GREAT BARRIER REEF
DIVING THE USS ATLANTA
WORLD EXCLUSIVE!
INSIDE THE LARGEST CORAL-SPAWNING EVENT ON THE PLANET
PETE MESLEY FULFILS A 23-YEAR MISSION TO DIVE THE ICONIC SHIPWRECK
FIRST REVIEW OF AQUA LUNG’S NEW LEG3ND REGULATOR RANGE
P hotographer
OFTHEMONTH PORTFOLIO SHOWCASING THE TALENTS OF STEVE JONES
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The Maldives
‣ Scholar ‣ Indonesia ‣ Jervis Bay
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EDITOR’S NOTE AUSTRALIAN DIVING BUSINESSES LEADING THE WAY FORWARD At a time when the Australian government is believed to be dragging its heels on environment issues, in particular climate change, it is good to see that some Australian businesses and institutions in the scuba diving world are at the forefront of sustainability and innovation. It is fair to say that one of the biggest problems facing our embattled oceans is the vast amount of plastic that is been pumped into it on a daily basis. One company that is doing their bit to stem this flow is Oceanpro. They are an Australian manufacturer of dive equipment that are leading the way in developing non-plastic packaging, not to mention using solar power to run their warehouses. Climate change is also having a huge impact on reefs worldwide. Due to its sheer size and its status as the largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef has become a focal point for issues such as coral bleaching. In this edition, we feature an article on the coral-spawning phenomenon that takes place annually on the Reef. The good news is that the Reef is far from dead and, in fact, the 2019 event was the best spawning for many a year. The spawning is fast becoming a big draw for tourists, and collaborations between several tour operators in the area and scientists from various universities has given rise to a plethora of conservation initiatives. Continuing on the conservation theme, at Flinders University researchers are developing a shark-biteresistant wetsuit. Dive operator and long-time shark conservationists Rodney Fox Dive Expeditions are helping with the research. The wetsuit aims to reduce the blood flow of bite victims, therefore saving lives.
Adrian Stacey Editor-at-Large (Australia and New Zealand)
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Mark Evans Email: mark.evans@scubadivermag.com
DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@griffital.co.uk
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AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTHEAST ASIA TEAM
Adrian Stacey Editor-at-Large (Australia and New Zealand) Tel: +61 422 611 238 Email: adrian@scubadivermag.com
Martyn Guess, Byron Conroy, Pete Mesley, Deborah Dickson-Smith
Paul Lees Editorial Manager (Southeast Asia) Email: paul@scubadivermag.com
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GREAT BARRIER REEF
DIVING THE USS ATLANTA
WORLD EXCLUSIVE!
INSIDE THE LARGEST CORAL-SPAWNING EVENT ON THE PLANET
PETE MESLEY FULFILS A 23-YEAR MISSION TO DIVE THE ICONIC SHIPWRECK
FIRST REVIEW OF AQUA LUNG’S NEW LEG3ND REGULATOR RANGE
ON THE COVER
P hotographer
OF THE MONTH PORTFOLIO SHOWCASING THE TALENTS OF STEVE JONES
+
The Maldives
‣ Scholar ‣ Indonesia ‣ Jervis Bay
ISSUE 20 | FREE MAGAZINE!
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF: STEVE JONES
REGULAR COLUMNS
FEATURES...
6 News
18 Australia
A year-long satudy of the Great Barrier Reef, a fatal shark attack off Western Australia, US navy divers to the rescue in Chuuk Lagoon, and a forward-thinking Australian manufacturer.
14 Medical Q&A
Diveplanit’s Deborah Dickson-Smith heads out to the Great Barrier Reef for the annual spawning event, and talks to various researchers and scientists who say that it isn’t all bad news about this iconic Reef.
26 Q&A: Luke Inman
Dr Oliver Firth answers reader questions about cochlear implants and creatine supplements.
Scuba Diver chats to Luke Inman, who has made waves in the diving industry as both a talented underwater photographer and videographer, as well as being a PADI Course Director.
24 Divers Alert Network
32 Underwater Photography
DAN looks at a case where a diver was evacuated for recompression but flew home sooner than advised - and his symptoms returned.
66 Scholar
Joanna Smart heads for the DEMA trade show in Orlando, Florida.
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Seasoned underwater snapper Martyn Guess provides some insight into, and also tips on getting, motion blur into your images.
36 Photographer of the Month
A new section to kick off 2020, each month we will focus our attention on one particular underwater photographer, and showcase some of their best images, alongside a short Q&A that reveals how they got started, what kit they use, and their favourite locations.
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CONTENTS
...CONTINUED
GEAR GUIDE
42 Indonesia
70 What’s New
Overview of the stunning diving opportunities around Gangga Island Resort in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
50 Australia
Jonathan Mueller waxes lyrical about the attractions - both topside and underwater - of Jervis Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales.
New products recently released, including the Mares modular sidemount system, Fourth Element’s Hydro-T rash vests, and the latest Fantasea camera housings.
72 Gear Guide: Test Extra
Lena Kavender and Byron Conroy are seduced by the serenity and beauty - both topside and underwater - at the newly opened Faarufushi Resort in the Maldives, and log some memorable dives.
Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans heads for North Wales to dive the Apeks WTX-D30 backplate-andwing system, and notches up a world exclusive by diving the Aqua Lung Leg3nd collection of regulators.
64 TECHNICAL: USS Atlanta
80 Long Term Test
56 The Maldives
It took Pete Mesley from Lust4Rust 23 years to fulfil his dream of diving on the USS Atlanta light cruiser in the Solomon Islands, but thankfully, it more than lived up to the hype.
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The Scuba Diver Test Team reviews a selection of products over a six-month period, including the Otter Watersports Atlantic drysuit, Mares Genius dive computer, Apeks XL4+ regulator, and the Aqua Lung AquaFlex wetsuit.
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Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as all over our water planet. To find out the most up-to-date news and views, check out the website or follow us on our various social media (@scubadivermag) www.scubadivermag.com.au
MARINE BIOLOGIST TRAVELS
ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
A Queensland marine biologist has spent a whole year exploring the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHNNY GASKELL
Q
ueensland marine biologist, Johnny Gaskell has completed his one-year mission exploring the Great Barrier Reef in search for the truth on its current condition. Johnny explored random sites every 200km from Lady Elliot Island up to Raine Island in the northern section, travelling 1,810km along almost the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef. “The idea of this mission came about when there was a lot of talk around the reef being dead, or almost dead, or half dead, or fine after the 2016/2017 bleaching events. It was hard to know what to believe with so many conflicting messages,” said Johnny. “I couldn’t find anyone who could personally speak for all regions of the Great Barrier Reef, so I figured I best just go have a look for myself.” He continued: “The purpose of this expedition was to get in
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the water with no set agenda other than to explore and take in as much of the incredible beauty of the Great Barrier Reef as possible. And then film the highlights to inspire others to want to protect what we still have.” Johnny confirmed that while the Great Barrier Reef is certainly still vibrant and alive, it is showing signs of stress and encouraged his 17.7k+ Instagram followers to take action now. He said: “The key message is clear. We have a chance right now to try and protect what we have left, which is still amazing. If we put it off, tomorrow the bar will continue to shift and we may soon be talking about protecting a lesser Great Barrier Reef than we have today.” Johnny is known for his work in discovering ‘blue holes’ in the Great Barrier Reef, many of which he located by Google Maps and which had never been explored before his expeditions.
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EMERGENCY DECLARED AS GALAPAGOS ISLANDS UNDER THREAT FROM SUNKEN FUEL BARGE The government of Ecuador put emergency procedures into action to try and limit the impact of a major fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands late-December. The UNESCO World Heritage Site – recognised as one of the most-fragile ecosystems on the planet – was under threat from 600 gallons of diesel which was on a barge. The Orca barge was being loaded with an electrical generator on Sunday 22 December in a port on San Cristobal Island when the crane doing the lifting tipped forwards and on to the boat, causing it to tip over and sink, with the crew leaping into the sea as the drama unfolded. One person was injured in the incident. Alarmingly, this was not the first incident with this vessel – it previously sank in February 2018 in a port on the Guayas River due to a weight imbalance. On Monday 23 December, Ecuador’s presidential communications office released a statement saying that the response operation by the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) had ‘controlled’ the spill. Personnel from the Galapagos National Park (GNP), the official nature reserve authority, and the Ecuadorian Navy established containment barriers and oil absorbent cloths around the fuel spill. Speaking to reporters, Galapagos minister Norman Wray explained that work was underway to remove the diesel, and that the generator – which was intended to provide energy on Isabela Island, which is currently facing energy rationing – would be replaced as soon as possible.
THE PHILIPPINES NAMED WTA’S WORLD’S LEADING DIVE DESTINATION The Philippines continues to enjoy recognition as one of the world’s premier diving destinations, this time bagging back-to-back diving accolades at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony held recently in Oman. Winning WTA’s 2019 World’s Leading Dive Destination award for the first time, the Philippines bested eight other global dive destinations also nominated under the same category, namely the Azores, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Galapagos, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Maldives, and Mexico. “Dubbed by marine experts and scientists as the heart of marine biodiversity in the world, our country is home to the highest concentration of coral reef life and astounding variety of marine species. This latest recognition is a validation that the Philippines is truly a premier dive destination,” said Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat at the event, which was held at the Royal Opera House in Muscat. Meanwhile, Palawan’s prestigious Amanpulo Resort also emerged victorious as the World’s Leading Dive Resort at the gala event. Last October, WTA held its gala event for Asia and Oceania in Vietnam, where the Philippines earned its first Asia’s Leading Dive Destination award after multiple nominations since 2006. Conversely, the PDOT was also recognised as Asia’s Leading Tourism Board for its efforts to increase visitor arrivals for the Philippines in the previous year.
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HORIZON
A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH
AUSTRALIAN SCUBA BRAND OCEANPRO LAUNCHES UNIQUE ECO-PACKAGING DESIGN Not only is Oceanpro (www.oceanprosports.com) the only Australian-owned-and-operated scuba brand, they are leading the charge among all scuba brands internationally with their committed effort to remove all plastic from their packaging, to focus on developing reusable packaging and to use recycled materials in their products where possible. They are also committed to running their distribution operations in the mostsustainable manner possible and are continually looking to partner with vendors, organisations and customers sharing the same ethics around driving change. “Continual improvement and a drive to lead change is our unwavering goal and commitment to the Australian and International marketplace,” says Adrian Briggs CEO. “The world’s oceans and waterways are the playground for our customers, our staff and our products. The growing amounts of plastic in our oceans is one of the single greatest environmental disasters in history, so it’s not simply an obligation for a company whose commerce is driven by the ocean to consider their actions around plastic, it’s an absolute unwavering responsibility to make change.”
ECO FRIENDLY PACKAGING
Many development hours, sampling runs and prototype testing has been spent on moving their products towards eco-friendly packaging, and they are only just beginning. Briggs says: “It’s certainly not without its challenges given the historical nature of how suppliers operate, but we are making headway and truly believe we are leading the charge in the dive industry globally. Eliminating single-use plastic packaging and moving away from plastic packaging entirely is the ultimate goal.”
SOLAR POWERED WAREHOUSING
Back in 2017, in their continual pursuit for clean efficient operations, the Oceanpro warehousing facility installed 120 x Trina Honey 250W multi-crystalline high-efficiency solar panels. Fully compliant and certified with Energy Safe Victoria and the Clean energy Council of Australia, the Oceanpro facility is now running on 80–90 percen solar power, with 100 percent their focused goal for the future.
THE FUTURE
It obvious that helping the environment isn’t just a buzzword at Oceanpro. They live and breathe their philosophy of taking steps every day, in everything they do to foster their goal, and in their own humble way, are trying to help keep our planet and our oceans clean for many generations to come.
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DIVER SUES FORMER EMPLOYER AFTER BEING STUNG BY CROWN OF THORNS
✈Frankfurt
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London
Paris
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✈New York
Chicago
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✈Madrid ✈Seoul
✈Charlotte
✈Atlanta
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Los Angeles
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Houston
GUADALUPE
Miami
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✈Dubai
TURKS & CAICOS
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
a
CAYMAN
SOCORRO
d Se
HAWAII
Re
A diver in New Zealand is suing his former employer for a whopping AUS$1.6 million after being stung by a crown of thorns seastar while on a dive off Hastings Reef on the Great Barrier Reef back in 2016. Danyon Roderique-Trask, 23, was collecting the toxic creatures - so that they could be euthanised and thus save the coral reef, which they are known to decimate - while leading a tour for Tusa Dive, but one of the seastars slid down his spear and its poisonous spines penetrated his hand and fingers. Describing the moment of the incident as the ‘most intense pain I’ve ever felt’ in a Facebook post at the time, he has since said that he cannot use his right hand despite eight surgeries. Roderique-Trask is suing for lost earnings as well as the cost of his treatment, and according to reports has apparently claimed - in a move that has left many people incredulous - that he ‘did not know that crown of thorns seastars had venomous spines and were dangerous for him to collect and handle’. Tusa Dive has since been bought out by Entrada Travel Group, and a spokesman for the company said ‘Entrada Travel Group acquired the business in January 2018 and are therefore unable to comment further’.
Bangkok
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GUAM
COCOS ISLAND
DERAWAN ISLANDS RAJA AMPAT
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SINGAPORE
GALAPAGOS
✈
Jakarta
FORGOTTEN IS.
KOMODO
✈Bali
SHARK ATTACK VICTIM WAS AN EXPERIENCED SCUBA DIVER A scuba diver attacked and killed by a great white shark off the west coast of Australia was a vastly experienced diver who ‘believed if he was ever attacked he would be unlucky’. Gary Johnson had only just entered the water off Cull Island, close to West Beach in Esperance, when he was attacked by the shark, and his body has still not been found. According to his partner Karen Milligan, Johnson - who was the president of the Esperance Dive Club – was ‘a kind, gentle, strong man, who only saw the best in people. He and I were at home in and on the ocean… we would go out diving in our boat whenever we could, most weekends. We were always aware of the risks and often told each other that if we were attacked by a shark that would just be unlucky’. She said that Johnson had been completely against shark culling, and she still maintained that position, stating ‘we believed that if fish stocks were better protected, then the risk to people in the water would be reduced’.
