FEATURES

  • Clockwise, from top left: The jewelled anemone crab places anemones on its shell for protection; a shrimp provides its cleaning services; a spinecheek; and a skunk anemonefish; anemone in the process of bleaching.

Home Sweet Anemone

Anemonefish might get all the attention, especially of underwater photographers, but where would they be without their photogenic hosts? And what of all the other creatures that call them home? asks Brandi Mueller. Read more...

Never mind the Threshers!

The words ‘Malapascua’ and ‘thresher shark’ have become inseparable, but it shouldn’t be the case, say Henley Spiers & Jade Hoksbergen – even without the whip-tailed wonders, this island would still be a world-class diving location. Read more...

World of Sponge

The decorative hallmarks of St Lucia dive-sites are its sponges – drop onto these scenic reefs and prepare for a rich slice of Caribbean marine life. Steve Weinman makes the most of his stay – and an irritable turtle adds to the merriment Read more...

Deeper into Truk

The wrecks of Truk in standard diving depths are well-documented, but what if you’re lucky enough to be there in a technical capacity? Brandi Mueller reports. Read more...

Below with Brazen

The now-protected Channel wreck of destroyer HMS Brazen was an early WW2 casualty. Stefan Panis enjoys a dive, and shares the experience along with the mystery of the purser’s safe! Read more...

What are Marine Paints?

Ferries, boats, ships, other water vehicles, as well as other structures that are generally exposed to water use waterproof marine paints or marine coatings. The special paints give them protective layers against moisture such as rain, freshwater, saltwater, or brackish water. Offshore oil rigs are coated with marine paints as well to prevent the metal from rust and corrosion. Read more...

  • The Bomb Shelter’s exit hatch.

Prison Break

If you enjoyed Will Appleyard’s recent Frozen In Time features about diving Baltic wrecks, here’s a coda to those adventures, as he takes time out to explore the former Soviet prison of Rummu in Estonia. Read more...

Ghostbusters UK

More and more divers are diving for a purpose, but when it comes to ghost-gear clearance you really have to know what you’re doing – as CHRISTINE GROSART does. Read more...

The Call of the Minkes

The Ribbon Reefs are a special Great Barrier Reef dive-destination at any time of the year, says NIGEL MARSH. But they are extra-special in June and July when visited by dwarf minke whales. Read more...

Shrimp Hunt in Swanage

JACK PERKS is best known as a freshwater diver but a recent sea dive in Dorset offered the chance to pursue a different rare quarry – a snakelocks anemone shrimp. Read more...

The Gear of the Year

Our DIVER Testers select their favourite kit from the past 12 months, ask a selection of divers for their equipment wishes, and muse on what the New Year might bring… Read more...

The Unsung Reef

Australia’s corals grab the headlines, but the country’s kelp-dominated temperate reefs are at least as important and imperilled. Now they’re finally getting the restoration focus they deserve. Read more...

Nudi Collector

RICHARD ASPINALL is a nudibranch-fancier, and he doesn’t care who knows it. Satisfying his craving for new species is matched only by his need to capture their images to best effect… Read more...