I have taken on the 8K swim challenge this October to support Great Ormond Street Hospital. The challenge invites people to get sponsored to swim their way through the month with purpose and to raise valuable funds to support an incredible hospital who achieves incredible things.

The passion to support this cause came after various friends had accessed the hospital with their sick children. It is hard not to want to show support for a place that has shown such compassion and love to people you care about. It is even harder to not pursue endeavors that raise funds for them to continue the innovative work that they do.

This hospital opened the first Leukaemia research unit in the 1960’s. It has had constant breakthroughs in gene therapy and was pivotal in taking part in the management of Covid. It is a magical place and well established for its history and high quality paediatric care, neurosurgery and transplant centre amongst a list of other things.

The challenge is all about swimming, nothing too strenuous and all at your own pace throughout the month. The money raised supports patient families with expenses, funding meals for breastfeeding Mothers and funds accomodation for parents to stay overnight and to be near their unwell children as well as various other support programmes. 

I chose to take on the challenge because I swim all the time anyway and decided that it was right to start swimming with more purpose. It feels good to be helping other people by doing something I love and it motivates me to do more, to be more active and engaged in causes that need help.

Every penny is vital and none of us know when a hospital like this, its specialists, its nurses and its guidance might be all we have to save someone we love.

Swim with purpose. Swim 8K in October.

Type 1 Diabetics face enormous challenges with daily life and routines as well as managing ever changing glucose levels which affect mood, wellbeing and ability.

I have met many diabetics over the years who have been nervous about diving, worried about under water hypos, physical challenges that scuba demand and rightly so concerns about general wellbeing under water.

Scuba is really a sport that anyone can access. It has and can be tailored to support the needs and requirements of its participants. The guys at Oyster Divers were keen to support Sam Stimpson through his Open Water PADI course to certify him and to prove that Diabetics can dive too.

https://oysterdiving.com

This dive school and travel centre supported planning pool and theory sessions and open water training to guide Sam onto his journey to dive safely. Offering tons of advice and guidance along the way, the centre made the process painless. 

Barriers arrived when the PADI medical form needed to be signed by a Doctor after a yes was marked down for a condition that may affect him on his course. The process of contacting Doctors was extremely difficult with medical professionals passing Sam around from GP to specialist and back to Diabetic clinics. A really challenging journey to go on to get a signature to be deemed medically fit to dive.

‘Previously I got signed off by my GP to do my Discover Scuba Dive with PADI. This time the policies had changed and my GP refused to sign. I was not referred to another person to complete the form. I had to go to my diabetic care team to ask for a favour as they didn’t have a procedure in place for this kind of request at this time, or one that was clear to me as a diabetic who manages his diabetes.’ Sam Stimpson

https://www.padi.com/sites/default/files/documents/padi-courses/2.1.5%20rstc%20medstate%20v201.pdf

The obvious response here is that of course not all people manage their Diabetes correctly or can have the condition and find it overwhelming and tricky to manage and at times or regularly out of their control. For this reason the importance of having the medical signed off by a specialist was not only crucial but understandable. It was a shame that it was so hard to find a person to sign it but the understanding of why it needed to be done made total sense.

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/diving.73783/

https://www.ddrc.org/diving/can-i-dive/can-i-dive-diabetes/

Armed with a signed form the planning was underway with knowledge reviews to complete and E Learning to be studied. It was an exciting start after a long wait and Sam was eager to get going.

Sam was no stranger to the World of diving and had completed a Discover Scuba Dive some years before, the perfect entry level experience to taste the sport. He was also the son of a diver and had memories of wetsuits hanging in gardens post dive, equipment laying around the house and some very beautiful and well illustrated dive logs in his possession. It was envitable and important for Sam to get certified to connect with that part of his past and to break down the assumption that having a medical condition prevents you from doing the things you want.

https://www.thescubanews.com/2022/05/07/introducing-dive-force-marine-in-london/

The idea that an illness can stop you from learning to dive is a myth that most dive operators try to banish. Almost all dive professionals that I have met throughout my dive career have promoted scuba to everyone, an inclusive sport to explore a World that we should all have the right to adventure in.

The day arrived to start pool work and the location was in a beautiful school in Windsor. St Johns Beaumont is a stunning site with incredible grounds. The Oyster team were there and set up on our arrival. Tanks, kit, paperwork and staff prepared for the courses on the day. Sam’s Instructor Tom was welcoming, polite and funny and after meeting him several years before I was glad to get the pleasure of his company again. 

‘Tom was a great instructor. I felt relaxed in his company, supported with his teaching methods and offered room to practice and refine my skills. He was a really charismatic guy with a good sense of humour and his personality made me enjoy the day far more than I had expected. Our small group had a array of skills and ages and Tom brought us together to work as buddy teams and a group of new divers all with different questions and anxieties.’ Sam Stimpson.

Sam was lead through each confined dive with support and guidance and was no different to an other learner. His diabetes didn’t affect his ability to master or deliver skills and he was at no point unwell under water. As an individual who manages his condition well his response to this was…

‘I deliberately didn’t eat carbohydrates or sugars pre dive. I lowered my basel insulin by 10% a couple of days prior to my course at the advice of my diabetic team at St Barts in London. They walked me through the potential dangers and stresses of diving related problems for Diabetics. They sent me videos, spoke to me on the phone and kept in touch via email to answer my questions.’ Sam Stimpson.

The session lasted all afternoon and by the end Sam was signed off as a referral to go and complete his course in his chosen destination of Malta, all organised by the travel team at Oyster. The battle of best dates to go, time of year and budget was carefully managed by Samantha Davey, Travel Consultant at Oyster Diving Holidays. An incredibly patient and thorough woman. 

The course and this article was also heavily supported by Mark Murphy, Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Owner of Oyster who was receptive to us writing about Diabetic Type 1’s and scuba. A big thank you to him for his help.

Last year I dipped everyday in October to raise money and awareness for sewage in our seas. The campaign that was sparked by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) and was completed by hundreds of thousands of people with a shared goal to make a splash about a really important cause is back on.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/southsea-campaigner-who-completed-dip-a-day-challenge-in-aid-of-surfers-against-sewage-wants-to-feel-safe-in-the-water-3915984

The challenge being to take to the sea, a pool, a puddle, a cold bath, a lake, any watery space to dip in what will almost defiantly be cold water  to stand up for the right to clean water and less s*** in our oceans.

https://www.sas.org.uk/take-action/fundraise-with-us/dip-a-day/

A fantastic resource that SAS offer is a map to show up to date water quality results for people to decide if they swim or not. This kind of map should not have to exist in the first place but it allows people to try to swim more safely and to monitor their local coast and its wellbeing.

https://www.sas.org.uk/water-quality/sewage-pollution-alerts/

The alerts on many occasions have left swimmers, surfers, paddle boarders etc angry about the risks that seem to be heightening when thinking about accessing water for sport and recreation. Enough is enough. This campaign allows the people to be heard and for us to stand together as one about a cause that affects us all.

If you can, get involved with the challenge in October. If the challenge seems too big then tailor it to meet your ability and time allowances and just take part in any capacity you can. More people contributing makes more noise and that’s what we need.

‘The benefits of wild blue spaces to our health and wellbeing are irrefutable. And immersing yourself in cold water can calm the chaos, raise your dopamine and give you that zingy post-dip feeling. The Ocean helps us thrive. But it needs your help to thrive too. So, let’s Dip A Day in October to boost our wellbeing and raise funds to support our ocean-saving campaigns.’ SAS

Together we will change things. Join me and Surfers Against Sewage this October.

I love a swim challenge and I love a good cause even more. The thought of combining the two made it totally easy to sign up for the ‘Swim 5K in September’ challenge.

https://www.sands.org.uk/get-involved/swim-5k-september

Sands supports anyone who has been affected by the death of a baby, before, during or shortly after birth. The charity is all about bereavement support. They offer a national helpline, a support app to enable families to connect and help each other. They also offer information on bereavement support resources, where and how to get help in those moments when you need it most.

The charity offer all sorts of fundraising tasks that you can get involved in but the wet and watery option was of course my first choice. Swimming 5K in any environment, be it the sea, a pool, your bath tub or a wild swimming lake was the aim. Donning the Sands swimming hat and T shirt to show off the cause during those sessions was all about raising awareness and standing up for a charity that you believe do good.

Many people close to me have accessed this service and really gained peace from its support. Loosing a baby can be a lonely and tough to get through tunnel and sometimes seem to have no light at the end. This charity is not about making it all better but it is about helping people get through a tough time.

I chose to swim in various environments and was heavily supported by some local pools and outdoor swimming facilities to complete my challenge. A big thanks to The Laura Trott Centre and to Lee Valley Watersports for allowing me to use there pools and lakes to complete my swims. Their free pool access meant that I could donate the extra pennies to this cause and to be able to speak to more new people about what I was doing and why.

https://bebroxbourne.co.uk/centres/laura-trott/

https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/white-water-centre

It is easy to take your passion and turn something you love doing regularly into a way to raise money for people who can really benefit from it. I love to swim and be in the water and so this opportunity allowed me to do that with purpose. It should be me thanking Sands for the chance to swim with motivation and to feel like I completed a task that mattered.

A big congratulations and thank you to everyone else to took on the challenge and to those who organised it.

Swim for change. Swim for health. Swim to support a cause. Swim because you love too.

Water has always been regarded as having tremendous healing powers and the potential to cure ailments and injuries. Hot springs, mineral water, salt baths and many more forms of in water therapy have been highly recommended to support health and well being for centuries.

For those of us who seek in water sports these benefits are something we highly regard. The ability to immerse yourself in water on scuba, a surf board, paddle board, boat or just for a swim is enormoumously beneficial for us psychologically and physiologically. 

Free divers often speak about meditation when diving and reaching intense states of calmness to be able to achieve the depths and breath holds that they master though extreme relaxation. 

Gyms and fitness spas are attended daily by people using steam rooms and saunas as well as plunge baths and Jacuzzis. The surge of popularity around ice baths has really spiked over the past year and so has people dipping daily in low temperature waters to reduce inflammation post injuries, to boost mood and to support better sleep.

I visited the Thermal Bath Spa to find out more about the techniques used to support wellbeing. This is a truly unique location with hundreds of visitors daily seeking wellness.

‘The water fell as rain around 10,000 years ago and then sank to a depth of about 2km below the earth’s surface. Here it is heated by high temperature rocks to an estimated 69 ºC (156˚ Fahrenheit) before rising back up through one of the three springs in the centre of the City, namely the Cross Spring, the Hetling Spring or the King’s Spring which supplies the Roman Baths. Once they reach the surface, the spring waters are on average 45 ºC (113 º Fahrenheit). The waters then cool down to the optimum bathing temperature of approximately 34 ºC (93 º Fahrenheit).

The Thermal Resource Project, an integral part of the original Bath Spa Project, carried out extensive drilling in and around Bath in an attempt to discover more about the actual source of Bath’s thermal waters.  In the past, guidebooks have indicated that the source may have lain in the Mendip Hills, 30 miles or so to the south of Bath. Whilst the source still remains a mystery, the most recent findings suggest that the rainwater probably enters the ground through areas of carboniferous limestone to the North, West and South of Bath. The water contains over 42 minerals and trace elements. The most concentrated minerals contained within Bath’s Hot Springs are as follows:

Mineral Expressed as Concentration (Hetling Spring)
Sulphate mg/l 1015
Calcium mg/l 358
Chloride mg/l 340
Sodium mg/l 195
Bicarbonate mg/l 193
Magnesium mg/l 57
Silica mg/l 21
Iron mg/l 0.5

The temperature and flow of the springs has been monitored for many years by the local authority and this data is used for monitoring the potential impact on the springs of any development within or outside the City of Bath. The flow and temperature of the Hot Springs are known to be relatively constant.

Between 1983 and 1985, the drilling of boreholes beneath the King’s and Cross Springs (68 and 32 metres deep respectively) ensured the supply of clean water. Thermae Bath Spa draws water from the three springs – the King’s Spring (from under Stall Street), the Cross Bath (with some water rising directly to the surface of the Cross Bath in order to honour the desires of the Spring Foundation to let an unadulterated source of the water rise from Mother Earth into the atmosphere) and the Hetling Spring (a new bore hole sunk in 1998 and 2011).

The water is tested weekly and has been consistently biologically hygienic. There is now an online computerised monitoring system so that flow and temperature information is available at any time.

Bath and its waters have a long association with well-being and the word SPA is related to the Latin phrase ‘Salus Per Aquam’ or ‘health through water’.

From the 1970s until the restoration of the Spa was completed in 2006, this natural resource went down the drain and ended up in the river Avon. Today, the natural thermal waters feed all four baths at Thermae Bath Spa, the Cross Bath, the Hot Bath, the Minerva Bath and the open-air rooftop pool.’ Bath Spa

https://www.thermaebathspa.com/spa-sessions-new-royal-bath/

The Spa is a member of the Green Tourism Scheme which is the largest sustainable national grading programme in the World. It demonstrates a commitment to people, places and our planet.

https://www.green-tourism.com/pages/home

It was a pleasure to visit the team here and we can’t wait to go back!

Litter picks are a super easy way to care for your local community and environment and allow everyone to get involved and engaged with protecting and preserving their homes.

Litter picks don’t have to be huge events and you don’t have to attend organised events although these can often be a fun way to meet like minded people and provide a cool social occasion to catch up with pals.

The whole point is to show your support and to demonstrate a low tolerance to litter. To make a stand, an obvious one at that, that you want to keep spaces clean. A demonstration that you care about rubbish in your area and that you don’t support it. A way to help take care of your local wildlife and the spaces that are part of your everyday life. By doing the right thing yourself, you also show others how to do the right thing.

None of us like rubbish and it can be hard to keep on top of it in busy areas especially over the summer holidays when beaches are packed and few bins are about but the obvious thing to do is to take your litter home with you and dispose of it properly there where you have general waste and recycling bins.

Amelie Stubbs, 10, of Southsea in Portsmouth spent some of her school holiday litter picking the beaches of Seaview on the Isle of Wight and was motivated by helping to keep ocean environments healthy for the critters that she loves to find at the beach and in the rock pools she likes to explore. 

Amelie hopped over from Portsmouth to the island in less than an hour with the super supportive team at Wightlink Ferries armed with her Waterhaul litter picker. Her natural interest in wildlife and nature mean that she enjoys adventures at the beach picking up harmful items that threaten the sea life she is passionate about. She knows she is making a difference and it motivates her and inspires us.

