Scuba Diver Asia Pacific - Issue 5

HALLS IN GALAPAGOS:

CHRIS JEWELL Q&A:

HMAS BRISBANE:

MONTY HALLS TAKES HIS CLAN WITH HIM TO FILM IN THE WORLD-FAMOUS ARCHIPELAGO

THE THAI CAVE RESCUE HERO TALKS ABOUT GETTING STARTED IN CAVE DIVING

ADRIAN STACEY EXPLORES THE 133-METRE PURPOSE -SUNK MISSILE DESTROYER

THE BIG

MICROPLASTIC SURVEY JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Fighting back against the scourge of PLASTIC POLLUTION Plastics scattered around the land and in our oceans is now finally a hot topic with governments, organisations and groups around the world, but it hasn’t always been that way. Ten years ago, David Jones was one of a handful of campaigners seeking to raise awareness of the problems of plastic in our seas, but now the rest of the world has caught up with him, and you can’t scroll through your Social Media or a news website without something plasticrelated cropping up. The dedicated episode of Blue Planet II really helped hammer home the message about plastics infesting our planet, particularly our oceans, and we need to maintain this crusade against single-use plastics.

David has now teamed up with the University of Portsmouth in the UK to create The Big Microplastic Survey, a citizenscience initiative that seeks to harness the power of people around the world to garner crucial information about how microplastics are invading our world. Already, he has had contributions from every corner of the planet, and the wider the spread of data received, the better the scientists can collate a clearer picture of the current situation - and what

can be done to combat it.

David is a passionate speaker when it comes to plastics, and he is not afraid to voice his opinions about the topic.

Read his article on page 8.

Elsewhere this issue, Adrian Stacey explores the purposesunk wreck of HMAS Brisbane - and you have the chance to win a two-tank dive on this awesome site courtesy of our competition! Check out page 31!

TV favourite, author and adventurer Monty Halls is known for his globe-trotting antics, but did even he bite off more than he could chew when he headed out to the iconic Galapagos Islands for a new three-part series accompanied by his wife and their two young children. He reveals all on page 42.

The world held its breath during the Thai cave rescue operation, and this issue we talk to Chris Jewell, one of the four divers who actually brought out the children. Turn to page 50 for his amazing insight.

MARK EVANS, Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR IN CHIEF

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP

DESIGN

MAGAZINE

CONTRIBUTORS

PUBLISHERS

Mark Evans Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.co.uk David Jones, Mario Vitalini, Monty Halls, Sue Crowe, Stephan Whelan, Francesca Koe, Adrian Stacey

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Ross Arnold Email: ross.arnold@scubadivermag.com To stock Scuba Diver in your centre, email: subscriptions@scubadivermag.com Rork Media Limited Tel: +44 (0) 800 069 8140 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, England, WC2H 9JQ

Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers.

Copyright for material published remains with Rork Media Limited. Use of material from Scuba Diver is strictly prohibited unless permission is given. All advertisements of which the creative content is in whole or in part the work of Rork Media Limited remain the copyright of Rork Media Limited.

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ISSN 2515-9593

05

HALLS IN GALAPAGOS:

CHRIS JEWELL Q&A:

HMAS BRISBANE:

MONTY HALLS TAKES HIS CLAN WITH HIM TO FILM IN THE WORLD-FAMOUS ARCHIPELAGO

THE THAI CAVE RESCUE HERO TALKS ABOUT GETTING STARTED IN CAVE DIVING

ADRIAN STACEY EXPLORES THE 133-METRE PURPOSE -SUNK MISSILE DESTROYER

ON THE COVER

THE BIG

MICROPLASTIC SURVEY JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION

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French Polynesia

p001_APScubaDiverIssue5.indd 1

Freediving: Vertical Blue 2018

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: iStock

29/08/2018 08:34

REGULAR COLUMNS

FEATURES

David Jones launches The Big Microplastic Survey - and you can get involved! - while the Great Barrier Reef gets a cash injection for conservation from the Tiffany and Co Foundation, and a warning for ageing divers to take care of their health.

The Sardine Run is rightly regarded as one of the world’s most-aweinspiring experiences, and Damian Groves has been on it many times, but even he got a shock when a pod of orcas showed up.

8 News

32 Our-World UW Scholar

Olivia Johnson gets some photo-tips on Ningaloo Reef and snorkels with humpback whales.

34 Underwater photography

18 South Africa

22 French Polynesia

Sue Crowe and Jayne Jenkins board a luxury liveaboard to explore the spectacular Tuamoto Archipelago and reckon that it is worth leaving the macro lens at home as the wide-angle opportunities are simply breaktaking.

28 Australia

Mario Vitalini discusses how destination selection for photo trips is vitally important.

Our Brit ‘Down Under’, Adrian Stacey, was blown away by the artificial reef of HMAS Brisbane - and you can dive it too, thanks to our competition giving away four two-tank dives on the shipwreck.

66 GO Diving

38 FREEDIVING: Vertical Blue 2018

An exciting new dive show (trade and consumer) is launched in February 2019!

06

DeeperBlue.com’s Stephan Whelan and Francesca Koe report on the record-breaking exploits of athletes at the Bahamas competition.

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CONTENTS

41 SPEARFISHING: Hints and advice / What’s New

Issac Daly talks about seven top ‘dry training’ exercises that can help improve your spearfishing, plus camoflaged wetsuits from the Mares spearfishing range.

GEAR GUIDE 54 What’s New

New products recently released or coming soon, including Fourth Element’s OceanPositive swimwear, Fantasea’s wide-angle conversion lenses, the Mares sidemount range and Seal Skin/2nd Skin combo, and the Atomic Aquatics BC1 and B2 colour kits.

42 The Galapagos

56 Group Test

50 Q&A with Chris Jewell

64 Long Term Test

TV favourite Monty Halls headed out to the iconic archipelago for a new three-part series, and this time he took along his wife and two young children - had the veteran adventurer bitten off more than he could chew this time around?

The world held its breath during the Thai cave rescue operation, and Chris Jewell was one of the four elite cave divers who actually brought out the schoolchildren. Here he gives an amazing insight into what went on inside the cave, and also talks candidly about how he got into cave diving, and what prospective cave divers should expect to do.

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The Scuba Diver Test Team heads to the wilds of Llanberis in North Wales’ Snowdonia National Park to trial a selection of budget back-inflate BCDs from a range of manufacturers.

The Scuba Diver Test Team gets to grips with a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Apeks RK3 fins, Momentum Deep 6 watch, Aqua Lung Outlaw BCD, Mares Quad Air dive computer, and the Suunto EON Core dive computer.

07

NEWS

Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from the Asia-Pacific region, 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 social media. www.scubadivermag.com/news | .com/scubadivermag | @scubadivermag

THE BIG MICROPLASTIC SURVEY Ocean plastic evangelist David Jones has spent the last ten years talking about plastic pollution to the diving community, and his latest venture, The Big Microplastic Survey, is a collaborative programme that he has developed between his own non-profit organisation, Just One Ocean, and the University of Portsmouth PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID JONES

A

couple of weeks ago, I launched a global citizenscience project, The Big Microplastic Survey (www. microplasticsurvey.org). It is a collaboration with the University of Portsmouth aimed at gathering data about microplastics from around the world that we can use for further research. Within hours of the launch, volunteers were signing up from around the world. I have to admit to being slightly taken aback by the enthusiasm and passion of the individuals and organisations coming forward, because it hadn’t always been like that.

I can still remember the conversation I had with my friend and inspirational film producer Jo Ruxton nearly ten years ago. Did I know about the plastic that was accumulating in the Pacific, she asked? At that moment in time, probably like the majority of readers, the answer was not really. I think I had ‘heard’ about it, but that was all. Equally fascinated and horrified, I decided to find out more. I joined forces with Jo and the Plastic Oceans Foundation and we spent nearly seven years making the film A Plastic Ocean. I had a variety of roles in the organisation and very quickly found myself becoming the organisation’s ‘expert’ on the issues, potential solutions and the not-quite-so-accurate facts that were being peddled by the media.

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Presentations, articles and campaigning followed. We first interviewed Sir David Attenborough for Plastic Oceans in 2009, years before the Blue Planet effect was even conceived, and I first spoke at a dive show about plastic pollution in 2010 to what can best be described as a ‘small’ audience. At that time, there were only a handful of NGOs dealing with the issue - for many, it was simply not something on their agenda.

We were a lone voice, trying to spread the word, but invariably preaching to the already converted.

Times have changed. Suddenly, plastic pollution has become the hot topic, but have they changed for the better?

There is no doubt that the increased awareness and publicity surrounding plastic pollution has made a difference.

The supermarkets we wrote to all those years ago who never listened are now throwing themselves onto the plastic bandwagon along with just about everyone else. The number of organisations springing up to ban straws, ban microbeads, or encourage you to go ‘plastic free’ over the last couple of years is mind blowing. There is not a day goes by without there being something about plastic pollution in the press, and I am delighted to say that certain elements of the diving industry have finally woken up and realised that change is coming and they need to be a part of it. However, at the same

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time that we have reasons to be hopeful there are, in my view - which I’m sure some will disagree with - a number of issues that we need to address, or be cautious about if we are to succeed in resolving this ongoing crisis.

One of those issues is that the growth of so many organisations means that already scarce resources are diluted even further. When I first started working for Plastic Oceans, I was staggered to discover that saving the planet, for some organisations at least, appeared to be a competition. I remember reluctance from certain NGOs to promote our film, or become ‘partners’ in what, after all, was a fight against a common enemy. I understand now that it was because we were all fighting for the same philanthropic pots of gold, but it made me uneasy. There seems to be a growth of partners, networks and coalitions, and with the growing awareness there will probably be a corresponding growth in donations and funding, so hopefully that will bode well for the future.

Another uncomfortable change has been the growth of profit-making organisations that are making their living by appealing to environmental consciences of the masses. I have nothing against making profit, and raising funds for good causes is a good thing, but I do have an issue with a lack of transparency. When organisations claim to give a ‘proportion’ of their profits to environmental charities, but when they pretend to be charitable organisations, take cover behind the veil of limited liability partnership status, or simply don’t provide any company details at all, I wonder what they have to hide. Are the profits so enormous that it might be embarrassing? Raising money through this kind of sponsorship is not something new, but no matter how much they are desperate for funding, it is beholden on charities to ensure that donations they

Another uncomfortable change has been the growth of profit-making organisations that are making their living by appealing to environmental consciences of the masses WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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INDUSTRY NEWS In spite of the increase in awareness and the hundreds of initiatives to reduce our single-use packaging, global plastic production has gone up by 35 million tonnes since we launched the film A Plastic Ocean three years ago receive are ethically and morally sound.

Timeframes are also a concern of mine. The governments ‘policy’ to tackle plastic pollution in the UK by 2042 is too little, too late. The French government announced a ban, not a 5p levy, on plastic bags in 2016. This was introduced this year and by 2020, all plastic cutlery, disposable plates and throwaway cups will either be removed, or replaced with compostable products. While I worry that there will be sufficient commercial composting plants available (let’s face it, we can’t manage our current waste streams effectively, never mind throwing in another one into the mix) at least they take action in a reasonable timeframe.

I think the previous concern stems from what is at the heart of the issue for me, and that is a lack of strategic planning. Everything that seems to be being done to solve this problem is a piecemeal, kneejerk reaction. It’s almost as if the government realise that there is a problem, and look for the least-painful solution that won’t lose votes, but will make sure they are seen to be doing something. “Mr Gove, the people are up in arms about plastic” “Could we ban microbeads, it looks like they are on the way out anyway!” We desperately need some strategic thinking that examines the science, education, innovation, introduction of alternatives, public engagement and legislation. These are processes that are being undertaken by a variety of organisations and agencies, but in isolation. That is wrong. They are interrelated and planning needs to be developed that brings them together.

My other concern is the belief that we can technology our way out of this. Barriers across the ocean, new ‘biological’ ways to make the same old stuff, or the development of

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plastic-eating bugs are not going to solve this problem alone. Waste management and innovation has a role to play, but fundamental has to be a change in our behaviour, attitudes and the valueless perception that we have of plastic.

So what about the diving industry? The good news is that it comprises people who are already aware of the importance of our ocean ecosystems, its biodiversity and the services it provides. Environmental organisations are embedded into the institutional and social framework of the diving fraternity. People are spending their dive time and money collecting litter from the seabed, or recovering old pots and nets. Some parts of the industry are changing their packaging while others are being truly innovative in the products they produce, and I have to say that having spent so long on this problem, I am encouraged.

We must guard against complacency. In spite of the increase in awareness and the hundreds of initiatives to reduce our single-use packaging, global plastic production has gone up by 35 million tonnes since we launched the film A Plastic Ocean three years ago. Recycling capability continues to fall behind production rates, and waste management issues are getting even worse, especially in SE Asia. I have always said, and have truly believed, that the human race has the ability to resolve the plastic pollution problem if it puts its mind to it, so long as it acts quickly, while it is still a problem and not yet a predicament. The good news is that I am no longer talking to an empty room. n

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INDUSTRY NEWS CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

New Zealander Dr Simon Pierce, co-founder of the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF), has launched a new Patreon crowdfunding campaign to help create global protection for the Earth’s largest fish - the whaleshark.

