SCUBA News 12
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 12 - April 2001 www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello, and thank you for subscribing to SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). In this issue: - What's new at SCUBA Travel - Interview with top wreck diving author - Diving news from around the world If you have any diving news, or comments on this newsletter, e-mail news@scubatravel.co.uk __________________________________________________________ What's New at the SCUBA Travel Web Site ======================================== We've added more information on diving in Saudi Arabia. See our Red Sea Section at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/saudiop.html We've also extended our Sea Life page, with more photos and notes. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/redsealife.html Next Month: Keep an eye on the SCUBA Travel site for a major expansion of our photo gallery. On a literary note, we'll be reviewing "World War II Wrecks of The Truk Lagoon", see below for our interview with the author. Our interviewee for next month is Susan Speck, author of "Diving Baja California". __________________________________________________________ SCUBA News Bookshelf: Interview with the Author ============================================= May's book of the month is "World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon". To whet your appetite, we asked the author, Dan E Bailey, about his background and incentive to write the book. "In 1969 I went to work for GTE Sylvania as a radar systems engineer on Roi-Namur Island in the Kwajalein Atoll (Marshall Islands). Kwajalein had been a Japanese World War II island naval base and many ships and aircraft had been sunk in the surrounding lagoon waters. There was an active diving community on Kwajalein and Roi-Namur and I soon became very involved in diving the wrecks. Shortly after this diving services opened up at the Truk Lagoon (another Japanese island naval base) and it was a natural progression in my love of wreck diving to begin travelling there. I began accumulating underwater photos of both Kwajalein and Truk, and documenting the wrecks for a proposed book. In 1982 I published the first edition of "World War II Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Lagoons". Three revised and updated editions and three other printings of the book resulted; some 29500 copies of the book were sold. Meanwhile, my interest in wreck diving resulted in trips to Palau in the Western Caroline Islands. In 1991, the book World War II Wrecks of Palau was published. World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon, finally published in February 2001, is the result of eight years of concentrated research, writing, the drawing of 173 maps and illustrations and the assembling of information and photos gathered from some 41 (or 42?) diving trips to the Truk Lagoon since 1971. For the full interview see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/danbailey.html About the Book World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon is a magnificent book, and the definitive guide to diving Truk (or Chuuk). With over 500 pages, 250 photographs and 173 maps and illustrations, in addition to crucial diving notes, it tells you everything you want to know about the Japanese occupation, the US air campaign and the aircraft and ship wrecks. + World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon is available from the publishers http://www.northvalleydiver.com/ And also from Amazon.com + If you would like to recommend a diving-related book please e-mail news@scubatravel.co.uk //ADV_____________________________________________________ For the inside information on Amazon, join the Amazon Associates Mailing List. Lively comment on Amazon, search engines and web site positioning. Visit http://www.listpartners.com/cgi-local/subscribe?1729 ________________________________________________________ADV// Diving News From Around the World ================================= Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary in Med Since the 1940s, the population of whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean has drastically declined. Now the governments of France, Italy and Monaco have created a cetacean sanctuary. Some 880,000 tons of oil are leaked into the Mediterranean each year. Coastal rubbish areas and industrial sites add to the pollution with detergents, medicines and heavy metals. This build-up of toxins may well be the cause of the weakening immune and reproductive systems of the Mediterranean's cetacean populations. Fishing nets and collisions with boats pose yet further hazards. The new sanctuary stretches from Corsica and Sardinia in the South, towards the Balearics in the West. Environmental News Network Underwater map of sunken city of Alexandria completed Underwater archaeologist, Franck Goddio, has unveiled the first complete underwater map of the ancient city of Alexandria (Egypt). Presenting his map of the long hidden world, he said: "Soon after the first electronic surveys of the harbour, we realised that the topography of the ancient quarters of Alexandria was totally different from what had been assumed until now." The excavations revealed many statues and other artefacts, including a bust of Cleopatra's son. Reuters Florida Approves Largest U.S. No-Fishing Sanctuary A marine reserve has been established west of the Florida Keys. The 150 square mile (390 sq km) area will protect the region's coral reefs and spawning areas for a host of fish and marine life that thrive in the Gulf Stream. Snorkelling and scuba diving will be allowed with a special permit but taking of fish or other marine life will be prohibited, as will anchoring of vessels. The Florida governor's environmental concerns and policies contrast markedly with those of his elder brother, President Bush. Reuters US Sonar Program a threat to Whales and other Sealife Mating songs of humpback whales, sperm whales detecting squid up to 400 m away, long rang audio communication of blue whales, all could be threatened by a proposal by the US navy to blast immense sounds into the sea. Under the proposal, a new global sonar system would be deployed in 80% of the world's oceans. Sonar was responsible for a stranding of 16 whales of four different species in the Bahamas in March 2000, according to an investigative report released by the US Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Since that time, at least one population of whales has disappeared entirely from the area, environmentalists note. Environmental News Network \\ADV_____________________________________________________ Download the free Windmill software to log data from GPS and sonar to your spreadsheet, database or mapping program. For diving, marine archaeology, salvage, coral reef conservation and deep-sea research. Visit http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html ________________________________________________________ADV\\ __________________________________________________________ * Copyright SCUBA Travel Ltd - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/ * Reprinting welcomed with this footer included. We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and even use parts of it on your own website, providing the above copyright notice is included, and a link back to our website is in place. Previous editions of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) are archived at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING Visit http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html and add or remove your e-mail address.
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