Diver UK 01.2021

RED SEA DIVER

The water was very choppy at the farthest longimanus encounters when we left for our
points from the islands, with big waves a feature, eight dives at Daedalus the next day. That
but once under water everything was calm, and location is synonymous with hammerhead-
there was no current on our first two dives off shark encounters, and so it proved to be.
both Brother Islands.
On our four early-morning dives the
We had encounters with big schools of hammerheads were the sharks keenest to
barracuda, shoals of fusiliers, Napoleon wrasse approach us.
and longimanus, but my issue on those two dives
was that I was unable to secure those long- In the first minutes of each of these dives we
awaited oceanic whitetip close-ups. would be in the dark deep blue looking out for
them, but they always managed to surprise us by
Yes, they were everywhere but keeping their seemingly popping out of nowhere to find us.
distance, as if reluctant to strike those poses I
had been dreaming of for the past eight months. Some were acting very inquisitively, coming
close – though not too close – to investigate us.
Perhaps there was some reason they had Of course, any abrupt move or rush towards
grown so shy, or was it me? After several them would propel them back down to deeper
attempts, I felt desperate to get closer. water, leading to more than a few unwanted deco
stops. But it was interesting that they were so
The day’s last dive was made on the northern much less shy than one might expect.
side of Little Brother Island, which is covered
with astounding soft coral growth. It seemed that these beautiful creatures had
perhaps been missing divers!
We had no big pelagic encounters there but
Pictured: Oceanic were happy just admiring the coral diversity. UNFORTUNATELY WHAT should have been
whitetip shark with Those huge colourful reefs of hungry filter- a great photo-opportunity was spoilt for me
pilotfish at Daedalus. feeders were magnificent enough to satisfy us on
this occasion. because each time I tried to photograph them,
Top right:Diver on a coral
wall. The dives at the Brothers were excellent, and someone from our group would indeed rush
with so much marine life present it would be
Left:Hammerhead shark churlish to say otherwise, but I couldn’t help towards them and scare them away.
at Daedalus. leaving disappointed that the oceanic whitetips
had kept their distance. It was a difficult situation, and on one

After that, I wasn’t particularly hopeful about occasion a group of divers from another boat

started clapping under water in protest at this

shameful repeated behaviour. *

51 divEr

Above: Big Brother Island.

Right:Oceanic whitetip
sharks had gathered in
unaccustomed numbers at
Daedalus.

Opposite page, clockwise
from top left:Corals at
Elphinstone; Napoleon
wrasse; barracuda; profile
of a longimanus.

Below:Daedalus reef.

However, the most surprising aspect of These pelagic wanderers were were simply behaving in a violently
the whole trip was that there were so approaching from everywhere with no explosive way, and I had never seen them
many oceanic whitetip shark gatherings at hesitation, as if keen to co-operate. I acting like that before.
Daedalus. This isn’t customarily their should be careful what I wish for, because
favourite spot, but they were the most on some occasions they were approaching The whitetips’ behaviour was
numerous sharks there on this occasion. way closer than I wanted, to the extent sometimes exceedingly erratic.
that I actually found myself trying to Fortunately our group had no mishaps as
I had never before dived with more push them away with my camera. a result but it did leave me wondering.
than two individuals at a time, yet there at
Daedalus we would have five of them I REALISED DURING THESE dives that Two days before our encounters, in
cruising around us at a time, usually something quite strange was going on. Ras Mohammed a group of snorkelling
medium-sized. The longimanus were constantly dipping tourists had been attacked by an oceanic
to dive almost vertically, before turning whitetip (as reported in divEr News in
I had set out on this trip in search of sharply and swimming back up the water December), leading to site closures
oceanic whitetips because I had been column in the same way. I had never pending an investigation.
expecting them to be more abundant than observed them moving in this erratic
ever following the hiatus in diving caused fashion before. I found it interesting that Red Sea
by the pandemic, and so at Daedalus it water temperatures in 2020 had been
proved to be the case. I was convinced that this behaviour exceedingly high, at least 2°C warmer
was caused neither by curiosity nor quick than in previous years, and I wondered
On one particular dive I spotted more temper. It was not some sort of warning whether there might be a connection.
than nine individuals passing at various display or hunting technique either. They
distances. This time I couldn’t complain I talked to our experienced dive-guide
about the photo-opportunities on offer. Ahmed, who also owned the liveaboard,
and he expressed the same concerns.

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RED SEA DIVER

He also told me that he didn’t plan to
allow the following week’s group of divers
to visit the same spot where the oceanic
whitetips had been behaving strangely.

Other Egyptian friends, many dive-
guides among them, all agreed about the
heat when I asked them, confirming that
throughout September and October the
waters had been particularly warm.

To maximise performance, sharks
adopt behavioural strategies to move
through their environment in such a
way as to maintain optimal body
temperatures as far as possible.

Water temperature is arguably the
most influential physical driver governing
sharks’ movements, and being unable
to control the situation for extended
periods must have been having an
impact on them and making their
behaviour less predictable.

Both the Aquarium reef off Hurghada
and the reefs we dived at Daedalus
showed clear signs of coral-bleaching, on
a massive scale in parts of the latter.

This had happened in the two years
since my last dives there – surprising
considering that Red Sea corals are known
to be highly resilient compared with those
in other parts of the world.

OUR TRIP FINISHED at Elphinstone –
something of an anti-climax because
we simply drifted along the reef on the
first dive, rather than descending to the
north plateau, and saw little of interest in
terms of pelagics or schools of fish on the
second dive at the southern end.

If I had been glad to see the Covid- *

53 divEr

RED SEA DIVER

Above & inset: Oceanic
whitetip shark.

Right: Anemonefish.

Far right: Moray eel.

Below: A school of snapper.

Bottom: Liveaboards at
Daedalus.

19 precautions taken on my flight in, The problem lay more with at spots such as Daedalus or the Brothers.
I was less impressed by those on the the crew. They didn’t wear I mention all this because it’s pretty
liveaboard. Certainly there were masks at all, posing what
heightened hygiene practices everywhere, could have been quite a risk much too late to do anything once you’re
including on the dive-platforms and in to all those divers requiring committed to a much-anticipated diving
the restaurant and public areas. a negative PCR test. holiday on a boat.

We were also given Covid protocol And every time I went to So if you are planning a liveaboard trip
briefings before our dives. put my equipment together anywhere in the world before the virus is
on the dive-platform, well- under full control, it’s worth asking about
instagram.com/ekrem_parmaksiz meaning crew would specific precautions ahead of time.
approach too close to lend
a hand. Then, if they’re not met, at least you
can hold the operator to account!
I asked Ahmed if they were
all PCR-tested each week, and
he told me that there was no
need for that, because he kept them on
the boat at all times. This, he said, meant
that they were effectively in quarantine!

How that could be the case when they
were interacting with a new group of
divers every week, along with the
providers of supplies loading the boat,
remains a mystery.

Also, the RIB crew would often drive
back and forth between various other
liveaboards to make pick-ups or drop-offs

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OUR BOATS ARE NOW OPERATING
IN THE RED SEA AND MALDIVES

TO HELP YOU PLAN, WE’RE CONTINUING
TO OFFER OUR “NO DEPOSIT SCHEME“

Contact us for the latest updates on new flight arrivals

Contact reservations@emperordivers.com

We’re the team to help you go diving again!

LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1992

Quality | Excellence | Service | Flexibility | Value

WHALE MILK &JELLIES

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THE EUROPEAN WILDLIFE PHOTO DIVER
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
open-to-all competition, RUNNER-UP
organised by the long-established MAGNUS
German Society for Nature LUNDGREN
Photography, was intended to be (Sweden)
a one-off event in 2001 but it’s still HITCH-
with us, emphasising innovation and HIKING
creativity in terms of techniques OCTOPUS
and compositions.
This spectacular
The organiser places great animal is called a
importance on adherence to ethical paper nautilus
standards and does not allow any (Argonauta hians) and
form of digital manipulation. belongs to the
octopus family. The
“The GDT demands and supports specimen in this photo
nature photography that embraces is taking a ride on a
authenticity, true conservation and very small jellyfish.
artistic quality to the same degree,” “I observed this
it says. fascinating spectacle
during a night-dive in
The winning images were the open sea at
announced in a virtual event on 22 Balayan Bay in the
October, and after an initial exhibition Philippines. Only the
in Verden/Aller they go on a tour of females have a shell,
Germany and elsewhere in Europe as which serves to
usual. Here we show six of the stand- protect the eggs and is
outs in the Underwater category. also used as a
buoyancy chamber.
WINNER “Every night this
MIKE KOROSTELEV (Russia) exceptional drama of
WHALE MILK vertical migration
recurs as countless
“It is one of the most exciting experiences of the creatures of the deep
underwater world to observe the social behaviour sea rise – a spectacle
of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). For very few people have
animal photographers it is very important not to ever observed.”
disturb the animals. I felt very honoured that they Taken with a Nikon
allowed me to stay so close to them all this time. D850 camera with
a 2.8/60mm lens in
“There were two calves in this group of whales, a Sea & Sea housing
who were regularly fed by their mothers. Whales and two Inon strobes.
do not have lips, and the mothers squirt the milk ISO 100.
into the water for their young, as is clearly visible
in this picture.” ☛

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera with a 57 divEr
4.0/8-15mm fisheye in a Seacam housing. ISO 1000.

HIGHLY COMMENDED
PIETRO FORMIS (Italy)
RELATIONS

“A juvenile imperial blackfish (Schedophilus ovalis)
hides from predators between the stingy tentacles
of a jellyfish. This photo originates from a deep-sea
dive at night in the waters around Puerto Galera in
the Philippines.

“At night, millions of organisms rise from the
deep to feed on plankton in upper water layers –
a unique opportunity to observe incredible
creatures and exciting behaviour such as this.”