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RESEARCHERS PIONEER NEW TECHNIQUE TO BOLSTER CORAL GROWTH IN GREAT BARRIER REEF For the first time, researchers have accelerated the formation of new coral colonies on small areas in the Great Barrier Reef using ‘baby corals’ conceived and successfully settled directly on the Reef through a pioneering pilot project funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The scientist who co-discovered the phenomenon of ‘sex on the Reef’ – mass coral spawning – some 30 years ago is leading the breakthrough which aims to accelerate regrowth of corals. “This is the first project of its kind on the Great Barrier Reef to successfully re-establish a population of juvenile corals from larvae settling directly on the reef,” said Southern Cross University’s Professor Peter Harrison, lead researcher on the project. “This pilot study carried out on Heron Island shows that our new techniques to give corals a helping hand to conceive and then settle, develop and grow in their natural environment can work on the Great Barrier Reef. “The success of this new research not only applies to the Great Barrier Reef but has potential global significance – it shows we can start to restore and repair damaged coral populations where the natural supply of coral larvae has been compromised.” During the November 2016 coral spawning, Professor Harrison and his team travelled to the Great Barrier Reef’s Heron Island for the Australian-first trial. They collected vast quantities of coral eggs and sperm during mass spawning, using them to grow more than a million coral larvae, and then delivered the larvae onto reef patches in underwater mesh tents. Eight months later Professor Harrison’s team returned to Heron Island to discover more than 100 surviving juvenile corals established on the settlement tiles out on the Reef.
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The pioneering pilot project was made possible through a donation to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation from the former chairman of Goldman Sachs, Australia and New Zealand, Stephen Fitzgerald, who is now based in the UK. “Working with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation board for many years, I’ve seen firsthand what’s been happening with our Reef, and reefs around the world, facing such adversity from the impacts of climate change,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “When I heard about the amazing success Peter was having with his work, I knew I had to help get it happening on the Great Barrier Reef so we could prove the concept would work on the world’s largest and greatest coral reef, our $56 billion natural wonder,” he said. “It’s wonderful to have another tool in the arsenal for our Great Barrier Reef,” Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden agreed. “We’re increasingly looking to innovations like larval ‘reseeding’ to help coral reefs rebuild and adapt so they can live through everything the world is throwing at them and survive into the future. It’s time to be bold and take some calculated risks because that’s the way we’ll make a step change in how we can help restore our coral reefs. “It’s also important to keep in mind that restoration options like this don’t lessen the need for strong action to reduce the major drivers of reef decline being climate change, water quality and pest management. “There is much more to be done but this is definitely a great leap forward for the Reef and for the restoration and repair of reefs world-wide.”
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US NAVY DIVERS ASSIST STRICKEN LIVEABOARD IN CHUUK LAGOON US Navy divers recently stepped in to assist the liveaboard SS Thorfinn, which had run aground in the famous Chuuk Lagoon during a fierce storm. The salvage ship USNS Salvor was in Chuuk’s Weno Harbour conducting salvage training, but headed out in response to distress calls from the SS Thorfinn, which had run aground on a reef in the lagoon. After ensuring everyone on board the Thorfinn was safe, divers from the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit-1 (MDSU-1) worked with the Salvor’s civilian mariners to refloat the stricken Thorfinn and get it to a safe anchorage. Captain Robert Williams, commodore of Military Sealift Command Far East, commented: “It was a great example of what we can accomplish when we work together as a team. Our civilian mariners and Navy divers were ready to respond when needed, and worked seamlessly together to safely and professionally execute the rescue.” Navy Diver 1st Class Derek Luedtke, leading petty officer of MDSU-1, said: “This is what we’re here for. It’s an opportunity for us to use our training.” This is not the first time that the US Navy stationed in Micronesia have offered assistance. Back in September 2018, US Navy sailors from the Underwater Construction Team-2 (UCT-2) joined local fishermen to rescue passengers from an Air Nuigini 737 passenger jet that crashed in a lagoon just short of the international airport in Micronesia.
Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia
AVATAR 2 - WILL THIS BE THE MOST-SIGNIFICANT DIVING MOVIE EVER MADE? Avatar was a monster hit for James Cameron, and now principal photography has finally wrapped on the longanticipated first sequel, currently referred to as Avatar 2 – and one of the crew has said the film will be ‘the most-significant diving movie ever made’. Now this may be stretching things a little, but what is known for sure is that the movie – which will explore the ocean realm of Pandora, and the water-dwelling Metkayina – will feature many of the actors doing a lot of underwater work. Performance Freediving International’s founder Kirk Krack spent the last two years working on the film, and recently returned home after stints on sets in Los Angeles and New Zealand. He was certainly busy during filming. The cast and crew logged over 200,000-plus freedives on the set in Los Angeles, and he said: “A conservative estimate is that I was in the water 5,000-plus hours.” Avatar 2 will be released in December 2021.
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Bunaken National Marine Park w w w.s i l a d e n.c o m
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MEDICAL Q&A Dr Oliver Firth is a diving doctor with over 22 years of diving experience. He is an Approved Medical Examiner of Divers for the UK HSE and a medical referee for the UK Diving Medical Committee, performing many hundreds of diving medicals a year. As the senior doctor at London Diving Chamber for the last 13 years, he has supervised the treatment of hundreds of cases of decompression illness. He has now set up Hyperdive (www.hyperdive.co.uk) to continue his diving medical work with a global audience. With his accumulated experience, he has seen most things a diver might come across, but remains eager to hear from anyone with a medical conundrum they need a solution to! divingdoctor@scubadivermag.com
DS N E I R DIVING WITH F
MALDIVES
NEW: Faarufushi Maldives
INDONESIA THAILAND EGYPT S PA I N
NEW: Roses, Costa Brava
OMAN M AU R I T I U S JA PA N C R O AT I A
LET´S DO IT: DIVING WITH EURO-DIVERS! B O O K I N G A N D I N F O R M AT I O N :
www.euro-divers.com 16 ED_scuba_diver_mag_55x251.indd 1
Q: I am congenitally deaf in both ears and was lucky enough to be the recipient of a cochlear implant when I was three years old. I’m now 24 and have been wondering for the last few months whether there is any chance of ever going diving. My ears are fine when I fly on planes and I don’t get infec-tions or any other problems from them. Is there any information available on the safety of cochlear implants when diving? A: Indeed there is. The cochlear implant, or ‘bionic ear’. Essentially, it’s a surgically implanted electronic device which directly stimulates auditory nerves. External parts (including a microphone and speech processor) transmit sound signals to an internal receiver (implanted in bone behind the ear) and thence into the cochlea (the hearing bit of the inner ear) via electrodes. Not your average hearing aid, which is basically an amplifier. The results are pretty impressive, especially in those who have grown up with the implants, whose brains have presumably learned to ‘hear’ in a different way. Older recipients are often not as enamoured with the devices - one described it as sounding like ‘a croaking Dalek with laryngitis’. Anyway, the deal with these and diving is that we need to be sure the various bits will not implode, explode, rust or generally become defective in water and under pressure. In this sense the situation is similar to the heart pacemaker. The implant manufacturer or surgeon who carried out the procedure should have some data on the safety of your particular device at depth, so you’d be well advised to consult them initially. If all is okay with them, and as long as your middle ears can equalise effectively, then there’ll be nothing stopping you.
22.01.19 12:00
Q: I’m in my mid-40s and am fed up with my wife’s snide remarks about the size of my pot belly and rather puny muscles. So I’ve started a weightlifting programme. My fellow body builders at the gym all swear by creatine supplements. I read that it’s a ‘nitrogen-containing substance produced naturally in your body and is found in meat, poultry and fish’. From a diving perspective, the scary words here, obviously, are ‘nitrogencontaining’. Any worries that I’ll increase my likelihood of getting bent if I use these supplements? A: ‘Protorexia’ – not an escaped maneating dinosaur from the Jurassic World set, but a new term coined to describe the increasing consumption of protein shakes by obsessive and unfeasibly muscular gym addicts. Many do indeed contain creatine, which helps provide energy for muscle contractions – and those few extra reps in theory lead to bigger muscles, faster, as well as im-proving recovery times. Whether these claims are true or not, taking nitrogen-containing supplements will not affect your chances of developing decompression illness (DCI). The nitrogen in the supplements is molecu-lar (solid) nitrogen and its absorption into the blood won’t be affected by depth or pressure. In order to get bent, a diver has to have nitrogen in gaseous form (i.e. bubbles) in the tissues; this comes from the breathing gas (usually air, which is about 80 percent nitrogen). Most significant dives will saturate at least some of the body’s tissues with nitrogen at depth, and it will come out of solution as bubbles on ascent. If these bubbles cannot be cleared sufficiently quickly by the lungs, they may produce symptoms of DCI.
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HOLIDAYS WITH WATER BABIES
Diveplanit’s Deborah Dickson-Smith looks at how to make 2020 the year you book your first family diving holiday!
I
ntroducing your kids to the Life Aquatic is one of the most-bonding experiences you can have as a family. Entering that magical underwater world together is an experience you’ll never forget. Here’s some advice on how to do that safely, and our pick of the five best family friendly dive resorts and dive cruises.
JEAN MICHEL-COUSTEAU’S FIJI RESORT
Fiji is an obvious first choice for a family diving holiday, as most resorts already have excellent ‘kids clubs’ and familyfriendly activities. Jean Michel Cousteau Resort is almost as famous for its Bula Club for kids as it is for the soft coral diving at nearby Namena Marine Reserve (and the resort’s namesake owner). The diving here is spectacular and the resort also has a Junior Marine Biologist course for kids.
LADY ELLIOT ISLAND ECO RESORT
What could be better than ticking off the ultimate bucket list dive destination, the Great Barrier Reef, with the whole family? The easiest option for a family dive holiday on the Great Barrier Reef is to stay on one of the islands, whether that’s Heron, Fitzroy or Lady Elliot Island. You’ll have easy access to the fringing reefs to snorkel or dive and a Master Reef Guide on hand to take you on guided snorkelling tours and explain the Reef’s complexities. For more information on planning a Family Dive Holiday, contact the sales team at Diveplanit Travel. n www.diveplanit.com
CAPTAIN COOK CRUISES FIJI
A cruise around the Fiji islands with Captain Cook Cruises Fiji is another wonderful option for families. The onboard kids club has a great program for kids age five and up, and each day a new port offers a wide range of day trips and diving opportunities. The bonus for divers is that you’ll visit Fiji’s more-remote dive sites such as the world-famous Rainbow Reef in a family-friendly environment.
BEQA LAGOON RESORT, FIJI
Beqa Lagoon is more famous for shark diving, but the fringing reef at Beqa Lagoon Resort a stunner, and the soft corals of the lagoon rival the Rainbow Reef. Each year in August the resort hosts a Family Fun Explorer Week, with an all-inclusive package that includes Bubblemaker or Seal Team classes for kids.
WAKATOBI RESORT, SOUTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA
Wakatobi is a purpose-built family friendly, five-star dive resort, with luxury accommodation, fine dining, and seriously mind-blowing diving. They offer the full gamut of childcare too, from nannies for the toddlers to bubble-maker courses for younger kids and Discover Scuba Dives for the bigger kids, while certified junior divers can dive with their parents.
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HOW OLD SHOULD KIDS BE TO LEARN HOW TO DIVE? Kids as young as eight can try scuba diving with a Bubblemaker or SEAL Team experience. Kids normally have a session in the pool session to learn how to use scuba equipment, and once they are comfortable, they can enjoy an ocean dive to a depth of 2m. At ten, kids can get a Junior Open Water Diver certification, enabling them to dive to a maximum depth is 12m. Kids can qualify as Open Water Divers from 12 years, and dive to a maximum 18m. Another option for kids (or grown-ups) who aren’t yet ready to commit to a full-blown scuba diving course is a Discover Scuba Diving option, for ages ten and up. This is often the trigger for individuals to go for their first real certification – and will count towards it. 17
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ight now, the world’s eyes are on the Great Barrier Reef – the best-known and best-loved coral reef in the world, and a poster child for climate change. While we watch in horror at its decline (and even greater horror at government inaction), science and tourism have come together to save it, and hopefully inspire the world to act on climate change. This year’s spawning event attracted divers – and media – from around the globe, keen to see this proof of life for an embattled Great Barrier Reef, providing an opportunity for local operators and marine scientists to show the world that, despite reports to the contrary, the Reef is still alive and kicking. Back in 2017, graphic images of a bleached and dying reef went viral. Headlines around the world declared the Great Barrier Reef dead, this Australian icon fast-became a poster child for climate change, and half the world gave up on it – just when it needs our help the most. According to Andy Ridley, founder and CEO of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, “We’re at a critical time in the Reef’s history. The Reef must be more than a poster child for climate change, it must become the inspiration for us to change.” Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef is a conservation organisation that is asking the world to step up and do what they can to slow down the effects of climate change, the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In fact, the biggest threat to all coral reefs. The organisation had picked this year’s coral spawning event as catalyst, inviting media from around the globe to witness this incredible event, and to meet scientists working on various Reef-nurturing programmes, of which there are many. There are programmes in place to nurture high-value reefs, protect coral biodiversity and restore those parts of the Reef damaged by bleaching events and cyclones. There are other projects in place tracking the migratory patterns of tiger sharks, turtles and whalesharks, some monitoring seagrass and mangrove habitat and others addressing plastic pollution, erosion and agricultural run-off. All of these can be tracked – live – online on the Citizens Atlas (citizensgbr.org/explore/atlas). In fact, one might say that it is the most-researched and best-managed coral reef in the world. But it is still under threat. While some threats to the Reef appear to be under control, such as crown of thorns seastar outbreaks, some at least being addressed, such as water quality, the biggest threat of all is still out there - climate change.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ORGY
This year’s coral spawning event happened under a full moon on consecutive nights, with soft corals spawning first on Saturday night, and both hard and soft corals on Sunday night. Some scientists observing the event have described it as the most prolific in some years. Marine biologists Stuart Ireland, from Calypso Productions, Gareth Phillips, from Reef Teach, and Pablo Cogollos, from Sunlover Reef Cruises, were based on the Sunlover Moore Reef Marine Base, 54km off Cairns, to capture photos and video of the night-time coral spawning. Describing the soft coral spawning at Moore Reef, accessible by day boat from Cairns, Pablo Cogollos claimed: “There was three times the volume of eggs and sperm compared to last year… and (last year’s event) was deemed to be the best coral spawn in five years.”
