Welcome
Hello and welcome back to your print issue of SCUBA ! Thanks to everyone for being patient and getting to grips with iSCUBA , our online page-turner , which has delivered some fine material over the past eight months . Now the plan is to alternate print months with digitalonly months until we reach a point there is enough stability in the industry to return to print full time .
Well , that ’ s the plan , but we ’ re living in unpredictable times , so let ’ s hope events allow us to follow it until things begin to return to normal . So many people have suffered that it can seem inconsiderate to be fretting about scuba diving . However , this is our life and a major part of our return to normality . It is not unreasonable to be looking forward to a return to our old freedoms ; we are certainly less likely to take them for granted .
At the time of writing in late January , things are still pretty bad , but even so a wave of optimism seems to have moved in , coinciding with the inauguration of America ’ s new President . Without wishing make a political statement , it does show that situations can change ; hope is no false currency .
I ’ d like to think that the thread running through this issue is one of optimism . Our centrepiece feature is Alex Mustard ’ s visual journey through the dives of Kinlochbervie , a relatively new destination for UK diving , though an ancient part of the Scottish Highlands . Alex ’ s images show a scenic paradise pulsing with life and light , where diving is possible in all but the most ferocious of storms . I really want to go there !
We also have BSAC ’ s Expeditions guru Andy Hunt sharing knowledge about dives around his home on the Isle of Wight , and offering advice on how we can safely return to RIB diving when the time is right . Quite a lot of this issue has been written looking forward to that time , because I firmly believe we will be diving this summer .
We want you guys to be primed and ready when the time finally arrives , when we will once again dip our heads under the water and enjoy the cool silence as civilisation vanishes with a bow .
Rogerson – Editor simon @ scubamagazine . co . uk
Cover photo : Yarrell ’ s blenny , Chirolophis ascanii , in Kinlochbervie , by Alex Mustard
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