News
Diving Apo Island with Atmosphere

One of the most famous dive sites in this area of the Philippines is Apo Island. It is just a short boat ride away from the Atmosphere Resort, via the marine park office to get your permits to dive there. Apo Island has been a Marine Sanctuary for over 20 years and this shows even as you glance down at the reefs below from the boat as you pull up to your dive site.
The corals here are healthy and abundant and the beauty of the shallows is breath-taking. On a sunny day, the corals light up in their multi-coloured splendour to delight both snorkelers and divers alike. These shallows are also home to a large number of sea turtles, who rest on the soft corals and graze on the hard corals. Banded Sea Kraits (sea snakes) also inhabit these shallow waters, taking divers by surprise as they wiggle out from the protection of the corals to head for the surface.
Once you have taken your fill of the shallows, and in the knowledge that you will have to come back here for your safety stop, you can head deeper down the sloping reef. The reef is just as healthy here, but the species of coral and fish change as you descend. Magnificent Anemones, balled up to show their vivid purple skirts, host families of anemonefish. If you look closely at the large sponges, you are sure to find one of the areas signature species – the frogfish. And if you keep one eye looking out into the blue, large pelagic species have been known to come in closer to the reef wall and give divers unexpected encounters with various species of shark.
On your surface interval you can buy local trinkets from boats that visit with clothing and souvenirs, whilst rehydrating or grabbing a bite to eat. The Atmosphere boat, Victoria, is a traditional banka boat with bamboo outriggers and is the most commonly used boat for this trip. It is extremely spacious, with plenty of room both for those that like to worship the sun or those that like to stay in the shade. The crew are always on hand to look after you too, changing your equipment over between dives and ensuring you have everything you need.
Apo Island is a must do day trip when staying with Atmosphere. We are only sad that we did not have enough time to go back and do a second trip there, but there are so many more dive sites to explore, and just not enough time for us to fit it all in. Next time…
Equipment Used
Olympus OM-D EM-1 MKII with Olympus 8mm lens
Nauticam Housing
INON Z240 Strobes
For more information about Atmosphere Resorts & Spa visit their website by clicking here.
For more information about visiting the Philippines click here.
News
Palaemon Divers shortlisted for top Business Award

North West-based Dive Centre, Palaemon Divers, has been shortlisted for Leisure and Tourism Start Up of the Year with Start Up Awards 2023.
Palaemon Divers is delighted to be named a finalist in the Awards which celebrate Start Up Businesses and what they have brought to the economy within three years of their launch.
Palaemon Divers was started by Leanne Clowes in the midst of COVID lockdowns. Leanne walked out of her well paid corporate sales job with no savings after a redundancy in a previous role and spending the majority of the year before COVID to follow the dream! After the redundancy and COVID, life struck just a little differently and the pull to become a full-time dive instructor became impossible to ignore!
So with that… notice was handed in, no savings, nothing physical to start being a full time dive instructor other than personal kit at the time – oh and the fact, Leanne was actually an Assistant Instructor at the time and hadn’t attended the instruction exam at that point as there had been none going on through COVID obviously!
However, the first Instructor Exam that was happening out of COVID was booked onto – no pressure at all with no full time job, no money as a back up, mortgage and bills to pay…
Leanne started freelancing as an instructor in the North West using various outdoor locations for training, and the business snowballed and quickly gained its first physical dive centre in January 2022 along with finding their own private in-water training facility at Princes Dock in Liverpool. Since then, 100s of new people from Liverpool and further afield have been introduced to the amazing sport of scuba, and experienced the abundant life under the surface of the dock itself.
In a time of no travel to outside your area or abroad, Palaemon Divers found something new and exciting to introduce the city of Liverpool to those who spend five days a week in the office looking down at the dock and not really being able to appreciate what the dock actually means to Liverpool!
It became apparent during 2022, that although Liverpool was fantastic, more growth was on the cards which came in the form of a second location, Palaemon Divers – Warrington. The second dive centre is an ex micro brewery in Warrington with a central location close to the M6, M62 and M56, spread over two floors which includes a classroom, workshop, compressor and a floor dedicated to retail.
The efforts in building this business have not gone unnoticed with the shortlist for Startup Awards, and also another shortlist which will be announced in the next month.
For more, email or visit:
Gear Reviews
Gear Review: Quilted Polar Hat from Otter Watersports (Watch Video)

In a video shot exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the Quilted Polar Hat from leading drysuit manufacturer Otter Watersports.
For more information, visit www.otterwatersports.uk.
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