News
Dive Fest Diaries – Day 2
Each year the magical, Caribbean island of Barbados holds a festival to celebrate scuba diving, free diving and marine conservation. This year, Nick and Caroline went along to see what it was all about…
Thursday 5th July: Day 2
Refreshed and ready to go, we awoke to a bright sunny day in Barbados. We were back diving with West Side Scuba Centre and the plan for the day was some more west coast diving in the morning, followed by a night dive. Whilst we were diving, other centres were involved in introducing people to freediving as well as scuba diving, with events going on at different locations around the island, but we were here to dive!
Our diving equipment had been rinsed and dried off by the team at WSSC and so by the time we arrived at The Boatyard, the dive boat was fully loaded and we were ready to go. Our first dive saw us head out to the outer reef and a dive site called Castle. The reef was covered in huge barrel sponges – it was incredible! Everywhere you looked, these purple towers reached out from the reef bed.
We found shrimps hiding within them and lobsters taking cover at their bases. Turtles grazed, undisturbed by the divers drifting past in a light current. All the dive guides here carry spears to hunt any lionfish found on a dive, and there is even a competition during Dive Fest. Our guide caught one of the invasive species during the dive, showing expert skill. We let the current take us along the top of the reef, enjoying the reef-scape, until it was time to ascend back to the boat, which had been following our guide’s SMB.
We headed back to the dock to drop off some divers doing just one dive that day and then headed back out to one of the signature dives of Barbados – Carlisle Bay. Here a host of wrecks have been sunk in shallow water to create an underwater park for divers and snorkelers alike. You can take it slowly and examine each wreck as an individual dive, or you can move a little faster and take in a few. The beauty is, that as the site is so shallow, you have plenty of time underwater. Whilst we have dived here before, we had never ventured inside the Bajan Queen wreck, and so this lady was our dive plan. On our way, we came across the biggest stingray we have even seen, skimming over the reef that skirts the wrecks at Carlisle Bay.
The inside of the Bajan Queen is wonderfully atmospheric. The light penetrates through the gloom in sunbursts where doorways and hatches in the metal structure look up to the surface. Every now and then, you might get a flash of red as a fish swims through a shaft of sunlight. There is plenty of room to swim through the boiler room and into the quarters at each end and we had the place to ourselves – it was wonderful. Outside, schools of fish were hanging out at the propeller of the Bajan Queen, creating an attraction for both the divers and freedivers that visit the site. We still had time, after our exploration on the Bajan Queen, to visit two other wrecks, each one with its own ecosystem and highlights. We could dive this site every day and never get bored.
We had an extended lunch at the Radisson Aquatica, whilst discussing their plan to reduce single-use plastics in the hotel. Already they are using compostable food containers and cups, and provide a re-hydration station where fresh water with tropical fruits tempt guests away from plastic water bottles. It was refreshing to hear such a positive, conservation-minded vibe from a major hotel and to hear how passionate they were about the marine life just a stones thrown from where we were sitting.
Our final dive of the day saw us heading back to Carlisle Bay to dive the wrecks as a night dive. We jumped in as dusk fell, allowing our eyes to adjust to the gloom and the darkness to fall around us while we were on the dive. As expected, just like our daytime dive, there was a huge array of marine life. Nick found a tiny seahorse clinging to a small sponge on the seabed as we swam between wrecks. A turtle cruised past and an octopus displayed as the camera focussed in on it.
To top off the day, we ate dinner at the fabulous Waterfront Café to the sound of a live jazz band. Delicious, cold cocktails and great food by the waterside was, without a doubt, the perfect way to end the day.
Want to join in on all the fun at Dive Fest Barbados 2019 – put the dates in your diary: 3rd to 7th July 2019
www.radisson.com/st-michael-hotel-bb/brbbbds
Equipment used:
- Nikon D800, Nauticam housing, INON Strobes
- Olympus OMD EM-1 mkII, Nauticam housing, INON Strobes
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
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.
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