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Month: February 2017

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Ocean Ramsey Beautiful Shark Protector

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

If some people are destined for a specific career, then Ocean Ramsey— yes, that’s her real name—was meant to become a preeminent shark and marine researcher and conservationist. From her home base on Oahu, Ramsey has traveled the world to study sharks in their diverse habitats and bring awareness to the threat that numerous shark species currently face.

She’s also an advanced free diver (a diver without a breathing apparatus), scuba instructor, business owner, and designer. When she’s not traveling the world free diving, she’s at home in Hawaii working at her own company, One Ocean Research and Diving.

Her cause went viral when she was caught on tape riding the back of a fully grown great white shark with no cage or other protection. There’s also the fact that she’s attractive enough to be a model and does much of her work in barely-there bikinis.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

Maxim spoke to the gorgeous 30-year-old scientist about conservation work, eco-activism, and what it’s like to literally ride a great white.

How did you get into shark conservation?

My parents love the ocean, and I imagine part of the reason I love that environment must come from growing up the way I did. I have a degree in marine biology, specialized in ethology (animal behavior), and studied specifics on shark body language, how they establish their social hierarchy and avoid confrontations.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

But I realized that if I only focused on studying sharks and publishing papers, then another 600 million sharks would die while I conducted my six-year study. That realization was the point when everything clicked. I knew I needed to take the science, conservation, diving, and all aspects to a new level with a new approach, so I co-founded the company One Ocean Research and Diving.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

What does your organization do?

My company has a team of mostly female marine biologists who take people out daily to dive with sharks and learn about their biology, physiology, behavior, body language, and how we humans can adapt our own behavior based on our scientific understanding of sharks and their role in the ocean ecosystems. This is all to aid us in creating safer, and more fun, interactions.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

Are sharks really in such peril?

Currently, shark populations have been decimated, with most shark species seeing 90 percent declines, and many species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The beautiful (and toothless) whale shark, the largest fish and shark in the ocean, was just moved to endangered-species status a few months ago, joining the hammerhead on the growing list of shark species that are quickly being wiped out due to many wasteful practices. Shark finning and regular shark sport fishing are the two biggest causes of these declines.

Anyone up for a little iguana yoga? (All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks)

Anyone up for a little iguana yoga? (All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks)

You gained a lot of attention when a video surfaced of you riding an enormous great white named Bella. What was that like, and how did it happen?


Honestly, I worry that beautifying the experience may entice others to try for a similar experience, which would be a bad idea. But truthfully, some of the absolute best moments of my life have been free diving with white sharks. There is nothing like it, and there are no words that can do it justice.

I’ve been studying and working with more than 30 species of sharks around the world for over a decade, and that GoPro footage of Bella and me was not at all my first time diving with white sharks. I spent years going in and out of cages and absorbing as much time and qualitative information as I could watching them interact with one another. Interacting with sharks is very humbling. I feel a tremendous honor being able to share their space and have them treat me as an equal or similar predator.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

If you don’t mind me saying so, you are an extremely beautiful woman. Do people ever underestimate your expertise or professionalism because of how you look?

I hope that if any of my talents, features, or natural gifts can be used to better highlight the message I am trying to share…then I am grateful that I can be a voice, a spokesmodel, if you will, for them. It’s ironic that sometimes they title photos of me with sharks as “Beauty and the Beast,” when to me sharks and nature are absolutely gorgeous. I did a lot of modeling in my 20s and am still signed [with agents], but every time I get a call to do a project I’m either on our company’s boat or on an international conservation effort.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

What makes the Bahamas so unmatched for a shark scientist or marine biologist?


The Bahamas is a special place because it is protected from shark fishing. It’s a marine-protected area for sharks, meaning that sharks can thrive, existing in plentiful numbers. It’s a world-class destination for diving with and studying tiger sharks, greater hammerheads, nurse sharks, lemon sharks, and Caribbean reef sharks. The warmer, shallower waters mean that diving to observe and study shark behavior is easy and practical for longer periods of time.

I definitely recommend Staniel Cay, where they have cute nurse sharks and adorable swimming pigs, or venture to Tiger Beach to see enormous tiger sharks.

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

All images courtesy of Juan Oliphant/@OneOceanDiving/@juansharks

What else should we know about sharks, and how would you recommend we get involved?

I am grateful I get to dive with them daily, and the more I study and learn, and the more time I spend with them, the more my understanding, appreciation, and respect grow. They really are one of the most amazing animals on the planet, and anyone who has ever been lucky enough to go diving with them knows how true that is. I highly encourage people to go out and take the plunge and go for a dive with sharks with a well-educated and experienced guide. Sharks are apex predators, not puppies, but they are not monsters.

