ADAPTOR (SRP: £54)
The Apeks HP twin adaptor allows you to use both a submersible pressure gauge and a trans-mitter on a first stage that only has a single high-pressure port. It also has the added benefit of allowing a transmitter to rotate 360 degrees, which prevents it being damaged if a cylinder were to fall over. The Apeks HP twin adaptor is made from chrome-plated brass, utilises a standard 7/16” thread and is suitable for use on all manufacturer’s first stages. www.apeksdiving.com/uk
SANTI FLEX 80 (SRP: £202)
APEKS HP TWIN ADAPTOR (SRP: £54)
MARES SILVER KNIGHT (SRP: £489) The Silver Knight is a complete backplate-and-wing set-up, comprising a 16-litre standard single tank donut bladder with twin rear pull-dump valves, 3mm aluminium ‘Silver Knight’ backplate, standard webbing harness with ‘Silver Knight’ buckle and ‘Silver Knight’ 6mm aluminium D-rings, and two tank straps, again with aluminium ‘Silver Knight’ buckles. It is a neat, compact unit that would be great in UK waters, but is light enough to accompa-ny travelling divers to more-exotic climates. MARES BLUE BATTLE (SRP: £489) The Blue Battle is the identical set-up to the Silver Knight, but it is a special limited-edition run with a nifty blue ‘camouflage’ paint scheme on the backplate, D-rings and buckles. If you want to stand out on the dive boat, this is well worth checking out. www.mares.com
BEUCHAT ICEBERG PRO DRY (SRP: £770)
The Flex 80 is a lightweight and elastic undersuit made from the unique fabric foundation that comes from the Primaloft family. It efficiently wicks moisture away from the skin, dries quickly, breathes, and is highly durable against snagging and piling, which allows the user to achieve com-fort in a wide range of activities. It is made from 50 percent polyester, 41 percent nylon, and 9 percent spandex. It is available in siz-es ranging from XS all the way to XXXL. www.santidiving.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
The Iceberg Pro Dry is made from 4mm high-density neoprene, which is more flexible than pre-compressed neoprene, offering greater comfort and better freedom of movement while pre-serving the same insulation qualities as compressed neoprene. What sets it apart from other drysuits is the unusual positioning of the zipper, which is a full-width chestlevel horizontal TiZip. It allows for solo donning, and ease of movement. It has flexible, elastic multi-use socks, and can be paired with Rockboots. The carry bag doubles up as a ground sheet for changing on, which helps prevent your car get-ting wet at the end of the day. www.beuchat-diving.com
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Gear Guide
THIS ISSUE: BACK-UP DIVE LIGHTS
Each month, the SCUBA DIVER test team assembles to rate and review a selection of dive equipment from a range of manufacturers. Products are split into price categories and are then evaluated for performance, comfort, ease of use, build quality, looks and value for money. The Test Team comprises Editor in Chief Mark Evans and a squad of volunteers, whose dive experience ranges from a couple of hundred dives to well over 6,000.
BACK-UP DIVE LIGHTS
This issue, we look at back-up dive lights. A decent torch is a must for any diver, whether you are a hardcore UK diver, an occasional holiday diver, or anywhere in-between. Dive lights are not just for ‘night dives’, thay can be invaluable in a cave, cavern or shipwreck, and can also put some of the colour back into an underwater scene on an overcast or dull day. They are also useful as a signalling device between buddy teams. Our criteria for the test was a torch that is ideal for use as a back-up dive light, that is, your secondary source of illumination on a UK dive, or as a primary source of light on a night dive in the tropics, when weight and size are more of an issue. It could be battery powered or rechargeable. We looked at the build quality, ease of use (how to turn on/ off while wearing thick gloves, etc), type of beam (spot or wide/flood), burn time, accessories and size. The continued development of LED lighting technology has seen dive lights come on leaps and bounds, and it is astounding the power developed by some compact units these days - in the past, you have been carrying a muchbigger torch around for a similar sort of output.