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera with a
2.8/60mm macro lens in a Nauticam housing and
two Inon strobes. ISO 400.

divErNEt.com

PHOTO DIVER HIGHLY COMMENDED
CRISTOBAL SERRANO
HIGHLY COMMENDED (Spain)
NICHOLAS MORE (GB) HULLABALLOO
FISH EXPLOSION
“The marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus
“As I descended beneath the waves, to cristatus) is the only lizard in the world
approximately 20m at the Four Kings dive-site that feeds in the sea. Endemic to the
in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, I discovered tightly Galapagos Islands, it is an excellent
schooling swallowtail cardinalfish (Verulux swimmer and uses its strong claws to
cypselurus) bursting back and forth through a cling to the rocks even in strong
cave to evade hunting predators – safety in currents, grazing on the algae
numbers! growing there.
“I wanted to capture the drama of the moment “During one of my dives in this marine
and used a slow shutter-speed to depict the paradise, I photographed this
synchronised movement of the school as the primeval species among a large
fish pulsed over the reef.” school of fish (Girella freminvillii) –
Taken with a Nikon D500 camera with what a hullabaloo!”
2.8/10.5mm fisheye in a Nauticam housing and Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
two Inon strobes. ISO 100. camera with a 4.0/8-15mm fisheye
and 1.4x extender in a Seacam
divEr 58 housing and Seacam strobe. ISO 800.

HIGHLY COMMENDED
HENLEY SPIERS (GB)
CONSTELLATION OF EAGLE RAYS

“On an unforgettable dive in the Maldives, a school of
spotted eagle rays (Aetobatus narinari) passed me by.
I could visualise the image I wanted and, while the rays
glided effortlessly I swam hard, trying to unlock the
desired angle.
“The rays continued forward and deeper, giving me just
a moment to capture this frame. Scientists have recently
confirmed that the spotting on each ray is a unique
identifier, the equivalent of a human fingerprint.”
Taken with a Nikon D850 camera with 3.5-4.5/28-70mm
lens in a Nauticam housing and two Inon strobes. ISO 800.

See the other Underwater images and
those in the other categories at gdtfoto.de

divErNEt.com

HOLIDAY NEWS

BOOKING NOW

Pharaoh Dive Club owners Clare and Big Blue beckons in March
Steve Rattle have been working and
diving around the Egyptian Red Sea The plan is that Big Blue will kick off Divers wishing to book
for nearly 30 years and run the the 2021 season on 6 March with two are assured that should
popular Roots Red Sea centre back-to-back trips out of Hurghada continuing Covid
which, as they fairly say, put the town featuring a“March Madness”15% restrictions cause flight
of El Quseir on the map. discount special offer. cancellations or the UK
government bans travel to
Far from being knocked back in The“Northern Wrecks”tour costs Egypt, the trips are 100%
the year of coronavirus, they have £665pp (two sharing) and departing refundable or transferable.
been able to launch their own safari- on 13 March the“Safaga & Brothers” 8mybigblue.com
boat, the motor yacht Big Blue, after tour costs £765pp, both ex-flights.
an extended 30-month build.

The couple have extensive
experience of operating Red Sea
liveaboard trips since the Xanadu in
the early 1990s, but had never owned
their own vessel before now.

At 38m long and 7m wide, Big Blue
puts the emphasis on space for divers
with its maximum of 24 berths.

There is space on dives too, say
the owners, with divers divided into
four groups of up to six sent out at
intervals – unless they choose to go
down en masse.

And as a principal supporter of
the Deptherapy charity, Big Blue was
designed to suit wheelchair-users,
welcoming divers with disabilities and
with accessible cabins to match.

Blue O Two’s MALDIVES TRAVEL
longer view GETAWAY CORRIDORS

Blue O Two has decided that the Ultimate Diving has, when able, choose from more than 40 dive-sites. There is no requirement to quarantine
long view is the safest at the managed to get some clients out to Whether you go soon or later, you on return from the diving destinations
moment, given that many of its the Maldives since it reopened, below – provided that you stayed
customers book years in advance including to Bandos Island which, as can book seven nights’all-inclusive there for at least 14 days and made no
anyway, so it has been busy can be seen above, is encircled by accommodation on Bandos from transit stops. Only those places shown
promoting its 2022 and 2023 Egypt white beaches and blue waters. £2555pp.This also includes return in bold allow entry to UK visitors
liveaboard schedules. flights from London, speedboat without need for quarantine, although
It says that the house reef is transfers and 10 shore dives each. a variety of screening requirements
And if you have foresight its considered one of the best in North A single supplement applies. do apply. This list makes no account
arguments make sense – you can Male Atoll; further out, boat-divers can 8ultimatediving.co.uk of UK government restrictions on non-
secure the dates, vessel, cabin type essential travel or flight availability.
and itinerary that best suit you – Check the latest information at gov.uk
and have more time to save your
money to pay the balance! BIG SNORKEL THRILLS Australia Malaysia
Barbados Maldives
Week-long trips on Blue If you’re paying US $9600 to go is running – Covid permitting – Bermuda Mauritius
Adventurer start from £714 in 2022 snorkelling / freediving you’ll be a seven-day expedition led by Bonaire / St Montserrat
and 2023 – and time can pass hoping to see something good, Amanda Cotton from 28 February. New Caledonia
surprisingly quickly. and interactions with Dominica’s With only four guests allowed each Eustatius / Saba New Zealand
sperm whales in 25-30m vis would time, social distancing shouldn’t be British Virgin Is Norway
Also looking to the future, certainly be a blast. a whale-sized problem. Canary Islands Pacific Islands
Blue O Two’s 2021 calendar 8biganimals.com Cayman Islands Seychelles
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is on Fiji the Grenadines
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it costs Grenada Timor L’Este
£9.99. Ireland Turks & Caicos Is
Madeira
8blueotwo.com

divErNEt.com 59

MY FAVOURITE WRECK SITES

SCOTTISH STAR

WHEN IT COMES TO DIVING That’s right – an aircraft-carrier! 140m, well outside the range of
in Scotland, Scapa Flow is Lying almost in the middle of one of recreational diving, but the west coast
undoubtedly one of the biggest of Scotland still has so many wrecks to
draws – you could go so far as to say Scotland’s most popular ferry routes, the offer. I want to share with readers three
that it’s one of the UK’s biggest diving Ardrossan to Brodick Arran ferry, is the of my personal favourites.
attractions. However, you don’t need to wreck of HMS Dasher, one of the Archer
travel quite that far north to find some Escort carriers rushed into service Lying just off the coast of Dunoon is
pretty spectacular wrecks. during WW2. the Clyde’s largest diveable, and possibly
most intact, shipwreck, that of the
In the triangle between Greenock, the There has been much debate about the Swedish-built cargo ship the Akka.
Mull of Kintyre and the Mull of Galloway cause of her sinking, but the official
at the mouth of the Clyde there are enquiry pinned the blame on a fuel leak.
around 250 wrecks, ranging from small Of her 528 crew all but 149 were lost to
personal craft to an aircraft-carrier. the depths of the Clyde. The Dasher is a
war grave, and lies at a depth of around

Pictured: Plumose
anemones and sponges on
the Breda wreck.

Left:The Akka.

Above right:Diver over the
deck of the Breda.s in

ROSS MCLAREN
presents short videos
on the BBC’s The Social extolling
the joys of scuba in Scotland.
We asked him for some examples…

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UK DIVER

TURNS

She struck the Gantock Rocks on the with the funnel and masts, what’s left superstructure is a must. For the more
night of 9 April, 1956, and was lost to the remains more than worth a visit. adventurous and experienced diver, there
sea, taking three of her 33 crew down is also the opportunity to take a swim
with her, while three more died on their There is no way to dive the Akka from through the holds before exiting through
way to hospital. the shore, but with Jason Coles at the gaping hole left in the port side by the
Wreckspeditions operating out of the fateful impact.
The Akka now rests on the seabed at Holy Loch and marinas along the west
around 40m, but the deck and the coast, that’s not a problem. NOT ONLY IS THIS wreck spectacular,
superstructure, where most divers tend but the life that has now made it
to linger, sits somewhere between 16 Having an experienced skipper to home is also mind-blowing. On my first
and 24m. Although some of the ensure that you drop onto the right dive at the site I had to stop for a minute
superstructure has been removed, along section is invaluable. or two to take in what I was seeing, and
seriously consider whether I was narked.
Descending around the bridge, you
are immediately struck by the sheer I genuinely thought that the metal was
size of this wreck as it materialises out moving until I got a little closer and
of the gloom. realised that almost every inch was
covered in life of some description.
I find it difficult sometimes to imagine Brittlestars, anemones, deadman’s fingers
from wreckage what a ship would have and much more – the Akka is awash with
looked like in its heyday, but with the life and has something for every diver.
Akka imagination isn’t really required.
Now if the Akka is one of the most
The bridge (minus the top section), dived shipwrecks in the Clyde, my second
along with bulkheads, portholes and
ladders still stands out clear as day, and “wreck” (for want of a better word) is ☛
swimming through the companionways
that run along either side of the

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probably one of the least dived in the dubbed by Winston Churchill “the Beast”. Striven. It was the side- Above, clockwise from
area, and lay pretty much forgotten for From her Norwegian fjord base the charge from one of the left:Highball bombs in Loch
nearly 70 years. midget submarines, or Striven; inventor Barnes
Tirpitz posed a huge danger to the Arctic X-craft, that had also Wallis; an original Highball.
That was until 12 divers from East convoys on their way to Russia and had to been designed for use
Cheshire Sub-Aqua Club, along with be dealt with. Ultimately the Highballs against the Tirpitz – the Below, from left: Dahlia
a team of Royal Navy divers and Dr Ian were never used against the behemoth, difference being that anemone on the Akka; the
Murray, successfully explored the site and but nearly 200 dummy bombs still lie at they were actually used. aftcastle of the Breda.
even recovered two of the approximately the bottom of Loch Striven.
200 artefacts that make up this site. Heading away from
They were deployed against the French the side-charge, we
I refer to Barnes Wallis’s Highballs, WW1 battleship the Courbet which, for came across our first
in Loch Striven. You can certainly be testing purposes, was moored in the loch cluster of Highballs.
forgiven for never having heard of Mr to play the part of the Tirpitz. They might lack the
Wallis’s circular objects, but I know most visual impact of a wreck such as the Akka,
people know about their larger siblings, DROPPING DOWN the shotline, we but they do make you consider their
the famous “bouncing bombs” used by were met not by the spherical lumps history – it’s amazing to think that they
617, the RAF Dambusters squadron. we had come to see but by a somewhat were once at the forefront of military
bowed “sheet” of metal roughly 8m long – technology.
The Highballs worked on similar definitely not a Highball.
principles to the bouncing bombs, but Both the Akka and the Highballs are
were designed not to destroy dams but In fact this sheet was a throwback to diveable from marinas not all that far
the mighty German battleship the Tirpitz, other trials that took place in Loch

