Ultimate Dive Guide (US) by scubadivermag

Find your fins and bust out your BCD... Dive in and explore the coolest resorts, best liveaboards and epic destinations A DIVERS GUIDE TO LIVEABOARDS

TECHNICAL DIVING

PACKING ADVICE

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

MEET THE TEAM

EDITOR IN CHIEF Mark Evans Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE (North America) Walt Stearms Email: walt@scubadivermag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@scubadivermag.com ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Ross Arnold Email: ross.arnold@scubadivermag.com CONTRIBUTORS Divers Alert Network, Adrian Stacey

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PUBLISHERS Rork Media Limited 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, England, WC2H 9JQ Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers. Copyright for material published remains with Rork Media Limited. Use of material from 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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Welcome to the Ultimate Divers Guide

hen the onset of seasickness queasies set in, the most common advice for dealing with it is to stare at the horizon. I, for one, still feel a bit nauseous when dealing with what I now call COVID-19 2.0. Nor can I say that I am not without a bit of frustration and despair knowing that so many of the places I am waiting to revisit remain closed. So, putting the features for this issue together certainly helped me quell my queasy outlook and set my sights on the horizon. And it’s looking good. We have built this issue of Scuba Diver Destinations as a special travel edition dedicated to showcasing a variety of destinations, dive centers, resorts, and liveaboards from around the globe. The look this time is a little different than usual, as it focuses more on dive destinations and who to dive with when you get there. There’s some great advice about seasons, topside attractions and, of course, the diving. To make this issue easier to navigate, we have divided the magazine into five main sections - the Caribbean; the Middle East; the Indian Ocean; Southeast Asia; and Micronesia and the Pacific. There is also some handy hints and advice when it comes to embarking on a liveaboard adventure, and packing your dive kit for travel. plus an introduction to the world of technical diving. In addition to all the excellent content, we’ve made sure that there is plenty of fantastic imagery to help whet your appetite for getting back into the water soon. Until that day comes, keep your eyes on the horizon.Enjoy this issue and keep it handy as inspiration for what is to come in your dive travel repertoire! Walt Stearns, Editor-at-Large (North America)

A G G R E S S O R L I V E A B O A R D S ® · A G G R E S S O R R I V E R C R U I S E S ® · A G G R E S S O R S A FA R I L O D G E S ®

We Go

ABOVE and Below

Bahamas open

Galapagos open

Red Sea, Egypt open

Belize open

Guadalupe, Mexico open

Roatán, Honduras open

Cayman Islands

Hawaiʼi open

Socorro, Mexico open

Cocos Island, Costa Rica open

Indonesia

Sri Lanka (Safari Lodges) open

Cuba

Maldives open

NEW Sudan open

Dominican Republic Egypt (River Cruises) open

Oman Palau open Philippines

Thailand Turks & Caicos open

and

B e y o n d°

Going beyond the ordinary has been the mission of every Aggressor Adventures® professional staﬀer since 1984. From the mountain tops of Sri Lanka to the depths of the Seven Seas, we promise to make your expedition safe, secure and sensational! Our worldwide exotic dive, safari and river cruise destinations are OPEN, so join us for the adventure of a lifetime. Wayne Brown, Aggressor Adventures® Chairman & CEO

Specials and New Itineraries at www.aggressor.com · +1-706-993-2531

Find your fins and bust out your BCD... Dive in and explore the coolest resorts, best liveaboards and epic destinations A DIVERS GUIDE TO LIVEABOARDS

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TECHNICAL DIVING

PACKING ADVICE

22/08/2021 13:17

Liveaboards - a divers’ guide

Liveaboards are one of the best ways to get the most ‘bang for your buck’ from your hard-earned vacation time, and having your accommodation right there on your dive vessel means you don’t have to return to land every evening, seriously extending your choice of dive sites.

The Middle East

Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef

Scuba Diver Editor-at-Large (Australia and New Zealand) Adrian Stacey embarks on a voyage of discovery to the Great Barrier Reef aboard day boats and a luxury liveaboard.

Ah, the Middle East - the striking contrast between the desert landscape and the myriad colours of the underwater world has to be seen to be believed, and as well as epic diving locations throughout the region, you also have the chance to visit iconic places such as the Rose-Red City of Petra in Jordan; and the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans has visited this area many times and offers an overview, and top resorts and liveaboards introduce you to all they have to offer.

The Caribbean

Guide to equipment packing

You have invested plenty of cash in your dive gear, so you want to protect it, and here Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans give you some hints and advice on the best ways to pack honed from over 25 years of traveling around the world to diving destinations.

If you were going to create a place for unspoilt water-based adventure, you would probably end up with something that looked a lot like the Caribbean. Here Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans provides an introduction to the region, and hotspot resorts showcase their offerings.

An introduction to technical diving

Scuba diving is a niche sport, we know that, but within scuba diving, technical diving is effectively a niche within a niche. We’ve all seen people venturing beneath the surface laden with stage cylinders or closed-circuit rebreathers, but what is the attraction of tech diving?

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INSIDE THIS SPECIAL EDITION

The Indian Ocean

The sprawling Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Australasia, and is the world’s third largest ocean. Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans does a round up, while resorts and liveaboards promote their varied offerings.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is world-renowned among the diving fraternity, as it is home to the fabled Coral Triangle of marine biodiversity. Whether you opt for land-based or liveaboard, you are assured of some of the best diving on the planet. Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans provides an intro, while tourist boards, resorts and liveaboards promote what they offer.

Divers Alert Network

The Divers Alert Network team offers sage advice on safety considerations for when you are wreck diving.

Micronesia and the Pacific Ocean

Micronesia consists of some 600 islands, grouped

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into four states – Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. Although a small total land mass, they are scattered over an area roughly five times the size of France! The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earth’s oceans. It covers about 46 percent of the Earth’s water surface. This vast area takes in some awesome diving destinations, and tourist boards and liveaboards showcase their offerings. MEXICO

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aribbean Sea… Two words immediately bringing to mind pictures of white sand beaches, fringed with palm trees and turquoise waters. The Yucatan Peninsula offers just that… and more! Beautiful reef dives along the shore – the second largest barrier reef in the world runs along the coast – impressive drop-offs in Cozumel, encounters with gentle sea turtles or gracious eagle rays… not to mention the uniqueness of the dives in the Cenotes, atmospheric caves that punctuate the land, hidden under the jungle canopy. Dune, a growing network already present in five destinations (Red Sea, Indonesia, Maldives, Mediterranean and, yes, Mexico) first chose Playa del Carmen to set up a dive centre in 2016. This year, we are proud to announce the launch of our Cozumel base, allowing us to extend the range of activities for the divers who visit us. Two dive centers, one goal - whether you prefer the lush gardens and cocoon-like surroundings of our dive center in Playa, or the easy access to the National Marine Park from our dive center on Cozumel, you’ll be sure to find the premises that suit you best! Two tank dives, morning and afternoon departures, night dives from the shore in Cozumel, out-of-this-world dives in Cenotes, snorkeling with whalesharks off Isla Mujeres, bull sharks on a white sand bottom... Mix and match for the perfect diving holiday! Just be sure to keep some free time to visit the Mayan ruins in the area: the giant pyramids of Chichen Itza, Tulum and its temples overlooking the sea… Last but not least, if you’ve ever dreamed of turning a holiday hobby into a lifestyle, we run some of the best Instructor Development Courses in Playa. Challenging, fun, empowering… What started out as a simple holiday may very well turn into a life changing experience! We’re just saying… II – LEKUAN www.mexicobluedream. com BUNAKEN MARINE PARK Lekuan is the signature dive of Marine Park. Huge numbers Bunaken Average customer rating of turtles can be found living on this reef, bottomless vertical wall. The top dancing with perfect for snorkeling, is alive and while the inky depths below WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.CO countless colorful reef fish, M are patrolled by reef sharks and tuna.

The top reef, perfect for snorkeling, is alive and dancing with countless colorful reef fish

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Shallow white sand, coral bommies here and there, the fringing reef… and life! Life everywhere!

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A diver’s guide W

hen I head off on a dive trip, I want to get as much in-water time in as possible, and there is no better way to maximise your bottom time than going on a liveaboard. I am a massive fan of liveaboards, and here, I will be giving you a comprehensive overview of everything I can think of that is liveaboard-related. Liveaboards. The name kind of gives it away. They are dive boats which you live on board. Now back in the day, when liveaboards first came on the scene, they were – to put it bluntly – decidedly rough and ready, and keen divers were happy to endure grotty cabins, shared toilets and other dodgy elements in order to hit some of the best, more-inaccessible diving on the planet. How things have changed. The remote dive sites are just as awesome as they ever were, but now many liveaboards more-closely resemble luxury yachts, with air-conditioning, ensuite cabins, hot tubs, you name it. Let’s just say you are no longer roughing it when you embark on a liveaboard adventure in this day and age!

Selecting a liveaboard

OK, so let’s kick things off with selecting a liveaboard in the first place. Where you really benefit from a liveaboard is 10

when you use it to access out-of-the-way places that cannot be reached by dayboats. Yes, if you are diving somewhere like the Cayman Islands, where most of the dive sites can be dayboat-dived, when you are on a liveaboard you can rack up four or even five dives a day, but for me, the beauty of a liveaboard is being away from the madding crowds and heading out on the high seas. How long is your vacation time, and how much budget have you got to play with? These two things will narrow down your options and help you select your final destination. We can all longingly dream of heading out to Cocos Island, but if we haven’t got several thousand dollars to hand and a couple of weeks off work, it is just a pipe dream. So, be realistic and give yourself achievable parameters you can work in. Depending on where you live, there are plenty of liveaboards out there running week-long itineraries around some amazing dive destinations, from throughout the Caribbean, in the Red Sea, across the Indian Ocean and around South East Asia. If you have ten days or longer at your disposable, then you can look at extended itineraries in these locations, as well as other destinations which require more time in order to WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

At first glance liveaboards can look a more expensive option, however, once you factor in that the cost includes your diving, accommodation and food – and in some cases, alcoholic beverages - suddenly that price becomes a lot more reasonable!

actually reach the dive sites. Be aware that the cost will increase the more-remote the destination. Finally, safety. Accidents involving liveaboards are, thankfully, few and far between, but after some much-publicised incidents in recent years, safety on a liveaboard is even more of a top priority, and so you will find that companies are more safety-conscious than ever before. However, for peace of mind, you can ask about what safety features and procedures are in place on your chosen boat when you are booking, but more about that later. Ah, booking your liveaboard trip. There are various ways of going about this. You can book direct with the boat or parent company, for instance, Aggressor Adventures, and sort out your own flights, or you can go through a dive specialist tour operator, like PADI Travel, and book the complete package. There are pros and cons to both methods. Some people like to trawl about for keenly priced flights and so on, and building the trip is part of the excitement for them, while others are happy to just let someone else do all the hard work. Some of the package deals include dive insurance – an absolute must in this day and age – so it is worth considering all of these factors when making the decision whether to go it alone, or work with a specialist. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

SCAN ME

TO START YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!

Getting ready to go

So you have narrowed down your choices, selected a liveaboard, booked your trip and now you are getting ready to go. The first thing to remember is that you are going to be living on a boat for a week or longer, so you can leave all those fancy clothes you bring to go out for dinner on an evening. Casual is the name of the game on a liveaboard, which is another reason I enjoy them so much. Shorts, T-shirts, maybe a lightweight fleece for on an evening if the temperature drops a little. That’s it. I have got my liveaboard clothing list down to a T now, and rarely come back with something that has not been worn. Get creative – I plan to put on a clean T-shirt after showering from a day’s diving, and then wear that same shirt the next day in between dives. It is also worth bearing in mind that storage on boats is limited, so if you rock up with monster dive bags, you aren’t going to be too popular. Consider bags which can flatten down somewhat once you have emptied them, so they are easier for the crew to put in the hold. If you are going to require rental dive equipment, sort that out with the boat beforehand. You do not want to turn up for your trip to find that they do not have your size available. If you are bringing your own gear, I’d advise you to get it serviced before you go, if it hasn’t been done for a while. There is nothing worse than setting off on the liveaboard

Casual is the name of the game on a liveaboard, which is another reason I enjoy them so much trip of a lifetime and find that your regulator is freeflowing, or your BCD inflator is not working. Many liveaboards require divers to carry a reel or spool and a delayed surface marker buoy. I consider these essential pieces of dive kit that all divers should have. However, if you are not familiar with them, get them before you go and get some practice in, so you know how to deploy a DSMB from depth. Again, this is not something you want to be doing for the first time actually on your trip. Do you get seasick? If you don’t have good sea legs, then it is better to be prepared than feel like death warmed over suffering on board. Being prone to seasickness doesn’t necessarily exclude you from liveaboard diving, but come armed with the appropriate medication to tackle it head on. Just make sure that any seasickness tablets are ok to dive on, and if you need them, start to take them before you step on board. It is pointless trying to tackle the issue when you are already feeling as rough as a bag of wrenches. It is probably also worth you limiting your

choice of liveaboard to those in calmer locations, that don’t involve long ocean crossings.

Arrival day

When you arrive on your liveaboard, you will generally be greeted by the crew, often with a cold damp cloth and an icecold drink. You do feel a bit like some VIP boarding a private yacht. Your bags will be deposited on the dive deck, and they will allocate your area on the dive deck. Every diver has their ‘spot’ on the dive deck for the entire trip. This not only helps you know where you are going each day, but it also helps the crew keep track of who is still out diving and who is back on the boat. Your BCD and regulator will remain on your cylinder for the duration of the trip, your wetsuit will go on a hanger, and your mask, fins and other accessories will go in a box under your seat. Cylinders are filled on-station, so all you need to do on your return from a dive is turn off your gas, 12

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EMPEROR PRICING MEANS NO HIDDEN EXTRAS

Am I experienced enough?

Liveaboards are not just for experienced divers. Now don’t get me wrong, there are certain locations and itineraries that are flagged up as being only for experienced divers due to the conditions that will be commonly encountered, but the vast majority of liveaboards out there are suitable for all levels of diver. In fact, I strongly believe that going on a liveaboard as a fledgling diver is one of the best things you can do. Where else would you be able to rack up 20-plus dives in a week? I have seen open water divers with a handful of dives come on in leaps and bounds over the course of a week on a liveaboard. By the end of the trip, their buoyancy was improved, their rate of air consumption had reduced, and we’d taken pounds of lead off their weightbelt. Being immersed – ‘scuse the pun – in a diving environment for a week or two is a fantastic learning experience. purge your regs and undo the first stage from the pillar valve. If you are not nitrox-certified, consider doing your course before your trip. Many liveaboards offer nitrox fills for free, so it seems a shame to miss out on this bonus. Nitrox has many benefits, especially with repetitive dives such as on a liveaboard. The crew will generally allocate cabins, and then usher you into the salon for a boat briefing. This will go over all of the facilities on board and run through how to set the airconditioning in your cabin, what not to flush down the marine toilets, and so on. Some discussion about the plans for the week in terms of diving, etc, usually takes place now too, so you get an idea of what sort of schedule to expect. There is generally a separate dive briefing, to go through the procedures for diving, be that from the main vessel or from a RIB or dive tender, and this usually follows the main boat briefing. You may have been on a gazillion liveaboards, but make sure you pay attention during these briefings – one, it is only polite, and two, there may be elements that are different to your previous trips. Don’t be that person who comes and asks a query that was answered in the briefing because you were not listening. There will also be a safety briefing, to run through what to do in case of emergencies. This will involved explaining WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

PREVIOUS PAGE Some liveaboards, like this yacht in the Maldives, are seriously luxurious TOP LEFT Some areas use a dive tender

WE ARE DIVING IN THE RED SEA AND MALDIVES NOW! Contact us for the latest updates on new flight arrivals

Contact reservations@ emperordivers.com We’re the team to help you go diving again!

