Cover JUNE.

qxp_April Cover(final) 03/05/2016 12:30 Page 1

7 WAYS TO BETTER BREATH-CONTROL BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING DIVING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2016
divernet.com

HEY, LOOK OLD DOG

WHAT I NEW
FOUND! TRICKS
Why is Leigh Bishop
Franck Goddio brings going back to basics?
ancient Egypt to UK

KAMIKAZE
24-PAGE MARU
Rod Macdonald nails
MEXICO the wrecks of Palau

SPECIAL
Coast to coast and WHICH COMPUTER?
out to Socorro
19 new-generation models go under the spotlight

£4.40
06

9 770141 346176

3D WITHOUTS
THE GLASSE
TITANIC
PERFORMER WHITE PARADISE MINE
First In 06_16.qxp_DPS 05/05/2016 11:42 Page 2

This is before the concert.

This is music.

THIS IS THE
CHILLOUT LOUNGE

HURGHADA
RED SEA RIVIERA
First In 06_16.qxp_DPS 04/05/2016 15:54 Page 3

STEVE WEINMAN, EDITOR

FIRST IN
YOU CAN’T GET
ENOUGH DIVE-GEAR
IF YOU INDULGE IN LIFE-OR-DEATH PURSUITS, you can’t carry enough
equipment. I was reminded of this recently while browsing through
RyanAir’s baggage-allowance details, as you do. One of the budget airline’s
Frequently Asked Questions was:“Can I carry a parachute on the flight?”
Bringing your own personal means of escape seems a sensible precaution,
though the possibility hadn’t occurred to me before. The complications
involved in opening the hatches at 38,000ft might be a deterrent, quite
apart from stowing the ’chute accessibly in the overhead locker, and the
fact that it would take up a fair bit of your cabin-baggage allowance.
The next question asks whether the passenger can bring his or her own
self-inflating lifebelt on board. This suggests a commendable desire for
redundancy and a sustained interest in bail-out procedures.
Incidentally, the answer in
both cases is yes. Perhaps
we divers can learn
DIVERNET
something from the need
to take more responsibility
MARKETPLACE
for our own safety, even
at the risk of appearing
RECOGNISES THE
mildly obsessive.
So there you have it,
REALITIES
you really can’t have
enough equipment, and anything that makes it easier to buy all the kit you
need can only be a good thing. Which brings me to Divernet Marketplace, a
new way for you to select and buy dive-gear and services too – and one
that recognises the realities of modern retail.
This useful new service is underway and expanding by the day. We’re
setting before the Divernet community an extensive line-up of selected
products, including what we hope will prove to be a tempting array of
limited-time group offers.
While this showcase of diving goodies can be found online, Divernet
Marketplace reflects the fact that, much as you might enjoy window-
shopping on your portable device or PC, many of you also want to support
your local dive-shops. Buying in person still has the benefit, after all, of
giving you direct access to the sales staff’s expertise, plus the latest gossip.
Accordingly, Divernet Marketplace enables you to purchase your chosen
items in whichever manner you prefer – online, by phone, over the counter
or any combination of the three. Check out what’s on offer at the moment
by visiting partners.divernet.com

divEr too brings you a tempting spread of good things this month, not
least – while we’re in dive-kit mode – Nigel Wade’s guide to what you can
expect for your money with the current crop of dive-computers.
Central to the June issue, however, is our Mexico supplement, because we
believe that for variety and excitement in and between its Caribbean and
Pacific waters, this diving destination is becoming hard to beat.
Our features underline its appeal, not least for those who yearn for big-
animal encounters. These and the Mexico Booking Now section offer
a wealth of ideas if you’re inspired to experience it for yourself.
And to single out just one other article I think you’ll find interesting,
Leigh Bishop, who has carried out more extreme dives
than most, swallows his pride and goes right back to basics
to learn to dive the GUE way. Find out whether it is indeed
possible to teach an old dog new tricks.
I’ve just learnt a new trick for making my next dive-trip that
bit safer, so I’m off to browse parachutes.
thisisegypt.com
3
DIVE 2016 advert v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:43 Page 1

www.diveshows.co.uk

NEC Birmingham
Saturday 22/Sunday 23 October
Advance Tickets: £9.50
£8.50 per person for groups of 6 or more
On the door: £14.50
Under 14s – FREE (when accompanied
by paying adult)

Follow us on @DIVESHOWS and facebook.com/diveshows

Contents JUNE.qxp_Contents_MAY 03/05/2016 11:35 Page 05

JUNE 2016 Volume 61 No 6

CONTENTS incorporating

Published monthly by Eaton Publications,

FEATURES
Suite B, 74 Oldfield Road, Hampton,
Middlesex, TW12 2HR

Tel: 020 8941 8152

Email: enquiries@divermag.co.uk
21 It’s Back to Basics Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
…as Leigh Bishop tackles a GUE Fundamentals course Nigel Eaton nigel@divermag.co.uk

27 Which is Your Must-Have? Editor

Steve Weinman steve@divermag.co.uk
21 Nigel Wade assesses the USPs of 19 dive-computers
Publishing Consultant
34 Messages from the Past Tony Weston tony@divermag.co.uk
Archaeologist Franck Goddio prepares his London show Technical Editor
Nigel Wade divingnige@btinternet.com
38 Be the Champ!
Alex Mustard on how to get depth into your photos Production Manager
George Lanham george@divermag.co.uk

43 Mexico Webmaster
A 24-page supplement on the hot diving destination Mike Busuttili webmaster@divernet.com
34
44 Rendezvous at Isla Mujeres
Advertisement Manager
Big animals that congregate off the Yucatan peninsula Jenny Webb jenny@divermag.co.uk

49 Raw Excitement! Classified Advertisement Sales

Sara Duncan sara@divermag.co.uk
Gavin Parsons hits the reefs and cenotes of Cancun
Senior Advertisement Executive
54 Mexico Booking Now Alex Khachadourian alex@divermag.co.uk
Holiday ideas for divers heading west
Advertising Production
David Eaton david@divermag.co.uk
44 57 Festive Spirit
Richard Aspinall hits Cozumel during its Scubafest Subscriptions Manager
Harry Eaton subscriptions@divermag.co.uk

62 Big Time Marketing, Sales & divEr Bookshop

It’s a long way to Socorro – and worth every mile Dorothy Eaton dorothy@divermag.co.uk
uwp-mailshop@divermag.co.uk

67 Kamikaze Maru Financial Controller

Rod Macdonald is back with a book on Palau’s wrecks Kojo Gyamera kojo@divermag.co.uk

Accounts Assistant
72 Le Paradis Blanc Julian Auty accounts@divermag.co.uk
62 A flooded French limestone mine offers divers a treat
Reception
77 Breath Control enquiries@divermag.co.uk
Gas guzzling? Simon Pridmore is here to help
EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS
Archaeology Dave Parham
Biology Dr David Bellamy
Freediving Marcus Greatwood
Industry Dr John Bevan
Law Prof Mike Williams
Medicine Dr Ian Sibley-Calder
Photography Saeed Rashid, Brian Pitkin
Ships Richard Larn
72 Wrecks Rex Cowan
http://tiny.cc/b2uld

THE MAGAZINE THAT’S STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE…

HOW TO GET YOUR divEr:
SUBSCRIPTION: Twelve issues, including p&p, cost £52.80 (UK); £64.80 (Eire/Europe/Worldwide surface); airmail rates available on request. Pay by
Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, American Express, sterling cheque or UK Postal Order. Contact the Subscriptions Dept, divEr at the above address.
NEWSAGENT: If you prefer to buy divEr over the counter, place an order with your newsagent now. All newsagents can obtain the magazine,
but in case of difficulty please notify the Subscriptions Manager at the above address.
divEr (ISSN-0141-3465) is published monthly by Eaton Publications, Periodicals Postage Paid at Jamaica NY 11431. USPS no. 22517.
US agent: Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.
US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to divEr Magazine, c/o Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue,
www.divernet.com
2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.

5
Contents JUNE.qxp_Contents_MAY 03/05/2016 11:35 Page 06

CONTENTS
REGULARS
3 First In
Editor’s view

8 News
Great Barrier Reef under the cosh from bleaching

18 Beachcomber
The antidote to jellyfish stings and other gossip
8
41 Trewavas
The fine art of giving a buddy the slip

80 Reviews
Books from Richie Kohler, Alex Mustard and more

82 Booking Now
All the latest holiday news

84 Diver Tests
Titanium reg, strobe, multi-tool and self-drying aid!

88 Just Surfaced
New but untested diving products 82

90 Dive Holiday Directory

92 Liveaboard Directory
94 Classified Ads
96 Dive Centre Directory
96 Advertisers’ Index
97 Subscribe Here
– and get a free Apeks diving watch!

98 Deep Breath 84
A new way of mobilising against shark-finning

Cover shot:
Archaeologist-
diver with 2000-year-
old Egyptian Osiris jar,
by Christoph Gerigk
The reproduction in whole or in part of any of the contents of divEr
is expressly forbidden without the written permission of the Publishers.
Copyright © 2016 by Eaton Publications. divEr reserves the right
to reproduce on-line any articles that it has published in print.
The views expressed in FIRST IN are not necessarily those of anyone
but the Editor, and other editorial should be ascribed only to the
authors concerned. The publishers accept no responsibility or liability
for any errors, omissions or alterations, or for any consequences
ensuing upon the use of, or reliance upon, any information contained
88
herein. Due caution should be exercised by anyone attempting dives
on any site herein described or indicated. The company does not
accept liability for submitted photographs. The printing of an
advertisement in divEr does not necessarily mean that the
Proprietors endorse the company, item or service advertised. divEr
is distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Avenue,
London EC1A 9PT (tel: 020 7429 4000) and printed by Headley
Brothers Ltd, The Invicta Press, Queens Road, Ashford, Kent TN24
8HH (tel: 01233 623131).

6
AquaLung (Dive Instruments) – 06_16.qxp_AquaLung 20/04/2016 11:09 Page 1
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:54 Page 08

DIVER NEWS

Bleaching wreaks havoc

DOROTHEA BENDER-CHAMP FOR ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CORAL REEF STUDIES
on Great Barrier Reef
A
USTRALIAN SCIENTISTS have MIA HOOGENBOOM FOR ARC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR CORAL REEF STUDIES
revealed the full extent of the
coral bleaching that unfolded
through March and April on the Great
Barrier Reef, off the Queensland coast.
The final results of extensive aerial
and underwater surveys revealed that
93% of the reef had been affected,
according to the ARC Centre of
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
(Coral CoE). It reported a mixed picture
of very severe, moderate and little
damage as it surveyed from north to
south along the reef’s 2300km length.
Meanwhile, on Australia’s west
coast, researchers also discovered
widespread bleaching caused, like that
on north-eastern coasts, by elevated
temperatures.
“We’ve never seen anything like this
scale of bleaching before,” said Coral
CoE’s Professor Terry Hughes,
convenor of the National Coral
Bleaching Taskforce that has been
documenting the destruction.
Speaking towards the end of April,
he said: “In the northern Great Barrier Damaged corals on one of the Ribbon Reefs in the GBR and (inset) before and after on Lizard Island.
Reef, it’s like 10 cyclones have come
ashore all at once… towards the “The bleaching is extreme in the past bleaching events only because bleaching does occur.”
southern end, most of the reefs have 1000km region north of Port Douglas they were exposed to a pattern of The researchers found that this
minor to moderate bleaching and all the way up to the northern Torres gradually warming waters in the lead- “practice run” induced heat-shock
should soon recover.” Strait between Australia and Papua up to each episode. responses in the coral that reduced
The scientists flew over 911 New Guinea,” said Coral CoE’s Prof However, this protective pattern severity of bleaching and mortality.
individual reefs in helicopters and Andrew Baird. “At some reefs, the final was likely to be lost soon, according to The protective “practice run” was
aircraft to map out the extent and death toll is likely to exceed 90%. researchers from Coral CoE at James observed in 75% of stress events on
severity of the bleaching. “When bleaching is this severe it Cook University and University of the GBR in the past three decades, and
“Of all the reefs we surveyed, only affects almost all coral species, Queensland, working with the USA’s early evidence suggested that the
7% (68 reefs) have escaped bleaching including old, slow-growing corals National Oceanic & Atmospheric 2016 bleaching event had followed
entirely,” said Prof Hughes. “At the that, once lost, will take decades or Administration (NOAA). the same pattern.
other end of the spectrum, between longer to return.” “When corals are exposed to a “Our results underscore, once again,
60 and 100% of corals are severely According to the scientists, reefs pre-stress period in the weeks before the importance of global action to
bleached on 316 reefs, nearly all in the further south got off lightly because bleaching, as temperatures start to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,”
northern half of the reef.” water temperatures there remained climb, this acts like a practice run and said Prof Peter Mumby from Coral CoE.
Underwater teams of scientific closer to normal summer conditions. prepares the coral,” said lead author “We can still have a beautiful reef if
divers confirmed the accuracy of the Dr Tracy Ainsworth. “Corals that are people are willing to change
aerial surveys, and were continuing to MEANWHILE, A NEW study has found exposed to this pattern are then less behaviour.” The paper is published in
measure the impact. that GBR corals were able to survive stressed and more tolerant when the journal Science. ■

EU COMPLIES ON SHARK-FINNING – BUT CONCERNS REMAIN

INFRINGEMENTS OF THE EU’s shark-
finning ban have been rare, but
gaps in reporting, inspection and
limits remain a cause for concern,
according to a report by the
European Commission on the
effectiveness of member-states’
implementation of the 2014 ban.
The report reaffirms that the
most reliable means for enforcing
such a ban is to ensure that any
sharks landed have their fins still
naturally attached. This, it says,
eases enforcement and helps in
collecting species-specific data.
“We applaud the European
Commission for underscoring its
intention to maintain a strong
finning ban for the EU, and also
continue to promote the ‘fins-
naturally-attached’ best practice
approach on a global scale,” said
Ania Budziak, Associate Director for
Project AWARE.
“We are pleased that support for
enforceable rules voiced by
conservation organisations and
members of the concerned public
was able to counter industry efforts
to weaken the ban.”
EU member-states are required
to submit annual compliance
reports, including shark-landings,
inspections and violations detected.
According to the report there are
still concerns in certain areas.
France and Portugal failed to report
on their landings for 2014, while
Spain, which takes the most sharks
in Europe, was among the least

8 www.divErNEt.com
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:54 Page 09
Divernet Marketplace
open for business
A NEW WAY FOR DIVERS to browse
and buy scuba gear, accessories and
services has been launched, in the
shape of the Divernet Marketplace.
Featuring an extensive line-up of
carefully selected partners,
products and services, Divernet
Marketplace will also include a
selection of attractive Group Offers.
“These offers will be exclusive to
the Divernet community and for a
limited time only,” says Divernet
Publisher Nigel Eaton. “Visitors will
be encouraged to browse the
Marketplace regularly in order to
not miss out.”
Recognising the importance of
divers supporting their local dive
Detached sharkfins should now be a rare sight in Europe.
likely to inspect its catches – though
the report points out that despite
its low inspection rate it did still
manage to detect an infringement.
The other point of concern is that
there are still no limits for the
species that dominate EU shark
landings – blue, mako,
smoothhound and cat sharks.
“We are deeply concerned that
www.divErNEt.com
shops and taking
advantage of their
expertise and service, Divernet
Marketplace has special features to
help them find local suppliers and
get in touch.
“Many divers like to window-
shop online for their gear, then
make the actual purchase over the
counter in the shop. Others are
happy to order online or by phone.
Whichever way – Divernet
Marketplace is here to help!”
New partners, products and
services will be added over the
coming weeks and months, and the
Marketplace will continually evolve
to cater for diver’s needs.
Visit Divernet Marketplace at
partners.divernet.com ■
the major shark-fishing countries of
France and Portugal have failed to
report on this fundamental shark-
fishing regulation,” said Ali Hood,
Director of Conservation for the
Shark Trust. “Moreover, this report
underscores the urgent need for
additional shark safeguards,
particularly catch limits for heavily
fished blue and mako sharks.” ■
DIVER NEWS
THE BIG QUESTION
Wedded to Facebook
Who says Facebook has had its day? Not for divers, it hasn’t. Last month
we asked you: “Which social media do you use most in connection with
diving?” and the response left us in no doubt – 78% of you put
Facebook top of the list. The remainder of the votes were mainly for
good old word of mouth, the original social medium, and email – and
diving fans of Instagram, Twitter and What’s App were notably few and
far between.
FACEBOOK
“Social media is great for keeping in touch with all the
people I’ve done trips with over the years.” Philip
Medcalf
“Easy to use and not restricted by number of
words.” Geraint Owen
“It’s easier to post photos and video.” Paul Nockolds
“I have never really got on with the other social media.” Sabrina
“I also subscribe to Buddy Finder and UK Viz Reports.” Neil Hewby
“By far the best medium.” Christopher Day
“It’s fun.” Hugh South
“Messages, photos and comments – Facebook has it all in one place and
everybody you know is on it.” Edward Perry
“It’s the best place to keep up with all the goings-on within the diving
community – also to see and participate in the groups that are
dedicated to underwater photography.” Mark Harris
“I use it to keep up with dive-club activities, wider conservation
activities and with friends met diving at home and abroad.” Liz Suggitt
“Our club links Facebook to our website so members who don’t have
Facebook accounts can still read the posts – great tool!” Guy Freeman
“It’s easy to set up a group to stay in touch with fellow liveaboard
divers.” Stephanie Lee-Dwyer
“Also Divermeet.” Olly
“It’s an easy way to ask buddies if they are free to dive.” Dale R
“I use Facebook Messenger to arrange updates and post event pics etc
in groups.” Steve Hartshorn
WORD OF MOUTH
“Face-to-face or the old-fangled telephone does best for me. I can’t
spare the time to trawl through all the rubbish that comes from social
media to get what I want.” John Nutting
“Nothing beats having an actual conversation!” Richard Boutcher
“I talk to my diving community in the pub with pint in hand.” Paul Smith
“Word of mouth with like-minded people is more interactive, creative
and fun.” Peter Thorp
OTHER
“Our club uses email, so this has become the standard.” Dave Horton
“Twitter is just so quick and easy, and all information is presented in
bite-sized chunks. It keeps me right up to date.” Daniel Martin Moore
“Email, because I don’t really do Facebook and the like.” Alan Gould
“It allows me to connect to many people on instant social media. It also
allows me to share other divers’ content easily!” Stefan
“I love seeing all the photos on Instagram. They excite me and feed the
desire for more diving.” Jason A
Go to www.divernet.com to answer…
THE NEXT BIG QUESTION Should divers over 60
be required to obtain independent medical certification?
Please answer yes or no, but feel free to comment
9
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:54 Page 10

DIVER NEWS

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A TROPICAL DIVE RESORT!

THE OWNERS OF A DIVE-RESORT in Micronesia
who now wish to move on have come up with a
novel way of transferring their business to a new
owner – they have launched a prize draw.
Australian couple Doug & Sally Beitz have run
Kosrae Nautilus Resort and Nautilus Scuba Divers on
the Pacific island of Kosrae in Micronesia for 21 years
but now wish to rejoin their family in Australia.
They say that the business is profitable and debt-
free, with US $10,000 cash in its bank account, and
their plan is to transfer 80% ownership to one
fortunate winner.
The resort consists of 16 hotel rooms, a four-
bedroom manager’s residence and two self-
contained apartments, all air-conditioned and
fully furnished.
There are two dive-boats, a private beach and
pool, solar-power system, a restaurant that seats 80
Kosrae Nautilus Resort – it could be yours for as little as $49! (with at least $5000-worth of food), five rental cars,
two minibuses and a pick-up – plus a long-term
staff of 16. The resort is situated on a 3-acre site a
short drive from the airport.
So why leave all this tropical bounty behind? “We
have four boys, and three years ago one of them
QUANTUM gave us a beautiful grand-daughter,” says Doug
Beitz. “She lived here for a year and we got to enjoy
her every day. Then, when she left, we were just
heartbroken.
SLS weight system
“We’ve had our time in the sun and enjoyed
a career most people would never even dare dream
about… we feel like a new chapter in our lives is
beginning, and we’re ready to pass the baton to
someone else.”
Stretchy pocket Raffle package options include an Explorer Pack
for $49 (one ticket to win the resort and an image
by photographer Matt Shepherd); a Couples Pack
(three tickets, three images) for $129; a Hero Pack
(five tickets, five images and a pair of Grown
sunglasses) for $199; or an Executive Pack (10
tickets, 10 images).
The prize draw takes place on 26 July live using
YouTube or Facebook Live. For more details and a
chance to win a tropical dive operation, go to
wintheislandestates.com/enter ■

CROCODILE KILLS
A SALTWATER CROCODILE was believed to be
responsible for the death of a snorkeller in the
Raja Ampat area of Indonesia in March.
The body of 37-year-old Russian tourist
Sergey Lykhvar was recovered in an isolated
spot on the coast of Minyaifun island, four
days after he had been reported missing.

CENTER OF BALANCE. One of Lykhvar’s hands was missing and

there was a distinctive bite-mark on his hip.

EDGE OF PERFORMANCE.
The head of the local search & rescue service,
Pracetuo Budiarto, told press that a large
saltwater crocodile had been spotted close to
ǩ 1HZGHGLFDWHGORZFXWDLUFHOOZLWKRSWLPL]HGOLIW where the body was discovered.
ǩ 6XSHULRUȌWDQGVWDELOLW\ “We believe he was killed by a crocodile
ǩ 1HZ6/6ZHLJKWV\VWHPEDVHGRQPHFKDQLFDOLQWHUIHUHQFHORFNDQGWKHȌUVWZHLJKW 
 V\VWHPHYHUZLWKYLVXDOFRQȌUPDWLRQRIHQJDJHPHQWVWDWXV judging from the missing body parts and the
ǩ 6WUHWFK\SRFNHWVXSUDWHNQHRSUHQHDOORZVSRFNHWVWRDWWDLQFRQVLGHUDEO\ODUJHUYROXPH
ǩ %&DWWDFKPHQWNLWRSWLRQDODOORZVFRQYHQLHQWVWRZDJHDQGUHWULHYDORIFDPHUDH[WHQVLRQSROH extent of his injuries,” he said, adding that the
mares.com
Russian had been snorkelling alone in a
location known for its strong currents and
sharp rocks. ■

10 www.divErNEt.com
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:54 Page 11

Ellerton fatality had lung Dive

diving holidays worldwide

disease and faulty gear

A
DIVER WHO DIED after
getting into difficulties at the
Ellerton Lake inland site in
North Yorkshire last May was suffering
from lung disease, using faulty
equipment and overweighted, an
inquest has been told.
Tony Adams, 58, from Norton, Co
Durham, was diving with his local
Atlantis 449 club, according to a report
on the Teesside Coroner’s Court
proceedings in the Northern Echo.
The inquest was told that on 21
May Adams was diving with two other
divers, Henry Durham and Peter
Thomas, to 6.5m in the lake, which
has a maximum depth of 10m.
He appeared to be experiencing
buoyancy problems, with his feet
continually floating upwards, and the
others decided to abort the dive, but
Adams did not seem to respond.
Several attempts were made to get
the diver to the surface but the
inquest heard that his suit failed
to inflate, his regulator kept falling
from his mouth, and one of his fins
became tangled in line before the
divers were able to surface and bring
him ashore.
Atlantis 449 member John Bennett,
described as dive supervisor, and then
paramedics applied CPR successfully
but Adams was declared brain dead
a week later at James Cook University
Hospital, Middlesbrough.
Adams had been diving for a year,
and on the day of the dive had
borrowed Bennett’s equipment. The
twin-set he was using had one faulty
contents gauge, and although Adams
had been warned about this Bennett
told the coroner he should have done
more to check equipment pre-dive.
Adams had not told other club
members that he was suffering from
health problems, but a post mortem
showed that he had chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.
His wife Wendy told the inquest
that he had been suffering from
constant chest pain and shortness of
breath for several months, and had
been referred to a lung clinic.
She described her husband as too
50+ destinations
“stubborn” to give up diving.
Teesside Coroner Claire Bailey
recorded a narrative verdict, in which
the circumstances of death are
recorded without attributing the
cause to a named individual.
She said she was satisfied that
insufficient checks had been made,
and that if they had been carried out
the equipment problems would have
been discovered. ■

Land and Sea

SAUDI ARABIA RECLAIMS TIRAN ISLAND
MARC RYCKAERT

Tiran Straits looking towards Tiran island.

IF EGYPT RATIFIES its concession of Reefs such as Jackson, Woodhouse, precursor to building a bridge across
Red Sea scuba hotspot Tiran Island Thomas and Gordon lie off Tiran’s the Gulf of Aqaba linking Egypt and
and its neighbour Sanafir to Saudi western coast. Saudi Arabia, with Tiran as its halfway
Arabia, exclusion of divers could turn Following six years of negotiations point. At their closest point the two Luxury Liveaboards
the state of the country’s scuba- over maritime demarcation lines, countries are some 10 miles apart.
tourism industry “from bad to even Egypt’s cabinet has finally signed a Egyptian opponents of the scheme
worse”, according to the country’s document agreeing that the islands have described it as a sell-out and are
Red Sea | Maldives
Aswat Masriya online news service. fall within Saudi waters, although this pushing for a referendum, arguing Caribbean | Far East
Tiran, with a total area of about has yet to be ratified by the Egyptian that the move is unjustified and 0LFURQHVLD_3DFLÀF
30sq miles, lies in the Gulf of Aqaba off parliament. Saudi Arabia, it was counter to national security interests.
the Sinai Peninsula, with 13sq mile conceded, had merely leased the The tourism industry is concerned Multi Centre
Sanafir to its east. The uninhabited strategically placed and long-disputed that denying visiting divers access to
islands, accessed by day-boats from islands to Egypt, to help protect them the islands would prove damaging to
Sharm el Sheikh, lie within the Ras against Israeli invasion in 1950. businesses that are already under Group discounts
Mohammed National Marine Park. The new agreement is seen as a considerable pressure. ■
& FREE places
See online for offers
WHY ALL THE UK TURTLES? JOIN IN WITH WEBCHAT
FOLLOWING A SPATE of strandings on the UK’s Atlantic “This winter we’ve seen an amazing number of turtles
coasts in the past winter, the Marine Conservation stranding on UK shores, including loggerheads,
Society (MCS) is hosting a webinar that will investigate leatherbacks, Kemp’s Ridleys and a green turtle,” says
turtle activity and behaviour in home seas. MCS turtle expert and Head of Biodiversity & Fisheries www.sportifdive.co.uk
The event takes place on “World Turtle Day”, Monday Dr Peter Richardson, who hosts the webinar. Following
23 May at 12.30pm, and aims to explain why so many his talk, there will be a Q&A session. 01273 844919
turtles are appearing in UK waters, and the quick action Interested divers are invited to register for the event
to take if a live turtle is spotted stranded on a beach. at www.tinyurl.com/mcswebinar ■

www.divErNEt.com 11
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 13:05 Page 12
DIVER NEWS
Nitrox diver made fast ascent from 95m
A
CORONER’S JURY in the
Cayman Islands has returned
a verdict of misadventure in
the case of an American tourist who
died after a diving accident on 31
March, 2015.
Victor Crawford, 62, from Alabama,
went missing during a group dive
from the Cayman Aggressor
liveaboard, according to a report on
the hearing in the Cayman Compass.
After the alarm had been raised his
14-year-old learns to train divers with disabilities
PHOTOS BY JIM GRAHAM
Charlotte Burns carries out one of the exercises.
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD DIVER
Charlotte Burns, who hit the headlines
last year when a planned high-profile
dive in Iceland’s Silfra Fissure was
blocked because she was deemed too
young, has completed both the HSA
(Handicapped Scuba Association) Dive
Buddy and Instructor courses with the
charity Dive Ability.
Although Burns qualified on paper
as an HSA instructor she cannot
function as one until she is 18 and has
become a PADI or BSAC instructor. She
is currently a PADI Junior Master Scuba
Diver and BSAC Sports Diver.
Each course consists of three days
of pool and open-water training.
Referring to the combined
programme, Burns said: “You are
restricted in movement, so you
experience the same problems your
buddy has”. She described it as “the
most physical dive course I have ever
completed, much more difficult than
my Rescue course. Being tied up and
You can also access digital editions of divEr via www.pocketmags.com
and Pocketmags Magazine News Stand for Kindle Fire.
12
body was discovered nearby by crew
from the Ocean Frontiers dive centre
at East End on Grand Cayman.
Crawford had dived to a depth of
95m, although he was diving on nitrox
and should not have gone beyond
33m, according to witnesses.
He was said to be an experienced
diver, but Department of Environment
Deputy Director Scott Slaybaugh said
that the case involved “a series of
actions which were significantly
With fellow-students and instructors
Duncan Brown and Jim Buntin (seated).
put under the water and having your
mask blacked out to simulate
handicaps is more than terrifying.
“The course is intense but the
feeling of being able to help others
experience scuba-diving who maybe
never would has got to be worth it.”
Charlotte’s father Peter Burns told
divEr: “All the other students on the
Instructor course were PADI
instructors, so she did well to hold her
own and earned great respect from
fellow more-qualified students.”
His daughter helps out at Dive
Ability pool sessions for one day each
month. “She really enjoys using her
skills to help others, and as they have
some young disabled people there,
her age has helped in giving them
someone to relate to,” said Peter
Burns. “One boy has really improved…
and now follows Charlotte around the
pool on training sessions with so much
more confidence.”
The young diver has already raised
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on Apple Newsstand, major Android devices,
Kindle Fire, HP Touchpad and PC & Mac.
hazardous and far beyond the
standard of safe diving practices".
Crawford was said to have
separated from his group and to
have been diving alone. Slaybaugh
said that from the evidence of his
dive-computer he had ascended
rapidly without making appropriate
safety stops.
Health Services Authority
pathologist Dr Shravana Jyoti told the
jury that Crawford had been in good
Charlotte Burns.
more than £500 from sponsors for her
efforts. Her instructors Jim Buntin and
Duncan Brown are holding another
HSA Buddy Course at Stoney Cove in
September. Interested divers are
invited to contact them at
www.diveability.com ■
health, and that the cause of death
was drowning related to nitrogen
toxicity.
At the time of the death there had
been reports that an ambulance took
nearly an hour to reach the dive
centre, where the crew was alleged to
have pronounced the man dead but
then to have left the scene without the
body. At the hearing, the Royal
Cayman Islands Police Service refuted
claims of negligence. ■
So who needs
microbeads?
PLASTIC MICROBEADS are
becoming an issue not only for
marine conservationists but for
the majority of the informed
public, according to Greenpeace.
It says its latest survey on the
subject indicates that 91% of
people think the UK should follow
the USA’s lead in banning the
ocean pollutants.
In Parliament an Early Day
Motion to this effect was tabled in
March, with 26 MPs so far signed
up in support.
Microbeads are plastic particles
used as exfoliating agents in
cosmetic products such as scrubs,
soaps and toothpaste. Designed
to be washed away into the seas,
they threaten the health of
marine wildlife through ingestion.
In Greenpeace’s survey almost
70% of those polled admitted to
having little previous idea of what
microbeads were, but 64% said
they would no longer buy
products containing them if there
was an alternative.
And more than a quarter of a
million people have signed a
petition calling on the
Government to introduce a ban.
An estimated 8 million tonnes
of plastics enter the oceans
annually, says Greenpeace, with
15-51 trillion tiny plastic particles
present to threaten marine life. ■
www.divErNEt.com
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:55 Page 13
Kaiser’s destroyers get noticed in Portsmouth Harbour
A COMBINATION OF HISTORICAL
research and archaeology has
helped researchers from the
Maritime Archaeology Trust (MAT)
to identify the remains of two
WW1 German destroyers lying in
mud in Portsmouth Harbour.
The destroyers, one of which,
V44, fought at the Battle of Jutland
100 years ago, were taken as war
trophies by Britain in 1919 and
used for target practice before
being sold for scrap.
Their remains lie on the muddy
shore of the Royal Navy base HMS
Excellent on Whale Island, says
the MAT.
V44 and V82 were part of the
German High Seas Fleet, and the
identification came about through
“Forgotten Wrecks of the First World
War”, a four-year Heritage Lottery
project devised and run by the MAT.
The first clues to the origin of the
ships were pieced together by the
MAT’s Dr Julian Whitewright, who
found that the ships were identified in
photographs from 1939.
To his amazement, when he looked
at modern imagery of the area the
remains were still there.
UK Hydrographic Office reports
revealed that they were German ships
that arrived in Portsmouth Harbour in
the 1920s.“Thousands of old ships
have been abandoned in Portsmouth
Harbour over the years, sometimes for
UNDERWATER ART GALLERY ON CAYMANS’ KITTIWAKE
A diver takes a look at one of Andreas Franke’s exhibits on the Kittiwake’s weather-deck.
www.divErNEt.com
decades, but it’s very rare for any
evidence of them to still be there
today,” said Dr Whitewright.
A Portsmouth Evening News report
provided a key piece of evidence in
identifying V44. “In September 1922,
the paper reported that a local youth
had been charged with the theft of
engine-fittings from one of the ships,”
said MAT researcher Stephen Fisher.
The other destroyer was identified
when a painting by well-known war
artist WL Wyllie showing V82
grounded at Whale Island was
discovered in the National Maritime
Museum archives.
The next stage of work will involve
archaeological surveys of the two
ships, which will be difficult as they are
surrounded by deep mud.
As the vessels were so similar in
design, archaeology may prove to be
the only way to work out which ship is
which, says the MAT. ■
DIVER NEWS
MIKE GREAVES
MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY TRUST
Top: Artist’s
impression of V44
and V82, shortly after
beaching.
Above: The remains
of one of the vessels.
Right: Torpedo-boats
in action at Jutland,
a 1916 painting by
German artist Willy
Stower.
THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY of the deliberate sinking
of the popular USS Kittiwake in the Cayman Islands is
being celebrated with the wreck’s transformation into
an “underwater museum” for visiting scuba divers.
Created by Austrian art photographer Andreas
Franke, the framed and sealed manipulated photos
depicting “European style and cultural history” are a
continuation of his Sinking World series, which first
appeared on Florida’s Vandenberg wreck in 2011.
Launched in July 1945, the Kittiwake was active
until 1994. Its many missions as a US Navy submarine
rescue vessel included the recovery of the black box
after the Challenger space-shuttle disaster in 1986.
Since the Kittiwake was sunk on 5 January, 2011,
it has attracted some 53,000 divers and 67,800
snorkellers, according to the Cayman Islands Tourism
Association. Located in a marine park off Seven
Mile Beach on Grand Cayman’s west coast, it lies
upright in 19m but its upper decks reach to within
5m of the surface.
“The Kittiwake has attracted fish, corals and other
critters that would not be there otherwise,” said
Joanna Mikutowicz from local dive-centre DiveTech.
“It’s nice to see that man-made dive sites can create an
entire new reef… The Kittiwake is definitely meeting
and exceeding the expectations we all had for it.” ■
13
Beaver Sports (Ocean 7) – 08_15_Beaver Sports 25/06/2015 10:07 Page 1
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:55 Page 15
40-year-old South American
reef rumours proved true
T
HEY SAY THERE’S LITTLE left
on Earth to discover, but
scientists have been amazed to
find a previously unknown 600-mile-
long coral reef at the mouth of the
Amazon in Brazil.
The team of 30 oceanographers
were in the area aboard the vessel
Atlantis to conduct research into
oceanic absorption of carbon dioxide,
according to a report in The Atlantic.
However, senior Brazilian scientist
Rodrigo Moura proposed that as a
Freedivers Adam and Alice triumph
PHOTOS BY DEAN MARTIN
Adam Drzazga in the pool.
TWO BRITISH FREEDIVERS scooped
both the British and International
awards at the seventh British
Freediving Association (BFA) Great
Northern freediving competition &
UK Pool National Championships,
a one-day event held in Manchester i
n April.
The event, held in the 25m pool
at Wright Robinson School Sports
College, involved the two disciplines
of static and dynamic apnea, and
attracted competitors from the UK
and the Continent.
UK Male and International Male
winner was Adam Drzazga from Blue
Water freediving club, with a static
apnea time of 7min 18sec and a
dynamic distance of 154m.
The UK Female and International
Female winner was Alice Hickson,
last year’s “Newbie Award” winner
and 2015 Dynamic No Fins World
Champion, who recorded 6min 33sec
static and 130m dynamic. She trains
with Bristol Freedivers.
Drzazga, who has represented
www.divErNEt.com
secondary objective if time allowed
they should investigate rumours from
the late 1970s of an offshore reef in
the area – even though the dark,
muddy conditions in the river mouth
made the prospect seem remote.
Using a dredge, the researchers
found corals, sponges and fish
brought to the surface, indicating that
the reef had been beneath them all
the time they had been working.
Further research has indicated that
the reef stretches over 3600sq miles
Alice Hickson.
Great Britain in freediving’s World
Championships since 2013, chairs the
British Freediving Association, the UK
governing body of international
freediving organisation AIDA.
The event was organised by Steve
Millard of Learn2Freedive.com ■
from the southern tip of French Guiana
to the Brazilian state of Maranhão, and
that it is a flourishing habitat.
Specimens found at what is now
Brazil’s northernmost reef suggest
that it acts as bridge between the
Brazilian and Caribbean reefs. It is
hoped that the existence of such
hardy reefs can offer clues as to how
coral can survive the current threats of
climate change.
A full report on the discovery is to
be published in the journal Science. ■
CORRECTION
In News, June, in the story National
Record Set at NoTanx Competition,
freediver Eoin Clarke was reported to
have set an Irish record of 166m with
a no-fins swim. The distance should
have been 116m. Our apologies. ■
DIVER NEWS
NATASHA EWINS / MCS
Bottle pollution
– time to bring
back deposits?
MORE THAN 8000 PLASTIC
bottles were found on UK beaches
during just one weekend,
according to the latest beach-litter
figures from the Marine
Conservation Society (MCS).
On average 99 bottles were
picked up along every kilometre
cleaned at 340 beaches from
Orkney to the Channel Islands
during the MCS Great British
Beach Clean last September, says
the MCS. It’s estimated that plastic
bottles could take up to 500 years
to break down once in the sea.
The charity’s report also reveals
that beach-litter overall increased
by more than a third between
2014 and 2015, that a record 6000
volunteers took part, and that the
most litter found per kilometre
totalled almost 3300 pieces.
MCS beach-cleaning is
supported by the People’s
Postcode Lottery. Volunteer teams
record the litter they collect from
a 100m stretch during each clean
for comparison purposes.
There was a big year-on-year
percentage rise in most drinks
containers found on beaches in
2015 – plastic bottles increased by
more than 43%, metal cans by
almost 29%, and caps and lids by
more than 41%. The number of
glass bottles fell, but by under 1%.
MCS advocates Deposit Return
Systems (DRS) schemes on single-
use plastic, aluminium and glass
drinks containers as a possible
solution to the problem. A
surcharge is added to the price of
the drink, giving the container a
nominal value, and when bottles
are returned this is refunded.
A similar system applied to glass
bottles in the UK in the mid-19th
century, when children would
collect discarded bottles to
supplement their pocket money.
The full report can be found at
www.mcsuk.org ■
15
News JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:55 Page 16

