News
Introducing Divesangha: Surface Gear For Divers
A new range of leisurewear aimed at Divers has come onto the market called Divesangha.
Here is the official press release:
Divesangha is an exciting and bold new fashion, lifestyle and leisurewear clothing brand aimed at divers and dive enthusiasts around the globe.
Divesangha has been created to fulfil a gap in the sports lifestyle market. It provides comfortable, practical and fashionable surface wear for divers and dive enthusiasts to wear between dives, on holiday, at home or wherever you want to express your love for diving. Divesangha clothing provides comfort and practicality with a bold lifestyle statement.
Divesangha designers founded the company to solve the lack of leisurewear and lifestyle wear options for divers & dive enthusiasts when they are out of the water. Surfers, cyclists, runners, skaters and even people who practise yoga, all have their own leisurewear brands catering to their comfort needs and allowing them to express their lifestyle to others. We all like to tell the world around us that we belong to a special group, and what’s more special than being a diver!
Divers are highly social creatures. Anyone who has witnessed a chance meeting between two people who discover their shared love for diving knows what we’re talking about. There might be a dive watch on show or a beach t-shirt but other than that, a diver has no visible style or identity.
This is precisely the challenge that the Divesangha’s designers decided to take on when they set out to design “surface gear” for divers. Divesangha apparel will give these people a way to recognise one another. It will give them an identity.
On their journey the first question our designers set out to answer was: “what kind of clothes would divers like to wear”, to which the answer was as simple as “let’s start with the basics, the black, the greys and the whites.” Dive wear should be practical and functional but also smart and fashionable.
It should be individualistic (every t-shirt is individually numbered), tekkie, timeless, it should also be grown-up casual wear, fun but not ridiculous.
Dive wear is aimed at individuals who like to travel and dive in style, young-ish and upwardly mobile individuals or slightly older, established professionals.
The second question was “what do divers need”. The answer was “something practical and cool” because we want to be ready for any adventure, from walking out to the dive centre in the morning to going out for a drink after a long day at sea. Our designers wanted to make a connection between the equipment worn by divers and the Divesangha lifestyle clothes – so they came up with black, matt, rubbery textures together with quick dry and water repellent material focusing on quality. Divers expect high quality when they buy their dive gear, so we should expect divers to demand quality when they buy their clothes too.
Divesangha also wanted to create clothing that appealed to men and women. Women, in particular, are not well catered for in the masculine world of diving. Divesangha is committed to filling that gap and make girl divers stand out and feel great. Although the attitude is slowly changing, it’s time to change the idea that there aren’t enough female divers for manufacturers to cater specifically to them.
Finally, our designers assessed the question “what would divers want to express” through their dive wear? Divesangha share the notion that divers are special people, united by their love for nature and adventure. The experience of diving can be profoundly life changing. It not only brings divers together, it turns them into great ambassadors. That’s how the name “Divesangha” came about.
The word “sangha” means “association” or “community” in Pali and Sanskrit, two of the most ancient languages on the planet. A sangha hints at something deeper than just a group of people having something in common, it expresses something of the unique and uniting harmony divers experience with nature in the marine environment.
The individuals that are part of the sangha of diving are kind of enlightened and with that enlightenment comes a sense of responsibility. The sea and its creatures are under constant threat every day and divers have the opportunity to stand up and raise awareness. And they often do.
Divesangha is more than just a cool lifestyle statement, it’s about an ethos, being part of a community and we hope it will raise the profile of scuba diving globally, making it even more accessible. Maybe that’s a bit too ambitious but at Divesangha we look at the bigger picture.
We are very proud to say that Divesangha products are exclusively designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom. We focus on producing limited edition, quality, unique garments. That comes at a higher price, but we think when you wear our products you can see it’s worth the little bit extra to stand out from the crowd.
As a company Divesangha is committed to ethical manufacturing, ethical trading and to raising awareness of environmental issues relating to the sea and its creatures. It is also the company’s intention to sponsor and endorse projects related to such issues in the immediate future.
