Conservation Fund The North Sulawesi Watersports Association (NSWA) has launched a joint programme in cooperation with environmental education organisation Bintang Laut, to provide 350 children and 60 teachers from villages in North Sulawesi with environmental educational opportunities, to help preserve North Sulawesi’s reefs for future generations.
The NSWA–Bintang Laut programme ensures students have the time of their lives while learning lessons relevant to their local natural environment. They experience hands-on lessons in the park, including learning to snorkel in order to discover the diverse reefs of Bunaken National Park, and the long-term negative impact that garbage has on the flora, fauna, marine environment, and tourism.
Most importantly, students learn to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the reef and gain a sense of understanding, caring, and thus ownership of the marine and coastal ecosystems, which will hopefully inspire them to protect and conserve their unique environment.
The programme is being run at the Marine Environmental Education Centre on Bunaken Island. Plans for 2007 include expanding the programme to offer it to schoolchildren who live in villages alongside the Lembeh Strait, on the opposite side of North Sulawesi, world-famous in its own right for “muck diving” and rich concentration of rare critters.
Since 1999, the NSWA has taken an active role in protecting the North Sulawesi seascape through the "3 Es": Education, Enforcement, and Employment efforts. Results have demonstrated the efficacy of similar programmes on the reefs and coastal communities in Bunaken National Park and Lembeh Strait. dive.northsulawesi.com, laut.bintang.googlepages.com
Incredible Images Congratulations to Singapore's Richard Edison Tan Keng Jin and Margaret Pang Nee Ang, the two readers who were closest to correctly selecting the top three images from the Incredibleimages Reader's Choice Contest.
The top three images selected by a panel of Scuba Diver AustralAsia judges are: 1. Gerald Rambert's lionfish hunting yellow snappers, taken on the Tug 2 in Mauritius. 2. Cassandra Dragon’s ball of pilchards and fusiliers, taken beneath a Raja Ampat jetty. 3. Dr. Alex Mustard's mating rock beauty angelfish, taken on Sunset House Reef in the Cayman Islands.
eLearning Boosts Web Hits Traffic at padi.com - one of the dive industry's most visited Web sites - skyrocketed the second to last week of May, largely due to the launch of the eLearning course online. The volume of traffic marks the highest page views in padi.com history, which holds promise of an increase in new divers for PADI dive centres and resorts.
With the eLearning launch on 21 May, padi.com saw an immediate increase in traffic. By 25 May, traffic at the site increased more than 40 percent, equating to an additional 5,538 unique visitors on that day alone compared to the previous year. What’s more, page views increased by a whopping 76,600 as compared to the same time last year, surging padi.com traffic to a record-breaking week!
Two Fish IDC Centre With two resorts, one on Bunaken Island and one in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, Two Fish Divers have just been upgraded to PADI Gold Palm IDC. Future PADI IDCs will be run on Bunaken and Lembeh, with the first scheduled in September 2007. (The IE will take place
in Bunaken/Manado, another first!) Two Fish Divers are now offering a 10 percent discount on prices for that very first IDC, and have packages that include free diving in Bunaken and Lembeh. twofishdivers.com
Beuchat Malaysia Fans of Beuchat take note: Scuba Symphony/Ginivy has been appointed the Beuchat dealer in Malaysia. The contact details are: Sdn Bhd 18G, Jalan Ara SD, 7/3B Taman Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, 52200, Tel: +(60 1) 9383 7119, ginivy@streamyx.com
Tioman Mega Dive It seemed like insanity, packing two week's worth of activities into barely four days. And for the 60 participants and media at the Tioman Mega Dive (TMD) 2007, those four days were indeed a whirlwind of activity. In the end, the TMD 2007, which took place 11-15 May, was an eye-opening experience, showcasing Tioman to the participants who came from as far away as the United States, Russia, and Canada.
The headline events of the inaugural TMD were the underwater treasure hunt and underwater wedding. In the treasure hunt, 10 authentic miniature treasure chests were hidden among the hard and soft corals of Tioman’s more than 20 dive sites. Though poor visibility during the three days of diving made finding each chest more difficult, eight of the 10 were eventually found, four by Malaysian Chuu Jiun (and three on one day!). Despite paying just the RM200 (US$57) entry, she won four fabulous prizes including dive trips to Palau and Walea,
a camera with underwater housing, and a Scubapro regulator.
Though the treasure hunt was fun, the photo competition a challenge, and the beach party a bacchanalian affair, the underwater wedding was undoubtedly the highlight of TMD. The couple originally scheduled to marry in the traditional Malaysian style had to withdraw, but it didn't put an end to the celebrations.
