News
Only Six Weeks To Go Until DIVE 2013!
The annual Birmingham Dive Show is Britain’s biggest event for divers, and this year’s show will boast an exceptional range of features, including:
- Top diving speakers
- New dive gear – on display and to buy
- Unrivalled choice of dive holidays and training courses
- Free sessions in the Scuba Pursuits Try-Dive pool and the Rebreather pool
- BSAC Branch Pods, PADI Village and SSI Zone
- FREE prize draw to win an £8000 dive holiday in the Philippines courtesy of Worldwide Dive and Sail
- No-Tanx breath-hold demos in the pool and free workshops to help you improve your flexibility and oxygen efficiency
- Caribbean Village and Asia Pacific Showcase
- British Isles Experience with free draw to win one of three SUUNTO computers each day
- Expanded PhotoZone with presentations taking place on the new Centre Stage (see below)
Tickets cost as little as £8.50 if booked in advance. And once you have purchased your ticket all the above activities are free to enjoy.
Stellar Speakers
Visitors to DIVE 2013 will have the chance to interact with a stellar line-up of speakers – on the main DIVER Stage, where the accent is on adventure; on the new Centre Stage; and, with a rolling programme of seminars, in the two Ocean Theatres.
Andy Torbet, Monty Halls and Alex Mustard will be among the top divers making presentations on both days of the show. Andy’s subject will be Extreme Diving Adventures; Monty will be focussing on his new Dive Mysteries TV series; and Alex will be joined by fellow photo guru Martin Edge to tell you ‘What to Shoot and What to Ignore’.
And British cave-diver Chris Jewell, who recently led an expedition to Mexico’s Huautla system that established the cave as the deepest in the Western hemisphere, will be treating the DIVE 2013 audience to descriptions of this incredible seven-week adventure.
Among the many other speakers taking the stage at DIVE 2013 will be the inimitable Paul Rose, and TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer Mark Powell, who plans to address some of the most widely believed myths about diving – some of them still commonly taught by many training agencies.
Appearing on the Centre Stage
The New Centre Stage is conveniently located close to the PhotoZone, and it’s where you’ll find a rolling programme of image-based presentations designed to entertain, inform and, we hope, add to the armoury of all you underwater photographers and videographers out there.
Timings have yet to be announced, but speakers already lined up include Michael AW, Paul Duxfield,Fergus Kennedy, Gavin Parsons, Saeed Rashid and Nick Robertson-Brown.
The PhotoZone is, of course, the part of the show that offers something for all levels of underwater photo enthusiast. In addition to the sensational BSoUP/DIVER Magazine Prints Competition, you’ll also be able to inspect, discuss and buy cameras and accessories to your heart’s content on the many specialist exhibitor stands.
New Dive Gear
Check out the new products Showcase when you enter the DIVE 2013 hall to get an idea of items you might want to examine more closely on suppliers’ stands (see full exhibitor A-Z here). Here is just some of the new gear that exhibitors will be showing.
• Drysuits, Wetsuits and Undersuits from exhibitors including SEAC, Waterproof (whose silver and black W4 suits are pictured), Northern Diver, Scubapro and Santi.
• Lights from Northern Diver, Metalsub, Intova, Sola and UW Fotopartner.
• Regulators including the XTX range from Apeks and Scubapro’s latest version of its G260 second stage. And don’t miss the chance to walk through the Scubapro Regulator Museum – with more than 200 models to see! (Stand 1320)
• Masks and fins from Oceanpro and Tusa (whose Solla fins are pictured)
• BCs from SEAC, and specialist items galore including camera and video housings from Underwater Visions/Nauticam, a sidemount BC and two dive computers from Scubapro, Suex underwater propulsion vehicles, and a complete range of gear for free divers from Subgear.
Recreational and Rebreather Try-Dives
Has the Year of the Rebreather been the success the suppliers of the new wave of closed-circuit equipment hoped for? You can ask them at the show – and can also take the latest in the ever-growing array of CE-marked CCRs in the Rebreather Pool to find out what all the fuss is about.
Non-divers of any age are invited to join in the fun as well, by enjoying a taste of diving under close supervision in the Scuba Pursuits Try-Dive Pool.
Get Your Picture on the Wall
There’s still time to get your entries in for the prestigious annual Print Competition, run by the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) and DIVER Magazine, the deadline for which is 15 September. An exhibition of finalists (as pictured here at the 2012 event) and judging of winners will take place in the DIVE 2013 PhotoZone. There are four categories in the Print Competition: British and Irish (images taken in UK and Irish waters); Overseas; Advanced British and Irish; and Advanced Overseas.
See details of how to enter here
For more information on DIVE 2013, click here
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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