News
Latest special offers from blue o two
UK based dive tour operator blue o two have released their latest special offers including liveaboard holidays to the Red Sea now from only £875 including flights and to the Maldives from only £1795 (including flights).
Here are the details:
RED SEA
M/Y blue Fin – Red Sea
01 Aug – 08 Aug: Deep South Borderlands £1295
08 Aug – 15 Aug: Best of the Red Sea £1295
15 Aug – 22 Aug: Deep South £995
29 Aug – 05 Sep: Daedalus & St Johns £975
05 Sep – 12 Sep: Simply the Best £1199
26 Sep – 03 Oct: Strait of Tiran & North £975
M/Y blue Horizon – Red Sea
08 Aug – 15 Aug: Best of Wrecks £1295 – LAST female share space
29 Aug – 05 Sep: North & Ras Mohammed £1075
12 Sep – 19 Sep: Best of Wrecks £1299
19 Sep – 26 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1195
26 Sep – 03 Oct: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1199
M/Y blue Melody – Red Sea
25 Jul – 01 Aug: In Focus: Red Sea North £1075
01 Aug – 08 Aug: Strait of Tiran & North £1075
05 Sep – 12 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1149
19 Sep – 26 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1199
26 Sep – 03 Oct: Best of Wrecks £975
M/Y blue Voyager – Red Sea
29 Aug – 05 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £975
12 Sep – 19 Sep: Simply the Best £1195
03 Oct – 10 Oct: In Focus: Red Sea South £1249
NEW: M/Y Red Sea Adventurer – Red Sea (Monday sailings May – Oct)
04 Aug – 11 Aug: North & Brothers £975*
15 Aug – 22 Aug: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £875*
25 Aug – 01 Sep: Northern Wrecks & Reefs £1075*
01 Sep – 08 Sep: Deep South £975*
MALDIVES
M/Y blue ‘Honors Legacy’
31 Jul – 11 Aug: Best of the Northern Atolls (10 nights) WAS £2475* NOW £1895* – SAVE £580
10 Aug – 18 Aug: Majestic Mantas (7 nights) WAS £2265* NOW £1795* – SAVE £470
17 Aug – 28 Aug: Majestic Mantas (10 nights) WAS £2260* NOW £1895* – SAVE £365
27 Aug – 07 Sep: Best of the Northern Atolls (10 nights) WAS £2265* NOW £1895* – SAVE £370
06 Sep – 14 Sep: Majestic Mantas (In Focus) (7 nights) ONLY £1799*
PHILIPPINES
S/Y Philippine Siren
06 Oct – 16 Oct: Southern Visayas: Cebu- Cebu (10 nights) £2599**
*Package price is subject to change due to fluctuations in flight prices. Final package price will be confirmed at time of booking. **Excludes flights (boat only price).
For more information or to book contact the blue o two team now on +44 (0)1752 480808, email info@blueotwo.com or visit www.blueotwo.com.
Blogs
Heading out on the water this Summer? Watch for manatees
As National Safe Boating Week approaches, Save the Manatee® Club is urging boaters, and anyone that enjoys Florida’s waterways, to respect and protect the defenseless manatees that inhabit our shared waterways. From May 18 to 24, leading up to Memorial Day Weekend, the campaign aims to raise awareness about recreational boating safety and the importance of safeguarding imperiled manatees during the summer boating season. This week also emphasizes the importance of encouraging boaters to enroll in a boating safety course.
Manatees are semi-migratory marine mammals that are commonly found in shallow estuaries, bays, rivers, canals, and coastal areas throughout Florida and neighboring states. With some manatees venturing as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, collisions between these gentle giants and watercraft have become distressingly frequent. Boat propellers and high-speed collisions pose significant threats to manatees, often resulting in severe injuries or even death.
Save the Manatee Club is calling on all water enthusiasts to follow essential manatee safety tips to ensure the well-being of the imperiled manatee:
- Obey Speed Zone Signs: Familiarize yourself with and adhere to posted speed limits to prevent collisions with manatees.
- Reduce Glare with Polarized Sunglasses: Wear polarized sunglasses to enhance visibility and spot manatees below the water’s surface.
