News
“Guardian of the Reef” Sculptor to donate 30% of sales to Philippines relief effort
Canadian-based sculptor Simon Morris, creator of the new “Guardian of the Reef” bronze statue that was unveiled at DEMA recently, has committed to donating 30% of the sale price on selected items from his website to the Philippines typhoon relief effort.
Here are the items that Simon is including in his offer:
Hang Time 1/4 life scale
Hang Time is the price that diving pioneers pay for going deep and staying long in their quest for exploration, knowledge, and adventure. “Hang Time” the sculpture represents a fully equipped and properly configured Technical Diver ascending from a deep dive. I travelled to Florida in 1998 to take a cave diving certification course in preparation for the creation of this sculpture.
Crossroads – Manatees
This mother and calf Manatee sculpture captures the beauty and slow moving grace of these gentle creatures.
As their habitat shrinks and they come into more frequent contact with humans, their future and ours are at a crossroads. I have tried to capture the hope for the coming generations fostered by the mother for the calf.
Dofleini Domain
The Giant Pacific Octopus of British Columbia and Puget Sound is the largest octopus species in the world. Called “Enteroctopus Dofleini” after the german biologist who named them in the early 20th century, they are territorial and the mothers are very protective of their eggs. The original clay sculpture was built draped over a real rock, then both were molded and cast together, to give an authentic “in situ” look.
Orca Spirit
A large bull orca embodies the spirit of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia where I live. The patina on this piece reflects the sun dappling on his back through the rich green waters of our Emerald Sea. It is mounted on a museum quality walnut base.
Trilogy 1 – Humpback Whale Calf
First of three sculptures in the related Trilogy Series, Trilogy # 1 is a single humpback whale calf incorporating an abstract bronze section, mounted on a walnut base.
Mermaid 1/12 scale
Based on the famous 9-foot Mermaid sculpture placed under water at Powell River BC and Sunset House at Grand Cayman. At one-twelfth scale of the full size sculpture, this 9″ tall figure stands 14 1/2″ high on the included unpolished travertine base.
The Navigator
This life size bust is taken from the same mold used to create the life size memorial sculpture commemorating the seafaring people of Grand Cayman. Unveiled on May 10th, 2003 by HRH Prince Edward at Georgetown Grand Cayman, the full sculpture shows a father and son team on a schooner, with the son at the helm, and father fixing their position with a sextant. This bust includes the head, hands, and sextant, with a portion of shoulders and chest. Mounted on a custom black steel base. Each piece signed and numbered by the sculptor.
Mermaid 1/3 scale
Based on the famous 9-foot Mermaid sculpture placed under water at Powell River BC and Sunset House at Grand Cayman. At one-third scale of the full size figure, this 36″ tall sculpture stands 60″ high on the included Walnut pyramid base.
If you would like to help the Philippines relief effort by purchasing one of these sculptures you can contact Simon directly by emailing him at simon@sculptorsimonmorris.com.
The “Guardian of the Reef” Sculpture will be sunk at Divetech’s Lighthouse Point resort on Grand Cayman on Jan 26th.
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.
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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