LEFT Prepping for a dive on a liveaboard ABOVE Liveaboard cabins these days are comfortable and luxurious

LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1992 Quality | Excellence | Service Flexibility | Value

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What if I don’t get on with everybody?

You are going to be out at sea with your fellow passengers and crew for seven days or longer. It is inevitable that there may be people on board who you do not gel with for whatever reason, but heh, that’s life. I have been on literally hundreds of liveaboards, and by and large, I have seen very few instances where people have really not got on. Just remember, you are all there for the same reason – to do some fantastic diving – and you all have diving in common, so keep conversations away from polarising topics (religion, politics) and you should be fine. Most liveaboards are big enough that you can always find somewhere quiet to just chill out, you are not all crammed together in one tiny space 24/7.

where lifejackets and liferafts are located, you will have to demonstrate putting on a lifejacket, they will show where emergency exits and hatches are (I’d advise you to make yourself familiar with their operation, don’t just assume you know how to do it) and so on. Check that they have a night watch in operation, and find out where the charging station is for batteries. As I said before, there are very few incidents involving liveboards when you consider how many are operating around the world, but it is better to play safe than sorry and be prepared.

Dive, eat, sleep, repeat

Liveaboards are all about maximising your dive time, and so you can expect there to be anywhere from three to five dives a day on offer, depending on where you are in the world. This will normally be three or four dives during the day, followed by a night dive. You’ll find it a rather hectic schedule to start with – it really is a case of dive, relax, dive, eat, dive, chill, dive, eat, dive, sleep. And then repeat. Don’t feel that you have to do every single dive on offer, even if your buddy or the rest of your group want to. You are on holiday, so do as much diving, or as little, as you want. I have been on liveaboards where people did the two morning dives, had a little siesta in the afternoon, and then did the night dive. I personally am not a huge fan of night dives – unless they are on a wreck or something equally exciting – so I tend to do all of the day dives and then relax with a beer on the evening while 14

ploughing through my day’s photographs. That said, there is nothing worse than sitting out a dive and then kicking yourself when the others return with tales of mating mantas, dancing dolphins and wonderous whalesharks. Many liveaboards these days have paddleboards and kayaks available for your surface intervals, or when you want to skip a dive and do something else. If the itinerary remains close to land, such as in the Bahamas, for instance, then the crew often schedule beachcombing excursions in the dive tender. Trips in locations like this can also work if you have any non-divers in your party. Liveaboards are generally not ideal for non-divers, but if you are on a trip which offers all I have mentioned, then they would have plenty to keep themselves occupied while you went diving. You will undoubtedly be well fed while on a liveaboard – I am constantly astounded at the variety and amount of food that appears from the galleys on these things. Don’t expect to go back losing a few pounds, especially if the boat has a pastry chef… Oh my god, a warm donut with a coffee when you come back from a late-afternoon dive is simply heaven… Some liveaboards include alcoholic beverages in the cost of the charter price, others charge extra for beers, wine and spirits, but regardless, just be aware you are banging in a lot of dives over a relatively short period of time. Don’t go overboard with the drinks, otherwise you are risking missing out on dive days if the crew believe you are still under the influence. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

EMPEROR PRICING MEANS NO HIDDEN EXTRAS

It is also worth bearing in mind that storage on boats is limited, so if you rock up with monster dive bags, you aren’t going to be too popular Heading for home

Generally, you do one or two dives on your final day onboard, so that you can leave 24 hours before your flight home the following day. This has numerous advantages. You can give your dive kit a good rinse and then lay it on the sundeck to dry out – usually it will be bone-dry by the time you come to pack up your bags at the end of the day. Just remember to secure anything lightweight so it doesn’t fly overboard. Drape your wetsuits over the railings, but knot the zipper cord around a stanchion. Likewise your BCD – just clip it through the railings. This enforced downtime also lets you relax and chill out on what is effectively a big yacht. Soak up those final rays of sun, enjoy an adult beverage in the daytime safe in the knowledge you are not diving again, and wrap up your trip in style. Some boats require you to dine off the vessel on the final night once you are back in dock, so if you were going to save a bit of luggage space for that fancy Hawaiian shirt or cocktail dress, keep it for the final evening. Tipping is commonplace on liveaboards, but as to how much depends on where you are in the world. In Egypt, for instance, $100 is considered a good tip for a week, whereas in the Caribbean, it is often touted as being 15 percent of the cost of the trip itself, so a far higher amount. Trips to remote locations such as Galapagos, Malpelo and Cocos can see pretty hefty tips, so it is worth factoring that in when you are budgeting for your next adventure. Check with your potential liveaboards what the expected tip will be when you are researching your potential destinations. n WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

LEFT Don’t expect to lose any weight on a liveaboard - the food can be exceptionally good ABOVE Liveaboards are your ticket to remote destinations, such as the Brother Islands in the Red Sea

WE ARE DIVING IN THE RED SEA AND MALDIVES NOW! Contact us for the latest updates on new flight arrivals

Contact reservations@ emperordivers.com We’re the team to help you go diving again!

LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1992 Quality | Excellence | Service Flexibility | Value

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any of us love to head off to sunnier climes for a spot of tropical diving, but before we get to enjoy those crystal-clear, bath-tub warm waters, we have to negotiate one of the most-trying aspects of dive travel – packing all of your precious kit, ensuring it is as safe and secure as possible, while trying to avoid being crucified by the increasingly restrictive luggage allowances and over-weight bag fees.

Hold luggage

First up, you need a bag to carry your kit in. Now there are a smorgasbord of dive bags on the market, ranging from gigantic roller bags to vast holdalls and everything inbetween, and so it is a case of finding something that will comfortably take all of your gear – and your clothes, etc – but won’t demolish the weigh scales. Some of the large roller bags available will swallow a full set of dive kit and enough clothes for weeks with no effort, but the problem I have found with many of these is that they weigh a ton! When we did a bag test a few years back, we found some of the roller bags weighed over 11lb empty! Now when you might only have 44-50lb of hold baggage allowance, you don’t really want to be giving up such a chunk to the bag before you’ve even started loading your gear. On the flipside, I have seen some ultra-lightweight dive bags, which weigh under 2.5lb, but are so flimsy it’s doubtful they would survive one dive trip, never mind several. It is finding a happy medium. If you are going to be using a trolley to get from your car/drop-off point at the airport to the check-in desk, then it might be worth looking at a simple holdall-style bag. With no frame, wheels or extending handle, these are always lighter than roller bags. However, you aren’t going to be wanting to carry one long distances when it is loaded up with equipment. I prefer having roller wheels so I can just

grab-and-go with the bag. I have found that trolleys might be easy to locate at your home airport, but often at my final destination, it is far easier to just pick my bag off the luggage belt, and wheel it out of the airport. One final thing to bear in mind. When choosing a dive bag, consider what it looks like. I don’t mean aesthetically, though that is important to some people, I am talking logos and brand names. Personally, I don’t like having a bag which loudly proclaims ‘I contain expensive dive equipment’, so I tend to go for bags with no logos at all, or minimal branding, where possible. I cycle between two styles of dive bag when I head off on assignment for Scuba Diver. One is a more-traditional roller bag, in this instance made by Stahlsac. Stahlac are more expensive than many of their rivals, but they are extremely robust – my bag has probably done more than 250 trips and is still going strong. It is quite plain – just black with a blue stripe on the front – so doesn’t indicate it has dive kit inside, and with decent-sized wheels, it can handle a bit of rougher terrain when necessary. It weighs in over 6.5lb, but it is very durable and works well.

I cycle between two styles of dive bag when I head off on assignment for Scuba Diver

The other is from Scubapro, but Mares and Beuchat also do a similar design. Basically, it is a soft roller bag. There is no rigid frame or extending handle, it is essentially a big holdall with wheels on the bottom. This makes it very light – about 4.5lb lighter than my Stahlsac bag – so when I need to take my drysuit or a thicker wetsuit, or more test equipment, and weight is a premium, I defer to this bag. It is also the perfect bag to take on liveaboards, as when it is empty, it can collapse and fold in on itself so it takes up hardly any storage space in your room or in their luggage locker. It does have a bit of branding on, but it isn’t too in your face, so I can deal with it. My packing process is virtually the same for both bags, the only difference being that everything goes into the one area with the Scubapro bag, rather than two separate sections

with the Stahlsac. So, let’s move on to the actual packing. The first things to go into my bag are my fins and my mesh bag. The mesh bag is more than big enough for a full set of kit. With a squeeze, I can get two sets in it, but when it is empty, it weighs nothing and folds in on itself into a neat disc. To make the most of the space in my bag, I put my boots into the foot pocket. The foot pockets on my Force Fins are very solid, but other fins can be softer, and so doing this also helps prevent the foot pockets from being crushed while in transit. My mask, in its padded case, goes between the fins at the bottom of the bag, and my DSMB and reel, small torch and tech shorts go on top of the mesh bag. Next I lay my wetsuit, be that my 3mm or 5mm full-suit. I don’t do shorties. I put the torso in the middle of the bag, and then carefully coil my regulator into this area. I then folder the arms in over the regs, and finally the legs over the top as well. This now cocoons my regulator, which is my most-expensive piece of kit in this bag, in layers of neoprene. Next, my BCD – usually my go-to Dive Rite Transpac II – goes in. I ensure the wing is totally deflated and tuck the straps, etc, in and around the wetsuit and regulator. My knife and Trilobite cutting tool are permanently attached to the shoulder straps. I always take a snorkel – if dolphins put in a surprise appearance, I have it with me. This just tucks down the side of the BCD. The only other thing which goes into this section of the bag when I am packing the Stahlsac are my flipflops or sandals, and my microfibre towel. The rest – my clothes, wash bag, charging cables, extension lead, etc – all go into the top section. With the Scubapro, I just pack all of my shorts, T-shirts, etc on top and around my dive kit, and in the front pocket. I always put an external strap around my dive bag, whichever I am using. One, it makes it more recognisable when it comes round on the luggage belt, and two, it helps take pressure off the zippers when the luggage handlers are being a little, shall we say, overzealous. Now, this is just how I pack my dive bag for traveling. I am not saying this is the only way, everyone will have their own methods and practices, but packing my kit like this has never failed me in more than 25 years of dive travel.

Hand luggage

Many divers have cameras and housings these days, as well as one or two dive computers, plus all the peripheral accessories, so packing your hand luggage is, if anything, even more of a nightmare than dealing with your hold bag! When I first headed off on diving holidays, packing my hand luggage was a doddle. I just grabbed a rucksack and chucked in a book, my Sony Walkman and headphones (you can tell how long we are going back here…), my passport, tickets, dive certs and my dive computer. There was probably a fleece in there too. And that was it. If it tipped the scales at 8lb, I’d be surprised. How things change. Now it is like a military operation packing my hand luggage. I have to get my MacBook Pro, charging cable, camera, housing, port, strobes, battery chargers, arms, dive computers, etc, as well as passport, dive certs and tickets, into a small bag, which is then often limited to 15lb, or sometimes even less. It is a constant headache, but through a lot of trial and error over the years, I now have two bags which allow me to generally avoid any weight issues and still pack everything I need to get my assignment completed – if for any reason my main hold baggage, which has all of my dive kit in it, goes missing, or is delayed, I can always use rental equipment and still get in the water taking pictures. My go-to bag is a little roller bag. With everything I need in here for a standard assignment, it weighs in around 20lb. However, thanks to its dinky dimensions, I think I have only once in about 400 flights been asked to put it on the scales. It just doesn’t look like it would hold more than 13lb. When asked if I have hand luggage, I hold it up, and then they just hand over a cabin tag to put on the grab handle. Sorted. I prefer to use a roller bag over a rucksack, as if you are wandering around the terminal, or have lengthy stopovers enroute to and from your destination, it is far more

comfortable and easier towing one of these around. Now, let’s go through the packing. Many of these bags have loads of pockets, etc, but I find this only increases the bulk – and with it, the chances of having the bag weighed. My one is very basic. It has a small zippered pocket on the top, which is where I put my dive certs and my passport and tickets, and then a large zippered pocket below, which holds my headphones, wallet, phone, etc. It then just has one main zippered compartment, and into this goes everything else. I put the fibreoptic strobe cables and charging cables coiled into the top pocket on the main flap. The zipper long since died, but the pocket still does what I need it to. I then put my housing in first, followed by the two strobes. Around these I then put the dome port and camera itself, which I wrap in bubblewrap for a bit of added protection. In the spaces, I put my primary dive computer in its case, the battery charger, my phone charger, my MacBook Pro charger. I also put my sunglasses in their case in here as well. This will fill the space quite nicely, so there is no real movement of any individual pieces, and they are protected by the stiff bottom and sides of the bag. Finally, I put my MacBook Pro, in a padded case, in on top of everything. Once I close the top flap and zip it shut, the laptop holds everything in place when I stand the bag upright. With everything in the bag in this order, when I am going through security, it is a quick and easy task to upzip the top of the bag, slide my laptop out, and leave the padded case in-situ holding everything in place.

Many of these bags have loads of pockets, etc, but I find this only increases the bulk

PREVIOUS PAGE LEFT You can get extremely lightweight holdallstyle bags when weight is a premium PREVIOUS PAGE TOP LEFT A wheeled roller bag makes moving your gear easy PREVIOUS PAGE TOP RIGHT Fins, mask and mesh bag go in the bottom PREVIOUS PAGE BOTTOM BCD goes in on top of everything, and snorkel slots down the side FAR LEFT I can slide out my laptop for security LEFT It may look small, but I can pack most of my camera system inside ABOVE There is just enough room to slot everything in place

Generally, I get pulled at security because of all of the electronics, etc, in the bag – most underwater photographers will be familiar with this. But having it packed like this means that when they request the bag opened, I can just flip over the main compartment, and when they remove the laptop case, everything inside is clear to see. If I know I am going to be traveling on an airline which is extremely tight on hand luggage weight, I will defer to a lightweight rucksack, which will save me a few lbs over the roller bag. In this instance, a Scubapro one. My rule of thumb about not having bags with logos on, etc, doesn’t really apply to hand luggage, as I will always have it with me. I like the Scubapro bag because it has a main compartment that will take my housing, strobes, camera, dive computer, etc, and then the chargers, cables, will go in the secondary compartment. The laptop neatly goes into its own section on the back. One, this is very secure when you are wearing it, as it sits against your back, and two, when you need to get your laptop out at security, it is right there. My passport goes into the little front pocket. It is not as easy to pack all of my paraphernalia in this bag, I have to be honest. A wide open compartment as on the roller bag is far easier to safely and securely pack your precious gear, but if I employ a few of my T-shirts from out of my main bag as extra padding, wrapping the strobes, port and camera in one each, I have never had any issues.

