Recently launched Oysters - Oyster Yachts

26
A yacht provides a
unique opportunity to
visit places where the
underwater world is
least impacted by human
activity and nature is at
its natural best. Without
too much di� culty you
can learn the skills and
carry the equipment that
makes snorkeling and
diving a part of your
way of exploring the
world. In this article
I hope to describe how our exploration
of the undersea world unfolded. All the
photographs that appear in this article
were taken by me while snorkeling
or diving with only a point-and-shoot
camera. I hope the photos will show
the incredible colour and beauty of
what you can see and learn under the
sea. Of all the wonderful adventures
we have experienced during our global
circumnavigation, none has been as
unexpectedly thrilling and joyful as our
exploration of the ocean.
OYSTER NEWS
In October 2005, a� er my husband, Peter,
retired, we started our circumnavigation in our
new Oyster 62, Saildance II. Before leaving
England, our focus was mainly on supplies for
the boat, safety equipment, planning enough
food and putting together the medical kit.
A year later when we were in Newport, Rhode
Island, we sensed that our trip around the
world would provide some fantastic diving
opportunities that we should prepare to take
advantage of. So we bought our own dive
gear (BCD, regulator, wetsuit, fi ns and mask
and importantly a dive computer/watch).
Having good equipment,
which fi ts properly and
you are familiar with,
is very valuable. We also
had a compressor and
four tanks installed in the
lazarette of our boat.
Having this gives you the
fl exibility to go on your
own when and where you
like. We were novice
divers. Whilst I had
my Open Water Diver
certifi cate I had only dove
20 times, whilst Peter had done his training in
a pool and received his certifi cate on a sailing
holiday and had even less experience.
I began taking photos with a mid-range
point-and-shoot camera with waterproof
housing, which worked well and was easy
to carry underwater. � is was not easy as the fi sh
you are photographing are moving, the water
is moving and you are moving! It was amazing
that anything was in focus. We started to buy
several reference books and found that those
with actual photographs, not drawings, helped
to identify the various types of fi sh more easily.