Surface Interval

Scuba Diving Scapa Flow Day 7: swimthrough challenge on the Coln

2011-07-30T12:06:00.003+01:00

Pushing further and further forward, the wreck of the Coln began to envelope us.
The walls, floors and ceilings of her vast structure were all around. Ahead the soft green glow led to our exit.
The wrecks had captured our hearts and minds in the past week. Now the Coln was literally holding us in her embrace.
Junior and myself were on the swim through challenge. First stop the stern.
The entrance was just above the seabed at about 33m, sitting diagonally down from the stern gun and capstan.
We sat there for a moment peering into the gloom until eyes adjusted and we could see the light ahead indicating our exit.
Pushing in and immediately turning right, we were inside the ship. At first, it was hard to assimilate the tangled structure with the inner workings of a ship as everything was sitting at 90 degree angles to where it should be. But as you properly orientated the pipes and suryfaces in your minds eye, it started to take the correct shape. The Holy Grail of this swimthrough was a tiny hatch. It sat low down and below our horizontal bodies and was easy to miss.
Shining torches into the darkness we could make out the emergency manual steering wheel.
Emerging at the wreckage created by the salvors, the race was now on for the second part of the challenge, the bow swimthrough.
Coming up on top of the wreck, the port side hull, we zipped along to preserve as much bottom time as we could.
The entrance to the second swimthrough is tucked on the starboard side of the bow, close to the seabed.
Beyond the entrance, we ascended upwards for a short while before the journey took us inwards and upwards.
Here human activity was apparent with hatchways leading deeper inside At the curved conning tower, we peered inside one at a time in a bid to make out any recognizable features.
We were now on the top line of the ship. Holes in the hull above us or in the deck to our left offered us many ways out. We continued forward until the metal around us gave way to the open sea. Just behind us was a lifeboat davit pointing the way to the shotline and our slow ascent to the surface.
Coming later (when I get to a proper computer): the pics and our final dive before bidding a sad farewell.

Scuba diving Scapa Flow day 7

2011-07-29T20:36:00.001+01:00

It's all over, sadly, and we are going to enjoy a pint for the first time this week.....so blog for today will be posted tomorrow. Some great pics to come. Thanks for being patient.

Scuba Diving Scapa Flow Day 6

2011-07-28T17:41:00.008+01:00

JUTTING from the seabed at 45m, the bow of the SMS Markgraf towered above us like a giant obelisk.

Covered in a small layer of growth, she imposed herself on the seabed, dwarfing the group of divers hanging a short way off the wreck and trying as they might to fit the structure into view.

The bow itself was unusual in itself. Unlike modern warships where the bow splays out from the water's edge, the Markgraf's bow sloped backwards.

Now upside down, it sloped upwards above our heads and would have cast a long shadow had the greenish water not filtered out the bright sunlight on the surface.

The giant ship behind it, quickly disappeared from view, the surrounding water casting a thick veil over the hull as it inched away from us, leaving the bow looking like a giant tower implanted in the sand beneath us.

Its dull greeny-brown appearance - the viz and the depth had taken the vibrant colour from the water around us - did nothing to diminish her majesty.

The shotline had taken us straight down the base of the wreck near the sea bed and Gun Number Five.

Pushing forward with the wreck on our right shoulder we were on the 'Gun Run'. A short distance away as we moved forward along the casement gun deck, we came across the Number Four gun, it's 5.9in barrel pointing towards the bow.

As the beams of our powerful torches followed the barrel of the formidable weapon, now hanging upside down, the shafts of light illuminated the armoured turret protected by a 6.75in thick layer of armour. A few metres above us, the deck arched over our heads and cast us in a dark shadow.

A large chain swept from the seabed, wrapping itself over the upturned hull. A few metres on, sections of the slab-like armour plating were disjointed highlighting the protection these sea-going gun platforms needed.

In the early 1900s the Markgraf dreadnought was at the cutting edge of a modern military fighting machine. But the crew was still using 400-year-old tactics firing broadsides on the enemy in the hope they could inflict more damage that they took.

On 25 per cent Nitrox, we were now tip-toeing close to our no decompression limits as we reached the bow. But that did not stop us from taking a few more moments to soak up - not literally - the awe-inspiring sight.

As our decompression obligations clocked up we slowly ascended over the hull until we had reached the cut-off point that heralded our slow ascent to the surface, interrupted by a series of short deco stops to safely off-gas.

Lunch was Morrocan Lamb Tagine with manly growling cous cous and scones - how cultured and civilised before we returned to depths and back to the Dresden and her cute little arse.

The shotline stopped short of the stern but landed us right above one of the gun turrets.

After the dive, this tantalising little window into another time got us talking about what it must have been to man one of those weapons. Cramped inside the claustrophobic box and shut away from what was happening around them they would have had to suffer the acrid smell of cordite and the deafening boom of the weapons. In the back of their minds they must have known it would become their coffin if the ship took a direct hit.

With the right wreck, a little knowledge and a some imagination can open up history and be a good reminder of the human sacrifices that are made by families when nations collide.

And talking about things colliding, a trail of murk pinpointed the spot where Junior and fin met wreck. He would probably have gotten away with hit but for the eagle eyes of Number One. Thankfully his shout of 'f**king hell' drew our attention to it. Tut tut!

Crawling into a doorway behind the turret we found the Officers' quarters and ticked off the first part of the 'bathtub challenge' as we spotted the enamel side where the senior crew would have soaked themselves.

From the gun turret we moved forward and along the mast to a viewing platform then back to a unique feature on the wreck, the breach of a smaller 88mm gun. Protected by curved plating, this was a precursor to an anti-aircraft weapons that adorned futures ships as they sought protection from 'hellfire from above'.

The conning tower rested on its side on the seabed, where the deck of the Dresden had peeled away but the armour plating behind the viewing slits made if difficult to see inside.

At the bow we turned and headed back over the hull and towards the surface.

Tomorrow: The last day and a return to the Coln and the Brummer.

Scuba Diving Scapa Flow Day 5

2011-07-27T17:04:00.006+01:00

As the SMS Konig powered its way through the waves she would have been a daunting sight.

Face on in battle, the two decks of 12in guns that adorned the ocean-going leviathan would have rightly sent a shiver down the spines of British sailor even though in her only major encounter, the Battle of Jutland, she was battered by her enemy.

Beneath her thick armour skin, there was a hive of human activity needed to power 25,000 ton dreadnought through the choppy seas and keep the guns moving as they belched out fire and death on a grand scale.

Miles of cable and pipework criss-crossed around her insides, taking steam to power her giant turbines or messages between the fighting men around her many decks.

Thanks to the destructive salvage operation, the Konig now sits exposed, like a murder victim on a mortuary slab, her inner workings there to see.

The other battleships, the Markgraf and the Kronprinz Wilhelm, offered an insight into the scale, the Konig a glimpse of the machinery needed to power something so huge through the waves.

Dropping down the shotline that appeared to disappeared into infinity straight down to the wreck some 40m below, we followed the rear of the port side towards the damaged stern and bent rudder.

But it was as the six of us headed shallower over the damaged hull that the wreck came to life.

Amongst the wreck, there was an unnatural shape, unnatural in that it stood out by its perfectly curved structure.

This was part of the Citadel, the giant armoured box of engines that powered the boat. It must have been 12in thick. Beyond were the remnants of the engine machinery and a giant turbine. A perfect circle, where the gun turret mountings were.

The dive ended over the whale-back of the unpturned hull and we fired up our SMBs and made our way slowly to the surface above.

Though she may be broken up and upside down, the dive on her offered an insight into the technical engineering of such a dreadnought.

Dive Two took us to the SMS Brummer and another deep dive.

Thirty metres down the shotline, the concave bow of the wreck lying on its port side slowly started to take shape before our eyes.

She has changed considerably over the years and, recently, the weight of the heavily armoured conning tower has peeled the deck back like the lid of a can on tuna.

Now resting on its roof on the seabed, the conning tower pointed the way to the ornate railings of the bridge. Now twisted and turned, they still looked impressive.

Behind was one of the 5.9in guns that defended the light cruiser.

Eventually, the recognisable structure gave way to the tangled mish-mash of the rear of the ship left behind by the salvors.

Turning back, Junior and I ventured inside a passageway, following the light streaming in through a line of portholes that led our way.

Turning round we made our way back on to the deck, sitting at 90 degrees on the seabed, and hunted for a unique feature on the Brummer, railway tracks.

The ship had an extra deck to other cruisers of her class for her work as an early minesweeper and the railway tracks were used to move the giant spheres into place.

A hatch led the way inside with the railway tracks on the wall - or what should have been the floor - ahead of us. Following the tracks, we completed a short swim through and back onto the starboard side of the hull and headed back to the shotline.

The ascent was slow, after clocking up a bit of deco and then it was back to the boat.

Having dived all seven of the German wrecks, it is hard to say which was our favourite. Each has captured us in a different way. With four dives to go, it is now a challenge to pick the ones we want to return to.

Decisions, decisions.

Scuba Diving Scapa Flow Day 4

2011-07-26T20:03:00.008+01:00

Like a ghostly apparition, she appeared from the grey beneath us.

At first, her details were hard to distinguish as our eyes adjusted to the unnatural shape sitting on the seabed.

Buts as she drew ever closer, her features became more apparent.

Twenty-five metres down, we were on the mighty SMS Markgraf.

Underwater, she appeared otherwordly. In fact, she was.

The Markgraf was built in a different era, when the oceans were a battlefield as nations fought for supremacy of the waves as the world tore itself apart during the Great War.

She was not meant to sit on the bottom, beneath the swirling surface.

But there she lay, down on her deck, providing 21st Century divers a window into history. It's heyday was a time that thankfully we have not had to endure, a time when the world was in turmoil.

As we followed the shoptline ever deeper, the true nature of the dreadnought became apparent. Squeezing between the starboard side of the upturned hull and a mass of wreckage that had fallen to the seabed, Junior and I found Gun Number Five pointing forward. Gun Number Six was close by.

Heading towards the stern - the Markgraf has a "peachy little arse", according to skipper Emily - Number One, Number Two, Junior, Ash, Grumpy (although to be fair he did smile after this dive) and myself were all about the 40m mark.

On EANx25, the clock was ticking and our time on the wreck was short. We only had a few more minutes to take in the structure beyond the gundeck, much of it lost from sight as she smashed into the seabed during her scuttling.

It was the little details that highlighted the real life of this 'ghost of the abyss'; the turrets were gunners rhythmically loaded the cannons to keep up a deadly barrage; the portholes, some with glass still in them, where, in quieter times, a sailor may have gazed out to cast his eyes over the vastness of the ocean.

These were the reminders the once she was a living breathing machine, a hive of human activity.

That is gone now she lies in her watery grave.

The scale of the wreck was hard to fathom. But she imposed herself on the watery surroundings she now finds herself in. To face her in battle would have been daunting. To face her on the ocean floor was awe-inspiring.

Taking a second to gaze up along the hull above us from 40m down, we were left dumbstruck. The Markgraf cast a shadow over the seabed and into our souls. We dived this for pleasure, but this was a 'destroyer of worlds', a purveyor of doom in its time.

At the stern, Junior and I moved off the wreck to glance back at her size, the hull disappearing off into the distance as the 15m viz of the surrounding sea took her from view, much the same way as it did in 1919.

Moving back over the upturned hull, I clicked into deco. At the 32ish-metre mark, we found blast damage where salvors had gone hunting for the valuable metal of the engines and torpedo tubes.

Thankfully they had exposed the ships innards like some haphazard surgeon, so we could see the giant prop shafts that should have been hidden beneath the armour coating. You had to really open up your hand to wrap fingers around the layers of steel.

Number One and Number Two were a little way back as Trev had taken a detour over the wreckage that spewed over the seabed.

We followed the hull stabilisers running along the length of her hull back towards the shotline. Our short time in the company of the Markgraf was up and we made a slow ascent to the surface. We may have shared only a few treasured minutes with her, the Markgraf left her mark and bewitched the six of all. Having taken us in her grasp she ensured that we would all be lured back to her one day (maybe next year).

After a lunch of French Onion soup, we headed to Burra Sound for dive two.

And the Tabarka couldn't be more different.

Sitting in about 12m worth of water, she was one of the blockships, sunk to keep at bay the Wolfpack of the enemy U-boats that preyed on the British Fleet at anchor.

Dropping off the dive deck of the Radiant Queen like lemmings, no air in our wings, we descended as the current swept us to her. Or in my case onto her as I hit the hull and bounced over to the lee side.

From the shelter of the hull, we headed inside, Junior leading the way as we swam, crawled and pulled our way through the twisty-turny gaps that took us from the broken bow and into her chasm-like innards.

Some of the openings required a deep breath in (deeper for some, ay Jono) while others needed a bit of wiggling, as Junior found out when he ended up on his back after squeezing through a triangle-shaped gap above the engines.

The current didn't let up and inside offered very little shelter as the water surged through any opening to buffet us in the stirring water that surrounded us.

It is fair to say the cylinders took a few knocks as we followed the underwater maze around the wreck.

As we emerged back onto the outside, we decided to end the dive with a bit of a drift.

Although Number One and Junior may have felt it a bit more than the rest as the lines of their reels were pulled diagonally as they spooled out with the surface current taking their SMBs.

Fifteen minutes later, after bumping into another wreck, our Superman flight ended as the current ebbed.

There was, however, still time for one unnamed diver to 'mount' Junior. After the spanking he got from skipper Emily earlier, he must be getting used to being everyone's bitch by now.

Tomorrow: The Konig and The Brummer.

Scuba Diving Scapa Flow Day 3

2011-07-25T18:29:00.012+01:00

"Guns, I need guns."

Well the Konig-Class battleship SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm has enough to keep Neo happy in his fight in the Matrix.

And chief among them are the ten massive 12-inch cannons in the five gun turrets that bristled the deck of the heavily armoured dreadnought.

Despite the weaponry, she saw battle only once, in the Battle of Jutland when she kept up the devastating shelling of the British fleet. One can imagine the ear-splitting boom and the clouds of acrid smelling cordite as the gunners fought time and fatigue to keep up the barrage of deathly shelling.

Thankfully, some of those impressive armaments are still visible, even though the ship turned turtle as she sank to the bottom in about 37m of water when the crew scuttled her in a final act of defiance against the Allied forces.

The shotline takes you down to the the bottom of the hull, on the port side, a third of the way from the upturned stern - or pert little arse, as Emily would describe it, at about 22m. From there, we crested the armour plated hull and followed her down to the seabed, the wreck casting a gloomy shadow over our watery path into the darkness.

At about 30m, as our eyes became adjusted to the low light, we were presented with what looked like an overhang. But as the bright beams of our torch danced across the ceiling - or what should have been the gundeck when she plied the seas - our eyes caught sight of the first guns, two 5.9in weapons, one pointing sternwards.

But the best was yet to come - two of the 12-in gun turrets. As massive as the turrets looked underwater, it must have been cramped, deafening and dirty for the gunners keeping up with the action. Lying almost on top of each other, their massive barrels protruded outwards, their stepped armour giving an appearance that they were telescopic.

The second of the two disappeared into the gloom, but shining our torches ahead of us we pressed forward into the every narrowing passageway to follow the barrel along the ceiling.

After retracing out steps, we were back outside the wreck and heading towards her 'pert-little arse' at about 35m-ish. For such a huge battleship, it was tiny.

Ascending over the upturned hull, we moved forward past the two giant rudders. I was anticipating this would be the least interesting part of the dive - I don't want to dive on an upturned bathtub, I may have been heard to say as we planned the trip - but it actually provided a wealth of interest.

At one point we could see three different thicknesses of armour plating, from the 12in at and below the water line to the thinner cover on the upper decks. We also came across parallel rows of metal sitting across the wreck, these were the fixing supports for the heavy armour and are not seen anywhere else.

As we neared 50-odd minutes were made our way slowly to the surface.

Dive two was on the Dresden, another of the lightcruisers and the only one sitting on her port side. She lists over more than others so it took a bit of time to get orientated as we dived the forward section, as he deck is slowly peeling away from her body, like a partly opened can of tuna, to expose her innards.

Who said Junior's an anchor?Number One, Number Two, Junior and myself decided to take a slight detour and we followed her anchor from the deck hawse and she stretched across the sandy seabed for a hundred or so yards.

That seen we headed back to the magnificent bow, festooned with a carpet of marine growth, including the beautifully bright plumrose anemones and white deadman's fingers. For those interested in their feeding habits, spending a few minutes simply watching them pulsate in the gentle current is an eye-opener.

With our no-decompression limits approaching, we headed towards the shallower part of the deck before making an ascent to the surface, Number One showing us the right way.

Jono and Ash, meanwhile, had headed back along to wreck to take in her conning tower and bridge. The control tower itself is resting on the seabed, blocking the tiny hatch inside. Peering through the letterbox sized viewing slits in the armour plating, the brassing dials and fittings are still visible.

The pair also saw the 5.9in gun resting close to the bottom and the giant lifeboat davits that curved round to rest on the seabed below. With their computers indicating they were approaching no-deco limits, they returned and made their way safely to the surface.

Viz was about 8m, temperature about 12degrees and only slight current on both wrecks.

Tomorrow: The Mighty Markgraf

Catch points, what catch points?

scuba diving Scapa Flow day 2 more pics

2011-07-24T21:42:00.002+01:00

Scuba diving Scapa Flow day 2

2011-07-24T18:39:00.009+01:00

The fierce hiss of the cold water of Scapa Flow roaring into the ballast tanks of the Coln lightcruiser would have been deafening.

In a final act of defiance, the German crew were putting into action 'Paragraph 11'. Each member of the skeleton crew were doing their bit to scuttle the ship.

It had been a miserable and cold seven months interned in the Orkney Isles as the politicians dithered over the spoils of war following the declaration of peace in November 1918.

But as the sailors raced around the ship opening the valves that would fill the ship with water and take her to the sea bed some 35m below, the spirits would have been warmed.

Thanfkfully, their defence of the Motherland and two-fingered salute to the political windbags has left us one of the world's best shipwrecks.

The full scale of the oln slowly emerged from the green-tinged water as we descended the shotline to her port side at about 17m. The line from the surface is tied off close to one of the lifeboat davits about two thirds from the bow.

Following their arch-like shape, we headed deeper along her deck, sitting at a 90-degree angle from the sandy bottom.

With the wreck on our right shoulder, the six of us headed forward towards the bridge. Now just a skeleton framework, the bridge's soft steel outer has rotted away and, where she should be linked to the conning tower is now a twist of metal.

Initially, I missed the importance of the lump of metal sitting isolated from the bridge, until I recognised the range finder sitting on top of the armour-clad control tower with the ring of narrow letterbox-sized viewing slits. From here the crew were have operated her 5.9in guns that have long since disappeared from the wreck.

Continuing foward we passed the anchor chain capstans, the holes for the crew to manually turn the winch in the event of mechanical failure still visible.

Drifting off the wreck at the bow and looking back, the wreck looked immense, the deck disappearing ghostlike into the distance in one direction and the straight lines of her bow in the other. Her body was covered in a layer of marine growth with colourful plumrose anenomes and bright deadman's fingers scattered across he skin.

Most of the dive had been spent in that 30m region so we headed shallower and headed back along her portside, poking into the surface damaged by deterioration and salvage. Part way along, we can across the fixing for the armoury that looked like a three tiered wedding cake with a nipple on top (words of Emily, our skipper, not mine).

Sadly, we were soon at the limits of our EANx30 and had to ascent back to the surface. A massive shoal of fish, (fishy-shit, according to wreck-loving Emily) schooled around the davits as it to give us a sent-off.

We had only scratched the surface of the immense cruiser.

After lunch and another chat with Emily (her briefing are as in-depth as you could hope, and such are the directions, you can't fail to spot all the features) we headed to the second dive of the day, The Karlsruhe.

