Tag: scubadiving
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A PERFECT DIVE 20/20 VISION
A perfect dive, a feeling after most dives, right? But hey, this time I had 20/20 vision! I bet you’ve not had a dive with so many highlights, some starting on land already. While packing our gear bags I thought I would irritate my dive buddy, an instructor at the Dive Centre, who has been…
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DIVING A SUBMERGED SCULPTURE GARDEN
Trou Moutou is a dive site in the Mahebourg Lagoon, Mauritius. It is popular for its protected shallow 9m depth and open sandy seabed areas ideal for doing Open Water Diver practical tests. It also has a couple of Hawksbill Sea Turtles living there, but mostly it stands out for its Submerged Sculpture Garden that…
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POST CYCLONE DIVING
BELAL AND CANDICE Two cyclones in ten days, but then again, I knew my departure was in the island’s cyclone season. I found myself cyclone watching, first Belal and then Candice. Mauritius was in the path of both. 15 and 16 January 2024 Belal caused flash floods in Port Louis, turning streets into rivers. Widespread…
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UNDER THE SEA and beyond
Langebaan Lagoon, West Coast, South Africa I grew up on the Langebaan Lagoon with its turquoise water, bird islands and Saldanha Bay. This Lagoon on the west coast of South Africa protects migratory birds and nesting areas of endangered seabirds. It also acts as a protected nursery area for many fish species, not even mentioning…
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KEEPERS OF THE SEA
While I’m still landlocked I have been inspired by two phrases that my reading and time on social media has brought to my attention. There are many committed individuals and organisations who are working passionately and often without financial gain, to fight one battle at a time in the War to save the Sea. It…
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NEUTRAL BUOYANCY
A question of balance. New divers often struggle finding that sweet spot where they can just hover, neutrally buoyant. You either rise uncontrolled, struggling to descend or you sink and risk damage to some sensitive marine organisms. When I thought I was going to do coral transplantation shortly after qualifying as a SSI Open Water…
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CROSSING THE REEF PART1
Crossing the reef to dive Purple Cave again. I have been out of the water for 26 days now. I feel the call of my blue underwater sanctuary every time I look at an underwater photograph or video. My 25th dive was my last dive of my trip to Mahebourg, Mauritius. Luckily I did not…
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DRIFT DIVING
A dramatic final dive. As I pulled myself out of the sea and onto the boat ladder, the dark threatening clouds above us opened up and water was gushing down on us, as though God had chosen that moment to pour the ocean onto my head as a baptism, I just qualified as an Advanced…
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An Emperor on the HMS Sirius
An Emperor on the HMS Sirius I wanted to go back to the HMS Sirius. Feeling that my previous wreck training dive with only 5m visibility and the onset of a narcotic induced confusion at 25m, left some of the wreck unexplored. As the winter weather still kept us inside the reef and I had…
Walk my Talk 