MARINE LIFE
DIVER NEWS

New database could help save corals

A
N INFLUENTIAL AUSTRALIAN research extraordinary, but progress in these areas has been

TOM BRIDGE, WWW.TETHYS-IMAGES.COM

organisation has come up with a global
database designed to help protect
threatened coral reefs.
The Coral Trait Database “will allow coral-reef
scientists to begin to address many significant,
unresolved questions – and much faster,” says
Professor Andrew Baird from ARC Centre of
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
“Traits are fundamental to most aspects of the
ecology and evolution of organisms,” says Prof
Baird. “For example, the Great Barrier Reef is now
in the grip of perhaps the largest coral-bleaching
episode in history, and this database can help
scientists explain why some species are more
susceptible than others.”
Associate Professor Joshua Madin from
Macquarie University led the team that spent
several years developing the database. Data was
obtained from often obscure and inaccessible
journals and books dating as far back as the 1800s.
“There are hardly any questions you can’t ask of
the database,” he says. “Its number of uses are
hindered by lack of readily accessible trait data.”
It is estimated that 275 million people rely
directly on coral reefs for food, protection from
waves and storms, income and cultural value, says
ARC. “They are also crucial in providing protection
and habitat for healthy fish populations. However,
in the past 20 years, coral cover has diminished by
as much as 95% in some locations.”
Climate change and the recent El Niño are
currently contributing to a global mass-bleaching
event on a scale previously unseen in recorded
history, according to ARC. Pollution and over-
fishing add further stress.
“Coral reefs are changing rapidly, and that is
unlikely to slow down,” says Prof Madin. “If we
don’t understand these changes, we can’t protect
these species-rich ecosystems.
“We hope this database will support scientists
trying to make a difference by providing them
access to the data they need quickly, and at no
cost.” The Coral Trait Database can be accessed at
As it should look – acropora corals growing on a reef crest.
coraltraits.org ■

DIVE-CENTRE EXPLAINS A-FLAGS TO ISLE OF MAN BOAT-USERS

REPORTS OF NEAR-MISSES between
boats and surfacing divers have
prompted an Isle of Man dive-centre
to launch an awareness campaign
aimed at boat-owners and
professional skippers on the island.
Discover Diving’s campaign is
called “Divers Down”, and Michelle
Haywood, who runs the Port St Mary
centre, has designed posters and flyers
to show boat-users what to look out
for. These are being distributed by the
Isle of Man Ship Registry and
Department of Infrastructure.
Discover Diving owns and operates
what it claims is the only purpose-built
dive-boat on the Isle of Man. There are
estimated to be more than 1500
shipwrecks in Manx territorial waters,
making the island a popular
destination for visiting divers.
“We had a few times last year where
boats were coming too close to divers,
and decided to do something positive
to work with other boat-owners,“
Haywood told IoM Today.
She added that it wasn’t safe for
divers to send up surface marker
buoys until the end of their dives
Discover Diving’s dive-boat Endeavour.
because of the snagging hazard
caused by long ropes marking
fishermen’s pots.
Using a photograph of SMBs to
indicate how far it's possible for divers
to travel from their entry-point, the
campaign makes clear that boat-users
need to steer clear of areas in which
dive-boats are operating, and that
vessels flying the A-flag should be
regarded as restricted in their ability
to manoeuvre because of the divers
around them.
“Our harbour-keepers obviously see
what’s going on within their harbours,
but outside of the harbour it’s harder
for us to monitor what’s going on,“
said Director of Ports at the
Department of Infrastructure Ann
Reynolds, who worked with Discover
Diving to develop the campaign.
“The reports about near-misses
between divers and vessels last
summer came into the Marine
Operations Centre, where we quickly
realised that we needed to raise
awareness. The flyers will be going out
to registered harbour users – we hope
it makes a difference.” ■

THE TURTLE THAT WENT INTO THE POT – FOR ITS OWN GOOD
AN OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLE has
undergone hyperbaric chamber
treatment in a bid to compress gas
bubbles that were preventing him
from submerging.
The 20-year-old turtle was found
stranded and near death last
December on the Oregon coast of
the USA, a long way north of where
he might have been expected to be
found, off southern California or
Mexico. Since then staff at Seattle
Aquarium have been rehabilitating
the rescued reptile, which they
named Tucker.
In March the 32kg turtle was
transferred to the chamber at
Seattle’s Virginia Mason Hospital
and sedated while its staff
collaborated with veterinarians
from the aquarium to apply
hyperbaric therapy.
Tucker breathed 100% oxygen
for about two and a half hours, with
a breathing tube in his airway and
his heart monitored. The aquarium
reported that he “tolerated the
treatment well“.
Tucker was returned to the
aquarium to see whether his
buoyancy problem had been
permanently corrected. He was to
be released back into the Pacific
only once he could dive normally,
and was able to find food and not
be vulnerable to predators or boats.
“We have treated many scuba-
divers over the years… this is the
first time we have been asked to
assist in the care of a sea turtle,
which are excellent divers
themselves,” said Dr James Holm,
Medical Director at the Centre for
Hyperbaric Medicine, who took part
in the operation and has been a
scuba-diver for 40 years.
Aquarium veterinarian Lesanna
Lahner said of Tucker: “Not only will
the treatment potentially help him
to be released back into the wild,
but it has provided us with valuable
information about the diving
physiology of sea turtles. This has
been an exciting collaboration of
veterinary medicine and human
healthcare providers.” ■

16 www.divErNEt.com
Aqaba Tourism (FP) – 06_16.qxp_Full Page Bleed 03/05/2016 10:00 Page 1
Beachcomber JUNE.qxp_Beachcomber 27/04/2016 10:01 Page 18

BEACHCOMBER

presence of a few scuba-divers was

THE ANTIDOTE TO JELLYFISH STINGS going to influence the water

temperature is beyond me. There
If this year is anything like last year, you’ll were divers off the South Coast last
already have been hearing the jellyfish-sting weekend and the temperature of the
stories. The thing about jellies is that they don’t Channel didn’t rise alarmingly.
even have to be still around for you to Even if it did make a difference, if
encounter random bits of trailing, stinging the waters are regularly dived surely
filaments floating bodiless in the water, or you need divers in the water so that
wrapped securely around the shotline when the temperature is what it usually is,
you pull it up, and tales of a burning moustache not what it is if you temporarily stop
or tingling fingers were commonplace last year. diving.
In fact it’s thought that 150 million people a Still, I suppose they were doing
year are stung by jellyfish, and more people die their best.
from severe reactions to the stings than are
killed by sharks.
Yes, I know, more people are killed by their What Munin found

LEONARDOLO
own trousers than are killed by sharks, but that The Loch Ness monster has been properly
doesn’t make jellyfish stings any less located and positively identified. So why
unpleasant. wasn’t it front-page, wall-to-wall, blanket-
So, what do you do if you’re stung? Bathe the area not straight from your flask because that will scald, coverage, around-the-world news?
with hot water. which isn’t good. Because it wasn’t the monster, it was a
Water at 50°C for 20 minutes will deactivate the And if you start to feel really unwell, quit prop used to make the1970 movie The
toxins, reduce or eliminate the symptoms and mucking about with home remedies and get on the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, which
promote recovery, according to researchers. blower. For a small but significant number of people, features Christopher Lee as Sherlock’s
And where do you get the hot water? Dunno, really, jellyfish stings aren’t just unpleasant, they can be older, smarter brother Mycroft Holmes.
but I imagine hot tea or coffee will work as well, just life-threatening. Anyway, in a salutary lesson for divers
everywhere, the prop sank and was lost
because the film’s director decided that it
Floral tribute big canister of absorbent and the In the USA, however, they do it didn’t look right and demanded that some
As Phineas T Barnum probably didn’t dodgy electronics. differently. In Western Illinois, for of its humps be removed.
say, but the girls of St Trinian’s did, All I need is a couple of million quid example, you can now get a degree in These, it turned out, were actually
there’s one born every minute. for development and we’re away. I’m scuba-diving. there for buoyancy, and so Nessie sank into
You may remember the Triton off to set up the funding campaign. I wonder if there’s a “Diving With A the deeps.
underwater breathing device. In the Hangover” speciality, and if the level of The discovery was made by Kongsberg
pictures it looked a bit like a bigger your final degree determines how Maritime, which used its marine robot
version of the gadget used in a couple Icy inspiration deep you’re allowed to go? Munin to conduct a survey on behalf of the
of the Bond films, except that it was You may remember reading in the press Loch Ness Project and VisitScotland.
supposed to be a working prototype about Devon diver Tony Pardoe and his wife As well as the monster, they also found a
and not a film prop. Yvonne. They recently put a collection of Just go large WW2 bomber, a fishing-boat wreck and
Well, video was recently posted rare and historic diving kit up for auction, T’internet is a great place to find remains from John Cobb’s water speed
as part of a crowdfunding campaign and I loved the back-story to a Swedish- inspirational and useful advice to improve record vehicle Crusader, which crashed in
showing the device in use in a pool made set of standard diving dress, the stuff your diving, so when I saw an article there 1952 at more than 200mph.
and asking potential investors with the big helmet and the heavy boots. about extending your next dive I was But not the real monster, obviously.
for money. Apparently, a Swedish farmer was out straight on it. Among the advice given was
And it looked great. Forget the one winter and crossing a frozen lake on to dive often, stay fit, streamline your kit to
tanks or the rebreather, you could his tractor when the ice gave way and the reduce drag, breathe properly and more. Red dwarf
now go diving with a gadget you machine plummeted into the depths. It was all worthy stuff, no doubt, but it So, there you are, swimming under
could carry around in a coat-pocket. Hauling himself from the ice-cold water, completely missed the best and most water, quietly enjoying the serenity of
Brilliant. Except, it didn’t work, so presumably cursing and spluttering, the obvious way to achieve the same result – the moment, and then bam!, you’re in
a new version incorporating “liquid farmer went home and made himself a full get a bigger cylinder and carry more gas. the middle of a Star Wars-style
oxygen cylinders” is being developed set of surface-supplied standard diving Better yet, get yourself a twin-set. Or, shootout with blasters going off all
instead. It couldn’t have worked dress that he used to recover the tractor. even better still, buy a rebreather. That way around, so you start spinning around
because there isn’t enough oxygen Astonishing – far more impressive than you can make hypothermia the limiting like somebody who needs their
dissolved in water, as I pointed out last making your own DSMB from a li-lo tube. factor, not gas consumption. medication increased, only to realise
year, but that didn’t stop the funding that it’s a dwarf minke whale singing.
pouring in. And if you’re wondering what I’m
But it did give me an idea. Further education Body heat blathering on about, dwarf minkes do
We all know that plants absorb University dive-clubs have their own Scientists and researchers are make the sort of noises you hear on
carbon dioxide and release oxygen. special charm. Every year dozens of important people. They find out stuff sci-fi movies. It’s true.
Put that in a closed loop, using one- newbies sign up to learn to dive, while that benefits us all, so it seems a bit
way valves so that your exhaled dozens more have left the club churlish to make fun of them. But I’m
breath goes around the loop and over because their course has finished going for it anyway. Vulgar publication
a small plant, say a sprig of mint to and they’ve migrated elsewhere to Recently, 32 Thai dive-sites were Seen on an Internet auction site, a 1985
give the gas a nice flavour, and you’ve find a job. The training challenge is temporarily closed while the water PADI dive-manual, as new, still in the
got a fully functional rebreather but obvious, and the people who sort it all temperature was measured. plastic. Best bit was that it was described
without all the heavy cylinders, the out are heroes. Quite why they thought the as a “vintage PADI coarse manual”.

18 www.divErNEt.com
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GUE fundamentals.qxp_DIVER grid 04/05/2016 14:38 Page 21
IT’S BACK TO BASICS,
MR BISHOP
Can an old dog learn new tricks?
S
O WHY EXACTLY are you booked
on a GUE Fundamentals course?”
diver’s deep-wreck man LEIGH
The question had been asked
BISHOP enrolled on a GUE repeatedly, accompanied by puzzled
Fundamentals course to find out looks and the odd frown. “What exactly
am I going to teach you?” instructor
if he could improve his existing Richard Walker asked when I booked
underwater survival skills. Set in his ways, onto the course.
Fair enough. I was an established diver
his mojo shaky and not having taken a class
with a lot of experience. I had been there
for well over 20 years, the big at the onset of technical diving, been
OG
question was this: a rebreather development diver and
would he
O L D D a member of most significant deep
shipwreck projects.
actually In the heyday of mixed-gas exploration,
I had dived some 400 virgin wrecks.
pass?
Some of today’s leading instructors tell
me that my photography inspired them
to get into technical diving.
So why do a basic-level scuba course?
It was time to put my hand up and admit
KS
that my confidence for diving the deep
W T R IC had dwindled in recent years.
NE I had lost close friends; others were
www.divErNEt.com
TRAINING DIVER
wheelchair-bound because of the bends.
The psychology of it all was getting the
better of me.
Older and wiser, I had developed
a greater appreciation of everything
around me. So I had two options – hang
up my fins, or do something about it.
Experience is no use unless you learn
from it. In my professional life as a
firefighter, barely a month goes by
without being dragged off on a training
course to be updated on developments in
something I may have been taught only
the previous year. It’s called “continuous
professional development”.
Mine is a different job in terms of
safety than it was when I started 25
years ago. Does the same apply to diving?
I have had to comply with the changes
at work, but not necessarily to
developments in diving. If I went back
to the drawing-board, could I learn
something new in terms of concepts
or techniques, perhaps.e ingenious ☛
21 divEr
GUE fundamentals.qxp_DIVER grid 28/04/2016 16:14 Page 22
safety protocols that might have saved a
friend or two? Would it help to restore
my confidence? Was there another deep
project left in the old dog?
I quickly discovered just how many
courses are now available from different
agencies. Back in the day, the options were
nitrox and trimix, taught by Kevin Gurr,
Sheck Exley or the man who taught me
about mixed gas, Rob Palmer – and that
was about it!
The jokes took a back seat as my dive-
buddies realised that I was serious. From
now on I intended to enrol periodically
on courses to continually improve my
underwater skills.
But I didn’t want death by PowerPoint,
I wanted quality – so where to start?
My last deep project had been on Mars.
Not the planet, the 450-year-old warship
wrecked in the Baltic. It was a Global
Underwater Explorers project, but I was
far from being a GUE diver.
I did however share a close friendship
with Richard Lundgren and Jarrod
Jablonski, two of the men who founded
GUE and shaped it into what it is today.
Richard had invited me to dive with
the group, but it wasn’t my finest hour.
Following a lay-off I wasn’t seasoned,
and my heart and mind weren’t in it. I was
a mess.
On those dives, however, I observed
what I considered some of the best divers
I’d ever seen. I was inspired not only by
their safe team approach but by their
solid diver style and thinking.
If I was going back to basics, why not
a GUE Fundamentals course?
I didn’t plan to become a full-on GUE
diver, but I could study precision skills
and configuration methods that I might
integrate into my existing practices.
Once Rich Walker understood, he
applauded my openness. Although as
concerned as I was that I might be too set
in my ways, he would make me work as
hard as anyone else on the four-day
course to reach the required standards.
divEr 22
Right: Rich Walker explains
equipment configuration to
his class of three.
I had no idea what I was signing up for, DAY 1, 8am
but would soon discover that it was no Rich introduced himself to the class,
walk in the park. and we reciprocated. The maximum of
GUE doesn’t train just for the sake of three students for a Fundamentals
training. It is committed to redefining the class allows the instructor to focus
nature of aquatic activity in three specific closely on each person’s development.
areas – education, conservation and Rich, a long-time GUE instructor
exploration. and accomplished technical diver,
Instructors from other agencies had succeeded in explaining the organisation
told me that a GUE qualification was and its benefits without sounding like
accepted everywhere and never a Ford salesman.
challenged. Those holding one are Our first assessment was to swim a
regarded as having had the highest level preset distance both above and below the
of training available. water. I wasn’t getting away with having
I would have to complete a theory forgotten my Speedos, and improvised
exam and six dives demonstrating with padded cycling shorts (I’d brought
propulsion techniques, buoyancy, trim, my mountain-bike, thinking to hit the
S drills (gas-sharing), shut-down drills, local trails if there was any spare time –
a no-mask swim (help!) and what GUE how naive to expect spare time to be
calls the Basic 5. We would also simulate factored into a GUE course!)
moving an unconscious diver under water The pool session would incorporate
before making an ascent. basic body positioning – arched back and
The form-filling had started before clenched buttocks to bring the knees into
I arrived on site. The usual disclaimers a nicely trimmed position. GUE has a no-
had to be filed through the GUE website, smoking policy and does not welcome
and that took some time. unhealthy people. Had I smoked and lied
about this on registration, I would have
Left: Even at the highest
level of GUE training the been found out on this swimming test.
fundamentals apply, Back in the classroom, Rich talked kit –
including basic equipment what to avoid and the logic behind GUE
configuration. These are equipment of choice. GUE has a
divers on the Mars reputation for being very prescriptive
expedition.
about what to use and how it’s set up, and
I wasn’t prepared to be beasted into what
I used to think of as a pseudo-military
regime, so I was all set to fight back.
No need – things have changed at GUE,
it seems. At no time did Richard try to
steer us towards a particular brand.
Reasonable and methodical, he went
through everything from wings to suit-
inflators, reels to lift-bags; there was
a theory for everything.
For example, a 60cm hose was
considered perfect for a back-up regulator
www.divErNEt.com
GUE fundamentals.qxp_DIVER grid 28/04/2016 16:14 Page 23
– not too short to restrict head
movement, not long enough to be
a snagging hazard.
Much came down to one principle –
if you don’t need it, don’t take it. GUE
believes in simplicity and consistency
across different environments.
Qualified GUE divers can join any GUE
project around the world, and hire or
borrow exactly the same equipment to
dive with any GUE diver anywhere, which
provides familiarity as well as airline
weight savings.
So I could dive the adaptable harness
set-up on a deep project in Greece to
120m, and the same the following week
while looking at fish in shallow Red Sea
waters. And I could dive with a stranger
but feel as if he or she had been my
regular buddy for years.
Paired with another student, Nigel,
I went through a classroom dry-run
wearing the standard GUE configuration
and taking on board various accident-
prevention measures. The configuration
has evolved from lessons learnt at the
sharp end, and it made sense.
DAY 2, 8am
Day two was all about refining the
basic skills of buoyancy, trim and
propulsion in the water. Fine-tuning
over the course of the dives would
gradually bring everything into place.
As long as we could execute each skill
before the end of the class we would pass,
so there was no pressure to succeed
immediately.
Each dive was fully briefed in the
classroom before we donned our drysuits.
We had been sent a basic list of kit we
would need, and items we hadn’t brought
were loaned, useful for someone new to
the sport and unsure of what to purchase,
or whether GUE was the way forward.
A pre-dive buddy check at the water’s
edge was required, using the mnemonic
GUE EDGE (Goal, Unified team,
Equipment, Exposure, Deco, Gas,
Environment).
We were shown how to drive our wings
www.divErNEt.com
TRAINING DIVER
Left: The instructor teaches
the correct perfect buoyancy
GUE EQUIPMENT
and trim skills. REQUIREMENTS
Backplate & single-piece webbing
harness
Non-bungeed wing
Non-split fins
SINGLE CYLINDER OPTION
Regulator with two second stages
One 2.1m hose
One backup regulator on necklace
One SPG
TWIN CYLINDER OPTION
(required for Technical pass)
Twin-set with isolation manifold
and suits in relation to each other, and Two first-stage regulators
where the gas should and shouldn’t be in One second stage fed from 2.1m
relation to trim. hose
We learnt about bringing our breathing Back-up regulator on necklace
pattern back into the middle of the lungs, One SPG
controlling it to our advantage.
I favour my lungs as a buoyancy A primary light (optional but
compensation tool, so this skill would required for Technical pass)
feed well into my rebreather diving. should consist of a hand-held
Ask divers if they can stop still in the light-head on a Goodman handle
water, and most will say they haven’t done with battery-pack attached to
it but reckon they could. We tend to swim harness waistband.
around looking at things, but if you can’t
stop how can you look at anything Other small items such as SMBs and
properly? In decompression most divers performance requirements can
swim around each other precisely because be found at www.gue.com/
they can’t keep still. content/gue-fundamentals.
Divers with no buoyancy control often
reach out for something to stabilise Below: A typical standard Instructors can advise on specific
them – not great if it’s a coral reef. Much GUE diving rig for a wide configurations, and may be able
of the course was dedicated to building on range of environments. to loan or rent equipment not
precision buoyancy-based skills. already owned.
My buoyancy was OK – but not by
GUE standards. Now it had been brought
to my attention, I would notice other
divers around us and the trail of
destruction left as they continually pushed
themselves off the silt quarry bottom.
I wouldn’t be best pleased if I was
spending a week on a Red Sea liveaboard
with those guys.
Each dive was filmed to be used as a
learning tool in the classroom. Watching
the pitfalls of our existing techniques, we
could take advice on improving them.
To learn correct finning techniques is
to learn the art of moving through water
efficiently without disturbing or
damaging the environment. Rich
explained the advantages of each style of
fin-kick and where it could be used to best
advantage.
He would demonstrate each one, then
it would be over to us. He would modify
a kick and again have us repeat his moves.
We began to understand why so much
emphasis was placed on perfect buoyancy
control. We would learn how to make
precision helicopter kicks and to fin
backwards keeping our trim perfect.
At first I thought this a waste of time ☛
23 divEr
GUE fundamentals.qxp_DIVER grid 28/04/2016 16:14 Page 24
– why would I ever need to fin backwards?
Well, perhaps when my curiosity gets
the better of me and I find myself inside
a constricted wreck with the exit behind
me and no way of turning round.
You may be thinking: “I can fin
backwards easily, what’s he on about?” Try
it, keeping yourself to within the perfect
horizontal 1.5m buoyancy trim range as
GUE teaches. Let me know how you get on!
The afternoon dive focused on the
Basic 5 and an S drill – a gas-sharing drill
using the long hose. Regulator out, then
back in again. Regulator exchange, one
out, then your back-up in.
The long hose is primarily for
donation. In an out-of-gas (OOG)
situation the diver affected will grab the
regulator from which you are breathing.
The skill of donating the regulator
while both divers remain calm and safe is
what the S drill is all about.
Flood, clear, remove and replace the
mask completes the Basic 5 skills. For an
experienced diver these basic drills are no
issue but the challenge comes from
holding perfect buoyancy throughout
the procedure.
Only that morning I had seen divers
undertaking similar drills but while
kneeling on a platform, perhaps
overweighted, with no gas in their
buoyancy devices and going nowhere.
GUE was teaching me how basic
skills could be employed in the most
demanding situations without damaging
the environment.
For the S drill, all three students took
turns to be the out-of-gas diver while
another became the donator of available
gas. Rich would direct the exercise step
by step, and as with the dry runs we
undertook each one super-slowly.
To get it right without entanglement or
additional stress on the OOG diver took
several runs.
Again, the drills had to be completed
with super-precision buoyancy, and we
were encouraged to use our new
helicopter and back-kick skills to
reposition ourselves into the student
divEr 24
learning-cross formation. When our Above left: Students I lost my mask and swum around without
instructor was satisfied, the dive was demonstrate that each long it! I hadn’t been looking forward to the
finished with a controlled ascent, holding hose is deployable. afternoon dive, on which I would do just
perfect stability at 3m. Above: A student that. I passed, but the exercise didn’t sit
Each day’s work ended with an intense undertakes an out-of-gas well with me at first.
brainstorming classroom session. As it S drill. Finding a suitable depth in the quarry,
was the bleak midwinter, this retreat was I removed my mask. While controlling
welcome, but our brain cells could not be my nose- and mouth-breathing, I felt
shut down because over the four days we Rich remove the mask from my hand.
would undertake gas analysis, gas Everything was a blur and my brain
management, gas physics and was working overtime to convince me
decompression theory. All had to be that I wouldn’t drown.
absorbed to pass the final exam. Using his newly learnt communication
At the end of the day I was exhausted, techniques, Nigel guided me across the
but I was learning, and definitely bottom of the lake to a designated place
improving my in-water skills. of safety. The water was extremely cold
I was also beginning to think that a on my face but it was a case of mind over
GUE class was more than just a class – it matter.
was an investment. I did it – we all did it – several times. I
was in the class to rebuild my underwater
DAY 3, 8am confidence and that’s what I was doing.
Great emphasis was placed on gas- Now if I should accidentally lose my
management and particularly mask on a dive, no matter how tough the
analysis, a subject close to my environment I know I could control the
heart as it cost the life of one of my situation, reach for my spare in my cargo
closest friends. pocket and continue to safety.
We analysed our gas rigorously before We completed the dive with another S
each dive and marked the cylinders using Below: Leigh Bishop drill, but this time with a controlled
an ingenious GUE method. An early demonstrates S Drill gas ascent to the surface, then a hot drink,
classroom session and a detailed briefing donation. debrief and another classroom session.
prepared us for a dive focused on gas
shut-down drills.
Using twin-cylinder configurations, we
would practise the skill of isolating one
from the other to survive a dive. This was
another routine cleverly devised by GUE.
Rich emphasised the importance of a
correctly cut and fitted drysuit, and told
me that students had failed the course
simply because their suits did not allow
them to stretch and reach the manifold
valves to limit gas loss.
Divers unable to isolate their valves in
an emergency become a liability to
themselves, their buddy and their team –
and GUE diving is all about teamwork.
Luckily my perfectly cut Santi Elite was
fit for purpose, but it did take a few
attempts to get it right, as it did for the
other students.
Never in all my years of diving have
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GUE fundamentals.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 10:19 Page 25

TRAINING DIVER
Our theory input was complete, and it
was time to sit a 40-question exam paper.

DAY 4, 8.30am
The day began filling out sets,
analysing the gas and marking up
our cylinders with the correct
nitrox contents.
The final dives would incorporate some
new skills while fine-tuning others we had
learned. The first would incorporate more
S drills, another shut-down drill and the
deployment of an SMB.
That’s something I’ve done on just
about every dive of my life, but GUE’s
method is a little different and, after
thinking about it, one that might have
kept one or two friends out of the
incident pit over the years.
We would also learn how to manage an
unconscious diver from one point to
another. Most rescue drills are about
grabbing the diver, controlling buoyancy
and heading straight for the surface.
If you’re in a cave or wreck
environment, however, you can’t do that.
GUE’s technique is to swim that diver to
a safe place from which to ascend.
The final dive was what Rich called his
“flexible dustbin” dive – no drills that we
hadn’t done before, so all about getting
particular skills spot on.
Finally, after six dives we had each
demonstrated our capabilities in every
Right: Fundamentals
students discuss a drill with
their instructor.
skill and based on that the instructor
would determine at which level to certify
us. A Recreational pass allows you to sign
up for any GUE recreational classes.
If the instructor deems you sufficiently
competent to progress into cave or
technical diving you will be awarded
a Technical pass.
GUE Fundamentals is not cheap. I
relate it to my computer theory, that
people avoid Macs because they’re more
expensive than a PC but that they last
three times longer.
You pay for quality, and I can honestly
say that’s what I got from my GUE
Fundamentals class.
Did I pass? Of course I did. What award
did I receive? Let’s just say that I can
now start thinking about becoming a
technical diver!
l To undertake GUE
Fundamentals courses in the UK
you must hold an open water
qualification and be a non-
smoker. Courses are held at
various inland sites and cost
£570 plus US registration fee.
Contact Rich Walker via
www.wreckandcave.co.uk.
For training overseas the GUE
website carries an instructor
database, www.gue.com.

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www.divErNEt.com 25 divEr
026_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 29/04/2016 16:53 Page 026

www.liquidsports.co.uk
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:02 Page 27
Why test modern dive-
computers for conservatism
when you can adjust most
models to suit your
preferences anyway? asks
NIGEL WADE. It’s all about functions
now, so how to choose? He sets out
the selling-points of 19 representative
models from under £200 to one that
costs six times that amount
ALGORITHMS
Decompression algorithms are advanced
dive-tables used in conjunction with
a depth-sensor and timer. Researchers
have for years experimented with these
complicated formulae, calculating the
levels of various gases in a diver’s blood
and tissues and working out how they act
in their bodies.
Their biggest challenge has been to find
an all-encompassing formula that will
keep everyone safe regardless of age,
body size, shape, fat content, gender or
fitness level. We’re all different and we all
absorb and release gases at different rates
during a dive.
The ideal solution would be to stick a
needle in an arm and link it to some form
of superbiological computer that can
work out exactly what’s micro-bubbling
away in our bodies. This holy grail for
bio-boffins remains some way off, so we
rely on more generalised calculations.
Most computers now have a way of
taking into account your personal levels
of conservatism. These can be changed
from day to day or even dive to dive, to
take into account factors such as changed
www.divErNEt.com
D
IVE-COMPUTERS EVOLVED
quickly into “must-have”
instruments. No longer are divers
restricted to using table calculations for
flat-profile diving; by consulting your
on-board digital display you know your
exact depth, how long you’ve been there
and, more importantly, how long you
can stay there without saturating your
body tissues with inert gases.
The days of complicated calculations
to prepare gas requirements, run-times,
bail-outs and decompression penalties
for mixed-gas technical diving are also
over. Modern dive-computers can
underwater conditions, ambient
temperature, fitness or fatigue.
By adjusting these settings, your
instrument will either lengthen or shorten
no-stop times to become more or less
conservative.
Some models provide a choice of
algorithms, as well as the option to
include or exclude deep stops in the
decompression calculations.
MIXED GASES, OPEN-
OR CLOSED-CIRCUIT?
Nitrox has become a popular choice of
breathing gas for recreational divers, and
in some parts of the world it’s easier to
obtain than plain old compressed air.
Some resorts offer it free to suitably
qualified divers.
The calculations required to plan a dive
using nitrox are simple enough, but when
it comes to gas-switching during the dive
to minimise decompression penalties, or
full-on technical diving with helium in
the mix, the calculations become a lot
more intricate.
This is the domain of technical dive-
computers, electronic tools that calculate
TEST EXTRA
assimilate all the information needed
in real time and in real-world
conditions.
We’ve put together a group overview
of a selection of current computer
models as a guide when deciding on
which model best suits your
preferences, style, type of diving,
experience and, of course, budget.
Conducting a full underwater
comparison test as divEr used to do
makes little sense in the modern world,
because instead of set algorithms to
compare, today’s units offer user-
defined individual settings.
not only the ideal mix of gases for the
planned dive but also bail-out and deco
gas requirements, relaying this critical
information in real time during the
dive phase.
They allow the user to pre-input
various mixes that are then accessible
during the dive. Some models are loaded
with programs that can calculate safe
dive-profiles when using fixed-partial-
pressure oxygen closed-circuit
rebreathers. However, the CCR’s own
dedicated computer, linked directly to the
unit’s O2 cells, is generally seen as a better
option, with the standalone computers
usually employed as back-up.
DISPLAYS
It’s no good having all that risk-critical
information to hand if you can’t read
it, and some of the biggest advances
in display technology have been
incorporated into dive-computers’
evolution.
In the past, monochrome liquid crystal
was the only choice, and remains the most
commonly used. There are two types of
monochrome graphic LCD displays. ☛
27 divEr
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:03 Page 28

Suunto Zoop Novo £189 Right: Displays clockwise

from top left – full-colour
This large wrist-mounted unit for recreational diving can be used with LCD, dot-matrix LCD,
segmented LCD.
a single gas (air or nitrox) and features full decompression capabilities.
It is compatible with Suunto DM5 software for PC and Mac.
Algorithm8 Suunto RGBM
Gas Options8 Air or nitrox
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Dot-matrix LCD with
backlight
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Gauge,
Freedive, Off
Battery8 User-replaceable
li-ion CR2450
Access8 4 buttons
Data Transfer8 USB cable
Gas Integration8 No
Mounting8 Elastomer strap
with buckle One uses segments strategically This uses the light-moulding
Accessories8 Display shield, placed to form numbers and letters properties of liquid crystals to
data-transfer cable (similar to a standard calculator); display clear, crisp images and
the other, with a matrix of liquid- colours directly onto the screen.
crystal dots set over the whole The liquid crystals don’t emit light
Mares Puck Air Integrated £277 display, can create symbols and directly and need to be permanently
graphics as well as numbers and backlit. Full-colour LCDs are
Console-mounted air-integrated computer for letters over a wider area. Both types currently the most popular colour
recreational diving. The display shows real-time of screen can be lit from behind to displays in use.
tank pressure, time to reserve and gas suit low-light conditions.
consumption. A more up-to-date display using SCREENS
Algorithm8 RGBM Mares-Wienke technology found in modern TV Displays need to be set behind
(10 tissues) screens is the organic light-emitting a screen to avoid water contact
Gas Options8 Air or nitrox (21-50%) diode or OLED. and damage, and these can be
Closed Circuit8 No The digits themselves light up made from polymers such as
Display8 Combined segmented and to give a brighter, clearer view, and acrylic or Plexiglas, or from
dot-matrix LCD with backlight can also be illuminated in different toughened glass, sometimes
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Bottom-time. colours to be more distinguishable, referred to as sapphire-crystal
Battery8 User-replaceable CR2450 li-ion helping the viewer to assimilate which, unlike polymer screens, is
Access8 1 button critical information. scratch-resistant.
Data Transfer8 DRAK USB (optional) Because the digits themselves are An air-gap between screen and
Gas Integration8 High-pressure hose lit there’s little need for backlighting, display causes refraction, so the
Mounting8 Piston-clip or lanyard (not even in low-light conditions. screen becomes mirrored when
supplied) The latest screen technology is viewed from an acute angle, but
Accessories8 Analogue compass (+ £44) a derivative of what we see in displays that are bonded to the
smartphones and tablets – full- screen can be viewed from very
colour LCD TFT. tight angles.

