News
A Straw Poll
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A warm welcome to our latest bloggers, the Scuba Genies – aka John & Mona Spencer-Ades…
In April this year, Mona and I had the pleasure of diving with our friends and dive buddies Rob and Susie at Magic Oceans Dive Resort on Bohol in the Philippines. This is a place that has received loads of press of late, as Nick and Caroline recently penned for Scubaverse, and it is well-deserved press. But we’d like to cover this from a different angle.
Firstly, it is safe to say that this was the very best diving we have ever done, and we are no strangers to scuba travels. The waters were immaculate – not a single bit of flotsam or jetsam that shouldn’t have been there, and therefore, very, very healthy reefs that are full to bursting with marine life.
Sitting with our friends at meals we were inspired as they refused the plastic straws that were provided with drinks and other guests started to do the same. Later in the week, we found ourselves deep in conversation with Eef and Arie of Magic Resorts discussing the impact of single use plastics and what they might be able to do to help the effort. I doubt that we are the only ones that have seen the video of the turtle having the straw removed from its nostril.
The conversation turned to solutions for the “straw issue.” We have seen pasta replacements, but these taste funny. Paper straws go soggy, and use trees. The glass ones could be dangerous. Then there are bamboo ones, silicone and acrylic. Eef and Arie were excited at the options and went straight to work. As we’re writing this, Magic Island Dive Resort is using reusable silicone straws and Magic Oceans is providing guests with stainless steel straws. And Nick shared with us that other resorts and local establishments in the Philippines are doing the same!
Mona and I were spurred into further action – we have been evaluating various branded ‘gifts’ for some time, but could not decide completely on one single object. We wanted something useful, and really wanted something that would have a positive environmental effect too.
We have now made our decision! The Scuba Place will be providing every client that books a trip with or through us with a BPA-free, aluminium water bottle, complete with carabiner clip and screw top lid. We hope that our clients will find them useful and that it might help to reduce the amount of plastics ending up in the oceans.
Surprisingly picking a reusable water bottle was more difficult than we expected. So many vendors use plastic bags as packaging and we don’t want those blowing overboard into the sea! We’re delighted with our final selection and can’t wait to see them on dive boats around the globe. Our next hosted ‘Come Dive With Us’ trip is to Jardines de La Reina in Cuba this coming September (spaces available!) and we’ll be taking some of our bottles out for the dive staff.
We are pleased to be doing our bit for our Oceans – Come Dive with Us!
Contact: reservations@thescubaplace.co.uk
Tel: 0207 644 8252
News
Book Review: Fire on Monroe Bravo by Fred Lockwood
![the ship beneath the ice](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Book-Review.jpg)
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/fireonmonroebravo-683x1024.jpg)
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
Blogs
Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 1)
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In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
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The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
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Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
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In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
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Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
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Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
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The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/15-726x1024.jpeg)
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
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Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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