Sitting in about 26m, the years and the salvors have not been kind to her. Parts of the deck at her bow have slipped towards the seabed, leaving much of her innards exposed. It means that the anchor capstans can be seen through the wreckage to a platform and hydraulics that should sit two decks down.

The great thing about the Karlsruhe is that her guns are still there. One sits about seven metres below the shotline, lying on the seabed. Her barrel was impressive, but the loading breach of the gun, that is usually hidden away within the turret, looked huge.

We headed towards the stern past a lot of twisted metal at the damaged midships trashed by salvors. Jono and Ash found a smim through and disappeared inside her body while Andy, myself, Number One and Number Two, headed through the wreckage, past another gun (this one with her barrel inbeded in the sand) and onto her hull.

While the bottom of the ship might not sound that fascinating, it provided some of her best features. The hudge rudder lay on the sandy bottom just behind the giant A-frames that jutted from her bottom. Support for the giant propellors that powered her through the oceans, the frame was covered in vibrant coloured marine growth - or hairy, as Emily called it - they were instantly recognisable as a unique feature to the cruiser.

At the rear of the ship her teak decking is still intact, although for how much longer remains to be seen. There was a small capstan on the rear that looked stunning. However, it is feared that the ravages of time and the sea will take her to the seabed as well.

Fifty-five minutes later it was time to head back to the surface and a well-earned pint mug of tea. Yep a pint mug. During the post-dive chat, Rich, sorry Number One reminded us that the wreck was no deeper than Dosthill. The quarry will never be same again!

We would all agree that today presented us with two of the best dives we have done and we could spend days on them both, getting to know their intimate secrets that have been hidden beneath the waves for 90-odd years.

Visibility was about 10m, and water was about 13 degrees. Current was non-existent on the Koln and only slight on the Karslruhe as it pushed us towards the stern. While the wind was Force 4s and 5s, because they were north-westerlies, the surface was choppy but happily devoid of too much swell.

Tomorrow: The first of the giant battleships.

Scuba diving Scapa Flow day 1

2011-07-23T14:19:00.001+01:00

Well, we are here finally.

Kit is set up on the boat, Radiant Queen, cylinders are filled and we are thinking of the Koln for first dive of the week.

As long as the British weather doesn't play its lousy hand.

Apparently, 'the swells we had on the mv hamnavoe are 'flat calm for scapa and the hardy souls on the orkney islands will be sunbathing on the beach', so hopefully the northerly winds don't deal us a written hand.

The boat is spacious and the dive lodge is more luxurious than you could imagine for a dive operation.

Emily the skipper has already got Junior's number.

Fish and chips for tea tonight, then an early night.

I just hope when I get on the boat tomorrow I remembered where I packed my thermals!

My Surface Interval found scuba diving was a winner with the ladies

2011-05-12T15:10:00.000+01:00

Came across this old black and white picture and it made me smile. If we are all honest, we've all tried to use our scuba diving antics to impress women!

Historic Swash Channel Shipwreck in danger of disappearing

2011-05-10T19:57:00.003+01:00

A HISTORIC shipwreck buried off the coast of Dorset for more than 400 years and described as the "biggest discovery since the Mary Rose" is now in danger of rotting away.

The remains of the ship, known simply as the Swash Channel Wreck, were preserved for centuries under the seabed in six metres of water off the Dorset coast.

But now its ornately carved timbers, the earliest still in existence in Britain, are being eaten away.

The sand that protected it has been shifted by changing currents and tides, leaving the 40m vessel's timbers exposed to bacteria and the tunnelling of aquatic shipworms.

David Payton, senior lecturer in marine archaeology at the university, told the Independent on Sunday: "The damage there has increased dramatically since we first started studying it. It's a race – you've only got a certain amount of time before it's too late and there's no point.

"It's been buried until now, but in the last four or five years it's become exposed. The longer the wreck is exposed, the more damaged it will be. If nothing were done within the next five years there'd be nothing left."

Tests on the timbers and artefacts trace the ship's history back to Europe in the early 1600s, where it was probably engaged in the beginnings of international trade with the Far East.

Dating evident recovered includes Rhenish stoneware dated to around 1600 – 1620 and Dendrochronological work undertaken by Nigel Naying of Lampeter University has provided a felling date for a single timber of post 1585.

The evidence to date suggest a that the wreck is of a relatively, for the period, high status ship.

It has been suggested that re-burying the wreck would help to preserve it, but as this is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country, that could prove difficult. The only option left would be to raise some of it to go on show in a museum. But that is expensive and time consuming. It has taken years to treated the timbers of the Mary Rose to get them to a point where they could go on show.

The latest efforts to preserve the wreck will be featured in an episode of Paul Rose's new BBC2 series Britain's Secret Seas.

Alex Mustard dives between tectonic plates

2011-05-10T19:39:00.002+01:00

How's this for an awe inspiring image?
yep, renowned underwater photographer Alex Mustard has captured the amazing beauty beneath the surface of the crystal clear waters in Iceland.

But perhaps more amazing than the spectacular image is that this actually shows the split between the American and Eurasian tectonic plates, a growing gap that is slowly inching apart each year.

On his website, the photographer said he was "heading to Iceland for a 12 day diving trip, mainly around the remote north coast"for an itinerary that was "very exciting".

"And even if only half our plans work out I should come back with some very exciting images," he wrote.

Well that is an understatement. Check out his Facebook page for some more fantastic images.

Diver dies during visit to wreck of German U-boat

2011-03-29T09:10:00.002+01:00

An 'inspirational' veteran diver has died after getting into difficulty during a deep dive near the wreck of a World War Two German U-boat, reports the Daily Mail.

Roger Dadds had completed more than 4,000 dives at home and abroad but disaster struck off the coast of South Devon on Saturday.

Coastguards were told that Mr Dadds had 'shot back up like cork' and had reached the surface 'feet first' and unconscious.

The 66-year-old, from Plymouth, was among five others taking part in a trip with the British Sub-Aqua Club to dive near wreck of U-boat U1063, which was sunk six miles south of Salcombe in April 1945.

Diving with a twinset: first thoughts

2011-03-23T23:42:00.003Z

Just back from the pool and my first play with the new twinset and I wanted to share my first thoughts about the experience.

Firstly, big thanks go to Mark Dean and Vinni Howlett at Aquasport International for their help in correctly setting up the unit so I could correctly route the hoses and get everything balanced, and for recommending heavy-duty the Scubapro gauge and a Miflex drysuit hose to finish off the system.

Now what I have learned.

i/ I couldn't drop as much weight off the belt as I thought. I guessed that the weight of the extra cylinder would more than replace the lead around my waist, but it was suggested that I drop a few kilos and work my way from there. While carrying no extra weight is a possibility, it makes things difficult doing skills such as kit replacement.

ii/ With a dual bladder, don't forget to empty them both after first setting them up. While only one is used during the di (the other is for redundancy) make sure it is empty before jumping in the water. I forgot and, rather embarrassingly, couldn't leave the surface at first and ended up with my ass in the air.

iii/With single tank diving, we typically use our drysuit for buoyancy underwater, but with twins it is the wing that is the buoyancy compensator. It actually made diving a little more like warm water wetsuit diving and feels easier.

iv/ With single tank diving I find tilting my shoulders helps me glide around the water like an aeroplane. With twins, tilting shifted the weight too much and had the tendency to throw me off balance. Helicopter turns are the only way to go.

v/I'm going to have backache tomorrow - not from carrying the twins around but from having to reach behind to isolate the valves as part of a shutdown drill. More stretching needed. Getting to them wasn't as difficult at first but it does require the flexibility of someone who can stuff themselves into an empty jar for a party trick.

vi/ Remember which way is off for the isolator valve. I forgot and couldn't remember whether i had turned it off or on.

I just need to fiddle with the straps to get it to sit a little All in all, it was good fun. Now for open water practice.

Algae bloom discovered in English Channel

2011-03-22T08:27:00.004Z

LOOKS like the viz is going to be shot on the south coast for the time being after Plymouth Marine Laboratory scientists have detected two large algal blooms; one off the coast of Ireland and the other closer to home covering an area from the Lizard, in Cornwall, to Salcombe, in Devon.

The unusual bloom, which is likely to discolour the sea, consists of vast numbers of a harmless microscopic plant called Skeletonema, that all but disappeared from Plymouth Sound for many years and poses no threat.

“Skeletonema is a beautiful microscopic plant that given the right conditions reproduces rapidly to cover large areas of coastal seas”, says PML’s Earth Observation scientist, Dr Peter Miller.

“Over the winter nutrients have built up in the sea and the windy weather we have experienced recently has stirred them up to the surface. Combined with the now calmer conditions and bright sunny days everything slotted into place to enable this plant to reproduce and form a large bloom.”

Claire Widdicombe, a plankton ecologist also at PML added: “What is interesting is the timing of the bloom,we would normally expect the spring bloom to be a few weeks later than this, although there is some variation and it all depends on being in the right place at the right time. A further point of interest is that this species all but disappeared from Plymouth Sound for many years and its early appearance this year is all the more unusual."

Twinset technical diving

2011-03-21T21:33:00.007Z

The twins are here!

No, not those kind (Ben, you know who you are and I refuse to follow your sleazy lead).

I meant this kind. Twin cylinders for deeper and longer - technical - diving.

After three months of planning, saving and negotiating, I saw the final piece of the jigsaw, the cylinders, arrive at the weekend.

Smiling like a kid at Christmas, I spent all Sunday putting the unit together.

Okay, its together of a fashion and Aquasport technical diving guru Mark Dean Will have to give it the once over to make sure it is shipshape, but I am so excited.

So what do we have?

Starting with the cylinders, they are twin Faber 12lt banded together with an MDE manifold. The wing is a Hollis dual bladder bungeed air cell (okay some techie divers will no doubt be rolling their eyes at both the brand and the bungee but they are pros and cons to both), with a Hollis steel backplate and Hollis switchback harness. Both sets of regs are Poseidon Xstream Deep first and second stages.

Well, the system needs a few tweaks to the its assembly to stop one of the bolts digging into my back. And I need a long hose for one of the regs and an SPG. I'm still debating whether to get a backplate pad for comfort despite the suggestion it was a bit girlie.

Now all I need to do is add water.

So to the pool this Wednesday it is to get comfortable and tweak the straps for comfort. Then it is to Dosthill at the weekend with two techie regulars for a proper blast.

And why a twinset. Having certed as an instructor last year, and working throughout the summer and winter (yes, I was teaching in January in 5C of water!) I decided that I needed to keep a slice of UK diving for myself and this is it.

There is also the small trip to Scapa Flow later this summer. More on that later.

Divers try to save rare Vietnam sea turtle

2011-03-09T17:23:00.006Z

Veterinary experts in Vietnam are trying to save a sick giant turtle widely regarded as a national treasure, the BBC reports.

The giant reptile, considered a symbol of the country's struggle for independence, has recently been spotted with open sores on its legs and neck.

The attempt to treat the animal is made more urgent as it is one of the world's most endangered turtle species. It is thought to be one of only four left in the world. One inhabits another Vietnamese lake and two others are in a Chinese zoo.

The revered status of the turtles dates back to the mid-15th century and the reign of Emperor Ly Thai To (King Le Loi) who defeated an invading Chinese army with a magical sword reputedly given to him by the gods.

The day after his victory legend has it that at a lake in Hanoi he came upon a giant golden turtle swimming on the surface while boating on its waters. The creature snatched the sword and swam off into the depths, restoring it to its divine owners.

Sharks have inbuilt mental sat navs

2011-03-02T08:14:00.003Z

Some shark species have inbuilt sat nav systems and make "mental maps" of their home ranges, allowing them to pin-point destinations up to 50km (30 miles) away, research suggests.

BBC environment correspondent Richard Black writes that data from tagged tiger sharksfound they took directed paths from place to place while other species such as blacktip reef sharks did not.

Researchers suggest this shows a capacity to store maps of key sites. It is further evidence that the great fish can navigate, possibly using the Earth's magnetic field.

Divers raise cannons belonging to pirate Henry Morgan

2011-03-01T15:50:00.006Z

DIVERS have revealed they have recovered six historic cannons thought to have belonged to bloodthirsty pirate Henry Morgan.

The cannons were found in shallow waters surrounding Lajas Reef at the mouth of the Chagres River in Panama, where infamous privateer Captain Henry Morgan’s ships wrecked in 1671 while carrying Morgan and his men to raid Panama City.

The discovery provides the first tangible archaeological link to the activities of Morgan in Panama, whose raid led to the destruction of Panama City.

Amazingly, archaeologists have yet to find any direct evidence of Morgan’s men at the ruins of Panama Viejo, the city destroyed during Morgan’s raid, and have only uncovered one faint trace of the fire that devastated the old city in 1671.

The six iron cannons recovered from the reef are now undergoing study and preservation treatment by Panamanian researchers in cooperation with a team that has been studying the Chagres River with the permission of Panama’s Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INAC).

Raul Castro Zachrisson, Secretary General of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura said, “I am honored to be a part of this important historical find and look forward to a continuous working relationship with all the institutions and professionals involved in the conservation of our sub aquatic cultural and natural resources.”

Since 2008, an underwater archaeology team led by archaeologists James Delgado, Frederick Hanselmann, and Dominique Rissolo has surveyed, mapped, and documented submerged sites, shipwrecks, and the 500-years of maritime history that rests along the banks of the Rio Chagres.

The team announced the recovery of the cannons from a shallow reef damaged by treasure hunters, whose blasting and dredging had exposed the fragile iron cannons to possible damage and loss.

The size and shape of the cannons appear to be a close match with the characteristics of small iron cannon of the Seventeenth Century; a more definitive identification of the cannons will take place after they are treated and years of encrustation and corrosion are removed in the laboratory.

Frederick Hanselmann, Research Professor with the River Systems Institute and Center for Archaeological Studies atTexas State University said: “Very little is known archaeologically about English privateers, especially in regards to their activity in Panama. This represents a unique opportunity to fill in a gap in our knowledge of some very exciting and controversial human activity of that time period.”

Prior to plundering and burning the original site of Panama City in 1671, Morgan sent an advance party of 470 men in three ships with the task of storming the Spanish fort on the cliff overlooking the entrance to the Chagres River, the Castillo de San Lorenzo el Real de Chagres.

Five days after the capture, Morgan in his flagship Satisfaction and the rest of his privateer fleet arrived at the fort to find the British flag flying. The cheers from those on the cliff and those on board the ships soon turned to horror as Satisfaction ran head on into Lajas Reef, which lay in the path of the river covered by a mere few feet of water.

Three to four more ships followed the Morgan onto the reef. The ships were shattered and none was recovered. Morgan and his men paddled upriver and walked overland and finally sacked Panama City, returning to the Caribbean from the same route, abandoning the shipwrecks in their wake.

Coordinated by the Waitt Institute, a non-profit research organization based in La Jolla, California, which supports exploration, and in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INAC), the results from the first-ever archaeological survey of the submerged cultural resources at the mouth of the Chagres River in 2008 yielded a vast array of archaeological artifacts from more than 500 years of maritime activity at the mouth of the river, including the cannons.

“The Rio Chagres was in many ways the original Panama Canal,” said Dr. James Delgado, past president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and now the Director of Maritime Heritage for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"For five centuries, following in the wake of Panama’s indigenous peoples, Spanish explorers, English freebooters, traders, gold seeking Yankees enroute to California, soldiers and citizens have used the river as a highway that nearly crosses the isthmus. As these cannons demonstrate, those centuries of human activity have left a tangible trace in the archaeological record which is an important part of Panama’s cultural patrimony as being of international significance and interest.”

Dr. Dominique Rissolo, Executive Director of the Waitt Institute, which supported the project, added: "Panama’s maritime heritage is among the richest and most fascinating in all of the Americas, yet it has long been threatened by ‘modern-day Morgans’ in search of sunken treasures and trinkets."

Google nautical theme in honour of Jules Verne

2011-02-08T10:01:00.004Z

Google is celebrating the 183rd birthday of science fiction author Jules Verne with a special interactive Google doodle.
The search engine has paid tribute to the writer's undersea novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea with the doodle that appears at the top of the screen when you open up the search engine website.
The doodle features an ocean scene viewed through the portholes of a submarine.

Moving the joystick on the right hand-side of the logo changes the view through the submarine windows to include different views of marine life.
Verne wrote about space, air and underwater travel before air travel or practical submarines had been invented, and is thought to be the third most translated author in the world.

My Surface Interval voted 'Top Blog'

2011-01-07T19:18:00.003Z

The New Year started with some great news for My Surface Interval - we've been voted one of the world's top scubas diving blog.

The blog was handpicked by the Guide to Online Schools after they scoured the tinterweb for the sites that covered the sport.

Their verdict? "Surface Interval is what this diver does when he’s not underwater—he blogs. Other scuba enthusiasts will love this blog for its frequent news updates and reports from this divers experiences underwater."

Not bad for something run from the back bedroom in between the real job and diving.

Guide to Online Schools

Scuba Diving Blogs

Here are the thoughts on some other sites they recommend:

Channel Islands Scuba is all about diving in the Channel Islands, but is also the best representation of scuba diving blogs.

Why We Love It: This site is literally jam-packed with information about diving, photos, advice, and news. This site is worth reading every day, because you will learn something about diving, be inspired, or be simply amazed.

Kona Scuba Diving is a blog by Steve, a diver and dive shop owner in Kona, Hawai'i.

Why We Love It: Hawai'i has some of the best and most easily accessible diving in the world. This blog can bring it even closer to home with the great posts and lovely photos.

Neutral Buoyancy is the blog of a diver and traveler from the Pacific Northwest.

Why We Love It: Brian loves to scuba dive, and often travels just to dive and take the photos he posts on his blog. Each diving post is full of information and photos that other divers can use. He also sprinkles his own random musings in the blog, which makes for a great read.

Oceanic Dreams caters to the dreams of many divers—swimming with sharks.

Why We Love It: Swimming with sharks can be exhilarating—and terrifying. Live vicariously through this blog, which specializes in photos and news articles about sharks, how to dive with them, where to go, and what not to do.

Optical Ocean comes from Jack Connick, a diver and underwater photographer.

Why We Love It: Jack Connick is a great photographer, and isn’t stingy about posting his photos on the blog. If you’re interested in underwater photography—professionally or just to better document your vacations—his site is worth reading for advice about gear and taking photos in general.

Sea Turtles migrate thousands of miles across the Atlantic

2011-01-05T22:20:00.002Z

THEY are one of the top sights underway and new scientists have discovered a way of maximising chances of seeing them - diving close to the major currents that rip across the Atlantic.

Researches tagged 25 loggerhead turtles to discover their movements and data from tags on their backs show they swim thousands of kilometres each year.

These journeys take them through areas where they are at high risk of being caught accidentally by fishing boats.

The leatherback is the world's biggest turtle and listed as Critically Endangered, largely because of poaching for eggs and snaring in fishing gear.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, an international group of researchers found nesting sites increased in number the closer to the Gulf Stream System (GSS) that traverses the Atlantic, the ocean current to which hatchlings in this region migrate.

The South Atlantic leatherbacks adopted three different patterns. Some swam west and remained in the tropical Atlantic waters. A second group swam south-west until they reached the coast of South America, and foraged in shallow waters there; while the remainder moved southwards down the western coast of Africa.

It is thought that young turtles require the currents to sweep them from their nesting sites, hence why mothers choose to lay their eggs on beaches closer to the current system.

Scientists hope the study will go some way towards protecting the turtles who are at risk from being trapped by long line fishing practices or gillnets.

Matthew Witt from Exeter University, the study's lead author, told the BBC: "The reason for doing the project is to understand the turtles' movements, but the context is that the Pacific population recently went through a huge decline.

"Part of the reason for that is interaction with fisheries - so it seemed very pertinent to get a better understanding of what the South Atlantic leatherbacks are up to."

Nine new dive sites for Red Sea

2010-12-28T15:43:00.001Z

So, the end of the year was not a happy one for parts of the Red Sea and our thoughts remain with the families of those injured and killed in the shark attacks.