If I was using a rucksack more often, I would probably try and find a lightweight version of those photo pro ones, where the entire front opens up – very similar to my roller bag – and then you have compartments padded with foam for each piece of equipment. However, as I mainly use the roller bag, I can make do with the Scubapro one for the time being. One thing I do like about it is a strap which slides over the retractable handle on my Stahlsac roller bag and makes it nice and easy to roll about in the airport as one piece of luggage. I can usually pack the rucksack and keep it under 15lb, but if you are on one of those flights where hand luggage is prohibitively tight – we are talking 11lb – then you need to bring in a trick I picked up from traveling with some seasoned underwater photographers. You need a photographer’s gilet, which is festooned with cavernous pockets. If you are in a situation where you know your hand luggage is going to be weighed, and that it is going to tip the scales at several lbs over the limit, then stash strobes, chargers, camera bodies, etc, in these pockets when you check in. Your hand luggage will then come in under the required limit, and once you are away from the check-in desk, you can safely pack all of your gear back into your hand luggage ready to go through security. Sneaky, but it works. I even saw one jacket that they had sewn a pocket into the back that could take a laptop! n

Gateway to the C

airns is synonymous with the Great Barrier Reef, yet the city has had to contend with a reputation as a rowdy mecca for backpackers, as a poorquality dive factory and for being a little on the expensive side, plus there has been a considerable amount of negative publicity about coral bleaching on the Reef. When the opportunity arose for me to visit the beleaguered city, I was eager to assess for myself if the rumours were correct or if its reputation is underserved, and if the demise of the reef has been greatly exaggerated. The plan for my ten-day trip was to spend the first five days experiencing what the area has to offer in terms of landbased activities along with a couple of visits to the reef on day boats. The second half of my trip was going to be spent out in the Coral Sea and Ribbon Reefs with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions on the legendary Spoilsport. My first outing to the reef was on board the superb Passions of Paradise, and I have to admit that the quality of the day diving surprised me a little bit, I thought the reefs that were in reach of the day boats would not be in a very good condition. Happily, I was wrong - very wrong, as it turns out. The two-hour motor out to the impressive Milne Reef was spent relaxing in the comfortable and spacious surroundings of the upper deck lounge. This large catamaran has been adopted by the locals and is very much a social event on water, with the boat also boasting a well-stocked bar for a very civilised après-dive beer on the journey home. The first dive site we visited was called Club 10. The visibility was exceptional, and the coral coverage was impressive, to say the least. Massive table-sized Acropora corals played host to colonies and damselfish, impressive thickets of large staghorn corals covered substantial areas of the sandy ocean floor, and the reef exhibited the hustle and bustle of a healthy ecosystem. The second dive boasted more gin-clear water. Three large coral pinnacles give the dive site its name, The Three Sisters. These impressive

monoliths were covered in hard corals, various soft corals of the Alyconiidae family, sponges and a generous sprinkling of large sea fans. For my second day of diving, I was on aboard the luxurious Evolution, looking more like a superyacht than a dive boat. There was plenty of room on the boat and back dive deck, and they even have a VIP area! Like the Passions of Paradise, this is a professional, sleek operation with excellent crew and fantastic food. The first dive was at Saxons Reef, and for the second and third dive, we relocated to Hasting Reef. While the water clarity was not quite as good as my previous day of diving these sites more than made up for

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Scuba Diver Editor-at-Large (Australia and New Zealand) Adrian Stacey embarks on a voyage of discovery to the Great Barrier Reef aboard day boats and a luxury liveaboard

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs, and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of 344,000 sq kilometres.

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CAIRNS

WHY DIVE ANYWHERE ELSE... ...when the best diving is at your doorstep

GATEWAY TO THE

GREAT BARRIER REEF

• Just a few hours from any major Australian airport • World’s greatest biodiversity • Globally celebrated liveaboards • Highest quality day boats • Best place to do your diver training • Iconic shipwrecks

www.dive-queensland.com.au /divequeensland

@DiveQueensland

#divequeensland

Shark dives are exciting

Expect vibrant soft corals on the GBR

it with the animal interactions we experienced. Unfazed by our presence a large barramundi grouper posed patiently for the camera, giant trevallies, twin spot snapper and numerous fusiliers were all eager to photo bomb. For the second part of my ten-day adventure to Cairns, I would be on board the legendary Mike Ball Dive Expeditions’ impressive vessel Spoilsport. This large, twin-hulled, purposebuilt liveaboard has been plying these waters since 1986 and is an excellent platform for diving this region. This multi-award-winning boat is large and spacious, with a huge sun deck, a comfortable saloon, a generous alfresco seating area and well-proportioned cabins. There is ample room on the back-dive deck, and it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into this area. There is plenty of space for tech divers and photographers to prepare and store their equipment without getting in anyone’s way. So, what makes the Coral Sea such a special place to dive? The answer to that question is simply geography. Take Osprey Reef, for example. Have a look at a marine map or, if you were born in this century, download an app and look at its location and topography. Osprey Reef is a lone sentinel in the middle of the Coral Sea, 37 miles from the nearest reef, 217 miles from Cairns and separated from the continental shelf by a vast deep-water trench. Its isolation is complete. This spectacular coral atoll rises almost vertically, a staggering 3,200ft from the ocean floor. A confluence of ocean currents meets here, delivering all the nutrients needed for a healthy ecosystem, and vis can be exceptional. Its neighbor to the south and our first port of call was the equally impressive Bougainville Reef. Although much smaller at only two and a half miles in diameter, it too spears to the surface from a depth of 3,200ft and is subjected to the same

currents that make Osprey Reef so prolific. In more recent times, Bougainville has had to contend with coral bleaching and cyclone damage, which makes the excellent state of the reef today even more impressive. Perhaps its isolation and the currents that bring so much nutrient-rich water helped revitalise the corals on this reef so quickly. The sites we visited were covered in an impressive array of hard corals. After the last dive we traveled overnight to our next destination, and while Bougainville Reef was superb, Osprey Reef, in my humble opinion, takes things to the next level. Our first dive of the day was at the impressive False Entrance, a site that brought home the sheer magnitude of the reef. Snaking sandy gullies cut a path through hard coral-encrusted ridges, making their way from the tranquil inner lagoon to the drop-off. Hard coral, soft corals and sponges all jostled for space on the reef. Anemonefish

This multi-award-winning boat is large and spacious, with a huge sun deck, a comfortable saloon, a generous alfresco seating area and well-proportioned cabins WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Expect vast shoals of fish

Soft corals provide a riot of colour

The other reefs we visited were also exceptional in their own different ways Next up was the legendary North Horn and Soft Coral Wall. Located at the northernmost tip of Osprey Reef, this is where two walls converge, and a small sloping plateau has formed. The perfect place for predators to congregate as the currents push out to the open ocean, and which also makes this location the ideal place for the shark attraction dive. After the excitement of the shark feed, which saw a maelstrom of thrashing tails and snapping teeth, there was still plenty of time to enjoy the stunning Soft Coral Wall. A multi-coloured patchwork of broccoli corals, sea fans and whip corals painted every inch of the reef in an explosion of color that would put the most vibrant of Picassos to shame. After enjoying two days of outstanding diving at Osprey and Bougainville Reefs, we relocated to the impressive Ribbon Reefs. There are ten Ribbon Reefs in total, and they run along the edge of the continental shelf a few hundred miles north of Cairns. Nothing but the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean lies before them. As a result, they are situated superbly to benefit from an abundance of nutrients. This fantastic reef system offers a very different experience to the sheer plunging walls and isolated grandeur of Osprey and Bougainville. Predominantly comprising of hard corals, 24

a labyrinthine of bommies of varying shapes and sizes sit on the sandy ocean floor, at significantly shallower depths than their counterparts in the wilderness of the Coral Sea. Ribbon Reef number ten was the location of our first day of diving in the area. This reef is home to the famous Cod Hole, aptly named after the colossal potato cod, that frequent the site hoping for a feed. Mike Ball no longer feeds these docile creatures, but they are inquisitive and the most-challenging part of photographing these creatures is getting them far enough away from your dome port to get a good shot. The other reefs we visited were also exceptional in their own different ways, of particular note was Snake Pit, named after the sea snakes that frequent this site. Although none were in attendance while we were there, we did encounter a large tawny nurse shark, whitetip reef sharks, juvenile blacktip reef sharks and large schools of fusilier. For the final day the boat leapfrogged down the string of reefs back towards Cairns, and then that evening we headed back to Cairns and were treated to the customary Spoilsport BBQ and karaoke night.

Conclusion

All in all, my visit to Cairns had been a real eye-opener. The dayboat diving that I had experienced with Passions of Paradise and Down Under Dive had exceeded my expectations, and my liveaboard trip with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions had been spectacular. n

A big welcome from the Spoilsport crew

AUSTRALIA

Aroona Luxury Boat Charters

The Aroona is built for adventure… She offers guests the flexibility to be involved in The Far Northern fishing, diving, snorkeling, kitesurfing, island Great Barrier Reef is pure, hopping, shipwreck hunting and much more. Come and join us for 2021/2022 remote untouched wilderness expeditions and have the opportunity to take part in the Great Reef Census, a citizenscience project aiming to document reefs across a larger scale than ever attempted before. With thousands of reefs covering thousands of miles, only a small fraction of the world’s largest reef system is regularly CAPTAIN BLOODS – A huge variety of sealife, including surveyed, many have never been surveyed at all. The Far big Queensland grouper. The wall has large gorgonian Northern Great Barrier Reef is pure, untouched wilderness and fans shaped by the current. There’s a cave at 147ft. it has become our second home. Drop by our website or social channels to learn more about our remote adventures, directly from our guests. Boat amenities Diving facilities https://aroonaluxuryboatcharters.com.au Double rooms Flexible itineraries Ensuites Private guides Private chef Equipment included Average customer rating

Top dive site

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AUSTRALIA

Lady Musgrave Experience

cuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef with the award-winning and advanced eco-certified Lady Musgrave Experience provides unrivalled access to some of the most-pristine reef dive destinations you could wish for. There’s something for everyone, offering scuba diving for all levels from learn-to-dive courses, introductory dives in the lagoon, outer reef dives and access to ex-HMAS Tobruk for experienced divers. All sites are led by our Divemasters and are popular with divers to experience the larger pelagics, turtles, sharks, manta rays and a more-diverse underwater world teeming with a vast array of marine life. Groups of 20 are easily catered for and we tailor exclusive dive itineraries to your needs. Seeking even greater diversity, we can also explore the reefs of the Bunker and the Capricorn Group, with stunning, remote and highly sought after sites such as Lady Elliot, Hoskyn, Fairfax, Boult, Llewellyn and Fitzroy Reefs. Overnight dive packages are available now with the arrival of the new Lady Musgrave HQ, a 114-metre pontoon nestled in the calm waters in the lagoon off Lady Musgrave Island. It’s possible to sleep in comfort, wake with the sun and drop from the dive platform straight into the island’s opalescent lagoon. View marine life and the corals by day in the underwater observatory, and by night enjoy liveaboard-style bunk accommodation for up to 20 guests, where you can fall asleep viewing the abundant underwater marine life. This overnight option is perfect for dive groups. Guests also have the option to sleep above the surface in an Upper Deck Island View Queen Glamping Bed. ladymusgraveexperience.com.au

Average customer rating

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Top dive site MANTA BOMMIE

Manta Bommie on the outer reef of Lady Musgrave Lagoon gets its name as it acts as a cleaning station for manta rays. Other wildlife you can see at this dive location include sharks, turtles, anemones and humpback whales when in season. You’ll be surrounded by beautiful, shallow coral gardens with a variety of different corals and colors.

Property amenities 28 beds total Diving/snorkeling Bar/lounge WIFI available

Diving facilities PADI IDC facility UW photo friendly Technical diving Rental equipment

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SOUTH PACIFIC

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions O

ur home port of Cairns in Far North Queensland is the gateway to some of the best year-round diving in the world. Traversing over 621 sq miles of ocean between Townsville to the south and Cape York at the northernmost tip of Australia, we visit the remote wilderness of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, only accessible by long-range liveaboard vessels. A variety of expeditions are available from three to seven nights optimising the seasonal weather and wildlife. Whether diving amidst the incredible biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef or out into the fathomless Coral Sea’s steep walls and crystal clear water, we cater from novice through to the advanced technical diver. Expertise is on hand for upskilling or certifying you in a variety of specialty courses onboard, or simply relax and enjoy your vacation. Spoilsport is a large catamaran both spacious and stable, with various levels of accommodation to suit your budget. Comfort is further enhanced with our spacious lounge, dining, sun and dive decks; and our chefs use fresh produce delivering restaurant-quality meals catering to all dietary requirements. We visit two to three dive sites per day offering up to five dives. Our ‘diving style’ allows you to choose your pace by diving as much or as little as you want; our ‘open deck’ policy also ensures you won’t miss a thing, with longer times spent on dive sites where you can choose to dive once, twice, or simply when it suits you. Whether you simply relax and marvel at the beauty or are an avid photographer, we can cater to your every whim. For photographers we suggest you bring lenses from macro to wide angle to capture the smallest to the biggest animals. www.mikeball.com

Average customer rating

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Top dive site NORTH HORN

Osprey Reef is an atoll 190 nm to the NNE of Cairns. The reef runs in a SE to NE direction with sometimes strong oceanic currents culminating at ‘North Horn’. Right at this focal point, nature has formed a perfect amphitheatre where we conduct our shark feed dive.

Boat amenities 14 rooms Air conditioning Bar / lounge Diving

Diving facilities UW photo friendly Daily boat diving Technical diving Rental equipment

AUSTRALIA

Passions of Paradise

Our luxurious 100-foot day sailing catamaran is a perfect venue catering for all levels of certified diving

assions of Paradise has been an iconic and muchloved family owned and operated reef tour company out of Cairns for more than 30 years. During this time we have won an Australian Tourism Award, have been inducted into the Queensland Tourism Hall of Fame and we are one of only a few Australian naturebased companies to have achieved Climate Leader status, the highest level of Eco-certification. Our luxurious 100-foot day sailing catamaran is a perfect venue catering for all levels of certified diving, with our mix of over 30 different dive sites. Family friendly, with spacious sun decks, chef-prepared lunch, undercover air-conditioned saloons and the best reefs in Cairns, why not enjoy a day diving or snorkeling sites like the Three Sisters on the Great Barrier Reef on a unique and spectacular boat with Cairns’ friendliest crew. www.passions.com.au

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Top dive site

THE THREE SISTERS

The famous Three Sisters dive site, part of the impressive Milln Reef, can be found just a short boat ride from Cairns. The three large, colorful bommies are perhaps most famous for the Gorgonian Gorge, with the second and third sisters rising to within three feet of the surface. They are home to swirling schools of pelagic fish, reef sharks, turtles and teem with all kinds of marine life.

