dive site directory - Past Features
© Andrey Bobkov
Scuba Diving in Lake Baikal, Russia
We are very happy to finally add Russia to our list of reviewed diving locations with a number of dive sites from Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Baikal is formed by a huge tectonic crack in the earths crust and offers a wide variety of diving including sheer walls, overhangs, dramatic rock formations, wrecks and even ice diving. Although Lake Baikal isn’t a conventional diving destination it offers a unique range of diving locations and experiences. Many thanks to Andrey Bobkov of Three Dimensions-Baikal dive centre for contributing this section.
© Matt James
Scuba Diving in Bermuda
Located in the North Atlantic approximately 1000km off the US coast, Bermuda is made up of approximately 138 islands. Bermuda has British, American and Caribbean influences but is too far north to be considered part of the Caribbean. The diving in Bermuda is predominantly on historical wrecks, mostly located in shallow waters. In addition there is good visibility, coral reefs riddled with holes, caves, tunnels and swim-throughs. The variety of marine life is not as good as that found in the Caribbean but you still get plenty of life. Tarpon even congregate in September for the mating season. Thanks to Jenny Pickles for compiling the information for our Bermuda section and also to Matt James for the additional photos.
© Indigo Divers
Scuba Diving in the Algarve, Portugal
With the credit crunch showing no signs of leaving us, many divers will be having to cut back on how much they are spend on their holidays each year. For those of you in Europe, it could be a good opportunity to sample some of the diving a little closer to home. This month we have added the Algarve in Portugal to dive site directory which offers a mixture of wrecks, reefs and caves in relatively warm water. There's a good selection of marine life on offer and the chance to combine your diving with a nights out in some of the Algarve's bars and restaurants. The section is still small at the moment but we're sure that now it's up there will be plenty more added to it soon.
Scuba Diving Coron in the Philippines
We recently visited Coron in the Philippines, the location of a fleet of Japanese World War II vessels. Lesser known than some of the other wreck diving destinations of the Pacific, Coron is certainly worth a visit if you are a wreck enthusiast. The wrecks are large, easy to dive on, and the guided 'tours' allow for some straightforward penetration giving you the opportunity to fully explore inside and out. There is an abundance of reef life on the wrecks, although nothing in the way of pelagics – although in such low visibility (often only 5 metres!) who knows what was out there? The highlight of the trip for us was diving in Barracuda Lake, a volcano crater that has links to the sea. Saltwater overlies freshwater that is superheated to a scorching 38°C. Aside from the unusual haloclines and stunning scenery, you end the dive by having a good clean by some shrimps – fantastic! Thanks to Martin & Tracy Frankcom for inviting us along on their holiday!
Scuba diving in Cocos, Costa Rica
This is the section you've been waiting for, and it's certainly the section we've been waiting to write! Cocos is quite simply one of the top diving locations on the planet and one of the few places left where it is easy to see large shoals of hammerhead sharks on almost every dive. On others they come so close that, should you want to or be brave enough to do so, you could almost reach out and touch them (if some of our shots don't have the whole shark in frame, that's because it was too close to do so!). Add to that a profusion of other sharks such as white tips, black tips silver tips and if you're very lucky Galapagos sharks and even tiger sharks and it's any shark lovers dream!
If that’s not enough for your senses you also get to see fully grown tuna hunting on the reefs, balls of trevally so dense you can get lost in them and an excellent selection of rays including mantas rays, mobula rays, marbled rays and eagle rays – oh and did I forget to mention all the turtles and the rosy lipped bat fish which has to be seen to be believed? I think by now you're getting the picture; visit the section, have a browse and if at all possible go and visit Cocos for yourself as you won’t be disappointed.
The only sad thing about diving in Cocos is that even though it has a 25 mile fishing exclusion zone around it the park rangers are really struggling to keep the long lines out and keep them from devastating the shark population, so if you want to visit it at its best we would urge you to visit it soon. You can't help to come back from Cocos blown away and in no doubt that the annihilation of sharks by long lining for shark fin soup is totally unacceptable and extremely sad. We would urge you to do whatever you can, however small that may be to do your bit to support shark preservation. Cocos is how diving 'could' be if we as a species had more regard for the ocean and its inhabitants and if people (including quite a lot of divers we are sad to say) would stop eating marine life as if it is an inexhaustible resource and start looking after it for the amazing and precious resource that it is.
