Scubashooters net e mag issue n54 apr 2021

Richard Barnden

Portfolio

issue n°54

- APR 2021

Travels: Bahamas Big Sharks

Contest: Deep Visions 2021

Review: Super D-Max Strobe

News: Freediving World Record

News: Trash Waste Solution

Review: Oceanic Manta

Dear readers, I’ve already used this page to drive your attention on the current critical situation of the whole diving industry including diving centers and boats, resorts, manufacturers, travel agents and tour operators...

The pandemic is not saving anyone and for this reason we were in doubt wether to go for Deepvisions 2021 or not.

Well, we decided to give it a go and I have to admit I’ve been overwhelmed by the main sponsors response to our invitation to join this year’s panel.

We will have a great sponsorship panel for this edition too and this means one thing only to me, a great desire to go back to normal , even if there will be this so called new normal the industry players want to go ahead and recover some kind of normality.

Interesting enough I feel to tell you a story, my story , the story of a young boy, born in Rapallo, north of Italy which by chance is the home of one of the greatest brands in the diving industry and this brand is Mares.

After so many years of running scubashooters and Deepvisions I’m really happy to announce you that Mares will join our sponsorship panel for Deepvisions 2021 ... we have and have had many many worldwide reknown sponsors but this one is a little special to me, that’s why I wanted to tell you my story.

Stay tuned for more!

Marino Palla Owner and Founder Scubashooters Network

Cover image by: Richard Barnden

Contents

Issue

n°54

-

apr

2021

pag. 58

P ortfolio Richard Barnden Editorial:

by Marino Palla

Review: The Queen Of The Maldives by: Dharavandhoo Divers

pag. 3

Travels: Bahamas By: Rino Sgorbani

Review: Nautismart Pro by: Bluebox Environment: Trash Waste Solution by: Klaus Schappenberger

pag. 8 News: Freediving World Record by: Marianna Tombini

pag. 38 pag. 46

pag. 88 Review: Super D-Max Strobe By: Scubalamp

pag. 20

Contest: Deep Visions 2021 The Jury Categories Sponsors

pag. 96

Editor: Fabio Strazzi Assistant Editor: Elisa Furlani

pag. 28

Scubashooters - Via Barucchi 37, 37139 Verona Graphic Design and Supervising: Elisa Furlani Layout: Elisa Furlani Alessandra Suppo Translations: Piera Pirini

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Travels

The Bahamas Big Sharks

Words and pictures: Rino Sgorbani

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Travels

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had been to the Bahamas a few years ago, on a sailing boat leaving from the Dominican Republic, passing through the Turk & Caicos Islands and then sailing for over a month amongst the islands of the Bahamas.

Everyone told me: you will see, as soon as you throw the anchor in those seabeds you will be surrounded by many sharks, “I wish” I thought, so in addition to sailing I’ll have a little fun. Nothing, not even the shadow of a shark! As usual, you should never take for granted the things people say. We anchored near many islands and bays, but we didn’t see any single sharks. I have to

tell the truth: I was disappointed with that vacation, I expected more. I went back, but this time I went without fail. When I learned that my friend Sergio Riccardo was organizing an expedition to the Bahamas, specifically aimed at seeing the Tiger Sharks and the Great Hammerhead Shark, I immediately joined the group. We left in early March, the ideal month to see the big sharks, with a flight from Rome to Miami where we spent one night in a hotel.

In the morning we took a flight to Bimini, which is about fifty minutes from Miami. North and South Bimini are the two major islands of the Bimini Islands, which stretch for twenty-eight miles along the Gulf Stream, just fifty miles

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east of Miami. An hour of transfer separates the boat stopped and anchored on a sandy the airport from our accommodation at the Bi- bottom of about ten meters. mini Sands Resort, a beautiful private Marina The sea was fairly calm with a little current, at the far end of the South Island. and visibility was not so good. The crew sailors The Bimini Island’s waters are famous and began to cut pieces of fish and chum and, afknown all over the world for the sighting of ter about fifteen minutes, the area was teemthe Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna Mo- ing with sharks, Lemon Shark, even large ones, karan). In the afternoon, in the port north of but not even the shadow of hammerhead the island, we met with Neal Watson’s of the sharks.

Bimini Scuba Center, who would accompany After over an hour of waiting, we decided to us on this adventure with his boat. Neal told enter in the water the same, even without us that a few days before, in the last dive, they the presence of the Hammerhead Shark. Not saw four Hammerhead Sharks, but in the fol- everyone got into the water: someone had givlowing days the low tide and the current had en up. muddied the water, so the next day we would not go out before noon, waiting for the tide to Sean, Neal’s assistant, carried a perforated rise. “Ouch” - I thought - “want to see that once steel container filled with pieces of fish. We got on our knees on the sandy bottom in a semiciragain I take a rip off?” cle with Sean and his baits in the center. DozThe next day, around twelve o’clock, Neal ens of Lemon Sharks and a few Gray Sharks picked us up with his “Bimini Blue” boat at surrounded us looking for some bite, while our Resort’s marina and, after loading all our some Nurse Sharks were lying on the bottom equipment and assembling the cylinders, we right in front of the container: a scene that at left westward. Just after ten minutes of sailing other times

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Beautiful scenes, some of which I managed to capture with my Canon, by now inseparable, which has accompanied me since some years in my adventures. My current setup is: Easydive Leo3 housing, Canon EOS5D Mk3 camera, with Canon 17-40 mm and Cano 8-15 mm lenses, Easydive Revolution 15000 headlights and Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobes.

would have satisfied us greatly, but none of us paid it that much attention since our goal was another.