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Every year in mid-November, one of nature’s greatest spectacles takes place - the annual mass coral-spawning event on the Great Barrier Reef. This year, as Deborah Dickson-Smith explains, it’s inspired a new collaboration as Cairns-based tourism operators join forces with scientists to help save the Reef PHOTOGRAPHS BY PABLO COGNOLLOS, GABRIEL GUZMAN, CHRISTIAN MILLER, JUERGEN FREUND, FRANK GAZZOLA AND ANDY RIDLEY
ON THE
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Crown of thorns are under control
“There was coral spawn everywhere last night. It was like a grey haze with beautiful pink bundles going up – it was a magical night,” Gareth said. “We expect to see more pressures in the future, but the Great Barrier Reef’s size, complexity and huge biodiversity makes it a very strong ecosystem. The reef has shown us that she is not lying down, she is doing extremely well and fighting for the future.”
The Reef looking healthy and vibrant
Coral larval restoration
TOURISM AND SCIENCE COLLIDE
Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the conservation of coral reefs globally, with tour operators uniquely placed to educate visitors of the threats and inspire action to protect them. Working in collaboration with marine scientists, often tourism is on the frontline of marine conservation. The Great Barrier Reef, being the best-known coral reef in the world, has perhaps more of these types of collaborations than anywhere else in the world. Several such collaborative projects were revealed to international media over the course of the spawning weekend, as researchers from Southern Cross University, James Cook University, and University of Technology Sydney, joined forces with operators including Reef Magic, Passions of Paradise and Wavelength Cruises to manage a variety of programmes.
Coral polyps
Coral gardeners tending their ‘crop’
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CORAL LARVAL RESTORATION PROJECT
Nurturing a high-value reef
Led by Southern Cross University (SCU), with scientists from James Cook University (JCU) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the Larval Restoration Project aims to restore coral populations and re-establish breeding corals on degraded reefs. The Coral Larval Restoration team spent the weekend harvesting coral sperm and eggs released during the spawning in a bid to grow new coral larvae, which would be resettled back on to heavily degraded sections of the northern Great Barrier Reef in the coming week. Project leader Professor Peter Harrison aims to increase the scale of coral restoration using innovative techniques. “We have been successful at restoring breeding populations on badly degraded reefs in the Philippines over the last seven years, and we are now applying new technologies to increase the scale and efficiency of the larval restoration process on the Great Barrier Reef,” he said. This includes the mass inoculation of coral larvae with their algal partners (known as symbionts) in the wild to boost their one-in-a-million chance of survival before being settled on affected reef areas. “We are simply fast-tracking capacity for corals to start acquiring energy from their symbionts,” he added. A collaboration with local tourism operators Aroona Boat Charters and Reef Magic Cruises has been instrumental in enabling this logistical feat. According to JCU Senior Researcher Katie Chartrand: “We hope to make direct partnerships between science and tourism the norm rather than the exception. A collaborative approach is needed to give the Reef the best chance of thriving into the future.”
CORAL NURTURING PROGRAMME
Meanwhile, off the coast of Port Douglas and Cairns, another collaboration has been established for the Coral Nurture Programme, which aims to protect high-value reefs. An initiative of UTS researchers Associate Professor David Suggett and Dr Emma Camp in partnership with Wavelength Reef Cruises and Passions of Paradise Reef Cruises, this programme focuses on long-term stewardship and adaptation to help economically valuable reefs stay healthy.
Where programmes such as Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef and the Master Reef Guides initiative can really help is in showing the world HOW to save the Reef
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Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the conservation of coral reefs globally, with tour operators uniquely placed to educate visitors of the threats and inspire action to protect them THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
Master Reef Guide at work
“By utilising existing tourism infrastructure, plus the knowledge, experience and skills of operators and their crew, interventions at tourism sites can be targeted to the exact needs of each location,” Dr Emma Camp said. Passions of Paradise’ Environment manager Russell Hosp took media on a tour of the nurturing programme and explained its objectives; “The science and tourism industry does not have the technology or the capacity to grow enough coral over a period of time to replant the entire GBR. It’s the size of Italy. It’s 344,000 square km. You’d never be able to do it if we had a million years. “What we are actually doing with this programme is we’re studying the effects of how coral grows, which species grow at certain rates and which species tend to favour more varied conditions, like warmer water, differences in water clarity and condition. And this is going to give us a bit of a leg up when it comes to the challenges, we will face more and more effects from climate change.”
Citizens is now targeting kids to take action against climate change as well, in another clever collaboration with the Nickelodeon Channel and perhaps its biggest star SpongeBob SquarePants, a cartoon character created back in the 1990s by a passionate marine biologist. Junior Citizens Ambassador, 12-year old Rafferty Laite, explains what he’s learned in the short period of time he’s been involved: “So much. Not only some easy ways we can all cut down our carbon emission and waste, but the scary statistics that will see us having more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2040 if we don’t change the current path we are on. “And that dozens of incredible species will be effectively extinct within 15 years due to the effects of climate change and overfishing. But mostly I’ve learned that we kids are 100 per cent willing to stand up and do our bit to help fix the problems that will affect our futures the most.” n
Research during the coral spawning
WILL THIS SAVE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF?
“What we’re trying to do now is buy time for the coral populations that are still present on the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world,” Professor Harrison said. “Climate action is the only way to ensure coral reefs can survive into the future.”
EDUCATION IS KEY TO SAVING THE REEF
Where programmes such as Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef and the Master Reef Guides initiative can really help is in showing the world HOW to save the Reef. Two million people visit the Great Barrier Reef every year - imagine if they were all ambassadors for the Reef? This is the ambition of Fiona Merida, who developed the Master Reef Guide programme, transforming a select group of marine biologists working on the Reef as guides, into master storytellers. Master Reef Guides enhance your experience on the Reef by explaining the Reef’s complexities, aiming to inspire a deeper connection among visitors, that they will share with family and friends long after they leave. The Citizens programme aims to inspire change, both by sharing live updates of these scientific projects – and many others – with the world on the recently-launched Citizens Atlas and inviting members to make a commitment to make one small change in their everyday life – to save the Reef.
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Explaining abou the importance of the Reef
DIVERS ALERT NETWORK: ASIA-PACIFIC Divers Alert Network, widely known as DAN, is an international non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of divers. WWW.DANAP.ORG
SYMPTOMS RETURN AFTER FLYING:
DID THE DIVER FLY TOO SOON? Divers Alert Network looks at a case where a diver was evacuated for recompression but flew home sooner than DAN advised, and his symptoms returned - could this have been avoided if the diver delayed his flight? THE DIVE
A 28-year-old dive instructor completed a long 45m dive on mixed gas with decompression. The next day he completed a dive (on air) to 26m for 65 minutes and afterwards felt more tired than usual.
SYMPTOMS PRESENT
The following day, 24-plus hours since his final dive, he felt an ache/burn in his right shoulder. The next day, when DAN was called, he had some altered sensation in his hip and elbow. He had been receiving oxygen first aid for six hours without any significant improvement when the call to DAN was made.
DAN’S ADVICE
The DAN doctor wasn’t certain the diver was experiencing DCI based on the information provided. He was asked to continue breathing oxygen for a few more hours that evening and take Ibuprofen. In the morning, he would be re-assessed. The diver was in Timor, where there are no chamber facilities, and he would need to be evacuated for treatment if symptoms did not improve. When DAN spoke to the diver the following day, he had continued breathing oxygen for six more hours, and another hour that morning. He thought the Ibuprofen relieved the ‘pressure’ he felt in his lower back, but said the pain in his right shoulder and the hypersensitivity in his shoulder, arm and chest area were still present. He also had discomfort in his right hip, felt waves of pain flow through his right elbow, and had a stiff right little finger. When attempting some light activities, he had difficulty breathing and experienced shortness of breath.
EVACUATION REQUIRED
The DAN doctor recommended the diver be seen by a Hyperbaric Medical Specialist and told him that recompression treatment was a possibility. DAN determined that the closest facility capable and available to treat this diver at the time of his accident was in Singapore, so DAN began to co-ordinate his evacuation. While waiting to be evacuated to Singapore, the diver breathed oxygen for another three hours and reported feeling much better.
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TREATMENT
Once in Singapore, the diver was evaluated and ended up receiving two recompression treatments. His symptoms mostly resolved but he still had shoulder discomfort post treatment.
CONFLICTING ‘DO NOT FLY’ ADVICE
The diving doctor advised the diver not to fly for three days, but DAN advised that this was insufficient and that he should wait at least a week before flying back to Timor given the remoteness of his destination. The diver ended up flying home four days after treatment and upon his return, the diver advised DAN that he was experiencing residual symptoms in his hip, shoulder and elbow. The DAN doctors advised the diver to continue taking Ibuprofen for several days to help with the residual inflammation, remain hydrated and refrain from exercising or going to altitude. The diver’s condition did not deteriorate further, however improvement was very slow, to his frustration.
DAN COMMENT
While the diver’s symptoms in this case were mild, they were persistent. The diver was evacuated to Singapore and received two treatments, and unfortunately DAN’s advice to avoid flying for at least a week was not followed. In many cases divers are cleared to fly after three days from their final treatment if they remain asymptomatic. This is often fine and many divers following this advice have no further issues - although a small number will. In this case, DAN’s recommendation was more conservative than the doctor’s recommendation, as DAN factored in the remoteness of the diver’s location. It is not surprising that flying prematurely aggravated this diver’s condition, because it is likely that he had residual bubbles in his system. When divers have residual bubbles, it often takes a longer time for persistent symptoms to fully resolve. This case serves as an important reminder to adhere to the advice of DAN, as our case managers factor in all aspects of a diver’s situation when providing advice.
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Q&A: Luke Inman
Scuba Diver talks to Luke Inman, PADI Course Director, underwater videographer, photo pro, technical diver - and the only Mexican citizen we know with a British accent PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUKE INMAN
Q: How did you get into diving in the first place? A: The ocean and being underwater always fascinated me – inspired I think from growing up watching the BBC Natural History Units productions and having the incredible imagery accompanied by Sir David Attenborough’s voice. The freedom of being underwater, the joy of retrieving coins from the bottom of the pool on holiday, was the best fun I can remember being aged six or seven years old. The first thing I remember that pushed me into underwater photography and film was the French movie The Big Blue - I think it was a huge catalyst for many of my generation. The Big Blue was incredible storytelling and visually stunning. I was hooked straight away. Q: What was it that drew you into becoming a professional diving instructor, and then to attain Course Director, the highest ranking in the PADI system? A: I honestly never imagined I was ever going to become a diving instructor. I was happily working on underwater film sets as a Divemaster and with my HSE Part IV back in the mid-
1990s. As is common in the media industry, suddenly I had no work. After working on numerous adverts and some very highprofile feature films, there was no underwater work. A camera assistant I worked with popped into my house one day and mentioned a dive shop had opened up down the road. I went to check it out the following day. I met with the owner and just started helping hang dive gear on the walls and chatting. I had, during school and university, worked for Quiksilver, so I was pretty experienced with retail and designing shop space. The owner (a certain Paul Toomer) made it quite clear to me that he only had work for instructors. There was a PADI IDC the following week, and two weeks later there I was in Stoney Cove accepting my PADI Instructor certificate… and the following Monday working at a dive shop in London.
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Q: You have done photo-shoots for a huge range of clients, from well-known brands in the world of diving to more-mainstream names. What’s the story behind your photography? A: I always think photography is about capturing a moment, telling a story. It does not matter if you are using a camera phone at a family event, shooting the front cover of a magazine, or a portrait of someone very famous. The essence is to tell stories, convey an emotion. I find photos a far-moreintimate and personal way of telling a story and building a friendship or interaction with the subject or person you are shooting. Video is completely different for me. Q: You are also an accomplished videographer, and have done shoots for some major channels over the years. How did you start out in the world of video, and what have been some of the more-memorable moments? A: There have been some very memorable moments. From amazing wildlife encounters to working with some very famous actors and celebrities. The two that I reminisce about most are BBC’s Deadly 60 Squid. The shoot pushed everyone
to near-exhaustion and that delirious tiredness, but the producer/director did such an amazing job of bringing together an awesome team. We ended up getting the best squid footage and winning a BAFTA. The other moment is being asked to shoot a video underwater for a Mexican pop band I had never heard off. I arrived in Mexico City and ended up being interviewed by all the music press. There was a massive fuss being made.
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It was a little intimidating at first, but George Lucas and all the folks at ILM introduced themselves to us and made an effort to ensure we knew we were part of the team. It is nice to have a credit with Lucas Films, certainly for my generation... I could not understand why thousands of people were involved in the production. The band treated me like a rock star. The idea of being shot underwater fascinated them. They shot everything in slow motion and had the band mime underwater to the song at high speed. So, when the slow motion played back, it looked liked the music was synced at normal speed, but their movements were slow… The song and video was the most-downloaded video and song of 2009 and we ended up winning an MTV Latin-America music award. It was a little embarrassing to be honest. I had no idea who the band was, and they were like the Mexican equivalent of Take That or One Direction. I guess I was either too old, or just not a fan of pop music. Q: You are also a technical diver, both open circuit and closed circuit. What is it about technical diving that attracted you to this niche aspect of the sport? A: I do enjoy the meticulousness of planning and prep for tech and CCR diving, but they are simply tools for adventure, exploration or whatever the mission is. The bus to work if you would. I see them as methods to achieve what you need underwater. More time? More depth? Silence?... Just tools… Q: What is your most-memorable diving moment? A: My local dive site… Los Islotes! Sea lions, sea lions, sea lions, sea lions… Blue whales and humpbacks are bad, but honestly… sea lions, always every day and whenever I can dive with sea lions… Did I mention sea lions?
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Contact your local PADI® Dive Center or Resort to learn more, or visit PADI.com © PADI 2020
Q: You are based in Mexico, with your dive centre Cortez Expeditions in La Paz, and hold Mexican citizenship. How on Earth did you end up in this part of North America, and what is the attraction to this part of the world? A: The Sea of Cortez has always fascinated me and has such diverse wildlife and ecology. Not many places in the world you can dive with giant mantas and tropical reef fish, but get huge schools of temperate fish like tuna and mackerel… oh, and did I mention sea lions? That French pirate Cousteau was correct, the Sea of Cortez is truly the world’s aquarium.
Q: On the flipside, what is your worst diving moment? A: I have 100 percent safety record on productions, technical and recreational diving, so fortunately no nasty moments like that. I have suffered a couple of leaky drysuits in cold water, andhad a jellyfish sit on my head and face while doing deco in current… that was horrible. But I remember demonstrating a beach entry at Portland on the rocky beach years ago… myself and the other instructor got swept up by waves and turned around in a washing machine-style and thrown up by the ocean in front of our students. Presented in a nice heap… more embarrassing than anything else!