Boat amenities Diving / Snorkeling Chef prepared lunch Eco accredited

Diving facilities Daily boat diving 2 dives per day Quality equipment

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Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia

SportDiver

Underwater Smartphone Housing

Compatible with iPhone® & Android Dual Leak Alarms Color Correction Filter Included Bluetooth® Wireless Technology Depth Rated to 130ft / 40m Available with or without Sea Dragon lighting TM

Bunaken National Marine Park

Sealife-Cameras.com

SeaLifeCameras

AndroidTM is a trademark of Google LLC. iPhone® is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

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09/10/2019 09:03

The Caribbean

If you were going to create a place for unspoilt water-based adventure, you would probably end up with something that looked a lot like the Caribbean. The Caribbean incorporates a sublime blend of vibrant coral reefs, intriguing shipwrecks, turquoise seas, white sandy beaches, lush tropical forests, high mountain peaks, magnificent waterfalls, wondrous birdlife, brightly colored villages, delicious dishes, welcoming locals and an irresistible ‘island-vibe’. Oh - and rum… The Caribbean islands are also known as the ‘West Indies’, because when Columbus set out to reach Asia (known at the time as ‘the Indies’) by sailing west, he thought he had found the East Indies when he landed on the islands. When the error was discovered, they were renamed the ‘West Indies’.

The tiny island of Bonaire is the self-proclaimed ‘shore-diving capital of the world’, and the ease of diving in its warm, clear waters is one of the main reasons it is so popular with divers from all around the world!

Bahama shark diving

Think shark diving and the Bahamas inevitably pops up in the equation. Thanks to long-established sharkdiving operations such as Stuart Cove’s on Nassau, which attract scores of Caribbean reef sharks, and the shallow waters off Bimini and Grand Bahama that bring in great hammerheads and tiger sharks, this island chain is undoubtedly one of the go-to places for diving with sharks and I have had some thrilling dives here.

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WRECK HUNTERS

2022

It’s finally happening! Calling would-be undersea detectives for 2022! Plus, the chance to meet the project director at the Go Diving Show. As you all know, international COVID travel restrictions have impacted everyone. But the good news is the Wreck Hunters project can finally get underway for an extended season in 2022. This is a unique opportunity to take part in the beginning of a diving archaeology programme on the Caribbean island of Utila. The focus will be getting to the heart of the story of a wreck called ‘The Oliver’, its rich history and the life of 18th Century mariners. Learn all the skills of undersea archaeology, from traditional to cutting edge techniques. If you’re a relatively experienced diver with some skills or experience in drawing (artistic or technical), surveying, photography or in construction work this could be just what you’re looking for (See website for full details). Project Director Mike Haigh will be on hand to explain the details of the course at the Go Diving Show 2022, March 4-6 at the NAEC, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth. Find us near the entrance.

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 0117 9596454

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info@wreckhunters.co.uk

18/08/2021 06:46

BONAIRE

Buddy Dive Resort

uddy Dive Resort Bonaire is a full-service dive resort and five-star PADI Career Development Center that has something for every diver and leisure traveller. At Buddy Dive, we are known for our casual atmosphere, personable staff, spacious accommodations, and a dive operation that keeps the needs and wishes of its guests in mind. Our guest services include 24-hour front office staff and security on the premises - ensuring you receive the assistance you need at any time. The choice of spacious studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments can easily accommodate single travelers, couples and friends, families as well as dive groups. All apartments have air-conditioned bedrooms, a kitchen, living area, and every bedroom has its own bathroom, plus either a porch or balcony with views of the blue ocean or tropical garden. The dive shop houses a retail and equipment rental centre. Buddy Dive’s professional dive team can teach all types of courses from kids diving and open water to complete instructor development courses in multiple languages. Additionally, Buddy Dive offers a full-service technical diving facility. The comfortable dive boats depart three times a day to explore those dive sites not accessible from shore. For those that want to explore the shore dive sites of Bonaire, the unique two-lane Drive-Thru air and nitrox filling station offers you the convenience of picking up your dive tanks daily. Complete with a house reef, 2 restaurants, 2 swimming pools, 2 raised sand beaches, an activity center, and our own car rental fleet, you will have everything in place to make your (dive) vacation one to remember. When booking the famous Drive & Dive package you will have everything needed for a successful week of diving: Accommodation, daily breakfast, airport transfers, shore diving with unlimited air and nitrox (plus optional boat dives), and a rental vehicle. www.buddydive.com

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Top dive site BUDDY’S REEF

Our house reef, Buddy’s Reef, is located in front of the resort. All facilities you might need such as benches, lockers, rinse tanks, etc, are present. Underwater you’ll not only find a variety of sponges, corals, fish, and critters, but also the nurseries of Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire. This fun site is great during the day as well as at night!

Property amenities 73 rooms Car hire Pool Restaurant

Diving facilities IDC facility Daily diving Technical diving FREE Nitrox

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Mexico’s cenotes are essentially large sinkholes or caves, usually found in sedimentary limestone rock, that have filled with cool, clear groundwater over time, and they have become favorites for adventurous divers.

If you were going to create a place for unspoilt water-based adventure, you would probably end up with something that looked a lot like the Caribbean

Mexico’s Caribbean coast

Mexico has various diving destinations along its Caribbean coast, from Cozumel’s dramatic walls and Cancun’s colourful reefs to the atmospheric cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, and the majestic whalesharks of Isla Mujeres.

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MEXICO

Dive Paradise

In addition to its exemplary safety record, Dive Paradise has the largest fleet on the island

ozumel famously boasts some of the world’s best diving conditions - bathtub warm waters teeming with life and sparkling with nearly unlimited vis. Dive Paradise, a leader on the island for over 35 years, has built its reputation on customer service and safety. Guests benefit from those decades of professional experience and passion for sharing the local aquatic environment when they dive with ‘the Name You Know and Trust’. In addition to its exemplary safety record, Dive Paradise has the largest fleet on the island. Whether you want a fast boat to get you to far-off reefs in a hurry, or prefer the laid back comforts of large boats with shade and fresh snacks, you’ll be well taken care of. Plus, a large fleet means Dive Paradise has the flexibility to accommodate all experience levels, as well as groups and special requests. As for the new demands of travel, Dive Paradise is following all sanitary protocols to keep clients and employees safe. With three scuba centers on island, no dive operator is more conveniently located. The main location is downtown, within walking distance of the Cozumel ferry dock. A second location is within the beachside Cozumel Hotel and Resort by Wyndham, which offers stay-and-dive packages and features the largest pool on the island. A third location on Villablanca Beach will, in early 2022, become home to a new beach club for in-between-dive and post-dive relaxation. Dive Paradise is also a full service concierge, coordinating day tours to round out your dive vacation. The operator arranges day trips in summer to swim with whale sharks at neighboring Isla Mujeres, as well as year-round offerings such as fishing charters and cenote diving. https://diveparadise.com

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Top dive site PALANCAR REEF

The reef most identified with Cozumel is actually a conglomeration of many different coral formations. Stretching over 3.5 miles, this majestic reef lies about a mile offshore and tops a sloping wall which descends to a maximum depth of over 2,950ft. Palancar offers such a wide variety of profiles that it would be tough to experience it all in 20 or even 30 dives!

Property amenities Beach Snorkeling Lockers Showers/rinse

Diving facilities Training pool Daily boat diving Daily shore diving Rental equipment

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MEXICO

Dune Mexico

Shallow white sand, coral bommies here and there, the fringing reef… and life! Life everywhere!

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Top dive site SÀBALOS

Property amenities Diving Snorkeling WIFI available

Diving facilities 5 star PADI IDC Daily boat diving Rental equipment

The Middle East Areas of the Middle East are often on the world stage, and generally for the wrong reasons, but for divers, the Middle East means one thing – awesome diving! The striking contrast between the desert landscape and the myriad colors of the underwater world has to be seen to be believed, and as well as epic diving locations throughout the region, you also have the chance to visit iconic places such as Wadi Rum and the Rose-Red City of Petra in Jordan; Mount Sinai, the Great Pyramids and Luxor in Egypt; and Jerusalem in Israel. The age-old attractions deserve to be seen first-hand, but there are also more-modern sites that demand your attention (and can be dived!), including the immense aquarium beneath the Atlantis hotel off the coast of Dubai, and the brand-new Deep Dive Dubai – at 196ft, the world’s deepest dive pool.

There is a fantasy novel written in the 2nd century AD in Roman Syria which features explorers flying to the moon, a first encounter with aliens, and the discovery of a continent across the ocean.

The age-old attractions deserve to be seen first-hand, but there are also more-modern sites that demand your attention (and can be dived!), including the immense aquarium beneath the Atlantis hotel

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Wadi Rum has been used by Hollywood for many top movies, including Prometheus, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The Martian, and the latest version of Dune.

World famous diving...

Egypt is home to the world’s most-famous shipwreck, the SS Thistlegorm, which with its cargo of wartime supplies is like a sunken museum, but as well as this iconic dive, there are a myriad other top-quality locations, including the offshore reefs of the Brothers and Daedalous, the sheer walls of Ras Mohammed Marine Park, the caverns of St Johns, and the wreck graveyard of Abu Nuhas.

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The striking contrast between the desert landscape and the myriad colours of the underwater world has to be seen to be believed, and as well as epic diving locations throughout the region Deep Dive Dubai

Deep Dive Dubai is a unique diving experience filled with adventure and wonder for beginners and professionals alike. A world-record breaking facility allowing thrill-seekers to dive into another dimension. The 196ft pool is the deepest in the world giving everyone the chance to discover the depth of their potential, as they also discover an underwater world filled with adventure and wonder.

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EGYPT / SUDAN

Red Sea Blue Force 3

Blue Force 3 is a 137-foot premium liveaboard that was launched in November 2018 to ply the waters of Egypt and Sudan

lue Force 3 is a 137-foot premium liveaboard that was launched in November 2018 to ply the waters of Egypt and Sudan. With five-star quality interior, dining and service, she is one of the most-stylish and comfortable liveaboards in the Red Sea. The liveaboard conducts expeditions in Sudan from February to May, and then in Egypt from June to December. In the Egyptian Red Sea, the weekly cruises begin on Saturdays and depart from either Hurghada and Port Ghaleb, offering many different and varied routes, taking in the top sites from the North to the Deep South – iconic locations such as the Brothers, Zabargad, Daedalous, Elphinstone, Rocky Island, St Johns, Ras Mohammed and Tiran. Time not an issue? Why not elect to stay on board Blue Force 3 for two or three continuous weeks, enjoying varied and unique dive sites on each consecutive trip? This could well be the ultimate way to experience the Egyptian Red Sea and all it has to offer. In Sudan, the weekly cruise departs on Fridays from Port Sudan, and they plan routes of seven, ten and 11 nights, which allows them to cover the coast of Sudan from the north to the most southern reaches of the country, hitting top sites like Sha’ab Rumi, Sanganeb and the shipwreck of the Umbria. www.blueforcefleet.com

Boat amenities 12 cabins Air conditioning Diving Airport transport

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Diving facilities PADI / SSI CCR friendly Technical diving Nitrox available

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Top dive site SS THISTLEGORM

One of the most-spectacular wrecks in the world – the SS Thistlegorm. Sunk by German bombers in 1941, and then laying undiscovered for years until it was found by a certain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, it is like a sunken museum, and within its holds and on the seabed around it, you can discover trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, locomotives, ammunition, aircraft parts, boots and much more.

EGYPT

Egypt is the scuba diving ‘El Dorado’ for every European diver and offers all year around perfect diving conditions and guaranteed sunshine

Euro-Divers Egypt T

he Red Sea in Egypt offers scuba divers a vast variety of corals and tropical fishes in many colours and shapes as well as a great variety of wreck dives. Egypt is the scuba diving ‘El Dorado’ for every European diver and offers all year around perfect diving conditions and guaranteed sunshine. The Red Sea provides the perfect diving holiday with a great variety of hotels only 4-5 hours away from Europe, an ideal place to go for a quick diving holiday or for divers who want to flee the cold winter in Europe. In Egypt you can find different locations with different kinds of diving possibilities. In the north (Grand Hotel Hurghada) we dive most of the time from daily diving boats departing direct from our center-owned jetty. In the south (Utopia Beach Club El Quseir) we dive in beautiful house reef bays. By bus and by boat we can explore more bays and reefs around our hotel on daily excursions. Egypt is also famous for diving spots further away from shore which are only accessible by safari boats. For these trips, we have a special offer every year in our program. For more information you can send an email or talk to us at one of our dive centers. www.euro-divers.com

Daily diving!

Every day in the morning we start directly from our own jetty or direct from shore to the best dive spots in both areas. Our professional scuba teams ensure safe and enjoyable diving, and our international team of diving instructors can teach lessons and courses in German, English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Arabic.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Egypt is a whole year round diving destination with water temperatures always above 68 degrees F. The international airport of Hurghada is accessible from most European airports with some airlines also providing flights to the southern airport of Marsa Alam. Visas can be purchased upon arrival.