Patrons will receive unprecedented access to Simon and MMF’s expert whaleshark team’s work. They’ll receive private access to the team’s latest findings, long before they’re published. They’ll have the opportunity to join researchers in the field via livestreams and regular updates, and have priority access to join expeditions to iconic locations such as the Galapagos Islands and Komodo National Park.

Dr Pierce said: “Our shark research and conservation work, underway since 2005, has been getting spectacular results.

We’ve had amazing public support. I’m hugely proud of the work we’ve done to date.

“Funding these efforts, though, has been an ongoing struggle.

So, we’re now building a community of supporters that share our desire to save Earth’s largest fish. We are asking members of the public to become part of this project, with donations from just $3 a month.

“You’ll be joining forces with a small, dedicated team of expert researchers that are working every day to make the world a better place. You’ll get personal updates from global leaders in marine biology and conservation, and you’ll be helping to save the world’s amazing marine wildlife. If you’re able to help, we’ll be super grateful. The whalesharks will be freakin’ stoked.”

The new Patreon campaign offers a deeper way for people to invest in producing the science, education and conservation initiatives needed for whalesharks to recover.

Donors interested in supporting whaleshark conservation can choose from the range of tiers available, starting from just $3 per month: • PENGUINS ($3 or more per month): Full access to all updates, including livestreams from the field, photos and videos, see the latest scientific results as they come in, and chat to the team directly about what they mean. Basically, you can watch and laugh as MMF scientists totally geek out.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY: SIMONJPIERCE.COM

TO HELP PROTECT WHALESHARKS

• SEA TURTLES ($9 or more per month): Full access to updates (see above), and you get to adopt your very own whaleshark! You’ll receive personalised updates when your shark is seen again.

• MANTA RAYS ($49 or more per month): Full access to updates, adopt your very own whaleshark, and you’ll also get free access to a bunch of upcoming content!

• WHALESHARKS ($99 or more per month): All of the above… and you’ll get to name a whaleshark of your very own! The scientists will photo-identify your shark for you and you can choose its name. Sharky McSharkface? No judgement.

• ERM... DOUBLE WHALESHARKS ($199 or more per month): Our highest-level supporters ($200+ per month) will also get a personal acknowledgement – if you’re amenable – on the team’s scientific publications, which is rather prestigious.

Whalesharks, the world’s largest fish, can grow up to about 20 metres in length and reach around 40 tons in weight. These plankton-feeders are totally harmless to humans and it’s possible to dive or swim with them in total safety. However, they are now a globally endangered species. Overfishing, accidental catches and ship strikes have killed more than half of the world’s whalesharks since the 1980s.

Simon and his team are working hard to help whalesharks recover. They collaborate with national governments to create and enforce effective protection for the species, partner with fishing communities to move towards sustainable fishing techniques, and promote best-practice ecotourism that benefits the sharks. The team have published 26 scientific papers on whaleshark biology, ecology and conservation, as well as innumerable articles for the interested public. They have extensive knowledge about how to help the species recover, but need support from the public. www.patreon.com/simonjpierce

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INDUSTRY NEWS MY SSI APP – USING QR CODES With the launch of the new MySSI app, new QR code features are available that makes it easier to log dives. The QR code function allows you to save registered dives from your buddy in the logbook, save your diving partner easily in your buddy list, and to take dive sites from the database.

These dive sites can then be easily shared by giving the QR code to your dive buddy. Shared dive profile information automatically appears on your dive buddy’s mobile device, so it is no longer necessary to write down the dive’s details into a paper logbook. All of your logged dives automatically synchronise between your MySSI app and your online MySSI account.

With the digital logbook, it’s also possible to enter specific dive details (like gas mixtures) for scuba diving, and new dive sites can be quickly created with the geo-tagging function, or chosen from SSI’s global database. See how SSI has effectively mastered the uses of technology to strengthen your learning experience, anytime and anywhere. Visit your preferred app store and download the MySSI App for free! www.divessi.com

PHOTO CREDIT: GARY CRANITCH, QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

TIFFANY & CO FOUNDATION COMMITS $1.4M AUD TO GBR CONSERVATION

The Tiffany & Co Foundation has announced that it has committed approximately $1.4m AUD ($1m USD) to help protect and restore Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The reef is the world’s largest living organism, encompassing an area approximately the size of Italy and hosts some of the richest biodiversity on Earth. However, various threats - such as climate change, poor water quality and impacts from human activity - have led to a widespread decline of coral cover in recent years.

The Tiffany & Co Foundation has supported coral conservation worldwide for nearly two decades. This recent commitment in Australia focuses on recovering the reef by funding both short and long-term solutions, including Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Out of the Blue Box Innovation Challenge and Reef Aid, a project of Greening Australia.

“We believe there is reason for hope,” said Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chairman and president of The Tiffany & Co Foundation. “The Foundation is proud to support two of the leading organisations working to preserve the Great Barrier Reef, one of Earth’s most-significant natural assets.”

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ALL STAR LIVEABOARDS NEW ITINERARY MINDORO STRAIT, PHILIPPINES The Philippines’ Mindoro Strait has it all, from whalesharks and mantas at Apo Reef to magnificent macro in Anilao, Puerto Galera and Verde Island.

This region showcases some of the best diving the Philippines has to offer, and now you can access it from the luxurious All Star Philippines liveaboard.

The All Star Philippines is a 36-metre yacht with ten spacious cabins that can accommodate a maximum of 21 people. The three levels feature the guest cabins, the main salon for indoor dining and socialising, the upper deck with sun and shade and a relaxation area. The bow has a hot tub, and diving is conducted from two hard-bottomed tenders.

Book now on All Star Philippines to save $200 on the itinerary running from 1-8 December 2018. www.allstarliveaboards.com

TV PRESENTER BACKS SHARK CHARITY’S CALL FOR RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM TV presenter Steve Backshall heads a growing list of highprofile individuals supporting a call for responsible shark journalism by Bite-Back Shark and Marine Conservation.

The UK-based charity says that decades of news headlines labelling sharks as ‘monsters’, ‘killers’ and ‘beasts’ has created a climate of fear and loathing that is thwarting shark conservation initiatives.

Steve said: “It’s time that journalists understand how these sensational headlines and falsehoods are perpetrating a hatred of sharks that justifies their boundless slaughter. As such, I think the media is complicit in one of the greatest deliberate exterminations in our planet’s history.”

Graham Buckingham, campaign director for Bite-Back, says: “No other creature on this planet is described with inflammatory language intended to spread fear, panic and hate. As a result, the mere presence of a shark in the sea prompts sensational headlines. We’re keen to work with the press and reach a point where shark encounters are reported accurately and fairly.” www.bite-back.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS EMPEROR OPENS FIRST RESORT

DIVE CENTRE IN THE MALDIVES

Emperor Maldives has opened its first Maldives resort dive centre at Reveries Diving Village on Gan, Laamu Atoll. Here guests can combine superb channel diving with a unique experience on a locally inhabited island.

Perfectly located on the west coast of the locally inhabited island of Gan in Laamu Atoll, Reveries has full resort facilities and the chance to experience the ‘real Maldives’.

With its own private ‘bikini’ beach in front of the hotel, great channel and drift diving, sharks, mantas and masses of big stuff, this is the way to get in touch with local Maldives living.

Of course, it’s also the ideal way to combine a resort stay with one of Emperor’s liveaboard trips (cruise and stay) in the south of the Maldives.

Diving from Laamu’s untouched and remote location rarely

disappoints with its rich diversity of life offering something for divers, snorkellers and beach lovers.

Emperor’s diving centre is located right on Reveries’ beach front with access to a shallow, sandy lagoon suitable for beginner divers and divers wanting to refresh their skills. For the more experienced, there’s the magical Maldives adrenalincharged current diving.

Daily diving boats built in traditional style, known as dhonis, take guests to dive the nearby sites where a myriad of marine life awaits; hard corals, magical macro life and turtles swimming around the inner reef. Then there are the big pelagics, which can be enjoyed by divers with experience; eagle rays, snapper, nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, mantas and more. www.emperormaldives.com/laamu-diving.php

AGEING, OVERWEIGHT SCUBA DIVERS AT RISK OF UNDERWATER HEART ATTACK

Older, overweight scuba divers are being urged to shed pounds to avoid an underwater heart attack. That’s the advice from a large study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

“Cardiac issues are now a leading factor in diving fatalities,” said study author Dr Peter Buzzacott, of the University of Western Australia, in Crawley, Australia. “Divers who learned to dive years ago and who are now old and overweight, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are at increased risk of dying.”

It is estimated that around 3.3 million Americans and 2.8 million Europeans will scuba dive this year. While recreational diving fatalities are rare (181 worldwide in 2015, including 35 in Europe) the number involving cardiac issues is climbing, according to these findings. From 1989 to 2015, the proportion of diving fatalities involving 50–59 year-olds increased steadily from 15% to 35%, while fatalities in the over-60s soared from 5% to 20%. Cardiac events are now the second leading cause of death behind drowning. Until now there has been no clear picture of how common cardiovascular risk factors are among active divers. Previous research has been limited to surveys of dive club members or insured divers.

This was the first study conducted among divers in the general population.

The researchers used data from the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative telephone survey of US adults conducted by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Scuba diving was included as an activity in the 2011, 2013, and 2015 surveys. Dr Buzzacott advised all divers to have routine fitness assessments with their doctor, and tackle risk factors that otherwise could lead to a fatal cardiac event while diving. The research was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The study was funded by the Divers Alert Network.

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

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

Q: As a paramedic who dives, I’ve heard that it’s important not to administer Entonox to a diver who might have DCS. Please could you clarify the medical/technical reasons for this? What about if the diver is not showing any signs of DCS, but just needs pain relief?

A: Entonox, which goes by the more colloquial name of ‘laughing gas’, is a 50:50 mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen.

Joseph Priestley, an English chemist, first synthesised it in 1775 and was so impressed with himself he wrote: “I have now discovered an air five or six times as good as common air... nothing I ever did has surprised me more, or is more satisfactory.” This was probably due to the fact that it smells and tastes sweet, and induces a pleasing euphoria together with ‘slight hallucinations’. It soon became the anaesthetic of choice for dentists, but nowadays its main proponents are (para)medics who use it for emergency on-site pain relief, and midwives who administer it to women in labour to stop them screaming.

The reason Entonox is not given to divers with suspected DCS is that the nitrous oxide component is highly soluble and can increase bubble size, thereby worsening the condition. Also, it can cause expansion of trapped gas in the body and so should be avoided in anyone who has dived recently. If you have a diver in pain for another obvious reason and can exclude DCS and gas-trapping confidently (eg. they’ve just trodden on a sea urchin and not dived) then by all means it can be used. Its half-life is short, but general advice is you should not dive for 12-24 hours after using Entonox.

Q: Can DCI result from freediving in 4-5m of water? I was lobstering for 10 days in Australia last August and only had a real issue after this

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first day of freediving. Upon return to the dock, I almost fell over from dizziness and sight difficulty, and had to lie down for a couple of hours before I could walk around again.

The following nine days went mostly well, but on occasion some dizziness at the surface would occur whenever I failed to release a little of my held breath on the way up.

A: This is an interesting one. In the 1950s, DCI after freediving was thought to be impossible, for two reasons: the amount of nitrogen contained in one breath was not considered sufficient to cause symptoms, and dives were too short to allow the nitrogen to dissolve into the blood. We now know that it is indeed possible. Studies were carried out in the 1960s on pearl divers in French Polynesia, who dive to 30m or more 40 to 60 times a day (each dive lasting about two minutes with a three-to-four minute surface interval). These divers showed a high rate of Taravana (literally meaning ‘to fall crazily’) – a range of symptoms varying from vertigo and impaired vision to loss of consciousness and paralysis, consistent with DCI. Your symptoms seem to have come on severely after the first day. US Navy tables at 10m on air give a bottom time of over six hours, so at maximum depths of 5m, you would have to be underwater for a huge amount of time, breathing compressed gas, to put you at risk of DCI. On single breaths you would not accumulate enough nitrogen after one day to induce DCI. I suspect that another issue may have been the culprit here, possibly an ear barotrauma from repetitive equalising.

Do you have a question for Dr Firth?

Email: divingdoctor@scubadivermag. com and we’ll pass it on.

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As Damian Groves reports, South Africa’s annual Sardine Run is world-renowned as being one of the most-spectacular animal encounters on the planet, but every now and then, it can surprise even the most-jaded diver – cue a pod of orcas showing up!

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF DAMIAN GROVES

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Sardine Run THE ORCA SURPRISE

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n the last four years on the Sardine Run, we have witnessed the mostspectacular events the ocean has to offer. This is by no means an exaggeration.

The wild coast has been featured numerous times on nature documentaries such as Attenborough’s Blue Planet, which has opened the diving world’s eyes to this spectacular phenomenon. Amazingly, this experience is available to us as divers, and even the most-inept of underwater photographers can capture some epic photographs to reminisce over in years to come. I should know!

This July was no exception to our previous visits. Apart from a special event for us, day four started out like another other day on ‘the run’. At 7am we launched the boat through the morning surf, while watching the dolphins complete their morning routine of playing and surfing in the breakers here on the wild coast of South Africa.

Launching the RIB and climbing aboard, we were set. Once past the surf, we removed our lifejackets and got kitted up ready for action. Our on-board radio squawked into life as our microlight pilot reported to the skipper that a kilometer-long pod of dolphins was heading in our direction approximately 5km out to sea. Our skipper gave the call ‘hold on tight, guys’ as we accelerated towards our new location.

