Freediving is catching on worldwide. It’s an exciting and exhilarating sport that requires both physical and mental preparedness and toughness. It is also a very liberating sport for divers who have converted from scuba to freediving or who freedive occasionally. The Blue Hole in Dahab is a favourite for freedivers who go there to train, learn and improve their skills and abilities. Morten Villadsen’s article on freediving the Blue Hole is informative and illuminating and well worth a leisurely read.

Rowan Duvel, a long-time friend of the editors of African Diver spent a year in the Maldives helping to improve the water and sanitation resources there. In between his work obligations he managed to find time to explore the diving the islands have to offer. In this article he relates his experiences of freediving with Mantas there and provides an interesting visual insight to island life.

The Winter Shootout originated as the brainchild of SCUP (Scubanet Underwater Photography Club) in 2006. SCUP disbanded after running the event successfully for two years. Marius Klue and I took up the challenge and continued the competition so that all Underwater Photographers could continue to meet and compete with each other for some very exciting prizes at Aliwal shoal.

During my advanced course in early December I did a routine dive to the bottom of blue rock, 47m with about 70 seconds on the bottom. Upon surfacing I had blood bubbling up from a lung. Dammit I had popped an alveolus.That’s the problem with routine and complacency. I have done this identical dive so many times over the past 4 years.

You either love sharks or hate them but you cannot deny their purpose and their beauty. They are fascinating creatures yet stir up so much controversy. The Natal Sharks Board is one of the world’s leading shark institutions and one of the most controversial.

Being in the right place, at the right time often makes the difference between an average picture, and a good one. This image of sunlight streaming through a crack in the roof was taken inside a small cave at Jackfish Alley, a popular dive site near Ras Mohammed in the Red Sea, but exactly where the image was taken is less important than when the shutter was pressed.

Paul and I managed to squeeze in some freediving lessons with Trevor during his course in Johannesburg. Unfortunately due to other commitments we were unable to complete the course, but will do so when Trevor returns to Johannesburg for his next course.

I could not resist the invitation to dive on Blood Reef but I should have known better. Intrigued by the name I did some research and discovered that Blood Reef is situated a little over 500 metres behind the backline directly opposite the now-defunct whaling station on the Bluff in Durban.

The North West Province of South Africa is a landlocked region about 800 kilometres from the nearest sea that, on the face of it, would appear to offer nothing of interest to a visiting diver. The landscape of burnt brown is fried to a crisp by the African sun and water is in short supply.

Freediving has a long history in South Africa. Rooted in the spearfishing and crayfishing communities along our coastlines, freediving has developed a rich and deep culture and following.

In the previous issue of African Diver, we featured the annual Sodwana Shootout underwater photography competition. This issue we are excited to feature the inaugural Sony/Palm Resort Spring Shootout – another competition that looks set to become a feature in the annual dive calendar.

It’s summer in Cape Town. The beach at Camps Bay looks like a scene from Brighton as thousands of tourists pit their lily-white skins against the African sun. The result is always the same – sun: 1, tourists: 0. Summer time in Cape Town is hectic; there is no parking, and it can take you longer to buy an ice cream than to go and milk a cow and make it yourself.

The Sardine migration takes place every year between the months of May and July along the east coast of South Africa. Jean Marx take us through his experience of the migration this year.

The Sodwana Bay Shootout is an underwater photography and video competition that takes place ever year. The shootout is held at Sodwana Bay which is on the north east coast of South Africa.