Scuba Diver UK #58 by scubadivermag

TECH: THE MT HAVEN

KURT STORMS EXPLORES THE LARGEST SHIPWRECK IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Q&A: BLUE HORIZON DIVING WE CHAT TO MARK WYNNE AND HOLLY WAKELY ABOUT THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

SCOTTISH SEALS

LAWSON WOOD HEADS TO THE ISLE OF MAY TO INTERACT WITH SEALS

BIG-NAME

SPEAKERS

YOUR WEEKEND TICKET £15!

STEVE BACKSHALL ANDY TORBET MONTY HALLS + MANY MORE

SPECIAL RATES FOR GROUP BOOKINGS

GO DIVING IS BACK, AND MERGES WITH THE DIVE SHOW TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE UK DIVE EVENT DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

THE PHILIPPINES

SCHOLAR ISSUE #58

S-TEK PURE System 60 S-TEK PURE System 60

“Expedition Ready Gear” “Expedition Ready Gear” —CHRIS, DIVE GUIDE —CHRIS, DIVE GUIDE

? ?

S C UB A P RO. E U S C UB A P RO. E U

EDITOR IN CHIEF Mark Evans Tel: 0800 0 69 81 40 ext 700 Email: mark@scubadivermag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MANAGER Matt Griffiths Email: matt@scubadivermag.com CONTRIBUTORS Lawson Wood, Roni Ben-Aharon, Richard Aspinall, Kurt Storms PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Ross Arnold Tel: 0800 0 69 81 40 ext 701 Email: ross@scubadivermag.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Penney Evans Email: penney@scubadivermag.com

MAGAZINE To stock Scuba Diver in your centre, email: subscriptions@scubadivermag.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Never miss another issue! Sign up and get Scuba Diver delivered to your door. SUBSCRIPTION RATES 12 month subscription: UK: £25 | Ireland: £30 | RoW: £43 To subscribe, simply visit the website: www.scubadivermag.com/subscription

PUBLISHERS Rork Media Limited 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, England, WC2H 9JQ Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publishers. Copyright for material published remains with Rork Media Limited. Use of material from Scuba Diver is strictly prohibited unless permission is given. All advertisements of which the creative content is in whole or in part the work of Rork Media Limited remain the copyright of Rork Media Limited.

is a registered trademark of Rork Media. ISSN 2514-2054

Times are changing and to keep the magazines free, we’re asking dive stores to cover their own postage costs. If you enjoy reading the magazine, think about helping out your centre with a small donation to help cover their costs. Your continued support is most appreciated.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

GO Diving Show THE dive event of 2022! I am sure you all, like myself and the rest of the Scuba Diver team, are more than ready to wave goodbye to COVID-19 and get our lives back on track to some sort of normality. While we will be living alongside the coronavirus for years to come, it does appear - at least in the UK - that things are heading in the right direction. As I write this, cases of Omicron are rapidly dropping, hospitalisations and deaths appear to be stabilising, and the government has announced that the Plan B restrictions are being removed. All this comes as we are gearing up for the GO Diving Show on 4-6 March, which promises to be THE dive event of 2022 after The Dive Show merged into this one mega-exhibition. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to the GO Diving Show’s new home, the purpose-built exhibition halls at the NAEC Stoneleigh, near Coventry, which are close to many transportation hubs and main roads, and boast 19,000 complementary car parking spaces! TV favourite Steve Backshall returns (on Saturday only) on the Main Stage, and is joined by fellow presenters and adventurers Andy Torbet and Monty Halls, as well as a panel of Next Generation divers discussing why more young people should be getting into the sport, Deptherapy showcasing the rehabilitative nature of scuba diving, and Alex Mustard presenting the winners of the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition. There are also dedicated Underwater Photography, Technical Stages and Paddlesports Stages, workshops, VR experiences, a whole host of stands from manufacturers, tourist boards, tour operators, liveaboards and more, not to mention Bruce, our bucking rodeo shark. Find more info on page 42. Mark Evans, Editor-in-Chief

Aggressor liveaboards, safari lodges and river cruises are independently owned and operated.

TECH: THE MT HAVEN

KURT STORMS EXPLORES THE LARGEST SHIPWRECK IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Q&A: BLUE HORIZON DIVING WE CHAT TO MARK WYNNE AND HOLLY WAKELY ABOUT THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

SCOTTISH SEALS

LAWSON WOOD HEADS TO THE ISLE OF MAY TO INTERACT WITH SEALS

BIG-NAME

SPEAKERS

YOUR WEEKEND TICKET £15!

STEVE BACKSHALL ANDY TORBET MONTY HALLS + MANY MORE

SPECIAL RATES FOR GROUP BOOKINGS

GO DIVING IS BACK, AND MERGES WITH THE DIVE SHOW TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE UK DIVE EVENT DIVERS ALERT NETWORK

THE PHILIPPINES

SCHOLAR ISSUE #58

Cover.indd 1

PHOTOGRAPH © JASON BROWN

20/01/2022 16:22

Regular columns

Monthly features...

10 News round-up

18 Indo-Pacific

16 DAN Europe Medical Q&A

24 Q&A with Blue Horizon Diving

Conservation works in Mozambique, Dive Project Cornwall competition lanches, dive industry mourns Tom Mount, XDEEP recalls regulator, and Richard Cullen joins RAID team.

Diver Alert Network Europe’s experts offer advice on deep stops, and equalising while wearing a hood.

40 Divers Alert Network

Part two of the House of Cards series looks at breathing and buoyancy control.

66 Our-World Underwater Scholarship

Arzucan provides an overview of her year as the Our-World Underwater Scholar so far.

Bright orange anthias are one of the most-common sights on the Indo-Pacific reefs, and as Richard Aspinall explains, you can learn a lot from watching these tiny fish.

In the first of a two-part Q&A session, we chat to Mark Wynne and Holly Wakely about their growing YouTube Channel, what they love about teaching people to dive, and why it is important to get more youngsters into the sport.

30 Underwater Photography

Martyn Guess provides some insight into what underwater photographers who have had a long break from diving should be doing to make sure they get back up to speed quickly with their equipment, techniques and skills.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

...continued

Gear & testing

34 The Philippines

56 Test Extra

There is an amazing diversity of diving at Puerto Galera, as Roni Ben-Aharon explains.

42 GO Diving Show

The GO Diving Show is back, and has merged with The Dive Show to create the ultimate UK diving event.

46 Scotland

Mention ‘seals’ and ‘the UK’ and most people immediately think the Farnes or Lundy Island, but Lawson Wood reckons that the Isle of May deserves consideration.

Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans gives his thoughts on the Shearwater Research Swift transmitter, while Jowen Spicer is drafted in to review the entry-level SeaLife Micro 3.0 camera, complete with SeaDragon Duo 5000 lights.

60 What’s New

Scuba Diver Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans looks at new products coming to market - this issue, the Scout mask from Fourth Element, their first foray into diving hardwear, and the innovative Mares Atlas 62X TBP regulator.

50 TECHNICAL: Italy

Kurt Storms explores the gigantic MT Haven, the remnants of a massive oil tanker that lies off the coast of Italy.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

CHANGE THE WAY YOU DIVE FOREVER WITH MERIDIAN ADVENTURE DIVE Access to the most Dive Sites in Raja Ampat, Indonesia Best eco-conscious Dive Boats in the world Top of the range Aqualung Dive Equipment and Gear Fusion restaurant, Honest Food made to order Cleanest Barefoot Luxury hotel in the jungle Adventure Activities for all ages above and below the water On-Site Professional Dive Specialists Community Driven, eco-conscious, socially responsible hotel and diving facility At Meridian Adventure Dive Resort, the Raja Ampat you’ve dreamed of is waiting. CALL US

E-MAIL US TEL:

+62 951 317 6120

MAIL:

info@meridianadventuresdive.com

WEB:

raja.meridianadventuredive.com

GOOGLE US

CHECK US OUT

BOOK NOW

MERIDIAN ADVENTURE DIVE

THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE RAJA AMPAT

ONE PLANET ⅼ ONE COMMUNITY ⅼ ONE OCEAN

Each month, we bring together the latest industry news from right here in the UK, 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/news

FIRE ISLAND CONSERVATION TO TRANSFORM MOZAMBIQUE’S NORTHEAST COAST

nce ravaged by poachers, Ilha do Fogo is now the centre of conservation on the northeast coast of Mozambique, and soon, it will be opened up as an exclusive, luxury retreat, focused on scuba diving and eco-tourism, by Fire Island Conservation. Since the discovery of poaching activity upon the new owner’s first visit to the island, Fire Island Conservation has set up a small anti-poaching unit, and this human presence has prevented further plundering. Now, the team is busy developing the island for exclusive eco-tourism, to subsidise the conservation and antipoaching projects. By July 2022, the scuba diving resort will be receiving tourists. Forming part of the Primeiras e Segundas Environmental Protection Area, it is essential that the environmental integrity of the island’s habitat remains intact. The team has enlisted the help of BOXA, a construction tech company, that has designed the buildings on the island to ensure minimal impact on the environment. The BOXA units are constructed to ‘float’ above the ground, leaving existing ecosystems and vegetation intact. With conservation at the forefront of the development, each unit at Fire Island Conservation’s resort will have solar panels on the roofs and all amenities on the island will be entirely powered by solar energy. Currently, there is no fresh water on the island, but a rainwater harvesting system will be constructed, using sundomes and a small desalination plant. Fire Island Conservation has been in talks with some renowned biologists about launching a marine research facility on the island, with the purpose of collecting data on the marine life to feed into international projects. The critically endangered hawksbill turtle and endangered green turtle were once victims on the island, and will instead be

protected by the conservation and research projects. Scuba divers can expect a unique opportunity to explore the incredible fauna and flora around the island’s 150km of flawless reef, boasting over 450 corals, turtles and countless other marine life. Ilha do Fogo is also situated on the historical passage of De Gama’s trade route, with exciting shipwrecks having been discovered nearby, that are perfect for wreck dives. “Tourists will have the opportunity to help us to identify the fauna around the island’s unexplored reef. It is a highly unique, exclusive, bucket-list dive trip, for any marine life enthusiast. Of course, our sustainability ethos is carved into everything we do, and our goal is to connect our guests to nature, while protecting our environment,” said Jan van Deventer, COO, Fire Island Conservation.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Who are Fire Island Conservation?

Fire Island Conservation was born when Robert Koski purchased Ilha do Fogo almost a decade ago. Bob and Jan van Deventer discovered that it was ravaged by poachers during their first visit to the island, and sadly, hawksbill and green turtles were the main victims of the poaching. Bob’s dream of a resort-style development on the island was put on hold for almost a decade, while a marine conservation action plan was put in place to protect these imperilled species. Ilha do Fogo is an essential turtle nesting site, and a turtle monitoring programme was created to help ensure their nesting process is unimpeded. This is one of many projects established to empower local communities, providing an alternative income opportunity to poaching. These community and conservation projects are supported by eco-tourism efforts, which include eco-luxury lodges across Africa. The retreat currently being developed on Ilha do Fogo has been carefully considered and planned in such a way that it will not impact the environment in any way, and will incorporate the conservation efforts.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

DIVE PROJECT CORNWALL PROMISES ADVENTURE FOR 400 LUCKY TEENS A lifechanging competition is launching early 2022 to bring the crucial message of marine conservation to the heart of secondary schools nationwide, courtesy of Dive Project Cornwall. The Dive Project Cornwall team believe it is every young person’s right to experience the ocean. They also believe that educating our children about the wonders of the planet’s marine environment and the crucial part it plays in our existence, and that of all ocean life, will help safeguard our seas for future generations. Never has this been more important than now. Commencing in January 2022, Dive Project Cornwall will be launching an ambitious project to educate hundreds of thousands of young people by delivering an education programme directly into schools across the UK, in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society. Their mission? To raise awareness of the importance of the planet’s marine environment and its vital role in our very own existence.

Get involved with Dive Project Cornwall to win!

At the heart of Dive Project Cornwall is a nationwide competition open to all secondary schools for 400 lucky teenagers to win the experience of a lifetime – a six-day, life-changing trip to Cornwall where they will learn to scuba dive, enjoy outdoor adventures, take up beach-related activities and attend presentations from leading marine industry experts. This truly immersive experience will take the teens from

classroom to shoreline and beyond, from the on-site training pool to taking their first steps in discovering the wonders of life underwater in the ocean, igniting their imaginations to join the Ocean Conservation movement. Many of these children will never have had the opportunity to experience the ocean close at hand. They will leave this residential course, delivered in the breath-taking environment of the Lizard in Cornwall, based at Porthkerris, as PADI Open Water Divers, ready to spread the word as ocean influencers. Discussing the Dive Project Cornwall competition, Phil Banks, CEO at North Cornwall Learning Trust, said: “Not that I am want too much competition, but every secondary school should be trying to win this amazing opportunity for their pupils!”

