This story started for me in 1998; I was at the world free diving championships in Sardinia, Italy, as the captain of the SA free diving team. While we were all there to focus on deep free diving, the word was that Umberto had shot a fish at 48m. I marked this as a notable achievement in my world

Picture the scene….World War II and hundreds of Japanese Kamikaze pilots are aiming their planes downwards towards the ocean locking onto a specific target. This is what the gannets remind me of as they dive from the sky into the ocean seeking their target, a sardine

At 7,000 tonnes it’s a big wreck, sitting upright and dipping from 20m at the stern to 42m at the bows. The wreck is just too big to explore in a single dive and as my buddy and I finned around the bridge area I knew it would need more than one dive to really cover the wreck

David Shaw set out to retrieve Deon Dreyer’s remains after ten years, from a depth of 265m at the bottom of the water filled Boesmansgat Cave in South Africa. He succeeded in his task, but the manner in which it was achieved set the scene for an incredible story of human endeavor and tragedy.

The SAS Pietermaritzburg (predictably always referred to as the PMB) was scuttled in 22m of water close to Millers Point in False Bay in 1994. It was an unusual end to an unusual surface career.

South Africa is blessed with a huge variety of shark species that frequent its waters. Much has already been written of the Great White population off Cape Town and the Tiger sharks that are to be found off the east coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal and equally the population of Ragged Tooth sharks and Zambezis (Bull sharks) there.

While I am fortunate to have travelled to many countries in the world I was unprepared for my surprise at having the opportunity to live and work in another country for an extended period of time. I found myself on a permanent high for the first six weeks of my stay, fascinated by the Maldivian people and their culture.

Having left Cape Town on 25 August 2008, the Marine Resource Expedition finally crossed the 14km strip of ocean separating Morocco from Spain, and ended the first leg of our expedition - West Africa.

P is for Paradise – Paradisical (there is such a word now) Pomene. The feeling of paradise washes over me under the clear blue sky, as I glide past the flock of pink flamingos with their upside down heads gracing one of the sandbars in the gin clear water of the Pomene estuary.

The 22nd of January 1998 is a day that is indelibly fixed in my mind. This was the day that I was to discover the amazing world under the sea. We had left Johannesburg at midnight, driven through the night in convoy, covering some 600 kilometres to arrive at the Mozambique border at 8.00 a.m. when the border opened for business.

On Wednesday the 27th of May, the 10th annual Sodwana Shootout kicked off. This was always going to be the shootout to be at and always the one to remember. From humble beginnings to, arguably, the most challenging photographic competition in South Africa, the Shootout has grown up.

There is something insanely illogical about a border between countries. And nowhere is this more evident to me than in Africa. Take this weekend for example: Paul and I drove down from the city of big smoke (Johannesburg for those who don’t know) to the land of endless coastlines (very northern Kwa-Zulu Natal).

Trying to fully understand the impact of the lack of fisheries management along Senegal’s coastline was exhausting and resulted in both Linda and I suffering from multiple illnesses including our fair share of malaria. Although it was tough, we encountered great projects and fantastic individuals working hard on current conservation issues.

The Save Our Seas Foundation has come up with another thought-provoking awareness campaign. For about six years I have been working closely with the dynamic and multi award winning ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town.

Injuries caused by marine animals accounts for less than 2% of all diving injuries or illness and South Africa is fortunate to have relatively few hazardous or aggressive marine creatures. Nevertheless, chances are that someone on the beach may happen upon a misplaced Blue Bottle and treatment will be required.