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SCUBA News 56~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 56 - December 2004 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This month our thoughts are with all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami around the Indian Ocean. It is difficult to comprehend the enormous damage and loss of life in the area. We are supporting the Red Cross Emergency Appeal - if you would like to do the same see http://www.redcross.org.uk/news_subsection.asp?id=40238 For messages about the tsunami and its effects, see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43 For notes on how Thailand has been affected see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thaiop.html Many Thai diving areas have escaped lightly or are unaffected. However, the news is very grave from Koh Phi Phi and Khao Lak where thousands are dead. I hope you enjoy this issue. The "Creature of the Month" is having a holiday but will be back in January. I wish you all a peaceful New Year. Contents: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Your Letters and the Diving Board - Bookshelf: Cozumel Dive Guide and Log Book - Bali Job Advertisment - Diving News from Around the World __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? =========================== Photos of the Wreck of the Umbria Today we are pleased to launch a new photo gallery, dedicated the Umbria shipwreck off the coast of Sudan. An Italian ship, the Umbria was scuttled under the orders of her captain on the day Italy entered the war - under the noses of the British who had boarded the ship. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photoumbria.html Bali Diving Centres Bali has not been hit by the tidal wave, and our readers have recommended more diving centres on the island. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/indonesia/baliop.html Diving in Sardinia, Italy More diving centres are now listed in the Sardinia directory. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sardop.html Red Sea Diving Centres Likewise, diving operators in the Red Sea have been recommended, or slammed, by SCUBA Travel readers. Discover other peoples' experiences before booking your diving holiday. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/redsea/redop.html Diving T-Shirts you can Customise Now in the SCUBA Travel gift store, diving T-shirts you can customise. Want to add your own photos or text? No problem. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/presents2.html Save Money on Airport Parking We've teamed up with Essential Travel to offer up to 30% off when you pre-book UK airport parking. Plus, see all the parking options in the area, not just at the airport itself. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/airportparking.html Insert the SCUBA Newsfeed into your web site with php You can now use either php or Javascript to display diving news on your own web pages, absolutely free. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsfeed.html __________________________________________________________ Your Letters and The Diving Board ================================= This month at the Diving Board, Ralph Benham wants to know if anyone has experience of the Alcazar hotel in Aqaba (Jordan) and the diving around there. Add your comments to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34 On a more sombre note, Elizabeth desperately needs to contact Patrick and Claire Muntinga who left Perth, Australia on 23 Dec and intended to get their licence while in Thailand. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47 __________________________________________________________ Bookshelf: Cozumel Dive Guide and Log Book =========================================== Underwater Editions Cozumel Dive Guide and Log Book 2003 90pp. $25.99 US Having never dived Cozumel I was a little apprehensive about reviewing this book. Having read it a I feel that I have a good insight into the diving and have added it to my list of places I want to dive. The book is a glossy, ring-bound, book slightly bigger than A5. It should withstand the battering a book gets on a diving holiday. It begins with an introduction to Cozumel Island and its history. This is followed by an overview of the diving, the reefs, currents, weather and the marine park. All useful information. The dive guide itself has a short section on shore dives and snorkelling sites, followed by detailed guides to 25 dive sites around the island. Each dive guide is in the same format: a one page description of the dive with photos of the life and coral, a high level map and a guide to the difficulty, current and marine life. There is also a dive profile for planning purposes. Opposite each page is a fold-out map of the site. These are excellent with very clear notes, dive features, depths and highlights. They were created using hand drawn sketches, digital cameras and computer software to create 3D illustrations of the reef. The book finishes with a pull out coral and fish guide and 18 blank dive logs for you to fill in. All in all I think this is a great dive guide for Cozumel. It is easy to understand and clearly written by local experts. I would certainly buy it if you plan a trip to Cozumel. Buy it a few weeks early and it will whet your appetite and give you an impression of what to expect when you arrive. - Reviewed by Andrew Reay-Robinson - About the Authors: Unusually, this book doesn't have one or two authors, but is a collaboration between the Underwater Editions team, local instructors, dive masters, boat captains, the Marine Park and the members of ANOAAT (the Cozumel divers association). The main focus of the book was to produce quality underwater maps that enable divers to place themselves upon a reef and visualise a possible route. Cozumel Dive Guide & Log Book is available from Underwater Editions at http://www.cozumeldiveguide.com/ It is also sometimes available from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9685974012/ advert:__________________________________________________ AMAZON SALE is now on with up to 60% off books, DVDs, CDs, cameras, games, etc...Visit (UK) http://www.amazon.co.uk/ or (USA) http://www.amazon.com/ or (Canada) http://www.amazon.ca/ __________________________________________________:advert __________________________________________________________ Work in Bali: Job Advert ======================== AquaMarine Diving - Bali is looking for someone to work in our office and who can start immediately. This is an office/computer/admin position, not a diving job, although you are welcome to learn/dive while you are here. It is 8hrs/day, 6days/wk, the pay is low although there is potential for commission. The main responsibilities are handling e-mail enquiries: creating, costing and booking custom-made packages to include airport transfers, hotels, tours, diving, activities and so forth. We do not use agents, we book clients directly via our website/e-mail. Therefore you must have good typing skills, be computer-literate, pay great attention to detail, etc, etc, etc. You need to have a great deal of commonsense, able to work