Scuba Diver Destinations #4

COOL CANADA

JILL HEINERTH HEADS EAST TO BELL ISLAND, NEWFOUNDLAND

SHARK CENTRAL DIVING WITH THE GREAT WHITES OF GUADALUPE

CAVE COUNTRY

WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO TRAVEL FAR TO FIND AWESOME DIVE SITES

BYRON CONROY DISCOVERS THE CARIBBEAN OF HIS BOYHOOD DREAMS HAWAII BY LIVEABOARD

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

GARRETT DIVEMASTER

HYDROS X JACKET

“EASY TO GET ON, HUGS YOUR BODY AND STAYS IN PLACE”

DEEP DOWN YOU WANT THE BEST

OAHU, HAWAII

MEET THE TEAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Evans Email: mark@scubadivermag.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE (North America) Walt Stearns Email: walt@scubadivermag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@scubadivermag.com ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Ross Arnold Email: ross@scubadivermag.com CONTRIBUTORS Byron Conroy, Richard Stevens, Hailey Elisabeth, Jill Heinerth, Michele Westmorland, Mario Vitalini

MAGAZINE To stock Destinations in your dive center or store, email: subscriptions@scubadivermag.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Annual (4 issues) - USA / Canada = $25, RoW = $70 (All prices in USD).

PUBLISHERS Rork Media Limited 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, 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 Destinations 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.

ISSN: 2633-3902

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Discovering your own 'Fountain of Yout h'

S

o, here we are... still trying to sort out how to move forward under this ‘new normal’ of living with the threat of COVID-19. Watching the news, reading the headlines, my head feels like it is going to explode.

As divers and snorkelers, we live for the chance to get in the water. And for many of us, this requires travel to someplace other than where we live.

What can be seen as good news is that a fair number of destinations like the Bahamas, portions of the Caribbean, Mexico, the Galapagos, and even some places further afield like French Polynesia, Maldives and the Red Sea have reopened their doors to US travelers. With it, hangs the question ‘should we?’

From the latest round of research, the ventilation and air filtration inside modern airliners is excellent, and your chances of getting COVID-19 from flying are about 1 in 27 million. The data comes from a total of 44 identified potential cases of flightrelated transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, that’s one case for every 27 million travelers. OK, that information kind of sounds good, but there are other factors.

It’s not just about the flight. The other variables are where you are going, where you will be staying, and what you will be doing, or are allowed to do. Before you leave home, you may be required to be tested for COVID-19 beforehand just to enter that destination. After you arrive, be prepared for even more stringent restrictions like being quarantined for a couple of days in a hotel room until test results are available from a second test.

For divers who are less inclined to pack their bags and head off for the airport, COVID fatigue has inspired a re-exploration of diving opportunities closer to home.

Fortunately for me, living in Florida, I have a number of options from the Florida Keys down south to my local Palm Beach coast and up north to Spring Country.

The late Marjory Stoneman Douglas, grand dame of Florida environmentalists, likened the Springs’ azure-tinted pools to ‘bowls of liquid light’. Further back in time Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León somehow got sold on the story of a spring hidden away in what is now known as Florida with waters that could restore you with new youth and vigor. Although poor de León never did find his ‘Fountain of Youth’ during a year-long search in 1513, he did find a large number of magnificent freshwater springs. Too bad dive gear wasn’t around in his time, because he would have found these springs really do have their own form of restorative powers.

Enjoy the issue. And remember, staying home is not so bad with all there is to offer in our own backyards.

Walt Stearns, Editor-at-Large (North America)

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37 Years of Worldwide Luxury Travel

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See our worldwide vacation specials at www.aggressor.com.

“Welcome Back! Tanks are filled, briefing is completed, we’re ready to stride in! I’m aboard the Red Sea Aggressor III yacht and Abu Nuhas Reef is just below my feet. I’m as passionate about exploring the world’s wonders as you are, so grab your passport and make a reservation today aboard our yachts, river cruises or safari lodges. We’re open and ready for you!”—Wayne Brown, Aggressor Adventures® Chairman & CEO · Bahamas · · Belize · · Cayman Islands · · Cocos Island, Costa Rica · · Cuba ·

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COOL CANADA

JILL HEINERTH HEADS EAST TO BELL ISLAND, NEWFOUNDLAND

SHARK CENTRAL DIVING WITH THE GREAT WHITES OF GUADALUPE

CAVE COUNTRY

WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO TRAVEL FAR TO FIND AWESOME DIVE SITES

Hawaii

BYRON CONROY DISCOVERS THE CARIBBEAN OF HIS BOYHOOD DREAMS HAWAII BY LIVEABOARD

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

Cover & Spine.indd 1

Canada

17/11/2020 06:58

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BYRON CONROY

Mexico

Florida Cayman Islands

GET ONLINE! CAN’T WAIT FOR YOUR NEXT ISSUE OF SCUBA DIVER DESTINATIONS? THEN LOG ON TO THE WEBSITE: WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM You’ll find all the latest diving news from around the world, in-depth travel reports, unbiased and comprehensive equipment reviews, hints and advice on diving techniques, underwater photography and videography, insights into diving medical issues, articles on conservation initiatives, Q&As with industry icons and legends, exciting competitions, and much, much more

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Aggressor Adventures management team become PADI Course Directors, the passing of underwater photography legend Jerry Greenberg, new additions to New York’s artificial reef system, the perils of a bad hotel review in Thailand, and the latest entrants to the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The COVID-19 pandemic is still creating havoc in the diving world, particular on a travel front, but as Scuba Diver Destinations Editor-at-Large Walt Stearns explains, you don’t have to look far for some awesome diving, as he showcases the hotspots in Florida’s cave country.

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MEXICO

Richard Stevens and Hailey Elisabeth of Black Manta Photography tick off a bucket-list dive trip when they board the Socorro Vortex to head out to Guadalupe Island to get up close and personal with great white sharks.

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

The team from Divers Alert Network urge you to evaluate a dive operator thoroughly instead of choosing randomly, whether you’re finalising booking details of an upcoming trip, or popping into a beachfront shop to schedule an on-the-fly dive.

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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY

Underwater photography guru Mario Vitalini highlights the five crowd-pleasing marine creatures that every underwater photographer should have in their portfolio, and surprisingly, they are not ultra-rare or hard to find, but instead are common sights on reefs, wrecks and in the open ocean.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Well-travelled photo-journalist Michele Westmorland heads out into the Pacific Ocean to the islands of Hawaii, where she boards the luxurious Kona Aggressor II liveaboard and sets out to explore the rich and diverse waters that surround Kona. She is not disappointed, finding intriguing topography from the islands’ volcanic origins, and embarking on a night dive with manta rays.

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THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

Byron Conroy discovers the Caribbean of his youthful dreams when he visits the Cayman Islands. Venturing into the crystal-clear waters to dive with rays at the iconic Stingray City and explore the shipwreck of the USS Kittiwake, he is smitten by this island paradise.

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TECH: CANADA

World-renowned explorer, photographer and filmmaker Jill Heinerth goes east across Canada to Newfoundland and dons her drysuit and thermal undersuit to brave the cold waters while she explores World War Two shipwrecks, dives alongside majestic icebergs, and heads into the famed Bell Island Mine.

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GEAR TEST EXTRA

Scuba Diver Destinations Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans and Editor-at-Large Walt Stearns get their hands on some test products, here rating and reviewing the Shearwater Research Peregrine dive computer, and the Dive Rite XT fins.

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NEWS IN BRIEF DIVE INDUSTRY LEGEND JERRY GREENBERG HAS DIED

OCEAN VOYAGES INSTITUTE CONDUCTS WORLD’S LARGEST OCEAN CLEAN-UP Ocean Voyages Institute’s S/V KWAI has successfully removed 103 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastics from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or Gyre.

Establishing its lead in open ocean clean-up, Ocean Voyages Institute has set a new record with the largest at sea clean-up in the Gyre to date, more than doubling its own results from last year.

“I am so proud of our hard-working crew,” says Mary Crowley, founder and executive director of Ocean Voyages Institute.

“We exceeded our goal of capturing 100 tons of toxic consumer plastics and derelict ‘ghost’ nets, and in these challenging times, we are continuing to help restore the health of our ocean, which influences our own health and the health of the planet.”

Crowley adds: “The oceans can’t wait for these nets and debris to break down into microplastics which impair the ocean’s ability to store carbon and toxify the fragile ocean food web.”

Known as the ‘Ghost Net Buster’, Crowley is renowned for developing effective methods to remove significant amounts of plastics out of the ocean, including 48 tons of toxic plastics during two ocean clean-ups in 2019, one from the Gyre and one from the waters surrounding the Hawaiian islands.

The GPS satellite trackers used by Ocean Voyages Institute since 2018 are proving Crowley’s theory that one tracker can lead to many nets. The ocean frequently sorts debris so that a tagged fishing net can lead to other nets and a density of debris within a 15-mile radius.

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The dive industry has lost a true legend in the form of underwater photography pioneer Jerry Greenberg, who has died after a long career in the diving world.

He began photographing marine life way back in 1946, and began designing and manufacturing underwater camera housings from 1953. Lacking any instruction on underwater photography, in 1956 he decided to bring out his own guide, establishing Seahawk Press. Thereafter he and his wife, artist and writer Idaz Greenberg, began to publish books, cards and other products, including waterproof marine life identification cards. Jerry’s work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Argosy, Lifemagazine, and National Geographic.

Jerry was documenting the reefs of the Florida Keys before the creation of America’s first undersea park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. In his first photo essay for National Geographic in 1962, the park area spanned 75 miles. After his 1990 follow-up article with writer Fred Ward, which was entitled ‘The Coral Reefs of Florida Are Imperiled’, the alarm was sounded, and today 2,900 square miles of reef are protected.

In 2004, Jerry was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, and in 2019 he received the prestigious NOGI Award for Distinguished Service.

FOUR AGGRESSOR ADVENTURERS STAFF BECOME PADI COURSE DIRECTORS Aggressor Adventures is certifying its CEO and three management team members as PADI Course Directors.

This certification is the highest level of diving certification attainable through PADI, and is achieved through years of diving experience, as well as completion of all Course Director requirements. The PADI Course Director rating sets the standard for a dive instructor who takes continuing education seriously and is committed to teaching a variety of courses.

Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures, says: “Our team is always striving for better and attaining the highest level of professional scuba training certifications – this is yet another example of our approach to prioritizing guest safety and satisfaction.”

Aggressor team members working towards achieving this certification are CEO Wayne B. Brown, Vice President of Operations Larry Speaker, Operations Member Jay Roberts and Assistant Operations Manager Jeff McNutt. Having PADI Course Directors on staff will give Aggressor the ability to teach diving staff around the world as PADI Divemasters, Instructors and Assistant Instructors. All Aggressor staff members have more than ten levels of certifications and they believe it is critical to stay on top of current industry standards and guidelines, in order to provide the best experience for customers. www.aggressor.com

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NEWS IN BRIEF OWUSS AND DAN ANNOUNCE NEW INTERNSHIPS FOR 2021

NEW YORK ARTIFICIAL REEF SYSTEM CONTINUES TO EXPAND Back in September, New York’s artificial reef system was expanded for the third year as attempts to create morediverse underwater eco-systems and shelter for marine life continued. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is in charge of the 12 artificial reefs, and the most-recent expansion happened at Hempstead Reef, off the coast of Long Island. Materials put in place at Hempstead Reef include 16 rail cars donated by the Wells Fargo Rail Corporation, a steel turbine provided by NYPA/Canal Corporation, and a 70-foot tugboat.

