Lady in red. Helen Farr loved red! She is pictured here at Jug Hole, Florida

The cave diving community mourns the loss of Helen Farr

Helen Farr was "a massively committed and active cave diver" of two decades. Although you might not realise it, you will have probably seen her photo in a diving magazine, a mainstream newspaper, a cave diving book (such as the iconic 'The Darkness Beckons', third edition) or featured in a presentation.

Helen was 100% committed to the sport [cave diving]. Richie Stevenson, Underwater cinematographer

The Mary Rose on display

King Henry VIII’s flagship to get COVID-19 emergency funding

On 18 March 2020, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard issued the following tweet. "It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to close all of the sites of The National Museum of the Royal Navy. This is a difficult decision but we've done so with the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors in mind." Director General Dominic Tweddie

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Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England stated "Our historic places bring us together. It is vital that they survive intact. Our emergency grants are providing a much-needed safety net to organisations and businesses that are helping to save our most precious heritage.”

The grant from Historic England is very timely and much appreciated. Mary Rose Trust

Getting Lined Up: Troubleshooting Sidemount Tank Configuration

A pair of divers wearing cleanly-configured sidemount kit. Cave photo by S.J. Alice Bennet.

I like sidemount. I will frequent­ly, jokingly, disparage the configuration, but I do like it. It can be comfortable and streamlined. It can be very flexible. There is an argument to be made for completely isolated redundancy. Mostly, it is good for moving through places no bigger than the space below your coffee table.

Photographing American Crocodiles in Cuba

American crocodile in the Gardens of the Queen marine park in Cuba. Photo by Vladimir Gudzev.
American crocodile in the Gardens of the Queen marine park in Cuba. Photo by Vladimir Gudzev.

The Gardens of the Queen is a popular and iconic dive location in Cuba for those underwater photographers who have creative ideas for documenting or capturing artistic images of sharks, groupers, crocodiles and other fauna of the Caribbean Sea. Here, it is possible to film life in the mangroves, and if one is lucky, meet a crocodile. Vladimir Gudzev reports.