DIVE INDUSTRY MOURNS TECH PIONEER TOM MOUNT

The diving world is mourning the death of Tom Mount, who founded the renowned International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) and is credited as being one of the pioneers of technical diving as we know it today. Tom did much during his long life – he was a US Navy Diver, a NOAA Aquanaut and saturation diver, was one of the four founding members of the USA’s first cave diver training agency (NACD), and wrote many books that are considered ‘go-to’ diving literature. Many people are referred to as ‘pioneers’, but Tom Mount truly encapsulated the meaning of this word when it came to diving. He was at the forefront from the early cave and deep air diving days, through the introduction of mixed gas diving to the recreational market, continuing on to formulate many of the original concepts now widely accepted in closed-circuit rebreather diving. Tom received diving’s most-prestigious award, the NOGI (for sports education), as well as numerous other awards. © Jason Brown

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

EGYPT

ORKNEY CHARTER COMPANY APPEALING COMPENSATION AWARD

Stromness-based Scapa Flow Charters is appealing against the decision to award compensation to the son of diver Lex Warner, who died off Cape Wrath in 2012. Debbie Warner sued the company on behalf of Lex’s nine-year-old son Vincent after winning a case at the UK Supreme Court in 2018 that allowed her to do so. As we reported at the time, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, judge Lord Sandison awarded the family £290,000. Now Scapa Flow Charters’ lawyers have launched an appeal at the Inner House of the Court of Session, claiming that Lord Sandison did not apply ‘correct’ legal tests in his deliberations. It is due to take place on 25 March. Lex Warner had fallen on board the charter vessel MV Jean Elaine while in full diving kit, but despite being asked if wanted to sit out the dive after the accident by skipper Andy Cuthbertson, insisted he was fine and proceeded to continue on the fateful deep dive. The fall had caused an abdominal injury, which led to Warner making an emergency ascent ‘in an anxious and ultimately panicked state’ from 80m, during which he became unconscious and lost his mouthpiece. The case centred around claims that Cuthbertson did not do enough to minimise the risks which came from divers walking on board the boat wearing fins.

SUUNTO SOLD ON BETWEEN CHINESE OWNERS

Finnish outdoor adventure equipment manufacturer Suunto, long a popular choice with UK scuba divers for its dive-computer ranges, is being sold on to a Chinese technology company. Suunto’s parent company Amer Sports, which has run the 85-year-old brand for the past 18 years, has agreed to sell it to Liesheng of Guangdong, which focuses on smart and sport wearable electronics, with the transition expected to be completed before midsummer. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. In fact, Suunto has already been under Chinese ownership for the past three years, Amer Sports having been sold to another Chinese conglomerate, ANTA Sports, at the end of 2018. Founded in 2015, Liesheng currently operates in 100 countries. Suunto says that it is ranked top globally in the wireless audio field, and offers the Haylou product line. Suunto CEO Heikki Norta has assured users that its products and services will ‘continue normally’ and that the company will still be based in Vantaa in Finland. “We stay committed and focused on developing our high-end products, inspiring adventurous life-style and on protecting our playground,” he says. “In the long run, partnering with our new owners will broaden our shoulders in the continued development of new fit-for-purpose products for outdoor enthusiasts…”

THE DIVER’S CHOICE FOR 30 YEARS AWARD WINNING SERVICE SINCE 1992

BLAZING DIVE BOAT SINKS OFF HONG KONG

Fifteen people have had to be rescued after a Hong Kong dive-boat caught fire south-east of Jin Island. The vessel sank as those who had been aboard were picked up by a nearby boat and taken to a marine police base. Jin Island or Tiu Chung Chau lies to the east of Hong Kong and is said to be popular with scuba divers for its underwater topography. The incident occurred on 15 January. Dive cylinders exploded as the flames spread rapidly through the 23-metre vessel, and marine police are investigating the cause of the blaze. Thanfully, nobody is understood to have been injured as a result of the fire.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Emp2022_thirds.indd 2

15/01/2022 07:54

HISTORIC DOCKYARD CHATHAM HOSTS HMS INVINCIBLE

This year, until 20 November, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust is set to welcome Diving Deep: HMS Invincible 1744, the most-exciting maritime archaeological exhibition in years, which takes the visitor as close to the seabed as possible while staying in dry dock. Visitors to the new exhibition at The Historic Dockyard Chatham (on loan from the National Museum of the Royal Navy) will be able to tread the seabed virtually and investigate the exciting finds from HMS Invincible – the darling of the Royal Navy that ran aground on a sand bank over 260 years ago, dramatically sunk beneath the waves and was preserved for over two centuries on the ocean floor. While HMS Invincible’s final resting place remains the bottom of the Solent, this fascinating exhibition, collated after an emergency underwater excavation of the famous 18th century battleship, tells the story of Invincible, her capture, the lasting contribution she made to the Royal Navy fleet and her subsequent sinking and rediscovery by a fisherman in 1979. The exhibition has travelled from Portsmouth to Chatham and has been made possible by a collaboration with the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST), Bournemouth University, the National Museum of the Royal Navy and Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Fascinating artefacts on show will include wig curlers (so that the Captain could stay coffered on his journey to America), 18th century sailors shoes, including one pair

with what can only be described as kitten heels, and rope still smelling of the tar painted on it in 1758, all brought to the surface during the two excavations in the 1980s and recently in 2017-19. Eileen Clegg, Community Archaeological Producer at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, said: “It’s a thrill to know the artefacts are now in situ with our partners in Chatham – their combined research and enthusiasm for the project has been immense and it’s great to know that even more people will be able to ‘investigate’ HMS Invincible and learn about her fascinating story.” Entry to the exhibition is included in the Dockyard entry ticket, which enables entry for one year from purchase: Adults £25.50, Concessions £23, Child £15, Family £67, Carer FREE.

XDEEP ISSUES RECALL ON NX700 REGULATORS

Polish dive equipment manufacturer XDEEP is renowned for its robust, well-made products, and its innovative NX700 regulator caused quite a stir on its launch. While there have been no failures of the reg, XDEEP discovered some unexpected signs of wear during routine checks, and as a precaution, have issued a recall notice: Safety is most important. Although we haven’t noticed a single failure caused by this, we decided to recall our NX700 regulators and update them to the newest version. Our NX700 regulators are made for us in Italy, by a renowned manufacturer with many years of experience in this type of product. Before market launch, we have extensively tested them during many months of rigorous tests in extremely demanding conditions. Unfortunately, during routine periodical maintenance servicing of some NX700 1st stages, in singular cases, we have detected some traces above-standard signs of the wear of the membrane. We have not detected nor received any notifications about any failure or abnormalities caused by this potential wear. Nevertheless, we have decided to update all existing NX700 first stages to the newest available version, where any chances of the mentioned abnormalities have now been completely eliminated.

If you are an owner of an NX700 1st stage, please stop using it immediately and contact the dealer where you’ve purchased the regulator, or us directly. Please follow this link to get full information about details of this action. To compensate for the inconvenience caused to our clients, we have also decided that every NX700 set owner will get a free XDEEP Signature Hoodie in the chosen size and available colour. www.xdeep.eu

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

DEPTHERAPY’S RICHARD CULLEN APPOINTED TO RAID BOARD

Dive RAID International has announced that there will be a special focus on their adaptive training programme, as Richard Cullen joins the agency staff. Cullen, well known to Scuba Diver readers as one of the founders of Deptherapy, has been appointed Director Adaptive Training and joins the agency immediately. Deptherapy develops and delivers specially designed scuba-diving programmes for seriously injured veterans and serving personnel of the British Armed Forces. The Deptherapy programme has helped men and women deal with post-trauma mental and physical challenges following all manner of injuries suffered while serving in the military. In his new role as RAID’s Director Adaptive Training, Cullen will take over product-development responsibilities for the RAID Adaptive Diver programme. Working with RAID’s VP Training, PJ Prinsloo, Cullen will be rewriting both student manuals, creating new instructor materials inline with RAID’s instructor playbook format. Cullen will also work on related support materials, and new standards promoting what he called a ‘neglected but highly rewarding aspect’ of diver training. Cullen said: “I am honoured and humbled to become RAID’s Director Adaptive Teaching. I hope to bring to RAID the knowledge and experience we have gained over the years in Deptherapy developing an innovative approach to adaptive teaching. My aim is to make RAID the go-to diver training agency for knowledge and advice regarding adaptive teaching.” www.diveraid.com

COMMERCIAL DIVER TRAINING LTD

Working divers who train divers to work

The only assessment organisation approved by the Health and Safety Executive to undertake all commercial air diving qualifications in England and Wales HSE Professional Scuba, HSE Surface Supplied, HSE Offshore Top Up Careers in archaeological, media and scientific diving all start with the HSE Professional SCUBA

REBREATHER SMUGGLING BRINGS FIVE-YEAR SENTENCE

US rebreather instructor Peter Sotis has been sentenced to almost five years’ imprisonment for conspiring and illegally attempting to export unlicensed military-grade rebreathers to Libya. Florida-based Sotis, 57, and Emilie Voissem, 45, were convicted last October following a week-long jury trial in Miami. Now Sotis has received a 57-month prison term. Voissem, who was found not guilty of making false statements, was sentenced to five months in prison and another five months confined to her home. The pair’s attempt to smuggle closed-circuit rebreathers to Libya occurred in August 2016, according to the US Attorney’s Office for South Florida. Because rebreathers can be used for both civilian recreational and military purposes, they are included on the USA’s Commerce Control List of export items that require a licence from the department of commerce (DOC) before they can be sent to nations that raise security concerns, such as Libya. Sotis was the 80% owner and Voissem office manager of diving equipment and training company Add Helium in Fort Lauderdale. At their trial they were said to have defied a DOC special agent’s instruction not to export the rebreathers pending a licensing decision, and to have lied to the shipping company in an attempt to mislead it. Sotis was also said to have threatened a government witness not to co-operate with the federal investigation.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

To find out more, why not visit us for Aptitude Day? Experience a Surface Supplied Dive, view the Facilities and meet the Training Team Please visit the website for more details 2022 Course Dates available www.commercialdivertraining.co.uk info@commercialdivertraining.co.uk 01726 817128 | 07900 844141

Ask DAN

DAN medical specialists and researchers answer your dive medicine questions

Q: I would like to know if deep stops are always recommended for recreational dives, if the depth of the deep stop must be half of the maximum depth reached or half of the maximum pressure reached, and if, for multiday dives, it is always recommended to do this deep stop. A: The introduction of a deep stop at half of the maximum depth reached during recreational dives during the ascent phase seems to: - significantly decrease inert gas bubbles detected by a Doppler scan after a dive. - reduce tension of inert gas in ‘fast’ tissues, which is an important fact to correlate with gas exchange happening in the spinal cord. Authors of scientific publications regarding this topic concluded that a deep stop can decrease the likelihood of suffering from decompression sickness for recreational dives within the depth of 30m and without mandatory decompression stops. Q: When I am not wearing a hood, I have no problems equalising my ears. On the other hand, when I wear it, I

always have great difficulty. Why is there a difference? A: When we pressurise the middle ear space using the Valsalva manoeuvre or another equalisation technique, the tympanic membrane (ear drum) bulges outward slightly. If the ear canal is uncovered and can transmit that pressure, the water in the ear canal moves easily in response. A hood that fits snugly against the outer ear can greatly restrict the movement of this water, hampering the diver’s ability to equalise. An easy remedy to this is to insert a finger under the hood near the ear, which will allow the water to move more easily. Another solution some divers choose to implement is to cut a hole from the inside of the hood, near the ear canal, through the inner lining and the neoprene, but leaving the outer fabric or covering intact. This hole allows the water to move with little restriction. Join DAN to get a number of benefits, including answers to all your diving-related medical questions: www.daneurope.org

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Barefoot luxury in the heart of Indonesia

Your Buddies Boat Dive Mania Go crazy during Boat Dive Mania! Especially for those who absolutely can’t get enough of boat diving. Book one of our boat dive packages and get 6 boat dives free!

Bunaken National Marine Park RESERVATIONS: +599 717 5080 WWW.BUDDYDIVE.COM INFO@BUDDYDIVE.COM

w w w.s i l a d e n.c o m

Siladen-UK half--88x262.indd 1

09/10/2019 09:04

Anthia Anthias are protogynous hermaphrodites. They are all born female. When a male dies, one of the larger female anthias changes into a male. Most anthias remain female; even a large school of anthias like this one has only a few males.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Bright orange anthias are one of the mostcommon sights on the Indo-Pacific reefs, and as Richard Aspinall explains, you can learn a lot from watching these tiny fish Photographs by Richard Aspinall

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

“W

atch the anthias,” the guide said, as we shuffled around in the Zodiac, locating fins, cameras and buddies. “If they’re swimming away from the reef, there’s no current, and if they’re all swimming like crazy (he did a wiggle to illustrate his point), then get close to the reef and send your SMB up.” I’m not sure where I was, somewhere in the Red Sea, it was the best part of 20 years ago and possibly my first overseas trip. That advice has stayed with me. It remains one of the most-useful things I’ve ever been told, and I’ve been taking my cues from the fish ever since. I’ve grown to love anthias. I never get tired of hanging off a reef wall as they dive in and out of the coral heads. I’m transfixed as they disappear into the reef and then emerge en masse, as a hungry jack passes by. Thousands of eyes are alert for predators and when spotted, the fish move as one, into shelter and then out again - a living cloud over the coral - before swimming into the current once more. For many of us UK and European divers, with plenty of trips to the Red Sea in our log books, when we think of

Anthias swirling around a hard coral outcrop

The anthias look like fragments of ‘exploding’ coral from this outcrop of fire coral

anthias, it’s likely we’re all thinking of the same fish. My guide, all those years back, was talking about the lyretail anthias, the bright orange, always on-the-go fish found in groups of a few dozen to many thousands on most Red Sea reefs. Also known as the sea goldie, the wreckfish and scientifically, Pseudanthias squamipinnis, it is found from the Red Sea to south-eastern Australia. For many, it is the quintessential anthias and I adore it. Anthias belong to a large group of fishes related to grouper and sea bass, in a family called the Serranidae. Within that group is the subfamily Anthiinae, which is then further divided to the genus level. Taxonomy appears overly complicated, but in principle it’s not. It’s a system for sorting out who is most closely related to who. Each descending tier holds fewer and fewer species, which are increasingly related. Think of branches, twigs, twiglets and leaves if it helps. The Serranids are the main boughs and the individual fish, the leaves. Seven genera of anthias are found on reef habitats, with the lyretail in the Pseudanthias genus, along with 60 or so closely related species. Many are shallow-

water dwelling, though some are deep water specialists. They all tend to be richly coloured.

