The Scilly Isles are
situated some twenty-eight miles southwest of Cornwall. The tiny archipelago is
made up of five inhabited islands and numerous other uninhabited islands and
rocky islets – around 140 in total. The large numbers of ships that have been
wrecked on the islands rocky shores make the Scilly Isles a wreck divers dream
but the islands have a lot to offer the more daring snorkeller as well. One
particular event caught our eye some time ago and made heading for the islands
a must. In January this year the local Wildlife Trust reported a large influx
of jellyfish around the Islands, particularly the Pelagia Noctiluca or Mauve
Stinger. Growing up to 10cm across the bell, these jellies (as their name
suggests) carry a painful, but fortunately not fatal, sting. Although it is not
unusual for deep water jellyfish to occasionally find their way into the local
waters, the appearance of so many at one time is rare and is believed to have
been caused by winter storms pushing the organisms that the jellyfish feed on
towards the islands. The jellyfish have followed this food source and ended up
in the shallow waters around Scilly.
Mauve Stingers
Given the fact that
the influx was reported in January and we weren’t able to travel until
September you might think that the opportunity had passed, however we kept a close
eye on events and the monthly reports continued unabated and when we arrived on St Mary’s Island, the waters were still brimming with the gelatinous
beggars. After a quick perusal of the island's coastline, looking for the best
and easiest location to get in and out of the water, we headed for Pelistry Bay
on the more remote eastern shore of St Mary’s. Pelistry Bay is accessible by
footpath from the main road. A sign at the entrance to the beach warns of
strong currents and being September, the water was cold – very cold. The beach
is pure white sand and for the snorkeller, sand means poor visibility
particularly in the winter months with the large Atlantic swell and strong wave
action. Still we suited up, primed the cameras and headed into the seas
chilling embrace. Visibility was compromised but we were not disappointed, the
sea was virtually awash with Mauve Stingers along with Compass Jellyfish, Moon
Jellies and Comb Jellyfish (Sea Gooseberry).
Comb Jelly (Sea Gooseberry)
Crystal Jellyfish
Compass Jellyfish
Forty-five minutes
later we emerged cold and shivering but happy. To see so many different types of Jellyfish in one single location is something we never expected. A quick dry off and several
shots of warming tea from the thermos we headed off to the Carn Vean Cafe,
(situated on a hill by the bay) for a welcome serving of Cornwall’s famous steak
pasties. Simply perfect....
Sea
Shepherd Cove Guardian volunteers are now on the ground in Taiji, Japan for
Operation Henkaku (Operation Metamorphosis). The 2015-2016 season marks the
sixth consecutive year of Sea Shepherd’s Dolphin Defense campaign and their
promise to the dolphins remains the same – they will not stop until the
slaughter ends!
Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians will continue to document and live stream from
Taiji, ensuring that no dolphin or pilot whale is captured or slaughtered
unseen by the eyes of the world. This year’s campaign will also have an
increased focus on raising crucial awareness of the inextricable link between
the slaughter in Taiji and the global captive industry. It is the international
demand for live cetaceans for captivity that is the economic fuel driving the
hunting boats each day in search of pods to be taken forever from the sea. Just
one trained captive dolphin can be sold by the Taiji hunters for $250,000 USD.
The most effective way that you can help bring the slaughter to an end is to
never patronise aquariums, marine parks or swim-with-dolphin operations that
hold whales or dolphins captive.
Japan has already attempted to hide the brutal actions of a
handful of individuals that turn Taiji’s waters red with blood, shaming the
entire nation of Japan. In recent days, Cove Guardian Ground Leader, Karen
Hagen of Norway and Linda Trapp of the USA were detained, interrogated and
denied entry to Japan and deported from the country, just as other returning
Sea Shepherd volunteers have been denied before. These obstacles will not stop
Sea Shepherd in their mission for the dolphins and more Cove Guardians will
arrive in Taiji.
Japan may be able to stop one volunteer but it cannot stop a movement based on
compassion.
Join us! Sea Shepherd is the only group on the ground daily throughout
the entire six-month hunt season, so it’s important that we have volunteers
stationed at the cove from September 1 until March. If you are interested in
joining us as a Cove Guardian in Taiji, please email groundcrew@seashepherd.org to
express your interest. The dolphins need YOU!
For more information on Operation Henkaku and how you can lend your
support, please click here
There is a vast array of
snorkelling equipment available on the market to buy. This is mainly due to the fact
that there are a veritable horde of global manufacturers happily designing,
re-designing, innovating, improving, and generally coming up with new products
at such a frenetic rate that your bank balance shrinks just thinking about it.
Such is the depth and variety of all this manufacturing that Santa Claus and
several billion of his little helpers would have a hard time coming up with
anything new in the world of snorkelling or diving equipment. And yet, it seems
that there are a number of entrepreneurs out there who still think that
snorkelling equipment needs a radical overhaul. In particular, these
entrepreneurs appear to believe that if you could only get away from the
problem of putting your head in the water or having to breath through a
snorkel, the whole act of snorkelling would be made much, much easier and in
turn would be more enjoyable. The people behind the Easybreath Full-Face Mask
for example, believe that their invention has opened the up the underwater
world for all those unfortunate individuals who find it impossible to breath
through their mouth. They also believe that they’ve eliminated the problem of
mask fogging. We on the other hand believe they haven’t done anything of the
kind and you can read why we think that here.