TUSA Talis £290 Mares Matrix £328

This watch-style, recreational air or two-nitrox-mix computer with This watch-style computer with stainless-steel body and synthetic
automatic altitude adjustment comes in black, pink, white and blue strap features a tilt-compensating digital compass and is software
or twin-colour combinations of each. upgradeable from PC or Mac via the charging cradle and USB lead.
Algorithm8 TUSA Bühlmann ZHL-16C Algorithm8 RGBM Mares-Wienke (10 tissues)
Gas Options8 2 switchable nitrox Gas Options8 3 switchable nitrox mixes (21-99%)
mixes (21-50% & 21-99%) Closed Circuit8 No
Closed Circuit8 No Display8 Dot-matrix LCD with
Display8 Segmented LCD backlight
with backlight Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Planner,
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Gauge, Watch, Calendar
Freedive, Watch Battery8 Rechargeable,
Battery8 User-replaceable factory-sealed li-ion
CR2430 li-ion Access8 4 buttons
Access8 4 buttons Data Transfer8
Data Transfer8 PC interface Charging cradle USB cable
Gas Integration8 No Gas Integration8 No
Mounting8 Watch strap & buckle Mounting8 Watch strap & buckle
Accessories8 PC interface Accessories8 Screen protector,
metal strap, tech strap

divEr 28 www.divErNEt.com
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 12:04 Page 29
DISPLAYED
INFORMATION
Critical data such as current depth,
dive-time, no-deco limits and deco
ceilings need to be prominent to
allow the user to quickly assimilate
and instantly act on it. This can be
achieved using bold characters,
larger fonts or differing colours
(depending on the type of display).
Non-essential or nice-to-know
information such as date, current
time or water temperature doesn’t
need to be as prominent or, on
smaller displays, shown at all.
Displays can be customised or
personalised to provide a layout
to suit the user’s needs. Most have
language options and some have
selectable graphic and icon
options. OLED and full-colour
LCD displays often feature
customisable colour options,
making risk-critical information
instantly recognisable.
Ratio iDive Easy
This Italian computer comes in eight colours, and additional features
include a 3D tilt-compensating compass. It has pre-loaded apps
including moon-phase calendar, barometer, magnetometer and
altimeter plus a pitch-and-roll function.
Algorithm8 Bühlmann ZHL-16B
Gas Options8 Gas-switching,
2 gases, air, nitrox
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Dot-matrix LCD
with backlight
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Freedive,
Gauge
Battery8 Factory-sealed,
USB-rechargeable li-ion
Access8 4 buttons
Data Transfer8USB cable
Gas Integration8 No
Mounting8 Silicon strap with buckle
Accessories8 Ratio O2 analyser (£200)
www.divErNEt.com
TEST EXTRA
MODES & Cressi Newton £379
FUNCTIONS
Among the functions found on all This recreational watch-style model with 48mm display can be worn as
but a few computers are Freedive an everyday timepiece and is PC- and Mac-compatible with the optional
and Gauge modes, which bypass the interface hardware. It is available with grey, pink, yellow or blue accents.
algorithm in favour of displaying Algorithm8 Cressi dual-mixture Haldane RGBM
only current depth, maximum depth Gas Options8 2 gases (21-99%), switchable
and immersion time. Closed Circuit8 No
These are useful when using the Display8 Dot-matrix LCD with
computer as a bottom-timer in backlight
tandem with tables for fixed-run- Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Freedive,
time mixed-gas diving, or as a Gauge
gauging tool for breath-hold diving. Battery8 User-changeable
Among other functions now CR2430 li-ion
incorporated into most models is Access8 4 buttons
a digital compass, which can Data Transfer8 Cressi interface
invariably be accessed with a single hardware, USB cable
button-push and displayed in Gas Integration8 No
various formats to aid underwater Mounting8 Rubberised ABS strap
navigation. & stainless buckle
Common to most dive- Accessories8 Interface
computers are date, time, alarm-
clock and stopwatch functions,
especially on models designed to be Mares Icon HD4 Black Edition £400
worn every day watch-style – but ☛
An air-integrated block-style air or nitrox computer designed for
recreational diving. The computer displays tank pressure, time
Left: A variant of a digital 3D tilt- remaining and current gas consumption as real time data and is PC-
compensating compass displayed
and Mac-compatible using the USB charging cable.
on a full -colour LCD display.
Algorithm8 RGBM Mares-Wienke Mounting8 Wide-band rubber
Below: 3D digital compass (10 tissues) strap & buckle
(alternative graphics) shown on Gas Options8 3 switchable Accessories8 Wireless
a dot-matrix display.
nitrox mixes (21-99%) transmitter (£110)
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Customisable
full-colour LCD
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Planner,
Watch, Calendar
Battery8 USB-rechargeable,
factory-sealed li-ion
Access8 4 buttons
Data Transfer8 USB cable
bi-directional communication
Gas Integration8 Yes
£375 HW OSTC Sport Colour £410
This recreational model has a 4Mb flash memory to store 1000hr of
dive data, and encapsulated electronics – it also features a 3D tilt-
compensated compass. It comes in gold, green, orange, blue, violet
or silver – all colours but silver +£35.
Algorithm8 Bühlmann ZHL-16C Gas Integration8 No
with optional gradient factors Mounting8 Bungee cord
(ZHL-16C GF)
Gas Options8 3 nitrox
mixes (21-100%)
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Full-colour
LCD IPS-TFT
Modes8 Air, Nitrox,
Apnea, Gauge
Battery8 User-
replaceable AA cell
(1.5 or 3.6V)
Access8 2 buttons
Data Transfer8Bluetooth
29 divEr
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:03 Page 30

Aqualung
Aqua Lungi450T
i450T £522
Wristwatch-style air-integrated recreational model featuring a high-
visibility LED alarm warning light and a digital compass with North
reference, return-bearing lock and declination adjustment. It comes in
black/blue, all-white or black/grey with PVD finish.
Algorithm8 Pelagic Z+ based on Bühlmann ZHL-16C
Gas Options8 Manages up to 3 nitrox mixes (with 3 transmitters)
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Combined segmented/
dot-matrix LCD with backlight
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Gauge,
Freedive
Battery8 User-replaceable li-ion Right: An example of a employs a USB-supplied induction
Access8 4 buttons charging cradle and USB plate to avoid any physical
Data Transfer8 PC interface cable.
connections.
Gas Integration8 With
transmitter CONTROLS &
Mounting8 Watch-strap & buckle DATA TRANSFER
Accessories8 DiverLog software, All models need a way for the diver
wireless transmitter (£204) to access the menus, adjust the
settings, download dive-data in the
fewer models offer functions such form of logbook entries and upload
Scubapro Mantis M2 £539 as a barometer, moon-phase firmware upgrades.
indicator, pedometer, Most models employ push-
Stainless-steel-bodied watch-style model incorporating Scubapro’s magnetometer, altimeter or pitch- buttons to access on-board menus
“Human Factor Diving” software, which uses biometrics data from the and-roll indicator. and functions, and the buttons can
diver’s heart rate and skin temperature for real-time, real-person deco be spring-loaded and O-ring-sealed,
calculations. There is also a full-tilt 3D digital compass. The unit is POWER sealed piezo-electric or magnetic.
PC/Mac-compatible using logTRAK. Dive-computers run on electricity The number of buttons can range
Algorithm8 Predictive Multi-Gas ZHL8 ADT MB from an array of power sources, and from one to four, and one model has
Gas Options8 3 nitrox mixes (21-100%) fortunately we’re seeing leaps in no buttons at all – it’s accessed using
Closed Circuit8 Fixed-point CCR battery technology cascading down. taps to the body.
Display8 Segmented LCD with backlight Some units use disposable Data-transfer and firmware
Modes8 Scuba, CCR, Freedive, Gauge alkaline batteries, others upgrades can be achieved using
Battery8 Dealer-replaceable rechargeable lithium-ion cells that model-specific cradles and cables,
CR2450 li-ion can be service-technician- or user- USB charging ports or Bluetooth
Access8 4 buttons replaceable, factory-sealed and technology.
Data Transfer8 Cradle & USB cable rechargeable while in situ, or even
Gas Integration8 Multi transmitters charged through induction. GAS INTEGRATION
Mounting8 Watch-strap & buckle Various charging methods Some computers are linked
Accessories8 Scubapro HRM/body- include mains-socket chargers and directly to the scuba unit’s first-
temperature belt, wireless transmitter USB leads from phone and tablet stage high-pressure port via
(+ £260 for both) chargers or directly from desktop a direct-feed hose. Others use
computers. One model even electronic transmitters, again

HWOSTC
HW OSTC22 £575 Suunto D6i Novo Stealth £595
Designed by Heinrichs Weikamp, this is a completely sealed unit using This steel-bodied watch-style instrument with sapphire-crystal glass
wireless technology for both charging and data transfer. The battery screen has four colour schemes, a digital 3D tilt-compensating
uses Qi inductive charging through a USB-linked charging pad. The compass and is compatible with Suunto DM5 software for PC and Mac.
unit has a 4Mb flash memory to store 1000hr of dive data, and a 3D tilt-
Algorithm8 Suunto RGBM
compensated compass.
Gas Options8 Gas-switching 3 gases, air, nitrox
Algorithm8 Bühlmann ZHL-16C Gas Integration8 No Closed Circuit8 No
with optional gradient factors Mounting8 Bungee cord Display8 Dot-matrix LCD with backlight
(ZHL-16C GF) Accessories8 Supplied EVA case Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Gauge,
Gas Options8 6 programmable Freedive, Off
gases (nitrox, trimix or heliox) Battery8 Dealer-replaceable
Closed Circuit8 No CR2450 li-ion
Display8 Full-colour LCD IPS-TFT Access8 4 buttons
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, OC Trimix, Data Transfer8 Cradle,
OC Bailout, Constant PO2 Deco, USB cable
Gauge Gas Integration8 Wireless
Battery8 Induction-charged transmitter
factory-sealed Mounting8 Silicon strap & buckle
Access8 2 piezo-electric buttons Accessories8 Wireless transmitter
Data Transfer8 Bluetooth (£199)

divEr 30 www.divErNEt.com
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:03 Page 31
connected directly to a regulator
hp port, and these instruments
display real-time tank pressures
digitally, with some calculating
remaining dive-time based on
actual gas consumption.
A number of technical models
allow for more than one electronic
transmitter to be connected when
using multiple tank configurations.
One unit can read and display up to
10 other divers’ tank pressures –
ideal for instructors keeping an eye
on their students.
MOUNTING
OPTIONS
To be effective, a computer needs
to be placed in a prominent, easily
accessible position. Most are suitable
Scubapro Galileo Sol
Composite-bodied, oil-filled block-style unit that comes with heart-
rate monitor belt. A trimix algorithm can be downloaded from
scubapro.com. Full-tilt 3D digital compass and PC/Mac- compatible.
Algorithm8 Predictive multi-gas
ZHL8 ADT MB
Gas Options8 3 nitrox mixes
(21-100%)
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Dot-matrix LCD
with backlight
Modes8 Scuba, Freedive,
Gauge
Battery8 User-replaceable
CR12600SE
Access8 3 buttons
Data Transfer8 Infra-red
Gas Integration8 Multiple
transmitters
Mounting8 Wide-band
www.divErNEt.com
Left: The wireless
transmitter sends real-
time tank pressures to
the display.
Left: Wireless high-
pressure transmitter in
place on a first stage.
for wrist- or lower-forearm-
mounting, with watch-style buckle-
straps the most popular.
Some use elasticated webbing and
trident clips for forearm mounting
and some technical models use fixed
twin-bungee cords.
It’s all about security and stability,
because if a computer is lost through
strap failure on a dive, the outcome
could be dangerous. A loose-fitting
strap or one that doesn’t adjust to
compensate for suit compression
can lead to the computer flopping
around or falling off.
The back-surface profile of larger
block-style computers helps with
stability, with most conforming to
the natural contours of the arm.
A convex inner profile reduces ☛
£599
rubber strap & buckle
Accessories8 HRM belt.
Wireless transmitter (+ £150)
TEST EXTRA
Shearwater Perdix £647
A single AA alkaline battery can power this technical-diving block-style
computer, though the maker recommends 3.6V SAFT LS14500
batteries. It comes with Shearwater desktop software for PC and Mac
and is third-party dive-log software compatible.
Algorithm8 Bühlmann buckle. Bungee. Latex surgical tubing
ZHL-16C with gradient factors, Accessories8 Screen protector.
optional VPM-B VPM-B upgrade (£54)
Gas Options8 Open-circuit
5 gases, closed-circuit 5 gases
Closed Circuit8 Yes
Display8 Full colour LCD
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, OC
Trimix, CC Trimix, OC Bail-out
Battery8 User-replaceable
AA
Access8 2 buttons
Data Transfer8 Bluetooth
Gas Integration8 No
Mounting8 Elastic strap &
Suunto Eon Steel £749
Block-style model in composite materials with stainless-steel bezel and
customisable TFT LED colour display bonded to Xensation toughened
glass screen. It has a tilt-compensating 3D digital compass, rubberised
body protector and is compatible with Suunto DM5 PC/Mac software.
Algorithm8 Suunto Fused Mounting8 Elastomer strap &
RGBM buckle. Bungee cord
Gas Options8 Gas-switching, Accessories8 Suunto Tank POD
10 gases. Air, trimix, nitrox (£225). Wireless transmitter
Closed Circuit8 Fixed-point CCR
Display8 Customisable
full-colour TFT, backlit LED
Modes8 Gauge, Air, Nitrox,
Trimix, Fixed-Point CCR
Battery8 Factory sealed
rechargeable li-ion
Access8 3 buttons
Data Transfer8 USB cable
Gas Integration8 Wireless
transmitter, multiple tank
Scuba
Scuba Capsule
Capsule 6
6 £749 (ex iPhone)
This is a high-grade aluminium housing for Apple iPhone 6 and 6S
smartphones. The downloadable app supports many functions and
modes including digital compass, gas-mix calculator, maps and GPS.
iPhone camera functions can be accessed on the dive, with the dive
data shown as a heads-up display.
Algorithm8 Bühlmann Gas Integration8 Supports Suunto
ZHL-16C with gradient factors transmitters
Gas Options8 Air, nitrox, trimix Mounting8 Quarter-inch tripod
Closed Circuit8 No screw, strap-mounting options.
Display8 Full-colour LCD Accessories8 Downloadable apps
Modes8 Air, Nitrox,
Trimix. Heads Up
Display in Camera
mode
Battery8 Smartphone
Access8 Touchscreen
Data Transfer8
Bluetooth
31 divEr
Computer review.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:03 Page 32
TEST EXTRA
Above: Some UW
photographers like to mount
their computers on the
camera-arm system.
the contact surface area and is
possibly the least stable.
A few forward-thinking exposure-
suit makers have taken all this into
account and provide computer-
strap keeper bands to address this
all-too-common problem.
Some underwater photographers
like to mount their computers on
their camera-arm systems so that
they can see the display without
moving their eyes too far from their
viewfinders.
High-pressure-hose-linked gas-
integration models are usually
attached to a suitable BC D-ring via
a piston-clip or retractable lanyard
to form an easily accessible console.
ACCESSORIES
There aren’t that many dive-
computer accessories around, other
than security lanyards, strap-
extensions for drysuit-diving and
screen-protectors. One European
maker offers a dedicated oxygen
analyser for its instruments, but the
resulting gas mix still needs to be
entered into its computers manually
Aqua Lung8
www.aqualung.com/uk
CONTACTS
Atomic8
www.atomicaquatics.com
Cressi8 www.cressi.co.uk
HW8
www.deep-ideas.co.uk
Liquid Vision8
www.liquidvision.com
Mares8 www.mares.com
divEr 32
Physical profiles that
help to stabilise the
computer.
Left: Forward-thinking suit-makers fit
keepers to stop the instruments from
flopping around.
to avoid any litigation issues.
A few models go a step further by
integrating a wireless polar-style
chest-band to monitor and record
the diver’s heart rate and skin
temperature during the dive, and
constantly re-adjust the resulting
deco calculations based on real-
time, real-person data.
GLIMPSE OF
THE FUTURE
They say 2.6 billion people owned
a smartphone in 2014, and this is
predicted to rise to 6.1 billion by
2020 – that’s 70% of the planet’s
human population. It follows, then,
that these advanced media devices
will be considered as suitable for use
as dive computers.
In fact this evolution has
already begun, with German
company Scuba Capsule
producing an app and depth-rated
smart case that converts your
iPhone into a full-blown mixed-
gas computer that has the ability
to record videos and take stills
at the same time.
Ratio8 www.liquidsports.co.uk
Scuba Capsule8
www.scubacapsule.com
www.blue-orb.uk
Scubapro8
www.scubapro.com
Shearwater8
www.narkedat90.com
Suunto8 www.suunto.com
TUSA8 www.tusa.com
Atomic Aquatics Cobalt 2 £857
This hp hose gas-integrated computer is fitted with a quick-disconnect
hose attachment as standard. It uses watertight magnetic buttons to
access menus and functions, has a 3D tilt-
compensating digital compass, and can be
connected to PCs or Macs.
Algorithm8 Recreational RGBM
Mares-Wienke (15 compartments)
Gas Options8 Up to 6 user-defined air or
nitrox (21-99%) mixes
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 Full-colour LCD
Modes8 Air, Nitrox
Battery8 Built-in rechargeable li-ion
Access8 4 buttons
Data Transfer8 USB cable
Gas Integration8 High-pressure hose
Mounting8 Piston clip or lanyard (not supplied)
Accessories8 Ballistic nylon case. Optional
coloured top covers (£20)
Ratio iX3M Tech+ £999
This model has extra features including a 3D tilt-compensating
compass, surface GPS, acoustic and vibration alarms. It comes with
loaded apps including moon-phase calendar, barometer,
magnetometer and altimeter plus pitch-and-roll function.
Algorithm8 User-selectable bühlmann ZHL-16B or VPM-B
Gas Options8 10 settable gas mixes
Closed Circuit8 Fixed-point CCR
Display8 Customisable full-colour LCD
Modes8 Air, Nitrox, Trimix,
CCR, Freedive, Gauge
Battery8 Integrated USB-
rechargeable li-ion
Access8 4 buttons
Data Transfer8 USB cable
Gas Integration8 No
Mounting8 Twin elastic
webbing & trident-clip
Accessories8 Ratio O2
analyser (£200)
Liquid Vision Lynx Air Integrated £1185
Said to be the only dive-computer that combines wireless connectivity
with intuitive “Tap Navigation”, the most expensive model in this
round-up comes with the U-2 tank transmitter, allowing gas-
monitoring of the wearer and also of the gas supplies and location of
up to 10 other divers within 100m. It’s also compatible with the L1
location transmitter, which can mark the position of dive-boats or
underwater landmarks, and features a digital compass.
Algorithm8 Unspecified
Gas Options8 3, Air, Nitrox (21-100%)
Closed Circuit8 No
Display8 OLED full colour
Modes8 Logbook, Planner, Simulator
Battery8 Disposable
Access8 Tap Navigation
Data Transfer8 PC / Mac interface
Gas Integration8 Via U-2 transmitter
Mounting8 Rubber strap. Bungee cord.
Accessories8 L1 Ultrasonic
transmitters
www.divErNEt.com
Scubapro (M2) – 06_16.qxp_Scubapro 22/04/2016 16:01 Page 1

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M2 Below its stunning surface, the air-integrated M2
offers all the robust features you expect from
SCUBAPRO dive computers. Featuring powerful biometrics that
customize your dive profile, and an intuitive design—you can
spend less time with a manual and more time underwater.

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DESIGNED WITH HUMAN FACTOR DIVING

Paired with the SCUBAPRO belt, M2 uses your heart rate,
breathing rate and skin temperature to calculate a SCUBAPRO.COM
personalized dive profile. Just put it on and let it do the work.
Goddio.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:07 Page 34

F
MESSAGES
RANCK GODDIO IS TELLING ME
about his very first archaeological
dive, and it’s some story. Famed
French archaeologist/treasure-hunter
Jacques Dumas had been working to
locate and identify the wreck of
Napoleon Bonaparte’s ship Orient, and
when he met the 37-year-old Goddio in
Paris and learnt that he was studying Franck Goddio is arguably the world’s most successful
underwater archaeology, he invited him
to come and see for himself what went underwater archaeologist – and his skills are tested to the
on under water. limit in excavating ancient Egyptian sites on which the new
The excavation site was in Aboukir
Bay, off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast; the Sunken Cities exhibition at London’s British Museum is based.
year 1984. “At that time I was going STEVE WEINMAN meets the man who made it happen, with
around the world studying everything
that was being done in the field, but I had underwater photography by CHRISTOPH GERIGK
not yet worked as an underwater
archaeologist,” explains Goddio.
Visibility was a murky 1-1.5m on that
first dive. “Jacques was going here and
there but I wasn’t moving about much,
just looking at everything, so of course
I was saving air. Eventually he brought
me to what was the rudder, which they
were just starting to uncover at the time.”
Dumas took off, but Goddio stayed
put beside the rudder-post. “I had a lot of
air – I don’t consume too much. I started
doing this” – he makes gentle silt-wafting
gestures with his hands – “and then I saw
an inscription in the bronze.
“So I cleaned and cleaned and I read
‘Le Dauphin Royal No 6’, which made me
extremely worried because I thought, oh
my God, Jacques thinks it’s the Orient!”

T HE ORIENT, a 120-gun ship of the

line, had fallen victim to Admiral
Nelson’s Royal Navy during the Battle of
the Nile in 1798. “When I came up,
Jacques asked me how was the dive, and
I said: ‘Fantastic, but Jacques, are you
sure you are on the Orient?’
“He said: ‘Yes, what are you saying?’
“So I tell him about the inscription –
and he tells me that Orient was called the
Dauphin Royal in Louis XVI’s time, but
during the Revolution this was changed,
and Bonaparte gave it the name Orient.
“That inscription was absolute proof
that the ship was the Orient!
“And it was after that mission, when
I was discussing it with an Egyptian
archaeologist, that I was informed also
that there was a missing city in that area.”
He didn’t realise it then but he would
go on to find that sunken city in Aboukir
Bay called Thonis-Heracleion, and its And now you can see the fruits of their While he’s away from Egypt and
excavation would, along with that of labours in London, as the British shuttling between Paris and London to
Alexandria’s ancient eastern harbour, Museum opens its first exhibition of install the exhibits, I have seized on the
become Franck Goddio’s defining underwater treasures, entitled Sunken rare opportunity of an interview with the
occupation. Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds. world-famous archaeologist – but Franck
Since 1996, working with Egypt’s Goddio is now in his late 60s, still proves hard to pin down.
Supreme Council of Antiquities, he and although he would pass as 10 years Dates shift, but eventually I’m able to
his team have surveyed an area much younger, a fine advertisement for anticipate a leisurely chat with the man
the same size as Paris beneath these sustained intensive diving in the most of the moment. Then the phone rings,
sediment-laden waters of the Nile Delta. challenging conditions. and I’m told that he has to catch an

divEr 34 www.divErNEt.com
Goddio.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:07 Page 35

ARCHAEOLOGY DIVER

FROM THE PAST

archaeology around the world?”
It was not just a whim, but a shrewd
calculation. While archaeology on land
was an overcrowded field, he reckoned its
underwater equivalent offered a huge gap
in the market. “In the early ’80s there
were very few teams of underwater
archaeologists like those of Dumas or
Stenuit. There was also a huge gap in that
there was no privately funded institute
that could lead long-term projects.”
He would solve that by founding one in
1987 – the non-profit European Institute
of Underwater Archaeology (IEASM).
There was no looking back after his
Orient initiation. “In March 1985 I did
my first mission on my own in the
Philippines. Jacques Dumas wanted to
CHRISTOPH GERIGK
very clear water, I remember the moment
I first saw a big heap of jars and bronzes,
and it was magnificent. But there is not a
single mission that doesn’t inspire very
strong emotions.”
He was back there in 1997 to work on
another British East India Company
vessel, the Royal Captain, though this
wreck was sunk in 350m and required
lengthy manned submarine dives.
Over the years Goddio has also
excavated seven 11th-16th-century junks
with their valuable cargoes of porcelain,
and the 18th-century French slave ship
Adelaide, lost off Cuba, his last non-
Egyptian venture.
He also returned to the Orient site in

1998, finding hundreds of artefacts

join my team, but unfortunately he died including gold and silver coins, skeletons,
a month before it started.” and gunpowder all over the seabed.
He worked in the Philippines until

earlier train than expected out of London.

Could I come in sooner than arranged?
Unfortunately I’m still on my own
train, so it’s after a sweaty dash through
Bloomsbury that I’m ushered into a
cavernous back room at the British
Museum.
In the end I get fewer than 20 minutes
before the PR woman intervenes to
ensure that Goddio makes his connection.
The amiable pioneer of modern
maritime archaeology blames the fact that
it’s later than he thought on the fact that
he is not wearing his diving watch. It’s
frustrating for me, because his is a diving
career constructed on an epic scale.
F RANCK GODDIO WAS BORN in
Casablanca, Morocco in 1947 but
brought to live in Paris by the age of five.
Left: A 5.4m-high red
granite statue of the god
1994, excavating British East Indiaman
the Griffin and then the Spanish galleons
San Jose and, among his proudest
G ODDIO BECAME KNOWN for his
systematic and collaborative
approach to underwater archaeology,
Hapy from the temple at the
Thonis-Heracleion city site in
achievements, the San Diego. “In 52m of and his mathematical background may ☛
Aboukir Bay, Egypt.
Such a large image of this
god of the flooding of the
Nile, abundance and fertility
had never been discovered
before – it was made in the
4th century BC.
Above: The excavator of
Thonis-Heracleion,
underwater archaeologist
Franck Goddio.
Right: An archaeologist
diver uses a brush to clear
remnants of fauna including
a cattle jawbone discovered
under the sand on the site of
Canopus in Aboukir Bay.

He says the sea was in his blood – his

grandfather was a seafarer famed for his
sailing exploits in the Pacific – but he
didn’t explore under water for fun until
1975, when freediving quickly developed
into scuba. He says he had no particular
interest in wrecks at that time, however.
A mathematics and statistics graduate,
he had become an economics and
financial adviser, working in the Far East
for the UN and French Foreign Ministry,
and for Saudi Arabia and other
governments. “After 10 years I took a
sabbatical, thinking I must do something
interesting. I had always been fond of
archaeology, I loved the sea and I was a
sailor, so I thought: why don’t I study
what is being done in underwater

www.divErNEt.com 35 divEr
Goddio.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:07 Page 36

Above: A ‘garden vat’ in have had a bearing on his style.

pink granite from between
the 4th and 2nd centuries
BC at Thonis-Heracleion.
Left: Recovering a 1.9m
intact stele or stone slab
inscribed with a decree,
commissioned by
Nectanebos I (378-362 BC).
Right: The stele seen under
water. If you can read
hieroglyphics the place
where it was to be situated
is clearly named as Thonis-
Heracleion.
His work off Egypt’s Mediterranean
coast began in 1996 with the submerged
royal quarters of Alexandria’s eastern
harbour and the excavation of eastern
Canopus and Antirhodos, and it was in
2000 that he located Thonis-Heracleion,
which he refers to as “the City”.
Continuous financial support from the
Hilti Foundation from the outset of his
Egyptian research projects must have
taken a certain amount of pressure off.
So 20 years on, is the end in sight in
Egypt? Not a chance: “We have centuries
of work there, we have barely touched it –
it’s the start of the job!” he declares.

ken
Y The BP exhibition Sun
: Egypt’s Los t Wo rld s runs
Cities
No vem ber
from 19 May to 27
Exh ibition s
at Sainsbury
seum,
Gallery at the British Mu
es 10a m-
London. Opening tim
0p m on Friday s),
5.30pm (8.3
s
closed Sundays. Ticket
e.
£16.50, under-16s go fre
sam e titl e,
A book of the
by exh ibit ion cur ato rs
edited
rél ia
Franck Goddio and Au
t in
Masson-Berghoff, is ou
hardback (£4 0) and
paperback (£25).

divEr 36 www.divErNEt.com
Goddio.qxp_DIVER grid 27/04/2016 10:07 Page 37
He sometimes yearns for the clear
waters he used to enjoy in the Philippines,
because the difficulties of working off
northern Egypt are legion.
“It’s mainly the visibility, the swells and
waves sometimes. I wish we were deeper
but we’re between 2 and 8m deep in the
City and in Alexandria it’s 6.5 to 10m.
“Visibility is very bad because of the
sediment in the water, and pollution levels
can be terrible. Sometimes you just have
to work with your eyes closed, because the
swirling sediment can make you dizzy.
“You have to be careful with the site
itself, of course, and very often we find
it’s better just to take our fins off while
www.divErNEt.com
Above: The ruins of antique
Canopus were found some
2km east of the western
fringe of the Nile Delta, in
Aboukir Bay.
Above right: The statue of
the corpulent god Hapy is
lifted out of the water.
An expression of great
tranquility radiates from the
idealised face.
ARCHAEOLOGY DIVER
we’re working.”
His core team has been together a long
time, some for as long as 27 years. They
work using twin-sets, full-face masks
(usually without comms) and wetsuits
with gloves, says Goddio.
“I don’t use a weightbelt, I use a
harness, because it’s better when you’re
staying a long time in the water. We work
two-and-a-half hours in the morning and
the same in the afternoon, and it’s tiring
in that visibility.”
He no longer dives daily, he says,
although he remains resolutely hands-on.
“My main job nowadays is to dive very
often when the others are not diving, to
see the results of their work, to say stop
the work there, go in a new direction,
open a new site or whatever.”
I ASK GODDIO IF HE can pick out his
most exciting underwater moment. “So
many, but of course it was the discovery
of the City. My chief diver Jean-Claude
Roubaud, an excellent diver, told me that
he had found this big black stone. I asked
if he had seen any inscription and he said:
‘No, but putting my hand below it I could
feel that there were inscriptions.’
“So we went back together with an
airbag and we brought the stone up.
There was almost no concretion because
it had been face-down in the clay, so it was
protected. We had all these inscriptions,
very strong and beautiful hieroglyphics,
like a message from the past.
“This was one of the best moments,
and afterwards it turned out that the
stone was one of the most important
pieces found, solving a 2000-year-old
mystery etc etc. A diver’s dream!”
In 2009, Goddio received the Légion
d´Honneur, France’s highest honour, in
recognition of his achievements since the
1980s. And it’s about sharing as much as
diving – the Frenchman is a master at
turning the results of scrabbling about in
the silt with your eyes closed into glossy
media to inspire the public.
His talented photographer Christoph
Gerigk and film cameraman Roland
Savoye, who must also struggle with the
conditions but seem to overcome them
admirably, must take their share of the
credit for this.
Previous Egypt’s Sunken Treasures
exhibitions have been held in Berlin,
Paris, Bonn, Madrid, Turin and
Yokohama, but the current London show
is the first in the UK and the first for some
years, and brings in recent discoveries.
As the curators emphasise, because of
their millennia of undersea storage the
vast number of objects retrieved,
including pristine monumental statues,
metalware and gold jewellery, have been
“astonishingly well-preserved”.
Dating from the first millennium BC,
the artefacts on show reveal how ancient
Greece and Egypt interacted at that time –
the Greeks settled in the country and later
ruled it for 300 years, gradually adopting
Egyptian beliefs and rituals to legitimise
their reign.
“Do you enjoy the process of curating
an exhibition?” I just have time to ask
Goddio as he hurries to change into his
travelling clothes.
The archaeologist nods emphatically:
“Yes – you have seen the objects under
water, tried to guess what they are; later
you have cleaned them, treated them,
preserved them, studied them, published
them, and then there they are in the
exhibition, under the best lighting.
“You know the story, you have a book,
you have a nice catalogue, it is fantastic.
It’s the best moment of the dive!”
37 divEr
Be The Champ JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 28/04/2016 17:37 Page 38

You don’t need your audience to

BE THE be wearing funny glasses for

your images to appear three-
dimensional, says ALEX

CHAMP! MUSTARD – just bear in mind

what’s happening at the back of
the picture as well as at the front

‘It doesn’t matter what the background is,

it’s having it there that endows the photo with depth’
W
E LOOK at photographs on
flat surfaces – the page of a
magazine or the screen of a
computer, tablet or phone. But the real
world is not a two-dimensional place.
One of the best ways to make our
images stand out is to make them feel
three-dimensional.
This does not mean delving into the
world of stereo photography.
Stereoscopy or 3D photography rears
its head about once a decade in
underwater photography, as a new
generation of photographers
mistakenly thinks that this is what their
images have been missing. It isn’t.
I actually quite like it for underwater
documentaries, but for still images,
no thanks.
The most recent buzz about 3D
underwater still photography was about
four years ago. We were all told it was
the future. It has all gone very quiet
now. Before that it was the 1990s,
when Les Kemp produced some
really pleasing AV shows using a
Below: Shallow depth of
field combined with out-of-
focus elements in front and
behind the subject creates
a feeling of depth.
Taken with Nikon D4 and
Nikon 105mm. Subal
housing. 2 x Inon Z240
strobes. ISO 200, 1/250th
@ f/25.
stereoscopic Nikonos.
On both occasions it was the
limitations of the systems that was the
big disappointment. Wide-angle is king
under water and the wider the lens, the
more dramatic the image.
Super wide-angle and 3D just don’t
get along on land or under water, and
that means that the pictures that work
in 3D are not the most dramatic wide-
angle images.
But while I don’t like under water 3D
photos, which need special screens,
projectors and fiddly glasses to view,
I do think there is much to be gleaned
from the thought process that leads
photographers down this route.
The fact is that most images look
better the greater the sense of depth
they portray.
FROM A TECHNICAL perspective, we
construct wide-angle photos in two
layers. We almost always combine
a foreground lit with flash with a
background illuminated only by
ambient light.
However, from an artistic perspective
we don’t want to produce images
constrained to just two layers. We
should aim for wide-angle images with
as great a feeling of depth as possible.
For inspiration in this area, have a
look at the work of classic landscape
painters, such as the Brits JMW Turner
and John Constable.
Both were masters of transforming
a flat canvas into an image with depth.
It is one of many reasons that their
work is so compelling.
In wide-angle photography we
usually use the background elements to
create this feeling of depth. This is
easier than using the foreground
elements, which we must keep
reasonably parallel to the camera to
light them evenly with our strobes.
For me, the key is to develop
a mindset that is aware that a great
subject is not enough for a stunning
wide-angle image. We must be
constantly seeking those background
elements to complete our compositions.
Typically, it doesn’t matter what the
background is, it’s having it there that
endows the photo with depth.
Elements such as a silhouetted reef
outcrop, or specific outlines of seafans,
kelp, schools of fish, distant divers,
dive-boats, surface texture, sunbeams
and more – all give depth.
Multiple elements are great, as the
more layers we add (within reason), the
more the viewer has to explore.
When shooting scenery I will often ☛

STARTER TIP
A successful wide-angle image may
be lit in two layers, but we should
strive to create what should feel like
a fully three-dimensional scene.
Start by always trying to combine
foregrounds with a background,
don’t settle for just shooting a great
foreground subject.