ON TEST THIS MONTH: • ANCHOR SERIES 1K • BIGBLUE AL450NM • DIVEPRO D5-3 • EXPOSURE MARINE 1-16 • FINNSUB BANG WIDE • MARES XR BACK-UP LIGHT 84
Location: Tested at Vivian Dive Centre, Llanberis www.viviandivecentre.com Water temp: 9 degrees C Surface temp: 18 degrees C WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
ANCHOR DIVE LIGHTS SERIES 1K SPOT AND WIDE | SRP: €175-€225 Anchor Dive Lights are an Ireland-based company that is earning high acclaim in the world of underwater lighting. The Series 1K is one of their staple products, and there are two versions - the Spot and the Wide. Both are made from aviationgrade anodised aluminium - with a nifty, distinctive blue head - depth-rated to 100m, and come with battery and charger. They have three power settings, and burn times of around 70-80 minutes on full, two and a half hours at 50 percent, and five hours at 25 percent. It is simple to cycle through the different power settings by pressing the on/off button, which also features illumination to let you know the charge level of the battery. The Spot, with its CREE XM-L T6 LED, produces a tightly focused, bright ten degree beam which still has some peripheral light that illuminates around the main beam. The Wide, with its CREE XM-L U2 LED, puts out a 72 degree wide beam, which literally illuminates a huge area with a bright, even flood light. The Spot and the Wide are powerful enough to be used as a primary in UK waters, and are so small - and well-priced - that you could buy both and be able to switch between a spot light and a wide beam as conditions dictate. You also have a builtin redundancy then too! Either of these would also be great for a tropical night dive, but knock it down to 50 percent power. www.anchordivelights.com
CHOICE 2019 GROUP TEST
TORCHES
TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 156g RECHARGEABLE: Yes VERDICT: Compact back-up lights that produce a hell of a beam for their size. Easy to use, durably built - all-round quality package.
SCORE
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BIGBLUE AL450 NM | SRP: £65 The BigBlue AL450NM is a compact torch that pumps out a decent amount of power - 450 lumens, in this instance, with a burntime of four hours. It is made from anodised aluminium, and the CREE LED produces a nice, tight eight-degree spot beam, which actually penetrated gloomy water with ease. It is depth-rated to 100m, and it is operated by pressing a push button on the hilt, which is easy to use even with thick neoprene gloves on or even drygloves. It is powered by three AAA batteries, which are supplied in the pack. It also comes with a safety wrist lanyard. In use, we found this little torch to be nice and bright, and exceptionally easy to switch on and off. It makes a fine back-up light for use in UK waters, slicing through green water full of floating detritus, but equally that bright spot means it is ideal as a primary dive light for the travelling diver, and this would work well on a night dive or even for mild wreck penetration. There is also a handy optional pouch - £26 - to store the torch in. It has a velcro-closing flap, and the torch itself attaches to a retractor in the bottom of the pouch so you never have to worry about losing it. www.liquidsports.co.uk
WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 185g RECHARGEABLE: No VERDICT: The BigBlue AL450NM is a great little torch, with a bright beam, good build quality, decent burn time and a neat one/off operation.
SCORE
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DIVEPRO D5-3 | SRP: £79.95 The DivePro D5-3 is made from aircraftgrade anodised aluminium and boasts a single CREE XP-L LED pushing out an impressive 1,380 lumens into a bright spot, with a light peripheral halo around it. The D5-3 is turned on and off with a twist of the head, which is easy to do even wearing gloves. However, by turning it on and off within two seconds, you can cycle through high, medium and low power settings, and a strobe and an SOS mode, which is pretty neat. You get a burntime of one-and-a-half hours on full power, and eight hours on low power. The small nature of the D5-3, along with its relatively low weight (for a metal torch) and good burntime means it is a good option as a primary torch for use abroad, as it won’t eat up too much luggage allowance, and as it comes with a battery and charger, you don’t have to haul packs of batteries with you. It is depth-rated to 100m, so will even suit most techies wanting a compact but bright redundant torch. Finally, let’s touch on that stunning price point. Under £80 for a metal-bodied rechargeable torch of this quality is fantastic value for money. www.nautilusdiving.co.uk
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BEST VALUE 2019 GROUP TEST
TORCHES
TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 135g RECHARGEABLE: Yes VERDICT: Extremely compact dive torch, with a bright beam. Easy twist on/off, great burntime and an astonishing price. Great for a powerful UK back-up or tropical primary.
