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Divers will converge on Birmingham's NEC from all corners of the universe over the weekend of 29-30 October. So what will they find at Dive 2005?
LIKE TV ASTRONOMER Patrick Moore, the annual Dive Show at the National Exhibition Centre just seems to go on expanding year after year.
Every Show has more exhibition stands with more goodies on them, more visitors, more big-prize competitions and more well-known guest speakers. Every so often, bigger halls have to be found to contain all this exciting activity.
This is where divers come to plan and book trips, assess and buy gear, hear the latest and meet their friends. Can you afford to miss it?
Lost Liners is a double-handed presentation aimed at everyone who loves big shipwrecks. Well-travelled technical divers Leigh and Teresa take us on a virtual underwater tour of famous wrecks such as the Lusitania; the gold ships Egypt and Laurentic; and Titanic's sister-ship Britannic.
The presentation will touch on sensitive wrecks such as the Nazi liner Wilhelm Gustloff, which sank in the Baltic at a cost of almost 10,000 lives, as well as the Transylvania, Justicia, Amazon, Tuscania and many more.
Apart from original 35mm slides taken in depths of 130m-plus, previously unseen footage is also being prepared especially for the show.
Offerings from ace underwater film-maker John Boyle are becoming a regular attraction at the Dive Shows. The forthcoming event is no exception, but instead of a single production John is screening a wide variety of under-water shorts. Existing titles include his recent award-winner at Antibes, Colours of Papua New Guinea; the frogfish tribute Froggies; and The Shrimp and the Goby.
But there will also be first screenings for Indian Ocean Kaleidoscope; Up Close; and Second Biggest and Second Meanest, about basking and bull sharks. Leo Blanco's shark film Nobody Loves You also forms part of what should be an entertaining programme.
TV presenter, Wreck Detective and contributor Miranda Krestovnikoff recently completed a series of filmed dives for the ambitious BBC series Coast, and the stories behind them are featured elsewhere in this issue. Miranda will be talking about the making of the programmes around Britain, and showing clips from the underwater sequences at the NEC.
One of the world's top cave-divers and author of cavers' bible The Darkness Beckons, Martyn Farr is constantly travelling to unexpected parts of the world and returning with stirring tales of closed-environment adventure. The last year has been a particularly busy period, with some amazing diving in Australia, Malta, Sardinia, Ireland, Xante and Lanzarote. Martyn will be showing footage of and discussing his exploits in these parts of the world in his presentation, A Cave-Diver's Year.
With underwater digital photography surging in popularity, a new feature at the show is what we expect to be a lively question and answer session with a panel of photo-experts, including Dan Burton, Paul Kay and Rob Hancock. Our own John Bantin will be in the chair to provoke (sorry, that should be prevent) any arguments among the experts. Amateur underwater photographers visiting the Show will be invited to submit their own best efforts for public analysis, in between the tips and hot topics.
Will you have the luck of the Draw this year? Every Dive 2005 visitor is entered into this competition in which the prize is a fabulous trip for two to the Caribbean island of Dominica (pictured). Where you'll stay and with whom you'll dive has yet to be finalised, but we can promise that you'll have a whale of a time (Dominica is one of the few places where sperm whales are regularly seen, though much of the smaller marine life is just as interesting).
Book for the show in advance and you'll save £3 per head (£7.50, instead of £10.50 on the door). Book ahead in bulk, for friends or relatives, and you not only make savings, but could win a £5000 Red Sea trip for eight from Group and leading tour operator Regaldive.
You'll enjoy flights, transfers, B&B accommodation at El Gouna's 5-star Mšvenpick Hotel, and a five-day dive package with the Dive Tribe dive centre.
Visit the Rebreather Pool, where you can try out the latest gear; the Try-Dive Pool, for underwater baptisms; the PADI and Caribbean Villages and, this year, South Asia Showcase; bars and restaurants; and "Our Favourite Dive Gear" - an exhibition of the all-time most popular equipment. Will items you own or have owned be there? Go to www.divernet.com to vote now.
Order your tickets online at www.diveshows.co.uk or use our telephone hotline 020 8977 9878
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