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The liveliest letters from the DIVER mailbag...
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I read the Wreck Tour article in DIVER every month. I find the tours very interesting and they would be a useful resource to anyone diving the wrecks in the future. The references to old fishing netting and line tangled in the wreck is a valuable safety feature in warning divers of their presence.
Entanglement under water is probably one of the biggest risks faced by divers, especially in the lower visibilities found around UK shores.
Most of the risks involved with diving are considerably reduced by the improved equipment and redundancy carried by today's divers, including knives, net-cutters and shears to deal with any entanglements. But should this risk be reduced further by removing netting from popular dive sites?
Prevention is many times better than cure. The charter boats that earn a living from the wrecks could be of some assistance in this process. Abandoned netting on wrecks is also the cause of a number of unnecessary marine-life deaths that could be prevented by its removal.
I favour seeing wrecks in their natural and authentic state without human intervention. I would prefer that they are not plundered by souvenir-hunters, nor set up as artificial reefs.
However, netting draped across a wreck is the result of human intervention and is certainly not authentic to the wreck. If it were removed, it would mean that divers could safely see more of the wreck, with the added advantage that it is more friendly to the sea life that sees it as a home.
Keith Manning, West Drayton, Middlesex
Comment: An interesting suggestion, Keith, and we've decided to put it to the vote - so you not only win a lamp but have raised a new Big Question.
It was with great interest that I read the lead news story in February reporting the recent case concerning the prohibition of diving on wrecks on which someone has died, and where the wreck has been connected with the war in one way or another (Court Judgment Could Threaten Diving On Thousands Of Wrecks).
I feel that the agitators in this action are probably in the minority. As a skipper I frequently receive emails from relatives of the casualties of such wrecks, requesting information and photos.
A recent example came from the grand-daughter of a British gunner killed on ss Bokn, which was wrecked in Lyme Bay in July 1942 and, as part of a convoy, would be included in the proposed ban.
She asked whether, as I arranged dives on the wreck, I could let her have any photographs of it. She said that her mother, who like her lived in California, never knew her father as he had died when she was only three months old, and that "it would mean a lot to see an image of the boat if she could".
As such requests indicate, diving clearly does not cause offence to the relatives and, if anything, provokes curiosity. Providing the wrecks are respected, I see no difference between diving on a war grave or visiting the battlefields and graveyards of war victim, in France.
The Government, before granting the requests of those complaining, should also perhaps reflect on its own position. It has been responsible for the destruction of many of these wrecks in the process of awarding salvage contracts in the years after the war.
Douglas Lanfear, Blue Turtle, Lyme Regis
I have been thinking to write about Fort Bovi-sand for some time, and the recent items by Beachcomber in January and February have made me think that now is the time to start.
Some years ago Kendall McDonald wrote a book, now out of print, describing the history and development of Fort Bovisand as a diving centre. As co-founder and training director for some 27 years of its 32-year life as a diving centre, I would like to follow Kendall's book with a more personal account of those years.
Having lived at the Fort all that time I know a good deal about it, but I am sure there is a vast amount that I do not know, and which should be included in such an account. So any information will be valuable, and due acknow-ledgement given.
Would any DIVER readers who have memories of the Fort - good or bad - be kind enough to send me any comments, photos, anecdotes, or other experiences as a diver, guest, visitor, passer-by or whatever during that time?
I would particularly like to obtain a copy of the BBC film of 1979 describing the early days of the "BADLAD's Courses". Please write to me at 47 Faubourg de la Madeleine, 56140 Malestroit, France.
Alan Bax, Malestroit
In this season of new get-fit regimes, I thought I'd share the following paragraph found in a 1939 copy of that great "Boy's Own"-style handbook How it Works and How It's Done by Ellison Hawks (with apologies to female divers)...
"A deep sea diver must be a man of strong physique and must go into training like an athlete, for in addition to being dangerous the work is very arduous.
"The finest divers seem to be slim men, sound in mind and limb, strong in heart and with muscles like steel. Their bodies must be capable of withstanding pressures four and five times greater than those for which they are intended, for the physical strain is as great as asking a 30cwt motor truck to carry a load of 6 tons.
"Only a superbly designed chassis and engine could do it, yet a diver is called on to do more..."
Perhaps I'd better consider booking that aerobics class after all!
