Birmingham Dive Show 2005 promises to be bigger and better

Divers will converge on Birmingham, England's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from all corners of the globe during the weekend of October 29-30. The annual Dive Show at the National Exhibition Centre just seems to go on expanding year after year.

Every Show has more exhibition stands with more goodies, more visitors, more big-prize competitions and well-known guest speakers. This is where divers come to plan and book trips, assess and buy gear, hear the latest and meet their friends. Can you afford to miss it?...

Leigh Bishop and Teresa Telus will present Lost Liners. Lost Liners is a double-handed presentation aimed at everyone who loves big shipwrecks. Well-travelled technical divers Leigh and Teresa take us on a virtual underwater tour of famous wrecks such as the Lusitania; the gold ships Egypt and Laurentic; and Titanic's sister-ship Britannic.

The presentation will touch on sensitive wrecks such as the Nazi liner Wilhelm Gustloff, which sank in the Baltic at a cost of almost 10,000 lives, as well as the Transylvania, Justicia, Amazon, Tuscania and many more. Apart from original 35mm slides taken in depths of 130m-plus, previously unseen footage is also being prepared just for the show.

John Boyle/Short Films Offerings from ace underwater film-maker John Boyle are becoming a regular attraction at the Dive Shows. This year instead of a single production, John is screening a wide variety of underwater shorts. Existing titles include a recent award-winner at Antibes, Colours of Papua New Guinea; the frogfish tribute Froggies; and The Shrimp and the Goby.

But there will also be first screenings for Indian Ocean Kaleidoscope; Up Close; and Second Biggest and Second Meanest, about basking and bull sharks. Leo Blanco's shark film Nobody Loves You also forms part of what should be an entertaining program.

Miranda Krestovnikoff will be talking about the making of the Coast programs around Britain and showing clips from the underwater sequences at the NEC.

Martyn Farr/Cave-diving Seaminar features one of the world's top cave-divers and author of cavers' bible The Darkness Beckons, Martyn Farr. Farr is constantly travelling to unusual locations on the planet, returning with exciting stories of closed-environment adventure. This past year has been especially busy highlighting dives in Australia, Malta, Sardinia, Ireland, Xante and Lanzarote. Martyn will be sharing footage of his dives and discussing his exploits in these parts of the world in his presentation, A Cave-Diver's Year.

With underwater digital photography gaining popularity, a lively question and answer session with a panel of photo-experts is a new feature at the Show. Experts include Dan Burton, Paul Kay and Rob Hancock. John Bantin will be in the chair to moderate any arguments among the experts. Amateur underwater photographers visiting the Show will be invited to submit their own best efforts for public analysis, in between the tips and hot topics.

Big savings and prizes are alkways a part of the Show. Will you have the luck of the draw this year? Every DIVE 2005 visitor is entered into this competition in which the prize is a fabulous trip for two to the Caribbean island of Dominica.

Book for the show in advance and you'll save £3 per head (£7.50, instead of £10.50 on the door). Book ahead in bulk, for friends or relatives, and you not only make savings, but could win a £5000 Red Sea trip for eight from Group and leading tour operator Regaldive.You'll enjoy flights, transfers, B&B accommodation at El Gouna's 5-star Movenpick Hotel, and a five-day dive package with the Dive Tribe dive centre.

Also at DIVE 2005 - Visit the Rebreather Pool, where you can try out the latest gear; the Try-Dive Pool, for underwater baptisms; the PADI and Caribbean Villages and, this year, South Asia Showcase; bars and restaurants; and Our Favourite Dive Gear an exhibition of the all-time most popular equipment. Will items you own or have owned be there? Visit: DIVE 2005 to vote today and for complete details about the upcoming show.

Source: www.divenews.com