© Dive Aqaba
Scuba diving in Jordan, the Red Sea
We have just added five new dive sites and acccompanying photos to a completely new country on dive site directory: Jordan. Diving in the Red Sea off the coast of Jordan is first class and to date has none of the associated crowds of the better known parts! The eastern shore of the Northern Red Sea is the deeper side and all the dive sites in Jordan are close to shore, with soft corals and filter feeders proliferating due to stronger currents than those found along the western shore. Aqaba Marine Park was established in Jordan in 2002 to protect the coral reefs for future generations of divers and has since installed mooring buoys at all the popular dive sites. There are an abundance of wrecks and reefs suited to all levels of diver making it a great destinaion to visit.
© Charles Duff
Scuba diving in Mtwara, Tanzania
Thanks goes this month to Charles Duff who believes the peaceful, clear and calm waters of Mikindani and Mtwara in southern Tanzania are the best-kept secret of the east coast of Africa. Charles has contributed a detailed overview to this section plus 9 dive site reviews, giving a comprehensive account of the area. Thanks Charles!
We have also recently added an overview to our Sardinia section. Sardinia is located in the Mediterranean near Italy and is home to some spectacular caves. We have also added two brand new areas to our Australia section: the remote locations of Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands.
© Ed Fisher
Scuba diving in Malta
After being away last month being quite simply blown away by the diving in Cocos we’ve come back and it’s been all hands on deck to catch up with contributions. Our first new set of dive sites are two new wrecks, the P29 and the MV Xlendi Ferry to our already extensive Malta section (thank you Martin and Tracy Frankcom for contributing these!). We’ve also added a fascinating account of diving an archaeological site at Xlendi bay in Gozo contributed by Ed Fisher. The account of diving Xlendi bay is a true story of under water exploration backed up by sketches of the site and is well worth a read!
© Tony Gilbert
Scuba diving in Perhentian, Malaysia
The Perhentian Islands lie off the north east coast of Malaysia close to the Thai border. Wide, sweeping, powder white beaches, dense rainforests and breathtaking sunsets are reason alone to visit. There are around 30 dive sites, including a few wrecks. The climate means the diving and island season is from mid to late March to October, after which the monsoon season starts. Thank you to Tony Gilbert for contributing diving information, photos and reef maps.
© Tony Gilbert
New photos on dive site directory
We would like to thank Rik Vercoe for contributing some stunning photography from the Similan Islands in Thailand. A massive thank you also to Tony Gilbert who has managed to take some fantastic shots in tricky conditions in the pinnacle of wreck diving that is Scapa Flow, Scotland. There are more to come from Tony so watch this space! Also this month, check out our latest addition to the Canary Islands section with the reviews from the island of Fuerteventura
© Rick Davies
Scuba Diving in the Great Lakes, USA
We are very happy to be extending our USA section with a series of reviews from the Great Lakes, comprising of six wrecks in Lake Huron and one in St Clair River. Thanks to our very own marketing manager Rick Davies for these reviews, he’s living in the USA currently so you can expect a lot more USA sites to be added to the website in the foreseeable future!
© Jenny Pickles
Scuba Diving in the Maldives at Lhaviyani Atoll
Thank you to Jenny Pickles for contributing this month's section on Lhaviyani Atoll in the Maldives. Located 80km north of Male international Airport, it is accessed by regular seaplane transfers. Jenny stayed at Kuredu, the northern-most island in Lhaviyani Atoll. She was lucky enough to see a sailfish, normally found only in open ocean, as well as manta rays, eagle rays and grey reef sharks. For non-divers there are plenty of activities, including golf, spas, pools, a water sports centre, fishing trips, dolphin trips and snorkelling.
