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NOTES TO REMEMBER



Many divers successfully completed the online SHARKLIFE courses in preparation for their dives on Aliwal. Grant Smith gave an interesting talk on the Friday night and was available to all divers to answer questions they had about these beautiful animals. Thank You to Grant and SharkLife.


Thank You to all our prize sponsors! Namely: PADI, Aqua Divers, Cressi, Scubapro, Reef, Nivea, Manex.


Thank You to Jean and Carl from Oceanworx who provided the location, boats and the experienced skippers!


Thank You to Hidden Reef Pub & Grill for hosting the after-party, and the Sea Fever Lodge who put some of the divers up for the night..

 



    








The Shark Bonanza is an annual event organised by Underwater World. This year we once again travelled down to Umkomaas to experience the joy of diving with the Ragged-tooth sharks during their annual migration from the cooler Cape waters up north to their breeding grounds in Sodwana and Southern Mozambique.

Over 70 divers joined us this year, and braved the cold weather to enjoy a day of diving and fun.

With snow piled high up on the Drakensberg, we stood on the beach listening to our briefings while exhaling puffs of frosty air. We sailed through the surf and after a short but slightly bumpy ride were on the Shoal and ready to dive in.

A dive to Cathedral produced only two Raggies, but spectacular visibility of 20m+. Visibility in the shallower water was less idyllic at only 8-10m, but the Raggies seemed to favour this and many were seen in Raggies cave and various other parts of the Shoal.

Even though the Raggies were the highlight of the day, we still enjoyed sightings of turtle, paperfish, pipefish and pineapplefish. Batfish made an occasional appearance, and humpback whales were heard serenading to each other.

Without a doubt, the return boat rides were colder than the actual dive, but our hearts were warmed by the sightings of dolphins and the thought of a warm shower back on shore.


Once all the divers and their families had gathered around at Hidden Reef Pub & Grill at Sea Fever Lodge, the Lucky Draws were pulled and several divers went home with fantastic prizes!

The winners were:
- Master Scuba Diver Course (5 Specialties): GREG SCHOEMAN
- Mares Abyss 22 Regulator: DEREK THOMAS
- Reef Wetsuit - Ladies: JUDY STEPHEN
- Reef Wetsuit - Mens: TRISTAN JENKINS
- Scubapro Seawing Nova Fins - White: ADRIANA AUCAMP
- Scubapro Seawing Nova Fins - Black: KEVIN THERON
- Aqualung Slingshot Fins: KERRY THOMAS
- Cressi Mask & Fin Set: JACEY CLOETE
- Bright Weights Weight Belt: KEVIN McGREGGOR
- Nivea Products Gift Pack: LISA SLABBERT
- Nivea Products Gift Pack: ODIE VERSVELD


So to all the divers and their families that participated this year, Thank You. And a big Thank You to all the organbisers and to the sponsors of all the great prizes.

We will be running this event next year, and hope to see everyone there again, and hopefully some new faces too!

Safe diving!

Dean Channon and the Team at Underwater World