The 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) contest is open for entries. The competition has an Underwater category, and, new for 2021 are categories entitled Natural Artistry, Wetlands – The Bigger Picture and Oceans – The Bigger Picture. The later two are designed to attract images that highlight the issues facing these environments. The deadline for entries is 10 December 2020, and the contest’s rules are here.
Want to win a 2021 dive vacation? Who doesn’t?!
We’re celebrating the launch of the PADI Adventures global diving app by giving away incredible diving vacations in individual weekly sweepstakes!
In fact, we’re giving away up to USD $5,000 in dive resort stays every week until the end of the year. Below, we’ll give you the low down on the 16 best prizes of the 30+ vacations that are up for grabs.
But first, let’s go over how you can enter to win one of these amazing vacations. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Remember, these are weekly sweepstakes, so you must enter to win each and every week. The sweepstakes reset each Sunday at 23:59 UTC.
Breathtaking prizes include a ‘Magnificent Malaysia & Indonesia’ experience, a stunning paradise eco-stay in Indonesia, a boutique break for two in Turkey, concierge diving for four people in a private villa, exploration diving in Ecuador, luxury trips to the Maldives and many, many more out-of-this-world vacations! Read on to discover 16 of the 30+ prizes you could win in The Ultimate Dive Vacation Sweepstakes.
Worth USD $4999, one lucky winner will get to take their three best dive buddies along for an epic adventure in La Paz, Mexico. The prize includes five nights at the Divers Inn MX villa, airport pick up and delivery, all food and drinks (including alcohol), unlimited diving and a day excursion to Todos Santos for lunch and wine tasting.
Winner: Neil Gavin
Worth USD $4990, this prize is perfect for shark lovers. One diver will get to take his or her dive buddy to Fuvahmulah Dive School in the Maldives where they will enjoy 24 dives, including a dive at the world famous dive site, Tiger Zoo, every day. Rental equipment, flights from Male to Fuvahmulah, seven nights of accommodation and all meals are included.
Winner: Thomas Ewald
Worth USD $4950, Ibagari Boutique Hotel and Duna Divers are giving away a brilliant prize in Honduras. One diver will win a five-night stay for two people in a Master Suite. The prize also includes 30 fun dives (15 per person), return airport transfers and a sunset cruise. This is really the ideal 2021 escape.
Worth USD $4788, this is the most diving intense prize on our list and perhaps the most coveted. One extremely lucky diver will win a dive and stay package for five different Scuba Junkie locations throughout Indonesia and Malaysia. This includes seven nights and 21 dives at Scuba Junkie Mabul Beach Resort; 33 dives at Scuba Junkie Kota Kinabalu; five nights, 12 dives, a sunset bat tour and a dragon tour at Scuba Junkie Komodo; six nights and 15 dives at Scuba Junkie Sangalaki; and 10 nights and 27 dives at Scuba Junkie Penida. Wow!
Winner: Sarah G.
Worth USD $4550, we’ve teamed up with Barefoot Cay Resort and Barefoot Divers in Roatan, Honduras to give away a seven-night stay for two divers in a one-bedroom oceanfront villa. This prize also includes a “Love to Dive” package which means the divers will also receive complimentary round trip ground transfers from Roatan’s International Airport, 15 valet boat dives per person, use of the resort facilities and a $50 per person daily credit for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Winner: Anthony Shadiack
Worth USD $4220, the Papua Paradise Eco Resort prize will take one lucky diver and his or her favorite dive buddy to Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The prize includes a six-night stay for two people in a Double Superior Overwater Bungalow on a full board basis. The divers will also enjoy eight dives per person with free Nitrox for Nitrox certified divers.
Worth USD $4125, Gangga Island Resort & Spa in North Sulawesi, Indonesia is giving away a six-night stay for two people in a Double Superior Minahasa Bungalow Room on a full board basis. This prize also includes eight dives per person with free Nitrox for Nitrox certified divers. Lovers are crystal clear waters and healthy reefs don’t want to miss this prize.
Worth USD $4100, the Mares Ecuador prize is ideal for divers who have “swim with manta rays” on their bucket list. This prize offers one diver a seven-night stay in a fully equipped apartment at a five-star PADI dive resort in the heart of Machalilla National Park. The winner will also receive breakfast during the stay, return transfers from the airport to the resort and five days of double diving, including two days of diving at Salango Island and three days of diving at Isla de la Plata. On top of that, this lucky diver will also get one tour inside Machalilla National Park.
Worth USD $4000, this prize will give one diver and his or her dive buddy the chance to escape to paradise. The winner will receive seven nights of accommodation for two adults in an air-conditioned paradise room at the Paradise Taveuni Resort in Fiji. The prize also includes a full cooked breakfast daily, four boat dives and two shore dives per person and return transfers from Taveuni Airport to the resort.