If you looked towards the surface, the water was crystal clear, but a turbid layer of about one meter rose from the bottom: it was the current of the tide that moved the sand from the seabed. Suddenly, after more than half an hour of waiting, a dark figure appeared out of nowhere: it was it, the Great Hammerhead Shark, handsome and powerful who went around looking for food.

I know, it is a very cumbersome configuration, but it is what it takes to do the things I want, that is photos and videos. After an hour I saw that my air supply was scarce, so I went up on the boat to change the cylinder and then down again. The others also took turns at about the same time. At one point, while I was going down, I found myself alone, face to face with the Great Mokaran.

I began taking pictures so much driven by the enthusiasm that I didn’t think about what I was framing, but then I calmed down and started to get serious: settings, calibrations, flash angles, etc ... I had never been so close to the Great Hammer: it always came almost shaving the bottom and then sometimes it took the fish right from Sean’s hands.

I managed to make some really nice shots even in backlight. The first exit had gone well after all, although it begun badly, but

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you know: at sea you should never take anything for granted. The next day we always went out at the same time.

conditions, the show was all the same fantastic: many sharks went around in a carousel of evolutions, but to master there were always them, the Great Hammerhead Sharks.

The sharks arrived almost immediately, and ten minutes after we were positioned on the bottom three hammerhead sharks arrived, one of which was of large size.

Our adventure in Bimini was over, so the next day we took a flight to Grand Bahama. Neal had left the night before with his boat loading all our baggage, since we could not carry almost anything on the small propeller plane, which with a flight of about thirty minutes brought us to our destination. In Grand Bahama we were staying in the West, at the end of the big island, at the Old Bahama Bay, a Marina with a Resort made up of beautiful, colorful houses, each with a different color. Given the boats moored in the harbor, it is definitely a place frequented by deep sea fishing enthusiasts. Once recovered our baggage and settled in our rooms, we prepared for the exit of the next day.

The visibility was excellent, so I decided to shoot some videos too. It was a succession of spectacular scenes: sometimes I stopped without doing anything to observe this large animal, the strange shape of its head that moves continuously horizontally while it swims capturing even the slightest smell of food. A truly incredible thing and I also must say that it never showed aggressive attitudes.

On the third day the water was still cloudy, there was a lot of current and we had to increase the weights on our belts by a few pounds to be able to stand still on the bottom: a situation certainly not easy for a photographer, and even worse for a video operator. However, despite the less than optimal

This time the Great Tiger Shark was waiting for us. The next morning we left at nine heading North / West, with strong wind and rough seas, destination Tiger Beach. The whole

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even come bumping into my housing’s porthole. On the second day in Tiger Beach the sea was a bit choppier and there was a little current.

Visibility was always excellent, however the Tiger Sharks were more nervous and very often Neal had to push them away because they were biting the fish container without giving it up. At a certain moment, a Tiger shark came behind Leo, who was close to me, and took the first stage of his regulator and a the top of his cylinder in its mouth, then fortunately it dropped everything, causing only a great fright, but nothing serious.

group was in good mood and excited about the new adventure we were about to undertake. After two hours of sailing we arrived on a huge reef in the middle of the sea, called Tiger Beach.

I must say that Neal is good at his job: he manages to keep them at bay, giving them a few pieces of fish every now and then but without making them frenzy, because if it happened, it would be a mess.

The boat anchored on a sandy bottom of about ten meters: more or less all the same as Bimini. The scene repeated: after a few minutes of chumming at the stern of the boat, the surface was teeming with Lemon Sharks. The water was clear but the sea was not calm.

That day I devoted myself almost exclusively to video, with some pretty good shots. On the third day we decided to make the first dive on the reef at twenty meters, bringing the fish container, to see if we could photograph the Tiger in a slightly more colorful context instead of the usual sandy bottom.

After the briefing we waited for Neal to go down to the bottom and place himself with the fish container, then all down into place as planned, more or less... As soon as we reached the bottom we were surrounded by countless sharks: Lemon, Gray, Nurse, and after about ten minutes it arrived, the Tiger.

After about ten minutes that we were in the water, a Tiger Shark arrived but did not approach: it made a few laps keeping its distance then it left.

After sniffing the fish container, it passed by all of us not at all intimidated, brushing against us as if it wanted to sniff us one by one. I have never seen so many strobes shooting all together underwater; it seemed to be attending a fashion show. Towards the end of the first dive, three of Tiger Sharks arrived, one of which was a really large female, over four meters. In the second dive, I tried to take very close photos, close-ups of this beautiful animal.

But in return it came a Great Hammerhead Shark, who swam for long very close to us, giving us the opportunity to make some truly exceptional shots.

We enjoyed our last dive at Tiger Beach greatly: four Tiger Sharks came to crown our last dive, with a succession of close passes and in the blue to be enchanted. We sucked the air from the cylinders to the last breath, making the most out of those unforgettable moments.

It was not easy, but I succeeded in some good shots. Sometimes, the Tiger would

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the perfect choice for the traveling underwater photographer

w e NDS51 STROBE www.ikelite.com

Review

Freediving World Record YucatanMX

Words and pictures: Marianna Tombini and Travis Alexander Hucek

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Review

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It is a source of personal pride to have these wonderful natural pools and underground rivers on his home soil - a treasure to cherish and protect.

countries.

