For most divers, the Galapagos Islands are the ultimate dive trip. With places often booked up years in advance, Regaldive guests can choose from a range of superb boats including the exciting new Galapagos Master. Read on for an account of the vessel's maiden trip, written by Mark Shandur, co-owner and GM of Master Liveaboards sister company Worldwide Dive and Sail.

"Located at the junction of three ocean currents, the Galapagos are a spectacular melting pot of marine species. Our excitement could not be contained as we made our way to the Galapagos Master. She has just spent eight months in the shipyard where the refit and refurbishment was overseen by my business partner and Worldwide Dive and Sail founder, Frank Van Der Linde.

The trip was a special one as my wife, Hanako, and I were joined by old school friends Ben Shrimpton, Mark Upson and Alec & Lucy Birkbeck. The maiden voyage also hosted world-renowned photographer, Aaron Wong, and his wife Lynette Ang and Marcel Wilpernig from WiroDive. Daniel Brinckmann came on assignment from Underwasser. We were also joined by Renee Wong, and four guests who have now become friends, who were on the Fiji Siren with us last year including Mauro Resnitzky, Ramone Gonzalez and Raj & Vijay Vaswani.

The diving in the Galapagos is some of the most unique in the world, and we were anxious to jump into the water and experience Darwin’s playground. Our first dive of the trip was at Punta Carrion, a boulder strewn reef, where we saw many hammerheads, white tip reef sharks, and schooling fish. During the second dive at Punta Carrion, I noticed a skeleton underwater at approximately thirty metres. Bewildered, I thought to myself, “Who’s thrown their dog overboard?” Upon surfacing, and speaking to one of the dive masters, I realized that we’d seen the skeleton of a sea lion. Doh! Towards the end of the second dive, we experienced a really strange vertical thermocline current coming in. The water temperature dropped by at least 3-5 degrees and the visibility went down to less than 5m. However, this cold, nutrient rich water seemed to bring in many fish and we experienced sightings of huge groupers, who seemed to enjoying appearing from the depths and scaring us!

North Seymour Island was our next stop. We went ashore and experienced some of the amazing wildlife that the Galapagos offers. We saw blue-footed boobies, frigate birds and scores of land iguanas.

Darwin Island was next on our itinerary, and it was absolutely unbelievable. Although no land permits are allowed here, the extinct volcano that reaches 165 metres above sea level is a sight to behold. Darwin’s Arch provided an amazing drift dive with a medium to strong current and loads of schooling fish.

Wolf Island, without a doubt, offered the best dive of the entire Galapagos Master trip. Another massive, extinct volcano that pushes 253 metres above sea level, here our group had the pleasure of hundreds of Galapagos sharks and a frenzy of 40-50 hammerheads. At Wolf Island, we also had the opportunity to meet some local fishermen. Regulated by the park, the fisherman hand catch yellow fin tuna that has already been bitten by sharks. These fishermen had some stories to tell, and we bartered with them. We swapped their yellow fin tuna for water and other supplies, and had a great dinner that evening.

Living up to its nickname “The Ice Box,” Punta Vicente Roca was extremely cold. However, this dive gave us a good chance to see some big marble rays. We looked for penguins, but only encountered sea lions. Diving with sea lions is fun as they are naturally curious and provide some underwater laughs.

The last stop of our Galapagos Master trip was at Cousin’s Rock, the beautiful, photogenic coral covered rock and lava flow. Here, we saw lots of enormous turtles, more playful sea lions and spotted eagle rays. Cousin’s Rock was a great way to wrap up our trip.

As we headed back to Guayaquil, we all prepared for our long, sad goodbyes. It was amazing to be able to experience a destination such as this with such close friends and colleagues; it definitely was a trip of a lifetime."

Thanks to Mark Shandur and the Worldwide Dive and Sail team for sharing this blog article and Marcel Wilpernig for the image of Galapagos Master above.


 

Did you see SHARK? The BBC’s recent sharktastic documentary series on these majestic creatures has got the office thinking about where our favourite shark diving destination would be. Read on for the Regaldive Team's top six spots to encounter sharks around the world.

Philippines

John Butland would choose Malapascua Island in the Philippines, saying “I would love to dive here because it is one of the few places in the world where I can see the very rare Thresher shark. Shark lovers can also twin Malapascua with Cabilao, which offers some fabulous sites for seeing schools of Hammerheads too.”