Divesangha clothes feature the unique “Hung Dry™” system, which is currently being patented. Hung Dry™ is a simple system that allows clothes to be hung to dry or air on a rail or a line without the need for pegs and more importantly with no risk that the wind will blow them away. This is a problem faced by divers at sea, where it’s a struggle to keep clothes from becoming wet and damp.
Our aim is to unite divers into a community of like-minded people, expressing their lifestyle through clothing and sharing the same love for the sea and its creatures.
You don’t need to be a diver to wear Divesangha clothing, but we think many people will want to wear our products to aspire to the same lifestyle and beliefs… and most importantly, look great in our clothes.
At the moment the Divesangha range is exclusively available online: www.divesangha.com. Prices range from £50.00 for a t-shirt to £120.00 for a sporty dress. All orders come with a free dry bag and delivery within the UK is free.
For more information and photographs, please contact:
Lucia Keen
Mob – 07973 267 693
Email – lucia.keen@divesangha.com
Marina Scuba School’s Santa Splash Discover Scuba Experience
Join the festive fun at Marina Scuba School’s Santa Splash on the 16th of December in Crosby. While the real Santa may be busy, Marina Scuba School’s staff members will be dressed up in festive attire for a 2-hour DSD with a Christmas twist.
Open to adults, families, and children over the age of 8, this festive dive is jam-packed with Christmas treats.
The festive fun begins at Marina Scuba School, where you’ll be greeted with a warm welcome and some delicious Santa snacks. During the 2-hour Discover Scuba Diving session, you’ll have the chance to learn essential skills required for scuba diving, all while searching for some Christmas goodies hidden beneath the surface.
This holly jolly dive experience takes place on the 16th of December in Crosby and only costs £40 per participant.
To book this exciting dive contact the dive centre by email: info@marinascubaschool.org
Vobster Quay
Vobster Quay in Bristol is thrilled to announce the return of the Vobster Santas, a spectacular yuletide diving event that promises to make waves for a cause. This festive fun is open to all levels of divers and invites participants to don their Santa gear and dive into the holiday season in style.
Scheduled for the 10th of December, the gates to Vobster Quay will open at 7:30 am, with a comprehensive dive brief at 09:30 am, leading up to a mass dive at 10:00 am. The goal? To surpass the previous record of 185 Santa divers in the water simultaneously, promising a visually spectacular and undoubtedly jolly spectacle.
Vobster Santas isn’t just about the joy of diving; it’s a mission with heart. The event serves as a vital fundraising opportunity for two esteemed charities, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Help for Heroes. Both hold special significance for Vobster Quay, and participants are encouraged to secure sponsorships through JustGiving to support these worthy causes.
Since its inception, Vobster Santas has successfully raised over £40,000 for these charities. This year, the bar is set higher, and Vobster Quay is committed to leading the charge. To kick off the fundraising efforts, Vobster Quay has generously donated £1000 to each charity, igniting the holiday spirit of giving.
For more information, sponsorship opportunities, and to download the event poster, visit: Vobster Quay – VOBSTER SANTAS 2023
Photos: Jason Brown
In the mystical waters just north of Vancouver, Canada lies a narrow channel called the Skookumchuck Narrows, or simply “The Skook.” It’s a hidden gem in the Salish Sea that boasts a unique spectacle – a tumultuous dance of tides and currents that draws adventurers and spectators from far and wide.
The beautiful British Columbia coastline
Imagine this: a channel so narrow and shallow that a single tide can unleash an astonishing 200 billion gallons of water, creating a tumultuous display of standing waves, whirlpools, and currents surging at 16 knots (18 mph or 30 kph). Such speeds may seem mild when driving a car, but the erratic water is a different ballgame. Skookumchuck Narrows is a contender for the title of the world’s fastest tidal rapids, rivaled only by Nakwakto Rapids further up the British Columbia coast.
All photos were captured with a Nikon Z6 in an Ikelite underwater housing with Sea & Sea YS-D3 Mark II strobes.
But there’s a twist – this aquatic battleground isn’t just for adrenaline seekers; The Skook is an oasis for life beneath the waves. April 2023 marked a rare convergence of perfect conditions: a celestial alignment allowing divers to witness The Skook in all its glory. And who better to guide this daring expedition than Porpoise Bay Charters, a family-run venture led by the seasoned Kal Helyar and Ann Beardsell?
