The Man Behind the Mask

So he started diving to get away from his girlfriend and he likes to Gamble!

Lets find out more about Iain Irving, Instructor/Co Owner Island Watersports Lanzarote.

Why did you start Scuba Diving?

Well, Marie and I went to Thailand in 2001 and the airline lost Marie’s case.  After 3 days of bad tempered girlfriend I needed to find something to do or one of us would not have left the Island!  I enrolled in a PADI Open Water Course and got hooked.

 

In your spare time what do you like to do?

Spare time? I like watching Rugby now as I am too old to play anymore and motor cycling.  I would like to buy an enduro  bike to tour Lanzarote but Marie wants a new bathroom first.

What drove you to become a Scuba Diving Instructor?

I always wanted to live abroad and totally agree with the old adage ‘choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life’. OK it is not that simple and it didn’t happen over night.  I really enjoyed my diving while Marie had  some fantastic holidays  along the way.

 

Do you have a favourite type of dive?

If I had to choose I would say Night Dives, it really is so different at night. I love encounters with the larger animals like Rays and we see them feeding at night which is just amazing. I enjoy all my dives, but seeing Angel Sharks and Rays on a daily basis is just a privilege.

Apart from Lanzarote, what is your favourite scuba diving destination?

That is such a difficult question, it really is, I have dived in some excellent locations all around the world. It’s not just about the diving , it’s also about the other divers you meet,  the friends you make and the memories.We have made so many great friends here in Lanzarote.

For the total experience I would say Barbados while diving with Ram on The Scotch and Soda in Carlisle Bay. Ram was the Instructor who got Marie to dive, now that guy had patience. We met some lovely people there and the horse racing at Bridgetown was a real bonus, I remember we won 1500 dollars on one trip.

 

 What is the Best thing about being an Instructor?

Whether it is a non diver discovering scuba for the first time, or a certified diver learning new skills, it is just a great job. I get as much enjoyment out of our students success as they do.

  

Why did you decide to move to Lanzarote?

We felt at home straight away, we visited with our dive club from the UK in February 2014 and by November 2014 we had moved here. That pretty much sums it up. Lanzarote is unlike any other Canary Island thanks to the influences of Cesar Manrique. Friendly people, relaxed safe environment and obviously fantastic diving for all levels.

Any Regrets?

Probably the obvious answer here is that I didn’t do it earlier.

 

Angel Sharks Mystery Blog

 This is a Guest Blog, our very first, written with Mystery and Intrigue in mind by Michael Dann who has been scuba diving in Lanzarote for 30 years and has a keen interest in Angel Sharks.

There was a time when underwater photography was an expensive novelty for writers,
film makers, and scientists.  Nowadays it seems every diver has a waterproof camera resulting in lots of photos being taken every day. Yet that does not mean necessarily that the photographers ‘know’ when they have taken something really good. For such is our limited knowledge of what happens under the sea that the story of any photo taken could be ‘really good’

Which is what we have here, the most interesting photo of an Angel Shark taken in Puerto Del Carmen this Season, it is, on the surface a simple photo. But, like the tennis match in Antonioni’s film Blow-up, closer examination, ‘blows away’ the simplicity.

To leave us in mystery writer territory – who done it and why.

Let us examine the evidence (get those little grey cells working). There are two Angels in the photo. On the right is a girl, she is very pregnant having no energy to pit (throw sand over her to hide) instead she has nested, wriggled into a shallow depression in the sand. She is one of the twenty plus girls who have come this year and she has what she came for.
But on the left is actually a boy – girls do go about together.  So what is he doing there?  His whole life experience – he was born just near where he was photographed, grew up here and  has been coming here  all his grown up life, tells him in which ‘condition’ he has found the girl. He knows. He knows. He knows.
Then why isn’t he off down The Harbour chasing the girls I saw this morning? Maybe he has chased them! Or maybe one of the other two boys has! Or they are up to this time un-chasable! And for the moment he is hanging around this one.

Why? The question cuts to the centre of the case. Why is the boy where he is? Why is he taking any interest in that which cannot interest him?
But she does, why?   Is she ‘his’ girl and he is just checking she is OK? Or because she is any girl in that condition and he is ‘obliged’ to check up and maybe ‘look out’ for them? Because this is somehow ‘built in’ to what he is doing? ‘Supposed’ to be doing to comply with the breeding Model the Angels have developed.
Is this what is happening? Or is it just a fluke? Does the photo make it seem more than it is? Or is it much more than it seems?
There was one other occasion when two boys were seen lying either side of a very pregnant girl, this sighting gave rise to the almost blasphemy of the idea that sharks can look after each other. For as everyone knows sharks are ‘axe murders’
How sharks behave is a trial by a largely uninformed public opinion
But Agatha’s Belgian super sleuth is on the case and a book has been written
Watch this space.

Thank you Michael, we are looking forward to reading your book.

Europes First Underwater Museum

Museo Atlantico – Europes first underwater museum, created by artist Jason deCaires Taylor.

 

Since the first installations back in 2016, the Museo Atlantico has proved to be a very popular dive site and a ‘must do’  for many of our scuba diving visitors. At a depth of 14 meters this dive is suitable for all certified divers and now non divers have the opportunity to dive here too.

These latest pictures from our trip this week show how the flora and fauna are making the museum home.

 

Our guide Iain Irving was delighted to see a spiny sea star making it’s home on the girls head at the hybrid section, wrapping itself around the bun on the back of her head.

There is always plenty to see on this dive , Barracuda, Angel Sharks, Trigger Fish, Bastard Grunt and the Spiny Sea Star were the entertainers  yesterday.

 

Now you can dive the Museo Atlantico even if you are not a certified diver, just complete 2 training dives with us and then you will be able to dive the museum.

Interested ? contact us for more details.

Ocean Clean Up Dive – Ocean Rescue

  

At Island Watersports Lanzarote we take our responsibility to the enviroment very seriously and carry out Ocean Rescue, clean up dives every few months. We do our best to keep the beautiful Atlantic Ocean around Lanzarote as clear of rubbish and plastic as possible. Scuba diving in Lanzarote is a very popular sport and the area around Puerto Del Carmen boasts some of the best dive sites on the island.

Our last Ocean clean up dive of the year was a great success. We targeted the area of Black Beach in Puerto Del Carmen where we collected 5 full bags of plastic, drink cans and other debris from along the harbour wall, over the arena to the drop off.

During the dive our divers took great care to ensure that no sea life was actually living in the cans and bottles we removed, they did have to relocate a few baby octopus.

Check out our facebook page for all the great pictures (full album on flickr) and keep following us  for details of our  next Ocean Clean Up dive, all certified divers are welcome to join us and we supply tanks and weights for FREE.

Finally, a huge thank you our wonderful scuba diving volunteers, Ocean Heroes, John, Ailsa, Ian, Michael and Iain, a fantastic job guys, well done!