Bahamas

Having recently returned from the Bahamas, Simon Slater highly rates it for sharktastic sightings: “In the Bahamas, shark encounters are typically up close and personal. On my dives I saw Caribbean reef sharks, lemon sharks, nurse sharks, bull sharks, great hammerheads and tiger sharks. Diving the Bahamas would satisfy even the most ardent shark lover!”

South Africa

Andreas Elia would love to be in a cage… surrounded by Great Whites! “Two hours east of Cape Town, Dyer Island is one of the best places in the world to encounter great white sharks, and cage diving with the world’s greatest predator would be the thrill of a lifetime...”

Azores

Jane Herbert would like to explore the Azores - one of the best destinations in the world to dive up close and personal with Blue and Mako sharks. Jane said “I would love the adrenaline rush of blue water diving with Blue and Mako sharks: as the sharks are typically found some 20 miles offshore it would be the ultimate shark adventure!”

Egypt

Having spent some time living in Egypt, Helena Nawaar is perfectly placed to rave about shark encounters in the Red Sea, saying: “The Egyptian Red Sea offers a huge variety of potential shark diving locations ideally visited by liveaboard, including The Brothers, Daedalus, Rocky and Elphinstone, where divers frequently encounter Oceanic Whitetip, Thresher, Hammerhead and Grey Reef sharks. I would advise all divers to visit the stunning Red Sea before all other destinations.”

Galapagos

Nigel Cass has always dreamed of diving with a school of Hammerhead sharks, so naturally the Galapagos Islands were at the top of his selection: “The great thing about the Galapagos is that Hammerheads can be seen all year round, and it is possible to dive with hundreds of Hammerhead sharks on a single dive. That would be my ultimate dive!”

Do you agree with our selection or is there a destination you would prefer to dive with sharks? You could also consider Palau, Sudan, Fiji, Malaysia or the Maldives. Why not email us your suggestions?

Travelling with young children? Read Regaldive team member Helena's top tips for a child-friendly holiday in the sun!

I’ve worked in travel for 21 years which should qualify me for booking my own holiday. . . .  Shouldn’t it?! However, throw a child of school age into the mix and it’s a whole new ball game.

Last summer was my first experience of ‘booking’ a family holiday during the school holidays. I say ‘booking’ as we ended up with three miserable days in the rain in a caravan on the East coast of England at August bank holiday. My boys’ requirements were:

Abroad – failed
Hot weather – failed
Nice food – does fish and chips count?
Swimming pool – the kind you swim in and not the puddle outside our door from torrential rain that required wellies I hadn’t packed.

Don’t fall into the trap like I did of believing it's possible to find a last minute ‘deal’ in the summer holidays. The flights and hotels are either full or so expensive that it simply wasn’t affordable.  After last years’ fiasco, I vowed to plan this year and right last years’ very big WRONG. So I booked early. Very early!

With children aged two and six, we wanted a family friendly holiday that was good value for money and had a kids club plus a hotel that could fit us all in one room.  The Continental Hotel Hurghada ticks all these boxes and so that's where we are off this year.  They offer family rooms so we are all in the same room – tick! They had a kids club for the six year old – tick! Nice food- we’ve booked all-inclusive as it’s hot in the summer so the children will need unlimited drinks and ice-cream is always on the list (mine, that is, not just the boys!), hot weather and swimming pool – tick! And for those of you that have time to get some diving or snorkelling in, Divers’ Lodge dive centre is on-site too.

I even managed not to take the children out of school by using EgyptAir via Cairo.  I know it means a connecting flights with two little ones but it worked out cheaper, flights are daily so you can tailor-make your stay and their luggage allowance is more than generous – 46kg each.  Perfect for divers or mums with 10 tins of lactose intolerant baby formula and more than one pair of hands to carry it all!

We’re counting down the days...

Helena's top three family holiday reccommendations in the Red Sea:

1.    Steigenberger Al Dau
2.    Movenpick El Gouna
3.    Continental Hotel Hurghada

There was a certain commotion at the London dive show earlier this year. Amidst the anticipated and popular stands was an extremely different and entirely unexpected form of underwater promotion. As the throngs of people devoured all the show had to offer, it was almost comical to observe an array of individuals stop, laugh and descend into shock at the bright blue stand in front of them.