Gov Andrew Cuomo said: “This expansion of the state’s artificial reef program is a testament to New York’s unwavering commitment to environmental preservation and restoration in the absence of federal leadership that continues to jeopardize the health of vulnerable eco-systems.

“With this rail car and tugboat drop at Hempstead Reef, we continue to build on our efforts to energize local economies and build a healthier marine environment for future generations.”

During his 2020 State of the State address, Cuomo announced a scheme to double New York’s existing artificial reef acreage by expanding seven of the 12 existing reefs, and creating four new ones by the end of 2022.

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The Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS) and Divers Alert Network (DAN) have announced two new internships for 2021. Applications are now being accepted for the Dr Glen H Egstrom DAN Diver’s Health and Safety Internship, and the DAN Diver’s Safety Internship.

The Dr. Glen H. Egstrom DAN Diver’s Health and Safety Internship is named in honor of one of the Society’s founding directors. Dr Egstrom was an avid diver and brilliant scientist who dedicated a significant portion of his career to diving safety by improving diver and instructor training, diving equipment, fitness to dive, diver conditioning, and underwater performance. This internship, with a special focus on the health and safety of divers, will see the intern interacting with divers during field research events, collecting physiological data, and communicating DAN Research endeavors to the diving community at large.

The DAN Diver’s Safety Internship will expose the recipient to DAN’s risk mitigation and dive safety resources and initiatives.

The selected intern will have the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses, learn about pressure vessels such as hyperbaric chambers and scuba cylinders through training materials, seminars, and field trips, and participate in DAN’s safety and training programs by assisting in field assessments of hyperbaric chambers and other related facilities. The deadline for applications is 15 January 2021. www.owuscholarship.org

$100,000 FINE AFTER SUPERYACHT ANCHOR DAMAGES CORAL REEF IN HAWAII The owners of a 197-foot-long superyacht have been slapped with a $100,000 fine after damaging more than 11,000 square feet of coral with the vessel’s anchor.

The damage in Kailua Bay occurred back in October 2018, and was a violation of Hawaii Administrative Rules, but the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) said it would be difficult to prosecute the owners of the Formosa because the vessel – which is currently up for sale with a whopping price tag of $41 million – operated under a foreign flag (as many yachts do for tax purposes).

However, in an announcement this week, the DLNR said that the owners – Formosa Wealth Management Group – had settled with the state for the amount of $100,000, which will help fund the restoration of the coral reefs in West Hawaii.

Nikki Smith, an aquatic biologist with the DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources, commented that much of the damage came from the anchor’s chain ‘swinging through the coral bed’. Biologists from the division did three dives to reposition more than 50 large colonies and stabilize more than 250 coral fragments.

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Dedicated almost exclusively to cave diving, and for good reason, the Peacock system is one of the region’s most-expansive submerged cave systems, with a honeycomb network of passages that stretch for thousands of feet

The area and hidden spring of Devil’s Den is millions of years old, and in recent years, has become a popular dive destination. People flock from all over the state to test the cave’s waters, which are perpetually 72 degrees F… one of the reasons for its name.

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Fountains of Youth Scuba Diver’s US/Canada Editor-at-Large Walt Stearns extols the virtues of North Florida’s cave country Photography Walt Stearns

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Florida’s caves and caverns have a long and interesting geologic history, beginning 38 million years ago when sea levels were much higher and the southeastern coastal plain of the United States of America was completely submerged by what is now the Atlantic Ocean.

Here, a pair of narrow submerged entrances provide the technical diving community a highly coveted doorway to a massive subterranean river system

ABOVE Diver travelling through a narrow section of Peacock Springs.

TOP RIGHT A diver descends through the aptly named Devil’s Ear. RIGHT Ginnie Springs is also very popular with nondivers and families

A

faint but growing glimmer of light in the passage ahead signals the end of our dive.

We exit a realm of eternal darkness into a circular basin of clear water. Above, the surface is as smooth and transparent as plate glass, and the pool’s surrounding tree line is clearly discernable. The transition from shadows into the illuminated pool borders on the surreal.

This is why I never tire of diving Florida’s springs.

And on that late-Fall day, the entire basin was ours.

I’m always amused when people stop diving Florida’s springs when the weather changes, because the water temperatures in these sparkling pools are always the same 72-74 degrees F. It is this consistency and clarity that are the essence of diving North Florida’s fountains of youth.

Springs of Phenomenal Magnitude More than 700 springs well up across the northern end of the Florida peninsula. While more than half amount to little more than a trickle, 33 are of first magnitude, with another 191 in the second magnitude. A first magnitude spring releases water at a rate of 100 cubic feet or more per second — a veritable cascade.

Florida’s Silver Springs is ranked among the world’s largest, disgorging some 500 million gallons of water a day. Comparatively, Devil’s Eye discharges about

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46 million gallons a day, making it ‘middle of the road’ or a second magnitude spring. These flowing waters emerge from the state’s limestone substrate, which absorbs rainwater like a giant sponge, and is riddled with crevices and fissures that channel flowing waters into underground rivers.

Ginnie Springs – Caver’s Heaven This privately-owned, commercialized park north of Gainesville off Interstate 75 and US 27 plays host to one of the most-eclectic gathering of divers this side of the globe. Visit in summer and the park may feel more like a zoo - from paddlers with mask and snorkel to serious techies suited up in doubles to fully closed rebreather systems - giving credence to the expression ‘what separates the men from the boys is the size of their toys’.

The attraction for divers is clear water, consistent conditions and vast underground possibilities. Lying beyond the sunlit world is a cave diver’s nirvana. Here, a pair of narrow submerged entrances provide the technical diving community a highly coveted doorway to a massive subterranean river system suitable for both training and exploration.

Eons of water movement have sculpted a winding warren of tunnels. To date, more than 30,000 feet of this expansive network of submarine caves has been explored and mapped.

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FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

Not all of North Florida’s cave country is the sole preserve of cave divers. Areas such as Ginnie Springs also attract families and nondivers who want to relax and have fun in the warm, clear waters.

EXPLORE THE EXCEPTIONAL AND AUTHENTIC ISLAND OF BONAIRE We invite you to delve into the wonderful activities the island offers, both terrestrial and marine, which makes Bonaire a unique destination. Come explore, and enjoy by experiencing our diverse nature, culture, and cuisine. The warmth from the sunshine is here for all to enjoy while on Bonaire, but you will cherish the afterglow of the Bonairean people in your hearts forever. We assure you that “Once a Visitor Always a Friend”.

For more information visit: www.tourismbonaire.com

Bonaire Awaits – Book Your Bonaire Trip!

Suwannee River Basin’s World Without Sun The epicenter of Florida’s cave diving scene is the Suwannee River Basin. In fact, most of the world’s cave divers learn here. Whenever I visit Devil’s Eye and Ear, I also like to include a jaunt through the cave systems of the Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park. Prior to 2010, the park was known as Peacock Springs State Park. Shortly after Wes passed, the park was renamed to commemorate the life work of Florida’s famed cave diver and explorer.

Dedicated almost exclusively to cave diving, and for good reason, the Peacock system is one of the region’s most-expansive submerged cave systems, with a honeycomb network of passages that stretch for thousands of feet, creating multiple interconnection routes. For most cavers, the primary entry points into this system are Orange Grove Sink or the Peacock 1 basin. These entry points provide steps down to the water and systems with permanent guidelines. Water movement in Peacock 1 is much slower than Devil’s Ear, making it easier to penetrate the deep regions of the system. Upstream from the spring entrance, the lower portion of the system is crisscrossed with numerous tunnels. My personal favorite for photography is Peanut Tunnel (name for its narrow peanut-shape passage). I also like that it’s just 300 feet from the exit.

The caves provide habitat for blind cave crayfish, cave salamanders and three species of cave-roosting bats.

Caverns and Clear – Water Basins Not into cave diving? No problem. Sites like Ginnie’s main spring basin offers a different experience. The 12ft-deep, 90-foot circular pool is a popular site for open water checkouts, along with cave and cavern courses which take place inside the cavern known as the Ballroom. Not to be confused with cave diving, cavern divers stay within constant visual contact of the cave’s entrance.

GINNIE SPRINGS

Ginnie Springs has been privately owned by the Wray family since 1971. In the mid-1990s when scuba diving grew in popularity, Bob Wray opened the springs to the public.

Perhaps the locals ages back were correct when they claimed these springs are the real ‘fountains of youth’

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TOP The waters in the cave systems can be crystal clear.

LEFT Ginnie Springs also has some cavern dives and open areas suitable for all levels of diver.

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As cavern dives go, the Ballroom is quite safe, open to anyone with an open-water rating and a dive light.

Angling down 45 degrees to a depth of 50ft, the large central chamber terminates at a large welded grate that prevents divers from entering the maze-like cave system beyond.

Several other springs off US Highway 27 between High Springs and Ocala are also worthy of a visit. Just up the road from Ginnie are Blue and Poe Springs.

Both feature clear basins with white sand bottoms for snorkeling. Following US 27 south to Williston leads to Devil’s Den and Blue Grotto, followed by Paradise Spring in Ocala. All three spring/cavern combos are open to all certification levels, but Devil’s Den stands alone for its visually stunning impact.

The name Devil’s Den came from the smoke-like appearance caused by the warm water spring mixing with cold morning air. The dive itself begins inside a 100-foot diameter dry cave. The eye-catcher inside this amphitheater-shaped cavern is the 40-foot diameter hole in the ceiling, which lights the circular pool below. Passages into the Den’s two underwater cave systems are blocked off, leaving plenty of swimthroughs to loop through.

Manatee Springs – A Serene Treat Located just outside of the small west Florida town of Chiefland, Manatee Springs is the centerpiece of a state park. This spot is not promoted to entice divers to put a few more miles on the odometer. This site offers two very different venues for diving: a large spring basin and a neighboring sinkhole. The park’s namesake spring basin forms a pool some 80 feet across and about 25ft deep. There is a narrow but obvious cave opening but there’s little danger of straying into the darkness beyond, as the outflow is quite strong. Adventurous types may be able to pull themselves a few feet down into the cave mouth, but this is not a good idea as the buffeting currents could lead to a nasty head bump should you lose your grip.

Because the upstream sinkhole draws particulate into the cave’s water flow, Manatee doesn’t deliver quite the bottled-water clarity of venues, such as Ginnie Springs. Instead, it’s more the equivalent of an afternoon summer haze in the mountains, giving substance to the sunbeams that filter down from above, while softening but not obscuring the far walls.