Cutting through the ocean on our RIB, we passed a small group of migrating humpback whales that were heading towards the warmer waters of Mozambique.

Right at that moment, we had no time to stop and play with the whales as we received further information that the pod of dolphins was rounding up the sardines into a large bait ball. Little did we know that what was soon to unfold would become one of the most breathtaking, exhilarating dive experiences of all our lives - and this included our guide, who has been leading groups on ‘the run’ here for 30 years.

Skipping across the ocean continually scanning the horizon, our skipper spotted some bird activity in the distance. Diving birds are a key indicator of subsurface activity.

Approaching the location, we slowed the engines and took stock of the situation.

We knew the routine, and all divers were busy making final preparations to their kit, donning hoods, clearing masks, all while scanning ahead, excitement physically palpable. It is one of the most heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping moments before an entry next to an active bait ball - you never know what will turn up, and it is always a bombardment on the senses at the sheer jaw-dropping explosion of life to come.

The hustle and bustle on the RIB seemed to stop as if on command. The boat had momentarily descended into a stunned silence as an unexpected and huge dorsal fin was spotted breaking the surface of the water.

It is hard to describe the following dive experience as each of us would use different words, phrases, even a few well-used diving terms which cannot be printed in a professional publication!

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A quiet moment on the Sardine Run

Hoping in my heart of hearts that it may be the beautiful magnificent creatures we had been longing to see here but dare not to say out loud, I turned to our dive guide Walter, who looked back at me with a wry smile and uttered the magic word I had always dreamed of hearing while diving on the Sardine Run – ‘orca’.

It is hard to describe the following dive experience as each of us would use different words, phrases, even a few well-used diving terms which cannot be printed in a professional publication! ‘Awesome’, ‘amazing’and ‘mind-blowing’ are just some that may help to express our emotions. When we think of these apex predators, sadly we think of commercial entertainment facilities, where they are held in small tanks and perform on cue. But forever now, we lucky few will always remember them in their full magnificent splendor. Let me tell how our lives were irrevocably changed forever…

Me, as the group leader, had a moment of panic - I won’t lie. Why panic, I hear you say. Well, I didn’t want to miss this! Could we get into the water in time? Would we be in the right location when we did get in? Would they move off immediately? I guess these are the things you have to think about when providing these kinds of experiences for your guests. The Sardine Run is actionpacked and is now becoming world-renowned as one of nature’s natural underwater wonders, which compares with the likes of the wildebeest migration across the Serengeti, and being in the right place at the right time is crucial for our guest experience.

Kit was set up in rapid time and on countdown we rolled into the blue. There was no time to organise ourselves as we met face to face with a stunning pod of orca leading their calf directly towards our group. Lazily, they glided towards us to within touching distance, showing their inquisitive nature and complete grace in their true natural habit. Hearts pounding and our cameras primed for the encounter, we all vied for that perfectly framed shot. I guess we were as successful as we could be - it’s not easy to remain calm when one of your life’s dreams is coming true right before your eyes!

Walter, our guide, had rolled off the RIB to within a few metres of the first orca and his smile could be seen all the way back in Cape Town - if his wasn’t visible, the rest of ours were! The orca passed by in serene elegance, clicking and whistling their beautiful songs, investigating the strange bubble-making visitors, clearly communicating constantly with each member of the pod.

With one eye on us, and one eye on the moving bait ball, they circled round us in no hurry to feed. We were spending some quality time with our new imposing friends.

In a sweeping arc, the beautiful creatures began to move on, searching for their lunch, but not before giving us one more treat. Being only a couple of metres down during the encounter, it made surfacing and commencing our celebrations very easy. High fives and no small amount of cheers and whoops could possibly have been heard at the Cape of Good Hope! Our new friends heard this too, we think. At the limit of our visibility and as a feeling of elation flowed through us, they turned for their final encore and to investigate the strange cheering noises. Another direct approach towards our now-ecstatic group of divers meant they passed so close we could see their flickering eyelids and individual expressions. Were they amused at our attempts to be marine animals? I do actually think so! A final turn and

South Africa’s rugged coastline

Majestic unexpected visitors

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DIVE INTO ADVENTURE

Scubadiveadventures was founded by Damian Groves, a PADI Staff Instructor who specialises in providing bespoke adventures across the world in some of the most-exclusive dive locations possible, from liveaboards in Egypt to the serene waters of the Maldives. Raised at an early age in South Africa, he is at home on the Sardine Run, providing a top-level experiences for all of his guests. Being a bespoke service, Scubadiveadventures caters for all levels of divers, ages and experience. scubadiveadventures.co.uk ...and a humpback doing the same thing What all the predators are there for - sardines Dolphin breaching...

The boat had momentarily descended into a stunned silence as an unexpected and huge dorsal fin was spotted breaking the surface of the water Flypast from the orca pod

stare from the calf, captured on some footage filmed by one of our guests, seemed to corroborate this theory and was a suitable conclusion to this encounter. It was as if the pod were introducing their new arrival to us, and in turn us to it.

An orca dive on the Sardine Run? Can an experience in the water get any better than this? Well, for myself and the other guests privileged enough to be present on this day of days, we think not.

Amazingly, breaching humpback whales, enormous pods of hunting dolphins and over seven species of feeding sharks became the norm for us on this trip. The orca encounter was the icing on our very large African cake, and an experience we will keep in our hearts forever. Who knows what the Sardine Run 2019 will bring - all I know is that it will be epic. n

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Coincidentally, and probably because they are, after all, apex predators, sharks also congregate around the same time to take advantage of the distracted fish

Diving French Polynesia’s

UNESCO Biosphere

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hese deep blue, clear waters, packed with incredible encounters, depict all that’s special about French Polynesia’s UNESCO Biosphere. These pristine coral atolls offer untold underwater wealth to divers dipping in to escape, just for a short time, our topside gravity.

Taking nothing away from macro, but this is not the place to indulge that particular passion. French Polynesia offers heartwarming numbers of free swimming sharks (fins intact and glorious), mantas, mobula, eagle rays, schools of barracuda and more camouflage (or marbled) grouper than I have ever seen in my life! The prior trip also had schools of eagle rays and an encounter with dolphins. We heard the dolphins but didn’t see them, however we did have sharks galore, including one huge hammerhead, as well as mantas, etc. There were no complaints from our group!

It’d been a while since I’d enjoyed a liveaboard trip and even after the first day, I was acutely aware of what I’d been missing and why liveaboard diving is just so special. Three to four dives a day, easy access to gear and dive sites, gorgeous

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warm water (in this case), clouds of fish life, dozens of sharks, manta rays, clear blue seas (most of the time)… I only had to concentrate on eating, diving, admiring, recharging, sleeping.

It’s the ultimate divers’ escape. Our vessel, the Polynesian Master, is the latest in a line of luxury exploratory vessels run

by Worldwide Dive & Sail. Large and comfortable, custom-built to handle the requirements of demanding customers and remote destinations, the Polynesian Master was finished in late-2016 and came ‘on line’ in January 2017. She is the first liveaboard in French Polynesia for over ten years. It’s difficult to imagine why this area was deprived of a liveaboard for so long but it is remote, local air services are not always reliable (you are advised to allow a day on either side of the trip to cover any potential delays) and, I expect, receiving regular fresh local supplies is an ongoing challenge for the crew.

However, it’s worth the effort; the coral atolls are the classic un-spoilt tropical paradises, complete with coconut palms, white sand. And the water… the colours of the water are a simply gorgeous mix of blues and turquoises, impossible to describe and hard to do justice.

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Save weight and leave your macro gear at home when diving around the atolls of Fakarava and Toau... It’s an unspoilt space of soaring, adrenaline pumping currents, clean water and a lot of big action. BIG action, as Sue Crowe discovered PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAYNE JENKINS AND SUE CROWE

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ScubaDiverUK.ai 1 17/5/2018 14:27:43

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Idyllic marina scene

French Polynesia itself is an overseas collective of France, it comprises more than 100 islands in the South Pacific and stretches for more than 2,000km. Archipelagos are divided into the Austral, Gambier, Marquesas, Society and Tuamotu.

French Polynesia is famous for both white and black sands, and, of course, its fabulous black pearls. We were destined for the Tuamoto Archipelago, flying first to Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, and then, locally to Fakarava.

Tahiti is mountainous and volcanic, beautiful, green luscious with black sand and colourful local markets, life and people. I’d recommend at least one or two days if you can spare it to enjoy the diversity. And take the bus - it’s worth it!

Fakarava is the complete flipside of Tahiti; flat 15kms of coral atoll - white sands, swaying palms and a blue lagoon with turquoise waters flat as a pancake. We hired bicycles and spent a lovely couple of hours pottering along Fakarava’s one road greeting locals, discovering the church, museum and numerous sandy beaches. The little houses are pristine, painted in bright colours and decorated with all the treasure the sea washes up on the shore.

Make no mistake, it’s the sea which dominates here - the island is literally a strip of coral; one side the South Pacific Ocean, the other a picturesque turquoise lagoon. One is tranquil, the other windswept and rugged - both equally beautiful. Fakarava is part of the UNESCO Biosphere reserves, a place designated as a remarkable terrestrial and/or marine area and part of the ‘Programme on Man and Biosphere’ headed by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation).

Biosphere reserves constitute ‘models of management that aim to collaborate with the local population to ensure preservation of the environment alongside (the community’s) economic and social development’. The Fakarava biosphere consists of seven atolls. Surface area: 2,682sq.km. Population: 1,578 (plus a few transient divers!). It’s a place worth saving.

My kind of beach picnic

As beautiful as these atolls are, it’s the atoll entrance passages which hold the key to diving here… as water rushes in and out with the tide change, so interesting marine life and predators collect to enjoy the food rushing to eat or be eaten. Incoming currents bring clear water and lots of big action, the dive team try and time this to perfection; too early, the current can simply sweep you away; too late and you miss the best stuff.

The whole dive routine is geared around the tide changes and currents (in-coming or out-going). If the moon aligns, you’ll get more incoming than out going - but some of the best dives we had were on out-going, so don’t feel disappointed when you look at the dive board and see more outgoing dives than in-coming! The visibility might be down but the action still happens. Average visibility was about 70100 metres on the outside edges.

Don’t expect too many night dives either, nearly all the dives are during daylight hours, we had several twilight dives but no night dives.

Generally, the skiff took you out to your designated start point, either inside or outside the lagoon entrance, current 75 percent of the Green Team!

Some of the fabulous dive and skiff crew of the Polynesian Master

depending. It’s up to you (and your team) where you dive.

The entire dive crew on the Polynesia Master was exemplary. You’re allocated to a ‘team’, no more than four, each with a dedicated dive guide (instructor), and you dive as a ‘team’. (Obviously, teams can change, it’s not rigid).

The boat deploys three skiffs to position every team in the correct dive spot. Teams are provided with a colour (blue, red, green, etc) and each take turns going first, middle, last, etc - the system works very well. It is flexible, efficient and quick. The dive director, guides and tour director are happy to work with you to ensure your diving needs are

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Old lighthouse guarded by rock sculptures

If the moon aligns, you’ll get more incoming than out going - but some of the best dives we had were on out-going, so don’t feel disappointed when you look at the dive board and see more outgoing dives than in-coming!

A regular sight, huge Maori wrasse - always a favourite

met. Want to dive deeper? They are happy to adjust your nitrox mix to enable your wishes, while keeping to their PADI resort standard of 1.4 PPO2 and vice versa.

The Dive Director, Serge, gives a thorough briefing for each dive and then you can have further discussion with your team dive guide about your team’s specific dive profile. There were usually several dive options at each site and teams could chose to dive where they wanted.

We had several photographers and videographers on our trip but the dive guides were very aware of differing needs and went out of the way to stagger start and entries to avoid diver-stacking (appreciated by all, including the wildlife).

Along with the dive crew, the skiff drivers were terrific, great sense of humour, fun and very strong arms to assist getting in, out and up. Each skiff has a ladder, cameras are handed up first, gear is taken off in-water and handed to the skiff skipper/divemaster. You decide if you want to leap into the skiff yourself or, more elegantly, ascend the ladder!!

Dives generally start between 25-30m, often on the outside edges of the lagoon pass where most of the action happens.

Generally, you watch transfixed for as long as possible before heading into the lagoon to shark gutters and shallower depths.

Mantas and sharks highlighted the early part of the week, the sharks and grouper the latter end. Sharks were everywhere, sharks, lots of sharks; lazily meandering along the atoll edges and into the lagoons, seemingly without a care in the world.

I’m in awe of their nonchalance. Such ‘cool’ creatures.

Often the best diving was in current. And occasionally the current roared. The guides kept the teams together and lead the way, an often-unenviable job in three to four knots. It was exciting but never scary. After the initial entry, anything could happen, which is why your team divemaster/guide is vital.

Their job is to show you to the best possible places while keeping everyone together in some pretty hairy currents. They did a great job of taking care of us all.

Sharks are common year-round but we happened to be in the biosphere just before the second spawning of marbled or camouflage grouper. This phenomenon was discovered a few years ago and, each year, these grouper collect in their thousands (upwards of 15,000) to spawn under the full

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moon. Coincidentally, and probably because they are, after all, apex predators, sharks also congregate around the same time to take advantage of the distracted fish. It’s estimated approximately 700 sharks gather to enjoy the grouper spawning.