Alejandro teaches courses of all levels and trains instructors through Lemus Underwater School, in Valladolid, eastern Yucatan.

This event adds an important mission in addition to the sporting one: the care and preservation of our natural resources, as local and global communities.

He is affiliated with the most important agencies in the world and is also an instructor of scuba diving and cave diving.

Together with institutions such as IDEY, government agencies such as the Secretariat of Tourism Development and the Secretariat of Sustainable Development, environmental education associations such as Centinelas del Agua AC and the Bepensa Foundation, the freediving community, athletes, sponsors, and organizers alike joined forces to transmit to the local communities of the Yucatan the importance of maintaining these unique spaces in the world in the best possible conditions.

Mexican athlete, hydro-biologist, and underwater explorer; Alejandro organizes an annual Apnea in Cenotes competition: Xibalba International Competition, where he receives competitors from several

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Review

A

lejandro LEMUS NAVA managed to break 3 world records last January 23rd, 24th, and 25th, in the following modalities: Variable Weight with Monofin -83 meters Variable Weight -94 meters Constant Weight -82 meters

The records were validated by judges Jaime Moreno (Colombia) and Chris McKay (Australia) in the representation of CMAS International, in addition to some tests by WADA. Ranked among the best in this specialty for six years, Lemus Nava dived in one of the most representative bodies of water in Cenotillo the Ucil cenote.

Prior to the first dive, the presence of the Charùa or Mayan priest was requested to bless the athlete and ask permission from the cenote according to local customs.

At the end of the ceremony, some Mayan dancers sang the song of Xibalbá to the cenote, which from the Mayan cosmovision refers to the underworld - governed by divinities and where the souls travel when they die, and from where life sprang. Locals more often than not fear them as a gateway or black hole, whirlpool.

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Although there are currently more than 3,000 cenotes registered in the peninsula, Ucil cenote was chosen by the athlete because it meets the international requirements for this record, since it has 94 meters of operable depth in crystalline waters.

Alejandro is a pioneer explorer in the cenotes of Mexico. For the first time in 2003 he realized that the cenotes were the perfect place to train for competitive apnea and since then he dedicates his time to exploring them and strives to raise awareness among the different local communities towards cenotes and water conservation.

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Puerto Galera - Oriental Mindoro - Philippines

Share your passion for diving wishlist exploring the magical underwater world of Puerto Galera.

This fabulous destination offers the perfect mix of diving and culture, hiding surprises for even the most expert of divers in its unique biodiversity and colourful marine creatures.

An ideal destination for macro photographers.

www.fishermenscove.com

.

+63 917 533 2985

.

info@fishermenscove.com

The

udges

It’s going to be the 6th edition of the Deepvisions contest. As everything in this period it’s going to be special and it will be for several reasons.

First of all the 2021 edition of the Deepvisions contest will be held in a moment when the world is still struggling to find the way out of the pandemic as well as the Diving Industry; worthed to remember that the tourism industry important part of which the Diving industry is as been severely hit by the international travel bans. We still don’t know what the outcome will be but for sure it will be a serious one. One would say this is not exactly the best moment to start an UW photo contest but we decided to give it a try anyway. And the response in terms of sponsorship has been just amazing, far better than what we originally planned as well over 60k USD worth panel has been brought together. Many old sponsors decided to still support us and many new ones entered , one for all I would like to thank is Mares , first time ever sponsoring our contest. The other big news is a totally rewamped Jury panel. Impossible not to send a huge thank you to the old jury who have been on board with us for so many years a warm thank you goes to Mr Henry Jager ( former head of jury ), Mr Roland Bach, Mrs Beth Watson, Mrs Isabella Maffei, Mrs Ivana Orlovic, Mr Davide Lo Presti and Mr Fabio Iardino, their support and contribution has been fundamental to bring Deepvisions to where it is now. Time to welcome the new Jury, a completely new team and a completely new concept. From this edition onward there will be a new Jury for each new edition of our contest, so welcome to Mr David Salvatori ( head of jury ) , Mr Eduardo Acevedo, Mr Filippo Borghi, Mr Jerome Kim, Mrs Ellen Cuylaerts, Mr Marco Colombo and Mr Luis Javier Sandoval. Welcome on board also on behalf of the whole Scubashooters team and we all wish the new jury a good job and a positive experience working together with us.

Deepvisions 2021 will accept entries From the 11th of May till the 30th of June, pls visit www.deepvisions.photo for more information and we all hope to see you numerous as this is also a way to support the diving industry.

DAVID SALVATORI www.ilmaresonoio.com

David Salvatori started underwater photography in 2008.

His main interest today is around nature photography and conservation issues, to which he devotes his travels around the world.

As an amateur, he spends all of his time off planning photographic expeditions to raise awareness on some of the most endangered species of the planet. He also loves writing articles on his trips, collaborating with well-known underwater magazines around the world.

During these first 12 years of underwater activity, he has achieved many recognitions and awards in some of the most important international underwater photography and nature photography competitions.

In 2015 he has published his first photographic book, “Reflections from the Past”, a physical and personal journey to tell a story about his life experience with water.