Sadly, it would appear that sharks are now fair game in the region.

Despite calls for there not to be a cull, a number have been plucked from the waters.

However, the authorities are claiming there is no licence to kill - it's just unfortunate a number of sharks have died after being caught. Oh, that's okay then.

But on to some other Red Sea news........

Nine new dive sites are to be opened in the Ras Mohammed national park to ease the pressure on local dive sites that are being deluged by divers.
But it could mean the closure of popular easy sites such as Ras Katy and Near Garden. For many new divers to the Red Sea, these two sites may have been their first sight of the wonders of the Red Sea.
But it also means that they are suffering from overuse.
As the port of Sharm El Sheikh has grown into a major tourist destination, making it easier than ever for divers to experience the delights, it also threatens to be its downfall.
However, such a spectacular growth also carries sensitive environmental challenges.
It is an unpalatable fact that the biggest threat to the area is the very group who love it so much. Yep, that’s us divers.

Experienced Red Sea guide and Instructor Francesco Germi said more thought needed to be put into how the environment was used.
It is clear that natural resources are finite and cannot resist unlimited use.
He argued that there is a limit – a ‘carrying capacity’ for human use – which has to be embraced to ensure that natural resources are not destroyed.
In an article in Blue magazine, he wrote: “Many observers and industry experts already point to the deterioration of the environment in South Sinai, and in particular the coral reef system and marine life, as the single largest threat to the long run growth of tourism.
“The marine ecosystems have a limited carrying capacity, and there are indications that this carrying capacity has been exceeded, exhibited by a deterioration and loss of coral habitat due to: (1) marine pollution from raw sewage discharge from boats; (2) coastal development and construction; and (3) tourist related activities themselves (diving, snorkelling and boating).
“How much each is a contributing factor is not clear, nor is the degree of deterioration over time.”
With tourism representing Egypt’s biggest earner, he said it it would be prudent to make every effort to mitigate the causes of coral reef deterioration,
in other words to protect ‘the goose that lays the golden egg’.
Coral reefs are not able to support an indefinite amount of recreational use.
The damage inflicted by divers or snorkelers consists mostly of breaking fragile, branched corals or causing lesions to massive corals.
He wrote: “Research indicates that reef communities can tolerate a certain level of degradation before irreversible changes in ecological structure occur.
“The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recommends a sustainable carrying capacity of 5,000 to 6,000 dives per site per year as a general principle. However, recent research by the National Parks of Egypt showed that some sites in the Sharm el Sheikh area were receiving up to 60,000 dives per year, with an
average of 15,000 dives per year across all sites in the area.
“In order to address this bottleneck, a realistic strategy is needed to plan the development and management of recreational reef use. It is clear that the current number of divers and snorkelers per site cannot be increased without incurring ecological degradation.”

Maybe the only answer is to see the rotating closure of popular dive sites to help relieve the pressure on them and that is something we as divers should encourage if we want this wonderful natural resource to remain.
Which brings us back to the new dive sites.
Francesco was involved in the three day survey in a stretch of coast between the Travco marina and Marsa Ghozlani. The sites are perfect for training or introductory dives with sandy bottoms peppered with coral pinnacles.
And the team recorded a wealth of marine life, including eagle rays, morays, blue-spotted stingrays and barracuda.
So if in the future your favourite dive sites are closed, don’t moan. It is for all of our goods in the future.

Latest on shark attacks in Sharm el Sheikh

2010-12-10T08:05:00.005Z

THE experts called in to examine the Jaws-like drama in Sharm el Sheikh have suggested two sharks were involved in the attacks, according to the CDWS.

In a statement, the organisation said scientists had indicated that their findings, up to now, suggest one oceanic whitetip shark and one mako shark were responsible.

And they have suggested four factors which may have contributed to the behavioural change in sharks involved in attacks. They include the following:

*One or more incidents of illegal dumping of animal carcasses in nearby waters

*Depletion of natural prey in the area caused by overfishing

*Localised feeding of reef fish and/or sharks by swimmers, snorkellers and some divers

*Unusually high water temperatures in Sharm el Sheikh

The statement continued: "The three international shark experts are continuing to work with authorities in Egypt to determine the causal factors involved in the spate of shark attacks in Sharm el Sheikh.

"The team is progressing with its scientific research and is verifying available data, as well as evidence gathered through eye witness reports from people both in the water and at the shore at the time of each of the five attacks on snorkellers.

"CDWS would like to make it clear these are NOT the final conclusions, and that the investigation is still ongoing. The CDWS would also like to underline that it has NOT been, or will be, involved in any shark hunts.

"The scientific work is currently in phase one: the diagnostic phase. Once this is complete, phase two will involve the exploration of options to deal with the factors of the diagnostic phase. The third phase will be the implementation of chosen options. Phase four will cover the long-term measures that will be taken."

Is this the killer shark?

2010-12-07T08:55:00.002Z

The BBC has broadcast an image of what is believed to be the oceanic whitetip shark behind the attacks in Sharm El Sheikh.

Diving operations in some parts of the area were starting today as the authorities continued the hunt for the shark.

Now there has been a lot of comparisons between this episode and the move Jaws and it's fair to say the similarities are pretty amazing but before the powers that be get Flint in to start pulling out sharks from the sea lets get things in a little bit of perspective.

Yes it has been without doubt tragic for the victims and their families and ones thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

But we have to accept that the shark has been attracted to the area by man, whether it be over-fishing or the dumping of dead animal carcasses from a cargo ship.

More than 70 million sharks a year are killed by humans and they are an essential part of the marine ecosystem so I hope we don't see the authorities landing dozens of sharks just to appease the tourist industry. We have to remember the devastation we are doing to the underwater world.

The BBC has a good piece on the attacks here.

In it David Jacoby, who specialises in shark behavioural ecology at The Marine Biological Association of the UK, agreed that if animal carcasses had been dumped, it was likely to be a significant factor in the sharks' behaviour.

"Pelagic, or oceanic, species of shark often feed opportunistically because the open ocean can be a sparse environment for food," he said.

"Both species [white tips and makos caught last week] rarely encounter people as they spend large amounts of their time in blue water - open ocean."

Oceanic whitetips are a Red Sea species but are not normally seen in Sharm. Instead they are typically found in the southern Red Sea. And this time of year, the northern Red Sea has been emptied of its pelagics as they head south for warmer waters.

Ian Fergusson, a shark biologist and patron of the Shark Trust, a UK conservation organisation, said it was very rare for shortfin makos to be found in the Red Sea - and exceptionally rare to find them close to shore.

Shark Experts called in over attacks in Sharm

2010-12-06T15:01:00.002Z

Three shark experts from the US are flying to Sharm el-Sheikh where a tourist has died and four others were badly injured in attacks during the last week.

The majority of areas in Sharm el Sheikh will be open to diving activities for the Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) members and their clients tomorrow (7 December), but all snorkel activities and other watersports remain suspended in the whole of the Sharm el Sheikh coastal area.

Qualified divers with a minimum 50 logged dives were permitted to dive in Tiran and all sites south of Naama Bay but diving remained suspended in the area between Ras Nasrani to the north of Naama Bay where the Ras Mohammed National Park teams are currently working.

In a statement the CDWS said: "Following discussions with sharks experts and a series of exploratory dives, it was decided that the areas to be opened, which include the Ras Mohammed National Park and popular sites such as the Thistlegorm, were safe for experienced diving activities.

"CDWS is working with four world-renowned shark experts at this time. Three of the experts will be arriving over the next two days in Sharm el Sheikh to form an advisory team to try to assess and advise on the best course of action following the four shark attacks in areas north of Naama Bay this week."

Dr George H Burgess, the director of the Florida Program and curator of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History for Shark Research, was flying to the resort today (MONDAY).

Arriving on Tuesday are Dr Marie Levine, head of the Shark Research Institute in Princeton, USA, and Dr Ralph Collier, of the Shark Research Committee and author of Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century. Shark behavioural expert Dr Erich Ritter is assisting from his research centre based in the USA.

A Swedish research vessel is currently surveying the topography of the ocean around Sharm el Sheikh in order to supply data to shark experts to assist their work. CDWS enlisted the help of this vessel to carry out the topography survey and secured all the relevant permissions.

Another shark attack in Sharm

2010-12-06T08:25:00.002Z

The Foreign Office has warned holidaymakers in an Egyptian resort to be on their guard following a string of shark attacks that have left several people seriously injured and one woman dead.

An elderly German tourist died after she was attacked by an oceanic white tip shark in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh a few days after three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist were badly mauled in similar attacks.

Officials said the tourist died immediately after her arm was bitten off by the shark while she was swimming at the resort.

In response to the attacks the Foreign Office amended its travel advice for people visiting the area.
A statement on its website read: "Attacks by oceanic white tip sharks are extremely rare and shark attacks of any kind are very unusual in the Red Sea.
"If you are considering diving or snorkelling in any of the Red Sea resorts be aware that safety standards of diving operators can vary considerably.
"A basic rule is never to dive or snorkel unaccompanied."

Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) sent an urgent message to its members in Sharm el-Sheikh, instructing them to clear the water.

"Following reports of another incident in Middle Garden local reef, CDWS is calling for all its members in Sharm el-Sheikh to stop any snorkelling activities happening from any boats or shore. Please tell all your boats to immediately recall any snorkellers who may be in the water," it said.

Jochen Van Lysebettens, manager of the Red Sea Diving College thought the same shark had been responsible for all the attacks. He suggested it may have been drawn to the coast by dead sheep left in the water. "I have no idea why this shark is behaving so aggressively," he continued.

"This must have been triggered by something in the past. Unfortunately in this case he is now looking at snorkellers."

One Rolf Schmid, manager of the Sinai Divers’ Centre said the sharks could have been drawn to the coastline by dead cattle – being brought in for the Islamic feast of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha – being dumped in the water.

"It is unusual to have four attacks in a week,’ said

"A possible reason for these attacks is cattle and sheep imported from Australia die on the long voyage and are thrown in the water before the ships reach the harbour."

Fourth Element launch 3D Wreck Maps

2010-12-05T08:30:00.000Z

We’ve all experienced it at some time or another.
Jumping off the back of a boat and landing somewhere on the wreck, only to wonder exactly where we are and what we are looking at.
Guidebooks and drawings have been a big help, and there is nothing better than experience for helping to crack that problem.
But thanks to dive gear manufacturer Fourth Element, that may be a thing of the past.
Their new project has created 3D maps of some major wrecks, giving divers chance to explore some of the world's top dive sites from the comfort of their own homes.

Fourth Element has started the project with four well known wrecks, the Thistlegorm, the James Eagan Layne and the Um El Faroud, The fourth wreck, the San Francisco Maru was documented and recorded by Team Divers Pete Mesley and Leigh Bishop, whilst leading the fourth element expedition to Truk Lagoon. The 3D visualisation of the San Francisco Maru is part of our wider Truk Lagoon project.

The interactive 3D wreck maps offer a vast amount of visual information allowing divers to create memorable visual landmarks in their minds giving them visual clues to navigate around a wreck.
The 3D models are carefully generated using precise architectural software, and transferred into rich media web applications to allow you to explore the wreck interactively. Photos are then plotted onto the maps along with labels to give the greatest level of information to divers.
Having dived the James Eagan Lane a number of times, it is fair to day the map provided me with the first complete understanding of the wreck.
Check out the site here.

Two sharks caught off Sharm El Sheikh after attacks

2010-12-03T08:36:00.003Z

REUTERS news agency and other are reporting on Thursday night that Egyptian conservation workers hunted down and captured two sharks that attacked four people in the space of two days at Sharm El Sheikh

Environment Ministry staff said the sharks matched descriptions made by divers who rescued the three Russians and one Ukrainian after the attacks near Sharm El Sheikh on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The predator shark is 2.5 metres in length, of grey colour and white abdomen, characterized by sharp teeth ... and by a partial cut to the dorsal fin," a ministry report said.

So it looked like a shark then.

The Environment Ministry said the 12-member conservation crew caught the first shark near Sharm, which draws divers from across the world to explore its clear waters, abundant coral and exotic fish.

The second was caught later by local state environmental officers.

Sadly for divers who use this area, the sharks were captured and KILLED. So much for the 'catch it and release it somewhere else policy'.

Initial report suggested one oceanic white-tip was responsible so how they have come to land two sharks is a bit of a mystery. I just hope the authorities can control themselves and fishermen and leave it be now.

As divers, the chance of seeing a shark is an amazing opportunity. They are already disappearing in numbers as illegal fishermen in the area reduces the food supply.

While it is a tragedy for those individuals who have been injured or maimed, let us not use them as an excuse to commit further atrocities on the shark population in the Red Sea. They are facing enough threats as it is without a gung-ho attitude from the authorities.

A swimming ban along part of the coast remained in force.

Egypt's Environment Minister Maged George said the sharks would be examined for research purposes and embalmed for display at a visitor centre in South Sinai.

Scuba diving sites closed in Sharm El Sheikh after shark attacks

2010-12-02T08:26:00.002Z

WATERSPORTS bosses in Sharm El Sheikh have closed the beaches and suspended diving after four people were mauled by a shark.
A hunt is under way to track down a shark responsible for maiming the Russian tourists one of whom remains in a critical condition.
In the first attack on Tuesday a man's legs were torn by the shark and the woman sustained injuries to her legs and back and had to be resuscitated after rescue.
On Wednesday there was a further attack, believed to be by the same oceanic whitetip shark, on a woman snorkelling on Ras Nasrani north of the city's Na'ama Bay. Her arms were bitten off, and she was flown to Cairo for emergency treatment.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely and working together with all authorities to ensure the safety of all members and visitors in the Red Sea," said Hesham Gabr, chairman of Egypt's chamber of diving and watersports.
Diving instructor Hassan Salem said he was on a dive at the same time of the attack and was circled by the shark before it went for the couple.
"I was able to scare the shark away by blowing bubbles in its face, but then saw it swim to a woman and bite her legs," he said.
Mr Salem described how the water turned red with blood from the attack and he rushed to take the diver he was training out of the water.
Attacks by oceanic white tip sharks are extremely rare and shark attacks of any kind are very unusual in the Red Sea.
More so at this time of the year when the pelagics have left the northern part of the Red Sea by Sharm and moved further south. Whether this is a shark that has lost its way or been drawn in by other sources souch as illegal fishes remains to be seen.
Richard Peirce, chairman of the UK-based Shark Trust, told the Guardian: "Since records began in the late 16th century there have been only nine recorded attacks on humans by an oceanic whitetip.
"It's abnormal behaviour; this shark hasn't just decided to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – there must have been a specific activity or event that brought it there."
And before we get all gung-ho about killing sharks, let us remember they are apex predators whose own survival is under threat as that are being killed in great numbers mostly for their fins.

Blue Light Night Dive: Flourescent corals in Egypt

2010-12-01T17:33:00.000Z

Underwater, the Red Sea offers a kaleidoscope of colour, but I never expected blue, orange and inky black to produce the most fluorescent greens I have ever seen.

Yet this was the result of the most unique of night dives.

I had seen the sun-bleached poster at Sinai Divers, and thought the Blue Light Night Dive would be a different Sharm experience.

I was handed a blue torch - yes a torch with a blue beam –and had an orange visor cable-tied to my mask.

Trudging to the water’s edge, the bright lights of Na’ama Bay illuminated the skyline.

But they were about to be dimmed by a unique ‘glow in the dark’ underwater perspective, normally invisible to the naked eye.

Now, we all know that the reef changes come nightfall and a pinnacle that looked spectacular in the sunlight would be almost unrecognisable in the darkness as the coral burst into life from its daytime slumber.

But cruising above the sandy bottom of the bay just a few metres beneath the surface, a lone anemone signalled what we the sea was about to reveal.

Most divers would most likely glide past the lone animal. But illuminated by the bright blue torch beam, and filtered through our orange visors, the tips of the fronds glowed a brilliant green as they wafted in the gently swaying water.

This was not just any old green, but a bio-fluorescent green brighter than the dials of our gauges.

Now the science bit.

Studies have found some corals fluoresce, thanks to a physical and chemical reaction involving proteins in the animal. Researchers believe many cnidarians fluoresce in green, blue, yellow and red colours and this gleaming originates mostly from special protein structures.

This is normally invisible to humans, because it operates on a wavelength beyond what our eyes can typically perceive. So we adapt.

During fluorescence, special pigments (proteins) absorb short wave, energy rich (UV-) radiation (the blue bioluminescent light)and redistribute it nearly simultaneously – however with a higher wavelength which lies in the visible spectra and seen as green through the orange visor.

The Green Fluorescent Protein was first discovered in bioluminescent jellyfish in the 1960s. Half a century later, scientists are still trying to work out why.

But are they acting as sunscreen, protecting the coral from the sun’s harmful rays? Or converting the energy of the sunlight into light that can drive photosynthesis? Are they providing a beacon to coral life that can detect light?

Researchers have found that certain zoooxanthellate (algae housing) corals are able to thrive below the euphotic zone through auto-fluorescence. In the Gulf of Aqaba, the zooxanthellate coral Leptoris fragilis has been found living at a depth of 145 m – depth in which no photosynthetically active light can penetrate. Though, specific pigments in the coral tissues catch the remaining UV light. These UV radiations are shifted / diverted into photosynthetically active radiations which can be used by the zooxanthellae (algae) for photosynthesis.

But back to the dive.

My enthusiastic guide, Slovak Jan Karpis, told me it would be a darker night dive than normal. It took a few minutes to get used to the reduced visibility as the orange filter removed the ambient light.

But once we arrived at a coral block it didn’t matter.

As our specially made blue torches flicked across the reef the illuminated certain corals with a brilliant green. The favites was so bright, it looked like someone had switched a light on inside.

As the tentacles of an anemone swayed in different shades of green, an occasional flash of dark moved between them. Apparently this was the fish but because not all fish fluoresce, we were told that we would see very little in marine fauna. There only trace was as they crossed in front of the beams of our lights.

But who cared when the coral gave off such tremendous colour?

If this was on land, this ‘glow in the dark’ treat would be the tacky neon streets of Las Vegas, but underwater, the beauty of the reef was tremendous.

And it wasn’t just green. Some of the corals glowed a stunning orange or red.

The luminous green also helped find the critters, tiny nudibranchs became easy to spot as they flashed brightly.

A coral pinnacle that one would glide across at daytime kept our attention for the full 50minute dive.

But beware, even though we were using blue lights, lionfish were still attracted to us.

Lifting the visor away long enough they could be spotted swimming just beneath us, piggybacking divers to help with the hunt and hoping the light would illuminate a passing fish for lunch.

Afterwards, I asked Jan for his thoughts on the natural wonder. He admitted that the whys didn’t matter to him, it was the wonder that kept him jumping back in the water every Friday night.

And with this wonderful light display, who could blame him.

The Great Barrier Reef of Norfolk

2010-11-26T08:47:00.006Z

THE world’s longest underwater chalk bank has been discovered off the coast of Norfolk.
Despite being less than ten metres below the surface and a short hop from the shore, it has lain undiscovered for 300 million years.
Some commentators have joked that the true reason that the chalk reef off Norfolk had been overlooked was its closeness to Cley and Trimingham, familiar places where wonders are unexpected.
But it is an important scientific discovery, made when divers surveyed what they thought was a small rocky plain earlier this year and uncovered towering arches of rock and deep chasms actually stretched for more than 20 miles.

The marine haven has so many species, including sponges, sea slugs and fish, that experts are describing it as ‘Britain’s Great Barrier Reef’.
Diver Rob Spray, 43, whose team discovered the reef, said: “It was like finding a natural Stonehenge hidden under the water.
“We couldn’t believe it when we found it was actually 20 miles long and had this amazing complex of gullies and arches. In some areas it looks like a moonscape.”
Three species never before recorded on the East Anglian coast have already been found there.

