That’s right, it is here. The hottest new ” must be seen” event in India. Divestock 2009!! Made by and made for scuba divers and everyone else who loves a good party. Its inaugration will be held in Port Blair and in Havelock in the Andaman Islands.
You know you want to be there. you know you have to be there. THIS IS THE PARTY you have been waiting for!
Nethrani Dive Trip 2009
Bangalore Dive Club together with Planet Scuba India has once again managed to take dive trips to a whole new level. The Nethrani dive trip saw a unprecendented 40 divers from India descending on Murdeshwar’s shores. It was a huge number of people and it was a show of strength from the divers.
Nethrani was closed to diving after an incident involving the arrest of some divers. This happened post 26/11 when security was a knee jerk reaction to the terror incident in Mumbai. After numerous efforts by PSI and the local diving community, Nethrani finally got approved for scuba diving.
Divers were all in high spirits waiting to begin their adventure in these “forbidden” waters as such. There was a high level of camaraderie and anticipation in the air. Even though visibility on the first day was poor due to heavy rains the night before the marine life underwater more than made up for it. Huge lobsters, cuttlefish, moray eels and many more varieties of fish kept the divers completely entertained. It truly was a fantastic dive experience.
There were press involved in this dive trip as well. They got a taste of what scuba diving is all about. The one thing that struck both press and divers is the extensive damage that has been done to the marine environment due to excessive fishing. There was mutual concensus that something had to be done to curb discriminatory practices of fishing and some sort of basic education needs to be imparted to the fishermen on what to fish and how to do it the right way without destroying the environment in which they too are dependent on.
All in all, it was a fantastic 3 days of diving and everyone had a good time. Here’s hoping that Nethrani becomes the diving paradise that it is in good time.
International Beach Clean Up Day
Planet Scuba India is proud to have participated in its very first International Cleanup Day event in Turtle Bay. Being a Go ECO Project Aware member and operator, PSI took the first steps into helping the environment.
At least 6 million tonnes of debris enters the world’s oceans each year, causing harm to underwater environments and wildlife. With unique access to the underwater world, scuba divers can help remove debris underwater, raise awareness and drive positive change. Project AWARE Foundation is dedicated to addressing the devastating impacts of marine debris and coordinates global beach and underwater cleanups year round.
International Cleanup Day is the biggest underwater cleanup of its kind. Held annually on the 3rd Saturday in September each year, more than 370,000 volunteers clean over 33,000 miles of shoreline to remove seven million pounds of rubbish.
This year in India David Perry, Operations Manager and instructor at Planet Scuba India registered with Project AWARE and visited Turtle Bay for the cleanup. Joining hands with Turtle Bay Resort Kundapur they initiated the beach clean up. They were helped by participants from FSL (Field Study Learn) an NGO, International students from Germany, Australia and Switzerland, many local kids, teens from the local Youth Club, members from the local church and patrons of the Lions Club. Close to 60 participants helped clean the local beach by picking up litter.
Dominic a PSI representative said the litter they picked up could have filled an entire tempo van. With almost 150 bags of rubbish consisting mostly of plastic bags, glass bottles, shoes and other forms of trash.
It was not all work with no fun, participants had a fun round of beach volleyball to reward themselves for their hard work. Turtle Bay Resort sponsored food and drinks for the participants.
It is through events like this that PSI hopes to spread awareness about protecting our eco system and to lead people with a hands on approach to protect our earth. It is important for people to come together as a community and start making International Beach Clean Up, not only a yearly event but hopefully a monthly event in all parts of the world.
I know
what you are thinking, do not worry, this blog will be updated soon with lots of stuff. Some of the oncoming updates deal with Beach clean up day and other such cool highlights. Stay tuned!
Maldive or MalDIVE?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the maldives or malDIVES is a great place for diving. Due to its very specific geographical situation and remoteness, the Maldives archipelago is the perfect example of why liveaboard diving holidays are perfect for the keen divers.
Liveaboard diving cruises meet all requirements of a perfect diving holiday at once: it provides top accommodation, excellent food, socializing with fellow divers and people having the same poles of interest. Relax on sun decks, go for a swim or a snorkel peek between dives, and of course, it brings the best of an ecosystem of discovery through the variety of dive sites visited and the extreme range of dive capacity offered.
In one word, Liveaboard is the way to go for the enthusiastic divers. Liveaboard vessels will start their journey from nearby Male international airport, and will follow the yearly patterns of current and nutrients fluctuations to ensure divers the maximum chances of big pelagic seeing such as sharks, manta rays and whale sharks, who start their migration through the Indian Ocean from off the Maldives, through the Seychelles, to end off Mozambique and follow warmer currents up to Tanzania, Kenya and the Horn of Africa where they achieve their migration and prepare for the way back.
Planet Scuba India is offering an exclusive dive trip to the Maldives at incredible rates.
3 Star Luxury Liveaboard
12 Aug 09 – 17 Aug 09
Rs 59,950