YS02 strobe Eel with Shrimp

Global Dive customer Glenn Smith has sent us an example of what you can shoot with a YSo2 strobe

Strobe Review by Tom Crisp

Usually I am the diver in front of the camera, posing for photographers, recently this has changed.  In July I took the plunge and bought my first camera.
After all, we do have a lot of talk about photography around the shop and I was starting to feel left behind.
Buying a camera system is no easy task as there are so many options and opinions out there. You have to consider the camera itself, lenses, housings, ports and finally strobes, each with their own sub categories to make the decisions harder.
After finally deciding on which camera and housing to get with a lot of help from both Andrew and Bonnie (thanks guys) I set my heart on a Sony NEX5 camera with fish eye lens and Nauticam housing.
This system is small, light and very high quality so I needed strobes to match.

The search began for a strobe (or two) which would complement the size of my housing whilst maintaining build quality. I have had little previous experience with strobes. In fact about the extent of my experience was being blinded by them.
So once again I turned to Andrew for some expert guidance. He told me to borrow the shop’s rental strobe which was a Sea and Sea YS27 so I took it to the pool along with my new setup and started to fire away.
It was almost exactly what I was looking for. A week later we had a new strobe in the Sea and Sea range dropped in to us so we could have a look, the YS01. This was the newest model in the range so naturally, I had to have it.

Munching mollusc / Photograph by Tom Crisp

With little persuasion I ended up making the YS01 the latest addition to my equipment, and I have not looked back since.

There are two strobes to choose from in the new YS series, the YS01 and YS02.
Both have the same features except the YS02 does not have TTL function or a built in focus light.
The focus light was the deciding factor for me as I bought it with the intention of getting some cave diving shots, making it a necessity.
The strobe itself weighs only 500g keeping it in line with my lightweight rig. It uses a fiber optic cable allowing the unit to be used with almost every camera and housing on the market.  The controls are extremely simple, off, pre flash, normal flash and power adjustment. They are also very easy to use when wearing thick gloves.
I was overwhelmed by the power output of the YS01 and found myself dialing down the power on some of my shots in open water.  Sea and Sea have clearly improved on the YS27 by making the unit smaller, lighter and brighter. At the moment I still have only one strobe so I am still borrowing more for my trip to Mexico (the camera was bought specifically for this trip).
As soon as I get back I will definitely be taking the next step to obtaining the younger brother, the YS02. As I will already have a focus light and rarely use the TTL function this seems the logical choice to accompany my existing kit.

All up I think the newest editions to the Sea and Sea YS series are a winner for entry level to advanced photographers alike.

They will also make a great travel set of strobes and really don’t hurt the wallet as much as some others on the market.
You get a hell of a lot for your money with this package and I can’t wait to start shooting with two of them.

Open water photos shot with YS01 and YS27 strobes

Pool photos shot with YS27 only

As promised here at the Cave photos I took on my recent trip to Mexico.

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• Sea and Sea DX-1200HD Camera
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Steve and Starfish / Photograph by Tom Crisp

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• Global Dive’s Poor Knights Liveaboard Weekend & Advanced Open Water
• Sea and Sea YS series Strobes
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• Aldermen Islands

The date is set:
Saturday 20 August 2011

The location is set:
The Pumphouse, Lake Pupuke

Teams of 4 will be competing for the trophy and the title (and bragging rights) of “2011 Underwater Olympics Champions”.

Tug O war and the red team pull... / Photograph by Andrew Simpson

Last years event was a lot of fun – for spectators and competitors alike – and gave us lots of laughs and funny moments which will live on in the Dive Club’s photo and video albums.

Check out Nickie’s report from last years event : http://www.globaldive.net/global-dive-underwater-olympics/

This year we will be having both above water and below water events.
The schedule will be as follows:

9.30 am

Meeting at the Pumphouse for events briefing

10:00 am

Shot Put on the grass

10.30 am – 12:00 pm

25m No Fins Race (group start)

Underwater Obstacle Course

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Lunch

1:00 pm

Long Jump on the grass

1.30 – 2.30 pm

Tug ‘o’ War

Pony Bottle Relay

3:00 pm

25m Fin Race on the grass

The IMPORTANT Information:

• Your team must have an identifying uniform.
• The cost is $20.00 per team.  Or $5.00 per individual.
• We will  have lunch on the shore of the lake.  We’ll take a BBQ along.
• The awards ceremony will be held on the day.
• Global Dive Instructors will be the judges and we will be both photographing and videoing the days events.
• Bring your families, bring your friends.
• Bring at least your mask and your snorkel if you want to watch all the goings on.
• Registrations will be completed on the day but please let us know before hand if you will be coming along.