Woodhouse collision: boat owners fined

2010-11-25T19:12:00.004Z

The owner of a cargo ship that smashed into Woodhouse Reef has been fined up to 5million US dollars for damages to the environment, according to the Chamber of Diving and Watersports.

Readers will remember from an earlier post that the giant 260m long CSCL Hamburg container ship collided with the northern side of the popular reef on December 31.

According to reports, it was more than a kilometre off course when it smashed into the reef.

Dr Mohammed Salem told Blue magazine, the publication of the CDWS: “The damaged area is almost 700m-square because of the slope. To 35m there is 100 per cent damage, which we estimate will take 100 years to recover.”

The money will be used to supplement environmental projects.

No drinking and diving?

2010-09-03T08:28:00.003+01:00

First it was champagne, now it's a 200-year-old beer.

Divers salvaged the world's oldest drinkable beer from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, just days after work began to retrieve dozens of bottles of 200-year-old champagne, local officials said.

"We believe these are by far the world's oldest bottles of beer," Rainer Juslin, a spokesman for the local government of Aaland, said in a statement.

The beer bottles were unearthed from a shipwreck believed to be about 200 years old as divers were recovering bottles of what is thought to be the world's oldest drinkable champagne, discovered in July.

The haul, found intact on the seabed at a depth of 50 metres , comes from an unidentified wreck which the Aaland authorities believe sank off the coast in the early 1800s.

"The constant temperature and light levels have provided optimal conditions for storage, and the pressure in the bottles has prevented any seawater from seeping in through the corks," Thursday's statement said.

The champagne bottles alone are estimated to be worth tens of thousands of euros.

Aaland, a semi-autonomous province of Finland, legally owns the contents of the wreck, but has yet to determine what to do with the champagne.

Historic remains Young man of Chan Hol recovered by cave divers

2010-08-25T14:08:00.004+01:00

The remains of a prehistoric child that was found in an underwater cave and could re-write the history of the Americas have been recovered by a team of divers.

The Young Man of Chan Hol, as the skeleton is known among the scientific community is one of the earliest human skeletons of America, dating back more than 10,000 years ago.

It was recovered by Mexican specialists from a flooded cave in Quintana Roo.

It is among the oldest remains studied as part of a National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) project.

After three years of studies conducted underwater to prevent information loss, the Chan Hol skeleton was removed from the water by a team of specialists headed by biologist Arturo Gonzalez, coordinator of the project Study of Pre Ceramic Men of Yucatan Peninsula and director of Museo del Desierto de Coahuila (Museum of the Desert of Coahuila).

The Young Man of Chan Hol, named after the cenote it was found in, was recovered in a 542 meters long and 8.3 deep cave where stalagmites abound, and is reached after going through flooded, dark and difficult labyrinths.

UNAM (National University of Mexico) physical anthropologists that studied the remains think they were placed in the cave after a funerary ceremony that took place by the end of Pleistocene, when the sea level was 150 meters lower, before the caves, probably walked by this person, got flooded.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said 60 per cent of the skeleton was collected, inlcuding bones of four extremities, vertebrae, ribs and the skull, as well as several teeth. Normally, in cases of 10,000 year old samples only the skull or jawbone is found, and sometimes, 20 or 30 percent of the skeleton.

Arturo Gonzalez, paleo biology specialist, said: "Our dating confirmed that skeletons collected in Quintana Roo caves belonged to members of Pre Clovis groups and are part of the few human rests found from the American Terminal Pleistocene, with physical features similar to those of people from Central and South Asia, suggesting there were several migrations to our continent”.

The first physical anthropology report, conducted by physical anthropologists Alejandro Terrazas and Martha Benavente, from the UNAM (National University of Mexico) Institute of Anthropological Investigations, indicates the skeleton belonged to a young adult, probably a male; legs were flexed to the left and arms extended to both sides of the body, which is a “new fact to be studied”, since no skeleton had been found before in this position.

The remains were discovered in 2006 by two German divers exploring the Chan Hol cave.

Wes Skiles: In memory of an amazing photographer

2010-08-08T09:53:00.006+01:00

THIS amazing image of cave divers taken 80ft beneath the surface of the Bahamas graces the cover of the new edition of the National Geographic magazine.

But it's publication is twinged with sadness.

Wes Skiles, the highly thought of photographer of the shot (actually a composite of three images), 52, died last month during a research expedition examining underwater wildlife in his home state of Florida, just days after publication.

Bahamas Blue Holes was his last story for the magazine. The images were described as a "testament to his photographic skills, courage and child-like wonder in the search for the unknown".

An investigation is now under way to determine why Skiles was found unconscious and underwater near a reef and had not returned to the surface, as friends had thought he had.

National Geographic Society Editor in Chief Chris Johns said: "Wes was a true explorer in every sense and a wonderful spirit.
"He set a standard for underwater photography, cinematography and exploration that is unsurpassed. It was an honor to work with him, and he will be deeply missed."

Keenan Smart, National Geographic Television Natural History Unit added: "Wes Skiles was a brave, brilliant and pioneering underwater cameraman with an extraordinary passion for exploring and documenting the world of cave and technical diving.
"His knowledge, courage and expertise in this field was tremendous and he played a vital role in improving safety procedures for diving in difficult and dangerous conditions.
"His explorations of his beloved Florida cave systems contributed a great deal to our understanding of groundwater science and the dynamics of water flow through Florida's karst aquifers. It was this knowledge that led him to name his company Karst Productions.
"Over the years Wes participated in numerous filming expeditions worldwide and his creative work featured in many award winning films.

Sadie Quarrier, senior photo editor, National Geographic Magazine added: "He was deeply passionate about diving, exploring, photographing and protecting the waterways. H
"is boyish enthusiasm was infectious, and he delighted in telling non-divers about the wilder aspects of his watery underworld.
"Wes was big-hearted and humble yet extremely driven. He was doggedly determined to produce the best possible article on these caves he called home. He dared to dream big, and no budget or contract would stop him from going after a shot he felt we needed, even if it was on his own dime.
"But what I will remember most about my friend is his absolutely wonderful sense of humor, his over-the-top descriptions when he was really enthused about what he had just seen, and his twinkling eyes. He was sort of the Santa Claus of the underwater world, bringing us gifts that we could never get on our own."

The story about Bahamas Blue Holes also featured in the documentary extreme cave diving that
Skiles worked on.

The production followed the team of scientists as they ventured into blue holes (formed during the last ice age and are one of Earth's least explored and perhaps most dangerous frontiers) as they discovered intriguing evidence of the earliest human inhabitants of the islands, found animals seen nowhere else on Earth, and recovered a remarkable record of the planet's climate.

For more on the Biology of Marine Caves try Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna
or click on the link for info on the Bahamas Caves Research Foundation

Spots v Stripes marine creatures battle it out for Cadbury

2010-08-05T08:49:00.003+01:00

From the team that brought us the amazing TV ad featuring a gorilla drumming to Phil Collins hit 'In the Air Tonight' comes a new fishy tale.

Making use of the unique markings of marine creatures, Stops V Stripes is the latest eye-catching commercial from Birmingham-based chocolate manufacturer Cadbury.

It is part of a massive £50 million campaign to boost Britain’s community spirit and bring a “spirit of play” to the nation ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

The first Spots and Stripes adverts will be aired on TV on Saturday.

They will feature two teams of Finding Nemo-style marine creatures, one with spots and one with stripes, who play a game with seaweed balloons.

Viewers will be urged to log onto a website to join a team and compete in any game they wish, from golf to tiddlywinks, building up national totals online for each side.

The Birmingham-based chocolate manufacturer aims to create the “biggest game the UK has ever seen,” called Spots v Stripes through eye-catching adverts.

Nick Bunker, President, Kraft Foods UK and Ireland, said: “London 2012 will be the largest event the UK has seen in our lifetime and in the run-up to the Games people will be naturally thinking about coming together to show their support.

“However, we believe that, across the country, we have lost our community spirit, and we want to use our heritage in community engagement to reignite this. With Spots v Stripes we hope to create the biggest game the UK has ever seen, encouraging people to play games again and bring back the joy of community spirit in a fun and innovative way.

“Our aim is for millions of people to have organised or played games in their areas by 2012 and to use the power of playing games to unite and strengthen communities, leaving the nation with the ideas and inspiration to continue playing games in the future."

REport highlights fears over fish stocks

2010-08-04T09:58:00.001+01:00

Britain's fishing industry cannot cope with demand, a report has concluded.
The UK's fish supplies only last for seven months of the year, the research by independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation) and OCEAN2012 found.
The report, named Fish Dependence, points to the upcoming reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as a "unique" opportunity to turn the situation around and create a new fisheries model that will restore marine ecosystems and deliver a fair share of resources across the world.
Researchers mapped resources over a calendar year and found the day when the EU and each one of its member states starts to eat the catch from the rest of the world.
It showed that if people in the UK were to only eat fish from its own supplies, it would run out on August 3, based on current levels of consumption.
However the findings showed that the UK fares better than other EU countries such as Germany which goes into fish debt on May 5 and Spain on May 10.
Aniol Esteban, head of environmental economics at nef and co-founder of OCEAN2012, said: "We've cashed in the chips on our fish supplies; but we now have a big chance to restore fish stocks at the UK level and beyond.
"A healthy marine environment is a pre-condition to building a stronger economy, a more robust industry and happier fishing communities.
"There are fish without fisheries but no fisheries without fish."

Most biodiverse oceans identified

2010-08-03T11:10:00.003+01:00

So now we know where to head on our next diving trip after a "roll call" of marine species has identified Australian and Japanese waters as the most biodiverse on Earth.
Each ocean zone contains an estimated 33,000 known forms of life, ranging from algae and single-celled protozoa to whales and sea birds.
The Mediterranean was also listed as a hotspot for different kinds of species by Census of Marine Life (CoML) scientists who surveyed 25 key marine regions.

Waters around popular holiday resorts in southern Europe were in the top five of the biodiversity league table, along with oceans off China and the Gulf of Mexico.
However the Mediterranean was also one of the areas where biodiversity was most threatened.
On average, the number of known species per region totalled 10,750, ranging from 2,600 to 33,000. But for every marine species of all kinds known to science, experts estimate that at least four are yet to be discovered.
Fish made up only 12% of the marine species identified in the round-up, described in a series of papers in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.
Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and prawns were the most abundant forms of life, making up around a fifth of species in any given region.

The next most plentiful were molluscs which include squid, octopus, shellfish, snails and slugs. They made up 17% of a region's species population.
Plant and animal micro-organisms, such as algae and protozoa, each accounted for 10% of marine biodiversity, and segmented worms 7%.
Much of the remainder was made up of other non-vertebrate animal species including sea anemones, corals, jellyfish, starfish, sponges and sea urchins.
A category listed as "other vertebrates" that made up just 2% of the total contained some of the best-known marine animals, including whales, sea lions, seals, walruses, turtles and sea birds.
The "roll call" was published in the run-up to the long-awaited final report from the Census of Marine Life in October.

Almost 400 scientists from more than 80 nations are involved in the project, which aims to provide the most accurate assessment possible of the diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the oceans.
Dr Mark Costello, from the Leigh Marine Laboratory at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, lead author of the latest research, said: "This inventory was urgently needed for two reasons. First, dwindling expertise in taxonomy impairs society's ability to discover and describe new species. And secondly, marine species have suffered major declines - in some cases 90 per cent losses - due to human activities and may be heading for extinction, as happened to many species on land."
Biologist and author Dr Nancy Knowlton, from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, US, who heads the Census coral reef project, said: "At the end of the Census of Marine Life, most ocean organisms still remain nameless and their numbers unknown. This is not an admission of failure. The ocean is simply so vast that, after 10 years of hard work, we still have only snapshots, though sometimes detailed, of what the sea contains. But it is an important and impressive start."
She added: "The sea today is in trouble. Its citizens have no vote in any national or international body, but they are suffering and need to be heard. Much has changed just in the few decades that I have spent on and under the sea, but it remains a wondrous and enriching place, and with care it can become even more so."
Scientists found that many species appeared in more than one region. The most highly travelled "cosmopolitan" species lay at both ends of the the evolutionary scale, and included algae and protozoa as well as sea birds and mammals.
The "Manylight Viperfish" (Chauliodus sloani), found in more than a quarter of the world's marine waters, was described as the "everyman" of the deep ocean.
The Mediterranean had the largest number of invasive species of any region, with more than 600 immigrant varieties - 4% of its total. Most had arrived from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.
Along with other "enclosed" sea areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico, Baltic and the Caribbean, the Mediterranean also had some of the most threatened biodiversity.

Underwater photographs with an Epoque strobe

2010-07-25T23:40:00.002+01:00

Well here it is, the first pic with an external strobe.

Okay, it's more than a little overexposed in places and the pipe fish probably had stars in its eyes for a few minutes. I had guessed what the power output needed to be and then tweaked a little more. Perhaps should have wound it in a bit - but everyone has to start somewhere.

I have moved on, or across from the Canon G9. It's a truly fantastic camera but it cost a fortune for the bulky Ikelite housing and without it there was no way of attaching external lenses to it.

The IXUS 980i offered variable shutter speed, a little control over aperture (ie choice of two settings) and manual focus, so it was like a hybrid camera in a compact body. But best of all, the housing had a round port so an INON wide angle lens fits perfectly. And with that I thought I might as well go for a slave strobe.

Having never used one before, I stuck to the KISS (keep it simply stupid) principle and opted for the Epoque ES-230DS. It has a couple of settings for different cameras but it is essentially an on-off button with a knob to increase or decrease the power of the flash.

Hence the 'little' bit of over-exposure of the first pic.

But with a little bit of trial and error, it was possible to get closer to the right level. There are some values on the knob which relate to exposures but I just thought I would twist and turn until it looked about right.

What it did allow was faster shutter speeds than the camera suggests making it possible to capture more of the colour and detail without any of the motion blur.

The image of the Batwing Coral Crab above has captured a lot of detail at 1/125 but without the handshake blur I normally get with slow shutter speeds the camera would go opt for when trying to shoot natural light.
I actually don't think my pics have ever had as much red as before.

I know the water looks green but, honestly, these were taken on the recent Grenada trip on the Veronica L wreck, a perfect photography spot because of the depth and variety of life.

With a little work the above sponge pic could be tidied up (backscatter caused by really poor viz) but it demonstrates how simply turning the strobe so the light is coming from the side of the subject helps cut out a lot of the mess. An earlier effort was a complete blur. Colour-wise, I like the contrast between the red of the sponge and green of the water behind.

The below image shows how dramatic shadows can be created. Again there is a lot of backscatter but at this point I was just experimenting. The diffuser also gives the same coverage as the lens so most of the frame should be illuminated.

The rest of the images, like the ones above, are nothing special by any stretch but have been included to show the depth of colour (particularly the reds) that the strobe allows to be captured.

I know there is still a long way to go until I starts producing great quality images but the strobe has taken things on a giant step forward. It has already reduced my reliance on trying to shoot natural light (the inbuilt flash was always rubbish).

Now all I need to do is practice!

Scuba Diving Grenada Part 3

2010-07-20T18:09:00.018+01:00

“May I extend you a warm Grenadian welcome,” gushed ebullient guide Roger Augustine, as we trundled from the airport after arriving in the sun kissed Caribbean.

“If you’ve been to Grenada before, then you are returning because you know it is the best island in the Caribbean. “If this is your first visit, you’re about to discover the Caribbean’s best kept secret.”

Despite feeling a little like an undiscovered gem, the Spice Island may be a reasonably popular spot on the UK holidaymaker's tourist map but when it comes to diving trips, it doesn’t seem to rank that high on the must-see list. Yet is does have it’s fair share of underwater riches.

The Caribbean islands have an eclectic mix of individual diving experiences – sharks in the Bahamas for instance – and Grenada is no different.

This is the wreck capital of the region. While the thought of Caribbean wrecks inspires dreams of long-lost Spanish galleons loaded with treasures ready to be plucked from the deep, the top wreck is a little more modern.

Justifiably known as the ‘Titanic of the Caribbean’, the Bianca C has few rivals in the realms of warm water wreck diving and has been listed as one of the ‘top ten’ worldwide wreck sites. All we had to do was find it.

Now you wouldn’t think the enormous 180m (600ft) cruise liner sank that sits upright on her keel in 50m (165ft) of water would be that difficult to find.

But on the day we hit the water a plankton bloom or the Orinocho Flow (depending on who you choose to believe) had turned the normally tropical waters into something...well...resembling the British coastline. Yep, it was dark and green.

The wreck itself is not buoyed and typically the dive guide descends onto stern reeling off a line to an SMB which the group follows downwards until the deck emerged in the aqua blue waters like a ghost from about 15 to 20 metres.

Yet in the gloom and dwindling viz, we couldn’t find it. And we must have been virtually on top of it.

Full marks go to our guide Ben from Devotion 2 Ocean. Rather than drag us around the blue, or green as it was, aimlessly looking for the wreck, after 15 minutes called the dive. It was a brilliant decision made by an experienced guide and instructor and highlighted that safety would not be compromised and one deserving of full praise.

Built in France 1939, Bianca C as she finally became known had a chequered history before ending up with an Italian firm taking tourists from Naples to Guaira, in Venezuela, via the Caribbean.

On October 12 1961 the Bianca C left Italy on her final voyage. Ten days later, whilst anchored off St Georges, the capital of Grenada, there was an explosion in her boiler room, killing a crew member and sparking a fire which spread rapidly through the stern of the ship. A flotilla of boats piloted by locals helped save the remaining 672 passengers and crew.

British Frigate the Londonderry was drafted in to remove her from the local shipping lanes but the Bianca C’s large rudders had become jammed by the extreme heat of the fire and she slipped the tow line sank to the ocean floor.

Luckily the wreck site is directly in front of the dive centre and after a decent surface interval we were back on the powerful boat making the five-minute ride hoping for a better shot.

And this time we found the wreck, hitting the twisted stern at about 36m. At first it was hard to fathom exactly what we were looking at until we came across what was once the swimming pool.

Where once, wealthy guests frolicked away the afternoon, fish are now the regular visitors to the retangular pool, the ornate tiles still visible. It seemed odd doing ‘lengths’ in full scuba gear, but we couldn’t not do it either.

As the minutes ticked down towards our no decompression limits we headed forward and slightly shallower over the top of the superstructure towards the funnel. Apparently you can still make out the 'C' but I'm no so sure.

Dives normally continue on to the bow for the 'King of the World' Titanic moment but our earlier dive had left us short on time so we made a short detour through the blue, err green, to Whibble Reef which runs parallel to the wreck.

This is one of the top reef dives for spotting pelagic fish on the Caribbean side of the Island. Spotted Eagle Rays, large Barracuda and Hawksbill Turtles are regularly seen. Unfortunately for us they were probably beyond our eight metre viz although we did have large schools of Horse Eyed Jacks darting amongst us as we meandered above the pristine corals and sponges.

Time on the wreck is obviously short because of its depth (unless of course you are a tech diver, then this would be a great wreck to explore fully) and there are a couple of occasions that require swimming in the blue with no reference point other than other divers. We were lucky with the current but it can sweep across the wreck.

After such a deep dive, one for advanced only, we slowly ascended hanging midwater as we off-gassed, the occasional fish approaching to see who the group of interlopers were. There is something magical about hanging there with nothing to distract you.

Mentally refreshed we headed back to the hotel for physical refreshment. Digs for the first part of the trip was the Flamboyant Hotel above Grand Anse Beach.

Now I'm always suspicious of resorts that try to suggest some grand design with their name. While it's not the most luxurious of places, it has its own unique Caribbean chic charm and the views over the famous beach cannot be beaten. The rooms were spacious and well equipped (ours even had a kitchen with cooker) and the bar was right on the beach.

But beware, anything offering great views from the cliff-top inevitably means steep climbs from beach to room. We hadn't banked on such a slog up and down but the views from the top and the beach at the bottom certainly made it worthwhile, and the grunting tortoises kept a smile on our faces as we huffed and puffed up the steps.

