Underwater Images 2008 Sponsors
FeBrina and Walindi Plantation
The FeBrina and Walindi are based out of Kimbe Bay in
Papua New Guinea and offer some of the best diving opportunities there.
The owners of the FeBrin and Walindi Plantation are founding sponsors for
the Best of Show for the Underwater Images Competition, will again be
offering their prize for two aboard the FeBrina along with two days on
either end of the cruise at Walindi Plantation.
FeBrina and
Walindi Plantation
Anthony’s Key Resort & Bahia Tours
Bahia Tours and Anthony's Key, in Roatan, one of the Bay
Islands off the coast of Honduras. Anthony's Key is nestled in the middle
of a hillside jungle and offers guests panoramic views of Caribbean
sunsets over their shimmering lagoon. Anthony’s Key packages include:
accommodations, air tanks, weight belts and weights, buoyancy control
workshops, 3 single tank boat dives per day, 2 single tank night dives per
week, daily dolphin show presentations, full American meal plan of 3 meals
daily, welcome island cocktail and presentation, tropical picnic on the
beach, Island Fiesta Night on the Key, Horseback riding and hiking, Kayaks
and paddleboats, canoeing, entrance to Roatan museum, airport transfers
and airline ticket reconfirmation. Anthony’s Key Resort
Archipelago Resorts & Fleet
Archipelago Expeditions cruises to remote areas of
Indonesia have never been as comfortable as those to be experienced aboard
the Archipelago Adventurer II Liveaboard. A unique fusion of traditional
and modern, the wooden phinisi with a contemporary, stylish interior, is
equipped with all the amenities of a world class boutique resort. Dive
facilities are also at a premium, with two custom designed aluminum
tenders, two dive decks and FREE Nitrox during cruises. With extensive
knowledge of the dive sites and cultural attractions of Maluku and the
Banda Islands, the Adventurer II predominantly cruises the Banda Sea.
Additional itineraries throughout Raja Ampat and remote areas of East
Indonesia are also available aboard the vessel, creating the opportunity
to cruise the finest dive and cultural attractions of Indonesia in the
ultimate comfort and style. Join Archipelago for the expedition of a
lifetime, aboard the luxurious Archipelago Adventurer II.
Archipelago Resorts & Fleet
Bilikiki Cruises
Bilikiki Cruises Ltd. is the premiere live-aboard dive
operator in the Solomon Islands. Operating two 125 foot ships, MV Bilikiki
and MV Spirit of Solomons, divers are offered superb diving opportunities,
from ships consistently rated among the best live-aboards in the world.
Bilikiki Cruises
Wakatobi and Pelagian
Wakatobi Resort is an award-winning combination of
stunning diving, luxury, remoteness and conservation that makes this a
must-dive destination. Arrive by private charter and experience tropical
hideaway where you'll find the world's most diverse and pristine reefs.
Pelagian is a renowned luxury yacht for a maximum of 12 guests offering
the world's best reefs in elite comfort. Full on-board amenities,
delicious cuisine, eco-participation and Wakatobi's reliable
infrastructure make this the most sought-after live-aboard in Indonesia.
wakatobi.com
Divetech at Cobalt Coast Dive Resort
is situated on the pristine NW tip of the Grand Cayman,
offering daily boat trips to the North Wall, unlimited complimentary shore
diving, 100% computer profiles for 2 x 1-hour dives and a myriad of
options from learning to dive, kids programs through advanced and
technical diving, including closed circuit rebreathers. Cobalt Coast
Resort features 1 & 2 bedroom suites and villas on the ocean. Amenities
include full service dive shop, 130’ dock, fresh water swimming pool,
Jacuzzi, “Duppies” Bar and Restaurant and airport transfers. Additionally
guests can enjoy beautiful sunsets, free wi-fi and more. Reservations
required. DiveTech /
Cobalt Coast
Ed Robinson’s Maui Dive Adventures
Ed Robinson's Maui Scuba caters to certified divers by
having no more than six divers per divemaster with an emphasis on service
and safety. Having two specially-designed boats allows us to accommodate
repeating and returning divers by giving choices of dive sites around Maui
and including Lanai Island. Ed Robinson’s Maui Dive Adventures.
