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SCUBA News 48~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 48 - April 2004 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We've a full issue this month, including the results of our survey. Especially interesting was the fact that you wanted more of our readers' experiences. So, please send us your comments on dive destinations or diving schools. Either fill in the form at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/recommend.html or e-mail news@scubatravel.co.uk We've also talked to bestselling diving author Jack Jackson - see our interview below. We hope you enjoy the newsletter, 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? - SCUBA Survey: The Results - Letters - Interview with Diving and Travel Author: Jack Jackson - Tips for First Time Visitors to Bali, Indonesia - Creature of the Month: Leopard Goby - Diving News from Around the World __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? =========================== Recommended Diving Centres: Indonesia, the Philippines and the Red Sea This month you've recommended diving operators in Bali, the Philippines and Dahab. See the extended listings at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/indonesia/baliop.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/philippines/philop.html http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/redop.html (The Philippines peso is at an all time low at the moment so it's a very cheap diving destination.) :ADV_____________________________________________________ Thailand-Liveaboard and MV Excalibur take you beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary: to world-class diving destinations, such as the Similan and Surin Islands, Richelieu Rock, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Hin Deang, Hin Muang and the renowned Phi Phi Islands. Visit: http://thailand-liveaboard.com/ ______________________________________________________ADV: Diving Destinations: Thailand, Tanzania and Ireland We've more on the diving around Koh Tao (good but crowded), notes on good dive sites in Tanzania, and is Diamond Rocks off the West coast of Ireland as good a dive as the Yongala off Australia? One of our readers thinks so. For details see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html#Thailand http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html#Tanzania http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html#Ireland SCUBA Diving Bestsellers The best selling diving item in the first three months of this year was the Blue Planet DVD set. See the rest of the list at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/bestsellers.html __________________________________________________________ SCUBA Survey: The Results ========================= We had a very good response to our survey, with 2.4% of you returning it. The most popular part of SCUBA News proved to be the diving articles, closely followed by travel articles and diving news. The least popular part is the adverts, but even so over a third of you found them very or fairly useful. In the diving news section, your favourite topic was "recent research related to diving". A massive 95% found this very or fairly interesting and it had an average score of 2.7 out of 3. Travel news, marine conservation and equipment news were also popular, with diving exhibitions your least favourite item. Look out for more research and innovative equipment news, then, in future issues. As for diving experience, we had a spread of 1 to 40 years' diving. The average was 10 years and the median 7 years (half of respondants had been diving more than 7 years and half diving less than 7 years). A theme that emerged from your comments, was that you would like to see more reviews and ratings of dive sites and dive operators by ordinary divers. We need your help for this, and are hoping you'll get in touch with your diving experiences. To make it easier we've put up a form for you to fill in at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/recommend.html. Thanks again for filling in the survey. __________________________________________________________ Your Letters ============ Two letters this month. The first about the diving in Ontario, Canada, and the second a response to last month's article on diving in Honduras... - Dear SCUBA News The diving in Kingston Ontario Canada is the best of the great lakes, but not many divers are aware of this. It offers historical shipwreck diving. Artifacts on wrecks are protected by Kingston's "Protect our Shipwrecks" for future divers to enjoy. The Wolf island ferry wreck, for example, has the bow sitting at 70 feet with a small perch hovering stern at 110 feet and propellers intact. Penetration diving is possible with a rope, the wearing of helmets and a good lighting system. This area is Canada's best kept secret for diving shipwrecks. Yours truly Maureen Cameron - Hello Just a note about some of the other good diving schools in Utila. I spent a very happy 3 months, gaining my dive master at Utila Watersports - a fantastic, friendly, very small diving shop/school, with only 3 instructors. it is true that Utila churns out alot of dive masters and the quality of the school depends on the quality of the dive master turned out, however for all potential dive masters a good thing to remember is that there are so many students that pass through Utila that you gain a lot of experience very quickly. If you want to do your dive master (or any padi course) shop around, ask to check quality of gear, boats, find out how and who does their air and nitrox, what class tuition you get and the level of mentoring / supervision as a dive leader, do they teach you specialities for free (e.g. deep, nitrox, wreck, etc) chat to current dive masters. Some shops operate a strict rota about when you can dive, others let you out as much as you can fit in. The