Scuba Diving Australia's East Coast
We have updated our East Coast Australia section to include more overviews, diving photos and diving reviews. See our extended South West Rocks section, for its latest additions and our brand new Brisbane section. Brisbane is not a place you would automatically think of if planning where to dive in Australia and the diving there is not as good as elsewhere in the country, but it's always useful to know about the diving in a region, however good!
© Tony Gilbert
Scuba Diving in the Isles of Scilly, UK
Lying nearly 30 miles WSW of Cornwall, the Scilly Isles lie directly in the path of the Gulf Stream, which blesses them with warm moist weather and mild climate. The 56 islands and hundreds of rocks are made of granite resulting in clean sandy beaches, a bright seabed and clear green water. Reefs provide the diver with multilevel profile opportunities as depths can go to 40m - 70m at the shorelines, providing stunning vistas chocked full of marine creatures. Seals can often be seen on sites and dolphins and porpoises frequent the area, as do occasional basking sharks. Hundreds of wrecks have foundered over the centuries and there are around 1000 recorded and estimated to be 3000 wrecks meaning there is something to entertain every diver. Thanks once again to Tony Gilbert for contributing this sections write-ups and stunning photos.
© Anna Wright
Scuba Diving in the Seychelles
The Seychelles lie 1,500km off of the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. They are made up of 155 islands including many remote coral islands. The marine life around the islands can be spectacular with large numbers of fish and coral species present. The use of gill nets for shark fishing as well as the practice of shark finning are now banned and in some areas turtle poulations are recovering. Regular dive site directory contributor Anna Wright visited the Seychelles during 2007 and managed to explore 7 different sites on two seperate islands.
© Monty Halls
© Monty Halls
Spectacular Scuba Diving in Sudan, the Red Sea
This month we are very happy to bring you some of the very best diving the Red Sea has to offer from our recent trip to Sudan. Nine beautiful reef dives and two fantastic wrecks including that of the Umbria which is arguably one of the best wreck dives in the world. We were lucky enough to dive with a fantastic set of divers including the renowned diver and TV documentary maker Monty Halls who very kindly donated some of his excellent photography to compliment our reviews. Although the recent unrest in Sudan has hardly put it high on the to do list of holiday destinations we're sure you'll agree once you've seen the reviews that it is a must for any diver.
© Malik Chibah
© Ben Randall
Shark Cage Diving in Cornwall with Blue Sharks & Cage Diving in South Africa with Great Whites
It’s hard to believe what a fantastic day we had cage diving out of Cornwall in search of blue and porbeagle sharks. Beautiful weather, fantastic scenery and easily one of the best close encounters we have had with large marine life to date. At one point we had three two metre long blue sharks circling us and coming up close giving us and the divers we were with ample opportunity to take lots of photos of these stunning animals. It leaves you in no doubt that we need to do everything we can to protect these beautiful creatures from extinction. Many thanks to Jenny Pickles and Malik Chibah for contributing their excellent images.
Click here to find out more.
If that doesn't fulfil your appetite for shark action we've also just added an excellent video of cage diving with a great white in South Africa courtesy of Ben Randall, we particularly like the sound effects when the white is chewing on the cage! View the video.
© Carsten Sørensen
Three New Locations Added to the Philippines Section
We’ve added three new diving locations in the Philippines thanks to the contributions of Carsten Sørensen. As well as reviews for a selection of dive sites for each location all sites are accompanied by photos to help you get a really good feel for the diving there. The new locations are Cabilao Island, Boracay and Sabang on Mindoro. Thanks Carsten!
© Tony Gilbert
Scuba Diving in St Abbs, Scotland
Just in case you are in any doubt of the quality of diving in Scotland, and if you have read our previous articles on Sky and Scapa Flow this is very doubtful, Tony Gilbert has kindly written up 14 new dive sites for St Abbs. As well as detailed write ups Tony has also contributed stunning photographs of each site and even a wreck illustration to accompany the wreck of the Glanmire. All this leaves us wishing that the skies were a little bluer, it was a little warmer and that the UK diving season wasn’t so seasonal!
