Germany

Nuttlar Slate Mine

Diver explores the Nuttlar slate mine in Bestwig, Germany
Diver explores the Nuttlar slate mine in Bestwig, Germany.

Nestled in the mountainous area of Bestwig in western Germany is the Nuttlar slate mine, which offers divers an intriguing opportunity to step into the past. Kurt Storms gives us a glimpse of the underwater passages in the mine.

Maar Lakes of Germany's Volcanic Eifel Region

Maar lake in Volcanic Eifel, Germany. Photo by Claudia Weber-Gebert
Maar lake in Volcanic Eifel, Germany. Photo by Claudia Weber-Gebert

What is the origin of the unique lakes in the Volcanic Eifel region of Germany? In short, they were created from an explosion of water vapour when lava from a hot spot under the region met with groundwater thousands of years ago. The explosion created a round funnel, or crater, with earthen walls, which was later filled with rainwater. That is why the water is really clear and has rather good visibility.

Boot is back in business big time

After a corona-imposed two-year hiatus, the megashow was back on, and what a resurgence it was. After I landed on a morning flight, I jumped on the bus that went from the airport to the expo complex. The route went almost all around the complex in a clockwise fashion before we got to Eingang Nord, or the North entrance, which was my stop.

“Despite the difficult general conditions, boot 2023 has written a success story. We would not have dreamt of this outcome. boot has finally reached calm waters and is once again firmly anchored in its Düsseldorf home port. The successful comeback has demonstrated that trade fairs ‘made in Düsseldorf’ have an international appeal,” stated Wolfram Diener, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf.

 

Wreck of Hanseatic kogge in Trave river
Dives showed that the wreck is at serious risk of erosion and exposed parts were infested with shipworm

375-Year-Old Shipwreck Found in German River

The shipwreck, which has been found to be about 375 years old, was found nearly 36 feet beneath the surface of the Trave River - a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, which flows into the Baltic Sea at Travemünde. The ship was found during routine measurements of the river by the local waterway and shipping authority which detected an anomaly at the river bottom using a multibeam echosounder.

boot Düsseldorf, German Boat Show, dive show, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news
The biggest boat show in the world - 'boot Düsseldorf' - is held annually in January

boot Düsseldorf 2022 is cancelled

In recent weeks, various countries in Europe have applied travel and event restrictions to help prevent the spread of this new version of the Covid-19 virus. 

 

Following a meeting of the Minister Presidents of the federal states in Germany on 21 December 2021, the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) banned large events in January 2022. This includes boot Düsseldorf, the largest boat show in the world. 

It is with a heavy heart that we have to say goodbye to holding boot in January 2022. Wolfram N. Diener, CEO of Messe Düsseldorf

 

Dr Stephan Keller stated "We had had hoped that the pandemic situation in January would allow Boot to be held under strict hygiene conditions. But in the end, it is only consistent to do without large public fairs such as Boot in order to contain the spread of the omicron variant. Even before the country's ban, I agreed with the management of Messe Düsseldorf not to take an unjustifiable risk and to cancel boot if necessary."

Update from Boot expo regarding Covid-19 regulations

 For a safe staging of boot 2022,  the world's largest water sports trade fair,  Messe Düsseldorf has again adapted its hygiene measures in line with the Covid Protection Ordinance of its home state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which was updated on November 24.

Most important is the  introduction of the regulation for access to the boot halls.

Bracenet, ghost diving, ghost fishing, Pascal van Erp, Healthy Seas, Benjamin Wenke,  Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, X-Ray Mag, XRay Magazine
640,000 tons of fishing nets are annually lost or dumped at sea. Bracenet repurposes some of this lost net in their bracelets

Bracenet donates €50K to Healthy Seas

The German-based enterprise makes ethical bracelets from recycled marine materials, ie diver-recovered ghost fishing nets. Every bracelet purchased raises funds to remove more of this plastic trash / rubbish from our oceans and coastlines. 

We donate a fixed amount up to €5 to 'Healthy Seas' for every product sold. Benjamin Wenke

Boot show 2021 rescheduled to April

“At the present moment in time, we cannot reliably gauge whether a trade fair can be implemented in January 2021. This is due to current infection rates, ongoing travel restrictions and existing legal provisions which do not permit trade fairs to be held currently. In consultation with our boot advisory board and the associations we have selected the new dates in April with caution," Messe Düsseldorf’s CEO Wolfram Diener writes in a press release.

The two hermit crab species (Coenobita rugosus on the top left and C. perlatus on the top right), with the four shell types used in the research

Why two hermit crab species on same beach don't fight over shells

Researchers from the University of Bayreuth, Germany discovered how two hermit crab species co-exist on the same beach without fighting over limited resources like food or shelter.

Sebastian Steibl and Prof Dr. Christian Laforsch sought to investigate how resource partitioning occurs and whether it may be a driver of coexistence between competing species. (Resource partitioning involves similar species in the same environment utilising different subsets of the same resource (or using it in a different way), so they are not in direct competition with one another.)