Galileo Making Waves If you haven’t already heard, Uwatec's new Galileo computer is making waves in the industry. Here are a few of the major features of the Galileo that are unique and a first for computer technology:
Technology
Heart rate monitor with Polar technology allows Uwatec to include the response of the diver to stress during the dive into the (workload compensated) algorithm.
Full-tilt digital compass that functions even when the diver’s wrist is turned 90 degrees, and does not require recalibration before every dive.
Externally reprogrammable chip allows new features, new languages or just cosmetic changes to be easily uploaded via the wireless infrared interface. For example, buy and download a new trimix algorithm upgrade from the Web site in future.
Hoseless gas integration to four transmitters can be displayed all at once including your buddy tank data.
Takes gas mixtures from 21-100% oxygen.
Personalisation
Choice of screen configurations that is configurable by user
Choice of language for messages during dive and user interface
Owner and emergency information
Upload pictures, maps, texts that may be useful during the dive
User friendly interface
Cell phone type menu navigation
Logbook
Text alarms
View pictures and profiles while underwater including decompression prognosis
Compass bearing memory for navigation
Push on/push off backlight allows the backlight to be on for the entire duration of the dive
User-replaceable battery without desaturation reset
Johnson Outdoors Acquires Seemann Sub Johnsoon Outdoors Inc. in April announced it is adding the popular German brand, Seemann Sub, to its portfolio of winning outdoor recreational brands. The family-owned and managed German company was acquired from Robert and Ella Stoss. The transaction continues Johnson Outdoors' strategic focus on acquisitions that complement its businesses, have market-leading potential and strengthen long-term profitability.
Seemann Sub, founded in 1979, is one of Germany's largest dive equipment providers, offering a complete line of dive gear for the price driven consumer. The acquisition enables Johnson Outdoors for the first time to go to market with a full range of innovative, quality dive equipment and gear representing the best value at every price point for the retail and rental channels. Over the next six months, the company plans to relocate its existing SCUBAPRO and UWATEC business in Germany into Seemann Sub operations located in Wendelstein, Germany.
'Continuous innovation and strategic, targeted acquisitions are key to achieving our future growth vision," said Helen Johnson-Leipold, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson Outdoors. "Germany is the #1 dive market in Europe, and establishing a strong presence there is essential to returning our diving business to historic levels of profitability. As a result of this acquisition, overnight Johnson Outdoors has become one of the top three competitors in this important regional marketplace. The opportunity beyond Europe is even more exciting as we look to leverage the SCUBAPRO global dealer network to expand distribution of Seemann Sub around the world."
Seemann Sub was purchased by Robert Stoss in 1997 following a successful 10 year career with SCUBAPRO, during which he directed diving operations first in Germany and then in the United States. Under his guidance, Seemann Sub has earned a reputation as an innovation leader in the price/value dive gear segment with products such as the SL400 second stage regulator, and the new Extender dry suit.
For more information please contact Scubapro Australia, Tel: +(61 2) 9417 1011 or dive into scubapro-uwatec.com
Helping Turtles The NSWA has long been aware that sea turtles, which are attracted to the long sandy beaches of Bunaken Marine Park on Indonesia's Siladen Island, are on the brink of extinction.
With the advice and support of the WWF in Indonesia, the NSWA has established a turtle hatchery in Bunaken Marine Park on a section of beach where the turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. To ensure minimum interference in the natural process, only those eggs at risk from being swept away by high tides will be moved to the hatchery to give them a better chance of survival. Any eggs laid by turtles that are safe will be left in place, but will be monitored to make sure that they are well protected and untouched during the 45-60 days of incubation.
The chances of survival for young turtles are quite slim, and the NSWA hopes the establishment of the hatchery will boost the odds. It takes 35 years before a turtle is sexually mature and, once fertilised, the female returns to the beach on which she was born to lay her eggs. When the baby turtles hatch they have to scramble across the sand to reach the sea, a time when they are very vulnerable from predatory sea birds looking for an easy meal. Once in the sea, they even more vulnerable to attack from larger, swifter predatory marine life.
The first turtle laid 120 eggs on 13 February 2007, close to the hatchery; the NSWA reports that all is going well and they were expected to hatch in April. Many more turtles are expected soon as the peak nesting season is between now and the end of June. The NSWA is using the opportunity to involve local schoolchildren in the monitoring process to educate them about the turtles and their importance in the marine ecosystem.
To learn more about the turtle hatchery programme, visit divenorthsulawesi.com
