Our story “Polar Cruising Norway’s Arctic Archipelago” is published in the January 2021 edition of INSPIRED 55+ Lifestyle Magazine. The article is about polar expedition cruising in Svalbard, Norway, one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas known for glacial fjords, frozen tundra Svalbard reindeer, Arctic foxes, walrus and polar bears.
Article here: Polar Cruising Norway’s Arctic Archipelago.PDF
Our latest Third Age Expeditions column for Luxe Beat Magazine called “A Day at the Museum: Finding Beauty, Truth and Meaning in Norway” was published today. This story has also garnered us another “Editor’s Picks” shout out!
“During our last trip to Norway, we had one free day in Oslo to devote to museum visits and managed to squeeze in four of them. The next day soon after we landed in Svalbard, a remote Norwegian archipelago situated between continental Norway and the North Pole, we were able to make a quick visit to the Svalbard Museum in Longyearbyen hours before boarding and embarking on a 10-day polar cruising expedition. Yes, even here in “Northernmost inhabited place in the world”, there was a museum. What follows provides a summary of five spectacular museums we chose to visit while in Norway.”
“DIVE LOG Australasia is striving to constantly produce great reading. August 2020 is a bumper issue. Our plan here is to give something back to the diving industry.”
~ Mike Scotland, Publisher & Editor
In the August 2020 issue of DIVE LOG Australasia, Kathryn and I are both doing our best to give back to the dive industry, and are also helping to make British Columbia’s spectacular ocean realm better known to our brothers and sisters living in the land down under.
“Into the Sea Lions Den” is our latest Third Age Expeditions story for our column in Luxe Beat Magazine and we have been awarded another Editor’s Pick!
After splashing into the ocean, we quickly descend 10 meters and kneel down upon the rock-strewn seafloor. At the edge of underwater visibility, we could make out some torpedo-shaped silhouettes. Suddenly, from out of the emerald haze more than 20 female sea lions appeared. Glancing over at my dive buddy, I could see a young female sea lion inquisitively peering into his underwater camera system’s dome port. Two coquettish sea lions stop to pose right in front of me as third one mischievously yanked on one of my fins. Then as quickly as they had arrived, the sea lions exploded towards the surface while unleashing a whimsical series of un-choreographed pirouettes, dramatic turns and topsy-turvy spins. Soon enough, they returned to swarm us again and again.
Link to story: here.
I’m giving a loud shout out today to someone we have never met in person, but who both Kathryn and I consider to be a friend. Last month during a Facebook conversation wherein I said I was going to source an out of print book and ask the author to autograph it, the author said to me, “I will send you one.”
The person I’m speaking about is Jennifer Carter,
(Fellow in the Explorers Club, Author, Producer, and so much more), who along with her late husband, Academy Award-winning composer, Joel Hirschhorn, co-authored the book “Titanic Adventure: One Woman’s True Life Voyage Down to the Legendary Ocean Liner.” Yes, Jennifer was the first woman to dive to the wreck of the Titanic when she signed on as expedition leader for the all-male French/American Titanic expedition in 1987. And this is but one of her long lists of noble accomplishments.
We feel blessed to be able to call Jennifer our friend.
This is the question Shearwater Research, a Canadian company who designs and manufactures technical dive computers and electronic control systems for rebreather manufacturers, asked several well-known figures from the international scuba diving community and the Shearwater team.
Video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erBakhvAADo
Given that we had been experiencing weeks on end with rain here in Vancouver around the time I made this video, I could not film my segment in the great outdoors. So, I chose to wax poetic while seated in the Terra Incognita Explorers Bar at stately Britnell Manor. Enjoy!
Mucho thanks to Shearwater Research for their efforts to keep us all connected during this world pandemic. We are all connected!
My image of a red eye medusa jellyfish is the “Big Picture” featured in a double-page spread of the July/August 2020 issue of Canadian Geographic, a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Canadian Geographic has been making Canada better known to Canadians and the world since is was first published in May 1930. The publication is the authoritative source for all things geography, wildlife and environment, climate and energy, travel, culture and exploration in Canada.
It is a distinct honour for both Kathryn and I to announce we are now Ambassadors for Mobby’s the largest dry suit, wetsuit, and marine sports accessories manufacturer in Japan.
This has been in place for a while. but due to the COVID pandemic some plans were delayed. Now, it’s looking like we will be able to get in the ocean this summer so we can put our Croco Dry FZ drysuits to the test.
Our deepest respect and heartfelt thank you to Mobby’s CEO & President, Mamoru Yasuda san, for the faith he has placed in us. Mr. Yasuda founded Mobby’s in 1963 from his home village of Miyagi, a serene fishing community in Northern Japan’s Sendai district. A legend in the world’s diving community… he is someone whom we hope to have the pleasure to meet in person someday soon.
In the meantime, some of our pictures were featured in Mobby’s catalogue which we just love.
Also, many thanks to our friends Michel Joseph and George Klikach for introducing us to Mobby’s and their drysuits!
“Gearing Up For A Polar Expedition Cruise” is our latest Luxe Beat Third Age Expeditions column has just been published. And we have another “Editor’s Picks” feature!
Third Age Expeditions May 2020 – Jett Britnell
Not unlike during the “Heroic Age” of polar exploration over just over a century ago, participating in a modern-day polar expedition cruise does require substantially more planning than a vacation trip to Greece or Hawaii.
Link to article: Here
Kathryn and I both feel honoured to be part of a fraternity that is EXPLOCEAN’s LEAGUE OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS. Thank you to our long time friend, Bill Nadeau, for the invitation to join such an illustrious band of undersea explorers.
EXPLOCEAN and the LEAGUE OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS primary mandate is to create opportunities for all people to discover our world by promoting underwater exploration. Our objective is to empower future generations to leave a legacy of ecological sustainability and inspire them to take stewardship of the planet and all its waterways by sharing our own discoveries.
More info: Here
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(Play Nice In The Sandbox, Kids. Ask, Don't Steal)