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EGYPT

Dune Red Sea

from legendary wrecks to vertiginous drop-offs, from aquarium-like dive sites perfect for beginners to challenging dives where current and sharks make for an exhilarating experience… the Red Sea has it all!

he Red Sea has been on the diving radar for a long time. And yet, never in all these years, has it ceased to amaze divers. No wonder - from legendary wrecks to vertiginous drop-offs, from aquarium-like dive sites perfect for beginners to challenging dives where current and sharks make for an exhilarating experience… the Red Sea has it all! For Dune, it is the place where everything started. In 1997, Gérard Besse – dive addict and full-time adventurer at the time – decided to settle down in Safaga, a quiet fishing village south of Hurghada. He set up the first dive center in the area, welcoming more and more guests every year. He had one motto - come as a guest, leave as a friend! 24 years later, his small dive center has grown into a worldwide network, present in the best diving destinations - Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, but also the Maldives, Indonesia, Mexico and France. Most importantly, the spirit has not changed divers keep trusting Dune for their diving holidays, finding with us a perfect mix of fun and professionalism. Today, the Red Sea branch operates a beautiful day boat, three liveaboards, and is launching this autumn a fourth one - Alia. A true jewel in the crown of Dune Red Sea, Alia has been designed by and for divers. This superb 144-feet, steel-hulled vessel accommodates 26 divers, with five-star service and a luxurious environment. Two double beds in every cabin, modern design, splendid sea-view cabins and spacious common areas - Alia brings safaris in the Red Sea to a whole new level! Come and (re)discover the wrecks and drop-offs of the North itinerary, the pristine coral gardens of the St John’s route, or rub shoulders with the sharks and drift dives of the Golden Triangle. A safari in the Red Sea is an experience to be tried at least once in a diver’s life! https://redsea.dune-network.com/en/home

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Top dive site

SHA’AB ABU NUHAS

This unassuming reef north of Hurghada hides an underwater wonder - four of them, to be exact. Four splendid wrecks! Meet the Giannis D and its cavernous engine room, the coral-encrusted shape of the Carnatic, and the Chrisoula K/Marcus and its cargo of tiles. And the last one? Well, only the dolphins, often seen there playing with divers, know the truth about it…

Property amenities Air conditioning Diving Snorkeling

Diving facilities PADI dive centre FREE Nitrox 3 dives per day Rental equipment

beyond technical

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The siren lure of

We design, manufacture and retail scuba and rebreather equipment. We have fully equipped test and certification labs, and can pressure test large items in our vacuum chambers, as well as run fully automated leak test and dive simulations down to 400m. Our EMC and EMF lab is filled with state-ofthe-art equipment for testing electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic fields. We also have a large in-house laser for cutting and engraving on plastics and metals. www.narkedat90.com

echnical diving. Just the name itself implies something which is complex and difficult, and perhaps out of reach of mere mortal scuba divers. It conjures up images of divers bedecked with multiple cylinders and CCRs disappearing into the depths, or venturing into some foreboding cave system. However, there is far more to technical diving than simply going deep, or performing lengthy dives inside caves. Technical diving is usually referenced as allowing you to extend your diving beyond recreational nodecompression limits, which can mean going beyond 130ft – often touted as the limit for recreational divers – but can also relate to conducting longer dives above this depth, or entering an overhead environment, where redundant air sources are essential in case of emergencies. Technical diving can either be open circuit, using traditional scuba regulators, or closed circuit, using a rebreather. In my case, I’ll admit, I can be a bit of a depth junkie. In my early years of diving, I did some pretty deep dives on a single cylinder on air. Looking back, I can see I was lucky nothing went wrong, but I am sure we have all done things where, with the wisdom of knowledge, we can reflect and shake our heads at our youthful selves. Technical diving was still a very fledgling sport when I first started diving, so it was never something on my radar, and now, I am so ingrained with just throwing a single tank of air or nitrox on my back, the very thought of all of the calculations and pre-dive planning that has to go into technical diving puts me off. However, these days, technical diving is much more accessible, with most of the major training agencies offering For those interested in tech diving a progressive system of courses taking you from entry-level tech through to full trimix, and I reckon and finding out a little more about if tech diving was where it is now back when I using a different configuration of was ramping up my diving, I would most certainly equipment, added tanks and, of have gone down that route. course, looking very cool, then a That said, I have dabbled in the world of ‘Discover Tech’ course is a technical diving. I completed the TDI Advanced great way to do so in a Nitrox course, and qualified to use the Hollis Explorer controlled, safe eSCR and the Poseidon Mk6 CCR. With all of these, environment! my aim was not to go beyond that 130ft recreational limit, but to extend my time in the 100ft-130ft realm. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

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www.narkedat90.com Often that is where all the action is, and so if I can lengthen my time at that depth, that is a good thing. When you are in the midst of a shoal of hammerhead sharks at 130ft, the last thing you want to be doing is heading back to the surface after just a few minutes.

Cave diving on a twinset

The lure of technical diving

Technical diving offers another avenue for particular divers who get to a certain level in recreational diving. Over the years, I have seen three main routes that people tend to head off in once they are a proficient recreational diver. One, the professional route, learning to teach people to dive and bring more people into the sport. Two, the photography route, where the main focus of dives becomes capturing images. And three, the technical diving route. Now these are by no means absolute, and many people can combine two or even all three of these avenues into their progression through diving, but what is it about tech diving that draws people in? Well, for one thing, all of the gear. I reckon for every proper technical diver out there, there are at least ten wannabe techies. You know the ones I am talking about – they buy the double-bladder wing, twin stages, top-of-the-line regulators, multiple torches, and so on, and then proceed to go for gentle bimbles at 60ft in their local quarry. Some might occasionally go in the sea. Now I have nothing against these people – that is what they enjoy, and they are great for the industry, as they are purchasing all that top-flight gear, but they are not really using it to its full potential. They just like the kit – and all the people looking at them. For those who go beyond the gear fetish, technical diving can be a welcome challenge. They have reached a solid level in their recreational diving, and want to go to the next level. These people relish all of the planning and preparation Exploring the wrecks of Scapa Flow on an eSCR

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I reckon for every proper technical diver out there, there are at least ten wannabe techies that goes into technical dive training and actual diving, and revel in their ability to go for deeper and longer dives than recreational divers. I know several people who went through the tech courses from various agencies to really further their knowledge and experience. For them it was the excitement and the challenge of learning new skills that drove them into technical diving. For others, technical diving is merely the method for getting to their target. Technical diving unlocks so many more dive sites once that imaginary 130ft line no longer exists. These can range from deep-water walls and reefs – I have seen some epic images of a sponge wall hundreds of feet down in the Cayman Islands – to world-class shipwrecks. Deep-water wrecks, in particular, have a siren lure for many divers, and is often cited as the reason they got into technical diving in the first place – to be able to visit these shipwrecks. Deep wrecks are often in excellent condition, as they are not subject to surge, swell and tidal movements – not to mention storm damage – as those located in shallow depths. You only have to look at some of the incredible images of the wrecks in the Great Lakes in North America, or those in Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll. Whether reef, wall or wreck, technical diving is the key to unlocking myriad dive sites that are out of reach of recreational divers. Of course, this also applies to cave diving. In an overhead environment like a cave, where you can be hundreds, if not thousands, of feet away from the exit point, you need to be self-sufficient and have redundancy in case of it all going 45

Computers • O2 Cells • Gas Analysers Cables & Connectors • Rebreather Parts PathFinder Strobes • Sensors Tools • Solenoids pear-shaped. Open circuit and closed circuit technical gear opens up so many more options when it comes to cave and cavern diving. As mentioned before, tech diving isn’t just about going deep or into cave systems, you can simply go diving for longer. And this can be a major draw in its own right. Let’s take the Thistlegorm shipwreck in Egypt. This truly worldclass shipwreck sits in 100ft, and with its holds full of military cargo, there is much to explore. Even with an optimum nitrox mix and excellent gas consumption, you don’t get much more than 35-40 minutes on the wreck itself. On a daytrip to the site, your two recreational dives will barely scrape the surface of what can be seen. Now do that dive on open-circuit technical gear, or a CCR, and you are in completely different territory. I manage nearly two and a half hours on the Thistlegorm on a rebreather – my buddy and I went down with the first group of recreational divers, waved goodbye to them as they reached their no-deco limits, continued exploring the wreck, and then met up with them on their second dive and followed them back up to the boat. We never went deeper than 100ft, but the technical equipment allowed us a vastly extended dive time. You see so much more when the time constraints of recreational diving are removed from the equation. Many photographers are also drawn down the technical route. Using CCRs, you are completely silent, and so you can approach and interact with marine life far more than on open circuit. It can be quite disconcerting when you have fish literally brushing against you. Combine silent diving with extended dive time, and it is not hard to see why so many photographers have gone the rebreather route.

CCR diver on an airplane wreck in Malta

Is technical diving for everyone?

Let’s just say that you need a particular mindset to be a technical diver. Not everyone is cut out for it. As I eluded to before, I – and many others - just don’t have the patience or the willingness to commit to the thorough pre-dive and postdive planning and preparation that is required, even more so when you throw CCRs into the mix. I have seen too many people rush into tech training. You need to have all of your core skills down pat before venturing to the next stage. But if you have the necessary focus, tech diving can bring so many opportunities. And the kit does look very cool. n The cenotes of Mexico are a cave-diving Mecca

Tech diving requires focus, awareness, a responsible attitude, the ability to think clearly and logically underwater, the ability to remain calm and most of all, the courage to call off a dive when necessary.

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RANGE OF PREMIUM, HANDCRAFTED DRYSUITS, UNDERSUITS AND HEATED APPAREL TO EXTEND YOUR LIMITS AND JOY FROM DIVING

UNDERSUITS

Wanting to capture beauty when scuba diving is natural. Here are our tips for the best photographs beneath the surface

UNDERWATER

magic

SUBJECT & COMPOSITION

Shoot up and not down; down typically results in poor contrast between subject and composition. Avoid centering every subject and ensure you shoot from a few angles. With mid-range shots, get some blue water in the frame so that colors in the foreground stand out against the blue background. Try applying the general photography rule of thirds; mentally separating the image into nine equal squares.

CAPTURING TRUE COLORS

Quality dive masks are non-negotiable for precise underwater vision and magical photography. For divers that require vision correction, wearing glasses is not a practical option. Some divers wear soft contact lenses while others prefer prescription dive masks.

With increasingly less natural light, colors are lost and everything appears bluer the deeper you go. Following the spectrum, red is absorbed first followed by orange, yellow and green. An option is to stay in shallower reefs up to 50ft with the sun behind you. Delve deeper and you’ll need a strobe light. In a pinch the camera internal flash, a large flashlight or large video light can possibly suffice. Although a white diffuser on the waterproof housing can somewhat minimise the effect, an internal flash will likely result in backscatter where light reflects off particles.

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Prescription Dive Masks Using exclusive technology, the highly experienced laboratory team at Prescription Dive customises each lens exactly to the diver’s prescription empowering wearers to see the underwater world as it’s meant to be seen. For best close photography, you should be no more than one metre away from the subject. Controlling your buoyancy, get up current and drift along motionlessly. When approaching marine life, gently fin kick and breathe slowly to reduce bubbles which can scare fish. A macro lens with a lot of zoom functionality is best for close ups. When taking photographs of fellow diving buddies or larger ocean life such as manta rays and sharks, you should be no more than six feet away. A fish eye lens is most suitable for these wider shot angles.

PHOTOGRAPH © SIMON LORENZ | INSIDER DIVERS

DISTANCE

Divers supply their prescription and PD (pupillary distance) which can be easily obtained from their optometrist. As experts in prescription lenses, safety prescription eyewear and prescription diving masks, the team at Prescription Dive are happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have. The prescription lenses are laminated onto a range of diving masks from top brands including Tusa®, Hollis®, Apollo® and Aqua Lung®. Alternatively, Prescription Dive can laminate the prescription onto a diver’s existing mask. Visit prescriptiondive.com.au Call 1800 111 381. Use code SCUBADIVERMAG at the checkout to get 10% off.

PHOTOGRAPH © SIMON LORENZ | INSIDER DIVERS

Single Vision Lenses

VISION UNDERWATER

Gauge Reader Lenses

Bifocal Lenses

Indian Ocean

The sprawling Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Australasia, and the Southern Ocean, and is the world’s third largest ocean, covering 20 percent of the Earth’s surface. It is home to several countries that offer superlative diving, including the aforementioned Oman, alongside the likes of the Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, but the undoubted jewel in the crown is the Maldives.

The sprawling Indian Ocean is located between Africa and Australasia, and the Southern Ocean

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When visiting the Maldives, you can either opt to stay on a resort island and shore dive or head out on a dayboat, or explore via a liveaboard. There are pros and cons to both options, but whichever you choose, expect some fabulous diving.

Maldivian reef diving

The Maldivian reefs may not have as much soft coral as the Red Sea or Southeast Asia, but what they do have is pelagics – and lots of them. Maldivian diving is usually characterised by strong currents, and this is where the action is.

Where is your island paradise?

Think of an island paradise and it is highly likely the image in your head will closely resemble the Maldives. These white sand, palm-tree-adorned islands, tiny specks of land in the midst of the Indian Ocean, are surrounded by turquoise warm waters full to the brim with colourful marine life both large and small. It is not hard to understand their siren-like lure for divers and non-divers alike.

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The long-extinct Dodo bird was endemic to Mauritius, with the main island being the only known habitat of the flightless bird. It is still considered to be the national bird of Mauritius and is represented in their national Coat of Arms.

It is home to several countries that offer superlative diving, including the aforementioned Oman, alongside the likes of the Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

The island of Sri Lanka is a paradise for scuba divers. With almost 1600 km of coastline to explore, there is no shortage of phenomenal diving opportunities. From exceptional wreck dives through to vibrant, healthy coral reefs which are teeming with life, there is an array of dive sites which will impress even the most seasoned of divers.

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MALDIVES

Maldives Blue Force One has twice been awarded by the Liveaboard Association of the Maldives as ‘the Best Boat Built in the Maldives’

Maldives Blue Force One A

re you looking for the best diving liveaboard in the Maldives? Look no further than the Maldives Blue Force One, which has been awarded twice by the Liveaboard Association of the Maldives as ‘the Best Boat Built in the Maldives’, and is considered by premier travel agencies as one of the top ten liveaboards in the world. The boat may be exceptional, but it is the wide experience of the Blue Force team that makes a difference too. After 25 years of diving in the Maldives, they know the reefs like the back of their hands, and have utilized this experience to create some truly spectacular itineraries. They offer a guaranteed weekly departure every Saturday, and routes available include Central Atolls (all year round except June) and a South Hemisphere route (in February and March). In addition to these epic trips, which will offer the chance of encounters with pelagics, including whalesharks, manta rays, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and thresher sharks, alongside shipwrecks and thilas smothered in multicolored flora and fauna, Blue Force One also runs special photo and video workshops, family weeks, manta-specific expeditions and rebreather weeks. So what can you expect on board? Well, plenty of excellent meals – including a BBQ on a desert island – and the chance to chill out on a sank bank, take to the seas on a kayak or SUP, relax in the jacuzzi, or go play on a Horizon SCR or underwater scooter. With four dive guides and a videographer on board, you are in safe hands during your 18 dives. Blue Force One conducts its diving from a purpose-built 75-feet dhoni, which was launched in October 2020. www.blueforcefleet.com

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Top dive site HANIFARU BAY

One, two, three manta rays – and onwards and upwards, maybe even six, seven or even eight – on a single dive site is quite common on a trip to the Maldives. But when the count starts to hit 40 or 50 and it is literally impossible to keep calculating the exact number of mantas swimming in all directions, you can only be in one place – Hanifaru Bay in the Baa Atoll.

