Sail Away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain
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The most wonderful birthday week in all my years. Oh, to be 85 again.
- Stan Waterman
- Stan turns 85 - still crazy after all these years!
- Last minute deals on Tonga Humpback Whale Safari spaces
- NAI'A divers pioneer the world's largest MPA
- New DVD features lavish Lomaiviti reefs
STAN TURNS 85 - STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!
NAI'A sets a standard of hospitality unequalled throughout the diving world. Fiji is a magnificent and special place made more so by the NAI'A way of doing things.
- Douglas Seifert
For the full story and glory of Stan Watermans' 85th birthday celebration aboard NAI'A with his family and friends, check out our Divemaster Diary.
LAST MINUTE DEALS ON TONGA HUMPBACK WHALE SAFARI SPACES
Due to a last-minute cancellation, we suddenly have six available spaces remaining on our 2008 Tonga Humpback Whale Safari and we can discount them by 25%. The berths are available on the July 18-28 trip. And for something completely different, you can stay on in the Kingdom of Tonga to join the country's biggest ever celebration: the coronation of the new King. How often do you get a travel opportunity like that?
Check out our Tonga Humpback Whale Safaris and email or call us right away to reserve your place among the gentle giants.
NAI'A DIVERS PIONEER THE WORLD'S LARGEST MPA
The adventurous urge of three humble NAI'A passengers initiated and inspired what is now the world's largest marine protected area. Thanks to the generous funding and tireless participation of Arizona's Kandy Kendall, Iowa's Bruce Thayer and California's Mary Jane Adams, NAI'A's first exploratory diving survey to Kiribati's Phoenix Islands archipelago in 2000 led to the sensational declaration last January of 410,500 square kilometers of conservation boundary around them– that's larger than Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We are more thrilled and grateful to these three individuals than words can properly express.
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| Conservation catalysts - Kandy Kendall and Bruce Thayer. | ||
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, or PIPA as it is commonly known, has grabbed mainstream media headlines all year in a brilliant coup for global marine protection boldly staged by one of the smallest, most threatened nations on the planet: The Republic of Kiribati. The details of the MPA are presented at www.phoenixislands.org
You may have already heard about the tenacious pursuit of the MPA by New England Aquarium's Dr Greg Stone and his team of scientists, the crucial endowment deal closed by Conservation International and the awarded environmental foresight of Kiribati President, Honorable Anote Tong. Phoenix's eight atolls and surrounding deep ocean are highlighted by National Geographic and nominated for World Heritage status. Probably you have read in NAI'A newsletters about our many expeditions there since 1997, first with TIGHAR looking for Amelia Earhart's remains, and then with divers and biologists completing the first underwater surveys. NAI'A is the only vessel with an intimate knowledge of this remarkable but remote coral archipelago.
But what most people don't know is that a handful of the most dedicated NAI'A divers started the whole PIPA ball rolling. Without their exploratory vision and trust in us, the Phoenix Islands would still be unheard of and exploited. Thank you, Kandy, Bruce and Mary Jane. You genuinely embody the famous words of anthropologist, Margaret Mead:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
It began almost accidentally when Rob and Cat briefly glimpsed the overwhelmingly abundant fishlife of Nikumaroro while setting moorings during NAI'A's first Amelia Earhart search expedition with TIGHAR. The experience kept them awake at night for a couple of years until our friend and many-time NAI'A guest Kandy Kendall said,
I want to do something new and brave with NAI'A. Is there anywhere left to truly explore?
Kandy's substantial start-up funding of our goal to put marine scientists and experienced sport divers together to survey under the Phoenix Islands made our first 21-day excursion possible. Bruce Thayer and Mary Jane Adams leapt at the opportunity too, sponsoring and assisting the final three expert biologists of the survey team. Then Dr Craig Cook brought not only his diving knowledge but also his emergency medical skills to the party of explorers. And finally, Australian cameraman, Alex Morrison, donated his time and steady film-eye to document the expedition topside.
Watch the short film made about the PIPA project or read the Skin Diver magazine feature about the journey, Sharks on Prozac, Coral on Steriods.
Mary Jane summed up Phoenix 2000 beautifully:
It was an unforgettable experience and a major highlight of my 25 years of diving. When I signed up for the project, I hoped that we would discover at least a few good dive sites. The Phoenix Islands expedition exceeded my most optimistic expectations. Diving with New England Aquarium biologists greatly enriched my understanding of tropical reefs and their inhabitants. If I ever get this kind opportunity again I will grab it.
Citizen scientist – Mary Jane Adams
Mary Jane also joined NAI'A as reef invertebrate researcher for the 2002 Primal Ocean Project survey led this time by the now deeply committed New England Aquarium and Conservation International scientists and covered in National Geographic. Dr Greg Stone seized the baton of protection for Phoenix and ran with it. His energy, diplomacy and colleagues quickly transformed that hopeful NAI'A discovery tour into a ground-breaking global conservation vision which culminated in the 2006 declaration of PIPA and this year's expansion of the preservation zone to be the world's largest. It grew beyond our wildest dreams, as Bruce Thayer eloquently expresses.
It's been a long road? But my role in Phoenix is turning out to be one of the absolute high points of my life; a singular something that will be left behind when I've burped my final bubble.
We hope to do it all again in Central Fiji/Lomaiviti where, just as NAI'A divers discovered in Phoenix, something extraordinary is going on under the surface.
NEW DVD FEATURES LAVISH LOMAIVITI REEFS
We have never seen reefs with such spectacular colour and abundance of fishlife as we found with NAI'A in Fiji. The shallow reef tops in particular ended each dive in a mind-blowing sensory overload that inspired this video. We just felt these views had to be shared with the world!
- Josh Jensen & Liz Harlin, filmmakers
Former NAI'A cruise directors have released a unique DVD designed to revolutionise living spaces by transforming TV screens into a window on the world's most stunning coral reefs.
Josh Jensen and Liz Harlin are now based in Australia as underwater imagery specialists with their own company, Undersea Productions www.underseaproductions.com Their latest project, Reefscapes: Nature's Aquarium, presents the spectacular beauty of Fiji's coral reefs "as if you were right there," said Jensen.
"We created it for homeowners looking for something colourful, dynamic and beautiful to showcase on their flatscreen TV.
"There's no dialogue, no story, just the sheer beauty of coral reefs - the ultimate work of art."
Nature's Aquarium was filmed throughout Central Fiji while the duo worked (yeah, right) as NAI'A cruise directors and dive guides. The show is an hour-long collection of 137 seamlessly unfolding ocean scenes.
According to Harlin, most aquarium DVDs available are merely videos of a fish tank.
"But Nature's Aquarium is different because it is filmed on actual reefs," she said.
"The camera is fixed, so you still get the aquarium feel – except the action unfolds freely, not within the confines of glass walls, but in the South Pacific's limitless blue."
Nature's Aquarium includes a bonus feature called Reefscapes: A Closer Look. It's a 20-minute virtual dive allowing the viewer to meet the colourful characters on Fiji's reefs using optional identifying subtitles.
A preview from Nature's Aquarium can be watched on the Undersea Productions website, and the DVD can be purchased online for $19.95 plus shipping. Visit www.underseaproductions.com
Best fishes,
Rob Barrel and Cat Holloway for the NAI'A Family