The first anthias

Venture deep enough in certain spots in the Mediterranean, in the Aegean for example, or poke about in a large enough wreck and you’ll find a fish easily mistaken for its tropical relatives. This is anthias anthias, and the Anthiinae are named after it. Like some of its tropical cousins, it’s not a fish of the bright shallows, this fish dwells deeper. Past the rocky shorelines and beyond the swaying sea

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Luxuriant growths of soft corals and vivid orange anthias are one of the highlights of the Red Sea

Female lyretails shot in the Maldives

Anthias clustered into a protective coral head

I never get tired of hanging off a reef wall as they dive in and out of the coral heads. I’m transfixed as they disappear into the reef and then emerge en masse, as a hungry jack passes by Anthias can also be found on shipwrecks

grass meadows, and where the geology allows, you find temperate reefs much closer in appearance to tropical ones. At around 40m, and where currents are the norm, vast growth of filter-feeding gorgonians and other delicate life cloaks the rocks. Here, just like in the tropics, anthias swim into the prevailing currents picking out passing morsels. It is possible to find anthias anthias in shallower water, they can sometimes be seen sheltering in overhangs, but perhaps the best location is a shipwreck, which they sensibly consider to be a dark, safe cave they’ll emerge from, when the sun goes down. The holds and companionways of wrecks offer a chance to witness a quirky side of anthias’ behaviour - they sometimes spend a lot of time upside down. I’ve seen this with many anthias species. I remember a dive into the interior of the Giannis D. I’d found the remains of the binnacle, surrounded by sweepers (the right way up). The anthias had decided the roof of the deck above was their chosen spot. I’m still not sure if they were swimming under it or over it. When gravity scarcely matters, it is understandable behaviour, but it can be disorientating to us gravity-bound mammals.

Harems

It is easy to look at a reef and think it is a harmonious and peaceful place. It is not! A thriving reef is a place of enormous competition for light, space, food and in many cases the opposite sex. Anthias start out as females - they’re protogynous hermaphrodites, to use the technical term. Juvenile fish will settle out from the plankton and form small groupings, all females. Over time, in absence of a male, the largest and most dominant will slowly transform into a male. Sometimes you find gangs of mainly one sex or another, but the haremic structure is the norm. If a male is lost, the highest-ranking female changes sex and takes over. Harems contain around five to 15 females, but this varies with species. Males spend their time hovering further away from the reef, keeping an eye out for wandering females or other males looking to encroach on their territory. The males must work hard to maintain their lifestyle and it is only the strongest that pass on their genes. If you watch them, you notice they’re picking away at the plankton almost constantly, to keep their energy levels up.

Stay shallow. In the Red Sea, the anthias are often 5-10m deep Anthias on a deep wall in the Aegean

Adding a person in the frame gives a sense of scale

Photography

Getting a photo of a shoal of anthias is easy, but getting an image you are pleased with that does justice to your memories is a different matter. I’m not an expert photographer, my images have been in a few magazines, but I have to work very hard to get shots I’m pleased with. I hinted at one of my first suggestions earlier. Stay shallow. In the Red Sea, the anthias are often 5-10m deep. They’re bathed in light and you can easily capture brilliant colours. If surge or current aren’t issues, enjoy an extended safety stop. Watch out though, you can easily be washed towards the reef and, of course, you are at greater risk from passing boat traffic. By far the best method, for me anyway, is to find an isolated pinnacle, easily accessed without damaging anything. Give the fish time to relax before firing your trigger. Be mindful, your strobes, if you have them, will cause the fish to temporarily dive back into the coral. Movement can be an issue so select a fast shutter to freeze the fish’s rapid swimming. A good tip is to shoot upwards using your strobes to fill in the foreground. Getting slightly below your subject can help with composition, meaning you can capture the reef, with clear blue water behind it. Portrait shots are best had in these scenarios, the fish will not venture far from shelter, and you can easily use a macro lens (or setting) to capture the anthias’ sometimes outrageous colours. You’ll need to be patient and do think of your buddy. When I tell sceptical people that there were ’thousands of fish’, I only need show them an image of anthias, and my point is proven. n Those bright spots of orange are unmistakable

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

“...a durable, well-made and robust drysuit which most certainly does not blend in with the endless line up of black suits.” SCUBA DIVER Magazine August 2020

PHOTO: Silvano Barboni

The NEW STANDARD in

EXPLORATION GRADE DRYSUITS DISCOVER the Otter Atlantic drysuit - the choice of diving explorers worldwide. Whether you’re pushing the limits of exploration or just diving for fun, choose the drysuit that is a cut above the rest...

otterwatersports

AWARD-WINNING features... • Seamless underarm pattern for even greater flexibility • Telescopic body with crotch strap and front entry zip • CHOICE OF Turbo boots with ankle strap or Rock boots • CHOICE OF RipStop, Armour Skin or ultra-tough Kevlar material

• Large bellowed Velcro side pockets • Strong internal braces • OPTIONAL Made to measure service • OPTIONAL SITech ring system • OPTIONAL Otter balanced pee valve • OPTIONAL KUBI glove ring system

• CHOICE OF Apeks or SITech valves

WWW.DRYSUITS.CO.UK l SALES @ DRYSUITS.CO.UK

CALL OTTER DRYSUITS TODAY ON 01274 379480

BLUE HORIZON DIVING

MARK WYNNE AND HOLLY WAKELY (PART ONE)

We chat to Mark Wynne and Holly Wakely about their growing YouTube Channel, what they love about teaching people to dive, and why it is important to get more youngsters into the sport Photographs courtesy of Mark Wynne, Holly Wakely and Margo Peyton

Q: How did you first get into diving? A (MW): As a youngster I always wanted to learn how to dive after watching Blue Planet, I know, super cliché. This seems to be the way most divers in the UK start, but I didn’t realize it was even an option when growing up in Scotland and the South of England. In 2006 our family took a trip to Fuerteventura, and after an unlikely banana boat incident, I was able to take my first breaths underwater. During the trip, my wee sister Chloe decided to go on a banana boat the day before our Discover Scuba Dive experience. After asking for ‘just one more run’, she got a head injury and wasn’t allowed to dive the next day. The dive centre suggested instead of a refund for Chloe’s experience, I should do the PADI Scuba Diver course. I did and fell in love with the sport, seeing angel sharks and rays everywhere. A year later, not much progression had occurred in my diving career, due to that freezing Scottish water, until a trip to Bulgaria in the Black Sea. All excited to be diving again as a PADI Scuba Diver allowed to only 12m with a professional, I learnt not to always just trust the dive centre or club you are diving with. Being naïve with only two dives, I was shocked to discover, when completing our logbooks, my third dive was penetrating a wreck at 32m in the Black Sea. I decided at that point it was time to reach out to dive centres in Scotland to learn to dive properly and get my Open Water certification, even if it is in the freezing winter in Scotland. The rest is history - after those few cold dives I was fully hooked.

Mark enjoying diving in Turks

World first - Holly being presented with her PADI Junior Divemaster certificate Holly blowing bubble rings in Palau

Christmas diving in Bermuda

WWW.MIFLEXHOSES.CO.UK | WWW.MIFLEXHOSESHOP.CO.UK

Sponsored by

MAXSHOW LIMITED

OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTOR OF QUALITY BRANDS

CDTC DR Team

A (HW): I’ve been breathing compressed air since I was four, but got certified in Cayman at 10. It was almost in my blood to dive, both my parents were divers prior to the arrival of my older brother and I. Anyone that has met my parents knows that there was no way children were getting in the way of their lifestyle and they would just have to fit us in somehow, hence how we got into Kids Sea Camp and diving. From four to seven, I did the SASY programme and from eight to ten, I climbed my way through the ranks of Seal and Master Seal Team. The love for diving stuck, and when given the option to go on a dive holiday or another holiday of some variety, I always chose to dive. I suppose I have my parents to thank for throwing me right into the deep end of diving and they are how I originally got into it. The passion grew the older I got, and I started to look more and more forward to our summer and fall diving trips. It was always a treat being able to take the day off from gymnastics camp to go on a two-tank dive trip with my dad, being on the Dive Bermuda boat from the day I turned ten. Seven years later I am back on the same boat all summer, helping out and being a tank monkey - that was the best summer I could’ve asked for.

Q: You have both dived in an enviable list of locations around the planet – what are some of your favourite destinations, and why? A (MW): I do love UK diving having spent the majority of my diving career all over the UK. But let’s be serious, we all want to escape those cold, dark and green dives for warmer locations. I have dived in over 30 countries and have had to think long and hard over this question. Why, you may ask? When you are diving around the world you get to experience amazing locations and different creatures resulting in each and every location having memorable and amazing experiences. Like the first whaleshark in the Red Sea, or exploring the cenotes in Mexico, even diving with sharks down in Australia. If I have to choose, then it is between the Maldives or Mexico. Mexico has so much to offer; from diving the cenotes, to bull sharks in Playa Del Carmen and drift dives in Cozumel. There was so much to do. You look at our experience in the Maldives, sharks, sharks and even more sharks! It was unreal and incredible. Then there is Bermuda too, but I will leave that to Holly. A (HW): Galapagos is hands down my favourite diving destination, the variety of marine life and conditions you’re able to dive in is mind blowing. I love liveaboards, they’re my favourite way to dive, and the Galapagos liveaboard was incredible. Up before dawn, seeing dolphins and whalesharks before breakfast then immediately kitting up for a fast current dive with hammerheads. Ziplining

In 2006 our family took a trip to Fuerteventura, and after an unlikely banana boat incident, I was able to take my first breaths underwater WWW.MIFLEXHOSES.CO.UK | WWW.MIFLEXHOSESHOP.CO.UK

· GREAT BARRIER REEF · AUSTRALIA ·

Come visit the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef with the award-winning crew of Passions of Paradise. Snorkel in pristine waters, go for a dive, or relax with a drink and enjoy the sailing. The best memories on the reef, no filter required. www.passions.com.au +61 7 4041 1600 email: reservations@passions.com.au Departing from Cairns, Queensland

It was seriously unbeatable. We did take a recent trip to the Maldives, which has closed the gap between my favourite destinations, with the Maldives liveaboard in a close second. I will forever love the pelagic, larger life but do still have appreciation for macro life; little shrimps, crabs and nudibranchs. The Maldives can offer both types of diving and was a great well-rounded trip. I can’t forget Bermuda, which will always be one of my favourite places to dive, it’s home after all. The swim-throughs and arches are incredible to dive through and I know most of the wrecks like the back of my hand, I can’t go wrong diving here. Q: Mark, you are a PADI Course Director – what do you most enjoy about teaching people to dive, and in particular, how to become a diving professional? A (MW): I never intended to become a dive instructor when I first started diving. You always had that one or two friends who would suggest, let’s do our Divemaster together and so on. Before I knew it I was doing my Instructor Development Course in Glasgow and Instructor Exam in Newcastle. A few years later I started my IDC Staff Instructor course in Hull. Everyone else in the dive industry seems to have exotic locations like Thailand or Bonaire. I have Glasgow, Newcastle and Hull. But I wouldn’t change it. Learning to dive and teach scuba diving in the cold UK waters prepares you better than anywhere else. Going from teaching open water courses in drysuits in one-metre visibility in a Scottish Sea Loch makes teaching in the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean ridiculously easy in comparison. I love teaching people to overcome their fears or to see their face light up when they get to experience the amazing underwater world for the first time. We have to remember diving is not for everyone, so never force or push someone to do something they do not want to do. But when you can see a student is nervous and excited, there is the great satisfaction you get when they explore the underwater world, their desire for more adventure and to protect the ocean. Mark and Holly waiting for a dive boat

WWW.MIFLEXHOSES.CO.UK | WWW.MIFLEXHOSESHOP.CO.UK

Holly and Woody having fun

Being able to share your passion for the ocean to others is incredible. After completing my PADI Course Director training in the Dominican Republic with PADI Worldwide in July 2021, I am now able to teach the next generation of instructors to do the same. Scuba diving, especially in the UK, has an aging demographic and being able to train more young instructors is exciting. It will keep our sport thriving and hopefully create more ocean advocates in the process. To become a PADI Dive Instructor, you need to be a PADI Divemaster or equivalent with other training agencies plus other prerequisites. Once you meet the requirements you sign up for the Instructor Development Course (“IDC”) with a PADI Course Director at any PADI five-star IDC Centre or above. This is a ten-14 day course depending on how the dive centres schedule teaching you all the theory and fundamentals of being a successful dive instructor. On completion of the IDC course, you are able to attend the PADI Instructor Exam run by the PADI regional headquarters for your area. This is a two-day examination, testing your skills, knowledge and ability to be a dive instructor. I would highly recommend anyone think to becoming a dive instructor, to just do it. When looking for an IDC to join, vet out the Course Director running the programme, as this makes a huge difference to your experience.