My organization’s message is simple. Humans and sharks can coexist, and we need sharks to exist because they affect us all. From the air we breathe to the majority of protein the human population consumes, we all rely on the ocean, and sharks are a vital component of a thriving, productive ocean and planet.

 

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Hawaiian Sunscreen Ban?

Hawaiian Sunscreen Ban?!  Can that happen???  Well, a Hawaiian state senator, proposed a bill that would ban the sale of chemical sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate across the islands. Prescriptions for the sunscreen would be allowed.  As nanny-state un-american as that may sound, it may turn out to be a good thing for the health of Hawaii’s coral reefs.

 

Sunscreen may be good for your skin, but some kinds are not necessarily the best for the environment

Last month, Will Espero, a Hawaiian state senator, proposed a bill that would ban the sale of chemical sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate across the islands. Prescriptions for the sunscreen would be allowed.

Why? A ton of sunscreen winds up in the global coral reef system every year — 14,000 tons, to be exact — and research indicates that oxybenzone can lead to coral bleaching. Some studies suggest one drop is even enough to damage the reefs.

To those who know the underwater world well, this isn’t new news. Many divers are warned to steer clear of chemical sunscreens — when we swim, after all, lotion can bleed off onto the reefs.

According to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, “researchers have found oxybenzone concentrations in some Hawaiian waters at more than 30 times the level considered safe for corals.”

The beaches of Maui, specifically, have already suffered the consequences, reports Scientific American.

Of course, the bill isn’t a suggestion to skip SPF on the sunny beaches of Hawaii. After all, there are two kinds of sunblock: Chemical blockers use ingredients like oxybenzone and octinoxate to absorb UV radiation from the sun, preventing it from causing damage. But physical (or mineral) sunscreens, with ingredients like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, block UVA and UVB rays from ever reaching your skin; and the National Park Service says these have not been found to harm the reefs.

Even better: Dermatologists agree that physical blocks are gentler on your skin. Good for you, good for the environment, and no painful sunburns in sight? We’d say that’s a win-win(-win).

 

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

James Cameron & Bill Paxton

Ever since I heard the announcement of Bill Paxton’s death on Sunday morning, I’ve realized that there’s a whole lot I didn’t know about the talented actor. For example, I didn’t realize director James Cameron and Bill Paxton had been friends for several decades until I read Cameron’s touching response to Paxton’s death, which he shared in an email to Vanity Fair on Sunday afternoon. According to Cameron, the two started working together on someone else’s films, building sets for director Roger Corman. From there, they became not only collaborators, on films like Titanic, but also close friends.

TMZ broke the story that Paxton died of surgery complications and in a statement, Paxton’s family shared, “A loving husband and father, Bill began his career in Hollywood working on films in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker.”

Paxton’s above-mentioned decades of work were frequently spent alongside Cameron. Their first on-screen collaboration was Terminator, in which Paxton was given a small (but hilarious) role as a punk who is given the old one-two by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robot self at Griffith Observatory. Later, Paxton would go on to appear as a supporting actor in Cameron’s most heralded films — Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic. He was also a part of Cameron’s undersea documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss, in which the duo and historians travel to the final resting place of the Titanic.

Source: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Cameron’s words about his late friend really pulls at the heart strings. The opening, — “I’ve been reeling from this for the past half hour, trying to wrap my mind and heart around it. Bill leaves such a void” — is totally a sentiment that can be shared by anyone who’s experienced a loss. The full statement is as follows:

What a beautiful tribute, shared by someone who clearly knew Paxton well and will miss him greatly.

Bill Paxton in the following video talks about him and Cameron being on PCP together…  Somebody spiked the on set clam chowder!  A case of beer saved the day…

in Diving, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Roatan – Honduras

Relax in tropical surroundings away from the rest of the world: Roatan offers an adventure worth travelling for as a diver or snorkeller.


Surrounded by the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands. It offers plenty of underwater adventure from hard-core wrecks and deep fissures to peaceful eel gardens and shallow terraces where countless macro photo opportunities abound.

Tucked away on the island is Anthony’s Key Resort, a family run, all inclusive tropical resort offering breathtaking views over the lagoon, a spirit of adventure and great surroundings in which to relax.

 

in Diving, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Papua New Guinea

Travelling in PNG can be challenging. With almost no tourism infrastructure and limited information available in books and on websites, it can feel like you’re stepping into the great unknown. But this is exactly why travellers find this country so compelling. Nothing is contrived for tourists and every experience is authentic – even the main island of Bougainville is a largely DIY travel experience. The striking natural beauty and myriad complex cultures offer some riveting and truly life-affirming experiences. The island of New Guinea, of which Papua New Guinea is the eastern part, is only one-ninth as big as Australia, yet it has just as many mammal species, and more kinds of birds and frogs. PNG is Australia’s biological mirror-world. Both places share a common history going back tens of millions of years, but Australia is flat and has dried out, while PNG is wet and has become mountainous. As a result, Australian kangaroos bound across the plains, while in PNG they climb in the rainforest canopy.