Next to the beach bar is Dive Grenada dive centre. Well equipped, with a fast boat (that could do with a bit more shade as my shoulders will testify) the centre Run by former Navy diver, Phil and his wife Helen.

He is a fascinating host who heads the island's scuba association so has the industry at his heart, whether it's planning to sink more wrecks or continue developing the sculpture park.

While the centre may not have been the plushest, I can imagine a group of blokes on a diving trip together would be happiest here in his company, sharing some underwater adventures some beers and good stories.

But back to the underwater world. Next up was the 25m wreck of the Veronica L. This fully intact coastal freighter was placed on Upper Boss Reef in 2003 after being moved from St Georges Harbour and was about a 15 to 20-minute boat ride away.

Phil at Dive Grenada said she probably had the largest diversity of marine life in such a small area of all the island's dive sites. On a normal day you could find patrolling barracuda, horse eyed jacks hunting amongst the brown chromis and creole wrasse patrolling around the bow towering from the seabed 16 metres down.

Some might look on the reduced viz as a problem, but for us it was a blessing because it meant we had to look a bit closer to find Arrow Head crabs nestled into small sponges, Christmas tree worms, small morays around the bow and on top of the crane. Looking closer also means you get to witness their behaviour.

We spent a good 35 minutes exploring the wreck, there is little to penetrate but we had a good poke around an at such a shallow depth, it is ideal for all levels of diver and a good spot for photographers (I used my strobe for the first time and got some interesting results, but more on that in an upcoming post).

Also about 15 minutes out from Grand Anse beach is 'Purple Rain', named so because of the large quantities of Creole Wrasse that descend upon you during your dive at this location.

This dive site is stunning with a fantastic diversity of both hard and soft corals, and barrel sponges. With a nice steady current carrying us effortlessly above the reef it felt like a marine animal version of the Generation Game: moray eel, crab, shrimp, moray, crab, crab, frog fish. In the end, I put the camera to one side and just watched the fish shoal around us.

After soaking in the amazing fish life beneath the waves, it kind of seemed criminal to head to Gouyave for Fish Friday. But there is a unique charm to this weekly local festival as the fishing families set up the frying pans under tarpaulin to cook the fresh catch for you. With music drifting through the air, a beer in hand and a plateful of snapper, plantains and vegetables the locals welcome you into their party company and it ended up feeling like a barbecue with friends.

After a short detour to Carriacou, we relocated to the True Blue Bay resort. This family-run Caribbean boutique hotel is set among tropical gardens sloping down to the sparkling blue waters of True Blue Bay where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

For the more serious diver, the Atlantic side offers some pumping currents and chance to see pelagics. I had hoped to dive the San Juan two miles off shore after reading one of the guidebooks enthusing about the large collection of nurse sharks that have gathered there. One dive centre said the sharks had gone after the hurricane of a few years back had moved the wreck and most had made the Hema there home.

While the guide books can be dismissive of the inshore reefs, there was still plenty to see among the 30 or so popular sites, particularly at the Marine Park area at Moliniere Bay and Flamingo Bay.

Here you will find the Sculpture Park (see earlier post) and some fine reefs with a plethora of corals. This being the wreck capital of the Caribbean, there is obviously a sunken ship. The Buccaneer, an 18 metre sailing vessel, is laying on its side just off Moliniere Reef, its deck disappeared leaving the ribs of the boat to create an interesting ambiance with lots of schooling grunts and squirrelfish.

Heading back along the reef above the sea grass, look for the extensive eel garden and mesmerise at the Yellow head Jaw Fish protruding vertically from the burrows in amongst the flora .

Happy Valley is another National Marine Park site which lies between Flamingo Bay and Dragon Bay. This is an interesting dive of contrasts, giant lobsters hidden among the reef and tiny little shrimp squirreled away in the sponges.

There is a very old admiralty anchor which is slowly becoming part of the reef and some very good examples of Black and Whip corals. Manta Rays are seen here at certain times of the year and we were treated to a giant ray that glided over the sand beneath us.

It was here that we spotted this little critter. A near translucent shrimp with blue and white legs perched on the red coral. Despite scouring the identification books I have still not been able to come up with a name yet, So if anyone can help, I would be much obliged.

While the wrecks are an ever present, the big stuff in can be elusive underwater, mantas were spotted in the shallows just off the beach when we were there but remained out of sight beneath the waves, Grenada still has enough treasures of the deep to offer.

Topside, the temptations are varied with a full blown rainforest to explore, exotic flowers brightening the green foliage and birds feeling the air with their squawks. There is also chance to swim beneath waterfalls. Grenada being the Spice Island, a visit to one of the processing Boucans will fill your senses with the wondrous smells of nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cocoa and ginger.

And this being the island of 150 proof rum, that is in such demand none of it ever makes it to export a trip to a distillery is worth it. And it will ensure you have something to keep you warm in the night as well.

See the guide for more details.

Scuba Diving Grenada: The Guide

2010-07-20T18:08:00.000+01:00

View Grenada Scuba Diving in a larger map

Best time to go: Seasons in Grenada are split into two - dry and wet. Go any time between October/November and May. June is okay but depending on rainy weather elsewhere, viz could be impacted. Mid June saw viz down to between five and ten metres and green water. Some said it was down to the Orinoco Flow - water flooding up from Venezuela bringing with in all sorts of muck, others blamed an algae bloom. Go earlier to avoid.

Where to dive: Dived with Dive Grenada at the Flamboyant, Eco Dive at the Coyaba and Devotion 2 Ocean at the Grenadian and would happily recommend all three. My wife preferred Eco because of excellent guide Marvin Wolf and liked the set up at Devotion. I found Phil who runs Dive Grenada to be a knowledgeable and excellent host

Best Dive Sites:Bianca C for the amazing site of seeing an ocean liner resting on the ocean floor, the Underwater Sculpture Park because it is so unique and happy valley for it's amazing diversity of marine life. I didn't get chance to dive the Atlantic side but that offers some interesting experiences as well.

Biggest gripe:Can't really think of one. Walking up the steps to the Flamboyant but that is stretching it a bit

What suit to take: Sea was like jumping into bath water, routinely had 27/28C so a 3mm will do, particularly if you are planning to do the wrecks.

Where to Stay: We stayed at Flamboyant Hotel and True Blue Bay, both had dive centres on site. Flamboyant was perched on the side of a cliff overlooking Grand Anse Beach. With anything offering such fantastic views you know there is a steep walk up and down. Resort had that typically Caribbean chic with good sized rooms. Food in the restaurant was good but needed air con to take the humidity out when dining. Same can be said of the beach bar - although after a few cool beer quenchers you will soon forget. You do get a nice corner of a fantastic beach to yourselves though (probably because no one can be bothered to walk this far). True Blue Bay was tremendous with beautiful rooms. The Dodgy Dock bar and restaurant overlooking the bay was beautiful and a great place to relax. Only downsides, no beach and bar shut at 11pm when we were there.

Miscellaneous dive info: Three dive centres we used all launched from the beach so take a dry bag to keep stuff dry and be prepared for a walk through the sea with your kit. Aquanauts at True Blue Bay launches from a jetty

Guidebook: Couldn't find one. The Caribbean really needs a good guidebook.

Other info: Where to eat and what to do. I don't care what people say about Patrick's Homestyle Cooking, we had a fabulous meal there. Imagine Caribbean tapas and that is what it is like. Food was gorgeous. Gouyave Fish Friday is a great experience and interesting to try the freshest local catch with great music in the background. At the other end, eat at the Spice Island Resort, as fine dining goes, this was sumptuous and a meal to savour the taste buds for a long time. Get out around the island as well. Swimming the water falls was refreshing, savouring the smell of the River Antoine Rum Distillery (they do a 150 proof bottle that will burn your insides) was interesting, and listening to our host at the Boucan lovingly talk about spices with a knowledge gleaned over years was truly interesting.

Worth going: Absolutely

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Scuba Diving Grenada: Underwater Sculpture Park

2010-07-09T13:45:00.003+01:00

The Last Correspondent is frozen in time, his fingers forever hovering anxiously over the typewriter on his desk as though he is struggling to find the words.

Slowly his motionless figure is being covering in a layer of growth, his featureless face and his anxious pose unable to shake off the ravages of time and the ocean.

If he wasn't sat in front of a modern typewriter, some old newspapers still visible on his desk, one could think he was a relic of an ancient civilisation...

Before anyone has the temerity to suggest he bears more than an passing resemblance to my work in the newspaper office, the figure is actually part of a unique Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada.

And each has its own comment on the world, The Lost Correspondent highlights the rapid changes in communication between generations and is slowly becoming little more than a relic, a fossil in a lost world, never more apt as traditional forms of communication - newspapers where I work - struggle to find a place in the digital age.

Now, Mexico is currently seeking to develop its own underwater oddity, authorities there have sunk four sculptures off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico's eastern state of Quintana Roo.
But Grenada got their first. And its worth experiencing.

For the pH neutral concrete statues are starting to take on a life of their own. They have only been on the seabed since May 2006, but instead of bare concrete, the lifelike figures have become home to all sorts of marine flora and fauna. The coral colonisation gives the figures an otherworldly - some might say disfigured and grotesque - appearance as they slowly lose their human form.

But what it means is that coral has started to find new homes in a short space of time. And some of it is surprisingly developed, giving an interesting view on reef evolution.

"It all happens rather quickly - within two weeks, we will see green algae," says artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who is in charge of the new Mexican project and the Grenadan forerunner.

"Then within a few months, juvenile algae will appear and the project will progress from there."

The artist has gained international recognition for his unique work which explores the intricate relationships between modern art and the environment.

Moilinere Bay is now home to sixty-five sculptures, covering an area of 800sq metres and just a short 15-20 minute boat ride from the resorts on Grand Anse Beach.

It is located two miles north of the capital St Georges on the west coast of the island, within an area designated a National Marine Park. Found in about 10 metres of water, the artificial structures has provided a new base for marine life and have created a welcome diversion from other areas of coral reef.

Most, if not all, dive centres on the island run trips to the Sculpture Park. Having had a brief flight over it (at the end of a dive to the Buccaneer wreck at the foot of the reef 23m down) we hopped on a boat operated by Eco Divers and joined dive guide Marvin for a more in depth look.

Eco Divers is run by two marine biologists Christine Finney and Andre Miller, who have the sister centre Barbados Blue. Based at the Coyaba Beach Resort they have two good sized boats with lots of space and cover. The dive centre itself is a good size with a lot of kit for hire yet still keeps a firm grip on the key ingredient, customer service as typified by Marvin.

As a brief aside, the easy going Californian Marvin is a brilliant guide and a joy to dive with. He has been on the island probably more years than he cares to remember. As the cliche goes, what he doesn't know about the divers or dives on the island, probably isn't worth knowing. He was extremely safety conscious, while remaining completely focused on ensuring divers under his charge had a good time.

Marvin also had an eye for marine life. I felt pretty proud of myself when I pointed out to him the lobster tucked deep inside a crevice on the reef. And then he beckoned me over - he had spotted four in one hole.

On each dive we hit the reef first before making our way to the sculpture park towards the second half of the dive. The reef itself is not something to be sniffed out either.

Shoals of fish dart around, moral eels of all shapes and sizes can be found hiding away, and we came across a giant ray at about 12m. the area is also full of usual creatures as well. There are plenty of shrimp of different guises (one I'm still trying to identify) and we spotted a free-swimming snake eel.

But back to the sculptures. Vicissitudes is perhaps the most striking feature. The circle of figures, life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background, all linked through holding hands was installed to evoke ideas of unity while proposing growth, change, and natural transformation.

Allowing time to examine the features of each of the faces, it was amazing to see how the human element was giving way to something new. Eerily beautiful is the only way to describe the disfigured looks as coral sprouted in different directions.

It is near to this feature that you should look out for the seahorse. A thick wire runs close to the sculpture and through a coral canyon. Look closely as twice we saw the seahorse with its tail wrapped around the wire.

Marvin navigated a seemingly complicated course from sculpture to sculpture via compass headings, weaving us through coral canyons, above the reef and over sea grass beds. Just when you thought you had seen the last, another would emerge as a surprise from the blue tucked between the coral outcrops.

My wife loved Grace Reef, a series of sixteen figures each cast from the body of a Grenadian woman. Located across an expansive underwater area the work is designed to draw marine life to an area that has suffered substantial decimation through storm damage.

For artist Jason, the work reflects the continuing evolution of the island and its people, revealing itself in dramatic and dynamic ways. With the shifting sands some of the 16 figures were covered, lost until the sea decides to reveal them again.

As we drifted over the seabed, searching for the sculptures, we had another treat. At first glance some people might not think sea grass offers that great a dive, but when we stopped and examined for a brief moment, we were treated to an amazing array of juvenile life, none more impressive than the yellow headed jaw fish.

We had come to a halt a metre from the bottom, everyone seemingly staring into the abyss. Then my eyes focused on a tiny movement, and it became clear. Three jaw fish had emerged from their holes in the sand between the blades of grass. Holding a vertical position, as if standing to attention, they looked around, possibly for food while gently bobbing up and down. Then, startled by a movement, they vanished back into their holes.

As we continued to meander over the reef, Sienna appeared. The metal structure is created to allow water currents to flow through the body of the sculpture making it an ideal habitat for filter feeding organisms, which are slowly giving the sculpture physical substance.

Un-Still Life mirrors the classical composition of traditional still life tableaux which has helped many artists of the years bring their talent to life. Now the structure is giving life to marine colonies.

There were more sculptures - if you every wondered where the mask from the Jim Carrey movie ended up, you only need to explore around here - than we could visit in one dive but thanks to its unusual nature the site makes for a truly compelling visit.

And like the best art, it's a good mind-bender as well, inspiring thoughts about our how we as the human race fit onto this Blue planet of ours.

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Octopus oracle predicts Spain win

2010-07-09T12:22:00.003+01:00

Just in case you were wondering, an octopus credited with psychic powers has predicted that Spain will defeat the Netherlands in the World Cup final.

He also predicted a win for Germany against Uruguay in the third place match. He has so far correctly forecast every World Cup game involving the national team.

The tip for Spain was his first for a game not involving Germany.

The two-year-old cephalopod has become an international celebrity for predicting the match winners by choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of the competing nations.

He correctly predicted all of Germany's World Cup games, including the 4-1 thrashing of England, a shock defeat by Serbia in the group stages and the ousting by Spain on Wednesday.

After that defeat, there were calls inGermany for Paul to be roasted with lemon juice and olive oil or turned into a plate of paella.

Scuba diving Grenada and Carriacou Silver Diving

2010-07-06T21:45:00.007+01:00

SCUBA MAX and Mrs Max stepped off the beaten track some 17 years ago.
Not that the tiny island of Carriacou is that far away from sophisticated civilisation, it is afterall just a short hop from the popular tourist destination of its sister island Grenada.
But this Caribbean paradise is a throwback to the time when life moved at a much slower pace. And I mean much slower.
Gazing down the main street of the island’s capital, Hillsborough the first thought that came into my head to describe it was ‘one horse town’.
And I mean that with the greatest respect
For that means the island has been able to retain all of its unspoilt Caribbean charm, a charm that has made people from the four corners of the world decide to sell up and settle here.

Unspoilt charm also equals unspoilt diving.

Visitors to Carriacou can’t help but feel that they are among a small band of explorers who have thrown off the shackles of the package break to sample its underwater delights.

It feels as close to virgin diving as it gets without the need to lug dive kit along mile after mile of overgrown muddy rainforest path or take three days of planes, trains, automobiles, bicycles, sampans and donkeys to finally arrive at the chosen dive destination.

There is nothing virgin about the diving at all and you can get here easily on many a package break. It’s just that the island has not sought to build brassy hotels to drag in tourists at the expense of its own ambience.

Yet only a small number of people venture to the island every year meaning those that do get to enjoy what travelling is all about – immersing oneself in the culture and making friends with the
locals.
Granted Max and his wife Claudia are originally from Germany, but they are as good as locals now.

Max - his given name is Werner but when locals struggled to pronounce it they adopted his middle name instead - ended up on the 13 square mile blot of lush green amid a sea of blue almost by accident.
Offered a half-price spot on a dive trip at the last minute when another diver dropped out, he felt it rude not to accept and so began his love with the island. He and Claudia eventually quit the rat race and moved to the island in 1993.
The locals nicknamed him ScubaMax and Claudia soon earned the moniker Mrs Max which is still shouted to her in warm greeting when she is out shopping.
Now they have a beachfront PADI 5 Star Dive Resort Carricou Silver Diving in their own slice of Caribbean paradise – and it’s probably one of the region’s best kept secrets.

Using a small ‘cigarette’ piroque boat, Max likes to keep his dive groups small. There is no lemonade like conditions with crowds of divers underwater here.
While its larger neighbour of Grenada is pitching itself as the Caribbean’s premier wreck diving hotspot, Carriacou offers a natural wonder instead of a manmade one.
Max promised that the reefs around the south of the island housed 30 to 40 per cent more aquatic life than its larger neighbour.
Rather than assume such a bold statement makes Grenada a poor second by comparison, it actually makes Carriacou something even more special.
Pristine is the only way to describe the handful of dive sites I sampled.
Sharkie’s Hideaway, beneath Mabouya Island, a short ten minute boat ride away, was awash with colour and rich in splendour and diversity.
The reef topped out at eight metres and extended down a steep slope to a sandy plateau at about 25 metres, making it an ideal spot for all divers.
No sooner had we rolled backwards off the boat, than Max and I were surrounded by a shimmering blue shoal of fish that stuck with us, flashes of silver lighting up the water as their bodies reflected the sun bursting through the surface, as the gentle drift picked us up and carried us over the reef covered in soft and whip corals.
Unfortunately the sharks took the dive site name literally and stayed well hidden.
So we had to explore for our delights.
I had never been one for small critters – probably because I am not great at spotting them – but on this reef you couldn’t miss them, making it a perfect spot for macro photography.

Coral banded shrimp were everywhere, sharing the hideaways with small moray eels, colourful coral shrimps, crabs and lobsters.
Eventually the reef turned to a rock garden extending from about 12 metres. Snaking through the canyons, in and out of the current, we were treated to large schools of chub and glassy sweepers tucked under an overhang.

In the crevices, I spotted a sculptured slipper lobster, a small crustacean with a broad flat body and eyes on the carapace. Get too close and they will vanish in the blink of an eye such is the great bursts of speed they are capable of.

Unfortunately the sharks took the dive site name literally and stayed well hidden.
Such is Max’s love of the ocean and his desire to give his customers the best time, he put no time limit on the dive and only called it some 75 minutes later as we finally hit 50bar.
Getting back in the boat is similar to using a rib and it was back to the dive centre for a wash down and a chill.
The well-equipped centre itself sits nestled amongst its own tropical gardens on main road that runs in front of the sands of Hillsborough’s golden beach and its facilities have been well thought out.
I can always tell how good a dive centre is with what has become known as the XS Wife Test. Alison stands at a little over 5ft tall and needs an extra small BCD for comfort.
The better centres around the world can easily accommodate her, the not so good try to fit her in a small even though it means the cylinder rolls around on her back. Even though it is off the beaten track, Carriacou Silver Diving passed with flying colours.

Pushing the boat out a bit further the following day we headed to Sisters Rocks, two small guano covered pinnacles that dramatically break the surface, about 15 minutes from the island.
Here the current pumps a little bit more in places making a more energetic drift dive stretching down to 30metres at Barracuda Point and 40 metres at The Deep Blue.
The site itself is unique. On the north side where the current rips you along, the reef is covered in an underwater forest of giant black gorgonians, a variety unlike anything I have seen before.
Here you can expect to see eagle rays, but thanks to a day of poor viz, they remained elusively out of eyesight.
As you round Big Sister, the current drops and the reef changes shape into soft corals and sea fans.

