Your Dive New Zealand Articles

Presbyopic Correction for Divers

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +12

In other words ... optical help for divers having trouble reading their computers, gauges, and digital screens.

by Quentin Bennett, image Richard Robinson www.depth.co.nz

Even divers get middle aged, and one of the biggest nuisances from this stage of life on is the difficulty most of us suffer trying to read and see things that are close up. This includes reading our dive computer and gauges. The phenomenon of reduced ability to focus the eyes is called presbyopia, and I argue that it is a sign of maturity.

d'Urville Island, Marlborough Sounds

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +12

By Anne Neumann
Images Anne Neumann and Eric Simmons

We headed out of Okiwi up the west coast of d'Urville Island. Clear water, no wind and a grey overcast day made it a good day to be under the water. We anchored next to a large submerged rock outside Greville Harbour, and dropping to 20 metres we were surrounded by massive schools of butterfly perch. Slightly above my buddy, I looked up to watch a wall of mackerel engulf me, move on, then turn and part in a silent wave around me once more as they continued on their way to wherever.

In search of Antarctic shipwrecks

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +12

In search of Antarctic shipwrecks

Editor Dave Moran while at the DEMA Expo in Orlando USA 2009 caught up with National Geographic deep water photographer
Dave Moran (DM): Emery what projects do you have on the horizon?
Emory Kristof (EK): We’re planning to look for two historic wrecks from the age of exploration in Antarctica. Shackleton’s ship the Endurance and a Swedish ship the Antarctic. Her story is similar to Endurance being crushed by ice. The Antarctic sunk in about 500 metres (1640 ft) in 1903 and Endurance in 3050 metres (10,000 feet) in 1915.

Editorial 119

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +12

EDITORIAL By Dave Moran

Protesting does it bring results?

After spending five months in a Japanese jail, anti-whaling protester, Pete Bethune returned to New Zealand on Saturday 10 July. It just so happened that on the same day 25 years ago the French Foreign Intelligence service sunk Greenpeace's flag ship, Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbour.
The French had had enough of Greenpeace's protests to their nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll in French Polynesia. New Zealanders took quite a while to get into their heads that the French had committed such a violent act on New Zealand soil, which also resulted in the death of one of Greenpeace's crew.

World War One wreck discovered

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +12

By Dave Moran

The trace line on the magnetometer's screen disappeared off the bottom of the screen but the readout numbers kept dropping, -77 -73 -62 all the way to -4 then they started to climb, +13 +25 +35, the trace line reappeared and started to climb all the way up till.....

Riwaka Resurgence

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +12

By Shane Wasik

This is a dive I've looked at for years and it wasn't until we had Eric Simmons up from Nelson for a talk at our club, that I had looked at doing it again. The hard part was convincing Nikki that it was a good idea, especially driving all the way down from Tauranga...

White Whales

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +12

By Ekaterina Kurakina, Andrey Nekrasov.
Photos Andrey Nekrasov

On the horizon I see pieces of ice moving against the wind at high speed. They come closer and I discover with a surprise that they are not splinters of ice but snow white...

Editorial 118

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +12

EDITORIAL by dave moran

Sea Shepherd's Pete Bethune between a rock and a hard place
As we go to press Pete is about to begin one of his life's biggest challenges. Unlike when he is skippering his vessel Ady Gil (previously Earthrace) he has very little control on his final destination as he stands before a Japanese judge on 27 May: On charges of trespass, assault, possession of a knife, destruction of property and obstruction of business. By the time you read this the world will know his fate. He will either be deported back to New Zealand or commencing a jail term.

I had the privilege of interviewing Pete just before he left New Zealand (view Feb/March Issue 116). I discovered a man who, in his short life (then 44 years), had circumnavigated the world enough times to have witnessed first hand the effects man's actions have on the general health of the planet's environment. He wanted to do something about making changes. He is an action man and I guess he was frustrated at the lack of real action by politicians in relation to what he heard and read about their objectives in relation to making changes for the benefit of the environment.

Swimming with Crocodiles

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +12

By Keith Cardwell

I packed my spare shirt and undies, camera and toothpaste and went on holiday to a place thin on dive shops and scuba stuff. As much as a scuba addict as I know I am, every now and then...

Spearfishing Competitions

DiveNZ@divenewzealand.co.nz — Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +12

by Anne Neumann

Waitangi weekend (6 February 2010) is the traditional time for the South Island Spearfishing/Photography Championships, usually heralded by outstanding weather - and this year was no different. Hosted by the Nelson Underwater Club, around 30...