© Carina Hall
More Dive Sites and Stunning images of Diving in Borneo
Many thanks to Carina hall for extending our Borneo section further with a selection of new dive sites and some stunning images. We're sure you'll agree that once you've visited the section you'll be in no doubt that Borneo is a must dive for any avid reef diving fan. We're currently in the process of building a Borneo screen saver using Carina's images to help readers beat the winter blues, and will put this up soon on the screen saver page.
Currently the new dive sites only have images not reviews so if you have dived any of the sites please leave comments and we will add them to the pages.
© Rik Vercoe
New Wreck Illustrations for Truk Lagoon and Red Sea
Many thanks to Rik Vercoe for contributing more excellent and detailed wreck drawings / illustrations of wreck dives in Truk Lagoon, Micronesia and Fury Shoals, Marsa Alam in the Red Sea. We're sure you'll agree that they give you an excellent overall impression of the wrecks which should come in very handy when you are visiting or planning diving at the dive sites. Wreck illustrations include Aikoku Maru, Fujikawa Maru, Hoki Maru, Kansho Maru, Sankisan Maru in Truk and Abu Galawa and the Tienstin Wreck in Fury Shoals.
© Rik Vercoe
Scuba diving in Vietnam and Cambodia
Thanks also to Rik for his reviews and photos of three dive sites in Cambodia and Vietnam. Whilst this might not be the best diving in Southeast Asia, the reviews and photos are descriptive and give a good indication to the type of diving to expect from this region.
Scuba Diving Skye in Scotland
We've just returned from Skye in Scotland after experiencing some of the best reef diving the UK has to offer, in fact some of the reefs easily rival those abroad for sheer variety and abundance of marine life. This combined this with visibility of up to 15m, the stunning scenery above the water and a good chance of seeing both whales and basking sharks between dives makes Skye a diving destination that is well worth visiting.
© Rik Vercoe
Scuba Diving in the Southern Red Sea
We have been working on a massive revamp of our Southern Red Sea section over the last two months. This has involved adding hundreds more photos, improved dive site maps and 15 new dive sites. The old Marsa Alam section used to include Fury Shoals and St John's. These are now sections in their own right due to the sheer volume of content they contain. Navigate from the Red Sea home page to see where these areas lie in relation to Marsa Alam. We would like to thank Rik Vercoe and Gerhard Niezen for contributing more reviews to our ever-growing Red Sea directory, helping to make it to be what is probably the most detailed Red Sea dive site resource on the internet.
Scuba Diving Isla del Caño, Costa Rica
Caño Island in the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica is home to the best diving in mainland Costa Rica. The diving will see you encounter a stunning array of tropical fish including schools of snapper and grunts that just go on and on. Stingrays and white tip reef sharks are in abundance and it is not unknown for tiger and bull sharks to frequent the area, particularly on the deeper site of Bajo del Diablo. Perhaps the highlight for divers is the number of cetaceans found in the water including dolphins, false killer whales and humpback whales. Caño Island is not far from Corcovado National Park, one of the last remaining tracts of primary rainforest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and the wildlife is phenomenal - definitely worth a visit!
© Tony Gilbert
Scuba Diving in the UK
We have brought more colour to our UK section courtesy of Tony Gilbert who has added a series of highly detailed dive site write ups accompanied by stunning photographic and macro photographic imagery. If you were every in doubt of the quality of UK diving and wondered if there was anything to see in the murky UK waters look no further than these reviews to allay your fears. If you consider yourself a warm water only diver they may have you going online immediately to look for a drysuit! The reviews include the Akka in Scotland, the James Egan Layne and HMS Scylla in Plymouth and the Puffin Sound Drift, Seagull Islands Drift, Trearddur Bay, Ynys-y-Moch in Anglesey.
