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SCUBA News 67~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 67 - November 2005 http://www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to November's SCUBA News. Winter is here in the UK, but our guest article tells of warmer diving in Papua New Guinea. Also in this issue - the coral most likely to injure you. And if you are looking for diving- related presents then we've suggestions at our Gifts for Divers page. Should you wish to cancel your subscription to SCUBA News you can do so at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html Contents: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Your Letters - Diving in Remote Papua New Guinea - Creature of the Month: Fire Coral - Diving News from Around the World __________________________________________________________ What's New at SCUBA Travel? ============================ Diving Thailand: Which Dive Centre to Choose? Recommendations have been pouring in for dive operators in Thailand. Find which have the five-fish rating. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thaiop.html Unspoilt Diving in East Timor Find out about the untouched and remote diving in East Timor with our newly updated guide to the dives and operators there. "The best diving I have ever seen. A whole island of walls, currents, pelagics and critters. Untouched for thousands of years" http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/pacific.html#EastTimor Gifts for Divers Find a Christmas present for your diving friends and family. Underwater cameras, magazines, DVDs, posters, gadgets, kit... http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/presents2.html __________________________________________________________ Your Letters ============ From the Diving Board... Are there any (pref. warm) destinations that anyone would recommend in the US for diving - other than wrecks? Coralline Replies to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249 -- I'm Nan from MUIC (Mahidol University International College) Diving Club. We are arranging a liveaboard diving trip to Similan and Surin Islands (Thailand) for 5 days 4 nights. We'll be leaving Bangkok on 16th Dec and return on 20th Dec. There will be 14 total dives including 3 night dives. The price is 15,000 Baht. This includes Boat fee, Equipment Rental Fee, Tanks, dive leaders, Marine National Park Entrance fee, food, transportation, insurance, and night dive light fee. Not only fun dives that we'll do, we'll also help picking trash and ghost nets (if you are an experienced diver). Currently, there are 17 MUIC students already signed up. We only need 3 more people to join us. Please inform us as soon as possible if you are interested. Nan Replies to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=232 or mucidivngclub@yahoo.com ADVERT:__________________________________________________ POSTERS AND PRINTS: Save money on a vast selection of posters and prints: Doubilet's Red Sea, sharks, Great Barrier Reef, coral...browse the offers at http://www..allposters.com/ __________________________________________________:ADVERT __________________________________________________________ Diving in Remote Papua New Guinea: Tufi ======================================= by Rebecca Byfield Freelance Journalist bec@datec.net.pg The twin-otter plane flew over the resort, dipping its wing low over crystal clear waters dotted with a plethora of reefs. Volcanic fiords finger their way out into the aqua blue waters of the Solomon Sea. Perched atop a cliff top, watching over the stunning scenery far below, is Tufi Dive Resort, one of Papua New Guinea's best kept secrets. Our first dive began at what is affectionately named House Reef. Amid the rubble and debris of the last century, an odd assortment of critters has made their home. This is the most easily accessible muck dive in the country. Manta shrimp poke their heads tentatively from behind the rocks. Eels of every variety can be found, hiding in holes or creeping along the silty bottom. A colourful mixed bag of nudibranchs will keep muck divers delighted for hours. Anemone fish, pipefish, sea horses, gobies and fish of every colour and variation swim and play in the murky shallows. Down deeper, at around 40 metres, are the remnants of two WWII PT boats. The 50 calibre machine gun and two live torpedos are still pretty much intact. Divers will also find an old Land Rover, parked upright in about 30 metres of water. At night, the wharf tenants change over and the House Reef comes alive yet again. Lobsters and crabs walk freely along the ground while octopus dart through the waters in a bold, night time dance of ever changing colour. During the Mandarin Fish mating season, you will have a perfect, front row seat straight off the wharf. "It was fantastic seeing the Mandarin Fish mating, although I couldn’t help feeling like a voyeur, peeking in on something private," said Patricia, a guest from the UK. On the outer reef of Tufi is a collection of stunning reef dives. At Veales Reef, the weird and wonderful hammerhead sharks put on an impressive performance in perfect visibility. Veales is home to large schools of white-tip and black-tip reef sharks, huge pelagic fish and colourful reef fish swimming amongst the beautiful coral formations. If you are lucky you may see the turtles as they glide gracefully past. Cyclone Island was formed during a cyclone in 1972. It has a number of good sheltered dive sites that are perfect for snorkellers. Here divers can find the rare Rhinopias fish or search for the kaleidoscope of nudibranchs that make their home amongst the corals of the reef. Cyclone Reef also has a stunning wall, where divers can hang suspended above the ocean floor 1km below. Hammerhead sharks have also been known to visit Cyclone Reef. Mulloway’s is undoubtedly Tufi’s best dive site. Due to strong ocean currents, Mulloway’s comes alive with a wide variety of pelagic fish, reef sharks, hammerheads and rays that feed on the rich plankton. "I couldn’t believe my eyes," said one of the visitors from the US. "Just below us was a large shark totally covered in sucker fish. I've never seen anything like it." Papua New Guinea’s most spectacular WWII wrecks - the S Jacob is easily accessible from Tufi Dive Resort. The Jacob was a Dutch merchant ship which was sunk by the Japanese during the war. It now lies upright sloping from 45 metres to 60 metres and is accessible only by experienced deep divers. The Blackjack is another popular wreck dive accessible from Tufi, and the two wrecks are often done together. Tufi is on the Southeast coast of Papua New Guinea, below Lae but just above Alotau and east of Port Moresby. It is only accessible by sea and air. Rebecca was diving at the Tufi Dive Resort: PO Box 1845, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Tel: 675 329 6000, Fax: 675 329 6001, E-mail: info@tufidive.com ADVERT:__________________________________________________ LOW COST TRAVEL INSURANCE which doesn't limit the depth to which you can dive. For more details, and the chance to win a $4000 (Aus) prize, visit http://www.worldnomads.com.au/ __________________________________________________:ADVERT __________________________________________________________ Creature of the Month: Fire Coral, Millepora ==================================================== For a photo of Fire Coral see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/firecoral.html Fire corals are so called because of their powerful stinging hairs or nematocysts. These are used primarily for defence against fish like parrotfish which would otherwise nibble the coral. However, they are strong enough to injure divers who brush their skin against them, causing burning and itching. If this happens rinse with seawater and apply vinegar or methylated alcohol on the affected area. In a severe case anti-histamines can help, but seek medical advice. Colonies of fire coral are extremely important in building coral reefs. However, they are not true corals. They are, in fact, hydroids. The word hydroid means water animals. Other hydroids often look like ferny fronds growing from rocks. The fire coral is different: it looks like a hard coral. Fire corals are yellowish to brown in colour, often with white tips. There are several species, with different growth forms. Some look like plates, some are encrusting but maybe the most familiar is the branching form shown in our photo (http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/firecoral.html). You can identify them by the minute pores on the coral surface. Divers come across fire corals on reefs throughout the world, in sheltered and exposed sites, in shallow and deep water. They are often at the reef edge as they can withstand rough waters. Look at the orientation of the coral branches: they grow so as to minimise their exposure to the waves. Further Reading: ---------------- The Underwater Photographer: Digital and Traditional Techniques, by Martin Edge, Paperback, 536 pages (2009) 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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