Star of Russia, Port Vila
The Grand Old Lady
Harland and Wolff built the Star of Russia in 1874.
Iron hulled and a totally rigged 3 masted ship, she truly exemplified the grand old square-riggers of the late 1800’s.
The Irish company J.P.
An Esteemed Career
The Star of Russia enjoyed a long career with a number of good passages to her credit. Yet the Star of Russia proved to be a fast and efficient ship, one to rival some of the steam ships of the day.
Her maiden excursion to Calcutta took just 87 days and she returned to London in only 95 days.
On the way she recorded her best days run, covering 388 miles over 23 ½ hours, a median of over 16 ½kst Read more
Plans for new Tempe Sea Life Aquarium excite Scuba divers
Merlin Entertainment Group, based out of the United Kingdom, announced that it intends to build a $15 million, 26,000 square foot aquarium next to the Sports Authority at Arizona Mills in Tempe Arizona. Merlin Entertainment is the owner and operator of Lego Land in San Diego. “This will be Merlin’s 30th Sea Life Aquarium“, said spokeswoman Julie Estrada.
This will be the second aquarium to open in the Valley of the Sun over the last year. The World Wild Life Zoo opened its three building aquarium in Litchfield Park (adjacent to the zoo) and plans to open a fourth building. Visitors to Phoenix’s west side can visit the Aquarium and see species from local lakes to far off Southeast Asia. The World Wild Life Zoo Aquarium also features a shark tank and an interactive stingray tank. Read more
Becoming a Certified Scuba Diver
There are 2 primary items to think of when going for certification. Number one is to pass a health exam by your doctor. You may wish to make sure that you are in good condition before taking up this demanding sport. You don’t need to discover while you’re hundreds of feet below the surface that there is a difficulty with your heart, lungs or consciousness. The next thing to understand is that you’ve got to be able to swim. It is not a priority to grasp a bunch of swimming strokes, however, be ready to swim about two hundred meters and tread water or float for approximately ten mins.
There are around two thousand scuba diver training centers in North America, so you might find one fairly close to your home. Make sure that the diver center has a good reputation, you may find inventories of this scuba equipment on the web. 2 of the certification agencies, PADI and NAUI have lists on their Internet sites which will assist you. Read more
Scuba diving dry in Arizona – It’s a dry heat
As the summer rolls to an end around the country, the Phoenix area is still scoring 100 degree days. Unlike most cities around the United States, summer doesn’t come to an end on Labor Day weekend.  In fact, it is common to have 100 degree days well into the month of October. And, when those cool days come, it is a welcome relief to most residents in the valley of the sun.
However, for us Scuba divers, Labor Day is a signal to start thinking about the cooler water that will soon follow. Diving in the Phoenix area is a year round activity. In fact, most divers prefer the winter months as the water is clearer, more dive sites are available (due to lake conditions) and there are less boaters on the water. The trade-off: water temperatures get significantly cooler in the winter months. Read more
How To Ride Bicycle Underwater: Behind The Scenes of E.T- Underwater Remake
Recreating E.T underwater was a long time dream of mine. On a hot, sunny Caribbean summer day back on August 2003 I’ve assembled with a few good friends and co-workers at Utila Dive Centre, Bay Islands, Honduras to give it a go.
Our goal was to recreate the famous E.T bicycle scene, riding a bicycle towards the surface. Sound easy isn’t it? Well, here’s the story behind the making of Underwater E.T. Read more
Rocio del Mar Liveaboard makes the Sea of Cortez its home
The Sea of Cortez, one of the most unique bodies of water on the planet, is the closest “salt water” for Scuba divers in Arizona. This amazing place has lured folks like John Steinbeck, Jacques Cousteau and millions of others for its romance, sea life and quaint oceanside hamlets.
