The Dive Site blog

The Secret of Saint Brandon

16 February 2012, 13:02

We lead our respective lives. Some work at desks, stand and teach, raise families; others save lives, put their lives at risk, etc.

But we‘ve all shared that feeling when the background noise is silenced as we descend into the depths. The sound of our breathing replaces all thoughts and we just exist.
Diving is a meditative sport; whether you want to admit it or not. You breathe deeper and become fully present and aware. If not for the safety of being so, then due to the tranquility of being suspended in water examining some of life’s most fascinating species.

Imagine experiencing this in unchartered and barely discovered territory. A place so untouched by man that the birds drop their eggs where they please, the fish are plentiful and as big as small cars, and sharks make up 40% of the traffic.

Divesite was recently invited on a trip to Mauritius hosted by DiveSailTravel. DiveSailTravel is a Mauritian-based tour operator that charters dive trips in and around Mauritius as well as other African destinations. They asked us to join them on a pioneer dive expedition and share our story.

I am a Canadian-born Indian photojournalist living in South Africa and recently hired as a full-time journalist for Divesite. Not to mention, extremely lucky to have been chosen to represent the magazine on this trip!

Saint Brandon is a diver’s ultimate paradise. It is a group of more than thirty islands approximately 300 kilometers north of Mauritius. They are atolls completely isolated and surrounded by the warm Indian Ocean. Seychelles lies far north and Madagascar to the west.

We sailed from Mauritius on a 50-foot luxury catamaran sponsored by Harmony Travel; a journey that took more than thirty hours. We were blessed with calm seas and a full moon. We fished when we were hungry, swam when we were hot. We uncovered shells as if we were important archeologists, and dived when our tanks were filled. Each day was governed by the elements and we had no choice but to respect them. Nature thrived here and we tiptoed around it, careful not to cause any disturbance.

It was such a thrill to see that such unspoiled beauty still exists, and we all left wholesomely nourished by it all; it was indeed, a trip of a lifetime.

Join me on the adventure as I describe it in this summer's issue of Divesite magazine.

by
Shalini Tewari

For trips with DiveSailTravel:
Stephane De Senneville: +230 254 0102 or Coraline Cadet: +230 254 4017
email: divesail@intnet.mu, web: www.divesailtravel.com

For trips with Harmony Travel:
Yulia Piskun: +2309429605, +2309429607
email: yulia@harmonytravel.mu

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DiveSite subscriptions: important change

14 October 2011, 10:43

Hi guys, here is an explanation of the new subscription deal.

When we started Divesite magazine we offered free subscriptions to those guys that registered with us in the early days. Those who registered before the first issue will have received 5 free mags by now.

These free subscriptions were never intended to last forever, but we did want to keep them free for as long as possible. Earlier this year we capped the free subs - so new subscribers would pay but the initial batch of free subs remained free. Unfortunately I now have to tell you that ALL free subscriptions have expired and if you want to keep getting the magazine then you will need to take out a paid subscription.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that economic times are tough right now, and unfortunately we are not able to continue to sponsor free subscriptions.

HOWEVER, we want to thank you guys for your support by offering you a very special price (R120, which is a 25% discount on the standard price of R160 for an annual subscription). To qualify for this price you MUST SUBSCRIBE BEFORE MIDNIGHT ON WEDNESDAY 19th OCTOBER.

By subscribing you will also be entered into our very cool prize draw - 4 nights at Benguerra Lodge, including flights from Joburg from Federal Air, and helicopter transfers to the island, worth R40 000. All the details here.

I hope you guys have been enjoying the mags, and that you will stay with us. If you take advantage of our special offer you'll keep getting the mags at a great price, and stand a chance to win a wonderful dive holiday. We have loads of cool stories and great photo's coming up in the next few issues, so don't miss out!

To subscribe now click here.

All the best
Murray

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Missing diver found in jail

16 September 2011, 12:26

We got this from Underwater Africa - sounds helluva harsh and reckless to me if the authorities really did arrest a diver for this, and especially if he wasn't even allowed to inform his buddy. If anyone knows more please email me - murray@mantamedia.co.za .

Missing scuba diver found in jail
2011/09/15 12:05:12 PM

Cape Town - A missing scuba diver nearly sparked a full scale search and rescue operation in Cape Town - until the man's mother informed rescuers that her son had in fact been locked by the police.

The National Sea Rescue Institute mobilised on Wednesday night after an emergency call that a man had not returned from a late afternoon dive at Cape Town's St James beach.

But all activated rescue services - including a police helicopter with a thermal imaging detector - were called off after a phone call to the missing 42-year-old's family, said NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon.

"Fortunately the mother of the missing man informed us that her son had just called her and that he was locked up in the cells of a police station... for allegedly being found diving in a protected marine reserve without a permit."

The alarm was raised by the man's friend who grew anxious after darkness fell.

"All rescue resources were stood down as they were no longer required and the man's friend was relieved to find out that he was alive and well," said Lambinon.

"It appears that while the friend had gone for a walk along the beach law enforcement agencies had come across the scuba diver diving and they had arrested him for apparently not having a dive permit."

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Why don't we use all these wrecks?

5 August 2011, 10:29

After my post last week on the KZN shipwreck, Shane Erlank sent through the following thoughts:

"Your recent postings regarding the ships left abandoned on our coast left me thinking that these ships present a wonderful opportunity for the navy to pull them offshore, cut off all the cables etc, cut access holes all over the ship, drain the oil and remove the dangerous items and sink this ship as an artificial reef and dive destination.This is done so often in America, why can we not do this here in SA? Political will, cost, think what this could do for diving if we had our very own ''shipwreck'' dive tourism will spike, thers plenty of precedents for this all over the world".

I guess as the reason we don't do this includes the usual, lack of money and political will, but it would be nice, wouldn't it? And I know that in many instances it may be impossible, but is this option even considered? If it's going to lie there anyway, turning an eyesore and source of pollution into an artificial reef that benefits both the environment and the economy would seem to be a no-brainer.

Divers decend on the Vandenberg, sunk as an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The USS Kittiwake, sunk a decommissioned US Navy vessel sunk as an artificial reef in the Cayman Islands

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Another uninsured ship runs aground in SA

29 July 2011, 11:43

The MT Phoenix ran aground near Ballito in heavy weather earlier this week. All 15 crew were resued safely by SA Airforce helicopters.

However it now sems that the ship, which was being towed to an Indian demolition yard, is uninsured and has been effectively abandoned by the owners.

The vessel reported to be owned by Marika Investments of Lagos, Nigeria by the Equasis ship database has been anchored off South Africa for some weeks after suffering an engine breakdown on its final voyage.

The South African authorities have been pressing for the ship to be removed from their coast for week because of the dilapidated state of the vessel but have been frustrated by the lack of an identifiable interest to take responsibility for the vessel.

The owner initially promised to secure a tug to tow the MT Phoenix to the demolition yard but then stopped responding to the South African authorities who were in the process or organising a judicial sale of the vessel when the ship grounded.

The incident is already being compared to the wreck of the 30,500–dwt Turkish bulker Seli 1 (built 1980) which landed the South Africa’s Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) with a ZAR 24m ($3.44m) bill last year. The Seli 1 still sits off Table View beach, where it is being slowly pounded to pieces by the atlantic winter storms.