News
Get ready for The Great Northern Dive Show 2017
Following the success of the event’s inaugural outing last April, The Great Northern Dive Show is back for 2017, and promises to be bigger and better in its second year.
Taking place on the weekend of the 8th – 9th April at Event City in Manchester, the show will once again combine diving and marine conservation-themed exhibitors, speakers and activities with out-of-this-world characters from the streets of Gotham to a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
The event will be kicked off in style with an opening ceremony featuring songs from Anne Hurcomble, and will include speakers from the world of diving including Mark Powell, Gary Dallas, John Kendall, Chantelle Taylor-Newman, Scubaverse.com’s very own underwater photography editors Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown, and many more.
Once again, the World’s largest portable swimming pool will be on hand where technical divers will be showing off their skills while their colleagues explain to the crowd what they’re doing. And if you’re lucky, you might see the odd mermaid or two in there as well…..
The Great Northern Dive Show is the only dive show in Europe to feature an actual beach! This year though, if children want to play in the sand they have to do a ‘beach clean’ first, as lots of plastic debris has been washed up or just left there as litter. Once the plastic has been cleared, the kids can embark on a Treasure Hunt to look for shark teeth.
In addition to the great speakers, activities and demonstrations that will be on offer, manufacturers, suppliers, tour operators, training agencies, conservation charities, dive centres and clubs will be exhibiting at The Great Northern Dive Show too – so if you’re looking for a new piece of kit, your next dive holiday, or to continue your dive education, all of your needs will be catered for.
There will also be a fashion show taking place on both days featuring all the latest divewear, and on the Sunday you will get the chance to practise your life saving skills with a bit of rope throwing. You can even get a commemorative mug made at the show to remind you of the brilliant weekend you’ve had hanging out with all your diving buddies.
There’s plenty for the non-diving members of your family to enjoy too, especially the kids: Comic Con characters, mini ponies, stilt-walking crabs and octopus, dinosaurs, steam punk characters, and even Imperial stormtroopers will all be present (and who knows… even a certain Dark Lord of the Sith might put in an appearance….).
Tickets are £8 in advance if bought online (either at www.theticketfactory.com or www.eventbrite.co.uk) or £10 on the door for adults or just £5 for kids. Parking for visitors is free.
More information about the show can be found at www.thegreatnortherndiveshow.com.
Photo of Mermaid: Frogfish Photography
All other photos: Dave Alexander
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.
Blogs
Northern Red Sea Reefs and Wrecks Trip Report, Part 3: The Mighty Thistlegorm
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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