Scuba & Spa on Tioman Ocean Arts: Inspired by the Sea Science of Sound Underwater Freediving with Tiger COVERSharks PHOTO BY ROGER HORROCKS Fontaine-de-Vaucluse GLOBAL EDITION Aug :: Sept 2007 Treasure Cave Number 18 Ecology Manta Rays USCG Diver The Right Stuff Tony White’s Great White Shark Adventure Underwater Sculpture SocorroMexico’s Islas Revillagigedo Jason Taylor 1 X-RAY MAG : 18 : 2007 silver www. seacam.com DIRECTORY X-RAY MAG is published by AquaScope Underwater Photography Ocean Arts: Copenhagen, Denmark - www.aquascope.biz www.xray-mag.com Inspired by the Sea... page 54 SEASILKS BY HELLEN GOLDBERG AVAILABLE AT WWW.SEASILKS.COM PUBLISHER CO- EDITORS (continued) & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Arnold Weisz - News, Features Peter Symes Underwater sculpture by Jason Taylor. Photo by Jason Taylor. See his portfolio on page 89 Willy Volk - News, Interviews [email protected] Millis Keegan - Opinions, MANAGING EDITOR Brian Keegan - Equipment contents & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Michael Arvedlund - Ecology Gunild Pak Symes Jason Heller - Photography [email protected] Dan Beecham - Videography ASSOCIATE EDITORS Michel Tagliati - Medicine & REPRESENTATIVES: Leigh Cunningham - Tech USA: Millis Keegan Edwin Marcow - Sharks [email protected] Russia: Andrey Bizyukin CORRESPONDENTS [email protected] John Collins - Ireland Jordi Chias - Spain South East Asia Rep & editor: Enrico Cappeletti - Italy Catherine GS Lim, Singapore Tomas Knutsson - Iceland [email protected] Marcelo Mammana - Argentina Svetlana Murashkina - Russia ADVERTISING Amos Nachoum - USA International sales rep: Barb Roy - WA, USA Kevin Brennan (US/Can & UK) Robert Aston - CA, USA [email protected] Nonoy Tan - The Philippines International sales rep: Geoff Mellard (Europe) CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE [email protected] Anna Grethe Aaen Kurt Amsler International sales rep: Robert Aston Harvey Page (Red Sea & Africa) [email protected] Scott Bennett Andrey Bizyukin, PhD International sales rep: Linda Bolhuis Arnold Weisz (Business Directory) Nyxolyno Cangemi [email protected] David F. Colvard, MD Helen Goldberg Anita Hochman SENIOR EDITOR Millis Keegan Michael Symes Wolfgang Leander [email protected] Catherine GS Lim 28 40 44 55 60 plus... HE OCORRO SLANDS REAT HITE HARK COLOGY HE IGHT TUFF CIENCE Edwin Marcow “T S I ” G W S E : T R S S : EDITORIAL 3 ONLINE EDITOR Barb Roy REVILLAGEGIDOS ARCA. ADVENTURE MANTA RAYS US COAST GUARD DIVER SOUND UNDERWATER NEWS 6 Willy Volk Gunild Symes BY BARB ROY BY TONY WHITE BY ROBERT ASTON BY NYXOLYNO CANGEMI BY MICHAEL SYMES [email protected] M.I.D.E. 12 Michael Symes Peter Symes TIOMAN MEGADIVE 13 TECHNICAL MANAGER Jason Taylor EQUIPMENT 51 Søren Reinke Donald Tipton [email protected] 64 67 71 88 WHALES&DOLPHINS 53 Cedric Verdier FREEDIVING OCEAN ARTS: FONTAINE-DE-VAUCLUS UNDERWATER SCULPTURE Tony White BUSINESS DIRECTORY 86 MARKETING MANAGER: WITH TIGER SHARKS INSPIRED BY THE SEA TREASURE CAVE OF JASON TAYLOR BY OLFGANG EANDER BY UNILD YMES BY NDREY IZYUKIN H BY UNILD YMES Yann Saint-Yves Further info see contacts page: W L G S A B , P D G S [email protected] www.xray-mag.com Not yet subscribed to SUBSCRIPTION columns... X-RAY MAG? Sign up now! X-RAY MAG International Edition in English is FREE It’s FREE! QUICK! EASY! To subscribe, go to: www.xray-mag.com 16 63 69 76 80 SCUBA & SPA: DIVE PSYCH SHARK TALES: TECH TALK: SOLO UNDERWATER click here... COVER PHOTO Tiger Sharks and Diver, by Wolfgang Leander AYURA SPA ON TIOMAN NITROGEN NARCOSIS BITS & BITES REBREATHER DIVER PHOTO & VIDEO: (CONTINUED ON PAGE 4) BY GUNILD SYMES BY DAVID COLVARD, MD EDITTED BY EDWIN MARCOW BY CEDRIC VERDIER BY KURT AMSLER 3 X-RAY MAG : 18 : 2007 Amsterdam Barcelona Cape Town Chicago Copenhagen London Moscow Okinawa Oslo Paris Ravenna Reykjavik San Francisco Sharm El Shiekh Warsaw Id’n it Cute? The elusive Giant Panda Driving the Shark message home will- Because you can’t stay underwater forever... ingly In this issue, we have a lot of stories about sharks and knowingly Join the World’s largest Online Diving Community and rays—magnificient creatures that we are only facilitating the eradi- gradually getting to know and be somewhat comfort- cation of sharks. and you will never be without a buddy again. able with in the waters. Who would have thought—only a But Westerners, like ourselves, however few years back—that you could dive in the open with big much we like to claim the higher moral Imagine a resource that will answer are looking for. It’s free, it’s huge, it’s sharks like the tiger and the great white and not immedi- ground and point our fingers at what almost every question you ever had ultra