Good work Amelie Stubbs and a big thank you from us for caring so much!

Learn More:

• https://www.sas.org.uk
• https://waterhaul.co
• https://www.wightlink.co.uk/

Aquariums are magical places for people to interact with marine life. They are spaces for children and adults to fall in love with all that our seas, rives and lakes have to offer and to see up close some very special and often rare creatures. 

The experience of wandering through a marine World is worth the ticket price that you pay. The exhibitions are magnificent and the immersive trail as you are guided around the venue allows you to dive with sharks, swim with turtles and hover above coral reefs. 

For many people this will be as close to the watery World as they might ever get and what a sight and experience to treasure.

As divers we are pulled and attracted to the best, most beautiful and abundant sites. We crave spotting rare fish or catching a glimpse of marine giants. It is exploration at its best and most prolific. We are drawn to the sea and what it beholds. I think that aquariums offer this taster to everyone. It offers the opportunity to learn about, to understand and to develop compassion for a struggling and endangered environment.

With an ever changing and threatened climate our oceans are at the forefront of a planet under pressure. It is vital that we recruit new protectors and guardians to preserve it. Aquariums allow people to understand what it is we are fighting for and really grasp the concept of why we absolutely cannot loose it.

Aquariums also offer calm and relaxing places to spend some time, lower anxieties and relieve stress. They are incredibly sensory and therapeutic. The perfect place for a school visit.

The London Aquarium couldn’t be better located. An ocean in the middle of a huge city. A central and easy to get to location for millions of tourists and locals to benefit from. With other locations like The London Eye on its doorstep it is easy to enjoy a whole day or weekend out.

Learn more at: https://www.visitsealife.com/london/

This dive has been on my list since I dived the Nemo 33 pool in Belgium. A massive tick to have made it out to Poland to enjoy this specialised facility.

30 miles south of Warsaw is this incredible pool, with perfect conditions for free divers and scuba divers to practice and fine tune their skills. An in-depth checking in process to ensure you are diving to your certification level and with the correct equipment.

Many trained professionals are available to support your dive plans for the day and are at hand for advice on technical dives and best practice.

The enormous tube in the centre of the pool is a daunting sight at first, a dark hole that seems to move away from you and get narrower and narrower. It is quite impressive to hover above it and let it consume you as you dive to your depth limit and look up to what feels like a far away surface. A dark funnel which allows divers to practice deep diving techniques and breath hold.

The caverns and tunnels that lead you around different areas of the pool but that cannot be seen from the spectator view points are comparable to cave dives I have experienced. Dark spaces with winding avenues leading you to light beams as you find an exit. Excellent practice for divers wanting a taste of what overhead environments are like or to manage dark and low visibility conditions. 

The wreck at the bottom of the pool politely guides you to deeper depths as you sit at 20meters before entering the tunnel and deeper section of the space. A perfect spot for a photo or to look up and see the dry tunnel from a different perspective. On lookers waving at you as you glide past them. 

With courses running almost continuously, free divers are passing you at various rates down ropes and lines marked out for them as guides. Instructors swimming close to them for support. Bubbles from divers below tickle your face as they practice skill sets or emerge from the cavers below you. 

I would be telling a lie if I said that moving closer and closer to the deep tunnel wasn’t daunting. It’s a strange feeling to feel sucked in a direction, a callapsing looking cave like space that goes against all of your instincts to penetrate. It’s why we are all here though, to experience the incredible view of such a fantastic pool for training. One that mimics what going out to the ocean might look like and a reminder of how seemingly easy it is in comparison to a perhaps harsher sea.

The buzz underwater, quiet but vibrational is a highlight. Everyone is there for their own reason but with a common passion for the sport, for the thrill of being deep and for pushing yourself. 

The list of individuals that have dived this pool is lengthy, professionals, novice divers, trainees, trainers. It’s a very special place and really brings our community together. 

It was a long time coming to get out here and I am thrilled that I have dived it. What an achievement. Thank you Deepspot. 

Learn more about Deepspot at: https://www.deepspot.com

Photography by Radoslaw Karol and Chantelle Wyatt 

People who tend to have an affiliation with water tend to also have a natural interest in all of the things you can do in, on or around it. As divers we all look for the best dives, wrecks, thrills to keep expanding our dive knowledge and training and to enjoy all that the sea has to offer.

The Southsea Watersports Festival brought people together this weekend to share their passions and love of their own sports. The idea being to allow people the opportunity to try other activities and have new experiences in a safe and guided way.

SUP boards, kayaks and rowing boats lined Eastney seafront with instructors and trainers ready, waiting and enthused to get people involved and in the water.

We headed down to the sea to meet the Tudor Sailing Club crew who regularly enjoy dinghy sailing, fishing, gig rowing, kayaking and other social events. What a super bunch of people they are! So much local knowledge and a big willingness and pass on tips and pointers and to teach at your own pace.

Trying a new sport can put you totally out of your comfort zone and for those of us that are most comfy under water, rowing can/could be a little bit daunting. The team were fantastic, really thorough with their instructions and keen to show off their sport.

The buzz around the beach base camp was vibrant. The RNLI promoting safety in the water and supporting festival goers around the stalls to get talking and having those all important conversations about their interests and how to take them to the next level.

The morning swimmers were pottering around the in water, gliding past markers and buoys and the festival crew were handing out goody bags and information for people to find out more. The event had a great feel and was warmly welcomed in this pretty seaside city.

Bringing people together in any capacity has challenges in terms of organisation and they really pulled off a lovely day. Perfectly positioned next to Eastney’s coffee cup for a welcomed pit stop after a very adventurous morning. 

Learn more at: https://andrewsimpsoncentres.org

Visits to zoos are sometimes mixed in terms of peoples feelings about them. Space, size of enclosures, animal welfare and well being etc.

I went to meet the team at Whipsnade zoo in Dunstable this week and it was great! My mission was to visit the aquarium and meet the team of scientists, conservationists and rangers at the park.

The ZSL (Zoological Society of London) is a global conservation charity with a community working around the World to protect some of our planets most beautiful and endangered species. Their donations and funds going to maintaining this and other zoo’s to allow us to see these creatures in all of their glory. 

My interest in this zoo was to explore and discover the marine life in the aquarium that is joined with the butterfly house at the base of the zoo. 

The ‘Aquarium is a round-the-world journey through ten of the planet’s most extreme aquatic habitats, from a vibrant flooded forest in Brazil, to an African puddle! Whilst also providing a base for our leading conservation work, protecting some of the rarest and most critically endangered fish on the planet.

These habitats provide an accurate snapshot of life across the globe, built by the zoo’s conservationists to celebrate wildlife and showcase the precious ecosystems that we are at risk of losing. Watch snakes slither across the branches and geckos jump leaf to leaf across their forest habitats, as fish shoal below between the roots.’

‘Whipsnade Zoo is a conservation zoo which means behind the scenes we’re working to protect species, restore habitats and inspire change for wildlife. 

Our Whipsnade aquarium is the first public aquarium in the UK dedicated to conserving threatened and extinct-in-the-wild freshwater fish. These include species like the La Palma pupfish and Turkish killifish. 

As one of the few places in the world working with freshwater fish our aquarium was set up to prevent species like these from becoming extinct. Incredibly, 50% of the world’s fish species live in just 1% of the world’s water – freshwater habitats like lakes and rivers.

Freshwater fish are found all over the world in all sorts of habitats including those you might be familiar with – like ancient lakes and fast flowing streams – as well as some more unusual places like underwater caves, flooded forests and even puddles. Sadly freshwater fish are often overlooked by traditional conservation programmes, but we know they are amazing and important animals and they’re in trouble. Pollution, damming and water drainage have all destroyed their natural habitats an invasive species often introduced by humans have had a devastating impact on wild populations.’ Whipsnade Zoo.

The zoo is much bigger than you could imagine and this really came across when exploring the area, its viewpoints, massive enclosures and green areas to sit and picnic in. It is a great day out with ample things to see and do. Visit Whipsnade and contribute to the future and to the wildlife and nature of the World that so desperately needs our help.

I heard about the BBC Earth Experience in London and naturally knew it would be exceptional. David Attenborough narrating shorts films about the seven continents in an immersive way sounded absolutely fantastic. 

Arriving at Earls Court station we strolled through the concrete buildings that surround and lead you to the venue. The tall apartment blocks, housing and building site that guide you into the building which is surrounded in wild flowers and wooden benches is beautiful.

The vibrancy of the staff when you get there is phenomenal. They all know what lay in store for you and are excited to share it. Soon you will be immersed and they are genuinely happy that you are there and that you want to see the installation. You can hear Attenborough’s calm voice in the background and flashing bits of light as people enter and exit the exhibit hall. It is enormously exciting.

It is hard to explain or describe how you feel when you first walk in. Huge cinema screens are rolling, different shapes and projecting the film and the natural World in all its glory beams in front of you. It is quite emotional. 

It is more than incredible to be able to access footage in this way, scenes that we will never see in our life time, access to the tiniest of creatures and the most hard to find habitats. The sounds of flamboyant cuttlefish pulsating or spiders weaving a web is glorious. It feels magic to be a part of it.

We flew over mountains, sat in the middle of thunder storms and tornados and were followed by schools of fish and roaming sharks. 

You don’t have to be an environmentalist, conservationist, marine biologist or zoologist to see this exhibition. You just need to be human, you just need to be open to understanding that we are all connected in ways we can never imagine and that we need a symbiotic relationship to survive.

As you move around the experience to meet creepy crawlies, tackle weather bands, spot sea creatures and meet polar bears you are gently guided out and as you exit you are met with a giant globe, projected quite beautifully above you. David Attenborough leaves you with his final words of advice as you depart, his plea to help preserve and protect our planet.

The totally over whelming planet that spins around you surrounded by stars and planets and moons is a stark reminder of how lucky we are. It is a reminder of what we are all a part of and a scary reminder of what we could loose.

You enter the building eager to be inspired and you exit consumed with a passion to engage more in nature. You walk back into the city, the grey concrete and towering buildings and you understand how small and special natural environments are and how much of it has been taken over by humans. Our extensive use of resources and land has drained the planet and ultimately us.

Thank you BBC Earth for giving us insight. Thank you for exploring and for showing us things we might not ever be lucky enough to see for ourselves.

Our last visit to Norfolk was an inspiring one. A magical trip to meet some magical creatures with a company that has nothing but passion for them. We were so excited to go back and to meet the crew, they had made an impressive mark on us last time and spending time with the seals on the point was gorgeously memorable. A company that has been operating out of Morston Quay since the 1930’s.

‘Until 1978 the boats ferried passengers to and from Blakeney Point nature reserve, leaving from Morston quay at high tide and from the lower harbour at low tide with people often having to paddle across the marshes to catch the boat! For some years in the 60s and 70s, Graham ran his boat from Blakeney Quay before returning to Morston in the 1980s.

The seals were protected in 1976 and from then, gradually became tamer. It was then that Beans Boats began trips to take people to see the seals, combining these with a landing on Blakeney Point on the high tide. At that time, the trips ran only during the summer months and the family would have to do other jobs over the winter such as worm digging.

Over the years the boat trips gradually got more and more popular. Graham’s elder son, Jason, joined in the early 1990’s after leaving his career as a chef. Matthew, Graham’s younger son, joined the business in 2000 and looks after telephones and bookings and Carmen, Jason’s wife, can be found on the quay looking after the tickets with Jason’s son Jonathan and daughter Lucy frequently found manning the boats, making this a truly family run business along with the assistance of a few close family friends making it very much a local affair.

With the increasing complexities and regulation of running a ferry service, in 2021 John Bean’s son Steven decided to operate the John Bean’s part of the business as a separate entity, now known as John Beans Boat Trips operating from Morston and recognisable from their blue livery. As with Bean’s boats the next generation is playing a part in carrying on the family tradition with Steven’s son, Joshua full time on the ferries.

Having started all those years ago with just the one boat, Beans Boats have 4 purpose built ferries fitted out to Maritime Coastguard Agency standards.

After boarding the ferry there is a short safety briefing as we make our way up the creek and out into the harbour. After a short boat ride, with local information provided by the crew, we arrive at the seals. They are usually basking on the sandbanks at the far end of Blakeney Point. You should always see some seals – the question is: “How many”? The colony is made up of Common & Grey seals and numbers around 500 at low water, with smaller numbers to view at high tide as this is when thay frequently head out to sea to feed. Common seals have their young between June and August, the Greys between November and January. Both suckle their pups for about three weeks during which time they grow very quickly, putting on between 1kg and 1.6kgs a day due to the very rich and fatty milk they feed on. Grey Seal numbers have expanded rapidly over the last few years and counts by the National Trust wardens have recorded over 15,000 seals during peak breeding time with over 5000 pups. A truly spectacular site with nearly every square inch of beach occupied by mothers and pups and well worth braving the weather for a trip in late November or early December. 

The seals are generally quite inquisitive and often pop up and swim around the boats for a look at us! We can also usually sail very close to the basking seals on the beach which gives a great opportunity for photographs and also ample time for questions. The grey seals are the larger of the two species – they have large speckles on their coats and longer pointed heads with parallel nostrils. The common seals have a more rounded face with ‘v’ shaped nostrils.

The National Trust took over the Point in 1912 and it is now an international breeding ground for many migrant birds during both summer and winter. This Old Lifeboat House is now used as a base for the Wardens during the summer and also as an Information Centre. 

Seals generally spend up to 90% of their lives out of the water basking on the sandbanks. The females usually outlive the males: 35 years is about the maximum for them and 25 years for the males. Although very clumsy and cumbersome on land, once in the water, seals can be very agile, reaching speeds of up to 20mph. They can also submerge for up to 30 minutes if necessary and in certain waters have been recorded diving to a depth of 600ft (300 metres). Generally though, it’s a quick 3 – 5 minute dive for fish which the seals locate in the water not only by sight but also by feeling vibrations through their whiskers. Seals tend to feed out at sea although some of their favourites – flounders, white bait and sand eels – are often found in the Harbour. An average size seal can often take up to 4.5kg (10lb) of fish in a day.