Aside from the simple joy of being immersed in cool fresh water, one of the main attractions of the basin is following the schools of fingerling catfish and mullet that patrol the headspring’s limestone headwall, and possibly venturing into the shallows to search for turtles and bass among the cypress tree roots that line the bank. In winter, manatees may enter the spring to escape the colder water of the nearby Suwannee River, and if they reach the headspring, divers are not allowed to enter the water.

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Every drop of fresh water flowing out of Florida’s springs originates in a vast subterranean reservoir known as the Florida Aquifer - the water source for more than 60 percent of Florida’s residents, which underlies a region covering more than 100,000 sq miles.

ABOVE The entrance to some of the springs is truly stunning.

RIGHT Rainbow River is also popular with kayakers.

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WRECK HUNTERS SEASON ONE 2021

Calling would-be undersea detectives!

MANATEE SPRINGS

You are not allowed in Manatee Springs when manatees are present, but you can find schools of fingerling catfish and mullet.

A unique opportunity to take part in the beginning of a diving archaeology programme is opening up in the summer of 2021* on the Caribbean island of Utila.

The Wreck Hunters project is offering a onemonth, limited availability window for divers to be a part of the Season One team.

This all-inclusive package (prices to be announced on the website) is about getting to the heart of the story of a wreck called ‘The Oliver’, its rich history and the life of 18th Century mariners.

Learn the skills of undersea archaeology, from traditional to cutting edge techniques.

If you’re a relatively experienced diver (PADI Advanced Open Water with at least 30 dives), or equivalent (See website for full details), this could be just what you’re looking for.

Project Director Mike Haigh’s ideal candidates have a ‘good sense of humour’ and enjoy team work.

So if you think this project would help put a smile on your face, why not get in touch to find out more at

www.wreckhunters.co.uk +44 (0)117 9596454

info@wreckhunters.co.uk

*COVID restrictions may result in a change of operation dates.

WreckHunters__US.indd 1

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12/11/2020 18:23

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Just a couple hundred feet from the spring basin is the sinkhole known as Catfish Sink. Were it not for the sturdy stairs leading down to the water’s edge, you might not guess this was a dive site, as its surface is typically covered in an enveloping layer of green duckweed. The plants that make up this layer are actually beneficial to water quality, as they block sunlight that would cause rampant algae growth.

If the green stuff freaks you out, simply swish it away as you enter the water, and you’ll discover a layer of clear water just below. Once you submerge, the bubbles from your regulator will create a hole in the duckweed ceiling as they hit the surface. This phenomenon makes for some very interesting light patterns within the sinkhole. The open-water portion of the sink is a bit more than 100 feet in diameter, and some 50ft deep. Divers who follow the bottom down and to the left will soon find themselves under a limestone ledge, and in a cavern zone that continues down to depths of about 65ft.

A second dive in the spring basin will wash away the weed, and if you have decent air consumption, you should be able to make both dives on a single tank

Rainbow River - waters on the move Just off Highway 41 and the small town of Dunnellon is one of Florida’s true aquatic treasures. Rainbow River is a spring-fed stream that winds its way some 5.7 miles along a sand-bottom channel. In addition to its headspring, Rainbow River’s flow is augmented by a two-mile-long progression of clear-water upwellings that issue from crevices in the limestone and boil up from the sand, collectively disgorging some 500 million gallons of fresh water a day.

The underwater clarity of this river has to be seen to be believed. The channel alternates between thick beds of jade-green eelgrass and expanses of white sand punctuated by the occasional limestone rock formation. Adding to the setting’s surreal underwater clarity are dappling rays of light created as sunlight plays through the water’s surface, giving the long blades of the eelgrass a hypnotic undulating tempo set by the river’s steady flow.

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Once named Wekiwa Creek, Blue Spring and Blue Run, archaeological evidence indicates that the crystal-clear waters of the Rainbow River have attracted and sustained human inhabitants for well over 10,000 years.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Several water taxi services give snorkelers and divers access to the river and for those with a mind toward independence, there’s also K.P. Hole Park.

Located about a mile downstream of Rainbow River’s headwaters, this county-owned facility offers a small swimming beach, changing rooms, picnic facilities and canoe rentals.

From K.P. Hole, it’s about a mile upstream to the point where you would most want to roll overboard and start a drift dive or snorkel. From that point, you can ride the gentle currents using canoe and a requisite dive flag as your surface markers. Weekends can get busy both under and in the water, and my preference is to go during the middle of the week.

While some might consider using scuba to catch this experience, a more-sublime approach to do the river is on snorkel. While it’s possible to make the onemile drift in 30 minutes if you swim a bit, I generally take a more leisurely pace stopping to look things over as I work on taking pictures. By the end, after two or more-hours of being in the water I exit feeling pleasantly waterlogged and yet renewed. Perhaps the locals ages back were correct when they claimed these springs are the real ‘fountains of youth’. n

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TOP LEFT Diver at the entrance to Catfish Sink.

ABOVE Snorkelling in Rainbow River.

LEFT Manatee Springs.

RIGHT Rainbow River offers unbelievable visibility.

Florida Springs USA

GETTING THERE Florida’s cave country is handily located in North Florida. The closest regional airport is Gainesville, but it is an easy drive from the international hub at Orlando.

WHEN TO GO You can dive in Florida’s cave country all year round, which means it is a shoe-in for a weekend of diving when inclement weather blows out the coastline.

CURRENCY US dollar.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS If you are driving, you don’t need a passport. If you are flying in from abroad, check the entry requirements for your country of origin. CHECK CURRENT COVID-19 GUIDELINES. ELECTRICITY 110 volt, two-pin socket - standard US.

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These cunning creatures like to take their prey by surprise. They usually position themselves underneath their unsuspecting victims before swimming up and‌ chomp! They often burst out of the water in a leap (called a breach) before falling back in with their meal in their mouth.

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Richard and Hailey from Black Manta Photography had ‘great white sharks’ on their bucket list for years, and finally ticked it off on a memorable voyage on the Vortex liveaboard Photography Richard Stevens and Hailey Elisabeth Black Manta Photography

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Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia

Bunaken National Marine Park

Siladen-US half--90x250.indd 1

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08/10/2019 20:00

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These sharks truly are striking and surprisingly, when face on, give the impression they are smiling at you as their mouths curve upwards

T

here’s such a strong temptation to start this article with that famous music score from John Williams, you know, the one that first hit the silver screen in the Summer of 1975, but that would just be far too much of a cliché… wouldn’t it?

Great white sharks - the ‘El Jefe’ of the shark world, the pinnacle of many scuba divers’ hit list of things to see, the largely unchanged prehistoric creature that has dominated our oceans since a time long forgotten, but also a creature now feared thanks to the events in the fictitious town of Amity.

The film Jaws has a lot to answer for - it’s the reason as kids we were so obsessed with sharks, but also takes the blame for a large majority of the world population being too scared to enter the water, even in waters that are impossible to support great whites.

Hardly surprising that when we told our family and friends we were going to Guadalupe to cage dive with great white sharks, their first question was ‘aren’t you scared they will eat you?’ Our answer was simply planting our head firmly in the palm of our hands!

The opportunity to get in the water with great

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white sharks, and to stay on board the Socorro Vortex liveaboard, was just too good an opportunity to pass up! Combining a bucket-list dive destination with the crème de la crème liveaboard of the moment was not to be missed. There are some trips that get you good - that take-your-breath-away, mind-blowing type of good. A perfect combination of location, marine life, crew, guests, accommodation and weather - this had all in abundance.

Prior to travel we really had to engage the mindset of managing expectations. We had no real idea how many sharks we would see, how often or close they would come, what the visibility would be like - and there’s always that niggle in the back of your mind that you are travelling halfway around the world for just three days in the water. Would we get the shots and footage we wanted? After two flights from London, via LAX, we landed in San Diego, and crashed!

The following morning the guys from the Pelagic Fleet (www.pelagicfleet.com) sent the most-amazing ‘shark bus’ to pick us up, which took us over the Mexican border to the port of Ensenada, where

ABOVE Two great white sharks patrol the waters around the cage LEFT An incoming great white shark makes for an imposing sight

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Socorro Vortex

Length: 140 feet | Cruising Speed: 14 knots Builder: Former Canadian Coastguard cutter Staterooms: 7 | Passengers: 14 www.vortexliveaboard.com

Adult great white sharks grow to a maximum size of approximately 20 feet in length, weigh up to 6,600 pounds, and are estimated to live for 30 years...

This exhilarating dive gives you 360-degree views of the sharks at depth, and in most instances, we had anything up to five in view at a time ABOVE The Pelagic Fleet’s Socorro Vortex liveaboard is considered one of the most-modern and luxurious vessels currently on the water

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the Socorro Vortex awaited our arrival. The journey down gave us the chance to meet the other guests who we would be sharing the next few days with.

Our group was ten strong and consisted mainly of Americans, including the reservations manager from the Pelagic Fleet on vacation, a shark-mad couple from Texas, two brothers-in-law from Arizona, and two professional photographers.

The Socorro Vortex is huge – 138 feet long - and really stood out from other boats in the marina. In a previous life, the Vortex was named the Lestralaur, formerly James Sinclair, and lived its life as a Canadian Coastguard vessel, so speed was already in her DNA. Her maiden voyage as the Vortex was in April 2019, making her the new flagship for the Pelagic Fleet company, and sister ship to the already wellestablished Solmar V. The motto of the Vortex is ‘Where Adventure Meets Luxury’, and the mastermind behind her creation was Jorge Cervera Hauser. He wanted to create a liveaboard experience for the discerning diver that sat in the upper echelon of dive experiences.

But how do you create that experience? Well, you

ensure everything is custom made and handpicked to the highest of standards. You design a boat that caters to only 14 divers, providing everyone on board will oodles of space, huge rooms, add a jacuzzi, and ensure the lens aficionados on board have plenty of room to work with their camera rigs. Oh, and complimentary nitrox!

Just to clarify - yes, we did say 14 divers only! The result of this gives you the feeling you’re visiting a wealthy friend on their luxury yacht, and not on a liveaboard with a bunch of strangers!

The Vortex has four luxury staterooms that are entry-level (San Benedicto, Clipperton, Clarion and Cerralvo), two junior suites (Socorro and Guadalupe) and one master suite (Roca). Roca provides you with panoramic windows and a shower as large as most bathrooms, but all rooms comfortably fit a huge kingsize bed, and all have high-end showers inside.

On boarding the Vortex, we were met by the friendly crew and our leaders and Divemasters for the trip - Matias and Luke. After the introductions and mandatory paperwork, guests were then treated to

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NOT JUST SHARKS…

There are a number of endemic species that call Guadalupe home, including birds such as the Guadalupe rock wren, house finch and junco, and fish like the Guadalupe pipefish.

cocktails and an abundance of Mexican snacks with a huge bowl of freshly made guacamole and chips giving a taster of the amazing food to come. The remainder of the first evening was spent on the top sun deck, chatting away to the other guests and watching the sun go down as we set off across the Pacific to our final destination 165 miles away - Isla de Guadalupe.

The first morning we arrived in Guadalupe around 6.30am to the sun rising on the horizon, casting the most-beautiful hues of oranges and pinks across the sky, and the weird bellows and grunts of the fur and elephant seals that litter the shoreline of the island otherwise known as shark food!