Tim Camp, Backwell, North Somerset
After the excitement of booking our first diving holiday to Sharm el Sheikh, my sensible side kicked in and I re-read an article on good health for diving holidays.
I followed a lot of the advice, dosing myself up and consuming probiotic drinks in the hope of avoiding a dodgy stomach.
Alas, it wasn't to be, and after our four days of diving were over I was struck down with a stomach bug. I went to my GP when I got home and was prescribed ciprofloxacin - how I wish I'd seen Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler's article (First Aid Kit For Divers, January) before we went away.
However, one point about this antibiotic made in the accompanying leaflet and that might be worth noting is that it can make your skin extremely sensitive to the sun.
Anyone who is well-prepared enough to have a prescription with them may want to be aware of this before they decide to spend a few days relaxing in the sun (close to the nearest loo) rather than on the dive boat.
From previous experience, not being told that drugs I was given after an accident could lead to sensitivity to the sun resulted in a nasty itchy red rash. Still, at least it would take your mind of your stomach for a bit!
Tracy Cook, Dawlish, Devon
Last month, on the full moon, we were diving Mesali Island Marine Park on the west coast of Pemba (Tanzania) during the late afternoon. Suddenly, as one, all the sea cucumbers reared up and began to spawn.
We were amazed and wondered if we had witnessed something special - or have any other readers ever seen this spectacle?
Jen Bouchet, St Ouen, Jersey
Ahmed Adly in February's Off-Gassing responded to my earlier letter about a whale shark being killed in Zanzibar (Distressing Sight, November 2005) and I would like to make the following points:
In no part of my letter did I say that I had no respect for the local population of Zanzibar.
The people of Zanzibar are probably the friendliest I have come across in Africa. I singled out a handful of fishermen who broke the law by killing/finning a whale shark.
I had nothing to do with issuing any fines, as the local authorities were dealing with this.
I had nothing to do with reporting the fishermen. I do not decide what can or cannot be taken from the sea - that is why there is a fisheries department. I was merely an observer, and why Ahmed Adly has any respect for law-breakers is beyond me!
It's true that the owners of the dive centre we used were not from Zanzibar, but all its employees were locals - ex-fishermen, to be exact. They had converted their fishing boats to accommodate divers, and were better off financially working for the dive centre, whether foreigners owned it or not.
This dive centre is looking at ways of educating the local fishermen, which will one hopes will benefit them and their families.
I wonder if Ahmed Adly has ever been to Zanzibar? I have lived in Africa for most of my life, and educating people and making them aware of their environment goes a very long way in conservation. He sounds like a disgruntled fisherman to me!
Greg Puchert, London
I am intrigued by the criteria for the lead letter in Off-Gassing. While Flagging Enthusiasm (February) had a serious point to it and was written with a degree of humour, with no disrespect to Stuart Harris it was nowhere near the quality or level of two other letters. Each had a serious point to make and did so with real impact.
Don't Use A-Flags As Bumper Stickers raised a serious issue in that if divers are going to criticise other water-users then we as a body need to be beyond reproach, especially where safety rules and regulations impact on other water-users.
As I am a member of the Shark Trust this is a biased view, but by far the best letter, which was sure to ignite debate, was Respect for Shark-Finners. Ahmed Adly was entirely correct; we in the West should not judge others based on Western values, neither should we try to impose Western solutions to non-Western problems.
While we take for granted education, healthcare and food on the table, some cultures need to do things that we find abhorrent just to provide food. The solution is to work with these cultures, fight poverty and hit the middlemen who encourage shark-fishing and finning, beyond what is required, to feed the shark-fin soup trade.
By working with these cultures, identifying solutions to their issues and educating them about sustained fishing, they can be coerced into adopting sustainable fishing methods or alternative livelihoods. Perhaps Mr Puchert should look at our own fishing industry before criticising what could just have been a group of fishermen trying to feed their village.
Come on, divEr, up the game. In my humble opinion the lead letter should ignite passionate debate!
Well done, Ahmed, if I were editor the Beaver Nova Light would be winging its way to you!
David Bence, Hampshire
Comment: It's all in the eye of the beholder, David - sometimes the lead letter is controversial, other times it's a bit of fun. We hope you'll agree that this month's lead letter raises a serious and original point,
I have the good fortune to live and work in Jakarta, and fully endorse John Bantin's comments on both Eco Divers and the quality of diving in Manado (Weird And Wonderful, January).