38 www.divErNEt.com
Be The Champ JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 28/04/2016 17:37 Page 39

PHOTO TECHNIQUE

A carefully composed
wide-angle reef scenic
conveys a sense of
depth, drawing the
viewer into a visually
satisfying picture.

Taken with Nikon D4 and

Nikonos 13mm fisheye.
Subal housing. 2 x Seacam
150 strobes. ISO 250,
1/320th @ f/11.

39
Be The Champ JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 28/04/2016 17:37 Page 40
PHOTO TECHNIQUE
look for a background first, such as a
bommie or overhang, and then search
around its base for a foreground
subject. A good background is often
harder to find than a foreground, so
they are worth seeking out. Also, once
we’ve found the background we can
usually shoot several different
foreground subjects against it.
DEPTH IS NOT only important in wide-
angle images, we can incorporate it in
macro photos too. When wildlife
photographers on land shoot with a
telephoto lens, they convey a feeling of
depth with a narrow depth of field.
The trick is to keep the subject sharp
and frame it against an out-of-focus
background to create the feeling.
Some photographers take this
MID-WATER TIP
Backgrounds are often harder to
find, which is why many dive-sites
are famed for wide-angle: Boo
Windows in Raja Ampat, St Johns
Wood in Egypt, Babylon in the
Cayman Islands, kelp forests and
jetties. These sites are loved not
for their foregrounds, but for
picturesque backgrounds.
40
Above: Foreground
subjects extending away ADVANCED TIP
from the lens can create
Depth is only one of the factors
a feeling of depth, but
require careful lighting to that make photographic
maximise the effect. compositions powerful. I challenge
photographers on my workshops
Taken with Nikon D4 and to focus on it for a couple of days,
Nikon 16mm fisheye. Subal
so that it becomes part of their
housing. 2 x Seacam 150
strobes. ISO 400, 1/60th compositional approach, but after
@ f/13. this to consider other factors.
Like any guide to composition, it
must never be the only thing you
think about.
further still by including an out-of-
focus foreground too.
These are ideas we can adopt under
water, but they are slightly harder to
pull off because we still have to light
everything evenly with flash. If we’re
not careful, the foreground will be too
bright and the background too dark.
The solution is to light the whole
scene with soft, even illumination,
which means using two strobes, using
diffusers and using them in 10 and 2
o’clock strobe positions.
We should set the strobes on low-
ish powers, so that we can open up the
aperture and create a reasonably
narrow depth of field.
How open? That depends on the
size on the subject we’re shooting. The
smaller the subject, the less we need to
open the aperture.
DEPTH CAN ALSO be injected into
wide-angle foregrounds, this time
making use of the steep perspective
of the lens, rather than a narrow depth
of field. When we have a wide-angle
subject stretching away from the lens,
this can really drawn the viewer’s eye
through the image.
The challenge of these foregrounds
is not composing them, but lighting
them. The solution is to create a
pool of illumination in front of the
camera, using a technique called
Rabbit Ears strobes.
This produces an even exposure of
strobe light from close to the camera,
penetrating more deeply into the scene.
We create this light by hoisting
our strobes up high above the housing
and positioning them about shoulder
width apart.
Start with them aiming straight
forward and then slowly angle them
down, taking pictures until the light
they produce fills your entire
composition, just filling the bottom
corners of the frame.
They will end up angled down
about 20°, but it will vary depending
on the length of your strobe arms and
the camera-to-subject distance.
www.divErNEt.com
Trewavas JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 15:16 Page 41

TREWAVAS
CAMEL DIVE CLUB & HOTEL
Sharm El Sheikh
BUDDY
YOUR HELL
DIVING HOLIDAY A BUDDY, WE ARE TOLD, is a wonderful thing. Diver-training agencies
maintain that it’s far safer to have one. But if a buddy is in fact such an
IN asset, then surely two buddies are even safer?

SHARM EL SHEIKH
The agencies say no. How strange, and touchingly traditional, that
buddy-pairs are seen as virtuous and deemed compulsory, while
threesomes are positively frowned upon.
In contrast, many experienced divers believe that it’s often our buddy
who poses the greatest risk to us on the dive. And some divers have

FREE
adopted a variety of cunning ruses to achieve a buddy-dodge.

The False Entry: Usher your buddy ahead of you and, as they stride
forward, yell: “Damn! My dive computer/weight-belt/camera!” If they’re
persistent enough to hang around on the surface, shoo them away with:

HOTEL!
“You go on – I’ll see you down there.” Faff until they’ve left the surface,
and then head off in a random direction. Blame surface current.

The Dodgy Eardrum Routine: Abruptly halt your descent and wave
your hand at your ear. Signal that you may have to go up, and then point
your buddy insistently towards any passing diver or pair that strays into
7 nights at sight. Practise your apologetic expression and shrug your shoulders until
Breakfasts
Camel Hotel 4* they leave. If questioned
afterwards look offended,
and say: “But you left me!”
IF QUESTIONED
5 days diving Return Airport
The Blindspot Bimble: Let
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your buddy take the lead
and then lag several feet
OFFENDED, AND SAY:
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behind, slightly to one side
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‘BUT YOU LEFT ME!’
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Book before 30 June 2016
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Travel until 31 August 2016
The Disappearing Act: Overwhelm your buddy with lots of enthusiastic
LIMITED AVAILABILITY OK signals and complex hand-gestures at the start of the dive. Once they
shy further away or start avoiding eye-contact with you to get some
peace, simply rise a few metres in the water column above them.
Fly with
Observe which way they go, and speed off in the opposite direction.

The Tek Check: Be clear with your buddy before the dive that you’re a
OR technical diver. Check them on the surface, then totally ignore them.
Give them a nod if you happen to see them again on the ascent.
from Milan

CONTACT US FOR FREE ASSISTANCE It Wasn’t Me, It Was The SMB: If your buddy is annoying you, pull out
ON FLIGHT BOOKINGS your SMB, faff with your reel and start inflating the bag. Vigorously kick
up any muck on the bottom in the process and make a hasty ascent for
6m, leaving them blinded in a cloud of crap. Swim away fast. NB: Not to
be attempted if your buoyancy control is dodgy or the vis too clear.

Finally – Avoid The Blame: “Buddy separation” incidents can provoke

tricky questions, so prepare. Once you’ve ditched your buddy, stick up an
SMB, so those at the surface believe you’re acting like a responsible diver.
The moment you surface, complain loudly about being abandoned and
demand news of your buddy. If they are visible, scream: “OMG! Where were
you? I searched everywhere.” Hug them so tightly that they can’t get the
words out to contradict your story. Never fails.
LOUISE TREWAVAS

41
042_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 29/04/2016 16:56 Page 042

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MEX cover.qxp_Layout 1 28/04/2016 17:37 Page 43

MEXICO DIVER

Guadalupe
●
Se
ao
fC
or
tez

● La Paz
●
Cabo San Lucas GULF OF
MEXICO ●Cancun/Mujeres
Mexico City atan ● Cozumel
● ● Yu
c
Socorro
●Chinchorro

300 km
PACIFIC OCEAN CARIBBEAN SEA
200 mi

Rendezvous at Isla Mujeres 44

NIGEL WADE

Whale shark and other mass encounters

Raw Excitement! 49
Reefs and cenotes

Booking Now Special 54

Festive Spirit 57
Scubafest in Cozumel
a
divEr
magazine supplement
Big Time 62
Giants of Socorro ☛
MEX whale sharks.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:10 Page 44

RENDEZVOUS AT
Mass whale-shark gatherings are just one of the
L
ET’S GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY
early. Mexico, or more specifically
the north-eastern tip of the Yucatan
seasonal big-animal spectacles to be seen off the
Peninsula, offers the world’s most Yucatan Peninsula. DR SIMON PIERCE, Principal
consistent sightings of large numbers of Scientist at the Marine Megafauna Foundation, has
whale sharks over the summer months.
Little surprise then that the area is of witnessed huge amounts of this activity – here he
interest to the whale-shark research team teams up with Aqua-Firma Worldwide Director
from Marine Megafauna Foundation
(MMF) and diving and eco-travel
RALPH PANNELL to write about the science underlying this behaviour
company Aqua-Firma.
But why are there so many whale
sharks there? And what do we know Afuera, which means “outside” in Spanish off Utila, Honduras.
about them? – have now documented up to 420 sharks Learning more about their work in
Whale sharks are a popular species in a single survey. It is, by far, the largest Mexico, I was determined to check out
with divers, but it’s easy to forget that, as documented whale-shark aggregation in this amazing natural event for myself.
recently as the 1980s, seeing a whale shark the world. Aqua-Firma set up a trip to help fund
was a once-in-a-lifetime event for most Among the things that changed were me to do this and, since 2013, the
people. Only 320 sightings had ever been the management requirements. Whale company has been running trips that pay
documented, even though the sharks are sharks are a protected species in Mexico, for MMF and Rafael’s team to conduct
distributed from New Zealand to New and the government created a special research off the Yucatan Peninsula during
York. It turns out that we just didn’t know Whale Shark Biosphere Reserve in 2009. the peak whale shark season (July/
where to look. Unfortunately, legislation could not August). Paying guests can join the team
Tropical surface waters are a biological keep up with the scientific results, and the to take samples, lots of photos and
desert. Sure, coral reefs are incredibly Afuera zone was not included in the generally revel in the presence of the
biodiverse, but they’re isolated oases in reserve. Back to that later. hundreds of sharks that use this area as
a literal sea of nothing. Whale sharks eat I [Simon] have been studying whale their seasonal home.
mostly plankton and, as the world’s sharks since 2005, initially in Every whale shark has a unique pattern
Below & right: Snorkellers
largest fish, they eat a lot of plankton. Mozambique and now around the world. enjoy sustained interactions of spots. It makes each individual
Most of the areas where seasonal Rafael, his wife Beatriz and I were all with whale sharks when identifiable, in much the same way as a
whale-shark tourism has developed, such invited to participate in a research project they gather at Isla Mujeres. human fingerprint. A photograph of the
as Ningaloo Reef in Australia or Mafia
Island in Tanzania, host some major
biological event that rings the dinner
gong for whale sharks.
Off Mexico, the attraction is fish eggs.
Little tunny, a small tuna species that can
produce up to 1.75 million eggs each
breeding season, spawn in large numbers
in the offshore waters north of Isla
Mujeres.
Although local fishers knew about this
annual phenomenon since at least the
early 1990s, scientists and tourist
operators caught on much more recently.

R AFAEL DE LA PARRA, a Mexican

whale-shark scientist, first laid eyes
on this offshore aggregation in 2006.
Whale-shark tourism was already
burgeoning off Isla Holbox, an island off
the north coast of the peninsula, where
whale sharks and manta rays were feeding
in shallow, green, plankton-rich waters
close to shore.
Rafael and his local collaborators
organised five flights further out to sea
that year, during which 480 whale sharks
were recorded.
That changed everything. Repeated
flights over this area – known as the
SIMON PIERCE

divEr 44 www.divErNEt.com
MEX whale sharks.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 10:07 Page 45
ISLA MUJERES
flank can be used to identify any whale
shark, anywhere in the world.
However, that matching effort is a
massive job. To speed the process,
automation is required.
A serendipitous friendship between
a software developer and astrophysicist,
both of whom were interested in marine
conservation, led to a solution.
An algorithm used in the processing of
Hubble Space Telescope images was
adapted, and whale-shark spots were
used in place of stars. The Wildbook
for Whale Sharks online database
(www.whaleshark.org) was born.
A S OF THIS WRITING, there have
been more than 33,000 encounters
with more than 7000 individual whale
sharks on the database. Photographic
submissions from both researchers and
the public allow the movements of
individual sharks to be tracked around
the world, population sizes to be
calculated, and increases or declines in
sightings to be identified and
investigated.
The trillions of tuna eggs on the menu
here may draw in whale sharks from all
over the Atlantic. The Yucatan coast,
including both the inshore and Afuera
sharks, was the first region to reach 1000
identified whale sharks.
Fully 75% of identified whale sharks
from the Atlantic Ocean have been
sighted in this area. It has to be one of the
highest densities of sharks occurring
anywhere in the world. The little tunny
spawn overnight, and their eggs float
MEXICO DIVER
gently upwards to carpet the surface. The
sharks swim around vacuuming the eggs
up for hours at a time.
Once the day’s spawn has dissipated,
the sharks switch their behaviour and
swim deeper overnight. It may well be
that they are dissipating heat following
hours of swimming and exposure to the
sun in the hot surface water.
Back-of-an-envelope calculations
reveal that an average-sized whale shark,
surface feeding for 11 hours, would
ingest 142.5kg of tuna eggs. That’s
around 43,000Kcal, equivalent to more
than 8kg of Dairy Milk chocolate.
Shifting to cooler water overnight
might also slow their metabolism,
helping to maximise the absorption of
this massive meal.
With that much food on offer, it’s no
wonder that the sharks stick around.
Local tagging work has found that some
individual sharks stay in the area for up
to six months each year, with most
having finally left by late August
to mid-October. Research
from 2003-2012 found that
many sharks visited
the Afuera repeatedly,
with some returning for six consecutive
SIMON PIERCE years. ☛
45 divEr
MEX whale sharks.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:10 Page 46
IT’S NOT EASY TO ESTABLISH WHY THE WHALE
SHARKS ARE SWIMMING SO DEEP
Where do they go in between? Well, it
seems to vary between individuals. Rafael
and co-authors recently published a study
on 31 satellite-tagged whale sharks from
Mexico, which dispersed into the Gulf of
Mexico or the Caribbean Sea. When they
moved away from land, and their reliable
supply of tuna eggs, the sharks’
behaviours changed as well.
Because whale sharks are fish, they
don’t have to come to the surface to
breathe. Although most of their time was
spent near the surface, from zero to 200m
depth, one of the tagged sharks remained
at more than 50m for three days straight.
Occasionally they dived much, much
deeper, and the maximum dive by one of
these sharks, 1928m, was the deepest
recorded by a whale shark to date.
It’s not easy to establish why the sharks
are swimming so deep. There are
potential reasons, or it could be a
combination of several.
divEr 46
A few clues were apparent. Rather than
occurring randomly, the deepest dives
often occurred around sunrise and
sunset. Increasingly, we suspect that whale
sharks forage on deepwater zooplankton,
which typically migrate between the
surface at night and a few hundred metres
deep during the day.
F OR THE WHALE SHARKS, diving
around these times may allow them to
prey on the zooplankton during this
migration, when some light is still
available to make their hunt easier.
Deep dives could also have a
navigational function. Dawn and dusk are
when the Earth’s magnetic field intensity
reaches its peak, and – because the
geomagnetic intensity gradient also
increases with depth – these dives could
help to improve their ability to determine
their location.
Whale sharks are born at around 50-
SIMON PIERCE
WAYTOGO
Readers can join a one-week Aqua-Firma
Whale Shark Research & Photography
expedition in Mexico with the authors on
11 or 22 July, 2016 or from 21 July, 2017
(with Ralph Pannell and MMF whale-shark
researcher Dr Chris Rohner). Trips cost from
£1690pp (two sharing).
Other Yucatan big-animal highlights (such
as sailfins, mantas, tarpon and bull sharks)
and/or rainforest and cultural experiences
can be incorporated into tailor-made and
small group marine adventures
✹ www.aqua-firma.com/
countries/Mexico.
60cm, and may grow to 20m. The Afuera
aggregation is composed of mostly (72%)
male whale sharks, ranging in length
from 2.5 to 10m. The sharks present are
predominantly juveniles: not babies, but
few are reproductively active.
Where is the rest of the population?
Well, somewhere else. Genetics work has
shown that Atlantic whale sharks are a
separate sub-population to those found in
Above: A whale shark
surface-feeding for 11 the Indian and Pacific oceans, so we
hours could ingest more assume that the adults – and the majority
than 140kg of tuna eggs. of females – may live in the open ocean.
www.divErNEt.com
MEX whale sharks.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:10 Page 47
There isn’t a great deal of evidence to
support this; it’s more that they are rarely
seen along the coast.
One tagged female, thought to be a
young adult, made a huge migration from
the Afuera zone, across the Equator into
the mid-Atlantic.
This 7000km swim, at an average speed
of around 50km per day, is one of the
largest ever recorded for a whale shark.
This celebrity shark, now called “Rio
Lady”, has been seen back at the Afuera
since. In fact I’ve seen her every year since
I first went there in 2013, so this was a
truly huge loop.
Rafael is fairly confident that she was
pregnant when she was first tagged,
though it is difficult to tell, so this single
track is tantalising in that it could suggest
that whale sharks give birth in the mid-
Atlantic. We hope that further work will
provide more evidence.
I T IS A HUGE PRIVILEGE for us to be
able to swim with so many of these
threatened sharks, and we all need to
respect that they use the Afuera for their
own purposes. Their huge calorie intake
of tuna spawn may help to fuel their
movements for months afterwards.
It’s a shame that the Afuera site was
properly delineated only after the Whale
Shark Biosphere Reserve was created, as
this means that the primary aggregation
site is poorly protected.
Huge shipping vessels hug the tip of
the Yucatan, coming dangerously close to
the whale sharks.
Although it is difficult to quantify,
many whale sharks are likely killed on
impact. This shipping lane needs to be
moved further offshore, and this is
a key aim of this project.
After seeing up to 180 sharks in a day
myself [says Simon], I can truly say that
this is one of the world’s most amazing
wildlife experiences. The Afuera may be
the best site in the world for seeing and
photographing whale sharks.
Right: Up to 100 manta
rays can be present feeding
on bonito at any one time.
Below: A researcher checks
a whale shark’s gender.
OTHER YUCATAN
MARINE-LIFE HIGHLIGHTS
SAILFISH are the fastest-
swimming marine creatures in
our oceans, reaching speeds of
68mph. We often see them
leaping out of the water when
out in search of whale sharks.
They occupy the same waters
year round, but things get
exciting early in the year when
large schools of sardines arrive
and they work in teams to herd
them into bait-balls. You can
spot where they are by noting
the frigate birds that circle
where dolphins have been
feeding on the same fish,
leaving yummy leftovers at the
surface. A fast boat can
approach the edge of a ball and
you can snorkel and watch
sailfish pick their way through
the encircled baitfish.
GIANT MANTA RAYS
We often see a potentially third
species of manta feeding on
bonito spawn among whale
sharks in the Yucatan. On a
good day, we can see as many as
RALPH PANNELL
100 at a time in clear Caribbean
water! Otherwise we can often
locate them further west where
MEXICO DIVER
SIMON PIERCE
they feed on cephalopods,
spotting them from afar as they
leap high out of the water.
Visibility is lower here,
depending on highly variable
currents and the consequent
density of cephalopods, but
it’s a spectacular experience.
Taking photos and DNA
samples needed to prove
whether they are a new species
or not is, however, challenging –
and a target for us this summer.
TARPON One of Mexico’s
great dives is at a site called La
Poza at Xcalak, close to the
border with Belize. There is an
underwater trench here where
currents attract schools of
tarpon more than 2m long
among schools of jack and
snapper.
BULL SHARKS provide
another seasonal highlight.
Some appear to come to the
area to give birth, providing
surprisingly obliging targets
when we dive out of Playa del
Carmen. Best times are mid-
December to mid-March.
47 divEr
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MEX cenotes.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 09:58 Page 49
The Caribbean coast
of the Yucatan Peninsula
is an unusual tropical dive
destination because it’s
not just about coral reefs.
GAVIN PARSONS goes underground
EXCITEMENT
W
HEN YOU SURFACE with just
enough gas to fill your BC you
know you’ve had a great dive
or a bad one. Thankfully, for me, it was
the former.
I’d just dived Tortugas Reef off Playa
Del Carmen on Mexico’s Cancun coast
and I won’t forget it in a hurry. I say that
not to brag about my poor air
consumption or devil-may-care attitude
to personal safety, but to try to convey
the sheer excitement of the dive.
My guide and I had dropped off the
boat into a two-knot current and
descended to the seabed at 16m. It was
a pretty boring-looking reef, just a flat of
sponges, brain corals and algae, but
almost immediately the reason for our
www.divErNEt.com
RAW
visit came swimming into view. Tortugas
is Spanish for turtles, and this reef is
home to the hawksbill variety, and a lot
of them.
Hawksbills are critically endangered,
but because they eat stuff divers like to
look at we see them often. Generally we
see one or perhaps two on a dive – but
rarely 10, as here.
The first one swam slowly, but in the
current it zipped by in a moment.
I spotted another grazing to my left.
I kicked against the current and, as
I reached it, I spun and finned hard to
keep still beside the marine reptile. It was
hard work, and with pictures taken I spun
around again and resumed my flight.
A minute went by until my guide
MEXICO DIVER
indicated another turtle off to the right. I
finned that way and performed the same
spin, fin hard and pivot back on track.
Then another appeared, then another,
and another. Within minutes we’d seen
half a dozen turtles and my breathing
was thumping. My heart threatened to
jump from my chest and slap me around
the face. I was exhausted.
As the depth nudged 20m, I glanced at
my nitrox pressure and saw that it was
below 100 bar. I haven’t breathed that
fast since my open-water course.
Another turtle came into view, and
I was down to 70 bar by the time I’d
finished. My body clamoured for oxygen
to feed my overworked muscles.
My guide had not finned against ☛
49 divEr
MEX cenotes.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 07:58 Page 50
Pictured: Rare sight of a
green turtle at the surface
Below, top to bottom:
Grey snapper on Barracuda
reef; a grey angelfish
photobombs a portrait of a
hawksbill turtle on
Tortuga’s reef; a mix of
French and grey grunts
under a small overhang at
the edge of Barracuda
reef; Atlantic spadefish
shoal on top of the reef
flat at the same site.
the current, so had plenty of nitrox left,
but I had just enough dregs in the
cylinder when I reached the surface,
shattered but ecstatic. It was the type of
challenging dive I love.
I had come to Mexico’s Caribbean coast
during bull-shark season. Unfortunately
no one had told the sharks and they’d left
the week before, but that’s nature for you.
Not that it mattered, as there is plenty
of excitement without them.
P LAYA DEL CARMEN lies on the
Yucatan Peninsula opposite the island
of Cozumel. I travelled with tour operator
The Scuba Place, stayed at the Allegro
Playacar resort and dived with Pro Dive
Mexico, which has dive-centres all over
the area and enough scuba programmes
to keep anyone entertained.
The next reef, though less well-
endowed with turtles (only two) was
slathered in fish. Shoals of French grunt,
white grunt and Atlantic spadefish put
on a show of force. Some hung out on top
of the reef plateau, but the grunt and
snapper preferred to shelter beneath the
overhanging ledges.
Barracuda, as the reef is known, is
named because you encounter the beefy-
looking fish here. Throughout the dive
several large individuals hove into view
like a pack of wolves following an injured
deer. But they never got too close, just saw
what we were and left.
Tortugas and Barracuda were heart-
thumping dives with adventurous
overtones, but even they paled when
compared to my next dive.
I have dived caverns before, even
popped into a mini sea-cave, but I have
divEr 50
never before driven into a jungle and
jumped into a hole in the ground.
This area of Mexico is famous for
freshwater sinkholes called cenotes. The
entire Yucatan Peninsula was, at one
point, a vast coral reef in a tropical sea.
Millions of years of coral growth laid
down a limestone plateau, but 66 million
years ago a meteor hit the area, creating
a crater 112 miles in diameter and 12
miles deep.
Known as the Chixulub Crater, the
forces that created it triggered a massive
change in the Earth’s geology and biology.
The meteor strike was the pivotal
moment that caused the dinosaurs to
die out. The impact threw the Yucatan
up out of the water and cracked the
limestone strata, allowing water to flow
within the shelf.
When water and carbon dioxide mix,
they form carbonic acid. Acid dissolves
limestone (calcium carbonate) and the
fractures within the shelf developed into
a series of fissures and caves.
In the intervening millions of years
meteor strikes, pole shifts and tectonic
movement have caused the water to rise
and fall across the Yucatan, exposing the
caves to dry and wet periods.
When dry, dissolved calcium and other
minerals formed stalactites as water
dripped from the roof of the caverns.
Below them, growing at about a third
slower, stalagmites formed.
When the sea level rose these
formations froze in time, only to resume
their geological desire to reach each other
when the water-table dropped.
When the last Ice Age abated, rising
sea-levels pushed the water table up and
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MEX cenotes.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 07:59 Page 51
into the caves. Erosion also took its toll,
and while most of the cave systems run
below ground, in places the limestone has
collapsed, exposing sinkholes.
These are cenotes, and some 2200 have
been discovered to date.
Many are open to cave-divers, and a few
are safe enough for recreational divers if
accompanied by a qualified guide.
D IVING A CENOTE is like nothing you
will have done before. It is a
combination of excitement, fascination
and a dramatic light show (when the sun
shines).
You can book a cenote diving package
from any Pro Dive Mex centre and are
bussed to its cenote centre where you are
met by your guide, kitted out and taken
for an adventure. Tavo was my cave dive-
guide, and my first cenote was Chac Mool.
Most cenote lie on private land, and to
allow divers into them the land-owner
must provide some basic amenities such
as a road and parking area plus a toilet.
The ones I visited also had a changing
area, and Chac Mool even has a cafe. It
sounds touristy, but is pretty rustic.
The jungle is dense, but the trees are
small because of the limestone crust and
high water-table. As the roots reach
MEXICO DIVER
downward, they encounter water too close
to the surface to allow further growth.
Chac Mool has two entrances. The first
is an open pond below which the cavern
opens. As the daylight behind faded and
the way was lit only by my torch, an eerie
light ahead started to brighten the cavern.
This is where the light show kicks off
in the morning, when the sun lances
through the foliage of a mangrove stand.
It’s possible to surface here, and although
I was only a short distance from the car
park it felt like the middle of nowhere.
Exotic bird-calls punctuated the forest
silence. It’s a surreal experience to swim
through a flooded cavern and out into
an ancient world. I almost expected to
see South American tribesmen peering
around the trees at the two explorers
who had just emerged from their sacred
water hole.
But, of course, that was fantasy. What
looked like a fantasy, but wasn’t, was the
display mounted by the emerging sun. Above from top: Tavo clouded over. So we stopped for lunch and
The light, ripped apart by the leaves waiting for the sun to break a change of tanks before entering the
above, lanced down into the crystal fresh through the clouds in Chac second chamber.
Mool; the pond of Ponderosa
water, creating a stunning visual This had a smaller entrance and
cenote; the larger entrance to
spectacle. Chac Mool cenote. created a real sense of adventure. To reach
I was captivated and wanted to see the sun side we dropped below the surface
more, but the weather closed in and Left: Tavo inside the cavern and swam past stalactites and stalagmites
at Ponderosa. and over boulders and limestone slabs.
Then the darkness ahead lightened.
Another open area came into view, and
Tavo and I again surfaced into the jungle.
I T WAS AS SERENE as the first time, but
the clouded sky above showed no
promise of clearing. Heavy grey clouds
skidded across on a stiff northerly breeze.
They thinned every so often, but barely
enough for the sun to shine.
A chink in the cloud cover passed
before the sun and light lances appeared.
We descended quickly and I managed to
photograph Tavo with some light-rays
around him. It wasn’t ideal, but I had ☛
51 divEr
MEX cenotes.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 07:59 Page 52
MEXICO DIVER
WAYTOGO
The “ultimate Yucatan dive experience”
is offered by Pro Dive International in the
form of its 10-night Mexican Stay &
Adventure package, designed to allow
divers to explore the highlights of the
Yucatan peninsula.
It starts with five nights with all-inclusive
meal plan at the Occidental Allegro
Cozumel in the centre of the national
marine park in the south of the island,
with six dives and free nitrox, upgraded
accommodation near the beach, VIP
service and so on.
The second half of the trip offers five
nights at the Occidental Allegro Playacar
beach resort at Playa del Carmen , again on
an all-inclusive meal plan, with two
cenotes, one bull-shark and one reef dive, a
complimentary upgrade to the Mama Viña
wreck dive and a Sailfish Run Safari, to see
the world’s fastest fish hunting sardines.
All this costs from £999pp (two sharing),
flights and transfers not included.
✹ www.prodiveinternational.com
to take the chances I was given.
The next cenote system was Ponderosa
within the Garden Of Eden. That’s what
the sign said, but I’m not sure I believed
it. It was protected by black gates that
warned that anyone ramming them
would be liable to pay for the damage, so
I had my doubts about the provenance of
the area’s name.
However when the sun shines into the
water, Ponderosa could be the Garden of
Eden. The dive starts on a platform at the
large pond’s edge. From there it’s a short
swim into the cliff and the entrance to
one of the caverns.
The darkness soon surrounded me,
closing in on my senses, quickening my
heart-rate and tweaking my alertness
until I was fully focused. Swimming in an
overhead environment is a serious
business and takes all your concentration.
divEr 52
I wasn’t deep, but I did watch my air,
something I rarely do when shallow-water
sea-diving.
Ahead the water lightened as we
reached an area open to the jungle. We
entered in bright sunshine, but clouds
had again surrounded the sun and the
light was dull.
Tavo and I surfaced. Clouds were not Top: Taco is outlined against With my air nudging the end of the
what we wanted. We decided to push on the light in Ponderosa. second third (in cave-diving, air
and dropped into a halocline where fresh consumption is measured in thirds of a
and saline water mix and it’s impossible Above: Rare glimpse of tank – one for going in, the second for
a terrapin in Chac Mool.
to make anything out. coming out and the last for emergencies)
we headed back.
W E DROPPED FURTHER into
warmer salt water for a few
moments before rising again. For a
The cenote entrance grew brighter until
we burst into the sunlit pond, its clear
water punctuated by sunbeams.
minute or so we skimmed the surface of We edged to the left, where a line
the halocline. The rocks an arm’s stretch denotes the diving area from the
away were fuzzy and indistinct, yet Tavo’s swimming area, and I was greeted by a
fins ahead were crystal-clear. woman’s bare bottom staring back at me.
To our right the fissure opened to the Thongs are the swimsuit of choice in
jungle again and the light remained Below: Stalactites and Mexico. So while I’d just enjoyed the
lifeless. At the end of the recreational part limestone columns inside pleasure of the sun, it was a moon that
of the cave, impressive limestone Chac Mool. bade me farewell to Mexico’s cenotes.
formations sat frozen in time in the
darkness.
We turned back and something had
changed. Bright light spears descended
towards the cenote floor. The sun had
emerged and transformed the scene, as
the Christmas lights on Oxford Street
transform a dull December day.
The whole edge of the cenote was
bathed in sun-rays that would have
knocked me off my feet had I been
standing. My regulator almost dropped
from my mouth, because the spectacle
was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
I have seen many sights while under
water, but this raced into my top ten.
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053_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 04/05/2016 12:42 Page 053

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TO ORDER: CALL The divEr Bookshop on 020 8941 8152

Booking Now MEX.qxp_Bubbling 03/05/2016 08:00 Page 54
MEXICO DIVER
No limits
with Sportif
Beachfront-located Scuba Club
Cozumel offers instant access to
diving in the Cozumel Marine
Park and has its own jetty,
restaurant, bar and dive shop.
Unlimited shore-diving based
around two piers, said to be ideal
for macro photographers, is part
of the package, says Sportif Dive
Travel.
All boat dives are guided drifts,
including the Palencar Gardens
and Felipe Xicotencatl wreck
among 17 marked sites chosen
according to skill levels. They lie
10-50 minutes’ ride out.
Cenotes diving for all levels is
also available, with two-tank
cavern dives and lunch for US
$150.
Sportif is offering seven nights’
full-board (two sharing a standard
room) with return flights and
transfers and five days’ unlimited
shore-diving on selected dates in
May and June for £1499pp.
8 www.sportifdive.co.uk
54
BOOKING NOW…EAST COAST
Make it
snappy!
CAVES & CAVERNS WITH THE STARS
UK diving-equipment manufacturer
Apeks is sponsoring the first Cave
Camp, an event aimed at divers from
those with no previous experience of
cavern- or cave-diving to what it calls
the “cave-committed”.
It takes place in the coastal town of
Tulum, south of Cancun, from 29
October to 12 November. The aim is to
help inspire a new generation of cave-
divers through experiences in the
Yucatan’s cenotes and contact with
leading exponents such as Sami
Paakkarinen, Phil Short, Mathew
Partridge, Ian France, Oliver Marsel,
Gemma Smith, John Kendall and
Garry Dallas.
Talks and workshops will
DRESSEL
COMBO
“Dive in the largest freshwater
system in the world!” is the invitation
from Dressel Divers Club
International, which offers a 10-night,
15-dive combination itinerary for
£1150. The package starts with four
nights at the 5* all-inclusive Iberostar
Cozumel resort, with four days of
two-tank dives plus a night dive.
Now here’s one for those who hanker for
something completely different, and
Hidden Depths Dive Tours says it’s the only
company in the UK to offer it in Mexico –
diving including crocodile encounters!
Not only that, but its eight-day package
allows you to dive on the lesser-dived
Chinchorro Banks towards the southern
border. These form part of the Mayan, the
world’s second-largest barrier reef.
You fly in to Cancun and travel by road
to Xcalak for three days of diving in the
Xcalak Reef National Park (nine dives),
followed by two days of (in-water)
crocodile encounters and a day trip to
Chinchorro (two dives)
The price of £1899pp includes flights,
seven nights’ B&B, lunches on diving days,
dinner in Chinchorro, tanks & weights,
park fees and taxes.
8 www.hiddendepthsdivetours.com
accompany the diving activities for
the experienced and training from
entry-level cavern to full cave.
Cave Camp was the idea of Lanny &
Claire Vogel, two ex-Royal Navy
officers who moved to Mexico in 2014
to set up a dive centre.“Cave Camp
will be as much about having fun as
diving – we want guests to love every
minute of it!” says Lanny Vogel.
The attendance fee of £499
includes transfers, 14 nights’ self-
catering accommodation and access
to talks and social events. Training
(which should be pre-booked), guided
diving and some workshops will incur
additional charges.
8 www.cavecamp.com
Whale sharks
‘guaranteed’
Between June and August,
whale-shark sightings are
virtually guaranteed along
the Yucatan Peninsula,
says bespoke tour operator
Original Travel, with the
spectacular wall-dives of
Cozumel and the cenotes
always available to throw
into the mix.
On offer at that time are
seven nights’ B&B at
It then moves on to another 5* all- Belmond Maroma in a deluxe
inclusive resort, the Iberostar Tucan, garden room from £2950pp,
for a six-night stay that includes two including a package of 10
days of cenotes diving (four dives), dives, two of which will be in
and a day of local wreck and reef the cenotes and two at
diving. All transfers and marine-park Cozumel, a snorkel “with
fees are included, although not guaranteed whale sharks”,
international flights. transfers and return direct
8 www.dresseldivers.com flights from London.
8 www.originaldiving.com
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Booking Now MEX.qxp_Bubbling 03/05/2016 08:00 Page 55

