Ocean Challenge launches at LIDS

LIDS exceeded our wildest expectations in terms of diver enthusiasm for projects with a scientific and conservation aim. We signed up just under three hundred volunteers, all of whom expressed a strong interest in becoming team members on future projects.

Thank you so much for coming up and saying hello – we all had a ball, and were inspired by the energy and drive of the divers we spoke to. We had to stop several people giving us money! We also used the show to chat to various organisations who wish to work with us, including some of the leading characters in the industry. All in all, a highly successful show that provided a springboard into a crucial summer of development for Ocean Challenge Expeditions.

So what next?

From your perspective as a expedition team member, you can expect a series of newsletters about the vagaries of trying to securer the right vessel, and liaison with various scientific organisations and conservation groups concerning the first expeditions. Any of you who have organised a holiday or project for your dive club will know that this is by no means an easy undertaking, but we hope as the summer progresses that we will be able to pin down a series of expeditions and offer them to our clients. The ones that are received with the most gusto will be the ones we conduct first!

One of the benefits of running global expeditions for so many years is the vast network of contacts we have throughout the world – whether it’s investigating the impact of the loss of the mangroves on shark populations in Bimini, looking at the effects of climate change on reefs in the Indo Pacific, or relating shark feeding activities to changes in animal behaviour in South Africa, we have a number of individuals and organisations desperate to get their hands on the vessel to conduct their research.