Blakeney Point is also famous for its bird life. Its most popular summer visitors are the terns – mainly Common, Sandwich and Little Terns and, quite often, also Arctic Terns. Many of them begin to arrive from West Africa during mid-April and breed into the season. They make a small scrape in the shingle where they lay their eggs. After hatching, the chicks can be seen running along the shoreline near the seals. You will be able to get a good view of them from the boat as well as of the other various shorebirds: Oyster Catcher, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, and Dunlin to name but a few. During the winter months, you will see large numbers of duck and geese including Mallard, Widgeon, Teal, Pintail, Pinkfooted Geese. Greylag and Brent Geese usually arrive from October onwards.’

We will continue to go back to Norfolk not only to see the seals but because it is a beautiful part of the UK. A must see trip.

Learn more about Beans Boat Trips at: https://www.beansboattrips.co.uk or https://www.facebook.com/beansboattrips

On Saturday 20th May thousands of people united on their local beaches to protest against sewage in our seas. The Surfers Against Sewage event brought people together to shout about keeping the water they loved spending time in clean.

Surfers Against Sewage is a marine conservation charity working with communities to protect oceans, waves, beaches and marine life. It was created in 1990 by a group of Cornish surfers from the villages of St Agnes and Porthtowan on the north coast of Cornwall.

The event created a stir nationally and invited anyone and everyone to be heard, to voice their concerns and worries about the condition of the water that they interact with and in. It allowed people to say that enough is enough. 

Protesters took to the water around the country to demand change. The organised and peaceful demonstrations were led by surfers, paddle boards, divers, kayakers and swimmers. Everyone of them having the same goal, to just feel safer in the water.

Thankyou SAS for continuously fighting for all of us and for bringing us together. 

Learn more about SAS at: https://www.sas.org.uk

The Mary Rose Museum is absolutely beautiful. It is well thought out, it’s incredibly simple to navigate with the main attraction positioned wonderfully in the centre of the building. In clear view as you stroll around the shipwreck you explore its treasure and history.

I was super intrigued when I saw a poster for the 4D dive experience. I have loved stories of its discovery and salvage since I was a kid. The attempts, the incredible effort it took to locate it and lift it safely. It is a really glorious story. 

The museum located in the beautiful Portsmouth Dockyard is worth a look even if you are just stood outside it. Its shape compliments its surroundings and spending some time by the sea in this historic spot is nothing short of splendid.

You are guided through the museum, around the wreck and up to the 4th floor where you watch a short introduction to the movie and then are momentarily immersed into The Mary Rose and its wonder.

The 4D excavation explains the story from the very start. It allows you to be the diver and see how this fragile ship was brought back to life. It was managed and protected by a group of marine biologists, archaeologists and scuba divers keen to preserve a really crucial bit of history. The human effort here, the motivation and drive to make this salvage happen was quite the feat.

Portsmouth is saturated with nautical history and there is so much there to see and learn about. It’s ocean community is vast and it is a really epic place to spend a day.

Learn more at: https://maryrose.org/dive-4D/ and https://www.facebook.com/MaryRoseMuseum

This dive centre is a hub, it’s the best way to describe it really. It’s busy, it’s organised, it’s got tons happening at once and it works. It works in the best way. Open water divers sitting around with their heads buried in OW manuals, dive shed crew clocking tanks and kit in and out, boats pitching up post and pre dive. 

Nothing seemed to be going wrong. Any tiny problem was solved almost immediately. O rings being changed, mouth pieces replaced, kit set up for you, tanks carried to and from the boat. It is the best opportunity to be the most laid back holiday diver possible.

Cats, so many beautiful dive shop cats lazing around meowing, strolling about in the sunshine, reclined over tabled and being stroked and adored by clients and staff.

The dive briefings were thorough, efficient but really effective in the way they were delivered. You felt ready to go diving, excited about what you were going to see and eager to board the boat.

Nothing really beats that feeling of heading out to a dive site. It’s like an excited anxiety. Kitting up, talking about the dive, buddy checking, submerging and exploring. It’s just the ultimate adventure, way to feel like you are embarking on a different world and environment.

I love the not knowing what you will see, what the current will be doing, what the visibility is. It keeps you on the edge of the boat as it were constantly. It is also great to come together and vibe off one another under water. You want to point things out to your group, to have things pointed out to you and this was really encouraged at Oceans 5. There was a real sense of making every dive the best dive ever.

Travelling with my utterly fabulous colleague from Picaga Photography was also something that needed consideration. My one eyed, missing fingered buddy needed that little extra help to manage his dives. A completely capable diver but one that couldn’t always see what was going on outside his field of vision or manage to carry handfuls of kit meant that this was the place for him. He was fully supported and catered for and not singled out. He did exactly the same as every one else but within his limit. The message that PADI vigorously promotes. 

It is hard after so many dives in so many locations to get excited over a nudi branch or sea snake but in truth watching other, newer divers spot them for the first time is as special. It is really quite wonderful to say hey, check out that octopus under this rock and see someone’s eyes widen and smile. It’s why we all dive right.

It was great to sit around post dive and watch the hype of people certifying and being congratulated by their divemasters and instructors. Sander really is quite the enthusiastic dude, shouting hupla and clapping when people certify. It’s what you from from a dive shop. They can be daunting places to go, new, not knowing what your doing when everyone else seems too. It was welcoming, it was warm and it felt happy.

Learn more at: https://www.oceans5dive.com/

Photography by Radoslaw Krol http://www.picagaphoto.co.uk/

A crazy turbulent but what I can only call impressive transfer from Gili Air to Lembonghan brought us to the island. The waves were huge, the captain was amazing and yes I did almost throw up numerous times but alas to get to these places you have to take the rough route sometimes.

Blue Corner bound we arrived at the beach and launched our bags off a tiny boat and into a still cafe for a quick orange water and some grounding before figuring out our route to the dive centre.

This particular dive shop had been recommended to me so many times over the past few years especially from divers I had met in Indonesia travelling. An impressive reputation and lots of hype made me want to get there as quickly as possible. 

We took the 22 minute stroll from the ferry to the centre, passing incredible smelling street side restaurants and being followed by at least 2 very friendly dogs leading us along the main road. A straight line and a left turn and we were there. The very cool looking beach front shop with an infinity pool and beach side dorms was a lovely find.

Our names were already on the board for dives the next day and our room ready. Psyched to check out some new dive sites we got our bearings and headed to bed for an early night.

The centre was busy in the morning, courses underway, boats being loaded and our super nice guides preparing us for what looked like choppy weather and some potential dive site adjusting to avoid the rough surge. Manta point bound we set off and what we found were, well mantas, everywhere. The boat sped alongside the cliff edge into various bays looking to spot these beautiful beings at the surface, a stop here and one more there and we found them gliding along the surface, splashing as they went.

Nothing really prepares you for seeing Mantas, they are incredibly gracious and inquisitive. We got into our dive kit as soon as possible with them popping up around the boat. I was so eager to get in and the guides helped us get ready as fast as possibly, safely. 

Again, nothing prepares you for meeting these creatures. They are so huge and calm and they swim past without a care in the World. My reg almost fell out just in shock at seeing them. You almost can’t catch your breath in their presence. It was emotional and I was grateful to be there.

This dive was choppy and the surge by the cliff edge drags you in and out as you swim. The end of the dive and a move to Crystal Bay was a bumpy ride. It was nothing short of a pleasure and relief to back roll into the bay and feel still. We dropped in just above the coral restoration spot, domes and frames covered in corals, we investigated.

Flounders snuck along side us as we cruised along the sand bar. 2 or more free swimming octopus popped up from behind corals and disappeared into the deep. Flamboyant cuttlefish whizzed by us out of no where, glowing as they pulsed past. There was so much to see and the topography was beautiful.

The guides were incredibly cute underwater, looking so excited to show you everything, grabbing your arm to point out a stone fish or making love heart signs when they saw a garden eel. It was a nice site to spend an hour. Met by fresh watermelon, tea and cake on the boat we slowly made our way back to base.

A beautiful thing to watch happen at the spot, directly in front of the dive shops pool is the seaweed farming. As the afternoon draws to a close, people come out with baskets and torches collecting the seaweed and taking it to the beach to dry. It’s very pretty to watch at night with head torches glowing in the soft rippling waves. Kids slashing about in the water while their parents are working. It’s just a nice addition to get to see. A real part of Indonesian culture on the doorstep on the shop.

We checked out the coral restoration sites on the second day. This was so impressive. The coral growth on the laid structures was spectacular, soft and hard corals spanning over the entirety of some of the domes. I have to say that the sites in general here were just stunning. We were on drift dives and just glided over huge corals, past swarms of fish and around busy bombies. The drift made it tricky to stop and watch a particular fish or to investigate under a rock but my gosh flying over such beauty and just hovering still without kicking or moving was quite a wonder.

The boat crew really couldn’t do more either, helping de kit on surface intervals, armed with tea, fresh fruit and banana bread. Just a really marvellous bunch of experienced crew who executed the whole morning with ease. We felt looked after, cared for, inspired to dive more and most importantly safe.

Learn more at: https://www.bluecornerdive.com/

Photography by Radoslaw Krol http://www.picagaphoto.co.uk/

A secluded getaway on Lembongan island. A charming and thriving dive centre with family operated and managed accommodation and restaurants. Cousins, brothers and sisters working together to create a community in a very beautiful part of Lembongan. 

Close proximity to the infamous Manta Point where rays arrive regularly for cleaning and migration. Easily spotted from the surface, snorkel trips and by divers.

Short boat trips to nearby sites including Crystal bay which is a Sandy bottomed slope covered in flounders and garden eels. A sloping reef with a growing coral restoration project and healthy implantation. Octopus, nudi branch and cuttlefish easily found on sites. Perfect for open water courses and deep spec advanced dives.

The dive centre located on Tamarind beach, a short distance from the incoming and departing ferry dock and next to mushroom bay where various shops and restaurants are found. Surfers and paddle boarders in and out to catch the continuos waves that break here.

Travelling here from Jungutbatu beach on the other side of the island feels as though you have arrived on another island, a much more jungle covered, rustic, peaceful part of the rock with transfers offered by hotels and home stays.

The staff fill your cup with good dive boat banter and local stories, truly tremendous people with a massive capacity for kindness.

This off the track spot is nothing short of charming. Your stay, nestled in the jungle and high top trees is serene and relaxing. It’s beautiful.

Learn more at: https://www.tamarinddivers.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/kubutamu/

Photography by Radoslaw Krol http://www.picagaphoto.co.uk/

Arriving on Gili Air on the Blue Water Express boat from Sanur, Bali is surreal in some ways. You drive out of the busy city scape, hop on a speedboat and before long are approaching a pristine postcard looking island. Fringed with bright blue water, palm trees and hammocks. It is hard not to fall in love with the place immediately. Begadans line up to take you to your accomodation. The sound of neighing horses and the waves crashing is unique and refreshing.

I had been emailing Rose Huizenga for what seemed like years now, pre and post COVID to plan this visit. Rose, completely accommodating to the never ending changing travel plans was just as I had imagined her. A entrepreneurial free spirit. I sit here thinking about how to describe her without just listing qualities But she really is quite an impressive woman.

We Rocked up at Gili Shark, a project that was born out of nothing but love and adoration for the ocean and supporting the preservation of Indonesia’s shark population. 

The base has to be mentioned here because it screams zen and calm. The perfect place to learn, study and just be. Beautiful rooms, stunning decor and final touches, jars filled with fresh coffee and granola. The environment oozed health and well being and was a spectacular hub. 

Warmly welcomed by her team of Sharkies, local staff and her Operational Manager Maisy, we felt at home and instantly part of a like minded community. All there for the same reason but on our own paths. It provided the the most gloriously beautiful spot to meet.

The burning question of where Gili Shark came from was easily answered by Rose. Of course it came about from a group of dive pals having a beer in a bar. Now, as a diver myself I can confirm that we have all had those chats. ‘Let’s just start our own dive centre.’ ‘Lets buy a boat and take people fun diving.’ ‘Let’s sack off the person we work for and start our own thing.’ It’s a common conversation amoungst travellers and especially divers. What is not common is people who actually do it and make those chats happen, turning them into reality.

Rose sat there talking to me with a fully operational, popular, well establish and respected shark conservation project and coral catch programme, a villa and island spa, her own school, two beautiful children and a husband sipping a freshly made ginger tea. It’s hard not to be in awe of the girl. She started all this as a backpacker, one with big ideas. I honestly couldn’t get enough of her story. Her passion to create a sustainable island life with a sound, thoughtful plan was jaw dropping really. Her very energy was inspiring. 

The base staff were in the background baking banana loaf and humming along happily, fermenting things and giggling with each other. The participants and students were social media creating and talking excitedly about their mornings, making plans to build new under water structures for the coral restoration project. Her vision was being delivered. Those ideas to create something positive were functional.

There were so many questions to ask, things to find out but the easiest place to start was of course with a dive. Where else is the best place to emerge yourself in the thick of the work going on somewhere. We donned our equipment and headed out for the morning dive with a Rose guiding us around the coral project. 

The dive sites were pristine. We descended on the coral restoration project and the Sharkies got to work, busily cleaning and tending to the young corals. Turtles reclined over them, basking in the soft current and finding comfort in the new spaces for them to reside. A healthy, flourishing site. 

‘In early 2019 our research team took off on a field trip to Nusa Lembongan to meet with Blue Corner Conservation. Thanks to Andrew C.F Taylor of Blue Corner dive our research team had an amazing few days learning about coral restoration and underwent full training in how to conduct this remarkable method. Back home on Gili Air, we immediately started preparing for our own coral restoration project which we launched in the summer of 2019.

In the summer months of 2019, we placed 60 hex dome structures between 5 and 10 meters on an area where rubble has the monopoly of space in the selected location at the North of Gili Air. To a portion of these hex domes our research team will add Micro fragments of selected s of coral from communities that are known to thrive in this area. We will leave a portion of each dome free of micro fragments to have sufficient space for natural recruitment.

On a weekly basis our research team will monitor the restoration site through assessing fish biomass as well as live coral coverage and the growth rate of each fragment. The methods we will use to collect this data include; Underwater Photo Transect (UPT) and Underwater Visual Census (UVC), weekly time-lapse of each hex dome, Remote Underwater Video (RUV) and manual measurement using vernier caliper for growth rate.