The

udges

FILIPPO BORGHI www.instagram.com/filippoborghi5

Filippo Borghi was born in Siena on 25-07-1973, CMAS diver instructor and founder member of Sensation Blu di Siena diving club, he began to photograph in 1995 in the waters of the Mediterranean, from sea lover and passionate sub every occasion is good to go in water and consequently to photograph.

This passion then leads him to visit many of the most famous and sometimes remote sunken paradises of the world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Sudan, Madagascar, South Africa, Mozambique, Australia, Papua, Ecuador, Mexico) and try to show every time through his lens the wonders of this world, inviting people to love and respect and explore it!

He collaborates and has collaborated with several trade magazines both in Italy and abroad and many of his photos are published in different international catalogs of nature photography (Scuba diver, Asferico, Underwater world, The subaqueo, AQUA, MonthPhoto, SIPA, OceanGeographic and many others) Over the years he has received many awards through the most important international photography contest

PADI master scuba diving training instructor IANTD full cave diver IANTD advanced nitro diver 21 years scuba diving as a full time job Over 10000 dives

LUIS J. SANDOVAL www.instagram.com/luisjaviersandoval

ASFERICO plant and fungi winner ASFERICO runner up and highly commented several times OASIS PHOTO CONTEST Plant and fungi category winner OASIS PHOTO CONTEST runner up and highly commented several times BBC WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR category winner 2013 and 2016 OCEAN ART runner up in wide angle category OCEAN GEOGRAPHIC highly commented portfolio in David Doubilet category VERASUB shootout runner up in wide angle category RAMON BRAVO shootout winner 3 times in a row TED talk speaker the conference was “UW photography as a conservation tool” Part of filming crew for documentary in Cocos and water pollution y Mex Caribbean for Ocean blue tree foundation Head photographer for expedition for the Mexican golf for green peace

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ELLEN CUYLAERTS www.ellencuylaerts.com

Ellen Cuylaerts relocated from Belgium to the Cayman Islands in 2009.

And recently to UK. She has a master’s degree in modern history and education. After a career in IT she home schooled her 2 gifted teenagers and took up scuba diving in June 2011. Soon she became a Master Scuba Diver and combined it with photographing the wonders of the underwater world. Ellen's main drive is shooting images that contribute to achieving goals in conservation of marine life and education about the importance of our oceans, and to capture the hearts and the will-to-act before it's too late. Her basic concern is the decay of the oceans by pollution, overfishing, the brutal act of shark finning and dolphin and whale slaughtering.

Ellen has received numerous awards for her pictures and was the 2013 World Champion in the yearly online underwater photo competition 'underwaterphotography.com.

Ellen’s work kan be seen in exhibitions in Paris, St. Petersburg, Valencia, Marseille and New York. June 2017 she addressed heads of State on World Oceans Day at the General Assembly of the United Nations highlighting the plight of photographers and filmmakers engaging in protection of the oceans. She curates the UN WOD Photo competition and developed a Charter of commitments regarding ethics for UNWOD and Unesco/IOC. As a Fellow Explorer International she became a member of the Flag & Honors Committee of the Explorers Club, having a front seat at future explorations! Since 2018 she loves to dive in the silence of caves and in 2019 she was inducted in the Women Divers hall of Fame.

Born in 1972, in the Canary Islands, Tenerife, he has spent his entire life around the sea as an islander, diver since he was 16 years old, CMAS Instructor, Rebreather Advanced Mixed Gas Diver, free diver, and underwater photographer since 1998.

He develops his activity mainly in the Canary Islands, especially in open blue waters between the islands of Tenerife, Gomera and El Hierro, spending much of his time searching for pelagic life in the blue water through the wide-angle fisheye.

He also practices the specialty of macro photography but especially when he travels outside the Canary Islands.

He has accumulated a large number of awards in almost all the photographic contests held annually in different parts of the world such as Deep Indonesia, OWU, Ocean Art, Festisub, Adex Voice of the Ocean, World Shoot Out Israel, UW photo Challenger China, Ocean EDUARDO ACEVEDO Geography Australia , Big Picture Competition, EZ Diver competition, www.facebook.com/eduardo.acevedofernandez.1 UPY Great Britain, Ocean view California,… ..etc.

The

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JEROME KIM underwaterphotography.com

MARCO COLOMBO www.calosoma.it

Born and raised in Korea, Jerome Kim has been based in the Philippines for the last 22 years. He considers Anilao and Romblon as his most favorite dive spot in the whole Coral Triangle because of the great macro opportunities.

He’s been traveling many diving destinations in abroad such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Maldives, Palau, Thailand and Taiwan etc for different kind of subject hunting. He is a professional architect who considers underwater photography as a hobby but he enjoys it immensely. He is able to translate his skills as an architect into designing the perfect shot underwater. He won more than 70+ awards from UW competitions in Korea, Philippines and International. He was a featured Photographer on magazines such as Scubadivers, Scubanet, Underwater World, Sea&Sea Magazine, EZDIVE, Underwaterphotography.com, Scubashooters.net e-Mag, Underwater Macro Photographers e-Mag, UWPhotographers, DivePhotoGuide.com, Divers Alert.