Q: Holly, you were the world’s first PADI Junior Divemaster. Give us your take on this brand-new course, and why you think it is a great stepping stone for teenagers on their diving journey. A (HW): Being the pilot diver for this programme is something I am extremely grateful for and it was a really great step towards becoming a professional in the dive industry. Personally, the most valuable aspect of this course for me was that it put another step between Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster, which to me, seems like a pretty large leap. I got the luxury of participating in the Junior Dive Master programme in St Lucia, where I also later upgraded to the full Divemaster. Courses like this can take you all over the world, if you let them. Testing out this course for PADI was an incredible opportunity for me and is something I will never forget and will always look back on as an achievement. I got to see the course outline when it first came out and test out each and every aspect, making sure it is doable for divers aged 15-18. When the course went live I was able to assist the instructor for the world’s second Junior Divemaster and see where pieces of the course outline had been changed or altered. The Junior Divemaster course is similar to the Divemaster course but takes away the liability features that require the candidate to be 18. It teaches you how to set up a dive site and help manage divers in the water, making a more vigilant and well-rounded future professional. As a young diver, 18 can seem like a really long way away when you reach the Junior Master Scuba Diver rating at just 12 years old, so this new programme gives something to look forward to and a goal to achieve, keeping the spark for diving there. This course is perfect for any young diver that is interested in becoming a future professional, or just furthering their diving knowledge. Q: Holly, you grew up diving with Kids Sea Camp, and now work for them on some of their family-friendly trips. Why do you think it is so important that we get more of the next generation into scuba diving? A (HW): One thing that is very interesting to me is some of the confused and concerned looks you get as a young diver, walking onto a dive boat as ten year old, setting up your own gear and listening to the brief, just like everyone else, but it’s not something you see often. The vast majority of divers tend to be older then 15, but I do think it is important that we get the next generation into diving more and more. Younger people tend to bring new ideas to the plate and have a spark that comes with that, they are excited and enthusiastic about the ocean and want to help bring more people into the sport. In the younger generations, we have been brought up talking about what is happening to the world right now, the rising ocean levels and increased pollution for example. Sustainability and lowering your carbon footprint is a topic that is well known in the younger

Holly enjoying a dive in Belize

In diving this is really important because we put ourselves into the habitat of other animals, which are also being affected by our actions generations, who are noticeably putting an effort into changing their habits and bettering the world. In diving this is really important because we put ourselves into the habitat of other animals, which are also being affected by our actions, as humans. We need to teach not to touch or take anything, and only leave our bubbles behind. Kids and teenagers are like sponges; they will absorb all this information and pass it on to their friends and others they are diving with. They will also pass messages through social media, which is huge in the younger generations. Coming up with new ideas, and being able to discuss topics and exchange ideas is so easily done through social media. Which in turn can help grow the dive industry. We need younger people to start diving more, whether that is recreationally or professionally. n NB: Join Mark and Holly next month when they talk about their most-memorable – and worst – diving experiences, and what the future holds for their YouTube Channel.

WWW.MIFLEXHOSES.CO.UK | WWW.MIFLEXHOSESHOP.CO.UK

Photo: Bastien Soleil

WINDOW TO ADVENTURE A new vision from fourth element fourthelement.com

STARTING OUT IN UW PHOTOGRAPHY

Following his last article on working the subject, Martyn Guess provides some tips, information and advice for novice or new underwater photographers in order, to help them on their photographic journey Photographs by Martyn Guess

realise that for a beginner underwater photographer, it must be very daunting looking at the amazing images that adorn the internet and magazines and wondering how they can possibly hope to take pictures of the same quality. Whether you have a real interest in capturing the underwater scenes and subjects we have the privilege to witness as scuba divers or through some form of peer pressure to buy a camera, we all must start somewhere. I have helped many budding photographers on their journey so my aim in the next few articles is to give some guidance and basic instruction to help you on your way. My view is that if you can get a few reasonable shots in the bag relatively quickly you will want to continue in your quest for knowledge. For many beginners, they have perhaps been diving for a while and now want to add another dimension to their enjoyment of the underwater world. This was definitely the case for me. Some people decide to buy an underwater camera but have no knowledge at all about photography apart from using their phone perhaps, or a compact or bigger camera in fully automatic mode. Others perhaps with a bit of an advantage are keen abovewater photographers and have at least some photographic knowledge. Whatever your knowledge or type of camera that you have access to or own, be it a compact, mirrorless or DSLR, there are some basic first principles to take on board. My advice here applies to all types of cameras and knowledge base. The first thing to accept is that you are a diver first and a photographer second, so don’t let the latter get in the way of your safety and that of your buddy! It is important to understand the controls of your camera and what the various buttons and menus do. If you don’t understand them on land, there is no hope when you get underwater. So, spend time reading the camera manual, researching online, and watching any tutorials for your camera that you can find. I am going to talk about basic

Image 1. Tom pot blenny, Swanage, UK - F22 1/320th Sec High DOF

camera controls like Automatic or Programme Aperture Priority, ISO, Aperture and Speed and Manual M. Unless you are content snapping close-up images of small critters in automatic mode and with the camera’s flash, and I mean very close, then the first lesson is to try and not be tempted to only use the automatic setting underwater. The camera’s electronics are designed for use on land, and it will struggle to take on board the complexity of lighting and deep shadows underwater, as well as the density of the particles suspended in our oceans. Some compact cameras have an underwater mode but, in my experience, they don’t work that well other than the foregoing very close-up critter shots. So, if you want to progress, please don’t use them. My preferred setting is Manual or M although as a learning

Book your holiday with the award winning dive experts at Scuba Travel!

+44 (0)1483 411590

www.scubatravel.com/photography

Image 3. Porcelain crab on anemone, blurred fore and background - F5.6 1/200th sec

Image 2. Blue ribbon eel, open aperture - F4 1/200th Sec

progression, Aperture Priority can work well. Manual means that you are taking full control and inputting settings for aperture and speed. Aperture Priority (AP) means that you are setting just the aperture and the camera the speed. For those that don’t know, the aperture controls the lens diaphragm which controls the light getting through to the camera sensor. It also controls what is known as depth of fields (DOF), the amount of the picture in focus from foreground to background. A small aperture such as F22 and known perversely as a high F-stop will give you the biggest DOF, but the smallest amount of light getting through (image1). A larger aperture say F5.6 or low F-stop will reduce the amount of the background and also foreground in focus, which can be desirable for some arty macro shots (image 2) or to disguise the backgrounds in our images (image 3). It will also allow a lot more light though, which can be useful for very dark conditions in combination with ISO (More later). In AP, the camera will compensate for the amount of light getting through to the sensor by reducing or increasing the speed automatically. Slow to let more light in and the reverse for less light. If you can get your head round this, you are already on your journey! For those who want to go straight to full manual Control M, then in addition to aperture, you are also able to control the shutter speed. This is the speed at which the camera’s curtain opens and shuts and thus controls the amount of time that the light hits the sensor. It is important in freezing the action with moving subjects and underwater helps to freeze the shot while we are swaying around in the current. (image 4). It is almost impossible to be as still underwater

Image 4. Grey seal, Lundy UK, freezing the action – F11 1/320th sec ISO 1000

as we are on land! Speed can also help to control the background water colour underwater. A lower speed will give you a brighter colour be it green or blue water (image 5). A higher speed the converse. If you want a black background, for example, in a macro shot, then a high speed will assist (Find out what the highest speed your camera will sync with the internal flash or external strobes and don’t exceed this if using an artificial light source). In manual, the camera settings are used together harmoniously to create the best exposure, i.e. desired DOF, and the background lighting level and also to help freeze the action. The next setting is ISO, which is the equivalent of film speed for old film cameras. You can adjust this whether in M or AP or fully automatic. ISO is how sensitive your camera is to light. Each ISO number be it higher or lower is a doubling or halving of the sensor’s sensitivity to light. Be aware that the higher the ISO, the more digital noise will be introduced, which degrades the image quality, so be aware of the optimum maximum ISO for your particular camera. More recent cameras can handle higher ISO settings very well and thus ISO is a very useful tool in getting the best exposure. Say you want to take a black background macro shot with lots of detail. Set a high Aperture, say F22 for maximum DOF, a high speed to darken the background. Take a shot and the image is too dark. Increase the ISO in combination with these settings to allow more light in and the image

Book your holiday with the award winning dive experts at Scuba Travel!

+44 (0)1483 411590

www.scubatravel.com/photography

Image 5. Whip coral goby, blue background – F16 1/50th sec

Image 6. Grey seal, Lundy, UK - F22 1/320th sec ISO 1000

becomes lighter. Its trial and error, but you will get a feel for the right settings. I haven’t yet mentioned in any detail strobe lighting. Basically, we need to introduce artificial lighting underwater to bring back the vibrant colours we see underwater with our torches. Bear in mind that red disappears very quickly to our eyes, so at 5m we won’t pick red up. At 20m everything is mostly a green-blue. It is important therefore to introduce inbuilt or external flash/strobe lighting to make our images pop with colour. Don’t though assume that the flash will

light up a very dark image on its own. My rule is to get the exposure right first and then introduce the strobe light to paint the picture with colour, whether this is just part of the foreground or a critter. Underwater flash photography is very different from land flash photography as the water column will reduce the effectiveness very quickly with distance. So going back to my macro settings of F22 and a high speed, introduce strobe lighting to pick out the subject in full colour and adjust the strobe intensity and ISO in combination to achieve the desired look that you are after in your image (image 6). All digital cameras have LCDs to review your images so you can easily review what you are taking and adjust accordingly. When you use strobe lighting though, please remember about the intensity of the light falling off very quickly, so the adage of ‘when you think you are close, get closer applies!’ We all think we are closer than we are underwater. The closer you get to your subject, the less water column between the camera and the subject and the less suspended particles getting in the way of clearer images. Generally speaking, beginners or novice underwater photographers will find Macro and close-up photography easier to start with. I strongly suggest that you start with this type of photography first. Practice on land with your camera with the various settings I have described and see if you can take a shot of a small ornament or flower with a black background (image7). When this is achieved easily then move onto more shots with open or low apertures to see if you can blur the background with an out-of-focus look, or bokeh, as it is described photographically. Don’t be frightened of adjusting aperture and speed in Image 7. Tulips in my garden, black background M or just the aperture – F16 1/320th Sec ISO 200 in AP. Help lighten or darken the scene with small adjustments of ISO and then introduce some flash lighting. If you can achieve this on land, then you will be very well prepared for your next dive with a camera. Next time I will take you through some more basics to slowly build up your expertise and knowledge, but like everything in life, practice and practice to get better! n

Book your holiday with the award winning dive experts at Scuba Travel!

+44 (0)1483 411590

www.scubatravel.com/photography

3.0 16MP Resolution Flood Proof 4K Ultra HD Video RAW Image Capture

Micro 3.0 Pro 3000 Set

LCD

WiFi Share 3 Dive Modes 100º Wide Angle Lens Hi Res Display

Micro 3.0 Pro Duo 5000 Set

www.sealife-cameras.com

SeaLifeCameras

Puerto There is an amazing diversity of diving at Puerto Galera, as Roni BenAharon explains

Photographs by Simon Lorenz, Ary Amarante & Allan Piccinin

nown for its white sandy beaches and pristine blue water, Puerto Galera is a village located in the north tip of Mindoro, the Philippines’ seventh largest island. Other than a relaxed beach vacation, it offers incredibly diverse diving in the heart of the Coral Triangle. Just across the Isla Verde passage from Anilao, independently famous for macro diving and nudibranchs, Puerto Galera offers over 40 dive sites just along its coast, with healthy coral reefs and an abundance of fish. Many divers attribute strong current to the area, and think of it as advanced diving in terms of dive skills, but that is only partially true - stronger currents depend on lunar calendar and in certain dive sites, occur two weeks of each month, with especially crazy drift dives four days after the new moon. Puerto Galera has several inner bays, with no current, shallow coral gardens and sandy patches that are ideal for courses - Open Water students can immerse in skill learning while actually seeing some marine life! Puerto Galera also offers relaxed critter spotting dives (heaven for photographers!), interesting underwater topography and a couple of wrecks for the rusties.

The Spaniards discovered Puerto Galera in the early 16th century as a safe haven for their trade ships during heavy squalls and typhoons. Legend has it that once sailors arrived on the island; they never wanted to leave without a promise to come back!

Coral Triangle bubble

The Coral Triangle is the habitat for 76% of known coral species in the world, 52% of Indo-Pacific reef fishes and 37% of the world’s reef fishes. Diving here offers the highest diversity of coral reef fishes in the world - more than 3,000 species of fish, and you can also find here six out of the seven species of marine turtles! The Coral Triangle estimated annual fishing export revenue is $3 billion USD – the same amount as the annual income of tourism! By diving the Coral Triangle, divers support local communities, and helping them build a sustainable income that supports conservation.