For a glimpse into PNG’s fascinating tribal cultures, the Highlands is where you should head (the town of Tari is a good place to see traditional Huli wigmen), while the Central, Oro & Milne Bay Provinces are home to gorgeous reefs and historic wartime sites – including the country’s foremost attraction, the Kokoda Track. Also part of these eastern provinces, and about as far off the beaten track as you can get, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands are like the land that time forgot, mountainous, jungly and totally undeveloped. The gritty capital Port Moresby, on the other hand, is big and sprawling and even a bit intimidating until you get under its skin and see past the bad press.

PNG is one of earth’s megadiverse regions, and it owes much of its diversity to its topography. The mountainous terrain has spawned diversity in two ways: isolated mountain ranges are often home to unique fauna and flora found nowhere else, while within any one mountain range you will find different species as you go higher. In the lowlands are jungles whose trees are not that different from those of Southeast Asia. Yet the animals are often startlingly different – cassowaries instead of tapirs, and marsupial cuscus instead of monkeys.

The greatest diversity of animal life occurs at around 1500m above sea level. The ancestors of many of the marsupials found in these forests were derived from Australia some five million years ago. As Australia dried out they vanished from that continent, but they continued to thrive and evolve in New Guinea, producing a highly distinctive fauna. Birds of paradise and bowerbirds also abound there, and the forest has many trees typical of the forests of ancient Gondwana. As you go higher the forests get mossier and the air colder. By the time you have reached 3000m above sea level the forests are stunted and wreathed in epiphytes. It’s a formation known as elfin woodland, and in it one finds many bright honeyeaters, native rodents and some unique relics of prehistory, such as the giant long-beaked echidna. Above the elfin woodland the trees drop out, and a wonderland of alpine grassland and herbfield dominates, where wallabies and tiny birds, like the alpine robin, can often be seen. It is a place where snow can fall and where early morning ice coats the puddles.

Ready to go?

These tours & activities make it easy:

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Scuba Diving In The Bahamas – SaltyDogs.com

The Bahamas… if anyplace in the world is said to have multiple personalities, it would be the Bahamas. With over 3,000 islands and cays, there are many ways it can be different. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a part of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly called the British Commonwealth. While they drive on the right-hand side of the road. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos inhabit the Lucayan Archipelago. The Archipelago is included in the West Indies, however, it is not a part of the Caribbean. However, most people including those from the Bahamas do consider it a part of the Caribbean. Many Bahamians look at their country as two distinct parts: the main islands and the Out Islands. Each with a different lifestyle and culture. For the tourist and more importantly the scuba diver two very different vacation experiences. The tourism industry is the largest employment sector with over 50% of the jobs being in this industry. Second is the finance sector.

Bahamas Main Islands

The Main Islands of the Bahamas are Grand Bahama Island and New Providence Island along with a few nearby cays and islands. The population of the Bahamas is about 400,000 and 80% of those people live in the Main Islands. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is located on New Providence Island. This island and the connected small Paradise Island is home to over 70% of the countries population. Nassau is also the center of tourism in the Bahamas. You will find casinos, luxury shopping and hotel chains here. Nassau is the busiest cruise port in the world and 70% of the countries tourist are cruise ship passengers. Grand Bahama Island is the home of the city of Freeport and about 10% of the population.

 

Darby Island and Rudder Cut Cay, Exumas Photograph by Christina Hawkins

Darby Island and Rudder Cut Cay, Exumas
Photograph by Christina Hawkins

Diving Bahamas Main Islands

Diving in the Main Islands is legendary. There have been so many underwater scenes filmed around New Providence Island, including iconic scenes in James Bond movies, it is often called “Underwater Hollywood”. Many of the best dive sites are on the western edge of the island and are near the area known as the Tongue of the Ocean. The Tongue of the Ocean is a

The Tongue of the Ocean is a deep-water trench that is between Andros Island and New Providence Island. The reefs around New Province Island are generally in the 60 to 80-foot range. Whereas the floor of the Tongue of the Ocean is between 3,600 feet (1,100 m) to 6,600 feet (2,000 m) deep. The reefs benefit from the deep water as nutrients are brought from the depths. Sharks and other pelagic also visit the shallow reefs. Expect to see sharks on just about every dive. Looking over the edge of the reef into deep water you may see some of them way below you. There really is some great wall dives here.

Meanwhile, Grand Bahamas Island also has a great reputation for scuba diving. The Underwater Explorer Society (UNEXSO) has been in business for over 50 years and is considered the pioneer in shark feeding. They introduced hand feed of sharks in 1993 and are still doing it. They offer a range of shark diving and also diving with dolphins.