SCORE
•••••••••
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DIVE COMPUTER
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Connected by Colour
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capability to sync with our free DiverLog+ App • app allows you to manage your dive data, computer settings, and share favourite dives and photos to social media • 4 operating modes – Air, Nitrox, Gauge, and Free Dive • User-changeable standard battery allows for easy changes while retaining your data
EXPOSURE MARINE ACTION 1-16 | SRP: £180 Exposure Marine turned the dive light market on its head a few years back with their innovative torches, which were incredibly bright and compact. However, the method of turning them on/off and cycling through power settings left some divers bemused. The new versions have all of the positives of the previous incarnation, and none of the negatives. The anodised aluminium, rechargeable Action 1-16 has a single White XPL2 LED, which delivers 1,000 lumens on full power - in a bright wide beam that is amazing for its size - for a runtime of one and a half hours. Medium power gives you three hours, and low power six hours. Gone is the old method of turning it on and off, instead you now have a moretraditional and user-friendly push button on the bottom. A bright LED on the back near the button shows when the battery is getting close to low at that power setting. The clever bods at Exposure Marine couldn’t help themselves, though, and so the torch also has a ‘tap’ function, where you can cycle through the power levels simply by tapping the light itself. The 1-16 is a very small unit, but would be a great back-up, or a tropical primary. www.exposurelights.com
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TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 115g RECHARGEABLE Yes VERDICT: Geat to see Exposure Marine back in the mix, with a compact but powerful, and user-friendly, back-up l;ight, which would also make a good tropical primary.
SCORE
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WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
FINNSUB BANG WIDE | SRP: £375 Finnish-brand Finnsub offer a wide range of dive lights, but the Bang Wide is one of its newer units. The head has a single CREE LED that puts out a ten degree beam, which at full power of 1,100 lumens is incredibly bright and cuts through British waters. This full-power mode has a burn time of two hours, but knock it down to 30 percent power of 366 lumens, you get a stonking ten hours, and this is still reasonably bright. To cycle through the power settings is where the ‘Bang’ name comes from. An accelerometer within the housing is activated by tapping the light to turn it on/off, and to switch between the 30 percent and 100 percent modes. It takes a while to get the tapping rhythm right - you need to do three taps with a time span of 0.3-0.8 seconds between each stroke - but once you get the hang of it, it is relatively straightforward. It would make an over-the-top back-up unit, or a damn fine primary in tropical waters, or even the UK! It is depth-rated to 100m, and features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery - the supplied charger just magnetically attaches to the rear of the light. It also comes with a soft Goodman handle. www.finnsub.com
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TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 250g RECHARGEABLE: Yes VERDICT: As with all Finnsub lights, it is well-made, incredibly bright, but you just need to get used to the tapping method of operation.
SCORE
••••••••••
WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
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MARES XR BACK-UP LIGHT | SRP: £88 Mares have produced a strong line-up of torches with the EOS RZ range, and they are complemented nicely by the XR backup light. Made from anodised aluminium, the XR back-up light offers up 850 lumens, with a burn time of nearly two and a half hours, which the XML2 U2 LED puts out in a bright eight degree beam, with a solid spot and an even peripheral halo. It is powered by a 18650 battery, which can be recharged in four to five hours. It is depth-rated to 100m, so enough for most divers, and is switched on and off by twisting the head, which is easy to do even while wearing thick 5mm gloves or drygloves as it has a neat rubber ‘grip ring’ embedded into the aluminium. It is ideal as a back-up light to the EOS torch reviewed last month - or any other primary unit - but with its compact size, great burn time and solid light production, it is ideal to accompany you abroad as your primary dive light in more tropical climates. It comes with the battery and charger, and a safety wrist lanyard.. At £88 for a rechargeable back-up torch, that is more than capable of being used abroad as your main light, it is awesome value for money. www.mares.com
BEST VALUE 2019 GROUP TEST
TORCHES
TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 134g RECHARGEABLE: Yes VERDICT: Compact but bright back-up light, with a great burntime, bright beam, excellent price point. Great back-up or a fine tropical primary.