Puerto Galera has several inner bays, with no current, shallow coral gardens and sandy patches that are ideal for courses Open Water students can immerse in skill learning while actually seeing some marine life! WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Galera Detective Diving

Diving a macro site? Bring a magnifying glass! Many little critters come to life once divers get a chance to have a closer, bigger look, especially in sites with no current, focus on a single critter and examine color patterns, distinguishing factors and more. Cameras with a macro lens can offer the same results, but in lack of sophisticated electronic equipment, buy a regular, handled magnifying glass and get a small hole through it with a gentle drill. Jewellers and hardware stores would likely have such tools. Pass a cord through it and clip to your BCD.

Critter Diving

Puerto Galera is an excellent place for critter diving! Blue ring octopus, pygmy seahorse and mandarinfish are awaiting divers in easy, no-current, sandy slope and grassy dive sites, while dozens of nudibranchs species are easily spotted.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Couple of dive sites worth visiting include Giant Clams, a protected area in Puerto Galera bay with clams hundreds of years old which can be one-and-a-half metres wide. Sloping down, into the sandy grass bottom, this is a popular site for spotting hairy frogfish, mimic octopus, wonderpus and flamboyant cuttlefish. Less known dive sites with excellent macro include Montani and Shipyard. Coral Cove is an excellent macro site, with a sloping reef filled with nudibranchs, ribbon eels, pipefish, frogfish, seahorses, and orangutan crabs. Sinandigan Wall is a 30m deep wall with a blanket of nudibranchs on its sandy, bouldered bottom. This is a great place to spot leaf fish, frogfish, crocodilefish, various anemones, and plenty of small shrimp residing in the mushroom corals.

Wreck Diving in Puerto Galera

Divers can get a glimpse into wreck diving experience in Puerto Galera’s one proper wreck and a few smaller wrecks. Instructors can teach wreck specialty here, and true rust fanatics can continue from Puerto Galera to Coron Island, the wreck mecca of Philippines. Alma Jane – Alma Jane is a 60-ton, 32-meter steel-hulled Filipino cargo vessel built in 1966 in Japan. She was stripped of dangerous objects and intentionally sunk in 2003. She sits upright on the sandy bottom, well within recreational limits, at 20-30m deep, with its upper deck at 22m.

Encrusting corals add plenty of colour Anthias bring vibrancy to the reef

Barrel sponges on the reef

She decayed rapidly, and looks older than her 14 years underwater, mostly due to the warm water of the area (about 30 degrees C during summertime). On the upper deck, divers can get a view of Alma Jane’s original timber deck lines, which are now rotten. The upper deck is bountiful of hard and soft corals, shrimps, crabs and macro life. Swimming through with its wide beams schools of fish swim along, while light rays entering from various skylights create a beautiful scenery. Moray eels reside in the metal structure, while the mast on its bow now houses oyster clams and hard corals. Diving on the sandy bottom offers excellent view of the ship’s silhouette. You can expect to meet snapper, sweetlips, batfish, rabbitfish, scorpionfish, pufferfish, lionfish, trumpetfish, frogfish, octopus and cuttlefish. Dive tip – bring a torch and a good dive guide to point out everything.

Vast shoal of jacks

St Christopher, also knows as Anton’s Wreck, this 18-metrelong wooden boat was sunk by local dive operators in 1995 to create an artificial reef. At 20-24m deep, swim alongside large snapper, while spotting juvenile and adult frogfish and sergeant major (a type of damselfish) guarding their purple eggs. Diving St Christopher at night, the sandy bottom crawls with dozens of crabs and shrimps, on the wreck itself or in the soft sponges around it. Snapper, batfish and frogfish are regulars on this dive site. St Christopher can

How To Get to Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera is accessible by ferry via the public port in Batangas, 110km south from Manila. Several resorts like Atlantis offer private transportation from Manila for its guests, which shortens trip time by half.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Suited to both Divers and Snorkelers.

The Best Diving on the

Ribbon Reefs

Coral Sea & Great Barrier Reef! Dive with giant potato cod, explore deep walls, witness shark action at Osprey Reef.

Ribbon Reefs Suited to both Divers and Snorkelers.

New Special Expeditions! Check out our website for details.

T: +61 7 4053 0500 E: resv@mikeball.com

www.mikeball.com #spoilsportlive #mikeballdive

have moderate to strong current during tidal changes; it’s best to dive it at slack tide, and use is as a starting point to explore the reef in Small Laguna Beach. Dive tip – bring a magnifying glass and good guide to spot macro life.

There is also wreck diving for the metalheads

Sabang Wrecks – A set of three small sunken vessels, a small steel yacht and two wooden boats, are a haven for macro diving and photography, with eels, scorpionfish, stonefish, lionfish, flounders, pipefish, frogfish, ghost pipefish, ornate ghost pipefish and various nudibranchs. Cruising along on top the decaying vessels, present a highly diversified residence of marine life, where divers can see dozens of species within metres. Dive tip – bring a pointer stick (to place in the sand for staying put), a torch, and a magnifying glass.

Topography Diving

Canyons – A set of three canyons to the northeast side of Puerto Galera, right at the tip of the island, on the Verde Island passage. This dive site is like Snakes and Ladders for divers - the canyons are 20-28m, and stages one after the other, from the shallower to the deeper. Jump in and swim on top of the first canyon, then through a narrow drop down and rise up again.

Puerto Galera has optimal conditions for certifications – learn to dive while experiencing the marine diversity of the Coral Triangle.

Pinnacles dive site takes its name after the rocky pinnacles that rise from over a hundred metres deep to kiss the surface on the east side of Verde Island Reefs are pristine and healthy

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Turtle chilling on the reef Photographers love the Philippines

Corals and sponges attain huge sizes

Being located on the passage exposes this site to strong currents, which means rich in nutrients, which draws schools of fish, like giant trevallies, sweetlips and snapper. Located an hour boat ride away from Puerto Galera, Verde Island offers great topography diving in one of Philippines most diverse marine environments. Scorpionfish and other bottom dwellers can be found

Where To Stay and Dive

Atlantis Resort on Sabang Beach offers hillside Flintstonelike accommodation in an all-inclusive dive vacation format, with excellent meals at Toko’s restaurant and up to five boat dives a day. Small dive groups, climatecontrolled camera room, and new boats.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Pinnacles – ‘If Yosemite Park were a reef, it would look like this’ said the editor of Undercurrent magazine. Pinnacles dive site takes its name after the rocky pinnacles that rise from over a hundred metres deep to kiss the surface on the east side of Verde Island. Hard and soft corals have grown all over the rocks, shaping a vertical reef with massive gorgonian fans and sponges. Butterflyfish, juvenile angelfish, schools of the small, dark redtooth triggerfish, sea snakes, frogfish and some large pelagic schools can be easily spotted here. Dive tip – look into the blue to look for the occasional rays and tunas. Washing Machine – watch your bubbles go round and round on a series of seven shallow gullies where, on strong current days, you’d be thrown around like on a rollercoaster. Dropping and passing through each canyon in a slalom, the rocks that once formed the canyons are all covered in colourful hard and soft corals. On a slow to no current day, take your time and gracefully drift with thousands of orange anthias who emerge and enter their coral shelter in an endless cycle, moorish idol and banded sea snakes. n

DIVERS ALERT NETWORK: EUROPE

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

HOUSE OF CARDS PART TWO

Audrey Cudel focuses her attentions on breathing and buoyancy control, and stresses the importance of a weight check when you first enter the water

or those of you who watched Jacques Cousteau’s adventures featured in the Silent World documentary dating back to 1956, first generations of underwater explorers ventured deep equipped with three moderate-sized cylinders harnessed to the back, CG45 air regulators the size of an alarm clock, a shatterproof glass mask over the eyes and nose, a weight belt and rubber foot fins. Overall, it was a 25kg apparatus that relied on the most powerful yet sensitive ballasting system - the human lungs. Also, at the end of the last century, some may recall that their first diving lessons were performed using lung control only before integrating a buoyancy control device at a later stage. Nowadays, the importance of breathing properly while diving if often introduced primarily as a safeguard for new divers to avoid a lung over-expansion injury during an uncontrolled ascent, the golden rule being ‘never hold your breath!’ Beyond the concerns over uncontrolled buoyancy, holding one’s breath, or skipping breaths, can also lead to a build of CO2 and other hypercapnia issues. On the flip side, breathing continuously might also lead to hyperventilation issues. Therefore, proper ventilation is important from a physiological perspective to ensure efficient gas exchange in all tissues by using the tidal volume of the lungs during the immersion. The larger and/or more uncontrolled the tidal volume during the breathing cycle, the less space and chances are given for inspiratory and expiratory reserve volumes to provide for precise buoyancy adjustment. The awareness of the impact of such adjustments cannot

About the author

Audrey Cudel is a cave explorer and technical diving instructor specializing in sidemount and cave diving training in Europe and Mexico. She is also renowned in the industry for her underwater photography portraying deep technical divers and cave divers. Her work has appeared in various magazines such as Wetnotes, Octopus, Plongeur International, Perfect Diver, Times of Malta, and SDI/TDI and DAN (Divers Alert Network) publications.

be fully experienced while propelling ones’ self through the water, but rather in static mode. Propulsion can compensate for lack of buoyancy control. Its effect is similar to throwing a paper plane in the air - it will forcefully glide until it loses speed and crash. In contrast, a controlled descent or ascent can be initiated solely using the inspiratory and expiratory lung reserve rather than wasting gas fiddling constantly with a wing or drysuit inflator valve. Building awareness of breathing cycles by taking normal breathes in a slow rhythm adding minor adjustments when required, is the key to fine tuning buoyancy control. However, the total lung capacity has its own limitations and is impacted by external factors such as buoyancy and ballast weight distribution. Buoyancy distribution varies based on one’s gas volume management strategy for adding or removing gas from various parts of equipment throughout the dive, specifically the BCD or wing, counter-lungs and/or drysuits. One size does not fit all; in addition to the amount of gas involved, the proper sizing of each piece of equipment relative to the individual’s morphology, determines their capacity to efficiently distribute the gas volume to where and when it needs to be. It’s the same as for the lungs. Minimising the required gas volume in the equipment by correct weighting facilitates buoyancy management ensuring that the right amount of gas flows in and out. It is common among beginners to believe that being overweighted will prevent one from shooting to the surface. However, the amount of gas required to compensate for the excess amount of weights can become unmanageable and most likely disturb the diver’s normal breathing pattern and the time required to vent gas causing them to surface too fast. Some of the ballast weight we carry as divers is an integral part of our configuration such as the backplate, regulator, and valves and cannot be modified during the dive. However there are other variables we can act on. How many of us filled our early diving logs conscientiously ticking equipment boxes and writing down how many kilos of weight we were carrying, meanwhile ignoring other major components. The list is long, but each component matters. Planning to dive high or low pressure steel cylinders?

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

The awareness of the impact of such adjustments cannot be fully experienced while propelling ones’ self through the water, but rather in static mode What is the cylinders’ weight? What is the weight change between a full and empty aluminum cylinder? Are you diving fresh water, salt water or in the Red Sea? Weight-wise, what is the impact of removing some undergarment layers after switching to a heated system? The list of possible combinations is endless, so one needs to know how to make a proper assessment when visiting a new environment or after making changes in one’s overall configuration. Any change requires a weight check, which is not time consuming, when entering and preparing to exit the water. Once again, buoyancy relies mainly on lung capacity and starts with draining the gas from all parts of equipment. After filling your lungs to approximately 80 percent of their volume, you should float above the surface, and float at the surface with your lungs 50 percent full, and start sinking after exhaling down to 20 percent capacity. However, repeating this check before exiting the water with almost empty cylinders (even more with aluminium or low pressure steel cylinders) is also wise to ensure one can maintain your buoyancy comfortably at a safety or decompression stop, when your tanks have minimal gas. Building experience to master static neutral buoyancy and controlled ascent/ descent does not require much depth. Practicing in the shallows is potentially safer and more challenging as this is where major changes of pressure occur. The first benefit or value of mastering buoyancy control is safety: • Maintaining your target depth is a safeguard against (no) decompression obligations. • Managing neutral buoyancy in static or dynamic mode supports the ability for a team to stay together, communicate and react in case of emergency. • Building environment awareness is a key driver to

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

buoyancy and breathing management choices when diving, for instance, close to a reef, when exhaling in overhead environments (percolation generated by exhaled gas swelling to a ceiling can lead eventually to poor visibility), or when anticipating the impact of salinity changes when entering a halocline. As a virtuous cycle, buoyancy mastery triggers control. Control leads to comfort, comfort to calm, calm to control, focus and gas saving in order to maximise the time spent underwater and simply make the best out of the moment. As undersea pioneer Jacques Cousteau once explained: “At night I had often had visions of flying by extending my arms as wings. Now I flew without wings. Delivered from gravity and buoyancy I flew around in space.” Underwater, weightlessness is a skill to be learned before it can become second nature. It’s an achievement. For your House of Cards structure to stand strong, one needs to start by building a strong foundation. Once a diver masters the ability to hold their position in the water column, they can evolve comfortably and safely in a multidimensional space, and position themselves where they want and need to be as part of a team and as part of an environment. n

DAN Membership

Before taking the plunge make sure your DAN membership is still active. If it isn’t, join DAN or renew your membership at: www.daneurope.org Your DAN membership ensures the services of the biggest international network for assisting divers anywhere, during any emergency.

