News
Poseidon’s Playground in St Helena
St Helena, sitting out in the Southern Atlantic between Africa and South America, is one of the most remote diving destinations in the world. Its location in this vast ocean means that the coastline has been carved out by the forces of nature. Above water, forests give way to plunging cliffs and underwater giant steps, caves and caverns have been carved out of the stone over millennia.
For divers, this means that there are great places to explore, with overhead swim-throughs and dramatic seascape providing the backdrop to most of the dives here.
The thing that strikes you when you slip into the water in St Helena is the sheer abundance of marine life. The waters are protected from over-fishing and it shows. It has been a long time since we have dived a destination so full of life. Octopus, eels and crustaceans take shelter in every crevice. Schools of fish seek shelter under the overhangs and in the caverns. Between January and March, large numbers of Whale Sharks aggregate in these waters. Dolphins surf the waves in their hundreds, while mobula rays cruise below and humpback whales come here to calf. All this, and you will be in the water with only a handful of others on any dive you do!
The sheltered caverns that have been carved out of the rocks provide shelter where more delicate species can thrive and divers are warned to be careful not to disturb this precious ecosystem.
Flights into St Helena are via South Africa on Airlink and in peak season (Jan-Mar) you can now fly from either Johannesburg or Cape Town, making this a perfect opportunity to plan a longer dual destination trip. St Helena offers divers the chance to get off the beaten track and try somewhere very few divers have ever explored. Whale Sharks, wrecks, a diver’s playground created by Poseidon himself – there is lots to love on this island.
To read more about our trip you can pick up the latest copy of Dive Travel Adventures or read it online by clicking here.
For more information visit:
St Helena Tourism: www.sthelenatourism.com
Dive Saint Helena: www.divesainthelena.com
All images and text by Nick and Caroline of Frogfish Photography.
Equipment used:
- Olympus OMD EM-1 MKII
- Nikon D800
- Nauticam Housings
- INON Strobes
Hyperbaric and dive medical experts, Midlands Diving Chamber (MDC), has underpinned its long-term support of Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with a one-off donation of £20,000, as the Rugby-based diving doctors wind down the charitable side of its operation.
The donation represents the single biggest financial contribution made to Bite-Back, delivering a huge boost to its campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products.
Spokesperson for Midlands Diving Chamber, Sally Cartwright, said: “For years we’ve admired and supported the ground-breaking work that Bite-Back is doing to save, protect and celebrate sharks. It’s a genuine pleasure to help ensure it stays at the forefront of shark conservation in the UK.”
Midland Diving Chamber first supported the charity at the inaugural Bite-Back at Cancer event in 2007 and then annually for the next six years. It even hosted its own James Bond-themed party on the Thames to fundraise for the marine NGO.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We can’t thank MDC enough for its continued support and now for this massive contribution to our pioneering shark conservation campaigns. It makes us very proud that the country’s premier diving medical experts have chosen to back our campaigns that extend from parliament to primary schools. This financial windfall will allow us to continue to lead the shark conservation agenda in the UK and deliver measurable shark conservation breakthroughs to keep the oceans healthy.”
Bite-Back’s No Fin To Declare campaign to end the UK’s import and export of shark fins is now just months away from achieving Royal Ascent into law and, earlier this month it launched a free 56-page teaching resource for Key Stage 2 & 3 students on the importance of sharks and the threats they face.
Midlands Diving Chamber is based at St. Cross Hospital in Rugby and operates a hyperbaric decompression chamber offering NHS funded recompression to divers with Decompression Illness (DCI) together with other Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) treatments. Any diver with medical concerns should contact MDC on either 01788 579 555 or 07931 472 602.
Find out more about Bite-Back at http://www.bite-back.com/
Sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke established Live Ocean Foundation out of their deep concern for health of the ocean and the life in it. Through their sport they champion action for the ocean, taking this message to the world.
Many of the issues the ocean faces are out of sight, but the science is clear, the ocean is in crises from multiple stressors; climate change, pollution and over-fishing. We’re not moving fast enough, not even close.
Live Ocean Foundation supports exceptional marine scientists, innovators and communicators who play a vital role in the fight for a healthy future.
Thanks to generous core donors who cover their operating costs, 100% of public donations go directly towards the marine conservation projects they support.
Find out more at https://liveocean.com/foundation/
WATCH THE REAL WATERGATE AT https://www.realwatergate.com/
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