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Current Affairs
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Award-winning South African movie - Opaque
Ocean Messengers' award-winning film, Opaque, was released to the public in February this year. The movie celebrates South Africa’s coastline and focusses on Algoa Bay.
The purpose of the film is to capture how dependent mankind is on the sea and to warn against the threat posed by pollution and unsustainable development. The ultimate solution being - protect the oceans!
Eleven-year-old Jonas Schimpf has a role in this film too and urges us to reconsider our human interaction with the marine environment and its direct connection to the future of our children.
Environmental photographer of the year 2010
Now in its fourth year, CIWEM’s Environmental Photographer of the Year, is one of the fastest growing photographic competitions in the world, with 2 500 pictures entered in 2009 from over 60 countries. It is an international showcase for the very best in environmental photography, honouring amateur and professional photographers who use their ability to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. Three new categories have been introduced this year, including The Underwater World.
The competition will run until 31 July 2010, with judging taking place throughout August.
For more information contact Emily Doyle (CIWEM Press and Marketing Officer) on 020 7831 3110 or emily@ciwem.org
Support underwater conservation with a card
Select the 2010 Project AWARE version of your PADI certification or replacement card and support underwater conservation. For a minimum donation, any diver can sport the new sea turtle card and know that 100% of the donation goes toward conserving aquatic environments on a global scale.
To find out more about Project AWARE Foundation’s ongoing conservation efforts and to become directly involved visit www.projectaware.org.
PROJECT DIVE EXPLORATION
The DAN Research programme is the realisation of DAN’s mission to improve diving safety by studying what makes diving safe or unsafe. Project Dive Exploration (PDE) is a programme whereby divers can contribute their regular electronic diving profiles, so that DAN is able to analyse the factors that make up safe (or unsafe) diving. The project started in DAN America and DAN Europe, and is now being expanded within the DAN Southern Africa region.
Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers now online
Dr Carl Edmonds has recently made a copy of the 2010 edition of Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers available on the Internet. The original authors, plus the new contributors, have all agreed to make the text freely downloadable to all divers, with no royalties or copyright restrictions. The book deals mainly with diving problems, their causes, first-aid and prevention. Individual chapters can be downloaded freely at www.divingmedicine.info
Dennis Sibiya - Diving his way to the top!
As a young boy growing up in Sodwana, Dennis Sibiya longed to get a job in Johannesburg. He approached one of the diving couples that he worked for (Jill and Dave Holloway) and asked if they could find him a job in Egoli. They suggested Dennis get more thoroughly involved with the diving industry.
Dennis took their advice, taught himself to swim and when he was 18, completed his diving course. A while later, a doctor from Washington kindly paid for Dennis to do his divemaster course. Since then he has worked as a divemaster for Sodwana Bay Dive Charters.
Dennis recently decided that it would be an excellent idea to put up a lodge for tourists. His self catering lodge, Dennis’s Place, is now up and running!
Sinking of the Canberra
The sinking of the former HMAS Canberra that took place on 4 October 2009 will give the Geelong Otway Tourism region a diving experience of a lifetime. The ship will be sunk just outside Port Phillip Bay on the Victorian coast (in Australia), where the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet, creating a marine kaleidoscope of species from both oceans.
A lot of the ship's equipment will remain in place, including the preserved ship mural (a giant octopus), which is bound to generate a strong level of excitement amongst divers across the world. For more information on the HMAS Canberra, including the procedure leading up to the sinking, visit www.hmascanberra.com.au
Local skipper qualifies as scuba diver
Well-known local dive charter Blue Wilderness has qualified one of their long time skippers, Marros Msani, as a scuba diver.
Marros, a Mozambican by birth, has been working for Marc Addison (owner of Blue Wilderness) for about 15 years. Despite the fact that he is a competent skipper, it was always his desire to become a qualified scuba diver.
His instructor, Jacques Jacobs of explorealiwal.com, said “Despite some language difficulties, Marros proved to be a willing and enthusiastic student. I believe that his achievement serves as an inspiration for everybody that if something is really important to you, it can be achieved whatever the perceived obstacles might be”.
Pro Divers receives award
Pro Divers opened its doors in October 2001 and started life as a PADI Dive Centre. Now after nine years of operation and a history of quality dive training they have recently been awarded the prestigious PADI Career Development Centre award, joining the ranks of a select few dive centres in the South African diving industry. They now look forward to expanding their training regime even further and where they go from here we can only wait and see.