Worth USD $3500, this prize is the ultimate in luxury. One lucky winner will receive a three-night stay for two people in a Swim Out King Suite at the Palmaïa – The House of AïA resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This mini break also includes a “Gifting Lifestyle” plan which is all-inclusive of food, drinks, 24-hour room service and a butler service.
Winner: Jorge C. L.
Worth USD $3100, this prize allows a lot of flexibility for the winner who will receive a voucher for use at the Siladen Resort & Spa in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Located on Pulau Siladen, this dive resort offers guests the most attractive, exquisite and secluded comfort in Sulawesi, plus the region’s most unforgettable diving and snorkeling.
Worth USD $3000, the winner of this prize will get the chance to seek out the elusive thresher shark during a visit to Malapascua Island in the Philippines. The prize includes a seven-night stay in a standard room for two people at the Tepanee Beach Resort as well as breakfast every day and 10 dives per person with Thresher Shark Divers.
Winner: Laura Blauert
Worth USD $3000, PADI five-star and 100% Aware dive center, Abyss Ocean World, is offering one diver the chance to get acquainted with the north of Bali in 2021. This prize includes 11 nights of diving and accommodation in the Pemuteran region with access to the wonderful dive sites of Menjangan.
Winner: Pamela Wright
Worth USD $3000, this prize will give one diver and his or her dive buddy the chance to explore some of the best diving in New Zealand. The winner will receive five nights of accommodation and four days of diving with Dive! Tutukaka for two people. Breakfast, lunch on dive days and all gear is included as well as use of SUP, kayaks and snorkeling equipment.
Winner: Meiling Aw
Worth USD $3000, this prize is for those who have always dreamed of staying in a luxe Maldives resort. The winner will get a voucher for a two-night stay for two people at the W Maldives. This also includes a free upgrade to a half-board dining plan and shared return seaplane transfers from Male to the resort.
Worth USD $3000, this prize is super exciting as it includes both accommodation and flights thanks to the collaboration of Beqa Lagoon Resort and Fiji Airways. The winner will receive a USD $1000 voucher to use at the dive resort, redeemable in 2021. He or she will also enjoy round trip flights from LAX to Fiji for two people.
Ready to enter to win? Keep in mind, these sweepstakes are only open to residents of select countries. Be sure to read the full rules and terms and conditions for The Ultimate Dive Vacation Sweepstakes here: http://padi.co/659xw
Then, download the PADI Adventures app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store today!
Exclusive Caribbean Cruising With Yacht Charter Experts Goolets
There are not many better forms of great escape than boarding a boat and sailing away from civilisation. For most divers, that escape comes in the form of a liveaboard, efficiently pre-packaged scuba diving luxury that you can share with your best diving buddies – and twenty other people who, by day two, are already getting on your nerves. And there are nine more days to go.
But what if you could have a whole boat just for you and your friends, with a menu tailored just to your tastes, and the option of sailing your own personal itinerary, with a crew catering just for your group, and only for your group.
That’s where luxury cruising and scuba diving charter experts Goolets come in. Named for the Gulet, a traditional Turkish yacht, Goolets now operates in Turkey, Croatia and the Caribbean, with yacht charters available from $20,000 per vessel, per week, up to $500,000 per week for the largest and most exclusive yachts.
The US Virgin Islands are a popular destination for yacht enthusiasts, and the crystal clear blue water great for diving
One of the most popular destinations for yacht charters is the US Virgin Islands. The three main islands of St Croix, St John and St Thomas are located in close proximity to each other, creating short, enjoyable cruises as you travel between locations. There is plenty of variety to be found around and between the islands, with white sand beaches and private coves to more up-tempo resorts, bars and top-quality restaurants. Snorkelling and scuba diving is a popular pastime on the islands, with plenty of shallow, protected waters for swimmers and bright coral reefs and easy conditions for casual scuba diving, much of it located within the protected waters of the US Virgin Islands National Park. Waterlemon Cay and Whistling Cay on the island of St John are renowned for their reefs and marine life, including turtles, rays and sharks, with a number of wrecks locates off the coast of St Croix. The islands are also famous for their pirate history, especially Blackbeard’s castle on St Thomas.
Check out this sample US Virgin Islands itinerary from Goolets – and get ready to plan your own: The Ultimate Route For Yacht Charter In The US Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands are close to the US Virgin Islands, with similar scenery both topside and below the waterline.