We were a week ahead of the full moon but the increase in the grouper population during our week underwater was staggering - more and more on each dive. Quite a sight.

In July, the water was around 27-28°C - I dived in a 2.5mm (and I’m a wimp), and occasionally I needed an undersuit but not often. Generally, water temperatures throughout the year range from 24-28°C, with January-March being the warmest months and July-November the coolest. The cooler waters bring forth migrating humpback whales and the spawning of marbled grouper, with June/July being the optimum time to see them in large numbers. Check before booking.

Importantly, although sad it even has to be mentioned these days, the waters and islands were clear and clean of pollution. There was none. No floating bags, bottles, tins or rubbish in the water. The atoll beaches were clean. Fakarava township was spotless.

It was refreshing and wonderful to see the pride taken in the natural environment, and how the local residents appreciated it and looked after it.

THE ITINERARY I did a seven-night trip (which wasn’t nearly long enough).

Diving itineraries take you through the Tuamotu Island chain, from Rangiroa to Fakarava, with a choice of seven or ten night safaris between these two hotspots, as well as a Fakarava to Fakarava, a seven-night loop to maximise the time spent in this favoured UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

For more information on the boat, itineraries go to: https://www.masterliveaboards.com/french_polynesia/

SUMMARY Simply magic. Honestly. n

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FREE NITROX

W

hen I was researching what dive sites to visit in Australia, I was struck by the abundance of wrecks. My image of diving in this vast country was of beautiful coral reefs, or perhaps cage diving with great whites. There are, in fact, over 8,000 wrecks scattered across the ocean floor around Australia.

Queensland alone has 1,249 registered shipwrecks.

One of these wrecks is the HMAS Brisbane and it just happened to be very close to where I was staying. It is located 5km off the Sunshine Coast, which is only just over an hour’s drive from Brisbane.

The Sunshine Coast is a popular tourist destination with its own airport at Maroochydore. It has enjoyed significant growth in recent years. Fantastic beaches and several national parks, including the majestic Glass House Mountains, entice holidaymakers from all over Australia and the world.

The quality of the HMAS Brisbane means the area is now also attracting divers as well as the usual surfers, hikers and sunbathers. The HMAS Brisbane has been given marine reserve status and has a strict no-fishing policy. Only two dive shops hold a licence to dive the site, so dives on this massive ship are far from crowded.

The two days that I dived here we had the wreck to ourselves.

The HMAS Brisbane was a Perth-class guided missile destroyer of approximately 5,000 tonnes. It is over 130 metres long, 15 metres wide and equivalent in height to an eight-storey building. Built in the USA, the ship was launched in 1966. It was deployed to Vietnam and later to the Persian Gulf for the first of the Gulf Wars.

Decommissioned in 2001, it was eventually sunk to create an artificial reef in 2005.

Some divers absolutely love wrecks. They relish the thought of poking around in every nook and cranny, squeezing through every little hole and swimming along every passage and walkway. Some divers view them as a lump of rusting metal and have no interest in them whatsoever. Personally, I am not that interested in exploring every dark recess and am normally happy to cruise around the outside.

I enjoy the vast quantities of marine life that are attracted to wrecks and the humbling feeling I get when the massive structures first come into view. There is something surreal and eerie about these large steel structures entombed in water at the bottom of the sea. But when diving on the HMAS Brisbane, I found myself enjoying the interior of the wreck as much as the exterior.

This was, I think, in part due the excellent job done by the people who prepared the wreck for scuttling. There are plenty of entry points and all the rooms are easily accessible, each with three sources of natural light, making it excellent for photography, even in the usually dark and dingy engine room. Most of the hazards have been removed. Apart from the bridge and some of the communication masts and radars, which have also been taken away, the ship has retained most of its interesting features and remains mainly intact.

We pulled into the Sunreef Divers car park on an overcast Friday morning full of anticipation. After a short drive from the dive shop, we arrived at our departure point in one of the maze of waterways at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. We slowly made our way along the placid waterways towards the open seas, past several small marinas and some very expensive-looking properties.

The sheer scale of the ship, not to mention the myriad of passageways and rooms to explore, means you could dive this wreck over and over and still leave wanting more

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HMAS BRISBANE The Sunshine Coast is perhaps most-famous for its exquisite beaches and excellent surf, but lurking further out to sea is the sizeable wreck of the HMAS Brisbane, a ship well worth divers’ attentions, as Adrian Stacey reveals PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADRIAN STACEY

Coral-covered gun on the Brisbane

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The wreck is encrusted with growth

Looking up from the engine room

I was informed that the best way to reach the boiler room and engine room was to descend down through one of the funnels.

Fantastic!

Our dive boat was a very stable catamaran vessel, which was lucky because once we reached the ocean the water became somewhat choppy. Ten minutes later, after several of the guests had donated their breakfasts to the fish, we readied ourselves for the dive.

This ex-warship sits upright on the sand in 28m; the top is only a few metres under the surface. Several mooring buoys are positioned around the wreck for easy descents and ascents. Although conditions on the surface could be described as lumpy, the visibility was a good 20 metres, allowing us to take in the sheer scale of this huge wreck.

The mooring line took us to the mag deck between the two funnels in the middle of the vessel. From there we made our way along the starboard companionway to the bow, where one of the impressive five-inch guns stands as a silent sentry.

The other watches over the stern of the ship. Returning along the portside, we took the opportunity to explore some of the ship’s outer rooms. Here scorpionfish and urchins lay like booby traps waiting to punish any sloppy buoyancy, errant fin kicks or erratic arm movements. Some doorways were temporarily blocked by a curtain of cave sweepers. Once back to our start point we began our slow ascent to the surface completing our safety stop next to the forward mast among a large school of diamond batfish, rays of sunlight dancing off their silver bodies.

The coral growth is amazing for a ship that has only been underwater for eight years. Soft corals have already started to sprout up all over the exterior and some of the rooms in the ship’s interior, perhaps due to all the natural light, look like they have just been laid with thick shag pile carpet, albeit badly. On several other areas of the wreck, hard corals have begun their slow colonisation of the structure.

For the second dive, I was eager to venture deeper into the interior of the HMAS Brisbane, especially when I was informed that the best way to reach the boiler room and engine room was to descend down through one of the funnels. Fantastic! I don’t know why swimming down a funnel appealed to me so much, but I found myself itching to get back into the water.

Our boat was almost directly above the forward stack so we dispensed with the mooring line and descended the 5m to its largish opening. The surge made the entry tricky, but not impossible to accomplish without making contact with the sides. My buddy, however, was less than impressed when I politely requested she perform the exercise a couple more

The marine growth is vibrant

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SUNREEF DIVE CENTRE

Sunreef Dive Centre runs daily morning trips and regular afternoon and night dives to the HMAS Brisbane (weather permitting). They also visit some of the reefs in the area for courses or just for some variety. They have a fast and comfortable boat and their friendly staff are professional and knowledgeable. They are eager to fill in logbooks or just simply chat about the dive once back at the shop, where free snacks and drinks are provided. A two-tank morning dive trip excluding equipment costs around AUD$175.

times so I could get the photograph I desired.

Still not 100 percent happy with the results but not wanting to push my luck, we continued down the vertical length of the funnel and into the engine room in the bowels of the ship.

Once happy that we had seen all the engine and boiler rooms had to offer, we began ascending up through the wreck.

Making our way towards the stern we exited onto the deck, through a cloud of glassfish that had taken up residence in what was once a missile silo. The lionfish that had been corralling them into an ever-tighter ball seemed perturbed by our intrusion. Our journey back to the mooring line took us past the stern gun, up coral-encrusted ladders, and through a school of snapper that were milling around on one of the upper decks. Once the dives had ended and thoroughly impressed by what we had seen, we were thankful to be coming back the next day for further exploration.

The second day offered slightly better surface conditions.

Underwater the conditions remained the same as the previous day. Visibility was around 20 metres and the temperature was 21 degrees C, about average for the time of year. Temperatures can drop to 18 degrees C in the winter (April to September) and can reach 27 degrees C in the summer (October to The engine room can be penetrated

Sunreef’s dive boat

March). Because we had dived on the ship the pervious day, and because the staff at Sunreef were comfortable with our diving abilities, we were permitted to explore the wreck at our leisure without a guide - as long as we stayed out of deco and within the allotted dive time. This involved further probing of the interior, seeking out the operations room and crew’s quarters, among other places.

Far from being the barren wreck you might expect for a ship that was only sunk eight years ago, the HMAS Brisbane was full of life. It possessed colourful coral gardens and schooling fish gather in large numbers around the towering super structure of the vessel. Eagle rays occasional glide past and a variety of sharks and rays can be found on the sandy ocean floor around its perimeter, as can all the little critters you would expect to find in such an environment, including nudibranchs and pipefish.

The inside of the wreck hides even more marine life, cave sweepers, glassfish and scorpionfish, to name a few.

The sheer scale of the ship, not to mention the myriad of passageways and rooms to explore, means you could dive this wreck over and over and still leave wanting more. The descent down the funnel is worth coming back for alone (I am still not sure why I enjoyed it so much!). The HMAS Brisbane is already a fantastic wreck dive. In a few more years it will be absolutely magnificent. n

WIN A DOUBLE-DIVE ON HMAS BRISBANE WITH SUNREEF MOOLOOLABA Scuba Diver Asia-Pacific has teamed up with Sunreef Mooloolaba to offer four lucky readers a double-dive on HMAS Brisbane (including tanks and weights, though additional gear is available for hire). To be in with a chance of winning, simply log on to: www.scubadivermag.com/competition and enter all of your details to be entered into the prize draw. It’s that simple!

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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

SNAP-HAPPY IN NINGALOO PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF OLIVIA JOHNSON

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ingaloo Reef National Park in Western Australia has to be one of the mostbeautiful and healthiest coral reefs in the world right now!

I have never seen coral so healthy and the diversity of photo subjects made it the absolute perfect place for me to undertake a photography workshop with Australian ocean and nature photographer Alex Kydd.

Through a series of sessions, Alex talked me through the ins and outs of underwater photography, and even a few lessons that could be applied to land.

From ISO, aperture, shutter speeds, natural light, shooting with and without strobes, different lenses, underwater housings, equipment care, to postproduction, social-media and even the artistic take on photography, I learned so much in just a week.

After the theory sessions I was itching to get in the water and apply the skills I had learned. I spent the week with Alex on-board Ningaloo Marine Interactions vessel Utopia, where skipper and manta-ray expert Frazer McGregor took us to explore some of the best parts of Ningaloo. This ended up being the whole reef - this really is such an incredible part of Australia! I was lucky enough to be able to apply these photography skills to a huge range of subjects and have some amazing interactions with so many animals. From the magnificent coral reefs, thousands of fishes, stingrays, turtles, manta rays, tiger sharks, dugongs and humpback whales! I could not have been in a more amazing part of my own country to be able to undertake this photo course. It was such a brilliant week and I am so grateful to Alex for all he taught me and for the skills that I will be able to apply to my underwater photography going forward for the rest of my Scholarship year.

While I was in Coral Bay, I was also extremely lucky to also

have the opportunity to head out with Coral Bay Eco Tours, one of the only companies in Australia that currently have licences to swim with humpback whales! As I’m sure with any marine biologist and well, anyone who has a love for the ocean, I could not have been more excited to fulfil a life-long dream of swimming with humpies. Skipper Steve, and the wonderful team including Kylie, Prue, Shirhan, Hannah and Anna, lead us outside the reef to witness the annual winter migration of over 5,000kmfrom Antarctica to the Kimberleys.

Boy, was it spectacular! Over the three days I went out with Coral Bay Eco Tours, I swam with more than 30 whales, from mother and calves, to large bulls.

Ningaloo Reef provided me with one of the best and healthiest reefs in the world to undertake my photo course, and I could not recommend this part of the world more highly to anyone! Next, I’m ditching the scuba gear and diving a bit lighter – I am heading off to Indonesia, to undertake a freediving course with Australian Freediving Champion Adam Stern and World Champion Alexey Molchanov in Bali! n

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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

THE IDEAL PHOTO DIVE Mario Vitalini explains the difference between what makes a great dive site or destination and the perfect photo location, and how to get the best out of where you are PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIO VITALINI / FISHINFOCUS.CO.UK

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onths of waiting have passed, your kit and camera are set and the alarm goes off. Briefing done. In you go. This is the dive you have been waiting for. All your diver chums love it here and the pictures will be amazing… won’t they?

So why do you feel disappointed? Why doesn’t an amazing dive destination inevitably lead to amazing photography?

I’ve pondered these questions many times. And my simple conclusion is that the same sites don’t always excite divers and underwater photographers equally. Photographers’ ideal dives are very different - and with good reason.

Easy, shallow dives, no current, lots of light, lots to photograph. Sounds easy to find… right? Wrong! If you are serious about taking better photos, there’s more to planning your next holiday than just booking somewhere hot and exotic-sounding! There are key elements I look for when planning a photo trip, which concern me well before I worry about the ‘nice to have’ facilities. Tasty food and plenty of it? Critical. Spa, WiFi, a camera room? I can probably manage without. But without the right elements in play underwater, photography can feel unrewarding in even the most mindblowing location.

