Beautifully located on the coast of the Ligurian Sea, and just opposite Elba Island, we find the Italian port of Follonica, with its busy side streets, many small seafood restaurants and religious processions on holidays. Not much, if anything, gives away that this port town is also the hot spot for technical diving in Italy. Follonica is the home of Dive System, one of the new rising stars in dive manufacturing.

Blending her love of the sea and its cherished creatures with the ancient art of Batik, a die and wax technique on silk, Sue Dudas has created an ocean of art work to delight the most hardy sea lover.

“Sui Generis” is the most appropriate way I find to describe the Galapagos Islands. A place where the intruder is the human being. A place where many of its inhabitants are animals that exist only in this small piece of the world. A place where evolution seems to have been suspended at some moment in time. A place where we can feel like pioneers in each corner.

The art of Carlos Hiller is devoted to the ocean. His paintings bring powerful images brimming with energy and marine life into our daily lives. Huge schools of fish and diverse marine creatures are usually present on his paintings which evoke the mysterious atmosphere of the underwater world. Some works are split images, giving us views above and below the surface of the water at the same time in one painting.

My dive buddy and I enter the cool clear water and descend down a mooring line to the deck of the 110-meter (366-ft) wreck Saskatchewan. The water is 8°C (47°F). I look up to see the rest of the group silhouetted in a light emerald hue arrive like slow motion skydivers.

Effortlessly I glide through a sapphire sea, admiring sparkles on the underside of slick, moving wavelets rimmed with light, gently cupping an ephemeral bit of living jelly in my hand, then turning to glimpse a dazzling sight: corals, sponges, anemones, in a riot of soft pinks, blazing reds, luminous oranges, all marked with the disciplined wildness that I love in nature—and in the Seaforms.

I want to touch my tongue to the ice-clear blue smoothness of one, taste the colors allow the texture to merge with the skin of my fingertips, feel the links between humankind and that realm where most of life on earth is concentrated—the sea.

— Sylvia Earle on Chihuly Seaforms

Patrick Chevailler was born in Bordeaux, France, in July 1946. All during his teen age years, he admired the paintings his father created as a hobby, thinking he would never be able to paint like his father did. Chevailler received a diploma as a medical doctor in 1972 and settled in the countryside of southwestern France as a general practitioner. Since his childhood, Chevailler always enjoyed sailing.

Like most divers who live in the northern parts of the world, I enjoy the occasional getaway to warmer climates, especially during November. To satisfy my tropical needs, I selected Maui, Molokai and Lanai of the Hawaiian Island Archipelago for my escape. Within six hours of leaving the Seattle area, Continental Airlines had me on the garden isle of Maui.

Not only is Maui Hawaii’s second largest island, it is home to Mount Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano with an elevation of 10,020 feet (3054m). I could hardly wait to explore the underwater sites and indulge in some topside activities like kayaking, hiking and Luau dinning!

My first shark appeared head-on in the distance slowly swaying from side to side. With elegant grace and composure it continued towards the cage with mouth opened just enough to boast a healthy set of triangular teeth. Like the star of a grand performance, the shark held everyone in awe as it turned slightly just in front of the cage to examine an offering of tuna.

Cressi-sub sets itself apart by being a company that is entirely controlled by one Italian family, the Cressi family. Since it was founded, to the present day, it has been built on a principle of not basing business on bank loans but on family money alone.

Thomas P. Peschak is a marine biologist based at the University of Cape Town’s Marine Biology Research Institute, where he conducts scientific research on kelp forests, illegal fishing and the ecology of sea otters. He is an experienced field biologist and professional diver who has worked extensively in Africa, Central America, the Middle East and the South Pacific.