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Book Launch: In the Company of Seahorses
It was the end of an enjoyable but otherwise uneventful dive exploring the seagrass beds in Studland Bay, when, running low on air, and heading back towards the beach, Steve and Julie were stopped in their tracks. There, as large as life, was a beautiful, yellow seahorse with its tail curled around a seaweed frond. It turned out to be the first confirmed sighting of a pregnant seahorse in the United Kingdom and as such, changed people’s perception of UK seahorses overnight, and so started a love affair for the authors with this enchanting animal. They went on to observe and record the native seahorses for hundreds of hours. Witnessing at first hand how they behave in the wild, and how they interact with the other plants and animals in their underwater realm…
With stunning photography, In the Company of Seahorses paints a rich picture of a mysterious world amongst swaying seagrass and colourful seaweeds. The accompanying text is packed with personal anecdotes describing the authors’ journey of discovery, illustrating for the first time the secretive lives of these elusive animals in British waters.
By sharing one couple’s passion for an entrancing ocean icon, this book aims to inspire, inform and create a better understanding of the seahorse and its often vulnerable habitats around the British coastline.
In the Company of Seahorses by Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher is published by Wild Nature Press: ISBN 978-0-9955673-2-0
About Steve and Julie:
Steve Trewhella is a diver and photographer, specialising in the photography of British marine life above and below the waves. He is also a keen naturalist with a particular interest in the coast and sea. When not diving he enjoys beachcombing, rockpooling and recording strandline and coastal invertebrates. His beachcombing finds include several new species records for the UK and new information about the ecology and distribution of animals and plants endemic to beach strandlines.
Julie Hatcher is a marine biologist working in marine conservation in Dorset. Her work involves raising awareness of the marine environment and marine and coastal wildlife in the UK and includes writing articles for newspapers and magazines and designing leaflets and information panels. She also leads guided rockpool rambles and seashore identification training courses and has been a scuba diver for many years, mostly in the UK.
Steve and Julie met in 2004 since when they have organised projects to record pink seafan skeletons on Chesil Beach, long-haul litter and strandline invertebrates as well as carrying out dive surveys on seahorses and stalked jellyfish in their local area. They married in 2013 and live on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset.
For more information visit www.wildnaturepress.com.
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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