Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

. . Six Dive Wreck Shorts from the January issue of Diver Magazine cutline: the liveaboard diveboat the Spree watches as the Texas Clipper is scuttled off Padre Island to create an artifical reef and a new dive site. By Stephen Weir Deeper is not always better in Florida Dive chat boards around the world have been deep in discussion lately talking/typing about how a scuttled aircraft carrier has moved deeper into the Gulf of Mexico. Apparently this summer’s Hurricane Gustav not only battered the Gulf’s north coast, it actually shifted the Oriskany, the world’s largest artificial reef. In May 2006 when the aircraft carrier was towed out into the Gulf near Pensacola, Florida, and sunk, the flight deck of the Oriskany was 135 ft (45 m) below the surface. After Hurricane Gustav rumbled through the area, the sunken ship slipped 10 ft (3.3 m) deeper into the Gulf. While it is not unusual for sunken ships to shift and settle on the bottom of the ocean, what has attracted the attention of

. A DAY AT AN AUSTRALIAN BEACH HARD HAT ARTIST DRY DIVES THE TITANIC (an article written for www.divermag.com ... but to date has not been posted. sigh). Rob Jan is an Australian artist, journalist, radio host and photographer who posts offbeat popular pictures on Flickr. A set of strange hard hat diver pictures he has posted on the Internet photo sharing web service has begun to attractthe attention of divers from all around the world! Zero G (Jan’s nomme de plume) has been fascinated with hard hat dive suits long before he decided to stage a sea side photo shoot with members of the Australian chapter of the International Costumers Associations in 2006. Two and half years ago, Jan posted the pictures he and his friends took on Flickr and since then divers have been raving about and freely downloading the pictures. “It's amazing how popular that whole photo set has become,” Rob Jan told Diver Magazine. “If I'd known that real divers would be looking at it someday I recko

. STEALTH UNDERWATER ROBOT HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Cutline: McGill University graduate student Olivia Chiu and York University’s Jim Zacher hold AQUA at the Adventure Show held in Mississauga earlier this year. AQUA, a new experimental underwater robot, can walk on the ocean floor, noiselessly swim amongst school fish unnoticed, and quietly crawl out the of the water and walk onto the beach when its mission is over. So stealthful is this 6-limbed robot that it almost went unnoticed when it made its Mississauga, Ontario debut at the February Adventure Show. Built over a period of four years, AQUA is described as “an amphibious walking and swimming robot”. However, for visitors to the Adventure Show, AQUA looked like a safety deposit box with three flippers sticking out of each side. “ This is the second generation of AQUA” said Jim Zacher, a York University graduate student. “ IT is the result of an on-going research study involving McGill, York University and Dalhousie universitie

St. Maarten’s 12 metre Challenge. It’s the 1987 America’s Cup over and over again… Tired old racehorses are put out to pasture. Over-the-hill greyhounds become family pets. And retired 12-metre racing yachts? For five veterans of the extended 1987 America’s Cup campaign, the Golden Years are spent forever rerunning that famous series of races in the warm waters off St Maartens in the Caribbean Sea. Now that America’s Cup has switched to the International America's Cup Class size, the 12-metre has begun to fall out of favour with competitive racers. Although not dead yet (there still a few key 12-metre races being held) in terms of the Big Show, the once mighty 12-metre class seems destined for marine museum collections. But wait, in St Maartens, Canadian businessman Colin Percy has rescued five of the greatest 12 metre yachts ever sailed and brought them to the Dutch/French island of St Maarten. Three to four times a day visitors can now participate in a mini-America's Cup r

Sidebar: And try the Aussie challenge! Cutline: size chart. 12-metre boat vs car Can’t get enough of the 12-metre Challenge experience? The next time you are in Australia visit the Melbourne 12-metre Challenge experience. The Aussie 12 Metre Challenge provides a day of America's Cup Style Racing on board the prestigious "Kookaburra" and "Kiwi” and caters for groups from 10 to 120 people. The Kookaburra I (KA II) is a high profile 12 Metre Yacht, known for its participation in the 1987 America's Cup Defense in Perth. Kookaburra defeated the Bond Group's Australia IV to defend the Cup for Australia. She also appeared as the feature yacht in the movie "Wind". The Kiwi (New Zealand - KZ3) also campaigned in the 1987 America's Cup. It was nicknamed the "Plastic Fantastic" for being the first fiberglass boat ever built. Kiwi was sold to the Japanese Syndicate and called "Nippon", before being brought back to Australia in 1998.

Underwater encounters off St. Maartens The sharks’ bad table manners leave bloody bits of half-eaten mackerel in spectators’ hair By Stephen Weir Underwater, a mile off shore from the island of St. Maartens, surrounded by a pack of hungry 10 foot sharks I learned an important life lesson. Always look an incoming shark in the eye and stare ‘em down … and if that shark’s nictitating membrane suddenly drops over the eye you are glaring at, put your hands under your armpits and pray! “Show fear?” said shark trainer Estanda Koblasa. “You can’t even think fear. They will know and they will be on you like a pack of dogs chasing a mailman.” Three afternoons a week Estanda is the centre of attention at an underwater sushi party for sharks. While the Czech diver dishes out hunks of raw meat to the sleek gray fish a dozen paying customers sit on the ocean floor and watch this high voltage dinner. “There are shark feeds in a couple of other Caribbean islands, ” said Estanda. “Here in St. Maarten

cutline - food falling out of shark's mouth at St Maarten's underwater feeding. Photo by Stephen Weir 5 things to avoid doing during a shark dive and their consequences if you do 1. Don’t pet the sharks. They may nip at your hand thinking you are another shark trying to steal their food. Because of the sharp nature of those teeth, even a small nip requires immediate medical attention. If still have to stroke a shark, wear gloves, their skin is sandpaper rough. 2. Don’t pick up discarded meat and hand feed the sharks yourself. Sharks rip, they don’t chew. When the meat is grabbed the shark will immediately shake its head back and forth with enough force to dislocate you shoulder (if you don’t let go). 3. Don’t point! These sharks aren’t interested in you, but, if you offer finger food …. If you aren’t holding a camera, and hanging on to a cement block the experts advise you to put your hands under your armpits. 4. Don’t use an external power source for your underwater flash. S