The crew got to work lowering the cages into the water and securing them in place, and even before the bait touched the water we spotted our first great whites swimming alongside the boat. Even from above, their size and beauty was clear and we were even more desperate to get in the water and see them up close. Each of the two surface cages allow for three people at a time, so we were straight in there, kitting ourselves up as fast as we could! This is easier than

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diving as you don’t wear a BCD or fins, and there is no need to bring regs either, making packing a doddle!

Instead, you have a weighted harness and ankle weights that help keep you on the bottom of the cage as you are just inches below the surface with a regulator called a ‘hookah’ fed through the bars from the boat supplying your nitrox mix. It’s an exhilarating experience getting into the cage for the first time they take great care to keep you steady as you step down, only closing the cage when you are firmly down and safe. The first thing that hits you is the water temp, as it’s a little on the chilly side at around 68 degrees F, but a good thermal rash vest and a 7mm wetsuit meant you could easily manage over an hour in the water no problem.

In the cage, you are solely focused on the gap between the bars and the bait line in front of you. We needn’t have worried about how often and close the sharks would come, as from the moment we hit the water they were just there - continually swimming by, between the cages, chasing the baited lines, back and forth in a continual movement and breaking the

TOP LEFT Divers in the cage are on hookah lines, so not restricted by a cylinder on their back LEFT The great white sharks make close passes to the cage, so you can get stunning photographs ABOVE A close encounter with a big great white shark is like nothing else on Earth

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surface for the people on the boat to enjoy.

That famous face is all too apparent, making you almost drop your regulator as your mouth hangs open in awe. These sharks truly are striking and surprisingly, when face on, give the impression they are smiling at you as their mouths curve upwards. But let’s not fool ourselves, those smiles are surrounding the most-deadly mouth on the planet, with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

One thing that really surprised us was the size - I mean, yes we know how big they can grow to in length, and we’ve all seen them on TV, but seeing one for the first time with your own eyes is one of those milestones-logged-on-your-brain kinda moments!

However, it’s the sheer girth of this 16-feet-plus-long living missile with huge teeth that just makes you skip a heartbeat or two...

There’s a misconceived idea that these sharks are monsters, and out to eat anything and anyone they come across, yet, when in the water with these creatures, this doesn’t cross your mind at all. The only thing they are really interested in is the severed head of the fish floating in the water in front of them. The water around the cages is filled with mackerel and even hungry tunas, all wanting a taste of the action as they teem back and forth, but the sharks don’t even seem to notice them. It’s also interesting to see how they try to catch the bait as they change their approach each time and sometimes swim up from below so as to evade the eyes of the wranglers. That’s not to say they weren’t curious of us in the cage - the sharks look you dead in the eye as they swim past, paying close attention to your movements and how you might interfere with their game of cat and mouse.

There is an endless list of positives to mention about cage diving with sharks on the Socorro Vortex, one being that because the surface cages are literally under the surface, there is no requirement for a scuba qualification, making the opportunity open to everyone. However, if you want a different perspective then the submersible cage is an absolute must for you.

The submersible cage is lowered to a depth of 32ft, is larger than the surface cages, but only houses two divers and a guide, who is kitted in a full-face mask

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GUADALUPE FUR SEALS The Guadalupe fur seal is one of six fur seal species in the world. It was once pushed close to extinction by commercial sealers in the 19th century, but now its numbers are in excess of 10,000. Being a member of the sea lion family, they have external ear flaps and they have long front and hind flippers that allow them to walk when on land.

TOP LEFT Sometimes the sharks manage to snag the bait line TOP Classic shot of the ‘business end’ of a great white shark ABOVE Fur seals relaxing on the shoreline

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ABOVE Majestic great white shark RIGHT The Vortex at anchor

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for constant communication with the team on the surface. Weirdly, you notice the gaps in the bars are that much bigger, and again, your regulator is surface-fed.

This exhilarating dive gives you 360-degree views of the sharks at depth, and in most instances, we had anything up to five in view at a time. We also found that the larger sharks were the ones hanging around down here, although the water was definitely a little chillier! However, for this, you do need to hold a minimum of an Open Water qualification.

As much as we would love to fill this article with just sharks, we have to touch on the ‘Panga’ boat ride.

The Pelagic Fleet are the only operator in Guadalupe with the license to operate boat trips to the shore of Guadalupe Island to see the fur and elephant seals up close, and this was undoubtedly one of the highlights of our trip! To see them lazing around on the rocks while the tiny pups jumped around playing is a memory we will never forget.

In the three days we were at Guadalupe, we saw 34 different great white sharks. Yes, 34 sharks in three days - guess we needn’t have worried if we were going to see any or not! On top of that, the service, accommodation, quality of the boat, the food, the set up of the cage diving - everything was just simply firstclass and delivered to the highest of standards.

If you are like us and always wanted to go to Guadalupe for the great white sharks but are put off by the potential long travel for what might only be three days in a cage, then let us tell you, it’s totally worth it and will hands down be one of the greatest things you’ve ever done in your life! Go to Guadalupe, see what’s going on - you will be utterly amazed in every sense! Between the two of us, we spent close to 30 hours in the cages over the three days, and hand on heart have it down as the most-exhilarating experience ever! Would we go back to Guadalupe now that we have done the ‘shark thing’? Yes, in a heartbeat, but it would have to be on the Vortex! n

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Isla Guadalupe Mexico

GETTING THERE The Socorro Vortex leaves for Guadalupe Island from the Mexican port of Ensenada, but divers fly into San Diego and are then picked up by the Pelagic Fleet’s ‘shark bus’ to travel down over the border to the vessel.

WHEN TO GO The prime time to visit Guadalupe Island for interactions with the great white sharks is from early August to late-October.

CURRENCY Cash (US dollars or pesos) are accepted on board the Socorro Vortex, as are most major credit cards (which will be charged in pesos).

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS As you are travelling into Mexico, you will require a valid passport with at least six months left to expiry.

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CHECK, CHECK, CHECK

FIND THE RIGHT DIVE OPERATOR

W

hether you’ve decided to explore the SS Thistlegorm in the Egyptian Red Sea, witness the Sardine Run off South Africa, or simply book a single day of diving during your beach vacation, you will probably need some gear, a little local knowledge and a seasoned guide to make the most of the experience.

You can find the right dive center via internet searches, social media, word of mouth or walking into a shop off the street - personal research can go a long way in helping you decide. But during your search, it’s important to ask the right questions and glean all you can from other cues. It’s wise to evaluate a dive operator thoroughly instead of choosing randomly.

Ask questions As you assess a potential dive operator - long distance or in person - get nosy and ask a lot of questions. Keeping in mind that your personal safety is the highest priority, advocate for yourself and ask about certifications, equipment maintenance, safety records and more.

Here are some questions to consider asking: • How often do they service rental equipment?

• How often do they test their gas/service their compressors?

• What is the operator’s safety record?

• Are they affiliated with a reputable training agency?

• Are oxygen units regularly maintained and readily available at every dive site?

• What sort of ongoing staff training or emergency drills do they do?

• What sort of facilities are available for customers (post-dive showers, places to store valuables, etc)?

And there is one question to ask yourself: What are my expectations from the center and overall dive experience? Are you looking for an intimate experience, or would you prefer a luxury center that organizes large-group dives? Keep your personal expectations in mind.

Considerations Beyond well-maintained equipment, evaluation of the dive center itself is important in the decision process -

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but it’s OK if you’re unable to visit beforehand.

Walking in off the street, look around the facility and do your own assessment. As you meander around, note whether the shop is clean and organized.

Strike up a conversation with the owner, manager or associate and ask all your questions. Consider that an operation that prioritizes its customers’ safety will be eager to tell you so. Throughout your personal inspection, it needs to be obvious that the equipment, staff training and safety standards are maintained.

Prices among rival shops are often similar, so if there is a major difference in cost between two potential dive centers, it may be worth asking about that and seeing what’s included. The old saying is true here: You get what you pay for. But also remember: Price is not always indicative of quality.

Trust your gut Throughout your research process, if an operator seems uneasy or reluctant while answering your questions, end the conversation and go somewhere else. It is the operator’s job to make you feel safe, and discomfort in talking about safety is a red flag (And not the good kind with the diagonal white stripe.)

Don’t forget to ask yourself this important question: Do I trust this dive operator? Rely on your intuition, and select the business that puts you at ease. n

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THE FAMOUS FIVE

This issue, photo pro Mario Vitalini examines various crowd-pleasing subjects you absolutely must have in your portfolio Photography Mario Vitalini

U

nderwater photographers are slightly obsessed with finding rare and unique subjects, the ones that very few have had the chance to photograph. And I’m no exception. But when I show my pictures to friends and family, the photographs that elicit the strongest reactions are not those hard to find, elusive beasts, but rather the classic and well-known subjects. Let’s focus on five classic crowd-pleasers that, in my opinion, should be in every underwater photographer’s library. This is a warm-water wishlist that will form a solid foundation to your portfolio.

Clownfish Thanks to Finding Nemo, clownfish have become arguably the most-popular reef residents.

Unfortunately, taking a good photo of this charismatic fish can be a bit tricky. They are fast-moving subjects, swimming in and out of their anemone, and rarely stop to pose. The key when photographing clownfish is patience. It is worth finding the right fish and spending some time with it. As you approach the anemone, clownfish see you as a threat and will try to protect their home. Fortunately, they have a relatively bad memory and after a while calm down. I try to find the right position and composition you want, take a couple of test shots to confirm the background exposure and when everything is ready, just wait for the clownfish to swim into the right position. Fire! If your clownfish is not sitting on a pretty anemone, you can play with depth of field so you can keep environmental context without the distracting background.

Turtles Another emotive character is a friendly turtle. It is hard not to smile when you see a picture of these gentle creatures. Generally speaking, turtles are relaxed creatures and fairly easy to approach. When you see one on the reef, swim slowly and don’t make any

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sudden movements, otherwise it may get spooked.

Feeding time is a great time to photograph turtles. It is not unusual to find them munching on soft corals and when they are eating, they tend to ignore everything that is going on. This is a great opportunity to take a behavioural shot. Do not start taking pictures straight away, often turtles are attracted by their reflection in your dome port. Let the turtle get used to you before you start firing.

Turtles’ undersides are very reflective, so it is essential to reduce the power of your strobes to prevent burning out highlights. Remember to bring your strobes closer to the housing to ensure good lighting as they swim in closer to the camera.

Dolphins Everyone loves dolphins. Fact. Swimming with them is a common aspiration held by many. Photos of dolphins are evocative and speak to these wants and desires.

Their happy faces can speak to you through an image.

Often, dolphin encounters happen in very shallow

water and dolphins can swim fast. When snorkeling with a pod, strobes are not necessary. By using ambient light, you do not need to worry about sync speeds and therefore you will be able to use a muchfaster shutter speed (e.g. 1/320 or faster).

This is essential to freeze the movement of these fast creatures. Even in shallow water and bright conditions, you may need to increase the ISO in order to secure a shutter speed fast enough to capture the moment.

Dolphins benefit from the use of a wide-angle lens.