diving there really is second to none, but don't expect to practice your spanish on Utila, it's almost totally English / Patois / Creole / Spanglish! Regards, Kate Baker If you missed last month's Utila article you can see it at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/americas/honduras.html __________________________________________________________ Interview with Diving and Travel Author: Jack Jackson ==================================================== Books by Jack Jackson are rarely out of the SCUBA Travel Bestseller list: two of them appeared in our 2003 round up! We talked to Jack and asked him about these two books, and other aspects of his work. The Dive Atlas of the World and the earlier Top Dive Sites of the World seem to cover similar ground. How does someone choose between the two? "The Dive Atlas covers more areas but is also more expensive so I think price would be the deciding factor." A feature of Jack's books is his excellent photography. He told us that as long as the current is not too strong, on every dive he carries 2 Subal housings for Nikon F90x, one with a 55 mm micro lens and macro port and the other with a 14 mm rectilinear lens and dedicated wide-angle port. The Nikon 55 mm micro is sharper than the newer 60 mm lens. If very large animals are possible he also carries a Nikonos V camera with 15 mm lens. On night dives he might use a Nikonos V with 2 8mm lens plus close up lens and a home-made 2-sided framer. He uses a single wide-angle flash with the wide angle lens and 2 flash guns, one set for twice as much output than the other for macro. Flash guns are either Subtronic 3000 pro, Sea + Sea 300, Sea + Sea 350 pro, Sea + Sea YS-30 or one of 2 Nikon SB-24's in a Subal flash Housing. For strong currents he has 2 Nikonos V and one Nikonos 3 cameras. For land he also uses medium format Bronica. In the 30 years Jack Jackson has been diving he has noticed many changes including: " - The jacket style BC, - The more safety-conscious (ie shallower) depth limits on air (continental divers considered 70 m and Brits 50m as normal in the 1970s) - Nitrox and recreational technical diving" "Also we did not have to consider terrorism for our destinations, I have dived at many places in the Southern Philippines that could not be considered at present." Along with Sudan, Philippines is his favourite diving destination. One place he hasn't dived but would like to is at the recent find of Great Whites off Mexico (Guadalupe Island). Jack Jackson has written many different types of books: dive guides, coffee table books, travel books, photography guides, etc. The two he most enjoyed writing were the Off Road 4-Wheel Drive Book and Scuba Diving - the essential guide to equipment and techniques. The latter book has proved popular due to easy reading and has just been updated and expanded for release at the end of the year. "The main thing about these two books is that I did not have to do any research, the knowledge was already in my head from lots of practical experience." Most of Jack Jackson's books are available from Amazon, including: Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843303647/1286 Top Dive Sites of the World http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843304570/1286 Scuba Diving http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811729273/1286 The World's Great Adventure Treks http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843302616/1286 Globetrotter Dive Guide Malaysia http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1845372697/1286 __________________________________________________________ Tips for First Time Visitors to Bali, Indonesia =============================================== Time Zone: Indonesia has three time zones, Bali is GMT +8hrs. Dress code: The Balinese, while modestly dressed themselves, are very forgiving people when it comes to tourists' attire. However walking around in Speedos or a bikini is not really appreciated. When entering temples you are required to wear a sarong and a sash, you'll see that the temples themselves are similarly attired. If you have to visit a government office, long sleeves and long pants/skirt and shoes are advisable. Pack light, natural fabrics - and pack light, there are cheap clothing shops all over Bali. Electricity: 220 volts. Try to buy a plug adaptor before coming to Bali. Currency: Indonesian Rupiah. You can change all hard currencies in the south of Bali, it is not easy elsewhere. Banks and moneychangers will only accept post-1997 US$ bills in pristine condition. At a moneychanger, when you receive your Rupiah, count it yourself and do not then put it down. Some charge commission Mastercard and Visa are widely accepted in south Bali and in all upmarket hotels and shops. Some places take AmEx and Diners. You may encounter a 3% surcharge for credit card use. Visa/Entry requirements: Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your holiday and have several empty pages. You are also required to have an onward ticket. Citizens of the following countries are now required to pay for a visa upon arrival - USD 10 for a 3 day visa, or USD 25 for a 30 day visa: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the USA, the UAE and the UK. Departure tax: International = Rp100,000; domestic = Rp11,000 - you are advised to check this once in Bali. Health risks: Minimal, although there's always the risk of Bali Belly (don't drink the tap water; be careful what you eat). Tipping: Not part of the Balinese culture, but - although it is still not expected - now quite commonplace in the tourist areas. Most medium to high priced restaurants have a 10% service charge, which is theoretically distributed to all staff - and then 10% government tax, so a total 21% increase. A good rule would be to only tip when you've had exceptional service and then whatever feels appropriate. Children: All Balinese people adore