Part of the same archipelago as the US Virgin Islands and therefore similar in scenery, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are made up of around 60 islands and cays, most of which are uninhabited. The four main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke. There are around 100 dive sites listed around the islands, but around 25 per cent of them are rarely visited by the local dive centres, leaving some excellent and quiet spots for yachts to moor and dive away from the crowds. Topside, Tortola is the touristic centre of the BVIs and is the departure point for much of the local dive business as they head into the Sirt Francis Drake Channel. Most of the diving is easy and fairly shallow; diving off Virgin Gorda can be a little more challenging but also brings with it the chance of larger, pelagic visitors. Top of the diving list is the RMS Rhone Marine Park, named after the steam-powered Royal Mail Ship that sank during a hurricane in 1867 which today lies in two main parts between 5m and 25m depth, in clear water with little current making it an easy spot for snorkellers and for all levels of diver. The nearby Blonde Rock, one of the many volcanic seamounts which surround the BVIs is filled with marine life, and there are plenty of other locations to cruise away from the action for some quieter times.
Take a look at a sample BVI charter from Goolets: Luxury sailing around the British Virgin Islands
Big fish, little fish, reefs, wrecks, walls and caves are all part of the great diving of the Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands are a popular scuba diving location whatever the mode of arrival, but diving from your own private yacht affords you the luxury of skipping the busier times or heading away from the most popular dive spots to avoid the crowds. Located in the northern Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba and north-east of Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac provide a range of locations to enjoy, from the classic white-sand Caribbean beaches to the much more urban – but still fairly small – capital city of Georgetown. Some of the most spectacular Caribbean diving is located here from easy shore dives to deep walls, and wrecks such as the USS Kittiwake, a decommissioned submarine rescue ship sunk in 17m of water as an artificial reef in 2011 and one of the most popular dive sites on Grand Cayman along with the world-famous Stingray City. Little Cayman’s Bloody Bay Wall and Three Fathom Wall plunge into the depths and are frequented by schools of colourful fish and the occasional pelagic visitor, while over on Cayman Brac, Wilderness Wall provides for some dramatic wall diving, with the 100m-long wreck of the Captain Keith Tibbetts gunship a must-see dive for visiting wreck enthusiasts.
Check out Goolets’ sample Cayman Island itinerary: The best Caymans Islands route for Yacht Charters
Tiger sharks are everyday visitors to Bahamian reefs, and just one of the many underwater attractions
Possibly the only country in the world where you can dive with both pigs and tiger sharks – although not at the same time – the Bahamas is comprised of more than 2,000 islands and cays, many of which are uninhabited, with plenty of locations to cruise between without having to spend too long at sea, some of which could effectively become your own private island paradise for the day. The most famous Bahamian diving is undoubtedly the tiger shark and great hammerhead encounters out of Nassau, and it’s strongly recommended that you have a private guide rendezvous with your yacht for the shark dives, but there are many more locations to enjoy the wrecks, reefs – and sharks – of the Bahamas. The diving changes greatly between locations, with beautiful coral gardens to be found around the Exuma and Abaco islands and extensive cave systems around Grand Bahama. Sharks are plentiful and, if you visit Grand Exuma, so are pigs!
Check out DIVE’s Guide to the Bahamas here
The Turks and Caicos Islands are surrounded by an extensive and vibrant barrier reef, and turtle encounters are common
The Turks and Caicos Islands are another Caribbean destination popular with both yachties and scuba divers, and like the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, there is plenty of opportunity to enjoy a wide range of land- and seascapes with only a short time sailing in between. The largest Caicos Island of Providenciales is the hub of the archipelago, which is surrounded by an extensive and vibrant barrier reef. Further afield, the smaller Turks Islands include French Cay, far enough out to sea so that no other islands can be seen, and one of the best places to find sharks among the island, with grey reef, hammerhead, bull, lemon, and tiger sharks all regularly sighted. Time spent above the surface enjoying the history of Grand Turk is time well spent, and there are plenty more spectacular dives to enjoy, such as the deep coral and sponge-encrusted walls of Grace Point. For a special treat during charters over the winter months (where it’s still hot and sunny in the Turks & Caicos!), cruising to Salt Cay affords visitors the chance to spot humpback whales on their annual migration.
Check out Goolets’ sample Cayman Island Itinerary: The best Turks and Caicos Islands route for Yacht Charter
A private yacht charter means you can dive a multitude of different locations during a single trip
Chartering your own yacht affords you the chance to visit a wide range of different Caribbean destinations, each with their own culture, charm, and spectacular diving. Head south to enjoy the glorious coral of Bonaire and Curacao; work your way through the Windward Islands of Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, or take in the Leeward Islands with a charter from Anguilla to Barbuda via St Martin, St Barths, St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua. With your own personal crew to cater for your voyage aboard your own private yacht, there really are no limits to how far you can explore and dive the Caribbean.
