X-Ray Mag #5
The other side of Cayman Islands - Sister Islands - Bloody Bay Wall - Coral Spawning - free diving world record. Cave diving in Siberia. Philippines: Cabilao. Norway: the wrecks at Narvik - one of the biggest naval battlegrounds of WW2. Finding the U-89 off Ireland. Visiting Fourth Element Interviewing Cathy Church, photographer extraordinaire. Sam MacDonald marine metal sculptures. Ecology: tagging whale sharks. Photography: Going digital. Science: Hydrothermal vents
Main features in this issue include:
Cathy Church
Down the stairs to the friendly photo shop at Sunset House Hotel, a dive resort on Grand Cayman Island, one enters the world of the colourful and inimitable Cathy Church, a legend in underwater photography and an inspiring teacher to many a diver who found his or her way to her popular week-long super courses.
Since 1972, Church has been teaching underwater photography in the Caymans and has conducted seminars in most of the major cities in the US.
Cayman Islands
Situated in the sparkling Caribbean Sea, the three Cayman Islands, known as Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, lie some 250 km south of Cuba and about 300 km west of Jamaica. Geographically
Configuration
Since the introduction of Scuba diving in the mid 1950s, one of the most hotly debated subjects in the world of technical diving is that regarding the best type of gear configuration. Over the years, many experienced divers, instructors, and training agencies, have all claimed that their method and style of kit configuration is the best.
Also, a diver may be able to maintain his depth at the bottom by lightly finning. However, finning too hard and for too long could lead to excessive CO2 production. The breathing rate would then increase, and the flushing and exhaling of CO2 would become less efficient.
Creatures of Cabilao
After a two-hour car ride and an hour boat travel, I finally reached my destination—Cabilao, an island paradise located near Cebu, Philippines.Before coming here, I had read exciting accounts about Cabilao Island, particularly about the stargazers and pygmy seahorses that reside in its surrounding waters. On this trip, I was determined to see these critters, at the same time discover other things that Cabilao had to offer.
After a two-hour car ride and an hour boat travel, I finally reached my destination—Cabilao, an island paradise located near Cebu, Philippines.Before coming here, I had read exciting accounts about Cabilao Island, particularly about the stargazers and pygmy seahorses that reside in its surroundin
Hydrothermal vents
Hydrothermal vents are places in the Earth’s crust where very hot water arises from vents in the cold, deep-sea floor. This hot, mineral-laden water is a rich environment for the development of an exotic marine life, previously unknown before the discovery of hydrothermal vents. This marine life uses a quite different chemistry from other animal life, be it marine life in the upper sea levels, or terrestrial life.
Their discovery
Sam MacDonald
A move to the remote northern Scottish province of Orkney sparked a love of the sea, fishing and diving for the increasingly known metals artist, Sam MacDonald.
“There is a feeling of alchemy when crafting something of value from a supposedly dead material.”
— Sam MacDonald
Siberian Caves
It is only four hours by plane from Moscow to Abakan, capital of Khakassia. The above-freezing temperatures, sunshine and the absence of snowdrifts contradict the traditional idea regarding the severe climate of Central Siberia. Together with the Novokuznetsk cave diver’s team, we drove up through the foothills of Kuznetsk Alatau and the picturesque valley of the Small Sya river to the mining town of Tuim.
This is a favorite place for modern shamans and is a well-known Stone Age settlement. Stone axes, bones of mammoths killed by our ancestors, and the most ancient musical instrument in the world, a flute, has been found here.
Tagging Whale Sharks
Utila is the smallest of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, where divers go in search of whalesharks, but find much more. Being the Executive Director of The Manta Network, a global conservation organization, I was very interested in the local efforts to protect whalesharks. Patric Douglas, Director of SharkDiver.com, invited us to stay in Utila and write about his dive group’s whaleshark experiences.
U89 - Exploring U-boats in Ireland
Now laying 25 miles off Malin Head, time stands still for this very impressive war machine. Rammed and sunk by HMS Roxburgh, all lives were lost on board the U-89. Crawling with life, the U-89 is now patrolled by large cod, pollock and, of course, conger. Its 60 meters boasts life everywhere.
For the last four years, both my dive buddy and I have been diving with Buddy Inspirations. We agreed that this was our most memorable dive. Using a 19-60 trimix, all was very sober at 60m. Our bottom time was a little under 30 minutes, and our total run-time was 85 minutes.