Related Pages

• Global Dive Underwater Olympics
• Underwater Olympics
• Diving at Lake Pupuke
• Club Night Quiz

Congratulations to the winning team!

You’ve been asking for the questions – and the answers – so here they are ….

• What is the scientific name of this nudibranch … (to the right)
  • Aphelodoris Luctuosa
• How many hearts does an Octopus have -1, 2, 3 or 4?
  • 3
• What year is the calendar of Jessica Alba above the compressor?
  • 2005
• What does DIN stand for?
  • Deutch international norm
• The fastest fish in the ocean is the sailfish. What is the top speed recorded for this fish (to the nearest 10km)?
  • 110km
• How many bubbles are on the wall to your left as you walk in the front door of the dive shop?
  • 27
• How many d-rings come as standard on the halcyon infinty BCD?
  • 5
• When was the song ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles’ first released?
  • 1918
• In what order are colours lost underwater?
  • Red orange yellow green blue
• 10.  What is the English translation of Lake Pupuke?
  • Overflowing lake
• 11.  What is the deepest lake in NZ?
  • Lake Hauroko.
  • Bonus point - Depth? 462m
• 12.  In what year was Global Dive established?
  • 1995
  • Bonus point – And where? London
• 13.  What is a Carcharodon Megalodon?
  • Prehistoric shark.
• 14. What came first – Open Circuit or rebreather?
  • Rebreather
• 15. Name three plankton eating, filter feeding sharks.
  • Basking shark, whale shark, megamouth shark, is an extremely rare species of deepwater shark
• 16.  What year did Jacques Cousteau pass away?
  • 1997 aged 87
• 17. What is a halcyon?
  • A halcyon is a mythical bird—often identified as a kingfisher said to breed in a floating nest at sea during the winter solstice, during which time it charms the wind and waves into calm. The term originates from the Greek myth of alcyone.
• 18. Where are Suunto dive computers manufactured?
  • Finland
• 19. What is the deepest surveyed depth of Lake Pupuke?
  • 57m
• 20. What does the Fijian phrase ‘senga na lenga, nogu e tau’ mean?
  • No worries my friend

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• Dive Team Profile : Natasha Sharpe
• Global Dive Underwater Olympics
• Club Night : White Shark Conservation Trust
• Follow us on Twitter

Veronika and her mug

I followed a boy into diving.
That was so long ago it must have been in a previous life.
The boy didn’t last but over the last few years I built up quite a relationship with my friendly neighbourhood dive shop.

I am enthralled by what happens in nature when you take away gravity and add water and pressure instead. Bonkers! But well worth looking after.

I am actively involved with Project Jonah helping to push the odd whale back into the sea!

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• Dive Team Profile : Natasha Sharpe
• Dive Team Profile : Phil Walker
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Julien, Chris and Jack with Instructor Danielle

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These high tech dive computers have steadily become the first choice for serious technical divers all over the world.

Shearwater Predator

I (Andrew) was lucky enough to test dive a Predator late last year when New Zealand Shearwater representative Paul Trainor came up to dive with us at the Poor Knights.
Paul supplied a Shearwater for Tom and I to use.
We did 4 great dives including a couple of big Trimix dives.
The computers performed fantastically well, meaning it was only a matter of time before Tom and I ordered our own computers.

Fast forward three months and both of us invested in new Shearwaters.

Tom bought the Head up Display for his Kiss (review coming up) and I bought a Predator.
Now I have used the computer in a few different types of dives, I feel I can start to comment on its performance.

Firstly, the display is amazing.

The OLED screen is easy to read in all light conditions.
The feedback from our *slightly* older customers is that they are over the moon they can finally see a clear display, especially at depth and in poor lighting environments!!

The options available are simply vast, this unit can be used with multiple nitrox mixes, trimix for deeper dives and also both semi and fully closed circuit rebreathers.
My decision to buy one was partly due to the fact that I still do a range of dives, so now I have a computer that does it all, air dives with a single tank, twinsets dives with rich oxygen deco gases and trimix rebreather dives!!
This functionality also is a great benefit when using on “big” dives, you can switch gases with ease, and if things don’t go to plan, you can make adjustments on the fly.