friendly and we are waiting for ately become lunch. I can’t help feeling awed, intrigued we consider a barbaric and totally unnecessary about diving: photography, gear, you to show up! ScubaBoard.com and yet wary. Mind you, these are huge apex predators—it culinary custom amongst the Asians, should climb down physics, flora, fauna, destinations, is the ultimate place to begin your takes only one grumpy or psychotic specimen to bite you off the high horse and take a good long look at ourselves, wrecks, technical diving, and then research and to find a host of dive in half on a bad Tuesday morning. Some dogs we keep as too. How are we indirectly contributing to the problem and imagine this resource is but a click buddies all around the world with a pets bite, too, y’know, and sharks, well, these are wild ani- what can we do about it? away. What would you call it? Well, common goal: to share our under mals. So, my thoughts on the subject are: Don’t try this at Yahoo.com owns a substantial stake—40 percent we call it www.ScubaBoard.com water heaven in a safe and friendly home, kids. according to some sources—of Alibaba.com. While that atmosphere! See you on the ‘Board With the growing awareness and close encounters with is not a controlling share, it is still influential. Yahoo.com Join over 75,000 users, including 1200 tonight! the big sharks and rays, we also have to face the uncom- has not returned calls from our fellow campaigners either. Scuba Instructors, hundreds of manu- fortable truth that these animals are being slaughtered to Then, there is Discovery Channel, which just ran another facturers and so many dive experts extinction as we, who love marine wildlife, can only watch round of its Shark Week series. Here, at X-RAY MAG, we in the World’s largest Online Scuba somewhat helplessly while it unfolds before us. The opera- have been told that the contributed documentaries in Community and find the answers you tive word here is watch... and helplessly, at that—or are this series have been edited—some would say sanitised— we? removing any references to the shark finning issue and The main culprit for the sharks’ plight and the core issue the peril the species are now placed due to it. So much is, of course, the seemingly insatiable appetite among for “documentaries”! Why go the extra lengths to hide the X-RAY MAG is distributed six Views and information X-RAY MAG accepts no responsi- some Asian nations, predominantly China, for shark fin facts, I would like to know. Why don’t the corporations times per year on the Internet. expressed in articles are those bility for unsolicited materials sent products. Our fellow shark fin campaigners have constantly seem to care? What if there was the panda who had its © 2004-2006 X-RAY MAG. All of the individual author and to its office, nor is it liable for loss or implored the management behind trading paws cut off, dried and sold by thousands on their portals? rights reserved. are not necessarily repre- damage to such materials. companies like Alibaba.com to stop the Talk about bad press! Material in this publication sentative of views held by shark fin trade On the following page, you will find an example of what may not be reproduced or X-RAY MAG or its affiliates. X-RAY MAG observes a strict taking you can do to help. It is an open letter written to the presi- transferred electronically in Unsolicited manuscripts, privacy policy. No personal or place dent of Equador by a fellow concerned diver and dive any form without written per- photographs and illustrations private information will be shared on their professional, Dominick Macan of Dive Advice. In it, is an mission from the copyright should be emailed to: with a third party without the writ- portal appeal to the government of Equador to renew a ban owner. [email protected] ten permission of the owner. since they have recently lifted on shark fishing in Galapagos they in order to halt the new boom in shark finning that has Editorial state- are found new grounds in this region due to the rich resource ment regarding of sharks in this once protected area. (See X-RAY MAG News from Galapagos / Equador issue no. 13). NAUI in X-RAY Add your voice to the plea and let government lead- MAG: ers around the world know where you stand on the issue. This issue of X-RAY MAG and others includes news Sheer numbers of voices joined on an issue puts pressure and press releases from NAUI in sections designated on politicians to change policy and renew protec- by the NAUI logo. While the page design is done by tions. No one wants a bad rap... let’s not let it be X-Ray Magazine is a member of X-RAY MAG as an integrated part of the magazine, the sharks who lose.