Q: I know that you have recently been involved in a shoot for a forthcoming major wildlife documentary series, but what does the future hold for Luke Inman? A: Ah, the major upcoming documentary series… I am not allowed to mention… I think I can say I was dive safety officer on this little BBC thing… coming out soon! n
Q: You have the dubious pleasure of helping to bring the character of Jar Jar Binks to the big screen for the Star Wars film The Phantom Menace. What was it like being involved with such a massive production? A: It was a little intimidating at first, but George Lucas and all the folks at ILM introduced themselves to us and made an effort to ensure we knew we were part of the team. It is nice to have a credit with Lucas Films, certainly for my generation - we both know a few Star Wars fanatics. Just because I was responsible for carrying the digital referencing dome for Jar Jar Binks’ head does not make me responsible for creating him… and hey… I did have Ewan and Liam either side of me… There’s nothing cooler than diving with Quin Gon and Obi One!
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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY GETTING MOTION BLUR INTO YOUR IMAGES
Following his last article on shooting shoals, Martyn Guess provides some insight into, and also tips on getting, motion blur into your images PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTYN GUESS
W
hile this technique has been available for use underwater for a long time, it seems to have had a resurgence in the last few years and there have been many winning ‘Motion Blur’ images in major underwater photography competitions in this timescale. As cameras have become more sophisticated and provide the ability to change settings such as ISO in smaller increments and over a wider spectrum, it has become easier to control the additional light getting to sensors created by slowing speeds down. Getting motion into your still images is a relatively easy technique to accomplish and can provide a very different look to your pictures, bringing the subject more to life for the viewer. So much in our world is constantly moving that sometimes a still shot does not really do the subject justice, or portray it as we would really like. By slowing shutter speeds down, we can easily introduce a look to our images that show the motion of the subject (see image 1). The technique is also useful for hiding details in the frame that we might want to exclude or dim down, such as other divers, structures or other fish life, as the background will be blurred. It is also a lovely technique to use to introduce an abstract perspective, or an Image 1. By slowing the speed down we can show motion in our still images of moving subjects. 1/8th Sec F20 ISO 100
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image that is moving towards a painted or more-artistic affect (see image 2). The technique can be applied to both wide angle and macro subjects, although the latter is harder to perfect due to the limit size and also the narrowness of macro lenses. It is important in certain images, particularly if the main subject is Image 2. Slow motion images can wildlife, say a produce a more-artistic look. Dusk shark or a fish, dive. 1/8th Sec F16 ISO 160 that elements of the subject are still sharp. If everything is totally blurred, then these type of images don’t work. I normally try to make sure that the eyes and facial features of the main subject, if shooting wildlife, are sharp (Image 3). For other types of images where I am trying to create a more ‘arty’ look, I am not so much worried about sharpness and therefore the slow shutter techniques and camera settings are changed slightly. The way to achieve motion blur is firstly to understand some settings on your camera. All DLSR and mirrorless cameras these days allow you to set up the flash to fire at the beginning or end of the exposure. When using fast shutter speeds, the difference between the two settings is minute, but once you start using very slow shutter speeds the difference between the flash firing at the beginning or the end of the exposure is significant. The default normal setting is for the flash to fire at the beginning. However, rear curtain
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synchronisation is the normal, go-to setting for slower speeds and is the one I have set all the time on my camera. This is on the basis that at normal higher speeds, the difference between front and rear curtain is not distinguishable. If a subject, say a fish, swims through the frame of my camera and I have rear curtain set up and I am using a slow speed, say 1/8th of a second, then when I press the shutter holding the camera still, the exposure starts and the flash goes off at the end of the exposure. The image shows the movement of the fish through the frame and then when the flash goes off at the end of the exposure, the fish is frozen and facial details should be reasonably sharp. The fish looks like it is swimming forwards with blurred streaks behind it (see image 4). If I had used front curtain, then the fish would have been frozen at the beginning of the exposure and the slow speed section of the exposure would produce streaks in front of the fish which would look a little odd and give the impression perhaps that the fish was moving backwards!
For faster-moving subjects, however, front curtain synchronisation does come in handy. Imagine trying to hold your camera still and taking a photograph of a racing car going past you. The chances of you getting the car fully in the frame are very remote and therefore rear curtain has its limitations, as you will find that a lot of your images are only of part of the subject. The natural inclination when shooting the racing car is to try and move with it – this is called panning. So, when composing your picture, you want to be able to capture your composition quickly, which means using front curtain and letting the flash fire at the beginning of the exposure to freeze the subject, then the rest of the Image 4. Rear curtain with camera held still 1/8th Sec F20 ISO 100
Image 3. Caribbean shark image showing movement while retaining a sharp eye. 1/15th Sec ISO 100 F18
BIOGRAPHY: MARTYN GUESS
Martyn has been diving for over 30 years and taking underwater images for nearly as long. He has been very successful in National and International competitions and regularly makes presentations to camera and photography clubs and diving shows as well as The British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSOUP) and other underwater photography groups. Today he shares his passion and knowledge - As well as teaching underwater photography courses he leads overseas workshop trips for Scuba Travel and his articles regularly appear in Scuba Diver magazine.
exposure will capture the movement. By quickly panning your camera with the subject and overtaking it ideally, the streaks of motion blur will be behind the subject and you will also be able to freeze the subject. I use this setting and technique when I want to introduce motion blur to, say, images of sharks. To achieve this look in your images you can use a slightly faster speed than you would normally use for rear curtain, say 1/15th sec, and then pan the camera through the subject and overtake it. The point I normally press the shutter for a large fish, or a shark or similar, is when the camera is pointing at the pectoral fins or gills. That way you know that you will at least have the head in the shot (see image 5). This is one of those techniques which you have to practice and use by trial and error. You will get used to swinging the camera and also how fast to pan. I use this technique on shoals as well as individual subjects (see image 6) to give a different look to my shoal image portfolio.
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UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY Image 5. Pike taken with the camera shutter depressed as the panning camera passed the gills to make sure the head was in the shot. 1/8th Sec Panning with Front Curtain. F16 ISO 200
MY ESCORTED TRIPS
Want to learn how to take or improve your underwater images? Why not come on a photo specific trip? These trips are meticulously planned to the best destinations at the best time of year where the conditions should be perfect for building a portfolio of great images. The workshops, which are for all levels of experience but mainly aimed at people with a few trips under their belts, include classroom sessions and presentations as well as in-water help and guidance, all done in a relaxed and non-competitive friendly environment. As I sit here writing this article on a bleak post-Christmas day, I am thinking about my trip to Dumaguete in the Philippines in May to shoot macro and wide-angle subjects. It’s frogfish season then, and we will spend time at Apo Island with the turtles. There is a Northern Red Sea trip in June 2020 to photograph the shoals at Ras Mo and take in other sites with an open-deck policy, so great for photographers. There are also trips to Lembeh in October 2020 and back to the Red Sea at the end of November. Bali in August 2021 is now live, with other 2021 trips are currently being planned. Please contact the Scubatravel team or check out their website for details. www.scubatravel.com Image 7. Front curtain panning shot at dusk for arty look. 1/18th Sec F16 ISO 200
Image 6. Front Curtain panning image. 1/10th Sec F22 ISO 100
When using a fisheye lens and dome port it is easier not to use the viewfinder and simply swing the camera through the scene in front of you. It becomes quite liberating as you swing the camera back and forth and will give you a good work out too! Be aware that, adopting the rules of the Exposure Triangle, you have to compensate for using a slow shutter speed as you will otherwise be letting a lot more light onto the camera’s sensor. Use smaller apertures or reduced ISO, or a combination of both. You will also need to use lower strobe power settings so as to not burn out the subject. The technique is more difficult to use in shallower brighter conditions, so definitely a technique to consider using on dull and overcast days, or make sure you can compensate enough on bright sunny days by going deeper. I also tend to use it a lot on dusk dives for moody arty type shots (see image 7). As to how slow to go, you have to try shots and adapt. My normal range is between 1/6th sec and 1/15th, with the faster speeds used for panning shots.
If you are using a compact camera then the slow speed technique is still worth trying as long as you are using the camera in manual and have full control of the settings. If you can’t change between front and rear curtain, then check which setting the camera uses and use either the panning or still techniques I have outlined. Next time you go diving with a camera look out for subjects which might work with some motion blur added. The effect will definitely give a different look to your images and will also, I can confidently predict, create more interest. I have a sticker on the back of my camera housing to remind me to look for suitable opportunities for slow motion shots in the hope that I might find a competition winner! Happy diving all! n
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The assignments of photojournalist STEVE JONES have ranged from colossal battleship wrecks to sub-zero encounters with apex polar predators. Lorna Dockerill chats to him about deep dives, whaleshark sightings and creative lighting PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEVE JONES
Corals and Caves on
Hurricane 21st May 2020 ÂŁ1425 excluding flights ESCORTED BY MARIO VITALINI
Holiday highlights... Mario Vitalini will teach you to work with natural light and wide angle photography, as well as the secrets of amazing fish portraits and using strobes. He will help you build a stunning selection of classic Red Sea images, from the decks of the stable steel hulled Hurricane. There are 18-21 dives over the workshop, as well as all park fees included, 12lt tank/weights and FREE Nitrox.
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STEVE JONES
STEVE JONES
Steve Jones is a photojournalist whose award-winning work has been published in more than 30 countries during a career spanning three decades. A Blancpain Edition Fifty Fathoms photographer, Steve is an all-rounder, whose list of assignments has ranged from colossal battleship wrecks to sub-zero encounters with apex polar predators. More of his work can be seen at: www.millionfish.com
ESCORTED BY MARIO VITALINI
11th Sept 2020 £1295 excluding flights
Photo Finish
Malapascua
Holiday highlights... Join photo pro Mario Vitalini on this Philippines workshop to hone your images of the biggest sharks to the smallest critters. The workshop includes 20 nitrox boat dives plus daily presentations covering all aspects of underwater photography. Your holiday package includes 7 nights in a deluxe room on an full board basis – optional room grades available. Airport transfers are included.
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Q: How did you get started in underwater photography? A: I bought my first underwater camera while working as a professional diving instructor in the Red Sea in the early 1990s, and my interest soon led to assisting visiting professional photographers. A few years later when I was based in the Maldives, a well-known German magazine gave me my first assignment. I still photograph for them today. Q: What came first - diving or photography? A: My love of nature led first to my interest in photography and then I learned to dive at the age of 14. In my 20s, while working as diving instructor, I combined these two passions. My bank balance has never been healthy since! Q: What’s in your underwater photography kitbag? A: I use SEACAM housings, which have fantastic build quality, durability and ergonomics. Housed in those are Nikon D850 and D4 cameras, and I use a full range of lenses from ultrawide-angle to macro. For lighting, I use SEACAM and Inon strobes and multiple LED lamps for off-camera lighting, including the high-powered Orcalights. Like most underwater photographers, I love gadgets, so my bag is also full of weird bits of kit that at the time I couldn’t live without, but in many cases I’ve still yet to find a use for!
Q: Favourite location for diving and underwater photography? A: That would be Galapagos for mind-blowing wildlife encounters, Papua New Guinea for pristine reefs, and Truk Lagoon for the best wreck diving in the world. Q: Most challenging dive? A: I do a fair bit of wreck photography. Any deep rebreather dive with a camera is challenging due to the high task loading and amount of kit involved. Add low light, bad visibility and current into the mix and you’ve got the recipe for some of the most-challenging dives I’ve done. I readily find these in the
English Channel. Photographing these deep wrecks has probably progressed me as both a diver and photographer more than any other thing I’ve done underwater. Q: Who are your diving inspirations? A: There are loads - far too many to mention them all! Firstly, the instructors at the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) where I learned to dive. The quality of the training I received as a teenager was second to none, and they did it for free in their spare time. Even though I lost contact with them years ago, I hold them in the highest regard. Like many, my earliest photographic influence was David Doubilet, whose work is simply timeless and never fails to inspire. I also admired the work of Chris Newbert. I am constantly in awe of Laurent Ballesta and Paul Nicklen’s imagery, which is captured in extremely challenging conditions. I have learned a huge amount over the years from Alex Mustard’s work, someone who is always open and generous with his knowledge. The list goes on. I also love looking through the work of emerging talent. Instagram is full of images that are just jaw dropping.
Master Macro 9th May 2020 £2895 excluding flights ESCORTED BY MARTYN GUESS
Holiday highlights... 10 nights in resort, full board divers plan & 24 boat dives – FREE Nitrox Join pro photographer Martyn Guess in the critter mecca Dumaguete. With 24 boat dives plus free nitrox (3 dives/day plus 1 day Apo reef) and Martyn’s workshop throughout, this workshop packs a real punch. Additional travel options available, ask for details.
