What do you do when it all runs out?
Becky Kagan-Schott 
101 spreads (double pages)
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X-Ray Mag #79
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The Atlantic bluefin tuna is one of the largest and fastest fish in the ocean. They are incredible swimmers. With bodies shaped like torpedoes, they are practically built for speed. Some species of tuna can swim as fast as 69kph (43mph). They are exceptional predators from the moment they are born, and they can live up to 40 years.
Becky Kagan Schott. Photo bby David Schott
Talent plus personality. That’s how clients and colleagues explain 35-year-old Becky Kagan Schott’s rapid ascent in the male-dominated, niche-filled world of underwater cinematography.
There are other areas of the world with well-preserved shipwrecks, but the Great Lakes has the monopoly on sheer mass, variety and relative ease of access. Very few known dive-able wrecks are much more than a few hours boat ride from a decent restaurant, a chain hotel or a decent-sized town. Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, is a notable exception, but most wreck dive sites in the Great Lakes do not demand an expedition set up to reach.
There are other areas of the world with well-preserved shipwrecks, but the Great Lakes has the monopoly on sheer mass, variety and relative ease of access. Very few known dive-able wrecks are much more than a few hours boat ride from a decent restaurant, a chain hotel or a decent-sized town. Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, is a notable exception, but most wreck dive sites in the Great Lakes do not demand an expedition set up to reach.
My first dive in the Great Lakes was 20 years ago. I remember descending into dark green water and limited visibility. My joke for years was, “Do you know why they call it Lake Erie? Because it’s just that—it’s Erie.” Soon after that, I moved to Florida with my family and forgot all about the Great Lakes because I had warm, tropical reefs in my backyard. Fast-forward to five years ago and I had my next experience diving in Lake Superior. I was blown away by the wrecks, and it ignited a new passion for diving the Great Lakes.
My first dive in the Great Lakes was 20 years ago. I remember descending into dark green water and limited visibility. My joke for years was, “Do you know why they call it Lake Erie? Because it’s just that—it’s Erie.” Soon after that, I moved to Florida with my family and forgot all about the Great Lakes because I had warm, tropical reefs in my backyard. Fast-forward to five years ago and I had my next experience diving in Lake Superior. I was blown away by the wrecks, and it ignited a new passion for diving the Great Lakes.
The year is 1880, and you are working on a wooden schooner, one of the most dangerous jobs during the time. It is late November and it is the last run of the season. The ship is overloaded with coal and the seas start to pick up. It is now dark and the icy waves are crashing over the sides, and all you can do is work to keep the ship afloat. Ice is now forming on the rigging, and out of the fog, the bow of another ship suddenly appears. Before you can react, it collides with your bow. In minutes, the schooner and everyone on board disappears below the cold, dark waves descending into the depths—a watery grave and a ship that will not be seen again for over a century.
The year is 1880, and you are working on a wooden schooner, one of the most dangerous jobs during the time. It is late November and it is the last run of the season. The ship is overloaded with coal and the seas start to pick up. It is now dark and the icy waves are crashing over the sides, and all you can do is work to keep the ship afloat. Ice is now forming on the rigging, and out of the fog, the bow of another ship suddenly appears. Before you can react, it collides with your bow. In minutes, the schooner and everyone on board disappears below the cold, dark waves descending into the depths—a watery grave and a ship that will not be seen again for over a century.
“I’ve heard of Malawi… Isn’t that where Madonna adopted one of her babies from?” queried one of my clients before my departure for Africa. I winced, but at least she had heard of it. Up to that point, all responses to my intent of visiting the small African nation consisted of confused looks or furrowed brows. Sandwiched between such safari heavyweights such as Tanzania and Zambia, Malawi gets overlooked by most visitors to Southern Africa.
Sea turtle, Tiomon Island. Photo by Jennifer Idol
Hollywood is attributed with recognizing the natural beauty of Tioman Island in the 1950s as an exotic tropical paradise. Having seen one of the films as a child, it created an impression of a place I would like to visit someday. I never imagined it would set the stage for my first experience of diving in Malaysia. Tioman delivered on an enchanting dream.
Greek diving is back on the menu. X-RAY MAG’s Peter Symes asks Avgerinos Vrazopoulos, the director of Scuba Hellas—the Greek diving marketing group—for insights into the development of new dive locations and trip packages for international divers.
A new style of shark dive has been developed by Jim Abernethy, of Scuba Adventures in Florida. In a dramatic demonstration that “shark huggers” are right, all his guests do with the sharks now is to stroke them! Jim was the pioneer who first demonstrated the peaceful way that sharks will interact with divers, especially when their curiosity has been aroused through the offer of a snack. But when he found out that sharks prefer affection to food, he changed his approach.
Pelagic black water diving is not for the novice underwater videographer. Without visual references, routine tasks, even for an experienced diver, must be constantly on the conscious mind. Add a camera to the mix and the task loading easily becomes too much. However, with a little preparation, you can set yourself up to capture some amazing video on a world-class dive.
The UK recreational and technical diving industry is continuing to lobby against a forced change to a proposed ISO cylinder testing standard.
Photo by Yoshi Hirata
Yoshi Hirata is a Japanese photographer and marine biologist based in the Philippines. His father was an artist and a painter, so Hirata learned to see a lot of different angles of truths from him. He also studied nature where he also found a variety of truths in ecology, but at the same time, he said, his heart sought beauty.