Boat amenities 12 cabins Air conditioning Bar/lounge Airport transport

Diving facilities PADI / SSI CCR friendly UW photo friendly Rental equipment

MALDIVES

The Maldives is well known as the destination of love, a place for honeymooners and also known as a year-round destination for scuba diving

Euro-Divers Maldives

he Maldives is well known as the destination of love, a place for honeymooners and also known as a year-round destination for scuba diving. Maldives, The Paradise on Earth, is a title gained by its spectacular underwater world, a world of its own. Euro-Divers started diving activities in the Maldives in 1972 and has built its reputation in the industry for setting high standards of scuba diving safety, professionalism and customer-focus, providing fun, memorable scuba diving, and watersports experiences. Diving with friends is something we take to heart. Countless people try diving for the first time during a holiday in the Maldives and declare love at first dive. The crystal-clear, calm and warm waters surrounding the luxury resort islands are home to coral reefs and incredible marine life – from clouds of tiny glassfish to the biggest fish in the sea, the whaleshark; from graceful manta rays to turtles and sharks. Everything is just there to be discovered by divers. Divers with non-diving partners or family are often in a dilemma when it comes to holidays. Euro-Divers Maldives offers the perfect solution. Our fully-equipped PADI five-star dive centers offer a full range of diving courses and are located in some of the best scuba diving resorts in the Maldives, as well as watersports centers at selected resorts. You can dive without worrying that your partner or family will have nothing to do. It’s a guilt-free holiday! While you come face-to-face with turtles, sharks, and mantas, they will be spoilt for choice of activities. Should the stories of whaleshark encounters and beautiful reefs full of marine life all become a little too enticing, there will always be the opportunity for a trydive. No matter what your ideal holiday looks like, Euro-Divers Maldives has it covered with a range of different resorts. So enjoy your holiday in the Maldives above and below the surface with Euro-Divers. www.euro-divers.com

Fun for everyone!

A great variety of programs and courses to get you started diving or advance your diving skills. For certified divers, there are various dive trips to discover some of the best reefs. Nondivers can join snorkel tours to swim with the sea turtles in the wild, manta ray or whaleshark.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Dry season – January-April, offers great visibility. Wet season: May-Dec, best time for pelagic sightings Water temperatures – 82°F - 86°F. Diving type – Channel diving, Thila diving (underwater pinnacle), outer reef, wall, wreck diving. Conditions – Mild to strong currents dive. Suitable for all beginner to experienced levels.

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MALDIVES

Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa T

he South Ari Atoll is one of the most-acclaimed diving destinations in the entire Maldives, and Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa is located in a prime spot to access some of the best diving in the area. Following the ‘One Island, One Resort’ concept the Maldives is famous for, Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa is 2,950 feet long by 820 feet wide, totalling around 55 acres and surrounded by a spectacular house reef a short swim away from the expansive sandy beach, the quintessential dive and snorkeling island adventure. While the island, and the surrounding diving are stunning, you also have the added excitement of a seaplane transfer from Velana International Airport, which in itself is a scenic 25-minute flight. Your holiday adventure begins at Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa! www.vilamendhoo.com

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Top dive site KUDA RAH THILA

Thousands of blue-striped snapper cover the reef like a ‘yellow carpet’, which sometimes makes it difficult to see your buddy on the other side of the swarm, giant trevallies, tuna, spotted eagle rays, caves with beautiful gorgonian sea fans and whitetips or grey reef sharks patrolling on the edge of the Thila. It’s magnificent.

Property amenities 194 rooms Diving Family friendly Snorkeling

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Diving facilities PADI dive center Daily boat diving UW photo friendly Rental equipment

MALDIVES

Meeru Island Resort & Spa

Come across manta rays, dolphins and schooling tropical fish

he original beach-filled Maldives holiday, Meeru Island Resort & Spa is ‘Simply Maldives’. This beautiful island is surrounded by an azure lagoon and long stretches of white sandy beach and is the only resort on the island of Meerufenfushi, North Male’ Atoll. It is 3,940 feet long by 1,150 feet wide and about 80 acres. Your speedboat transfer from Velana International Airport is a scenic 55-minute ride. Euro-Divers Meeru is a professional PADI Dive Center offering a high-quality service and fun dive experiences. We offer complete PADI training programs at all levels of education starting with the Bubblemaker for kids of 8 years, Discover Scuba Diving, beginners and advanced training. Courses will be scheduled on request and availability. Meeru Island Resort & Spa is one of the larger resorts in the Maldives, offering its visitors a variety of facilities and affordable to superior accommodation. With 6 types of room categories to offer, Meeru counts 284 rooms, 4 restaurants, 6 bars, a renowned spa and a range of other sports/facilities. www.meeru.com

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Top dive site AQUARIUM

The name says it all. It is a beautiful corner dive where divers can expect to see some whitetip reef sharks basking around, eagle rays passing overhead, school yellow snapper, oriental sweetlips, green turtles, and beautiful coral formations. The sights are everywhere, so keep your neck muscles loose.

Property amenities 284 rooms Beach Family friendly Restaurant

Diving facilities PADI dive center Daily boat diving UW photo friendly Rental equipment

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MALDIVES

Luxury Yacht Maldives

Expect to encounter myriad varieties of marine life, from manta rays and whalesharks to tiger sharks

ive, snorkel and relax on our luxurious liveaboards – the nine-cabin M/Y Conte Max and the 11-cabin M/Y Duke of York, which both feature airconditioning, a massage center, bar and lounge, and sun loungers/beach chairs. The vessels are CCR-friendly and we welcome underwater photographers. Free nitrox for certified divers. As well as diving, we can also offer surfing, fishing and snorkeling. Our trips are all-encompassing, and we welcome families and children. Cruise itineraries run for seven nights or more, and locations we visit include the North and Central Atolls, the South – and Extreme South expeditions – and Hanifaru Bay. Join us for the Best Five… the Best Seven… the Best Nine! Expect to encounter myriad varieties of marine life, from manta rays and whalesharks to tiger sharks and thresher sharks, as well as experience the thrill of channel diving in the Maldives. www.luxuryyachtmaldives.com

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Top dive site

CHANNEL DIVING WITH SHARKS

Join our unique diving itinerary, complete with a marine biologist who is an expert in sharks, and encounter a large variety of sharks in the safest and most-ethical interactions.

Boat amenities Nine/eleven cabins Massage center Bar/lounge Beach chairs/loungers

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Diving facilities FREE Nitrox CCR friendly UW photo friendly Daily boat diving

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is world-renowned among the diving fraternity, and for good reason, as it is home to the fabled Coral Triangle of marine biodiversity. Whether you opt for a land-based vacation at one of the world-class resorts in the region, or embark on a liveaboard adventure to more far-flung destinations, you are assured of some of the best diving on the planet. With more than 20,000 islands scattered through the Pacific and Indian Oceans, you certainly have plenty of choice! However, there is far more to Southeast Asia than just diving – you can delve into a rich and varied history, savour mouth-watering food, and enjoy exploring stunning topside scenery.

Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, is the largest religious temple in the world, and it is estimated took 30 years to build.

There are a multitude of diving options available around Thailand, particularly in the Gulf of Thailand and into the Andaman Sea, where you can expect to see everything from the smallest critters to mighty leviathans like manta rays and whalesharks.

Island overload!

Indonesia is the world’s largest island nation, and boasts some 17,000 islands! Stretching between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, as you can imagine, it boasts some of the world’s premier dive hotspots, including Raja Ampat, North Sulawesi, Bali, Komodo, Wakatobi, the Banda Sea – the list is virtually endless.

With more than 20,000 islands scattered through the Pacific and Indian Oceans, you certainly have plenty of choice! 59

INDONESIA

Raja Ampat, Indonesia, located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the epicenter of marine biodiversity and host to over 80% of all the world’s coral species!

Meridian Adventure Dive Resort

aja Ampat, Indonesia, located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the epicenter of marine biodiversity and host to over 80% of all the world’s coral species! Meridian Adventure Dive Resort is in Waisai, the Capital of the Raja Ampat Regency, on the island of Waigeo. We offer a wide selection of dive sites, easily accessible with our dive boats. High-performance, low emission, custombuilt boats have revolutionised our dive operations. We arrive, dive and leave with almost zero footprint. The variety of dive sites ensure there is something for everyone, from macro photographers to manta ray lovers, and from beginners to experienced divers. We offer wellmaintained, high-quality equipment from Aqualung to ensure your diving is memorable for all the right reasons. We are a PADI five-star Dive Resort. The resort has a modern clean, simple design with 49 sq ft Boutique, modularstyle rooms with twin/double bed, private en-suite bathrooms with 24-hour hot water, moderate rooms with 24-hour air-conditioning and daily housekeeping, room amenities include a TV, safe, hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, towels and bath robes, freshwater in your room and at various locations onsite, and Wi-Fi throughout the common areas and rooms. With the idyllic tropical island setting, Raja Ampat has so much more to offer in scenery and wildlife than just the diving - guests are offered an array of activities to pursue while exploring the region, including a Blue River visit, Birds Of Paradise, paddleboarding safari, and half-day boat tour. As an eco-focused operation, Meridian Adventure Dive Resort has its focus and passion poured into scuba diving as its location in Raja Ampat speaks for itself. raja.meridianadventuredive.com

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Top dive site NEU REEF

This hidden gem lies in a massive reef system with many different dive sites. What sets Neu Reef apart from the rest is the incredible diversity. When dived in mild currents, the reef is home to thousands of schooling fish, while on the slack, the reef is perfect to hunt for countless macro creatures, from the tiny pigmy seahorse to the blue ring octopus.

Property amenities 30 rooms Air conditioning WIFI available Restaurant

Diving facilities PADI dive center Training pool Daily boat diving UW photo friendly

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INDONESIA

Siladen Resort &Spa

The top reef, perfect for snorkeling, is alive and dancing with countless colorful reef fish

n award-winning international and exclusive boutique eco resort, Siladen Resort & Spa is a stunning, small, lush tropical island located in the heart of the spectacular Bunaken National Marine Park. Luxury, relaxation and peacefulness are forefront, whether while enjoying the world-class diving and snorkeling with our five-star PADI dive center, indulging in Balinese-inspired soothing, uplifting and restorative therapies using natural products in the resort’s serene spa, eating an incredible variety of food prepared with the freshest of ingredients by our Italian and Indonesian chefs, or just enjoying your beautifully exquisite garden or beach villa in the utmost secluded comfort. All with the most incredible views over the sparkling sea towards the extinct Manado Tua volcano. www.siladen.com

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Top dive site

LEKUAN II – BUNAKEN MARINE PARK

Lekuan is the signature dive of Bunaken Marine Park. Huge numbers of turtles can be found living on this bottomless vertical wall. The top reef, perfect for snorkeling, is alive and dancing with countless colorful reef fish, while the inky depths below are patrolled by reef sharks and tuna.

Property amenities 23 rooms Beach Spa Special diet menus

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Diving facilities 5H PADI dive center UW photo friendly Daily boat diving Rental equipment

PHILIPPINES

Philippine Dive Sites Anilao, Batangas

Explore the underwater world of Anilao, Batangas, home to a variety of nudibranchs. Anilao, Batangas is one of the closest dive sites from Metro Manila that takes a three-hour drive. Anilao is best known for nudibranchs, the tiny exotic creatures it hides in its waters. Out of the 800 identified nudibranchs around the world, 600 can be found in Anilao. You can also find various kinds of frogfish, sea moths, gurnards, wasp fishes, stonefishes, stargazers, flounders, worms, stingrays, shrimps, seahorses (specifically the pygmy seahorse), pipefish and shrimpfish, among many others.

Verde Island Passage, Batangas

The Verde Island Passage, also known as the San Agapito dive site, is located 1,300 feet off the eastern corner of San Agapito. The island sits at the heart of the Verde Island Passage, a strait that covers around 2.7 million acres. The usual flow of current in this part of the Verde Island Passage is extremely strong. Thus, only seasoned advanced scuba divers can dive here. The San Agapito dive site has a wall that stretches 229ft deep where you will find huge coral fans. You can find juvenile sea turtles, school of jacks and mackerels, as well as families of big tuna and grouper.

Malapascua, Cebu

Malapascua Island is the only place in the world where you can dive with thresher sharks nearly on a daily basis in 62

their natural habitat. In fact, thresher sharks are regarded as local celebrities on the island, with thousands of tourists visiting every year for guaranteed encounters. But that’s not the only thing that makes Malapascua a true island paradise. The underwater scene in Malapascua Island is teeming with beautiful corals and rock formations, perfect for divers, underwater photographers, or anyone who wants to experience life under the sea.

Moalboal, Cebu

Imagine yourself swimming over a million sardines in clear blue waters just a few feet off the shore. Many who have tried it call the experience surreal, exhilarating, and definitely ‘oncein-a-lifetime’ that cannot be missed. Diving is still considered the best option to be in the middle of this huge dancing ball of millions of sardines. You can watch these fish congregate, move, glide, and race about when huge predator fish like jacks and tuna come near that will surely take your breath away.

Tubbataha Reef, Palawan

At the southwestern part of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, where the heart of The Coral Triangle sits, is the Philippines’ crown jewel, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. The word ‘Tubbataha’ is a Samal term that means ‘long reef exposed at low tide’. It is the largest Marine Protected Area in the country, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is part of the Ramsar list of Wetlands of International Importance. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Divers guide to The Philippines WEATHER AND CLIMATE

If you want the bright and sunny, tropical glory of the Philippines, plan your trip between the summer months of March and May. It will be hot and dry, but that’s what beaches, sunscreen and hats are for! While some might say avoid the rainy season from June to October, a good traveller knows that off-peak season means lower rates when booking airfares, hotels and resorts. Just be forewarned that the months between July and September is monsoon season, which could mean strong winds and heavy rain. The dry cooler season during the northeast monsoon period typically lasts from November to February. Year-round temperatures range from 78°F to 90°F with mean annual humidity at 83 per cent.

Topside activities Underground River, Palawan

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the town of Sabang, and has also been named as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature back in 2011.

Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Bohol is one of the most-popular and tourist-friendly destinations in the Philippines. One of its most-famous tourist spots is the Chocolate Hills with its chocolateshaped hills and brown color during the dry season.

Sinulog Festival, Cebu

The Sinulog Festival or Santo Nino Festival is an annual religious and cultural event in Cebu. Usually held in January, Sinulog is thought to be the first of the most well-known festivals in the Philippines.

Bohol is one of the most popular and tourist-friendly destinations in the Philippines WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Coron Shipwrecks, Palawan

The vicinity of Sangat Island in Coron has the largest concentration of sunken ships - 11 of them are within recreational scuba diving depths of 80ft to 130ft. The shipwrecks are in great condition and highly recommended among advanced scuba divers to penetrate. Things to look out for include a three-barrelled anti-aircraft gun by the sandy area near the base of the huge crane and the crane’s intact machinery and gears.

