WORLD DIVING NEWS

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 Posted 31/03/2009:-  Underwater footage from the wreck of a German U-boat sunk more than 90 years ago has been released. Click here to read this full story.

Posted 21/11/2008:-  First otter reaches Farne Islands

An otter has survived a "perilous" three-mile sea crossing to the Farne Islands for the first time, the National Trust has said. to read the full story please click here 

Posted 04/08/2008:-  Harbour Trust equipment lifts finally take the strain. 

Yes after what seems to have been a lifetime  the waiting is now over !! The two dive boat loading lifts at the end of St Abbs  harbour finally took there first heavy loads on Saturday morning.  Topline and Selkie were both loaded using the new lifts and we are told that new lifting baskets are in the pipeline which will enable 6 complete sets of kit to be loaded in one lift which will safe both time and the hastle of climbing the ladder !!  so that's got to be good news !!  

Posted 17/07/2008:-  Edible boat race ready to launch

Preparations are under way for what is believed to be the UK's first edible boat race later this month.                                            

The event will be held at Eyemouth beach in the Scottish Borders with the winning boat being the one which manages to float the longest.  The competition is open to all ages but all the vessels must be made entirely out of edible materials.  The event is backed by Eyemouth Herring Queen Committee and the St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve.

To read the full story on the BBC website please click HERE.

Posted 23/06/2008:- Scuba Diver found guilty of wife's underwater death!!!

An Alabama man whose wife died during a honeymoon scuba diving trip off the coast of Australia almost five years ago has been finally charged with her death. An Australian coroner ruled Friday that there was enough evidence to put Gabe Watson on trial for the death of Tina Watson, who was 26 when she drowned in October 2003 while diving around a historic shipwreck in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The husband was an experienced diver, and his new wife was considered a novice, the coroner said. 

They were diving on the Yongala shipwreck about 42 miles off the coast of Townsville in the state of Queensland, Australia. The couple married just 11 days earlier in Birmingham, Alabama. They left their home in Hoover, Alabama, for their Australian honeymoon two days later. Watson, 31, told police that his new bride appeared to panic 45 feet underwater and that he "looked into her eyes and saw her eyes were wide open, but there was no response," Townsville Coroner David Glascow said in his inquest findings. Glascow, however, cited what he said were inconsistencies in Watson's statements to investigators.

The coroner said he was "unable to conclude that Tina's death was an accidental drowning." As possible evidence for the husband's motive, Glascow pointed to a statement by the woman's father that Watson asked her to maximize her life insurance and make him the beneficiary shortly before the wedding. The insurance company confirmed that Gabe Watson inquired about her life insurance policy after her death, the coroner said. The coroner noted that Watson, through his lawyers, contended that police had made a judgment that he killed his wife before they began their investigation and that they tailored their investigation to fit their theory. Glascow said he saw no evidence of police rushing to judgment.

Posted 17/06/2008:- Body found Of Northumbria.  A divers body has been found near the wreck of the Somali, off the Northumberland coast near Beadnell.  It's thought to be that of diver Stephen Pond , 53, from Mansfield, who went missing in mid- May after loosing touch with his buddy while diving the 30m-deep cargo vessel wreck.

Posted 13/06/08 :- New National Diving Officer.

SCOTSAC have announced the appointment of a new National Diving officer for the Scottish Sub-Aqua Club.  The board of directors elected Nigel Spike of Glasgow Academy club as the new NDO with immediate effect.

Posted 08/05/2008:- SSAC Announce changes to the Buddy Breathing Ascents for Sport & Master diver training please click HERE for all the information and what this means for you as a diver .

Posted 07/05/2008:- Regular Scuba diving said to promote weight loss !

An article in the UK newspaper publication, The Guardian, has published an article giving facts about calorie burning during a scuba dive.  They provide the following information, which suggests that regular scuba diving can assist/promote weight loss and increase in strength and general fitness.

Shapely legs: Swimming with fins (flippers) is like water-based weight-training - firming the front of the thighs as you kick down and the back of the thighs as you kick up.

Weight loss: Surprisingly good for burning energy. Someone weighing approximately 70kg (11st) burns 13 calories a minute while scuba diving, so a 45-minute dive would use 585 calories.

Cardio respiratory fitness: According to the British Thoracic Society, scuba divers tend to have larger-than-average lungs and an increased vital capacity (the maximum volume of air exhaled after inhalation).

Upper-body strength: The back, shoulders and arms get a certain amount of work lugging around equipment, but once in the water, the upper body gets off lightly. Arms are usually folded across the chest or kept by the sides. 

Rite then after all that who's for a pint and a bag oh fish n chups !?

Posted 03/05/2008:- Blaine sets breathtaking record  !!!!

Magician David Blaine has set a world record by holding his breath for 17 minutes and four seconds underwater on Oprah Winfrey's US TV show in Chicago.  Click HERE to read the full story.

Posted 24/04/2008:-  Coast wants divers' ideas
BBC2's Coast series is set to return - and wants good diving tales as possible programme subjects.

The fourth and fifth series of the popular marine programme are being made over the next year. The first will be filmed this summer, the second next spring. Ideas will, therefore, be welcomed by Coast at any time up to early 2009.

In the past, diving tales related in Coast have included diving off the Manacles in Cornwall, researching with Seasearch on Dover's chalk ledges, exploring the voluntary reserve at St Abbs, and meeting octopuses off Orkney.

Coast is now asking divers to help define which UK dive sites most deserve coverage; where to find marine life which is hard to find anywhere else in the country; what interesting new research projects are taking place; and what new dive sites have been found.

A theme which the programme would particularly like to explore is that of underwater caving, either in the UK or abroad in, say, Norway, Denmark or Brittany.

Thoughts should be addressed to Katrina Bradley at Katrina.bradley@bbc.co.uk

Posted 16/04/2008:-  Brit Raises Endurance Bar.

A British diver has extended his own world record for the longest open salt-water dive.

Will Goodman, 31, from Borehamwood, stayed under water for 33hr 30min at Gili Trawangan, in Indonesia. The record has been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.

Goodman, who improved on his own world record of 24 hours, set in 2005, wanted to remain submerged for 100 hours this time round. But various problems, including coping with the cold, made such a time unfeasible, despite the backing of a support crew which included doctors monitoring his condition.

Goodman used the dive to raise awareness and support for a number of Indonesian children's charities.

He took up diving in Cornwall 10 years ago, by accompanying his father, Peter, on a diving trip. Peter Goodman was present in Indonesia to watch his son's latest record dive.

Posted 29/02/2008:-  An MSP is bidding to secure specialist medical support to back attempts to increase diving tourism in the Borders.  Please click HERE to read the full story.

Posted 30/01/2008:- St Abbs Car Park Takeover Planned.  New Parking arrangements are being planned by Scottish Borders councillors for the harbour area at St Abbs.  They are being recommended to take over the management of the Harbour Trust parking area and include it in their own pay and display scheme.  This is likely to generate considerably more income for the trust to carry out harbour repairs.  Click HERE to read the Scottish Borders Council Plan.

Posted 15/01/2008:- Divers Discover U Boat Wreckage off Eyemouth.  Click HERE to read the full story.