It is here that the reef really comes to life with the velvet corals swaying softly in the gentle surge sweeping back and forth over the reef. And it was here the nurse sharks could be found, nestled amongst the reef itself.

Back on terra firma, our equipment washed down and packed away, we relaxed in the gardens of the dive centre with the couple’s dog Buster sat at our feet. As the sun went down and the bay gleamed brightly under the glimmering white moonlight – giving you a hint of where the centre got its silver name from.

And then Max revealed another of the island’s surprises.
“I always wanted to be a chef,” he said as he promised us a feast later that night.
You see, Hurricane Ivan that hit the island a few years back actually did Max and Claudia a favour.
After the devastation, they managed to secure a plot of land right next door to their purpose built dive centre and finally realise a long held dream; they built their own restaurant, Lyme and Dine
Surrounded by beautiful gardens, the menu is European with a Caribbean twist and changes daily, depending on what Max wants to cook on the day.
And trust me, his food is as mouth-wateringly tasty as the island is stunning and the restaurant proved the perfect way to unwind after the day’s diving.
Sat on the porch, the crickets clicking in the background like some Hollywood cliché, we tucked into pork and fresh seafood washed down with a wonderful bottle of red
The couple wanted their little oasis to be a place to relax, enjoy some good diving, good company and great food with the same personal touch at the heart of their dining experience as their diving one.
While Carriacou may delightfully be a little bit off the beaten track, ScubaMax and Mrs Max proved it didn’t mean you had to go without a luxury or two.

See the guide for more details.

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Scuba Diving Grenada: Carriacou the guide

2010-07-06T21:40:00.003+01:00

Quick overview of diving in Carriacou

View Carriacou Scuba Diving in a larger map

Best time to go: Seasons in Grenada are split into two - dry and wet. Go any time between October/November and May. June is okay but depending on rainy weather elsewhere, viz could be impacted. Mid June saw viz down to between five and ten metres and green water. Some said it was down to the Orinoco Flow - water flooding up from Venezuala bringing with in all sorts of muck, others blamed an algae bloom. Go earlier to avoid.

Where to dive: Dive with Carriacou Silver Divers and go anywhere ScubaMax suggests, he is not going to take you to a bad dive site

Best Dive Sites: The Sisters was great for life and drift diving potential but anywhere

What to see: Sharks of the nurse variety, and lots of little stuff. Poke around and look for coral banded shrimp, crabs. Better viz may have revealed something larger just beyond the reef. If you fancy something different, try snorkelling in the mangroves.

Biggest gripe: The 90 minute ferry ride from Grenada to the island, take the small plane instead. Not much more expensive but much quicker. Oh, and the mossies. Take plenty of insect repellent.

What suit to take: Sea was like jumping into bath water, routinely had 27/28C so a 3mm will do, particularly if you are planning to do the wrecks.

Where to Stay: If there is a group of you and you are not too fussy, Ade's Dream is a great central location. Right on Main Street and a few minutes walk from the Carriacou Silver diving. The owner Chris also owns a bar across the road which overlooks the beach and he opened up for us. Serves great rum with a great view. Not to be missed. Also the hotel has a great balcony area and group of us gathered there as the sun went down to shoot the breeze and drink rum. Guy down the street had Marley on the decks. Doesn't get any more Caribbean than that. If you fancy something a little more European in feel try the Laurena or the Grand View Inn. For something that has more boutique feel the Green Roof Inn is perfect. Last two are bit more of a walk away from the dive centre.

Miscellaneous dive info: It is a short walk across the road to beach to boat. Dive centre has two good boats, is well equipped, has showers, gear hangers and multiple rinse tanks. Nice garden to relax in between dives. Important thing for my wife, they have all sizes of BCD, including XS and children's sizes.

Guidebook: Couldn't find one. The Caribbean really needs a good guidebook.

Other info: Food at Hope's Inn is great. Also try the breakfast at Sandisland Café , Brian Whyte
lobster fritters are tasty as are his eggs mixed with vegetables. Unusual but tasty brekkie

Worth going: Absolutely

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World Cup Octopus predicts another Germany win

2010-07-01T08:41:00.003+01:00

Paul the Psychic World Cup Octopus is at it again and Germany are hoping he will make it five out of five.
Octopus Paul has correctly predicted Germany's results with uncanny accuracy by plucking mussels with certain national flags out of his tank.

He has correctly predicted the winner in all four of Germany's games so far - and has now picked them to beat Argentina on Saturday.

Psychic Octopus predicts England World Cup exit

2010-06-26T10:37:00.003+01:00

I didn't know how I was going to do this until I came across this story but I have finally managed to link scuba diving, marine life and the World Cup.

And it's all thanks to Paul the Psychic Octopus.

Apparently when consulted, Paul predicted that Germany would knock out England when they meet in Bloemfontein in the last 16 on Sunday.

And how did he do this? He chose a mussel from a jar with the German flag on it ahead of one in a similar jar bearing the cross of St George.

The container that Paul opens first is said to be his pick for who will win the impending match, keepers say.

The two-year-old cephalopod from the Tanja Munzig Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium, has a record of predicting past German results in this manner, his owners say.

Paul has so far correctly predicted all of Germany's results in South Africa, predicting Germany would beat Australia in their opening match, then lose to Serbia, and then beat Ghana. is keepers say he correctly predicted 80 per cent of Germany's results during the 2008 European Championship.

"Paul's prediction was phenomenal," said aquarium spokesman Tanja Munzig.
"He swam straight over to the German glass, climbed in and even put a lid on top once he was sitting inside."

Some might say that he is a bit of a traitor though - he was born in the UK before being moved to German aquarium.

Sea turtle finds lost camera and films himself

2010-06-15T14:23:00.002+01:00

Now, it's not the best underwater footage you're ever going to see. But considering it was shot by a turtle, you will probably understand.

The footage has become a YouTube sensation after it helped reunite a diver with his lost camera following an epic 1,100 mile journey.

Royal Dutch Navy sergeant Dick de Bruin lost the camera while he was exploring a wreck off the tropical island of Aruba last year.

Amazingly, he was reunited with the camera more than six months later after a Florida coastguard Paul Shultz spotted it washed up in a Key West Marina and plucked it from the water on May 16.

Thanks to some impressive detective work he managed to track down the owner.

And what of the mysterious video clip? It seems the camera was mistaken for a meal by a hungry sea turtle who inadvertently switched it on trying to shake it off after becoming entangled in its strap and filmed a five-minute section of itself swimming with.

The video footage has now been viewed more than 490,000 times on YouTube.

Journalist scuba dives under Gulf of Mexico oil slick

2010-06-11T11:29:00.004+01:00

AP journalist Rich Matthews has dived under the murky depths of the Gulf of Mexico to see the environmental devastation caused by the oil pumping from the broken undersea oil well.

Here is an edited version of his report.

Some 40 miles out into the Gulf Of Mexico, I jump off the boat into the thickest patch of red oil I've ever seen. I open my eyes and realize my mask is already smeared. I can't see anything and we're just five seconds into the dive.

Dropping beneath the surface the only thing I see is oil. To the left, right, up and down - it sits on top of the water in giant pools, and hangs suspended fifteen feet beneath the surface in softball sized blobs. There is nothing alive under the slick, although I see a dead jellyfish and handful of small bait fish.

It's quiet, and to be honest scary, extremely low visibility. I spend just 10 minutes swimming around taking pictures, taking video. I want people to see the spill in a new way, a way they

The oil is so thick and sticky, almost like a cake batter. It does not wipe off. You have to scrape it off, in layers until you finally get close to the skin. Then you pour on some Dawn dishwashing soap and scrub. I think to myself: No fish, no bird, no turtle would ever be able to clean this off of themselves. If any animal, any were to end up in this same puddle there is almost no way they could escape.

The full version and pics can be found here

The murky world of police scuba divers

2010-06-11T11:12:00.005+01:00

Underwater search teams are a familiar sight during major police investigations. In a recent triple murder investigation in Bradford, they were a photographed as they made the grisly search for evidence that may have been dumped in the river.

But what is it like to make a living probing the country's murkiest recesses?

One officer who has to contend with these challenges on a daily basis is Sgt Steve Howe, 39, who has served with Northumbria Police's Marine Unit for eight years and admits that nothing could have prepared him for the murky reality of Tyneside and Wearside's hidden depths.
"If you're claustrophobic, it's definitely not for you," he said.

"About 90per cent of the time you have absolutely no visibility. You've always got the danger of entanglement. And let's face it, it isn't very pleasant when you're called out at 3am in February."

For the full story, log on the the BBC online magazine.

So you want to be a scuba diving instructor? Part 1

2010-06-11T10:47:00.003+01:00

There I was sitting at the desk on my IE, the PADI Standards and Procedures exam opened in front of me and a row of fruit and herbs in front of me.
I was stuck on question 32, trying to work out how a peach related to the Open Water course.
Now before you start looking for the soft fruit section in the Instructor Manual, this turned out to be a dream. Or was it a nightmare?
So you can guess the pressure I had put myself under to qualify as a PADI instructor.

I had not really wanted to be an instructor. I was happy when I qualified as a Divemaster. The position seemed to fit perfectly. I was good at the logistics, the running around behind the scenes, the friendly sergeant type who students could go to for advice and help.

And then came a dive in Egypt. Within our group were two youngsters. One seemed to have a problem getting down and the guide seemed to signal to him to surface on his own and find the boat. As I was diving in a team of three (my wife and another English guest) I decided to step in. They could buddy each other and I could help the youngster. In the end the dive passed off without incident but it got me thinking about my diving future. At the same time while on holiday my boss 'kindly' called to say my job was at risk. Again, my future came to the fore.

So I got back and signed up for my AI with Aquasport.

Now my knowledge, dive skills and presentation style were really put to the test. I didn't see the pool as a problem, but the classroom was another story.

More later.

World Ocean Day

2010-06-08T14:51:00.004+01:00

Today, June 8 is World Ocean Day and Project Aware is urging you to spend two minutes and join AWARE Divers worldwide demanding that sharks be given a fighting chance.

Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed by Earth’s most dangerous predators – humans. Too many of them fall victim to the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning – the act of removing shark fins and discarding the often still alive shark overboard.

According to the PADI consevation group, Governments have ignored scientific evidence and advice in favour of short-term economic interests at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), March 2010.

They failed to give eight threatened shark species the trade protections they deserve.

Despite set-backs, thanks to advocates like you, sharks have received recent, historical national protections in Europe, Maldives and Palau. Together, we will make a difference for these critical species.

To express your outrage at the recent CITES failures, sign the petition. Your signature, together with thousands of divers and advocates worldwide, will demand government parties to CITES heed science and protect fragile ocean ecosystems.

Thanks to your support we’re giving sharks a fighting chance.

June 8 was officially recognised as World Oceans Day as a result of a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December 2008.

The concept for a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then.

Since 2002, The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network have helped to promote and coordinate World Oceans Day events worldwide.

Designation of World Oceans Day provides an important boost to those organizations and individuals who have been deeply committed to ocean conservation. Official UN designation is another important step toward improving the health of our world's ocean.

The Deep at the Natural History Museum

2010-06-07T18:13:00.008+01:00

The deep dark ocean. You could be forgiven for thinking the inky black depths are devoid of life. But a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum is offering a rare glimpse at the life that lives hundreds of metres below the waves.

This is an area rich in weird and wonderful alien looking creatures, marine life that has adapted to the seemingly inhospitable darkness and pressure to eek out an existence far from the gaze of man.

But using discoveries of the past and present, the Deep exhibition has revealed how some of the strange creatures live their lives. From the fish that use bioluminesence to disguise themselves or to hunt to those that dislocate their jaws to swallow prey greater than their own body weight.

These are also creatures with big teeth - you never know how long it might be until your next meal comes along so its best to keep hold of what you get. Having spent a couple of hours walking around the exhibition, I was over-awed.

The oceans cover seven-tenths of the Earth's surface with an average depth of almost 4km, but plummeting in places to 11km deep.

Amazingly, (as I discovered when given a Project Aware teaching presentation on my PADI instructor exam) the oceans provide about 190 times as much living space as all of the Earth's other environments - that's soil, air and fresh water put together.

Until the Challenger expedition of 1872, little was known about what lived in the depths of the ocean, beyond the twilight zone and into the perpetual darkness deeper than 1km. Over four years the expedition discovered much of what we now know to be true.

And with much of the ocean still to be explored (more men have stepped on the moon than have been to the deepest depths of the ocean) scientists are continually discovering new things - some of them very surprising.

The Deep exhibition reveals some rare specimens and models from shimmering jellyfish and scary angler fish to giant spider crabs and colossal squid. At the centre of the exhibition is a real sperm whale skeleton that has never been on display before.

The record for the deepest fish goes to Abyssobrotula galatheae, a member of Ophidiidae family. It was dredged from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of 8,368m in 1970.

The largest known deep sea fish is the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, which grows to over 7m in length. However, it doesn't spend all its time in the deep sea. It also comes up to the surface to eat offal thrown overboard from fishing boats.

Lucky diver gets ticket to dive

2010-05-11T18:15:00.003+01:00

LUCKY Marc Oliver Williams has got a ticket to dive after landing a sponsorship deal as part of a EasyJet promotion for its new flights to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt from Manchester.
The airline has given Mr Williams a ticket that entitles him to free return trips to Sharm el Sheikh.
He will therefore be able to complete the 60 recorded dives required to gain a PADI Divemaster qualification.
Ali Gayward, easyJet's commercial manager, said: 'We're excited to be operating yet another new route from Manchester and what better way to celebrate making a top diving spot more accessible to the north-west than helping a local scuba diver to achieve his dream of becoming a dive professional?'
The airline is offering three weekly services to the popular Egyptian holiday destination from Manchester.
Andrew Harrison, the airport's commercial director, said Egypt's location outside the euro area means it is proving one of the most popular countries for holidaymakers.

Scuba diving Grenada: Trip up in smoke thanks to Icelandic volcano

2010-04-19T08:28:00.003+01:00

It serves me right.
I have spent the past couple of weeks day dreaming about scuba diving big wrecks in Grenada, dusted down my underwater camera, got a new strobe, and what happens?
An Icelandic volcano is what happens.

Currently all flights to and, crucially, from the UK are grounded with no sign of them resuming any time soon. Or soon enough for me to head off to the Caribbean.
Cheers Icelandic volcano.

Oh well, at least I have the YouTube videos from the earlier post.

Octopus snatches camera from scuba diver

2010-04-17T23:39:00.002+01:00

We've all done it. Poked our camera in the face of some poor fishy and blasted it with flash.

Well let this video be a lesson to us all. Animals may fight back and steal our precious and expensive gear.

Scuba diving Grenada: here we come

2010-04-09T13:50:00.003+01:00

Grenada wreck diving here we come. I have just got the itinerary for a trip to the Spice islands later this year and there are some big wrecks.

As the trip is a while away, I guess I'll just have to let these videos keep me going.

If you have dived Grenada and have any recommendations please leave a comment. I'd hate to missing something good while I'm there.

Shakem Wreck: This 180ft cargo ship was transporting cement to the port of St.George in 2001. The vessel was overloaded, and the cargo shifted which resulted in the ship sinking within sight of the harbor. It is sitting intact on the bottom in 100ft of water, only a 5 minute boat ride from our Grenada dive shop. Even though it has been on the bottom a short time, it is already home to schools of barracudas and the entire hull is quickly becoming a new reef. This dive is for the experienced diver, and is unique in that it lies on the bottom fully loaded with cargo and intact.

Veronica L (Wreck): This coastal freighter which is 25 metres long and is fully intact except for the bridge section is one of our favourite dive sites. She was placed in her final resting place on Upper Boss Reef in 2003 after being moved from St Georges Harbour. As this is quite a shallow wreck it can be enjoyed by all levels of diver. She has probably the largest diversity of marine life in such a small area of all our dive sites. As you descend on her there will be patrolling barracuda, horse eyed jacks hunting amongst the brown chromis and creole wrasse. In the engine room you will occasionally find a massive green moray eel. Look closely on this dive site for many marine life treasures.

On October 12th 1961 the Bianca C left Italy on her final voyage. Ten days later, whilst anchored off St Georges, the capital of Grenada, she caught fire. The fire followed an explosion in her boiler room with the flames spreading rapidly throughout the rear of the ship. Of those on board, 672 of 673 people were saved by the prompt action of both the crew and of numerous local small boats launched from St. George's harbour in Grenada. Unfortunately there was insufficient marine fire fighting equipment available to stem the blaze or indeed to facilitate rescue of the body of the only person lost on board. Of those rescued, twelve badly burnt crew were taken to the local hospital for treatment and fortunately only one further crewmember subsequently died, a man named Rodizza Napale.

On hearing the bad news, a British Frigate the "Londonderry" sailed from Puerto Rico to offer assistance. They arrived on October 24th to find the ship still burning. They succeeded in severing the anchor chain and securing a towing line with a view to removing her from the local shipping lanes and beaching her in the shallows off from Point Salines. The tow proved difficult partly because the Bianca C's large rudders had become jammed by the extreme heat of the fire. The tow line was severed and she sank to the ocean floor where she rests today. This really is a fantastic wreck dive for 'Advanced divers' when they visit Grenada.

Chagos ISlands to become world's largest marine reserve

2010-04-02T15:18:00.004+01:00

THE Chagos Islands? Ever heard of 'em?
Well these tiny British islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean are to become the world's largest marine reserve, the Government has announced.

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) will cover some quarter of a million square miles of sea around the archipelago in the Indian Ocean and include a "no-take" reserve banning commercial fishing.

The Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the establishment of the reserve in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) would double the amount of the world's oceans which were protected.

The announcement was hailed as "fantastic" by conservationists who have been campaigning for the creation of a marine reserve to protect some of the world's most unspoilt seas and coral reefs in the face of pollution, climate change and loss of species.

Mr Miliband said: "Its creation is a major step forward in protecting the oceans, not just around BIOT itself but also throughout the world.

He insisted the creation of the protected area would not affect the UK's commitment to cede the territory to Mauritius when it was no longer needed for military purposes.

The 55 islands across 210,000 square miles in the middle of the Indian Ocean which form the British Overseas Territory have at least 60 endangered species in their coral reefs and waters.

The islands are home to more than 220 types of coral, 1,000 species of fish and at least 33 different seabirds and have been described as the most pristine tropical marine environment on Earth.

Greenpeace biodiversity campaigner Willie Mackenzie said: "These coral seas are a biodiversity hotspot in the Indian Ocean, and unquestionably worthy of protection from destructive activities like fishing.

"And this marine reserve will provide a safe refuge for many globally endangered species such as sharks and turtles."

The commercial tuna fish industry wanted an exemption which would allow them to continue fishing, but in the run-up to the announcement scientists warned allowing the fisheries to continue would harm threatened wildlife.

Professor Charles Sheppard of Warwick University said the region was very resilient to the impacts of climate change - such as the bleaching and death of coral reefs - because it did not suffer from other impacts such as pollution and overfishing.

And he said: "The U.K.'s designation sets a new global benchmark for responsible ocean stewardship.

"The Chagos Protected Area will provide an important global reference site for a wide range of scientific ecological, oceanographic and climate studies, and will underpin the provision of benefits to humans throughout the Indian Ocean region into the future."

Hammerhead sharks sold out again

2010-03-23T16:34:00.004Z

PROPOSALS to protect the heavily fished hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks were narrowly rejected today because of concerns among Asian nations over the trade in shark fins.

Japan, China and Indonesia were among those nations which successfully campaigned against the proposalsat the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

They argued that trade restrictions over the shark fin industry were not the answer, would damage coastal nations and would be difficult to apply.

Oh that's okay then.

Too difficult to police? Let's forget it then!

Don't want to damage coastal nations? That's fine then, let's not worry about about damaging majestic species and forever altering fragile eco-systems.