The Out Islands – Family Islands

Once you exclude the two main islands and their few nearby cays, the rest are what is called the Out Islands. You will also see them call the Family Islands. Only one percent of these 3,000 islands are considered inhabited. Many of the “uninhabited island” do have homes on them, often a single residence for a wealthy individual. Andros is the fifth largest island in the West Indies and largest of the islands in the Bahamas, many times the size of both of the Main Islands together. While ten percent of the country’s population live on the island, it’s large size means great portions of it are not inhabited.

Eleuthera and the Exuma Cays are also destinations know for its diving. The Exuma Cays start about 35 miles southeast of Nassau. The archipelago of about 365 cays and islands are separated into three sections and they span about 80 miles north to south. Resorts here are more relax and do not have the commercialism you will find in the Main Islands.

The Bimini Islands are the closest to the US mainland and may be the most known of the Family Islands. Here you will find a mix of small resorts and large scale resort complexes. The area is also considered one of the best sport fishing destinations in the world.

 

deans blue hole bahamas

Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island Bahamas. A short distance from shore the Blue Hole drops to 663 feet (203 meters). Photograph by Christian Afonso

Diving the Family Islands

Diving the Family Islands/ Out Islands offers such a range of diving opportunities it hard to believe it is all the same country. Eleuthera and the Exuma Cays are on the eastern side of the Bahamas with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. This can create some robust diving conditions. However, the western side of the islands are protected and can have calm conditions. This area is a favorite for those seeking a liveaboard destination.

Andros provides the diver many different options. As mentioned the Tongue of the Ocean is between this island and New Province Island. On the Andros side of the Tongue, you will find what is called the Andros Fringing Barrier Reef. This reef system is 190 miles long and is considered one of the healthiest reefs in the world. It extends from near the shoreline of Andros to the Tongue of the Ocean. Some marketing claims it is the third largest reef system in the world. This is hard to confirm as the reef does not meet the definition of a barrier reef nor a fringing reef but is somewhat a hybrid of the two. The reef’s many dive sites both along the wall and closer ashore give divers many types of dives to choose from.

Another aspect of diving Andros is that it has the largest concentration of blue holes in the world. Some of these blue holes are located on land providing an experience similar to the cenotes of Mexico. Others are located in shallow waters and allow divers to drop beyond recreational diving depths. Caver divers will find many underwater cave systems to keep themselves challenged.

Sharks are one of the big draws to the Bimini Islands. Located less than 60 miles from Florida, it is on the deep side of the Florida barrier reef. This deep water is a migratory route for many shark species including hammerheads and great whites. Florida has made shark feeding illegal in the states waters so many of the Florida dive operators have relocated its shark feeding to the waters off Bimini islands. Other large pelagic are found here and the wall diving is incredible.

You can spend years diving the Out Islands and still be amazed what you can find. The many shallow coral reefs and cays have created thousands of ship wrecks many still waiting to be discovered. Wall dives, ship wrecks, caves, coral reefs, drift dives are all waiting for you.

 

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Two Different Mediterranean Cruise Styles

Travel Mediterranean cruises1.jpg

 

Visitors take a dip in the sea while visiting a beach in Rhodes, Greece.

Travel Mediterranean cruises2.jpg

Travel Mediterranean cruises3.jpg

By RENÉ RAAYMAKERS

My daughter and I are travel addicts. Just the spark of an idea of a trip and the beginning stages of planning fill us with a giddy pleasure we get from nothing else. We have been fortunate enough to visit many countries, and through experience, we have found that the best way to see several places in a two-week time span is to go on a cruise.

Cruises are not for everyone, and my first cruise to the Bahamas many years ago was disappointing. I said I would never cruise again. Years later, my sister surprised me for my 40th birthday with a weeklong Caribbean cruise, so I gave it a try and was not disappointed the second time.

There is an art to cruising, and it begins with matching up your personality and lifestyle with the correct cruise line and then deciding what ports best suit you and those who will travel with you.

In this article, I will be comparing the Holland America European cruise to the comparable Carnival cruise.

In 2013, we boarded a Holland America ship in Athens and embarked on a two-week cruise through many islands of Greece, Croatia and Montenegro, as well as stops in Italy.

In September, we boarded the brand-new Carnival Vista, the largest in the Carnival fleet, in Athens and set sail for another European adventure that would include many ports in Italy, as well as Greece, Malta, Sicily and France.