The Easybreath Full-Face Mask now
has an unexpected competitor in the I-don’t-want-to-get-my-face-wet snorkelling
experience, one which gets rid of the palaver of wearing a snorkel and mask
altogether. In other words snorkelling without snorkelling! The snorkelboard
(as it’s called) is the brainchild of Murray W. Scott (great American name) who
in 1998 had what he calls a “eureka” moment. While clearing his snorkel mask in
Bermuda at Tobacco Bay Beach, he noticed that when the mask was no longer on
his head and placed on the surface of the water, he had a crystal clear view of
the fish and coral beneath him. He thought that if the mask could be placed
into a bodyboard, he would no longer have to worry about his snorkelling
experience being consistently interrupted by a leaky or fogged up mask. This
then, was the birth of the Snorkelboard. Now there are probably some of you who
would say that putting a hole in a bodyboard is a bit of an extreme response to
a bad fitting mask. Some would even go as far to say that it would probably
have been much cheaper and much less effort to simply pop down to the nearest
diving shop and found a mask that actually fitted. Murray W.Scott would no
doubt disagree with such suggestions, and might point out that he was never
going to get rich by telling people to buy better fitting masks.
So what is a
snorkelboard? Well it’s an EPS core board encapsulated in EVA. Which as
everyone knows, means that it is made from polystyrene foam encapsulated in an
ethylene-vinyl acetate case with, and this is the clever bit, a hole cut in it.
Into this hole, Murray has inserted a pair of anti-fog goggles. The company
advertises the board like this: Introducing The Snorkelboard®, your personal
body board fully equipped with embedded anti-fog goggles! With excellent
flotation, stability, and ease of paddling, the Snorkelboard® enjoys a smooth
entry line for maximum glide style. No longer will you have to worry about your
mask filling up with water, blocking your view with fog or pressing up against
the bridge of your nose. Gone are the days of re-breathing spent air left in
your snorkel tube or interrupting your experience to equalize(sic) because, with the
Snorkelboard® your head never touches the water! This all-in-one thin, sleek
design allows for easy storage and leaves carrying heavy equipment in the dust!
Available in a wide range of designs and colours, your
“at-the-beach-riding-waves-look-at-me” Snorkelboard® experience can be as
personalized(sic) as you want. Yes, we know, it does sound like something you’d read
in the pages of the Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy but that’s advertising for
you. The company has also released an advertising video, which you
can see below.
Now let’s be honest, despite a number of bemused looking adults
using the board in the video, the snorkelboard is almost certainly aimed at kids.
In a press release for the 112th Annual American International Toy Fair,
Murray W. Scott said, "We're thrilled to be able to celebrate the close of
another successful year. Looking ahead, we anticipate an exciting 2015
beginning with the Toy Fair. My team and I look forward to a great show
this year. So the snorkelboard is a toy, designed to give children a
better experience at the beach and in this respect it appears to have had some
success. "I can’t believe my young daughter had the confidence to go in
the water at all! The Snorkelboard gave her the stability she needed to try
snorkeling(sic) in deep water for the first time. It can now be a total family
experience!" was one of the comments used on the company website. The
Snorkelboard retails at around $40, which is a reasonable price, and you can
customise the colour. There are a few issues however. Firstly, this is a board
that glides over the water, and as everyone knows water will lap on and over
such boards, which is demonstrated in the video. This means that you will get
water in your face – and even with the smallest waves, that will mean a lot of
water. This combined with the limited view the anti-fog goggles offer, means
that the “snorkelling” experience will be highly compromised in all but the
clearest of waters. Secondly, the Snorkelboard does not seem to offer anything
remotely innovative for the young snorkeller, rather it takes two separate
activities, bodyboarding and snorkelling, and ruins them both. If you want to
teach your child to swim (learn flutter kicking) then the Snorkelboard offers a
tiny bit more interest for the child, but as a serious piece of snorkelling
equipment it is rather lame. If you’re an adult, you are going to look very
stupid on one these! There is a third problem as well and that is that Murray
W. Scott has created a product that is already eclipsed by the big boy in the
market place. The Zayak Sea Sled is vastly more expensive than a Snorkelboard,
it’s a lot heavier as well and will give the cabin crew a coronary if you try
to shove the thing in the overhead locker but these are not problems, as just like wetbikes and jet skies you can rent Sea Sleds. In the type of crystal
clear water that you’ll need to have fun with the Snorkelboard it is highly
likely that Sea Sleds will already be there on the beach waiting for you. And
that brings up a problem for you parents. Because your child is going to
quickly lose interest in their brightly coloured foam bodyboard with the hole
in it, when they catch sight of the brightly coloured,
super-duper-look-at-me-riding-waves-in-the-Zayak-experience.