Having a larger field of view allows you to fill the frame from a short distance maintaining a good image quality. Remember, if you choose a fisheye instead of a wide-angle lens, you will need to be much closer.

Both options will give you enough depth of field and more flexibility in terms of aperture settings.

Morays Not every great subject is what we would call pretty.

Morays are one of those fascinating creatures we love to watch, but non-divers often find menacing.

FAR LEFT Bright red clownfish against a yellow anemone BOTTOM LEFT Turtles tend to be attracted to their own reflections ABOVE LEFT Play with depth of field so you can keep environmental context without a distracting background TOP Snorkeling is one of the easiest ways to photograph dolphins ABOVE Dolphin pods can look very attractive when shot from above

Escorted trips. Want to learn how to take or improve your underwater images? Why not come on a photo-specific trip? These trips are meticulously planned to the best destinations at the best time of year where the conditions should be perfect for building a portfolio of great images. The workshops, which are for all levels of experience but mainly aimed at people with a few trips under their belts, include classroom sessions and presentations as well as in-water help and guidance, all done in a relaxed and non-competitive friendly environment.

Please contact the Scubatravel team or check out their website: www.scubatravel.com

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Personally, I love their expressive faces and the opportunity for dramatic portraits, even if they have a face only a mother could love.

Getting close is not normally a problem, but photographing a moray presents other challenges.

Separating the subject from the background is, in my opinion, critical. Morays spend their time in the reef, sticking only their head out. Taking a picture in which the subject is clearly separated from the background involves careful strobe positioning. Inward lighting and snooting are techniques that will help you to achieve this.

With morays, one compositional element that is key is good eye contact. Always try to get the shot at eye level and from the front. For me, simpler compositions are most effective for portraits. If you want a morecontextual shot that shows the moray on the reef, try to look for a behavioural action, or consider using a model as a background element.

Sharks

ABOVE The angle of this shot accentuates the interesting shape of the hammerhead while maintaining good eye-contact RIGHT Morays are excellent subjects for portraits, their expressive faces are full of character

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There is one more creature that always attracts attention. For many years, sharks were portrayed by the mainstream media as evil man-eaters, but fortunately in recent years and thanks to the hard work of different charities and environmental groups, these magnificent creatures are becoming an attraction to admire and not fear.

Many divers head to specific destinations for the chance to photograph individual shark species.

Overall though, sharks are one of those subjects that can be very forgiving. With the right composition, you can shoot them from above, from behind or pretty much any angle. They can also work very well from far away as part of a larger scene or at close range.

So, my advice is to try to beat the excitement and concentrate on the composition.

From a technical point of view, I would say that controlling the strobe power is essential, the underside of sharks is reflective and very easy to over-expose. In terms of position, remember to bring your strobes close to the housing the closer the shark gets to you.

Conclusion I had the opportunity to photograph plenty of strange critters around the world, but when it comes to share my images, subjects that are familiar, have expressive faces or species that elicit a strong response are the photos that are most popular. Rare is not always better. I never swim past these more-common creatures without pausing to look for a good angle.

You never know if that won’t be your next best shot. n

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Hawaii’s Big Island, which is the common term used for the state of Hawaii, is growing by more than 42 acres each and every year because of the active Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting for around 30 years now, which is impressive in and of itself.

Michele Westmorland boards a luxury liveaboard to explore the mythical islands of Hawaii Photography Michele Westmorland

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of the

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I

n the Hawaiian Islands, one goddess reigns supreme. Pele (pronounced ‘pay-lay’) is the goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes in Hawaiian mythology, and nowhere else does she show her power more vividly and forcefully than on the Big Island of Hawaii. Pele, according to legend, lives in the Halema’uma’u crater of Kilauea, and when you fly into Kailua-Kona airport you get an extraordinary glimpse of her presence in one of the most-active volcanoes in the island chain - and in the world.

There are many myths and stories about Pele, and most Hawaiians claim to have seen her at least once in their life. She is so powerful that she can change her shape and appearance at whim. Maybe she is a dancing plume of fire, smoke and ash. Other times, she appears as an old woman, bent over with age. I have come to Kona to seek out my own underwater goddess - one that may appear in the form of a beautiful fish, dolphin or manta - and maybe even catch a glimpse of Pele herself.

I will spend the next week onboard the Kona Aggressor II, a liveaboard dive yacht that travels the coast of the Big Island in search of creatures that inspire and amaze. Anxious to see what mysteries await me underwater, I set up my dive gear on the boat’s spacious dive deck, head to my roomy cabin to store my personal items, and assemble my underwater camera system. Once set up and ready to go, I feel my excitement build as our captain and Divemasters, tell us about the dive sites we will visit during the week.

We don’t have to travel far from the marina to make our first dive of the trip. The Meadows is a nice secluded spot for our check-out dive, allowing us divers to make sure our gear is working properly and that we are correctly weighted. For me, even more important is making sure my camera equipment is properly set up and there are no dreaded problems!

As we get our bearings in the water, we are treated to a preview of the week ahead, during which we will get an up-close look at fish, creatures and corals that can only be seen in these waters. It is estimated that some 20 percent of the reef fish and 25 percent of the coral species found here are endemic to Hawaii.

One of the most-thrilling adventures in Hawaii is the night-time manta dive, and participating in this event comfortably from the Kona Aggressor II is a huge advantage. Anchored in calm waters, we enjoy a fabulous dinner as we watch the sun go down and other day boats pull in to prepare for the dive.

On their menu - packed sandwiches and snacks.

On our menu - a lovely salad, grilled skewers of fish and vegetables, and dessert. With plenty of time to let our incredible meal digest, we get our lights, cameras and gear ready to go. It is a virtual light show at the site. Snorkelers on the surface light ‘the stage’ with their torches, and divers circle around a large underwater light system used to attract small

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Hawaii is the only state in the United States that grows coffee, vanilla beans and cacao commercially.

This quiet refuge is a favorite for spinner dolphins to bring their young calves and rest after a night of hunting in the open ocean

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VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

Rent a car and drive to the volcano. The landscape changes dramatically from the rocky shoreline into the vast lava fields with steaming vents from the active volcano. If you are lucky, you may even see some action from molten hot lava flowing from a couple of locations. Contact the park service for information on the activity.

plankton creatures – the mantas’ own dinner menu.

Attracted to this critter soup, the mantas appear from the darkness. Our Aggressor dive team remains on the fringe. Anxious to get closer, we are carefully instructed to be patient – and we will be rewarded. Once the other visitors start to leave, we are ready to move in. At depth, we see more than ten large, graceful mantas dancing above our heads, giving us an incredibly memorable performance. We are privileged to have these creatures all to ourselves, and they are obviously enjoying themselves, too. As we leave the site, several mantas follow us back to the boat, continuing their dance as they feed under the lights of the Aggressor.

Back on the boat, we all wonder what can possibly top our exciting manta dive for the balance of the

MIDDLE Hawaii boasts some healthy hard corals TOP Hawaiian boxfish ABOVE Night time manta ray dive is a must FAR LEFT Spinner dolphins LEFT Hawaii’s waters are littered with swim-throughs and caves

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The world-famous Hawaiian Macadamia nut is not actually native to Hawaii, but was first imported from Australia as decorative vegetation back in the 1880s. It didn’t make it to Hawaii until the 1920s, when it became a harvest crop for the state.

Light streams from overhead through openings and crevices, where fish hide from the elements – and predators ABOVE Diver emerging from a volcanic swimthrough MIDDLE TOP Alfresco dining on board the Kona Aggressor II MIDDLE Relaxing with a cold beverage apres-dive

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week. The west coast provides all the dive action you need for a wide variety of experiences, from colorful swim-throughs to fascinating lava tubes. The lava formations are, for the most part, blanketed in brilliant red and orange encrusting sponges. Light streams from overhead through openings and crevices, where fish hide from the elements – and predators. Sites with names like Catacombs, Stoney Mesas and Tubastrea Tunnel are clear indicators of the interesting structures.

The sites are visually amazing, but even more striking are the different sounds you hear. What stood out to me was not the typical crunching of coral by parrotfish, or even the muted calls of the humpback whales during the winter months, but the distinctive whooshing noises of small rocks and boulders being tumbled by the surge.

Probably my favorite area on the week’s itinerary is Manuka Bay, located midway between the town of Kailua-Kona and the southern tip of the island.

This quiet refuge is a favorite for spinner dolphins to bring their young calves and rest after a night of

hunting in the open ocean. They are not always in the bay, but when they are, it is a treat that creates a lasting memory. Because these dolphins do not like the bubbles created from regulators, we leave our scuba tanks on the boat and grab our snorkeling gear.

Clearly, the dolphins love to play with ‘human toys’— at one point, there are more than 40 animals frolicking around us. Babies come close to investigate us, while their mums stay nearby to herd them off if they spend too much time around us. I watch my friend, who is an excellent swimmer, dive down, twist and turn alongside several beautiful dolphins. But once they become bored with him, they quickly let him know his time is up with a nod and a vocal sound. Seconds later, all that could be seen are tails moving off into the blue.

After so much physical activity, it’s wonderful to get back onboard the Kona Aggressor II and be treated to some of the best meals served on any liveaboard. Grace is an accomplished chef who creates fabulous dishes, such as fish filet on a bed of couscous drizzled with a lovely caper and lemon sauce. We finish each meal with

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Kona Aggressor II

Length: 78 feet | Beam: 28 feet Cruising Speed: 10 knots | Range: 1,200 nautical miles Builder: Nichols Brothers, Whidbey Island, Washington Staterooms: 6 | Passengers: 14 With the new carpet, couches and other touches, it made me feel like I was in the living room of my own home. The deluxe cabins are roomy enough and easily accessible from inside the salon area – no more damp feet by treading on an exterior walkway. There is a quad stateroom that was shared by a lovely family. The two young ladies, ages 10 and 11, received their PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification through the caring instructors on board the boat. Talk about lucky young ladies! Both the crew and the guests were delighted in sharing their first underwater adventure. Great job by the crew and instructor for making it fun – and safe!

In the main story, I’ve already mentioned the food. I’ll mention it again – it was no doubt some of the best I’ve had anywhere. www.aggressor.com

WEAR A LEI FLOWER

A lei flower is often used in celebrations and there are certain rules associated with it, starting with the fact it is considered rude to refuse one, or remove it in front of the person who gave it to you.

a dessert that would make any pastry chef jealous. How can food of such a high quality be prepared in a little galley on a boat? No wonder our fabulous chef received an award for being the best in the fleet.

As a dive location, Manuka Bay is as memorable as it gets. Just below the boat are rock and hard coral outcroppings in a variety of delightful formations.

Several arches make for interesting swim-throughs, but what I find most delightful is a soccer ball-sized frogfish. He (or she) is a brilliant red, and its chosen site for hunting is right on the wall of one of the arches.

Here, I am able to photograph the grumpy-looking fish with every imaginable lens. I start with an 8mm15mm fisheye lens, which is generally used for very large

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subjects and landscapes, allowing me to focus within an inch or so and still include some of the scene in the image. Then I move to macro lenses to get a lovely close portrait and to capture facial details. I am also treated to eels I’ve never seen before. I see dragon and viper morays and a sizable conger out on the hunt, and brilliant blue male boxfish, the peacocks of the reef.