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Q: Hairiest moment when shooting underwater? A: In a momentous act of supreme stupidity, I once completely ran out of gas! Complacency and distraction led to me ignoring recognised safety margins so when I then suffered an equipment failure, I had no contingency. I got out of that one by a fine margin, and it caused me to hit the reset button on my whole approach to risk and once again start diving in the way I was taught, rather than bending age-old rules due to my own over-confidence. These days, as a hypoxic-trimix trained rebreather diver, I am meticulous in my approach to every aspect of the dive. My family’s welfare depends on it. Q: What is your most-memorable dive and why? A: Over the years there have been many that have left me with an unwavering grin. One that stands out was in 2004 when I had returned to the Maldives. I’d been diving regularly in a location on the outer edge of one of the atolls where there are often whaleshark sightings, but in three weeks of concentrated effort I’d had no success. It was my last dive of that visit, I’d been in the water more than 60 minutes, was low on gas and hadn’t taken a single frame of the 36 exposures in my film camera. I saw a large ball of fusiliers in the blue, so swam out to get a few pictures to close the trip off. As I was looking through the viewfinder the ball of fish parted liked a curtain and the sky went dark as a huge shape swam through the centre. It was a whaleshark! My favourite image from the set made the cover of a number of magazines and books around the world. Q: Which of your photos are you most proud of and why? A: This image of a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, the mighty World War Two US bomber. It lies at 72m near the island of Vis, Croatia, and I was lucky to be partnered with Andi Marović, owner of nearby Manta Diving Centre, who knows the wreck well. This aircraft crash landed on its way to Vis airfield after being badly damaged on a bombing mission in 1944. The co-pilot, Ernest Vienneau, had already been killed when the aircraft was initially hit, but the skill of the surviving pilot
enabled an intact water landing that saved the rest of the crew. Research by Croatian historian Danijel Frka had already confirmed the aircraft’s exact identity, so I referenced Ernest’s name in the caption when it was commended in Underwater Photographer of the Year 2017. A few days later I was contacted by members of Ernest’s descended family after their friend had seen the image published in a US newspaper. They had no idea his aircraft had been located until they saw this image, as he had previously been listed as Missing in Action. I’ve been in regular contact with them ever since and seeing imagery of Ernest’s resting place has meant a huge amount to them. My own grandfather, who I never got to know, served in RAF bomber command in World War Two, so there is a further strong personal element to this image for me. Q: What responsibility do you think underwater photographers have to raise awareness about the marine environment? A: We all have a collective duty to protect that which we love. We are lucky to be able to see beneath the waves, but we also observe the damage being done to the marine environment. Pollution, the decimation of sharks, bottom dredging, coral bleaching, these are all things that we can raise in the public consciousness, whether by bringing back imagery of these horrors or simply by reminding people that their children may only be able to look at our images of these wonders, because one day soon they’ll all be gone unless we change. Governments will only change legislation and act if the voters care about a subject enough, and as a society we are way behind the time when serious legislation should have been introduced globally to protect the planet. n
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K I D S @ K I D S S E AC A M P. C O M
20 years of creating memories that will last a lifetime
By Margo Peyton
The first Kids Sea Camp trip memories are easily conjured in my mind as if they were created just last summer. 20 years ago at the very first KSC week in Curacao, my son Robbie, was only 6 and my daughter Jen, was just 4. I was a single mother and wanted to spend more time with my kids and be able to show them a world far beyond the one they knew. I wanted them to experience different cultures, different ways of life and share with them something I never had. I wanted to create a living classroom for them to learn and meet other likeminded kids that embraced adventure. I wanted them to meet new people, experience new places and try new things. It was 1999, when my close friend, Carolyn Pascal, then publisher of Skin Diver Magazine and I were sitting on a beach in the Bahamas during another work trip. We were discussing how much we missed our kids and how amazing it would be to find a way to bring them on our dive trips. Right there in that moment so long ago we started creating a vision that would become one of the greatest ideas of my life. Carolyn had the media and I had PADI dive resorts. Together we pooled our resources and the first KSC week took place in Curacao with Ocean Encounters at the Curacao Sea Aquarium in 2000, with just 7 families. Nolo & Monica the owners of Ocean Encounters became the first dive operators to join our KSC family. Now 20 years later, Jen will be turning 24 and Rob 26.There have been 7,600+ kids that have become certified divers over those years. Robbie, Jen and myself are PADI instructors, and we travel with approximately 350 + families per year to 13 countries over 20 weeks, including
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GIVE THEM A WEEK THEY WILL REMEMBER FOREVER liveaboards and land-based resorts around the world. I’m so very proud and grateful to our dive industry.They have supported my vision and co-created little gear, kids dive courses, shared the stories and listened to me and all those little voices. PADI created the courses for kids age 4 -18 and they have always supported me in making diving safer for kids. Tradeshows, like DEMA and Beneath The Sea plus PADI connected me to operators around the world. The dive media: Skin Diver, Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Dive Training, DAN and Diver magazines, run the stories that share the voices who tell the world about Kids Sea Camp. SCUBAPRO was the first to create SASY gear, little tanks, fins, masks and tiny wetsuits.They outfit the kids with sponsorships every year. SEALIFE, has given KSC cameras every year to teach and photograph 20 years of underwater memories. Our partners believe that kids are the future and have continued to support our vision. I have personally chosen each PADI resort that is a member of our KSC family, because they are dive resorts that I can trust to keep kids safe above all things.They are family-owned, family-
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friendly and family operated.They have put up with me, and continue to believe in me. They proudly celebrate our brand together as a team. When I ask families why they choose us, they say, “Because time is the most important thing in life Margo! Time with our kids and our grandkids is priceless. Making memories that will last a lifetime is exactly what you and Tom do.“ This little company has grown in so many ways. KSC is a safe, fun, educational and an authentic family vacation.We focus on the underwater world and the human experience. It’s a family vacation where kids and parents unplug from their virtual worlds and reconnect to each other. In 2006, My best friend and husband Tom Peyton, with Robbie, Jen and I became a family.Tom left the news industry and joined the KSC dive team. We are celebrating 20 years of success this year with 20 KSC group trips and three “Empty Nesters weeks” “Empty Nesters” are dive trips for those parents like Tom and I that have grown kids, and still want to travel with us. And to the worlds best dive team: Thank you for keeping kids safe and for being so much fun. You are the worlds best dive team:Woody,Aly, Olivia, Jen, Rob, Josh, Sven, Brad, Jesse, Patric, Holly, Max, Sophie, Fraser, Conrad, Kendal, Evan, Ellen, Kylie, Keone, Jacob and Linda Sue. Come celebrate 2020 with us!
MARGO PEYTON:
CEO Kids Sea Camp Inc. & Ocean Wishes Foundation, PADI Elite MSDT instructor, “Diver Of The Year” Education, at the 2019 Beneath the Sea . Women Divers Hall of Fame, SCUBAPRO Deep Elite Ambassador, PADI Ambassadiver, PADI 25 yr Award of Excellence in training & education. The Family Travel Association’s 2016 Person of the Year Award, The Seiko 2017 Sea Hero Award, DEMA’s Hall of Fame & “Reaching Out” Award 2018 and Wyland Icon Award nominee 2015, FTA Board of Directors 2019.
K I D S @ K I D S S E AC A M P. C O M
FAMILY DIVE ADVENTURES
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Lena Kavender and Byron Conroy immerse themselves in a watery world full of weird and wonderful critters when they stay at Gangga Island Resort and Spa in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi PHOTOGRAPHS BY BYRON CONROY
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Vibrant soft coral
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lose your eyes and picture a warm tropical island with white beaches and coconut palm trees, surrounded by turquoise waters and coral reef. That is Gangga Island (www.ganggaisland.com) for you. A real-life dream destination where you can dive some of the most-pristine coral reefs in the world, and an hour later relax in a hammock on the beach with a cocktail in your hand. On arrival, we were greeted by Debbie, who gave us an introduction to the island and the resort - all while we were enjoyed some truly delicious coconut/strawberry milkshakes served in fresh coconuts, along with sandwiches and fruits - before being shown to our room. All rooms are sea-view bungalows with a large terrace including sunbeds and drying rack. The resort is well planned and although it has a capacity for 50 people, it never feels crowded. During the welcome briefing with dive centre manager Paulus, we learned that Gangga Divers offered a unique variety of dive sites. Bangka Island stands for the best local diving in the area, while you can also choose to dive the famous walls of Bunaken National Marine Park, and do critter spotting in Lembeh Strait. A real treat for underwater photographers to get access to some of the world´s best wide-angle and macro, all without having to move resort. Gangga Divers also offer nitrox fills at no additional charge for all divers with relevant certifications. Lena checks out a large bunch of soft coral
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Expect a riot of colour on every dive
Sahaung has a reputation of having some of the mostcolourful and beautiful soft coral reef in North Sulawesi, and after diving it we dare to say even in the world
Whip coral goby
Anemonefish
The walls are adorned in coral growth
THE BEAUTY OF BANGKA
We spent three days diving around the stunning Bangka Island, a 25-minute boat ride from Gangga. The dive sites Batu Gosoh, Batu Tiga and Busa Bora made it a real challenge for an underwater photographer to choose between wide-angle or macro. The reef was covered in beautiful soft corals, large schools of glassfish, yellow snapper, batfish and sweetlips were spotted on every dive, and there was also a reasonably good chance of seeing dugongs during the safety stops in the shallows. At the same time, the macro at these sites was also astonishing. In one single gorgonian fan, we found no less than eight Bargabanti pymgy seahorses, just to find another five of them in the next fan along.
SOFT CORAL HAVEN SAHAUNG
On the fourth day we had the pleasure of visiting a site that we had heard so much about. Sahaung has a reputation of having some of the most-colourful and beautiful soft coral reef in North Sulawesi, and after diving it we dare to say even in the world. The colours you get to see on these walls are simply stunning. Blue, pink, red, yellow and orange soft corals are literally covering the dive site, along with an abundance of marine life such as yellow snapper and tons of reef fish.
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Blue-lined snapper
GETTING HOT AT YELLOW COCO
Topside at Gangga Island
Another very cool and fascinating site was the Yellow Coco Satu next to Bangka Island. It is a white sandy slope with coral reef in the shallows. As we descended down the slope I was thinking to myself that this must be the most quiet site so far, with not too much going on. That was until we hit a depth of 20m and I found myself swimming straight through a massive halocline with hot fresh water pumping up from the ground. We had reached the highlight of this dive, the Hot Spring. This hydrothermal vent pumps 90° C hot silica-rich fresh water into the surrounding ocean water. On the otherwise relatively empty sandy bottom, a community of sponges in particular but also other marine life such as whip gorgonians have evolved around the vent. We spent the remaining bottom time exploring this captivating area before it was time to surface. Hydrothermal vents within recreational dive limits are a rare phenomenon, and we were very lucky to experience this site.
COCONUTS AND SUNBEDS ON THE BEACH
Even though the diving is definitely the highlight of this area, Gangga Island is also the perfect location for relaxation, sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling. The white sandy beach surrounding the resort could have been taken from any dream holiday advert or postcard. Each guest has their own allocated sunbed on the beach, perfectly shaded by a nearby coconut palm. Anyone fancying a swim can do so in the ocean or in the huge swimming pool with a truly luxurious design.
A REAL TREAT
No relaxation day is complete without a traditional Indonesian massage. On our last day before check out, Byron and I treated ourselves to a couple´s massage at the Gangga Spa. The treatment rooms have a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. This gives you the impression of laying on the beach, but with the comfort of being in an air-conditioned room with soft Indonesian music playing. The feeling of relaxation is complete and while at Gangga, a visit to the Spa is a must-do. The reef is extremely healthy
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On the otherwise relatively empty sandy bottom, a community of sponges in particular but also other marine life such as whip gorgonians have evolved around the vent
Idyllic beach scene
FUELLING UP
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is included for all guests at the Gangga Resort. In addition to this a snack with coffee, tea or hot chocolate is served by the swimming pool each afternoon, accompanied by acoustic guitar songs performed by a lovely member of the staff. The meals in the restaurant are served either from an a la carte menu or buffet style. While my partner is a real meat lover, I tend to prefer vegetarian options and fruits and vegetables. Both of us found the food delicious, with lots of options and variety pleasing our different tastes. The service at the restaurant and at the whole resort is outstanding, you will never wait long to get your glass refilled, or to receive the next dish.
Porcelain crab
LIFE IS EASY AT GANGGA ISLAND
As a guest at Gangga Island, you will be really well looked after and thoroughly spoiled throughout your holiday. Both from a diving aspect and at the resort in general. Everything is taken care of by the professional and friendly staff. All you have to do is to show up for your dives and for the meals, which gives you lots of time to relax and to enjoy this tropical dream destination to the fullest. n
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PHOTOGRAPHY © GERALD RAMBERT
Fly direct from Brisbane to Munda weekly!
Dive Munda is a multi-award winning SSI Instructor Training and Extended Range Resort in the Solomon Islands committed to sustainable dive eco-tourism. Scuba dive, freedive and snorkel unexplored reefs, WWII history, Kastom culture, hard and soft coral, cuts and caverns along with pelagic life and shark action, all in one of the last wild frontiers left on planet ocean. DIVE MUNDA, AGNES GATEWAY HOTEL, MUNDA, SOLOMON ISLANDS LANDLINE: +677 62156 CELLPHONE: +677 789 6869
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Fiji’s Premier Diving Experience the best diving Fiji has to offer, catering to beginners through the braggers Volivoli Beach Resort is the perfect fit for you!
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Jervis Bay
Jonathan Mueller waxes lyrical about the attractions – both topside and underwater – of Jervis Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN MUELLER
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s the water splashes around me after my giant stride entry and I bob back to the surface, I look back at the boat and signal all okay. I’m excited. From the boat when I looked over the railing, I could see a school of yellowtail right below the boat. As my group gathered and signalled our descent, I made my way to the shot line and began my decent to the white sandy bottom below. And when I say white, it’s white - this area is known for the whitest sand in the world and, even on my decent, you can see the light really coming out because of the sand. Normally on a dive, it’s when you get to your depth that you start to experience the site, but on this occasion the descent led us through the school of yellowtail and as we started to get beneath them, a large grey nurse shark casually came close by the group. It’s been under a minute and this dive site is starting to deliver and exceed my expectations for mid-temperate water diving. You might be wondering what this amazing dive site is. But those that frequent diving in Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast will tell you that every day, The Nursery gives you something a little bit different. Today’s boat diving adventure is a triple dive on a boat departing from Huskisson, a beautiful coastal town that hugs the coastline on the shores of Jervis Bay. If Jervis Bay sounds familiar to you, it might be for a few good reasons. For one, it boasts the world-famous Hyams Beach which, as already mentioned, is famous for the whitest sand in the world (that being said, all the beaches in the area feature the same sand and offer up amazing blue azure water and white soft sand, but don’t tell the locals I told you!). Or it could be that Jervis Bay is home to the Australian Navy Base HMAS
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Nothing beats heading home to hear about all the experiences that everyone has had because a destination actually delivered on the effort Creswell and when diving around the bay, you will find out that many of the dive sites are named after the bay’s military history. If you’re looking for a destination dive trip that not only meets your diving passion but also meets your family’s idea of a weekend away, then Jervis Bay ticks all the boxes. For one it’s got easy access from Sydney (2.5hrs) or Canberra (2.5hrs). There’s an abundance of accommodation options from hotels to B&Bs and, of course, camp areas either in Booderee National Park (bookings made online) or in the township of Huskisson, which offer anything from cabins through to tents. It’s in a protected bay and marine park, meaning that water activities (diving included) operate all year round and in a variety of conditions. Jervis Bay holds a charm that’s attractive to all generations. It’s a location that appeals to many. While you’re out experiencing what’s under the water, your family can be snorkelling off the shore of Hyams Beach, or experiencing a whale-watching / dolphin boat tour that departs from the Huskisson Wharf. When you get back from diving there’s a large number of restaurants and cafes to suit all tastes and budgets and, better yet, it’s got a small coastal town feel, so you’re never feeling like time is running away from you. Nothing beats heading home to hear about all the experiences that everyone has had because a destination actually delivered on the effort. For me, the thing that really makes this a destination worth visiting is that the diving is phenomenal. I’ve been diving the waters of Jervis Bay for over three years and every time I visit sites I’ve been to before, I see something unexpected and always surprising. Which brings me back to where we started. Today I’m lucky because I’m diving with my mates, normally I’m leading some dives in the area and introducing the beautiful bay to new people. But today we have our cameras and set ourselves the goal for our first dive site of looking for nudibranchs. As you might know for nearly all divers, finding one of these beautiful coloured creatures creates a great conversation post-dive and creates a longing to be back in the water on the hunt for a new one. They do come in all shapes and sizes and so when you find one you’re not expecting, it really is super exciting. We all had put on a macro lens and decided that we would slowly follow a ridgeline to north looking around various outcroppings for nudibranch.