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UK DIVER

Above: Sea loch anemones from Glasgow, but for my third favourite unleash their payloads. “real” wreck for many.
and yellow-ringed sea- site we have to go a little further north to They scored no direct hits, but shock As with the Akka, the top structures
squirts. Dunstaffnage marina, just north of Oban.
Below:The Breda. waves from four bombs that struck the have been removed to prevent other
Again a boat is required but this isn’t water nearby caused devastating damage vessels colliding with the wreck in low
Find Ross Mclaren an issue, especially when you have to the cargo vessel. One of the water-inlet water, but also like the Akka the Breda is
on The Social at bbc.co.uk experienced skipper and diver Shane pipes used in the cooling system in her extremely well-preserved, sitting on the
/programmes/p08phl45 Wasik of Dive Oban & Argyll at the helm. engine-room ruptured, causing her to seabed almost exactly as she would have
take on water and quickly lose power. done at the surface.
Lying in Ardmucknish Bay is what is
probably one of Scotland’s most-dived DESPITE EFFORTS in the poor Dropping down the shotline onto her
wrecks (up there with those in Scapa weather to beach the doomed ship starboard, you’re met with a fantastic
Flow) – the steamship Breda. and recover her cargo, a day later she view of the ship and its deck.
slipped from her shallow shelf into
On the night of 23 December, 1940, the the deeper water in which the wreck With the relatively shallow deck level
Breda was anchored just off the coast at now rests. it’s possible to swim around the whole
Oban awaiting her departure to India, perimeter on one dive but don’t be kidded
laden with supplies ranging from bags of Saying that, at only around 10m to the – you’ll need more than one dive to
cement to Tiger Moth aircraft and vehicle deck the Breda is within range of all unlock all this wreck’s secrets.
parts. It was here that German Heinkel divers and makes for an excellent first
bombers from Norway descended to My favourite section is the stern, with
its fantastic sights of anemones and
deadman’s fingers clinging onto the
remnants of the aftcastle.

All along the deck is a litter of fallen
winches, cables, masts and even the axle
of a truck. There is also the opportunity
to swim through the holds and investigate
what’s left of the Breda’s cargo.

Nany wrecks litter the seabed along the
Scottish coastline and everyone has their
own favourites, but each one offers us a
glimpse into our past as well as an
unforgettable experience today.

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BOOK REVIEW

HOME OR AWAYWITH bull and many other sharks qualify to past 25, that’s hardly surprising.
be in this book; they get around. With and without the help of light-
EUROPEAN SHARKS
So if you like sharks and rays, even fingered divers and careless mooring
Field Guide to Sharks, Rays & Chimaeras if you can take or leave chimaeras, of dive-boats, the deterioration
of Europe and the and even if you never intend to add to continues to this day. But as a magnet
Mediterranean your baggage weight with this heavy for divers the Thistlegorm started out
book, I think you’ll enjoy owning it. from such a superior level that it will
By David A Ebert always have more going for it than
& Marc Dando Wild Nature Press your average wreck-site.
ISBN 9780691205984
AFIELD GUIDE – This is one comprehensive guide. Softback, 384pp, 17x22cm, £28 Of course, much of the appeal
a portable Species found from Scandinavia and (also an eBook) derives from the fact that it’s an
illustrated manual for Iceland to the Canary Islands and Med Aladdin’s cave of grice-worthy cargo,
identifying natural via the Black Sea are illustrated from MAKING SENSE all set not too shallow and not too
objects, flora, or fauna. different angles, with annotations and OF CHAOS deep. It can overload the senses and
You take it with you on a separate details of features such as take multiple dives to appreciate,
trip to identify your dorsal fins also pictured, plus Diving the Thistlegorm: which is where this new hardback
sightings without delay. distribution maps. The Ultimate Guide to a guide comes in.
World War II Shipwreck
I struggle to think of There are growth and depth charts, by Simon Brown, It comes from the reliable Dived Up
trips on which a leisure along with a description and notes on Jon Henderson, Alex Mustard stable. You might recall, in fact you
diver would be lucky habitat, biology and Red List status. & Mike Postons might own, the iBook equivalent that
enough to see more came out in early 2019 – you might
than one or two of the But there is also a bank of icons for I’D BE HAPPY TO BET that many even remember Louise Trewavas’s
(incredible) 146 species of each species, its key handily located in more than half of you reading this verdict on it in divEr.
sharks, rays and chimaeras the fly-leaf. This enables you to take in will have dived Red Sea merchant
that I now realise live in seas at a glance useful facts covering diet, steamship wreck the Thistlegorm. She described it as stunning:
accessible from the UK, and feel the longevity, gestation, reproduction “the most intelligent, most spectacular
need to identify them instantly. method and temperature range. If you haven’t, you probably feel and most interactive photographic
as if you have, because it crops up so publication about a wreck” she had
If I saw a chimaera on a dive I think There are all sorts of supplementary often in diving lore. ever seen. It made her feel that she’d
I’d be excited enough not to worry features too – such as dentition “dived every lovely inch”, and she
about whether it was a sicklefin or guides, should you feel moved to Once dived, never forgotten, even added that any subsequent dive
rabbitfish version until I got home. compare the teeth of bigeye sixgill though, like most shipwrecks, it has would be infinitely better informed,
and sharpnose sevengill sharks. Oh, altered over time. and probably more fulfilling.
But it doesn’t matter if this book and there are underwater photos too.
never accompanies you on your With an estimated 175,000 divers Reading between the lines I think
travels, because it’s just a great thing We associate so many species with visiting every (non-Covid) year for the Louise liked it, and I’m quoting her to
to have on your bookshelf. exotic destinations only because they save going back over old ground,
make their presence known there, because having now read it on paper
As I might just have mentioned but mantas, guitarfish, sandtiger, silky, I can only concur.
before, Wild Nature Press publications oceanic whitetip, tiger, hammerhead,
tend to be works to drool over There have been good books
(though don’t, it wrinkles the pages). about Thistlegorm before, principally
John Kean’s, but never one illustrated
They’re designed and produced as richly as this.
to a glossy level way beyond the
minimum required, far too good to As we follow each layer of wreck
allow to get dog-eared on a boat. from bow to stern and out into the
debris field, its contents are unpacked
And nobody, it seems, produces for us like gifts, each passage of text
better marine-life scientific expanding in fascinating detail on the
illustrations than Marc Dando, whose images alongside it.
work can be admired here.
And what images! Alex Mustard’s
Author David Ebert, programme terrific wide-angle photography sits
director of the Pacific Shark Research alongside the revealing orthophotos,
Centre, knows his elasmobranchs and, digital elevation models, point cloud
while this is a reference book, has a renderings and reconstructions that
clear and authoritative style. emerged from the combination of
Simon Brown’s photogrammetry and

TOP 10 BEST-SELLING SCUBA-DIVING BOOKS TOP 10 MOST GIFTED SCUBA-DIVING BOOKS

as listed by amazon.co.uk (17 November, 2020) as listed by amazon.co.uk (17 November, 2020)
1. 100 Dives of a Lifetime: World’s Ultimate Underwater Destinations, by Carrie Miller & Brian Skerry 1. 100 Dives of a Lifetime: World’s Ultimate Underwater Destinations, by Carrie Miller & Brian Skerry
2. Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die, by Chris Santella 2. Deeper into the Darkness: The Diving Trilogy 3, by Rod Macdonald
3. Wild and Temperate Seas: 50 Favourite UK Dives, by Will Appleyard 3. Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors, by Gareth Lock
4. Dive Dorset, by John Hinchcliffe 4. Reef Life: An Underwater Memoir, by Callum Roberts
5. The Professional Diver's Handbook, by John Bevan 5. Fishes of the Maldives, Indian Ocean, by Rudie H Kuiter
6. Amazing Diving Stories – Incredible Tales from Deep Beneath the Sea, by John Bantin 6. Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die, by Chris Santella
7. The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent (audiobook) by Bernie Chowdhury 7. Scuba Diving Hand Signals: Pocket Companion for Recreational Scuba Divers, by Lars Behnke
8. Dive South Cornwall, by Richard Larn 8. Into the Abyss: The Diving Trilogy 1: Diving to Adventure in the Liquid World, by Rod Macdonald
9. Scuba Diving Hand Signals: Pocket Companion for Recreational Scuba Divers, by Lars Behnke 9. Underwater Photography: A Step-by-Step Guide, by Maria Munn
10. Winning Images, by Paul Colley 10. Underwater Foraging – Freediving for Food, by Ian Donald

64 divErNEt.com

Mike Poston’s 3D modelling expertise. because it addresses that wish and in
I’m still amazed that the hi-res a really interesting way.

photographs on which all this detail I had expected to skim through it,
was based were taken in fewer than but ended up reading it avidly from
14 hours of diving. intro to index.

In addition, topside photos show The author’s idea was to take the
preserved or reconstructed vehicles of stories of eight ships, many of them
the types found in the holds. obscure, and use them to illustrate
significant aspects of sail’s
Everything was brought together development over 500 years in
as archaeologist Jon Henderson used Britain – as the nation progressed,
the comprehensive approach he often more by chance than design,
would normally use to survey towards becoming a major sea power.
ancient shipwrecks to illuminate this
modern one (it sank a mere 80 years So we start with a chapter about
ago this year). something I certainly knew nothing
about, the vicious mediaeval rivalry
There is a guide to photography on between Yarmouth and the Cinque
the Thistlegorm, and the marine life it Ports in Kent centred on their herring
attracts gets a look-in too. fleets. The story of the St Cross and
other ships is brought vividly to life.
This limited-run book is dedicated
to making sense of chaos – don’t dive Then we have the definitely
the wreck before taking advantage of obscure Cog Anne, an early passenger
what it has to offer. ship that found its paying customers
among pilgrims, and Tudor warship
Dived Up the Regent, operating alongside the
ISBN: 9781909455375 likes of the Mary Rose as the seeds of
Hardback, 240pp, 16x24cm, £35 the Royal Navy were sown.

