News
Guardian of the Reef Sculpture to be sunk in waters off Grand Cayman in April
He has traveled thousands of miles to arrive in Grand Cayman, and on Saturday, April 12 the bronze sculpture Guardian of the Reef will be sunk at his permanent home on a sandy flat at 60f/18m off the island’s Northwest Point. Months ago Divetech purchased the sculpture from Canadian artist Simon Morris to celebrate its 20thanniversary this year.
The13-foot Guardian is a mythological creature half ancient warrior half seahorse that was sculpted at Morris’s studio in British Columbia and caste in bronze at a foundry in Oregon. Once completed, the sculpture was shipped to Orlando, FL in early November for an unveiling at the Dive Equipment Manufacturers Association Convention (DEMA). He arrived in Grand Cayman earlier this month and has been on display at Divetech since clearing customs.
“We are very excited to see the Guardian of the Reef in Cayman after his long voyage here over 4,500 miles and many, many months,” say Divetech owners Jay and Nancy Easterbrook. “To see him standing on shore he is very majestic and will serve as a long-term reminder to all of us about the need to protect our reefs.”
Festivities for the sinking begin Friday April 11 at 3pm with a launch party and dedication ceremony at the Divetech’s shop at Lighthouse Point, with music, drinks, food and more. The process of transporting and sinking the sculpture is scheduled to start at 8am on Saturday, weather permitting. The sculpture will be moved by truck from Lighthouse Point to the Port launch. The sinking contractor will tow the Guardian of the Reef to the site and place it on a concrete base already in place. Divetech will deploy two boats – one with dive staff to assist in the process and one for media documenting the event, plus shore diving will be open all day to the public.
Once the Guardian is perched on his 4-foot pedestal, he’ll stand at 17 feet and almost immediately sea creatures will begin exploring it as an artificial reef. When the all clear is given on Saturday, divers will be able to enter the water from shore to enjoy the site and welcome him to his new home, just minutes off shore.
Artist Simon Morris is also the creator of Amphitrite, the popular mermaid sculpture, and it’s a good bet the Guardian of the Reef will also draw his share of divers for decades to come. Divetech will be using the sculpture to help focus attention on ocean conservation during its yearlong celebration. One dollar from every dive made at the site will go to a local conservation education program and Divetech hopes to raise $20,000 the first year. The money will be used to purchase educational materials from Annie Crawley, also known as “Ocean Annie” who has created several programs on ocean education.
Divetech began offering dive services on Grand Cayman in 1994 and has always been a champion for Cayman’s underwater world. Owners Nancy and Jay Easterbrook say this program allows them to give back to the community.
“We look forward to seeing everyone that can stop by at the dedication and celebration and then seeing him in the ocean to start his century post,” say the Easterbrooks.
WHAT: Sinking of the Guardian of the Reef at Northwest Point
WHERE: Northwest Point, Divetech and Lighthouse Point
WHEN: Party and Dedication Ceremony on Friday, April 11, 2014
Sinking April 12, 2014
TIME: Party 3pm; Sinking noon(ish) (weather permitting)
Artist Simon Morris, ocean educator Annie Crawley and artist Ron Steven “Rogest”, who created a marine dot painting of the Guardian of the Reef, and will be available for interviews during the Friday night reception and the sinking on Saturday.
For more information about the event contact Divetech by visiting them at www.divetech.com.
Article courtesy of www.divenewswire.com.
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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