BOOKING NOW…EAST COAST
With Regaldive from £1249
UK tour operator Regaldive offers
holidays to eastern Mexico from
£1249 – including five days’ diving.
You can choose from either Cozumel
or the Riviera Maya, with the chance
to dive the Cozumel National Marine
Park, which it says is considered one of
the world’s top five dive destinations,,
and add a trip to dive the cenotes –
MEXICO DIVER
“the reason so many divers head to
this part of Mexico”.
A sample departure at the rate
mentioned from 5-11 September
would include flights, seven nights’
all-inclusive accommodation at the
Allegro Cozumel Resort, transfers and
five days’ diving
8 www.regaldive.co.uk

Cenotes …or go for that Ultimate discount

tours with

ANDREA MAIERO
“There has never been a better
time to dive Mexico, the place

ScubaCaribe to go for outstanding lagoons,

If you’re planning to stay in Playa
del Carmen, dive-centre
ScubaCaribe can arrange two-tank
dive tours of the cenotes for you –
“the most unique diving experience
you can have in Riviera Maya” is
how it describes the day.
You get to dive in two different
cenotes, chosen according to the
divers’ experience. “Diving in
cenotes is safe, both for technical
and recreational divers, according
to the current standards followed
by our professional full cave
instructors,“ says ScubaCaribe.
“We’ll show you the incredible
beauty of these hidden worlds and
guarantee a safe, relaxing dive in
unique underwater passages.”
The guided tour costs US $169pp,
including transfers and lunchbox.
8 www.scubacaribe.com
coastal waters and a network of
rivers rich in natural beauty. It’s
like paradise on Earth for
divers!” So says Ultimate Diving,
which reckons that the Riviera
Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula
is one of the most dynamic
and popular destinations on
the western Caribbean Sea.
Seven nights in Puerto Del Carmen inclusive accommodation and 10
starts from £1450pp in May, June and dives. Get £100 discount by calling
July, including flights from London, Ultimate and quoting “WeLoveDiving”.
airport transfers, seven nights’ all- 8 www.ultimatediving.co.uk

BOOKING NOW…WEST COAST…………………………………

BIG AROUND ESPIRITU SANTO
Dive Worldwide has what it reckons is
a unique offering in the shape of a
week-long resort-based “diving
adventure” with the possibility of big
marine-life encounters.
The nutrient-rich waters of the Sea
of Cortez are among the planet’s most
biologically diverse locations, it says,
and sightings could include whale
sharks, hammerhead sharks and
sea-lions. The best months for such
encounters are between September-
November, it says.
The diving is concentrated around
Espiritu Santo island, said to host
more than 30 species of marine
mammals and 500 species of fish.
CRAIG DIETRICH
Diving highlights may include
interacting with the 200-strong
colony of sea-lions at Los Islotes;
spotting hammerhead sharks at El
Bajo; and witnessing schooling jacks
at Isla Las Animas. Trips to watch grey
whales are available between
February and April.
Guests can choose from two
resorts on the shores of the Sea of
Cortez in La Paz – La Concha Beach
Resort or Costa Baja Resort & Spa.
Prices start from £2045pp (two
sharing) including seven nights’ B&B,
five days’ diving (10 boat dives), flights
from the UK and transfers.
8 www.diveworldwide.com

Socorro & Riviera Maya all in one

“Dive with giant mantas,
several species of sharks,
dolphins and humpbacks at
Socorro Island! Then dive and
relax at Riviera Maya where
bull sharks, sailfish, whale
sharks, cenotes and white
sandy beaches await!”
Sounds like a plan – that’s
the proposition from Pro Dive
International and Nautilus
Explorer & Belle Amie if you
really want to push the boat
out on your next foray to
Mexico.
The combined trip will cost
from £1899pp for eight
nights’ liveaboard trip to
Socorro and from £399pp for
the five-night Dive & Relax
extension. Flights and
transfers are not included.
8 www.prodive
international.com ☛

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Booking Now MEX.qxp_Bubbling 04/05/2016 14:26 Page 56
MEXICO DIVER
GREAT
WHITE
WONDER
Professional photographer and
big-animals trip organiser Amos
Nachoum has 30 years’
experience diving with great
white sharks around the world.
Guadalupe way off Mexico’s
Pacific coast is the setting for
his Great White Shark Diving
Experience, an eight-day trip
from 17 November with no more
than 10 guests aboard the 33m
liveaboard Sea Escape.
There is a cage that takes two
guests at any one time and the
rest can dive cageless if they
wish. Price is US $5900pp (two
sharing a cabin) or $5700 if you
won’t be needing the cage!
You get flights from San Diego
and hotel stays there, transfers,
all meals and the diving with all
equipment provided.
8 www.biganimals.com
56
PICK YOUR RIDE TO SOCORRO
The Socorro Islands are famous for
close encounters with giant mantas,
seven species of sharks, humpback
whales (January-March), whale sharks
and dolphins, says Regaldive. Also on
the sighting list for divers are big tuna,
wahoo, schools of jack and endemic
ALEX KACHADOURIAN
BOOKING NOW…WEST COAST
tropicals found nowhere else.
Regaldive offers an eight-night trip
aboard the 34m Solmar V (above left).
Prices, based on two sharing, start at
£706pp for 3-4 daily dives, three
“gourmet” meals a day (beer and wine
with dinner), surcharges and fees.
The tour operator also offers eight-
night trips on the 35m Nautilus
Explorer (above) from £1747pp with
accommodation in a triple cabin
(mixed gender), with four meals and
3-4 dives a day. Flights not included.
8 www.regaldive.co.uk
Blue options
blue o two also offers trips
to “mini Galapagos” on
Nautilus Explorer. They run
year-round and start from
£2999 including flights,
transfers, one night in a
4* Cabo San Lucas hotel,
10 nights’ full board on
the vessel (shared cabin)
and diving.
8 www.blueotwo.com
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MEX cozumel.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:01 Page 57
FESTIVE
SPIRIT
RICHARD ASPINALL’s faltering
Spanish might have prevented
him from enjoying Cozumel’s
ScubaFest presentations to
the full, but who cares?
The rainbow reefs in the marine park
speak volumes
T
HE SMALL PLANE BANKED and
I woke from a half-slumber. Below,
the Mexican Caribbean was as blue
as the photos in the brochures and, as the
plane banked again, I could see the deep
blue giving way to breakers over turquoise
shallows and coral-sand beaches before
the emerald jungle took over.
This was Cozumel, a teardrop-shaped
island some 30 miles from tip to tail off
the Yucatan Peninsula coast. Sunlight
www.divErNEt.com
Pictured: Diver over the
reef.
Right: Jean-Michel
Cousteau and Dr Sylvia Earle
sharing the stage at
Scubafest.
MEXICO DIVER
reflected back from the wet jungle below, Cozumel forms part of the second-
indicating that there had been rain of largest reef system in the world, running
late, but as I would find out, a little from the Gulf of Mexico to Honduras,
tropical rain wouldn’t ruin my diving. and my arrival coincided with Cozumel’s
The verdant green was a far cry from annual Scubafest, which would see
the sprawl of Mexico City I’d left a few marine conservation champions Jean-
hours earlier, and I was itching to Michel Cousteau and Sylvia Earle sharing
explore. a stage, along with presentations from ☛
As the plane lost altitude the western
coast came into view, a narrow strip of
coastal development that includes the
main town of San Miguel and the shops
and restaurants that cater for tourists
enjoying the relaxed atmosphere, sun,
margaritas and diving.
I could make out the individual trees
now and thought I’d enjoy a look-see in
there between my dives. Then I
remembered why this island was so
famous for excellent underwater
visibility – it’s all made of limestone,
which absorbs the rain.
57 divEr
MEX cozumel.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:02 Page 58
conservation agencies, dive physiology
experts and others. But first, it was time to
get wet.
I was diving with Scuba Du, said to be
one of the most well-respected dive
operators on the island, and happily we
weren’t gathering until after 9am. After
the long if comfortable flight from
London I was grateful for the late start
and time to get my camera set up and
tested. It’s always great to see that little
green winking LED on my leak detector
not flashing red!
W E LEFT SCUBA DU’S beachside
centre in a well-equipped hardboat
and headed south. The built-up areas
soon receded into the distance along with
the berths for the liners that stop here to
disgorge their guests. The sky was cloudy
but the weather was set to improve.
After half an hour we neared the
southern tip of the island, and when the
throttle was cut we loaded up on lead and
listened to a comprehensive briefing. In
the Caribbean fellow-divers and guides
divEr 58
Above: Christmas-tree
worms.
Above right: Large black
grouper.
Below: A variety of corals
and sponges adorn the reef.
will likely have gauges reading in PSI, not
bar, and signals UK divers have used for
years might not be immediately
understood, so we all confirmed the
signals to use to indicate our gas levels.
The first dive in a new location I always
find the most interesting. I had not dived
in warm water for a few months so simply
being in a 3mm shortie was a joy, but
I relish that first glimpse of reef and the
fish that call it home – how will it
compare with other reefs around the
world?
This site, Palancar Gardens, makes a
great introduction to Cozumel diving,
with its excellent marine life and generally
mild currents. Like much of the western
coast it lay within the marine park, in
which fishing is banned.
Long ridges of limestone running
parallel to the coast would form a
common element to the dives. They were
covered in sponges, sea plumes and soft
corals above, while below, the lines of
rock-formed ledges and overhangs where
shy fish and filter-feeding animals might
hide from the light offered rich pickings
for macro photographers.
Within minutes the guide was
signalling shark, and we saw a large nurse
shark resting under a ledge. It didn’t like
the look of us and scarpered before
I could get a shot, but I was pleased to see
loads of large fish, from pairs of French
and grey angels to a whopping parrotfish,
and hoped this was an indication that the
no-fishing rules were respected and the
reefs were healthy.
B ACK ON THE BOAT I chatted with
my fellow-divers over pineapple and
melon. We were pootling back north to
give us a decent surface interval before the
next dive. It didn’t disappoint, with great
numbers of purple creole wrasse and
yellow Spanish grunts.
Under the ledges were scores of lobster,
and amid the tube and barrel sponges
small blue and yellow damselfish flitted
about. Closer inspection revealed arrow
crabs and Christmas-tree worms.
For divers more used to the hard-
MEX cozumel.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:02 Page 59
coralscapes of the Indo-Pacific and Red
Sea, the Caribbean, with its lower coral
diversity, is a real contrast. So much of the
life is soft and – spongy! This isn’t always
a good thing, and when sponge-eating
fish are removed by fishermen the
sponges can overgrow slow-growing hard
corals, which is why no-fishing zones are
so valuable for the health of the reef.
That evening I ate delicious fajitas and
attended the launch of Scubafest in San
Miguel’s Conference Centre. I can only
imagine that the presentations were good
because I couldn’t follow the bulk of them.
I did manage, with my terrible Spanish,
to chat with a few local conservation
groups that had stands, including one
that was asking people to submit images
of spotted eagle rays to form a database
of their unique individual markings.
I promised that I’d be sure to pass
on any pics, hoping that my altruism
would somehow ensure that I’d see some
rays that week.
The following morning the weather
had improved further, the swell had
calmed and a quick tour of the limestone
rockpools outside my hotel revealed a
spotted moray, which I took as a good
omen for the day ahead.
Cozumel’s eastern shore takes a
battering from the ocean, especially when
tropical storms pile in from the Atlantic,
and because the diving is easier in the
west, that’s where it all tends to happens.
So again we headed south, this time to
a site called Devil’s Throat. This would
be a deeper dive, again created by
Cozumel’s geological history, and one not
usually on offer.
We dropped onto the reef, and at
around 25m our guide indicated a cave
entrance. We had been assured that it
opened up into quite a large cavern, with
plenty of light and a clear exit, but I was
still prepared to take extra care as we
dropped into it and headed deeper.
Y OU COULD SEE WHY it was known
as a “throat”, because it was as if the
reef had opened up to swallow us into its
big guts. Within a minute or two we
emerged out of a wide cavern at just
under 40m, posed briefly for photos and
then worked our way back through
a jumble of broken rock forming deep
gulleys between colourful pinnacles, each
topped with tube sponges and sea plumes.
As I rose slowly in the water column
I squeezed off a few shots and hoped
I hadn’t kicked up a lot of silt for the
divers behind me.
So far, so good. The vis was far in excess
of 30m and Cozumel was impressing me.
After lunch I took a stroll along the
beach to photograph the brown pelicans
Above: A shoal of snapper.
Right: A juvenile brown
pelican.
Below: A pair of large grey
angelfish graze on sponges
and algae on the shell of this
green turtle.
MEXICO DIVER
that hang around the smaller harbours,
and that evening was able to enjoy a
presentation on hazardous marine life
from a doctor working for DAN.
As is the way on dive trips the week
flew by, but Cozumel was saving possibly
the best until last. We were moored up at
a site called Paso Del Cedral which, from
the boat, appeared like any other, sandy
with a ridge of limestone reef.
However, as we finned along I realised
that the first ridge was next to another
and another slightly deeper one that
marked the edge of a drop-off. A diver
with good gas consumption could easily
take in three different environments in
one dive.
I spotted two large angelfish grazing
away on something, which revealed itself
to be an entirely unconcerned turtle that
was perhaps benefitting from a spruce- ☛
59 divEr
MEX cozumel.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 09:01 Page 60
MEXICO DIVER
up. I took some shots and moved away to
let in a fellow-diver and spotted a small
nurse shark a few metres away – not bad
for the first five minutes.
Again the reef was full of life –
angelfish, yellow and black rock beauties,
scribbled filefish, shoals of snapper and
the occasional barracuda.
Perhaps it was all the excitement but
I was guzzling through my air. Every so
often I think I should dive without my
camera, but I can’t risk missing anything.
Perhaps I should simply get fitter?
I’d missed a lot of the festival
proceedings at the Convention Centre –
divEr 60
Below from left: Newly
unveiled statues of Jacques
Cousteau and Dr Sylvia Earle,
speakers at ScubaFest.
you can’t do everything – but I did want
to hear Cousteau and Earle. I had joined
some press divers for a shoot of the
unveiling of a sculpture of Dr Earle near
the Sand Dollar Dive Centre, placed not
that far from one of Jacques Cousteau,
Jean-Michel’s father.
For 40 years Sylvia Earle has been
campaigning to raise our awareness of
ocean conservation issues, warning of the
dangers of overfishing from before many
of us were born.
A wonderful speaker, she received a
standing ovation when presented with an
award by that other legend (and “rascal”,
according to Dr Earle) Jean-Michel
Cousteau. Inspiring stuff, and a great way
to bring the week to a close.
I DID MANAGE to explore the jungle
a little, after meeting up with a chap
called Sergio who runs tours of the
island’s interior. As I off-gassed before my
flight we headed into the still-wet jungle
to explore some old Mayan ruins and
look for wildlife.
The interior revealed geology to match
that of the reefs, with more long ridges of
limestone. Each was a former reef system,
and among the leaf-litter the limestone
was full of fossil shells and corals from
thousands of years ago, bringing
together past and present.
I had enjoyed four great days of diving,
and could have done with another week,
but I know I will return, in the hope of
seeing that spotted eagle ray.
I’m told that the island has changed as
the tourism industry has developed, and
those mega-mall cruise liners keep on
coming. Happily, however, it’s not difficult
to get away and enjoy a wilder Cozumel,
both above and below the water.
WAYTOGO
A week’s diving package during Scubafest
costs around £1400 with Caribe Maya, plus
£800 for a return flight from the UK with
Aeromexico. You get an all-inclusive stay in
a 5* hotel (two sharing); flights between
Cancun and Cozumel with Mayair; 11 day-
dives, one night-dive and one cave-dive at
Cenote Aerolito Cozumel; a visit to Latin
America’s biggest planetarium; conference
attendance; turtle-nesting night excursion,
a visit to San Gervasio Arqueological Area,
restaurant meal with tequila tasting; boat,
meal and drinks at Pasion Island; visit to
Punta Sur Reserve and Colombia Lagoon;
ScubaFest diving log-book; transfers and
travel insurance. That’s one busy week!
✹ www.caribemaya.org,
www.cozumelfest.com
www.divErNEt.com
The Scuba Place_0416.qxp_Layout 1 01/03/2016 17:11 Page 57

SOCORRO AND
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MEX Socorro.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:03 Page 62
BIG TIME
I
’VE NEVER ENCOUNTERED mantas
before,” Paul Colley told me as we
were kitting up on deck. Fifteen
minutes later we were under water. Paul
was hovering at about 5m, fiddling with
his camera rig, staring into the depths in
the hope of catching his first glimpse of
what so often proves to be an elusive and
shy creature.
In an instant one beautifully sculpted
leviathan, as bold as brass, cruised
stealthily in behind him. The giant rose
to the surface, clearly seeking to bathe in
Paul’s stream of regulator exhaust
bubbles and intent on enjoying them
tickling its belly.
The big ray’s wingtips and back broke
the meniscus as the animal exhibited its
determination to get into the best
position for its makeshift spa. Paul was
still staring down, blinkered by his mask
and unaware of the spectacle unfolding
above him. My own camera rig was
inoperable, the strobe arms still folded
and everything switched off from our
RIB entry, and all I could do was gurgle
“maaaantaaaa!” as loudly as possible
through my mouthpiece.
My unsuspecting buddy turned, his
body stiffening in surprise as his entire
field of view became filled with the
divEr 62
It’s big time you
need – five days
of diving from
a 12-night trip –
and it’s big-time
diving, with big currents,
big animals and big thrills.
We’re talking the Socorro
Islands, where NIGEL WADE
underside of the creature above him.
I swear I saw a glint in the manta’s eye as has been living large
it celebrated the win in its implausible
game of hide-and-seek, and Paul
frantically blasted away with his camera.
The encounter lasted a few short
seconds before the 5m pelagic wanderer
flicked its broad wings and silently
disappeared, perhaps to find other
players, leaving us both elated at the brief
meeting between Pacific sea creature and
UK landlubber.
We were diving at the famous El
Boiler, a volcanic rock column rising
from a Jurassic seabed at San Benedicto.
This is one of three islands making up
the Revillagigedo archipelago, also
known as the Socorro islands, some 240
nautical miles offshore and under
Mexican federal jurisdiction.
Our long journey had involved two
flights, two hotel stopovers plus a full day
and night cruising on our floating hotel,
the Nautilus Belle Amie, and within
minutes under water we had been
rewarded with this incredible encounter.
It wouldn’t be our last.
The Revillagigedo Islands are a wild
and remote destination, entirely at the
mercy of Mother Nature’s fury, with
nowhere to hide should strong winds
and ripping currents prevail.
Sometimes the sea can be such a cruel
mistress, but not for us – we were greeted
with a light breeze and calm seas as we
arrived, well-rested and eager, our
departure from the marina at Cabo San
Lucas on the southernmost tip of the
Baja peninsula seemingly a lifetime ago.
On the following dive, again at El
Boiler, we were met with surging current
– two fins forward, one fin back as it
played a game of push-me-pull-me on
our hapless submerged bodies.
The sea creatures that call this place
home were at ease with the water
movement, maintaining their position
with small fin- and tail-flicks. Oh, to be a
fish, I thought, and then reconsidered, as
the prospect of trying to survive here
with thousands of predators lurking
around every corner entered my mind.
As if to emphasise the point, a lone
SIMON PIERCE
MEX Socorro.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:03 Page 63
hammerhead shark appeared in the
distant blue, its silhouette unmistakable
as it ghosted in and out of visibility
range.
The sight of a big manta interacting
playfully with other divers refocused my
thoughts. It purposely swam from diver
to diver, rising above them to bathe in
bubbles, its whole body shuddering from
time to time as if in ecstasy.
A second beast joined in, this one
resembling a stealth bomber. All black
with a pure white crest flanked with zig-
zag edges on its chest, it somersaulted
in front of us as if showing off its
superhero status.
Next morning I woke to the sound of
the ship’s anchor and chain crashing
noisily into the depths, signalling our
pre-dawn arrival at Socorro Island.
Pictured: Manta rays The Mexican Navy patrols these waters
resemble giant birds from an island-based station to maintain
flying elegantly through their marine reserve status.
the water.
The Socorro base was set up in 1957
Left: Socorro Island and has become a small village housing
at sunrise. around 45 military personnel. We had to
MEXICO DIVER
wait until after breakfast before the
naval officers boarded our vessel,
carrying firearms and looking very
serious. They checked dive permits and
the ship’s documents before allowing us
on our way.
As Belle Amie moved from the naval
base to our intended dive-site on the east
of the island, we joined the Viking on the
top deck for the morning briefing.
Big Swede Sten Johansson has worked
these waters for a number of years, and
was keen to share his knowledge.
We would be diving along a finger of
ancient lava, reaching out across a sandy
seabed. The narrow ridge had formed
a wall that’s frequently visited by, you
guessed it, mantas.
The pelagic rays come here to enjoy
the services offered at the many cleaning
stations dotted along the rock-face.
The Socorro cleaning stations are ☛
63 divEr
MEX Socorro.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:04 Page 64

like nothing I have seen before. The

cleanerfish are big clarion angelfish and
black-nosed butterflyfish, which can be
found congregating in loose groups over
established rock formations awaiting the
arrival of their customers.
The cleaners energetically remove
parasites and dead skin tissue from the
big rays as they hover almost motionless.
The Viking had been nominated to
guide our group, and immediately led us
to a known cleaner hotspot to await the
arrival of potential clients.
But instead of mantas, we were greeted
by a pod of dolphins, which announced
their arrival with a noisy array of sonic
peeps and darted excitedly from diver to
diver, stopping for a few seconds to
inspect one land-living interloper before
excitedly finning to the next.
I must look like an ogre to these by relentless current and countless Above, from left: A manta leeward side to be greeted by hundreds of
beautiful marine mammals, because they storms. All that remains under water is shows off the ‘superhero silver-flanked jack basking in the slack
always seem to bypass me in favour of the solid basalt lava core, rising like emblem’ on its chest at water. They had been joined by a few
Socorro Island; a cheeky
better-looking specimens. a single spire from the depths. juvenile Mexican hogfish individual orange triggerfish, which
This time was no different, and I was This is not a place for lovers of coral catches its reflection in the added a splash of colour to the mainly
left wondering whether I should have a reefs. Like its sibling islands the camera port. blue-soaked scene.
makeover or some plastic surgery in an topography here is stark and monolithic, Below them, every hollow and cavern
effort to make me less repulsive to these the only colour provided by barnacles and Right: Even the dive guides on the basalt pillar was jam-packed with
are giants – the Viking, Sten
clearly picky creatures. algae growth. Johansson.
sleeping whitetip reef sharks. Dozens of
The mantas did arrive, however, saving It’s the sheer biomass of marine life them were crammed into the limited flat-
the dive for me as they comforted me with that makes this archipelago the hottest Below, from left: Whitetip bottomed real estate offered in this
reef sharks crammed into mainly vertical world, lying in disjointed
the limited real estate at

SIMON PIERCE
slumber besides and on top of each other.
I WAS WONDERING IF I SHOULD HAVE Roca Partida; a lone
triggerfish joins silver-
In some hollows the sharks had

A MAKEOVER OR PLASTIC SURGERY flanked jack just below

a “you’re not as abhorrent as you think”
look of sympathy on their faces.
I had to suffer the many tales of close
dolphin encounters from my fellow-
divers, some of them backing up their
stories with stunning images.
Oh well, “it is what it is”, I thought as I
contemplated suicide by alcohol abuse at
the end of the day. I settled instead for a
hot chocolate and an early night, in the
knowledge that tomorrow we would be
visiting the jewel in the crown of this
archipelago, Roca Partida.
the surface.
to share their bedroom space with
green moray eels and in one, half-a-dozen
giant spiny lobsters packed tightly into
dive destination on the planet. Apart from a small alcove.
the residents, it’s also an oasis in a desert, The barnacles at the base of the hollows
attracting pelagic species in their droves. seemed to be worn away by the constant
I rolled off the RIB into crystal water, to-ing and fro-ing of the rough-skinned
immediately aware of the current tugging tenants, offering little purchase and
me away from the rock-face, and finning allowing the constant surge to gently rock
hard in bursts to try to negate the now- the sharks to sleep in tandem.
familiar surge found on all but a few of Away from the topography of the rock,
our previous dives. the blue water holds predators in large
I eventually arrived in the shelter of the numbers. On one of our dives here we

N AMED AFTER THE TWIN PEAKS

that rise only 25m from the sea’s
surface, Roca Partida (parted rock) has
no vegetation.
Instead, its weathered rock surface is
coated with sun-bleached guano, dropped
by generations of seabirds that have spent
their lives calling this remote and no
doubt hostile place home.
Topside, the insignificant rock looked
a bit underwhelming, I thought, as I
sipped my morning coffee on the top
deck. Little did I know how overwhelming
the spectacle would be below the surface.
The portion of rock visible from the
boat is the decaying tip of an ancient
volcano, its steep slopes long since eroded

divEr 64
MEX Socorro.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:04 Page 65
witnessed the spectacle (albeit in the
distance) of around 50 schooling
hammerhead sharks. They were the only
animals that seemed spooked by divers,
slinking away beyond the limits of
visibility as we approached.
In contrast, larger Galapagos and dusky
sharks didn’t seem at all fazed by our
presence, going about their job of looking
menacing with aplomb. On occasion they
cruised past without so much as a cursory
glance at their admiring audience.
T HE SMALLER SPECIES seemed a bit
miffed by the lack of attention they
were receiving; on more than one
occasion trumpetfish and cheeky-looking
juvenile Mexican hogfish approached my
camera rig, facing into the mirrored dome
port as if to say “photograph me”.
In reality they could see their reflection
and probably assumed that they were
encountering an interloper encroaching
on their territory. Whatever the reason,
they made great subjects.
The following night, 20 or so silky
sharks surrounded the Belle Amie as she
MEXICO DIVER
lay at anchor, hunting baitfish attracted
by the ship’s powerful side-lights.
The sharks showed a different side to
their daytime persona, attacking the shoal
aggressively with their dorsal fins
breaking the surface.
It made me wonder what was
happening on the Rock; the hundreds of
whitetips would also be actively seeking
prey. Those strange bedfellows during the
day were now on the menu, and I really
wouldn’t want to be a squirrelfish, hogfish
or wrasse right now, I thought, as I
pictured the brutal packs of grey-skinned
hunters wreaking havoc.
It appears that it’s not only the mantas
that enjoy the bubbles from the many
divers. On our last day at Roca Partida,
while maintaining my safety stop under
a DSMB, I witnessed a big green
parrotfish actively seeking out the rising
bubbles from divers below.
The fish spiralled around a large
jellyfish-shaped bubble as it shimmered
and shook on its way to the surface.
With a final bump of its nose the fish
burst the bubble, transforming it into
what resembled shattered glass. The fish
then visibly shook with excitement before
descending to find another.
This game lasted for my entire safety
stop, the divers below oblivious to the
playground antics above them.
The manta rays and whitetip reef
sharks we encountered at the Socorro
Islands were huge, dwarfing their Indian
Ocean cousins.
In this Land of the Giants, so was
everything else; the cleanerfish were big,
the lobsters were enormous, and our
Viking dive-guide – well, he was a
monster of a man but, like the mantas, he
was also a gentle, fun-loving giant.
WAYTOGO
Nigel Wade’s trip was arranged by The Scuba
Place, which offers the same 12-night, five-
days’ diving itinerary from £3900. Included
is 5* all-inclusive accommodation in Cabo
San Lucas for one night before boarding and
two nights on the way back, an overnight in
Los Angeles, flights, transfers and taxes,
plus eight nights on Nautilus Belle Amie or
Nautilus Explorer
(www.nautilusbelleamie.com) with 20
dives. Nitrox, marine-park fees and hotel-
marina transfers are extra. Nigel flew with
Virgin Atlantic from London to LA and on to
Cabo San Lucas with Alaska Airlines, and
stayed at Dreams Los Cabos
(www.dreamsresorts.com). Nautilus trips to
Socorro run from January through to July.
Hyperbaric facilities are 250 miles away in
Mexico, so conservative dive practices are
recommended.
✹ www.thescubaplace.co.uk
65 divEr
066_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 03/05/2016 13:09 Page 066

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Kamikaze Maru.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 09:10 Page 67
…URUKTHAPEL ANCHORAGE, WESTERN LAGOON, PALAU…
K ROD MACDONALD’s books are always eagerly awaited, and
AMIKAZE MARU WAS LAID down
as a 4950-tonne civilian passenger-
cargo vessel at the Osaka Iron
Works in Sakurajima on 31 July, 1937 for
Todai Kisen KK of Osaka. She was 365.8ft
long with a beam of 54.1ft and a draught
of 29.2ft.
She was launched and named on 27
December, 1937, and after fitting out
afloat was completed on 17 March, 1938.
She had five sister-ships all constructed in
1936-40: the Sanko Maru, Sinryu Maru,
Sinsei Maru No 6, Yamahuku Maru and
Tenryu Maru.
She was built to a modern design as
a three-island vessel with a raised fo’c’sle
and raked bow, composite bridge and
engine-room superstructure amidships –
and a stern castle. Her forward and aft
well-decks were given over to cargo-holds
and, in between each pair of forward and
aft holds, goalpost kingposts rose from a
mast-house. A topmast was fitted on top
RICHARD BARNDEN, UNIQUE DIVE EXPEDITIONS
www.divErNEt.com
it is the level of detail that wreck-dive enthusiasts relish.
His latest offering, Dive Palau: The Shipwrecks, is no exception.
This extract, concerning a Japanese ‘destroyer mother-ship’
noted for its groundbreaking torpedoes, provides a flavour
of the cross-beam of the goalposts.
Kamikaze Maru was powered by
a coal-fired steam turbine built by the
Ishikawajima Shipbuilding & Engineering
Co. of Tokyo. This gave her a normal
cruising speed of 12 knots and
a maximum speed of 15 knots.
She could hold 900 tons of bunker coal,
giving her an operating radius of 8000
nautical miles at 12 knots.
Ownership of the vessel was transferred
to Yamashita Kisen KK of Kobe on
1 August, 1940 and then, less than
Below: Long Lance
torpedoes in Hold No 2. a year later, on 3 June, 1941, she was
WRECK DIVER
requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese
Navy (IJN). She was moved to the Uraga
Dock Co yard in Tokyo, where on 29 July
work began to convert her for military
use, with bow and stern guns being fitted.
On 15 August she was rated as an
auxiliary destroyer tender or suirai-bokan;
these were used as mother-ships for
destroyers and torpedo-boats. The
conversion works were completed on 30
September, and she was assigned to Vice-
Admiral Nobutake Kondo’s 2nd Fleet.
D URING THE LATTER PART of 1941
and into early 1942 Kamikaze Maru
voyaged to Mako (modern-day Magong in
the Pescadores Islands, between Taiwan
and China), Saipan and Ponape.
Mako was a major base for the IJN and
an embarkation point for the invasion of
the Philippines.
She returned to Yokosuka in Japan,
where on 14 July, 1942, she was assigned to
the 11th Seaplane Tender Division and
started making replenishment voyages to
the southern Japanese port of Kure.
In October 1943 she was re-rated as
a transport, and in December 1943 she
departed Shanghai in an escorted convoy
for Sasebo. By early February 1944 she
was in Truk Lagoon, where almost
immediately after the successful US
photographic overflight on 4 February, ☛
67 divEr
Kamikaze Maru.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 09:10 Page 68
1944, IJN and merchant vessels started to
leave Truk, seeking safety elsewhere in the
face of an imminent follow-up US assault.
On 12 February, 1944, just days before
the Operation Hailstone raids, Kamikaze
Maru departed Truk for Palau in a convoy
consisting of the fleet oiler IJN Sata, the
tanker Hishi Maru No 2, the ammunition
ship Nichiro Maru and the stores ship
Kitakami Maru, escorted by the destroyer
Hamanami, the sub-chaser Ch 30 and
auxiliary sub-chasers Takunan Maru No 2
and Shonan Maru No 5.
At 2200 on 17 February, five days into
the voyage and the first day of Operation
Hailstone at Truk, the convoy was
approximately 150 nautical miles north-
east of
Palau when the
American submarine
USS Sargo intercepted it, and fired eight
torpedoes at the primary prize, the
valuable Shiretoko-class fleet oiler Sata.
One torpedo struck the large 470ft-long
vessel and disabled her.
Six minutes later USS Sargo fired two
more torpedoes at the ammunition ship
Nichiro Maru; one triggered a catastrophic
secondary explosion that caused her to
sink immediately. The convoy escort
vessels pressed home a depth-charge
attack on what they believed to be two US
submarines – driving Sargo deep and
allowing the beleaguered convoy to retire
to the north-west.
J UST AFTER 0900 on 19 February, the
day after Operation Hailstone
concluded, the convoy arrived at Palau.
On 11 March, while there, Kamikaze Maru
was provisioned by Kitakami Maru.
Kamikaze Maru was still in Palau, in the
Urukthapel Island area of the Western
Lagoon, on 30 March as Operation
Desecrate 1 began.
Her foredeck hold no 2 was filled with a
deadly cargo of 30ft Lance torpedoes, her
foreship extensively converted as a service
facility for such torpedoes.
As Desecrate 1 began, she worked up a
head of steam to get underway.
At about 0745, as IJN Iro was being
attacked just to her north, Kamikaze Maru
was manoeuvring among Palau’s jungle-
clad small islands to the south-west of
Malakal Harbor at 3 knots when six
Curtiss Helldivers from Bunker Hill
attacked with 1000lb and 500lb bombs.
She was hit forward of the bridge and
amidships – and three near-misses sent
plumes of white water skyward.
The force of the explosion transmitting
divEr 68
through the
incompressible
water buckled and damaged her
plating.
The hit forward of the bridge triggered
a significant secondary explosion, which
caused fires to break out. White smoke
billowed high into the air – an indication
that no fuel or gasoline was burning.
Kamikaze Maru slewed to a stop as her
crew fought to control the fire and repair
the damage.
Just after mid-day, however, she was
attacked by Grumman Avenger torpedo-
bombers and also hit by rockets. Attack
photos show her mid and aft sections on
fire, with black smoke billowing high into
the air. She is believed to have sunk shortly
thereafter, coming to rest upright on the
bottom in about 35m with the tips of her
masts showing a little above the surface
and marking her position.
Soon after the war had ended, local
salvors are believed to have removed her
easily accessible propeller and valuable
condensers. Several years later, in the
1950s, Fujita Salvage began its commercial
salvage operations, with plans to break up
the sunken vessel for scrap.
As divers inspected the wreck, they
found the aft section heavily damaged
from the attack. They also discovered the
Long Lance torpedoes in hold no 2 and a
large amount of ammunition in hold no 1.
From then on, salvage efforts were very
careful, and it was decided not to use
explosives on the wreck.
The superstructures were cut off by
hand using acetylene torches – and about
1000 tons of scrap metal is reported to
have been lifted before Kamikaze Maru
Top: Control panel in the
engine-room.
Above: The wreck of the
Kamikaze Maru lies in 33m of
water in a cloudy bay.
Salvors cut down most of the
ship after the war but stayed
well clear of Hold No 2,
which contains a number
of dangerous Long Lance
torpedoes.
RICHARD BARNDEN, UNIQUE DIVE EXPEDITIONS
was left alone. Some time later, some less
professional salvage attempts were made
by local salvors using
explosives – where
Fujita had elected
not to do so.
A series of small explosions were set off
in various locations at the bow, alongside
the fore ship, the engine-room and at the
stern of the ship, but one triggered a large
secondary explosion as munitions on the
wreck detonated.
After a series of further such secondary
explosions the salvors elected to work
elsewhere, and the heavily damaged
Kamikaze Maru was finally left in peace.
THE WRECK TODAY
T HE WRECK LIES across the prevailing
tidal stream, so when the tide is
running the soft sediment of the seabed
can be stirred up, clouding visibility.
It has been heavily worked by salvors –
so with the potential for poor vis and a
worked wreck, this is one for the wreck-
enthusiast and not one for divers looking
for good visibility, fine corals and fish-life.
The visibility varies according to the
state of tide you dive, but if you can see
past (or through) the poor visibility and
damaged ship, and see it for what it is and
was, it becomes an interesting testament to
the war and the salvage works.
It’s worth diving this wreck and putting
up with the poor vis just to see the bow and
torpedoes. Depth to the seabed is 33m and
the main deck, the highest point, is at 28m.
Large sections of the ship were
dismantled and salved; superstructures
www.divErNEt.com
Kamikaze Maru.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 09:10 Page 69