Our captain navigates north to our next site, NeverNever Land. Here, a large pinnacle protrudes out of the water, but below the surface is a beautiful coralfilled ledge along the crater’s drop-off. Never-Never Land features plenty of raccoon butterflyfish, but what fascinates me are the juvenile and adult peacock razor wrasses. These small sand-dwellers are not the

ABOVE Colorful stateroom on the Kona Aggressor II

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ABOVE Octopus getting intimate on top of the reef RIGHT Divers exploring hard corals beneath the hull of the Kona Aggressor II

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easiest to photograph, but they are fun to watch as they skip across the bottom searching for morsels of food. I spot a lovely strawberry nudibranch slowly making its way over some rubble. Off the wall are two larger species of marine life – a lone hammerhead cruising and a slow-moving green sea turtle, oblivious of the apex predator. Down deep, the Divemaster points out two of Hawaii’s most-stunning residents that are found nowhere else in the world - the bandit angel and Tinker’s butterflyfish.

We move on to a new location, a crew favorite called Au Au Crater. This underwater crater of an extinct volcano is a testament to the power of the Earth’s (and, no doubt, goddess Pele’s) activities. The walls of this subaquatic basin are decorated with hard corals, fish, and nudibranchs. I also come across a little octopus love - perfect timing as it happens to be Valentine’s Day! And the gorgeous red colors of the reef, thanks to the endemic lionfish and strawberry nudibranchs, only add to the romantic effect.

After a night at the mooring, we venture north to wrap up the trip at Turtle Pinnacle. This is a cleaning station for turtles to be manicured by the local tang population, but they elude us today. I only see one very sleepy giant under the ledge of the pinnacle.

However, I do find a little frogfish on the reef, and off the wall I observe a spotted eagle ray casually gliding over the top.

I end the week with precious memories of brandnew sensations and experiences - and a deep appreciation of the goddess Pele in all her many manifestations. If, as legend has it, she can transform herself at will, then I am sure she was diving with us all week, making her presence known among the gliding mantas, playful spinner dolphins, and spectacular humpback whales. n

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Hawaiian Islands GETTING THERE COVID-19 has created havoc with travel both national and international, and Hawaii has only just opened up its borders.

Hopefully things will be more back to normal as we move through 2021. For the Kona Aggressor II, fly into Kona, the boat operates out of Kailua-Kona.

WHEN TO GO You can dive in Hawaii all year round, making it the perfect diving getaway whatever time you are looking for some warm-water bottom time.

CURRENCY The US dollar.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS As Hawaii is a state in the United States of America, travel to the islands from North America is simplicity itself (aside from any current COVID-19 related regulations).

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Byron Conroy discovers the Caribbean dive destination of his youthful dreams when he explores the waters around Grand Cayman Photography Byron Conroy

The USS Kittiwake is one of the bestknown wreck dives in the Caribbean, if not the world. Its convenient location, just off Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman, and shallow depths make it a popular site among scuba divers as well as snorkelers and freedivers.

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T

he Cayman Islands are a group of three islands located in the Caribbean Sea, and the largest of the islands is Grand Cayman - where I was to spend my week’s diving.

The island is 21 miles long and eight miles wide at its widest point. Seasonal temperatures don’t vary much along with sea temperatures, making it a perfect allyear-round warm-water dive location.

Grand Cayman has a low population of just 67,000, with around 40,000 of the local population living in the capital city, George Town. This makes the coastal areas scarcely populated, and ideal for a relaxing destination. The local economy benefits greatly from tourism and it has some of the most-pristine dive sites in the Caribbean - healthy reefs, large animal encounters and wrecks are some of the main things you will encounter there I took a flight into the islands on Cayman Air, the local transport provider, from Tampa, Florida, and upon arrival I was greeted by very friendly locals at the airport, The islands are an autonomous British Overseas territory, meaning they have a colonial feeling mixed with Caribbean. English is the language of the islands.

After settling into my accommodation and taking a short walk around the local area, it was time to find out more about the prospective diving the island had to offer. There are two very famous sites in the Cayman Islands, the Kittiwake wreck and Stingray

STINGRAY CITY...

The Cayman Islands aren’t actually ‘islands’ at all, they’re part of a mountain called the Cayman Ridge, which rises more than 24,000 feet - or the size of a very large mountain in the Himalayas - from the ocean floor.

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...is a popular tourist attraction, where southern stingrays are found in abundance and visitors can get up close and personal with the animals!

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The Cayman Islands is often seen as the birthplace of scuba diving and was instrumental in making it the wonderful hobby that it is today. This sublime aquatic pastime was first introduced way back in 1957. Today, more than 360 dive sites lie scattered throughout the Cayman Islands, ensuring that divers both local and international will have a great experience here.

Hurricane Ivan hit the islands in 2004 and pretty much destroyed all elkhorn coral and sponges when it swept through City. Photos of these two locations have adorned the covers of magazines and diving calendars for many years. We would be stopping at both of these during the visit. The island is also famous, if lesser so, for a good population of Acropora Palmata (elkhorn coral).

Hurricane Ivan hit the islands in 2004 and pretty much destroyed all elkhorn coral and sponges when it swept through. That was now 16 years ago and the sponges and coral around the islands have been left largely undisturbed since then, and as a result there are a large range of subjects all of a similar size situated around the islands.

For our first day’s diving, we were caught by a little bit of bad weather, making some of the moredesirable sites out of range due to the waves breaking on the reef surrounding the resort, so we headed to Sunset Reef for the check-out dives. The reef itself is actually home to some interesting super macro critters.

On one of the large boulder corals you can find small holes. If you are patient enough, a little golden

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roughhead blenny will poke his head out and make an appearance, they are a very photogenic subject with a very expressive face. The other highlight of the dive is the elusive yellow-head jawfish with eggs in the mouth. These can be found in the white sand, they are difficult to approach to shoot though, a lot of time and patience is needed and slowly inching towards the subject. Otherwise they shoot back into their holes and don’t come back out for another five to ten minutes. The fish carry their eggs in the mouth until they are ready to hatch, when they pop up from the hole, they sometimes need to aerate the eggs and do so by spilling the eggs out and washing them in the water column.

For our second day’s diving, the weather had calmed a little so we were able to make our way through the breakers on the reef and head to the most famous wall dive on the island, Babylon. The wall is where the main reef drops off into the deep blue water. The boat was moored and after descending

LEFT Stingray City is one of Grand Cayman’s most renowned dive sites MIDDLE The Cayman Islands are characterised by beautiful sandy beaches and palm trees next to crystal-clear waters TOP Spin shot of vibrant sponges ABOVE Caribbean reef shark

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down to the reef wall top, I peered over the edge into the wonderful clear blue warm water and down into the abyss. The site is one where you can easily go into deco on the wall, the water is so inviting and so clear that you can easily be at 130ft and still see the boat on the surface. The walls themselves are filled with large sponges and colorful corals, along with cracks and canyons that you can easily fit through.

Conditions were so good for the dive site that we conducted both morning and afternoon dives at the same location.

For the next day, we planned a long day. Stingray City for the morning sunrise followed by a morning and afternoon dive at the famous Kittiwake wreck.

Stingray City is located off the coast, it’s very shallow at only 12ft or so, and it’s home to around 50 stingrays that range in sizes up to six feet in width.

The area is well managed with boats arranging time slots, keeping the amount of visitors at one time to manageable levels. The guides use squid to feed the rays meaning there are always many rays and lots of action at the site. We went to the nearby Sand Bar, which has plenty of ray action also but is only a few feet deep, you are not allowed to scuba there, and no shoes are allowed in order to protect the sand as much as possible.

Sunrise is a great time to shoot the rays - 50/50 or over/under shots using camera lights to light the rays can look really good with a sunrise peeking above, Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have the best of sunrises but once the sun was up, we had great conditions to shoot. A rash vest and shorts are the best for this to make sure you can duck down to the sand level and shoot the rays as they sweep past.

Sunset House

Sunset House has been welcoming divers to the Cayman Islands for more than 60 years. It is the only resort in the Cayman Islands designed and operated by divers, for divers, and it’s one of the only resorts on Grand Cayman that has its own coral reef, with the wreck of the Nicholson, the bronze mermaid Amphitrite and coral nursery in shallow water right offshore.

The resort is set on a coastal road about 3/4 of a mile south of George Town. The guest rooms are spread out among a quintet of two-story buildings, including a restaurant, dive shop and thatch-roofed outdoor bar. Accommodations are spacious and comfortable. Divers and snorkelers alike favor Sunset House, appreciate the rocky (ironshore) shoreline and the extensive diving programs available at Sunset Divers. Located a quick ten minutes away from Owen Roberts International Airport, you can be in your room and out for a dive within an hour of leaving the airport!

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You’re given a number of options for accommodations ranging from courtyard rooms to ocean view rooms and spacious suites. All rooms come equipped with TV, WI-FI, air-conditioning, private bathrooms, fridge, coffee-making facilities, patio or balcony and daily maid service.

Sea Harvest restaurant is located on-property beside the pool and boasts a beautiful outdoor patio for evening dining. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Sea Harvest is located conveniently next to the dive shop and adjacent to the complimentary dive lockers, so you can easily move from breakfast to the boats in the morning.

Lunch and dinner is also offered at the popular island hang out, My Bar. Capturing the essence of the tropics, My Bar is a huge open-sided cabana, standing on the water’s edge. Looking west, it’s the best vantage point imaginable to watch the sun setting in a blaze of glory at the end of the day. www.sunsethouse.com

TOP LEFT Aerial shot of Sunset House LEFT The view from an ocean-front room at Sunset House

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The walls themselves are filled with large sponges and colorful corals, along with cracks and canyons that you can easily fit through

SEVEN MILE BEACH...

...is actually less than seven miles – about five and a half miles. In winter, the water surrounding Seven Mile Beach is still a very comfortable 80°F, so perfect for any kind of swim or dive.

ABOVE The coral reefs found in the crystal-clear waters off Grand Cayman are among the healthiest in the Caribbean. Here, a great barracuda cruises between the sponges, hard corals and gorgonian seafans in search of its next meal

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We were on location for a few hours and the time flew right by due to the non-stop action of the rays flying by.

After our time slot was up, we headed over to the Kittiwake wreck. The wreck itself is a decommissioned submarine rescue ship, it would accompany submarines during sea trials and manoeuvres.

Crew would monitor dive operations and practice underwater rescue drills. The ship was also often used in salvage operations supporting divers and crew. The ship had a rich history, with many of its operations still classified to this day.

The ship was used to serve divers for its whole career, so it’s a fitting end to become a Mecca for diver. The ship is also filled with some interesting items for the more-aware diver to spot, such as a hyperbaric chamber and many ‘bank’ tanks used to store compressed gases that supply both divers and hyperbaric chambers onboard. The depth of the wreck is great for people to venture into first-time wreck diving and also for more-experienced dives to conduct very long dives. It sits at 66ft and has some

points reaching to just 16ft below the surface.