EIGHT SHIPS, Naval power enables international
500 YEARS trading to take place, so we follow the
Trade’s Increase, an early East India
Britain and the Ocean Road: Company armed merchantman, as it
Shipwrecks & People battles against the odds to lay the
1297-1825 foundations for the British Empire.
By Ian Friel
And so we continue, exploring
READING ABOUT archaeological the unglamorous side of piracy, the
excavations of historic wrecks, horrific slave traders, the exhausting
whether it’s the Rooswijk or the search for the North-west Passage
London in the UK, those amazingly and the height of naval engagements
preserved wrecks in the Baltic, or between ships of the line at Trafalgar.
anywhere in the world where old
cannonballs, anchors or pots The concept works, because
constitute a wreck-site, I sometimes without trying to provide any sort of
wish I understood more about the comprehensive maritime history the
context in which those ships sailed. author’s educated choices serve to
absorb and enlighten us.
I knew that this book by noted
maritime historian Dr Ian Friel wasn’t And his book is as much about the
going to be about diving as such, sailors and other characters as it is
but I’m very pleased to have read it about the ships.

It’s based on Ian Friel’s original
scholarship, too, rather than being
yet another retelling of often-told
historic sea stories.

A follow-up book next year, to be
called either Breaking Seas, Broken
Ships or Black Oil on the Waters, will
continue the story through the age of
steam to the present day.

That might seem more directly
relatable for divers, but I suspect that
any who have even a passing interest
in maritime history will find much to
enjoy in this first volume too.

Pen & Sword
ISBN 9781526738363
Hardback, 204pp, 16x24cm, £25
(also a Kindle edition)

Reviews by Steve Weinman

divErNEt.com 65

WELL AND TRULY It isn’t light, but would the Mares
Dragon BC be worth its weight in
terms of safety and comfort?
STEVE WARREN finds out, and
also tests a weight-belt and
a potentially dive-saving optical mask

BC

MARES DRAGON

ITALIAN MANUFACTURER MARES regularly The shoulder-straps are Weight System
demonstrates its confidence in its products by lightly padded but wide, to
submitting them for divEr Tests. Established in spread the load.They have I installed two 1kg weights in the trim-weight
1949, the brand has drawn a distinction between swivelling 50mm pockets.These are fitted out of the way between
its recreational and its extended-range or squeeze-release buckles. the outer backpack and air-cell.
technical-diving offerings. The wide touch-fastener-
closed cummerbund The SLS weight system uses zipped pouches,
The Dragon BC, from the recreational line, is can be adjusted for and I put a 3kg hip-weight in each.They then
aimed at single-tank divers. It’s a high-lift BC, length at the back, slide into the retaining sleeve.
ideally specified for those using coldwater suits keeping it neat in
and, by extension, perfectly at home in the front. Jettisoning is straightforward – just tug firmly
tropics.Weighing in at around 4.5kg it’s no on the grab-handles and the weights drop clear.
lightweight. A squeeze- Credit goes to Mares for using contrasting
buckle-released colours to make it easy for an assisting diver to
But then, as we go through the Dragon’s waist-strap lies identify them.
features and benefits, you’ll appreciate why. over this.
This type of release is very common among BC
The Design Finally, manufacturers, as are squeeze-release buckles.
there’s a fixed- What’s different about the SLS is the installation.
This BC is based around a hybrid air-cell.The position chest-
classic jacket-style bladder has been combined strap, again With conventional pull-handle-release
with a wing or, in this case, a part-wing. I dive using a weights, when you slide them into the sleeves
jacket- and wing-type BC’s with single cylinders squeeze- you feel for them snapping into place, and listen
interchangeably and have no preference. release buckle. for a click to confirm that they’re locked.

Both surface and underwater buoyancy and The Dragon is weight-integrated, using This usually works well enough, though less so
pitch characteristics seem the same to me, when Mares’ patented Slide and Lock (SLS) quick- when you try to install them after kitting up.
properly weighted and trimmed. release pouches for the main weights. Especially with heavy weights, you often have to
juggle them into a tight sleeve against gravity,
Wing-aficionados laud the clean waist of most Two fixed trim-weight pockets are fitted to
wings, while jacket-users can take advantage of the backplate. Along with the usual Mares Ergo
often much-larger pockets. oral inflator/direct feed, a rapid exhaust-dump
is built into the oral inflator hose, with an
With a jacket fully inflated at the surface, additional shoulder- and bum-dump.
air-filling the side chambers can cause squeeze
if the harness is not set up correctly, while an For carrying accessories, a pair of zipped waist-
improperly trimmed wing might pitch you pockets with grommets for a Mares knife on the
forward at the surface. right side and five stainless-steel D-rings are
provided. One sits above each shoulder-buckle,
So either design can be an excellent choice for and they are pre-bent to make it easier to snap
recreational diving if used properly. on lights, for example.

Still, there must be a reason for hybrids, and in Another D-ring hangs below each kidney,
the Dragon, the gain seems to be an increase in where I like to clip off my primary DSMB reel.
lift of a couple of extra kilos compared to a A small D-ring is provided beside the right
similarly sized stab-jacket. shoulder-buckle, ideal for attaching a gauge
or octopus.
The single-bag air-cell is made from 420
Cordura, which can be expected to be hard- The cylinder secures with a single conventional
wearing and long-lasting.The harness is based camband, and a neck-loop sets its height –
around a full-length alpine-shaped plastic especially useful at resorts and on boats where
backpack, which is very substantially cushioned. your kit is set up for you.

At the top of the pack is not so much a pad The built-in carry-handle is really easy to get
as a pillow. It protects you from the nape of your your hand into. I used a 15-litre steel cylinder –
neck to the base of your shoulder-blades. not my favourite tank, because it's wide and
heavy and tends to roll me under water.
This overlaps a more conventional pad that sits
snugly against your lower back and hips.

divEr 66 divErNEt.com

DIVER TESTS

allows you to into.There’s enough space to fit small torches,
folding snorkels and slates, though you’ll struggle
brief students to force a DSMB in.

effortlessly, Stability under water was excellent, with no
pitch or roll. But let’s return to buoyancy.
take compass-
A big claim from Mares is for the Dragon’s lift
bearings and capacity. At 18kg for the medium this is the same
as some other BCs in its range, but it does pack
signal to your considerably more lift than many rival models,
which tend to range from 10-14kg.
boat.
The extra lift is probably not a huge advantage
However, I’ll for a properly weighted recreational diver, but
dive-pros might find it reassuring to have a little
give the Dragon extra buoyancy in reserve in case of
emergencies.They sometimes also carry extra
a pass, and weights to hand off to their charges, so might
well be diving overweighted themselves.
here’s why.
Deliberate overweighting might also be a tool
The BC for underwater photographers and film-makers,
or for harbour-divers who might need to set
supplied was down hard on the seabed.

small, and I What is persuasive for ordinary divers is the
comfort the Dragon affords, especially if diving
need a medium. in skins or bare flesh from the shore, and its
excellent sub-surface and anticipated surface
The size alters buoyancy qualities. Controls fall easily to hand,
and the SLS weighting system is a winner.
how it fits and
Pockets could be a little larger but that’s
affects stability, nit-picking, and the D-ring array makes for
convenient stowage for most accessories.
Left: Loaded SLS pouch in the locked position, with flush indicator and locked padlock symbol. pushing further
Conclusion
Right: Loaded SLS pouch in unlocked position, with protruding indicator and unlocked padlock symbol. back the lobes
Mares BCs consistently impress, and the Dragon
of the air-cell is no exception.What we have here is a rugged,
comfortable and well-specified BC for the serious
and it's best not to be hampered by a restricted that normally mould around your waist. As such, recreational diver. Highly recommended. I

view of the sleeve. they no longer counteract the tendency of the

Often, too, diver chatter or engine noise can rest of the air-cell to tip you forward.

make it tricky to hear the click clearly. Sometimes Never accept a wrongly sized rental BC, or be

a weight pouch can look as if it’s locked when it’s unwilling to change your kids' BCs as they grow!

just being held in by friction – for now. Rant over. Based on the shaping of the Dragon

As well as the click, the SLS has two well- and experience of other Mares BCs, I’d expect the

thought-out safeguards to confirm that the Dragon to provide perfect surface support.

weights are locked. The harness allows the air-cell to move

Firstly, the pouches have a red button that independently of the straps as you inflate it,

stands proud of the grab-handle until you push it which eliminates any feeling of squeeze if you set

firmly into place. It then retracts and sits flush. your Dragon up properly – I tightened my straps

As the mechanism locks, the click should with the BC half-inflated.

provide an audible confirmation.

Secondly, a padlock symbol appears in a small

Under Waterwindow in the weight-buckle. It’s clear to a diver

fitting the weights before donning the Dragon, At 10m I checked the valves.The Mares Ergo

but if fitted afterwards it should be obvious to inflator has nicely set-out inflate and deflate

a briefed buddy during a check. controls, clearly distinguishable by both shape,

It’s a good system. I found the weights easy to texture (if bare-handed) and colour. A simple

fit after kitting-up. A useful touch, especially for pipette allows for oral inflation.

rental, is that the pouches can be marked to Mares has a two-position epaulette that

identify them, reducing the risk of inserting restrains the oral inflator hose, so the inflator is

someone else’s ballast in your BC. always easy to locate. It’s worth experimenting to

see whether the high or low position is best for

In Use you to ensure that you can easily dump and
orally inflate through the mouthpiece.

Weighed down by the 35kg or so of weights, The progressive direct feed filled the air-cell

cylinder, regulator and air that the Dragon was in four seconds. Either the shoulder-dump or

supporting, I made the 500m walk to the water. rapid-exhaust valve can vent air faster than the

It’s a very comfortable BC. direct feed can supply it.