The meeting did agree to offer greater protection to Porbeagle sharks. But conservationists claimed the other species of shark have been "sold out" by countries who voted not to protect them against commercial fisheries.

Sharks are being finned in greater numbers to supply the shark fin soup market which has long played central part in traditional Chinese culture. Demand for the soup has surged as increasing numbers of Chinese middle class family become wealthier.

Masanori Miyahara, chief counselor of the Fisheries Agency of Japan, told delegates: "This is not about trade issues but fisheries enforcement. Poaching is a big problem. Small scale long liners are chasing sharks all over the world."

But a "disappointed and frustrated" Jupp Baron Kerckerinck zur Borg, president of the Shark Research Institute based in Millbrook, N.Y., called it right.

He said: "Japan has been voting the shark proposals down because they are catching them, Singapore voted them down because they make money selling the fins and China makes money because they eat them.

"How can we win?"

Supporters of the restrictions argued that the unregulated trade had seen the populations of the endangered scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead and the threatened smooth hammerhead to plummet by as much as 85 percent.

Oceanic whitetip sharks face similar threats and their numbers are down 60 to 70 percent

If politicians on the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, which last year created the first ever shark sanctuary, can see the danger of over-fishing it's about time some of these more developed nations - JAPAN - saw the light as well.

hammerhead sharks in Birmingham

2010-03-22T13:33:00.001Z

The first hammerhead sharks ever seen in a British aquarium have taken up residence at the National SeaLife Centre, Birmingham.
A pair f scalloped hammerheads has joined the black-tipped reef sharks and giant sea turtles in the attraction’s tropical ocean tank.
The new arrivals will spearhead the Centre’s drive to raise awareness of shark conservation needs.

Youngsters of only a little over three feet long, they could eventually grow to over two metres.
“They are truly amazing creatures and will help us in our efforts to persuade people that sharks are diverse and fascinating, and worthy of protection rather than persecution,” said curator Graham Burrows.
Scalloped hammerheads are a particularly appropriate choice to aid the Sea Life centre in its endeavours, as they may soon become a protected species.
“Though endangered, their larger cousins the greater hammerheads are much more seriously threatened,” said Graham.
“One of the prime reasons is the grisly shark-finning trade, and since the fins of both species are hard to tell apart, trade in scalloped hammerheads needs to be controlled to safeguard the greater hammerhead.”
There was good news for scalloped hammerheads in January when the Spanish government prohibited their capture by its own fishing fleet.
They are also benefiting from a recent decision by the Maldivesto declare 90,000 square kilometres of the Indian Oceana shark sanctuary where shark fishing will no longer be allowed.
And if all goes well scalloped hammerheads will be added to the CITES 11 list (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which will afford them more widespread protection.
“We feel privileged to have been chosen to host these two amazing sharks,” said Graham.

Gas company finds shipwrecks found in Baltic Sea

2010-03-10T19:13:00.006Z

THE company behind the new Nord Stream undewater pipeline in the Baltic Sea has discovered 12 centuries old shipwrecks.

The firm said studies by the Swedish National Heritage Board have indicated that at least nine of the twelve findings are of "great cultural historical value" and "well preserved".

The oldest wreck probably dates back to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while the others are likely from the 17th to 19th centuries, the Associated Press reported.

The heritage board said three of the wrecks have intact hulls and are lying upside-down at a depth of 130 metres (430 feet).

Thousands of wrecks — from medieval ships to warships sunk during the world wars of the 20th century — have been found in the Baltic Sea, which doesn't (yet) have the ship worm that destroys wooden wrecks in saltier oceans.

The latest discovery was made during a search of the seabed east of the Swedish island of Gotland by the Nord Stream consortium, which is building a 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

The 12 wrecks were found in a 30-mile-long and 1.2-mile-wide (48-kilometer-long and 2 kilometer-wide) corridor, during underwater investigations conducted by the Swedish marine survey company Marin Mätteknik.

In a statement, the company said: "The findings are a result of the extensive seabed surveys carried out by Nord Stream as part of the preparatory works ahead of the construction of Nord Stream’s gas pipelines."

The wrecks were found in so-called anchoring corridor used for anchor positioning by the pipelay barge during the construction of the pipelines

"During the entire preparation phase Nord Stream has been working in close contact with the relevant Swedish authorities. The documentation concerning the shipwrecks has been made available to the National Maritime Museums, which are now preparing a final report based on the survey documentation," the company added.

"Analyses so far indicate that at least nine of the twelve findings are of great cultural historical value and thus also well preserved. The authority will now proceed to register the shipwrecks as permanent ancient monuments.

"Most of them are commercial ships, originating from the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the most ancient wreck could be from the Middle Ages.

"The discovery of the shipwrecks is another example of how Nord Stream’s extensive investigations of the Baltic Sea are useful for researchers as well as the interested public."

The Cove wins Oscar

2010-03-09T16:13:00.003Z

THE campaign to highlight the plight of dolphins brutally butchered in an annual hunt in Japan is set to receive a major boost after documentary The Cove picked in a statue at the Oscars.

The Cove, which follows an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan.

Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.

The film highlights that the number of dolphins killed is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and claims that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year.

The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats.

During the Oscar ceremony environmental activist and star Ric O'Barry, who once worked as a trainer on the popular 1960s television show "Flipper", held up a sign as the team collected their award.

"It was a number to text where people can go to take action for the dolphins," O'Barry said. "It's not a protest sign, and I didn't mean to be disruptive, but there were a billion people watching."

Already more than 50,000 people have sent in text messages of support, O'Barry said.

the gribble marine pest could cure global warming

2010-03-09T16:02:00.002Z

Well not exactly....
But a wood-munching marine pest could be the key to a biofuel breakthrough, say scientists.
The Gribble, which resemble pink woodlice, has plagued seafarers for centuries boring through the planks of ships and destroying wooden piers.
But now environmental scientists are taking a keen interest in the crustaceans because the tiny creatures are able to break down woody cellulose and turn it into energy-rich sugars - or liquid biofuels for vehicle engines.
Researchers at the universities of York and Portsmouth made the discovery.
They wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: "This study has revealed a combination of glycosyl hydrolase genes in Limnoria that seem likely to endow it with greater autonomous facility for lignocellulose digestion than animals such as termites. This may in part help to explain why these animals can survive on a diet of lignocellulose without the aid of gut microbes."
No, I haven't got a clue what it means either but if it stops the planet warming and reduces the damage to fragile coral reefs caused by increasing sea temperatures then they have my vote.

Top underwater photographers

2010-03-07T08:06:00.002Z

SALTY blogger Deep-Sea News has come up with a list of 11 - well why not? - underwater photographers you should know.

Without wishing to rip-off their selection (check out their own entry) I have decided to copy their idea with five underwater photographers you should follow if you value improving your own picture-taking abilities.

Have a look at their fantastic work and work out how they shot it. I guarantee we can all learn from them to help improve our own pics.

In no particular order, here are my favourite five at the moment.

1) Dr Alex Mustard. The bloke (author, photographer,marine biologist) has just about done everything and his tutorials regularly feature in scuba diving magazines to help us mere mortals improve our skills. And his stuff is not just from some far flung tropical destinations. Check out his amazing UK pics as well.

2) Thomas P Peschak. Chief Photographer of the Save our Seas Foundation, he is a former marine biologist who specialized in kelp forest ecology and the impacts of illegal fishing. He left science to pursue a life in environmental photojournalism and has spearheaded campaigns to proclaim marine reserves, end abalone poaching and illegal shark fishing. His book Wild Seas Secret Shores is a coffee table favourite.

3) Eric Cheng. The man behind Wetpixel website and magazine, he is turning out some awe-inspiring images that are worth checking out. Eric is also involved in ocean conservation, and is technical advisor and photographer for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

4) David Doubilet. Considered to be among the best by editors, peers and colleagues the world over. He has photographed over 60 stories for the National Geographic Magazine where he is currently a Contributing Photographer-in-Residence. What more do I need to say.

5) Scubazoo. Okay, not technically a photographer but a team of professional underwater cameramen and photographers. Based in the Far East they have worked on many of the biggest TV projects and their book Reef is a brilliant study and aid to helping improve your pics.

Deep Sea News chosen few included:
Jason Bradley

how low will you go for a free lunch? How about the dead zone?

2010-03-05T08:45:00.007Z

FORENSIC archaeologists have for years been using pigs to study how the human body decomposes as part of research into murders and mass killings.

But sometimes scientists uncover things they were never expecting.

While running experiments at how the body decomposed in sea water (using pig carcasses of course), scientists in Canada found deep sea dwelling animals risk their own lives to take a free lunch and a chance on feeding at great depths.

Low-oxygen (hypoxic) zones are caused by the nutrient-rich run-off from agricultural land. This feeds algae in the ocean. When this algae dies, sinks and decomposes, it consumes most of the vital oxygen supply in the water, leading to what are known as dead zones - areas where nothing can survive for long.

But the research, coordinated with Canada’s VENUS project, has found creatures are prepared to push the envelope for food.

In one case, the project filmed several six-gill sharks annihilated a carcass, eliminating it within a day at more than 900 feet below sea level.

The scavenger animals usually hang out at shallower depths, where oxygen levels are higher. But the pig carcasses attracted a daring crowd. If the crabs, squat lobsters and other animals stay too long in oxygen-depleted waters, they will suffocate.

The lead researcher, Verena Tunnicliffe of the University of Victoria, said the scientists were very surprised to see how far animals pushed their limits to go after an enticing meal.

"This big hunk of meat on the seafloor represented a good food source for these marine creatures," she told the BBC.

"Scavengers are very important in the world. They're what allow things to restore."

The study placed three pigs into very oxygen-poor zones in the Saanich Inlet, which is off the coast British Columbia.

She added: "On day one, we lowered the pig. By day two, we've had crabs and shrimp, then octopus. Then sea stars arrive. They've had to travel across the bottom. They know something's there and they arrive almost immediately and stay there."

At levels down to almost seven per cent oxygen in the water the animals still coped.

But at depths where the oxygen level was much lower than that severe level, nothing stirred on the pig carcass. On the seafloor, therefore, nothing feeds and bacterial decomposition is the only thing that works.

The findings will help scientists in their study of other locations, such as the Mississippi Delta, where fertilizer in upstream agricultural runoff lowers oxygen levels.

Great white sharks more endangered than tigers

2010-02-19T17:47:00.005Z

Fewer great white sharks are left in the oceans than there are tigers surviving on Earth.

Canadian expert Dr Ronald O'Dor said the two top predators are almost equally under threat, but the plight of great whites needed greaster attention

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in San Diego, he told how the discovery was made by colleagues from the Census of Marine Life.

He said: "I recently heard a report from the team that's been tagging great white sharks. The estimated total population of great white sharks in the world's oceans is actually less than the number of tigers.

"We hear an awful lot about how endangered tigers are but apparently great white sharks are pretty close to the same level. Some people say I don't care, they eat people, but I think we have to give them a little space to live in.

"Until recently, people thought sharks were bad and there was no urge to save great whites. Now people are beginning to understand that they are rare and that they are a wonderful species."

The same meeting heard from experts warning that seep sea "bottom trawling" was causing untold damage to fragile reef ecosystems around the world.

The heavy fishing nets, dragged along the sea bed on large rubber rollers called "rockhoppers", smashed and flattened coral outcrops that provided vital refuges for fish and other marine species, said marine biologist Dr Jason Hall-Spencer, from the University of Plymouth.

He is calling for concerted international action to ban all bottom trawling from at risk habitats, many of which are yet to be identified.

Work by scientists involved in the Census of Marine Life (CoML) - a major worldwide project cataloguing life in the oceans - is now bringing to light the true extent of the destruction wrought by bottom trawling.

Dr Hall-Spencer, a leading CoML researcher, said: "Less than 1% of the estimated 50,000 seamounts have ever been surveyed and our research visits have revealed pristine coral reefs and many species that are brand new to science.

"However, over the past five years, these surveys have also worryingly revealed that all over the world, deep-sea habitats are suffering severe impacts from bottom trawling down to depths of 1,000 metres and more."

Many of the most threatened sites were cold water coral reefs in temperate zones that are still in the process of being discovered and explored, he said.

Scubageek enjoy life - and you can enjoy his logbook

2010-02-18T17:57:00.003Z

It's a job we all dream of. Warm seas, golden beaches, cold beers at the end. Oh, and plenty of diving.

So if you want to see how a professional guide is enjoying life check out scubageek for a run day of his day 'at the office'.

The PADI instructor, aspiring writer, and rum enthusiast says he' running away from the American Dream on paradise islands around the world.

"I love my life!" he adds.

I bet you do!

Biggest crab in Britain claws its way to Birmingham

2010-02-12T08:09:00.004Z

THE biggest crab ever seen in Britain has arrived at Birmingham’s National Sea Life.

A Japanese Spider Crab with a two-metre claw span, he has been christened ‘Crabzilla’.

“It is rumoured these crabs can grow as big as four metres,” said curator Graham Burrows, “big enough to straddle a car.
“Crabzilla certainly lends credence to those claims.”

The colossal crustacean has been flown to the UK from Japan and is ultimately bound for Belgium to take up permanent residence in a specially adapted display tank at a Sea Life centre in Blankenberge.

Having been quarantined in Dorset, however, Sea Life marine experts agreed that UK animal lovers deserved a chance to see him before he crosses the Channel.

The National Sea Life Centre’s open-topped ray tank has the icy cold waters Crabzilla needs, and will be his home until the end of March.

“He will absolutely dwarf the other crabs in there, but he’s not aggressive and they should have nothing to worry about,” said Graham.

The Japanese spider crab, Macrocheira kaempferi, is the largest known member of the ‘arthropod’ family…which includes all invertebrates with jointed limbs.

Crabzilla’s front limbs are his feeding arms, each over five feet long and ending in sizeable claws.

Found in the Pacific off Japan, the giant spider crabs are most common in waters between 200 and 300 metres deep but have been known to live as deep as 800 metres.

A Japanese delicacy when salted and steamed, eating them is however forbidden in the spring, when they lay their eggs.

For pics, click here

2010-02-12T07:00:00.000Z

ONE of the web's top underwater photography sites, DivePhotoGuide.com, has launched a free series of comprehensive underwater photography tutorials written by professional underwater photographers.

"Whether you're just beginning in underwater photography, simply looking to improve or fine tuning your established skills, the DPG underwater photography guide is designed to provide practical underwater photography tips, equipment requirements, and lighting techniques that you can put to use the next time you hit the water," the website states.

It includes all manner of hints and tips for shooting everything from wide angle to macro to helping with strobes thanks to articles from some of the world's top underwater toggies including Dave Doubilet and Alex Mustard.

Check out that image - an example of close focus-wide angle "high impact" photography.

In one of the articles ,Alex Mustard offers a tutorial on making the most of the "classic technique to produce attention grabbing underwater photographs" including the best kind of kit to use and strobe positioning to get the best out of lighting.

Read it and be amazed at his images, it will make you desperate to get into the water with your camera.

Scuba diving Fujairah - artifical reefs take hold

2010-02-11T17:53:00.005Z

A PLAN to use artificial materials to rehabilitate coral reefs 100 metres off the coast of Fujairah seems to be working, leaders of a conservation project have revealed.

Last June, 15 large reef balls – dome-shaped, concrete spheres with holes in the sides and top, some weighing more than two tonnes – were placed in the water in front of Le Méridien Al Aqah Hotel.

An additional 20 have been placed since, and an exploratory dive this week revealed that a variety of young and adult fish have made the reefs their home.

The structures are also covered in barnacles and what is believed to be the beginnings of soft coral.

“We’ve been monitoring the progress of the reef closely since we laid the first blocks,” said Simon Tambling, the managing partner of Al Boom divers.

The goal is to have soft corals form in five years, followed by hard versions in the long-term.

Patrick Antaki, the general manager of Le Méridien Al Aqah, which is also involved in the project, said the artificial reef was meant to help restore damage done by a cyclone that hit the coast in January 2008.

"We wanted to be responsible for the environment that directly surrounds us,” he said.

There are already plenty of juvenile banner fish, puffer fish and jacks using it as their home.

Pike display intelligent hunting patterns

2010-02-08T17:55:00.007Z

DO pike hunt in packs?

Not a question you'll find an easy answer to on the internet but reports from divers at Dosthill Quarry suggest they may have learned some interesting new feeding techniques.

Normally lone predators who favour the "strike first, ask questions later!" style of hunting, it would appear the group of five adults at Dosthill are stealing ideas from dolphins and sharks.

Dive site boss Ian Forster said: "There are five of them hunting in a pack!!

"They are circling around the fry, herding them together in a large ball up against the quarry wall, and then attacking the shoal in two's and three's leaving a few pike to keep the ball together.

"This displays the same intelligent behaviour that is seen in dolphins!!"

Anyone who has seen Blue Planet or Nature's Greatest Events will know the drill. Fish hungry pack hunters like dolphins will surround the smaller fish, forcing them into a tighter an tighter ball by blowing bubbles to scare them or circling the shoal.

Gradually, they increase speed and narrow their path, trapping the fish in a tight ball against the surface before ripping through the centre of the ball for a feast.

pic from Jamie Parker's African Space sardine run tour

The pike are normally found on the back shelf over the weed beds and around the van and caravan, typically hunting in the morning and evening so it might be worth a look next time you are down there.

Galapagos Sea Lions set up colony in Peru

2010-02-08T08:18:00.003Z

A COLONY of sea lions endemic to the Galápagos Islands have established a colony off the coast of northern Peru as a result of increased sea surface temperature.

The Organization for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Animals, found the colony, including 30 sea lions, had travelled 932 miles (1,500km), from Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands to the Foca Island, off the coast of Peru’s Piura district.

Orca president, Carlos Yaipén, said the colony was the first reported outside the Galápagos archipelago and due to an increase in sea temperature.

He said: "Individual sea lions have been reported stranded in Ecuador and Colombia, here as well, but never a colony. This is due to their adaptation to climate change. The conditions of the sea around Piura are now similar to the Galápagos.”

Researchers say surface sea temperature around off the coast of Piura has increased over the last ten years from an average of 17C to 23C. Sea temperature around the Galápagos Islands averages 25C.

Canon IXUS 980 underwater

2010-02-02T19:23:00.001Z

Well here it is, the new holiday camera, the Canon IXUS 980.

Compact but with manual features - focus, shutter speed, ISO, white balance and a choice of two apertures per each focal length.

But more importantly it finally gives me the option of attaching a wide angled lens (and an additional macro at that).

The whole package was not cheap. The INON wide angle lens itself was £300 and the housing specific adaptor another £70. But it does offer a greater field of vision that I was never going to get with my G9 without the necessary Ikelite housing it needed.

The below image shows images without and then with the wide angle and the increased field. It was not a true test of the capabilities of the lens are re sharpness out to the edges, just simply a straight-out-of-the-box blast to show my other half why I'd spent all this extra cash on a new camera.

So how did it perform?

This is very much a warm-water camera. The buttons are too close together to operate with gloved hands. Sadly, I have also sacrificed full control of aperture that the G9 offered and also the option of shooting in RAW.

When the camera lens is at it's widest, you only get the choice of F2.8 or F8 (fully zoomed it offers F5.8 and F16). That said, using manual focus allows you to get around the lack of full aperture control to an extent to get those macro-type shots with shallow depth of field. A bit fiddly underwater, it can still produce some quality stuff if you persevere and it is a function I will be using permanently from now on.

It definitely needs a strobe for underwater use. The slow shutter speeds needed when using the available light in the pool test left slight blurring from camera shake.

The Powershot S90 with the Ikelite housing might have been the next best in comparison to the G9, but at a cost of an extra couple of hundred quid.

That might be the next step for UK underwater photography but the IXUS 980 represents a chance to do wide angle stuff abroad without the need to lug around large and heavy camera gear (and the extra cost of excess baggage charged by airlines).

I'll post some pics tomorrow of the limited test carried out in the pool.