It is really key to not just mention Maisy but to take my hat off to her. A really experienced, intelligent, vibrant lady who seems to be the definition of multitasking and productivity. It makes sense that Rose hired her and trusted her to deliver her vision. She is as mega as Rose with an extensive background in scientific research and marine biology. With what felt like 50 balls in the air at all times, she very cooley lead the work that was going on and managed the programmes under Roses direction. ‘ Gili Shark Conservation.

The days rolled on with us acting as voyeurs to this wonderfully oiled machine. We joined a beach clean up and were joined by various tourists who had seen the posters around the island and on the social pages and come along. You didn’t need to move more than a meter to collect almost a bag of litter, debris that had arrived from neighbouring islands and from currents riding past the Gillis. It was sad in lots of ways but positive to see so many like minded folk coming together to clean up. It was significant because beach cleans don’t need to be organised, anyone can potter along a stretch of beach and collect trash but a regular organised clean motivates people. It gives you a time and a place to be to take part. It highlights to others that it needs doing. In bigger numbers comes impact.

The sustainability of projects is key. It is easy to start something but keeping it going, keeping it maintained and productive is a whole different ball game. The core injection of local staff to all that goes on here is underrated. The relationships with people from the area are immeasurably valuable. The knowledge and passion they have about where they are from and the respect for the ocean is beautiful. Rose and Andreas know that. They consider it in all that they do and strong partnerships have been born and will continue to be born because of that understanding and appreciation of Indonesians, their traditions and their culture. 

On our nearly last day we sat down by the boat at the end of a busy dive day. Rose’s children were playing on the beach front, tiny beach blonde, sun kissed babies collecting crabs with their little Indonesia friends and carefully putting them back in the water, jumping off logs and into sea puddles. I listened to them talk English to the participants, Bahasa to the lovely local ladies they were with. It made me see the longevity in the work here. Good intentions live on. Good people raise good people with core values and they grow the next generation of people who care. In those few moments I saw the life cycle. The relationships that are formed, the concern that these kids will inevitable adopt from their Mum and Dad and hopefully continue. 

I would urge anyone thinking about doing something positive and out of the ordinary to visit this island and to sit down and have a ginger tea with Rose. It’s a tea you will always remember. Explore marine biology and conservation, gain an understanding of why it is all so, so important to our existence and life balance. Visit Gili Air and change your view and your expectation of what is achievable.

Learn more at: https://www.gilisharkconservation.com/ and https://villanangkagiliair.com/

Photography by Radoslaw Krol http://www.picagaphoto.co.uk/

First of all it is important to note that age brings a great deal of wisdom to most activities. The slightly older diver tends to be one full of adventure and experience. The Geriatric Diver also known as Terry has vast tales of trips abroad, travel antics, scuba quests and trial and error escapades.

Photography is by no means easy to master especially under water with current, light, moving models and nature throwing unpredictable scenarios at you.

Terry, along with his partner in crime explores the World enjoying all that travel has to offer. Long hauls flights, mad transfers and transits, foreign languages and traditions and most importantly, incredible dives. The thrill seeker diver looks for less human impacted, protected, abundant sites to try to see the marine World at its best. The vision is not always to spot the big stuff, the whales and mantas as stunning as they are but to spot the macro and unusual. 

Terry has mastered his spotting skills and fine tuned his photography and creative ability to capture nature and more importantly memories of his adventures.

Some people will never dive, some will never be interested or concerned with what lies beneath but for those of us that are, other peoples photography inspires us and moves us. A teeney tiny, beautifully formed nudi branc to one might be everyday and dull but to another might be the very creature that gets them excited.

Post dive scrolls through fish ID books and species cards are a wonderful part of the fun. What did I just see? What on earth was that and how totally awesome to have the opportunity to see it.

We will follow The Geriatric Diver with nothing less than eagerness and excitement to see what he finds next.

The benefits of sea dips are well known. The activity improves circulation, reduces stress, boosts your immune system and is a great way to socialise with like minded people.

This rather wonderful group of friends dip together weekly and warmly invite and welcome others to join their meet ups. The group get together in front of The Southsea Beach Cafe every weekend, catch up, go for a swim and enjoy a post dip cuppa and a chat. 

Everything about this group sings health. Mindfulness, wellbeing and joy are at the forefront of these meets. The main prerogative being to feel good and to spend a bit more time doing something that makes you happier. The mental health benefits are enormous and the sense of community and that charming addition of bringing people together to enjoy something they love is evident. 

As an ocean lover, the very thought of it brining people together in this way warms my chest. I love to promote the positive ways in which people interact with water and was inspired to share peoples experiences after spending several years attending the Ocean Film Festival. An amazing production of short films by normal people doing incredible things in the sea, lakes, rivers and other watery environments. 

There are may different threads to how people met in this group from hello’s at the beach amongst strangers to introductions at menopause seminars. There are also long standing friendships in this group with some of the ladies knowing each other for 18 years! I caught up with lovely Dawn Hope-Davis to find out more…

‘Carole met Phil at a menopause seminar and a couple of days later she joined us. I’ve known 2 of the group for 18 years; Yasmin Dove and Valerie Thompson (who can’t swim). I’ve known Kate Angus for around 14 years but we only became good friends when I moved to Southsea 8 years ago … we kept each other sane during the lockdowns. I met Nicki Whelan at Rock Choir 4 years ago and we became good friends. She started regular season swimming just before me with her friends and joins us as often as she can. I met Kate Gibbons at WTMWTD 18 months ago and really liked her from the very first dip (well she was giving cake to us all ). I’ve lived in Southsea for 8 years but it was only during lockdown that I realised how many people were swimming all year round. My friend Kate Angus and I covered a lot of miles on our early morning, socially distanced walks and jokingly talked about joining them. The only problem was that I don’t swim very well, I’m frightened of water and, while I love the UK seasons, I’m not a big fan of being cold.

In June 2021 Kate asked me if I fancied joining a group she had been meeting up with called Win The Morning, Win The Day (WTMWTD) who met at 05.30 every Friday in Southsea, did a 3 mile walk then an optional dip. It took a couple of weeks for me to become undeniably hooked. Fast forward to November 2021 and I decided that walking and dipping in the dark wasn’t for me so a few of my friends joined me for sunrise dips on a Saturday and or Sunday. By January 2022 there were 4 of us dipping most weekends.

In the March I bumped into some of the WTMWTD group and mentioned I was still dipping weekly and they asked if they could meet up with us … and the rest as they say is history. We now have 24 members of The Tipsy Dippers and around 14 are meeting up regularly. They really are a super group of ladies and I feel privileged to know them all and enjoy their company enormously. As much as I love dipping, in the colder months especially, it’s the people I dip with who are the reason I love it so much’.

Images by Dawn Hope-Davies

The project was realised in its first incarnation in 2019 when the spine of the current team produced a response to poems written by Becci Louise of the same name.

We built a production with actors, poems, and audio/visuals for the Square Tower in Portsmouth. The project was a success, but really built on the HP Lovecraft aesthetic of previous, historic octopus tales. Now in 2022, we wanted to revisit the stories and build a larger performance in another Portsmouth based landmark by the sea. We were compelled with a story that takes the octopus as a grand ruler of the sea, and the potential to put polluting humans in their place with its power. We explored the underwater dialogue between the octopus and how that might manifest when faced with a human diver, our representation of mankind.

Related: Octopuses and Other Sea Creatures

With the Old Portsmouth Cathedral booked, we set about writing a new angle on the Becci Louise stories, with a more contemporary twist featuring visuals with more modern diving equipment and sounds that reflected the experience of diving in the modern age. As Director of Sound I wanted to approach the project from two angles, initially the sonic experience of diving, the deep undersea and how we might transition between those states. Then came the musical score which I wanted to mix electronic sounds with more traditional orchestral themes. I really wanted my fingerprints over every single sound, from breathing on land and underwater, looking at climbing ladders pre-diving and what life sounds like underwater, opposed to above sea level.

When the performances came around, I wanted to use the foley recordings of diving and underwater ambience in a live context using samplers that I could manipulate live for each show. Effects were used with these to recreate sections of the performances like surfacing from the deep, and how that might sound from a diver’s perspective. In addition, I used a Nintendo DS with a ‘game’ called “Electroplankton” to add another layer to the score in the cathedral, a kind of electronic ethereal Protozoa or such organism evolving throughout the section of performance.

As part of the We Shine festival in Portsmouth this stunner of a light show ran for 4 nights. An interactive light show exploring the mystery and wonder of the sea.

This coastal town has a deep relationship with the water, it’s residents living on its cusp and many locals working in nautical industries. The concept of a symbiotic relationship between the city and the ocean is deeply rooted in its history and is treasured by the people who live there.

The beautiful cathedral hosted the event, moments away from Old Portsmouth, an area soaked in watery history. The arches and corridors lit up with a blue and green glow to give a sense of submersion and adventure.

A fully kitted diver strolling around in the church, investigating the under sea space and inviting you to become a part of his dive experience with dramatic bubble, ocean creature noises and sounds was delightful. Watching him glide towards you and then glimpsing up to see a giant coral, school of fish or octopus tentacle illuminate the cathedral walls and ceiling was magical.

As a diver myself I related to how it feels to be underwater, to hear your own breath and explore the unknown. To never know what will swim past you or what you might find. The sea is just like space, a totally alien environment in which we rely on our equipment to keep us alive. A space that at times can be daunting and nerve wracking and a World that must always be respected.

The audio and visuals combined created a feeling of belonging. It was lovely to be in this stunning church and it was even more lovely to be reminded of a place I love so much and spend so much time.

The collection of people that came together to make this exhibition and sensory experience possible captured the essence of the sea. They got people excited about the water and thinking about threats against it. The community participated in exhibits inside the church, wading through sea kelp and investigating the tiniest of rock and coral formations. It was beautiful. 

Learn more at: https://www.weshineportsmouth.co.uk

The sea, at the heart of things.

Pete Codling lives in his hometown of Southsea, in the city of Portsmouth, on Portsea Island in the Southern England of the United Kingdom. A city with two thousand years’ worth of military and naval history but also humble origins in agriculture, fishing, oysters, and salt marsh farming. It remains one of the most densely populated cities in Europe with a broad multi-cultural community. Its future lies as a university city, with tourism of its historic past and as a waterfront gateway to the UK for Cruise, merchant, and naval ships.

It is dock for the big ferries to and from France and the Isle of Wight as well as train terminal destination for the southwestern train service and M27 motorway. The island is consolidated by reclaimed salt marsh land, and now embarking or extensive sea defence engineering to ensure it survives the rising water table from climate change. All of this adds inspiration to this artist whose work literally ‘draws’ attention to its local history and people.

His drawings tell stories of fishermen, sailors, divers and sea swimmers. It touches on maritime folklore and mythology like fish, dolphins, octopus, seagulls, mermaids, angels. His however a sculptor by trade and his he best known in this city for two major artworks. He spent seventeen years making the ‘One Million Pebbles’ project, from twenty six tons of clay.

He got the public to help him make these numbered handmade ceramic stones that can be found on Southsea Beach. And now, on the same beach, the ‘Treadgoldfish Sculpture’, a giant steel fish made of scrap from the Treadgold Heritage Museum. The fish curls upwards into the star and crescent motif of the city. Inside the sculpture, a life size figure stands looking into a mobile phone. With obvious reference to Jonah and the Whale and being in denial of our pending environmental doom.

The public are invited to fill this fish with plastic bottles for recycling. The figure gets buried by the plastic waste as it fills up. The 4m high sculpture can hold up to twelve thousand plastic bottles and has already been emptied three times, with the contents being recycled locally. He has also designed a giant seahorse, made of old horseshoes and boatyard scrap, this time with a mermaid inside, that he hopes to get built next year. In 2019 he created the Soup of Souls drawings, a set of eight large charcoal drawings hung in the nave of St Thomas’s, otherwise known as Portsmouth’s Cathedral of The Sea.

This series tells the story of people who have drowned in the Solent water, from suicides and tragedy to battle ships, aeroplanes and divers. Stories like Buster Crabb the cold war Royal Navy diver murdered by the Russians or the local fishing trawler the ‘Wilhelmina J’ that sunk with all hands, in collision with a tanker in the Solent. These stories are deep in the maritime city’s psyche.

Codling is now the Artist in Residence at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. He has been working for several years on a series of giant charcoal drawings on life size replica sails from HMS Victory and the Tudor Flagship Mary Rose. These giant canvases, one of which is 17m wide and 10m are covered in portraits of local people, as a ‘portrait of the city’.

The Mary Rose main sails tell the tragic story of the ship form the shipwrights and sailors to the modern-day scuba divers, scientists and archaeologists and tourists. He has another year of drawing to do, perhaps you know someone who should be in it?

The oceans run through this artist’s work, not as traditional maritime pictures of ships, but our personal and poetic relationship with the sea. His epic artworks invites you to deep dive into the human condition.

You can find out more about his work on his website at https://www.petecodling.com or on Instagram @petecodling

As a kid, and into my teens, I just thought it was cold, wet and full of big scary fish that were going to eat me. I had plenty of friends who loved being in and around it, but that just wasn’t me. I can even remember mates taking the micky when I refused to get wet.

I had my first surf lessons on a trip to Polzeath about 20 years ago, and I’d like to tell you that was the moment it all changed but I’m not convinced it was. Even at the moment I caught my first wave, I can’t say that I was hooked. Maybe on surfing, but still not convinced about the sea. I think that moment came via beach cleans. I’d been aware of litter and pollution in and around the sea, but I’d never been able to attend the big cleans organized by Surfers Against Sewage. I’d been a member of the charity for years on and off, but mainly for the cool sticker that used to come with it.

Then I discovered 2minutebeachclean. I resonated with the idea that everyone had two minutes spare to pick up rubbish at their beach, and I really got stuck in. I suspect that this was the moment that I got it. I really cared, and I came to realise that there were so many more people that cared just as much too. It was like a family with the ocean at its core.

My involvement led me to apply for the volunteer role of Regional Rep with Surfers Against Sewage, and what an adventure that has been. The charity does such great work and are so highly regarded in the environment space. It’s been a total honour to contribute part, and I have made so many great friends and allies. My love for the ocean grew and grew.

I have also been lucky enough to volunteer for The Wave Project in Brighton and have witnessed the healing and calming power of the sea. I’ve seen incredible positive change happen to young surfers during those sessions, and I’ve also benefitted from meeting the amazing volunteers who give up their time to do such amazing work. I still have a healthy respect for the sea, but now I’m actually drawn to it as often as possible.

