57 Travel Special
Published by: IN2 PUBLISHING Ltd,
Unit 2A Oaklands Court, Tiverton Business Park, Tiverton Way, Tiverton, EX16 6TG
Email: info @ in2publishing. co. uk Editor: Simon Rogerson Sub Editor: Kristina Pedder Design: Paul Hanson Equipment Testing: Neil Hope
Publishing Director: Charlie Wise Email: charlie @ in2publishing. co. uk Tel: 01398 310 250 Mob: 07787 565 771
Advertising Manager: Michelle Simpson Email: michelle @ in2publishing. co. uk Tel: + 44( 0) 7434 779164
Print Consultant: Jamie Ringrose Consultant: Jon Fellows © 2026 British Sub-Aqua Club
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission of the copyright owners. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. In the interest of independence and impartiality, many features in SCUBA have been written on behalf of the publisher by third party experts. It should be noted that any opinions and recommendations expressed therein are the views of the writers themselves and not necessarily those of BSAC.
CONTENTS
If you love diving and want to benefit from great training and an international community of scuba divers and snorkellers, you should get to know BSAC.
What’ s BSAC all about?
BSAC stands for British Sub-Aqua Club, and we are the UK National Governing Body of scuba diving and snorkelling. We have clubs, centres, and members worldwide who are all as passionate as we are about the underwater world.
We are Britain’ s biggest dive club, with hundreds of local clubs run by committed divers and snorkellers on a non-profit basis. With us, you can learn to dive from the age of 10 and snorkel from the age of six.
If you’ re already a diver, that’ s great! All divers are welcome at BSAC. You could further your training or just join us for some great diving. Or both!
As well as developing safety and training standards and supporting our community, we are also focused on the environment and underwater heritage to help protect the waters we love to dive and the earth we live on.
Have a look at this magazine to get a real feel for what we’ re about— we think you’ ll love what you read. To get involved, head to bsac. com email us at info @ bsac. com or call 0151 350 6201. We’ d love to hear from you!
JOIN BSAC TODAY: bsac. com / joinus FIND YOUR LOCAL BSAC CLUB: bsac. com / findaclub or call + 44( 0) 151 350 6201
8 SCUBA HUB
All the latest BSAC and diving news
18 Critter Confidential
Showcasing the diversity of Loch Carron
20 Kirsty Andrews
A fragrant dive in the DDRC chamber
22 Yo-Han Cha
To dive or not to dive? A Swanage dilemma
24 Ocean Science
Why is Big Pharma so interested in horseshoe crabs?
25 Two Sophies
Essential skills for wreck divers
26 SCUBA Chat
Your letters and announcements
31
Club Focus
Mercian Divers interviewed by Kristina Pedder
36 Finding USCGC Tampa
Inside story of the Gasperado Dive Team’ s search for a WW1 wreck
40 Doug Allan – a life behind the camera
Our tribute to the great cameraman
43 RIB safety
Lessons learned from a boat recovery incident in Norfolk
46 Test Centre
Northern Diver’ s Odyssey Full Face Mask + SEAC Boost Fins
50 Volunteer Life
Featuring Allen Murray, Diving Officer of Totnes SAC
52 Protect our Seas
Deep sea mining part 2 + Holistic conservation + giant octopus theory + Brighton dredging row + 16th Century wreck discovered in Sweden
57 Travel Special
Sarah Chan and Rohan Holt swap the Hebrides for the Pacific Northwest
64 Snorkelling
Dusk or dawn? Both can be amazing for a snorkel, says Andy Torbet
66 Crossword
Another brain-teaser from the desk of Charles Wheeldon
5