Welcome
This issue of SCUBA should be hitting your doorsteps around mid-September , by which time our season will hopefully have bloomed into something more diver-friendly .
We had some great feedback on last month ’ s feature on South Coast underwater photographers , Sandra and Ryan Stalker [ Stalkers of the South Coast , September 2024 ]. In this issue we ’ re highlighting a project based around Cornwall . Underwater Gardens of the Helford Estuary focusses on the Lizard peninsula ’ s shallow seas , a set of habitats of growing interest to today ’ s divers .
The history of UK diving can be read , perhaps simplistically , as Shallow – Getting Deeper – Deeper Still . Now we ’ re turning back the dial to Shallow Again . To expand on this , the early 1940s equipment was really only suitable for shallow exploration ; then we started venturing deeper with bigger and better cylinders , and proper exposure suits . Then along came trimix and modern rebreathers , and the race was on to find new wrecks , or revisit those previously explored in a cloud of nitrogen narcosis .
Of course , all the deep stuff is still there as an option , but it ’ s pretty rarefied stuff . These days I ’ m meeting loads of young ( and young at heart ) divers keen on rediscovering the UK ’ s shallow secrets . Andy Torbet ’ s original Britain by Snorkel project was a prime example of shallow exploration , as is the work of the Stalkers from the September issue . Now we have marine biologist Tara Williams and photographer Shannon Moran bringing together imaging , natural history and folk tradition to celebrate their local shallow seas [ page 40 ].
I ’ m not suggesting shallow diving is in any way better than deep diving ; just that we should not make the mistake of ignoring its value . My remit is for SCUBA magazine to include material that will engage Year Two divers . Now I want to hear from those same divers – those of you who have completed their first year and are now diving in our beautiful waters .
Don ’ t think your magazine is only for the superexperienced – we can all have a voice in these pages . If you enjoy writing ( perhaps even some photography ) and have something to say , feel free to get in touch with me .
Simon Rogerson – Editor simon @ scubamagazine . co . uk
Cover photo : Divers Rannvá Jørmundsson and Helen Frances explore a Cornish kelp forest . Photo by Shannon Moran
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