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Parrotfish in the reef
This dive also presented a very friendly small reaper cuttlefish, which was just as fascinated with me as I was with it, and a blue grouper that followed me around more than my dog does at home
I chose to run a slightly wider macro for the day and had a 50mm 1:1. If something other than a nudi showed up, I might be able to get a shot! If the start of the dive was anything to go by then what we found as we dived really took the cake. I found two nudis that I’d never seen before of a total of 13 during the dive. One, this awesome chocolate brown one on a white rock, and the other one I named the ‘purple spaghetti’. You will soon pick up that I’m not very good with scientific names, so create my own easier-to-remember names. This dive also presented a very friendly small reaper cuttlefish, which was just as fascinated with me as I was with it, and a blue grouper that followed me around more than my dog does at home. After 60 minutes at 15m, we began our ascent back to the boat and all I could think about is what will the next dive site might show! Jervis Bay
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Cuttleflsh
Being a triple dive, our diving was confined to two afternoon dives and single night dive at our second dive location. Our second dive location wasn’t far from our first and was called The Wall for, you guessed it, a large rock wall that cuts its way down the side of Bowen Island. This site is open to the ocean and is more prone to surge and swell, so it’s a site best experienced by advanced divers, and has a max depth between 24-28m. The thing about this site that’s exciting is that it’s home to weedy seadragons! If you’ve never seen one in the water, it’s an experience that you need to have. These large seadragons are one of the most-graceful creatures under the water despite their name. When we descended to our starting depth of 24m, we began to explore the boulders and weed bed that make its way along the bottom. It wasn’t long until we found what we were after. Casually moving through some weed a beautiful weedy seadragon was waiting for us to take the perfect photo. It wasn’t until the second dive, our night dive, that I actually got the shot that I wanted.
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dive jervis bay Based in Huskisson, Jervis Bay on the South Coast of NSW and only 2.5hrs south of Sydney. We have a diverse marine environment that can be utilised all year around. With 2 dive boats, on site accommodation on the main street of Huskisson and over 50 dive sites we can meet all your diving needs. With everything you need to get started in diving or for that next dive adventure, we’re ready to get salty and show you what’s in our backyard.
boat diving Take a tour through the pristine underwater environment of the Jervis Bay Marine Park. We have some of the best temparate water diving in Australia. Our boats depart twice a day and include 2 dives.
dive with seals! Get an experience unlike any other. Explore the underwater landscape at one of our two permanent seal colonies. Be immersed as seals dive with you and have an interaction you’ll never forget.
Learn to scuba dive If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, this is where it starts. The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle.
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Goatfish
The beautiful colours expressed on a black background. The other thing that really stands out is the amount of colour that the Wall offers. From large fans through to a variety of fish as we made our way back up towards the boat and explored the various levels that the wall offers, we continued to find more areas that we will need to come back to photograph. As we motored back to Huskisson, we were treated with a view of the Milky Way that jumped out at you. It could be me, but Jervis Bay is a pretty amazing place. All in all, it’s fantastic diving. And I only really skimmed some of what the bay has to offer. In fact, there’s a permanent seal colony at the dive site Drum and Drumsticks, other sites like The Docks that need exploring, not to mention that you can now also have a swim with whales encounter out of Jervis Bay. It really does deliver on all counts. Actually, all this writing about the Bay is making me want to go, I wonder what I have on for the weekend? Perhaps the missus needs to spend an afternoon on a beautiful beach while I fill up my camera’s memory card underwater… n
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Everyone loves Jervis Bay!
The reef is in excellent condition
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THE GREATEST REEF ON EARTH. AA 1,429 miies, Aussrrrii’s reee BBrrier Reef is home o he orrr’s moss iverse mmrine environmenn. 1,500+ species of fish
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ENCOUNT MALDIVES IN THE
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Byron Conroy and Lena Kavender are seduced by the serenity and beauty – both topside and underwater – at the Faarufushi Resort in the Maldives
NTERS
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BYRON CONROY
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Over-water relaxation
I
am diving along the reef wall of the Faarufushi house reef together with my partner Byron and our guide Stephane. We are at about 15m depth when we spot a family of four adult eagle rays cruising towards us at the same depth. The rays are swimming along the wall and with seemingly no intention of changing their route. The three divers and the four eagle rays pass each other from a close distance in perfect harmony. ‘Wow, this will be a cool story to tell!’ I think to myself. Byron is busy working energetically with his camera to catch this unique and magical moment. We are in Raa Atoll, a 50-minute flight north of the Maldivian capital Male. Faarufushi Maldives, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, opened in early 2019 and is located on a small, dreamy tropical island. Green banana trees and other rich vegetation and fruit trees dominate the middle of the island. Surrounding the trees is the whitest sand beach imaginable, along with a 30 degree C turquoise lagoon. Yet outside this sits the coral reef wall sloping down to the deep blue ocean. And this is where our small team of divers have just had a fantastic encounter with some graceful residents of the Indian Ocean.
Loungers by the pool
The fantastic dining area
COCKTAILS AND FINE DINING WITH A VIEW
Water villas
The previous day, we arrived at the island and had the great pleasure of meeting General Manager Jean-Marc and Resort Manager Marjorie. While enjoying probably the best cocktail in my life at the over-water sunset bar Boli, we soon understand that Faarufushi is the place where all your tropical dreams can come true. Whether it´s dining on a private sand bank island, watching dolphins on a private sunset cruise, learning to cook with an award-winning Maldivian chef, or snorkelling with sea turtles. When the drinks are finished and the sun has set, we move on to Eclipse. This restaurant built over the water offers fine dining European-style with an Asian twist. Over a delightful dinner we get to know the island´s dive centre managers Cornelia and Stephane from Switzerland. The dive centre is operated by Eurodivers Maldives (www.euro-divers.com), and Cornelia and Stephane have many years of experience in the Maldivian waters and dive operations. Since this is a new resort, they have had the exciting, although sometimes challenging, task of discovering new dive sites suitable for divers with different level of experience. Even though Cornelia and Stephane have now established around 40 dive sites, they keep exploring and looking for new underwater paradises.
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Anthias swarm around the coral
A VERY SPECIAL DIVE
On day two, Stephane asks us if we are interested in diving one of his personal favourite sites called Lundhufushi Thila (Thila meaning coral bommie or pinnacle in the local language Dhivehi). We are told it´s not the easiest site for a few reasons. The first challenge is to actually find the dive site. The reef starts at 24m depth, meaning that if visibility is less than that, we simply have to trust the GPS co-ordinates and hope we will descend down to the right position. The second challenge can be the current. Again, if the current is pushing, a 24m free descent can cause a drift away from the site, or make it hard to stay on site once we reach it, as it offers little protection. However, when the conditions are right, we will have the chance of see some of the Maldives’ best marine life, Stephane promises us. We don’t need a second to think - of course we want to do this dive! When arriving at Lundhufushi Thila, we unfortunately can’t spot the reef from the surface. The experienced skipper tells us it’s the right spot and we giant stride into the water. Luckily there´s only a small current as we descend into the blue. Once we reach 10m, I start to spot what looks like a structure spinning around in circles and moving in figures of eight. As we get closer, we can see literally thousands of fish swimming around like maniacs on top of the reef. The water is so densely packed with fish that I can hardly see Stephane, who is just a few metres in front of me. Soon we get the explanation to this erratically fish behaviour. Towards us swims a beautiful leopard shark. It´s like he is aware of his good looks, as he lays down to rest on the reef just in front of Byron´s camera. What a considerate leopard shark! A moment later, we spot several good-sized blacktip reef sharks swimming at a distance. We have been told there´s also a resident guitar shark living in the neighbourhood, and we start to look to see if he is home. As I put my head into a large overhang, I see a huge brown-marbled grouper looking back at me. These grouper grow to one to two metres, but due to current fishing practises, it is unfortunately a rare event
As we get closer, we can see literally thousands of fish swimming around like maniacs on top of the reef 60
Expect huge shoals of fish
to meet a fully grown grouper in these waters. The Maldivian government has done a great job in banning shark fishing in 2010 and extending the ban to also include all ray fishing in 2014. However, the grouper are still under pressure from overfishing, mainly due to high demands from East Asia. Our next dive site for the day comes with the catchy name Lun´boakandhooo. It´s named after the island whose reef wall we will be diving. The Maldives´ close to 2,000 islands mainly consist of four types - uninhabited natural islands, agriculture islands which are uninhabited but used for plantations, resort islands, and so-called local islands inhabited by the Maldivian population of about 400,000 people. This specific island is used as a fruit plantation. During the dive we encounter two large Napoleon wrasse, some fast-moving tuna and schools of jacks. The reef wall consists of mostly hard corals lit up by anthias and other small reef fish.
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Leopard shark
The reefs are full of life
MARINE BIOLOGIST AT YOUR SERVICE
We´re back on Faarufushi in the early afternoon and get a chance to catch up with the resort´s marine biologist Guilia, from Italy. All guests have the option to participate in a complementary Fish Identification Lab, as well as a Discover Coral Reef workshop. During these sessions, guests get an introduction to the most-common families of fish found in the Indian Ocean. It also involves learning about the different species´ ecological role in the coral reefs, and the important of the coral reef itself. The workshop includes a theory session on land as well as a guided snorkelling session in the lagoon. Guilia explains to us how this is a great opportunity to spread the knowledge to the guests on how to act ‘reef smart’, and what people can do on an individual level to support a sustainable marine environment. Using reef-friendly sunscreen, minimising the use of plastic, choosing ecofriendly toiletries and never buying souvenirs taken from the ocean being a few examples.
BABY SHARKS
We have already experienced the rich house reef of Faarufushi where we had the amazing encounter with a family of eagle rays. Today, we decide to explore the shallow lagoon surrounding the island. The water is turquoise, warm and very inviting. It is shallow so we opt for snorkelling rather than diving. Just off the beach lives Faarufushi’s resident baby sharks. A group of juvenile lemon sharks and blacktip reef sharks seem to get along well in their shared residence. Juvenile sharks use this shallow lagoon as a nursery before moving on to deeper water. Since sharks do not look after
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their babies, this nursery provides protection and food for the juveniles. It also gives the guests of Faarufushi a chance to observe these beautiful animals from a close distance. As we are snorkelling around in the lagoon watching the sharks swimming around us, I’m thinking to myself how this must be the perfect cognitive therapy for all those poor people who watched Jaws as kids and grew up to become afraid of sharks!
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Anemonefish
NIKA SPA
Even though we choose to spend most of our days in the water or under the surface, there´s a lot more to do at Faarufushi. We decide to stay dry from lunch onwards in order to explore what else is on offer in this tropical paradise. While walking around the island we notice some beautiful wooden huts built on stilts high up in the trees. These turn out to belong to the Nika Spa. The wooden huts are treatment rooms for massage, body scrubs and manicure. Nika also contains two plunge pools, steam rooms and relaxation areas. As we enter the spa we notice a yoga session has just started. The peaceful music along with the soothing aromas creates a feeling of calm and wellbeing just from standing here. For a moment, I feel like I´m in a different world.
I’m thinking to myself how this must be the perfect cognitive therapy for all those poor people who watched Jaws as kids and grew up to become afraid of sharks! name and my favourite drink, or how I like my coffee in the morning. But also the friendly little conversations and curious questions about our day. All these little things are what create the sought-after ‘home away from home’ feeling. In my opinion, that´s what makes the difference between just any luxury holiday and a true dream vacation. We spend our last day in paradise by simply enjoying our stunning beach villa, having more dips than I can count in our private pool, and enjoying the ocean view from our balcony. Having a waterfall shower in our fantastic open-air bathroom, and just enjoying walking barefoot on the white beach in front of our living room. All good things come to an end, but we will keep our memories from Faarufushi in our mind - as well as on the camera’s SD-cards - for a long time to come! n
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Our time at the island is coming towards an end. This week has offered us the best of two worlds. On one hand, we´ve had action-packed dives with the most-amazing marine life encounters, many thanks to Eurodivers Maldives and Cornelia and Stephane. On the other hand, the time spent on the island itself has been the most-relaxing and joyful experience. At a five-star luxury resort, one can expect a high level of service and professionalism. However, what makes Faarufushi stand out for me, is the personal connection I have felt with the people working here, and the friendly atmosphere on the island. Things like the restaurant team remembering my
Pristine gorgonian seafan
Beach villas
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MALDIVES
Submerge with Prodivers Maldives
LHAVIYANI ATOLL Famous dive spots such as Kuredu Express and Caves are reachable by boat within a few minutes. The Lhaviyani Atoll is an absolute must if you want to see big fish. Schools of grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks and eagle rays can be seen on a scooter dive through the channels!
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SOUTH ARI ATOLL The South Ari Atoll offers some of Maldives' best dive spots and a enormous diversity of marine life. Strong currents provide the atoll with enough nutrition so that even manta rays and whalesharks can be seen all year round.
Our Islands: Vakarufalhi 4* Island Paradise Lily Beach 5* Luxury for the whole family
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BEYOND TECHNICAL
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USS The USS San Francisco mistook the Atlanta for an enemy vessel and proceeded to bombard her with friendly fire 64
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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
Atlanta DIVING THE
It took Pete Mesley 23 years to fulfil his dream of diving on the USS Atlantia light cruiser, but thankfully, it more than lived up to the hype PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETE MESLEY WWW.PETEMESLEY.COM
D
iving USS Atlanta was, for me, a long time in the making. I remember meeting Kev Denlay when I was in the Solomons in the late-1990s and talking about the history of this ship. Kev had been one of the first divers to have explored the light cruiser in November 1995. It took me 23 years to fulfill this dream…
DIVING THE ATLANTA
Diving conditions couldn’t have been any better. There was a slight five-knot southerly breeze. Sea state – calm. No noticeable current at all. These conditions were not normal for this site. It took Jimmy, the captain, a few ‘drive-bys’ to properly establish how the wreck was sitting and the best place to position the shotline. The USS Atlanta is lying in depths of 104m-130m. Getting the shot right was essential. So many times impatience gets the better of people and they are too quick to throw the shot. This ends up missing the wreck, divers get into the water, only to find that they are diving on ‘HMS Seabed’ with no wreck in sight! Not this time. We threw the shot and after it settled, took another couple of passes really close to the line to make sure we were on the money.