Once in, I measured the distance from my When I hung onto an anchor at 10m,

lower lip to the water's surface. It’s important fully inflated the BC and let go, I could

that your BC rides high enough to allow you to stop the ascent in 1m using the

breathe in a chop if you’re out of air and haven't shoulder-dump and 2m using the valve.

brought a snorkel. At 17cm, it was well Wearing an undersized Dragon

within the usual ballpark. could have meant that the dumps

With the Dragon fully inflated were not in the optimum position to

I had to work a little to stay vent effectively. My guess, based on

vertical. A BC against previous experience with Mares BCs, is that

which you have to fin the stopping distances would have been a little SPECS

to prevent a face-plant is shorter had the sizing been right. PRICE8 £422
WEIGHT84.5kg
tiring and potentially I do these checks to confirm that a runaway SIZES/BUOYANCY8XS (13.8kg), S (16kg), M
(18.3kg), L (21kg), XL (23.9kg)
unsafe, whereas ascent, perhaps caused by a frozen or otherwise- COLOUR8 Black
CONTACT8 mares.com
floating vertically stuck direct-feed can quickly be controlled.

The shoulder- and bum-dump toggles are

easy to locate and use high-contrast colours, so

Height-adjustable oral inflator they stand out and are immediately obvious to

hose retainer. a buddy.The pockets are easy to open and reach

67 divEr

DIVER TESTS

WEIGHT-BELT

IMERSION STANDARD

ON TWO OCCASIONS I HAVE DITCHED The Design whether wearing gloves or not.
weight-belts.Which is why I’m still here. The hook can be used as a mooring point for
The Imersion Standard Belt quick-release
The first time, I was 10. I had read buckle is far from new, yet it still, I think, a cylinder-harness jock-strap. This means that
somewhere that by exhaling gently while deserves some attention. the harness doesn’t need a waist-strap.
snorkelling, you would blow off CO2 and
could prolong your dive.This seemed to In fact, it isn’t even an Imersion design. It was It’s a brilliant system, and is where the rule
work very well – until I reached the first made by La Spirotechnique, the company “weight-belt on last” originated.
surface, cleared my snorkel and sank. founded to manufacture the original Aqua-
lung, by which brand name Spiro is known By donning the belt after you had put on
Along with blowing off the CO2, I had today. It dates back to at least the 1960s. your scuba-set, your weights could be
also exhaled most of my buoyancy. I guess the patent ran out. jettisoned in an emergency without snagging.

The second or third time I ducked back So what’s so great about this weightbelt How fast we forget. Recently I saw a diver
under, while finning furiously to try to get buckle? Well, it’s a two-piece stainless-steel moving into technical diving place his weight-
my head above water and snatch a breath, design, with one half inserting into the other. belt under the jock-strap of his BC, something it
I dropped the belt. seems his buddies didn’t pick up on.
Firstly, the buckle stops your weights sliding
The other time was during a swimming off. If you want to hang onto the boat with one As a vintage diver, I can use my Imersion belt
assessment for a novice sport scuba hand, reach down and take off your belt with in place of a genuine Spiro belt and not worry
course run by the Army. One of the the other, there’s no risk of a cascade of lead about ditching a piece of history.
exercises was to swim 50m wearing hitting the divers below you.
a weight-belt. Sometimes it’s the safety benefits of
Secondly, any extra webbing can be tucked simplicity we overlook.
The maximum weight was set at 5kg, out of the way without interfering with
and it was supposed to be adjusted jettisoning, because it doesn’t have to pass Conclusion
down for thin people, which I was at through the gate, as it would through a
the time. I did the swim wearing only cam-buckle. If you prefer a weight-belt, the Standard is well
my shorts in freezing sea temperatures worth considering. You might have to hunt it
and, about halfway through, my legs Thirdly, the length of the belt is easily down. The UK importer is a freediving specialist
seized up. Again, I ditched the belt. adjusted simply by pulling on the free end and doesn’t stock it because the webbing is
to tighten or pushing up on the buckle to nylon rather than the depth-compensating
Around 80% of recreational divers who die are slacken. A cam-buckle must be opened under rubber preferred for breath-hold diving. I got
found on the seabed with weights still in place. water to do this. mine in Lanzarote for about 20 euros. I
It seems that we just don’t train divers effectively
to carry out this simple life-saving skill. Fourthly, the buckle is very low-profile. My SPECS
old friend Jamie Watts saw one of my old Spiro
I learnt its importance from reading manuals belts and was desperate to acquire the buckle PRICE £15
and magazine articles. I was never taught to do it to further his freediving goal of ultimate MATERIALS Nylon, stainless steel
as a practical skill during my entry-level scuba streamlining. LENGTH 1.4m
training with BSAC and PADI, nor taught the skill WIDTH 5cm
for real as an instructor for either agency. The buckle’s low profile is achieved by CONTACT imersion.net
having the release lie flat, so it’s much harder to
The Dilemma snag than the raised lip on most cams.

By its nature, the dilemma for a quick-release Fifthly, it is easy to release with either hand,
mechanism designer is to make it easy to deploy
deliberately while also making it very difficult to
self-release by accident.

There is a range of quick-release systems out
there, especially on weight-integrated BCs, and
some are quicker and more instinctive to ditch
than others.When it comes to weight-belts,
however, the standard among scuba-divers for
many years has been the simple cam-belt.

Its ubiquitousness means that most divers
know how to release it, reducing any delays in
emergency jettisoning through unfamiliarity.
However, the buckle can be opened by accident.

A friend ended up doing a safety stop upside-
down after his was snagged by the shotline,
sending it to the bottom. I once got swept over
rocks while snorkelling, which ditched mine.

If not adjusted for length, there can be a lot of
webbing that needs to pass through a cam-
buckle, and I’ve seen divers hitch this around
the belt-strap, defeating the quick-release
mechanism. And if your weights aren’t fitted
with retainers, hold it by the buckle end and off
slide your weights as you pass it up to the boat.

divEr 68 divErNEt.com

DIVER TESTS

MASK

SHERWOOD

ORACLE

IT’S ALWAYS TROUBLING WHEN I’m not this is an third of the face-
quite sure what my dive-computer is telling inexpensive mask. It’s plate and are bonded
me.The nature of gear-testing is that I can be still very comfortable, and in, so if you drop your chin to look
using several computers at once, my own being sealed perfectly over a couple of weeks’ worth of at your drysuit disconnect, it’ll look a bit fuzzy.
used as my reference. unkempt facial hair. I used the Oracle + over six snorkelling
sessions while testing freediving computers and
By looking at mine, I can generally figure out The nose-pocket is easy to pinch or block with taking pictures under the rollers.
what the numbers the others are putting out are a gloved hand, so it’s straightforward to Valsalva. It really made a difference to being able to
telling me. But when my own computer flooded, The Oracle + is quite low-volume, and I could read small print on the computer screens.
because I’m an idiot, I was using two others on clear it multiple times on a single breath. One of my compact cameras has read-outs
a real decompression dive, and was a little that are impossible for me to use without
uncertain as to my exact status. It’s my best party trick – if you’ve never seen it reading glasses, now that I’m properly old. For
done, you’re hanging out with killjoys. that reason I normally reach for another camera
My confusion was caused by two rows of easily but, testing it with the Oracle +, it suddenly
seen, similar numbers on one of the computers. It can also be cleared hands-free. I was became useable again.
What I couldn't read were the small legends that freediving, so the main advantage of the low I had wondered if the magnifying lenses
told me what those numbers meant. volume was for preventing mask-squeeze on would be distracting when looking at distant
scenes, but that was never the case – you simply
Safely back at the surface (eventually), it deeper dives. look over them without realising.
turned out that the read-outs indicated total The standard For close-up work, it took a few minutes to
ascent time without including an optional three- learn to use them.You have to hold a computer
minute safety stop, and the other with stop. mask-strap is or camera in the right position to line up your
adjusted by sight through the lenses with the device menus.
When you know your own computer well, pulling on the It soon becomes second nature.
reading these tiny“what’s it doing?”lines might end to tighten For tekkies and photographers the Oracle +
not be important, but if an unfamiliar display and pushing up can be ordered with a black skirt to minimise
kicks up because, for the first time, you on the edge of distractions and reflections from peripheral
accidentally drifted over your no-stop time or the buckle to sunlight.The glass is clear – there’s no green tint
were forced into emergency decompression, slacken.This can to affect flesh tones if you’re into selfies, or if your
those details be done with buddy wears one.
become vital. gloves.
Conclusion
Besides, even The buckle
to check your assembly slots The Oracle + is based on one of Sherwood’s best-
own buddy’s into a swivel fitting on the skirt and can be selling masks.There’s nothing to fault, and the
dive-status removed by pressing a button. If you have a integrated reading lenses are a neat and effective
means being spare strap in your Save A Dive kit with these solution to a problem many share – or will do.
able to correctly fittings, you can change it out in seconds.
assimilate vital As mask-straps normally fail only as you're As a former scuba and u/w-photography
information such putting your mask on, and it’s usually the last instructor, I’d have liked to have had a couple of
as no-stop or piece of kit you fit as you’re about to step into the Oracle +’s as loan masks. Highly recommended. I
deco time and water, this is a useful time- and hassle-saver.
gas remaining. Sherwood offers a ski-mask-type elasticised SPECS
strap with built-in snorkel-keeper as an option.
Even if your PRICE8 £65 including case
buddy uses an identical computer model to The View WEIGHT80.55kg
yours, displays can differ as owners set custom COLOUR8 Clear skirt with black, blue or
layouts, making things even more confusing. The low-profile skirt puts the lens close to your yellow frame. Black skirt with black frame
eyes, so your upward and peripheral field of view CONTACT8 midlanddiving.com
The problem, of course, has less to do with is expansive. A polycarbonate frame holds it all
poorly designed computer displays – most are together.The teardrop design normally provides
very good – than humans’ own built-in excellent downward vision, making it easier to
obsolescence. In contrast to other parts of the see chest-releases, for example.
body that soften with age, the lenses in our eyes
harden and lose their near-focusing abilities. The selling point for the Oracle + is, of course,
its magnifying lenses.These occupy the lower
The Sherwood Oracle + mask offers an off-
the-shelf solution to the problem of being able
to read your gauges or see that pygmy seahorse.
It does this by including two 1.75-dioptre
magnifying lenses in the lower faceplate.