For a sample Goolets Windward itinerary, take a look at the Windward Islands Yacht Charter Guide, and for a Leeward itinerary, check out The best Leeward Islands route for Yacht Charter advice page.
For more Caribbean suggestions from Goolets, read all about 11 Exclusive Activities That You Must Have On Your Caribbean Bucket List
For more information on tailor-made private yacht charters visit www.goolets.net/caribbean, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the team on +44(0)203 318 1079 in the UK or +1 646 381 2043 in the US.
There are moments when scuba diving feels effortless: drifting over a shallow reef or descending through clear water toward a sandy bottom. But diving can also be strenuous — when swimming against a current or trudging to a dive site loaded down with gear, for example. In these situations divers must be physically able to both handle themselves and assist their dive buddies if necessary.
What Does Fitness for Diving Mean? When determining fitness to dive, a physician may weigh several factors, …
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New Online Dive Show Set to Launch This Weekend
Scuba.Digital 2020, a new online dive show, is set to launch this weekend from Friday 23 to Sunday 26 October 2020.
In lieu of the coronavirus pandemic – which has seen all major international dive shows cancelled or postponed since March this year – the entrepreneurs behind online liveaboard booking system ScubaClick brought their digital expertise to the table to launch the new virtual show.
Speakers and exhibitors from around the globe have signed up to showcase their services, which will be available around-the-clock for 72 hours once the show opens at 12pm (BST) on 23 October. A series of live presentations, discussions, demonstrations, lectures and classes will be available. ‘Breakout’ sessions will be held after presentations to allow for further discussion of the topic, and ‘networking’ areas will be available giving attendees the chance to meet presenters and exhibitors on a virtual footing.
The organisers are keen to stress the international aspect of the dive show, and multilingual chat rooms will be available in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Russian and Polish.
More than 170 exhibitors are signed up to the show, with early-bird tickets still available for $10, discounted from the official $20 price tag.
For more information, an overview of the exhibitors and to book tickets, visit the official Scuba.Digital website.
The Cephalopod Citizen Science Project is seeking someone to help write their cephalopod ID guides. It would suit someone with a science background (or involved in a science based degree currently) who has a passion for these amazing creatures. If you are interested, please email for more details of the position.
Wetpixel and the Cephalopod Citizen Science Project will be partnering on a number of projects soon. Please keep checking back for information about this!
The Cephalopod Citizen Science Project is a worldwide scientific research project, using reports of cephalopods from members of the public (especially the scuba community) and researchers alike to help understand their behavior in the wild.
The Cephalopod Citizen Science Project is looking for a writer of ID guides specifically for cephalopods in regions where guides do not exist (which is nearly everywhere!) We have published guides for cephalopods inhabiting The Mediterranean Sea (PDF), The North Sea (PDF) and the North East Atlantic (PDF).
The guides are part of the projects goal to give back to the community who provide scientifically valuable observations. The guides are therefore free, and we do not charge for anything we do (including public speaking, via Zoom/Teams etc), sadly this means our position is unpaid. What will you get? Authorship of what will be a scientifically ‘correct’ and technical ID guide is a useful addition to any CV, especially that of a very early career academic, scientist, or technician. The position is therefore aimed primarily at someone at the later undergraduate stage, but ideally postgraduate level of scientific writing. Alternatively, it could be someone that has completed some level of academic training, but now has the time and passion to commit to gathering information about these marvelous creatures.
Most of the information for the guides is available from NGO literature (e.g. ICES, FAO, and primary scientific sources) as are relevant images, and so the work will require summarizing various sources of information and presenting in language useful to all levels of education
We are especially interested in non-English speaking applicants, we are very serious about inclusivity and would like all guides to be available in local languages. More than one position maybe available.
Please email any questions or for more details of the position.
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Wetpixel’s friends at Inon have let us know that the Japanese Government Tourism Bureau is hosting the Sea of Japan underwater photo contest. Open to images that could only have been shot in Japan; “from photos of species endemic to Japan to the unique views and one-of-a-kind colors that can be found in Japanese waters!” The contest is open now, and the deadline for entries is 15 November.
The Japanese Government Tourism Bureau is holding an underwater photo contest!
The Japanese Government Tourism Bureau (Jnto) will hold an underwater photo contest for the period from October 2020, 15 (Thurs) to November 15th (Sun).
We will be holding a ′′diving photo contest′′ to make the charm of diving in Japan even more around the world. We are looking for underwater photos that can be taken because it is a Japanese diving, such as the uniqueness, and Japanese-specific species of diving in Japan!
The Photos you have applied for will be used as a photo material in the diving tourism promotion project that jnto will be implemented in the future.
Application details here.
Private Scuba Tuition – Learn Scuba Skills.
Joey Ridge offers private scuba diving training for those who would feel more comfortable in a private one to one setting
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