New online resource for shark conservation
The Centre for Oceanic Awareness, Research and Education (COARE), announced the
availability of online resources supporting its popular Shark Safe certification programme.
The website, www.sharksafe.org, allows both consumers and businesses to learn more about the Shark Safe certification programme. Businesses aspiring to become Shark Safe can initiate the process of earning certification.
As a conservation based website, it will also offer information about the plight of sharks and about the need for their conservation. As further development of the website continues, it will serve as a portal for consumers to locate certified Shark Safe establishments quickly and easily.
Ponta Marine Protected Area
During the month of July the Ponta Marine Protected Area was proclaimed. As a result of this, activities will move forward in a more sustainable manner in the hope of balancing both tourism and the delicate environment.
The next step in the process includes the finalisation of the various management plans for each sector, e.g., scuba diving, recreational and artesarian fishing, marine mammal tourism, development, etc. This will include the implementation of regulations best suited for a tourism site within an MPA, which will benefit both the marine and coastal environment.
Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area Volunteer Programme
The South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) is in the process of developing a recreational diver-based reef monitoring programme in the Table Mountain Marine Protected Area, with the long-term goal of monitoring changes in marine biodiversity.
We are looking for volunteer divers who are interested in participating. To register with the programme, please complete the questionnaire on our website - www.fin.org.za
SSI Southern Africa under new ownership
SSI (Scuba Schools International) has a new face within southern Africa: Rainer Schimpf and his wife Petra are taking over business and responsibilities for SSI South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Mauritius as from 15 July 2009.
Living in Port Elizabeth for almost 10 years, they are close to the diving industry and have ample knowledge of the diving scene within Africa. The National Boat Show in Johannesburg was the first public appearance of this new team.
Cleaning up SA
In celebration of International Environment Week, the Plastics Federation of SA's Enviromark has recently launched a brand new website intended to co-ordinate all clean-up efforts across South Africa and serve as a platform for increasing volunteer numbers. This includes clean-ups of land, rivers, dams and SA's coastline. Log onto www.cleanup-SA.co.za
Coral Divers Career Development Course
The May intake of the Coral Divers Career Development Course (CDC) celebrates the successful completion of their intro phase. Eight candidates will be staying on to begin their divemaster training prior to starting the experience phase, involving three months of real work experience, leading dives, assisting instructors and conducting refreshers. Amongst them are two local residents, Fanelele Mavimbela and Sakhile Bukhosini. We are happy to announce that PADI has approved their application for the 2009 PADI Professional Scholarship Scheme. We would like to wish Fah, Sakhi and all the candidates every success as they continue their education.
Red Sea Research Diver Programmes
Red Sea Research, based in South Sinai, Egypt, has developed a number of internationally recognised scientific marine courses aimed at students, scientists and environmentally active recreational divers that will help them to develop the diving and surveying skills necessary to assist with marine research programmes.
With a large number of easily accessible dive sites and a diversity of marine life and habitats, Dahab is an ideal centre for training.
For more information go to our website at www.redsearesearch.org
Beach Erosion
Ponta do Ouro, like many places on the planet, has seen some major changes in terms of its beach. Tides are exceptionally higher than what they used to be and this has resulted in major dune and beach erosion. The cause has been speculated, however, climate change, sea level rise and possible dune development are contributing factors.
One of Dolphin EnCOuntours' community initiatives is to rehabilitate the dunes and vegetation. With this in mind, it is asked that those venturing to Ponta please stay off the dunes. This includes areas along the beach front where steep drop offs can be seen.
Durban Undersea Photography Club - New members wanted
The D.U.C photography club caters for all levels of underwater photographers and videographers. Meetings take place on the second Tuesday of each month. The club is currently looking at putting together a photography team to compete in the ever increasing photographic competitions.
Should you wish to find out more about the photography club and receive invites to the meetings, please contact Bryan Hart on BryanH@Nedbank.co.za
PADI and The Underwater Channel/Babelgum launch web video alliance
PADI and The Underwater Channel, which is powered by Babelgum, has announced a new partnership that will bring scuba diving and ocean conservation video content to a global audience on http://www.padi.com/scuba/video/
The partnership will result in the showing of a new and already acclaimed film: The Drop Zone, which is sponsored by PADI, Body Glove and Sport Diver magazine. The partnership will also illustrate the commitment Babelgum and The Underwater Channel has towards education and ocean conservation through the medium of web video.