We had originally booked another Holland America cruise, but because of a few unsafe ports, the entire itinerary was canceled, and we could not find another one we liked. About this same time, we received an invitation to book on the brand-new Carnival Vista at an amazing rate. We had been on several Carnival cruises to the Caribbean; we used it as a way to scuba dive in four top-dive countries in one week, and they live up to their reputation as the “party ship.” At first, we were not sure if that is what we wanted to take to Europe, but the price, the itinerary and the immense size of the ship, as well as all of the on-board activities, made the decision for us.

Following a flight to Athens and an easy boarding process, we were off to sea that evening. Our first port was to be Turkey, but it was canceled a month before we left because of the unrest within the country. This gave us another day to experience the ship at sea.

What a ship to explore! So many areas to relax, so many places to dine, so many things to do. I’m sure that even by the end, I had only explored 75 percent of it. The ship is so new, so clean and so cared for by the crew, which was the friendliest and most content I have ever seen, that it was impossible not to get caught up in it all. We had only two days at sea to explore it, and we did all we could.

They have a ropes course that is high above the ship and is quite exhilarating. Surrounding the course is a brand-new contraption called the Skyride, where you pedal cars around a frame, similar to a small self-propelled roller coaster. We even went down the water slides and played putt-putt, as well as trying out many of the ship’s pools and hot tubs.

One of our favorite activities was to spend time on the serenity deck, which is a relaxing space for those 21 and over. It features comfy lounges and clamshells to read and rest.

Dining is an area where the Vista goes above and beyond the normal Carnival fare. Of course, all ships have the 24-hour pizza and ice cream, but this ship has more — a special salad area where you can custom make any kind of salad you can think of; a delicious Mexican cantina that, along with customized burritos and tacos, also serves breakfast; a Guy Ferraro grill with amazing burgers and fresh-cut fries. Even breakfast on the Lido deck has many items to choose from besides the usual American tastes. Our favorite treat every evening was freshly popped popcorn with a newly released movie on the huge main pool deck.

We booked most shore excursions through Carnival, but we did a few things on our own. When it comes to booking through the ship versus doing your own thing, be very aware of what you choose to do alone, and make sure that you make it back to the ship on time to avoid getting left behind.

To sum up the Carnival European experience, if you want to have all of the normal things Carnival offers — hairy-chest competitions, bingo, outdoor pool parties — and the chance to see Europe, this may be the cruise for you.

In comparison, the Holland America Line is known for smaller ships, five-star dining and personalized service. This is evident by the type of information they give you about the places you will visit. More than a talk about where you should shop and what shore excursions you should book through them, they go out of their way to educate you about each country you are visiting and the cultures and customs there.

They actually help you do things on your own in port and give amazing advice on what public transportation to use as well as where to visit. It is very personalized service, and you feel like you know the entire crew of the ship in a friendly, comfortable way. One of my favorite things on the ship is the library, where they have a variety of books and games available to check out. Even though there is not a giant screen with an outdoor movie, they have a huge selection of movies you can check out to watch in your cabin.

The food and dining service is the finest around. It is a highlight of being on the ship, whether relaxed or formal. Attention to detail is important to every member of the ship, and you feel very tended to.

The atmosphere on the Holland ship is quieter and more cerebral than the party-themed Carnival ship. There will not be island dance music and congo lines all over the ship, and there are many quiet places on board to relax and read. There are families on the ship, and they have wonderful children’s programs as well. They have pools, hot tubs, a spa and gym, all of the things you would expect on a cruise liner. The wooden deck chairs and blankets and hot chocolate on cool evenings are very comforting.

The smaller ship allows for some very special opportunities during the cruise. They have scenic cruising, where they open up the entire front portion of the ship to allow you to get up close and personal at several ports. As the ship pulled into beautiful Santorini, the sun was rising, breakfast was being served and a commentary of the history and geography of the area was being given. As we left Venice, the ship was once again opened up and a commentary was delivered on the culture and history of Italy as we ate gelato, taking in the city’s beauty. Finally, we had more scenic cruising through the straights of Messina with a wonderful commentary pointing out the island of Stromboli and many other places in Italy.

Another offering Holland has on its European cruises is using the ship as a hotel twice during the cruise, allowing you two days in different ports. We had two days to spend in Athens, as well as Venice. One of the drawbacks in cruising is just one day in each place; this itinerary allows two days in two of the nicest ports of call.

After completing my second European cruise and being able to compare two cruise lines, the differences are evident. Holland America offers smaller ships, more personalized service, the finest dining and the chance to enjoy scenic cruising. Being able to overnight on the ship twice and spend more time in port was special. The quieter atmosphere and the opportunity to learn about the different countries we were visiting allowed for a more memorable trip.

Carnival’s Vista offered an amazing array of onboard opportunities. While the service is not as personalized due to the immense size of the ship and all of the people on board, the crew is very friendly and they take great care of the ship. Being able to do a ropes course, new activities like the skyride, an onboard IMAX theater — the list is endless when it comes to onboard activities — makes you want more days at sea. This ship has so much to do; it could stand alone without any ports and just cruise around the ocean.