This was clearly no ordinary stand. Whatever they were promoting was free to join, and just a little bit exciting! Wow. We needed to find out more... Rosie Magee was happy to fill us in on the finer points of the international sport of Underwater Rugby!

Hello. I think the first question that needs to be asked is …. What exactly IS Underwater Rugby, and is this actually a real sport?!
YES… I promise you it is! That is actually the first question that many of the perplexed and confused visitors at LIDS asked us this year! Underwater Rugby first originated in Germany in the 1960’s, after being set up by Ludwig von Bursa to help diver’s develop their fitness. It is actually taken very seriously by many countries across the world, with our club making its international debut at a competition in Italy last year.

But is it popular and well-known in Great Britain?
Oliver Kraus, the founder of our club, came to England from Slovakia, where he played and coached Underwater Rugby on a regular basis. On arrival in England, he realised that despite diving and sports such as underwater hockey existing, there was an absence of a GB Underwater Rugby club! He decided then to enlist the help of a strong, bubbly Scot Robert Bonner, an amusing, experienced dive instructor Roy Sherwin and Gemma Witts to set up the UK’s only team, under the assistance of BSAC. Hence, PURE Underwater Rugby, GB’s only Underwater Rugby team was delicately born!

Hold on... But how do you actually play Underwater Rugby?
Underwater Rugby is a fun, challenging and competitive sport, played by two teams below the surface of a swimming pool.  Different to rugby as we know it, It is always played in water, with a usual depth of 3.5-5m. Two teams, of no more than six people wear basic equipment such as fins, a mask, a snorkel and a hat ( extremely flattering…) It is played with a negatively buoyant ball filled with salt water. The basic idea is to get your ball into the opposing team’s bucket by passing to your team and tackling them underwater! You cannot tackle around the neck, or grab someone’s fins, but apart from that it’s a full contact sport.

Buckets?!
Yes, each team’s “goal” are heavy, solid metal buckets which sit on either end of the pool! The two teams battle underwater to get their ball into the opposing team’s bucket. The ball can be passed in any direction, as long it does not break the surface of the water, therefore it is truly three dimensional!

Er... what do you do about breathing?!
You hold your breath, which believe me, actually gets easier the longer you play the sport! The main thing is timing – you have to time when it is right to tackle someone or defend your goal. You defend the goal by almost “sitting” in the bucket, placing your back against it and kicking your legs vertically in the water!

Where do you play?!
PURE Underwater Rugby trains in Putney on Thursday nights from 9.00-10.30pm! There are also a range of international tournaments that the team will be attending this year, such as the first ever international tournament in Bordeaux, France, alongside an established international tournament in Florence.

What skills do you need to play?
Technically just strength, stamina and fitness. However, in reality, all PURE really wants is people with an open-mind, who are willing and prepared to challenge themselves out of their comfort zone and try something completely different. It is an extremely friendly team, who enjoy discussing tactics and socialising, as much as channelling aggression underwater. And if that isn’t incentive enough, there is no opening line/story quite as good as “I play Underwater Rugby for Great Britain”.

Indeed! PURE Underwater Rugby trains every Thursday from 9-10.30pm in Putney Leisure Centre London.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PUREUnderwaterRugby
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pureuwr
Email: underwater-rugby@hotmail.co.uk

With massive thanks to Rosie Magee for the article and info!

Congratulations to Regaldive Guest Andrew Green on winning Sport Diver Photo of the Month with this incredible photo of a Mantis Shrimp taken on a Regaldive holiday to Siladen Island, Manado, North Sulawesi.

We met up with Andrew and his wife Jane at LIDS in February and they shared some of the incredible images of their diving holidays. Take a look at just a few of Andrew's amazing shots on the Regaldive Facebook page.

Andrew and Jane Green have been diving for 10 years and travel all over the world in pursuit of new diving experiences. Andrew first became interested in photography five years ago when he bought a Canon G9 which was great fun but he soon realised that he wanted to make the leap to an SLR. Andrew acquired a Nikon D7000 and Nauticam enclosure and Jane treated him to a days' one-to-one tuition with Martin Edge in Bournemouth and that took his picture quality and composition to another level.

