Malaysia Special :: X-RAY Magazine :: Issue 3
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Sipadan Sarawak Sepilok Focus on Malaysia White Sea Russia Ice-Diving GLOBAL EDITION IAHD Jan :: Feb 2005 Diving Disabled Number 3 Ecology Fish Fashion Equipment King Poseidon PARENTAL WARNING: Essick’s fine art Portfolio photography contains some nudity Todd Essick New Column by Leigh Cunningham 1 X-RAY MAG : 3 : 2005 DIRECTORY X-RAY MAG is published by Blue Horizons Expedition & Dive Club Copenhagen, Denmark www.bluehorizons.dk www.xray-mag.com PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Peter Symes [email protected] contents MANAGING EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR Gunild Pak Symes [email protected] TECHNICAL MANAGER Søren Reinke [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Michael Arvedlund Thomas Knutson Bill Becher Edwin Marcow Andrey Bizyukin Gary Myors Leigh Cunningham Amos Nachoum John Collins Garold Sneegas Arne Eriksen Erling Svenson Kai Garseg Nonoy Tan Karen Gowlette Holmes Tony White X-RAY MAG is distributed six times per year on the Internet by Aquascope and Blue Horizons Expedition & Dive Club. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be repro- duced or transferred electronically in any form without written permission. Views and information expressed in articles are those of the individual author and are not necessarily representative of views held by X-RAY MAG or its affiliates. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and illustrations should PHOTO: PETER SYMES be e-mailed to [email protected]. Blue Horizons and X-RAY MAG accept no responsibility for unsolicited material sent to its office, nor is it liable for loss or damage to such materials. 20 43 61 66 72 plus... SUBSCRIPTION MALAYSIAN DIVE NEMO’S NOSE EQUIPMENT: SCIENCE: ICE DIVING EDITORIAL 3 X-RAY MAG International Edition in English is FREE. EXTRAVAGANZA by Peter Symes POSEIDON ROCKS FISH FASHION IN RUSSIA TSUNAMI & NEWS 5 To subscribe, go to: www.xray-mag.com by Peter Symes Ever wonder how by Andrey Bizukin by Michael Symes by Gunild Pak Symes EQUIPMENT 46 those fiercely ter- BOOKS,CDs,DVDs 50 NEWS ASSOCIATE Due to heavy tourist Dive manufactur- Is neon yellow the Get on your snow- traffic and destructive ritorial little clown ing giant, Poseidon, new black for high mobile and drive to PROFILE: IAHD 53 fishing practices by fishes can weave in gets a once over by brow fishes of the your dive site, chip a Fraser Bathgate locals, Malaysia has and out of the sting- Equipment editor, coral reefs? Science hole in the ice and COLUMN: Weight 56 had to close further ing tentacles of the Andrey Bizukin, who editor, Michael jump in! That´s ice- Leigh Cunningham anemones they call WRECK RAP 58 COVER PHOTO development in some visited the plant and Symes, discusses the diving at the White Strong current at Barracuda Point, areas. So, what can home? Learn how inspected the bold physics behind fish Sea where a new CONSERVATION: 60 Sipadan Island, Malaysia we still visit? Lots of Nemo lives symbi- and the beautiful in color and its impor- dive center, Nereis, Sharks Tales Photo by Peter Symes great sites in Sarawak, otically with the poi- dive technology. tance to the survival treats you to a cool WRECK DETECTIVES 64 Sipadan and Sepilock. sonous Medusa. of many fish species. adventure. PORTFOLIO: 80 Todd Essick 2 X-RAY MAG : 3 : 2005 editorial Revisit them asap On the date of publication of this before us on our TV screens world streets were cleared and merchants issue, more than a month has passed wide, the media did indeed give completed the rebuilding of their since the tsunami hit Asia. Yet, the us an impression that much of the shops. It was truly fast work. numbers of human lives lost are still hardest hit coastlines around the Many in our industry have stressed climbing, and the daily increments Indian Ocean had experienced total the need to push on with trading with in the official body count just never destruction. However, the truth of the the businesses in the affected areas, seem to end. Numerous editorials matter is that in many areas such as and encouraging tourists and divers to have already been written about Thailand, with which we as divers are return as soon as possible. The locals the tragedy, and the blanket cover- much more familiar than the other say that recovering tourism is the best age given by the media has been hard hit regions of Indonesia and Sri medicine, not only for their own busi- comprehensive 24/7. There doesn’t Lanka, the majority of infrastructure nesses, but for the local population as seem to be much more to say, but and business activities remain intact... well. They all depend on tourism for the magnitude of this colossal disaster not to mention the dive areas are still their livelihoods. still fills our minds and souls with trepi- very dive-able. But with tourism down to barely a dation, making the significance of all Contrary to what trickle, many operators in other subjects pale in comparison. most media state, Give a man a fish the area are not doing Henceforth, this editorial is also about surveyors in Thailand well. So, we ask: Divers, the tsunami, and it also embraces a and other areas are and he will eat for a please go back there plea for help on behalf of the many discovering that most day. Teach a man to asap, and postpone buy- victims and survivors of the disaster. reefs beyond a kilom- fish and he will eat ing that new stereo for Help is not just the act of giving to eter from shorelines another year. You don’t charities. It is also about helping sur- experienced very little for a lifetime. really need it, do you? vivors regain their livelihoods, helping destruction. Most of But someone on the them get their businesses back. In the these dive sites are in Old Proverb (Confucius) other side of the world immediate aftermath of the catastro- good condition. And really needs your busi- phe, most travel agencies cancelled in some cases, there ness just to survive. At this packages to Asia, flights were cut, are actually improvements in clarity of point, tourism is the best aid you can and for a while, tourist interest fell the water and there are more fish! give. sharply. While this may be a natural Just a few days after the great Thailand has a very big tourism response to the tragedy, we must not waves hit the popular beaches industry. It’s economic health depends stay away too long. around Phuket, the resort areas were on this very important sector. To avoid As the events unfolded and flashed cleaned of debris, hotels reopened, diving in Thailand based on incorrect 3 X-RAY MAG : 3 : 2005 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & NEWS ECOLOGY PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED �������������������������� ����������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���� ���� ����������� ����� �������� �������� ���� ����� ���������� ��� ���� ����� �������� ������������� ���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������� ������������� information from the media is a big said, “We had 17, 000 tourists in hoods from the dive industry as well mistake. The best thing you can the country when this happened, as financial aid and equipment for do to help the tsunami victims is to but today those numbers have expatriate dive instructors and dive come, enjoy a vacation and spend dropped by half. Our message to centres who lost everything in the your money. the tourists is, that it is time for them disaster. Now, Dive Aid is joining with It is tragic that the tsunami took to contribute to the recovery of the the Disaster Emergency Committee so many lives, and the world grieves Maldives,” he said. “The best way to and Diving Leisure of London to run their loss, but there are also so many do this is to visit us again. Enjoy your- an unique fund-raising event — a 24 who survived, who are struggling to self and help us in the process.” hour dive-a-thon. See www.diveaid. rebuild their devastated lives, and Indeed, some divers are going org.uk �������������������� who need our help now. Without pro-active. Dive Aid was formed So, get involved, dive in Asia, help income from tourism, more lives and recently by a group of dive instruc- some people, get some sun and livelihoods in the affected areas are tors in the U.K. who met in Thailand have some fun in the process. at stake. and became friends. They have The Thai people are not the only organized this non-profit organiza- Gunild & Peter Symes ��������������������������� ones to ask tourists