In the end, I decided that if I go to Europe by ship again, I will go with Holland America; the quiet atmosphere, more personalized service and learning opportunities on board are more appealing to me than the large, active ship, even though I am glad to have had the experience.

René Raaymakers grew up in the Champaign-Urbana area and raised a family in Mahomet. She recently moved to the St. Petersburg, Fla., area to be closer to her grandsons. She was employed as a surgical technologist at Carle Hospital for 23 years and now works at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. An avid traveler and scuba diver, she is now just four short hours away from the Florida Keys and 30 minutes away from the Tampa cruise port.

 

https://youtu.be/DbEM60TyLtA

in Diving, News Posted by SaltyDogs

Oceans losing Oxygen

A large research synthesis, published in one of the world’s most influential scientific journals, has detected a decline in the amount of dissolved oxygen in oceans around the world — a long-predicted result of climate change that could have severe consequences for marine organisms if it continues.

The paper, published Wednesday in the journal Nature by oceanographer Sunke Schmidtko and two colleagues from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, found a decline of more than 2 percent in ocean oxygen content worldwide between 1960 and 2010. The loss, however, showed up in some ocean basins more than others. The largest overall volume of oxygen was lost in the largest ocean — the Pacific — but as a percentage, the decline was sharpest in the Arctic Ocean, a region facing Earth’s most stark climate change.

The loss of ocean oxygen “has been assumed from models, and there have been lots of regional analysis that have shown local decline, but it has never been shown on the global scale, and never for the deep ocean,” said Schmidtko, who conducted the research with Lothar Stramma and Martin Visbeck, also of GEOMAR.

Ocean oxygen is vital to marine organisms, but also very delicate — unlike in the atmosphere, where gases mix together thoroughly, in the ocean that is far harder to accomplish, Schmidtko explained. Moreover, he added, just 1 percent of all the Earth’s available oxygen mixes into the ocean; the vast majority remains in the air.

Climate change models predict the oceans will lose oxygen because of several factors. Most obvious is simply that warmer water holds less dissolved gases, including oxygen. “It’s the same reason we keep our sparkling drinks pretty cold,” Schmidtko said.

But another factor is the growing stratification of ocean waters. Oxygen enters the ocean at its surface, from the atmosphere and from the photosynthetic activity of marine microorganisms. But as that upper layer warms up, the oxygen-rich waters are less likely to mix down into cooler layers of the ocean because the warm waters are less dense and do not sink as readily.

“When the upper ocean warms, less water gets down deep, and so therefore, the oxygen supply to the deep ocean is shut down or significantly reduced,” Schmidtko said.

The new study represents a synthesis of literally “millions” of separate ocean measurements over time, according to GEOMAR. The authors then used interpolation techniques for areas of the ocean where they lacked measurements.

The resulting study attributes less than 15 percent of the total oxygen loss to sheer warmer temperatures, which create less solubility. The rest was attributed to other factors, such as a lack of mixing.

Matthew Long, an oceanographer from the National Center for Atmospheric Research who has published on ocean oxygen loss, said he considers the new results “robust” and a “major advance in synthesizing observations to examine oxygen trends on a global scale.”

Long was not involved in the current work, but his research had previously demonstrated that ocean oxygen loss was expected to occur and that it should soon be possible to demonstrate that in the real world through measurements, despite the complexities involved in studying the global ocean and deducing trends about it.

That’s just what the new study has done.

“Natural variations have obscured our ability to definitively detect this signal in observations,” Long said in an email. “In this study, however, Schmidtko et al. synthesize all available observations to show a global-scale decline in oxygen that conforms to the patterns we expect from human-driven climate warming. They do not make a definitive attribution statement, but the data are consistent with and strongly suggestive of human-driven warming as a root cause of the oxygen decline.

“It is alarming to see this signal begin to emerge clearly in the observational data,” he added.

“Schmidtko and colleagues’ findings should ring yet more alarm bells about the consequences of global warming,” added Denis Gilbert, a researcher with the Maurice Lamontagne Institute at Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Quebec, in an accompanying commentary on the study also published in Nature.

Because oxygen in the global ocean is not evenly distributed, the 2 percent overall decline means there is a much larger decline in some areas of the ocean than others.

Moreover, the ocean already contains so-called oxygen minimum zones, generally found in the middle depths. The great fear is that their expansion upward, into habitats where fish and other organism thrive, will reduce the available habitat for marine organisms.

In shallower waters, meanwhile, the development of ocean “hypoxic” areas, or so-called “dead zones,” may also be influenced in part by declining oxygen content overall.