Kararu Dive Voyages
Kararu Dive Voyages owns and operates Indonesia's finest
and safest liveaboard. The Voyager is a 150 ft, in class, luxurious ship
fully equipped with all the modern luxuries. Kararua Dive Voyages invites
you to come and experience the richest marine habitat on earth and an
expedition of a lifetime! Kararua Dive
Voyages
Kungkungan Bay Resort
Kungkungan Bay Resort is located in the very heart of the
Lembeh Strait and is an intimate and exclusive resort, staffed by a
friendly professional team. The Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi is
renowned as being the planet’s epicenter of marine bio diversity. Lembeh’s
nutrient rich waters are home to rare and mysterious marine species. We
feature fantastic coral and wall diving as well as three WWII wrecks.
Kungkungan Bay Resort Kungkungan.com
- Palagian
Loloata Island Resort
To scuba divers, Loloata Island Resort near Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea, means great diving, and a chance to observe some of the
world's greatest coral reefs and meet a myriad of marine animals in their
natural habitat. Underwater photo enthusiasts find a dazzling array of
great fish, corals and invertebrate subjects only minutes away from the
dock aboard their new deluxe dive boat. Loloata Island Resort
Nekton Diving Cruises
Nekton Diving Cruises invites you to join them aboard the
world's most stable and comfortable high-tech SWATH design Liveaboards to
experience world class SCUBA diving in amazing blue holes, plunging
vertical walls, swim throughs, lush coral gardens and shark dives. Also
enjoy snorkeling, dolphins, sea kayaking, remote islands, ancient ruins,
gourmet dining, nightly presentations, and more.
Nekton Diving Cruises
Odyssea Divers & Raja Ampat
MV Odyssea 1 & Raja Ampat- MV Odyssea 1 is a liveaboard
bringing her guests onboard luxury & comfort as you cruise to the pristine
waters of north Sulawesi, Halmahera and Papua in Indonesia. Built 100%
locally by the craftsmen of Sangihe and equipped with modern marine
machinery and computer systems, she is truly a unique product of North
Sulawesi redefining the presence of quality liveaboards. She is outfitted
with 8 spacious in suite air conditioned cabins, a digital studio for
photographers and onboard satellite communications.
Odyssea Divers & Raja Ampat
Odyssea Divers & Cocotinos Dive Resort in Manado
Odyssea Divers now owns a new resort, Cocotinos in Manado,
North Sulawesi. Just a 25-min ride from Sam Ratulangi International
Airport, the resort is situated on a chocolate-colored beach, 20 to 30
minutes from Bunaken Marine Park in full view of majestic Manado Tua, a
dormant volcano across the Sulawesi Sea . All rooms are equipped with
air-conditioning, fan, in-room safe-deposit boxes and hot water. If you
feel the need to stay connected, there is wireless internet access.
Odyssea Divers & Cocotinos
SMY Ondina
The inner seas of Indonesia are home to the richest marine
biodiversity in the world. SMY ONDINA, a romantic and modern wooden
schooner, will take you where J.Y. Cousteau said it is probably "The best
diving in the world".: Komodo, Wakatobi, Rajah Empat, Alor, Flores,
Banda.........and many more incredible, remote and beautiful reefs in the
inner seas of Indonesia! The owners and crew are absolutely committed to
the promotion of such a beautiful country, Indonesia, and to collaborating
in reef conservation projects with local associations and directly with
the local communities that you will visit during cruises in these remote
areas. SMY Ondina
Tasik Ria Resort
Tasik Ria Resort is a charming, well appointed 34-room
dive resort situated in a quiet bay just outside Manado, North Sulawesi,
Indonesia. All rooms feature air-conditioning, en-suite bathroom,
satellite TV, phone and mini-bar. The centerpiece of the resort is the
impressive free-form pool with swim-up bar. The restaurant serveS a
selection of local and western cuisine and a stunning new spa opens in
summer 2006. Diving from Tasik Ria is with Eco Divers, North Sulawesi's
only PADI 5 Star Gold Palm Resort. There are over 30 amazing dive sites
within an hour of our jetty, in the award-winning "Bunaken" National Park.
This is blue water diving on coral-encrusted walls at its very best.