THE DIVE EVENT OF 2022 The GO Diving Show has merged with The Dive Show to create one mega-exhibition in March 2022 Photographs by Jason Brown

he ‘new kids on the block’, the GO Diving Show, and The Dive Show – set to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year – are merging to put on one super-event in early March which will offer plenty for all levels of diver, from those interested in getting started, novices, experienced divers and veteran technical explorers.

WHEN?

The GO Diving Show is being held from 4-6 March 2022, with the Friday being trade-only, and the Saturday and Sunday open to consumers.

WHERE?

This mega-event is taking place at a brand-new venue, the NAEC Stoneleigh, located pretty much slap-bang in the middle of the country. This location offers purpose-built exhibition halls, is close to major transport links (the M6 and M40 motorways are close by, it is just five miles from Warwick Parkway and Coventry train stations, and only onehour travel time from London Euston) and, perhaps best of all, has 19,000 complimentary car parking spaces.

WHO?

Iconic TV presenter, author and adventurer Steve Backshall returns as keynote speaker (Saturday only), and will be joined on the Main Stage by fellow TV personalities Andy Torbet and Monty Halls, as well as multi-award-winning underwater photographer Alex Mustard, who will be announcing the winners of the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year competition.

WHAT?

This spectacular diving exhibition is bursting at the seams with interactive elements, VR experiences, hand’s-on workshops, myriad booths from manufacturers, travel agents, tour operators, resorts and liveaboards, and much, much more. This year, visitors will be able to see how long they last with Bruce, our bucking rodeo shark – ‘the only shark you should be riding’!

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

MAIN STAGE

Our speakers for the Main Stage include a who’s who of TV adventurers.

NB: Steve Backshall will only be talking on the Saturday. Saturday 10.30am-11.15am – Monty Halls 12pmm-12.4pm – Steve Backshall 1pm-1.45pm – Andy Torbet 2pm-2.45pm – Steve Backshall 3pm-3.45pm – Deptherapy (the link between scuba and rehabilitation) 4pm-5.30pm – Underwater Photographer of the Year winners with Alex Mustard Sunday 11am-11.45am – Monty Halls 12.15pm-1pm – Andy Torbet 1.45pm-2.30pm – The Next Generation youth panel with Andy Torbet 3pm-3.45pm – Deptherapy (the link between scuba and rehabilitation) 4pm-4.45pm – Main speaker Q&A (Andy Torbet and Monty Halls)

PHOTO STAGE

Our speakers for the Photo Stage have been confirmed. Keep an eye out on the Scuba Diver and GO Diving Show websites for details of all of the talks as they come in. Familiar faces from the magazine and the show circuit such as Anne and Phil Medcalf, Stuart Philpott, Martyn Guess and Mario Vitalini have been joined by the likes of relative newcomers Byron Conroy and Dr Richard Smith. Saturday 10am-10.45am – Byron Conroy 11am-11.45am – Dr Richard Smith 12pm-12.45pm – Anne/Phil Medcalf 1pm-1.45pm – Stuart Philpott 2pm-2.45pm – Martyn Guess 3pm-3.45pm – Anne/Phil Medcalf 4pm-4.45pm – Mario Vitalini Sunday 11am-11.45am – Byron Conroy 12pm-12.45pm – Anne/Phil Medcalf 1pm-1.45pm – Stuart Philpott 2pm-2.45pm – Martyn Guess 3pm-3.45pm – Anne/Phil Medcalf

TECHNICAL STAGE

Our speakers for the Tech Stage have been confirmed. Keep an eye out on the Scuba Diver and GO Diving Show websites for details of all of the talks as they come in. Stalwarts such as John Kendall, Phil Short and Mark Powell have been joined by newcomers including Marcus Blatchford and Marcus Greatwood this year. Saturday 10am-10.45am – Marcus Greatwood 11am-11.45am – John Kendall 12pm-12.45pm – Jason Brown 1pm-1.45pm – Phil Short 2pm-2.45pm – Lanny Vogel 3pm-3.45pm – Mark Powell 4pm-4.45pm – Marcus Blatchford Sunday 10am-10.45am – Marcus Greatwood 11am-11.45am – John Kendall 12pm-12.45pm – Jason Brown 1pm-1.45pm – Phil Short 2pm-2.45pm – Lanny Vogel 3pm-3.45pm – Mark Powell 4pm-4.45pm – Marcus Blatchford

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Buy your tickets now!

So, whether you’re a non-diver looking to experience the underwater world for the first time in the try-dive tank, a freshly minted student looking to learn more, or a salty seadog meeting up with the dive club for a social, the Go Diving Show is for you. Weekend tickets (including complementary parking) are only £15, with group discounts available – check out: www.godivingshow.com for more details.

T he Grey

SEALS

OF THE

Isle of May Gray seals are charismatic, large seals found along the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean and are part of the ‘“true seal’ family, which means they lack external ear flaps and move along the sand by flopping on their bellies.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Mention ‘seals’ and ‘the UK’ and most people immediately think the Farnes or Lundy Island, but Lawson Wood reckons that the Isle of May deserves to be on your list for consideration Photographs by Lawson Wood

Although May Isle is only 57 hectares, it has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956 and is internationally important for its seabird and seal colonies. This small island has over 200,000 breading seabirds, as well as over 90,000 puffins - the island is honeycombed with their burrows WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

The seals love to frolic in the shallows

Basking in the sunshine

This is where the fun begins as these playful and inquisitive yearlings have great fun and believe me, the feeling is mutual

t the entrance to the Firth of Forth in southeast Scotland, this wide expanse of water is guarded by a number of islands, with probably the most popular for diving being the Isle of May, or May Isle, as it is often regarded, which is located 4.5 miles from Crail in Fife. We dived the island from Eyemouth and, of course, passed the legendary St Abbs Head (home to the oldest marine nature reserve in the British Isles) and the Bass Rock with its iconic, hundreds of thousands of resident gannets. Approaching the Isle of May, it looks fairly flat and with the various remnants from World War Two on view, it almost looks a bit like an old battleship. The sides of the island are fairly steep and rocky and are overlooked by the ancient Victorian Lighthouse, but the southwestern corner has flatter rocks, numerous gullies and a small nearshore reef making it the perfect hang-out for juvenile grey seals. Most divers visiting the island often visit the wreck of the Anlaby. This former British iron screw steamer weighed 717 tons and ran aground on 23 August 1873 in thick fog, while carrying a cargo of coal from Leith to Danzig. Most of her interesting bits are found in less than 5m and her propeller and shaft, etc, are all very obvious and a great backdrop for photography. Although May Isle is only 57 hectares, it has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956 and is internationally important for its seabird and seal colonies. This small island has over 200,000 breading seabirds, as

well as over 90,000 puffins - the island is honeycombed with their burrows. Large numbers of grey seals make the Isle of May their home and during the summer months, most are found lounging on the shallow coastal rocks to the southwest of the island. Known as Phoque Gris by the French and Foca Gris by the Spanish, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) - meaning ‘hooked-nosed sea pig’ - is the most-common seal found around our coastal waters, in fact much more common than the common seal (Phoca vitulina). This is a true seal and is the largest carnivore recorded in British waters. It is found on both sides of the Atlantic and is one of the largest seals, with bulls reaching 2.5–3.3 metres long and weighing 170–400kg. The females or cows are much smaller, typically 1.6–2.0 metres long and 100–190kg in weight. These seals Mind out for their sharp teeth

Large numbers of grey seals make the Isle of May their home and during the summer months, most are found lounging on the shallow coastal rocks to the southwest of the island 48

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

Seal playing with Lawson’s Force Fins The seals are inquisitive

Dive with the seals

Marine Quest, 07780 823884, info@marinequest.co.uk Rock House Diving, 01890 771945, paul@divestabbs.info Shadow Marine, 07714 855191, www.Shadow-Marine.co.uk The Dive Bunker, 01592 874380, hamishdivedog@hotmail.com Aquamarine Charters, 07860 804316, www.aquamarine-charters.co.uk

are recognised by their straight head profile, a classic arched ‘Roman’nose and large wide-set nostrils. The females are generally a silver grey colour with light brown patches. They have their pups in October and November, and it is these youngsters which are the most curious and make for the best interactions during dives. Usually done as a second dive, or intermediate snorkel between dives, the juvenile seals are easily approachable as they lie out on the shallow rocks. Once they detect your presence they silently slip into their favourite gully and sneak up on you. I usually do this on my own, as lots of other divers or snorkellers usually confuse the situation. But considering that I am only in less than 3m of water or just floating on the surface, I consider this one of my best solo experience encounters.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

It doesn’t take long for you to pique the seals’ interest and while you are checking out the surface approaches, a likely youngster sneaks up underneath you through the kelp and tugs on your fins. The fact that I wear ‘fish-tail’ shaped fins by Bob Evans of Force Fin fame only heightens their curiousity. This is where the fun begins as these playful and inquisitive yearlings have great fun and believe me, the feeling is mutual. I have dived with seals and sealions in many different parts of the world, including Vancouver Island, the Baltic Sea, Ireland, northwest Scotland, Baja California and, of course the Farne Islands, but by far the best seal interactions I have ever enjoyed has been in the summer months on the Isle of May. n

beyond technical

www.narkedat90.com

OF THE MED Kurt Storms explores the gigantic MT Haven, the remnants of a massive 334-metre-long oil tanker that lies in the depths of the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy Photographs by Kurt Storms

The Haven is the Mediterranean and Europe’s largest shipwreck in the sea and lies at a depth of 33m to 83m off the coast of Arenzano (Genoa). I have been diving on this beautiful and unique wreck for the last three years

The MT Haven was hit by a missile in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. It was subsequently extensively refitted in Singapore, and was then sold on to ship brokers, who leased it to Troodos Shipping.

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

fter a long time of not being able to travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were finally able to travel back to Italy, and my first days were spent completing my instructor course CCR-OC Trimix Instructor under the supervision of IANTD ITT Paul Lijnen. After a few exciting and heavy days, I can proudly call myself a full-fledged IANTD CCR/OC Trimix Instructor. I owe this title to my good students, and the help and support from two other instructors who also obtained this title. The course took place on the most-beautiful wreck in the Mediterranean - the MT Haven. The MT Haven was a VLCC-class oil tanker (Very Large Crude Carrier), build as Amoco Milford Haven in 1973. The Haven was incredibly big – 334 metres long with a beam of 51 metres and a displacement tonnage of 110,000 tons. In 1987, it was hit by a missile in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Extensively refitted in Singapore, it was then sold to ship brokers, who leased it to Troodos Shipping. Around 12.30pm on 11 April 1991, the Haven was unloading a cargo of 230,000 tons of crude oil on a floating platform, seven miles off of the coast of Genoa, Italy. Having transferred 80,000 tons, it disconnected from the platform for a routine internal transfer operation, to allow oil to be pumped from two sideholds into a central one. While still loaded with 144,000 tons of crude oil, the ship exploded and caught fire, killing five crew members. As the fire engulfed the ship, flames rose 100 metres high and, after a series of further explosions occurred, between 30-40,000 tons of oil poured into the sea. The Italian authorities acted quickly, with hundreds of men fighting a fire which was difficult to access and control. They distributed more than six miles of inflatable barriers, submerged a metre below the surface, around the vessel to control the spillage. On day two, the MT Haven was to be towed close to the coast, in a bid to reduce the coastal area affected and make intervention easier. As the bow slipped beneath the surface, a steel cable was passed around the rudder and tugs applied towing pressure. On 14 April, the 250-metrelong main body sank a mile and a half from the coast, between Arenzano and Varazze, flooding the Mediterranean with up to 50,000 tons of crude oil. The Haven is the Mediterranean and Europe’s largest shipwreck in the sea and lies at a depth of 33m to 83m off the coast of Arenzano (Genoa). I have been diving on this beautiful and unique wreck for the last three years and I can really say that I am in love with this big baby. But I want to warn every reader before going any further – this ‘baby’ can be a killer and a dangerous monster for untrained or inattentive divers. Depending on the day, the current can go from nothing to strong, the visibility can change from a perfect 30 metres

Barbados

has a place for

everyone,

but especially for

you

@VisitBarbados

@visitbarbados

@Barbados

visitbarbados.org

Computers • O2 Cells • Gas Analysers Cables & Connectors • Rebreather Parts PathFinder Strobes • Sensors Tools • Solenoids

Inside the MT Haven

plus to a very poor five metres, it is a giant labyrinth inside in which one can get lost, like in any cave system, with huge amounts of silt that can turn water milk-like, but with the added threat of sharp metal cutting edges. The wreck is huge and deep, and you can lose your orientation as well as your notion of time and gas consumption. So plan your dive, and dive your plan. No heroes allowed here, you must be humble and patient enough to discover the wreck step by step, piece by piece and according to your own level of training and experience. The 250-metre-long main section of the Haven peacefully lies in an upright position. Part of the superstructure which originally reached up to 24m of depth was removed, therefore the shallowest part of the entire wreck, the smokestack, now stands at 33m deep. On a depth of 40m you find the wheelhouse, from which the captain maneuvered the tanker and which is completely empty. All the instruments and controls were burned away before sinking. On the upper deck you find a memorial plate and statues of the Virgin Mary.