Diving with Porpoise Bay Charters
Raging currents = an abundance of life
The allure lies not in the danger but in the vibrant marine ecosystem fueled by the relentless currents. Ocean currents act as nature’s turbochargers, transporting nutrients that transform places like Skookumchuck Narrows into underwater havens with colorful life thriving amidst the rocky terrain.
The prolific life underwater in The Skook.
It’s important to debunk the myth that this is a reckless plunge into chaos. Diving The Skook is not about courting danger but choosing the right moment: at slack when the tide turns, the water experiences minimal movement, and the currents are a mere 4-5 knots. Picture this – a scuba diver slipping gracefully between tidal changes, maneuvering with precision as the water changes its course and gradually picks up speed. Timing is everything, and finding the rare dates when daylight piercing through the emerald-green water coincides with navigable water conditions is critical. April 2023 granted us a mere handful of these golden days of nature’s alignment for the first time in four years.
Painted anemones designed to grip the rocks and collect food flowing with the rapid currents.
Entering the abyss
As our vessel, under the watchful eye of Captain Kal, approached the infamous Skookumchuck rapids, a tangible excitement filled the air. These cold-water adrenaline-filled dives are the scuba diving equivalent to scaling Everest. The unpredictability of The Skook, where currents can whisk you in any direction, demanded respectful caution from our experienced salty crew.
Gearing up in the snow to enter the Skookumchuck Narrows
With a reassuring smile, Captain Kal dismissed the notion of a toilet bowl experience, where divers are pulled in a circular direction by the currents as if flushed down a toilet. He emphasized that they only dived during an easy drift in the current, which was hard to fathom possible in such treacherous waters. Approaching the narrowest section of the channel, where the current was fastest, Kal’s experienced eyes scanned for the telltale signs of slack tide. Tidal ripples slowed, and we entered the water in the few precious minutes within the next year when it was possible to witness Skookumchuck in all its sunny glory.
The most impressive patch of painted anemones and metridiums in The Skook
As we descended into the underwater world, a mysterious algal bloom cast a dark green haze, unveiling a breathtaking palette of colors below. Bright red and pink anemones, neon orange encrusting sponges, and deep purple ochre sea stars adorned the rocky canvas, showcasing nature’s artistic prowess.
Patches of vibrant life adorn the rocky surfaces
Surrendering to the sea
Descending further, we felt the force of the tide, like a river yet to subside. Gripping onto rock holds and kicking into the current, we felt like underwater rock climbers. Adjusting our underwater camera settings and getting comfortable with the flow of the water, we marveled at the transformation of the underwater landscape. Slabs of rock, once pounded by the current, now hosted a vibrant community of marine life.
When the current picks up, you can only shine a light and watch the life as you drift by
After a mesmerizing twenty minutes of relatively gentle water, the current intensified, signaling the roller coaster drop ahead. We surrendered to neutrality, letting the current guide us along the wall. Boulders and back eddies added a touch of unpredictability; with trust in our abilities and Captain Kal’s promise of a safe pickup, the thrill was exhilarating rather than menacing.
A beautiful Puget Sound king crab
A group of invertebrates are protected from the fast current by a crevice; the rest of the rocks sandblasted clean by the fast water.
As the current ebbed, we found ourselves in a tranquil cove adorned with green sea urchins, marking the end of our underwater odyssey. The Skook had shown us its splendor: a delicate balance of chaos and life beneath the surface – leaving us with memories as vivid as the colors we witnessed.
About the Author
Nirupam Nigam is a dedicated underwater photographer and fisheries scientist. While growing up in Los Angeles, he fell in love with the ocean and pursued underwater photography in the local Channel Islands. He received degrees in Aquatic and Fisheries Science and General Biology, as well as a minor in Arctic Studies, at the University of Washington. After working as a fisheries observer on boats in the Bering Sea and North Pacific, Nirupam became the Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater Photography Guide and the President of Bluewater Photo – the world’s top underwater photo & video retailer. Check out more of his photography at www.photosfromthesea.com!
US-based divers: explore more close-by dive destinations with Bluewater Dive Travel here.
All photos: Nirupam Nigam
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