News
Try before you buy with Happy Diver
What is Happy Diver UK?
The idea behind Happy Diver is simple – to provide the best possible rental drysuit diving experience. They do this by providing excellent customer care and high quality equipment. A purpose-built stock of Otter Cordura-D drysuits were designed in tandem with Otter to provide a comfortable, flexible fit. Their use of Fourth Element and Otter undersuits ensures divers stay warm in the Scottish diving climate. Their unique customer care provides expert instruction on donning and removal covering the nuances of the needs of the first-time drysuit diver.
Experienced instructors stand open-mouthed when they see the attention to detail that Guy and Kate put into dressing their divers. The service that absolutely sets Happy Diver UK apart is their hospitality – freshly cooked hot food onsite to provide the internal warmth.
What’s the Happy Diver Story?
Guy and his fiancée, Katie, first discussed the concept of Happy Diver over a pint of beer and glass of wine in a Scottish west coast pub one February. They had just finished helping some university students with their open water drysuit training. This was February in Scotland. The water temperature was 5◦C, but the weather was bright with only the odd snow flurry. You certainly could not have marked the students down for their keenness and enthusiasm. They had a typical selection of rental suits, ones off eBay and others borrowed from generous club members. As undersuits, they wore a variety of street-wear – hoodies and leggings. They had been asked to wear warm clothing that that was what they had. Once the suits were on, the issues started, all of which are recognised by seasoned drysuit diving instructors – poorly fitting suits, loose seals, small feet in big boots, and poor maintenance leading to poor buoyancy control and cold, wet divers.
So in the pub, Katie and Guy only had one topic of discussion: “There’s got to be something better than this.”
Happy Diver UK is now in its second year of operation with a growing reputation for excellent service.
Why choose Happy Diver?
For Happy Diver UK, the people come first. They care about your dive. Guy brings over 15-years of drysuit instructing experience whilst staff-nurse Katie, who is a recently qualified Sport Diver, brings compassion and awareness of the trials of the new drysuit diver.
For you, their quality drysuit packages are designed to give you the best possible drysuit experience in which to progress your skills. Telescopic bodies ensure a good fit, Kubi and Sitech interchangeable seals ensure a good fit with reduced skin irritation. The rock boots ensure a good fitting foot no-matter your body shape. The specialist thermal two-piece undersuits provide a good fit and excellent insulation to keep you warm and concentrated on your skills and scenery. You enjoy your dining and progress faster.
For your club, you can encourage you divers to take a rental suit assured that they will have a good experience. Your divers progress faster allowing you to grow your club or get your divers to instructor capable grades sooner.
What’s new for the 2019 training season?
As a result of their drysuit snorkelling events in the summer, Happy Diver UK now have a full set of masks and fins for all our suits. So you really can try before you buy into drysuit diving and start your drysuit diving journey with Happy Diver UK.
For more information about Happy Diver UK please visit their website by clicking here.
News
Euro-Divers to close dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda
Euro-Divers have announced that as of 15 April 2024, they will no longer be operating the dive centre at NH Collection Maldives Havodda (formerly known as Amari Havodda).
The popular dive centre chain released this statement regarding the closure:
Dear valid customers, business partners and friends,
We are leaving NH Collection Maldives Havodda – former Amari Havodda as of 15th of April 2024.
Unfortunately, the information reached us on short notice that we are no longer operating the dive centre at the resort.
It was a great pleasure to work with the Amari Hotel group and continue to work with the NH Hotel group.
We wish our partners great success with all their new changes.
Thanks a lot for cooperating during our time at the resort. We wish everyone with whom we have worked a good and hopefully successful future.
Euro-Divers continue to operate in several other dive resorts throughout the Maldives in addition to other locations.
To finds out more about Euro-Divers, visit www.euro-divers.com.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: Undulate Ray
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re looking at the Undulate Ray. Easily identified by its beautiful, ornate pattern, the Undulate Ray gets its name from the undulating patterns of lines and spots on its dorsal side.
This skate is usually found on sandy or muddy sea floors, down to about 200 m deep, although it is more commonly found shallower. They can grow up to 90 cm total length. Depending on the size of the individual, their diet can range from shrimps to crabs.
Although sometimes called the Undulate Ray, this is actually a species of skate, meaning that, as all true skates do, they lay eggs. The eggs are contained in keratin eggcases – the same material that our hair and nails are made up of! These eggcases are also commonly called mermaid’s purses and can be found washed up on beaches all around the UK. If you find one, be sure to take a picture and upload your find to the Great Eggcase Hunt – the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen science project.
It is worth noting that on the south coasts, these eggcases can be confused with those of the Spotted Ray, especially as they look very similar and the ranges overlap, so we sometimes informally refer to them as ‘Spundulates’.
Scientific Name: Raja undulata
Family: Rajidae
Maximum Size: 90cm (total length)
Diet: shrimps and crabs
Distribution: found around the eastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat: shelf waters down to 200m deep.
Conservation Status : As a commercially exploited species, the Undulate Ray is a recovering species in some areas. The good thing is that they have some of the most comprehensive management measures of almost any elasmobranch species, with both minimum and maximum landing sizes as well as a closed season. Additionally, targeting is entirely prohibited in some areas. They are also often caught as bycatch in various fisheries – in some areas they can be landed whilst in others they must be discarded.
IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Image Credits: Banner – Sheila Openshaw; Illustration – Marc Dando
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