Exploring the superstructure

The MT Haven is a gigantic shipwreck and it needs to be treated with respect - the vast interior is like a giant labyrinth inside, with huge amounts of silt coating every surface that can turn the water milk-like in an instance.

You can easily penetrate the whhelhouse - you can go down or up the inner stairs. It is also very easy to go up or down the main lift opening that goes through the bridge, or just follow the outside walls. The windows on the side are numerous but sometimes quite small and most of the time too small to go through, every room has a door though. The bridge is about 23 metres high, and here you find bedrooms, the kitchen, workroom and so on. You can penetrate almost everywhere, but its’s a labyrinth, so you should consider it as a cave and use a guideline. From the bridge, technical divers can descend to the deck at the back of the tanker, past the winches, pipes and valves that are proportional to the size of the ship and free fall down to the propeller at 81m. Here excessiveness still strikes, with a rudder 20 metres high and a propeller more than seven metres in diameter. The dark becomes darker and we lose light from the surface. This place is breathtaking and looking up from this point, the tanker is majestic. The engine room entrance is located just under the

But I want to warn every reader before going any further – this ‘baby’ can be a killer and a dangerous monster for untrained or inattentive divers 53

view all products online

www.narkedat90.com

The engine room entrance is located just under the chimney below 52m and from there you can go deep inside the ship Silt can catch out the unwary inside the wreck

There are many penetration options

chimney below 52m and from there you can go deep inside the ship. Here you find a gigantic eight-cylinder diesel engine, and the various panels and counters are still in perfect shape and intact. Going up on the port side, there is a gigantic opening left by one of the two explosions. The gaping hole is so large that it is difficult to comprehend its dimensions and the plates are twisted like a broken can. For diving the MT Haven you need to be a technical diver, and complete these dives with hypoxic gases. Don’t do this dive without proper training. There a two dive centres who provide all the facilities for diving the Haven, and both are in the Marina of Arenzano. Organization is perfect and safety non-negotiable. There is a fixed deco station with decompression bars at 6m and 3m with sufficient spare tanks. The descent lines are fixed and lead you down to the quarterback at 33m.

How to get to Arenzano

Arenzano is a municipality in the Italian province of Genoa and has 11,624 inhabitants. The area is 24 km², and the population density is 475 inhabitants per km². You can get there by road on the mainland – for me, Arenzano is about 1,200km from Brussels. This road is the easiest one to transport all our equipment, rebreathers, bottles, etc. Those coming from outside Europe can take the plane to Genoa airport. Genoa-Cristoforo Colombo Airport is the airport of the Italian port city of Genoa. The airport has an important function for the port of Genoa - it is the main port of call for cruise passengers embarking in Genoa. If you come by plane, you can also rent the necessary bottles and equipment at one of the two diving centres. n

Technical time...

The MT Haven is one wreck which definitely requires technical training, both because of the depths involved and the sheer size of the shipwreck - penetration into the maze-like interior is not for the inexperienced and has sadly claimed lives in the past.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

THE RED SEA IS CALLING! Now is the perfect time to dive Egypt with Red Sea Diving College

DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE UK SINCE 1981

WHY CHOOSE US?

• Multi-lingual, highly experienced team • Luxurious, spacious day boats • Five-star liveaboard VIP One • Learn to dive with expert tuition • Expand your diving knowledge SPECIAL OFFER! 5 days diving + hotel package for €419

Direct flights from London and Manchester All ROHO dry suits for men, women and children are available for MADE TO MEASURE AT NO EXTRA COST. The ROHO team are also available to help you bespoke your suit with size, colour and accessories to make your suit truly original and unique.

AFTER ALL THERE ARE NO TWO DIVERS THE SAME, SO WHY NOT HAVE A DRY SUIT THAT REALLY FITS YOU!

Sultana Building Naama Bay, PO Box 67 Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt Phone/WhatsApp: 0020-128-4444-772 Email: info@redseacollege.com

Contact our team on 01924 444888 dive@roho.co.uk

www.redseacollege.com RSDC_1-2v.indd 1

21/01/2022ROHO 17:321/2 new.indd 1

22/01/2022 08:03

Each issue, the Scuba Diver test team bring you the latest product and equipment releases from the dive industry. Cannot wait for the next edition? Keep up-to-date with all the latest gear news and reviews by heading over to the Scuba Diver YouTube channel! www.youtube.com/ScubaDiverMagazine

SEALIFE MICRO 3.0 PRO DUO 5000 SET | SRP: £1,269

We lent the SeaLife Micro 3.0 camera and SeaDragon Duo 5000 lights to beginner photographer Jowen Spicer, from Dive Project Cornwall, who was heading out for his firstever foreign diving excursion, as he was exactly the sort of diver who would be in the market for a camera like the Micro 3.0. Jowen Spicer: Being a complete novice to underwater photography, for my journey to the Red Sea, I was looking for a camera which had an emphasis on being compact, and user-friendly, while also not sacrificing image quality. SeaLife’s Micro 3.0 camera is a great all-rounder for those looking to get started in marine photography, without having to break the bank. Ergonomically designed and fully sealed, there is little to worry about in terms of maintenance, and the pocket-sized dimensions allow you to travel lightly while still allowing you to capture stunning still images, and highquality video.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

an ergonomic thumb grip, and navigating the menus underwater is made even easier thanks to the camera’s three piano key controls. Paired with the clear and easy-to-read menu on the back of the camera, these features helped massively when changing depths on our dives throughout the reef. I could adjust the exposure and white balance on the fly, leading to an assortment of Packing the camera for the trip was no stress at all - the consistent shots, at varying depths. The small dimensions Micro 3.0 weighs in just over 300 grams and takes up next to of the camera makes it easy to clip onto your BCD or simply no room in my dive bag. Fully housed and waterproof up to hang off your wrist with the included lanyard. For the most 60m, I didn’t have to worry about bringing an extra housing part, I had the Micro 3.0 attached to the SeaDragon Duo or accessories, saving further space for other kit. The rugged, 5000 lights, which provided a significant boost to stability shockproof rubber armour gave me peace of mind in knowing while still being a very compact rig overall. that the camera would last in my hold luggage without the risk of any damage! The initial setup of the Micro 3.0 was extremely easy. Right out of the box, the camera offers two ‘Easy Setup’ options - Land and Underwater. These are a fantastic inclusion for the likes of someone who has little prior knowledge surrounding the more-technical aspects of underwater photography. The Micro 3.0 intends to get the user into the water and snapping highquality photos/videos quickly, without needing to spend much time at the surface preparing. For those looking to have more control over the individual settings, the included manual is concise but informative and explains what each of the available options will change in terms of the captured image, all jargon-free. The compact design of the Micro 3.0 makes the camera easy to hold and function with one hand, with

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

SEALIFE MICRO 3.0 PRO DUO 5000 SET | SRP: £1,269 However, the increased stability from the SeaDragon set was not essential for capturing stable, sharp images. The Micro 3.0 comes with integrated image stabilising technology. While I feel the stabilisation lacks slightly in the Micro 3.0 compared to some action cameras you can find on the market, it is a nice addition and allows for impressive shots while being able to fit the camera in the pocket of your BCD. Setting the white balance to ‘external light’ when using the SeaDragon lights gave the best resulting images, with the most true-to-life representation of the subjects in the footage. The extremely fast shutter speed was perfect for capturing the moment. Shoals of fast-moving fish are easily visible and sharp, and with the inclusion of burst capture when holding down the shutter button, capturing fast-moving, action-filled scenes is even easier. The fixed lens focuses from 15 inches and so for subjects you are intending on getting closer to, I would recommend the optional SeaLife Close Up Lens. Switching from photo to video is done with great ease as well - with the press of one of the piano keys, the Micro 3.0 will begin recording video instantly, ensuring you don’t miss a second of the action. Transferring images from the camera itself to another device was, as with the rest of the camera’s functionality, a breeze! The Micro 3.0 offers both WiFi transfer and an included physical USB connector. The USB connection suited me perfectly as the internet reception at the dive resort was spotty, allowing me to spend the evenings looking back through the photos on my laptop, without having to wait to return to the UK to do so. The battery life on the Micro 3.0 is also very impressive - after joining me on at least three dives per day and reviewing the shots on the surface between dives, I’d come back in the evenings with plenty of charge to spare.

If, like me, you’re new to underwater photography, the SeaLife Micro 3.0 is a fantastic introduction. I had great fun using this camera, and from fiddling with various settings I felt I came away a more fine-tuned and better photographer, and this showed when comparing images from my first day of use to my last. Even if you aren’t new to the hobby, the camera is compact, very low maintenance, and easy to travel with all the while boasting an extremely impressive image/ video quality considering the price point. www.sealife-cameras.com

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

SHEARWATER RESEARCH SWIFT | SRP: £355 Mark Evans: Shearwater Research have always been at the forefront of technological advances when it comes to dive computers, and with the Swift, they have unleashed the next generation smart AI transmitter. Let’s talk details first. The Swift features a 3V CR2 user-replaceable battery (which provides up to 300 dive hours, or up to five years storage time) and is very compact – it measures just 76mm by 34mm - but it is depth-rated to 200m. More than enough for most divers. It also benefits from ‘no tools’ installation and removal, and features an LED status indicator for signals. So, what makes the Swift different to previous transmitters? Well, as Shearwater explain, it uses an advanced collision avoidance system, featuring randomized transmit intervals, to ensure reliability even when using multiple Swift transmitters simultaneously. Basically, the Swift ‘listens’ for other transmitters and only transmits when it dictates that the channel is clear. In tests, Shearwater ran 20 transmitters in close proximity, without any issues! The Swift connects to all of Shearwater’s current air-integrated computers, so that’s the Teric, Perdix AI and the Nerd 2, but it is also compatible with many other dive computers already on the market from other brands. The latest firmware update to all Shearwater AI computers allows the gas pressure of up to four cylinders to be viewed simultaneously. I have used the Swift transmitter with a Perdix AI and a Teric, and I can confirm that the signal is very reliable. Even using my computer on the opposite wrist to the side the transmitter is mounted on my first stage, it never dropped out. If you have never used an air-integrated computer, they make things so simple – you just glance at your wrist and

you can check your depth, dive time, no-deco limit and your gas level all in one fell swoop. It means you can get rid of a hose off your regulator set-up if such things really matter to you – I have a small SPG on my rig as well as the transmitter so I can cover for all eventualities, but that more dates back to the early transmitters which were, shall we say, prone to losing signal, and I preferred having a back-up SPG fitted so I didn’t have to abort my dive. These days, transmitters are far more reliable – particularly this Swift – so the back-up SPG is really not needed. The Swift transmitter comes in a neat padded and zippered case, along with a handy Karabiner, and a dinky tool for when you have to change the battery. www.shearwater.com

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

FOURTH ELEMENT SCOUT | SRP: £79.95 How we perceive the underwater world is largely determined by what we see, and the mask we use is therefore the most-important piece of equipment for most, if not all, scuba divers. Diving in caves is a different experience from snorkelling in tropical seas. Likewise, diving in lower visibility, temperate waters is different from the near-unlimited visibility of some blue water locations. Fourth Element’s lens system in the Scout dive mask - the company’s first foray into diving hardware - is designed to deliver an optimised experience for different conditions when diving, whether for underwater photographers looking to maximise the light transmission, or wreck divers needing to enhance their perception of dimly lit surroundings. The Scout is a single-lens frameless mask that has an angled profile to maximise the field of view, and a soft silicon skirt for optimized comfort and fit. It also comes with an elastic strap made from recycled materials. Building your Scout mask couldn’t be easier. Use the lens guide to choose the right lens to suit your dives, then use the online mask builder to preview and select the skirt and strap that creates the style you love. There are four lens to choose from: Shield – Anti-UV and Anti-Glare Inspired by the gold visors of NASA astronauts, the Shield lens provides UV protection and reduces glare, making it fully suited to tropical and warmer water environments for shallower diving and snorkelling in bright conditions. UVA and UVB radiation is reflected by the lens, reducing the exposure of the eye to potentially harmful rays.

Clarity – Pure clear lens Maximising the amount of transmitted light, without any tint from impurities in the glass, the Clarity is the ideal lens for night divers and photographers. It is also the perfect lens for teaching, allowing students and instructors to clearly see each other’s eyes. The Clarity lens is manufactured with the highest level of purity to deliver maximum visual acuity during a dive. Contrast – Anti-UV Filtering out some of the mid-range wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum, the Contrast lens has a green appearance. Particularly when diving in temperate (green) waters, images seen through the lens show and increase in contrast, accentuating brighter and darker areas, increasing the perception of visual acuity. The Contrast lens provides full UVA and UVB protection from harmful ultraviolet.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

DIVE RETAILER WITH THE LARGEST STOCK HOLDING IN THE UK OF ALL MAJOR BRANDS

Why buy from us? We service all major brands of regs, BCDs, cylinders & computers

All orders are shipped in bio-degradable packaging

All our staff are manufacturer trained in product fitting

We proudly partner Sea Changers, a UK marine conservation charity

3000 sq ft London showroom staffed by experienced divers

Premier Fourth Element Argonaut dealer with custom Biomap sizing

Earn Plankton points with every qualifying purchase

Best prices and carbon offsetting for purchases

Customer voted winner of dive retailer of the year!