Well he never looked back and now seeks diving holidays with the potential for the best photo opportunities! If you're a budding photographer, Andrew and Jane really recommend two centre holidays. They tend to select a location with bigger subjects for the first week and smaller the second week. A few words from Andrew:

"It's difficult to single out the most memorable sites because they have all been so wonderful - we are so privileged.  For pure photo opportunities, I think the Siladen Island Resort and Spa combination with Kungkungan Bay Resort in North Sulawesi is difficult to beat. In fact the fantastic location of Siladen Island gives a great mix of wide angle and close up on its own. Within at most 20 minutes you can be on the wonderful sheer walls of Bunaken Island or the muck dives on the Shores of Manado. However you just can't beat the Lembeh Straits for wonderful macro opportunities. During the first dive of our last visit we plunged into what looked like an uninteresting dive at TK III, only to be literally surrounded by Mimic and Wonderpuss Octopus everywhere you looked. They seemed to be fighting amongst themselves to give the best photo opportunity to us!

The Philippines was fantastic, with Malapascua having wonderful macro opportunities for Sea Horses, Mandarin Fish and giant Nudibranchs - a slight contradiction - along with the illusive Thresher Sharks of course. Alona Vida with its easy access to Balicasag was a great combination of close focus wide angle and macro photography. Similarly Dumaguete with its macro along the shore and wide angle at Apo Island was a super combination, with the added bonus of an off-gassing last day at Oslob to snorkel with the Whale Sharks. Couldn't wish for more really..."

So what's next for Andrew and Jane?

"Although we favour diving for macro opportunities, we would love to have the opportunity to dive with the giant oceanic mantas."

We can't wait to see the photos!!

Are you looking for an incredible diving holiday close to home? The Maltese Islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino offer award-winning diving in crystal clear waters and can be reached in as little as three hours flying time from the UK. Add to this incredible underwater topography and multiple wrecks, and it’s easy to see why these beautiful Mediterranean islands are such a hotspot for British divers.

The sheer diversity of dive sites that can be reached by boat and shore, and the suitability of many sites for divers of different experience levels, has secured the Islands’ reputation as a great all-round diving destination. Malta & Gozo are consistently voted in the top three diving destinations worldwide by readers of the British diving magazines Diver and Sport Diver.

Calm, sheltered bays, exceptional water clarity and easy shore access make for ideal conditions for beginners taking their first breaths underwater. Complex tunnels, caves and some outstanding ship, plane and submarine wrecks attract legions of experienced, deep and technical divers year after year.

Where to go

Regaldive offers divers the choice of a holiday on either Malta or Gozo:

Malta offers a cosmopolitan and lively stay, being the largest and most developed island of the three Maltese Isles. Malta’s history as a disputed land has led to an impressive collection of wrecks and the Island becoming known as the wreck capital of the Mediterranean. Dozens of wrecks, historic and artificial, mean that Malta is a key technical diving destination. However, the island is also an ideal place for beginners with plenty of sheltered coves to explore. Malta’s calm, warm waters also make for excellent visibility and superb conditions for underwater photography.

Discover Malta >

Equally photogenic, the smaller island of Gozo is an unspoilt paradise with a simple, rural charm. The action here is underwater where the spectacular scenery draws divers back to Gozo time and time again. Arches and tunnels have been carved out of the coastline and offer endless points of natural rugged beauty around its 27 mile coastline, coupled with tremendous underwater visibility. The Blue Hole is perhaps the most famous dive site of all the Islands and purportedly a favourite dive of Jacques Cousteau. There are many more caverns, tunnels and swim throughs, plus two artificial wrecks to explore at leisure, whilst Gozo is also popular with new divers, captivated by its charm.

Discover Gozo >

Above water attractions

The Maltese Islands offer plenty to keep visitors entertained after an exciting days’ diving. Guests can explore the ancient streets and stunning harbour of the World Heritage City of Valletta, named European Capital of Culture 2018. Malta's photogenic capital is renowned for its rich collection of prehistoric artefacts, the impressive Grand Master’s Palace and majestic St. John’s Cathedral. A visit to the 'Silent City' of Mdina is also a must.

Gozo is home to the world’s oldest free-standing structures, the Ggantija Temples, which pre-date even the pyramids. Also worth a visit is the picturesque hilltop citadel of Victoria (Rabat). For a true Maltese experience however, take a walk or cycle ride around the pretty villages and find plenty of hidden treasures – medieval churches, fresh local cuisine, private sandy coves, and a warm Mediterranean welcome at every turn.