- Recognize Manatee Signs: Learn to identify signs of manatees in the area, such as swirls or flat spots on the water caused by their movements.
- Respect Manatee Sanctuaries: Keep a safe distance from posted manatee sanctuaries and avoid pursuing or harassing these marine mammals, as it is illegal and can disrupt their natural behaviors.
- Report Distressed Manatees: In Florida, promptly report distressed, injured, tagged, or orphaned manatees to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Outside of Florida, report sightings to the appropriate state agency or rescue organization. A list of agencies to contact is available at savethemanatee.org/report.
- Protect Seagrass Beds: Avoid boating over seagrass beds and shallow areas where manatees may be feeding. Stick to deep water channels while remaining vigilant, as manatees also utilize these channels during their travels.
- Dispose of Fishing Line Responsibly: Anglers should properly dispose of or recycle used fishing line to prevent entanglement hazards for manatees.
“Each year, National Safe Boating Week provides an excellent reminder for all of us to be aware that we share our waterways with vulnerable manatees,” emphasized Patrick Rose, Aquatic Biologist and Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club. “With the recent Unusual Mortality Event on Florida’s East Coast claiming an alarming number of manatees’ lives, it is more crucial than ever to prevent preventable deaths caused by watercraft collisions. By following manatee-safe boating guidelines, such as obeying speed zones and remaining vigilant for manatees, everyone on the water can contribute to the protection of these gentle giants.”
Save the Manatee Club offers a range of free materials to help safeguard manatees and raise awareness about manatee-safe boating practices. Shoreline property owners and park or marina managers can order aluminum dock signs to alert others about the presence of manatees in their areas. Boaters and paddlers can request packets containing a safety tips card, a waterproof boat banner, and a decal to display on their vessels, providing the number to report manatees in distress. To view and request these materials, visit savethemanatee.org/resources. Save the Manatee Club will also be hosting a live webinar for National Safe Boating Week on Tuesday, May 21st at 6pm EST. To register, visit savethemanatee.org/register.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Book Review: Shells of the World
Shells of the World: A Natural History by M.G. Harasewych
Shells of the world is a guide to the world of marine, shelled molluscs. And what a varied and interesting world it is. Some of my favourite things to find on a dive are detailed in this book, including disco clams (or Electric File Clams as they are correctly names), the cephalopods, giant clams and sea hares. There are also many on my wish list, top of which is the Nautilus.
Each chapter provides a detailed description of the species, along with beautiful images. You can dive deeper and discover where they live, both with global distribution and the habitat they prefer. Learn about their diet, reproduction and diversity.
Having dipped in and out of this lovely book over the past few weeks, it has inspired me to learn more about this group of animals that we see on most divers, wherever we are in the world. Some of the shells are incredibly intricate and beautiful. I have always agreed with never collecting, or touching, marine life. The description of a certain set of cone shells should be a warning to those that are happy to pick up marine life! One of the cone shells has a local name called the cigarette snail. Why? Because once the venom is in your system from this animal, you only have time to smoke one cigarette before the affects of the venom are fatal!
What the publisher says:
Mollusks are invertebrate animals with a remarkable natural history and a rich fossil record, and their shells are prized for their breathtaking variety and exquisite beauty. Shells of the World provides a wide-ranging look at the incredible diversity of marine mollusks. An informative introduction outlines the lineages covered, followed by a directory section, split into classes, that profiles a broad selection of different taxa to give a sense of their sheer numbers and variety.
- Features hundreds of beautiful color photos, depicting both the live animals and their shells
- Discusses mollusk evolution, anatomy, life cycles, behavior, and ecology
- Describes unique characteristics, distribution, habitat, and size
- Provides valuable insights into the conservation of the world’s marine mollusks
- Ideal for malacologists and shell collectors everywhere
About the Author:
M. G. Harasewych is research zoologist emeritus and former curator in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is the author (with Fabio Moretzsohn) of The Book of Shells: A Life-Size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells.
Book Details
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Hardcover
Price: £25
ISBN: 9780691248271
Published: 9th April, 2024
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