The wreck is also listed slightly to one side. It used to be upright but was hit pretty hard by a hurricane which tipped the wreck on its side and also moved it sideways across the sand closer to the reef. We were lucky enough to dive the wreck twice on one visit, a morning and afternoon dive where the sun conditions differ, one allowing the natural light to fall onto the bow and the other to the stern. Due to the clear water and bright sun, it’s very easy to get a colorful, nicely exposed picture of the wreck in all its glory. Perfect for the ‘big shot’ type external photo. The wreck is privately owned, and as such a dive permit is needed to dive it costing US$10 per visit. It’s filled with marine life, such as jacks, barracudas and many macro subjects, like garden eels and mantis shrimps.

Over the coming days we continued to a mixture of famous sites, such as Babylon and some more unknown ones. One of my favorite ones among them being Iron Shore Gardens, where we were lucky enough to have quite a few sightings of Caribbean

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Christopher Columbus called the Cayman Islands ‘Las Tortugas’ because of the high density of sea turtles swimming in its nearby waters. Current preservation efforts ensure that there will be sea turtle generations to come!

reef sharks. Caribbean reef sharks are doing well in the area, it was not uncommon to see specimens around eight foot long swimming on the reef edge in the blue water. This area is also home to a nice school of jacks hanging around in the shallow water on top of the reef. The top of the reef is also where you will find some of the finest examples of Acropora Palamata in the Caribbean, if not on the planet. Some of the specimens are well over ten feet wide and offer an amazing place for small schooling fish to hide from the passing predators.

Overall, I can’t recommend Grand Cayman enough, the island is home to quite a few famous underwater photographers and now I can see why. There is a large variety of diving on offer in benign conditions, with great visibility and warm water. I had previously dived in the Caribbean quite a lot and it had not lived up to my expectations of the ‘dream destination’ I remember growing up with as a child, but Grand Cayman gave me the feelings I had always dreamt of when thinking of the Caribbean. n

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ABOVE Grand Cayman’s clear waters, rich marine life and colorful coral reefs make them a Mecca for underwater photographers, and in fact, several world-renowned underwater shooters call the island their home

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Grand Cayman GETTING THERE COVID-19 has thrown travel through the wringer in 2020, but looking forward to 2021, as things get back to normal, Grand Cayman is well served with flights from numerous airports in North America.

WHEN TO GO The rainy season is from May to October, and the dry season is from November to April, but to be honest, the weather is very pleasant all year round.

CURRENCY The Cayman Dollar, which is interchangeable with the US dollar.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS All you need on arrival is a valid passport with at least six months left until expiry, and a return ticket.

ELECTRICITY Grand Cayman runs a 120-volt electricity system with three-pin plugs, but the outlets are designed to accommodate two-pin American plugs.

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In Newfoundland, summertime is an orgy of outdoor activity – 18-hour days crowded with whales, World War Two wrecks, beach picnics and icebergs, leaving little room for manual labor.

Winter is work time

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Newfoundland

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Long before Columbus ‘discovered’ the New World, Vikings had already settled Newfoundland around the year 1,000 - today, the site is immortalised in L’Anse aux Meadows, a Viking colony discovered in the 1960s.

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Jill Heinerth waxes lyrical about the underwater delights that lie in store for adventurous divers off the coast of Newfoundland around the picturesque Bell Island Photography Jill Heinerth / www.IntoThePlanet.com

I

n the pale light of a wintery Canadian dawn, the Arctic blast persuades me to snug my hat securely down over my ears. Emerging from the neck of my parka, my muffled voice emits curly wisps of white vapor into the cold air. A barrel-chested John Olivero vaults clear of his truck in a long-sleeved T-shirt loudly announcing ‘let’s go diving!’ My sturdy Canadian resolve cannot hide my disbelief.

“First, we have to get out of the driveway, Johnny!”

I mumble. “No problem!” he smiles backs. “We have a secret weapon!”

Who would have imagined that a diving expedition would require a snowplow? On this day, we need it to move the three-feet-deep snow that has accumulated overnight. But the list of necessary tools is even more peculiar. For months, John Olivero and Ocean Quest Adventure (www.oceanquestadventures. com) owner Rick Stanley wrangled volunteers, convincing them to heft pickaxes and shovels to prepare for our visit. The group of selfless volunteers moved tons of iron ore, built decks and benches, and installed critical lighting in preparation for us to dive into the depths of the Bell Island Mine. February never deterred their dedication. On the contrary, there is plenty of time in the winter for projects and diversions.

In Newfoundland, summertime is an orgy of outdoor activity – 18-hour days crowded with whales, wrecks, beach picnics and icebergs, leaving little room for manual labor. Winter is work time. Summer is for play.

Most vacationers to this area don’t visit in February, but choose instead to enjoy the summertime.

Newfoundland might not the first name that comes to mind when planning a vacation. North America’s easternmost point balances on the verge of Canada’s Atlantic frontier like a launching springboard diver rising from his toes into an aerial pike to be free of the continent. The vibe of this place is inspiring - strong, homey, and a little bit quirky. Living life in extremes breeds a true sense of community. You can’t leave this place a stranger because a new family will have captivated your heart.

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WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Visit Jill’s dedicated page on her website: www.intotheplanet.com/ newfoundland

Bell Island, Newfoundland Few people know that Bell Island, Newfoundland, Canada was directly attacked during World War Two. In 1942, German U-boats twice raided the island in an attempt to disrupt the flow of high-grade iron ore from mines on the island. Germans knew that if they could stop the flow of ship building materials, even temporarily, then the Allied war efforts would be seriously affected. In two separate attacks, U-boats sunk the SS Saganaga and SS Lord Strathcona followed by the SS Rose Castle, Free French vessel PLM 27 and the loading wharf on Bell Island. Today, divers can plunge into history and dive on the wrecks that are referred to as the ‘Truk Lagoon of the North’.

I first visited Newfoundland by bicycle after making a 4,350-mile ride across Canada. When I met the genial Rick Stanley, I knew I had to go back to tell the story of its hidden geography. Flooded iron mines cover nine square miles and descend over 1,800 feet beneath Bell Island. Historic shipwrecks lay just offshore. The mines were once the area’s economic engine providing extremely high-grade iron ore to shipbuilding efforts in the Great Wars. Recognizing the strategic importance of the mines, German U-boats twice raided the island in 1942. The Germans knew that if they could disrupt the export of shipbuilding materials, even temporarily, then the Allied war efforts would be seriously affected.

In two separate attacks, German submariners sunk the vessels SS Saganaga and SS Lord Strathcona, followed by the SS Rose Castle, and Free French vessel PLM 27, while destroying the ore-loading wharf on Bell Island. The sheer audacity of the attack awakened North Americans that they were now on the front line for the Battle of the Atlantic.

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MIDDLE Immense anchor on the SS Saganaga LEFT Torpedo hole in the hull of the PLM 27 ABOVE Pump in the Bell Island Mine

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In two separate attacks, German submariners sunk the vessels SS Saganaga and SS Lord Strathcona, followed by the SS Rose Castle, and Free French vessel PLM 27, while destroying the ore-loading wharf on Bell Island

Newfoundland was a longtime hold-out to joining the Canadian Confederation; it wasn’t until 1949 when it finally joined the rest of the country. Until then it was an independent nation, and even today the flags of the country/ province can be seen everywhere you go.

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PRISTINE WRECKS

The cold waters off Newfoundland are home to a plethora of shipwrecks, but thanks to the nutrient-rich currents, most are swathed in encrusting marine growth that almost covers all of the slowly rusting metalwork.

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Newfoundland History Timeline c. 3000 B.C. Maritime Archaic Indians moved to the Island of Newfoundland.

1497 John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland, claiming land as British colony.

1550 Whaling stations established.

1819 Mining begins on Bell Island.

1896 Miners at Bell Island struck for two-cents an hour raise.

1899 27-foot-long dinosaur fossil with wings found in mine. It is photographed and discarded to prevent mine closure.

1941 American troops arrived St John’s; construction of American naval base at Argentia began.

1942 German submarine torpedoed ferry, SS Caribou, 127 passengers killed; German submarines sank ships at Bell Island; American naval ships Truxton and Pollux lost off St Lawrence with 189 officers and men lost.

1949 Newfoundland became 10th province of Canada; Joseph Roberts Smallwood elected first premier of Newfoundland.

1966 Bell Island Mine closed and flooded.

1985 Titanic wreck found 400 miles east of Newfoundland at a depth of 13,000ft.

1992 The Canadian government closed northern cod fishery.

1997 Hibernia offshore drilling platform pumped first barrel of oil.

PREVIOUS PAGE Dramatic bow dwarfs the diver ABOVE Drysuits are essential divewear in Newfoundland RIGHT CCR diver on the SS lord Strathcona

Part of the mine closed not long after World War Two due to a decline in the ore market value, but the economic hammer slammed down hard over the Christmas Holidays in 1966. When miners returned to work in January, they discovered that the mine was full of water. Determining that extraction was no longer feasible, owners had pulled the plug on the dewatering pumps and let the network of tunnels slowly fill, leaving the entire island in jobless despair.

The remaining dry sections of Bell Island collected cobwebs until a modest museum opened up at the No. 2 Mine entrance. Offering walking tours of the first 650 feet down to the water line, guides keep their family histories alive by telling (and even singing) stories about over 100 men that died in the course of their work there.

Squared off walls marked with large white numerals enumerate every crossing rib in this maze of hematite ore, that descends one foot for every body length we

swim. Nearly 16 feet above the floor, electrical wiring with bright turquoise insulators and wooden crossbars lead us on a trail toward some of the heavy machinery that once kept this place dry. A crumpled bucket, pair of old leather shoes, broken shovels, and saws make it seem as if the site is frozen in time. What remains is a time capsule conserving the demoralizing moment of economic desperation when the pumps were turned off.

Gliding over the chassis from an ore cart, we reach a large dewatering pump. A hulking crippled wheel connects long silent gears with broken pistons that supply severed pipelines. An inscription on the wall catches our attention. ‘James Bennett’ has scrawled his name beside a cartoonish caricature sporting a small pipe and watchman’s cap. I envision this man taking a smoke break in the dank dust-filled darkness.

A nearby tangle of rusty box springs may be evidence that he took a few covert naps as well. Around the next corner is an epitaph.

Part of the mine closed not long after World War Two due to a decline in the ore market value, but the economic hammer slammed down hard over the Christmas Holidays in 1966 58

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COLD WATER DIVING!

Want to dive Newfoundland? You need to be competent in diving in a drysuit, and have regulators that are well-suited to extremely cold-water conditions. Drygloves are definitely worth considering.

A tiny white cross adorns the wall in a place where a miner has lost his life. Was it a fall of rock, or was he run over by a cart racing through the darkness on this now-empty track? It was a tough business, and not a single family was spared tragedy. If you didn’t lose a loved one in the mine, you might have a family tale about the nights that torpedoes brought the war to your doorstep.

The wrecks themselves convey a sort of intimacy.