Divemania opens Beuchat dive centres
Divemania, one of South Africa’s oldest dive shops and importers, are opening Beuchat dive centres in South Africa, which have proved highly successful in the rest of the world. Beuchat is an exclusive range of dive gear which specialises in scuba and spear fishing.
Paradise Found
Neville and Wendy Ayliffe, previously of Reefteach at Sodwana, have finally found paradise! The yare now managinf directors of Pomene Lodge in Inhambane Province, Mozambique. Pomene Lodge is right at the end of a beautiful peninsular, whihc separates a huge, pristine, flamingo-adorned estuary form the sea. The diving is exceptional.
Aqua Divers working to grow sport of freediving in SA
Aqua Divers International has recently formed a partnership with renowned freediver and previous world record holder, Trevor Hutton. Mares produces an extensive range of freediving and spearfishing equipment which is now fully endorsed by Trevor Hutton. Aqua Divers and Trevor are now working together to grow the sport of freediving in South Africa.
Youngest kids on the block
Sandton Scuba is proud to announce their youngest scuba divers to dive in Sodwana Bay. Katie and Emma Hepplestone (7 year olds) took part in the Jamboree and got to dive on a SASY unit (something they had practiced at the Scubapro Treasure Hunt at Bass Lake). They dived Stringer Reef and were warmly welcomed by the underwater world.
Congratulations to the girls who plan on joining the PADI Seal Team this year!
Fossilised shark tooth found in Mozambique
A fossilised shark tooth was found at Creche Reef in Ponta Do Ouro on 22 Janaury by Georgina Jones (an old-timer to diving in Ponta Do Ouro).
The specs of the tooth were sent to various specialists in hope that more detailed information would be obtained. It was later confimed by the Oceanographic Research Institute that these shark teeth are not rare in the region and come from the Miocene period. Changes in sea level created fossil beds – some rich in shark teeth. These beds are especially rich in northern KZN. This tooth was most certainly from one of the white sharks.
Measurements of actual tooth: 2.5 x 3.2cm
DAN-SA INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBER HAS CHANGED
Netcare 911, which provides the DAN-SA emergency hotline service, moved to a new office at the end of September 2008. Netcare were unable to keep their telephone numbers and so DAN-SA has had no choice but to change their international hotline number.
The DAN-SA international emergency hotline number has changed to: +27 10 209 8112 (you are not seeing things - the code is 010). The old +27 11 254 1112 is no longer operational. The toll free 0800 020 111 number within SA remains unchanged.
NEW HOTLINE NUMBER = +27 10 209 8112
My Dive Album
There is a new dive community website that is hitting our cyber space: www.mydivealbum.com is one of the first sites to offer an online facility where divers can log their dives online and link up with diving buddies around the world.
MyDiveAlbum does not only cater for disciplines such as Scuba but includes all underwater disciplines such as spearfishing, freediving and even team sports such as underwater hockey. It is a website where divers from all over the globe can interact, exchange and share information. The site is launching new features on a weekly basis with members now able to register clubs on the site, blog and soon to be the events/diving trips album where members can record their diving trips.
First TDI Senior Instructor in Southern Africa
Gerhard du Preez of Liquid Edge Diving has been certified as the first TDI Senior Instructor Trainer in Southern Africa . This prestigious accomplishment is the highest level available to a technical instructor and means that Gerhard can train instructors on any aspect of technical diving from full cave to trimix and of course rebreathers.
‘This is an excellent opportunity to get more technical instructors out there and in doing so, make tek more accessible to the average diver’, says Gerhard.
Romantic celebrations
February this year saw the divers of Aqua Planet dressed up in red in celebrations of the "Day o Love" (Valentine's Day). The day was spent at Aliwal Shoal with friends and loved ones.
In this picture from left: Ilse du Plooy, Clinton Koekman, Larissa Meintjies, Tristan Burrell, David Steyn, Danielle Steyn, Kym Pollard, Wayne Nel, Wayne Jnr and Migheal van Staden.
