GirlDiver: Girls On Speed—Scooter Dive British Columbia Thetis Island 330m Deep GLOBAL EDITION Pascal October 2008 Number 26 Bernabé India Bangaram Island Portfolio Stéphane Braud DOMINICA • ST LUCIA • ST VINCENT Night Photography Caribbean Islands Kurt Amsler 1 X-RAY MAG : 26 : 2008 COVER PHOTO BY KURT AMSLER 2 X-RAY MAG : 26 : 2008 DIRECTORY X-RAY MAG is published by AquaScope Media ApS Join Kurt Amsler’s efforts to save Indonesia’s endangered sea turtles Frederiksberg, Denmark Sign the petition & donate to the cause at: www.sos-seaturtles.ch www.xray-mag.com PUBLISHER SENIOR EDITOR Diver inspects reef coral and sponges, Dominica, Caribbean. Photo by Steve Jones & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Symes Peter Symes [email protected] [email protected] SECTION EDITORS contents PUBLISHER / EDITOR Andrey Bizyukin, PhD - Features & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Arnold Weisz - News, Features Gunild Symes Catherine Lim - News, Books [email protected] Simon Kong - News, Books Mathias Carvalho - Wrecks ASSOCIATE EDITORS Cindy Ross - GirlDiver & REPRESENTATIVES: Cedric Verdier - Tech Talk Americas: Scott Bennett - Photography Arnold Weisz Scott Bennett - Travel [email protected] Fiona Ayerst - Sharks Michael Arvedlund, PhD Russia Editors & Reps: - Ecology Andrey Bizyukin PhD, Moscow [email protected] CORRESPONDENTS Robert Aston - CA, USA Svetlana Murashkina PhD, Moscow Enrico Cappeletti - Italy [email protected] John Collins - Ireland Marcelo Mammana - Argentina South East Asia Editor & Rep: Nonoy Tan - The Philippines Catherine GS Lim, Singapore [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Kurt Amsler ASSISTANT EDITORS Fiona Ayerst & REPRESENTATIVES: Bill Battan Malaysia Editor & Rep: Scott Bennett Simon Kong, Kuala Lumpur Pascal Berbabé [email protected] Andrey Bizyukin, PhD Stéphane Braud Canada/PNW Editor & Rep: Aurelie Brun Barb Roy, Vancouver Francois Brun [email protected] Mathias Carvalho Ralph Hagen GirlDiver Editor & PNW Rep: Laura James Cindy Ross, Tacoma, USA Steve Jones [email protected] Millis Keegan Simon Kong ADVERTISING Andy Lamb International sales rep: Catherine GS Lim Arnold Weisz Michel Ribera 27 47 56 61 79 plus... [email protected] Cindy Ross CARIBBEAN ISLANDS : BANGARAM ISLAND CONSERVATION : THETIS ISLAND DE C ONSTRU C TING A 300M EDITORIAL 4 Barb Roy DOMINICA, ST LU C IA , INDIA PAY & PLAY BRITISH COLUMBA WORLD RE C ORD DIVE NEWS 6 Asia-Pacific rep: Charles Stirling & ST VIN C ENT BY CHARLES STIRLING BY ARNOLD WEISZ BY BARB ROY BY PAS C AL BERNABÉ Simon Kong (Malaysia) Gunild Symes WRECK RAP 18 [email protected] Michael Symes BY STEVE JONES EQUIPMENT 4 4 Peter Symes French speaking territories: Cedric Verdier TURTLE TALES 71 Mathias Carvalho Arnold Weisz BOOKS & MEDIA 59 [email protected] BUSINESS DIRECTORY 90 MARKETING MANAGER: Not yet subscribed to Canada Yann Saint-Yves Wendy Jankovic [email protected] columns... X-RAY MAG? Sign up now! [email protected] Further information: contacts It’s FREE! QUICK! EASY! page at www. xray-mag.com 41 74 84 91 click here... GIRL DIVER : SHAR K TALES : UW PHOTO & VIDEO : PORTFOLIO : SUBSCRIPTION GIRLS ON SP EED BITS & BITES NIGHT PHOTOGRA P HY STÉ P HANE BRAUD X-RAY MAG International Edition in English is FREE —SC OOTER DIVE EDITED BY PETER SYMES BY KURT AMSLER EDITED BY GUNILD SYMES To subscribe, go to: www.xray-mag.com BY CINDY ROSS COVER PHOTO: Manta Ray, recently photographed in Komodo by Kurt Amsler who said it was the most beautiful manta he had ever seen, Photosub.com (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4) 3 X-RAY MAG : 26 : 2008 Amsterdam Barcelona Cape Town Copenhagen Kuala Lumpur London Moscow Orlando Oslo Paris Ravenna Sao Paulo Singapore Vancouver Warsaw Editorial When is ‘safe’ safe? So, this is the level diver certica- groups to make another dollar down that it now virtually lies flat tions has sunk to: An aquarium is doing this great sport a huge on the ground is taking the proc- diver c-card. What’s next? disfavour. ess of debunking old diving myths Jacuzzi skindiver? C’mon... Don’t get me wrong... I do not too far. long for the days when even the The great irony is—considering I appreciate that recreational entry level diver certification was that this is all about marketing— diving should not be made any like going through military boot- that over the years, these efforts more complicated or inacces- camp, and the instructor was just have also made diving look so sible than a reasonable level of out to get you to see if you could ordinary and non-challenging, safety dictates. It is not rocket stand up to the pressure. When that diving ultimately became science, but a recreational pas- I took my advanced course un-cool and boringly old-folksy. time. (CMAS*** actually) 20 years ago, We all know that we can break Yet, it is not completely without I had to perform a complete a leg going