Sleeping whitetip reef sharks

Moray eel portrait

THE CURSE OF BUCKET AND WISH LISTS Ask yourself, are you picking the destination because it really offers great photos opportunities underwater, or because you feel it is somewhere you ‘ought’ to have dived? I’ve been lucky enough to dive much of my bucket list, and been very happy with the shots at the time. Yet, looking back at my Lightroom catalogue, I have come to realise that some of my best pics, and most successful images, were shot closer to home. The Red Sea is a workhorse of a photo destination, and the reefs arguably as good as places that take a lot longer to get to.

Wish lists are usually focused around particular sightings.

Now, it’s good to have a clear goal from a trip, but Mother Nature can be capricious. It’s exciting to never quite know

Anemonefish

Manta ray

ESCORTED TRIPS

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Want to take your own shark shots? Join Mario on an escorted photo workshop, with award-winning tour operator Scuba Travel. Learn the secrets of shark photography on the exciting new Shark Quest photography itinerary this May, or master your macro skills in the Far East. There’s something for everyone. Mario’s workshops are open to all experience levels, but in particular anyone using a compact camera or mirrorless set-up. His prize-winning images prove it’s not the kit that makes the shot, but the photographer! If you need some help getting to grips with your camera underwater, Mario’s your man. His calm, patient approach is just what you need to improve your photos. Mario tailors the tips and techniques to your needs, both on the surface and underwater. Improve your skills in a relaxed, non-competitive environment. Dive, eat, sleep and shoot! Workshops in 2018 and 2019 are running in classic destinations such as the Red Sea, as well as farflung photo hotspots like the Philippines, Caymans and Indonesia. www.scubatravel.com

what you will find underwater, but as a photographer, you need a plan for the ‘no show’ eventuality. Can you still be productive if your desired beastie is nowhere to be found?

Successful photographers can take this in their stride and make something out of the subjects that are in front of their lens, rather than obsess about what they wished was there.

Prepare to be flexible in your expectations. The ideal photo dive may be with a very commonplace animal indeed. It’s about what you can do with the it, not simply how rare or hard it is to find.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING Years ago, I was excited to shoot blue-ring octopus on my first holiday to Manado. Sadly, when we got there, there was not a single tantalising tentacle in sight. I was reminded that - bar anthias - most marine life has seasons. A year later in Dumaguete, and I was falling over blue-rings and flamboyant cuttlefish. Timing really matters. Luckily in Manado, there was plenty else to photograph. Time with a humble goby more

than made up for my initial disappointment, and I’m careful now to adjust my expectations to the season, as well as the destination.

I often hear photographers saying they have ‘done’ the Red Sea/Philippines/Bali, etc. And yes, there are plenty of other tempting locations out there. But these destinations endure with photographers because they are reliable, with an undeniable variety all year around. The subjects change with the seasons, but you never come home empty-handed.

Consider the Red Sea. During May in the South, plankton blooms increase the chances of encountering mantas, and the calm sea conditions are perfect for the shallow and luxurious reefs of Fury Shoals. The end of June brings the best of the northern reefs, with big schools of fish gathering around the Ras Mohammed area to spawn. The winter brings face-toface, shallow water shark encounters on the offshore reefs. I plan my photo workshops in the Red Sea to the right areas at the right time of the year. Understanding the seasonality of sightings also really helps with lens selection and packing!

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY CONDITIONS MATTER The sea is a living and dynamic environment and the conditions can change dramatically during a year. Variation in water temperature can affect the visibility, as well as the creatures you can encounter.

Different moon phase can affect the currents. Some of the very conditions we crave, and that make photography easier, will inherently limit the subjects you find. This is especially true of some sharks and schooling fish. I’m not a big fan of dragging a camera round a reef in a howling current – it can make your life underwater difficult and severely limit your photo opportunities. On a trip to Socorro, I was blessed with non-existent currents and blue water. The reefs sharks and manta were easy to shoot. Hammerheads, though, were entirely absent. These guys have a tendency to hang where the current is strong and were far, far out into the blue. We have to understand the habits of the marine life we are Goby

Snapper off Ras Mohammed

shooting and respect that, for particular encounters, certain conditions are necessary… whether we like them or not!

CONCLUSION For many photographers, a great destination is determined by how good their pictures are and not actually the diving itself. There are some fantastic destinations out there and every day we are tempted by new and alluring-sounding places. However, I have to remind myself that, as amazing as those places can be to dive, they may be difficult from the photographic point of view.

For this reason, I always try to go back to familiar sites at least once a year. We are lucky to have a passion that takes us to some of the most-incredible places on this globe. Not every location will offer the ideal photo dive. Understanding this will help you to choose where and when to dive with your camera, or if it is time to just relax and enjoy the show underwater. n Spinner dolphins

BIOGRAPHY: MARIO VITALINI

For nearly 30 years, Mario has sailed the globe and dived the seas, working as a PADI instructor and dive guide. Today, he shares his passion for underwater photography. His students love his real-world expertise and patient approach. He has an extensive working knowledge of all underwater camera systems, having spent several years at the UK’s largest photo retailer. Mario’s images have won several awards and he has featured not once, but twice, among the top categories at the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year, including Most Promising British Underwater Photographer in 2015.

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FREEDIVING REPORT

VERTICAL BLUE 2018

The Vertical Blue competition in the Bahamas is known as the ‘Wimbledon of Freediving’, and DeeperBlue’s Stephan Whelan and Francesca Koe report on this tenth anniversary event PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAAN VERHOEVEN

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arlier in the summer, Wimbledon tennis was just coming off our TV screens, the UK was scorching in the start of a heatwave and for the freediving world, it was time to turn their eyes to the Bahamas, where the tenth edition of the elite freediving competition Vertical Blue was kicking off.

Dubbed the ‘Wimbledon of Freediving’ and sponsored this year by Australian Financial Services company OriginECN, the competition saw 46 contenders from 23 different nations push the limits of the human spirit and physiology as far as they can go when they dived (without tanks) into one of the deepest blue holes in the world.

The tenth anniversary of Vertical Blue was a spectacle, the likes of which we have never seen before. Not only was the 2018 edition epic in terms of the sheer number of world records being set, day after day - it was unparalleled in terms of the highest level of competition among a ridiculously talented field of athletes. To cap it all off, it was simply mind-blowing to be able to share the premiere freediving event around the world, broadcasting all of the astounding underwater action, via the underwater camera drone Diveye, in real-time, sharing the phenomenal performances with folks from Australia, Japan, Italy, the UK, the US and beyond.

The view upwards towards the dive HQ

The king and queen of this prom were 31-year-old Alexey Molchanov (Russia) and 26-year-old Alessia Zecchini (Italy).

Their dives were both superhuman and magnificent - 130m Constant Weight (CWT) for him and 107m Constant Weight (CWT) for her. So clean in their protocols at the surface, it makes you wonder how is it at all possible? What pleases us even more than how each of them truly ‘owned’ their dives, is the fact that Alessia beat out her male counterpart in the total number of points earned over the whole competition - a first for Vertical Blue. Let’s hear it for the ladies!

Messing in the shallows

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VERTICAL BLUE – RECORD-BREAKING! The competition also saw an unprecedented number of records set – never before in the history of freediving competitions have a total of ten World Records and 42 National Records been set in a single competition. The judges had to bring so many anti-doping test kits that they had their own baggage allowance on the flight over!

Heading down into Deans Blue Hole

Silver medals went to William Trubridge (New Zealand) and Sayuri Kinoshita (Japan), while Bronze medals for Homar Leuci (Italy) and Alenka Artnik (Slovenia).

And while winning the overall competition and garnering prizes along with adoration is swell, what’s even more remarkable is the vast inventory of other personal successes that were revealed in Deans Blue Hole. Success stories like Denis Grosmaire of French Polynesia.

Grosmaire had never been to the Bahamas before, had never even met his French country-mates, but left with a personal best free immersion (FIM) dive to 93m.

Or the heroic efforts of athletes like Martiz Zajac (Slovakia) and Aolin Wang (China). The former being the official training partner and coach for Zecchini (no pressure!), who was also trying to set his own national records for Slovakia. We are pleased to report he succeeded multiple times. And the latter (Aolin Wang) didn’t have any pressure on his shoulders, merely just over three million Chinese people back home tuning in to see him dive every day! Thankfully, Aolin achieved a new personal best and National Record for China of 110m Constant Weight (CWT).

As for the women, one of our favourite moments was when Misuzu Okamoto of Japan realised a personal best of 95m Constant Weight (CWT) on the very last day of the competition. The ‘OG’ (slang for Original Gangster) of the

WORLD RECORDS Alexey Molchanov (Russia) – Day 3 – Constant Weight (CWT) – 130m Alessia Zecchini (Italy) – Day 4 – Free Immersion (FIM) – 93m Alenka Artnik (Slovenia) – Day 5 – Constant Weight (CWT) – 105m Alessia Zecchini (Italy) – Day 6 – Constant Weight No-Fins (CNF) – 73m Sayuri Kinoshita (Japan) – Day 7 – Free Immersion (FIM) – 94m Alexey Molchanov (Russia) – Day 7 – Free Immersion (FIM) – 125m Alessia Zecchini (Italy) – Day 8 – Free Immersion (FIM) – 96m Hanako Hirose (Japan) – Day 8 – Constant Weight (CWT) – 106m Sayuri Kinoshita (Japan) – Day 9 – Free Immersion (FIM) – 97m Alessia Zecchini (Italy) – Day 9 – Constant Weight (CWT) – 107m Walking on water?

Returning from a dive

A competitor finning down

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FREEDIVING REPORT female freedivers in Japan was beaming upon surfacing - her joy was contagious. World record holders Sayuri Kinoshita and Hanako Hirose attest to both her demeanour and legacy of discipline as an inspiration to them.

Another inspiring diver was Alice Modolo of France. The lithe and chic athlete had all but disappeared from the competitive scene over five years ago. Making a triumphant return to depth diving at her first Vertical Blue competition, Alice made everything look so effortless, including her new National Record to 88m Constant Weight (CWT). But then again, she is French.

We know it’s corny to say, but the real stars of this prestigious event were not only the stellar athletes who stood atop the podium, (although their efforts were remarkable and well worth applauding). The real stars are the dedicated women and men who serve as safety divers, medics, judges and crew. Tirelessly working behind the scenes and taking on every task imaginable - there would be no event without you, so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts with gratitude greater than the ocean can hold.

In all seriousness, aside from the fantastic diving and the natural beauty of Deans Blue Hole, the joking and fun the community all have together are a predominant element present at this event that keeps so many going back, year

Preparing to dive

Freediver surfing - a new discipline?

Returning from a dive with safety divers alongside

Surface celebrations after a great dive!

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after year. The camaraderie and enduring friendships are magnetic. The silly moments indelible. The belly laughter invigorating.

It never ceases to amaze us how each person plays a vital role in the fabric of this community. What’s even better is how our community and this sport is growing and expanding.

The advances that the Diveye technology brings are exponential, and keep freedivers, fans, family and those just interested in these aquatic superhumans, glued to their screens for nearly two weeks.

It’s over for another year but everyone is already eager for the 11th edition next year. n

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SPEARFISHING NEWS & GEAR 7 ‘DRY’ TRAINING EXERCISES

TO IMPROVE YOUR SPEARFISHING Following on from last issue’s article about ‘dry’ training, Isaac ‘Shrek’ Daly from Noob Spearo discusses seven ‘dry’ training exercises that can improve your spearfishing THE TURTLE WALK Walking point to point while holding your breath – aka Apnea Walk - your body will respond to this exercise and your apnea performance will improve from consistent practice. One of the reasons for this is that a slow and steady walk mimics the energy output of finning.

MAKING ADS USEFUL – THE COUCH POTATO This technique involves holding your breath whenever a TV ad break appears. What would otherwise be an exercise in channel changing can now be an exercise to train your body to respond to apnea.

WATCHING VIDEOS Deep Spearfishing Encyclopedia’s Hold, Dive, Shoot series allows you to breathe-up, hold your breath and go along to spearfish in the Mediterranean. These are great for practicing your breath hold and you can vicariously experience shooting big elusive fish in deep water.

FULL BREATH PRACTICE In a freediving course you will spend time being taught how to fill your lungs properly. This involves a two or three stage inhale process, but the exhale is equally important. This needs to be slow, about half the speed of your inhale. Purse your lips together so that your diaphragm (the muscle that powers your lungs) works a little and make sure you breathe all the way out.

CO2 TRAINING TABLES The urge to breath comes from the build-up of carbon dioxide in your body and not from a lack of oxygen. CO2 training tables are a tool that help the diver to gradually increase their tolerance to higher levels of carbon dioxide and stay relaxed. CO2 tables work by having a set time for your breath hold each time. While your hold time stays the same, your resting periods between steadily decrease.

O2 TRAINING TABLES Freedivers use O2 tables to improve oxygen efficiency. This means that your body will learn (and adapt) to use less oxygen when you train using these tables. You can begin to use O2 tables when you have improved your CO2 tolerance.

VO2 MAX TRAINING Spearos engage in an aerobic style of apnea and so having a reasonable VO2 max level is a good thing, so VO2 max training is often cited as vital for spearfishermen.

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MARES PHANTOM SPORT 35 The Phantom line of suits are designed and constructed for performance and durability.

The onepiece suits have been a great success since their introduction, and have highlighted a demand for a two-piece suit which features the same high-quality, functional features as their one-piece counterparts.