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www.narkedat90.com Five-inch guns on the Atlanta
The iridescent blue shot line sat limp and motionless in the near dead-calm water. Excitement was building, apprehension peaking and a wave of emotion engulfed me. I was finally going to dive the USS Atlanta. All that time researching the wreck, playing the story back through my mind, over and over again. Trying to think of what was going through Captain Samuel P Jenkins’ mind on that fateful night on 13 November 1942, when he had to make the decision to scuttle his beloved ship. That was quickly put to the back of my mind, because our primary objective was to secure the line to the wreck in preparation for the next days’ group. This would be the largest diving expedition mounted on the USS Atlanta in history. Our vessel Taka had an amazing deck crew and to complement that, we put on my own technical support who were experienced technical diving supervisors, who I have worked together with for many years diving deep wreck sites. Andrew Simpson (aka Simo), long-time diving buddy and owner of New Zealand’s premier technical diving facility Global Dive, and good friend Tom Crisp, a younger lad, who cut his teeth on assisting us back in the day supporting the bottom divers on deep wreck exploration. Over the last five years, Tom has been doing his own exploration looking for, diving, documenting and gathering data to assist scientists on some of the many sink holes and cave systems he has discovered. Not to forget Andrew Fock (aka ‘Focky’). Focky was brought onto the team, not only because he is one of the world’s leading hyperbaric physicians, but also because he was one of the earliest divers to dive the USS Atlanta a few years ago now. Focky was chief medical officer on the trip. A truly amazing support team. After being satisfied the shot was where
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Two drive shafts, twisted on each other like Medusa’s serpent head we wanted it, Simo and I geared up and after an easy entry from Taka, we scootered a short distance to the empty sorb tin we used as a float. We descend. Still not a breath of current. I look up, Simo very close above me, signal okay. All good. At around 80m the hull comes into view. A little flow of tide becomes evident, but nothing too bad. A beautiful sight. Ambient light is good. The shot with ballast is sitting perfectly on the starboard hull of USS Atlanta. There is a perfect tie-off three metres away. I drag the shot to the tie-off. I then secure the line. Look at my computer – six minutes! Well, that was quick. We actually dedicated quite a lot more time to getting the shotline secured firmly for the next days’ groups. I look at Andrew, point towards the stern and through a few gestures communicate what I would verbalise as ‘wanna go and have a wee look?’ The okay signal is given very quickly! We drop over the hull. The ship is lying very hard to port, and in some parts of the ship almost upside down. We swam aft towards the stern. The mooring was in 105m of water. Lots of debris lay strewn over the ocean floor beside the hull. I am about ten metres behind Andrew. He is dwarfed by the massive ship, which has collapsed in many places. I look up and see a massive shape that looks like a gigantic tea cup handle. No. It can’t be. Surely not? I scooter out to get a better view. As I position myself, I look and there it is. Two drive shafts, twisted on each other like Medusa’s serpent head. After spending some time in sheer awe of the buckled, twisted prop shafts we moved further aft to where Simo came across a quad set of anti-aircraft guns. These were the standard light anti-aircraft armament on US warships at the start of the war. Although considerable effort and expense was spent on its development, it turned out to be a poor weapon,
Quad torpedo launcher
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COMPUTERS • O2 CELLS • GAS ANALYSERS CABLES & CONNECTORS • REBREATHER PARTS PATHFINDER STROBES • SENSORS TOOLS • SOLENOIDS with numerous design defects and too low a rate of traverse for a gun firing so light a projectile. They were soon replaced by the much-superior Oerlikon and Bofors. We then headed back towards the shotline along the starboard side of the deck to where the starboard gun turret was. Both barrels were pointing aft towards the stern. The gun house (the armour plate which covered the guns offering protection to the crew) had fallen to the ocean floor. These five-inch guns were dual-purpose (DP), which meant that they were capable of being used against both air and surface targets. They were able to fire anti-aircraft, high-explosive and armour-piercing shells. With regards to armament, the Atlanta was closer to a destroyer, being armed with five-inch guns, but at well over 150 metres in length, and combined with their large battery of 16 five-inch guns (reduced to 12 in number for later ships of the class), they were designated as light cruisers. The eight twin five-inch gun turrets were placed in a unique configuration. She had three forward turrets and three aft turrets, mounted inline and increasing in height toward the midships, giving her a symmetrical appearance, with a ‘gap’ in the middle superstructure. In addition, the aft battery also had one ‘wing-mounted’ turret on each side, for a total of 16 five-inch guns. Just ahead sitting on the sand was the starboard quad torpedo launcher. There was a set of these on both the port and starboard sides of the ship just forward of the side five-inch turrets (which later were removed due to instability problems). We swam just a little further along the hull of the ship, turned and headed for home. The deco was uneventful and with the last hour at our last stop, we could clearly see the support tender which had hooked up on the shotline. The next day we didn’t quite have the same conditions, with a half knot of current for the first group. We split the group into two groups of six divers. This would make managing people in the water a lot easier and not water down our surface support team too much. With a three-hour runtime agreed by all, the second group entered the water as the last of the first group surfaced. Day two was the same. More exploration, more information documented by the divers. Having completed a total cumulative number of 22 dives on this historic wreck was incredible. Without a doubt, the largest expedition to dive the USS Atlanta in history.
PETE MESLEY
Pete Mesley, owner of Lust4Rust and Shock&Awe Big Animal Diving, is an accomplished deep wreck explorer and photographer running specialised trips like this to some of the world’s best wreck sites. You can see where Pete is heading on his next adventure on: www.petemesley.com
The twisted prop shafts
SINKING OF THE ATLANTA
On the afternoon of 12 November, the Atlanta and Juneau defended an inbound attack of 25 Japanese bombers bound for Allied vessels and Henderson Airfield. That night, giving the naval personnel no respite, two Japanese battleships, one cruiser and six destroyers steamed southward towards Guadalcanal to shell Henderson Airfield. The Atlanta’s role was to assist in covering the Allied transports and cargo vessels east out through Sealark Channel. Once the ships were clear the Admiral in charge of the support group, Admiral Gallaghan, gave the order for a course change, which caused immediate problems with the other ships, with the Atlanta having to change course dramatically to avoid collision. Shortly thereafter, the Atlanta was lit up by Japanese destroyer Akatsuki’s searchlights. Immediately, the Atlanta trained their main battery onto Akatsuki. Meanwhile, torpedoes deployed from at least two other Japanese destroyers trained on the Atlanta and San Francisco (heavy cruiser). One torpedo caught the Atlanta on her port side, hitting her forward engine room and losing all but auxiliary diesel power. After being torpedoed, the Atlanta suffered over 19 eight-inch shell direct hits. During the confusion of battle, the unthinkable happened. The USS San Francisco mistook the Atlanta for an enemy vessel and proceeded to bombard her with friendly fire. Almost all San Francisco’s shells passed through the thin armament of Atlanta, most not detonating but scattering fragments from their impact and killing many men. The Atlanta trained her five-inch guns on San Francisco but soon realised, by the hull shape being illuminated by the flashing gun barrels, they were being fired upon by their own. As soon as the attack stopped, the Atlanta’s Captain Jenkins assessed the ship’s status. That next morning, the call to abandon ship was given and the ship was finally scuttled after Jenkins gave the order. Out of a compliment of 735 men, 172 men were killed and 79 were wounded. The Atlanta was awarded five battle stars during her World War Two service and received a Presidential Unit Citation for her ‘Heroic example of invincible fighting spirit’ in the battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. n
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What’s New
MARES XR SIDEMOUNT
Mares has various options for those looking to venture into the world of sidemount. The Sidemount Pure Light Bladder in the XR range is ten litres in capacity, and is made from 1200D ‘bulletproof’ ballistic nylon and 600D polyester exterior, with a black polyurethane inner air cell. 70
The Sidemount Heavy Pure Bladder is 16 litre capacity, and made from the same durable materials. Both have a fully modular trim - cave, open water, and wreck - amd there are no bungees to compress the body. There is no camel or cake effect with the pre-shaped internal bladders, allowing perfect flat trim. They have a reversible low-profile dump valve and two-speed K-style inflator, and knobless puller. Both of the bladders can be combined with a harness and either stainless steel or aluminium plates to create the Heavy Pure Sidemount Set or the Pure Light Sidemount Set. www.mares.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM.AU
BEST DIVERS ALDEBARAN 3500 LUMEN TORCH SET This anodised aluminium torch, which comes complete in a hard case containing the torch itself, lantern-style handle, batteries and charging station, is depthrated to 150m and pumps out an impressive 3,500 lumens. It has a 14 degree beam, from four XML2 U2 LEDs and one VG65 (red correction) LED, and at 100 percent power has a burn time of 120 minutes. What’s the ‘red correction’ about? Well, according to Best Divers, white LEDs are very efficient, and the light has very good properties and good penetration, but it gives very poor reproduction of red colours – that is where the Aldebaran comes in, with the red LED lighting them back up again. www.bestdivers.it
FOURTH ELEMENT HYDRO-T RASH GUARDS Fourth Element have always been at the forefront when it comes to utilising recycled waste in their products, and the Hydro-T rash guards use 27 percent recycled polyester which is derived from plastic bottles – in fact, approximately four recycled plastic bottles go into each Hydro-T! Designed for use in or out of the water, these loose-fit rash guards give you room to breathe, while the lightweight fabric wicks away moisture. They have a UV Protection UPF of 50+, and are ultra-quick drying. Comes in Ice Blue in long and short sleeve variants, and then Baltic Blue for long sleeve, and Azure Blue for short sleeve. The short sleeve have small logos front and back, the long sleeve has a huge Fourth Element logo emblazoned across the back. www.fourthelement.com
GIRLS THAT SCUBA MEMBERSHIP CARD Girls That Scuba have spent the last year working on something huge behind the scenes and have launched the very first scuba-diving discount platform that offers money off hundreds of dive centres, liveaboards and brands worldwide – exclusively for GTS members. With over 140 dive centres across the globe each offering ten per cent off your diving bill, 250 liveaboards offering five percent off trips, and tons of brands discounting everything from wetsuits to jewellery offering up to 20 percent, there’s no reason to pay full price again! The Girls That Scuba Membership card is available to members for a one-off fee and entitles the holder access to a private online platform - forever - where the user can find discount codes unavailable anywhere else that can be used an unlimited amount of times. Members will also be the first to hear about GTS trips and have the opportunity to book before they are released to the general public - another great benefit when their latest group trips have been sold out in just over 24 hours. Membership costs a one-off £54.99, which if you’re saving five percent off a US$2,500 liveaboard means you’ve immediately made your money back. Girls That Scuba have done the math and reckon that an average diver could save up to US$600 a year if doing their purchasing, holiday booking and dive wear buying through the platform. www.girlsthatscuba.store/pages/membership
FANTASEA HOUSINGS
Fantasea have been producing well priced but durable camera housings for years, and now they have released a flurry of new products. The FG7x II was specially created for the Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II digital camera, and the FG7x III was designed for the Canon G7 Mark III digital camera. Both are made from polycarbonate and depth-rated to 60m, and the FG7x III can be fitted with an optional vacuum safety system which contains both a pre-dive vacuum check and an on-dive leak detector. Then there is the FRX100 housing, which is designed for the Sony Cybershot RX100 III, RX100 IV, RX100 V and RX100 VA. Again, it is depth-rated to 60m, and it can be fitted with the optional vacuum safety system. www.fantasea.com * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area
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Test Extra
AQUA LUNG LEG3ND
Mark Evans: Aqua Lung’s Legend series has been around for many years, first appearing in the line-up back in 2002, with a Mark II version in 2012. Each time new technologies were introduced into the regulators, which always scored highly in our challenging group tests. Now the Legend – sorry, it is now the Leg3nd – is back, but the line-up has been cut back to just three regulators. The Leg3nd (available with matching octopus), the Leg3nd MBS (available with octopus), and the top-of-the-line Leg3nd Elite (available with an octopus, pressure gauge and bag). Designed and built in France, all three have the same ‘family’ resemblance – well, they all have the exact same first stage – and as you move up the price range, you get extra features and addi-tional detailing on the balanced second stage, but I have to say, all three are good-looking units. The chromed overbalanced diaphragm first stage offers total environmental protection, giving it phenomenal coldwater performance, and the new heat exchanger, which has a bigger surface area and a co-moulded end cap, gives it excellent resistance to freezing. It has two high-pressure ports and four low-pressure ports, which are positioned to give optimum hose-routing. It is equipped with Aqua Lung’s ACD (Auto Closure Device), which keeps corrosive water out of the first stage inlet by automatically closing as the reg is removed from the cylinder valve. On all three second stages, the soft co-moulded purge button is effective and easy to locate and operate even with thick neoprene gloves, the Comfo-Bite mouthpiece is still one of the best on the market in my opinion, and the co-moulded exhaust tee efficiently vents exhaled bubbles ei-ther side of your face. All three come with the over-sized lipshield, which helps keep your lips warm (it is removeable if not to your liking). It is not just all looks, though – there is a method to the design. The cover of the second stage features side openings, and these help reduce the inhale pressure peak by 20 percent.
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WORLD EXCLUSIVE REVIEW!
