DIVE
GIZO NEWS
Krie and
Kerrie and our PADI Instructor Fabien Astre attended the 2015 OZTek Dive and Travel show which was a great success this year.The show had a 10% increase in visitors and participants to the various lectures.

In April, the film crew from the Travel Bug toured the Solomon Islands and enjoyed some diving with us. The program should air later in the year.

Following the 2007 earthquake, we are very pleased to say that fish life is as prolific as ever and the 2 damages dives sites on West Ghizo, now have plenty of regrowth of many varieties of coral. Most sites had little damage as you go east from Ghizo Island, which means the quality of diving continues it's high standard. Divers today see less evidence of the events 6 years ago due to health of the reef system.
DIn January 2010, Rendova and Tetepare Islands experienced a number of earthquakes and a small tsunami. We are pleased to say there was no loss of life, and damage was limited to a few villages and permanent structures. Gizo and our surrounding islands were not damaged at all .sivers today
rPlease feel free to contact us directly for updates.
Shop security
Nemo, our shop security was seen relaxing on a day off with his sister Brownie at the beach recently. Be assured though, that he is diligent in his job at night in the dive shop!
 
tANZ and BSP banks have ATM's
The ANZ and BSP banks are providing 24 hr service to customers and visitors requiring access to cash from their overseas accounts via their ATMs. Dive Gizo continues to accept VISA / Mastercard for all services through the dive shop and now have added American Express.

Spray Glider Project
Dive Gizo
continues to be involved in a joint oceanograhic project with SCRIPPS and NOAA deploying and recovering Spray Glider units due south of Ghizo Island. The latest recovery was March 2015 and deployment was June.
Check out the web pages for some interesting information on the gliders due for deployment later in the year: http://spray.ucsd.edu/
In the mean time, look who else is checking out the gliders!

Killer whale supervising the deployment of Mission 006 on July 5 08
 
.Jeff Sherman and Danny during the deployment of Mission 006 on 5 July and recovery of mission 005 on July 19 showing growth from 5 months in the sea.
 
Spray Glider Recover 2007 and 2008 |
 

New Discovery after April 2 2007!
History has revealed itself following the events of 2007 . Enjoy the detailed web link below.For those
Phhttp://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/other/ranongga.html
ase
Japanese Lugger on Ranongga |


A little bit of History

In
the early morning hours of August 2nd 1943,
the patrol boat PT109 was sunk after being
rammed by the Japanese destroyer “Amagiri” in
Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands.
The Captain, Lt. John F. Kennedy, an ex Harvard
swimmer spent the next 30 hours supporting and
towing his 10 surviving crew members to a temporary
shelter known today as Kennedy Island. In addition
to the swim after the collision, Kennedy stage
a daring rescue attempt, swimming first to Naru
Island and then to Olasana Island in search of
help and a better food source for his men. His
swim of approximately 8 kilometres, through waters
patrolled by enemy ships, has long been recognised
as a feat of tremendous courage and bravery.
Another historic
occasion occurred on the 4th August 2003. A
marathon
swim marking the 60th
anniversary of the sinking of PT109 , and the
first of what will become an annual event – The
PT109 Swim Marathon in Gizo. 2003
saw 8 participant from Australia, New Zealand,
United States
and the Solomon Islands.
The winner, Suanne Hunt of Australia, completed
the swim in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 35 seconds.
Second place getter, Paul Ellercamp – a
veteran of ocean swims, described the PT109 swim
as “the hardest swim I have ever done”.



The Sea Hunters II
A number of years back, Dive Gizo received a visit from Dirk Cussler,
son of world famous
author, Clive Cussler.
Dirk was researching a new book for his father,
a sequel to the popular ‘The Sea Hunters’.
Dirk and co-author, Craig Dirgo came to Gizo
to find the elusive PT-109, the WWII patrol boat
captained by future US president John F. Kennedy.
An account of Dirk and Craig’s exploits
with Dive Gizo can be found the book ’The
Sea Hunters II”, including a description
of Danny – “A man who looked like
the cartoon character Yosemite Sam........"You
must be Danny Kennedy”!”
Although
the Sea Hunters didn’t find PT-109,
it was great fun and really interesting being
involved in the research.

Travel and Dive Shows
During 2010 we have attended a number of the Travel shows in Australia which gives us a chance to catch up with old friends and chat with new ones. Sometimes its a chance for old and new staff to catch up as well! Looking forward to meeting you in the near future. Perhaps
with Ross

Protecting Our Reefs with WWF
Dive Gizo continues to joined forces with the World
Wide Fund for Nature to protect the amazing reefs
in the area. Permanent moorings have been provided
at 24 of the dive sites and fish monitoring sites
around the area. Dive Gizo and WWF have actively
sought funding from various aid and environment
programs and used local workers and materials
to produce the heavy duty moorings. These moorings
are available for use by anyone and will prevent
anchor damage to the coral. Dive Gizo thanks
WWF for their help with this project and is proud
that groups in the Solomon Islands are so active
in protecting their spectacular marine environment.
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