The Design

The Oracle + is a conventional low-profile, split-
lens model.The silicone skirt features a double
seal.The skirt is less soft than you’ll find on
premium-priced models these days but then,

divErNEt.com 69 divEr

NEW BUT

The latest kit to hit the dive shops

Typhoon EON Mask 5555

This new mask could hardly be described as expensive at £26, but
Typhoon says it’s high-spec all the same. The ultra-low volume
model has a silicone skirt and “fast-adjustment” strap, with lenses
that it claims provide excellent peripheral and downward vision.
8typhoon-int.co.uk

Sealife SportDiver Camera Housing 5555

This housing is designed to enable divers to shoot underwater stills
and video with Apple iPhones 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, Xr, Xs, Xs Max, 11,
11 Pro Max and SE (2nd Gen) models, as deep as 40m. The user can
access main controls such as lens angle, focus and white balance, while
a dual vacuum and moisture alarm protects and warns against leaks.
A colour-correction filter is included and the SportDiver costs £289 or
is available as a kit with a 2500 lumen Sea Dragon light for £595.
8sealife-cameras.com

Akoma Pro Regulator Bag

With this bag you pay £37 for travel protection for your
valuable regulator and gauges. It’s heavily padded to
absorb impacts and resist crushing. Velcro tie-downs help to
manage the hoses and corrosion-proof YKK zippers and a hand-
strap complete the offering.
8midlanddiving.com

Mares Dual Carl F Bucherer Patravi
Adjustable 62X ScubaTec Manta Trust
Regulator 5555 Special Edition Watch

The latest addition to the Italian manufacturer’s regulator fleet With contributions going to
is the Dual Adjustable 62X. The balanced diaphragm first this watch's illustrious
stage features its Dynamic Flow Control to reduce namesake the Manta Trust
pressure drop to the second stage, for improved charity, this new Carl F
performance. The second stage incorporates Vortex Bucherer timepiece is meant
Assisted Design and is pneumatically balanced, to be one a diver will feel good
intended to allow easier inhalation. It all adds up, about wearing. The 500m-rated
says Mares, to a lightweight regulator that not only stainless-steel case has a helium
meets EN250A 50m standards but has also been escape valve and a sapphire lens.
certified by NORSOK to 200m. It costs £377. It’s powered by an automatic
chronometer with a 38hr power reserve.
8mares.com The dial is made up of those iconic manta
shapes – look closely. Only 188 units have
divEr 70 been made, and you can get one for £4500.
8carl-f-bucherer.com

divErNEt.com

JUST SURFACED

Linde Werdelin Blue Oktopus Watch

The Blue Oktopus is another limited-edition timepiece – in this case
there are only 88. Its unique look is enhanced by a combination of
different-toned Super-Luminova markings, with each hue becoming
visible in turn as darkness falls. The maker says that the luminous

blue is especially easy to see as your night vision kicks in. Using
Linde Werdelin’s own automatic movement with 40hr power reserve,
this titanium watch can be dived to 300m. It will set you back £12,000.
8lindewerdelin.com

Red Original Typhoon
Waterproof Backpack XCU 200g
Undersuit
Originally designed to be taken to sea
on stand-up paddleboards, this £100 If you feel you need a bit
backpack could also serve as a dive-travel more central heating to get
companion. Made from recycled plastic you through that winter
bottles, the 30-litre bag has a waterproof diving, Typhoon reckons its
pouch for damp swimwear and towels, XCU 200g undergarment
while camera kit and dry clothes can be will keep you warmer for
stored inside. Hidden security pockets provide longer. An inner lining
for valuables such as keys and wallet, and wicks away moisture,
a removable laptop case is included. the Thinsulate core keeps
8redoriginal.com the heat in and the
Rec-Tech outer
shell is breathable
for all-day use, it promises – all for £160.
8typhoon-int.co.uk

CLASSIC CORON NEXT ISSUE

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The best way to dive Scotland’s Loch Long

Heart of the Coral Triangle

Marine-life insights amplified by diving a rebreather

First Impressions

Readjusting to the UK, Henley Spiers dives the Farnes

Attention Span

Getting to know Florida’s Blue Heron Bridge

BRANDI MUELLER Some say this Philippines’ WW2 ON SALE 17 DECEMBER
wreck location is South-East Asia’s
finest – Brandi Mueller checks it out

divErNEt.com 71 divEr



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Please remember to mention divEr Magazine when replying to any of these advertisements 73

CLASSIFIED ADS welcomes new and experienced divers from all agencies.

Full dive programme. Meet Wednesdays. See us at

www.flintsac.co.uk or call 01352 731425. (64293)

Guildford BSAC 53. Welcomes new and qualified divers.

Friendly, active club with 2 RIBs, compressor, Nitrox,

meets Tuesday at clubhouse with bar. www.guildford-

bsac.com or call 07787 141857.

Hartford Scuba BSAC 0522, based in Northwich,

Ealing SAC, BSAC 514. Friendly, active club, own RIBs; Cheshire. A friendly, active diving club. Compressor for

ACCESSORIES HSE MEDICALS welcomes new and experienced divers. Meets Highgrove air and Nitrox fills. RIB stored in Anglesey.
and phone advice – Poole
Pool, Eastcote, Tuesday nights 8.30pm. www.esac.org.uk www.hartfordscuba.co.uk (67287)
Dr Gerry Roberts and Dr Mark Bettley-Smith.
Tel: (01202) 741370 (68413) Hereford Sub Aqua Club, is looking for new members.

East Cheshire Sub Aqua. Macclesfield based BSAC club. Regular diving off the Pembrokeshire coast on own RIBs.

Purpose-built clubhouse, bar, two RIBs, minibus, nitrox, Training and social nights. Contact: rusaqua@

compressor. Lower Bank Street, Macclesfield, SK11 7HL. googlemail.com (69146)

Tel: 01625 502367. www.scubadivingmacclesfield.com HGSAC. South Manchester based friendly, non-political

(65609) club welcomes newcomers and qualified divers. Lots of

Diving Medicals - Midlands (Rugby) - HSE, Sports East Durham Divers SAA welcome new/experienced diving and social events. Family. Three RIBs and
Medicals and advice at Midlands Diving Chamber. Tel:
01788 579555 www.midlandsdivingchamber.co.uk divers of any agency. Comprehensive facilities with own compressor. www.hgsac.com (68501)

(72756) premises half a mile from the sea. Contact: John: 07857 High Wycombe SAC. Come and dive with us - all

174125. (68663) welcome. Active club with RIB on South coast. Contact

East Lancs Diving Club based in Blackburn. Friendly, Len: 07867 544 738. www.wycombesubaqua.com

CLUB NOTICES active club welcomes new members at all levels of diving (69131)

from all organisations. Tel: 07784 828961 or email: HUGSAC - BSAC 380. Experienced club, based around

ELDC@ hotmail.co.uk www.eastlancsdivers.co.uk Hertfordshire, with RIB on the South coast. Members

FREE OF CHARGE. (Max 25 words). (69411) dive with passion for all underwater exploration. All
Non-commercial clubs, no sales.
Eastbourne BSAC; RIB, Banked air (free) to 300bar, agencies welcome. www.hugsac.co.uk (63275)

Nitrox, Trimix. Enjoy some of the best diving on the South Ifield Divers. Crawley-based club. Twin engine dive boat

Arnewood Divers, Christchurch - where diving is safe Coast, all qualifications welcome. www. with stern lift in Brighton Marina.Training for novices,

and fun from our own hard boat. Training from beginner sovereigndivers.co.uk (65695) diving for the experienced - all qualifications welcome.

to Instructor. Find us on Facebook or https:// Eastern Sub Aqua Club SAA 1073. We are a small friendly www.ifield-divers.org.uk Email: info@ifield-divers.org.uk

sites.google.com/view/adsac/home dive club and welcome new and experienced divers alike. or tel: 01883 731532. (64514)

Active and friendly BSAC club. All year diving in local We are situated north of Norwich for training. For more Ilkeston & Kimberley SAA 945, between Nottingham

lake. New and qualified divers of all agencies welcome. information please see out website: www.esacdivers.co.uk and Derby, welcomes beginners and experienced divers.

Own clubhouse with 7m RIB and compressor. For further (65879) We meet every Friday night at Kimberley Leisure Centre

information visit www.mksac.co.uk (64403) at 8.30pm. Contact through www.iksac.co.uk (68559)

CHARTER BOATS Alfreton (Derbys) BSAC 302. Welcomes new members Ellon Sub Aqua Club, Aberdeenshire, welcomes K2 Divers, covering West Sussex/Surrey. A friendly BSAC

and qualified divers. A small but active club with own newcomers and experienced divers. We dive year round club, but all qualifications welcome. Training in Crawley,

RIB, wreck diving a speciality. Contact Angela on 07866 and meet on Thursday evenings. Contact boat at Littlehampton. Email: k2divers@yahoo.co.uk or

799364. (68370) www.ellonsubaquaclub.co.uk (65523) tel: (01293) 612989. (68335)

South Appledore Sub-Aqua Club (SAA 35) Friendy club Fife Scuba Divers Tel: 07575 372575. www. Kingston BSAC, Surrey. Two RIBs , clubhouse and bar,

welcomes experienced divers from all agencies . Regularly fifescubadivers.com. SAA Club No203. Meetings: Thu active dive programme, two compressors, Nitrox, Trimix,

www.channeldiving.com Midweek diving for dives Lundy island , own hard boat / compressor . Contact 19.30, 81 East Way, Hillend, KY11 9JF. Training Club, full training offered at all levels. All very welcome.

individuals. Tel: 07970 674799. (73330) Damian 07831 152021. Crossovers welcome. (72380) www.kingstonsac.org or tel: 07842 622193. (69176)

www.sussexshipwrecks.co.uk “Sussex”, Eastbourne. Fast Banbury SAC. Friendly, active club with weekly meetings Flintshire Sub Aqua Club based in Holywell, Flintshire, Lincoln - Imp Divers. Small, friendly, non-political

Cat, lift, O2, toilet, tea/coffee. Groups and individuals. and training sessions, own boat, compressor and

Diver/skipper Mike mobile: 07840 219585, e-mail: equipment. Welcome divers/non-divers. www.bansac.org INSURANCE

dive@sussexshipwrecks.co.uk (70611) or call 07787 097 289. (69308)