So
what’s the conclusion? Well, if you want your child to have a rather tame
snorkelling experience, we recommend you rent a Sea Sled rather than buy a
Snorkelboard. If you want them to have a slightly better experience, then buy
them a Tribord Easybreath Mask, since that’s as much a toy as the Snorkelboard. If
however, you want your child to have a good snorkelling experience and perhaps
get them interested in skin diving or SCUBA, then we recommend that you take
your time and teach them to swim, build up their confidence in the water and
then buy them a mask that fits, a snorkel with a purge valve and some fins.
Alternatively, if you think your child would prefer to gaze at fish from behind
a pane of glass without getting their face wet, take them to an Aquarium. At
least you won’t have to worry about them getting sunburn. Oh one last thing
for all those entrepreneurs out there, if it doesn’t require a mask, a snorkel
and putting your head in the water, it’s not snorkelling!
Fourth Element began their mission to create a range of
casual and technical diving clothing in 1999. Since then this company with it’s
pro-eco philosophy has taken the diving world by storm. Quite a few people even
believe, with good reason, that Fourth Element may soon become the predominant
player in the dive clothing market. Not bad for a company that was formed over
a few beers in Sharm-El-Sheikh. We like Fourth Element. We’ve bought their
t-shirts, hats, rash vests and more and all of these products have never failed
to impress so we were rather looking forward to trying out their Pro Dive
Amphibious Shorts on our recent trip to the Canary Islands. The company blurb
states that the shorts were designed for use in and out of the water. The
Amphibious Pro Dive Shorts are ultra quick drying with quick draining mesh
lined pockets; cargo and back pockets with hook and loop closure (that means
Velcro to the rest of us) as well as a crotch gusset for superior comfort. The
shorts got a big plus in the looks department, at least from the men. The
women, however, were not that convinced. “A bit wannabe SAS” and “too James
Bondish” were just some of the comments. Still, since they weren’t designed for
women we ignored the smirks and raised eyebrows from our female brethren and
proceeded to put the shorts to the test.
The material is indeed as soft as a bunny rabbit’s tail and
on land the pockets do what pockets are meant to do. Meaning you can carry
keys, a wallet and whatever else you stuff in your pockets. In the water, the
large cargo pocket comes in handy for carrying a spare camera lens or torch, as
long as both are small. The material did indeed dry fairly quickly, but not as
quick as we imagined. There are a number of other problems too. The shorts we
tested were medium size (mainly because the guy who bought them swore blind
that he was a medium) which equates to a 32-inch waist and yet, the fit was
significantly tighter than was expected. So significant in fact that we had to
check his other clothes just to make sure he wasn’t telling fibs about his
girth. We checked his jeans; his other shorts and even his underwear (much to
his protests) and all clearly indicated that he did indeed have a 32-inch
waist. Odd then that the shorts were so tight at the waist. The problems didn’t
stop there however. The waist may be tighter than a girdle, but the legs flared
out at the bottom to an alarming degree. James Bondish they may look in the marketing
pictures, but wearing them in reality, our man looked more like Lofty in It
Ain’t Half Hot Mum. When snorkelling, this flaring also led to a significant
amount of drag. So what do we have here? The shorts are only available in
black, which is a touch unimaginative and you’ll pay around £50 a pair, which
is a lot of money for shorts that don’t fit very well. Then there’s the flaring
cut of the legs that not only looks rather silly on land but also becomes a
significant irritation in the water. It was, our man informed us, like swimming
with a sail flapping around your legs.
Of
course our man may have fallen foul of the problem of Internet buying and
should have gone to a shop to try them on – but who has the time? There is also
nothing to suggest that buying a larger size would have meant a better fit.
Then there is the issue of flaring, if the medium size makes you look like
you’ve got a coat hanger in your pockets, the larger size would no doubt double
the “billowing problem”. If you have a waist like a wasp and thighs like a
Rhino then these shorts are a perfect buy. For the rest of us however,
appearing as if we’re wearing our grandad’s shorts on the beach is not the look
we want for £50. So we hope that Fourth Element get their fingers out and do something
about it – better sizing, better cut and more choice of colours please chaps.
I like the design Smithers, but they simply aren't baggy enough. Make 'em black and make 'em very baggy d'ya see
The Scilly Isles are
situated some twenty-eight miles southwest of Cornwall. The tiny archipelago is
made up of five inhabited islands and numerous other uninhabited islands and
rocky islets – around 140 in total. The large numbers of ships that have been
wrecked on the islands rocky shores make the Scilly Isles a wreck divers dream
but the islands have a lot to offer the more daring snorkeller as well. One
particular event caught our eye some time ago and made heading for the islands
a must. In January this year the local Wildlife Trust reported a large influx
of jellyfish around the Islands, particularly the Pelagia Noctiluca or Mauve
Stinger. Growing up to 10cm across the bell, these jellies (as their name
suggests) carry a painful, but fortunately not fatal, sting. Although it is not
unusual for deep water jellyfish to occasionally find their way into the local
waters, the appearance of so many at one time is rare and is believed to have
been caused by winter storms pushing the organisms that the jellyfish feed on
towards the islands. The jellyfish have followed this food source and ended up
in the shallow waters around Scilly. 