Legendary diver Jacques Cousteau described the Sea of Cortez as the “world’s aquarium” and the “Galapagos of North America”. Cousteau was referencing the plethora of sea life that travels up and down the Baja and Sonora coasts throughout the year. It is an amazing and impressive collection that could entertain even the most seasoned diver with new and exciting finds dive after dive. Read more
Curacao Review
Curacao is a small southern Caribbean island slightly north of Venezuela. It is found in close proximity to Aruba and Bonaire. The trio of islands are often referred to as the ABC islands where A=Aruba, B=Bonaire, and C= Curacao. Because the islands are so far south, they are generally considered to be out of the hurricane belt. As such they are frequented even during the fall months. This is in contrast to other Caribbean vacation destinations which are sometimes avoided due to hurricane season. Late summer to early winter is generally considered the time in which most hurricanes occur.
Lion’s Dive Resort is a well known destination in Curacao. It is a moderate hotel, both in size and price, with decent accommodations, and a generally very friendly and helpful staff. The two main restaurants are Nemo’s and Hemingway’s. Hemingway’s is open for all 3 meals, and is known for their wonderful cheeseburgers, pizzas, and sandwiches for lunch. Nemo’s frequently serves dinner with a wide variety of island cuisine. The food here is quite a bit more expensive than Hemingway’s, but every morsel was excellent. The food here was well worth the price if you have the money to spend. The Resort is Beachfront, and adjacent to many other shops and eateries. A beach side bar, and several other food shops are easily within walking distance for those who wish to wander away from the resort and experience other local cuisine. Also, if you’re traveling on a budget, consider the local grocery store which is just a couple miles away. Store prices were more reasonable than expected on a small island. Each resort room has a small refrigerator to store your purchased items. Read more
Scuba Divers: 10 tips to better buoyancy
On the first day of Scuba class, a student learns how important buoyancy is in diving. Once certified, a diver will spend a better portion of his/her training perfecting their buoyancy. Simple fact, buoyancy is more art than science. With good technique, the right training, ongoing practice and the right equipment, you can perfect your buoyancy. The goal of any diver is to hover effortlessly through the water. When you “dial in†your buoyancy, you will reap the benefits such as, better air consumption, dive with less exertion, protect the environment and safely control your ascents and descents, Great buoyancy means you are diving safer and having more fun.
Following are ten tips to assist you in developing better buoyancy:
1. Get more training: Most divers often use bad habits to compensate for poor technique. Without the right training, these bad habits become memorized and hard to break. Stumbling through the water becomes the status quo for many divers. Get enrolled in a class. Learn the right techniques to proper buoyancy. Perfect the ultimate skill for being a Scuba diver, without the crutch of bad habits. With more training, you will achieve the goal of spending as much time as possible, during your dive, neutrally buoyant. Read more
What does it take to get certified to Scuba dive?
Hundreds of thousands of people get certified to Scuba dive every year. Some of them are doing it for a one-time thrill on their honeymoon. Others are getting certified as a first step, in many, to a (underwater) world of adventure. In either case, taking a beginner lesson and getting your Open Water Scuba Diver or Scuba Diver certification is the first step.
All beginner classes are structured in a similar fashion. The class has two parts, knowledge development and in-water work. Regardless of the agency (whether PADI, NAUI, SSI or SDI), there is little variance in this first step. The most important factor is choosing an instructor in which you feel comfortable. To get certified as a beginner Scuba diver, you must complete all the knowledge development and pass a final exam and you must “master” your in-water skills. While this may seem daunting, it is generally pretty easy for most people. And, it can be done in as little as a long weekend. Read more
How to Pick Your Next Diving Holiday
Deciding where to go for your next diving holiday can be a little tricky these days. Should you take the easy route and enjoy something closer to home, only to be swamped by hundreds of others at the dive site or go long haul, escape the masses and go in search of the garden or eden – only to find the visibility is poor and the flight times overbearing.
Egypt has long been the first port of call for today’s traveling diver, and why not? It’s just a four hour flight, almost guarantees good, sunny weather and generally the visibility is unsurpassed by anywhere in the world. Combine that with colorful coral reefs and a wide diversity or marine life and you pretty much have the perfect ingredients for a diving holiday. Trouble is so many others have the same idea, even traveling through the deep south on safari boat now won’t mean you’ll get the dive sites to yourself. Read more
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