News
Dive Fest Diaries – Day 4
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…
Saturday 7th July: Day 4
Our fourth day at Dive Fest Barbados was supposed to see us diving the east coast of the island. However, news broke that a tropical storm was heading our way, and so it was with little hope that we headed to the east side of the island to see what diving conditions were going to be like. As expected, the waves had picked up and even the chance of going out on the boat to get some above water shots was impossible. So, the guys from Barbados Blue asked what we would like to do instead. We all said – Carlisle Bay! It is close to shore, easy to dive and, with visibility getting worse, it was the obvious choice of dive for us. So, we jumped back in the van and headed back the dock to jump on our boat and go diving.
Whilst the visibility was not great, we had an idea from our last visit to the Bajan Queen wreck and wanted to try something out. Enlisting help from Christie, we jumped in and swam back into the engine room. Nick was going to try getting a backlit shot of Christie. It took a while to get right, but it was worth the effort. We spent a bit more time trying out some shots that had escaped us on the last dive before heading back outside to photograph the schools of grunts and red snapper that hang-out around the prop.
On our second dive, the Barbados Blue team wanted to go back to the coral nursery, as we had seen 4 lionfish there the previous day. They grabbed their spears and safe container and our job was to spot them. They had moved away from their spot from yesterday, and so we spread out and started searching. It was not long before the first one was bagged, but it took us the whole dive to find the four we were looking for.
That evening we ate at the sumptuous Cin Cin by the Sea. A frozen chocolate cocktail from heaven as the sun set was the perfect way to end the day.
That was the end of our diving at Dive Fest Barbados, but there was one final day in the schedule. We got to see watch Barbados Blue launch their boat made from trash collected on the beaches, Kyle, our host from Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., try out diving for the very first time before heading to the closing ceremony to hear the final speeches, and listen to the success stories of many of the local kids and how they had learned to swim, freedive and get involved in clean-ups. We then watched the prizes being given out and most importantly, welcome the fact that Barbados will be doing it all again in 2019! We hope we can be there…
Want to join in on all the fun at Dive Fest Barbados 2019 – put the dates in your diary: 3rd to 7th July 2019
Equipment used:
- Nikon D800, Nauticam housing, INON Strobes
- Olympus OMD EM-1 mkII, Nauticam housing, INON Strobes
- Olympus TG5
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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