News

Dive into history in St Helena

Published

4 years ago

May 29, 2019

Our visit to St Helena was instigated by a story that revolves around one particular wreck – the DarkDale, but over a few days of diving we soon discovered that the coastline offers those who love a little history behind their dives a host of other opportunities. We dived four of the seven listed wreck dives on offer. Some were sunk deliberately to create artificial reefs and others met their watery end in more unfortunate circumstances. Our first wreck dive off the rugged coast of this remote island was on the Papanui.

St Helena Butterflyfish around the stern post of the Papanui

The Papanui lies in just a few meters of water just in front of the harbour and some of its structure (the stern post) even sticks out above the water, so this is an easy going dive and could even be snorkelled. The wreck sank in 1911 after a fire broke out on board. The captain drove it as close to the island as possible and then evacuated the crew safely, but the ship was lost. It is a big wreck site and the artifacts still on board this 131m long steamer built in 1898 is incredible. It is also now home to a host of marine life and we could have spent hours exploring the site over several dives.

The Darkdale wreck has a special place in history as the first British ship to be sunk in WWII south of the equator. It was struck by by a German U-Boat on the 22nd October 1941 and her casualties are remembered on the cenotaph in the harbour. She lies in deeper water just in front of the harbour with the shallowest point at around 33m. Once again, a feature of St Helena diving, she was covered in the endemic Cunningfish, a beautiful white butterfly fish that creates swirling clouds around all of the wrecks.

We also dived two artificial reefs, the Bedgellet which was damaged in a storm and sunk in 2001, and the Frontier which was a drug smuggling vessel sunk in 1994.

Both these artificial reefs are now home to marine life living around the structures and within the nooks and crannies within. Mobula Rays pass by this area and so you can combine diving the wreck with looking out into the blue for pelagic encounters, or head inshore to explore the caverns that line the coast.

We did not get to dive the White Lion wreck, a cargo ship sunk in a conflict with the Portuguese in 1613. Whilst there is not much left to see, the ship was rumoured to be carrying diamonds and whilst no-one has admitted to finding any – it must be worth a visit!

If you want a diving destination that is a little different, then St Helena is well worth a visit. We loved it. Find out more about our trip in the latest edition of Dive Travel Adventures in shop now, or online by clicking here.

For more information visit:

St Helena Tourism: www.sthelenatourism.com

Dive Saint Helena: www.divesainthelena.com

All images and text by Frogfish Photography

Equipment Used

Olympus OMD EM-1 MKII
Nikon D800
Nauticam housings
INON strobes

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Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com

News

Midlands Diving Chamber donates £20k to Bite-Back

Published

8 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Team Scubaverse

Hyperbaric and dive medical experts, Midlands Diving Chamber (MDC), has underpinned its long-term support of Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with a one-off donation of £20,000, as the Rugby-based diving doctors wind down the charitable side of its operation.

The donation represents the single biggest financial contribution made to Bite-Back, delivering a huge boost to its campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products.

Spokesperson for Midlands Diving Chamber, Sally Cartwright, said: “For years we’ve admired and supported the ground-breaking work that Bite-Back is doing to save, protect and celebrate sharks. It’s a genuine pleasure to help ensure it stays at the forefront of shark conservation in the UK.”

Midland Diving Chamber first supported the charity at the inaugural Bite-Back at Cancer event in 2007 and then annually for the next six years. It even hosted its own James Bond-themed party on the Thames to fundraise for the marine NGO.

Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We can’t thank MDC enough for its continued support and now for this massive contribution to our pioneering shark conservation campaigns. It makes us very proud that the country’s premier diving medical experts have chosen to back our campaigns that extend from parliament to primary schools. This financial windfall will allow us to continue to lead the shark conservation agenda in the UK and deliver measurable shark conservation breakthroughs to keep the oceans healthy.”

Bite-Back’s No Fin To Declare campaign to end the UK’s import and export of shark fins is now just months away from achieving Royal Ascent into law and, earlier this month it launched a free 56-page teaching resource for Key Stage 2 & 3 students on the importance of sharks and the threats they face.

Midlands Diving Chamber is based at St. Cross Hospital in Rugby and operates a hyperbaric decompression chamber offering NHS funded recompression to divers with Decompression Illness (DCI) together with other Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) treatments. Any diver with medical concerns should contact MDC on either 01788 579 555 or 07931 472 602.

Find out more about Bite-Back at http://www.bite-back.com/

Marine Life & Conservation

Watch The Real Watergate from Live Ocean Foundation (Trailer)

Published

1 day ago

June 8, 2023

Team Scubaverse

Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke established Live Ocean Foundation out of their deep concern for health of the ocean and the life in it. Through their sport they champion action for the ocean, taking this message to the world.

Many of the issues the ocean faces are out of sight, but the science is clear, the ocean is in crises from multiple stressors; climate change, pollution and over-fishing. We’re not moving fast enough, not even close.

Live Ocean Foundation supports exceptional marine scientists, innovators and communicators who play a vital role in the fight for a healthy future.

Thanks to generous core donors who cover their operating costs, 100% of public donations go directly towards the marine conservation projects they support.

Find out more at https://liveocean.com/foundation/

WATCH THE REAL WATERGATE AT https://www.realwatergate.com/