I have dived there four times in the past two years and on 90% of my dives I have seen marine life that I have not seen before. It's a shame that John did not get to dive with any of the local divemasters, as they do have the ability to see things us older divers with
failing eyesight miss. I could not see this pink squat lobster under water, even though Monica, a local divemaster, was getting frustrated that what she was pointing at was invisible to me.
Never mind, I thought, and took a photo anyway. Imagine how elated I felt when I downloaded my images and saw what I had missed under water.
On my latest visit in November we encountered a pod of orcas on the way to the dive site, and the trip was delayed for at least 20 minutes while these magnificent creatures played around our dive boat (I was surprised to find orcas this far south but we have a video to prove it).
I cannot speak highly enough about the staff and operation they run. However, being Welsh, I disagree with John's comments about the atmosphere being very British. On every visit to Eco Divers I have found a very international flavour, with divers coming from as far apart as the USA and Japan. This to me is part of the attraction of Manado.
Finally, for people who wish to travel to Manado but might worry about the publicity given to tsunamis and earthquakes in Indonesia, Manado Tua is not an active volcano but has been dormant for many years.
Mike Bray, Jakarta, Indonesia
You may wish to ask Red Sea Flights how it accounts for a £25 charge to correct a simple spelling error made on an online booking.
I made the booking for my friend, fellow-instructor Jon Anstey. I spelt his name Amstey. I notified Red Sea Flights of this within a couple of hours. I was then asked to pay a £25 charge.
If its system generates this charge, I can put it in touch with software experts who can save the company and its clients a lot of money.
Julian Turner, Charmouth, Dorset
February's Off-Gassing included a letter from James Stamp headed Encouragement For Asthmatics. I would point out that asthma is a serious condition for divers that can result in pneumothorax (burst lung), CAGE and even death. The use of Salmeterol puts sufferers at stage 3 of the BTS (British Thoracic Society) guidelines and as such is currently regarded as too severe to dive.
Assessment should be done by a doctor knowledgeable in diving to the standards currently employed by the BTS, UKSDMC and HSE, that is, full spirometry, exercise test and re-testing. Peak flow meters are not enough for assessment.
Incidentally, three more important triggers of asthma in divers were missed out by Mr Stamp - anxiety, cold and water aspiration.
Dr Ian Sibley-Calder, Hornsea
We informed Kenya Airways in advance that 12 of us would be travelling from Dubai to Maputo in Mozambique via Johannesburg, all of us bringing dive gear.
No problems, we were told, and we were given a generous 40kg baggage allowance each, plus 15kg hand luggage. We were all ready to heartily recommend Kenya Airways to other divers.
On the return journey, however, it was a different story. At Jo'burg we went to the Kenya Airways desk to check in, only to be directed straight to the excess baggage desk after being told - even before they had weighed the bags - that we would be over the limit.
At the excess desk we were told that our allowance was 15kg - including hand luggage.
When we argued that we had been given a 40kg allowance they smiled and said: "Only on the outward journey".
We had a good deal to say about this, as you might imagine, and once we all placed our trolleys across the desk and refused to move or allow other travellers through, the manager came out and finally allowed us through without an excess baggage charge.
I know that travelling through Africa can be a challenge in itself, but this manoeuvre was so slickly executed that it was obvious that the airline had done it many times before.
Divers, be warned. Either get a letter stating your baggage allowance on every leg of your journey - or do what we will be doing and travel with another airline.
Steven Beckett, Sharjah, UAE
As readers may know, Kenya has some amazing diving, and I wanted to recommend African Safari Club for its generous flight baggage allowances. I went to Kenya three times last year and it always gave us an extra 20kg on top of our luggage allowance, giving divers 42kg in weight.
This seems to be very generous and indeed welcoming for divers who use this company. All you have to do after you have booked is email or phone and it will send you a letter confirming the extra allowance.
I am in no way affiliated to this company but I think it deserves a mention.
Alistair Docherty, Flamborough
I read John Liddiard's article A Gap In The Red Sea (February) and it just brought back so many memories of the same trip last November on the Sea Serpent.
The description of the oceanic white tip sharks with their attendant pilotfish at Daedalus Reef was so vivid, and the article so "spot on" - thanks for the memory.
Pamela Selley, Great Oakley, Essex
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