Aimed directly at tech divers, the Shearwater will grow with you.

If you are starting out on your tech journey it can be a bit confusing at the start to decide where it will take you, this computer can be adapted to suit all of these directions.
So, you start with the Open circuit mode, allowing you to use multiple gas mixes.
Then when you learn trimix, you can just plug in which gases you are using.
If you decide to get a rebreather, such as a Kiss or Inspo, you can upgrade the software to feature PO2 set points.
If a re reagent is a certainty, it may well be worth choosing the Predator with the Fischer connection, this is used to hard wire your computer into your re reagent so you can get live data from the cells, so it can monitor gas partial pressures and calculate accurate deco information in real time.
This is slowly becoming the norm for many divers around the world, and seen as the ultimate set up on rebreathers.

Other little surprises you get when you start using one include a really good dive planning software built in.
Either bail out plans or even full dive plans can be calculated on the wrist unit, including gas considerations.  This option even extends to working underwater during the dive.
When you select dive plan during the dive it gives you all your stops required to get out the water as well as the volume of each gas used.
The next pleasant surprise was the ease at which you can download the unit to your home computer or laptop.
The predator uses Bluetooth for this so no cables or USB plugs to worry about.

Prices start at CAD$1145 for the open circuit model, through to CAD$1895 for CCR/OC trimix model with hard wire capability.

Landed prices are at the current exchange rate, plus $50 shipping from Canada and NZ GST.

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• Sidemount BCD
• TDI Advanced Nitrox Diver and TDI Decompression Procedures Diver
• Scubapro Jet Fin
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the deep, blue, clear water was just so inviting, the fish were so pretty, and the divers looked so adventurous.

Eleven years later she finally did her Open Water course whilst working in Whangarei.
She was convinced during her Confined Water dives that she was too short, too unfit, the equipment was too heavy, and that this was all a bad idea. After Open Water dives 3^rd and 4^th dives at the Poor Knights she was hooked.

Someone suggested getting a camera, from Global Dive no less, and the rest is history.

She still can’t quite figure out how (in less than a year) she ended up doing her Advanced Open Water, four specialities, Rescue, started Divemaster and now technical diving courses, when she only ever intended to do an Open Water course so she could go diving a few times a year. In summer. For crayfish and scallops.

First dry suit dive! / Photograph by Jo Thomson

She still hasn’t hunted or gathered anything.

She holds a certain blond instructor at least partially responsible for her current state of dive addiction.

Deralie’s official occupation is an obstetrician / gynaecologist, but she has developed an interest in treating seasickness and other dive calamities.
Her poor work colleagues have learnt to nod politely and appear interested during her Monday morning rave about her latest diving adventures. She can be identified by her large orange first aid kit (well, suitcase), newly acquired shiny yellow twins and red Mares fins.

Deralie would like to be reincarnated as a nudibranch at the Poor Knights: pretty, toxic, lives on its food source, crawls only short distances, only annoyance is the occasional crazy macro photographer.

Sounds pretty good don’t you think?

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• Dive Team Profile : Natasha Sharpe
• PADI Divemaster
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Tom Crisp - Sidemount Diver / Photograph by Andrew Simpson

While some technical divers like the idea of diving with a lot of equipment others opt for the minimalistic approach, both are valid in their own way as there is no one way to dive.
The sidemount BCD utilizes the minimal approach much like the DIR and hogarthian concepts, “less is more.” However the sidemount divers have taken it a step further.
To understand the concepts behind the system you first need to understand the history.

Sidemount diving began in the early 1960’s when British dry cavers came to a cave passage filled with water.
To get further into the cave they had to dive in the sump. Their reasoning behind sidemount was because it was easier to transport the equipment through the cave as it could be broken down into much smaller components than a twinset.
A decade later sidemount started to show up on the American cave diving scene with divers such as Woody Jasper using it to push new leads in Florida’s springs.
More recently commercially made BCD’s have been developed as sidemount diving is growing in popularity not just for cave divers but also open water and technical divers, But why?

With the sidemount configuration you take the cylinders off of your back and place them at your sides much like a stage cylinder, making your profile in the water more streamlined.