skiing, and we have risk, as the current trends in dive equipment swap in near-freezing to stay alert in traffic, if we take marketing seem to our car for a spin. We ignore. accept this and take These latest c-card our precautions. So, in level, and some of our daily lives, we are no the statements made strangers to managing risk in the Be A Diver and acting within limits campaign, cause me of safety according to great concern. Pro- what (hopefully) we were claiming that diving is taught. as safe as bowling is So, why do we go like comparing ap- about diving in a differ- ples to oranges. Or ent way? Diving is indeed have I missed some- a quite safe recreational thing—can bowling activity—and, to a large also lead serious injury degree, we can thank the and even death? steady improvements in Stating that one does Get your organic Diving Granny T-Shirt or calendar diver training for that—but not have to be fit in by Ralph Hagen at The X-RAY MAG Store where a per- if we fail to instill a proper order to dive and cent of all sales goes to ocean conservation! Find more appreciation and recog- directing unfit divers great gifts at: www.cafepress.com/xraymag nition of the inherent risk to consult with their elements in new divers by local dive instructors and retailers waters on a silty bottom of an luring them through marketing is reckless. Excuse me, but what industrial harbour with three-inch that is borderline misleading, they kind of medical qualifications do viz. It was extremely uncomfort- could be lulled into a false sense these good hard-working people able, very challenging and, in of security, ultimately putting possess? hindsight, quite dangerous. That them at real risk. Glazing over the sometimes was way over the top, and I am Diving is accessible for most inconvenient truth that accidents only glad that the bar has been people, but not everyone should do happen and sweeping it in lowered significantly, and that far dive. ■ under the marketing rug for the more people can enjoy diving. — Peter Symes sake of raking in the last marginal But lowering that bar so far Editor-in-Chief 4 X-RAY MAG : 26 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Because you can’t stay underwater forever... Join the World’s Largest Online Diving Community and you will never be without a buddy again. Imagine a resource that will answer in the World’s Largest Online Scuba almost every question you ever had Community and find the answers you about diving: photography, gear, phys- are looking for. It’s free, it’s huge, it’s ics, flora, fauna, destinations, wrecks, ultra friendly, and we are waiting for technical diving, and then imagine you to show up! ScubaBoard.com is the this resource is but a click away. What ultimate place to begin your research would you call it? Well, we call it and to find a host of dive buddies all ScubaBoard.com around the world with a common goal: Join over 100,000 users, including 1200 to share our underwater heaven in a Scuba Instructors, hundreds of manu- safe and friendly atmosphere! See you facturers and so many dive experts on the ‘Board tonight! X-RAY MAG X-RAY MAG is distributed Unsolicited manuscripts, is a founding seven times per year on photographs and illustra- member of the the Internet. © 2004-2008 tions should be emailed Underwater X-RAY MAG. All rights to: Network reserved. [email protected] Underwater Material in this pub- X-RAY MAG accepts no Network.com lication may not be responsibility for unsolic- Editorial statement regarding reproduced, modified or ited materials sent to its News from NAUI in X-RAY transferred electronically office, nor is it liable for MAG: This issue of X-RAY MAG in any form without writ- loss or damage to such and others include news and ten permission from the materials. press releases from NAUI in X-RAY copyright owner. sections designated by the MAG is a X-RAY MAG observes a NAUI logo. While the page design is done by X-RAY MAG member Views and information strict privacy policy. No of Diving as an integrated part of the expressed in articles are personal or private infor- magazine, these news stories Equipment those of the individual mation will be shared & Marketing are brought to you by NAUI at author and are not nec- with a third party without Association: NAUI’s discretion. essarily representative the written permission of Dema.org of views held by X-RAY the owner. MAG or its affiliates. 5 X-RAY MAG : 26 : 2008 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED NEWS News edited by Peter Symes & Arnold Weisz Red fluorescence in Reef fish A novel signalling mechanism? At depths below 10m, reefs It has been reported recently, in BMC been supplemented by observations and spectrometry in one fluorescent goby, Many of these species show quite cryptic are dominated by blue-green Ecology 2008, 8:16, however, that at least measurements on fish in the laboratory.