under pressure and realise that while the job is not difficult it does require a lot of patience! English must be your first language and you must be able to type well. Please note that as AquaMarine will sponsor you for a Work Visa, because this is expensive, you MUST make a 12mth commitment. You will be required to pay back your entire work visa if you leave earlier. And please note that this is NOT a Working Holiday! Please send your CV/resume and a brief explanation of why you'd like this job, to: ScubaTravelNews@aquamarinediving.com __________________________________________________________ Diving News From Around the World ================================= If you would like to read the diving news as it happens, without waiting for this newsletter, then grab the SCUBA News feed from http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsfeed.html It's free and updates you with the latest diving news via e-mail, your web site or any news feed reader. Pre-Treatment with Oxygen Reduces Decompression Time in Prawns Two-three hours of hyperbaric oxygen at bottom pressure is required to protect saturation divers against decompression sickness. New research indicates that a shorter pre-treatment may be possible, which will be of great advantage in diving and escape from submarines. http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/pmid;15579569 Parents Sue over Teenagers Diving Death in Commercial Accident The parents of a teenager who died after being sucked into a pipe in a scuba diving accident are suing his employers. Adrian and Janet Kneen are suing Scuba International, the PADI dive center in Fujaira where their 19-year-old son Christopher worked, and Doosan Heavy Industries. According to unconfirmed reports, Scuba International sent Kneen to do underwater repair work at the plant although he had neither training nor qualifications as a commercial diver. http://www.cdnn.info/safety/s041204a/s041204a.html New Expedition to Undived Marine Reserve Only 10 more divers have the unique opportunity to be part of the first ever expedition to the still actively volcanic kermadec islands marine reserve, some 1000 km n.e. of New Zealand. The 10 day expedition departs Auckland March 19 2005 with 46 international participants. http://www.nzdivexperiences.com/ Divers face jail for looting Nazi liner POLAND has promised to take action against divers who are looting the wreck of the Nazi cruise liner Wilhelm Gustloff, which was sunk off the Polish coast by Soviet torpedoes at the end of the Second World War. The ship was crammed with 9,000 mainly civilian Germans fleeing the Soviet Army, and ranks as one of the worst maritime disasters of all time, with more than 7,000 fatalities - well ahead of the better- known tragedies of the Titanic (1,503 deaths) and the Lusitania (1,201). The wreck has been designated a war memorial and is off-limits to salvage operators. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/ Maximum Ascent Rate should be 9 m per min A new study has investigated the presence of cerebral lesions in SCUBA divers with no decompression sickness history. Researchers found a significant relationship between central nervous system damage and ascent rate faster than 10 metres per minute, but none down to age, number of dives or depth of dives. They concluded that the maximum ascent rate should be 9 m/min http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/medline/record/ New Research on Diving When Diabetic Insulin-requiring diabetes (IRDM) is commonly described as an absolute contraindication to scuba diving. New research has shown that large plasma glucose swings from pre-dive to post-dive occur. However, observations indicate that plasma glucose levels, in moderately-controlled IRDM, can be managed to avoid hypoglycemia during routine recreational dives under ordinary environmental conditions and low risk decompression profiles. http://highwire.stanford.edu/cgi/medline/ New Fishing Gear a Death Trap for Sea Turtles New fishery observer data has shown that every olive ridley sea turtle caught by the Hawaiian longline tuna fleet was killed. Ironically, this 100% kill rate has been the result of a much lauded new gear fix that is supposed to protect sea turtles. http://www.seaturtles.org/ SCUBAPRO Direct Feed Recall Divers with an Air 2 Alternate Inflation Regulator on a NON-SCUBAPRO buoyancy compensator should immediately stop use and contact SCUBAPRO, as the coupling could break. They will be instructed to take their buoyancy compensator with the Air 2 intact to their authorized SCUBAPRO dealers for a free replacement. http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2687042 70% of World's Coral Reefs at Risk About 70 percent of the world's coral reefs have been wrecked or are at risk from human activities but some are showing surprising resilience to global warming, a recent report said. The international survey, by 240 experts in 98 nations, said that pollution, over-fishing, rising temperatures, coastal development and diseases were among major threats to reefs. Twenty percent of the world's coral reefs have been effectively destroyed or show no immediate prospects of recovery, said the report http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=533 Whale and dolphin strandings fit predictions Three whale and dolphin strandings have left more than 170 animals dead on the beaches of Australia and New Zealand recently. The precise causes are unclear, but the beachings tally with predictions made by Tasmanian scientists in July 2004. http://www.newscientist.com/news/ Koh Phi Phi Badly Hit by Tidal Wave Catastrophic scenes were reported on severely-battered Koh Phi Phi where many victims were found under piles of debris from collapsed bungalows, hotels and huts. http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/28Dec2004_news02.php 2000 dead at Khao Lak, Thailand At least 1,927 foreign tourists died on Khao Lak, where Sunday's giant wall of water crumpled luxury hotels whose 5,000 rooms were full at the peak of the Christmas and New Year tourist season. Khao Lak was a popular destination for divers planning to visit the Similan Islands. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK168330.htm Red Cross Emergency Earthquake Appeal The British Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal in response to the widespread flooding caused by a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. The undersea earthquake, which occurred early on Boxing Day, was the most powerful in 40 years. Tidal waves swept across south east Asia, killing tens of thousands. http://www.redcross.org.uk/ Asia battles earthquake aftermath More than 124000 people are now believed dead after Sunday's 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent huge waves from Malaysia to Africa. Every village and road on Car Nicobar, one of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, is reported to have been destroyed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/ __________________________________________________________ * 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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