The Leg3nd is equipped with a co-moulded venturi control lever, which is big enough to find and move when you are wearing thick gloves, though one of our testers did have to take it out of his mouth to look at where the lever was before operating it. This helps to prevent freeflow at the surface, or when the reg is out of the diver’s mouth. The Leg3nd MBS has, as the name suggests, Aqua Lung’s Master Breathing System, which allows the user to fine-tune the breathe through one control knob. This one control does two functions at one time – it controls the direction of air, which alters the venturi effect, as well as changing the cracking resistance effort. This fell to hand very easily, even with thick neoprene gloves or drygloves on, and was simple to operate. The Leg3nd Ultra has a venturi lever and a cracking resistance control knob, for complete inde-pendent control over the ease of the breathe. Again, regardless of thickness of exposure protec-tion on the hands, the controls were easy to use, especially the cracking resistance control knob. In use, all three of the Leg3nd regulators breathed exceptionally smoothly, and it required min-imal effort to start inhaling, especially with the MBS and the Ultra when you fiddled with the MBS knob or cracking resistance control. We put the three units through our usual rigorous testing procedures – breathing them in all positions, purging them extensively – and excessively – underwater and on the surface, and regardless of what we subjected them to, we could not get any of them to freeflow or be even-remotely troubled in single-digit conditions. www.aqualung.com * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area
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AN APEKS MTX-RC STAGE 3 REGULATOR WORTH $1,500AUD Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans recently reviewed the brand new Apeks MTX-RC – and now we have one to give away to one lucky fan! To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous regulator, simply log on to www.scubadivermag.com/mtx-rc-competition/ and follow the instructions. You can read Mark’s full review on www.scubadivermag.com or in the December issue of Scuba Diver, but here is an excerpt: “The MTX-R breathed fantastically well, but Apeks were swift to realise that not everybody needed a regulator that was tuned to perfection to deal with extremely cold water use – and thus the MTX-RC was born. Effectively, the MTX-RC is an MTX-R (without the militarystyle laser-etching on the front) but with the addition of a venturi lever and a cracking resistance control, which allows the user to finetune the performance to the conditions they are diving in, or for their own personal preference. “As well as the aforementioned venturi lever and cracking resistance control, the MTX-RC is instantly recognisable from its stablemate thanks to its subtlebut-effective grey-and-satin-finish colour scheme. “In use, the MTX-RC provides a sublime breathe. With the cracking resistance dialled fully open and the venturi set to ‘dive’, inhalation is effortless and silky smooth, regardless of orientation, but in situations where you need to temper this performance – in extreme cold water, for instance, or if you were using a powerful scooter, you can increase the cracking resistance, which in its highest setting is more akin to the original MTX-R.”
TERMS AND CONDITIONS. THE EDITOR’S DECISION IS FINAL. THE CLOSING DATE IS 29TH FEBRUARY 2020.
YOUR DIVE DATA’S NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD.
NEW
GALILEO® HUD™ HANDS-FREE COMPUTER
Introducing the revolutionary mask-mounted, hands-free dive computer with a virtual, floating heads-up display, giving you more freedom to experience your dive. scubapro.com
This picture is for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary due to product enhancement of the dive mask paired with the Galileo HUD hands-free dive computer.
Test Extra
APEKS WTX-D30
Mark Evans: Apeks are world-renowned for their regulators, but they also have a wide range of harnesses, buoyancy cells and accessories in the WTX and WTX-D series. The modular nature of these ranges mean that each component can be configured into a highly technical rig, or scaled down for a more-travel-friendly set-up. Backplate-and-wings were once seen as being very technical pieces of kit, but that mindset is slowly starting to change, and now you see more and more recreational divers wearing them. I love a back-inflate wing, as it leaves the front of you nice and uncluttered, and if you can add a set of integrated weight pouches, you have a clean, compact and streamlined BCD perfect for use in cold waters or as a lightweight travel rig for when you head off to warmer climates. The set-up I had to test from Apeks comprised the onepiece webbing harness, stainless-steel backplate, D30 air cell, twin GripLock tank cambands, and SureLock II integrated weight pockets and attachment accessory pack. Let’s talk about the D30 wing first. Singlecylinder wings, often referred to as ‘donuts’, are oval-shaped air cells, which bolt on to the backplate/harness of your choice. Apeks’ singlecylinder wings have a neat design which allows your cylinder to nestle deep inside them, so in use the cell sits tight up along either side of the cylinder, there is no loose material flapping about. This is very streamlined when you are in a horizontal ‘trim’ position, and it also provides a very stable platform when you are diving, with minimal roll, as the air can continuously move
* = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area
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TH I S Y EAR E SC APE TH E OR D I N A R Y .
fourthelement.com
Test Extra
APEKS WTX-D30
around within the cell. The D30 has 30lb of lift – hence the name! – and that is more than enough for most recreational divers. The wing is not too big for use in a travel environment, but still good for UK use. If you really want to go compact, there is also a dinky 18lb-lift air cell too. It is made from 1000D Armourshield Cordura, so is very durable and hard-wearing, which is what you want if you are going to be ferreting around in wrecks, etc. It has a flat dump valve positioned on the lower left side, facing your back, so it is a doddle to drop your hand down and back behind your waist and you can find the toggle with no issues, even wearing thick neoprene gloves. This D30 was paired with a stainless-steel backplate, that was threaded with the one-piece webbing harness, which features neoprene shoulder protectors over the 5cm webbing, a heavy-duty stainless-steel buckle, six stainlesssteel serrated retainers, a 5cm-wide crotch-strap, and six 5cm D-rings. I personally prefer harnesses with ‘breaks’ on the shoulders, as with normal BCDs, so you can just slacken or tighten accordingly. I find one-piece harnesses a pain in the backside to wriggle in and out of. However, there is no getting away from the fact that once you have got the Apeks harness properly adjusted, it is extremely comfortable in use. It holds the backplate tightly in position, and there is minimal movement both topside and underwater.
This set-up was completed with Aqua Lung’s tried-andtested SureLock II integrated weight system, which can take 4.5kg of lead per side. That’s more than enough for travelling divers, and should be enough for many coldwater divers, depending on what drysuit and undersuit they are using. It was attached to the backplate via the SureLock attachment system, which bolts the pockets securely in place. There were useful stainless-steel D-rings on the outside of each pocket, as well as grommets for attaching any of the Aqua Lung knife range. I like the SureLock II system – you get a welcoming ‘click’ when the weight pouches are slotted into position properly, and they only release when you get hold of the handles and give them a good, hard tug. www.apeksdiving.com
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KUBI DRY GLOVES ICELANDIC WOOL THERMAL INNER GLOVE
Mark Evans: Diving in cold water is not for everyone, but there are a hardy bunch of British divers who continue to dive even when the temperatures plummet. You can combat the cold with a decent undersuit and drysuit combo, and a thick hood, but one of the biggest gamechangers in recent years has been the development of drygloves. Now drygloves have been around for quite a while, but past versions were, to be frank, a pain to use. They were bulky in the shallows, and even at depth dexterity was compromised, but now it is a different matter, with user-friendly and efficient efforts from the likes of Santi, etc. KUBI are past masters when it comes to drygloves, and the KUBI DryGlove System has become immensely popular with both recreational divers and technical divers for its ease of use, and the ability to alter the amount of thermal protection. KUBIs have a rubber dry outer glove that is tough and durable, but very thin, and so any thermal protection comes from the inner glove. KUBI offer a wide range, from their standard thermal gloves, through the mid-weight Sub Zero Factor 2 glove, to
the Merino wool and alpaca gloves, which are both supersoft and extremely warm – perfect for very cold conditions. These latter two have now been joined by high-quality knitted 100 percent Icelandic wool gloves, which are unbelievably warm. I have got factory-fitted KUBI versions on my Otter drysuits, and a set retro-fitted to my Fourth Element Argonaut, and over the years I have tried virtually all of their glove offerings. I have to say, the Icelandic wool versions are the warmest I have sampled yet, even surpassing the alpaca and Merino wool. They have a nice, dense feeling when donned, and I think this helps keep the warm concentrated on your hands. My fingertips are always the first thing to go, and in the past, at the end of an hour or so in low single-digit conditions, they are starting to go numb, but with the Icelandic gloves, my hands were still toasty warm. They are also excellent as day-to-day gloves, keeping my hands nice and warm while walking the dog on frosty winter mornings! www.kubistore.com * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area
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Long Term Test AQUA LUNG BALI
Mark Evans: The Bali is made from 3mm highquality nonpetroleum-based neoprene, has flatlock stitching, O-ring seals on the wrists and ankles, Supratex knee panels, and printed designs on the shoulders (against abrasion from the BCD) and on the wrist (to help hold the dive computer in place). www.aqualung.com
SEALIFE SEA DRAGON MINI 1300S
INFORMATION Arrival date: October 2019 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 0 Time in water: 0 hrs 0 mins
SUUNTO D5 Mark Evans: The Suunto D5 has been doing the rounds again, this time in UK waters, and has been seeing plenty of use in ‘watch guise’. It does make a comfortable, sporty-looking timepiece. The full-colour screen always generates plenty of positive comments, and I never worry about burning through the battery with it being rechargeable - just clip on the magnetic charger which slots securely in place and a few hours later, you are good to go. www.suunto.com 80
Mark Evans: The Sea Dragon Mini 1300S is a great little compact dive light. It can slot into your BCD pocket, or thigh pocket of your drysuit, and it is there when you need it. We also liked the fact that there is a coloured battery indicator around the push-button control for on/off and the different modes/ powers. Green indicates INFORMATION Arrival date: July 2019 full, yellow is medium, and Suggested retail price: * red means you are on low Number of dives: 13 power. Neat and effective. Time in water: 11 hrs 55 mins www.sealife-cameras.com
MARES GENIUS
INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 48 Time in water: 46 hrs 25 mins
Mark Evans: Like the Mares Quad, the Mares Genius has a very large screen, but this one is high-resolution full colour LCD and it is impressively bright and easy to read, even in the full sun of the Middle East. This display is all neatly colour-coded, which really INFORMATION Arrival date: August 2019 helps you to identify the Suggested retail price: * salient information quickly Number of dives: 8 and easily at a glance. Time in water: 7 hrs 30 mins www.mares.com WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM.AU
OTTER WATERSPORTS ATLANTIC Mark Evans: Guest tester Jason Brown continues to ‘beast’ his Otter Watersports Atlantic drysuit, and has not found it wanting. He has been clocking up dives in his local inland site of Vobster Quay, and also taking it for forays off the South Coast. As he ably demonstrates here, the Atlantic is nice and easy to get on through its telescopic torso, frontentry zipper. www.drysuits.co.uk
INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2019 Suggested retail price: * Number of dives: 75 Time in water: 73 hrs 45 mins
AQUA LUNG AQUAFLEX
Mark Evans: A return to Aqaba for Ross’ Aquaflex, and it was actually quite amusing watching him having to constantly flush it through as he was far too hot in the 28-29 degree C water! The Aquaflex is right at home in low to mid-20s, when its thermal properties will be deeply appreciated, and Penney even used hers in the waters off Wales, which was down to 15 degrees INFORMATION Arrival date: April 2019 C in the summer. Stick an Suggested retail price: * undervest on and you could Number of dives: 67 UK dive in this. Time in water: 65 hrs 55 mins www.aqualung.com
APEKS VX1
Mark Evans: The VX1 really is an outstanding mask, but as a package, it is not just the mask that impresses. It also comes with a neoprene and webbing strap for those who prefer it over the supplied standard strap - I actually like the normal one better. However, the stand-out is the mask box, or rather moulded zippered hard pouch, which INFORMATION Arrival date: September 2019 keeps the mask safe and Suggested retail price: * sound but also looks the Number of dives: 21 business. Time in water: 20 hrs 15 mins www.apeksdiving.com
APEKS XL4+ Mark Evans: The Apeks XL4+ has come to the end of its stint in the Long Term Test stable, and the performance has been sublime. Whether we were in UK waters, the Med, or the warmer waters of the Red Sea or the Caribbean, it never missed a beat. Lightweight so it didn’t eat up too much of our luggage allowance, but cold-water proof so it wasn’t phased by low single digit temperatures, it is the ideal regulator for a travelling diver who also does the odd dip in cold water. We had been impressed INFORMATION Arrival date: February 2019 by the XL4, and the Suggested retail price: * XL4+ is just as solid and Number of dives: 68 dependable. Time in water: 67 hrs 45 mins www.apeksdiving.com * = check pricing with local suppliers/centres in your area
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SCHOLARSHIP DIARY
The Our-World Underwater Scholarship Society is a non-profit, educational organisation whose mission is to promote educational activities associated with the underwater world. It has offered scholarships for over 35 years. owuscholarship.org
THE SUSTAINABLE OCEAN ALLIANCE SUMMIT AND A TRIP TO DEMA PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF JOANNA SMART
T
he most-recent leg of my Scholarship journey had me out of the water for a while as I explored a different side of the marine science and diving industry. I reluctantly left the Faroe Islands after an amazing few weeks learning about seaweed farming and headed to Oslo, Norway, for the Sustainable Ocean Alliance Youth Leadership Summit. The Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) brings together entrepreneurs, scientists and business people who are all working toward the same goal - a sustainable future ocean. Their Youth Leadership Programme brings together young people from all over the globe for a conference and workshop on sustainable ocean leadership. I was fortunate enough to be included in the 2019 cohort of young ocean leaders. The summit was packed with exciting talks, workshops, and activities that provided the opportunity to network and meet other young ocean leaders who all share similar goals. This summit gave me hope for the future. I realised that perhaps solutions for the future do not involve reinventing the wheel, but changing how we operate. From Oslo, I made my way across to Orlando, Florida, for DEMA (Diving Equipment and Marketing Association) show. DEMA is the world’s largest dive trade show. I was able to catch up with sponsors and hosts as well as catch up the Our-World Underwater Scholarship Society family. I was also invited to sit in on a sustainable shark and ray diving workshop, run by Project AWARE. The workshop aimed to develop ideas for the redevelopment of the Project AWARE Shark Diver Speciality, as well as the Sustainable Shark Diving Website. It was fascinating to be in the room with so many important people in shark conservation and ecotourism, while they brainstormed and debated issues related to sharks and rays. It was a great insight into the great work of Project AWARE. The last month has taught me that a great deal about scuba
Joanna Smart
diving, marine conservation and sustainable development. This month marks the half-way point in my Scholarship journey, and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the year takes me. n
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SCUBA RANGER
Your first BCD has arrived! The first BCD from our Scuba Ranger line, dedicated to juniors taking their first steps into the magical world of scuba diving! • • • • • •
Kid/junior bcd with a dedicated backpack 2 Comfortable velcro pockets Specially designed octopus and pressure gauge pockets Optional trim weights to be placed on tank strap Tank band: dedicated adaptable shorter tank band to fit smaller tanks 1 Size fits all, from 8 – 12 years, thanks to a dedicated adjustment system
An experience without equal
“The reef systems here are some of the most pristine I have seen anywhere in my dive travels around the globe, and Wakatobi resort and liveaboard are second to none. The
At Wakatobi Resort, we take great pride in providing the ultimate in exclusive and personalised service. Our dive staff and private guides ensure your in-water experiences are perfectly matched to your abilities and interests. At the resort, or on board our luxury dive yacht Pelagian, you need only ask and we will gladly provide any service or facility within our power. For all these reasons and more, Wakatobi takes top honors among discerning divers and snorkellers.
diversity of species here is brilliant if you love photography.� ~ Simon Bowen
www.wakatobi.com