© Anna Wright
Scuba Diving in Tobago, Caribbean
Tobago is a tiny island in the Caribbean at only twenty five miles long and seven miles wide. It is the sister island of Trinidad with a relaxed, slow pace of life, secluded bays and sandy beaches. The coral seas have rich fringing and patch reefs with sponges and hard and soft coral. We have extended our Tobago section by adding seven new dive site reviews and accompanying photos contributed by Anna Wright. These include Japanese Gardens and Diver's Dream
© Martin Frankcom
Scuba Diving in Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was the site of 23 nuclear bomb tests between 1946 and 1958. It is a haven for divers due to the blasts which sunk ten major ships that were moored in the lagoon at the time. The wreck diving here makes this a world class diving destination with the highlight being the USS Saratoga, one of the best dive sites in the world.
A big thank you to Martin & Tracy Frankcom who have provided us with reviews of the wreck diving here and some superb photos of the dives to really give a feel of what the diving is like in Bikini.
© Rik Vercoe
Scuba Diving in Truk Lagoon
Truk Lagoon (officially spelt Chuuk) is one of the best wreck diving locations on the planet. It served as a Japanese military and naval base during the Second World War and intense U.S. bombing led to the creation of many wrecks. Rik Vercoe has supplied us with a fantastic selection of photographs for 25 different sites in Truk, which should compel every diver to rush out and book a holiday there.
© dive site directory
Scuba Diving in the Red Sea
In September we visited the Red Sea on a liveaboard trip to Safaga starting from Hurghada. This has allowed us to extend both our Hurghada and Safaga sections further, adding many new dive sites and photos. Some of the highlights of the trip were diving the wrecks of the revered Salem Express and the Al Kahfain, a recent ferry sinking from November 2005. We've also got reviews for some of the famous southern wall dives including Panorama Reef and some lovely reef dives such as Gota Abu Ramada. Thanks also to Ian Higgins who has also contributed some new sites to this section.
© Anna Wright
Scuba Diving in South Ari Atoll, Maldives
We release information on scuba diving in the Maldives with three new dive sites at South Ari Atoll. The three new sites AA Thila, Broken Rock and Kuda Rah Thila are all first class and are brought to life thanks to Anna Wrights excellent images and reviews. Thanks Anna for contributing again!
Scuba Diving in Tanzania
We have expanded our Tanzania section to include the island of Zanzibar and the region of Mtwara in addition to the Pemba dive sites. Tanzania is known for its big drift diving and healthy reef systems where macro life such as nudibranchs give photographers something to get excited about. Thanks to Sharon Richards and Blue World Diving for contributing to this section.
Scuba Diving in Ko Lanta, Thailand
World class diving - with plenty of big stuff! Ko Lanta in Thailand is home to some fantastic diving and is a photographer's paradise. Whale sharks and manta rays can sometimes be seen at Hin Daeng & Hin Muang, which also have the deepest drop-offs in Thailand. There is also the King Cruiser wreck to break up the reef dives. Thanks to Saffron Kiddy for supplying us with comprehensive reviews and to the stunning photography from Liquid Lense.
Scuba Diving in Bali, Indonesia
Indonesia is a world class destination for scuba divers and Bali is a popular region to visit due to it having excellent tourist facilities. For divers there is a little bit of everything on offer from wreck diving to reefs and walls with marine life ranging from sharks and manta rays to unusual ghost pipefish or nudibranchs. We now feature 20 dive site reviews and a selection of photographs in Bali to add to our existing Indonesia section. Highlights include Toya Pakeh, Manta Point and Mimpang.
© Anna Wright
Scuba Diving in Bonaire, Caribbean
This month sees a new addition to our Caribbean section with 5 new reef dives in Bonaire contributed by Anna Wright. Anna has provided us with a large number of dive sites across the world recently and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank her profusely. As well as comprehensive reviews, Anna has provided us with some great photography of the places she has visited. Her contributions include sites in Dahab in the Red Sea, Baa and North Nilandhe Atolls in the Maldives, diving in Malta and reef diving in the United Arab Emirates.
Scuba Diving in Australia
Australia is one of the most popular diving destinations in the world. Most divers visit the renowned Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest reef system which offers some fantastic diving. We have a new section up with 14 dive sites and complimentary photos in Cairns, the gateway to the northern extent of the Great Barrier Reef. We also feature some of the great temperate diving available in the southern states of this massive country with dive site reviews for the harbour city of Sydney and the remote Lord Howe Island. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this section.