His works are published on South China Morning Post (H.K), Washington Post, Divers Alert (US), Manila Bulletin, Inquirer (Phil), Chosun, Dongah (Korea), and published on more than 30+ Magazines and Newspapers He has been invited as VIP speaker to several prestige dive shows such as DRT, ADEX, SPOEX and TDEX He has been judging panels of World Oceans Day Competition by United Nation, Asia UW Photo Challenge by EZDIVE, Drangon Cup by UWPIXEL, Okinawa Masterclass by Okinawa Tourism, Green Island UW Competition by Taiwan Tourism, UWMP competition and more. He starts and co-organized Anilao UW Photo Competition with Department of Tourism of the Philippines for 3 years and it become one of the most successful UW competition events in the world now. He also organized Okinawa Master Class and Underwater Dreamtour.

Naturalist, photographer and science communicator Environmental guide, scubadiving master and TV scientific consultant, he is graduated in Natural Sciences; his photographs and articles have been published on several magazines, such as BBC Wildlife, Nat'Images, Unterwasser, Focus Wild, Naturfoto, Ezdive e Ocean Geographic. Among his books, we underline Paludi e squame – Rettili e anfibi d’Italia (2014), I tesori del fiume (2016) e Paesaggi bestiali (2019). Regularly involved in lectures on biology and photography, he exposed his shots in exhibitions all around Italy and Europe. In 2007 he discovered a new spider species in Sardinia. Many of his shots received awards in main competitions as Asferico, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous-Marine and Wildlife Photographer of the Year (category winner in 2011-2016-2018). He thinks curiosity, creativity and respect should drive photographers in their works.

join on:

Entries accepted from 11th May 2021 till 30th June 2021 PORTFOLIO MACRO DSLR WIDEANGLE DSLR MACRO COMPACT CAMERA WIDEANGLE COMPACT CAMERA BLACKWATER SHARKS AND CETACEANS CONSERVATION

www.deepvisions.photo

ATLANTIS RESORT: 1 week b&b plus diving package BAJA UNDERWATER EXPEDITIONS: 3 days expedition in Bahia Magdalena plus dives AGUSTA RESORT - RAJA AMPAT: 1 week full board for 1 pax + diving package FISHERMEN’S COVE - PUERTO GALERA: 1 week full board for 1 pax + diving package YOS DIVE LEMBEH: 1 week full board for 1 pax + diving package CRYSTAL BLUE RESORT - ANILAO: 1 week full board for 1 pax + diving package ONONG RESORT - SILADEN: 1 week full board for 1 pax + diving package DHARAVANDHOO DIVERS - MALDIVE: 1 week cruise full board for 1 pax + diving package MACANA MALDIVES: 1 week CRUISE full board for 1 pax + diving package GIO-SIM: 50% discount on the purchase of a DSLR housing IKELITE: 2x DS51 strobes BINTANG DIVERS - BALI: 10 dives package FISHERMEN’S COVE - PUERTO GALERA: 10 dives package

BUBBLES DIVE CLUB - SHARM: 10 dives package BUBBLES DIVE CLUB - SHARM: 10 dives package INDIGO SCUBA - SOUTH AFRICA: 10 dives package

rize ane

FLEXARM: setup 4 carbon fiber arms and 6 clamps DIVE SYSTEM: 50% discount on the purchase of a dive computer i3XM SCUBALAMP: 50% discount on the purchase of one D-Max Strobe SCUBALAMP: 50% discount on the purchase of one D-Max Strobe (2) INON: UWL-95 C24 wideangle lens - Marco Polo DC: Nitrox course + 2 dives package ANILAO PHOTO ACADEMY: 4 blackwater dives package CENTRO SUB MONTE CONERO: 2 dives package PUNTA CAMPANELLA DC: 4 dives package SUBAIA: 4 dives package INON: LE600H torch INON: M67 selfie set S MARES: Quad dive computer UMIUMI: 3 pairs of carbon fiber arms (S/M/L) plus one tripod MARCO POLO DC: 4 dives package ISOTTA: 200€ voucher NAUTISMART: 5 universal smartphone housings C.I. COSTA D’ARGENTO: 4 dives package FOTOSUB SHOP: 2 carbon fiber Nauticam arms ORCATORCH: D530V snoot dive light EASYDIVE: 100€ value voucher (minimum purchase 200€) NIMAR: one flash trigger- SEAC - snorkeling sets

Review

The Queen Of The Maldives WWW.DHARAVANDHOODIVERS.COM

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Review

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he new queen of the Maldives is proposed by Dharavandhoo divers It’s called Oceanic Manta, Voyage 500 sailing catamaran15 meters, 3 double cabins plus

crew cabin.

Each cabin has air conditioning and bathroom.

Equipped for diving, with Bauer Oceanus compressor and 4.80 m dinghy

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Review

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The boat is equipped with all comforts, equipped kitchen with 2 refrigerators and freezers, espresso coffee machine (strictly Italian), dinette with large sofa, TV and battery charging area.

Fast dinghy with tank holder for fast travel when there are whale shark sightings and to run to Hanifaru when the Rangers call us for manta rays

The catamaran has been modified for sailing in the tropics, with a cockpit sheltered from rain and wind and a large sundeck .

The stern area is designed to make entry into the water comfortable and easy, thanks to a bench with accommodation for the cylinders and a very spacious bridge.

