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SCUBA News 43~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 43 - November 2003 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to November's SCUBA News. The Dive 2003 show took place last weekend - was it worth going? See our review below. Also, we're planning a feature on places to go diving when you have a small child. Have you been anywhere with good diving and creche or baby-sitting facilities? Let us know at news@scubatravel.co.uk We hope you enjoy this month's issue, but should you wish to cancel your subscription please do so at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html Contents: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Letters - Dive Show 2003 Review - Creature of the Month: Manta Ray - Diving News from Around the World __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? =========================== Italy, Costa Rica, Australia and Isle of Man Diving centres in Sardinia, Northwest Costa Rica, Ningaloo Reef and the Isle of Man have all either contacted us, or been recommended by our readers. For the expanded listings see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sardop.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/americas/costarica.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/australia/ausop.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/isleman/manacc.html :ADV_____________________________________________________ Automatically count the customers entering your dive shop - by the day, by the hour, by the week - you choose. Use any Windows program for analysis and decision making. More details see... http://www.videoturnstile.com/ ____________________________________________________ADV: Photo Gallery Some excellent underwater photos of splendid toadfish, taken in Cozumel, are now in the photo gallery. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photo2.html Gifts for Divers Save time and money by shopping for Christmas presents over the internet. More gift suggestions are now at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/presents2.html __________________________________________________________ Letters ======= Hello from Vancouver This summer I visited Gold River on Vancouver Island and had a chance to see the young Killer Whale who was separated from its pod and has made the Inlet off Gold River its home. It loves boats and comes up to them to have a rub and to greet the passengers onboard ship. It has become a conflict though as the Marine and Fisheries here want to reunite it with its pod and the local Indian population feels it is bringing good luck to the community so don't wish to have it removed. Don't know who will win this one. Check out diving in BC. Though the coral reefs aren't here the sea life is bountiful and colourful. Some Harbour seals are tame enough to swim with the divers. The waters can be chilly but visibility is excellent. Porto Cove, just outside Vancouver, is a popular dive site and does not require boat access. Always so good to get the newsletter. Cheers to all at SCUBA Travel and keep up the good work. Denise A. McCracken __________________________________________________________ Dive 2003 Review ================ As usual, the UK's autumn Dive show was well attended, in fact busier than ever. Not bad considering it had to compete with two World Cup Rugby semi-finals. Spread over two halls, some exhibitors in the smaller hall did complain that visitors had a hard time finding them - and the room certainly seemed to be a lot quieter than the main hall. One satisfied exhibitor, though, was Mike Keggan of Isle of Man Diving Holidays. His is a new company that happened to feature in the many copies of Diver magazine given away at the show. "If everyone who said they were going to the Isle of Man next year actually does, we shall be swamped with divers." Exhibitors were there from all over the world: Australia, Caribbean, Bali, Palau, Baja California, Florida, and of course the multitude of Red Sea and Mediterranean companies. What many pay their entrance fee (and rather steep parking charge) for, though, is the equipment deals. To judge by the number of people leaving with tanks and wetsuits under their arms, they weren't disappointed. Finally, the lectures - our favourite marine life author, Paul Naylor, was there with his excellent slides. (If you've bought his book you'll know how good his photos are.) Others included film-maker John Boyle on getting started with underwater video and free-diver Tanya Streeter. More on the show will be on the website in the next few days. Related links: Review of Paul Naylor's book - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/britishmarine.html Isle of Man Diving Holidays - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/isleman/manacc.html __________________________________________________________ Creature of the Month: Manta Ray (Manta birostris) ================================================== Awesome to see underwater, the Manta Ray is an enormous fish spanning nearly 7 m (22 feet). You see them in warm waters around the world, gracefully flying through the water with steady sweeps of their giant wings. Completely harmless filter-feeders, Manta rays use their head fins to direct plankton into theur mouths. As plankton occur near the surface of the seas, that's where Mantas are also found. Filtering your food out of the oceans doesn't take much energy, which is why Manta rays can be so large. Mantas sometimes leap out of the water, falling back with a splash. This is thought to remove parasites, or perhaps be a show of territorial rights. However, Mantas both collaborate when feeding and follow the plankton, so the latter seems unlikely. For an excellent photo of a manta ray, taken in Australia by the SCUBA Travel photographer (Tim Nicholson) see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/mantaray.html Further Reading: The Blue Planet. Read our review at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/blueplanet.html :ADV_____________________________________________________ Best selling underwater DVD: The Blue Planet. With up to 25% off and free delivery. Buy from the UK at http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005OR3I/1286 Or from the USA at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000069HXC/mussoutdoorpursu _____________________________________________________ADV: __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= "FINDING NEMO" BAD NEWS FOR CLOWNFISH Since the release of the film "Finding Nemo", demand for tropical aquarium fish is stripping clownfish and other small, colourful, animals from the reefs of Vanuatu. Diving operators are worried that the reefs are being ruined by the aquarium trade. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s991316.htm SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES SHIPWRECK SURVEY South Africa has over 2700 historical wrecks along her coastline and they are now being systematically surveyed. Wrecks over 60 years old are protected and there are severe penalties for removing artefacts. http://www.iol.co.za/ AMERICAN CO2 PROPOSALS THREATEN SEA LIFE A Bush Administration proposal to mitigate the effects of global warming by capturing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and injecting it into the deep sea could have disastrous effects on sea life, according to a University researcher. http://www.sciencedaily.com/ :ADV_____________________________________________________ Save money on a vast selection of posters and prints: whales, sharks, dolphins, wrecks, seascapes... Browse the offers at www.allposters.com Subscribe To SCUBA NewsOur newsletter, SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011), is absolutely free. It is a monthly publication, delivered by e-mail. To receive your copy fill in your details below. We will never pass your e-mail address to any third parties, or send you unsolicited e-mail. You will receive an e-mail confirming your subscription. 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______________________________________________________ADV:
GOLD FOUND ON CIVIL WAR WRECK
After searching the ocean for more than 10 years,
divers found crates of gold at the site of a US Civil
War-era shipwreck.