Balicasag, Bohol

Located south-west of Panglao Island is the Balicasag Island, a prime diving and snorkeling spot in Bohol due to its precious and diverse marine life. This round-shaped island houses some of the most-beautiful reefs as well as colorful corals and fishes. Many divers and snorkelers also have a chance of encountering sea turtles. www.tourismphilippines.com.au 63

PHILIPPINES

Atlantis Dive Resorts &Liveaboards

iving with Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards, you’ll experience the Philippines’ premier dive destinations, in the heart of the Coral Triangle, with incredible marine biodiversity, all while enjoying a five-star experience. Atlantis Dive Resorts operates two dedicated dive resorts and the Philippines’ only Blue Water rated Private Yacht. Offering spacious accommodation, mouthwatering cuisine, and five guided boat dives per day as part of an all-inclusive dive vacation. Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards offers: • Exceptional customer service: operating in the Philippines for over 27 years, Atlantis has placed a focus on all local, homegrown staff, who are highly trained and service oriented in their professional fields. • Professional dive operation: with small dive groups, dedicated camera rooms and local, knowledgeable guides, divers enjoy single tank dives, with over 20 dive sites located within minutes of the resorts. • Atlantis first class restaurants, offer chef prepared breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Atlantis’ Tokos restaurants are known as the top restaurants in their respective destinations. Atlantis believes in giving back Atlantis’ partnership with the Coral Restoration Foundation™, The Living Planet Aquarium, and the Mead Foundation is helping restore coral reefs by building and maintaining Philippines’ coral nurseries. Atlantis invites you to make a difference in a Coral Rescue week in September 2022. The event will be held at Atlantis Dumaguete, the dark volcanic sand macro capital of the Philippines, with unique marine life and the healthy reefs around Apo Island. bit.ly/rescuecorals

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Top dive site

SAN MIGUEL (TIRES)

This dive site is critter heaven: a sandy slope with a bunch of old car tires covered in corals, sponges and marine life. Frogfish, pygmy squid, nudibranchs, scorpionfish, lionfish, moray eels, crabs, shrimps, flamboyant cuttlefish, mimic octopus, Ambon scorpionfish and striated (hairy) frogfish. Excellent for night dives for spotting stargazers!

Property amenities 44 rooms Beach Pool Spa

Diving facilities PADI dive center Daily boat diving 5 dives per day UW photo friendly

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DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

DAN is an international non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of divers. WWW.DIVERSALERTNETWORK.ORG

DIVING SHIPWRECKS SAFELY The Divers Alert Network team offers some sage advice on safety considerations for when you are wreck diving

omething about shipwrecks makes them irresistible to divers — no matter how big they are or how they sank, wrecks offer a unique challenge and a glimpse into history, and it’s easy for wreck diving to become an obsession. For many divers, the challenge and the risks that come with it are part of the appeal, and here are some safety considerations.

Sea conditions

Shipwrecks exist because at some point conditions on the surface were less than optimal. Some of the most-interesting historical wrecks are situated in the most-challenging dive conditions for this reason. For divers, this means high current, surge, unpredictable weather and heavy seas should be expected on the way to a deep wreck. With proper training, preparation and experience, it’s possible to safely dive in these conditions, but they will always be physically challenging and require a careful approach. A giant stride from a rocking boat can be daunting, but most injuries occur while getting back onboard after a dive. Fighting your way up a traverse line, avoiding a bucking stern and catching a ladder between wave crests can challenge the most-experienced instructor and easily overwhelm divers who may not know where the limits of their abilities are. Instructors can minimise the risk to students by conservatively evaluating sea conditions and student fitness and teaching them to maximise their efficiency in the water. Pulling yourself along a line rather than kicking, avoiding unnecessary equipment to reduce drag, and minimising time spent on the surface in heavy seas can reduce overexertion and injury and make the dive more enjoyable.

Rusty metal and entanglement hazards

Even if you never enter an overhead environment, shipwrecks pose a host of hazards. Entanglement, razor-sharp edges, disorienting corridors and silt are common hazards even on

the cleanest wrecks. Entanglement is a leading cause of death among experienced technical divers. Ceilings and walls in deteriorating wrecks can collapse without warning, errant fin kicks can eliminate visibility, and jagged metal edges can slice even the best-laid lines.

Getting back on board

It’s common for new divers to lose focus during ascent — instructors spend days teaching students about the hazards of deep diving and shipwrecks, and they may focus intently on the wreck and lose sight of the second half of the dive. Managing a safe ascent rate, effectively signalling the dive boat and negotiating your way back onboard can be just as challenging as reaching the wreck — sometimes more so. Students should be taught to dive their plan, control their ascent and come prepared to deal with a lost-boat situation. Signal mirrors, dye packets, surface markers and whistles should be considered by wreck divers of all levels. n

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INSURE THROUGH DAN. WORLDWIDE COVERAGE. GREAT RATES. DIVE ACCIDENT INSURANCE PLANS START AT US$40 PER YEAR.*

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*For more details, see handbook under Compare Coverage at DAN.org/membership-insurance/dive-insurance. *For residents of IN, MN, NH, NY and WA, insurance is underwritten by The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, NAIC No. 70106 domiciled in the state of New York with a principal place of business of One World Financial Center, 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281. It is currently authorized to transact business in all states, plus DC, except PR. Coverage may vary by state. AG 12070. *For residents of all other U.S. states and the District of Columbia insurance is underwritten by National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., a Pennsylvania insurance company with its principal place of business at 175 Water Street, New York, NY 10038. It is currently authorized to conduct insurance business in all states and the District of Columbia. NAIC No. 19445. The issued policy and certificate will contain reductions, limitations, exclusions, definitions and termination provisions. Full details of the coverage will be contained in the issued policy and certificate. Coverage may vary by state. NUFIC-SM-12299-2021DA4AD

THAILAND

Koh Samui

Diving Koh Samui ranges from granite pinnacles and rocky seamounts to vibrant coral reefs teeming with life

oh Samui and nearby Koh Tao are in the Gulf of Thailand, on the east coast of the Thai Peninsula. Diving Koh Samui ranges from granite pinnacles and rocky seamounts to vibrant coral reefs teeming with life. On fringing reefs covered in black coral, barrel sponges, sea fans and vibrant soft corals and anemones, expect to see stingrays, eels, barracuda, and turtles. Keep your eyes out into the blue for whalesharks who frequent these waters.

Sail Rock (Hin Bai)

This 100ft submerged pinnacle is thought by many to be the best dive site in the Gulf of Thailand and one of the best sites for whaleshark sightings. With few other pinnacles nearby, Sail Rock is a fish magnet and the coral-encrusted pinnacle itself is a stunning sight. It’s not just a site for big fish though, you’ll find a plethora of colorful smaller fish darting in and out of the reef, with currents bringing in hunting trevally and barracuda.

Angthong Marine Park

Made up of 42 limestone islands, Angthong has several sea caverns, swim-throughs, overhangs, and sloping reefs. The marine reserve boasts incredible coral diversity, including abundant soft corals, barrel sponges, anemones, several types of black corals and sea fans. Marine life here is equally diverse, and you’ll likely spot large snapper, blue-spotted stingrays, schools of fusiliers and yellowtail barracuda.

Chumphon Pinnacle

This is one of Koh Tao’s most-famous dive sites and is located within reach of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. The site features a series of stunning granite, coral-encrusted pinnacles which are home to batfish, giant grouper, trevally and giant schools of both barracuda and snapper. The reef tops are covered in anemones of all colors, branching corals, sea whips and barrel sponges, and in the blue, the occasional whaleshark. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Divers guide to Koh Samui

Climate – Koh Samui has a tropical climate and is warm all year-round with average temperatures of 82-89°C. The hours of sunshine per day depends on the time of year, and averages at around seven hours. Water Temperature – Average water temperature in Koh Samui is between 82-89 degrees C and tends to be slightly warmer between April and September. When to dive – Koh Samui enjoys stable conditions throughout the year, with the official rainy season between October and December. Whalesharks cruise into the deeper pinnacles through all seasons but are most likely to appear in April-May when the plankton levels are higher.

Topside activities

Visit the Secret Buddha Garden

At the top of Pom Mountain, the Secret Buddha Garden is a sculpture park worth a visit. The garden was the beloved project of Khun Nim, a retired farmer who worked on it for 14 years until his death at the age of 91.

Take a Thai cooking class

Koh Samui has lots of cooking schools, most of which include a tour of the local market followed by guided instructions for making classic dishes.

Cool down at Na Muang Waterfalls

These two waterfalls are located a five-minute drive away from each other and both very picturesque. Waterfall One is easy to access and has a wide natural pool that is perfect for swimming. Getting to Waterfall Two requires a little climbing, but the view from the top is worth the effort.

These two waterfalls are located a five-minute drive from each other WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

South-West Pinnacle

This series of rock formations ranges in depth from 13ft to 100ft, with a seafloor carpeted with anemones in brilliant greens, pinks, and blues. Leopard sharks and whalesharks are occasional visitors to the site, which is home to large schools of snapper, emperor and harlequin sweetlips, yellowtail barracuda and fusiliers.

Shark Island

This dive site is best known for its biodiversity. It features a wall, pinnacles, and a coral garden abundant with colorful soft corals. The range of marine life includes moray eels, angelfish, scorpionfish, pipefish, nudibranch, crustaceans, and an abundance macro critters. At the drop-offs, you’ll often see passing pelagics such as whalesharks, reef sharks and leopard sharks. amazingthailand.com.au 69

THAILAND

Phuket

Phuket is the gateway to the Andaman Sea, where you’ll find some of the most colorful and biodiverse reefs in Thailand

ocated on the west coast, Phuket is one of Thailand’s southern-most regions. Known as the Pearl of the Andaman Sea, this large island has many beautiful beaches, and is the gateway to some of the best diving in Thailand. Diving in Phuket is diverse, everything from shallow fringing reefs to dramatic drop-offs and pinnacles, impressive granite walls, wrecks, caves, and tunnels. It’s also the main departure point for Thailand’s liveaboards, which head north to the Similan and Surin Islands, and south to Koh Ha, Hin Daeng (Red Rock) and Hin Muang (Purple Rock).

There are frequent sightings of mantas and the occasional whaleshark. At Hin Muang you’ll find Thailand’s highest vertical wall, adorned with vibrant purple soft corals.

Shark Point, Phuket

This site gets its name from a rock that sticks out of the water and resembles a half-submerged elephant. Its huge granite boulders have created a myriad of amazing swim-throughs, tunnels and caverns. You will likely spot whitetip reef sharks and leopard sharks, and look in the sand for the purple fire gobies and the rare McCosker’s dwarf wrasse.

Protected as a marine sanctuary since 1992, the site boasts incredible biodiversity. This tall pinnacle is encrusted with vibrant hard and soft corals. Expect to see lionfish, moray eels, hordes of kaleidoscopic reef fish and leopard sharks resting on the sandy sea floor.

King Cruiser Wreck, Phuket

This passenger ferry sank in 1997 and now attracts hordes of schooling fish including snapper and barracuda. Inside the wreck you’ll find nocturnal species that enjoy the shaded areas, including lionfish, moray eels, scorpionfish, spiny lobster, and other crustaceans.

Hin Daeng (Red Rock) and Hin Muang (Purple Rock), Southern Andaman Sea

Hin Daeng is a tall pinnacle, encrusted in soft corals in various shades of red and is simply teeming with life. 70

Koh Ha (5 Islands), Southern Andaman Sea

This circle of islets, 15 miles west of Koh Lanta, is stunning above and below water. Tall limestone karsts tower above you, and underwater, everything has a thick coating of vibrant soft corals as you weave through a series of dramatic caverns and swim-throughs.

Hin Pusa (Elephant Head Rock), Similan Islands

Divers guide to Phuket Climate – It is warm in Phuket all year round with temperatures ranging between 77 – 93°F. Phuket’s weather is dictated by the tropical monsoon, with dry season November to May and wet season May to October. Water Temperature – The average water temperature in Phuket ranges between 82 and 87 degrees F, with warmer water between March and July. When to dive – Phuket can be dived year-round, but the best conditions are experienced in the dry season between October and April. The Similan and Surin Islands National Marine Park is only open for diving from November-May. Visibility ranges from 83ft130ft. The best time to encounter whalesharks is from mid-January to mid-March.

Topside activities Explore Phuket Old Town

Phuket Old Town is a pastel-colored historic neighbourhood, the remnants of the island’s colonial past. Phuket used to have a thriving tin-mining industry, so Sino-Portuguese, Chinese and Malay immigrants flocked here to make their fortune.

Kayak through Phang Nga Bay

Take a day trip to Phang Nga Bay, famous for the striking limestone island that featured in a James Bond film, and kayak the emerald waters dotted with limestone karst islands.

Visit Phuket Elephant Sanctuary

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is an ethical elephant sanctuary, where elephants roam around, bathe and socialise freely across 30 acres of lush, tropical land bordering the Khao Phra Thaeo National Park in North East Phuket.

Phang Nga Bay, famous for its movie star: James Bond Island WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

West of Eden, Similan Islands

In this garden of coral bommies you’ll find yourself surrounded by angelfish and snapper, look in the crevices for spiny lobster, anemones and moray eels. As you head deeper, passing enormous gorgonian fans, you’ll find mantis shrimp, ribbon eels and small banded pipefish.

Richelieu Rock, Surin Islands

Thailand’s most-famous dive site is a horse-shoe-shaped pinnacle covered in vibrant coral and marine life – it’s an underwater photographer’s dream. You may find a tiger-tail seahorse, harlequin shrimp, or ghost pipefish. You’ll often see resident pharaoh cuttlefish mating here, flickering as they change color to impress their mate. Above, barracuda hang in the currents and from mid-January to mid-March keep an eye on the blue for whalesharks. amazingthailand.com.au 71

Blackwater diving optional on every cruise

THAILAND

The Smiling Seahorse Liveaboard O

perating in Thailand and Myanmar since 2012, The Smiling Seahorse is a reef-friendly operator offering diving cruises on the Andaman Sea with flawless onboard service, outstanding cuisine, and a friendly atmosphere. Our new boat can welcome up to 16 divers in eight oceanview, air-conditioned cabins on the upper and lower decks, with very spacious common areas on three levels. We are also the first liveaboard in Thailand designed with photographers’ needs in mind: a convenient ‘camera room’, boat staff experienced in handling cameras, a photo coach available upon request, and blackwater diving optional on every cruise. Ocean preservation is very important to us and you will receive reusable aluminum bottles and reef-friendly amenities. We respect Green Fins diving practices and made it to the wall of fame as Manta Trust ‘eco-conscious dive operator’. www.thesmilingseahorse.com

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FROM RICHELIEU ROCK TO KOH LIPE, WE DIVE IN THAILAND’S TOP 5 MARINE NATIONAL PARKS

Surin Islands, Similan Islands, Koh Lanta (Hin Daeng, Hin Muang), Tarutao (Koh Lipe, 8 miles) and Koh Phi Phi National Parks are all amazing!

Boat amenities 8 Seaview cabins Eco-friendly toiletries Ensuite bathrooms Air conditioning

Diving facilities UW photo friendly 4 dives per day Blackwater diving Nitrox available

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Image by Henley Spiers

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processes to create products that are better for the environment whilst maintaining their performance. That’s why our range of wetsuits is made with sustainable rubber and recycled nylon, as well as limestone-derived neoprene, so that you can pursue your adventures with peace of mind.

