United Kingdom

Weymouth's attractive and historic sheltered harbour is an destination for UK divers because it offers access to a huge range of wreck diving.

Weymouth charter boat industry on the brink of collapse

Berthing Fees Issue

It is standard operating practice for harbours to charge harbour dues and mooring fees. The monies raised are used to cover the cost of managing and looking after the infrastructure of the harbour.

Simply Scuba won Diver Magazine's 'Retailer of the Year' ten years running, from 2009 to 2018
Simply Scuba won Diver Magazine's 'Retailer of the Year' ten years running, from 2009 to 2018

Simply Scuba Goes Into Administration

In the mid 90's Gerrard Dennis attended a DEMA seminar where it was stated the future of diving was online. Shortly afterwards in 1995 Dennis founded 'Simply Scuba'. Simply Scuba was either the first, or one of the very first internet-based scuba equipment retail businesses in the UK.

Simply Scuba, Gerrard Dennis, Joanne Dennis,

When Simply Scuba was launched in 1995, its original logo featured a shark wearing sun glasses

Anglesey Sea Zoo has over 40 tanks displaying the best of British marine wildlife
Anglesey Sea Zoo has over 40 tanks displaying the best of British marine wildlife

COVID-19: Anglesey Sea Zoo launches 'Just Giving' campaign

Anglesey Sea Zoo has been a part of the community and business life on Anglesey island, Wales for over 36 years. In that time the aquarium has done a massive amount to protect and nurture local marine life.

Remaining a valuable local employer and a fundamental contributor to Anglesey is very important to us. Frankie Hobro, Anglesey Sea Zoo

Study identifies key loggerhead turtle foraging grounds

After tracking female loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean, scientists at University of Exeter discovered that they feed at the same locations every year.

Specifically, these were in the Adriatic region, Tunisian Plateau and the eastern Mediterranean. Unfortunately, some of these locations are not ideal, and lead the loggerheads into danger.

Alan King

A tribute to Alan King

Alan was a friendly colleague who loved being outside and talking to anyone. As a child, he developed the skill of always finding something of common interest to discuss with anyone he met, and he carried this through into his adult life. Alan was able to strike up a conversation about anything with anyone. Alan learned to scuba dive in 1970 when he joined the Leicester Underwater Exploration Club. Two years later, he became a commercial diver—a high-risk career in the early '70s—with his "office" primarily being the North Sea exploration rigs.

Eastenders, mass balloon release, Tony Hall, BBC Director General, environmental littering, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving mag
Eastenders release balloons into the sky three days after the BBC's Director General states the Corporation will tackle waste and harm created by single-use plastic

BBC's spectacular 'single-use plastic' own goal

The BBC has just invested several million pounds and four years of filming Blue Planet II. Its key and primary message is to educate the world that our oceans are overwhelmed with plastic pollution. And the message is getting through. The series is having a positive impact.

It seems however that not everyone within the Corporation has read Tony Hall's memo and got the 'Blue Planet' message. Or perhaps the artistic whims of the BBC producers have put their egos before the environment.

Pressure play, David Haigh, James Stagg, D-Day, Normandy Landings, weather forecast, General Eisenhower, Malcolm Sinclair, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Magazine, X-Ray Mag, scuba diving news
Dr James Stagg briefs the Allied commanders (Image: Cambridge Arts Theatre)

'Pressure' - A different view of the D-Day Landings

The way our weather twists and turns can catch out even the most experienced meteorologist, as Michael Fish found out to his cost, following his infamous broadcast on Thursday 15 October 1987.

He stated "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!"

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The Play

Operation Overlord, June 5th 1944. All the factors have been accounted for, apart from the weather. 350,000 lives depend on the most important forecast of the 20th century. 

Thursday 1 - Saturday 10 February 2018: Arts Theatre, Cambridge

Tuesday 13 - Saturday 17 February 2018: King's Theatre, Edinburgh

Tuesday 20 - Saturday 24 February 2018: Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne

DDRC launches diving ear survey

Ear health problems are one of the most commonly reported issues by divers. Problems can range from a relatively simple condition, for example, “swimmers ear,” to a more serious condition such as barotrauma, which can result in lasting damage to the ear.

Currently, anonymous field data is sparse, therefore Devon-based DDRC is hoping to find out what type of ear problems are most frequently encountered whilst diving if any medical advice was obtained; and if not, what was the outcome.

TDI, SDI,  Jordan Greene, Sean Harrison, Paul Montgomery, Mark Powell, Brian Carney, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news
TDI / SDI HQ Staff | Jordan Greene, Sean Harrison, Paul Montgomery, Mark Powell, Brian Carney (l to r)

Mark Powell Becomes TDI / SDI ‘International Business’ Manager

Mark Powell qualified as a TDI / SDI Instructor in October 2000, and has been an ardent advocate of this training agency for almost two decades. In 2002 Mark Powell set up Dive-Tech (a dedicated technical diving training facility) and began working as a full time professional. A role that he has continued to this day.

“I am very excited to join the HQ team. The opportunity to help grow this agency is very exciting”, stated Powell.