Port of departure: Dharavandhoo Itinerary: Atolls of Baa, Goidhoo, Raa and Lhaviyani

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UMIUMI carbon arms Carbon, Corrosion resistant aluminum alloy

3size

different

L (Dia): 27 x (L)333mm 103 gr

M (Dia): 27 x (L)233mm 90 gr

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S (Dia): 27 x (L)133mm 76 gr

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Review

The Amazing Nautismart Pro WWW.NAUTISMART.NET

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Review

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n recent times one of the news that struck me more was when I read Olympus shutting down and completely dismantling the compact camera branch of the factory.

Wow, what a big news for a big event! Not many years ago the compact cameras was probably the most profitable market for cameras manufacturers like Olympus so

how come they came to such an halt on this production line?

The answer is very simple of course: smartphones! Soon after their launch on the market back in the 90s mobile phones have been equipped with on board cameras for messaging purpose and few less applications, but as years went by and smartphones started

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to peep on the market better performing cameras started to show up on these products. I still remember my first digital camera. It was of course a compact camera, a Sony DSCP1, 3mega pixels CMOS sensor, 16 Megabyte memory stick, and ... What a wonderful photos that small camera was able to deliver!

No wonder Olympus decided to shut the compact cameras branch down, no wonder at all.

I have been an underwater photographer since dive number one.

My dive number one after the OWD certification course took place in Sharm el Sheik in Egypt back in 2001 and yes, my Underwater photography gear was the Sony DSCP1 I mentioned before, in its Sony , specific Underwater camera housing, I remember I made terrible photos!

Now, in this very moment while I’m writing this article there’s a commercial on TV showing one of the latest Smartphone on the market... 108 mega pixels and 512 Gigabyte memory..

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So I have been observing this market since its beginning and when I noticed the great improvement smartphone cameras were going through I predicted the advent of the smartphones in underwater photography.

But I believed that so much that I developed the idea and asked for a Patent, later obtained , for this application; it was 2015. At that moment we were already running the scubashooters network so we envisioned a mission...

It was 2014 and when I started sharing my view on the future inside the world of UW photographers I was nearly bullied as no one believed this could ever become an option.

The mission is to enable underwater photography mode for everybody at an affordable price .

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Well , not only underwater photography but also any kind of activity involving some action and wet environment.As it has already been explained the Nautismart pro was first conceived we did it bearing in mind that nowadays smartphones are equivalent to compact cameras and will surely be better in the near future...

Action cams were also taken into consideration, especially their price, the need to update them and the lengthy process of transferring big size movies from the cam to another device... is totally un necessary as photos and videos are already resident in your device memory ready to be edited and shared.

When you use Nautismart in conjunction with your smartphone the transfer process

We also took into consideration the average time before upgrading a smartphone; it is slightly over one year and yes, with Nautismart Pro you can upgrade your smartphone as often as you wish and still be able to use it in conjunction with your Nautismart...

Or you can share Nautismart for use among the members of your family or with your friends. In other words Nautismart pro has been imagined for maximum safety, flexibility and economy.

Get it and you will not regret! Nautismart pro is the best Smart case for smartphones ant it’s made in Italy!

Last but not latest, there’s another positive outcome... UW photography is no doubt an amazing tool for scientists to monitor the health of the Ocean, the movements of alien species across the seven seas and the degree of pollution of the waters.

But unfortunately, there are few UW photographers compared to the number of divers around the world... With Nautismart Pro, nearly every diver, snorkeler, swimmer and sun bather has the potential to become an Ocean reporter.

One more, good , reason to get yourself a Nautismart Pro

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Richard Barnden

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R

ichard Barnden has been guiding and photographing marine life, mainly in the Pacific Ocean for the last twenty years.

His passion is in unique underwater imagery, specialising in spawning aggregations and black water night diving.

Richard moved to Palau in his early twenties as a video pro and later became the cruise

director of multiple live-aboards on the island, where he was able to continue his passion of filming and photographing as well as building unique itineraries for his guests.

After building a large collection of data and photos of spawning aggregations he went on to spend the last ten years learning to understand their timings.

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Richard now organises multiple spawning expeditions in Palau each year, these spawning expeditions are tailored around lunar phases to observe fish reproduction mainly during the early hours of the morning.

By night Richard spends most of his time photographing plankton and their environments, a relatively new kind of night dive called blackwater diving.

He does this by either drifting over deep water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or making an underwater bonfire with dive lights on a shallow reef. In 2015 Richard put together a pioneering dive team to crack the spawning timing of the Camouflaged grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion) in Palau, something that took him almost seven years.

Three years later, In 2018 Richard also put together a team of JJ-CCR closed circuit rebreather divers to try and uncover some of the similarities and differences between the same species of grouper spawning in Fakarava, French Polynesia and Ulong Channel, Palau.

Although primarily there to document the grouper spawning Richard was also in Fakarava to observe the shark hunting behaviour that Laurent Ballesta and his team had discovered a few years earlier.

This expedition led Richard on to winning Underwater Photographer of The Year and British Underwater Photographer of The Year 2019 with his shot entitled ‘The Gauntlet’ of two grey reef sharks tearing apart a terrified parrotfish at night.