Scuba Diving Mask Fog Wiper

2010-01-18T17:35:00.004Z

Scuba diving is a sport for those obsessed with gear, but I ask you!

Below is an image for the Scuba Diving Mask Fog Wiper

"This fog wiper is a manual device that allows the user to slide a magnet on the outside of the glass, causing an inside magnet to move in unison and wipe off fog. SIMPLE! This product works even with prescription lens masks," reads the sales description.

Or....you could just try the spit and rinse approach.

British diver lost in Red Sea

2010-01-18T17:31:00.001Z

News from AFP wire posted late on Sunday.
Egyptian rescue boats searched with fading hope for a British tourist on Sunday who was lost while scuba diving in the Red Sea, one of the rescuers said.
The three boats focused their search in an area 13 kilometres (eight miles) south of the Red Sea port town of Safaga, where the 45-year-old tourist was last seen on Saturday.
He was among a group of 12 British scuba divers. The rest of the group made it safely to shore.
Essam Mahran, in charge of rescue operations with the Red Sea Association for Diving and Marine Activities, said the tourist was an expert diver, but hopes of rescuing him were dimming.

Top Ten Coral reef dives

2010-01-18T17:23:00.004Z

Top10list has come up with the ten most beautiful reefs in the world. What do you think?

1. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The largest on the planet, this has inner and outer reefs, exotic fishes and corals that are not found elsewhere. The Great Barrier Reef has a vast coral diversity and species sprawl in abundance. This natural wonder is best visited in dry months when the weather is cool and the water is much clearer. There are other reefs in Townsville and to name a few are the Wheeler’s Reef, Davis Reef, Broad Hurst Reef and Bowden Reef.

2. The Palancar Reef, San Miguel de Cozumel, Mexico
More of a garden than a reef, this is also known as a coral. The colors of the corals here are amazing and make you wonder if there was such a profusion of color anywhere else. It is bound to take your breadth away with exotic selections of lobsters, crabs, sting rays and barracudas; a delightful holiday if you are one who wants to witness the Garden of Eden underwater.

3. Raja Ampats, Indonesia

This has an abundant assortment of coral species with large and different schools of fishes, lots of molluscs and other marine life. It has a staggering amount of coral with 600 varieties of hard coral and 1200 varieties of fishes. There is a huge population of the damsel fish here and this reef is located in a part called the coral triangle. The reefs are still in pristine condition with very little explorations and you can still find corals in the same way they were formed.

4. Grand Central Station and Chimneys, Fiji

This is also called the “Soft Coral Capital of the World” and is indeed very aptly named so. The Namina Marine Reserve has it all from mangroves and sea grass beds, with vertical walls – you have dominance of sea fans, sponges and crinoids. It is home to more than 1000 varieties of invertebrates, 400 discovered corals and 445 marine plants that have been documented. This is the migratory place for cetaceans like bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, minke whales, pilot whales, sperm whales and several turtle species that are otherwise endangered.

5. Belize Barrier Reef, Belize
This is the second largest barrier reef system and there are huge varieties of corals and marine life with over 300 different varieties of fishes and 65 different corals and new ones getting discovered with every passing year. You also have turtles, manatees and sea birds; you are bound to be overwhelmed with shapes and sizes of corals found here.

Details of the remaining five outlined below on Top10List

6. Magic Passage and Planet Rock, Papua New Guinea
7. Andaman Sea Reefs, India
8. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
9. Diving the S.S. Yongala, Queensland, Australia
This is called the best dive in and the best wreck in the world. It is home to Flying Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Jacks, Wrasse, Barracudas, Turtles, Bull Sharks, Octopuses and Sea Snakes.
10. Tubbataha Reef, Philippines

Shipworms threated underwater shipwrecks

2010-01-17T17:09:00.004Z

SHIPWORMS, God love 'em. Because the authorities in the Baltic don't. For these pesky wood boring marine molluscs are munching shipwrecks at an increasing rate.

Now a new project has been set up to tackle the little blighters.

Shipworms require a relatively high level of salt for their activity, and the Baltic Sea with its low salinity, has provide natural protection of the underwater cultural heritage for centuries.

Now scientists say have recorded them spreading into the area, probably as a result of climatic changes. And with an estimated 100,000 well-preserved shipwrecks and other maritime related constructions at the bottom of the Baltic able to provide archaeological info it is feared the shipworms could destroy significant finds.

Wreck Protect, which is funded by the European Commission, will now examine the growing spread of Shipworm into the Baltic Sea, and develop guidelines for protection of the submerged cultural heritage.

The very aggressive marine borers can normally destroy wooden material exposed to seawater within a very short period of time; years or even months.

According to research, the coastal waters of eastern Denmark has seen increased activity of shipworm and a study has shown they are active in the coastal waters of northern Germany.

The main objective of WreckProtect is to secure the preservation of two important objects of cultural heritage in marine environments, shipwrecks and submerged archaeological settlements

Are you addicted to scuba diving?

2010-01-15T18:30:00.005Z

Website Aquaviews have come up with a list of things which will let you know whether you are addicted to scuba diving or not. Here are ten of my faves.....

You Know you’re Addicted to Scuba Diving When..
1. You physics at schools but you can amazingly calculate the partial pressure of a gas in equilibrium and its solubility and absorption rate by the body during a dive using Henry’s Law

2. Every morning the sound of shaving foam (psshhhht) makes you want to go diving.

3. You have more Cert cards than credit cards in your wallet.

4. You’re more worried about your divers insurance payments than your health insurance.

5. You see a perfectly good ship and think that would make a nice wreck to dive in.

6. You spend most of your time picking apart the unrealities in the latest Hollywood diving flick rather than watching the movie.
7. You answer “Suunto” when asked what kind of computer you use.
8. You spit on your car windshield to prevent it from fogging up.
9. When you think your neighbors’ vacation to Belize was a waste of money cos they didn’t do any Scuba Diving.

10. You can’t remember your wedding anniversary but always know when Discovery Channels “Shark Week” is on.

For the rest of the list click here.

Let me what others you can think of.

Stingrays are clever and use water as a tool

2010-01-13T21:46:00.002Z

Freshwater stingrays use water as a "tool" in problem-solving tests, scientists have found.

Researchers gave South American freshwater stingrays tests and found they learned to use jets of water as a tool to extract a meal of hidden food from a plastic pipe.

It reveals that the fish, once thought a "simple reflex animal", have a bit more about them than first thought.

In his research paper abstract, Dr Michael Kuba who led the scientific research wrote: "Testing the cognitive abilities of cartilaginous fishes is important in understanding the evolutionary origins of cognitive functions in higher vertebrates. We used five South American fresh water stingrays in a learning and problem-solving task. All five subjects quickly learned to use water as a tool to extract food from the testing apparatus. The experimental protocol, which gave the animals the opportunity of correcting a wrong visual cue decision, resulted in four out of five subjects correcting an error rather than making an initial right choice. One of five subjects reached 100% correct trials in the visual discrimination task. The ability to use water as an agent to extract food from the testing apparatus is a first indication of tool use in batoid fishes."

Even more underwater photographs with the Canon G9

2010-01-12T17:15:00.008Z

Some more underwater pics from the G9. Let me know what you think by clicking on the word 'comment' below to ... comment.

Image that typified house reef diving, with snorkelers always looking with interest at what we were doing. Shutter speed 1/500. Ap 4.0 ISO 100. Really like the pic. It would be a nicer image if the water around the diver was empty of other bods but was caught be the silhouette of the diver. I'll try and organise something next time to get the look.

This little fish a couple of centimetres long was beavering around the reef so I used macro. Couldn't get him to stay still long enough to get him completely in focus, but still like it. 1/500; 3.8; 100; flash on

Better version than one in earlier post. Got the vibrant yellow of the fish to help it stand out from dull background. Composition still needs some work though. 1/320; 2.8, 200

After seeing David Doublilet's book Fishface with lots of extreme close-ups of fish I thought I'd give it a go. Had to crop a little. 1/320; 4.5; 400. Think I knocked the ISO setting on camera or left it on high value afte another shot and didn't realise, hence the grain. Another important lesson.

Shot of me courtesy of my wife using our old IXUS 500 in full auto by manual white balance. Like the silhouette. Hell I like it that there is a pic of me for a change.

Amazing coral pinnacle but without wide angle I was some way off when I took pic so it has had some post pic work on it. 1/40; 2.8; 200.

Amazing to see two morays but didn't really grasp the opportunity as we were surrounded by a giant wall of glass fish (see further on down) so just knocked off a couple of frames. Missed opportunity. Too much red in image.

Coral grouper.

Part of the wall of glass fish snaking around a coral pinnacle. Amazing spectacle. See earlier post from December with some video of it. 1/60; 3.2; 100. Same setting for shot below. Cropped a little. Probably needed to shoot with quicker shutter speed because the fish aren't pin sharp.

My blue water shot. 1/250; 4.0; 100; flash on. Liked the atmosphere with the sun rays. Just needed something to swim in front of the camera.

Really liked this one of Alison. Poor composition meant I cropped off a bit of her fin. 1/500; 2.8; 400. Same problem as another shot. Camera set up for something else and forgot to return i to normal settings before the opportunity presented itself.

Simple reef shot that when I came to edit my images cropped quite nicely with the three fish next to the soft coral. 1/125; 4.0; 400.

There you go, hope you like. Not great but a whole lot better than my first underwater stuff. I'm possibly fiddling too much with the settings and need to find the smaller number of best settings and then just tweak them accordng to the situation.

Feel free to comment, criticise, rip them to pieces by clicking below.

Lundy becomes England’s first Marine Conservation Zone

2010-01-12T16:47:00.003Z

Lundy Island, one of England’s most spectacular marine habitats, has today (12/01/2010) become England’s first Marine Conservation Zone.

While the creation of the marine conservation zone (MCZ) around the island under the Marine Act is effectively just a name change for the site, which has been a marine nature reserve for more than 20 years, it is hoped it will become a blueprint to the way the seas around the UK are protected from exploitation.

Over the next two years, plans for a network of protected zones will be drawn up around English, Welsh and Northern Irish waters.

Its new status establishes it as the first example of the new approach to marine protection being taken under the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which will contribute towards the creation of the network of "ecologically coherent and well-managed marine protected areas" by 2012, said the Government's conservation agency Natural England.

Chief Executive Dr Helen Phillips, Natural England’s Chief Executive, said: “As England’s first Marine Conservation Zone, Lundy represents the first step in delivering the marine protection ambitions of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, and it is fitting that an area of such obvious environmental importance is being designated in this way.”

The seas around Lundy, off the coast of Devon, are home to an impressive range of wildlife, such as grey seals, red band fish, crawfish and at least eight species of coral, which include pink sea fans, red sea fingers and sunset cup corals). Lundy is also the only place in the UK where five cup corals exist together.

Natural England video

Its importance was recognised by its designation as a Marine Nature Reserve in 1986 and it was also designated as a Special Area of Conservation in 2000 in recognition of the significance of its special habitats, which include reefs, sea caves and sandbanks.

Natural England said the new Lundy Marine Conservation Zone will cover the same area as the former Marine Nature Reserve. The existing management of the island’s waters, including the No Take Zone, will remain in place unchanged.

Helen Phillips added: “Lundy is a showcase of what a well protected marine environment can become. Today’s designation ushers in a new era of marine protection and it is important that the momentum to develop more Marine Conservation Zones is now sustained.”

Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for the Marine Environment, said: "We can't always see what is happening to the wildlife and habitats under our seas, but they need just the same protection as those on land and this world-first in legislation will provide that."

Lundy’s designation accompanies a much wider project to identify and designate new MCZs elsewhere. The MCZ Project is inviting people who use and value the sea to recommend the locations of future MCZs.

There are currently four independent, stakeholder-led MCZ Projects – Balanced Seas (south-east), Finding Sanctuary (south-west), Irish Sea Conservation Zones (Irish Sea) and Net Gain (North Sea).

The Marine Conservation Society is also running a campaign on the issue.

More underwater photographs using Canon G9

2010-01-11T18:02:00.007Z

Following an earlier post re using the manual functions of the Canon G9 to take underwater pics below are a few more examples from a recent trip to the Red Sea.

Probably should have included some of the other tries to see where things have been improved - but then I would have needed a massive memory card.

I used custom white balance on all of them, taking a reading from the palm of my hand or the sand, except where flash was used.

So in no particular order here goes.......

Napoleon Wrasse. Quite shallow at about ten metres which is why some of the colours still remain. Shutter speed 1/60. Ap 2.8. ISO 200

Red Sea Bannerfish. Got the right angle, to get some blue between fish and reef. Looked better on the camera screen and not quite sharp enough when downloaded. Shutter speed 1/80 Ap 4.0. ISO 80. With my new wide angle lens I will be able to get closer and still keep the ref in shot and get the image sharper.

Blue spotted ray shutter speed 1/60, aperture 2.8. No flash. I've had to crop a little to get more of a focus on the eyes, and it shows. Lesson learned: get closer next time.

Giant moray, about 8-10m down. Had a bit of time with him. 1/80; 3.5; 200. Flash on hence colour in his face. Debating whether red needs to be toned down a bit.

One of my faves from the holiday because of the composition and atmosphere despite it being quite grainy. No wide angle lens (soon to be rectified) so shot from some distance away. For some reason, the shutter speed wasn't quite right 1/500 so the ISO was high at 400. An opportunity that I didn't want to miss but lesson learned: have my camera settings ready.

A reasonable one of an anemone fish and the little friends. Shutter 1/60 (probably needs to be faster with these tricky little buggers) and aperture 3.8. Flash was on.

Too washed-out to be really good, but I liked the blue water (almost like a painting) and the two fish in shot. 1/125; 4.0; 100

Lionfish. Just couldn't get low enough angle in the water to put a bit of blue between fish and reef. Ap 2.8, shutter speed 1/30. Maybe that is why water has a purple hue. Found an article giving some hints and tips about shooting good blue water. If it's any good I'll let you know. Reef in bottom left corner also a distraction.

Tried b&w with the remnants of the Yolanda wreck because a lack of w/a meant I was someway off the reef. Can't say I'm too excited. 1/60 and 3.5.

Another Moray. Full on face at about 6m. Flash on, hence the colour. 1/60; 2.8; 80

Let me know what you think, and I'll post a few more tomorrow.

First pictures of Australian hospital ship Centaur at bottom of the ocean

2010-01-10T22:04:00.003Z

The bow of the Austr alain hospital ship Centaur torpedoed during Wolrd War IIwas seen for the first time in 66 years today after is was found at the bottom of the ocean.

The clearly-marked Centaur was lost on May 14, 1943 and only found off Australia's northeast coast last month when a high-tech search uncovered it at a depth of 2,059 metres (1.3 miles), according to news agency AFP.

Search director David Mearns said he hoped Sunday's photographic proof would remove all doubt and "hopefully end a 66-year quest for unanswered questions and bring comfort to many families across Australia and beyond".

Images of the wreck, more than 2km (1.3 miles) below the sea, were captured by a remote-controlled underwater camera.

"The wreck was found leaning over towards its port side at an angle of approximately 25 degrees and the bow is almost completely severed from the rest of the hull in the area where the single torpedo hit," Mr Mearns.

"Although the wreck is very badly damaged, characteristic markings and features that identify the wreck as the Centaur were clearly visible."

Australia believes the ship was struck without warning by a Japanese submarine but Japan says the circumstances around the sinking are unclear.

Among the distinctive features revealed Sunday by the remotely-operated submersible vehicle equipped with a camera are the large red cross on both sides of the bow and the number 47 that designated the vessel as Australian Hospital Ship 47.

Of the 332 people on the ship, only 64 survived. Eleven of the 12 nurses on board died.

Acting Premier Paul Lucas said the Remotely Operated Vehicle took the images, including an image of the Red Cross on the side of the Centaur at 2.50am this morning.

“The wreck is badly damaged but David Mearns and his team were able to identify key characteristics such as the green band painted on the hull of the boat and the Red Cross on the bow.

“The first ROV mission had to be cut short because of technical issues on the surface but search Director David Mearns will send the ROV down for more pictures today.

“It is incredible to think that these are the first images any human being has seen of this tragic ship in over six and a half decades.”

The wreck location is approximately 30 miles due east of the southern tip of Moreton Island (27 deg 16.98’ South, 153 deg 59.22’ East) at a depth of 2,059 metres.

The ROV was launched from the Seahorse Spirit, the ship used to find the Centaur. Lights were used to illuminate the wreck on the sea bed so that high definition video can be recorded.

More on the search for the Centaur, including a diary from those on board the vessel can be found here

Bugatti found at bottom of lake after 70 years could fetch £80,000 in auction

2010-01-10T14:40:00.004Z

It my look like a rust-bucket. But despite spending 70 years at the bottom of a lake, this one could fetch £80,000. For it is a rare 1925 touring Bugatti.

The car was pushed into Lake Maggiore by a frustrated tax official in 1936 after the owner abandoned it in Switzerland without paying the appropriate import tax.

It was re-discovered by a diver, Ugo Pillon, in 1967 over 160ft below the surface and was brought back up to the surface in last July by the club to raise money for a charity tackling juvenile violence.

It's believed that 20 per cent of the vehicle is salvageable and collectors and museums are said to be keen to buy it.

James Knight, from Bonhams auction house, said: "Sometimes we get cars that have been hidden in barns for years, but never have we had one that's spent 70 years at the bottom of a lake."

All money raised will go towards the Damiano Tamagni Foundation which is based in the town.
The sale is on January 23 at the Bonhams Retromobile sale in France.

The 1925 touring Type 22 Bugatti was built in Brescia in Italy. A small brass plate found on the car bears the name 'George Nielly, 48 Rue Nollet, Paris'. It was registered in his name in 1930.

Container ship runs aground on Woodhouse Reef in Straits of Tiran

2010-01-10T13:51:00.012Z

Worrying news from Sharm El Shiekh after a large cargo vessel ran aground on Woodhouse Reef, in the northern Red Sea.

The 260m-long, Hong Kong-flagged CSCL Hamburg hit the reef, one of four popular sites in the Straits of Tiran on the morning of New Year’s Eve, while en route to Singapore.

While the extent of damage to corals has yet to be officially assessed, divers have reported widescale devastation in the area where the ship ploughed into the beautiful reef.

Underwater cameraman Tom Osborn dived there on January 2 and told Dive Magazine: "All of the reef in the area of the collision has been destroyed. It resembles a chalk quarry with fresh white lumps of rock scattered everywhere.

"An area approximately 30m wide and 20m long has tumbled away in sections down the steep slope of Woodhouse Reef like an avalanche, destroying any living coral below to a depth of at least 45m."

Tom Osborn video

It is thought the ship could have caused more damage to the reef near the surface after the tides swung the vessel 180 degrees.

John Kean, a Sharm El Sheikh-based PADI and TDI diving instructor told Divernet that the ship tried to navigate between the middle two reefs, Woodhouse and Thomas, possibly after trying to avoid a small craft.

Lovilla (aka Lillia) October 2009

Having dived beneath the wreck of the Lovilla (aka Lullia) on nearby Gordon Reef last October, I can imagine the damage. She ran aground in September 1981 and is slowly crumbling into the sea. Beneath her the reef is deeply scarred as debris, both from the wreck itself and also from the damaged reef, has plunged into the deep scouring channel from the reef on it's way down.

Star Trek goes scuba diving

2010-01-10T13:17:00.003Z

They have been hidden among us for years, quietly going about their business, acting as our buddies, sharing a pint - all the while keeping their geeky credentials hidden.

But thanks to a Star Trek merchandising website, they will soon be able to show their true colours, playing out all their Kirk and/or Spock fantasies. Provided of course that those fantasies included tightly fighting rubber suits and lots of water.

Yep that's right you can now get custom wetsuits based on the original series costumes so you will be able to identify the specky geeks when they boldly go.

I'll leave it to you to decide whether you would set your stun-gun to incinerate your buddy should he turn up in one of these!