+44 20 8994 6006 support@mikesdivestore.com

FOURTH ELEMENT SCOUT | SRP: £79.95 (CONTINUED...) Enhance – Anti-UV, Anti-HEV Filtering ultraviolet and HEV (High Energy Visible) radiation, the Enhance lens is designed to protect the eye and enhance the visual experience. It is well known that UV has a damaging effect on the eye, but it has also been shown that HEV light can interfere with the lutein proteins in the eye and alter them, so filtering out this High Energy radiation can help to preserve optical health. Then there is the mask strap to choose – there are various colour options of an elasticated strap that is made using rubber and recycled nylon, with clips made using recycled waste ABS plastic from the automotive industry. The clips have also been designed so that they will fit most mask buckles. The Scout comes in a mask box that is designed to replace the plastic boxes that are supplied with so many masks. Low profile and protective, this case will protect the lens thanks to its cushioned half shell, without creating bulk, meaning it can fit in the foot pocket of most fins for convenient transport. www.fourthelement.com

MARES ATLAS 62X TBP | SRP: £584

The Atlas features an all-metal second stage, complete with Mares’ renowned VAD (Vortex Assisted Design) system for natural breathing - the bypass tube delivers gas to the mouthpiece, creating a swirling vortex with a low-pressure area in the centre that pushes the diaphragm down during inhalation – and a control knob to allow the diver to tune the performance. The pearl chrome finish twin balanced piston first stage is environmentally sealed for better performance on coldwater dives, and while it is compact and lightweight, it has pre-orientated low-pressure and high-pressure ports. There is natural DFC (Dynamic Flow Control) on all low-pressure ports for high air flow regardless of depth, and AST (Auto Sealing Technology) avoids water entering the first stage. www.mares.com

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

DORSET

KENT

DORSET DIVING SERVICES

KENT TOOLING DIVING PRODUCTS

t: 01202 122006 e: info@dorsetdiving.co.uk a: 25A Ringwood Road, Poole, Dorset, BH14 0RF 5 Star PADI Dive Centre offering PADI Courses, Kit Sales, Servicing, Air Nitrox and Trimix Fills. In house IDEST test station and workshop for on site repairs. www.dorsetdiving.co.uk

t: 01227 700374 e: sales@divingproducts.co.uk a: Windgates, Church Lane, Waltham, Near Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5SS Kent Tooling Diving Products produce the widest range of rebreather and diving supplies and accessories in Kent and the UK. www.divingproducts.co.uk

UNDERWATER EXPLORERS t: 01305 824555 e: info@underwaterexplorers.co.uk a: Unit 1, Maritime Business Centre, Mereside, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1FD Leading Dorset dive centre stocking all major brands, air, nitrox, trimix fills, rentals and servicing beside Portland Marina and across from Chesil Beach. www.underwaterexplorers.co.uk

ESSEX BESPOKE SCUBA DIVING LIMITED t: 01708 837032 e: contact@bespokescubadiving.co.uk a: Becontree Heath Leisure Centre, Althorne Way, Dagenham, Essex, RM10 7FH Our mission is to provide quality & professional scuba training in a relaxed friendly environment. www.bespokescubadiving.co.uk

BLACK WATER DIVING t: 07841 561680 e: info@blackwaterdiving.co.uk a: 18 Lower Park Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 4NA PADI Dive training focussed on beginners. Try Scuba Diving for £20. Private swimming pools. Learn to scuba dive with 1:1 instruction at Blackwater Diving. www.blackwaterdiving.co.uk

DIVERSE SCUBA t: 01375 892444 e: info@diverse-scuba.co.uk a: Ye Old Plough House Motel, Brentwood Road, Bulphan, Essex, RM14 3SR Diverse Scuba are one of the leading 5 STAR PADI IDC dive centres in the UK providing scuba diving courses and services to the Essex region. www.diverse-scuba.co.uk

ORCA SCUBA DIVING ACADEMY t: 01268 520111 e: info@orcascubadivingacademy.co.uk a: 17 Repton Close, Burnt Mills Estate, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1LN Established in 2007 the Academy a vision of Gary to deliver the very best Scuba Diving School in Essex. www.orcascubadivingacademy.co.uk

HARROGATE DIVESHACK UK t: 07779 605863 e: tim@diveshack.uk.com a: 17 Station Parade, Harrogate, HG1 1UF Harrogates number 1 dive store.

BLUE OCEAN DIVING t: 01622 212022 e: scuba@blueoceandiving.co.uk a: West Park Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7AF 5* PADI scuba diving courses and training, organised diving trips and events, scuba equipment and friendly advice based in Maidstone. www.blueoceandiving.co.uk

GO DIVE t: 01332 665353 e: sales@godive.net a: Nottingham Road, Spondon, Derby, DE21 7NP Take your diving to the next level with GoDive, the UK’s first fourth element concept store. Start shopping with us today! www.godive.net

PLYMOUTH AQUANAUTS t: 01752 228825 e: info@aquanauts.co.uk a: 88 Vauxhall Street, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL4 0EY Waterfront full service centre with direct access to the best wreck and reef diving the UK has to offer. www.aquanauts.co.uk

www.diveshack.uk.com

ROTHERHAM LANCASHIRE CAPERNWRAY DIVING AND LEISURE LTD e: info@dive-site.co.uk a: Jackdaw Quarry, Capernwray Road, Over Kellet, Lancashire, LA6 1AD The UK’s finest inland dive site... Welcome to Capernwray, the beautiful diving venue on the edge of the Lake District. www.dive-site.co.uk

EAST LANCS DIVING e: info@eastlancsdiving.co.uk a: Daisyfield Pool, Daisy Ln, Blackburn, BB1 5HB East Lancashire’s only PADI approved Dive Centre - Undertaking all PADI courses and Specialities from Try Dive to Professional. www.eastlancsdiving.co.uk

MILTON KEYNES MK SCUBA DIVING t: 07957 710334 e: contact@mkscubadiving.co.uk a: Unit 50A, I-Centre, Howard Way, Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes, MK16 9PY Friendly, professional and patient PADI, SDI and TDI scuba instructors, we proudly offer you high quality service, equipment and facilities. www.mkscubadiving.co.uk

NORWICH KENT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

DREAM DIVERS LTD t: 07976 526050 e: info@dreamdiversltd.co.uk a: 18-20 Greasbrough Rd, Parkgate, Rotherham, S62 6HN PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre based in Parkgate, Rotherham. Our instructional team has been teaching PADI courses together in the Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and surrounding areas of South Yorkshire since 2005. www.dreamdivers.co.uk

SHROPSHIRE SEVERN TEC DIVING t: 01939 291303 e: severntecdiving@gmail.com a: Seventec Diving, Unit 1J, Leaton Industrial Estate, Shrewsbury SY4 3AP We are a Scuba Diving Training Center with over 20 years experience with a multi-agency approach to scuba diving. www.severntecdiving.com

SOMERSET DIVE ACADEMY t: 01935 353525 e: info@dive.academy a: Unit 7-8 Boundary Avenue, Commerce Park, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8UU Somerset’s Premier. Scuba Diving Centre. Book a lesson. www.dive.academy

SUSSEX

CHRISTAL SEAS SCUBA LTD

OYSTER DIVING

t: 01603 485000 e: info@scuba4me.co.uk a: 62 Whiffler Road, Norwich, NR3 2AY We are Norfolk’s Premier dive centre with our own on-site swimming pool and well stocked shop with the latest equipment.

t: 0800 699 0243 e: info@oysterdiving.com a: Maritime House, Basin Road North, Portslade, E. Sussex, BN41 1WR PADI 5-star IDC centre in London and S.E. Holidays around the world, active club and local dives. Exclusive lake in Surrey. www.oysterdiving.com

www.scuba4me.co.uk

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

SUSSEX

YORKSHIRE

PLANET DIVERS

BELOW THE SURFACE

t: 07889 883232 e: info@planetdivers.co.uk a: Planet Divers, The Angling Club, Royal Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7AA A Friendly Crew, Great Diving all year round. Excellent, Fun trips UK & Abroad for all levels, non-divers welcomed. www.planetdivers.co.uk

t: 07967 733764 e: info@belowthesurface.co.uk a: 26 Albert Street, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 8AH A PADI 5 star centre with over 30 years’ experience, we teach in small groups & at your pace. www.belowthesurface.co.uk

DIVEWORLD

WEST MIDLANDS AQUASPORT INTERNATIONAL t: 0121 706 6628 e: info@aquasportonline.com a: The Dive Centre, 50 Lincoln Road, Olton, Solihull, West Midlands, B27 6PA The only purpose built diver training centre and dive shop in the West Midlands and the only PADI Dive Centre in the whole of Greater Birmingham and Solihull. www.aquasportonline.com

t: 01142 332995 e: info@learn2dive.co.uk a: 185 Holme Lane, Hillsborough, Sheffield, Yorkshire, S6 4JR Welcome to Diveworld, dive school, dive club, dive retail and servicing, dive travel and more, the complete scuba package. www.learn2dive.co.uk

Your diving memories deserve

the best home www.divelogs.com

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

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS HERE NEXT ISSUE!

WILTSHIRE DM SCUBA TRAINING t: 07920 556116 e: instructor@hotmail.co.uk a: Filton leisure Centre, Elm Park, Fiton BS34 7PS DM Scuba hold pool training sessions in Bristol, Swindon and Bath giving you plenty of choice. www.dm-scuba.co.uk

FANTASICAL CREATURES - AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Mark Evans heads north to Lancashire in search of the mystical Treebeard - the latest arrival at Capernwray inland dive site.

Q&A: BLUE HORIZON DIVING, PT2

Mark Wynne and Holly Wakely discuss their mostmemorable - and worst - diving moments.

BIG BLUE IN THE RED

The two Richards - Cullen and Stevens - head off for the inaugural voyage of new Red Sea liveaboard Big Blue in Egypt’s Deep South.

TECH: TULSAMERICAN PROJECT

Phil Short takes us behind the scenes of the emotive project to recover human remains from downed bombers from World War Two.

GEAR GUIDE: TEST EXTRA

Editor-in-Chief Mark Evans dives the Scubapro Hydros X BCD and Fourth Element Scout mask.

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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

WHIRLWIND START TO THE SCHOLARSHIP YEAR Photographs by Ahmet Magdy and Tord Karlsen

rzucan started her Scholarship year with the most-ambitious adventure she has embarked on to date - to join Captain Andreas B Heide onboard his sailing vessel Barba for the circumnavigation of Svalbard as part of Barba’s Arctic Sense Expedition - a 3,000 nautical mile investigative journey. While navigating the vessel through ice all the way to the polar circle North in search of blue whales, she supported the collection of vital acoustic and ID data on the species in uncharted waters. Highlights of the voyage included coming face to face with polar bears, changing camera traps for Dr Tom Hart from the University of Oxford, meeting sailing legend Skip Novak and his vessel Vinson of Antarctica and, most importantly, diving under ice. Equipped with her Fourth Element Argonaut Suit and Scholarship flag, diving into the frigid waters at 80 degrees North off a small sailboat and in the company of the Captain was nothing short of a dream come true for her. Arzucan’s Scholarship year was briefly paused as she returned to university and swapped her polar field equipment for books while finishing her MSc thesis about the impacts of human disturbance on whalesharks in the Maldives. After submission, she was invited to Egypt by Red Sea Diving Safari, where she spent three weeks honing her underwater photography skills on the beautiful house reef of Marsa Shagra with Sarah O’Gorman and under the guidance of ocean photographer Saeed Rashid. She then added sidemount diving and selfreliant diving at Marsa Nakari to her new skill-set and excitedly put the ability to manage different equipment configurations as well as all her underwater camera gear provided by Reef Photo and Video, Nauticam and Light and Motion, to the test. Her time

Arzucan

in Egypt ended with an expedition to waters of the Deep South of Egypt led by the Red Sea’s shark expert, Ahmed Mamdouh from Deco Divers. Continuously striving to ‘skill up’ further, she returned to the UK for two months of cold-water diving between October and December. Her first stop was Cromhall Quarry for the HSE Commercial Diver course, focused on scientific and media diving. Directed by Neil Brock from Bristol Channel Diving, she spent two weeks learning the ins and outs of diving for work. The course covered everything from UK legislation to the use of full-face masks and communications underwater, as well as the challenge to construct scaffolding in low visibility. It also included a visit to the Diving Diseases Research Centre and a decompression chamber dive to 40m depth under supervision of world-leading hyperbaric medics. With her eyes set on running her own specialised media and science operations in remote corners of the world in the future, this opportunity was a vital step for her career as a diver and expedition leader. You can read more about Arzu’s diving experiences and the opportunities enabled by the OWUSS EU Rolex Scholarship on www.owusseurope.org and get to know her on www.arzucan-askin.com

WWW.SCUBADIVERMAG.COM

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

DRYSUITS

Scuba Diver UK #58

Articles inside

Our-World Underwater Scholarship

What’s New

TECHNICAL: Italy

Scotland

Test Extra

GO Diving Show

Divers Alert Network

News round-up

Underwater Photography

Q&A with Blue Horizon Diving

DAN Europe Medical Q&A

Indo-Pacific

The Philippines