Every time I go to surf, bodyboard, bellyboard or bodysurf, I stop by the waters edge, close my eyes and just listen. Listen to the waves crashing against the shore and feel the energy around me. It may only be for thirty seconds or so, but it always centres me and prepares me for fun in the waves.

The Ocean has well and truly hooked me in and is my happy place. I can think of times I have experienced pure bliss in the sea. I’m not 100% sure I know what that really means, but I can tell you I have only ever felt those moments in the waves.

This festival never disappoints. A series of incredible short films about peoples relationships with the ocean. Any sea, river or lake lover will relate to how being out, in or on the water does wonderful things for the soul. An environment that provides peace, adrenaline and a calm space to be alone or with friends. The ocean and what it means to each of us is special and unique. 

This festival allows a sneak peek into others interaction with water and ways to experience it. As a diver my memories of dives, my passion for it and my drive to share it with others is strong. I want others to try it, to love it as much as I do. The festival allowed me to engage in other sports and capture a glimpse into other peoples passions.

I never leave this event feeling anything short of motivated and driven to get into the water more. I am enthused by others stories and the collection of films exposes some really incredible people and places.

If you can make one of the showings please do. 

Learn more at: https://www.oceanfilmfestival.co.uk

Oysters have been farmed in Whitstable Bay since the Roman times with now famous fisheries booming with trade and tourism in the area. The history here is extensive and it is a real hub for this incredibly beautiful and tasty shell fish. 

Oyster shacks, restaurants and stalls are dotted around the whole town with locals proud of their produce. The picturesque setting that these oysters grow and are harvested in only provide another reason to visit the area. A beach stroll or wander through the market is a must.

Oysters are not for everyone but their unexpected flavours mean they are worth trying. The salty, briney taste that you might anticipate are of course common but buttery, creamy, sweet and sometimes coppery flavours are well worth an explore.

Packed with essential nutrients, they are often enjoyed as part of a balanced diet and have often been associated with the myth of aphrodisiacs, not a bad myth to practice but sadly untrue.

By definition oyster farming is sustainable and green. One single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. Cleaning the water they live in whilst growing. Without oyster filtration clearing the sea water, light penetration would be challenging and would have a negative impact on seagrass and other reef habitat health.

Oysters expel pollutants they filter or absorb them into their shell tissue for growth.

The ecological benefits of farming oysters are vast and start with growing processes that require almost noting but natural materials. They are quite the impressive little shellfish.

Whitstable is a beautiful place to visit and the oyster culture is signature. You can approach the farms, collecting old shells and wading through the water. It is an environment that is extremely accessible and being a part of or witness to the farming process and then tasting them in fringing food outlets only adds to the organic experience.

So, I had recently been to Norfolk for the very first time and was rather irritated with myself for that because it is an absolutely beautiful place that up until now I had completely missed out on. A Portsmouth local meant that my go to beach get away spots were in Cornwall. It had never occurred to me to head North. What a fool!

Pitching up at the most adorable place in Wells on Sea was easy peasey with the guys at Blue Skies campsite ​offering everything you could possibly ask of a site. The staff were so fun and accommodating and I really enjoyed meeting them. Nothing felt a bother and they were so relaxed and welcoming. I was chuffed to bits I had booked in with them.

Seals, seals, seals I was told by everyone I met in the area. You must go to visit the seals because Norfolk have the best tours to observe them. My absolute passion for the ocean and marine life meant that this was not a difficult decision to make. Off I went.

Now, the thing here is that like anywhere that you visit that offers a tour to see marine life or a point of interest, you tend to find some competition between operators. That difficulty of choosing from various companies who all claim to offer the best tour or experience and the best ticket price is routinely something I dread.

The case here in Norfolk was totally the opposite to my preconceptions. Family run tour providers line Morston Quay eager to take anyone and everyone out to visit their beloved, and I stress that word, seals.

There are no ticket touts urging you to board a particular boat or shuffling you in a certain direction. The vibe is to turn up, jump on a tour and if the boat you lined up for happens to be full, just simply potter along to the next boat and just like that, business is shared equally, fairly and pleasantly.

I cannot express enough here how lovely everyone was. You feel welcomed, safe and excited on any vessel you board. staff from different companies are all waving at each other and saying hello, communicating via radio about the best locations to spot seals for their passengers. There is no sense of rivalry.

On the day I happened to be in the area I spent time with Temple tours and Bean Tours. The overwhelming sense from both operators of family history in this area was heart warming. Generations of families working together to share their local seal community and to run responsible tours that didn’t disturb the seals in any way. The tone on the boats was to enjoy these stunning creatures and other local sea life by respecting their space and environment.

The quay that leads tourists up to the sandbanks and shallows that the seals bask and feed in is easily accessible by kayakers or paddle boarders but the almost unspoken but well respected rule of visiting them by tour is practised for everyones benefit but mainly for the common and grey seals that reside here.

I absolutely loved the stories about samphire picking and crab claw cracking. The history of the wooden boats moored and sustained here to prolong sea fishing traditions and the strong sense of pride in the work of previous folk who lived and worked here on the water.

The seals were an utter treat but the magic of this community of people protecting and educating tourists about them is another level of special and I felt lucky to have met them all.

Learn more at: https://www.sealtrips.co.uk and https://www.facebook.com/beansboattrips

Kate Fairbairn is an artist based in Mevagissey on the south coast of Cornwall.

She has a passion for the sea and paints sea life and coastal scenes from the local area. It was starting a family which ultimately led to becoming a painter and living in Cornwall.

The long hours and working away from home as a PR and communications manager for the police became less appealing, and the dream of a life by the sea selling her art work became a reality (thanks in no small part to a very supportive husband!).

Now she lives in the midst of a busy fishing village and is surrounded by inspiration every day, from the colourful boats and cottages, to the ever changing colours of the sea and the wealth of wildlife living within it.

A recent commission was a large painting of manta ray for a keen scuba diver. She has also painted a piece for the National Lobster Hatchery which was auctioned to raise funds for their conservation programme. Kate sells her work on line and locally and welcomes commissions.

Learn more at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KateFairbairnArt and https://www.facebook.com/kfairbairnartist

This week we got the absolute pleasure of meeting the crew at Oyster Divers and what a team they were. The ever so cool meeting point in Soho, central London was easy to find and felt completely unusual. Standing just off Carnaby Street armed with our fins and masks we waited outside the very grand building that is the Marshall Street Leisure Center and got signed in.

The joy of this spot was that is added an obvious must to grab some street food from central SOHO pre pool session and a cheeky flat white from one of the quirky local coffee shops.  A stroll along Regent Street and around the Trocadero made the afternoon a rather nice one. A pleasant start to our in-water session.

The pop-up table outside of the leisure center with efficient documentation checking and welcoming vibe made the start of the evening really positive. The staff were really lovely and warm and had lots to chat about. It is never a chore meeting other divers and hearing about who they are, where they are from and what they have done. We spotted some immediate links with shared recent dive show visits in Coventry and links to the Brighton Dive Centre and Andark in Southampton after one of the newer Instructors had explained its where he had recently completed his IDC.

The varied locations that Oyster operate in mean that you can join the team all over the country with dive enthusiasts meeting in London, Brighton, Surrey, Kent and other spots. A really easy way to engage with the center and to meet your location needs.

The Central London pool as I said, was a real treat. A fine pool in a vibrant and cosmopolitan area that houses World class shops, leading businesses and this Premier Diving and Travel Center. The 30m long Art Deco pool gives you ample room to train and fine tune skills. With a maximum depth of 3m, it is ideal for confined training and practice. A very cool place to go and learn.

We were overwhelmed by how friendly and knowledgeable the staff were. The pool side was set up really well for students with kit lining the poolside ready to go and thorough briefings given to individual groups. Nothing was too big an ask and everyone seemed really relaxed and excited to get in the water. This atmosphere isn’t always just natural. Professionals running sessions create it and it is so key to students dive experience and progression being a nice one.

We swam around the groups watching all of the amazing training going on and it took us back to the days of open water. Mask removal skills, out of air scenarios, buoyancy control practice and skill mastery. You have never been diving too long to be able to appreciate how magical those first moments in the water are to people, to yourself when you first started. It was lovely to see.

The really keen Instructors and Dive Masters running sessions had an obvious passion for their sport and that really came through in their student briefings. Part of wanting to learn to dive in the first place comes from meeting others who love it and inspire you to want to give it a go, without that positivity and excitement learning to dive would seem very boring.

It is hard to feel like you can connect with the ocean or with training to dive when you live in a big city but our introduction to Oyster proved that their doesn’t need to be a barrier to a life of exploration. Diver training is merely the first step. Once you have that initial open water qualification under your dive belt the World is literally your Oyster. With Dive Centers like this one also supporting and planning dive trips locally and internationally gates are opened and there is really no stopping you once you get started.

Visit Oyster Divers and kick off your watery adventures.

Learn more about Oyster Diving at: https://oysterdiving.com/

All photography by Radoslaw Krol

World Ocean Day supports collaborative efforts to promote ocean health and wellbeing. It is a day set aside to unite individuals in the fight against climate change and damage to our seas. It is a day where anyone, anywhere can stand up and say that enough is enough and that now is the time for change before it is too late. It is a day about making a stand and promoting the importance of the message to others willing to hear and who don’t want to hear. We caught up with some local folk who are keen to make a difference in Portsmouth. 

St Mary’s Church hosted a World Ocean event with evening performances from local school children, aquarium aquarists, story tellers, local artists and many more to send out a clear message about the need to protect and sustain our ocean environments. ‘Here in the south east we are lucky to have such an exciting, diverse range of marine life which includes sponges, squat lobsters, soft corals, seahorses and seals. However, the south east is an extremely busy area with various activities and marine users jostling for space and resources. Our seas continue to be exploited beyond sustainable levels resulting in the decline of fish stocks, loss of key habitats and species. It is vital that we have protected areas to minimise damage and disturbance.’ The Wildlife Trust 

The speakers on the night were rationalising why all of the above issues have to be everyone’s problems, whey we all have to start caring more and doing our bit where and when we can. Simple tip cards were given out about ways to reduce plastic waste in your home, ways that would dismiss bad habits and become ritual and better for the environment.  Beautiful sea creatures adorned the church and gave out a clear message that if we don’t do something soon, they will be gone forever. Locals joined together to show support and to raise awareness about the problems we as a community face if we don’t work as a team and act fast.  

A poignant night indeed. 

Learn more and help at: https://worldoceanday.org/take-action/

Living by the seaside in glorious Southsea, Portsmouth is a real treat in terms of access to local environments. We are lucky enough to have the beautiful setting of the Isle of Wight on our doorstep which provides a perfect little holiday spot for everyone including locals to the island.

I have been working with the incredible team at Wight Link Ferries to make crossings to and from the island to promote all of the fantastic things the island has going for it. This week we headed over to beach clean Yarmouth and see what the sea had dragged up. The stunning coastline stretches for miles around the unique little island with bays and beaches varying as you travel around it.

The super easy crossing makes travelling to and from the island simple and enjoyable with beautiful boats travelling regularly. We donned our bicycles and set off to tour the island and its beaches and found some lovely spots.

The coastline was surprising clean with locals committed to keeping it clean for visitors and for the health of the sea that surrounds it and the nature that fringes it. Ample bins lined the beaches encouraging tourists to clean up after themselves and to maintain and protect the spaces for everyone to enjoy.

We talked to locals who said that there is a real motivation in people who live on the island to keep it looking and feeling as clean and tidy as possible with folk boasting about efforts to sustain it and manage debris that inevitably gets dragged in from coastal winds and from its coastal tourist attractions including Black Gang Chine, Alum Bay and the Needles as well as various other popular, busy spots.

The dramatic cliffs and hills span for miles with the most lush green views as you cycle the clear roads. It really is a beautiful place to be and one worth protecting.

As a water lover myself, I can totally appreciate the urge, the need almost for people to find their own passion sport in the water in whatever capacity that may be. Diving has always been my most treasured hobby but with it came an introduction into a variety of other water sports. Paddle boarding, kayaking, hydro speeding, rafting, surfing, to name a few. I recently met up with a center that offer a huge range of in and on water activities to newbies looking for an adventure. The super thing about this is that with an introduction into one sport, often come more introductions into others. Finding your fins as some divers call it is about starting to feel comfortable in the water and enjoying spending time in it. Sometimes people need a push to help them give things a go to get started.

One of the ways I had heard about Lee Valley White Water Centre was via Dive Force Marine in Enfield. Meeting up with them on one of their regular pool nights got me chatting to some of the club members who rated the Lee Valley facility as exceptional and local to them. They explained that their passion and motivation to contribute positively to the local community through water sports was something the community was proud of and valued. A diverse, inclusive and accessible leisure provider for all to enjoy. I have written various articles about this because I have always believed that everyone should have access to the water in a safe way. With help and support it is completely doable and a must for individuals to experience the thrill of being in the water and having fun.

As a lady that lives by the coast I also took completely for granted the free access I have to water. Midland areas don’t necessarily have the same access and so centers like Lee Valley are vital facilities. On a previous visit I met several young people who had never actually been to the seaside or seen a real ocean but were motivated too after finding a love of a sport that Lee Valley offered. This was an incredible connection and I thought back to the people who had been ocean motivators in my life. We talked about other local facilities like ‘The Wave’ in Bristol. A place to learn to surf. 

With an incentive to create, healthier and happier communities these guys work hard at boosting wellbeing through water activities. This is a concept that I could really relate to after finding scuba diving calm, relaxing and therapeutic as well as an activity that contributed to a healthier lifestyle.

Lee Valley has been described as a green lung of London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is responsible for the 26-mile-long, 10’000 acre park with its huge variety of green spaces and ecologically vital wildlife havens. The Water sports center is nestled neatly in the middle providing a stunning area to play in. 

The learning and engagement opportunities that the center offers are delivered by people with a real drive to enthuse others. The instructors I met were skilled, really interesting and fun to talk too and had a drive to share their sport. They made us feel safe on the day and really tailored the activities to our ability. They explained not only what we were going to do on the day but why we were doing it. What the dangers were in the water and how to manage risks. There was of course an element of anxiety when you take on a new experience but we felt secure and looked after by obvious professionals.