Diving in Tenerife
Diverse Diving Holidays
Maldives Dive Travel Offers Best Price Guarantee
A scuba diving cruise in the Maldives is an experience of a lifetime—make sure you get the best possible experience for your money by checking with Maldives Dive Travel before you book elsewhere.
If you are planning a liveaboard cruise in the Maldives and have been trawling the web looking for the best deals on the market, you might have noticed that the same holiday you come across on one site is listed at a different price on another. Or, you might already have been quoted what you think is a good rate, but don’t want to do the time-consuming research to find out if it’s really the best package out there.
Maldives Dive Travel’s Best Price Guarantee promises to beat any competitor’s rate for the same holiday. All you have to do is email your quote, showing your name and the details of the agent, ship and cruise date to firstname.lastname@example.org and they will get back to you with a better price.
Because they handle a large number of bookings, Maldives Dive Travel is able to negotiate the best value deals. The prices on their website are often lower than those of other operators. But should you still come across a lower price somewhere else, they promise to match it.
The team also work closely with the liveaboards they promote to ensure that the levels of the service, comfort and safety they offer are of the highest standard.
Visit Maldives Dive Travel for more details.
Discover UK Diving
New book designed to encourage newly qualified divers and "holiday divers" alike
"Discover UK Diving", has been created by keen diver and amateur photographer Will Appleyard. His book has been designed to encourage newly qualified divers and "holiday divers" alike, in to a diverse underwater world just waiting to be explored. Will's book is packed full of photographs comprising stunning coastal scenery, divers in their element and a selection of underwater shots from his favourite UK dive sites along the south coast.
Those new to diving or curious about the sport may often wonder what UK diving has to offer them. "Discover UK Diving" showcases a selection of exciting dive sites, a beautiful array of sea life and visibility often associated with dive sites abroad. The book is very much Will's personal account and written in a light-hearted manor, with those considering taking the next steps in mind.
'The End of the Line' - DVD to Help Promote Awareness of Global Over Fishing
Imagine a world without fish…
Dive Site Directory are very happy to help promote ‘The End of the Line’, a feature documentary which has recently been released on DVD to highlight banning the fishing of Bluefin tuna and the need for sustainable fishing. A number of big UK retailers such as M&S and Waitrose have changed the fish they sell to sustainable sources as a direct result of the film.
If you are serious about diving and would like to see marine life around for years to come then we’re sure you will help promote this excellent cause. Even if it is through something as simple yet as effective as changing your shopping habits or helping raise awareness within your own friends and family.
Find out more at: http://endoftheline.com/
Diving the World: A guide to the world's most popular dive sites
Beth & Shaun Tierney
Beth & Shaun Tierney are a husband and wife team who have produced a comprehensive guide to diving locations they have visited from around the world. Diving the World is well presented and is laid out in a logical, easy to use format. There is also a surprising abundance of information crammed into a small amount of space. Each destination has some background reading on the country of interest, a description of the diving and a selection of the dive sites to give the reader an idea of what to expect. For countries featured in the book that we have also dived, we've compared the author's write ups to our own viewpoints and we are of the opinion that the reviews are very balanced making it a useful guide. The books downfall however is that it only features 19 countries. In fairness to the authors they do not claim that the book is an "absolute in dive guides", but this does limit the number of divers this book will appeal to. For the well travelled diver this guide is not of much use and if you are planning a trip abroad you are unlikely to find the information you need, but for someone just getting into diving who is wondering where to go on their next holiday this would be a nice addition to your bookshelf and very useful.
The book reviews the following locations: Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Micronesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, the Galapagos, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Grenada.
ARKive - a not-for-profit conservation initiative
ARKive, a not-for-profit conservation initiative, are calling on divers and underwater photographers for help in gathering images of the world's threatened marine animals and plants. Working with many of the world's top photographers and filmmakers ARKive promotes conservation and builds environmental awareness through powerful wildlife imagery. Currently, threatened marine species make up just ten percent of the material held in ARKive, showing how hard these films and photographs are to collect. From the mighty pelagics that every diver longs to witness and photograph, right down to the camouflaged and almost impossible to see pygmy seahorses of the Pacific Ocean, ARKive is interested in them all – and the more unusual and obscure the species, the better.