NOW BOOKING 2021 Birmingham Underwater Exploration Club. Friendly,

DIVE BRIGHTON active dive club. Weekly pool sessions. Regular trips.

www.brightondiver.com Own RIB based in south Devon. Training and

10m cat with dive lift. equipment loan available to members. Tim 07775 580033.
Individuals and groups.
All levels, novice to technical. Bracknell Sub Aqua Club welcomes new and experienced
BSAC Advanced and trimix skipper.
Call Paul: 07901 822375 divers from all agencies. Meets poolside at Bracknell

Sports Centre, Thursdays from 8.30pm. Diving, training

and social calendar: www.bracknellscuba.org.uk or tel:

07951 855 725. (65792)

Lymington - “Wight Spirit”. Diving West Wight, East Braintree Riverside Sub Aqua Club based in Braintree,

Dorset, English Channel. Beginners to technical and small Essex. A friendly club, we welcome divers of all abilities

groups. Electric lift. Easy access, easy parking. Owner/ and have an active diving and social programme. Come

skipper Dave Wendes. Tel/Fax: (023) 8027 0390, e-mail: and join us! email: denise.f.wright2@btinternet.com

wightspirit@btinternet.com www.wightspirit.co.uk www.braintreeriversidesac.co.uk (69397)

(70252) Bromley/Lewisham Active divers required. Full

Dive Littlehampton “Final Answer”. Shallow to deep, programme of hardboat diving throughout the year.

we cater for all. Skipper and crew on board, availability Check out Nekton SAC www.nekton.org.uk or contact

7 days a week. Maximum 10. Tel: (01243) 553977 or Jackie (01689) 850130. (68537)

07850 312068. Email: ourjoyboat@gmail.com Buckingham Dive Centre. A small friendly club

www.ourjoy.co.uk (73415) welcoming all divers and those wanting to learn. We dive

WEEKEND SPACES – SEE WEBSITE throughout the year and run trips in the UK and abroad.

DIVE 125 www.stowe subaqua.co.uk Tel: Roger 07802 765366.

Onboard Compressor E125.CO.UK Custom built (69433)
DIV 42' dive
Air + Nitrox Chelmsford and District SAC meet at 8pm every Friday
vessel, huge
at Riverside Pool. New and qualified divers are welcome.
deck space,
See our website for details: www.chelmsford
Diver lift,
diveclub.co.uk (68620)
OUR W large wheel
Cockleshell Divers, Portsmouth, Hants. Small, friendly
07764 58 53 53 house +
separate club welcomes new and experienced divers from all
07764 585353
toilet. agencies. Meets at Cockleshell Community Centre, Fridays

at 8pm. Email: cockleshell.divers@aol.co.uk (64762)

www.dive125.co.uk Eastbourne Charters Colchester Sub-Aqua Club welcomes experienced divers

and beginners. Sub-Aqua Association training. Diving at

South West home and abroad. Meets at Leisure World Friday evenings.

Contact Tony (01787) 475803. (68263)

Venture Dive Charters. For quality diving from Chingford, London BSAC 365. Friendly and active club

Plymouth, visit: www.venturecharters.co.uk or welcomes divers from all agencies and trainees. Meet

Tel: 07948 525030. (73533) Wednesday 8pm, Larkswood Leisure Centre E4 9EY.

Information: www.dive365.co.uk Email: loughton

divers365@gmail.com (69208)

Cotswold BSAC, a friendly club based at Brockworth

Pool, Nr Cheltenham, Fridays 8pm. Regular inland diving

and coast trips. Tel: 07711 312078. www.cotswoldbsac

www.divernet.com 332.co.uk (68577)

DIVING MEDICALS Darlington Dolphins Sub Aqua Club, small friendly

Diving Medicals - Nottingham. Sport Diving medicals: BSAC/PADI, open to new and experienced divers. Meet
£55. HSE Commercial Diving medicals: £120. OGUK
Offshore medicals: £110. HGV/PSV medicals £55. Student Friday night in Dolphin Centre at 8.30. Tel: 07773 075631
and Group discounts. Combine any two medicals and pay
only £5 extra for the cheaper of the two. Tel: 07802 850084 or email robkilday@hotmail.co.uk (72665)
for appointment. Email: mclamp@doctors.org.uk(70407)
Darwen SAC, in Lancashire, with an active diving

programme. Own RIB. new members welcome regardless

of agency/training. We provide BSAC training. Weekly

pool sessions. www.darwensac.org.uk (69161)

Dream Divers. Very friendly dive club in Rotherham

welcomes divers of any level/club. Meet at the Ring O

Bells, Swinton, last Thursday of the month at 19.30. Email:

info@dreamdiversltd.co.uk (69699)

CLASSIFIED ADS

diving club with our own RIB are looking to welcome Rochdale Sub-Aqua Club. Beginners and experienced

new and experienced divers. Contact Richard: 07931 divers welcome. Full training provided. Pool session every

170205. (69383) Wednesday. Club has two boats. More info at

Lincoln and District BSAC. Active club with own RIB, www.RochdaleDivers.co.uk or call Mick 07951 834 903. SUBSCRIBE

compressor and other facilities. Regular trips and (65103)

training. www.lincolndivingclub.co.uk (69336) Ruislip & Northwood BSAC. Friendly, active club, RIB,

Lincs Divers BSAC 1940. Friendly, active dive club welcomes new and qualified divers. Meets Highgrove

offering dive trips and training for new/experienced Pool Thursday nights 8.30pm. www.rnbsac.co.uk Tel:

divers. Lincoln based. www.lincsdivers.co.uk 07843 738 646 for details. (69469)

Llantrisant SAC, two RIBs, towing vehicle, welcomes Scotland Plug Divers. Small, friendly dive club welcomes

new and experienced divers. Meet at Llantrisant Leisure newly qualified and experienced divers to join us. Regular

Centre 8pm Mondays. Contact Phil: (01443) 227667. hardboat diving around Bass Rock/Firth of Forth/ TO divEr MAGAZINE

www.llantrisantdivers.com (68519) Eyemouth and trips abroad. Tel George: 07793 018 540. AND PICK UP A

Lutterworth Dive Club, active, social, friendly. Own RIB, Email: plugdivers@btinternet.com (64638) RECHARGEABLE

regular trips. Welcomes qualified divers, any agency. Selby Aquanauts SAA 1117. Family friendly club, DIVE LIGHT

Training at all levels. Most Tuesdays, Lutterworth Sports welcomes new and qualified divers. Regular trips UK & 1-year subscription plus
Northern Diver Varilux
Centre. www.lsac.co.uk (70043) abroad. Meet every Thursday, Albion Vaults, Selby at Micro rechargeable
dive light,
Leeds based Rothwell & Stanley SAC welcomes new 9pm. Contact Mark: 07831 295 655. (69261) worth £42

and experienced divers, full SAA training given. Purpose Sutton Coldfield SAC, friendly BSAC club, welcomes all 4 Take out a
ONE-YEAR
built clubhouse with bar, RIB, compressor. Meet Tuesday divers from trainee to advanced. All agencies. Own RIBs subscription to
Britain’s best-
evenings: 07738 060567 kevin.oddy@talktalk.net and compressor. Meet every Wednesday, 8.15pm at selling diving
magazine for just
Mansfield and District Scuba Diving Club. Wyndley (3.4m pool). For free try dive call Alan: 07970 £54.95

www.scubamad.co.uk. Sub Aqua Association - club 942. 573638 or Mark: 07787 106191. (64974) 4 You also get a Northern
Diver Varilux Micro
8 Beech Avenue, Mansfield, Notts. NG18 1EY. (71643) Sheffield BSAC36. Friendly, social and active dive club rechargeable dive light worth £42

Manta Divers. Norfolk wreck & reef diving. Small, welcomes newcomers or qualified divers. Trips, socials, 4 The Varilux Micro R has a variable output, producing
800 lumens for 1.5 hours on the highest setting and
friendly, experienced club. All agencies welcome. SAA weekly pool and club/pub meetings, club RIB. See 80 lumens for 24 hours on the lowest.

training. www.mantadivers.org (64088) www.bsac36.org.uk (69191) 4 Offer includes p&p for the 12 monthly magazines

Mercian Divers (BSAC 2463) Active & Friendly club. Slough 491 BSAC; small friendly club welcomes divers

New, experienced & junior divers welcome. Own RIB. at all levels. Meet at Beechwood School Fridays 19.30.

Based in Bromsgrove, West Midlands. Tel: 01905 773406 Diving holidays and South Coast. Email: malcolm@uv.net

www.mercian-divers.org.uk (65391) or tel: Tony (01344) 884 596. (69722)

Merseydivers (BSAC 5) Friendly & active club with 2 SOS Divers (SAA 263), Stourport, Worcestershire.

RIBs & Compressor/Nitrox/Trimix. Meeting every Founded 1979. Friendly family club welcomes qualified

Thursday 7pm till late. All divers welcome. and trainee divers. Own RIB. Contact Althea by email:

www.merseydivers.com or call Steve on 07570 015685. arannie123@outlook.com (57542)

Merseyside training club, new and active divers from South Coast Divers (SAA 1150) Portsmouth. A friendly

all agencies, weekly pool session. Own Rib towing vehicle and active club welcomes new and experienced divers

Contact www.wapsac.org.uk or wapsacsac@gmail.com from all agencies. Email: southcoastdivers@hotmail.co.uk

Millennium Divers. Active, friendly club for all levels or call Darren: 07449 794 804. (69224)

and certifications of diver, based in Portland, Dorset. UK Totnes SAC (Devon). We are an active multi-agency club

diving and holidays. Club social nights and welcome new members and qualified divers from all

www.millenniumdivers.org (68351) organisations. Two RIBs and own compressor/nitrox,

Mole Valley Sub Aqua Club. Surrey based SDI club, own plus club 4WD. Diving all round South Devon and

RIB, active diving UK & Abroad, training and social Cornwall. Visit www.totnes-bsac.co.uk for details.

events. Trainees/crossovers welcome. Contact: 07410

949268 or email: info@mvsac.org.uk (68691) (68319)

Monastery Dive Club (Dunkerton Branch). New divers South Queensferry SAC, near Edinburgh. Two RIBs,

welcome to join our club. Trips to Plymouth and NDAC. gear for hire. Pool training during the Winter; trips &

GSOH is a must. South Wales area (Crosskeys, Risca.) expeditions in the Summer. Pub meeting at Hawes Inn.