Also cylinders can be removed and replaced more freely than in back mounted cylinders making it perfect for cavers, they can now easily remove equipment to fit through smaller holes/passages.

For open water divers cylinders can be easily put on in the water where you are relatively weightless allowing a diver with a back or knee injury a more comfortable entry.
There are many more reasons for sidemount diving but we’re here to look at the equipment.

Sizing up a Sidemount

The BCD we are looking at is the two piece continuous weave harness and bladder.

Many of the sidemount BCD’s on the market at the moment seem to cater to the diver who wants to use them for both sidemount diving and back mount, making them great for anyone wanting to switch between the two regularly.
Where the continuous harness varies is that it can only be used for diving in sidemount so does not compromise any of the system to allow for conventional backmount.

As I said before this harness uses many of the same concepts of DIR diving.
It has no quick release buckles or quick-adjust straps to reduce failure points and entanglement hazards (after all it was originally designed for cave diving).
It does not have a rigid backplate so it provides more flexibility in the water. This is probably my favorite feature of the whole system as you feel free and at ease in the water, much like a spear fisher who does not have a lot of gear.

An MSR camel back, dump valve and hydration kit is used for off-setting any additional weight carried at the start of the dive, effectively this is your wing.
The only downside to this wing I have found is the time wasted on the back of the boat trying to explain to everyone exactly how it works.

There are a few different sizes of wing from 10 liters down to 2 liters (1 liter = 1kg of lift).
The wing itself is fairly small in comparison to most meaning that you have to be properly weighted.
This is by no means a bad thing as buoyancy becomes much easier. Due to the small size of the wing it sits very close to the divers back again making it streamlined and comfortable to wear.
It can be easily removed in and out of the water just like the cylinders, but you would have to have an extremely good reason to do this in the water.
The wing can only be orally inflated due to the lack of a power inflator, this takes a little practice to start with but is soon mastered.

To sum up, this System is a pleasure to dive due to its simple and streamlined nature.
In fact it is so streamlined that when you are kitted up on the back of the boat you often get asked if you are forgetting anything.
It does everything the sidemount diver needs, whether it is for open water or cave diving while keeping equipment clutter to a minimum.

The best way to appreciate the benefits is to try one out.
If you would like to give sidemount diving a whirl then just ask at the shop and we’d be more than happy to help.
TDI courses and the harness’ are available almost any time.

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• Shearwater Predator Computer
• Sidemount Diving
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Danielle in Cuba

I grew up 10m from the ocean and was frequently lulled to sleep by the sounds of southern right whales playing in the sea across the road from my bedroom window; I spent many hours snorkeling over the reefs near my house looking for them.

When I moved to New Zealand 15 years ago I was broke, so signing up for a diving course and buying all my gear seemed like a great idea! (Visa is indeed a flexible friend.) I was instantly hooked and have been diving ever since.

I started instructing 5-years ago and spent a couple of seasons in Tutukaka (base for the world-famous Poor Knights) before moving to Auckland (base for the world-famous Lake Pupuke

I love sharing my love of diving which is, I guess, why I enjoy instructing so much.
I’m particularly passionate about buoyancy. It makes you look cool in the water and if you look cool, so does your instructor. I like looking cool.

I love travelling to new and exciting places. A good overseas trip usually includes diving.
In addition to NZ, I’ve been lucky enough to have dived in the UK, Africa, Thailand, Mexico and Cuba. The mojitos were best in Cuba.

I love nudibranchs. I love my Canon G11. I’m working on the relationship between the two.
I am slowly progressing as an underwater photographer. I have even had a photo published in Neville Coleman’s nudibranch book. (Although I think this was more due to the fact that it was a rare nudibranch rather than picture quality !)
Andrew is going to sell me a cool strobe, which will make me such a good photographer that I’ll win awards. Can’t wait!

Danielle’s Courses and Specialties;

Enriched Air (EANx – Nitrox)
Deep
Wreck
Night
Underwater Navigator
Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater Naturalist
Drift
Altitude
Dry Suit
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Project Aware
Emergency First Response – Primary Care/CPR, Secondary Care
Care for Children with AED

Danielle on the surface at Cream Gardens

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• Sea and Sea YS series Strobes
• Dive Team Profile : Natasha Sharpe
• Dive Team Profile : Andrew Simpson
• Dive Team Profile : Anna Clague