The cross over between water sports communities is not as big as you might think. As a diver I have the same worries and concerns about cleaner oceans and water ways for examples as surfers do. Not too long ago we attended a Surfers Against Sewage Protest to demonstrate our solidarity and shared passion for change. Poor quality ocean health, plastics and declines in marine life are worries we all have and quite rightly should have. The instructors I met on the day shared the same concerns. We discussed ways to connect with the water and how to access safe water environments. 

The biggest benefit of Lee Valley for me was seeing it as a place that was mood boosting, wellness regulating and a workout and fitness promoter. Things we could all use more of. I can’t rate the center enough and was incredibly welcomed on the visit. We will 100% go back!

Learn more at: https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/white-water-centre

The road into scuba diving is a fantastic one but there are many challenges along the way to certification. Like any other activity there is a certain amount of training and practical work to do to get started but there are also other factors to consider. We hooked up with the guys at Dive Force Marine in London to take one of our buddies for his first, in water experience. Sam Stimpson is a friend of The Scuba News UK and has some strong family roots with scuba. He is also a type one diabetic and so had various medical hoops to jump through before meeting the criteria to try dive safely. 

After chatting to the team at Dive Force, Sam felt comfortable with getting in the water. With some brief training and guidance from the crew he realised that being diabetic was not a barrier to the sport and was keen to give it a go. The staff explained that many people with controlled diabetes enjoy diving and that as long the individual had not had a hypoglycemic event or been admitted to hospital for a reason related to it for the span of one year, there was no reason not to be able to take part. 

Like any other condition, on the other hand if it was poorly managed then your body may not be fit enough to withstand the additional strain of water pressure and exertion which is exactly why pre diving, medical assessments must be made in certain cases to assess fitness for dives. 

Dive Force was established in 1982 and has a long standing, supportive dive community attached to it. As a 5 Star Centre, it has not only got the support and loyalty from its customers but from PADI because of its premium facilities and service for recreational divers. A center that prides itself on high level teaching standards has kept it going for a number of years and has the same divers returning to continue their scuba education. 

We caught up with Ian Culley, the owner who was more than happy to answer even the most basic of questions and to explain the best routes into diver training. We chatted on the phone for ages before actually visiting the center. A very charismatic and interesting chap with all sorts to say. We realised we had both been at the very recent Dive Show in Coventry but had missed each other by an hour or so at the industry evening. This connection is what I have always loved about the dive community, just that exact word, the community you become part of, path crossing, like minded folk who seek adventures and exploration. 

So back to our visit to the center. We met on the pool night and were sent ample information and guidance beforehand. We were well communicated with and supported in finding the meeting point and pool location and arrived eagerly to get started.

Sam was met by Debbie Freedman who would be leading his one to one DSD (Discover Scuba Dive). She was a total delight of a human, really fun and engaging and had tons to bring to the table experience wise. Her directions were clear and thorough and she allowed ample time for questions and practice. I floated around the DSD as it unfolded amidst other activity going on in the pool and there was a really strong sense of passion. Club members were testing out kit, practicing skills and just enjoying being in the water. Sam was quickly flying around the pool, through buoyancy hoops and fine tuning skills.

‘I have always wanted to try diving. My Dad, brother and other family members have a history of it and interestingly some had used the same pool in Edmonton years ago. I was lucky to have Debbie as my Instructor. She made the whole experience fantastic and inspired me to want to learn more. I expected the experience to be stressful by it was far from it, almost meditative. I cant rate Debbie and the Dive Force Marine team enough. I will go back for sure.’ Sam Stimpson

The pool session was really well organised and there was a comfortable flow with how the evening was run. The van, full of kit arrived early and kit was well organised, sized and prepared for users. We were warmly welcomed and introduced to everyone and it felt easy to get involved right away.

We were so happy to get to meet the team and would highly recommend saying hello to them at any available opportunity.

Learn more about Dive Force at: https://www.diveforce.com/en/

This week we came together. Surfers, divers and swimmers stood in solidarity to demand action from water companies and their greedy drive to make profit from doing what can only be described as something catastrophically wrong and dangerous. 

Sea folk lined the street, donned with banners, flags and signs to shout about what they believe in and it was quite a sight. We at The Scuba News UK attended the based protest along with our pal Cliff Culver from Surfers Against Sewage and marched with intent to be heard and to show people that enough is enough and that in a nutshell it was time to ‘cut the crap!’

We also met up with our wonderful buddy Sarah Elizabeth and her trusted crew from Portsmouth to represent Southsea. She even managed to jump up on stage for a few minutes to tell people how she is pushing for change in her area. 

To be able to come together in a safe and well organised environment with a bunch of like minded people is fantastic and the turn out was vastly more than anticipated. The mood of the day was nothing short of epic. People shouted out to the Government, media and water companies for change and demanded action. 

Our interaction with the ocean is so precious. Our marine and wildlife is even more precious and none of us want to loose it or risk its survival and so the time is now to stand up and say ‘No more.’

Surfers Against Sewage is a national marine conservation and campaigning charity that inspires, unites and empowers communities to take action to protect the Sea and our blue spaces. They took the lead this week and pulled off a huge event that spoke volumes about how people feel and what they want for all of our future.

Their campaigns include, water quality, sewage and agricultural pollution management. Ocean and climate study support to try to reverse some of the already existing climate crisis/damage done. Reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and promotion of nature based solutions. Ocean recovery and bio diversity support and the most obvious plastic pollution. We were glad to be at the event and thrilled to be standing along side so many like minded people. It felt motivational and right.

We look forward to more events and will be there making our stand alongside others in our watery community.

We were delighted to get the opportunity to attend the recent ‘Go Diving Show’ in Stoneleigh, Coventry. The dream team at the Midlands Diving Chamber supported our visit and published some of our most recent articles in the newest edition of ‘Tanked Up’ magazine. We were enormously grateful to them, especially Victoria Brown who had invited us along. It had felt like an age since we had mingled en-masse with other divers and there was a real buzz in the air. The weekend kicked off with the trades event on the Friday. Having time to catch up and chat with dive center staff, equipment brand reps and stall holders was a breath of fresh air after so long.

These events not only give you the opportunity to grab some dive kit and trip bargains but for us allowed us to say hello to some old friends. We caught up with Ruth James from PADI who we actually met way back in Iceland on a dive at Silfra. She is great and it was a real pleasure to see her again. We also bagged a bargain of a deal on a new camera, a Paralenz Vaquita which was an unexpected plus with a chap I had met years back when working with the guys at Andark in Swanwick. We picked this up from the guys at the Scuba Dive Store who were extremely helpful. We also lucked out by making some new friends at the industry curry night. No table could have been better to join that the Tobago and British Virgin Island table with a later addition of the crew from the Midlands Dive Chamber. There was rum and dive chat and it was great!

The event was really well organised and thousands of people flooded through the doors over the weekend. With equipment demonstrations and trials in the pool and really interesting talks and presentations throughout both days. There was loads to be enjoyed. Keynote speakers including Monty Halls, Steve Backshall, Andy Torbet and Alex Mustard were a must listen too of course but we also found ourselves lost in talks held by Alphamarine Photography Ltd who taught us a thing or two about getting our underwater photos right and key tips to tweaking our camera gear. A massive thanks to them for their help and advice. 

A real highlight for me was meeting the guys from Wakatobi. I had worked out in Indonesia for several years in a row on a conservation project teaching diving. I had always sailed passed their boat totally jealous at how lavish it looked with some of the most exceptional dive sites at its fingertips. It was great to meet them and see things back up and running post Covid. A company we would love to do work with in the future. 

That post covid point is a really key point. For me and I am sure many other attendees of the weekend it was a good way to feel part of the dive community again, much of which is a really social relationship. Nothing will ever beat a days diving followed by a few beers at sunset and most people in that event hall could completely relate to that.

Our motivation to get out to some new dive sites over the next year or so seemed closer now after chatting to the guys at the Barbados stand. I mean who doesn’t want to go to Barbados right! I was full of nostalgia after spotting companies like, Mike Ball Dive expeditions and Red Sea College who I had dived with in previous years and had an absolute blast with. 

The weekend was a must for myself and Senior Photographer, Radoslaw. We had remained as big a part of the dive community as we could for the passed few years despite travel restrictions and were excited to start planning again with friends. 

A massive thankyou to the oragnisers. It was fantastic to be there. We cant wait for the next one!

My dear friend Emma who is one of the most vibrant and gorgeous girls I have ever met, very sadly lost a really important man to her last year. She lost her Dad. He wasn’t just an important man to her; he was extremely important to a big old bunch of people who miss him dearly. His name was Paul and he was a Seaman and Diver. On the day of his funeral the entourage of folk who turned up to bid him fair well at Portsmouth Cathedral was a sight that overwhelmed his family. Boat horns blared in the background as they lined up along Southsea Seafront, his hometown. People waited in the streets outside the church where his service was held to pay their respects and it was a real site. He was a very special person and his life had been quite incredible.

I didn’t know Paul well but when I found out about what he had done with his life I was devastated that I hadn’t got to talk with him more. There is something about meeting other divers and hearing their stories that is absolute treasure. Their experiences are dive history and his watery career was expansive. I am sad that I didn’t get to speak with him more about his dive life because I think I could have learnt a lot from him and would have really enjoyed just listening to his stories. Emma showed me some photos of him at work with his dive pals and I was desperate to share them with her permission. She agreed and here we are.

Diving isn’t a job that just anyone can do. It is really hard to learn how to do well and safely. I am totally inspired by divers who reach high levels of training like Paul did. Not everyone really understands how much work goes into that. Being in the water is just like being in space. Everything you know is all of a sudden flipped upside down and different and the ability to operate in such a strange environment is a real skill. 

It takes a certain type of person to deal with problems that arise in extreme conditions, let alone work whilst they do it.  Again, it will always be something that non divers find it hard to relate too. We have all been on hairy dives before, ones where the current catches you unexpectedly or where the temperature is so fiercely cold that you feel numb all over. Those dives that don’t go to plan or you have to end because things came up that you couldn’t predict. You need a calm demeanor and an intelligent way of approaching problems. 

I can only wonder about all of Paul’s experiences underwater and imagine what some of the dives he went on were like.  As a diver his history fascinates me.

Emma kindly shared a statement that went out about Paul just after his death in January 2021.

‘Paul was something of a legend. Massively popular, always able to put a smile on peoples faces and hugely engaging. Nothing was too much trouble for Paul and he was the kind of person you would want at your side in a crisis or when the going got tough.

Paul was 58 years old when he died of Covid related complications. He enjoyed an extensive career supporting the Royal Navy since joining the RMAS as a junior seaman in 1978. He served on numerous vessels including torpedo recovery ships before settling on the dog class tug setter as an able seaman. In 1987 Paul transferred to the moorings section and then in 1989 to the diving section.

Paul was the last RMAS diver to conduct a deep dive, looking for a crashed phantom jet off Lundy Island in 64 meters of water. He took part in the recovery of aircraft in Dunkirk and dived with the team in Canada. 

In 2000 Paul went back to the moorings section and transferred to Serco in 2008 before joining the PC section in Portsmouth. He was an avid Portsmouth FC supporter and a pillar in his community and a proud upholder of our country’s military heritage and sacrifices. He will be dearly missed.’ Duncan Foster, Head of Portsmouth Operations, Maritime Services.

The diving world is vast and many individuals who access it at any time in their life either have or start to have an appreciation and passion for marine life and conservation. It is not always easy to branch out into this field without support, whether that is from an educational support system including schools, colleges and universities, from family support or from an organisation like Global Vision International (GVI).

GVI offer routes to go into fields that interest you in a safe and structured way. They target areas of importance and interest and help volunteers to gain the necessary field work that they need to progress in particular areas as well as professional and local knowledge of the type of work they are engaging in. All projects are centred around making a positive impact. Each site and project has goals and targets which are communicated and settled on with local and international partners. Volunteers help to make those goals realties and to really make a difference in all sorts of areas including, environmental and cooperate sustainability, climate crisis, clean energy awareness, wild and marine life conservation and much more.

Travel is a gateway into seeing problems and successes for yourself. It is hard to describe what a human impacted reef looks like in Fiji without actually seeing it first-hand. You have to go there and witness the destruction with your own eyes to want to change it. GVI is motivated to make things better in sustainable and locally managed ways to support longevity of success.

It can be enormously daunting to set off on a trip or down a path alone and travel, especially now when travel can be complicated post Covid. I wanted to get more insight into the benefits of joining volunteer programmes from the best people to ask, the volunteers. I was not surprised by what they told me but more overwhelmed by how much they took away from their experiences. It was nothing short of a pleasure to hear from others with passions just like mine, what inspired them and continued to inspire them and hopefully how their positive experiences would spring board them into careers to help make change.

If you are thinking about contributing your time in a positive way, visit GVI and find out what they can offer you. Here are some really encouraging testimonials from various GVI volunteers and projects.

‘GVI has taught me so much from learning my open water to monitoring the 91 fish species we study here. We help out with the coral restoration project, spotted eagle ray & coral disease watch project which have all taught me so much about marine conservation. However as amazing as the science is here the people you share this experience with truly make it. You go from strangers to family within a matter of days & make incredible friendships. I cannot recommend this programme more, I’m so glad I took the plunge & booked it!’ Gabrielle Fuller
https://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexico/

‘I am a serial GVI volunteer, having done stints on far-flung marine conservation programmes in Mexico, Fiji and the Seychelles since 2018. Last year, with all the uncertainty from the pandemic, I decided to try a base and programme much closer to home in the UK – the GVI’s sea turtle conservation programme in the Peloponnese, Greece.

I had such a rewarding two weeks in August and felt I really contributed to the important work done by GVI’s local partner, Archelon, which has been protecting loggerhead turtles since the 1980s. And as usual with GVI bases around the world, the staff were fantastic – hard-working, welcoming, motivated and always eager to share their knowledge and experience, and keeping us all safe amid Covid.