For more information see our Environment page
'Reef Safe' Suncscreen by Tropical Seas
In 2008 a study in 'Environmental Health Perspectives' revealed that sunscreen could be damaging coral reefs by encouraging coral bleaching. It is estimated that 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen is washed into the sea each year, and that up to 10% of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching. dive site directory have been sent a press release by one company, Tropical Seas based in the US, who now produce a 'reef safe' line of biodegradable sunscreens in their 'Beach Buff' range. 99% of the product biodegrades within 60-80 days of entering the sea. We would urge all our site users to consider using biodegradable sun creams before entering the sea.
Oceans: Exploring the Hidden Depths of the Underwater World
Paul Rose & Anne Laking
'Oceans' is the book that accompanies the BBC television series of the same name, aired earlier this year. It follows the format of the programmes, describing the underwater discoveries and exploits of the Oceans team as they travel around the main seas of the world. It delves into the archaeology, geology and biology found in each to reveal some known and many lesser known facts about them. Highlights of the series for me were the encounter with a six gill shark and the dive into the plate boundary between the Arabian and African landmasses.
If you missed the series as a diver, you should probably consider buying this book, particularly if you have an interest in marine life and human history. If you enjoyed the series, there is slightly more information in the book and some stunning imagery accompanying the text. I found it was a good read rather than a book to flick through looking at the pictures. It also benefits from having Paul Rose put the book together who was probably the strongest of the presenters for the series. The downfall of the book and the series in my opinion is that it doesn't emphasise enough how we are over-exploiting our seas – most divers understand this but there is still a huge level of ignorance among the general public. The more recent BBC series ‘South Pacific’ put their plight across far better, especially with the episode showing the tuna fishing using purse seine nets. All in all however, the Oceans book is well put together and would make a great birthday present for any diver and a welcome addition to your bookcase.
Vertical Descent is a novel about two diving instructors who arrive in Corsica with the intention of setting up a dive centre. Their plans are put on hold when they find evidence of a possible U-boat wreck in the area and are subsequently threatened by local nationalists who are also hunting for the wreckage. As tragedy unfolds and romance and new friendships blossom, the threat from the mafia-like nationalists is never far away.
I have to admit I was very sceptical about reading a diving novel, but I found I enjoyed the story and was compelled to find out what was going to happen to the key characters. Occasionally the author goes into unnecessary detail about the technicalities of dive kit set up and the archaeology element that is also a strong feature in the book, and there are some heavy clichés and stereotypes found throughout. Ultimately however, the book is worth a read and would make a great addition to your suitcase if you're heading off on holiday.
Vertical Descent is available via www.verticaldescent.co.uk where you will also find the first chapter available for download.
Deep sea submersible in Curaçao - Press Release
Willemstad- Curaçao will soon be having a new attraction: Substation Curaçao, a deep-diving submarine capable of cruising at depths in excess of 1,000 feet. Tourists can shortly experience the fascinating and spectacular underwater world in the Dutch Caribbean.
It is expected that the first submarine (for 3 persons, inclusive pilot) arrives in Curaçao in December this year; it will be used temporarily until the official 5 person submersible (inclusive pilot) will be in on the island, expected during the first quarter of 2009.
For more information please call +5999 461 6666 or +5999 6638205. If you are in Curaçao, please pass by at Sea Aquarium, Bapor Kibra z/n. The website www.substationcuracao.com will be launched in 2 months including information about Substation Curaçao, pictures, a virtual tour, safety measurements ect. Visitors can also make their online bookings through this site.
Read more about diving Curaçao here.
Exhibit your diving photography on dive site directory
If you would like thousands of divers to see and appreciate your diving photography why not exhibit on dive site directory? All you have to do is send in your photos to us along with a short review of the dive site where you took them and we will put them online for the rest of the diving community to enjoy.