News
Take the kids diving with Regaldive
UK dive tour operator Regaldive are offering some great deals for family diving over the next 12 months. Here are the details:
The First Steps (ages 8 – 11)
Children who are eager to take their first breath underwater can do so on a Bubblemaker programme, costing from just £21 per child with Regaldive. With a qualified instructor and in the confines of a pool, children aged eight to 11 can take their first exciting plunge. The course lasts between one and two hours, includes a theory and pool session, and can be undertaken anywhere in the world.
On a budget: Seven nights’ at Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt, cost from £568 per adult and £379 per child. The hotel benefits from a large swimming pool, lazy river, waterfall and rock feature as well as tennis courts and a watersports centre. A Bubblemaker course costs from £21 per child (to include equipment), and for adults, a five day dive pack costs from £80 per person (to include guide, tanks, weights and air for two boat dives per day) when taking advantage of Regaldive’s buy one get one free offer*.
Fit for a King: Seven nights’ at the small and friendly Buddy Dive in Bonaire, which benefits from two swimming pools, its own house reef and in-resort entertainment, cost from £1,331 per adult and £1,091 per child. To include flights, transfers and B&B accommodation, based on two sharing. A Bubblemaker course costs from £21 per child (to include equipment), and for adults, six days unlimited shore diving costs from £95 per person (to include air tanks, weights, weight belt and sales tax).
A Taster of Scuba (ages 10 +)
Suitable for children aged 10 and above, the two-day Discover Scuba Diving course, costing from £59 per child with Regaldive, offers an exciting preview of the underwater world and includes one pool and one open water dive. The course teaches the basic skills and concepts of scuba and enables children to experience the thrill of diving under the supervision of a PADI instructor.
On a budget: Seven nights’ at the great value Falcon Naama Star in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, cost from £387 per adult and £349 per child to include flights, transfers and B&B accommodation based on two people sharing. A Discover Scuba Diving course costs from £59 per child (to include equipment), and for adults, a five day boat diving dive pack costs from £131 per person (to include guide, tanks, weights and air for two dives per day) when taking advantage of Regaldive’s buy one get one half price offer**.
Fit for a King: Seven nights’ at the luxurious Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat, Oman, cost from £1,278 per adult and £1,089 per child, to include flights, transfers and B&B accommodation, based on two people sharing. A Discover Scuba Diving course costs from £59 per child (to include equipment), and for adults, a five day shore or boat dive pack costs from £221 per person (to include two unguided boat / jeep dives per day, air tanks & weights).
Get Qualified (ages 10 +)
For children aged 10 and above looking for the ultimate dive experience, the Junior Open Water course follows exactly the same format as the PADI Open Water course for adults. Known as the ‘passport to the underwater world’, the course qualifies children to dive with a buddy and explore all the ocean has to offer***. Those aged between 10 and 11 can dive to 12 meters, while those aged between 12 and 15 can dive to 18 meters.
Costing from £226 per child with Regaldive, the four to five day course includes five theory and five pool sessions, as well as four open water dives.
On a budget: Seven nights’ self-catering in a private apartment in Gozo, which benefits from a kitchen, shower room, sitting and dining area, and terrace or balcony, costs from £391 per adult and £280 per child, to include flights, transfers and accommodation. A Junior Open Water course costs from £226 per person (to include equipment), and for adults, six days unlimited shore diving costs from £79 per person (to include air tanks, weights and belt).
Fit for a king: Seven nights’ at the beautiful Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa in the Maldives, which benefits from its own house reef, swimming pool and playground, cost from £1,917 per adult and £1,513 per child, to include flights, transfers and full board accommodation. A Junior Open Water course costs from £226 per person (to include equipment), and for adults, six days unlimited house reef diving cost from £330 per person (to include tanks and weights).
Andreas Elia, Managing Director of Regaldive commented “We all know how many opportunities learning to dive opens up, but sometimes children’s courses can be overlooked. With courses for children as young as eight, there’s no reason why our young families can’t make as much of the underwater world as we do”.
He continued, “Although it may be several years yet before we see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the two-week old Prince George donning their dive gear, it would certainly be great news for the dive industry!”
For further information, or to book, visit www.regaldive.co.uk or call 01353 659 999.
* Buy One Get One Free valid for travel between 1 Nov – 14 Dec 2013, 3 Jan – 4 Apr 2014 and 25 Apr – 11 Jul 2014.
** Buy One Get One Half Price valid for travel between 13 Nov – 10 Dec 2013.
*** Once qualified, children aged 10-12 years old must dive with a parent or guardian
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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