On top of all of that, declining ocean oxygen can also worsen global warming in a feedback loop. In or near low oxygen areas of the oceans, microorganisms tend to produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, Gilbert writes. Thus the new study “implies that production rates and efflux to the atmosphere of nitrous oxide … will probably have increased.”

The new study underscores once again that some of the most profound consequences of climate change are occurring in the oceans, rather than on land. In recent years, incursions of warm ocean water have caused large die-offs of coral reefs, and in some cases, kelp forests as well. Meanwhile, warmer oceans have also begun to destabilize glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, and as they melt, these glaciers freshen the ocean waters and potentially change the nature of their circulation.

When it comes to ocean deoxygenation, as climate change continues, this trend should also increase — studies suggest a loss of up to 7 percent of the ocean’s oxygen by 2100. At the end of the current paper, the researchers are blunt about the consequences of a continuing loss of oceanic oxygen.

“Far-reaching implications for marine ecosystems and fisheries can be expected,” they write.

 

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

Diving + Trawler + Bonaire = Good Times!

My wife Barbara and I have been cruising the Caribbean since January 2007. We have noticed that most of our cruising friends not only enjoy the sights and experiences that can be found above the sea, but also those under the surface, where so many see much less than they could, because they snorkel instead of diving on scuba.

The advantages of scuba are perhaps self-evident, but are worth emphasizing. Except in the shallowest of waters, scuba divers can get so much closer to the sights worth seeing, and can stay close enough for long enough to notice details and behaviors that would be missed on snorkel. Why do so many limit their experience by only snorkeling? For some, there are personal physical conditions that preclude diving. For many, however, I think the problem is fear and a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the difference between the snorkel and scuba experience.

I am well aware of the role fear can play in keeping one from learning how to scuba dive. Barbara and I learned to dive after listening to friends talk about their fascination with the underwater world. I was initially extremely reluctant – I had previously discovered on my first attempt to snorkel that I was even afraid to breathe through a snorkel when my face was under water! I subsequently overcame that fear by conditioning myself in waist-deep water, but I found the prospect of strapping on all of the artificial equipment for scuba diving to be daunting. But Barbara was eager to learn, and so I joined her in lessons designed to lead to a diving certification – the only way to safely learn how to dive. The lessons were graduated, so although each step was scary, I soon found that the skills of the previous lesson no longer caused trepidation. By the time we became trawler owners, we had both become PADI-certified divers, and then Advanced divers, and then NITROX-certified divers.

Surrounded by fish, Barbara swims alongside the keel of Tusen Takk II. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Surrounded by fish, Barbara swims alongside the keel of Tusen Takk II. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

As I write this, our vessel, Tusen Takk II, a Kadey-Krogen 48 North Sea is floating off Kralendijk, Bonaire, in a mooring field that is provided for visiting vessels. The entire island is surrounded, to a depth of 200ft (61m), by a Marine Park that forbids anchoring. Sometimes, without using our dinghy or moving our trawler, we dive right off the boat. But often we take our 12ft RIB powered by a 25 hp 2-stroke outboard to one of the 80-some marked dive buoys in the Bonaire Marine Park.

And what do we see in the clear and warm waters of Bonaire? Beautiful hard and soft corals – more than 57 species. And fascinating sea creatures, large and small – more than 500 species make Bonaire their home. Some of the smallest creatures are the most beautiful.

Sea Life Observed

Delightfully Patterned Blennies

#1 Tessellated Blenny. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Tessellated Blenny. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Bonaire Box Jellyfish

#2 Bonaire Box Jellyfish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Bonaire Box Jellyfish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Squat Anemone Shrimp

#3 Squat shrimp. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Squat shrimp dancing about with its tail up in the air. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Filefish

Whitespotted filefish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Whitespotted Filefish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Behavior of our Underwater Friends

A three-inch male Sailfin Blenny emerges from his hidey-hole in shallow rubble and rises vertically up above the bottom to wave his dorsal fins in a vigorous (if somewhat jerky) display designed to attract mates and intimidate rivals.

A Trumpetfish engages in ‘shadow hunting’, wherein it swims alongside a Red Band Parrotfish – a fish with a much different diet – following its every turn. The idea is to hide behind the Parrotfish and be able to approach prey. When close enough to a small target, the Trumpetfish darts from behind the Parrotfish and gobbles the prey.

A Long-lure Frogfish waits patiently for small prey to be attracted to its lure, an enticing bit of matter attached to the end of a special spine whose other end grows out of the frogfish’s ‘nose’. The frogfish dangles and jigs the lure in front of its mouth. When a small fish approaches to sample the lure, the frogfish gulps down the prey in an instant. The gulp is lightning fast and the result of a wide sudden ‘yawn’ that creates a vacuum that sucks in the victim. When not actively fishing, the frogfish exercises its jaws by performing occasional slow-but-wide yawns.