Crystal Blue Resort~Anilao

Dedicated to Underwater Photographers Worldwide • • • • • • • •

Nitrox 32 Chef Prepared Meals On-Sight Photo Pro Camera Room Workshops Highly Skilled Spotters 4:1 boat loads Rental Gear

Contact Mike@DiveCBR.com saltwaterphoto@live.com

INTO THE

DEEP

Y OUR DREAMS OF

+39 335 537 8531

ficarelladivingclub@gmail.com

Ficarella-Diving-Club-Saline-Joniche-rc-Italy

Explore Cape Town’s top dive sites

Macro Life

Kelp Forests

Beautiful Reefs

Nudibranchs

www.indigoscuba.com

info@indigoscuba.com

+27 (0)83 268 1851

Review

Trash Waste Solution Stop Plastic Waste

Words and pictures: Klaus Schnappenberger

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Trash Waste Solutions and Celebes Divers as partners in a new type of project in the sustainable control and recycling of garbage and plastic on the idyllic island of Siladen in the Bunaken National Park - Manado

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rash Waste Solutions (TWS) is a non-profit association founded in 2019 with its headquarters in Switzerland. Our vision is to free the underwater world from garbage and to protect it sustainably.

We want to understand the bigger picture of the problem and get to the root of it.

We want to prevent further waste entering the environment by recycling the waste in a circular economy and avoiding it at the source.

The solutions should be planned together with the local population and administered by them and supported financially and structurally by our NGO in Switzerland.

Our project starts in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where the beautiful marine life needs immediate protection.

To this end, we have developed concepts for complete material cycles (plastics, compost, metal, not metals, etc.) and bring holistic disci-

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plines with us, such as training in environmental awareness and generating jobs on site in the recycling industry.

In Switzerland we coordinate events to raise environmental awareness, such as diving for trash in lakes and rivers, and take part in clean-

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up campaigns.

In the medium-term / long-term, we would like to develop holistic zero waste concepts that significantly reduce the amount of waste that has been generated so far, as far as possible no more waste ends up in

Review

landfills and recycle the waste that arises, i.e. adding the material cycle as a secondary product (recycling and / or organic recovery).

To this end, synergies between actors at all levels (civil society, private sector and politics) are promoted.

As a target area for our first project, we have chosen a small island called Siladen near Manado (Indonesia / North Sulawesi).

Siladen is a beautiful island in the heart of the Coral Triangle in Indonesia and is one of the many islands in the Bunaken National Park, which was designated a UNESCO Heritage Site in 2020. It is one of the most popular diving hot spots in the region.

The island is surrounded by a coral reef full of life, with a wide variety of sea turtles, all types of corals, nudibranchs, algae, tropical fish and even some reef sharks to be seen in the area. The beaches are often used by the turtles for nesting.

The basis is the feasibility study (AS-IS study)

by Trash Waste Solutions, which was developed by the core team with a 3-month stay in Indonesia.

Also important is the master’s thesis `Approaches to reduce marine litter - a baseline study in the pilot region of North Sulawesi, Indonesia` (2018, Julia Giebel / Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal), an East Java recycling report from Holland and the support of the Sam Ratulangi University in Manado.

As the first sub-component of our project in North Sulawesi, we deal with the recycling of plastic waste. Hard plastic packaging in particular has a high volume in the environment and on beaches and is comparatively easy to recycle.

In the first step, before we can conceptualize and scale up complete material cycles (plastics, compost, metal, not metals, etc.), we build a small pilot plant for the material recycling of plastics.

For the pilot plant, we use the open-source idea from Precious Plastics, in particular the shredder and extruder components. Precious Plastic is an open-source hardware plastic recycling project.

The project was started by Dave Hakkens in 2013 and is now in its fourth iteration. It relies on a range of machines and tools that grind, melt and inject recycled HDPE, enabling the creation of new products from recycled plastic on a small scale.

All information produced by the project, such as codes, drawings and source materials, is available online free of charge under the Creative Commons License: “Creative Commons

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a diving center.

Both are located directly on the beach and are perfect for a relaxing diving and snorkeling vacation.

Attribution - Share Alike International 4.0”.

I Concept Precious Plastic As a product, we define the result of a recovery process / recycling product (upcycling), e.g. plastic products or plastic semi-finished products, metal and non-metal intermediate products, composted soil, etc.

The product from the precious plastics plant can have different shapes depending of the molding.

In our pilot plant we would like to produce bricks for building houses, cottages and walls, see photo below. We use HDPE plastic waste (high-density polyethylene (HDPE / PEHD)) as the base material. Building houses with such bricks has already proven itself in Colombia.

Celebes Divers is proud to be a partner in this project Celebes Divers, founded in 2000 by a family of marine biologists, operates 2 resorts on the island of Siladen, the Onong and the Kuda Laut Boutique Dive Resort, both resorts with

Celebes Divers has been focusing on environmental protection for years and has already taken numerous measures to, for example, reduce the amount of waste and minimize the ecological burden on the environment and has been actively involved in sustainability and environmental protection for years.

In 2019 Celebes Divers was certified as the first climate-neutral tourism resort in North Sulawesi.

Celebes Divers not only wants to involve its employees, but also its guests. With a minimal amount per night and per guest, you can help ensure that further projects in the field of environmental and climate protection can be implemented.

Trash Waste Solutions www.trash-waste-solutions.com Markus Kurath Celebes Divers PT www.celebesdivers.com Klaus Schnappenberger Sea Save Foundation has created these fundraisers as a service and are taking zero percent of any funds raised.

Please consider helping your favorite crew: https://seasave.org/scubaambassadors/

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Leo3 Plus

Leo3 Wi

MAKE IT EASY

Leo3

Leo3 Smart

Enjoy your passion.

We make it possible.