Spirit of SeaLife Photo Competition
The Spirit of SeaLife Competition was an exciting feature of the Scubapro Diving Days, with the concept being that entrance is free and photos are judged on a less technical basis. The idea is that the winning pic should show the beauty of and/or fun of diving, and should really make a non-diver want to start diving. That means the competition is accessible to all divers, from novice to expert. Congrats to Sean Rogers who won the PE event, and to Matt Johl who won in Aliwal.
Look out for the next Scubapro Diving Day (Gauteng) on 12 September. Contact info@scubapro.co.za for more info. Or find out more on Scubapro's Facebook page or on www.scubapro.co.za
Tofo turtle rescue
A loggerhead turtle that was rescued by Mozambican police from illegal fishermen was released back into the ocean with the help of local Tofo dive operator Peri-Peri Divers. The event was covered by Sangue Bom Productions, and was aired on national television.
The turtle had received minor wounds and was in a state of shock. Divers from PEri-Peri and Sangue Bom spent an hour with it before it swan off to live another day. By law, turtles are protected animals in Mozambique.
One Ocean is Expanding
One Ocean is one of the oldest and most reputable dive centres in Tanzania, and this year, the Zanzibar dive centre is adding two new dive centres to the group - Bravo Club based in Kiwengwa and Ananzi Hotel based in Matemwe. One Ocean now has a total of six dive centres, and is the largest group of dive cenres based in Zanzibar.
New kids on the block
The launch of the newest tented camp and dive charter in Ponta do Ouro took place recently. Phambuka is an owner-operated charter with a focus on personal service and a passion for diving.
We would like to invite all dive clubs to our month-long party in July to celebrate our opening.
Research vessel puts SA on global map
Marine research in Africa has taken a quantum leap with the launch of South Africa's first in-shore research vessel at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club in PE on 25 March 2010.
The unveiling of the technologically advanced uKwabelana and its Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is being hailed as "one of the most significant events in the history of marine research in Africa".
Research observation can now be taken remotely to depths of up to 300m. The Department of Science and Technology's funded vessel is therefore expected to make a significant contribution to national and international marine research.
Successful IDC in Sodwana Bay
We would like to congratulate the candidates who successfully completed their PADI Instructor course and examination in Sodwana Bay this February. Hosting centre Sodwana Bay Lodge Scuba Centre, in conjunction with Amanzi Instructor Development, are very proud of the hard work they all put in during the 12-day process, and feel confident that they will go forward and produce competent and passionate new divers.
EVENTS 2010
SCUBA ADVENTURE SERIES (25 - 29 August 2010)
Parque de Malongane will be hosting the Scuba Adventure Series in August this year. The Adventure Series is made up of two contests: the Photo Shootout and the Dive Challenge. All ages and levels of experience are welcome!
For more info, refer to page 19 in this edition, or visit the website www.parquedemalongane.com
SCUBAPRO/FIREFISH DINNER OF HOPE (31 August 2010)
It's time to smarten up and have a ball while helping Scubapro and Firefish make a valuable contribution to those in need. This year's event will be held on 31 August 2010 at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways. Help make a difference and make sure you don't miss out on the fun!
THE DAN PDE PROGRAMME
Join the DAN team at Miracle Waters (18 September 2010) and Bass Lake (23 October 2010) to participate in the Project Dive Exploration (PDE) Programme. Your participation will further our knowledge of diving accidents and help us better understand problems divers face every day. Participants will receive DAN memorabilia for their support.
Simply join us at the different events on the day, or contact the DAN medic in advance to book your spot. Contact Dawn Carver on 0860 242 242 or reseach@dansa.org
Emoyeni Dive Lodge
After operating a dive charter and shop (Twobar Scuba) for more that ten years, Rika and Kobus decided to set up their own dive accommodation in Sodwana Bay. Emoyeni was opened in 2009 and caters mainly for divers. They operate a dive charter from the premises, and divers from all recognised scuba agencies are welcome!
Honey Coastline launches adventure centre
Honey Coastline recently opened their retail, training, travel and adventure club in Hutten Heights, Newcastle. Meg MacDonald, owner, has been in the industry for a number of years, and has now expanded her business in the northern Natal region. The official opening took place at the centre on Friday 9 April 2010.
Created on 07/15/2007 09:06 PM by bastijnb
Updated on 08/17/2010 03:31 PM by Tania
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