As I have grown to be an experienced diver, my standard for choosing an instructor to train or mentor under, has also evolved. When I signed up for my first scuba class, it really didn’t make any difference to me who was going to teach it. The excitement of learning to breathe underwater was the only thing that mattered.

As it turned out, my instructor was a past Executive Director of NAUI and an ex-Navy Seal. It wasn’t until I had some real diving experience to compare my skills to, that I really began to appreciate how well trained I was, and how a good instructor can make all the difference in the world.

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Cozumel

Mathias Corvalho Mathias Corvalho and Erick Cruz , Scott Johnson

Travel & Trips

Yes, I know, Cozumel must have already been reviewed several times since you took up scuba diving, but the fact remains, that it is still one of the Caribbean’s top destinations for diving enthusiasts from all over the world—from the novice to the very knowledgeable — and now it’s safe again to go there, as Mexico has been cleared off the CDC’s travel warning list for swine flu. It’s time once again to enjoy the treats of this enchanting tropical paradise.

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Rich Walker

Rosemary E Lunn Gareth Lock

Profiles & Interviews

Rich Walker is a full-time instructor with Global Underwater Explorers in the United Kingdom, but has worked for nearly 15 years at the University of Sheffield as a researcher studying how blood flows around the body. His knowledge of physiology and physics gives him a unique edge as a diving instructor.

X-RAY MAG’s Rosemary E. Lunn caught up with Walker to find out more about his experience and expertise.

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Sea Glass — Recycling Ocean Gems

Gunild Symes

,

Catherine G S Lim

Lifestyle & Art

Sea glass has become very popular as a component in jewelry, chimes, sun catchers and ornaments. Tumbled by the ocean waves, sea glass comes from tossed bottles and jars that have found their way to the sea. The sand and surf softens the edges of the broken glass as it tumbles in the waves creating smooth, frosty pieces of sea glass, or beach glass.

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Sperm Whales of Dominica

Eric Cheng Eric Cheng

Travel & Trips Ecology & Science

The memory of my first sperm whale encounter is so visceral that I can almost feel myself there again if I close my eyes. As is common to most whale encounters, it wasn’t a particularly long one; the juvenile male merely drifted by slowly, effortlessly, turning on his side so he could stare at me with a tiny little eye before disappearing into the blue. To him, I was probably nothing more than a passing curiosity—an awkward sack of meat wrapped in neoprene—but the experience was an overwhelming one for me, and I knew that I wanted more.

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Sperm Whales of Dominica

Eric Cheng Eric Cheng

Travel & Trips Ecology & Science

The memory of my first sperm whale encounter is so visceral that I can almost feel myself there again if I close my eyes. As is common to most whale encounters, it wasn’t a particularly long one; the juvenile male merely drifted by slowly, effortlessly, turning on his side so he could stare at me with a tiny little eye before disappearing into the blue. To him, I was probably nothing more than a passing curiosity—an awkward sack of meat wrapped in neoprene—but the experience was an overwhelming one for me, and I knew that I wanted more.

Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎

Stingrays: Winged Wonders of the Canary Islands

Andy Murch Andy Murch

Photo by Andy Murch

Travel & Trips Ecology & Science

Los Gigantes is a small fishing community on the west side of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is named for the enormous cliffs that dominate the shoreline to the north of the village, but the name is equally appropriate for the gigantic rays that frequent the area.

Twenty meters below the surface, the looming walls of volcanic rock terminate among boulders the size of holiday condos. Deeper still, the coral encrusted blocks give way to a featureless, lunar landscape of sparkling, slate gray sand.

Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎

Stingrays: Winged Wonders of the Canary Islands

Andy Murch Andy Murch

Photo by Andy Murch

Travel & Trips Ecology & Science

Los Gigantes is a small fishing community on the west side of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is named for the enormous cliffs that dominate the shoreline to the north of the village, but the name is equally appropriate for the gigantic rays that frequent the area.

Twenty meters below the surface, the looming walls of volcanic rock terminate among boulders the size of holiday condos. Deeper still, the coral encrusted blocks give way to a featureless, lunar landscape of sparkling, slate gray sand.

Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎

The virtues remain the same

Lawson Wood Lawson Wood

Photo & Video

Underwater photography has been around well over 150 years and has accompanied humans as they have ventured beneath the seas to chronicle the water wilderness in all its glory, with the earliest underwater photographs being taken on large plate cameras in underwater housings of some sort or another.

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