Amazing Diving Stories

This collection of true diving stories makes for compelling reading for all divers. Enjoy classic tales, from thrilling wreck discoveries to encounters with the bizarre and the beautiful. There are stories of death and disaster, as well as bravery and triumph. Tales of the exciting and the extreme rub shoulders with more poetic pieces about the people and places that make up the folklore of this fascinating sport. The author's global tour takes you everywhere, from Indonesia to the Caribbean and from the chill waters of Northern Europe to the reefs of the Pacific. Every ocean of the world is explored, making this essential reading - or a wonderful gift - for divers everywhere.

Autorentext

John Bantin's life was transformed when he took some time off from his 25 year long career as a successful advertising photographer and television commercials director to go scuba diving. He learned to dive in 1979 and in 1992 it became his career. He has now spent over twenty years travelling the world, diving in all the best places, and gaining many different experiences underwater (not all of them good) which has furnished him with a vast store of anecdotes. He is known as something of an accomplished raconteur in the diving indutry. During his time he has been Technical Editor of the long-established Diver magazine, and has been regularly published in Undercurrent magazine and DYK.

Inhalt

Introduction ix

Part One Animal Encounters

Close Call with a Humpback Whale 3

White-tips at Night 7

Lord Tebbit and the Turtle 11

The Amazing Frogfish 14

The Amorous Elephant Seal 17

Galapagos Whale Sharks 20

Liberty in Bali 23

This Dugong Don't Care 27

Fish 'n' Chips at Ribbon Reef No. 10 30

Manta in the Mist 34

Why Dolphins Smile 37

Part Two Interesting Characters and Difficult Moments Life in the Fast Lane 43

The Mystery of Commander Crabb 47

The Black Hole of Andros 51

The Officer Diver 56

The Voyages of the Lady Jenny V 59

Scary Times in the Red Sea 63

Fantasy Island One 67

Fantasy Island Two 71

The Old Man of the Sea 74

Part Three Deep Diving The Britannic 81

The Call of the Wah! Wah! 87

On Your Marks in the Race for Depth 91

Dave Shaw's Very Deep Cave Dive 95

Part Four Famous Wrecks and Other Adventures Airacobra in Hansa Bay 101

A British Destroyer Sunk 104

USS Saratoga CV3 108

Diving the Titanic 112

Don Pedro 115

The Dunraven and T. E. Lawrence 118

Gallipoli Wars 122

The Iro and Ishikawa 128

The Discovery of the Mary Rose 132

The Thistlegorm 136

Part Five Dangerous Animals Conger Attack! 141

A Lot of Bull 145

The Danger of Lionfish 151

The Terror of the Irukandji 154

Mauled by a Dinosaur! 157

Part Six Near Misses and the Not So Near Left Stranded in the Sea 163

Shark in the Net 167

Free Ascent 170

An Interesting Interlude 173

Currents and Dragons 176

The BFR and a Waterfall 179

Lost off Bognor Regis 182

Rogue RIB 186

Stuck by Starlight 190

Part Seven Shark Infested Waters Nick's Best Dive 195

Diving with Some Bite 199

Bitten by Sharks 203

Face off a Tiger 207

Tonic Immobility 211

Part Eight Tragedies

The Tragic Death of David Graves 217

Bret Gilliam and the Shark Attack 222

Trapped! 225

The Rising Tide 229

The Fatal Lures of Depth and Fame 233

In Search of Free-Diving Records 238

Part Nine Treasure Seekers and Finders

Pin Money and King Henry VIII 245

Blue Hole Diving 249

An Archaeological Find 253

El Bajo and the Lost Video Camera 258

Real Treasure 262