Text: Flinty 07971 432803 or email: welshflinty@ Call Warren: 07980 981 380. www.sqsac.co.uk (64861)

hotmail.com (65305) Steyning Scuba Club, West Sussex. All divers welcome.

Nekton SAC. Based in Bromley, we are a friendly and Steyning Pool , Monday evenings at 8.30pm. Contact

active SAA Club that welcomes experienced and new Andy Willett on 07786 243 763. www.seaurchin

divers alike. Info@nekton.org.uk or call Steve: 020 8467 divers@hotmail.co.uk (63956)

4599. (68387) The Bath Bubble Club SAA777 seeks new members.

Nemo Diving Club. Small friendly dive club offering New and qualified divers of all agencies welcome. Weekly

dive trips and training for non/experienced divers in pool training, every Wednesday at 9pm, Culverhay Sport

Retford and surrounding areas. Contact: www.nemodiver Centre, Rush Hill, Bath. Regular diving programme from

training.co.uk (69640) club RIB. www.bathbubbleclubuk.co.uk (68434)

North Wales Sub Aqua Club. Llandudno based and open Wells Dive Group. Friendly, active club in Somerset

to new and experienced divers. Fun, friendly and active welcomes new or experienced divers. Meeting/training at

SAA affiliated club. Training every weekend. The Little Theatre or the pool on Thursdays, try dives

www.nwsac.wales (70688) available. Regular RIB diving, trips around the UK and

North Glos BSAC 80. Friendly, active club welcomes new abroad. Visit: www.wellsdivers.co.uk or Tel: Rob, 07832

and experienced divers. Own boat and equipment with 141250. (69653)

weekly pool sessions, Thursdays, 8.30pm at GL1 TridentDivers.co.uk (find us on Facebook) Cardiff-

Gloucester, (Gloucester Leisure Centre). www.nglos.co.uk based SAA club taking on new trainees and crossover

(68483) members contact us on 07547 398802. (71656) Offer worth £94.80 –
YOU PAY ONLY £54.95
Nuneaton. Marlin BSAC welcomes experienced divers Wiltshire’s newest Scuba Diving Club - JC Scuba Dive

to Pingles pool every Thursday. Active training, diving, Club. Friendly active dive club based in Swindon, all

social programme in a flourishing club with no politics affiliations welcome. Pool sessions, UK & Worldwide

allowed. www.marlinsac.com (69322) trips, shore, boat & liveaboard diving, regular socials.

Orkney SAC. Small, friendly active dive club, based in Affiliated training school, fully insured. Exclusive member

Kirkwall, welcomes divers of any level or club. Own RIB benefits. www.jcscubadiveclub.co.uk

and compressor. Contact Craig: 07888 690 986 or email:

craigbarclay31@hotmail.com (69735) REPAIRS/SERVICES YES, please send me 12 issues of divEr plus dive light for £54.95

Plymouth Sound Dive Club welcomes qualified and starting with the __________________________ issue

experienced guest divers. See www.plymouthdivers. POST COUPON TO FREEPOST RTSA-BKTC-UHBG,
divEr Magazine, Suite B, 74 Oldfield Road, HAMPTON, TW12 2HR
org.uk for more information/weekly club notices. Contact
YOUR DETAILS (BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE) Name
relevant dive manager or divingofficer@

plymouth divers.org.uk to join a dive. 72219) www.Gybe.co.uk

Preston Divers SAA 30. The friendliest dive club. Come

and meet us at Fulwood Leisure Centre, Preston on

Monday nights between 8.00pm - 9.00pm. www. Address

prestondivers.co.uk (64198) WETSUIT Postcode
and DRYSUIT
Reading Diving Club. Experience the best of UK diving
REPAIRS
with a friendly and active club. All welcome. Tel: 01183 Tel. E-mail
ALL TYPES and
216310 or email: info@thedivingclub.co.uk www. MAKES PAYMENT DETAILS n I enclose a cheque made payable to Eaton Publications Ltd for £54.95

thedivingclub.co.uk (69447) Established since 1990

Reading Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC 28). Active, friendly, email: repairs@gybe.co.uk Please debit my n Visa n MasterCard n Amex n Maestro
Gybe Sports 0161 304 8471
based Palmer Park. Clubhouse, licenced bar, compressor,

2 RIBs. Club night Thurs, all grades/agencies. Training Card no

to Adv Diver +. rbsacinfo@gmail.com www.rbsac.org.uk Security Code

Tel: Colin 07939 066524. (72402) Expiry date Maestro Issue No (3-digit number from reverse of card.
Signature AMEX: 4-digit number from front.)
Richmond Sub-Aqua Club (Surrey) welcomes new and

experienced divers. Very active diving, training and social

calendar for about 100 members. Contact: Offers open to new UK subscribers only. Not to be used in conjunction with any other (I am over 18)

contact.rsac@gmail.com, www.richmondsubaqua.club, divEr subscription offer.

07843 959 775. If you wish to receive information from divEr Magazine on offers, news, competitions and events, please tick.n

Robin Hood Dive Club. Yorkshire based and one of the ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ORDER Call the Subscription Hotline on 020 8941 8152
Or e-mail: subscriptions@divermag.co.uk Or go to: www.divernet.com
most active in the country with a full 2019 calendar of

trips. All agencies and grades welcome. No training or

pool, just a growing bunch of regular divers. www. GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS: If you would like divEr to be sent to an address other than the one above, please write details
on a separate piece of paper and attach to the form.We’ll post you a gift letter to send on to the recipient. 01/21
robinhooddiveclub.com or find us on Facebook.

(59245)

DIVE CENTRE DIRECTORY

FACILITIES BSAC School PADI Training SSI Training TDI Training IANTD Member of SITA IDEST approved DAN
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DEEP teaching my life
BREATH disability

A chance SOON AFTER I HAD BECOME the chagrin of our old bosses! This proved particularly beneficial when
meeting on a a diving instructor back in 1983, If the test had not been as complicated juggling with many cylinders during side-
university dive- I had an experience that ultimately mount and technical diving and still
club night was changed my future life. I was helping at a as it was and had my help not been needing to have a hand left free to help
to shape the busy university dive-club with its large required, I would have never met this another diver if needed.
career of ROD potential influx at the start of the academic student. What would have happened? My
ABBOTSON, and year by administering the old British Sub- career might have gone in a sadly different So the basic skills I developed when
years later he Aqua Club swimming test. direction. So thank you, old swim test! teaching my original student with the use
blesses his good of only one arm turned out to be very
fortune. The I had a student with a paralysed right Over my years of teaching diving, I have useful, and over the past 20 years as a
other guy did arm. He managed, and I even made him found that the main value of any in-water trainer of many instructors I was able to
pretty well out hold up the paralysed arm with his left arm entry-level test prior to commencement of pass on these skills and the attitude I learnt
of it too! for the one-minute tread! diver training is to assess the student’s from teaching that student.
comfort and confidence in the water.
The rest of the group failed to THERE IS ALSO a great pleasure
complete everything. Knowing each student’s comfort level to be had from seeing the
tells the instructor whether any further enjoyment of a diver with a
This student had been in a confidence is required before progressing disability entering the aquatic
motorcycle accident that had to the next level of training. environment. This can be
caused the injury, and had gone to summed up by a comment made
the university to study while This reduces the possibility of panic by one diver who had lost the use
learning to write with his left hand. attacks in students compromising their of his legs and was wheelchair-
and others’ safety in the water. bound on land.
He had started swimming to
keep fit and on hearing about the Over the following years I came across Once in the water, he told me,
dive-club had come along to join. many divers with various disabilities. he felt free and equal to everyone
Sometimes I was just guiding them under else. He was enthusiastically
Elated to have passed the first water and helping them to dive, and at swimming off and exploring at
test, he was looking forward to other times I was teaching, from beginners such a rate that I was having
embarking on his training. to advanced levels including speciality difficulty keeping up with him,
training in different areas. because he had a very strong
I saw him later that evening and arm-swimming technique.
he was looking downcast. I asked This was a major two-way learning
him what the problem was and he experience, benefitting both the students It turned out that he
told me that the club had refused to and me. For me this came mainly from competed in wheelchair-racing!
take him. He had been told that he learning different ways of doing things When I helped him out of the
could never dive because of his arm! under water, and this has stood me in good water, his words: “I feel like a
stead over the years, enabling me to cope baby again now, because
I immediately told him not to with many compromised situations and everyone has to look after me”
worry and promised to train him stop them from developing into emergency emphasised the freedom and
myself at my club. situations. enjoyment he had felt while under water.
On another occasion, I had the privilege
We started two days later, I took to teach a girl with a cochlear implant after
him through all his courses to a level she had been refused training elsewhere on
at which he could look after other safety grounds – despite having medical
divers and lead dives. clearance to dive.
She used British sign language while
Later he went on to climb the instructor under water along with her sisters.
ladder, and even received an award for Although some of the diving signals were
rescuing another diver, including successful the same, they enjoyed a far wider
in-water resuscitation – an extremely vocabulary while submerged than the rest
rare event! of us, putting us all to shame!
She became a good underwater
THE POINT OF THIS story is that I learnt photographer. Who knew that fish
a lot from teaching this student, by having understood BSL!
to demonstrate everything with my left In 2003 I started a boat-diving
arm only. This included diver-rescue operation in the Red Sea, and a UK group
techniques, in which I showed him how to specialising in scuba training for people
use the paralysed arm to support a victim with disabilities started to bring a group
under the top of the shoulders to provide a out regularly every year, all diving with a
good neck extension. variety of issues but having a great time.
If asked to teach a person with a
I was so proud of this student and disability to dive, just say yes!
seeing how diving had changed his life in
such a positive way led me to a lifelong
career in diving.

I resigned from my cushy office job with
company car. Strangely enough, some of
my work colleagues followed my lead to
pursue their own lifelong dreams, much to

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