SCUBA News 20
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 20 - December 2001 www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to the December edition of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and hope you all have a peaceful and prosperous New Year. In this issue: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Your Letters - Presents for Divers - SCUBA News Bookshelf: Interview with Tim Limbrick - Diving News from Around the World If you have any diving news, or comments on this newsletter, we'd love to hear from you. Just fill in our Contact the Editor form. __________________________________________________________ What's New at the SCUBA Travel Web Site? ======================================== First thanks to everyone who has bought books, videos or kit through the SCUBA Travel site. We earn a small commission (5%) on you purchases, which helps towards the upkeep of the site. And if you haven't yet done so it's not too late to get purchases delivered for Christmas. The Blue Planet book, for example, is still available from Amazon at a 50% discount. Click here to order your copy from Amazon For more details of The Blue Planet see our review. Top Ten Dives Thanks for voting for your favourite dives - we've updated our top ten list accordingly. If you haven't yet voted please do so at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdives.html ::ADV_____________________________________________________ : : Drive more targeted customers to your web site with : Overture. Their search results reach 75% of all : Internet users and you only pay when someone clicks your : search listing. Earn a special $10 bonus credit when you : become a new Overture advertiser with this link : http://www.overture.com/ ______________________________________________________ADV:: Underwater Photo Gallery More photos are now in Room Two of our gallery, including a fascinating picture of a well camouflaged crab on coral. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photo2.html Thailand Accommodation We've extended our accommodation in Thailand page. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thaiacc.html Interviews with Authors We continue to interview the top diving authors. This month Jim Limbrick talks to us about his motivation and hopes for his North Sea diving book. The highlights of the interview are below but for the full version go to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/jimlimbrick.html __________________________________________________________ Your Letters ============ Dear SCUBA News We are going sailing and diving right after Christmas in Southern Belize and am wondering how to find Lat and Lon for good diving spots. We are renting a Cat out of Placencia from the Moorings and hope to explore some of the great diving available. Thanks for your help. Ed Imsand -- Any suggestions for co-ordinates of great diving spots around Belize? Contact the Editor and I'll pass your messages on. __________________________________________________________ Interview with Jim Limbrick Author of North Sea Divers - A Requiem ====================================== "North Sea Divers - A Requiem" is a tribute to the 58 professional divers who lost their lives in the North Sea between 1971 and 2000. The book is currently available in e-format and soon to be published in paperback. We talked to the author, Jim Limbrick. What prompted you to write the book? The reason I wrote the book was because of a genuine belief that those men who died deserve some kind of recognition for what they did. Their part was absolutely essential, and they could fade away into history without anyone knowing of them. Once the book is published it will always be there for reference, and I hope that with the help of their families, friends and colleagues I can ultimately re-write the definitive version. Another reason is that I knew and worked with some of them Your book is obviously male-dominated? Are there any offshore female divers? Though a lot of women work offshore, and there are certainly female professional divers, I have never known or heard of any of the latter offshore, though it would certainly have made life a lot more bearable. Why did you choose to publish in e-format? Publishing in e-format with my chosen publisher Authorsonline was compulsory before you could go on to publish in book form. Because a person has to download using his/her own paper and ink, I personally believe that the method will not reach a large public, even though it's cheap. It is, however, a way forward at relatively low cost to go this route because the system is print on demand. You may be familiar with the technology, but using the system, one book at a time can be produced as ordered so you do not therefore have to have hundreds or thousands lying about waiting to be sold. You do, however, have to work harder to get sales as they are not sitting in the shops for people to see. I have put mine on my own web-sites www.northseadivers.co.uk (and .com) and will utilise other methods to sell copies, especially using the advice of the publisher in how to achieve results I am confident the system will work if the subject matter is interesting enough, though I realise that in my case the interest will be limited mainly to those with an interest in diving, though there are over a million SCUBA divers worldwide for a start, some of whom may have an interest in going professional, or just interested in the subject overall. Though it may seem a little naive, I have never considered it as a way to make money. For the full interview, and interviews with other diving authors, visit http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/interview.html You can buy "North Sea Divers - A Requiem" from Authors Online for £2.95. http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/ __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= Divers Attempt to Kill Smothering Seaweed Navy divers have spread seven tonnes of salt on the sea floor at Sydney's Pittwater (Australia), in an effort to kill a rampant seaweed which is threatening to smother the entire area. This is one of a number of trials to destroy the plant - Caulerpa taxifolia - which is also badly affecting ecological balance in the Mediterranean. http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/ct/caulerpa.htm http://abc.net.au/ Whale Skin Discovery Leads to Marine Paint Scientists have discovered that the structure of the skin of pilot whales stops the build up of organisms such as barnacle larvae. They are hoping to use the findings to patent an environmentally friendly paint to protect the hulls of boats. Journal of Marine Biology Divers Recover 60 Tons of Discarded Fishing Nets Fishing gear continues to kill long after it has been lost or discarded. Divers have now recovered over 60 tons of derelict fishing equipment from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Divers were pulled behind small boats to locate and map debris. Once nets were located, divers went down either snorkelling or on scuba and cut away the gear, taking care not to harm the coral. http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/11/11202001/ Great Barrier Reef Taskforce Causes Concern The Queensland Premier says he is concerned that a taskforce which has been set up to devise a protection plan for the Great Barrier Reef is still divided after months of discussions. He says his efforts to have the taskforce examine the run-off from the mainland and how it affects the reef have resulted in producer groups being pitted against each other. http://abc.net.au/ WWF Urges Nations to Comply with New UN Fish Agreement The WWF warned that three-quarters of the world's most important fishing nations have yet to agree to the new UN treaty on marine fish management. This is the most far-reaching treaty ever negotiated to promote the conservation of marine fish. However, 15 of the 20 top fishing nations have failed to legally ratify the Agreement. These include China, Thailand and the European Union (which must ratify on behalf of its members). http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/ New Diving Resort Opened in Roatan Paradise Beach Villas & Apartments on West Bay Beach Roatan (Honduras) now has a new dive centre and more accommodation. According to the company, West Bay Beach is one the least populated beaches in the Caribbean. Paradise Beach offer rental, all-inclusive packages and special deals for Divers. Contact them at info@roatanvillas.com. __________________________________________________________ * 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. CONTACTING THE EDITOR Please use the Contact the Editor form to send us letters or press releases or write to The Editor SCUBA News The Cliff Upper Mayfield DE6 2HR UK ADVERTISING Should you wish to advertise in SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011), please fill in the form at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsad.htmlPUBLISHER SCUBA Travel Ltd, 5 Loxford Court, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6AF, UK
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