Tasik Ria Resort and Eco Divers
Tufi Dive Resort/PNG
Tufi Dive Resort is a pristine, remote up market eco
resort in Papua New Guinea only accessible by air and sea in the fjord
lands of Papua New Guinea. Here you can dive with manta rays and
hammerheads and enjoy the great macro diversity of the area. All this is
within minutes of the dock on a luxury dive boat.
www.tufidive.com
Ikelite-
Ikelite manufactures a diverse line of underwater photographic equipment
that ranges from housings for simple point-and-shoot cameras to exotic
housings for SLR and video cameras. Ikelite is famous for the design and
manufacture of sophisticated electronic flash units, strobe mounting
systems, and a wide range of unique accessories for underwater
photography. Ikelite
Maluku Divers
Maluku Divers in Indonesia offers a unique experience. Accommodations
are in a pretty local village and the diversity of sites within easy range
of the dive centre is outstanding. So many critters choose to make a home
in the rubble and muck on the northern coast of Ambon's harbour that muck
diving in the region has become legendary! The resident rhinopias have
pegasus sea moths, countless varieties of frog fish, flamboyant
cuttlefish, stonefish, ghost pipefish and star gazers for company.
www.divingmaluku.com
Sunset Waters Beach Resort
Sunset Waters Beach Resort in Curacao offers diving at a
premium all-inclusive resort. This quiteand intimate boutique hotel is
renowned for its beautiful crescent shaped beach, serene and secluded
location, easiest access to Curacao's premier diving sites, including the
one and only Mushroom Forest, and spectacular snorkeling and Curacao scuba
diving in the lagoon and on the teeming house reef.
http://www.sunsetwaters.com
Peter Hughes Diving
Peter Hughes Diving offers a fleet of eight luxury
liveaboards that cruise the best diving destinations around the world. You
will find the ultimate dive vacation on a Peter Hughes floating palace in
such destinations as Tobago, Belize, Galapagos, Papua New Guinea, Bali,
and the newest destinations of Grenada and The Grenadines, and The
Maldives. http://www.peterhughes.com
Aquatic
Encounters (Retired)
The
directors of Underwater Images Competition would like to thank Marc
Bernardi of Aquatic Encounters for having been a founding sponsor and
facilitator of travel arrangements for the best of show award. Marc has
decided to retire and we will all surely miss him and the contributions he
has made to the success of the Underwater Images Competition.
Abucs scubA Charters
Abucs scubA runs professional dive charters on the Upper
St. Lawrence River in the heart of the 1000 Island Region offering a full
service dive centre with a mixed gas station and full rental department.
Our trained, insured and bi-lingual staff can help you with walk-on or
group bookings and all-inclusive packages with charters running 7 days a
week. Come and experience some of the best fresh water diving in the world
with temps up to 80 degrees, no thermoclines and visibility you have to
see to believe. Abucs scubA Charters
Blue Water Photo
Owned and operated by Peter Chestnut who is a diver and
has been shooting and printing underwater photography for more than 15
years. Peter has been in the professional photo lab business for more than
40 years and really knows his stuff. He and his lab take great pride in
making every photograph as good as possible. Peter runs Blue Water Photo
in conjunction with his other lab, Chemistry and Light.
Blue Water Photo
Coral Realm.com
Whether you're a scuba diving enthusiast, an adventurer, a
naturalist, aquarist, a scholar or a virtual traveler, CoralRealm offers
you marine life feature articles, species descriptions, professional
underwater photography, video clips and other resources that you won't
find on any other web site CoralRealm.com is pleased to provide $300.00
worth of CoralRealm.com annual memberships for the contest. This equates
to 10 annual memberships. Our databases contain information that is very
valuable to UW photographers -- individual species info that includes
habitats, feeding and reproductive behaviors, diver interaction, and photo
tips! It's one thing to take a beautiful photo, but it's another to know a
lot about the specific species you are photographing.
CoralRealm.com
Diving Unlimited International (DUI)
DUI is dedicated to developing innovative diving
equipment, DUI's ultimate purpose is to provide the diver with superior
comfort and performance, and the flexibility to dive a wide variety of
locations year-round. DUI
Sherwood/Akona
Sherwood and Akona products are built for any adventure in
any climate, any environment, and are uniquely designed for activities
both below water and above. Engineered to be rugged, versatile and feature
rich, all Sherwood/Akona products are constructed for a lifetime of
exploration. Sherwood /Akona
Pinnacle Aquatics
Pinnacle Aquatics is the world’s fastest-growing brand of
scuba thermal protection products. With a line that includes everything
from Lycra skins and rash guards to 8mm semi-dry wetsuits to drysuits,
Pinnacle can meet every diver’s insulation needs. Pinnacle also produces
lines of boots, gloves, hoods, vests, bags, belts and other accessories.
Perhaps Pinnacle’s greatest claim to fame is its patented Merino™ lining,
which has been tested in independent laboratories in the US and Europe and
been scientifically proven to be 35% more thermally efficient than
traditional wetsuit linings. Found only in higher-end products
manufactured by Pinnacle Aquatics, the Merino™ lining system provides the
utmost in warmth and comfort.
