News
Ocean Revival: The Final Ship Goes Down
The Ocean Revival project, a new underwater reef system and marine habitat for divers visiting the Portuguese Algarve has now been completed with the sinking of the final ship on the sea bed. The sinking marks a very successful conclusion to a seven year project where four ex-navel ships have been scuttled to form a series of artificial reefs. The Hydrographic ship Ex-NRP Almeida de Carvalho A527 sank below the waves on Saturday 21st September amidst great celebrations and applause from the extensive Ocean Revival team as well as excited onlookers.
Scubaverse’s very own Jeff Goodman, who was at the event, had this to say: “Cameras were working constantly from the small surrounding boats as a helicopter circled above taking aerial images. We had a five minute and then a one minute warning over the radio before the first of the explosive charges went off, shaking us all out of any daydreams we may have been having. The rest of the explosions followed immediately after, blowing debris and smoke into the air. Then silence. To everyone’s relief the bow slowly started to go under with the stern rising exactly according to plan.”
“As the last part of the stern disappeared in a mass of froth and bubbles we all were excited for the navy divers to do their check and then give us the OK to go down and have a look for ourselves.
“It’s quite strange diving on a ship you were looking at on the surface only a short while ago. It had already taken on quite a different demeanour. In some way it had gained an air of mystery and hidden secrets. The lines had become softer, the colours paler. I look forward to revisiting next year when wildlife begins to take control of the now bare metal.”
This dream of Luís Sá Couto, the project leader and owner of the SUBNAUTA Diving Centre, had finally come true. Luis said that the first of the ships that were sunk are already home to many fish and other reef species. It is a habitat that will only get better each year.
Video Courses with Ocean Revival in the Algarve
These amazing wreck sites and rich local reef systems are the backdrop to a series of underwater video courses run by Jeff, in association with UK based tour operator Hidden Depths and Subnauta Diving.
Cameras, lights and editing facilities are all provided for free for those who do not have their own equipment. There are introduction weekend sessions as well as full five day courses. Also on offer are GoPro speciality courses which come into their own when diving the wrecks.
The Algarve is located in the south of Portugal and is where the Atlantic Ocean mingles with the Mediterranean sea, resulting in water temperatures between 14º to 22º Celsius. It is a place where temperate species mix with sub-tropical, and is a very exciting location for filming underwater wildlife.
The courses are very flexible and can cater for the complete beginner to the budding professional.
All students for these underwater courses must have a minimum of an Open Water Scuba Dive Qualification.
For more details contact:
Email: jeffgoodman@supanet.com
Hidden depths
Web: www.hiddendepthsdivetours.com
Email: info@hiddendepthsdivetours.com
Ocean Revival
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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