Browsing: Scuba Features

For thousands of tourists, Egypt has long been a prime holiday destination – sunny, sandy and full of glorious beaches, the attraction is obvious. As a diver, I go to Egypt for what lies beneath the waves of the Red Sea. In short, an abundance of marine life largely unparalleled by few other places on Earth

Whale watching in Iceland is something that is a must and part of my role at The Scuba News UK is looking into the things divers and tourists might want to see on trips and what is offered. As a diver myself, I am hugely interested in all sea life and and am drawn to activities that allow me to learn about and interact with marine life and the sea world in a positive and non damaging way.

Before we jump into these mystical formations, we need to understand their importance and the significant events contributing to their formation. Cenote comes from the mayan word Dzo Not which means ‘hole filled with water’ a main idea from the tribes in this area that all these holes were a connection with Xibalba (the underworld).

“Where is your favourite place in the world to dive?” Is a question I get asked on almost a daily basis. “Brisbane”. My answer generally surprises people. “Brisbane??” But yes, scuba diving in Brisbane has been the absolute best scuba diving of my life. I have dived in Thailand, Finland, Philippines, Vanuatu, Cambodia and all around Australia, but the dive sites around North Stradbroke Island surpass anything else.

With a new species of shark (the Crocodile shark) being washed up on a UK beach last week we look at the ongoing theory that perhaps one day a Great White will make headlines and will also be discovered in British waters.

I strongly recommend travelling as often as is possible for you. Aim for what you can. Set a goal, and work towards it. This article is about planning for a dive trip will be broken into two parts. Part One will help you specify what you want out of a dive trip and where to start. Part Two will include important information to consider before buying your plane tickets.

On his first-ever night dive, Sam, an uncertified and inexperienced diver with fewer than 15 lifetime dives, descended to catch lobsters with two other uncertified divers (Dave and Tim). The three descended, while a fourth diver (Ron) planned to freedive and assist with hauling in the anticipated lobster catch. A fifth diver (Eric) remained on the boat. (Note: All names are fictitious.)

In 2014 I left my home in London to start a new underwater chapter in my life. My aim was to become a SCUBA instructor and discover a way to help constructively conserve the ocean. So when a teacher approached me about the possibility of introducing 3, 4 and 5-year-olds to ocean conservation at an international school in Egypt I was thrilled. I could hardly believe such an exciting possibility had arisen and so unexpectedly.

Drysuits are heavy, uncomfortable, expensive and difficult to operate… Said somebody at some stage but have you ever dived one? Yes they do cost more than Wetsuits but will out-perform any wetsuit on any given day in all temperate diving conditions. They are convenient in that you don’t need to dry off afterwards and don’t get the wind chill against your wet body. To most who have made the wise transition find they are a complete wonder and look back on their wetsuit diving days in complete disarray!

Canada’s Rideau waterway linking Ottawa (the nation’s capital) with Kingston Ontario was built for military purposes but its role evolved dramatically in the years to follow. So did Canada, which did not exist as a nation until 1867. That was more than five decades after the War of 1812 between the United States and British loyalists opposed joining Americans who had broken away from Britain to form their own country. The war was inconclusive with both sides declaring victory in what was mainly a series of skirmishes.

They are my favourite thing to see in the water. If you’re coming from Part 2: Interview with a Shark Attack Survivor, you might ask why sharks are my favourite given the damage one inflicted to my friend Diego. My answer is because sharks are not the monsters people think they are. Check out Part 1: Dive With Sharks…It’s the Safest Thing You’ll Do All Day, where you’ll see that man’s other best friend, dogs, are more likely to kill you than sharks.

It is the early summer of 1943 and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is well into its fourth year of existence. Potential air crews from across the Commonwealth are gathered and training is in high gear producing well-trained crews capable of contributing to the war effort. Across Canada the skies are filled with the droning sounds of training aircraft of many types.

Rhinopias are a type of scorpionfish, known by many divers as the holy grail. They can only be encountered in certain areas in the Indian and Pacific oceans and dive sites get frequented by divers just because they are known to be there. Here are some fun facts about these amazing creatures, the best destinations for divers to find them and how divers can identify what they find.

When I first discovered swimming in the Top End seas was a rare activity, I was dismayed. I have spent the past five years living and diving from Indonesian and Mozambican beaches almost every day. I wondered how I’d cope without my daily dose of vitamin sea and sea life!

One of the highlights of observing fish as a diver is to find a dragonet. Dragonets are small bony fishes which live between corals or in the sand and are found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate oceans. There are 191 species of dragonet currently listed on Fishbase, including the well-known mandarin fish.

The underwater world is such a beautiful place that we, as divers, would be crazy not to want to bring back memories of our secret explorations of paradise. It is part of human nature to capture moments of true beauty, to store them, to treasure them and show them to our loved ones with pride.