This two-piece suit features a jacket with hood attached and high-waist pants, tailored with a preformed cut, ensuring remarkable comfort and a superior fit. A black external nylon lined neoprene is combined with an opencell interior (lined/open-cell), ensuring durability and compression resistance, while providing superior thermal comfort.

The anti-slip chest reinforcement on the outside of the jacket paired with neoprene padding on the inside ensures protection and safety even under extensive use. The lower section of the jacket is constructed using a beaver tail closure. This provides a quick-release grommet system, for effortless and fast opening/closing.

Available in a green and blue colourways, each intended for a different underwater environment, the unique, imagescrambling camouflage pattern is designed to confuse prey, enabling a better catch and overall spearfishing experience.

Phantom Sport comes in sizes 2-6, and the top and bottom can be purchased in different sizes, making the suit adaptable to many different body shapes and ensuring maximum comfort and fit. www.mares.com

SPEARFISHING NEWS? Competition coming up? Recently taken part in an event?

New product you want to shout about? Spearfishing story or photograph you can’t wait to share? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Email: mark@scubadivermag.com to be included in a forthcoming issue.

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My family

Galapagos AND THE

Monty Halls landed a dream gig when he headed out to the iconic archipelago to film a new TV series, but as the title implies, it involved taking his wife and their two young children – and the latter due kept him on his toes the entire time PHOTOGRAPHS BY MONTY HALLS

#GODiving See Monty Halls at the brand-new interactive dive show GO Diving at the Ricoh Arena on 23-24 February 2019! Early bird tickets available now from: www.godivingshow.com

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f someone gave me a large and sleek horse as a gift, I’m not the sort of chap to immediately look in its mouth.

And so I appreciate entirely that the chance to live and work in the Galapagos is a rare beast, something that is a lifetime’s ambition for so many - I’m the last bloke who’d complain about it. But it’s worth pointing out - just for the sake of clarity at this early stage - that fantasy and reality seldom match, and that actually the filming of My Family and the Galapagos was bloody hard work.

I can almost hear the incredulity, the snorts of derision, the ‘you snowflake media softy’ comments, all of which are entirely justified. But the snag of the process of filming this series, and living this experience, was that Tam, the film crew, and myself, were accompanied throughout by two maniacs.

The dynamic duo in question were our daughters Isla and Molly. Isla is five, has an opinion on most things, and is curious, chatty, and loves ‘the nature’ as she terms it. Molly is three, and also has strong opinions, most of which revolve around her numerous needs and my inability to deliver them promptly. They are both pale-skinned redheads, and as our ultimate destination was a volcanic archipelago bang on the equator, getting them to wear a hat was going to be the first challenge. This we discussed at length during the 36-hour trip from our home in Dartmouth to the Galapagos, arriving wildeyed, sweaty, and - miraculously - still married. Neither of the girls were wearing hats.

Planning the next adventure

The girls encountering a giant tortoise

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Home away from home in paradise Monty and family frolic on the beach

I was visiting the islands to explore the work being done in conservation, eco-tourism, and scientific research. This is a seminal time for the Galapagos, with greater visitor numbers than ever (over 200,000 at last count), and a growing population (an estimated 30,000). Such popularity brings undoubted benefits - income, prosperity, global profile - but also brings many, many challenges. In my role as President of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, I was keen to find out what those challenges were. A World Heritage Site since 1978, the home of evolutionary science, and one of the most-iconic and unique island groups on earth, it’s not unreasonable to think that the fight for the Galapagos is the fight for the collective environmental conscience of our generation. If we can’t get it right here, then we truly are entering a dark future for us as a species, and for the planet as a whole.

And so here we were, walking down the steps of an aircraft as a warm equatorial wind raced unfettered across the tarmac. This ruffled Isla’s hair and carried with it the scent of tropical seas and sun-baked soil, causing her to lift her head and breathe deeply, the primal response of a young animal to an entirely new world. Tam followed at the rear in her role as ‘Tail-End Charlie’, watching warily for stragglers, or anyone attempting to make a break for it.

We had arrived at Baltra Airport, in itself a highly significant spot in the history of the islands. The island of Baltra itself is singularly unimpressive - certainly by Galapagos standards - a flat-topped scattering of lava rocks, low scrub, and dusty tracks. But it was precisely the fact that it was a level landscape in a world of volcanic peaks that made it so attractive to the United States in World War Two. The US Government knew that the islands were strategically important - a stepping stone in the vast

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Marine iguana

Girls do Galapagos

blue wastes of the Pacific - and as such decided to create a base here. Little did they know that they were blazing a trail, creating a viable means of entering and leaving the Galapagos for people from around the world, and in doing so spawning a tourist industry that was to have a profound influence on the archipelago as a whole. Although the islands had been colonised for at least 100 years before the war, with the creation of the airstrip, the world suddenly opened its eyes to the Galapagos.

Our first rendezvous at the airport - the same as every visitor to the islands - was biosecurity screening. The smiling customs official welcomed me warmly, then gestured that I should place my case on the desk in front of him. Unbeknown to me, as I hefted it on to the counter, it contained a few pieces of straw (Molly had decided to make a nest for her teddy bear just before we left the house). The equivalent of this might have been, for example, me proudly presenting the official with a bag of ferrets, or perhaps going ‘Ta-da!’ as I lifted a pair of vigorously mating racoons onto the table before him.

The next hour displayed the complete range of emotions from my friend the customs official, from the brisk start of a warm welcome, accelerating through to furrowed concentration, galloping straight into mild concern, and then into the final furlong of ‘What were you thinking, you clown’ annoyance. Throughout I stood before him as a broken man, rumbled, busted, and then lavishly bollocked. Even if 12 condoms full of cocaine had shown up in the x-ray scanner of Molly’s tiny pink rucksack, the humiliation could not have been greater. I was eventually allowed in, chastened and

Whaleshark

Beach running race

…we spent an exhilarating week freediving over aggregations of silkies and hammerheads, attempting to attach tags using Hawaiian slings, which we used with questionable accuracy WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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shuffling, which was preferable to being horsewhipped back onto the aircraft, which had seemed a distinct possibility at one point.

Introduced and invasive plants and animals are probably the number one threat to the Galapagos (although external pressure and growing population are right up there as well).

Although Herculaen efforts have been made to control the arrival of species from the mainland and the rest of the world, it is a constant battle. There are at least 30 species of vertebrates that have been introduced to the islands by people, either deliberately (goats, dogs, cats, cows, horses) or inadvertently (rats, mice). There are also a staggering 870 species of plants that have been introduced (there were only 600 native species here in the first place). This is a real challenge, and the first glimpse of the myriad threats facing life on the Galapagos in the 21st century.

Snorkelling expedition

Isla: Arrival – “It was amazing to arrive in a unknown place. You should of been there. I couldn’t believe my eye’s. I was in a magical place.

It was amazing to take my first step. The first animal I saw was a bullseye pufferfish!”

Our home was on the main island of Santa Cruz, a couple of miles outside the town of Puerto Ayora. Ironically, one of the main questions we’d been asked by our friends before leaving for the Galapagos was ‘How will you survive out there? Are you going to forage for driftwood and eat crabs?’. My answer was that we were essentially moving to a town (Puerto Ayora population 18,000) which is three times the size of Dartmouth (population 5,000), so we were reasonably confident we’d muddle through. The idea, though, was not to be entirely based in Santa Cruz, but to explore the archipelago, to push out into the four inhabited islands of the Galapagos, and indeed to visit where other research projects were taking place on the other nine islands.

But first we had to buy some food, and where better than the local fish market in Pelican Bay - perhaps the most-photographed fish market in the world. This is an entire marine ecosystem in the area of a squash court, from scuttling lobster through to grouper and tuna (all about to be eaten), to sea lions, frigate birds, brown pelicans and people (all about to eat). It’s a swirling tornado of life, and at the epicentre of it sat a wide-eyed Isla and Molly.

Hammerhead shark

Isla: Fish market – “It’s never been so fun to go out and buy dinner. I saw a man feeding the pelicans, sea lions trying to get some food and great big lobster. And amazing frigate-birds swooping in they were huge and they are like pirates.

I thought it was amazing.”

I enjoy the simplicity, the elemental nature of it, and freediving to staggering depths (I believe I smashed the 5m barrier on one giddy occasion) 46

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Fun on the beach

Filming playful sealions A small child in heaven

Marvelling at mobula

“Let’s got that way” Family jigsaw session

Sealion

In my latter years, I have become as much a fan of snorkelling as I have of diving. I enjoy the simplicity, the elemental nature of it, and freediving to staggering depths (I believe I smashed the 5m barrier on one giddy occasion). Snorkelling in the Galapagos is akin to a dive of some duration elsewhere in the world - on one memorable occasion on a previous visit, I saw sea lions, marine iguanas, white-tip reef sharks, stingrays, green turtles, mobula, silky sharks, and a bull shark (that was the point I got out), all within 100 metres of the beach.

But the real joy of snorkelling is that I can take Isla along. The strategy here is a simple one - stick her in a 5mm wetsuit, thus turning her into the most-buoyant object in the Pacific, tell her not to touch anything, and let her use her dad as - ironically - a mothership. She would hang on to me as I sculled over lava rocks and green seaweed, periodically making forays into the blue before heading back to base.

One of our first snorkels took place off Floreana Island, off a sugar-white crescent of sand named - encouragingly - Tortuga Bay (‘tortuga’ being Spanish for ‘turtle’). We clambered into our wetsuits, high-fived, Isla climbed aboard, and we pushed out into the blue.

Isla: Swimming with the turtle – “I felt like the queen of the sea. I was swimming. I saw turtles and once a stingray - and a penguin almost bit my nose ! (NB: Dad here - this penguin assault really did happen - a slightly surreal episode during one of our snorkels off Bartholome). I wasn’t scared one little bit! My snorkel was pink.”

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As well as the insidious impact of invasive species - which is the most-immediate threat to the Galapagos in the opinion of many scientists based in the islands - there are more obvious impacts. One of these is illegal fishing, and just after we arrived there was a vivid example of this, one that ignited a wave of outrage and indignation around the world.

In mid-August, the Chinese-flagged factory ship Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was apprehended within the Galapagos marine reserve. In its hold were 6,600 sharks, including whalesharks, hammerheads and silkies. The harrowing images of this catch - 300 tonnes of endangered animals piled atop one another resulted in passionate demonstrations in Puerto Ayora, a fine of $5.7 million for the owners of the vessel, and jail sentences for the captain and crew.

Incidents like this have an added poignancy when a parent has to explain it to a baffled child. Isla was bemused as to how this could have happened - Tam and I had gone to great lengths to explain how precious the animals were on the islands, and how we should be so careful not to disturb or hurt them. If one grown-up is saying this about the animals, then how come another grown-up thinks it’s okay to catch and kill thousands of them? I tried to explain this as philosophically as I could, but then ended up saying ‘Look sweetheart, some grown-ups are prats, I’m afraid’, which she seemed perfectly satisfied with as an explanation.

She had her own context on sharks, having snorkelled with me in a narrow lava gulley on Islabella. Beneath us were many, many resting white-tips, most of them longer than her, and all of them looking beautiful, passive, and elegant on the white-sand floor a few feet beneath her.

The final foray of our Galapagos adventure involved a trip to Darwin and Wolf. Sadly, the kids couldn’t come on this particular project, as ten days bobbing about in a small boat in a big sea is a bit much for your average three and five year old. For a 51 year old, it’s fine though, particularly if that 51 year old has dreamed of diving there his entire life.

Wolf and Darwin are about 100 miles north of the main Galapagos Archipelago, and we rattled and puffed our way

Marine iguana Kids on camera

there on the rather splendid Queen Mabel, a working vessel if there ever was one. I was accompanying a tagging expedition with two scientists from the Galapagos National Park, and we spent an exhilarating week freediving over aggregations of silkies and hammerheads, attempting to attach tags using Hawaiian slings, which we used with questionable accuracy. Anyone who tells you that this is anything other than massive fun is a damn liar, although there is the added bonus of knowing that the tagging programme genuinely aids the gathering of data about the movements of these animals, which in turn could help establish protected corridors between islands. And it’s unbelievably good fun, did I mention that?

But the culmination of the trip was an encounter with a huge whaleshark, a pregnant female that drifted regally past, a monarch of the sea on her way to give birth. I snapped some hasty identification shots, but the main image was the one burnt on my retina and seared into my sub-conscience. A fitting encounter to end my time in the Islas Enchantas. n

Isla: The future of the sea, what can we all do – “It’s all hurting the environment and other parts of the world. Stop throwing plastic in the sea and put everything in the bin! I want the sea to be crystal clear when I am older and I want the animals to be clean like they’ve just had a bath.”

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Cave diver extraordinaire Chris Jewell was thrust into the limelight when he was one of an elite group of UK divers who found – and then extricated - the Thai children and their soccer coach who were trapped in a vast flooded cave system. We asked him about this unprecedented operation, and found out what got him into cave diving in the first place PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CHRIS JEWELL AND STU GARDINER

CHRIS JEWELL 50

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Q: Let’s get Thailand out of the way first. What was your first thought when you got the call to fly out to assist in the rescue operation?

