News
The British and Irish Underwater Photography Championship 2017: Winners Announced
In its third year and with record numbers of competitors, there was a fierce competition for top honours in the British and Irish Underwater Photography Championship 2017. Photographers from all over the UK and Ireland dived on 27th August, took pictures and submitted them on the same day to a panel of judges.
Organised by the British Society of Underwater Photographers in memory of Peter Scoones, one of its founding members, the competition is a major test of a photographer’s logistic, diving and photographic skills. The field was very strong this year with over sixty top class photographers and newcomers registering for the event. The competition enjoys excellent support from generous sponsors including Carpe Diem, a Maldives-based company that offers an amazing £1650 voucher to the winner for a trip on their superb dive boat. O’Three have sponsored the competition from inception and each year provide one of their sought-after tailored dry suits.
There is a growing and friendly rivalry between the British and Irish communities, who have each seen their photographers taking high honours in previous years. This year UK photographer Trevor Rees was awarded the title 2017 Champion after submitting a beautiful image of a Jewel Anemone set against a sunburst. It also won the best close-up category. Best newcomer was Brian Kelly with a delightful picture of a Fan Worm and the other two categories were won by Kirsty Andrews for a stunning wide angle picture of a Blue Shark, and Vicky Paynter who used a compact camera to win the restricted camera category with a delightful image of a seal.
British Society of Underwater Photographers Chairman and lead organiser Paul Colley said that, “The competition goes from strength to strength. More people are taking part every year and many of the images submitted now would have won the competition outright only a few years ago; the standards just keep climbing.”
You can see the full list of photographers, images, sponsors and awards at www.biupc.org.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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