March 2021
Volivoli Beach Resort, Fiji Discovers New Dive Sites
Keeping positive and always on the look out to improve our product for our clients, be it on land or sea, we have taken the opportunity during the COVID-19 ‘quiet-time’ to drop in and check out a few marks we have had on our plotters over time and see first-hand what the diving potential actually is.
Today we headed out in picture perfect conditions and with a strong incoming tide bringing with it excellent visibility - great for us, and strong currents - excellent for fish life and feeding action.
DAN Europe launches tour focused on sustainability
With much of the tourism and sports industries stuck due to lockdowns all around Europe, some may think now it's not the best moment to launch a tour. However, ocean protection has long been overdue, and there's no time to lose.
Plans for the initiative were developed during the pandemic. The tour will have two passionate scuba divers and DAN Europe Ambassadors, Manu Bustelo and Alana Alvarez, travel some 11.500 km across Europe on an electric vehicle.
Why marine creatures swim in circles
Thanks for advancements in tracking technologies, scientists have discovered an intriguing behavioural trait amongst some marine species: They sometimes swim in circles.
When studying the navigational abilities of sea turtles, Tomoko Narazaki, a marine researcher at the University of Tokyo, observed that the turtles in her study would swim in circles so constantly “just like a machine.”
Article template in new CMS
Title (Headline)
The function of the title or headline is to capture attention and lead the reader into the article. It is not its role to give a full explanation and creating titles that are too ling is a mistake we come across frequently.
As a rule of thumb, they should never go over more than two lines unless it absolutely cannot be avoided.
Subheader
This element, which is also known as 'standfirst', 'deck', 'kicker or just plainly 'intro', serves to provide the readers with a brief summary of what they can expect from the article
The placement of the subheader in the article is typically between the title and the main image - as is the case in our site. The font is often bigger and bolder than the main text.
Body text
The body text or body copy is the text forming the main content of a book, magazine, web page, or any other printed or digital work.
Images, captions and credits
Sources and references
Tags and labelling
Built-in SEO
Some of the basic SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is taken care of automatically via the Meta Tags function where 'tokens' generate various standard and generic SEO settings.
Further improvements and fine-tuning can be done on individual post settings via the plug-in "Real time SEO for Drupal" which now appears at the bottom of the article template.
This video explains what it does and how to go about the settings. Fast-forward to 3:24 to skip explanations about how to install.
A few practical notes: Upon the first save of an article draft an URL alias gets generated from this setting. That is the part of the article's link that follows after xray-mag.com
The purpose of this function is to create a meaningful and legible URL in place of the default article number which look like this and doesn't make much sense: https://xray-mag.com/node/15663
Apeks 90L Roller Bag
A year on from the first Coronavirus lockdown, we are all desperate to travel and explore the underwater world again.
SS Turkia & Other Gulf of Suez Wrecks
Everybody knows the legendary wrecks of the Egyptian Red Sea from the Thistlegorm to the Salem Express. But there are stories of rarely dived remains of ships that rest in the shallow waters up north in the Gulf of Suez.
Dive Rite Tech Tool Bag
No matter how well you look after your equipment, there will invariably be the odd moment when you need to tweak, replace or tighten something up. And that's when you need to have your tools handy.
New E-Book Available - 101 Tips for Underwater Photographers
The first book in the Wise Divers eBook series, 101 Tips for Underwater Photographers is written and photographed by longtime, professional underwater photographer, Marty Snyderman, and designed and edited by Eric Riesch.
The tips provide suggestions for underwater photographers of all experience levels and offer valuable reminders and guidance regarding a variety of concepts and techniques.
Emperor Divers’ Recognizes the Second Covid Diver Hero
We are honoured to share with you the story of our second hero Noam Har-Tzvi, who wins a free Maldives liveaboard trip. Noam was nominated by her brother Adi for the following reasons:
“During the Corona in Israel, Noam founded a voluntary initiative called "Staying Together" - Connecting corona patients and their families. She couldn't stand the thought of elderly people dying alone in hospitals isolated from their families, so she decided to take action.