You might stumble across an antique LP record or even a sextant, as one of our teammates did a few years ago. Inside the wrecks, the telegraph and other artefacts are still intact, a testament to Canadians’ strict protection efforts. But for me, the exterior beauty is second to none. Every square inch of heavy plating is festooned with colorful life. Puffs of plumose anemones frame the entrance to an intact Marconi room, where an operator made a call for help. Bulbous red lumpfish guard eggs in a ventilation shaft, and large cod swarm a massive anchor locker. Brass plates identify unfired deck guns, but parts of the ships bear wounds where torpedoes ripped them apart. Each year things are a little different. The icebergs mow a path through the debris in winter, and summer growth of marine life hides the scars once more.

While giving a presentation to school children on

While almost everyone just calls the province Newfoundland, that’s not entirely correct - the full name is actually Newfoundland and Labrador.

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ABOVE The SS Lord Strathcona RIGHT You can even dive alongside icebergs out of Newfoundland

the island, I thought the gymnasium seemed too large for the assembled kids. The island population is one-fifth of its former glory, and yet the room is filled with vibrating energy - there are not too many presentations like this on Bell Island. After our workshop, we chat with kids about their vision of the future. Although most will leave the island for work, some are discovering their sense of place. A small boy walks up to us, and enthusiastically offers a simple statement that lets me know we have accomplished our work. “I didn’t know we were important. I didn’t know Bell Island mattered.”

Embark on an Ocean Quest Ocean Quest Adventure Resort co-ordinates all local diving activities. Certified cave divers are escorted into the mine, briefed, and supported by local safety staff. Landlubbers can enjoy a fascinating tour of the No. 2 Mine and Museum, or a hike through abandoned mine tunnels at the ‘Grebe’s Nest’. Ocean Quest offers packages, daily recreational, and full technical excursions to dive the World War Two wrecks, large enough to merit numerous visits. Advanced diving qualification is essential, but personal guides and instruction are also available. No trip is complete without a Zodiac excursion to swim with wildlife such as humpback whales that feed in the region in the summer months. In late June and early July, a parade of icebergs drifts down the coast. Advanced divers comfortable with navigation, down currents, and free ascents may participate in this activity based from a RIB. Divers wear provided helmets and should carry a compass and surface marker buoy so they may ascend away from the ice face. n

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Bell Island

Newfoundland GETTING THERE St John’s is the main international hub for Newfoundland and Labrador.

WHEN TO GO Wreck-diving is conducted from May to September, and in late June and early July, you also have the opportunity to dive alongside icebergs.

DIVE CONDITIONS Shipwreck depths from 82ft-148ft with near-freezing temperatures on the bottom and up to 55°F on the surface.

Wrecks are relatively sheltered from all but the worst weather.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS COVID-19 has played havoc with travel this year, but hopefully 2021 will see things improve. US citizens need a valid US passport or NEXUS card to travel into Canada.

VESSEL The Mermaid offers a large transom lift and ample warm, enclosed space with the best onboard soup you’ll find anywhere.

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| Mark Evans checks out the SHEARWATER RESEARCH PEREGRINE SHEARWATER RESEARCH PEREGRINE SRP: USD $450 Mark Evans: Canadian company Shearwater Research has rapidly carved itself a niche for highperforming, robust and, perhaps most importantly, user-friendly dive computers. The Petrel 2 gained a legion of followers, as did the Perdix AI, and then the Teric wristwatch unit. The innovative NERD II HUD also went down a storm.

Now one of the things I particularly liked about the Perdix AI and the Teric was that while they were supremely capable dive computers, with abilities and features that would sate the desires of even the most-hardened technical diver, they were also so easy to use that even novice divers could happily put them into recreational mode and go diving. The fact that as the diver progressed in their diving career, the computer could easily ‘grow’ with them, was a major plus point in my eyes, and that ability to cope with recreational and open circuit/closed circuit technical diving could offset the purchase cost of the unit.

However, there are plenty of people out there who just want to pootle along a pretty coral reef and never stray out of recreational depths. For them, the outlay for a computer that is capable of doing far more than they will ever dream of just isn’t worth the investment.

That’s where the Peregrine comes in, with a very keen price point. It is still a very-capable decompression computer, with four diving modes - straightforward air mode, single nitrox (up to 40 percent), three-gas switchable nitrox (up to 100

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percent) and gauge for the techies. This means it can still easily deal with entrylevel technical diving, and beyond - in gauge mode - if necessary. It has a vivid 2.2-inch LCD full-colour screen - with a user-customisable display - utilises the tried-and-tested Buhlmann ZHL16C algorithm with gradient factors, features an intuitive dive planner, and uses a simple two-button control system for navigating the menus. Like the Teric, it can be wirelessly charged up - via the supplied USB wireless charging station - with each charge giving approximately 30 hours on medium brightness level. As with previous Shearwaters you can upload dive logs via wireless data transfer, and get free firmware updates.

I have long extoled the virtues of my Perdix AI and Teric computers, so I was keen to get my hand on the Peregrine. Shearwater duly obliged and sent me a unit soon after the official global launch.

First reactions? It exudes the quality we have come to expect from Shearwater. It comes in a zippered

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www.shearwater.com protective case like the Perdix AI and the Teric.

On opening it, in a zippered section in the ‘lid’ you find the charging cable, a quality checklist card with hand-signed checks, and a short cheat-sheet explaining how to charge the unit, how to attach the strap, etc.

In the main compartment, you find the Peregrine nestled securely in a dense foam surround. Lift it out, and you find the rubber wrist strap coiled around the outside, and the spindles and attachment tools in cutouts on the rear. Inside this foam, between the Peregrine itself and the tools you find the charging station. At the very bottom, you find the shock cord - an optional way to mount the computer on your wrist - along with a spare screen protector, and two Shearwater stickers.

I opted to fit the rubber strap, as I have never been a fan of shock-cord straps, and it was doddle to attach. No fiddly spindles here - you get chunky units that use two (supplied) fat Philips-head screwdrivers to tighten into place. The rubber wrist strap is comfortable and holds the computer securely in place on your arm, but I have to be honest, I still prefer the elastic-and-pinch-clip straps on my Perdix AI. Switch on the computer, and the familiar blue-and-white colour scheme appears. For anyone who uses a Perdix AI, the screen display will be instantly recognisable - I tend to use my Perdix predominantly in Rec mode, as it is more than sufficient for most of the diving I am doing, and the screen display on the Peregrine is basically the same.

All of the relevant information is right there in front of you - depth, dive time, the active gas, your max depth, time, water temperature, your NDl and tissue loading, and then your safety stop. As with my Perdix, it is extremely clear to read underwater, even when it is gloomy, and in fact, my buddy could read it from a few metres away!

The navigation system on the Peregrine is just the same as on the Perdix AI, apart from the fact this time around you get stainless steel buttons that have a nice ‘feel’ to them. Easy to use even with thick drygloves on. As with the Perdix, the menu on the Peregrine is very intutitive and even a new user could be happily bouncing around through the different areas in just a few minutes.

I particular like the visual and vibration alerts from the Peregrine. I tend to switch off audible alarms (not that it has any) anyway as they just bug me, but the vibration is great - you can easily feel it through a wetsuit or even a drysuit.

So what is the major difference between the Perdix AI and the Peregrine? Well, other than the aforementioned tech diving features, the big two are no compass, and no air integration. But look at that price. If you want air integration and a compass, as well as the additional tech options, go for the Perdix AI - or the Teric - but if these two features are not vital to you, then the Peregrine makes a solid choice. If you want to ‘pimp’ your Peregrine, optional colour wrist straps are available in Ocean Blue and White. n

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| Walt Stearns reviews the DIVE RITE XT FINS DIVE RITE XT FINS SRP: USD $159

www.diverite.com

Walt Stearns: Given Dive Rite’s origins as a manufacturer of cave diving equipment, their outlook on what they will produce and why has always been rather pragmatic. In other words, best to not mess with a tried-and-true formula that works well.

Up in North Florida’s cave country (Dive Rite’s backyard), divers are always on the lookout for the types of equipment – from BCDs to fins – that can best handle the arduous day-to-day use of diving in subterranean cave systems. When traversing passages with high flow or stiff currents, the most desirable fins are those that offer a balance of power-to-work ratio, providing efficient finning for long periods of time.

To accomplish this, the most-proven design is the paddle shape as they still remain the most suited for extensive finning with a sculling motion done with a frog kick. At the same time, the criteria for a highperformance fin calls for the blade itself to be stiff, without sacrificing the appropriate amount of snap during the down stroke when a modified flutter or power kick is required.

It is on all those merits Dive Rite positions their one and only fin in their product line, the XT.

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| Walt Stearns reviews the DIVE RITE XT FINS www.diverite.com

Given a set of these fins to try out, my mind flashed back to the later 1990s to another dive gear label called Apollo Sports, who had one set of fins in particular called the Apollo Prestige that came in one colour, white with a wide black segment that ran down the centre (from end to end) like a racing stripe. When Apollo decided to ditch all their full blade fins in favour of those with the split fin design, Dive Rite acquired the Prestige model from Apollo for their own product line. While this affirms this particular fin has been around for quite some time, the question might be what’s different about them now.

To begin with, unlike the original Prestige, which were made of a polymer plastic, Dive Rite’s XT is fabricated with Monprene Thermoplastic Elastomer Compounds (TPEs), the material favoured by many technical diving equipment manufacturers for its blended rigidity and flexibility. Differentiating the XT from its competitors is a slightly softer 61mm wide Monoprene centre strip extending from the top of the foot pocket to the tip of the blade, which is added in during the injected molding process.

So yes, the trademark 2.4-inch wide black racing stripe down the centre is still in place, but instead of white, the rest of the fin comes in red, Royal blue and black. Having this softer material down the centre of the blade allows the water to channel towards the middle and back away from the blade for added thrust during the down stroke. This is particularly important when using a modified flutter kick.

One thing that is relatively new about the XT Fin (updated in early 2020), is that it now features a POM swivel where the spring steel heel strap meets the fin’s foot pocket, allowing for

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easier donning and adjustment.

The POM Swivel features two position points for moving the buckle’s locking screws so that the diver can adjust the fit of their straps a little more to their liking.

I imagine you are now asking ‘What is the Dive Rite XT fin going to do for me?’ Looking at the chatter about these fins on forums as well as other reviews, the XTs seem to land in two camps; those who love ’em and those who leave ’em. The majority of these viewpoints centre on the stiffness of the blades while finning.

Playing around with various fin strokes to see where they best serve in terms of efficiency and application, my first impression was ‘man, these babies are stiff!’ Even after allowing my legs to get acclimated to the XT’s characteristic stiffness, my own take away was that the XTs were a really decent fin for frog kicking, nearly as efficient when employing modified flutter, but somewhat unremarkable for mobility when it came to a flutter kick.

Overall, the XTs are a robust, well-made paddle type fin with a comfortable foot pocket that will serve most divers in the cave and wreck diving persuasion well. I particularly liked the hinge effect of the POM swivel for taking the fins on and off in the water.

Dive Rite’s XT Fins are available in size S through XL. n

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There are many moments like this in the future.

EUROPEAN MADE

www.xdeep.eu