News
Only Six Weeks To Go Until DIVE 2013!
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DIVE-2013-B.jpg)
The annual Birmingham Dive Show is Britain’s biggest event for divers, and this year’s show will boast an exceptional range of features, including:
- Top diving speakers
- New dive gear – on display and to buy
- Unrivalled choice of dive holidays and training courses
- Free sessions in the Scuba Pursuits Try-Dive pool and the Rebreather pool
- BSAC Branch Pods, PADI Village and SSI Zone
- FREE prize draw to win an £8000 dive holiday in the Philippines courtesy of Worldwide Dive and Sail
- No-Tanx breath-hold demos in the pool and free workshops to help you improve your flexibility and oxygen efficiency
- Caribbean Village and Asia Pacific Showcase
- British Isles Experience with free draw to win one of three SUUNTO computers each day
- Expanded PhotoZone with presentations taking place on the new Centre Stage (see below)
Tickets cost as little as £8.50 if booked in advance. And once you have purchased your ticket all the above activities are free to enjoy.
Stellar Speakers
Visitors to DIVE 2013 will have the chance to interact with a stellar line-up of speakers – on the main DIVER Stage, where the accent is on adventure; on the new Centre Stage; and, with a rolling programme of seminars, in the two Ocean Theatres.
Andy Torbet, Monty Halls and Alex Mustard will be among the top divers making presentations on both days of the show. Andy’s subject will be Extreme Diving Adventures; Monty will be focussing on his new Dive Mysteries TV series; and Alex will be joined by fellow photo guru Martin Edge to tell you ‘What to Shoot and What to Ignore’.
And British cave-diver Chris Jewell, who recently led an expedition to Mexico’s Huautla system that established the cave as the deepest in the Western hemisphere, will be treating the DIVE 2013 audience to descriptions of this incredible seven-week adventure.
Among the many other speakers taking the stage at DIVE 2013 will be the inimitable Paul Rose, and TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer Mark Powell, who plans to address some of the most widely believed myths about diving – some of them still commonly taught by many training agencies.
Appearing on the Centre Stage
The New Centre Stage is conveniently located close to the PhotoZone, and it’s where you’ll find a rolling programme of image-based presentations designed to entertain, inform and, we hope, add to the armoury of all you underwater photographers and videographers out there.
Timings have yet to be announced, but speakers already lined up include Michael AW, Paul Duxfield,Fergus Kennedy, Gavin Parsons, Saeed Rashid and Nick Robertson-Brown.
The PhotoZone is, of course, the part of the show that offers something for all levels of underwater photo enthusiast. In addition to the sensational BSoUP/DIVER Magazine Prints Competition, you’ll also be able to inspect, discuss and buy cameras and accessories to your heart’s content on the many specialist exhibitor stands.
New Dive Gear
Check out the new products Showcase when you enter the DIVE 2013 hall to get an idea of items you might want to examine more closely on suppliers’ stands (see full exhibitor A-Z here). Here is just some of the new gear that exhibitors will be showing.
• Drysuits, Wetsuits and Undersuits from exhibitors including SEAC, Waterproof (whose silver and black W4 suits are pictured), Northern Diver, Scubapro and Santi.
• Lights from Northern Diver, Metalsub, Intova, Sola and UW Fotopartner.
• Regulators including the XTX range from Apeks and Scubapro’s latest version of its G260 second stage. And don’t miss the chance to walk through the Scubapro Regulator Museum – with more than 200 models to see! (Stand 1320)
• Masks and fins from Oceanpro and Tusa (whose Solla fins are pictured)
• BCs from SEAC, and specialist items galore including camera and video housings from Underwater Visions/Nauticam, a sidemount BC and two dive computers from Scubapro, Suex underwater propulsion vehicles, and a complete range of gear for free divers from Subgear.
Recreational and Rebreather Try-Dives
Has the Year of the Rebreather been the success the suppliers of the new wave of closed-circuit equipment hoped for? You can ask them at the show – and can also take the latest in the ever-growing array of CE-marked CCRs in the Rebreather Pool to find out what all the fuss is about.
Non-divers of any age are invited to join in the fun as well, by enjoying a taste of diving under close supervision in the Scuba Pursuits Try-Dive Pool.
Get Your Picture on the Wall
There’s still time to get your entries in for the prestigious annual Print Competition, run by the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) and DIVER Magazine, the deadline for which is 15 September. An exhibition of finalists (as pictured here at the 2012 event) and judging of winners will take place in the DIVE 2013 PhotoZone. There are four categories in the Print Competition: British and Irish (images taken in UK and Irish waters); Overseas; Advanced British and Irish; and Advanced Overseas.
See details of how to enter here
For more information on DIVE 2013, click here
News
Book Review: Fire on Monroe Bravo by Fred Lockwood
![the ship beneath the ice](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Book-Review.jpg)
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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/fireonmonroebravo-683x1024.jpg)
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.
Blogs
Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 1)
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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!
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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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMG_20230611_134526-1024x769.jpeg)
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!
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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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/27-1024x768.jpeg)
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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/30-1024x772.jpeg)
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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Sunset-chapel-1024x694.jpg)
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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/15-726x1024.jpeg)
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.
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/34-768x1024.jpeg)
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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