Via Milano 177/B 37014 Castelnuovo d/G Verona - ITALY 0039 45 6450480 info@isotecnic.it

CENTER OF iNTELLigENCE. EDGE OF PERFORMANCE. • Two customizable fields for ancillary information • Four buttons for intuitive user interface • Mirrored button function during dive • Runaway deco alarm • Multigas capable • Decompression dive planner with user adjustable surface interval • Long battery life, user replaceable Be intelligent. Take the edge of performance.

mares.com

Review

Super D-MAX

Strobe

WWW.SCUBALAMP.COM

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cubalamp has announced the release of their D-Max strobe.

Connection: optical cable / 5 pin sync cord/ slave mode

It offers an underwater guide number of 32 controllable via 9 steps, via a circular flash tube with a color temperature of 5300°K.

Beam angle: 120 degree

It has a 120° beam and can be triggered via both fiber optic and N5 electrical cables.

Recycle time (full): 0.5s

It is powered by a Li-Ion battery pack containing 4 x 18650 cells, which offers 750 flashes at full power.

GN step: 9 steps

Battery : 4x 18650 lithium batteries pack

GN:UW32

Number of flash (full) : 750 flashes 15 frames high-speed continuous shooting at 1st mode 12 frames at 2nd mode.

Max output: 250 watts

Colour temperature : 5300K

Flash tube: circular flash tube

Focus light : 5W / 500 lumens center focus

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Depth rating : 60m/200 ft Weight:120g(underwater) 1195g (land without battery) Lithium battery pack.

At full power: 250 watts, 750 flashes, and 0.5s recycle time.

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匀 吀䄀夀 䤀 一 倀䄀 刀 䄀 䐀 䤀 匀 䔀

䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀䄀 䤀 匀 䰀 䄀 一 䐀 Ⰰ 刀 䄀 䨀 䄀 䄀 䴀 倀䄀吀Ⰰ 䤀 一 䐀 伀 一 䔀 匀 䤀 䄀 䤀 一 䘀 伀 䀀 䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀 䄀 刀 䔀 匀 伀 刀 吀⸀ 䌀 伀 䴀 䄀 䜀 唀 匀 吀 䄀 刀 䔀 匀 伀 刀 吀⸀ 䌀 伀 䴀

DAN Europe

Cult Dive

Shark & Yolanda Reef www.daneurope.org

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Location: Red Sea, Egypt.

GPS: 27° 43’ 51.03” N 34° 15’ 37.99” E Type of dive: deep, drift.

Marine life: the entire food chain, vibrant corals, underwater landscape that will make your head spin.

Level: advanced, expert divers.

Landscape There’s no need to get in the water to understand why Shark & Yolanda Reef is among the ten most beautiful dive sites in the world, it’s enough to look at a map. The ochre rocks of the desert there plunge down towards the Great Rift Valley that separates the African Plate from the Arabian Plate, thus creating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. And exactly there, on the Southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, two matching reefs emerge from the abyss, in the point where two gulfs meet: Suez, and Aqaba; each one with its currents, and its endemic species.

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We are located exactly 74 km far from Trieste, near the small town of Kantrida, which is about 5 to 6 km before downtown Rijeka.

Our Diving Centre is right under the swimming pools area, directly in front of the open beach. On one side, we are overlooked by Mount Major (Ucka) and on the other, we face the beautiful islands of Krk and Cherso: in brief, we are right inside the Kvarnaro Gulf.

Our flagship is wreck diving by boat: three wrecks situated at different depths, each one no farther than maximum 20 minutes boat ride. And there’s more! Our shore dives directly from our Center’s beach offer an easy and colorful training ground for any kind of diving courses. Finally yet importantly, our diamond tip dedicated to macro photography lovers: a wide variety of critters to increase the pleasure of diving.

From our beach, with our boat... ...come with us and enjoy your dive!

www.diving-marcopolo.com

唀渀搀攀爀眀愀琀攀爀 攀砀瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀攀

挀⼀漀 匀琀愀戀椀氀椀洀攀渀琀漀 戀愀氀渀攀愀爀攀 ᰠ匀琀攀氀氀愀 䴀愀爀椀渀愀 渀⸀㜀ᴠ 一甀洀愀渀愀Ⰰ 䤀琀愀氀礀 吀攀氀⸀ ㌀㤀 ㌀㌀㔀 㘀㘀㈀㔀㌀㌀㤀 䔀洀愀椀氀⸀ 椀渀昀漀䀀挀攀渀琀爀漀猀甀戀洀漀渀琀攀挀漀渀攀爀漀⸀挀漀洀 眀眀眀⸀挀攀渀琀爀漀猀甀戀洀漀渀琀攀挀漀渀攀爀漀⸀挀漀洀

3 different accomodation: Sea view; Garden view and Standard Room

Diving in the Bunaken National Marine Park

Diving from the Onong Resort primarily takes place in the Bunaken National Park which is famous for its biodiversity and breathtaking wall dives. Usually diving begins along beautiful cliffs that seem to get lost in the depths, covered by an incredible variety of corals, sponges, and anemones and populated by large schools of fish and many turtles.

You can relax and treat yourself in our spa

Sulawesi Utara - Indonesia E-mail: info@celebesdivers.com / www.onong-resort.com Phone (Indonesia): +62 (0) 813 4154 6880 - Phone (Europe): +41 44 954 0770 (Schweiz)