A: I’m the diving liaison officer for the British Cave Rescue Council, so I was following events closely and receiving updates. When asked to also go out to Thailand, I just wanted to be useful to the rescue operation. My first thought, however, was making sure I got myself and all the equipment I needed to Heathrow that night. Packing kit for an expedition often takes me several days, but I only had hours to get ready.

Luckily, two of my cave-diving friends came over to help.

Q: When you first got on the scene, how did you and your fellow divers come up with a plan to start scouring the cave system for the boys and their coach?

A: The boys were already found when Jason and I arrived. When Rick Stanton, John Volanthen and Rob Harper got to the site on Wednesday 27 June, the boys had been underground for four days, and while they donned their gear and went had a look at the cave, the outflow was strong, and there was no visibility – they were diving muddy water. They couldn’t actually proceed as far as the rescue workers had been two or three days earlier, so they were battling to get as far as people had walked. As the days progressed, thankfully the water conditions in the cave began to ease a bit, the flow out of the cave reduced, the vis improved and they made better progress into the cave. They were laying line and the dives were very tiring, but eventually they found the boys and their coach.

Q: This operation featured a lot of ‘firsts’, can you describe how the decision to use full-face masks on the children came into fruition?

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A: Chris handed over the answer for this one to fellow diver Rick Stanton - We had no choice but to dive the boys and their coach out. They would not have survived in the cave until the end of the monsoon season. It was either bring them out, or nothing. We knew it was going to be an extremely difficult and risky operation, with not a high probability of total success.

Once we knew we were diving them out, the only way we could do this was to sedate them, so that they were not conscious during the rescue. We had to protect ourselves and we had to stop them from panicking underwater – we knew this would be a major threat to the survival of each boy. Sedation ensured that no one panicked, potentially lost their mask and drowned, or endangered a rescuer. This was the kindest, safest method and none of the boys or their coach remember the 90-minute journey out of the cave. They have no trauma of being rescued.

The ethical protocol was followed, and the parents were told. Ethically, we had to tell the group the day before the first rescue mission that we were going to sedate them, and they had to agree to that. Dr Richard Harris wrote up the full procedure and it was translated into written Thai and read out to the group.

We opted to use positive-pressure full-face masks because it was the best solution to protect the airway of the unconscious boy. We didn’t want the stress of a regulator falling out or getting dislodged from a boy’s mouth, hence we used full-face masks. Probably the most-challenging thing with the full-face masks was to get them to fit properly because the boys’ faces were very small.

Back in the UK, Gavin Newman, Neil Brock and Richard Major worked on solutions to get full-face masks to fit small faces using only what we would have to hand in Thailand, and they

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relayed this information across to Thailand and Chris Jewell.

We made sure that everything was on properly and that there was a very good seal on the mask. The boys were not breathing straight air, i.e. 21 percent. We used a high oxygen mix to help keep their saturation levels high, even if they weren’t breathing too well.

During the dive we held each boy very closely to protect them, so that it was our head that hit a rock, not theirs, so that the full-face mask stayed in place. If that mask had got dislodged then the seal would have been broken and water would have got into the mask, and there would have been nothing we could do. We wanted to see and hear the bubbles coming from the mask. Until we got the feeling for the boys’ breathing rhythm, it was an anxious time.

What we did was unprecedented. We are used to transporting all sorts of things underwater, but to transport another human life is perhaps the ultimate responsibility.

Q: You and your fellow UK cave divers who brought the children and their coach out of the cave have been extremely humble and say that you are not ‘heroes’, but I would say what you did embodied the very essence of what a ‘hero’ is. Many are calling for you all to be suitably honoured in some way. What do you make of all this media furore?

A: We have a set of skills developed over many years of pursuing cave diving as a hobby. Normally our goal is to explore and map new caves. It just so happened that we could use these skills to do something positive in this rescue.

During the rescue, we tried to keep ourselves away from the media as much as possible, and our BCRC colleague at home did a great job of fielding questions.

Q: You have been grilled on your Thailand exploits enough since you returned home, so let’s move on from there and get back to the beginning. So how did you first get into a) diving, and b) cave diving?

A: I started diving in 2001 when part of the OTC (officer training corps) at university. We were given the chance to complete our BSAC Ocean Diver course at Fort Bovisand. The next year I decided to give caving a try and joined the Southampton University Caving Club.

I was hooked on caving and progressed very quickly by taking part in several expeditions to Austria.

During this time my diving took a back seat, however, in 2005 I spent the summer working as a diving intern on the Costa del Sol and progressed to becoming a PADI

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instructor. Finally, in 2006, I decided to combine the two sports and joined the cave-diving group.

Q: Diving is one thing, cave diving is a completely different animal. Were you already a dry caver, or did the desire to ferret around in subterranean passageways only manifest itself once you were a diver?

A: I’m a dry caver first and foremost. I was hooked on caving by the thrill of exploration and I see cave diving as a tool to further that goal. As a cave explorer, most people have a specialism. That might be surveying (mapping), digging, bolt climbing, photography, etc - mine is cave diving.

Q: What is your most-memorable moment in your diving career?

A: Cave diving isn’t normally about a single personal ‘moment’, but rather a sense of satisfaction over many weeks of a well-organised expedition. However, I’ve had a few personal moments - in 2010, we found the connection between a deep vertical cave in the Picos de Europa called Xitu, and the resurgence cave Culiembro, which we were diving. I happened to be in front that day and I knew I’d made the connection because when I looked at the cave wall, I could see the letters OUCC stencilled there from their expeditions in 1979-1981.

Seeing those letters was a very special feeling.

Q: Cave diving has probably never been so high profile. If anyone is tempted to get into cave diving, what would be your most sage advice?

A: For the kind of cave diving we do, join a caving club first.

Understand caves, learn dry caving skills and meet the kind of people who can help you on this journey. Cave diving doesn’t need to be about expensive kit, lots of qualifications and courses – it can simply be about the love of caves and cave exploration.

Q: One final question, and this does link back to the Thailand rescue mission. There are supposedly a couple of films in the works already, and it is only a matter of time before some big Hollywood studio snaps up the rights to produce a movie. I saw on Social Media someone had identified Jason Statham as the perfect actor to portray Jason Mallinson.

Who do you think would be the best actor to play you?

A: No idea! (Ed – I reckon Tom Hiddleston might be a good shout). n

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What’s New

MARES SIDEMOUNT RANGE

ATOMIC AQUATICS B2 COLOUR KITS

The latest addition to the XR Family is the Sidemount range. Widely used among the technical diving community, sidemount diving is gaining popularity with recreational divers. This allows for greater freedom of movement, as well as easier access to the cylinders.

The Mares XR system can be used in either cold water with a steel tank and a drysuit, or in warmer conditions with a wetsuit and aluminium tank. The individual components of the system are fully modular, and are able to be configured in various ways to suit the diver’s needs and preferences.

The XR Sidemount system is based around the Pure Bladder, which is fully compatible with all harnesses from the XR range. With a 12-litre capacity, the cell is constructed using 1200 denier ‘bulletproof’ ballistic nylon with a 600 denier polyester exterior. The fully modular trim makes it suitable for use in caves, open water and wreck diving situation, in both cold and warm water. www.mares.com

ATOMIC AQUATICS BC1 Atomic Aquatics are well known for high-end, topperforming regulators, and now they have expanded the range to include a traditional jacket-style BCD. However, true to form for Atomic Aquatics, it is no run-of-the-mill BCD. Instead, like their regs, it is crafted utilising high-end materials and techniques. The mattefinish double-laminated polyurethane-coated fabric is very durable and actually sheds water, while the racheting CAM-LOK tank band works much like a snowboard binding.

As well as EZ-LOK integrated weight pouches, the BC1 also features custom 316 stainless steel D-rings with a titanium PVD coating, sand-resistant pocket zippers, low-friction 316 stainless steel ‘dry glide’ exhaust pull dumps, and patent pending anti-floating pull knobs.

It comes in all-black, or a stylish red-and-black combo.

So that’s the BCD. You then have the option of fitting either an AI Titanium Inflator, or an AI Stainless Steel inflator. www.atomicaquatics.com 54

Atomic Aquatics have released a series of colour kits for their B2 regulator, which include a front cover, mouthpiece, exhaust cover and knob. Users can now coordinate their kit in a range of colours including blue, pink, purple and red. www.atomicaquatics.com

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MARES SEAL SKIN/2ND SKIN COMBO Two suits that cover every water condition - the all-new Seal Skin/2nd Skin Combo represents the benchmark in wetsuit versatility. Use the shorty for warm water, the Steamer for temperate water, or a combination Shorty/ Steamer for the ultimate in cold water insulation.

Seal Skin, the latest addition to the Mares neoprene range, is a revolution in cold water diving. The suit has been designed to maximise thermal insulation while offering superior comfort, practicality and versatility. First and foremost, the all-new Seal Skin will keep you toasty warm, made from top of the range, 6mm ultra-stretch neoprene.

The 2nd Skin Shorty is a real second skin made with Metalite, which boasts both heat reflecting and heat retaining properties. The extremities have been finished in Glideskin, and a custom ergonomic neck enclosure ensures comfort as well as freedom of movement. www.mares.com

FANTASEA WIDE-ANGLE CONVERSION LENS Fantasea UWL-400F This quality ‘wet’ 120 degree wideangle conversion lens, which has a 52mm thread, is designed for compact cameras featuring a 24mm lens. It has a magnification of 0.50X and is depth rated to 100m.

Fantasea UWL-04F This ‘wet’ 160 degree super-wide-angle conversion lens is designed for compact cameras with a 28mm lens. It has a 52mm thread and a magnification of 0.42X. It is depth rated to 60m. www.fantasea.com

FOURTH ELEMENT OCEAN POSITIVE LINDEN AND SYLVIA SWIMWEAR The new Fourth Element Ocean Positive swimwear collection celebrates some of the women pioneers of our sport with practical designs for watersports made from 78 percent recycled nylon.

Sylvia Earle, ‘Her Deepness’, inspires the Sylvia swimsuit – an elegant design perfectly suited to the lido or under a wetsuit. Sylvia was the first female chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and has been an explorer in residence at National Geographic since 1998. Her life and work are the subject of the Netflixmovie Mission Blue, and she has been immortalised by the Lego company in one of its play-sets.

Linden Wolbert is a freediver, freediving judge and professional mermaid. Her successful YouTube channel introduces thousands of children to marine life and the need to protect it, through her series ‘Mermaid Minute’. She is a passionate ocean advocate and tireless supporter of the Make A Wish foundation, appearing as a mermaid to brighten the lives of chronic and terminally ill children, from Scotland to Australia. She inspired the Linden bikini and swimsuit with contemporary, hydrodynamic styling and made as, is the case with the whole OceanPositive swimwear line, from recycled Ghost Fishing nets. www.fourthelement.com/oceanpositive WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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Gear Guide

THIS ISSUE: BUDGET BACK-INFLATE BCDS

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

BUDGET BACK-INFLATE BCDS This issue, we conclude our group tests of back-inflate BCDs, this time looking at the budget end of the range.

Back-inflate BCDs - and we are not talking about backplateand-wing set-ups, they will be reviewed later in the year are increasingly finding favour with recreational divers who like the uncluttered design of these BCDs, and the fact that the basic design (with the buoyancy all at the rear) makes for a lighter-weight BCD than a more-traditional jacket-style BCD, which means these are ideal for divers who also like to travel to more-exotic locations and want a BCD that can handle both cold- and warm-water diving.

ON TEST THIS MONTH: • AQUA LUNG OUTLAW • HOLLIS • MARES • OCEANIC BIOLITE • SCUBAPRO LITEHAWK

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Location: Tested at Vivian Dive Centre, Llanberis

www.viviandivecentre.com

Date tested: 24/5/2018 Water temp: 8 degrees C WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

AQUA LUNG OUTLAW The Outlaw is the dinky little brother of the Rogue, which was reviewed in June. Both utilise the unique ModLock connectors, and as you can get various sizes in the shoulder and waist straps, you can mix and match to get the perfect fit. There is only one set of connections on the back to connect either nondumpable trim pockets or a set of SureLock II integrated weight pockets. There are numerous webbing D-rings, and a large plastic Karabiner for accessories.

The Rogue got the thumbs up from the Test Team, and the Outlaw has been garnering rave reviews in Long Term Test. It is more than capable of handling cold-water diving - we took it to Iceland! - but is in its element in warmer waters. You have so little around your front and sides, it is almost as if you are not wearing a BCD at all. However, the small wing gives plenty of support underwater, and the vertically-mounted integrated weights fall easily to hand. We also like the metal tankband clamp, which is simple to use and effective. www.aqualung.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 1.8kg | INTEGRATED: Yes | TRIM POCKETS: Yes VERDICT: Robustly constructed but extremely lightweight, backto-basics BCD that is ideal for travelling with, but equally is more than capable of dealing with cold-water diving conditions.

SCORE

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* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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HOLLIS LTS Hollis make some nice gear, and the red-and-black colour combo is very striking. The LTS - which stands for Light Travel System - is a durable, well-made BCD that exudes quality. It incorporates features from its more-expensive sibling, the HD200 (reviewed in June), but keeps the weight down to less than 2.5kg. It is made from 1000D nylon, has chest and hip D-rings, boasts a bungeed bladder with plenty of lift, and has dumpable integrated weight pockets. More than capable of coldwater diving as well as visits to warmer waters.