We did morning surveys where we checked on recorded nests, put protective measures around new nests (there were still turtles coming to shore to lay eggs even that late in the season), or excavated nests that had hatched to check on hatching success – where we sometimes encountered hatchlings still making their way out into the world. Watching these tiny creatures scramble out to the sea was such a heart-warming experience. There were also beach cleans and night surveys, and on one magical afternoon a swim where we saw adult loggerhead turtles, which made me feel my conservation experience had come full circle.’ CHL
https://www.gvi.co.uk/volunteer-in-greece/

‘I did an internship at the GVI hub at Tenerife. It was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone! The work you get to do is very rewarding and incredibly interesting, and three times a week, you actually go out on the boat and look for marine mammals! Seeing all these whale and dolphin species is so special, and made me even more motivated to contribute to their conservation. We also spotted some turtles and I got to see some of the beautiful nature that the island of Tenerife holds. The team is very professional and always ready to teach you new skills, but also available to relax and have some fun with! The support that GVI provides you with beforehand and afterwards is also really nice, it really helps to prepare for your trip and make the transition as easy as possible. Would recommend this experience to anyone!’ Christine Nijenhuis
https://www.gvi.co.uk/location/volunteer-in-tenerife/

‘I recently travelled to Greece with GVI to volunteer with loggerhead turtles. We participated in morning surveys where we would protect new turtle nests and we had night surveys where we would assist in tagging mother turtles. I had a great time, meeting new people and making friends. The staff were also so friendly and helpful! I also loved going into the nearby towns of Olympia and Kalamata where we learnt more about Greek culture. I 100% recommend this trip to Greece with GVI if you are into marine conservation and are ready for a good time!’ Jenna Zandstra
https://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-turtles-greece/

Learn more about GVI at: https://www.gvi.co.uk

In 2017, Ian Shaw, son of Robert Shaw from the classic, Jaws stumbled across a diary written by his Dad. Ian had taken after his farther and explored an acting career and realised that his resemblance to Robert was uncanny. Donning a moustache for a play he was working on at the time mirrored the character of Quint which gave Ian an idea. He was going to write a play about the signature story behind the scenes of the infamous Jaws movie. He did just that!

Ian pitched the idea to David Mounfield and Duncan Henderson, who both thought the idea would be a perfect fit for the Edinburgh Film Festival. He spoke to Joe Nixon, a writer friend to help him pull the play together and out of that ‘The Shark is Broken’ was born.

Ian Shaw, Liam Murray Scott and Demetri Goritsas act alongside each other as Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider in a funny, unexpected and quite frankly marvellous 90 minute play portraying how acting on the set of Jaws may have played out.

So much about the original Jaws film is wonderful. The animatronic sharks, of which there were three that relentlessly malfunctioned during filming. The dynamic crew that moved to various locations to capture different scenes in the script. The budget that was vastly over budget and spent on several things that didn’t work or prove to be reliable including ‘Bruce’ the great white. In fact rather than fear from a realistic looking, scary shark, much of the movies angst was created by the human imagination filling the gaps. After spending huge chunks of budget on fake sharks it was clear that the most terrifying shark was actually one that you never saw.

Jaws is a film that I watched as a teenager and have watched over and over ever since. Being able to go and see a different version of its events on stage in a beautiful theatre was just incredible. The simple set, absolutely brilliant stage presence of characters and ridiculous similarity to the real actors who shot Jaws is more than worth a look.

The West End Theatre, built in 1913 is one of the only remaining, untouched venues in London. After a tricky period being closed due to COVID 19, the theatre opened its doors to patrons to view, ‘The Shark is Broken’ and what a play to re-open with.

The mystery of the ocean and its creatures will always make a good film script because it is enthralling to all sorts of people. You don’t need to be a diver or marine biologist to love these types of films or plays but their sea theme and wonder encapsulates you because the unknown will always interest us.

Check out this play! It is an absolute must!

A visit to Rapscallions is nothing short of a breath of fresh air in a city full of bars and restaurants. I must admit that initially the concept of a themed pirate bar didn’t appeal in case it was cheesy and gawdy.

I had to get down there to see it for myself. At first sight I was nothing short of impressed. The music was great, the menus were fantastic, wooden, with the logo carved delicately in. Drinks being served all around me in smoking treasure chests and parrot glasses. It was easy to slip into the experience and really embrace the fun of it all. The bar looked like an actual ship with rope hanging and beautiful rum bottles adorning the shelves. It really has been done so well and the atmosphere is on point.

My days of remembering this venue as the Wave Maiden seemed long ago and there was no sadness about that pub that I so loved being gone, only excitement that it had been replaced with this quirky and awesome new hangout. In a city of sea folk and sailors it feels like the perfect spot. The sea moments away, the salty air in your lungs as you march up Osbourne Road. It has all the ingredients to work and it does in every way.

People were laughing and having fun and the staff were friendly and over welcoming. The menu serving pirate treats including Man’ O’ War burgers, Privateers pork bites and The Krakens Minions appeals to all tastes. As a sea dweller myself I immediately thought of various people I would like to bring here to share the vibe. To me a bar/restaurant should do that, it should leave you wanting to come back with friends.

The diver, navy, sailor community in Portsmouth is enormous and so this venue offers absolute charm and respect for what our city has going for it. You sit wanting to shout ridiculous piratey things at your friends and the owners have created that and encouraged it. Glancing around at the smaller details mean you spot fish tail door knockers and pirate hats drapped on warm flickering lamps.

Well done Rapscallions. You were quite the evening out.

Radoslaw Krol is a professional photographer who has worked with The Scuba News UK now for several years.

He brings nothing short of vibrancy and creative vision to the photos that you see in many articles and blog posts. Working internationally his art spreads across events, portrait and conservation photography. His passion is to work with people, to show a side to them that can only be caught behind a lense.

Capturing mood and emotion, his pictures describe people without words. Working on projects in Fiji, Australia, Iceland and various other locations, his role with The Scuba News UK has been to shoot wildlife, communities within diving, underwater activities and environmental projects.

Following us around armed with his camera is nothing short of a joy. His personality and bubbly nature mean that he interacts with subjects and situations in a really individual and fun way, making his photography signature. When you look back at his images you revisit the place you were and as someone who wasn’t there, you feel the atmosphere and learn a little something about the content. Where they were, what the dive was like etc.

With projects coming up in the new year, we are excited to see where Rad takes his artform and how he shows you, our readers a glimpse of other Worlds. He is a fabulous addition to our team at The Scuba News.

Learn more about Radoslaw at: http://www.picagaphoto.co.uk/

Whilst the last 2 years may have dampened our spirits a little, the passion to travel and explore never disappeared, in fact the motivation and drive to get away only grew and what better place to exit the UK too than magical Iceland.

A country I return to over and over again because of its total beauty called me back and put me in touch with some old friends. Special Tours was and will always be a must because they never fail in showing me something new and amazing. My day out with them was all I had hoped for and more. Humpback and Minke whales and pods of dolphins surrounding our boat isn’t really anything I can explain in it fullest wonder. The sail out alone is stunning with views over the city and the fresh sea air chillin your face whilst you sip hot chocolate and wait, desperate to spot something. The guys on the boat are honest about the luck you need to see something. There is not an order a whale app on their phone. The sea life comes and goes as it wishes and just that is awesome.

We sat with a humpback for half an hour whilst he surfaced and peered at us, dived and came back for another look. The anxiety of if he would pop back up and the joy of dolphins jumping around the boat at the same time was almost too much. Its more than exciting, it is unbelievable.

Trips like this give you a real appreciation for sea life and for the decline in stocks of species and how rare and lucky it is to see anything at all. The excitement comes with waves of worry that you might never see one again unless things change. The boat crew and they genuine love for the gentle giants streams through their talks and explanations of habitat and behavior. You feel the concern in their voices when they talk about numbers left and how many they used to see not so many years ago.

Seeing whales and dolphins in Iceand just feels that must more crazy than in other places because it is such an interesting country, full of folklore and fantasy. The sea beings fit right in and have you perched on the end of your seat wondering where they go and what they get up too. I would always recommend a trip out with these guys. An easy booking system ane meeting point with fantastic communication. It really is a rated day out and one that anyone can enjoy.

I recently went along to a local screening of The Ocean Film Festival. An event I attend every year that always leaves me inspired and motivated about my next dive trip.

As I sat there watching this arrangement of incredible short films, a stone’s throw away from my third trimester, I thought about my own connections to the big blue and how much I was missing it. Keeping a strong connection with the ocean has been my biggest challenge whilst being unable to dive.

So, how can we, as pregnant women, keep our beloved ocean close now that diving is off the table?

Stay engaged with the ocean without getting wet.

• Stay current and keep up with associations and organisations that engage with it.
• Follow ocean related charities to keep in the loop about conservation efforts.
• Attend local beach cleans or organise your own one.
• Write a blog about interesting ocean related events you have been along to or films/documentaries you have seen.
• Get involved with Dive Against Debris, Surfers Against Sewage or Project Aware.

Engage with other ocean lovers.

Ocean folk talk non- stop about relationships with water, in whatever sphere it may be; surfing, diving, sailing, swimming etc. People’s tales often describe a salty blend of adventure, adrenaline, exploration, inspiration and love. By connecting with other ocean users, whether in person or on online, sharing and learning about other people’s experiences can make you feel inspired to return to diving. Social media is a fantastic tool for this so join some online groups and discussions and keep talking. You will have a lot to offer other women in your same situation. PADI have some great chats that you can participate in to share your love and inspiration.

Continue to visit the Ocean.

For me, snorkelling has been a great alternative to diving and something that I often overlook as a diver. As a pregnant woman it enables me to exercise lightly and relax in a watery environment. It’s wise to check with a medical professional as every pregnancy is different, but there are plenty of water based activities such as swimming that you still partake in. I also visit the coast as much as possible. Nothing really beats the fresh sea air and it enables you to reconnect with it.

As a recreational diver there are still PADI courses you can take. Check out some dry courses such as the Project AWARE Specialist, Enriched Air Diver or Emergency First Response to keep yourself up-to-date and inspired to return to diving. It is a fantastic opportunity to get some more training under your belt.

I left the theatre and the ocean film festival totally motivated to get through my pregnancy safely and to have a healthy baby for my friends. It’s a big year and it has put lots of things into perspective but by keeping my connection to the ocean I have more drive than ever to get myself back to being scuba ready and teaching in water as soon as possible.

Caring for a new born or any aged child obviously puts some limitation on how much you can dive or travel, however teaching diving is like any other job in many ways and having children shouldn’t prohibit that in any way. Making things work and changing life styles just mean that fitting things in needs more attention. Children are demanding, sleep depriving, stamina testing but you can do it.

Reasons not to give up that job you love:

• You trained hard to get to where you are.
• You became a dive instructor for a reason and it is important not to forget those reasons.
• You’ll be the coolest parent in the playground.
• Diving denotes a lot about your personality and it’s important to keep hold of that sense of self.
• The World needs more Ocean protectors and dive instructors to facilitate the next generation of marine biologists, ocean enthusiasts and research and data collectors. Your job is important for a million reasons.
• It’s vital to try as much as possible to continue to do what you love.
• You’ll be an inspiration to other women.

Doing any job that you adore is a luxury and there is something special about people who teach. You have the skill to help someone else explore and embark on underwater adventure and that is pretty fantastic. With the support of PADI it’s easy to stay in date from home and not loose those important links to learning and teaching. Make the most of those tools on offer. By staying in teaching status you have a bank of support on your doorstep.

Think about why you became an instructor.

• You had a love for the aquatic world.
• You’re the sort of person who wants to enjoy their job and what they are doing.
• You had a passion for a different career.
• It is a rewarding job and one that allows you to see the World and that’s why you did it in the first place.
• As an instructor you get to ensure that others keep learning and building on their dive education. You are a wonderful facilitator.
• Let’s not forget how many women travel with children and raise them in different countries and environments. Creating new little sea folk lovers and travel with purpose.

When I think about why I love diving and how to express how important it is to keep doing it I watch this clip and I remember not only why I cherish my time underwater but why I want to keep inspiring other people to dive too.

One of the biggest concerns about being pregnant for me was the building anxiety of what it would be like getting back into the water after birth. I got around lots of my worries by doing the following things:

• Seeking advice from my HSE Doctor about general rules of thumb for returning to the water and when was medically safe. This included C-Section options.
• Staying up to date with PADI updates and webinars.
• Following DAN and their network updates about scuba diving issues for women.
• Joining social media groups like ‘Girls that scuba’ to digitally listen in on other people’s conversations about related worries.
• Staying active whilst pregnant to keep my fitness up.
• Speaking to your Midwife and GP.

Talking to medical professionals was without a doubt the most helpful thing for me to know when it would be ok to start planning dives again. The general advice I got was that every woman is different as is every birth. Follow what your body tells you and just make sure you get the ok from your Doctor before you submerge. 

Dive kit for my changed body.

I of course worried that I wouldn’t fit into any of my dive kit anymore and so I started exploring brands and different equipment options. This was the fun bit. I invested in some new kit and I explored the market for new gear. I checked out local dive centres, tried new kit on and found out what was new on the market. This really helped update me on what was available and in turn would help me later to make recommendations to my students. Really useful. I also had forgotten how utterly vital it was to go and actually try dive equipment on and ensure the fit and comfort suited my body shape, height and build.

Renew a love of snorkelling.

I got interested in the ocean after initially going snorkelling. Now I would always choose to dive over it but having a baby gave me the opportunity to renew my love of just being in the water again even just at the surface. Get involved in a Freediving or Snorkelling course, start to enjoy swimming again, first in a pool and then out in the sea. Getting back to the water can be as gradual as you like. Taking small steps can enable you to get your physical fitness back to where you are comfortable and confident.

Fernhurst Junior School in Portsmouth is raising awareness and understanding about the problems caused by plastic misuse. Head Teacher, Roberta Kirby, who has been working in schools and education for over 20 years has embraced the need to teach young people about the problems we as a planet face with plastic. A strong staff team behind her who are motivated to change things in school has lead them to follow routine practices at Fernhurst that are set to make big differences. The wonderful thing about this school is that they are teaching their children to believe they can make a difference, to empower them to become change makers and be proactive in instigating changes for their future.

Two staff members at the school, Mathilde Chanvin and Natasha Parker are advocates for the school community’s reduction of plastic and are active in their quest to combat the use of plastic and re think how and we use it. One fantastic practice put in place is the recycling of white board and hand writing pens. A student body of over 350 pupils creates a huge amount of waste with something as small and perhaps un-noticed as pens. Collection boxes are in classrooms and children have normalised the system of recycling them. What a fantastic practice.