children - nowhere will your children be unwelcome, in fact - in places - the attention they receive may be slightly overwhelming for your children. Watch your children on the beaches, there are some strong undertows. Climate: The rainy season officially runs Oct-March, but it varies yearly. There is diving year-round although the best season is said to be Sept-November. Remember to apply sunscreen. Language: English and Japanese are widely spoken in the south of the island; even in rural villages some English is spoken. Hyperbaric chamber: Bali's chamber is at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar (the capital). Diving: The best diving is in the North East of the island. There is diving around Sanur and Nusa Dua in the South East, but it is poor quality and therefore not recommended to anyone except those who just have to Get Wet. by Annabel Thomas AquaMarine Diving ScubaTravel@AquaMarineDiving.com Further Reading: The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1858289025/1286 __________________________________________________________ Creature of the Month: Leopard-Spotted Goby, Thorogobius ephippiatus ============================================= Gobies are small fish with large mouths. They are often confused with blennies but can be easily distinguished by their two dorsal fins as opposed to the blennies one. Gobies are the largest family of marine fishes with about 500 Indo-Pacific species alone. However, the Leopard-Spotted Goby is not a tropical species but is found in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic, from the Canary Islands to the British Isles and Norway. A shy fish, Thorogobius ephippiatus lives in cracks on steep walls and sheltered sea lochs. You can find them in the shallows and down to 40 m. Dark brown or brick red splodges cover this goby. It has diamond-shaped scales and blue-edged dorsal fins. A black spot can be seen at the back of the first dorsal fin. It is medium sized at around 13 cm long. The goby breeds from May to July. Adult males excavate a nest under stones or shells and defend their territory around the nest. The female deposits her eggs on the underside of the nest roof. The male goby then guards the eggs, fanning them to ensure enough oxygen until they hatch. The Leopard-Spotted Goby may live at least 10-12 years, as deduced by counting annual rings laid down in the earstones (otoliths). They are rather striking as our award-winning photo shows at... http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/leopard.html Further Reading: Fishes of the Sea, John and Gillian Lythgoe http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/026212162X/1286 __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= TYPHOON HITS PACIFIC ISLAND OF YAP Yap's coral has been severely damaged by a typhoon, as has the island's infrastructure. On some reefs divers report all coral above 10 m to be damaged, with coral down to 30 m affected. However, on other reefs the damage is said to be minor. http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20040419/ SCILLA SINKING SUCCESS Up to 300 people a day are diving on the first artificial reef in Europe. HMS Scilla was sunk last month off Cornwall. http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2780088 SAMOA BANS SCUBA FISHING Samoa has banned SCUBA divers from fishing whilst diving, in a bid to increase the breeding success of marine life. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1094648.htm WORLD'S MARINE LIFE GETTING SICKER For years, apparent increases in illness among marine creatures, from whales to coral, have left marine scientists with the uneasy suspicion that the seas are increasingly plagued by disease. Now, US researchers have uncovered the first good evidence that they are right. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994897 :ADV_____________________________________________________ Log data from GPS, sonar and other instruments to your database or mapping program with the free Windmill software. For diving, seafloor mapping, salvage, coral reef monitoring, etc. Download your free copy at http://www.windmill.co.uk/gps.html ____________________________________________________ADV: CALL TO STOP CRUISE SHIPS DUMPING SEWAGE Environmentalists called on Royal Caribbean to protect marine habitats and human health by cleaning up sewage and wastewater dumped from its cruise ships. http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-08/s_22605.asp GIANT SQUID UP TO 1000 m DOWN New research has shown that giant squid may travel down to 1000 m, but generally occur between 125 and 250 m. Most divers shouldn't be troubled by them then. http://springerlink.metapress.com/ SEA & SEA RECALL AQUAPIX The DX-3100 Aquapix amphibious camera may develop cracks and is being recalled. If you have such a camera serial number 030200001-030204016 return it to your distributor. http://www.seaandsea.com/ RODALE'S SCUBA DIVING MAGAZINE SALE COMPLETED F+W Publications has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine. Scuba Diving, established in 1992, is the leading magazine title for scuba in the U.S. http://www.fwpublications.com/news.asp __________________________________________________________ * Copyright SCUBA Travel - 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 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 send your letters or press releases to: The Editor SCUBA News The Cliff Upper Mayfield DE6 2HR UK ADVERTISING Should you wish to advertise in SCUBA News, please fill in the form at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsad.html PUBLISHER SCUBA Travel, The Cliff, Upper Mayfield, DE6 2HR, UK 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. If you don't receive this you have probably entered your e-mail address incorrectly - revisit this page and re-subscribe. Send us your Press Releases
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