The LTS is an eye-catching back-inflate BCD, and as soon as you pick it up you can feel the quality. Everything feels built to last. We liked the pinch-clip-and-velcrosecured integrated weight pockets - unzip to load with lead, and in the case of emergency, squeeze the pinch clip and tear down the Velcro and the weight is gone.

Simple but effective. Nice and stable underwater, and well-position D-rings mean you can even clip on a small stage cylinder with no issues. www.hollis.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 2.26kg | INTEGRATED: Yes | TRIM POCKETS: No VERDICT: We have always liked the look of Hollis gear, and the LTS follows the family tradition in black-and-red. Well-made, robust and capable, and ideal for UK use and travelling abroad.

SCORE

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* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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ARE YOU MORE ANGEL OR MORE RED DEVIL? Farther. Deeper. Beyond

RED DEVIL SINGLE BACKMOUNT SET • A complete set - light and perfect for travelling • Easier for beginners and non-technical divers • 16 Litre red single tank donut • 3mm red aluminium backplate • 6mm red aluminium rings • Red aluminium buckle • Standard webbing harness • 2 tank straps with red aluminium buckles • Black flat head bolt screws

mares.com

Your diving memories deserve

the best home www.divelogs.com

Recreational, Instructor, and Technical Dive Logs Custom Dive Logs Log Book Stamps Gear ScubaTags Compact Lightweight Binders Custom Dive Slates Dive Maps Archiving Fish Identification Certification Card Holders

MARES BOLT SLS The Bolt SLS BCD is one of the heavier units on test, but it still tips the scales at less then 4kg, which shows the advantages of this design of BCD. It has the full-size SLS integrated weight system, with its ‘green-for-go’ window when it is locked-and-loaded, and also nondumpable trim pockets on the tank camband. It has plenty of D-rings, and a zippered drop-down cargo pocket. The bungeed bladder has decent lift but sits snugly on either side of the cylinder. There are two pull dumps - one on the right shoulder, and the other on the lower right-hand side.

The Bolt SLS is quite a chunky back-inflate BCD, but it is still much lighter than traditional jacket-style BCDs. I like the Mares integrated weight system - it is quite large, but many will feel secure with the visual confirmation you get when the pockets are locked in place properly.

This also has a whistle built into the chest strap pinchclip, and a neat drop-down cargo pocket that can take a spool and small DSMB. Good-looking and well-made. www.mares.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 3.9kg | INTEGRATED: Yes | TRIM POCKETS: Yes VERDICT: The Bolt SLS is a good-looking BCD with some neat features, including the SLS integrated weight system, a comfy padded backpack, and efficient pull dumps.

SCORE

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OCEANIC BIOLITE The Biolite is almost as stripped back-to-basics as the Aqua Lung Outlaw. It is made from 1000D Cordura, so is very tough, but it is also very lightweight. The integrated weight pockets can handle over 3kg each side, and on the back there are non-dumpable trim pockets that can take another couple of kilos each.

There are webbing D-rings and a Karabiner for attaching accessories, and a nifty emergency whistle built into the top chest strap pinch-clip. The bungeed wing has decent lift, and there is a depth-compensating waistband strap. The low-profile backpack means you can even fold it in half when packing your dive bag.

The Biolite packs up small but in the water performs as well as a bigger jacket. Plenty of support both on the dive and on the surface, and very comfortable. It comes in a good price, and works well in cold water as well as warm. The pinch-clip-and-Velcro integrated weight pockets are simple but effective. Some neat touches, including that whistle in the chest pinch-clip. www.oceanicworldwide.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 2.49kg | INTEGRATED: Yes | TRIM POCKETS: Yes VERDICT: Lightweight but durable, the Biolite is certainly one to consider if you want a travel jacket that you can also use right here in the UK.

SCORE

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* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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SCUBAPRO LITEHAWK The Scubapro Litehawk is one of the lighter BCDs in this test, and it achieves this by being made from 420 denier nylon - which is light yet strong - and replacing some components which are normally metal with plastic alternatives, such as the weightbelt-style clip on the webbing waist strap. It has two pull-dump valves, one on the right shoulder and one on the lower back righthand side. There are non-dumpable trim pockets on the back, and two pinch-clip-secured accessory pockets on either side of the waistband. There are four D-rings for attaching accessories, and the bladder is kept nice and snug by bungee cord.

The Litehawk comes in at a great price, so it is a real bargain, but it doesn’t exude the same ‘feel’ as some of its rivals, and this could be down to some of the plastic components, which feel a little - well - cheap. That said, it performs well in the water, and has efficient dump valves and power inflator (always been a fan of the latter). The pockets are quite small but easy to access. www.scubapro.com

TECH SPECS & VERDICT WEIGHT: 2.5kg | INTEGRATED: No | TRIM POCKETS: Yes VERDICT: Budget-priced but at the expensive of some components, but still a solid-performing BCD with Scubapro legendary power inflator and pull dumps.

SCORE

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VERDICT There are more and more back-inflate BCDs coming to market, as divers continue to realise the benefits of having the buoyancy at the rear, leaving the front uncluttered. All of the BCDs here performed well in the water, and none would leave you in the lurch.

The Best Value was a battle between the Mares Bolt SLS and the Oceanic Biolite. The Scubapro Litehawk was cheaper than both of these, but felt it, whereas both the Mares and Oceanic were good value for money but still felt solid units. It was a close run thing, but in the end the Mares just nipped ahead for the title.

The Choice Award was a different matter and saw the Aqua Lung Outlaw go clear ahead of its competitors. The Test Team liked how it was a truly stripped-down rearinflate BCD, yet it still managed to mount the SureLock II integrated weight system neatly around behind the diver on either side of the cylinder. Okay, some might not like the lack of pockets, or that plastic Karabiner, but there are enough webbing D-rings for accessories, and you can remove the latter if you don’t like it. Well-made, innovative and a strong performer. * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

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ALL WEATHER PONCHO

Perfect for:

Changing Warming up Staying dry

Long Term Test SHEARWATER RESEARCH TERIC Mark Evans: Shearwater Research are renowned for their dive computers, and now they have targeted the wristwatch-style market. In short, the Teric has all the features divers have come to love in the company’s computers - and more. It has four buttons rather than the usual two, but Shearwater have applied situationally adaptable logic to their menus and buttons, making it easy to figure out.

It also comes with a wirelessly rechargeable INFORMATION Arrival date: July 2018 battery, and it has tech, OC Suggested retail price: * tech, CCR and freediving Number of dives: 0 modes.

Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins www.shearwater.com

MARES QUAD AIR

Mark Evans: The Quad Air headed off to the wilds of Murcia in Spain, with Publishing Director Ross Arnold taking it for a spin on a series of dives throughout the week. He liked the large screen and very clear display, and the easy-tonavigate menus. For a fairly large computer, he noted how lightweight it is, thanks to its plastic construction. He also liked the chunky strap, which was easy to get tight INFORMATION Arrival date: May 2018 around a thick wetsuit so Suggested retail price: * it didn’t move around or Number of dives: 11 become loose at depth.

Time in water: 10 hrs 30 mins www.mares.com 64

APEKS RK3 HD Mark Evans: Hurrah, the Apeks RK3 fins have finally arrived - and a nice surprise, I discovered that the muchin-demand orange version are HD-only (black can be normal or HD, grey are HD-only, while yellow and white are normal-only - very confusing). I have only ever dived the ‘normal’ variant, so looking forward to seeing the difference between the two, and reckon the stiffer compound HD will suit my style of diving.

I am a big fan of the chunky thumb-tab and metal spring heel strap, which makes putting them on and taking INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2018 them off a simple matter, even wearing thick neoprene Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 0 gloves, or drygloves.

Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins www.apeksdiving.com

AQUASKETCH MINNO 1

Mark Evans: One of the cool things about the Aquasketch is that you can fit specific pre-printed ‘rolls’ into the unit, such as this dive safety checklist, which includes things like emergency contact information, pre-dive prep, gear set-up, common diver signals and more. It is a simple matter to fit and remove different sheets, and adds INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2018 another dimension to Suggested retail price: * the Minno 1 as a tool in a Number of dives: 12 diver’s armoury.

Time in water: 11 hrs 20 mins www.aquasketch.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

MOMENTUM DEEP 6 Mark Evans: The Momentum Deep 6 dive watch is now adorning my wrist, and an eye-catching bit of dive bling it is. In this orange/silver/ black colour combination, it does stand out from the crowd, and I can see why it is classed as ‘over-sized’. It is a big unit, but it is still relatively lightweight - compared with my usual Suunto DX, feels like I have nothing on my wrist!

Cool way to say ‘I am a diver’ to others in the diving INFORMATION Arrival date: June 2018 fraternity but in a fairly Suggested retail price: * subtle fashion.

Number of dives: 0 www.momentumwatch.

Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins com

AQUA LUNG OUTLAW Mark Evans: The Outlaw might be able to handle cold-water conditions - though the slightly larger Rogue with nondumpable trim pockets as well as integrated weights is a better option - but it is truly at home in warmer conditions. It headed out to Murcia in Spain and also to Fiji, and its stripped back nature comes into its own. You just don’t feel cumbersome or bulky at all, you have nothing around the front of you, and even the integrated weights are tucked away behind you, though they fall easily to hand when you need to dump them.The low-profile pull dump is also efficient, and rapidly gets rid of any air in INFORMATION the bladder when you are in Arrival date: February 2017 Suggested retail price: * a trim position or heading Number of dives: 27 downwards.

Time in water: 26 hrs 15 mins www.aqualung.com

SUUNTO EON CORE

Mark Evans: I am not really one to log my dives anymore, but I do like dive computers that allow you to really get some detail when you go into the logbook. Several computers do offer more information than just your basic dive times, depth and temperature, but I particularly like how clear and concise the graph of your dives appear on the colour screen of the EON Core. It include all the information you could want, and lets you review how neat and tidy INFORMATION Arrival date: March 2018 your dive profile was when Suggested retail price: * you are doing the post-dive Number of dives: 15 de-brief in the pub.

Time in water: 14 hrs 30 mins www.suunto.com

SANTI DIVING FLEX 360 Mark Evans: I do plenty of drysuit diving, both testing equipment or just heading out for dives off our coastline or at some inland dive site. I want to be warm and comfortable, but not too bulky, and the Santi Diving Flex 360 certainly ticks all the right boxes on that front. The two-piece system has been well thought out and has some neat features, including pockets easily accessible through the front zipper of the drysuit, built-in hand-warmers, and a fancy mesh to maintain an airspace in front of your chest when you are in a nice trim position. Even better, you can look cool while staying warm, as the Flex 360 can be worn apres-dive without you looking like you are in an adult babygrow. www.santidiving.com

INFORMATION Arrival date: January 2018 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 22 Time in water: 19 hrs 50 mins

* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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ARE YOU READY TO

#GODIVING? Andy Torbet

Miranda Krestovnikoff

Umberto Pelizzari

Monty Halls

Jill Heinerth

#GODiving

A

brand-new dive exhibition is being launched in underwater photography, freediving and technical diving, February 2019 which aims to inspire and enthuse with hosts of dynamic speakers discussing a wide range existing divers as well as attract newcomers to of subjects in talks, Q&A sessions, masterclass workshops the sport. and presentations.

GO Diving, which runs from Friday 22 February to There’s even an area for The Next Generation of scuba Sunday 24 February, is being co-ordinated by the divers, all those keen kids and talented teens team behind Scuba Diver and DeeperBlue. already attracted to the underwater realm. com. The event is being well supported by There will also be competitions, treasure many of the major players in the dive hunts, interactive exhibits, two massive industry and is set to be an exciting pools for trydives, technical sessions and way to see in the New Year’s diving freediving workshops, not to mention exploits. It will be hosted at the Ricoh hundreds of booths showcasing Follow us on social media Arena in Coventry, UK, an exciting training agencies, equipment at /godivingshow to get venue with good transport links and manufacturers and distributors, and the latest updates on the centrally located for ease of access, many other dive-related businesses. wherever you live.

For those who have harboured an show – use the hashtag innate desire to give diving a go, they BBC stars Andy Torbet (Beyond #GODiving can come and experience diving for the Bionic, The One Show, Operation first time at GO Diving - and find a host of Iceberg) and Miranda Krestovnikoff (The experts on hand to answer those questions One Show, Coast) are the comperes on they were perhaps afraid to ask. The Inspiration the main stage and will also be talking about Stage will host talks aimed at dispelling some of the their adventures, while joining them as keynote myths around diving, giving even more reasons why you would speakers are the likes of freediving legend Umberto Pelizzari, want to learn to scuba dive. Early bird tickets are £9.50 + P&P, TV favourite Monty Halls, technical and cave diving icon Jill Heinerth and underwater photography guru Alex Mustard MBE. available from www.godivingshow.com/tickets (booking fee applies). n There will also be dedicated stages in the disciplines of

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SPONSORED BY

seikowatches.com

Pelagian, Wakatobi’s luxury dive yacht Discover the best of Wakatobi with a combination resort stay and liveaboard cruise. Carrying just ten guests, the luxury dive yacht Pelagian ventures farther afield in the Wakatobi archipelago and Buton Island, visiting sites from openwater seamounts and dramatic coral reef formations to muck environments where cryptic creatures lurk.

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Spacious en-suite staterooms create ample private space; a dedicated chef provides fine dining; and a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio ensures the utmost in attentive personal service.

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