WRECK DIVER

were cut away by hand with acetylene where the warhead would be attached, as much oxidiser in the same tank volume,
torches, and there has been considerable revealing the internal rounded tops of the and this greatly increased torpedo range.
blasting of the ship. hp oxygen cylinders used for propulsion. The absence of inert nitrogen also
It does not go unnoticed that the most These were made of an alloy of nickel resulted in the emission of significantly
intact area of the original ship is the chromium-molybdenum steel originally less exhaust gas – which comprised only
foredeck hold no 2, which holds the developed for battleship armour belts. carbon dioxide and water vapour.
powerful Type 93 Long Lance torpedoes; The previous Type 91 torpedoes had The CO2 combustion by-product is
the salvors stayed well away from these used compressed air as the oxidiser with significantly soluble in water, and the
dangerous weapons. an 11ft internal air cylinder charged to resulting exhaust-gas mixture greatly
The ship was constructed with a soft- about 2500-3000psi – the same pressure as reduced the tell-tale bubbles in its track.
nosed raked bow of bent shell plating – as today’s conventional scuba cylinders.
opposed to the stem bar seen on other
older ships. The fo’c’sle has been blasted
and damaged between the anchor hawses
Compressed air, however, left a
noticeable bubble trail.
The Type 93 used compressed oxygen as
T HE JAPANESE TYPE 93 torpedo had a
maximum range of about 25 miles at
38 knots and carried a 1080lb high-
and the aft fo’c’sle bulkhead. the fuel oxidiser, with a wet-heater engine explosive warhead. Its long range, high
The fore part of the ship is essentially that burned a fuel such as methanol or speed and heavy warhead marked it as a
gone from immediately aft of the deck ethanol to produce the driving force for quantum leap forward in torpedo
hawse-plates to the middle of hold no 1. the twin counter-rotating propellers. development – and it was far ahead of any
The anchor windlass, which would have Compressed oxygen is dangerous to Allied torpedo of the time.
been situated on the fo’c’sle deck in the handle, but IJN engineers found that by The US Navy’s standard surface-
destroyed section, is missing, as are the starting the torpedo’s engine with launched torpedo of WW2, the Mark 15,
anchors, chain and chain-lockers – all compressed air, then gradually switching had a maximum range of just 7.4 nautical
presumably recovered to the surface. to oxygen, they were able to overcome miles at 26 knots or 3 nautical miles at 45
The forward tip of the bow, now free the explosions that had hampered its knots, and carried a smaller 826lb warhead.
from the ship, has tilted and fallen forward use before. Large sets of compressors are mounted
and to starboard, so that the rounded bow Below: The engine-room. To conceal the use of pure oxygen from on the aft hold no 2 bulkhead in the tween
with twin fairleads on it is now only a few the ship’s crew, the Japanese called the deck, with large cylinders, associated
metres above the clay seabed. Bottom: Long Lance machinery, hand-wheels and gauge panels
oxygen tank the “secondary air tank”.
torpedoes jam Hold No 2,
The two deck-mounted hawse-plates with access steps down into Since air is only 21% oxygen and 78% for producing hp air or, more likely, the
and pipes are flanked either side of the the hold adjacent. nitrogen, 100% oxygen provides five times oxygen fuel for the torpedoes.
deck by mooring cleats and twin mooring Aft of this hold, the front bulkhead of
bollards. There is a gap of several metres the amidships composite bridge
from the anchor hawses on the bow superstructure rises a few metres. This
section to where the aft fo’c’sle bulkhead composite superstructure held the bridge
would have been – now also largely missing forward and boiler and engine-rooms aft.
– and only the keel now connects the two The superstructure has however been
sections. The ship resumes something of almost totally removed by salvors, leaving
its original shape at the well deck. a mass of bent, twisted and cut-away spars
and plates, with a jumble of bent steam-

T HE FORWARD PART of hold no 1 is pipes and engine-room catwalk gratings

RICHARD BARNDEN, UNIQUE DIVE EXPEDITIONS

destroyed – with hull-plates forward strewn about.

blown out. The hold is wide open with no The valuable steam turbine itself, along
hatch-coaming, and has an empty tween with the condensers and other engine-
deck. The lower section of the hold room and boiler-room fitments, has been
contains some boxes of ammunition and ripped out of the wreck. The engine-room,
wooden boxes holding twenty 250mm now a largely empty space, still drops
shells each. down through several deck levels, but is
On deck are the remains of a mast- something of a scene of chaos.
house razed to about 1m above the deck, Just forward, the smokestack has ☛
and the remains of the goalpost kingposts.
Hold no 2 is also wide open and is
largely intact – due to its dangerous cargo
of 20-30 torpedoes, now in some disarray
but impossible to mistake.
Their very size is intimidating – and
when you remember that over the years, as
their high-pressure oxygen fuel cylinders
finally rusted through, several of these are
reputed to have spontaneously exploded,
they suddenly feel even more threatening.
Most are stacked flat on the bottom of
the hold with their heads pointing aft,
but others stand half-upright, jumbled at
AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

awkward angles. It appears that several of

the oxygen cylinders have indeed corroded
and blown apart.
There are no warheads fitted to these
torpedoes. The front of each torpedo ends

www.divErNEt.com 69 divEr
Kamikaze Maru.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 10:32 Page 70
WRECK DIVER
fallen and now lies collapsing in on itself
athwartships. The wrecked midships
superstructure gives way to the aft well-
deck where the vessel regains something of
a ship-like form – although it has clearly
been heavily worked.
The two aft holds were separated by a
section of main deck with a mast-house –
and the coaming for hatch no 3 is still
recognisable. Abreast of that hatch, there is
explosion damage to the port side of the
hull and a zigzag-shaped tear in the deck.
O N THE STARBOARD side the force of
the explosion has blown the hull shell
plating outwards and separated the hull-
plating from the deck and web framing.
The tensioned degaussing cables that
ran along the sides of the hull have been
sprung off and, still under tension, have
come free from the side of the ship.
These cables have sprung inboard and
are now twisted across hatch no 3.
Inside the hold is another set of hp
machinery and cylinders similar to that
found in hold no 2 in the foredeck.
Aft of hold no 3, salvage blasting has
deformed the main deck, which rises up in
a large athwartships smooth ripple almost
from one side of the ship to the other,
while in other places sections of decking
are distorted and lie at strange angles.
divEr 70
Structurally weakened, the ship has
collapsed down upon itself, so there is
little depth to the hold areas.
Amidships, in the damaged depths of
hold no 3, the shaft and shaft tunnel
running aft from the engine room (just
forward) are exposed. The aft bulkhead
towards hold no 4 partly withstood the
force of the explosions and is now
deformed and bulging.
Hold no 4 is well collapsed, but contains
coal and a number of large drums – most
are open and crushed. The remaining hull-
plates on the port side of this hold are
blown out from an internal explosion,
most likely from ammunition for the stern
gun cooking off in the fires that consumed
the ship after the attack.
On the starboard side the damage is
heavier and more widespread, and a large
part of the hull-plating has been blown or
cut away.
The stern is settled well into the seabed
and is now only a few metres proud. The
fantail is quite heavily damaged and
slightly to starboard and there is a wide
gap in the hull-plating, most likely the
effect of a salvage explosion used to blow
the prop- and stern-shaft off.
On the port side of the former
sterncastle, the shell plating is cut down
to just a few metres off the seabed.
DIVE PALAU: The Shipwrecks
Rod Macdonald started diving in the early 1980s, and soon
became a shipwreck specialist. Lack of diving information
about the scuttled German WW1 High Seas Fleet wrecks led
to the publication of his first book, Dive Scapa Flow, in 1990,
and it has been followed by many others, including most
recently Dive Truk Lagoon.
His latest book, Dive Palau: The Shipwrecks, covers the
build-up to and implementation of Operation Desecrate 1 –
the US air-raid of World War Two undertaken to destroy
Japanese ships and aircraft in the lagoons of Palau.
It reveals in detail each of the 20 major shipwrecks lying
in those lagoons today, covers two recently found but as yet
unidentified wrecks,
and reveals the identity
of the “helmet wreck”
found in 1989.
The text is supported
by underwater
photographs and the
illustrations of Rob Ward.
Dive Palau: The
Shipwrecks is a 240 x
170mm hardback with
304 pages, published by
Whittles Publishing
(ISBN 9781849951708).
Its retail price is £30.
www.whittles publishing.com
www.divErNEt.com
071_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 03/05/2016 10:27 Page 071

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Le Paradis Blanc-4pp.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:05 Page 72

LE PARADIS
BLANC

Set among the

vineyards of Cognac,
the limestone hills of
St-Même-les-Carrières
contain huge
underground mines, now flooded. This
unique French site has been open to divers
this year – FREDERIC MENGOTTO reports,
HEDWIG DIERAERT takes the pictures

divEr 72
Le Paradis Blanc-4pp.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:05 Page 73

MINE DIVER

I
T’S DARK WHEN WE MEET Fabrice
Couraud at the village square at the
end of January. Fabrice organises the
diving in the old limestone mine of St-
Même.We follow him by car along a
small road winding between the houses,
and stop at a gridded access point in
front of the dark mass of a cliff.
We enter a vast gallery and follow
Fabrice’s car for a kilometre or so
through a forest of massive limestone
pillars that support the ceiling more than
10m overhead. We park a few metres
from the crystal-clear water that has
quietly engulfed the mine.
Fabrice briefs us on the structure of
the former extraction area. We will
follow the red line in a 300m loop,
a simple route suitable for our first dive
after the long trip from Belgium.
It will familiarise Hedwig with the
scene and help him to make any camera
adjustments for tomorrow. He has long
sought such an artificial underground
site for photography.
We kit up on old cut blocks of stone,
and move to the shallow water. We swim
between the remarkably white pillars to
the start of the line that marks the cave
passage, and dive into the turquoise
water halfway down the gallery.
At 5m we encounter the rusty steel
gate that once secured the mine, like
a ghost skeleton in the middle of the
gallery. We spot older stone blocks a little
further away and I pose in front of them.
A little further on, at the foot of an
ancient well, the bones of a dog looked to
have been there for many years. Visibility
of up to 25m allows us to fully appreciate
the place and enjoy its imposing volume.
The quarry reveals a typical
configuration of limestone extractions,
with aligned pillars at 20m intervals
forming a checkerboard configuration.
Everywhere we look, we see
abandoned cables, tools, chains, winches
and pieces of timber. The electrical
power network is still in place, and
insulators still support cables running
across the ceilings.
We stop to take pictures of an old glass
lightbulb, still intact, before reaching the
end of the loop.
St-Même-les-Carrières is a quiet
village 20 miles from Angoulème, where
the winter sun paints houses in honey
and amber colours. A large number of
English retirees enjoy the charm, lifestyle
and pleasant climate of the Charente
region here, now that the days of stone
extraction are long gone.
The last operation, Fèvre, was closed in
the early 1970s. For four centuries village
life had followed the rhythms of the daily
stone-mining. The extraction area
extends 3km south of
the village and the
stones that made St
Même’s reputation
were used to build
Bordeaux
Cathedral and
many official
buildings. ☛

Pictured: An old bike

probably used by a supervisor
to ride through the mine,
on the orange line.

73 divEr
Le Paradis Blanc-4pp.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:06 Page 74
The stone was transported by boat on
the Charente river, and sent as far away
as Canada. It even forms the pedestal of
New York’s Statue of Liberty!
As more and more stone was
demanded, the workers dug ever deeper
into a limestone vein more than 50m
thick. At its peak, the underground work
spread over 60 hectares and 60m beneath
agricultural land. The volumes are far
more impressive than those of similar
mines elsewhere in Europe.
When Fèvre stopped pumping out, the
groundwater took four years to stabilise
at its present level, flooding the lower of
the three levels over a 10-hectare area.
A FTER A COMFORTABLE NIGHT at
the Chez Anne B&B in the village,
run by a lovely couple of Londoners, we
enjoy a good breakfast made with local
products and go to find Fabrice.
There are four possible routes through
the mine, from 150 to 700m, and this
morning we would follow the blue line,
a 550m loop in the western section that
runs through Fèvre following the
electrical and pumping systems.
Visibility is even better today and our
maximum depth is 20m. Graffiti left on
the white walls by workers a few decades
ago look as fresh as if written the day
before. They record mined tonnage,
life in the village, and are sometimes a
little naughty.
divEr 74
The limits of different rock veins are
written in red on the white pillars –
“Ram”, “Jaune”, “Crème”, the rusted
remains dot the galleries in contrasting
colours.
Arriving near the base of an old
pump, to our surprise we see a
lithographed tin barely corroded by
rust and time. This waterproof and very
solid box marked “KUB Bouillon” had
been used by workers to store carbide
for their lamps.
Two pumping pipes pass through
the ceiling to the intermediate floor,
also flooded at this point. The desire
to explore a little on our own is
overpowering, but we’re here to take
a series of photos.
We pass over a small construction
serving as a room for workers on their
breaks and an office for the mine
supervisor. We see electric cable,
a lamp and other pipes passing through
the ceiling also – no one knows what
lies above.
Old stories tell of several horse-drawn
carriages, having fallen into deep
flooded pits surrounded by agricultural
land, but nobody can say where they
are, and much of the mine remains to
be explored.
Our last dive is on the orange line –
the “cavern line” used for initiation dives
because it is shallow enough to allow
divers to surface quickly.
Le Paradis Blanc-4pp.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:46 Page 75

MINE DIVER

The place has its interest, however, and

it allows open-water divers to see the
mine and its artefacts safely.
In the corner of a room a little below
us we can see an old wooden cart,
incredibly preserved, that was pulled by
donkeys and horses to bring the blocks
from the depths.
Fabrice takes advantage of time in the
afternoon to continue installing a pink
line, going 25m deep into the quarry
and which will eventually loop for more
than a kilometre.
I T’S TIME TO PACK OUR GEAR and hit
the road, having first promised to
return in a few weeks’ time for some
proper exploration. The eastern part of
the quarry and the intermediate level to
which all the pumping pipes ascend are
mainly unexplored. This place is an
overhead-environment must.
Clockwise from top left:
The former main entrance
to the upper level; the size
of the place is awesome;
there is a lot of rusty
material to examine;
equipment to carry stone,
on the blue line; trolley
used to carry stone out of
the mine; ‘Jaune’ was an
indication of stone quality
in that area; 1900s-style
lightbulb still in place;
boxes used to protect
carbonate from humidity;
the electric grid is still
there close to the ceiling,
with its green isolators;
15m-deep ventilation
shaft in the upper level.

l The Municipality of St-Même-les-

Carrières allows diving in the mine
under the supervision of the Aquatek
dive-school and Fabrice Couraud.
Cave-diver certification is mandatory,
but guided or discovery dives are also
available on request, www.aquatek.fr.
B&B at Chez Anne, 200m from the site
(www.chez-anne.net). For other
accommodation visit www.gites-de-
france.com

75 divEr
076_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 03/05/2016 15:38 Page 076

The Essentials
of Deeper Sport
Diving

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An authoritative
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physiology and
requirements of
deeper diving,
defined as ranging
from 24m (80ft) to
40m (130ft).
Born from a concern
that divers are
venturing deeper than
ever before due to
changing technologies,
the book tackles nitrogen
narcosis, tables,
computers, dive
techniques, use of mixed
gases and more.
The text is geared for divers
of all levels of experience,
and illustrated by black and
white photographs and
tables.
Available from
Underwater World Publications
Price: £16.95 (plus £2.50p&p*)
* p&p applies to UK and BFPO addresses only;
for overseas rates, call 020 8941 8152

TO ORDER: CALL The divEr Bookshop on 020 8941 8152

Technique.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:08 Page 77
BREATH
CONTROL
ANDREY BIZYUKIN
N
O MATTER HOW experienced
you are, or what sort of shape or
size you are, you can always get
more out of your diving by reducing the
rate at which you consume your air.
The techniques in this month’s column
will not only help you enjoy longer dives,
they will also ensure that you dive with
less stress. As a bonus, they will make you
look even better in the water than you do
now, more relaxed, more comfortable and
more professional.
If that is not enough, you will also find
that you are much more aware of what is
going on around you, and become better
at spotting marine life.
ANDREY BIZYUKIN
www.divErNEt.com
Above: This is where breath
conservation is needed.
Below: Horizontal and fins
up in a modified flutter-kick.
1: GET IN THE MOOD
Spend a little time preparing yourself
mentally. Find a quiet space where you
can be alone and focus on the dive ahead.
Slow your heartbeat, establish a deep
breathing rhythm, close your eyes or gaze
out on to the ocean. Get yourself into a
nice peaceful zone. Put away any thoughts
circling around your mind concerning
other aspects of your life, particularly
areas where there is something negative
going on.
You’re going diving; there is nothing
you can do about anything that is
happening in your surface existence while
you are under water.
2: PAUSE ON DESCENT
We all learn the pre-dive safety check
during our beginners’ course, and this
soon becomes something instinctive.
Another very good habit is to do an in-
water check at the start of your dive.
The whole process of gearing up on
a busy boat and entering the water can be
rushed and stressful, and can raise your
breathing rate. Once you have left the
surface and are a couple of metres under
water, surrounded by the peace and quiet
of the ocean, pause on your descent.
Take a few seconds to compose
yourself, relax and get a long, slow, deep
breathing cycle going (see below) before
setting off calmly for the depths.
TECHNIQUE
SIMON
PRIDMORE offers
seven-part
assistance to
those in pursuit
of that most
elusive of diving holy grails –
making your air last longer.
This is also a good opportunity to make
sure that all your equipment is intact,
buckles are fastened, nothing is leaking
and your gauges are working.
3: LEARN TO EXECUTE
THE PERFECT
DIVING BREATH
The most effective way for a diver to
breathe is from the diaphragm, rather
than the chest. When you inhale, push
your stomach out so that your lungs can
expand, and so that you can draw as
much air in as possible.
Ideally, take 5 to 7 seconds to breathe
in. The air in your cylinder is to be sipped
like wine, not guzzled like beer.
When you exhale, compress your
stomach muscles to reduce your lung
volume to a minimum and breathe out
for at least 7 seconds. This will give you a
breathing cycle of around 15 seconds, and
a rate of about 4 breaths per minute.
This extended exhalation will ensure
that you expel from your lungs as much
as possible of the carbon dioxide that
your body generates via the metabolic
process. A build-up of CO2 will cause you
to breathe faster and become anxious.
Make this long, deep, slow breathing
cycle an instinctive part of your diving
behaviour. You will use less air, but also
be able to stay calm, think clearly and
control your breathing even if something
goes wrong, or a current picks up.
☛
77 divEr
Technique.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:08 Page 78
TECHNIQUE
Breathing from the diaphragm does
take a little practice, but you will be
impressed at how calm it makes you feel.
It is something you can practise any time,
anywhere, while you are riding the bus,
sitting in your car in a traffic jam or
watching TV.
At home, a good exercise is to lie on the
floor, put a dive weight on your stomach
and focus on moving it up and down by
breathing in and out. Try not to move
your chest during the breathing cycle.
4: GET FIT
Diving is a sport for almost everyone but
it is still a sport, and the fitter you are the
better you will dive and the less air you
will use.
Start a programme of progressive
aerobic training and increase the level of
your training as a dive-trip approaches.
This will enhance your stamina and help
you keep a slow, steady breathing rate
even when you are expending effort.
5: DON’T FLIP & FLAP
When you’re under water, move only
when you need to go somewhere. If you
aren’t going anywhere, stay still.
After all, as you sit here now, reading
this magazine, you’re unlikely to be
moving your feet or flapping your arms
around. The more you move, the more air
you will use.
Your arms are primarily for
divEr 78
communicating or holding lights and
cameras. They are no use at all in the
medium of water for regaining balance,
maintaining buoyancy or changing
direction.
Keeping your arms close to your body
helps you move more smoothly through
the water as it makes you more
streamlined. This in turn makes it easier
to swim against a current. The less effort
you exert, the less air you will use up.
If you want to change direction, dip
your shoulder as if you’re riding a
motorbike and use your fins like the
rudder on a boat. If you lose your balance,
go with the flow at first and let yourself
move with the water column. Then adjust
your body position by shifting your
shoulders and torso to regain your
equilibrium and use breath control to
make yourself more or less buoyant.
In the water, concentrate especially on
what your fins are doing. Experienced
guides and instructors know that the
degree of divers’ mental agitation is
reflected in the movement of their feet,
especially when at the surface.
Much of this movement is completely
unconscious but, of course, the more you
flap your fins, the more energy you use
and the more air you consume.
6: LOSE THAT WEIGHT
There is a good chance that you may be
wearing too much weight when you dive.
If you’re still wearing the same amount
as you used in your
basic training, this
is almost certainly
the case.
Another good
indication is if,
when you swim
under water, you
adopt the head-up
tail-down posture
of a seahorse.
If you’re not sure,
ask someone to take
video of you during a
dive. You may not be
Above left: Horizontal and as perfectly horizontal as you thought.
perfectly weighted. This affects your air consumption
Above: The process of adversely in several ways. It means that
gearing up and getting in you need to inflate your BC too much.
can be stressful. Being over-weighted and compensating
by air injection makes it harder for you to
Below left: Relax! maintain your balance under water, as the
A stressed diver uses far
more air. excess air moves around in your BC every
time you change your position.
Constantly struggling to adjust your
position will cause you to get agitated and
lose control of your breathing.
Finally, it takes more energy to move
through the water if you are not
horizontal and streamlined. So trim your
weight down to the minimum. As a basic
rule of thumb, you should be able to hang
comfortably at 5m with 50 bar in your
cylinder and no air in your BC.
Wear your weight-belt higher on your
waist to bring your feet up and make you
more horizontal. Remember to tighten
your belt as you descend, as it tends to
loosen and slip down when the neoprene
of your wetsuit is crushed at depth.
7: LEARN DIFFERENT
KICKS
There are a number of different ways of
finning other than the classic wide full-
legged flutter power-kick divers are
typically taught when they first learn to
dive. Before your next trip, go to the
beach or pool and practise doing the kind
Read more from
Simon Pridmore in: of frog-kicks a breaststroke swimmer
uses, or a modified flutter-kick with knees
Scuba Confidential
bent and feet up.
– An Insider’s Guide
You will find that these take less energy
to Becoming a
Better Diver and can be maintained for a long time
with little effort. As well as improving
Scuba Professional
your air consumption, different methods
– Insights into Sport
of propulsion can minimise the
Diver Training &
Operations disruption you cause to the environment
through which you’re swimming.
Scuba Fundamentals
Practise with a buddy, as you will need
– Start Diving the
an extra pair of eyes to see what your fins
Right Way
are doing behind you. Get advice from a
All available on local instructor or, during your trips,
Amazon in a variety
watch closely how your dive-guides swim,
of formats.
and copy them.
www.divErNEt.com
079_DIVER_0616.qxp_DIVER_2016 03/05/2016 10:43 Page 079

Simply point, shoot, share and enjoy – over and under water.
Always ready for action. Permanently sealed.