Situated between Malta and Gozo, the tiny Island of Comino is just 3.5 square kilometres and car free. This Island paradise offers a lovely diversion and peaceful day visit with some of the archipelago’s prettiest coves and quiet beaches.

When to go

The Maltese archipelago is renowned for its mild climate boasting 300+ days of sunshine throughout the year and hot, dry summers. With water temperatures ranging from 15 - 25°C throughout the year, most divers opt to visit Malta during the main diving season from May to October to take advantage of calm, warmer waters that offer ideal diving conditions.

Getting there

Malta is very easy to get to from the UK with daily scheduled flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick, plus a choice of charter flights available. The flying time is little more than three hours, making these Islands an ideal choice for a short break. Regaldive offers a range of accommodation on both Malta and Gozo to suit all budgets. Choose from dive centre managed apartments for the best value and convenience, or boutique hotels for extra comforts and added style. Visitors can travel between the Islands via a regular ferry service with the journey from Malta to Gozo taking just 25 minutes.

Experience the Maltese Islands… 

Contact the Regaldive specialist team on 01353 659999 and let us help you discover this award-winning dive destination this Summer.

The Dive Show special offers and Malta Holiday Competition are now closed.

With just a few days to go until the London International Dive Show (LIDS), the Regaldive Team is gearing up for an exciting weekend at Excel with a holiday to Gozo up for grabs, as well as tempting worldwide special offers*, many available from today!

Visit the Regaldive stand 412 at LIDS and enter our competition to win a holiday for two people to the beautiful Maltese Island of Gozo. The prize consists of two return flights from London Heathrow to Malta courtesy of Air Malta and the Malta Tourism Authority, transfers, seven nights bed and breakfast accommodation for two people sharing a double / twin room at the lovely St. Patricks Hotel in Xlendi, Gozo, ten dives with St. Andrew’s Divers Cove and a sightseeing tour of the Islands.**

Further afield, divers looking for a liveaboard holiday can benefit from some massive savings including up to 40% off last minute trips aboard S/Y Fiji Siren. Save an incredible £1,150pp on the ten night Beyond the Bligh itinerary departing on 19 February 2015, whilst a seven night trip on 2 March 2015 is discounted by £831pp to just £1,246pp. This boat only package includes seven or ten nights on a full board basis, diving (three to four boat dives per day), rental equipment, air/nitrox tanks and weights. Flights are not included but can be arranged by Regaldive. Up to 40% savings are also available on selected trips aboard S/Y Truk Siren. Call us for details.

Divers can also save on other ‘trip of a lifetime’ liveaboard holidays including up to £500pp off Galapagos liveaboards and up to £500pp on Indonesian liveaboards including the stunning sailing yacht Dewi Nusantara. Divers booking on the last few 2015 spaces aboard this luxurious vessel can also qualify for free Nitrox, worth $200pp per trip.

Closer to home, how about the Red Sea's perfect combination of great value for money twinned with guaranteed great diving. Seven night trips aboard the popular Red Sea liveaboard M/Y Asmaa start from just £799 per person, including return flights, transfers, full board accommodation, six days’ diving, air/nitrox tanks (two free nitrox fills per day), weights and Marine Park fees.

Divers looking for land-based diving can benefit from boat diving for just £26 per day in El Gouna and Sharm El Sheikh, and £29 per day in Marsa Alam and Hamata. This great value offer is available when booking with Regaldive for diving with Emperor Divers at any time during 2015. No date exclusions apply but diving must be booked by 27 February 2015. Divers can also benefit from a choice of free and half price diving deals on offer at other Red Sea resorts on selected departure dates.

Finally, the 2015 LIDS show will also be the first time that we share our stand with the Grenada Tourism Authority. Grenada and Carriacou experts will be on hand on stand 412 throughout the weekend to share their destination knowledge, diving tips and a number of exclusive show offers for holidays to the Spice Island of the Caribbean. Divers booking with Regaldive on the show weekend and before 27 February 2015 can save up to more than £300pp on Grenada diving holidays and benefit from free and half price diving deals, as well as free nights at selected hotels.

For further information, or to book, visit us at LIDS on stand 412 or call the Regaldive Team on 01353 659999.

* and ** - subject to Terms and Conditions - please see here