No 1 “Cold & Fresh” January 14 2015
Cover by David Doubilet
FROM THE EDITORS
“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean.” ~ Arthur C. Clarke
He was absolutely right, of course. Just take a short trip out into space. You’ll see that our world is a uniform, indivisible blob of blue whizzing through the vastness; it is an Ocean Planet indeed.
Obviously, on closer inspection, our Ocean Planet does feature patches of land. Terra firma onto which life forms once climbed (on their scaly, rudimentary limbs), dried off, and decided to evolve into less fishy beings. Some, like the whales, didn’t much like it out there, and made a quick-smart U-turn and dived back in (an evolutionary one-eighty us scuba addicts are seemingly trying to emulate, though, it could be argued, with far less grace).
And it is in this spirit of evolution, that we have taken a FRESH look at Scuba Diver THROUGH THE LENS. We wanted to continue to bring you the very best in underwater photography and videography, but also to celebrate the rest that this incredible, diverse Ocean Planet has to offer.
You see, from time to time (unfortunately), we too must also climb out of the water, dry off and walk around as our less fishy, less-neoprene-clad alter egos. And then we all need gear, and gadgets, and things to do and eat and see – and the cooler the better – to help fill the time until the next dive.
We’re also getting with the century. Through the magic of AR Scan you can now use your smartphone to see even more extraordinary images and to make these pages come to life with video. Flip to page 2 for instructions on how to unlock the madness of modern technology.
So, for this issue, we’re taking you on a trip ‘round the freshest freshwater destinations and the places that put the cool in COLD. And, to keep things interesting, at every step we’ve got the inside track on how to spend your time, topside.
Welcome to Scuba Diver OCEAN PLANET.
It’s fresh. It’s ICE cold. It’s intense.
You’re going to love it.
Alice Grainger (Editor)
Matt Weiss (Features Editor, Americas)