Brilliant photos
and videos

www.sealife-cameras.de
facebook.com/SeaLifeCameras
facebook.com/Scubapro
Reviews v2.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:08 Page 80
BOOK REVIEW
Big secrets a little at a time
Mystery of the
Last Olympian
by Richie Kohler &
Charlie Hudson
AT 269 METRES AND 48,000
TONS, Britannic is the world’s
biggest passenger shipwreck,
and this November marks 100
years since the liner sank off
Greece’s Kea Island in the
Aegean Sea.
She was one of three ships
built by the White Star Line to
compete with its rival Cunard
not in terms of speed but of
scale and luxury – unlike the
earlier Titanic and Olympic,
however, she would never set
sail as a passenger vessel.
Instead, she was
requisitioned as a hospital
ship in WW1, and one of the
long-running controversies
about her was whether
she was sunk passively by a
U-boat-laid mine or actively by
a U-boat-fired torpedo.
More than 1000 people were
aboard when Britannic sank in under
an hour in 1916. All but 30 survived –
the loss of life came because the
captain kept the engines going even
with the props out of the water,
shredding lifeboats in the process.
But the liner’s rapid sinking left
questions. A system of isolating
watertight compartments was
supposed to makes the Olympians
unsinkable, so what happened?
Exactly what changes had been
made after the Titanic disaster of 1912,
apart from providing more lifeboats?
And how far had the original interior
design been modified in moving from
luxury liner to hospital ship?
Divers love questions; “mysteries”
provide reasons to dive. Jacques
Cousteau’s team was first to visit the
wreck in 1975 and Bob Ballard
followed 20 years later, but it was clear
that certain answers would be
obtained only through penetrating
the wreck, which submersibles and
ROVs couldn’t do.
Advances in technical diving,
particularly rebreathers, were making
it more realistic for divers to spend
time on a wreck like Britannic, which
posed big challenges.
It lay 120m deep in an area with
often-fast surface currents, though
perhaps toughest of all the obstacles
was Greek bureaucracy.
But expeditions led by British divers
such as Kevin Gurr, Nick Hope and Carl
divEr 80
Spencer enjoyed success
around the turn of the century.
New Yorker Richie Kohler came later
to the Britannic party – partly because
he came later to rebreathers.
He was already a well-known
technical diver as a result of his work
with John Chatterton on U869,
immortalised in the book Shadow
Divers (soon to be out as a film), and
later as presenter of the long-running
TV series Deep Sea Detectives. Today he
is one of the few men to have visited
Titanic and been inside Britannic.
Kohler led a Britannic expedition in
2006, took part in the 2009 venture on
which he and Rich Stevenson
penetrated further into the wreck at
60m than anyone had been before
(and nearly came to grief in the
process), and returned last year on a
Russian ship, when use of a diving bell
proved an eye-opener as a technical-
diving resource.
All this is neatly wrapped up in
Mystery of the Last Olympian, co-
written with author and recreational
diver Charlie Hudson and a terrific
read. It makes allowance for the
mainstream audience the book
deserves by including clear and non-
intrusive explanations of diving terms
and procedures, although by the end,
with the entire standard operating
procedure of the 2006 expedition
reproduced in an appendix, it does
seem to have become much more of
a diver’s book.
The ship’s history is engagingly
covered but not in over-much depth –
it has been well
documented before, and
this book is about diving
the Britannic. Kohler comes
over as likeable and self-
deprecating, and makes it
easy to share his joy when
things go right and feel his
pain when they don’t.
The low point was of
course the death of Carl
Spencer in 2009, the only
diving fatality on the
Britannic in an incident that
overtook Kohler’s triumph on
the same dive.
Spencer’s ghost hovers over
the second half of the book
but the writers explain how
lessons were learnt from the
tragedy – not least separation
of duties to avoid expedition
leaders stretching themselves
to breaking point.
The book is good at bringing
to life the many personalities
involved over the years, not
least the normally unsung fixers who
against the odds turn ambitious
expedition plans into reality.
I found the typeface slightly odd at
first, with its outsize capital letters, but
it turns out that it was used on White
Star literature aboard the Olympic-
class ships, so I suppose it lends an
authentic period feel.
Keen wreck-divers may know a fair
bit about Britannic, but Mystery of the
Last Olympian fills in gaps, frames
questions that remain, and is an
eminently readable pull-together by
a diver who has been there.
Steve Weinman
Best Publishing
ISBN: 9781930536869
Softback, 228pp, $19.99
THE MASTER IN
HIS ELEMENT
Underwater Photography
Masterclass
by Alex Mustard
DR ALEXANDER MUSTARD shouldn’t
need an introduction – for the past
four years he has been delivering his
informative and thought-provoking Be
The Champ! underwater photography
column in divEr. These have been,
and continue to be, some of the most
comprehensive and up-to-date “how
to” features to be published anywhere
around the world.
Alex Mustard is a photographer
who’s been at the very top of his game
for more years than I can remember,
and has always been extremely
unselfish in sharing his vast
knowledge of what can be a complex
and often frustrating subject.
Last October he told me that he was
putting the final touches to his first
instructional book, Underwater
Photography Masterclass.
This book is, as you’d expect,
beautifully illustrated, but it’s not a
celebration of the author’s fine work.
It is instead a tutorial on the whole of
underwater photography, written from
the perspective of understanding,
controlling and mastering light while
shooting in possibly the most
challenging of elements – water.
When I first received a copy for this
review, I marvelled at the paper and
print quality. In an age of electronic
tablets and Kindles, there’s something
special to me about the tactile feel of
a book, and this one oozed class in
spade-loads.
The book consists of nine chapters.
Each one has been broken down into
numerous two-page tutorials covering
the different techniques, and each one
contains images that illustrate that
technique.
Everything has been
explained in the
author’s typically
uncomplicated style,
but this is a
complicated subject to
digest in a single,
cover-to-cover sitting.
Instead, and this
is where this book
really scores, it’s been
designed and written
to be referenced,
selecting the sections
that are relevant to
the reader’s ability or
needs at the time.
Of course, there
are some “must-read”
www.divErNEt.com
Reviews v2.qxp_DIVER grid 03/05/2016 08:08 Page 81
pages. Those covering cameras,
strobes and backscatter will probably
be on everyone’s initial agenda, and
then there are sections covering the
likes of fluorescence, on-camera
backlighting or long-exposure macro
that will, I’m sure, be referenced over
time, when the reader’s photographic
ability has grown, or by already-
advanced shooters who want to better
their technique and ultimately their
portfolios.
I, on the other hand, read the book
in its entirety to find an absolute
plethora of information stuffed into its
modest 192 pages.
The author has left out the frilly bits
and concentrated his efforts into
supplying need-to-know, real-world
information, tips, tricks and techniques
that he has refined over 30 years of
taking his cameras for a dive.
I’ve been reminded that, like Alex
Mustard’s philosophy when writing
this book, less is more. So I’ll finish by
saying that, in my opinion, this is the
very best publication, written by one
of the most talented authors I’ve ever
had the privilege to read on the
subject of underwater photography!
Nigel Wade
Ammonite Press
ISBN: 9781781452226
Softback, 192pp, £19.99
COMPANION
PIECE
Dive Palau: The Shipwrecks
by Rod MacDonald
TWO YEARS AGO, I reviewed Rod
Macdonald’s book about Truk Lagoon
while memories of my own trip to dive
its wrecks remained fresh in my mind.
Now the follow-up, Dive Palau: the
Shipwrecks, has arrived – you’ll find
an extract in this issue. I have dived in
Palau but not on its wrecks, and was
curious to see what the well-known
wreck specialist had made of this
famed destination.
He begins with a detailed account
of Operation Desecrate 1, undertaken
by the US Navy's Task Group 58 at the
end of March 1944.
This came some six weeks after the
similar operation that crippled the
Japanese Combined Fleet at Truk.
Surviving elements of the fleet were
now seeking refuge in Palau.
Palau was seen as a vital staging
point from which to strike Japan from
the east, and the raid kept up the
pressure as the Allied forces advanced
on all fronts.
The meat of the book consists of 22
chapters detailing some of the 40
shipwrecks sunk during the successful
www.divErNEt.com
BOOK REVIEW
Rob Ward’s illustrations are a joy to change, but he had been sold on the
study, particularly as certain features of idea by a chance encounter with an
the wrecks have been enlarged for the old schoolfriend of his. And so his
benefit of future divers. career was shaped.
They more than make up for some A similar twist of fate led David
of the underwater photography, which Harrison Beckett to follow such a path.
I found to be distinctly average, After being caught hosting a party at
although it’s fair to add that visibility his parents’ house without permission,
can be very poor on these wrecks. he moved out and into a boarding
The new book sits perfectly house where he met a group of divers
alongside Dive Truk Lagoon. As I love from Delta Diving.
wreck history as much as the diving They happened to be a man short,
itself, I enjoyed this easy-to-read book and invited him to join them. So, at the
from cover to cover, but it would work age of 20, Beckett embarked on a
equally well to dip into for reference. diving career that would span 32
Palau is about far more than reef years and see him progress from
diving, and this book has whetted my
appetite for its WW2 wreck attractions.
operation. Twenty-seven of these Alex Khachadourian
were partly salvaged in the 1950s to Whittles Publishing
help meet demand for non-ferrous ISBN: 9781849951708
metal during the Korean War. Hardback, 304pp, £30
Divers can see evidence of Fujita
Salvage’s dangerous work in the form
of missing props, masts etc. Men died
in the process, yet none of the
A SIMPLE TWIST
salvaged metal made it to Korea, with OF FATE
some reports of ships sinking on route.
The Loonliness of
Both the ships’ histories and the
descriptions of wrecks that Rod and a Deep Sea Diver
his team have dived are exceptionally by David Harrison Beckett
detailed and informative, and the
essentials are neatly rounded up at the BACK IN THE 1980s, well before
end of each chapter. I became a diver, a friend called Karl
The wrecks of the Showa Maru and who was a decent roofer at the time
Nissho Maru (Helmet Wreck) have only called to say he had some major news, a “bubblehead” through to general
recently been either discovered or and did I fancy a pint? Silly question! manager at the prominent company
identified, so it’s logical that two of the
longest chapters are dedicated to
Over the drink he told me that he
was quitting his roofing job because
now known as Subsea 7, a seabed-to-
surface engineering, construction and
these vessels and to the clues that he had decided to become a services contractor to the offshore
shed light on their stories. commercial diver. It would be a radical energy industry.
I was taken aback by the brutality of
TOP 10 BEST-SELLING DIVING BOOKS what divers had to endure back in the
day, as Beckett recounts experiences
as listed by www.amazon.co.uk (18 April, 2016) including the grim recovery of the 45
1. Diving the World, by Beth & Shaun Tierney victims of the Sumburgh Chinook
2. Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific, by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene & Paul Humann disaster of 1986 and assisting with the
3. Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die, by Chris Santella investigation of the ms Estonia sinking
4. The Professional Diver’s Handbook, by John Bevan in 1994.
5. The Darkness Below, by Rod Macdonald The book contains plenty of bawdy
6. Dive Scotland Volume III, by Gordon Ridley toilet humour that initially I thought
7. The Diving Manual, by Deric Ellerby a little over the top. However, it soon
8. Dive: The World's Best Diving Destinations, by Lawson Wood becomes clear that such humour was
9. Diving the World (2nd edition), by Beth & Shaun Tierney just another strategy for staying sane,
10. Dive Dorset, by John Hinchcliffe and once you get into the spirit of the
book you just join in with the fun.
It’s an easy book to read, and should
TOP 10 MOST WISHED-FOR DIVING BOOKS appeal to anyone with a sense of
as listed by www.amazon.co.uk (18 April, 2016) adventure.
1. Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die, by Chris Santella When I told Karl about the book he
2. Manual of Freediving: Underwater on a Single Breath, by Umberto Pelizzari & Stefano Tovaglieri said he would be happy to read it and
3. The Silent World, by Jacques-Yves Cousteau compare notes about the sort of antics
4. Amazing Diving Stories – Incredible Tales from Deep Beneath the Sea, by John Bantin Beckett and he got up to.
5. Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World, by Tim Ecott When I pressed him for examples,
6. Diver Down: Real-World Scuba Accidents and How to Avoid Them, by Michael R Ange however, all he would say was: “What
7. Discover UK Diving: An Introduction & Personal Guide to UK Scuba Diving, by Will Appleyard goes on tour stays on tour.” Darn it!
8. Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific, by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann & Ned DeLoach Alex Khachadourian
9. The Darkness Below, by Rod Macdonald Pitch Publishing
10. Dive: The World's Best Diving Destinations, by Lawson Wood ISBN: 9781785311208
Hardback, 254pp, £16.99
81 divEr
Booking Now JUNE.qxp_Bubbling 03/05/2016 08:09 Page 82
HOLIDAY NEWS
Greenland
adventures
How many divers can say they’ve
dived Greenland? If you’re a coldwater
diver looking for something new,
specialist Arctic Direct says it offers a
range of arctic snorkelling and diving
adventures but plans to run a single
trip there from 2 September.
You catch a plane to Iceland for an
overnight, then fly on to Kusuluk and
a helicopter transfer to Tasiliiq and
full-board accommodation in a lodge.
CORON BAY OUTING
“Coron Bay offers the best wreck
diving in South-east Asia, all packed
into one rather small area.” So says
Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards,
which is taking “Wrecks of Coron”
cruises with its Atlantis Azores
liveaboard to Palawan in the western
Philippines. Guests will dive among
more than a dozen Japanese fleet
ships sunk by US Navy fighters and
bombers in World War Two.
Well-preserved
wrecks in the frame
include the 160m oiler
Okikawa Maru, 120m
freighter Olympia
Maru (right), sea-plane
tender Akitsushima
and the refrigeration
ship Irako.
The one-week
82
Over the following days you’ll have
daily diving opportunities as well as
whale-watching and exploration of
fjords and iceberg-producing glaciers.
Humpback, fin and minke whales can
be spotted, says Arctic Direct, which
promises that “no two dives are ever
the same” . There will also be a land-
based excursion on deco day.
The price for the week is £4995pp
8 www.arcticdirect.co.uk
itinerary also takes in macro diving at
Anilao, Verde Island and Apo Reef, the
biggest coral reef of the Philippines
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The trip can also be combined with
a stay at the Atlantis Dive Resorts at
Dumaguete and Puerto Galera if
desired. Rates start at US $3775pp
(two sharing) and the next Coron trip
is scheduled for January 2017.
8 www.atlantishotel.com
BOOKING NOW…
THREE WAYS
TO COCOS
Regaldive has expanded its
serious-diving portfolio with the
introduction of remote Cocos, the
uninhabited island 340 miles off
Costa Rica's Pacific coast and a
beacon for big animals such as
whale sharks, schooling
hammerheads, whitetips, tuna,
mantas, turtles and dolphins.
Choose between the 35m Sea
Hunter (above), which takes up to
20 passengers in 10 guest cabins
with private bathrooms, formerly
a commercial dive-support vessel;
the 33m Okeanos Aggressor I
(below), which takes 22 guests in
nine staterooms and a Quad
cabin; and the 36m Okeanos
Aggressor II (formerly Wind Dancer,
below) which also takes 22 in eight
double/twin staterooms, two
suites and a master stateroom.
8 www.regaldive.co.uk
Living it up
at Pinetrees
Pinetrees Lodge on the beachfront
on Lord Howe Island, which lies
between Australia and New Zealand
in the Tasman Sea, claims to be one
of the oldest family businesses in
Australia. Spaces, we’re told, are filling
quickly to take part in Dive Weeks
being hosted by the lodge and
diving operator Pro Dive from dates
starting between 5-9 December and
23-27 January 2017.
Included in the Au $ 2880pp price
are transfers, six nights’ stay (two
sharing – pay for six nights and stay
for seven if you book before 31 May),
10 dives including one at sunrise and
one night dive, equipment, guide and
four meals a day including 4-5-course
dinners. Flights excluded.
8 www.pinetrees.com.au
Sandals hits
high numbers
Sandals Resorts International has
received a 2016 PADI Award of
Recognition for achieving more than
70,000 PADI certifications at its
Sandals and Beaches resorts in the
Caribbean, all of which are PADI 5*.
In terms of certs it is one of the Top
10 diving operations worldwide,
and has also received the PADI Green
Star Award for environmental
commitment.
The resorts’ AquaCentre packages
include up to two dives a day for
certified divers
8 www.sandals.co.uk
8 www.beachesresorts.co.uk
10 NIGHTS
IN TAHITI
Netflights.com is offering a 10-
night holiday in the Islands of
Tahiti from £2299pp, which it says
represents a saving of £860 per
couple on the standard price.
Included are five nights’ B&B at
the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort in
a standard room, and five nights’
B&B at the Intercontinental Moorea
Resort & Spa, both of which have
Topdive PADI 5* centres.
Also included are internal
transfers and return international
flights from London with Air New
Zealand. The offer is valid for
departures between 1 September
and 30 November (two sharing).
8 www.netflights.com
www.divErNEt.com
Booking Now JUNE.qxp_Bubbling 03/05/2016 08:09 Page 83
BOOKING NOW…
RESIDENCE ZANZIBAR GETS A DIVE-CENTRE
Luxury villa resort the Residence
Zanzibar has launched its own on-site
dive centre in partnership with One
Ocean, which it says is “the oldest and
most reputable” as well as the first
PADI 5* dive centre on the island,
which lies in the Indian Ocean 50
miles off Tanzania.
Guests can now leave by dive-boat
from the hotel jetty and be at the
reefs of Menai Bay in minutes, it says.
RED SEA RESOURCES
Planning a trip to Egypt? Red Sea
Scuba Maps produced by Austria’s
Ocean Maps allow divers to scope out
sites in advance with a virtual dive on
a digital 3D model. The latest addition
to its range is the Excalibur wreck.
This 22m yacht sank between late
1995 and early 1996 off Hurghada
after a fire onboard and lies in a
sandy bay at 22m. One of some 120
Red Sea wrecks and reef locations,
Excalibur can be obtained along with
IT’S TRUK’S TIME
New flight options
are now making
world-class Truk
Lagoon a
competitively
priced bucket-list
diving destination,
says Diverse Travel.
With 60 ship and
250 aircraft wrecks
from WW2 to
tempt divers, and
sites suitable for all
levels from shallow rec to deep tec, it
is offering both liveaboard and resort
diving options.
Prices start from £2550pp for a 12-
night twin-share package including
return flights from London Heathrow
INTO THE ALGARVE Easydivers dive centre in Albufeira
Marina in southern Portugal says it offers a gateway to the underwater
Algarve, with a selection of natural and artificial reefs plus wreck and
cave dives. This summer its six-boat-dive package costs 170 euros.
8 www.easydivers.pt
www.divErNEt.com
Menai Bay is a sea-turtle breeding
area and said to encompass several
well-populated coral reefs as well as
dense mangrove forests.
Turquoise Holidays offers seven
nights from £1759pp, based on two
sharing a Luxury Garden Pool Villa on
half board, transfers and flights with
Oman Air from Heathrow. A 10-dive
package over five days costs US $555.
8 www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk
a free Big Brother 3D map
by downloading the Red
Sea Scuba Maps app.
Prices after that range
from a single dive-site for
10 euros to the complete
bundle for 160 euros.
The app is designed
for iOS and Android mobile devices
and Mac and Windows PCs.
8 www.ocean-
maps.com/redsea.html
PETE MAC STUDIOS
to Truk via the Philippines, airline
departure taxes, two nights in the
Remington Hotel in Manila, 10 nights
at the Blue Lagoon Resort and nine
days’ diving with three dives per day.
8 www.diversetravel.co.uk
HOLIDAY NEWS
making his shipwreck guides
available free to divers. He has
revamped and republished 10
titles as downloadable PDFs, with
printable versions available
OCEAN MAPS GMBH
through Amazon for a small fee.
Titles cover the Tile Wreck,
Rosalie Moller, Domiat, Top 20
shipwrecks, Southern Egypt, the
Russian Wreck, Seven North-east-
Meanwhile long-time Red Sea built ships, Gulf of Suez, Safaga and
wreck specialist Peter Collings says Tiran. Get the Dropbox links from
he’s doing his bit to help with the Collings’ website…
destination’s tourist drought by 8www.deeplens.com/ 2011/03/30
Selected summer departures on Turks
& Caicos Explorer II booked through Whale of
Dive Worldwide by 31 May will bring
savings of £450pp, says the tour
operator, which reckons a liveaboard
an offer
is the best way to explore the sites
of this less-dived Caribbean
island group.
Guests spend a week
exploring the waters
around Northwest Point,
West Caicos island, French
Cay and West Sand Spit,
enjoying up to five dives
per day, climaxing in a dawn
dive on the last day.
The 38m liveaboard
accommodates 20 passengers in
air-conditioned staterooms.
The offer applies to trips departing
on 6 and 27 August and 3 September.
You pay from £2200pp (two sharing,
including saving) for flights, one
night’s hotel stay in Provo, seven
nights’ liveaboard accommodation,
all meals but one dinner, and dives.
8 www.diveworldwide.com
83
Diver Tests_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:18 Page 84
WELL AND TRULY
TESTED
REGULATOR
SCUBAPRO MK25 EVO
T/S600 TITANIUM
IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT PAST, regulator
performance was almost a hit-and-miss affair.
Some models could leave the user struggling to
get a breath at depth, while others over-
delivered to the extent of causing gas-wasting
freeflows.
CE certification has mainly put a stop to
these scenarios, with all modern underwater
breathing apparatus having to pass stringent
tests before being awarded a CE mark, allowing
it to be sold in European markets.
With regulator performance now seemingly
standardised, makers have been striving to
advance this humble but crucial bit of dive-kit
using new technologies and materials. One
such material is titanium, an amazing alloy but
difficult to use in the fabrication of regulators.
Scubapro has recently evolved its flagship
MK25 first stage using this tough alloy,
partnering it with a revamped S600 second
stage with titanium accents.
I managed to get my mitts on the first model
in the UK for a divEr Test exclusive.
The Material
Titanium alloys are metals that contain a
combination of titanium and other chemical
elements; the most common version adds in
6% aluminium and 4% vanadium (Ti-6AL-4V).
The resulting metal alloy has an extremely
high tensile strength, is very light in weight and
has exceptional corrosion resistance, especially
in sea water.
84
NIGEL WADE was always impressed
by Scubapro’s big regulator combo,
but when he gets hold of the first
titanium version in the UK, his
expectations are sky-high…
pressure adjustment for use by service
technicians, so there’s no need to disassemble
all the components to adjust performance.
The first stage comes with either 232bar
International or 300bar DIN connections and
weighs in at 232g (International version). That is
more than 300g lighter than the equivalent
standard brass-bodied MK25.
The Second Stage
The T/S600 is an evolved S600 second stage
with inserts, trim-ring and interior barrel made
from the same titanium alloy as used in the
first stage. It features a metal valve-
housing and is air-balanced to reduce
inhalation effort when diving at varying
depths and tank pressures.
The T/S600 has two user controls –
a diver-adjustable inhalation knob and
a venturi-initiated vacuum assist (VIVA)
dive/pre-dive switch.
The intermediate pressure hose is rubber,
with an oversized bore to enable increased gas
flow and subsequently higher delivery on each
The disadvantage is that it requires special breath. The circular purge button is centrally
tooling and machines, as it is difficult to placed on the front of the second stage and
produce and fabricate, so this exotic metal sports a titanium Scubapro logo embedded in
carries a huge price-tag. synthetic rubber.
The T/S600 is finished with an orthodontic
silicon mouthpiece designed to be comfortable
The First Stage and easy to grip without inhibiting gas flow.
The MK25 EVO Titanium has an air-balanced
flow-through piston designed to provide
constant and effortless airflow that the
designers say is unaffected by depth, tank
pressure or breathing demand.
It is coldwater-compatible with Scubapro’s
extended thermal insulating system (XTIS),
which isolates the mechanical components
from coldwater environments. Resistance to
freezing is claimed to have been increased by
up to 30% compared to a standard MK25.
The XTIS integrates an insulated coating on
the main spring, insulating bushing on the
body, an antifreeze cap, and a bigger body and
cap thread.
Externally, the first stage has supplementary
fins machined into its body to provide an extra
thermal exchange and enhance its coldwater
compatibility. The key insulating-system
components have been given a blue coating.
The turret-style first stage swivels, and has
two high-pressure ports fixed either side of the
main body and four low-pressure ports on the
swivel portion, with an additional fifth lp port
at the tip to further streamline hose Scubapro Mk25 EVO T/S600 Tita
nium in use.
configurations and enhance versatility.
There is also an external intermediate
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Diver Tests_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:18 Page 85
In Use
I took the MK25 EVO T/S600 combination with
me on a long-haul dive-trip to test it in
challenging real-world conditions. The weight
advantage provided by the titanium alloy was
a bonus, especially going where airline excess-
baggage charges could cost hundreds of dollars.
The first task was to decide on the hose
layout. I was seeking the shortest route for each
hose while obtaining the most streamlined
configuration. The first-stage ports offered the
ideal solution, placing gauge, octopus and lp
inflator exactly where I needed them without
creating any strain on the hose-joints, causing
snag hazards or increasing underwater drag.
With a few dives done to ascertain that the
regulator was performing correctly, I set
about putting it through my standard array of
micro tests.
First, I inverted myself to see if the second-
stage diaphragm would let any water pass as
I inhaled. It didn’t let a drop in, allowing me to
enjoy a totally dry breathe.
I then adjusted and re-adjusted the user
controls. The inhalation knob was easy to locate,
and I could position it to get the optimum
delivery of gas for the conditions and my
STROBE
SEA & SEA
YS-D2
WE KNOW THAT COLOURS DISAPPEAR AS we
descend through the water column – reds then
magentas, oranges and yellows. To restore these
colours and record the scene accurately on
camera, artificial light is needed, and it needs to
be powerful enough to overcome the limitations
imposed by shooting in a liquid world.
Only a handful of manufacturers worldwide
produce flashguns designed and built for this
purpose, and one of these is Japanese
specialist Sea & Sea. It’s been around for as
long as I can remember and has recently
released a new model, the YS-D2.
Through The Lens (TTL)
Modern cameras come in all shapes, sizes and
designs. Point-and-shoot, zoom, compact,
bridge, mirrorless, cropped or full-frame sensor
digital SLR – all have one thing in common,
and that’s the ability to fire either an on-board
or camera-specific off-board flashgun.
Each type of camera and each maker uses
different protocols to assess the amount of
artificial light needed to create an accurate
exposure. This is primarily done by firing a
series of pre-flashes, which are reflected off the
subject and received by a camera sensor.
www.divErNEt.com
SPECS
PRICE 8 £1079
FIRST STAGE 8 Air-balanced flow-through
piston
MATERIALS 8 Ti-6AL-4V titanium alloy, high-
grade polymers
PORTS 8 5lp, 2hp
CONNECTIONS 8 300bar DIN, 232bar A-clamp
SECOND STAGE 8 Air-balanced valve
CONTROLS 8 VIVA, adjustable inhalation
resistance
WEIGHT 8 First stage 232g, second stage 156g
CONTACT 8 www.scubapro.com
DIVER GUIDE ★★★★★★★★★★
breathing rate.
I then spat the regulator out at depth. Some
models instantly go into a freeflow when you
do this, but the T/S600 just vented its trapped
bubbles, then hung dormant by my side.
The purge-button was easy to locate and
operate with a single finger. It was positive and
progressive in operation, giving me total control
of the gas-flow when purging unwanted water.
In reality I rarely had to use the purge, as the
second stage proved watertight.
The orthodontic mouthpiece felt extremely
This protocol
is commonly
referred to as
“through the lens
metering” or TTL.
To confuse the
issue there are
several versions:
Advanced (A-TTL),
evaluative (E-TTL),
and a protocol used by
underwater strobe-makers called
Optical Synch TTL (S-TTL). Sea & Sea YS-D2 underwater flashgun.
Of course, these flashguns
give the user the ability to set the
output manually (M) as well.
The YS-D2 is compatible with virtually every
make and model of digital camera. It deals
with camera flash modes using A-TTL, E-TTL
and S-TTL, plus what the maker calls “oddball
flash protocols” by employing a custom mode.
It is also compatible with cameras with manual
pre-flash and manual non-flash modes.
The Design
The YS-D2 has a power output measured as an
on-land guide number of GN32 at ISO 100
DIVER TESTS
comfortable, and with the lightweight second
stage feeling unobtrusive there was no need to
bite down hard to keep it in place.
I can’t remember noticing my exhaust-gas
bubbles over the 15 dives I did with this
regulator, though as every dive was spent facing
into a surging current, perhaps I wouldn’t!
Conclusion
If you’re conscious of having a regulator in your
mouth during your dives, it’s probably because
of poor performance, a wet breathe, over- or
under-delivery of gas, or the fact that it’s heavy,
cumbersome or uncomfortable.
The best regulators almost fade into the
background, allowing you to concentrate on
enjoying being under water.
The MK25 EVO T/S600 Titanium did exactly
that. I quickly forgot that I had a mechanical
underwater breathing apparatus between my
teeth beneath the waves.
I’ve dived with most of Scubapro’s regulators
over the years, and believed that the MK25 was
the best first stage it had ever produced until
I dived with this Titanium version.
The performance was outstanding, but when
you add the advantages of this exotic alloy you
have a regulator worthy of its flagship status –
and possibly that hefty price-tag. ■
without a diffuser; this drops to GN24 and
GN20, depending on which diffuser is fitted.
It delivers white light at a colour
temperature of 5600° Kelvin through an 80°
beam angle (without diffuser) or 100° (with 100
diffuser) and 120° (with 120 diffuser).
It also has a built-in LED focus light with two
output settings and is powered by four AA
batteries, which can be rechargeable ni-mh
versions. The battery type and capacity will
determine the flash recycle time and number
of flashes (Sea & Sea claims 200 flashes with a
recycle time of 1.5sec if using rechargeable ☛
85
Diver Tests_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:18 Page 86
DIVER TESTS
2400mAh ni-mh batteries).
The YS-D2 can be synched to camera
housings with either a fibre-optic cable or
electronic five-pin Nikonos/Sea & Sea sync cord.
It can also be “daisy-chained” to a second slave
strobe using a fibre-optic cable.
It comes with two diffusers (120° and 100°),
both YS and 25mm ball-mounting options and
red filter inserts for the focusing light.
Congratulations if you managed to read
through the last few paragraphs of geek-speak
The single flash tube and LED focus light (shown with-
out diffuser).
without falling asleep, because in fact the YS-D2
is the simplest all-round underwater strobe I’ve
ever used.
Sea & Sea has given the user only two dials
and one button. The clever bits are the backlit,
colour-coded modes, and there are only four
from which to choose.
The first click on the magnetic mode dial is
orange, for cameras with a manual pre-flash.
Next is green for cameras without a pre-flash,
then dark blue for Sea & Sea’s DS-TTL mode for
cameras using S-TTL and, with a little button-
jiggling, light blue for its DS-TTL II mode.
This is said to be subtler and more accurate
than DS-TTL when used with Optical YS
converters designed for DSLR housings (this
removes the camera’s flash from the procedure
and uses data directly from the hot-shoe).
The second (right-hand) magnetic dial is used
to adjust power output from the strobe, and can
reduce or increase the exposure value by +/- 2.0
stops in any of the TTL modes. It doubles up to
adjust light output manually in 11 increments
from GN1 to GN32 while in Manual mode.
A central push-button switches on the LED
focus light at full power, with a further push to
switch it to half-power, another short push to
switch it off or a long push to switch from DS-
TTL (dark blue) to DS-TTLII (light blue) mode.
Three of the four colour-coded mode displays.
86
ugh to overcome
The YS-D2s were powerful eno
into the sun.
any problems when shooting
In Use
I integrated two YS-D2 flashguns into my DSLR
housing-and-arm system using the supplied
ball mounts, connected them to the camera’s
pop-up flash with fibre-optic cables, then set
them to Manual.
I marvelled at the brightly lit green colour
displays on the rear control panel, which took all
the confusion out of working out the mode in
which I was shooting, and let me view the
output/EV compensation settings easily.
I then set the output dial to its middle setting
of GN5.6 and started to flail away with the
camera, adjusting the flash output by clicking
the right-hand dial up or down as needed. This
quickly became second nature, and no different
in use than my existing flashguns.
Under water I always shoot both camera and
strobes manually, and in the past none of the
TTL modes with which I’ve experimented has
provided a successful outcome.
So it was with trepidation that I switched to
the light blue DS-TTLII mode and changed the
camera’s flash setting to TTL to shoot that most
difficult of subjects, a school of silver-flanked
fish. This would be a true test of how well Sea &
Sea had developed its TTL technology.
I let the camera determine the flash output
and was pleased to see that it had worked
brilliantly. All the fish were perfectly exposed
over a series of shots, leading me to believe that
Sea & Sea’s TTL protocol had come of age.
It was so good that I shot wide-angle with a
fisheye for eight dives straight using only the
DS-TTLII mode without any hiccups. I could also
easily fine-tune the output, reviewing the shots
on the camera’s rear screen and using the EV
compensation dial before shooting again.
YS-D2 flashguns are a bit bigger than a
coffee-mug and could be tucked in tight to the
sides of my smaller (170mm) dome port to get
much-needed light onto the face of very close
subjects when shooting close-focus wide angle.
I reverted to Manual and set the output to its
maximum (GN32) to shoot a small juvenile
Mexican hogfish admiring its reflection in my
port glass. This tested the strobe’s maximum
output, as it needed to overcome the stopped-
down lens aperture. Again it worked perfectly.
I managed around 230 shots on each set of
A pair of Sea & Sea YS-D2’s
configured on a compact set-up.
batteries shooting at various power
levels, but the recycle time limited me to single
shots instead of quick bursts. A nice feature was
the audible beep to let me know that the flash
had recycled and was ready to fire again.
Conclusion
The YS-D2 is a true all-rounder. It works in most
underwater scenarios and with any camera or
housing. It can be synced to a camera’s pop-up
flash, hot-shoe or TTL converter with electric or
fibre-optic cables, and used with any TTL protocol.
The backlit display with colour-coded modes
and its sheer simplicity in use are genius. Add to
this the size and weight and it could be a
winner for travelling photographers.
This is also the only strobe that has allowed
me to get consistent results from my own
camera’s TTL mode under water – something
I thought would never happen. ■
SPECS
PRICE 8 £580
SIZE 8 89 x 133 x 116mm
WEIGHT 8 623g (without batteries)
MAX OUTPUT 8 GN32 (ISO 100 land)
EV ADJUSTMENT 8 11 steps
COLOUR TEMPERATURE 85600°Kp
COVERAGE 8 80° without diffuser.
100°, 120° with diffusers
BATTERIES 8 4 x AA 6V. Ni-mh, 4.8V
TARGET LIGHT 8 LED, two outputs
DIALS 8 Sealed, magnetic
FLASHES 8 Ni-mh 200. Alkaline 150
RECYCLE TIME 8 Alkaline 3sec. Ni-mh 1.5sec
DEPTH RATING 8 100m
CONTACT 8 www.sea-sea.com
DIVER GUIDE ★★★★★★★★★✩
www.divErNEt.com
Diver Tests_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:18 Page 87
MULTI-TOOL
XS SCUBA TL110
MULTI-TOOLS FOR DIVERS HAVE BEEN AROUND for a long
time, and although I’ve never owned one I always seem to be the
first person to need one, and have to beg, borrow or steal
someone else’s.
Well those scrounging days are over, because UK distributor
Blue Orb sent me XS Scuba’s TL110 so that I could have a play.
The Design
TheTL110 has eight individual tools mounted
within a skeletal powder-coated metal frame.
There’s a set of three hex wrenches: quarter-inch
to fit DIN-valve inserts, 3/16in to fit first-stage
port plugs and 5/32in for valve dip tubes. There
is also a slotted flat screwdriver for tank-valve
nuts; a Schrader valve tool; a Phillips screwdriver;
a flat-head screwdriver and an O-ring pick.
The tools are all made from stainless steel
except for the brass O-ring pick. They’re set on
two axles and fold within the confines of the
skeletal frame.
TOWEL
BUBEL MICROFIBER TRIP
I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M REVIEWING A TOWEL,
although it’s certainly a break from testing and
writing about complicated electronic TTL
protocols. This drying-aid comes from
Barcelona-based “textile engineer” Bubel.
The Design
Bubel has produced a lightweight microfibre
towel that’s claimed to be highly absorbent and
quick-drying as well as odour-, bacteria- and
crease-resistant.
The designs are apparently inspired by
artistic interpretations of streets of the maker’s
home city. I was using one called Trip, a vibrant
depiction of a VW camper van over a land map,
one of 50 designs from the 2016 range.
In Use
I used the large (175 x 95cm) version on a Pacific
Liveaboard, where four dives a day meant that
it got lots of use as I rinsed off the salt water
under the dive-deck shower after each
immersion, dried myself with the towel and
then hung it over the side railings to dry.
After five days it had stiffened a little but
still performed well. It didn’t (as expected)
www.divErNEt.com
DIVER TESTS
The XS Scuba TL110 has eight tools.
Multiple Uses that you’d need. When I dive abroad and have
Do you really want me to detail all the uses to a DIN connection on my regulators, that stumpy
which we could put this little bunch of tools? little quarter-inch hex wrench will be worth its
Suffice to say that if you owned one there’s not weight in gold.
much else other than an adjustable spanner
Conclusion
SPECS This little gem of a tool kit is small and light
PRICE 8£26 enough to slip into your Save-a-Dive Kit box,
WEIGHT 8103g and it’s likely to be in big demand on any dive
CONTACT 8www.blue-orb.uk trip. It has found a permanent home in my kit-
DIVER GUIDE ★★★★★★★★★✩ bag, but left me wondering why I hadn’t owned
one sooner. ■
start to pong towards the end of the week, nor
did it show any signs of fading in the harsh
Mexican sun.
Conclusion
It’s a towel, what more can I say, except that it’s
big and bold, so was just the ticket to grab and
use for the biggest, boldest human being I’ve
ever seen.
I’m talking about dive-guide Sten Johansson,
the giant Swede who works the dive-boats in
this part of the world. If a Bubel towel fits Sten, it
should fit anyone.
The vivid and individual designs will make
yours easy to pick out on crowded boats, too –
though if the big Viking says it’s his, who am I
to argue? ■
SPECS
PRICE 8£40
MATERIAL 8Nanofiber
SIZES 8Compact 95 x 54cm. Large 175 x 95cm
CONTACT 8www.manoleisure.com If this giant Viking says it’s his
towel,
DIVER GUIDE ★★★★★★★★★✩ who is Nigel Wade to argue?
87
Just Surfaced_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:19 Page 88

NEW BUT
UNTESTED The latest kit to hit the dive shops

Scubapro S3 Trygons Fins

4444
Designed for freediving, Scubapro’s
new S3 fin has a hydrodynamic,
optimised foot-pocket that’s claimed to
lower drag while being ultra-soft and
comfortable. The long, soft blade is
made from a high-performance plastic
compound and its low-profile rail is
said to enable perfect water-
channelling and all the fin’s power to
come directly from the blade. The S3
comes in six sizes at £65, and an
optional tarpaulin fin-bag costs £48.
8 www.scubapro.com

Waterproof H1 5/10 HV Hood

3333
Mares XR Stainless Steel Backplate 5555 The latest product from Swedish exposure-
Mares’ new range of tec dive-gear features the XR stainless protection expert Waterproof is its H1 High
backplate, a component in its modular wing BC system. The Visibility hood, which has an orange-coloured
backplate is laser-cut from a choice of 3 or 6mm 316 stainless surface with reflective patches to help you to
steel with 13 cut and etched slots for harness, sidemount and be seen in choppy sea conditions. There is
tank-strap configurations. It has an ultra-rigid backbone with 10mm double-layered neoprene protection in
laser-cut XR logos. The 3mm version costs £110, the 6mm £165. critical heat-loss areas and Glideskin seals for
8 www.mares.com neck and face, plus the maker’s HAVS (Hood Air
Venting System), which uses one-way valves to
vent trapped air. Available in seven sizes from
Ammonite LED Stingray XS to XXL, it costs £60.
Rechargeable Torch 6666 8 www.cpspartnership.co.uk
The LED Stingray from Ammonite Systems is a compact hand-
held said to deliver 1000 lumens of light through a 16° spot-
beam from three CREE XPG 2 LEDs. The Stingray’s body is
constructed from anodised aluminium alloy and Delrin, and is
switched on via its screw-down head. A single li-ion 3000m
rechargeable battery provides the power. The light comes with
a choice of six different-coloured silicon bands, a stainless piston-
clip plus a USB charger and spare battery. Expect to pay £189.
8 www.blue-orb.uk
Tusa FK-14 Titanium Mini-Knife 4444
This cutting tool features a 70mm 6-4TI
titanium serrated-edge, drop-point
blade. Its sheath has a locking tab to
hold it securely but with one-touch
release. A stainless-steel spring-belt/
harness-clip is built into the back of
the sheath, with a separate hose
adaptor supplied for high-
pressure or mp hose-mounting
options. The knife comes in
metallic dark red or metallic
silver (pictured) and costs £60.
8 www.cpspartnership.co.uk

88 www.divErNEt.com
Just Surfaced_JUNE16_v1.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:19 Page 89

JUST SURFACED

Sealife Sea Dragon 1500

Photo/Video Light 4444
The Sea Dragon 1500 is an LED light with
a claimed output of 1500 lumens
delivered in a 120° (80° underwater)
beam. A removable, rechargeable
Metalsub XRE510 25W li-ion battery powers the
Torch 5555 single COB LED array. The light has
This new handheld is powered by four AA alkaline 100%, 50% and 25% power options
batteries housed in an aluminium body impregnated with with a claimed burntime of 70min at
Teflon. The screw-down head has an EDPM rubber band to aid grip and holds full power. It also has a universal 1/4-20
a reflector behind its toughened glass lens, delivering 500 lumens of light in tripod mount allowing integration into
a tight 10° spot beam. The torch measures 108 x 39mm diameter, weighs 400g most camera systems. Price is £229.
and is depth-rated to 100m. You get flash and SOS warning signals and also 8 www.sealife-cameras.com
a fading six-hour light. The price is £119.
8 www.cpspartnership.co.uk

Nauticam NA-D5 Housing for Nikon D5 3333

No sooner had Nikon launched its flagship pro D5 DSLR camera than
Nauticam released an underwater housing for it. Said to be rugged
with enhanced ergonomics and a more sophisticated LED external
flash-triggering system, the NA-D5 is also claimed to be smaller and
lighter. It offers access to all the camera’s controls plus the maker’s
port and housing locking system, integrated vacuum monitoring and
leak-detection circuitry. It costs £4493 excluding ports.
8 www.uwvisions.co.uk

THE
WORLD’S NEXT ISSUE
MOST
ISOLATED BOTTLING IT
ATOLL There’s cash in the lost art of bottle-diving