SCORE
••••••••••
VERDICT
Dive lights are an essential piece of a diver’s kit arsenal, and all the torches here performed admirably, which made dishing out the awards incredibly hard. For the Best Value, the DivePro D5-3 and the Mares XR back-up light went head to head. The DivePro pumps out an impressive amount of lumens, has a good burntime, and is easy to use. The Mares similarly has a great performance, has some neat features, and gives a decent burntime. Both represent great value for the performance and build quality, and we literally could not decide between the two of them, they were that neck-and-neck, so we gave the award to both. The Choice award was similarly tough. The Exposure Marine, Anchor Dive Lights and Finnsub were all contenders. They all put in a superb performance, and we liked the Exposure Marine’s compact size, the Anchor Dive Lights’ build quality and performance, and the Finnsub’s unique ‘tap’ switch, but the Anchor Dive Lights 1K Series merged a combination of being well made, well priced, and with a great performance (in both Wide and Spot variants).
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Long Term Test SEALIFE SEA DRAGON MINI 1300S
Mark Evans: SeaLife are well known for their range of affordable but robust and user-friendly cameras and strobes/video lights, but now they are entering the arena of dive lights. The anodised aluminium Mini 1300S uses a Luxeon V LED to emit an ultra-narrow six-degree spot beam, which at full power is 1,300 lumen, and with the supplied Xtar 18650 (2,600 mAh) rechargeable battery has a runtime of 55 minutes at full power. It had nifty INFORMATION Arrival date: July 2019 features like a coloured Suggested retail price: £130 battery indicator, and is Number of dives: 0 depth-rated to 100m. Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins www.sealife-cameras.com
SUUNTO D5 Mark Evans: The Suunto D5 is going to be very successful for Suunto. How do I know? Well, it has only just been released and yet on a trip to Egypt with Deptherapy, more than half a dozen of the divers involved were wearing one on their wrists. Publishing Director Ross Arnold is still sporting his test unit, and as you can see from this photo, even in direct sunlight in the Middle East, the full-colour display is still clear and easy to read. www.suunto.com 94
MARES EPIC ADJ 82X Mark Evans: We have focused on the performance and features of the Epic Adj 82X over the last few months, this issue I want to concentrate on the asthetics. This is a good-looking regulator, and it has garnered many positive comments from fellow divers when it has accompanied me underwater. That gun-metal finish, as well as being robust and ultra-tough, is certainly eye-catching. www.mares.com
INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2019 Suggested retail price: £545 Number of dives: 27 Time in water: 25 hrs 50 mins
APEKS TECH SHORTS
INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 Suggested retail price: £545 Number of dives: 26 Time in water: 25 hrs 15 mins
Mark Evans: The Tech Shorts got the thumbs up from several of the guys at Deptherapy, including tripleamputee Josh Boggi, seen sporting them here. They praised the durability of the shorts, the comfort and fit, and the accessibility of the pockets. They were certainly INFORMATION Arrival date: March 2019 getting some hammer, but Suggested retail price: £94 were none the worse for Number of dives: 27 wear afterwards. Time in water: 25 hrs 35 mins www.apeksdiving.com/uk WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
OTTER WATERSPORTS ATLANTIC Mark Evans: Guest tester Jason Brown has been logging plenty more dives in his Otter Watersports Atlantic, and here is he looking particularly smug as he managed to blag his way on to a seven-day liveaboard diving adventure during the actual 100th anniversary week of the German Navy High Seas Fleet scuttling in Scapa Flow. As you can see, the Atlantic put in a superb performance in the Orkney Islands, keeping him warm and dry as he explored the World War One wrecks. www.drysuits.co.uk
INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2019 Suggested retail price: £1,560 Number of dives: 38 Time in water: 37 hrs 55 mins
AQUA LUNG AQUAFLEX Mark Evans: The Aqua Lung Aquaflex wetsuits had a good run in the Red Sea, the male version on Ross in Aqaba, and the female version with my wife Penney Evans in Egypt. Ross liked the fit and flexibility of the suit, while Penney was very impressed with how easy it was to get on and off. She normally struggles a bit with her old 5mm, but she was into this one quicker than she takes in a 3mm. That super-stretchy neoprene really makes a difference when it comes to donning and doffing the wetsuit. Both of them commented on the warmth of the suit INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 as well - we completed Suggested retail price: £260 some long dives and Number of dives: 24 neither felt remotely chilly. Time in water: 23 hrs 15 mins www.aqualung.com/uk WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM
APEKS XL4+ Mark Evans: Luke Evans used the Apeks XL4+ on our Egypt trip for his Junior Advanced Open Water Diver course, and when I returned to Roots Red Sea five weeks later with Deptherapy, Simon Reed, one of the support team, was using his newly purchased XL4+. He was very happy with the breathe and performance of the regulator, and its travel-friendly size, and apart from some japes about it not being ‘techie-black’ from certain quarters - yes Howard Payne, I mean you - it got the thumbs up. And if it is INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2019 good enough for a Royal Suggested retail price: £409 Marine, it is good enough Number of dives: 47 for you. Time in water: 45 hrs 35 mins www.apeksdiving.com/uk
SHEARWATER RESEARCH TERIC Mark Evans: The Shearwater Research Teric had its last hurrah in the Long Term Test stable in Egypt when I accompanied the Deptherapy team on their largest-ever expedition. One of the instructors was also sporting a Teric, and I have to say, he was just as impressed by the unit as I have been. It looks good in an understated way, it has a nice solid feel to it, and that screen is just so INFORMATION Arrival date: December 2018 unbelievably bright. A Suggested retail price: £579 supremely well-specced Number of dives: 38 and competent computer. Time in water: 37 hrs 30 mins www.shearwater.com 95
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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
INTRODUCTION TO A SEEMINGLY WHOLE NEW WORLD PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIM HILDEBRANDT
I
n mid-April, my Scholarship year began with the breath-taking introduction to the Our-World Underwater Scholarship Society and many of its supporters and sponsors at the annual Scholarship event in New York City. It was unbelievably inspiring to meet so many people that care about our oceans and that have achieved incredible things, including the amazing journeys of former Scholars after their Scholarship years. From the watch fitting at the Rolex Headquarters, to the Saturday Symposium in the Explorers Club, and eventually the official ceremony in the NY Yacht Club â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the whole weekend left me speechless, to say the least! Directly after, the 2019 NA Rolex Scholar, Neha AcharyaPatel, and I visited the Divers Alert Network in North Carolina. We completed a Diving First Aid course for Professional Divers and learned about current Research in Diving Physiology, Medicine and the work DAN puts into helping scuba divers all over the world in the case of emergencies, as well as to counsel in health questions to prevent them in the first place. We also got to step back in history, and gained an insight in the future of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, while on our visit to the Duke University Hyperbaric Chamber. Back in Europe, I dived in a drysuit for the first time in my life, with the support of the Cornish Diving Centre in Falmouth, to be prepared for colder regions in the next year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it really adds to the enjoyment not having to worry too much about slowly turning into an ice-block throughout a dive! In May, I was able to spontaneously join Cetacean Watching Lda on the volcanic island Pico of the Azores, in order to see how ecotourism and research can go handin-hand. I assisted them with the operation of their whale watching trips, and collected data for their cetacean sighting data base, such as location, time and duration of sightings, as well as of course the species, their group composition, behaviour and approximate age. We encountered an amazingly wide variety of species, for which the Azores Archipelagos are known for, including pilot whales, sperm
Kim Hildebrandt
whales, sei whales, and common and striped dolphins. After the Azores, I travelled to Malta to gain more diving experience. First, I completed a Divemaster internship with Diveshack Malta. I really enjoyed turning my attention from my own diving to looking after, guiding and assisting in teaching of other divers, and to sometimes help them overcome their personal difficulties or fears. Luckily, Diveshack offers all ranges of PADI courses, for that reason I could get involved in Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Specialty courses, as well as the guidance of Discover Local Diving trips. I also did the PADI Wreck Specialty course myself, since the Maltese wrecks really fascinate me! I managed to dive five wrecks in total, some of them even several times. To learn more about the history and management of deeper, ancient shipwrecks in Maltese waters, I met up with Darko Kovacevic of Heritage Malta, who explained their newly established system to me. Furthermore, I was lucky to be invited to the GUE Fundamentals class by John Kendall, who introduced me to a whole new way of diving. We worked hard on buoyancy control, trim and finning techniques, as well as diving as a team, and I must say it was a very rewarding course which helped me gain more control and confidence in my diving. n
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