France

John G McCullough Wreck

John G. McCullough wreck
Diver at the large right-hand boiler tilted to starboard, located at the back of the wreck

How did a late 19th-century ship from the Great Lakes region of the United States end up shipwrecked off the coast of France, in the Bay of Biscay? Pascal Henaff has the story and shares impressions from a dive on the wreck.

Lifou in New Caledonia

Lifou's Kiki Beach, as seen from the cliffs, Lifou, New Caledonia
Lifou's Kiki Beach, as seen from the cliffs, Lifou, New Caledonia

Stretching over 500km, the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia in Melanesia are a tropical oasis in the Pacific. It is here that one can experience the beautiful underwater world of Lifou, home to a diverse array of marine life. Pierre Constant shares his adventure there.

New Caledonia: Jewel in the Southwest Pacific

Light show in the cave, Grottes de Gadj
Light show in the cave, Grottes de Gadj

Considered the longest continuous and second largest in the world, the reef systems of New Caledonia have some of the most diverse concentrations of reef structures on the planet, providing a home for a vast diversity of species, including 2,328 fish species. It is an important site for nesting green sea turtles, and there are also large populations of dugongs and humpback whales. Pierre Constant shares his adventure.

Salon de la Plongée is postponed till March 2022

The news comes hot on the heels that boot Düsseldorf is cancelled until January 2023.

The team behind Salon de la Plongée have advised that their show will be rescheduled in three months' time. 

Everything was ready to welcome you next week and it's just a setback. Salon de la Plongée

Hélène de Tayrac-Senik, President of Salon de la Plongée and WDHOF member stated "[We are] determined to do everything possible to ensure that the Salon de la Plongée meets the expectations of both visitors and exhibitors and attentive to avoiding a risky situation, it is under these conditions that we are obliged to announce the postponement of the 23rd edition of the ShowWe thank you for your trust, your positive messages, your support that helps us keep our heads out of water and continue with energy."

Air-Liquide_Rosemary-E-Lunn_Roz-Lunn_X-Ray-Mag_XRay-Magazine_scuba-diving-news_Apeks-Aqua-Lung
“Air Liquide has a strong historical attachment to the business, but it’s not core,” Liberum analyst Adam Collins told Bloomberg at the time when Aqua Lung was put up for sale. “There is no strategic rationale in being part of the business.” Air Liquide is one of the largest global suppliers of gases to big industrial installations, like refineries, as well as to hospitals and patients.

AquaLung Sold To Private Equity Firm

It was the year that Air Liquide, along with Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan founded 'La Spirotechnique'. This company conceived, designed and manufactured a range of scuba diving equipment, including some of the first commercially available regulators. Their first modern 'Aqua-Lung' or regulator was the CG45.

Some 2 million tires were dumped off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the 1970s, in an effort to create an artificial reef. Three decades later, military divers have begun removing the tires.
Some 2 million tires were dumped off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the 1970s, in an effort to create an artificial reef. Three decades later, military divers have begun removing the tires.

Florida and France dismantle artificial reefs made of tires

According to scientists, around 200 artificial reefs made of tires are in existence worldwide, notably in waters off the United States, Japan, Malaysia and Israel. In most cases, such efforts were halted after tires were found to be unstable.

Pushing the Ressel—A Cave Diving Expedition in Lot, France

Years of preparation finally paid off on 3 August 2013 when the first Belgian cave diving team reached deeper territory in Ressel Cave in Lot, France. This underwater cave—located in the heart of French cave diving paradise—is known to be one of the more engaging, difficult and technical cave dives. The expedition was an exploratory dive of several hours, with all its complications in logistics and difficulties.

La Cuvée Neptune
Does the sea hold the secret to truly great wines? To find out a trio of French wine lovers – a vineyard manager, a barrel maker and an oyster farmer – teamed up to test the myth, above and below water.

Maturing wine in the ocean improves their quality

Bruno Lemoine, who runs the cellars of Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion in the southwest Bordeaux region, asked his barrel-maker chum Pierre-Guillaume Chiberry to build him two small 56-litre wooden barrels in which to age his red wine by an extra six months.

One was to be kept in the chateau cellars, the other sunk underwater among the prized oyster beds of the Bay of Arcachon, north of Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast.

The barrel kept at the chateau was dubbed "Tellus", after the Roman goddess of the land, and the other "Neptune" after the sea god.