MAD FOR MADEIRA

Will Appleyard gets a taste of the Atlantic island

A LAND LESS DIVED

Paul Colley goes diving in Cambodia
MICHEL LABREQUE

Few divers have experienced

Clipperton since Cousteau’s day. ON SALE
Is this the site that time forgot? 16 JUNE

www.divErNEt.com 89
DHD – June 2016.qxp_Holiday Directory 04/05/2016 13:07 Page 90
HOLIDAY DIRECTORY
FACILITIES Hotel or guesthouse
INCLUDE:
Technical Gases
AUSTRALIA
GREAT BARRIER REEF – CORAL SEA
MIKE BALL DIVE EXPEDITIONS
143 Lake Street, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia.
Tel: (00 61) 7 4053 0500. Fax: (00 61) 7 4031 5470.
E-mail: mike@mikeball.com www.mikeball.com
UK Agent: Divequest – divers@divequest.co.uk
CANARY ISLANDS
FUERTEVENTURA
DEEP BLUE
P.O. Box 33, Caleta de Fuste, Antigua E-35610,
Fuerteventura. Tel: (00 34) 606 275468.
Fax: (00 34) 928 163983. www.deep-blue-diving.com
E-mail: info@deep-blue-diving.com
CMAS, IAHD. Harbour location. Special group rates.
LANZAROTE
SAFARI DIVING LANZAROTE
Playa Chica, Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote.
Tel: (00 34) 625 059713, (00 34) 928 511992.
www.safaridiving.com E-mail: enquiry@safaridiving.com
English owned, award-winning BSAC School and
Seamanship centre, SSI Instructor trainer facility and
PADI dive centre. Open every day of the year. Daily shore
and boat dives, night dives too – all same price. Great
deals for groups, universities and the solo diver.
CYPRUS
LARNACA
RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER
24/7 professionally manned and fully computerised,
privately owned and operated 14-man recompression
chamber, internationally approved and the DAN
Preferred Provider for the island. If in doubt … SHOUT!
Poseidonia Medical Centre, 47a Eleftherias Avenue,
Aradippou, Larnaca 7102, Cyprus.
24hr Emergency Dive Line: +357 99 518837.
E-mail: info@hbocyprus.com www.hbocyprus.com
90 To advertise in the divEr Holiday Directory contact Alex on 020 8941 8152 • e-mail: alex@divermag.co.uk
Self-catering Equipment for hire Dive boat charter arranged
BSAC School PADI Training
OCTOPUS DIVING CENTRE
PO Box 40124, Larnaca, Cyprus. (Dive centre
located on the Larnaca to Dhekelia Road, 100m from the
Princess Hotel.) Tel/fax: (00 357) 24 646571.
Mobile: (00 357) 9965 4462. www.octopus-diving.com
E-mail: octopus@spidernet.com.cy PADI 5* Gold Palm
Resort & Cyprus’ only BSAC Premier School.
PAPHOS
CYDIVE LTD
Myrra Complex, 1 Poseidonos Avenue, Marina Court 44-46,
Kato Paphos. www.cydive.com Tel: (00 357) 26 934271.
Fax: (00 357) 26 939680. E-mail: info@cydive.com
PADI 5* CDC. First Career Development Centre in Cyprus
and Eastern Mediterranean.
DIVE POINT
Parmenionos St. No4, Tombs of the Kings Rd, Kato
Paphos, Cyprus 8045. Tel/fax: (00 357) 26 938730.
E-mail: divepointcyprus@hotmail.com
www.divepointcyprus.co.uk
British BSAC/PADI instructors.
EGYPT
HURGHADA
ILIOS DIVE CLUB
Steigenberger Al dau Resort, Yussif Affifi Road,
Hurghada. Tel: (00 20) 65 346 5442.
E-mail: info@iliosdiveclub.com
www.iliosdiveclub.com PADI Dive Centre, border free.
LIVEABOARDS
SEA QUEEN FLEET
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Tel: (00 20) 12 218 6669 or (00 20) 12 100 3941.
E-mail: seaqueen@link.net or karen@seaqueens.com
www.seaqueens.com Red Sea liveaboards. Dive Centre.
Suitable for families Packages from UK Compressed Air Nitrox
NAUI Training TDI Training SSI Training DAN Training Disability Diving
SHARM EL SHEIKH
EAGLE DIVERS MALAYSIA
Based in Ocean Club Hotel, 23 City Council Street,
Hadaba. Tel: (+2) 012 0000 1596. www.eagle-divers.com BORNEO, SABAH
E-mail: info@eagle-divers.com PADI 5* + TecRec Centre. THE REEF DIVE RESORT
(Mataking Island), TB212, Jalan Bunga, Fajar Complex,
91000 Tawau, Sabah. Tel: (00 60) 89 786045. Fax: (00 60)
89 770023. E-mail: sales@mataking.com
www.mataking.com PADI 5* Dive Resort.
ELITE DIVING
Divers United Dive Centre, Karma Hotel,
Hadaba, Sharm El Sheikh, Red Sea, Egypt.
Tel: (00 20) 1224 308 780. E-mail: info@elite-diving.com
www.elite-diving.com British owner managers.
MALTA (inc. GOZO & COMINO
GOZO
GOZO AQUA SPORTS
Rabat Road, Marsalforn, MFN9014, Gozo, Malta.
Tel: (00 356) 2156 3037. www.gozoaquasports.com
E-mail: dive@gozoaquasports.com
FRANCE PADI 5* IDC & DSAT Tec Rec Centre, BSAC Dive Resort.
Premier Technical Diving Support Service.
COTE D’AZUR
DIAMOND DIVING
11 Rue des Pecheurs, Golfe Juan. 06220.
Tel: (00 33) 615 305223. E-mail: info@diamonddiving.net
www.diamonddiving.net Quality PADI training French
Riviera. PADI 5*IDC Resort, six IDCs per year.
GREECE
CRETE
CRETE UNDERWATER CENTER
Mirabello Hotel, Agios Nikolaos, P.O. Box 100,
P.C. 72 100. Tel/fax: (00 30) 28410 22406.
Mob: (00 30) 6945 244434, (00 30) 6944 126846.
www.creteunderwatercenter.com
E-mail: info@creteunderwatercenter.com IANTD Nitrox MALTA
training. Groups, individuals & dive clubs welcome. MALTAQUA
Mosta Road, St. Paul’s Bay. Tel: (00 356) 2157 1111.
Fax: (00 356) 21 580064. E-mail: dive@maltaqua.com
www.maltaqua.com On-line booking service.
BSAC Centre of Excellence 007, PADI 5* IDC. ANDI
GRENADA
ST. GEORGE’S
SCUBATECH DIVE CENTRE AQUAVENTURE LTD
Calabash Hotel, L’Anse Aux Epines. The Waters Edge, Mellieha Bay Hotel,
Tel: +1 (473) 439 4346. Fax: +1 (473) 444 5050. Mellieha MLH 02. www.aquaventuremalta.com
E-mail: info@scubatech-grenada.com Tel: (00 356) 2152 2141 Fax: (00 356) 2152 1053
www.scubatech-grenada.com Discover The Difference! e-mail:info@aquaventuremalta.com
PADI 5* Gold Palm. Watersports available.
INDONESIA DIVE DEEP BLUE
Deep Blue Lido, 100 Annaniija Street, Bugibba.
ALOR Tel: (00 356) 21 583946. Fax: (00 356) 21 583945
ALOR DIVERS E-mail: dive@divedeepblue.com
Jl. Tengiri N. 1 Kalabahi, Alor Island, NTT, Indonesia. www.divedeepblue.com PADI 5* Gold Palm/BSAC
Tel: (00 62) 813 1780 4133. Premier. Technical Diving support service. ANDI
E-mail: info@alor-divers.com www.alor-divers.com
Pristine. Diving. Exclusive. Covert. Destination.
DHD – June 2016.qxp_Holiday Directory 04/05/2016 13:08 Page 91
PALAU
KOROR
FISH ’N FINS DIVE CENTER / OCEAN
HUNTER I & III LIVEABOARDS
PADI 5* IDC & TDI. Technical diving. 6 & 16 pax
luxurious liveaboards. 30+ WWII Japanese wrecks to
explore. Check our special events!
www.fishnfins.com www.oceanhunter.com
PHILIPPINES
THRESHER SHARK DIVERS
Malapascua Island, Daanbantayan, Cebu 6013.
Tel: (00 63) 927 612 3359. www.thresherdivers.com
E-mail: dive@thresherdivers.com
British, PADI 5* IDC, IANTD.
SPAIN
BALEARIC ISLANDS – MALLORCA
SCUBA MALLORCA
C/d’el Cano 23, 07470 Port de Pollença, Mallorca.
Tel: (00 34) 971 868087. Mobile: (00 34) 615 875609.
E-mail: info@scubamallorca.com
www.scubamallorca.com PADI 5* IDC.
BALEARIC ISLANDS – MENORCA
BLUEWATER SCUBA
Calle Llevant, Centro Civico Local 3, Cap D’Artrutx,
07769 Ciutadella de Menorca.
Tel/fax: (00 34) 971 387183. www.bluewaterscuba.co.uk
E-mail: sales@bluewaterscuba.co.uk
Dive the famous Pont D’en Gil cavern!
S’ALGAR DIVING
Paseo Maritimo, S’Algar, Menorca.
Tel: (00 34) 971 150601. www.salgardiving.com
E-mail: info@salgardiving.com
Facebook: menorcasalgardiving PADI 5*, BSAC Resort
families, groups, fun & tec = all welcome!
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HOLIDAY DIRECTORY
SRI LANKA
NORTH EAST COAST
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Ward 1, 9th Mile Post, Nilaveli, Trincomalee, at the High
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www.nilavelidiving.com PADI 5* Dive Resort, S-23912. OFF E R
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see page 97
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91
Liveaboard Directory – 05_16.qxp_Liveaboard Directory 06/04/2016 10:24 Page 92

LIVEABOARD DIRECTORY
AF Aqua-Firma DWw Dive Worldwide HD Holiday Designers RD Regaldive S Sportif
bo2 blue o two DQ Divequest 0 Oonasdivers STW Scuba Tours Worldwide TSP The Scuba Place
CT Crusader Travel Emp Emperor OD Original Diving ST Scuba Travel UD Ultimate Diving

AUSTRALIA – Cairns CT DWw GALAPAGOS DWw MEXICO – Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas
Spirit of Freedom STW UD Humboldt Explorer DQ RD Nautilus Explorer TSP UD
www.spiritoffreedom.com.au www.explorerventures.com AF STW www.nautilusexplorer.com bo2 DQ
Pax 26 Elec 240V Pax 16 Elec Pax 25 Elec 120V
Cab 11 Cour Y Cab 8 Cour N Cab 13 Cour N
EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y
Lth 37m Ntx Y Lth 32.3m Ntx Y Lth 35m Ntx Y
Hull steel CCR N Hull CCR N Hull steel CCR Y

AUSTRALIA – Cairns CT DWw MALDIVES – Malé MICRONESIA – Truk Lagoon DQ UD

Spoilsport Adora M.V. Odyssey DWw STW
www.mikeball.com www.maldivesboatclub.com www.trukodyssey.com
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Cab 15 Cour Y Cab 11 Cour Y Cab 9 Cour Y
EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y
Lth 30m Ntx Y Lth 37.5m Ntx Y Lth 38.2m Ntx Y
Hull alum CCR N Hull GRP CCR N Hull Steel CCR Y

CARIBBEAN – St. Maarten & St. Kitts MALDIVES – Malé STW DWw PALAU DWw UD
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Hull alum CCR N Hull wood CCR N Hull steel CCR Y

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Turks & Caicos Explorer II DQ Eagle Ray S/Y Palau Siren STW AF DQ
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EGYPT – Sharm el Sheikh & Hurghada MALDIVES – Malé STW PHILIPPINES AF

CT DWw
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Lth 27m Ntx Y Lth 26m Ntx Y Lth 40m Ntx Y
Hull wood CCR Y Hull wood CCR Y Hull wood CCR Y

EGYPT – Sharm el Sheikh HD MEXICO – Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas TURKS & CAICOS DWw
VIP One Nautilus Belle Amie TSP UD Turks & Caicos Explorer II DQ
www.vipone.com www.nautilusbelleamie.com bo2 DQ www.explorerventures.com
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Cab 8 Cour Y Cab 16 Cour N Cab 10 Cour Y
EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y EnS Y A/C Y
Lth 29.5m Ntx Y Lth 41m Ntx Y Lth 37.8m Ntx Y
Hull wood CCR Y Hull steel CCR Y Hull alum CCR N

FIJI RD
CT DWw
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with colour picture, web address, and summary details (including UK agents).
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To advertise in the divEr Liveaboard Directory,

Cab 8 Cour Y
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call Alex on 020 8941 4568 or email: alex@divermag.co.uk

92 Please remember to mention divEr Magazine when replying to any of these advertisements
DIVER torch-bags subs 0416.qxp_Subs Offers 03/05/2016 10:54 Page 93

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Classified page 94-95_06.qxp_Classified LHP 04/05/2016 09:25 Page 94

CLASSIFIED ADS
Wales
CHARTER BOATS Anglesey. Hard boat diving aboard “Julie Anne” and
ACCESSORIES
“Empress”. Diver lift. Visit: www.julie-anne.co.uk or tel:
North East (01407) 831210, mobile: 07768 863355. (57123)
com
EREIGN DIVING
Quest Diving. Hardboat with lift. Diving Anglesey and
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Tel/fax: (01665) 720760 or www.sovereigndiving.co.uk (01788) 579 555. www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk
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Diving Medicals - Nottingham. Sport Diving medicals: design,
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www.channeldiving.com Midweek diving for 07802 850084 for appointment. Email: mclamp@
individuals. Tel: 07970 674799. (57722) doctors.org.uk (66041)
www.sussexshipwrecks.co.uk “Sussex” Eastbourne. Fast Diving medicals: London. HSE, Sport and phone advice.
Cat, lift, O2, toilet, tea/coffee. Groups and individuals. Tel: (020) 7806 4028 www.londondivingchamber.co.uk
Diver/Skipper, Mike mobile: 07840 219585, e-mail: (66525)
dive@sussexshipwrecks.co.uk (66186) Dr Gerry Roberts and Dr Mark Bettley-Smith. HSE
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07850 312068. Email: ourjoyboat@gmail.com Rubber Stamps
www.ourjoy.co.uk (67680)

Looking for last minute spaces on a MAY 28th-30th SPACES AVAILABLE Protect your
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South West
With full shelter deck for all weather, six spacious double Bovisand Lodge Estate, Plymouth. 4* self-catering
PHOTOGRAPHY REPAIRS/SERVICES
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large saloon, central heating throughout, galley with all Range of quality accommodations. Free parking for RIBs.
facilities and two dry changing areas. Long established,
high standard of service. Nitrox, trimix & onboard meals
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2016 SPACES AVAILABLE

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Dive or snorkel with friendly seals at Lundy Island
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get TWO free! 7pm for up to date availability. Tel: (01237) 431405. Stalybridge
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charter, air, nitrox, trimix, from £25pp. Groups +
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email: repairs@gybe.co.uk
www.scapa-flow.co.uk individuals. Contact Danny, 07739 567 752. (66928)
Facebook: M.V. Invincible Venture Dive Charters. For quality diving from GREENAWAY MARINE www.gybe.co.uk
ian@scapa-flow.co.uk • 01856 851110
Plymouth, visit: www.venturecharters.co.uk or tel: 07948
525030. (59945)
Tel: (01793) 814992
Classified page 94-95_06.qxp_Classified LHP 04/05/2016 09:25 Page 95
CLUB NOTICES
FREE OF CHARGE. (Max 25 words).
Non-commercial clubs, no sales.
Active and friendly BSAC club. All year diving in local
lake. New and qualified divers of all agencies welcome.
Own club house with 7m RIB and compressor. For further
information visit www.mksac.co.uk (64397)
Alfreton (Derbys) BSAC 302 welcomes new members
and qualified divers. A small but active club with own
RIB, wreck diving a speciality. Contact Charlie on (01246)
236328. (61123)
Banbury SAC. Friendly, active club with weekly meetings
and training sessions. Own boat, compressor and
equipment. Welcome divers/non-divers. www.bansac.org
or call 07787 097 289. (60104)
Bracknell Sub Aqua Club welcomes new and experienced
divers from all agencies. Meets poolside at Bracknell
Sports Centre, Thursdays from 8.30pm. Diving, training
and social calendar: www.bracknellscuba.org.uk or tel:
07951 855 725. (65786)
Braintree Riverside Sub Aqua Club based in Braintree,
Essex. A friendly club, we welcome divers of all abilities
and have an active diving and social programme. Come
and join us! email: denise.f.wright2@btinternet.com
www.braintreeriversidesac.co.uk (58771)
Bristol Scuba Club meets at Kingswood Leisure Centre,
BS16 4HR, every Friday, 8pm - 10pm. Diver access to a
large pool. www.bristol-scuba-club.co.uk or call: 07811
374944. (63806)
Brixham Divers (BSAC) Torbay. East Devon reefs/
wrecks. Novices/experienced/visitors/groups all welcome
to join us. 7mtr RIB, new 150hp Evinrude electronics.
Cruises 30 knots. Takes 10 divers. Club/social nights. Tel:
Gary: 07740 288 670. (62559)
Bromley/Lewisham Active divers required. Full
programme of hardboat diving throughout the year.
Check out Nekton SAC www.nekton.org.uk or contact
Jackie (01689) 850130. (54509)
Buckingham Dive Centre. A small friendly club
welcoming all divers and those wanting to learn. We dive
throughout the year and run trips in the UK and abroad.
www.stowesubaqua.co.uk Tel: Roger 07802 765 366.
(62379)
Buntingford Horizon Divers (East Herts). All welcome.
Pool meetings. Dive trips UK and abroad. 5.8m RIB.
Social calendar. Tel: 07971 491702 or visit:
www.horizondivers.org (54038)
Chelmsford and District SAC meet at 8pm every Friday
at Riverside Pool. New and qualified divers are welcome.
See our website for details: www.chelmsforddiveclub.co.uk
(54150)
Cheshire. Icicle Divers SAA Club. Meet every Monday
evening 9pm at Crewe Pool, Flag Lane. New and
experienced divers welcome. Try Dives available.
www.icicledivers.com (63065)
Chingford, London BSAC 365. Friendly and active club
welcomes divers from all agencies and trainees. Meet
Wednesdays 8pm, Larkswood Leisure Centre E4 9EY.
Information: www.dive365.co.uk Email: loughton
divers365@gmail.com (60863)
Cockleshell Divers, Portsmouth, Hants. Small, friendly
club welcomes new and experienced divers from all
agencies. Meets at Cockleshell Community Centre,
Fridays at 8pm. Email: cockleshell.divers@aol.co.uk
(64756)
Colchester Sub-Aqua Club welcomes experienced divers
and beginners. Sub-Aqua Association training. Diving at
home and abroad. Meets at Leisure World Friday
evenings. Contact Tony (01787) 475803.
Cotswold BSAC, a friendly club based at Brockworth
(60377)
Pool, Nr Cheltenham, Fridays 8pm. Regular inland diving
and coast trips. Tel: 07711 312078. www.cotswold
bsac332.co.uk
Darwen SAC, in Lancashire, with an active diving
(54283)
programme. Own RIB. new members welcome regardless
of agency/training. We provide BSAC training. Weekly
pool sessions. www.darwensac.org.uk
Dream Divers. Very friendly dive club in Rotherham
(58197)
welcomes divers of any level/club. Meet at the Ring O
Bells, Swinton, lastThursday of the month at 19.30. Email:
info@dreamdiversltd.co.uk (58276)
Ealing SAC, BSAC 514. Friendly, active club, own ribs;
welcomes new and experienced divers. Meets Highgrove
Pool, Eastcote, Tuesday nights 8.30pm. www.esac.org.uk
(61197)
East Cheshire Sub Aqua. Macclesfield based BSAC club.
Purpose-built clubhouse, bar, two RIBs, minibus, nitrox,
compressor. Lower Bank Street, Macclesfield, SK11 7HL.
Tel: (01625) 502367. www.scubadivingmacclesfield.com
(65603)
East Durham Divers SAA welcome new/experienced
divers of any agency. Comprehensive facilities with own
premises half a mile from the sea. Contact: John: 07857
174125. (53928)
East Lancs Diving Club based in Blackburn. Friendly
and active club welcomes new members at all levels of
diving from all organisations. Tel: 07784 828961 or email:
ELDC@hotmail.co.uk www.eastlancsdivers.co.uk
Eastbourne BSAC; RIB, banked air (free) to 300bar,
(62454)
Nitrox, Trimix. Enjoy some of the best diving on the
South Coast, all qualifications welcome.
www.sovereigndivers.co.uk (65689)
Eastern Sub Aqua Club SAA 1073. We are a small friendly
dive club and welcome new and experienced divers alike.
We are situated north of Norwich for training. For more
information please see out website: www.esacdivers.co.uk
(65873)
Eastleigh (Southampton) Sub Aqua Club (BSAC).
Whether you want to learn or are an experienced diver,
interested in a course or a try dive. We meet every Tuesday
at 10pm in the Fleming Park Leisure Centre bar. Email:
eastleighsubaquaclub@gmail.com www.eastleighsub
aquaclub.co.uk (62111)
Ellon Sub Aqua Club, Aberdeenshire, welcomes
newcomers and experienced divers. We dive year round
and meet on Thursday evenings. Contact
www.ellonsubaquaclub.co.uk (65517)
Flintshire Sub Aqua Club based in Holywell, Flintshire,
welcomes new and experienced divers from all agencies.
Full dive programme. Meet Wednesdays. See us at
www.flintsac.co.uk or call (01352) 731425. (64287)
Hartford Scuba BSAC 0522, based in Northwich,
Cheshire. A friendly, active diving club. Compressor for
air and Nitrox fills. RIB stored in Anglesey.
www.hartfordscuba.co.uk (67281)
Haslemere Sub Aqua Club based at Haslemere, Surrey.
Friendly active club welcomes new and experienced
divers, offers full training. Meets Thursday nights. Contact
Mike 07754 968297. (63398)
Hastings SAC 58 years old SAA club (0044) welcomes
new and experienced divers. Two hard boats. Meets
8.45pm Tuesdays at Summerfields, Hastings. See
www.hastingssubaqua.co.uk (62801)
Hereford Sub Aqua Club, is looking for new members.
Regular diving off the Pembrokeshire coast on own RIBs.
Training and social nights. Contact:
rusaqua@googlemail.com (58483)
HGSAC. South Manchester based friendly, non-political
club welcomes newcomers and qualified divers. Lots of
diving and social events. Family. Three RIBs and
compressor. www.hgsac.com (54695)
High Wycombe SAC. Come and dive with us - all
welcome. Active club with RIB on south coast. Contact
Len: 07867 544 738. www.wycombesubaqua.com
(59050)
HUGSAC - BSAC 380. Experienced club, based around
Hertfordshire, with RIB on the south coast. Members
dive with passion for all underwater exploration. All
agencies welcome. www.hugsac.co.uk (63269)
Ifield Divers. Crawley-based club. Twin-engine dive boat
with stern lift in Brighton Marina.Training for novices,
diving for the experienced - all qualifications welcome.
www.ifield-divers.org.uk Email: info@ifield-divers.org.uk
or tel: (01883) 345146. (64507)
Ilkeston & Kimberley SAA 945, between Nottingham
and Derby, welcomes beginners and experienced divers.
We meet every Friday night at Kimberley Leisure Centre
at 8.30pm. Contact through www.iksac.co.uk (54416)
K2 Divers, covering West Sussex/Surrey. A friendly BSAC
club, but all qualifications welcome. Training in Crawley,
boat at Littlehampton. Email: k2divers@yahoo.co.uk or
tel: 01293 612989. (60955)
Kingston BSAC, Surrey. Two RIBs , clubhouse and bar,
active dive programme, 2 compressors, Nitrox, Trimix,
full training offered at all levels. All very welcome.
www.kingstonsac.org or tel: 07842 622193. (58866)
Leeds based Rothwell & Stanley SAC welcomes new and
experienced divers, full SAA training given. Purpose-built
clubhouse with bar, RIB, compressor. Meet Tuesday
evenings: 07738 060567, kevin.oddy@talktalk.net
(58581)
Lincoln - Imp Divers. Small, friendly, non-political diving
club with our own RIB are looking to welcome new and
experienced divers. Contact Richard: 07931 170205.
(58676)
Lincoln and District BSAC. Active club with own RIB,
compressor and other facilities. Regular trips and training.
www.lincolndivingclub.co.uk
Lincs Divers BSAC 1940. Friendly, active dive club
(58956)
offering dive trips and training for new/experienced
divers, Lincoln based. www.lincsdivers.co.uk (61935)
Liverpool WAPSAC. Friendly, active training club based
at Knowsley Leisure Park, L34. Welcomes new and
experienced divers. Weekly meetings.Contact John: 07833
647134 or @WAPSAC. (56339)
Llantrisant SAC, two RIBs, towing vehicle, welcomes
new and experienced divers. Meet at Llantrisant Leisure
Centre 8pm Mondays. Contact Phil: (01443) 227667.
www.llantrisantdivers.com (54602)
London No. 1 Diving Club encourages divers of all levels,
from all agencies. Based in Central London with 7m RIB,
compressor, hire kit etc. www.londondiver.com (62889)
Mansfield & District Scuba Diving Club, SAA942,
Mansfield. Family dive club, diving and social members
welcome. Own clubhouse with licenced bar. Regular dive
trips and holidays. www.scubamad.co.uk Tel: (01623)
622130. Facebook. (65213)
Manta Divers. Norfolk wreck & reef diving. Small,
friendly, experienced club. All agencies welcome. SAA
training. www.mantadivers.org (64082)
Mercian Divers (BSAC 2463) Active & friendly club. New,
experienced & junior divers welcome. Own RIB. Based
in Bromsgrove, West Midlands. Tel: (01905) 773406,
www.mercian-divers.org.uk (65385)
Millennium Divers. Active, friendly club for all levels
and certifications of diver, based in Portland, Dorset. UK
diving and holidays. Club social nights
www.millenniumdivers.org (61044)
Mole Valley Sub Aqua Club. Surrey based SDI club, own
RIB, active diving UK & Abroad, training and social
events. Trainees/crossovers welcome. Contact: 07552
498558 or email: committee@mvsac.org.uk (53810)
Monastery Dive Club (Dunkerton Branch). New divers
welcome to join our club. Trips to Plymouth and NDAC.
GSOH is a must. South Wales area (Crosskeys, Risca.)
Please text me: Flinty 07971 432803 or email:
welshflinty@hotmail.com (65299)
Nemo Diving Club. Small, friendly dive club offering
dive trips and training for non/experienced divers in
Retford and surrounding areas. Contact:
www.nemodivertraining.co.uk (58113)
North Glos BSAC 80. Friendly, active club welcomes new
and experienced divers. Own boat and equipment with
weekly pool sessions, Thursdays, 8.30pm at GL1
Gloucester, (Gloucester Leisure Centre). www.nglos.co.uk
(54788)
Nuneaton. Marlin BSAC welcomes experienced divers
to Pingles Pool every Thursday. Active training, diving,
social programme in a flourishing club with no politics
allowed. www.marlinsac.com (59144)
Orkney SAC. Small, friendly active dive club, based in
Kirkwall, welcomes divers of any level or club. Own RIB
and compressor. Contact Craig: 07888 690 986 or email:
craigbarclay31@hotmail.com (63155)
Preston Divers SAA 30. The friendliest dive club. Come
and meet us at Fulwood Leisure Centre, Preston on
Monday nights between 8.00pm - 9.00pm.
www.prestondivers.co.uk (64192)
Reading BSAC/TVSAC. Active, friendly dive club, based
in Palmer Park, Reading, with a bar. Own RIBs and
compressor with trips in the UK and abroad. All welcome.
Contact: rbsacinfo@gmail.com Come and join us!
(56194)
Reading Diving Club. Experience the best of UK diving
with a friendly and active club. All welcome. Tel: 01183
216310 or email: info@thedivingclub.co.uk
www.thedivingclub.co.uk (62274)
Richmond (Surrey) SAC welcomes new and experienced
divers to join our active diving, training and social
calendar. Meet Mondays 8.30pm at Pools on the Park,
Richmond. Tel: 07825 166450 (Gemma) or email:
clubmembership@rsac1489.com (67097)
Robin Hood Dive Club. Yorkshire based and one of the
most active in the country with a full 2016 calendar of
trips. All agencies and grades welcome. No training or
pool, just a growing bunch of regular divers.
www.robinhood diveclub.com or find us on Facebook.
(59239)
Rochdale Sub-Aqua Club. Beginners and experienced
divers welcome. Full training provided. Pool session every
Wednesday. Club has two boats. More info at
www.RochdaleDivers.co.uk or call Mick 07951 834 903.
(65097)
Ruislip & Northwood BSAC. Friendly, active club, RIB,
welcomes new and qualified divers. Meets Highgrove Pool
Thursday nights 8.30pm. www.rnbsac.co.uk Tel: 07843
738 646 for details. (62199)
Scotland Plug Divers. Small, friendly dive club welcomes
newly qualified and experienced divers to join us. Regular
hardboat diving around Bass Rock/Firth of Forth/
Eyemouth and trips abroad. Tel George: 07793 018 540.
Email: plugdivers@btinternet.com (64632)
Selby Aquanauts SAA 1117. Family friendly club,
welcomes new and qualified divers. Regular trips UK &
abroad. Meet every Thursday, Albion Vaults, Selby at 9pm.
Contact Mark: 07831 295 655. (60248)
WEBSITES
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www.unidive.co.uk
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CLASSIFIED ADS
Sheffield BSAC36. Friendly, social and active dive club
welcomes newcomers or qualified divers. Trips, socials,
weekly pool and club/pub meetings, club RIB. See
www.bsac36.org.uk (60771)
Slough 491 BSAC; small friendly club welcomes divers
at all levels. Meet at Beechwood School Fridays 19.30.
Diving holidays and South Coast. Email: malcolm@uv.net
or tel: Tony (01344) 884 596. (58385)
SOS Divers (SAA 263), Stourport, Worcestershire.
Founded 1979. Friendly family club welcomes qualified
and trainee divers. Own RIB. Contact Althea by email:
arannie123@outlook.com (57536)
South Coast Divers (SAA 1150) Portsmouth. A friendly
and active club welcomes new and experienced divers
from all agencies. Email: southcoastdivers@hotmail.co.uk
or call Darren: 07449 794 804. (60576)
South Queensferry SAC, near Edinburgh. Two RIBs, gear
for hire. Pool training during the winter; trips &
expeditions in the summer. Pub meeting at Hawes Inn.
Call Warren: 07980 981 380. www.sqsac.co.uk (64855)
Steyning Scuba Club, West Sussex. All divers welcome.
Steyning Pool , Monday evenings at 8.30pm. Contact
Andy Willett on 07786 243 763. www.seaurchin
divers@hotmail.co.uk (63950)
Sutton Coldfield SAC, friendly BSAC club, welcomes all
divers from trainee to advanced. All agencies. Own RIBs
and compressor. Meet every Wednesday, 8.15pm at
Wyndley (3.4m pool). For free try dive call Alan: 07970
573638 or Mark: 07787 106191. (64968)
Swanley Sub-Aqua Club. Friendly, active dive club with
club RIB. Pool sessions Monday 9pm at White Oaks
Leisure Centre, Swanley. PADI training, Open Water to
Rescue Diver for members. Contact Karl: training@
swanleysubaqua.co.uk (55105)
Teddington SAC at Teddington Pool, Wednesdays 21.00.
Training and good social side. Diving near and far. Tel:
07951 064448 or email: deepexplorer@blueyonder.co.uk
(63497)
The Bath Bubble Club SAA777 seeks new members. New
and qualified divers of all agencies welcome. Weekly pool
training, every Wednesday at 9pm, Culverhay Sport
Centre, Rush Hill, Bath. Regular diving programme from
club RIB. www.bathbubbleclubuk.co.uk (53666)
Totnes SAC (Devon). We are an active multi-agency club
and welcome new members and qualified divers from all
organisations. Two RIBs and own compressor/nitrox, plus
club 4WD. We dive all round South Devon and Cornwall.
Visit www.totnes-bsac.co.uk for details. (60696)
Watford Underwater Club BSAC. Family friendly,
approachable, established and fun club. Portland based
7m RIB. Development & training all levels.
www.wuc.org.uk email: info@wuc.org.uk (62023)
Wells Dive Group. Friendly, active club in Somerset
welcomes new or experienced divers. Meeting/training
at The Little Theatre or the pool on Thursdays, try dives
available. Regular RIB diving, trips around the UK and
abroad. Visit: www.wellsdivers.co.uk or Tel: Rob, 07832
141250. (57981)
West Wickham Kent. BSAC 0533. Welcomes new and
qualified divers. Active training and diving. Club RIB at
Brighton Marina. All agencies welcome. Thursday 20.30
- 22.00. Dave 07906 837 744. www.wickhamdiver.co.uk
(62977)
Wiltshire’s premier Scuba Diving Club - the Seahorses.
Friendly active dive club, all affiliations welcome, weekly
pool sessions, trips UK and abroad, RIBs, socials. Training
partner JC Scuba, Swindon, beginners to advanced.
www.seahorsediveclub.co.uk (60454)
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DCD – June 2016.qxp_Centre Directory 05/05/2016 10:48 Page 96

DIVE CENTRE DIRECTORY

FACILITIES BSAC School PADI Training SSI Training TDI Training
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DAN
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INCLUDE:
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ENGLAND KENT MIDDLESEX NORTHERN IRELAND

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Deep Breath-Cox.qxp_Layout 1 03/05/2016 08:19 Page 98
DEEP BREATH
Changing the language
of conservation
Where is the hope? asks PAUL COX,
Managing Director of the Shark
Trust, who reckons ‘scaring people
straight’ is past its sell-by date
T
WO YEARS AGO, I was invited to a
workshop of conservation professionals. Over
two days we discussed the use of negative
messaging in conservation – from the typical shock
tactics seen in prime-time TV spots, to the overriding
“threat and despair” messaging that comes up again
and again in our sector’s communications.
This negativity has a huge impact on the public
and its engagement with conservation – but it’s not
necessarily the impact we hope for.
At that workshop, we committed as a group to
provide an outlet for the positive results of
conservation efforts, and to reach out to the public
with stories of success.
The result was the #oceanoptimism
movement, which has since gained a
huge following on social media.
So does communicating optimism
make any difference? Can it promote
behavioural change and mobilise
action in an effective way?
Marine-conservation NGOs and
charities have been among the worst
offenders for communicating a
general attitude of despair.
We work on the premise that by
raising awareness of the sorry state of
things we can motivate action to
improve the situation, described by
some as “scaring people straight”.
But after years of telling this story,
we’re still all struggling to get our
A bit less doom and a reduction in gloom might
message heard. Perhaps people are
becoming immune to such tactics,
besieged as we are daily with stories of
environmental gloom – from the rising death toll of
sharks, to the destruction of coral reefs and the
impacts of climate change.
POINTING THE FINGER may momentarily shock
and galvanise the concerned, but it doesn’t seem to
inspire those on the margins to take positive action.
There is plenty of evidence to back this up from
the field of psychology. Threat and fear can motivate I have no control. I might be annoyed, but this is far
action but can equally stimulate “defensive”
responses, such as playing down the issue, making it
irrelevant or simply avoiding it in the future.
Research, science and cold, hard facts are still vital, repetition as we adjust to dealing with the fear. In the life on an almost daily basis.
but the narrative can adapt. Despair and misery are
contagious, and can leave potential donors/ fund-
raisers/patrons feeling powerless, thinking that
98
nothing can be done or changed anyway: “How can
I make a difference to such a big problem?”
Numerous studies have been conducted into
compassion fatigue – the feeling that any effort is
pointless. As images of suffering and distress are
broadcast 24/7, we slowly become desensitised.
Many humanitarian charities have changed their
narrative, and we are seeing more appeals to hope
than despair. They have proved that focusing on the
emotional plight of an individual and showing
positive outcomes is more effective than using big
statistics to highlight the scale of an issue.
Perhaps marine conservation needs to adopt
different tactics if we want to motivate action for the
seas. This is even more important when dealing with
an animal as widely recognised (and arguably as
misunderstood) as the shark.
A quick poke around online reveals that many
shark campaigns feature some variation on the
message: “100 million sharks are killed each year,
butchered so that their fins can be used for tasteless
help to improve the prospects for sharks.
soup”. But does this encourage action?
Psychology would throw up a few warnings:
The number: 100 million is such a large number
that it’s unlikely to make us feel that we can make a
difference. At the same time, that figure might make
members of the public who are afraid of sharks even
more concerned about the numbers out there.
The other-ness: We are saying that the problem is beaches to divers following a code of conduct when
primarily caused by another culture, one over which
removed from my life so I can’t affect the outcome.
Novelty value: Fear messaging works best when
the information is new. The impact lessens with
case of the 100 million sharks, it’s possible that the
message is becoming tired.
It’s also a simplistic argument. For the Shark Trust,
the issue with sharks is not fishing per se – it is fishing
at a level that is beyond the capacity of the shark
population to reproduce.
It’s also about waste – catching a shark and using
only a small percentage of its body is wasteful.
So the challenge is not stopping all shark-fishing
and banning shark-fin soup but working with the
fishing industry to switch to sustainable methods
and enabling consumers to make informed choices
about what they buy.
That is the path to true sustainability – a pragmatic
conservation solution that values the eco-system,
economics and culture.
WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING on milestones already
achieved, the impact science and conservation is
having and the importance of public participation,
united in one goal; a collective conservation
endeavour. This message is more powerful, and will
likely have more impact than the rehearsed statistic
of “100 million sharks die every year”.
We need to encourage a change
of mindset, while increasing the
understanding that we are creating
positive change, be it for global shark
populations, or to ensure the future
health of the world’s oceans – things
that can’t be done alone.
However, this is not a one-size-fits-
all solution, and can’t be achieved
overnight. Communication will have
to change depending on who is
being targeted.
We have a range of audiences, from
divers to families to global fisheries, but
hope is still important.
STEVE WEINMAN
Ultimately we want a behaviour
change, and if we continue to hammer
home the idea that there is no chance of
future success, there probably won’t be.
Optimism must be balanced with
reality – one part negative to three parts positive has
been suggested as a good ratio.
Citizen science is a key tool, putting the power
back in the hands of the public while creating a sense
of ownership over a particular issue or project, from
inviting people to submit eggcases found on
interacting with sharks or other marine life.
All marine-conservationists, scientists and
biologists are somewhat guilty of focusing on the
problem rather than the solution – the progress we
are making in understanding and discovering marine
In today’s world hope is one of the most under-
utilised and most important tools – we need it now,
arguably more than ever.
TUSA (Freedom Tri-Quest mask) – 2016.qxp_Full Page Bleed 05/05/2016 11:43 Page 1
Suunto (Vyper Novo) – 05_16.qxp_Suunto 05/05/2016 11:44 Page 1

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