PINNACLE AQUATICS
Provo Turtle Divers
Provo Turtle
Divers- Provo Turtle Divers,
Ltd. is the oldest and most experienced dive operation in the Turks &
Caicos Islands. For over 35 years we have explored the reefs and walls of
these islands, discovering new dive sites and uncovering some of the most
unusual underwater spectacles accessible to divers in the Turks & Caicos.
Provo Turtle Divers
ReefNet
ReefNet is a Canadian corporation that produces
scuba-related software and electronics including, but not limited to, reef
fish identification tools for the computer and the Sensus Ultra, which is
a miniature dive data recorder that stores up to 2000 hours of dive
profiles in easy-to-access flash memory and with more sampling options
than the Sensus Pro, higher resolution in both depth and temperature, as
well as on-board storage of personal information such as medical history,
certifications, DAN number, etc. NetReef
SeaVision
Encounter the underwater world the way it was meant to be
with SeaVision's patented color and vision corrective lenses and masks.
For over a decade Sea Vision has allowed divers to maximize their
underwater experience. Their custom ground prescription lenses allow
divers to experience the same vision underwater as on land.
Sea Vision
Aqua Lung America
Aqua Lung is the name that first introduced the world to
Scuba diving more than 60 years ago when Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emille
Gagnan developed the first "Aqua-Lung." Today, both Aqua Lung
International and Aqua Lung America are highly successful divisions of Air
Liquide. Aqua Lung International includes the best brands in aquatic
equipment. Aqua Lung's long history in the dive industry, the worldwide
network of dealers, and the expertise of their companies, has led to the
high demand for their equipment for recreational, technical and military
applications in more than 30 countries.
Aqua Lung
Submersible Systems
Submersible Systems manufactures self rescue air supply
systems for recreational divers. SPARE AIR is the smallest redundant SCUBA
system available with enough air to get the diver to the surface in an
out-of-air emergency. The company’s goal is to convince you to save your
own life in an out-of-air emergency.
http://www.spareair.com
Best Western Crystal River Resort
Best Western Crystal River Resort is ideally suited for
access to the wonderful snorkeling on Crystal River in Florida – winter
home of the manatees.
www.crystalriverresort.com
Cathy Church
Cathy is a superb instructor who brings forty years of
teaching experience to your lesson in Grand Cayman. She knows how to
adjust the teaching style to match your learning style and knows how to
change her explanation to match your interest level.
Cathy Church
Exploration Design Studio
Exploration Design Studio-Xds Scuba Diving and Ocean Life
Fine Jewelry is a designer, manufacturer and retailer, of fine jewelry
pendants for men and women include 14K and Sterling Silver scuba diving
tanks, divers, dolphins, starfish and beautiful created opal jewelry.
Exploration Design Studio
Gates Underwater Products
Gates Underwater Products, home of the worlds most
reliable underwater housings, is pleased to support the Underwater Images
Competition with various Gates’ paraphernalia. For over 34 years Gates
Underwater Products has produced the world's most reliable underwater
housings. Using 'bulletproof" machined aluminum, 100% mechanical controls,
time-proven design methods, and state of the art manufacturing, Gates
housings are built to satisfy the most demanding recreational divers,
imaging professionals, marine researchers, salvage operators and military
personnel. Gates Underwater Products
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet Pisces books are the leading dive travel
guides, with more than 40 full-color titles to top diving and snorkeling
destinations worldwide. Practical information and inspiring photography
make these the diving essentials no diver can do without.
Lonely Planet
Stuart Cove's Bahamas
Since 1978 Stuart Cove’s has been exploring the reefs,
wrecks, and coral walls of Nassau. During this time they have discovered
the best of what Nassau has to offer. So whether you are visiting for the
first time or returning for the 100th time, they always try to have
something new and unique to amaze and thrill you.
Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas
Omega Aquatics
Omega Aquatics of Buffalo Grove, IL, has made fins easier
to use during water entries and exits. The Amphibian uses a slick
Aqua-Hinge to raise the fin blade and let it ride gently against the shin
while on the surface. This makes walking, climbing boat ladders and other
movements as easy as if wearing no fins at all. Once in the water, the
blade snaps into place with a simple kicking motion and delivers a
powerful thrust with minimal effort.
Omega Aquatics
Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo
Backscatter is the official west coast warranty center for
Nikonos and Aquatica and offers help in choosing the right UW system to
fit your goals and budget from their stock of still and video systems.
Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo
New World Publications
There’s no better way to identify marine creatures than to
use a set of identification books. Or choose from a number of other fish
identification products. New World Publications
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