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XENOS & PROTEUS II Recycled rubber tyres and limestone neoprene

THAILAND

Sairee Cottage Diving

The dive school has been operating for over 14 years, evolving to a PADI five-star dive facility, and is widely renowned as one of Thailand’s premier dive resorts

airee Cottage Diving is situated right on the beautiful Sairee Beach Koh Tao in Thailand. The dive school has been operating for over 14 years, evolving to a PADI five-star dive facility, and is widely renowned as one of Thailand’s premier dive resorts. Comprised of a dedicated team and specially designed facilities, the Sairee Cottage Diving experience is one to remember. Following the events of the past two years, we are itching to get back in the water and show everyone from first time to experienced well-traveled divers the stunning underwater world and the Gulf of Thailand. For those looking to escape every day realities of the modern world, we also train divers to professional levels in our Go Pro department under world-renowned PADI Platinum Course Director Marcel van den Berg. There has never been a better time to change your lifestyle and seize emerging opportunities as a professional diver to enjoy the freedom, flexibility, excitement and adventure that a diving instructor job offers. Our Divemaster and PADI IDC Course are professionally structured and based on real-world applications and we train professional divers to the highest standards. Learn real industry insights which provide you with some of the best career opportunities whilst enjoying the island lifestyle. Whether you are visiting Koh Tao for the first time or returning, we look forward to inviting you to our island paradise and creating unforgettable lifetime memories together. Everyone is welcome in the Sairee Cottage Diving family - from beginner to pro, we all love to dive all day and share our experiences at the pool bar watching the sunset. www.saireecottagediving.com

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CHUMPHON PINNACLE

This dive site, which despite the name actually comprises several pinnacles, is well known as a hang-out for batfish, barracuda, grouper, leopard sharks and all the usual reef fish of the Gulf of Thailand, along with occasional visitations from the likes of whalesharks, manta rays and bull sharks. It drops to 114ft and is best suited to advanced divers.

Property amenities Air conditioning Beach Pool

Diving facilities PADI IDC Daily boat diving Training pool

Micronesia & the Pacific Ocean

Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of some 600 islands, grouped into four states – Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. Although these occupy a small total land mass, they are scattered over an area roughly five times the size of France! The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earth’s oceans, extending from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east. It covers about 46 percent of the Earth’s water surface, and Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 35,000ft.

Many of the wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon lie at the limits of recreational diving (100ft-130ft), so this is best suited to experienced divers, and technical divers will have a ball on the deeper shipwrecks.

Chuuk Lagoon – A wreck divers paradise

Chuuk Lagoon, also known as Truk Lagoon, was a main base of operations for the Japanese forces during World War Two. It is also one of the world’s top wreck-diving sites, thanks to Operation Hailstone back in February 1944, when over three days, US forces attacked and destroyed 12 Japanese warships and 32 merchant vessels.

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You can’t talk about diving in Fiji without mentioning the aweinspiring bull shark dives out of Pacific Harbor in the Beqa Lagoon. Here, you will encounter anywhere up to 45-50 massive bull sharks, which congregate to munch on morsels of food!

It covers about 46 percent of the Earth’s water surface, and Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 35,000ft

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is located within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, and is surrounded by the Bismarck, Coral and Solomon Seas. It has barrier reefs, coral walls, fringing reefs, seagrass beds and areas for muck diving, alongside World War Two shipwrecks and plane wrecks.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Papua New Guinea

apua New Guinea is located in the Coral Triangle, the centre of marine biodiversity which has the highest diversity of tropical fish and coral in the world. It may just be travel’s best-kept secret that these parts of PNG are home to some of the world’s best dive and snorkel sites, incredible sports fishing, uncrowded surf breaks, heart-warming marine conservation programs and of course a unique array of local tribes and cultural events. The coastal regions and islands of PNG include pristine shorelines, fiery active volcanoes, spectacular fjords and 600plus mostly-deserted islands. This area covers the mainland provinces of East Sepik, Madang, Morobe and West Sepik, as well as the island provinces of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, East New Britain, Manus, New Ireland and West New Britain. PNG also offers some of the most-stunning and untouched reefs in the world, in fact most of the time, your boat will be the only one out diving the area that day. We’ve rounded up some of the best dive sites from some of PNG’s top-rated dive regions in the country.

Kimbe Bay

Kimbe Bay within West New Britain province has over 40 different sites to choose from, offers a variety of different sorts of dives - underwater sea-mounts, unbelievable sheer walls, fabulous coral gardens, huge fans and funky critters. 78

It may just be travel’s best-kept secret that these parts of PNG are home to some of the world’s best dive and snorkel sites Walindi Plantation Resort has three purpose-built day boats to take guests out diving and snorkeling the wonderful waters of the bay. Bradford Shoals is a dive site of the sea mount type, an isolated reef on the outer edge of Kimbe Bay that rises from considerable depths to within 65ft of the surface. The reef structure is predominantly flat plates of hard corals, and adaptation allowing maximum utilisation of the reduced sunlight at that depth. The reef slopes downward from its twin summits to a lip at about 88ft, after which the drop is almost sheer vertical.

Milne Bay

Milne Bay diving really put Papua New Guinea on the map as a diver’s paradise. With World War Two wrecks in the area, such as the Black Jack B17F Flying Fortress bomber just off the beach at Cape Vogel, and some of the superb reefs, it’s easy to understand Milne Bay is on the ‘must do’ list for most divers. Tawali Leisure and Dive Resort is located in a secluded area of Milne Bay among local fishing villages and accessible only by boat. The term ‘muck diving’ originated in Papua New Guinea and it was in Milne Bay, at Dinah’s beach, that muck diving was born. Recognized as one of the top macro dive sites in the world, you will find blue ribbon eels, manta shrimps, cockatoo waspfish, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, and so much more. WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Divers guide to PNG Travel – Papua New Guinea is accessed by international flights into Jacksons International Airport, in Port Moresby. With the national airline, Air Niugini, servicing direct flights between Australia and Asia. From there you are able to fly to regional areas with Air Niugini or PNG Air. Air travel is the best way to travel around Papua New Guinea. When to dive – You can dive Papua New Guinea year-round, however, the peak season is between May and November. The temperatures averages about 78 F along the edge of the Coral Sea and 87 F in the Bismark Sea. Access – Tourist Visas are available for most nationalities, you can find up to date information via; https://ica.gov. pg/visa. Tourists are welcomed in Papua New Guinea with open arms and big smiles.

3 more must visits You are spoilt for choice when it comes to dive spots, with 18 amazing reefs and wrecks to choose from. You can dive amazing wrecks from World War Two, an American Liberty Ship, an incredible coral ‘chimney’ or around an island with an active volcano.

Tufi Resort

Nestled in the breathtaking fjords, Tufi Resort will blow you away as soon as you arrive. Tufi offers amazing marine diversity and a variety of diving experiences, including fjord, reef and wreck diving.

Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort

Here you will find an array of war history dives such as a Japanese Mitsubishi F1M1 Naval Type ‘O’ observation seaplane, a long-range reconnaissance aircraft with two machine guns mounted for hand operation.

diving experiences, including fjord, reef and wreck diving WWW.SCUBADIVERDESTINATIONS.COM

Madang Resort

Kavieng

Kavieng, found on the tip of New Ireland, is best known for reef sharks and semi-pelagic fish like dog-tooth tuna, Spanish mackerel, and barracuda. It is also home to beautiful fans, soft corals and sponges, which thrive in the often-vigorous currents, as well as some incredible World War Two wrecks. Spend your time falling in love with Lissenung Resort, which also runs a turtle conservation programme every year to help protect the local population. Albatross Passage is a must-dive in Kavieng. Eagle rays, whitetip, blacktip and grey reef sharks, big tuna, jacks, barracuda and even sometimes mobula rays can be seen here. And if you’ve had enough of all the big stuff, just turn towards the wall, beautifully over-grown with fan coral, black coral, sponges as well as little creatures such as nudibranchs, leaf scorpionfish and pygmy seahorse. https://papuanewguinea.travel 79

TRUK LAGOON

Odyssey Adventures

iving in Truk Lagoon aboard the MV Odyssey provides one of the world’s finest diving experiences, both above and below the surface. Truk, formally known as Chuuk since 1986, is one of the world’s best-known wreck diving destinations, thanks to dozens of World War Two wrecks scattered across 77 square miles. These ships were sunk in battle and contain many artefacts. The wrecks are covered with life, including more than 300 hard and soft corals. In addition, the outer reef features coral mountains and excellent shark diving. Divers of all experience levels are easily accommodated. The 131-feet MV Odyssey welcomes just 16 passengers and offers seven staterooms that have either one king bed or two twin beds, and two private single staterooms with a single bed. All cabins offer private ensuite facilities, airconditioning, and access to the onboard entertainment system with over 600 movie titles. The rest of the ship, which is fully air-conditioned, features a large dining room, separate lounge, bar, and full dive deck facilities. Odyssey offers week-long excursions that includes airport greeting and transfer to vessel (for those arriving on charter schedule); seven nights accommodation onboard the Odyssey; six days of diving up to five dives per day; Nitrox 30% (for nitrox-certified divers); Tanks and weights; All meals, snacks, beverages, including beer, wine and other spirits. www.trukodyssey.com

Truk, formally known as Chuuk since 1986, is one of the world’s best-known wreck diving destinations Average customer rating

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Top dive site FUJIKAWA MARU

The Fujikawa Maru was a 436-feet supply ship primarily transporting aircraft and parts to various Pacific islands. The depth range of the dive is from just below the surface to a maximum of 115ft. One of the main features of this wreck is the cargo hold containing airplane fuselages and wing sections. There is lush coral growth on the exterior.

Boat amenities 9 rooms Airport transport Diving WIFI available

Diving facilities FREE Nitrox CCR friendly 5 dives per day Technical diving

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DISCOVER AUSTRALIA’S UNDERWATER WORLD

Images: Main image: Rosie Leaney, Turtle © Tourism & Events Queensland, Whale shark & Minke: Scott Portelli, Manta: Shutterstock.

With Diveplanit Travel

From minkes to mantas, Australia’s most unique marine encounters, most remote reefs and BEST deals.

Diving in Australia is incredibly diverse, from the stunning coral vistas of the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo and Rowley Shoals, to world-famous wrecks like the Yongala and encounters with whale sharks, manta rays – you can even come face to face with great white sharks.

Visit diveplanit.com – or call us! Diveplanit.com 1800 607 913 enquire@diveplanit.com

UNITED STATES THE SCUBA SCHOOL LLC

DIVE & GLIDE SCUBA, SNORKEL & TRAVEL

SCUBA360ADVENTURES LLC

t: (501)-289-6500 e: instructor@thescubaschool.com a: 116 E Railroad Ave, Morrilton, 72110-3408, AR Offering small class sizes and individual attention, our Coast Guard, PADI, and SDI certified trainers will have novices and veterans alike under the surface and diving smart in no time. www.thescubaschool.com

t: (989) 486-3627 e: diveandglide.midland@gmail.com a: 600 Cambridge Street, Suite 3, Midland, MI 48642 Since 1997, we’ve been Mid-Michigan’s premier dive shop for diving, snorkeling, and travel. Two locations to serve you! www.diveandglideinc.com

t: 803-257-5103 e: instructors@scuba360adventures.com a: 1450 Georgia Ave, Unit 7191, North Augusta, 29861-3049, SC We are a training facility with one primary goal - Scuba Training. We provide diver training from entry-level to advanced technical diving. www.scuba360adventures.com

ALEXANDER’S / DIVE SHOP, TOO

DIVE & GLIDE SCUBA, SNORKEL & TRAVEL

t: 520-287-5103 e: divetoo@divetoo.com a: 590 N Morley Ave, Nogales, 85621-2936, AZ Our 5-Star PADI Center provides all levels of instruction in both English and Spanish. www.divetoo.com

t: (989) 892-5771 e: diveandglide.baycity@gmail.com a: At the I75/M84 Interchange, 6185 West Side Saginaw Road, Bay City, MI 48706 Since 1997, we’ve been Mid-Michigan’s premier dive shop for diving, snorkeling, and travel. Two locations to serve you! www.diveandglideinc.com

SUMMIT DIVERS & WATERSPORTS t: 928-556-8780 e: info@summitdivers.com a: 103 S Milton Rd, Flagstaff, 86001-5516, AZ We have a great selection of scuba and water sports gear. We offer scuba certification from beginner instructor. www.summitdivers.com

DIVIN’ DAWGS SCUBA t: 252-638-3432 e: divindawgs@yahoo.com a: 801 Cardinal Road, New Bern, NC 28562 We train divers – we do not sell certifications. www.divindawgs.com

DIVERS COVE LLC

DIVER’S WORLD OR ERIE, INC.

t: 860-767-1960 e: info@diverscove.com a: 7 Essex Plaza, Essex, CT 06426 Full service shop – well trained staff – fun trips – exceptional dry suit repairs. www.diverscove.com

t: (814) 459- 3195 e: info@scubaerie.com a: 1111 Greengarden Rd, Erie, PA 16501 Northwest Pennsylvania’s premier Scuba Diving facility since 1975. www.scubaerie.com

FIN-TASTIC DIVING, LLC t: 203-605-9590 e: gotair@fintasticdiving.net a: 4 Brushy Plain Rd, Suit 516, Branford, CT 06405 Full service dive shop, offering equipment sales to fit your budget, scuba certifications for all levels and exciting dive vacations. www.fintasticdiving.net

SPRUCE CREEK SCUBA t: 386-767-1727 e: divingscs@gmail.com a: 1646 Taylor Rd, Port Orange, 32128-6753, FL WELCOME TO SPRUCE CREEK SCUBA. “Any Diver, Any Course, Any Gas, Any Gear, Anytime” www.sprucecreekscuba.com

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ALPHA DIVERS t: 865-951-0691 e: info@alphadivers.com a: 2001 N. Broadway, Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917 PADI & RAID recreational and technical training facility. We offer open water through Full Cave, Tec Trimix and more. We are located in Knoxville, TN. www.alphadivers.com

SAINT CROIX SCUBA AND SNORKELING t: 715-381-5300 e: twnooner@aol.com a: 596 Outpost Cir Ste K, Hudson, WI 54016 PADI 5 Star Dive Center providing training and gear for recreational, public safety, and underwater research scuba diving and snorkeling. www.saintcroixscuba.com

CANADA BLUE OASIS DIVE CENTRE LTD t: (204)-253-2583 e: info@blueoasis.ca a: 440 Watt St, Winnipeg, R2K 2R7, MB www.blueoasis.ca

COJO DIVING INC t: (855)-646-2656 e: cojodiving@gmail.com a: 158 Garden Grove Road, Lincoln, NB E3B7G8 PADI 5 Star Dive Center located in New Brunswick, Canada. Training, Retail, Rentals, Air/Nitrox/Trimix fills, Servicing, Charters. www.cojodiving.com

AQUASUB SCUBA DIVING CENTRE t: 905-883-3483 e: info@aquasubscuba.com a: 1241 Elgin Mills Road East, Unit A-2, Richmond Hill, L4S 0B5, ON Registered travel agency specialized in dive trips. With two locations in Cuba where we teach all levels of scuba diving. www.aquasubscuba.com

TRAVEL SPORTS EQUIPMENT t: (519)-434-2611 e: sales@travelsportsequipment.com a: 67 Wharncliffe Rd. North, London, N6H 2A5, ON www.travelsportsequipment.com

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