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Displaying items by tag: David Joyce

#Diving - The Daily Inquirer in the Philippines turns the spotlight on Irish diver David Joyce, who together with British business partner Matt Reed runs the Evolution diving school in northern Cebu which specialises in technical dives such as wreck explorations, and more recently the recovery of a downed aircraft.

A former TV producer and director, Joyce tells how he met Reed during a holiday in the Philippines in 2008 and suggested the idea of setting up shop in the country together.

Five years on and the pair now employ 24 people across 10 properties, training locals and tourists alike in the more technical aspects of diving, going deeper with more specialised equipment.

“Everything has to be calculated," says Joyce. "When you return to the surface, it has to be slow  taking 90 minutes to two hours or 3 meters per minute).
You have to be prepared—four tanks containing different gases, regulators and rebreather units have to be on standby."

Aside from their particular interest in wreck dives - including the discovery of what might be the wreck of the MV Pioneer Cebu, which sank in 1966 with 262 passengers aboard - the duo are dedicated to preserving the natural resources of their tropical island paradise.

That involves working with the local coastguard to prevent destruction of delicate coral reefs and the decline of the catch for local fishermen.

The Daily Inquirer has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!