A rarity of nature prized for its soft-glowing beauty, the pearl has long been a symbol of the sea’s bounty. Plucked by chance and good fortune from the fleshy folds of the humble oyster the discovery of a perfect, naturally… Read More ›
General
Fish and ships … and divers
Originally intended as ‘stiffeners’ for the flimsy paper packets that, during the late 19th century, ready-made cigarettes were then sold in, ‘cigarette cards’ became one of the first collectibles available to the masses. At first nothing more than plain pieces… Read More ›
“SUBSUNK”: The ‘AFFRAY’ tragedy
The following article – by George Wookey and David Strike – was first published in Professional Diver Journal in 1997. ______________________ On the 16th April, 1951, a British submarine – HMS/M Affray, one of several of her class built during… Read More ›
The men from Snowy River
Australia’s most ambitious civil engineering project teetered on the brink of disaster when, in 1961, sluice gates governing the flow of water from Lake Eucumbene – a key element in the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme to divert the course of… Read More ›
The things we do for love
According to a recent statistical survey, forty percent of the world’s adult population are, at any one time, actively engaged in the search for a suitable partner while another forty percent are anxiously trying to remove themselves from a relationship… Read More ›
Saturation diving
Responding to the challenges posed by the offshore petroleum industry’s move into ever-deeper waters, commercial diving contractors have kept pace with the demands placed on them by introducing technologies more appropriate to working at such depths. While traditional surface-based diving… Read More ›