#4 Frogfish yawning. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Frogfish yawning. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

A Yellow-headed Jawfish exits its den in the sand and suspends vertically while bobbing and feeding in the water column. Get too close, and it somehow manages to swim backwards back into its den. Occasionally we get a bonus – males can sometimes be observed with an egg mass in their jaws. During the five- to seven-day incubation period the males retain the eggs in their mouths, seldom eating and only occasionally briefly leaving the egg mass back in their burrows.

#5 Yellowhead with eggs. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
#5 Yellowhead with eggs. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Colorful Cleaning Shrimp (that reside in anemone or coral and that provide pest control to client fish by removing small parasites), advertise their service by waving elongated white antennae. A client fish approaches and reveals its willingness to be cleaned by assuming a special posture and by flaring its gills and opening its mouth. The cleaner darts about in perfect safety, removing parasites from the skin and gills and even sometimes the insides of the client’s mouth.

Scorpion fish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Scorpion fish. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)

Learning the names and behaviors of underwater inhabitants has vastly increased our enjoyment of diving. Knowledge enriches the experiences and lifts them from dumb awe at ‘pretty sights’ to informed appreciation. Knowledge enables the excitement of recognizing a rare specimen or understanding the significance of an unusual behavior. My wife and I have gained certifications in fish identification; certification that qualifies us to conduct surveys for submission to the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). The mission of REEF is to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers to become stewards of the oceans and to, in effect, become citizen scientists. Whether or not one becomes a member of REEF, learning about the creatures of the sea indisputably enhances the enjoyment of diving. Barbara typically dives with her survey slate; on a recent survey she identified and counted in one dive over 100 different species.

Bearded fireworm. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley
Bearded fireworm. Photo by Charles (Chuck) Shipley

Underwater photography has also enhanced my enjoyment of diving. I have specialized in photographing small creatures, because I enjoy capturing images that reveal colorful and intricate details in images that are larger than life. Consequently, I almost always dive with my housed Nikon DSLR, a piece of equipment that keeps me too preoccupied to permit surveying. I dawdle as I photograph. Barbara dawdles as she surveys. The combination works well. Neither gets bored while waiting for the other.

 

https://youtu.be/Q_1SVejEwjw

 

 

in Diving, News, Travel Posted by SaltyDogs

New Continent Zelandia Discovered

—You know the seven continents. Meet the eighth.

A new study published in the March/April 2017 issue of The Geological Society of America’s Journal argues that a mostly submerged landmass in the southwest Pacific should be classified as a continent, pointing to New Caledonia as well as New Zealand’s North and South Islands as the continent’s three exposed pieces.

So you won’t be able to visit unless you pack scuba gear, since 94 percent of the 1.9 million square-mile landmass, which is about two-thirds the size of Australia, lies underwater, according to the study.

No scientific body exists to certify continents. But the study’s authors write that Zealandia fits all of the other criteria used for the other seven continents: high elevation relative to the surrounding area, a broad range of the three main types of geology, well-defined limits, and a crust thicker than the ocean floor. Lead author Nick Mortimer, a geologist at New Zealand’s GNS Science research institute, says he and the other authors have been assembling their case for more than two decades.

“If we could pull the plug on the oceans, it would be clear to everybody that we have mountain chains and a big, high-standing continent,” he told New Zealand’s TVNZ, according to Phys.org.

“What we hope is that Zealandia will appear on world maps, in schools, everywhere.”

“I think the revelation of a new continent is pretty exciting.”

The study seems to shine a light on the unusual geology of New Zealand, where last November a 7.6-magnitude earthquake made headlines not only for the destruction it caused, but for its creation of new land features along a fault in Waipapa Bay, as The Christian Science Monitor reported in November. One of those new land features, an underwater reef, was thrown up some 20 feet above sea level in a matter of seconds during the quake:

After the dust had settled, some residents of the South Island realized that their beaches looked very different. The earthquake had been so powerful that it lifted the sea floor one to six feet above its previous position, leaving a massive cliff in the middle of the beach….

The pinkish seabed is an unusual sight for residents of the tourist town of Kaikoura. Now rising between one and six feet above the rest of the beach, the new sea wall is covered with seaweed and marine animals like crayfish and sea snails.

The South Island’s coastline is not the only thing affected by the earthquake. The nearby Kekerengu fault is a vertical fault, which means that many local roads now feature steep drop offs, or suffered landslides as a result of the earthquake.

The authors say that to recognize Zealandia as a continent would amount to more than just adding “an extra name on a list.”

“That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented” makes it useful “in exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust,” they write.

“Zealandia illustrates that the large and the obvious in natural science can be overlooked.”

 

https://youtu.be/VAtbe80Z230

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