Fernhurst recently celebrated World Book day and the theme of the Rainforest to explore imagination and creativity through literature. Students arrived at school in fancy dress and looked fantastic. Mathilde Chanvin arrived with an important message and set a positive example to students about the Rainforest whilst continuing one of her normal and routine sessions of litter picking in the school garden. Layla Slater, a student in year 3 said, ‘I love the rainforest because it’s full of cool animals and creatures, it would be sad if we lost it.’ Another pupil, Cristi Taimea, picked up the recycling bin in his classroom when learning about deforestation and said, ‘Look how much we waste.’ He was joined by a number of Fernhurst students who came into school with research they had done, without prompt about the rainforest and how we protect it.

Roberta Kirby has also made a historical change in challenging the school’s provider of Christmas lunches and asked that this coming year the school do not make use of plastic knives and forks. What an incredible leap in reducing plastic and a routine changer for the school. Roberta Kirby said she was upset by the amount of waste she saw last Christmas and was eager to minimise it for the coming year.

Fernhurst will also be taking part in ‘Plastic Free Day‘ on May 8th 2019. This day was set up by Alex Rhodes of Hampshire Fire and Rescue with an aim to raise awareness about how much single use and disposable plastic we use in everyday life. A plan to re-educate and draw attention to the local community and their commitment to go plastic free for 24 hours.

For the first time in humanity, in 500 billion years, humans have the future in the palm of their hand and it is so refreshing to see the educators of our children promoting a desire to care for the planet and maintain and sustain it. A bleak World is ahead of us if we don’t.

Fernhurst School is an inspiring environment with some important messages to its students about how they learn not only curriculum based subjects but how they engage with the World they live in, in everyday life and how they can shape their own and others futures and the planet they inhabit.

Learn more about Fernhurst Junior School at: https://www.fernhurst.portsmouth.sch.uk/

Learn more about ‘Plastic Free Day’ at: http://www.plasticfreeday.co.uk/

Nemo 33, an absolute bucket list dive of mine for the past few years was fast approaching with a tight schedule of only two and half days to get there and back by car with my fabulous Photographer, Radoslaw Krol in tow. We set off early, dive masks packed, Saltrock knits on and Euro Tunnel tickets in hand. The aim for this trip was to not only dive Nemo but to also see how fast it could all be done and with how much ease it could be executed.

Finding nearby interesting, signature dives close to home can sometimes be a challenge but with connections like the Eurotunnel offering speedy transfers the commute becomes much more do able. With a crossing of only 35 mins we were in France before we knew it and driving off to Belgium.

We chose to stay at the nearby Hotel Campanile in Drogenbos after being recommended by the pool. Clean, comfy rooms with an exceptionally friendly staff team made for a happy stay and we felt welcomed and safe in secure rooms. A short drive away and we were at the pool and ready to be inducted and submerge. We ate at this hotel, hung out and had a few cheeky post dive drinks and really enjoyed ourselves.

The pool bottoming out at 33 meters is accessible by bus, tram or car and offers ample free parking on arrival. Easy to spot as you drive past we were excited to arrive and see what all the fuss was about. Walking right into the reception which sits at the side of the restaurant we were warmly welcomed. The restaurant was awesome, dive tanks hung on walls, windows next to tables peered into the pool where a vivid blue shone through. We quickly checked in and explored, heading for the dive shop and bar area. Sipping on fresh coffee and chatting about the dives, the restaurant was buzzing. 

Feeling light after only needing to arrive with our dive computers, it was easy to look around without having to lug kit. The rental equipment was in great condition and staff were at hand for sizing and assistance. I loved the way the pool was used by divers, swimmers, free divers and for exercise classes. It was a real hub of activity with all sorts going on and a very refreshing vibe.

A perfectly designed pool with different levels, underwater cave type rooms and sub levels to help you descend and ascend safely, the pool is easily appropriate to investigate over an hour with the deep tube being a first stop and highlight. It is also great fun looking through the pool windows during your dive and waving at coffee sippers. I loved the design and layout of all aspects of the building and pool and the way each area corresponded to the next. The facility is ideal for all levels of divers and offers supervision at all times. 

Submerging and dropping down to the 30m mark and looking up above you offers a perfect view of the depth tunnel and a stunning view of light and dark shadows and outlines of divers above. It really is quite a sight. A sense of being in the abyss or a dodgy diver film where you could disappear at any moment into the depth of the ocean is what runs through your mind at the bottom as you are unable to see the surface through the cloud of bubbles.

An ample break at the restaurant with some of the best Thai food I have ever tasted outside of Thailand came next on the agenda. I also absolutely loved the in restaurant projector running continuous dive movies on a huge white wall.

Knowing the drill for the next dive and eagerly awaiting the bell ring for the next set of divers to go off and get ready, we waited and ting, off we went. The second dive was much easier in a lot of ways because we knew the layout of the pool, the systems for getting ready and the pool rules. This dive was for exploring and enjoying and it was great!

I love that this dive is easy to get to and do from the UK and with the connections as impressive as they are, it really is easy for anyone and affordable to do. I would highly recommend it. There is so much to do on the way and so much to see in nearby cities like Brugge and Antwerp that this dive trip can easily turn into a sight seeing tour. We stopped at various places to enjoy the infamous Belgian chocolate and beer that Belgium boasts of. So much can be seen in such a short time.

Learn more at: http://www.nemo33.com/en

This week students at Fernhurst Junior School, beach cleaned in their local area. A group of young Ocean explorers who have been taking part in an undersea exploration as part of a Fernhurst University project were armed with litter pickers to clean up their stretch of local coastline.

This junior school has a big drive and motivation to make a difference in the World and a thirst for learning about conservation and the marine environment. One staff member, Mrs Chanvin, organises litter picks in the morning on school grounds to not only clean up the premises and role model good behaviour about caring for the local area but also to practice fine motor skills when using the pickers. This reminded me of a lady called Margaret Mead who once said “Never ever depend on governments or institutions to solve any major problems. All social change comes from the passion of individuals.” Fernhurst is lucky to have such individuals on their staff team.

Inspired by the chaps over at #2minute beach clean, a growing family of beach lovers who have been rolling up their sleeves to help rid the Worlds beaches of marine litter and plastic pollution, two minutes at a time, the Students at Fernhurst decided that they wanted to get on board with some global issues and do their bit for a beach nearby. The impact of pollution globally might not have hit home to our young people just yet but it does when they see it in the towns and cities they live in and more importantly on the beaches they love to play on.

Fernhurst students strolled along Southsea beach and found all sorts of mirco plastics and admitted they were shocked at their finds. One student, Taylor said, ‘Who dropped all of this stuff? Don’t they know there is a bin just over there.’ Another, Alfie said, ‘Do we even need straws Miss?’ This was quite prolific. If an 8 year old can understand that straws are not really a necessity then that’s a big step in the right direction for our future.

Well done Fernhurst Junior School and keep up the good work.

Learn more at: https://beachclean.net/ and https://www.fernhurst.portsmouth.sch.uk/

Already in Thailand working in Phuket, I heard about how close the GVI Thailand base was and so I immediately got in touch with Head Office, keen to swing by for a visit. I was immediately put in contact with Vanessa Ree’s, Base Manager and what an utter peach she was!

Vanessa welcomed me with complete open arms for a very brief visit to check out the turtle project and to meet some of the team and volunteers. There are a million things I could say about Vanessa but they are not enough words really. She was warm, kind, funny, welcoming, knowledgeable and excited about everything GVI were doing in Thailand which made me and others around her as excited. She is one of those people that just has a full on positive vibe and I thought she was ace!

I arrived fairly late as night and was shown to my room and run through all safety aspects of projects and briefed so that I could head out with the team the next morning. It was all very exciting.

Transfers from base to the Navy Base where the turtle conservation project runs were on time so a bunch of us jumped into the transport and set off for Phang Nga, a stunning coastal province. Each week the GVI team spend time working with Green, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles that have either hatched locally in the Similan islands or have been hurt or damaged in various ways and are at the centre as part of a rehabilitation programme to get well before release. Global populations have been so severely impacted by human activity that numbers are in worrying decline. The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami added a further blow and nesting areas and local ecosystems where turtles reside and grow were destroyed.

The Head Start programme supports the release of hundreds of turtles every year and GVI staff and volunteers are actively involved in data collection, research and the care of the turtles. Hatchlings are supported at the centre after local nesting spots were threatened and the care of the turtles became critical. The turtles are born on a near by similan island and then raised at the centre. They release between 8-10’000 a year. Barriers come with raising turtles in captivity or accommodating them whilst they get well after accidents or sickness. Bacterial, viral and fungal infections are common and GVI help to support the cleanliness of tanks, medication of turtles and general care of all residents, playing an extremely important role.

The work is hard but rewarding in so many ways and is always promoting the building of local relationships. The support of GVI really make a difference here and it was great to be on project in the field and to see such an obvious impact.

On the day I visited the center GVI welcomed some new volunteers who were starting on project and it was an absolute delight to watch staff briefing them on all things turtle and ocean related. They covered species, threats, sustainability of turtles and were enthusiastic about the work being done here. I loved the information volunteers received via on site presentations before they got stuck in. The passion of the Marine Biologist, Ines Quilez was obvious. She was fabulous to listen to and inspiring with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field.

Heading back to base the mood was high and new and old volunteers were content with the day’s work and what had been achieved. It was time to head back for a shower and a walk around the village and a cheeky cocktail at nearby resort, ‘Thai Life’. Vanessa took me for a stroll through the village before dinner and really took the time out to show me everything that was close by including Baan Nam Khem tsunami memorial park. What a heart wrench this place was but an absolute must for all travellers in Thailand. The area still re building from the not so distant devastation was beautiful and a real reminder to not forget people lost and affected by the disaster. I love that GVI make a point of keeping this central to theirs values and educating visitors/volunteers.

I strolled around some more with Vanessa and she told me about all the projects that GVI offer here and her fantastic plans. We wandered about and sipped ice coffee made by a lovely local lady and it just felt like a really nice place to be and a hard one to leave even after only one day.

I hope to go back to GVI Thailand and I would strongly recommend anyone thinking of positive ways to travel with purpose in Asia to do the same. Check them out!

Learn more at:

https://www.gvi.co.uk/blog/sea-turtle-conservation-phang-nga/

https://www.facebook.com/GVIThailandPhangNga/

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/241169367/gvi-thailand-phang-nga/?hl=en

Some years ago now I went to meet the guys on board Phuket’s infamous liveaboard, MV Giamani. A 5 day trip out to the Similan’s to explore the underwater world with some top divers. An incredible dive trip with some incredible people. This year I had the absolute pleasure of joining another trip out to the Similan’s and it was just as I remembered it.

Giamani is a higher class liveaboard that offers 2,4 and 6 day dive safaris to Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and the Similan Islands with a must stop at stunning Richelieu Rock. Italian owned this boat is run and managed by one of the most experienced and knowledgeable divers I have ever met, Ricardo Trabulo and his exceptional colleague, Francesco. An accomplished Instructor with PADI, SSI and RAID, Ricardo has been diving for over 30 years and is a really key individual for this company. His warm and welcoming and super helpful approach to every desk is incredible. I trusted his expertise complicity.

This boat carries a maximum of 10 guests and is a known high end trip out of Phuket. The boat, well looked after and maintained to an exceptional standard transfers you to the stunning National Marine Park that is the Similan’s, a set of 9 islands that have been rated in the top 10 dive sites in the World. Jacque Cousteau discovered this incredible pinnacle with the help of local fisherman and listed it as one of his favourite sites and it wasn’t hard to see why.  Partly due to its geology as a solitary pinnacle it attracts a variety of different pelagic species. Snappers, batfish, lionfish, triggerfish and the most amount of glass fish I have ever seen in my life adorn this dive site. It is also a site known for its small and sort after, must see critters including seahorses, frogfish, harlequin shrimp and pineapplefish. It is one of the best dives I have ever done!

My second fave site on this trip is Boulder City. Only 1km southeast of Koh Pa-Yan and a few hundred meters off Shark Fin Reef lies a site full of giant granite boulders, hence the dive site name. Ranging from depths of 12m to 40 it is an awesome site to explore. Golden gorgonian fans and sea whips grow in the cracks of the boulders and in every crevice you can spot something interesting. It is the dive site I love to explore the most out of the Similan’s. Currents can be a bit hairy but again we felt, as I did the first time I dived this site wonderfully briefed on the best way to dive it. I was given ample advice from the dive team. Like I mentioned previously, I never felt unsafe or unprepared.

There is something quite special about being at sea with a group of likeminded people with no cares in the World other than what the next dive site is and what you hope to see. This is the magic thing about liveaboards, they allow you to immerse yourself in the ocean and totally getaway for that brief time. Dive chat buzzing on the boat, sunrises and sets to die for and sea air. What is not to love!

Nitrox and rental equipment at the ready, a rebreather and trimix friendly environment, Thai and international cuisine, clean, en suite cabins and a wonderful crew. There is not much else you could really ask for. I also love the addition of the new shop in Chalong, a great place to pop into for trip information and to purchase last minute bits and bobs for the trip. Centrally located and managed by extremely helpful staff, it’s a nice place to swing by even if you just fancy a hello.

This personalised adventure is in my top 3 dive safari trips and a good enough reason for me to always return to Thailand. I recommend it to friends and divers I meet all the time and have every faith that they will have the same experience I did. Dive Thailand, Dive from MV Giamani.

Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/MVGiamani/, https://www.instagram.com/mv_giamani/ and https://twitter.com/ColonaLiveaboar

This festival has one vision and that is to inspire people to engage in a relationship with the ocean or to think about the one they already have and how it enriches their lives.

A festival that explores all things ocean and how to respect, explore and protect it. A series of short, unique films that cover a range of experiences including scuba diving, surfing, conservation, sailing, rowing and free diving. This festival enlightens me every time I attend and I always leave feeling like I want to quit my job and build a boat and sail it around the World or pack up my dive kit and search for blue whales. It is an emotional experience that allows you to find out about some individuals who have pushed their limits and boundaries to get closer to the sea and perhaps themselves.

The films take you to places that you have never been and give you a glimpse of some extreme life styles. One minute you’re riding the crest of a wave, marvelling at the wonders of the depths of the most unexplored spaces on the planet and the next you are inflicted with the despair of the decline in marine life and most treasured ocean creatures. It’s a whirlwind.

You don’t have to be an ocean lover to attend this festival but I can guarantee that you will leave feeling like one. Start your adventure through the experience of others and then go and create your own. An ocean of opportunity.

Learn more at: https://www.oceanfilmfestival.co.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/oceanfilmfestuk/