New fish ID book
New World has released a guide to marine life for the west coast of North America by Paul Humann with photographers Howard Hall and Neil McDaniel. Coastal Fish Identification-California to Alaska is designed in the same fashion as other Reef Fish Identification books including a photograph and information such as distribution, habitat and behaviour. For more information contact a dive shop or New World Publications, Inc., 1861 Cornell Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32207. (904) 737-6558 fax (904) 731-1188.

Chamber at Panama City
Panama City Beach, Florida's Bay County Medical Center now has a hyperbaric chamber available 24 hours a day. The decompression chamber is a 22 foot by six foot steel double lock chamber that can accommodate up to nine persons at a time. The chamber is capable of 100% oxygen, nitrox or heliox. For more information call 1-800-553-1330 or through the Internet: http://www.travelfile.com/get?pcbeach.

DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year
Dick Long was selected as the 1996 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year. This award honours an individual who has made notable achievements in diving safety and has a strong record of public service in scuba diving.
Long is president and owner of Diving Unlimited Inc., in San Diego, California, and Diving Unlimited International Ltd., in Great Britain. Diving Unlimited International (DUI) products have applications for the recreational, military and commercial diving sectors. He was awarded a specially engraved rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date dive watch and an inscribed plaque June 8 at Seaspace in Houston. For more information contact Divers Alert Network, University Tower, Suite 1300, 3100 Tower Boulevard, Durham, NC 27707. (919) 684-2948 fax (919) 490-6630.

Bonaire guided snorkelling
With experienced snorkel guides, slide presentations on fish and coral identification, marine environmental protection and more Bonaire's new snorkelling program provides the same underwater experience long enjoyed by divers. The program includes a manual, snorkel map, slide presentation, snorkel equipment and a well-trained snorkel guide. For more information contact the Tourism Corporation Bonaire, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 900, New York, NY 10020, (212) 956-5911 fax (212) 956-5913. Internet: http://www.interknowledge.com/bonaire

Shipwreck database now on CD
The 1997 edition of Northern Shipwreck Database will be available on CD-ROM in limited numbers. The database contains over 51,000 wreck records from more than 400 sources covering Canada and the northern United States. For more information contact Northern Maritime Research, PO Box 48047, Bedford, NS B4A 3Z2. Phone/fax (902) 445-5497.

Brooks winners
The results of the second, third and fourth Brooks Sealsuit Giveaway contests are in. The winners of DIVER Magazine subscriptions are Cathy Bennett, Kris Wicks, Mark Steele, Norman Babin, Linda Donovan and Dennis Parent. The winners of Brooks equipment bags are Cara Mackenzie, Steve Jankovics, John Benoit, Carolyn Bateman, Craig Dewis, Michael Robinson, Sherry Harris-Brand, Tanya Delosie and Kevin Chisholm. The winners of three finger gloves were Greg Mix, Rob Farrell, Denis Talbot, Rob Samsom, Nicole MacDonald and Ken Murphy. The grand prize winners of the custom Sealsuit drysuit are Jerry Brown of Stoney Creek, Ontario, Michel Labelle of Blainville, Quebec and Kirk Montgomery of Coombs, British Columbia. For more information contact Brooks Wetsuits, 1067 Churchill Crescent, North Vancouver, BC V7P 1P9. (604) 986-3441 fax (604) 986-3443.

New materials available in Chinese, Korean and Spanish
PADI products are currently available in 15 different languages and are utilized by PADI Instructors teaching in over 175 countries and territories around the world. International interest in recreational scuba diving continues to fuel the sport's growth and interest in PADI materials.
"It is important to provide educational materials in the diver's native language whenever possible. While we're pleased to introduce these new products, look for many more PADI products in different languages to become available soon," Brian Cronin, Vice President of New Business Development and International Business.
The latest materials include the popular Diving Knowledge Workbook in Spanish together with Chinese and Korean translations of the Adventures in Diving manual. For more information contact PADI Canada, #3-10114 McDonald Park Rd., RR #3, Sidney, BC V8L 3X9. (604) 656-PADI fax (604) 656-6221.

Fourteen months around the world
Who hasn't wanted to luxuriously travel around the world. The newly-formed company East-West offers just that and aboard a luxury catamaran at that. The trip begins in the Antilles and travels east to west by way of the tropics stopping in such well known dive locations as Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives and the Red Sea. Seven passengers and one skipper will take care of the day to day running of the vessel which is equipped with modern navigation equipment. The 14 month trip is available for approximately $66,000 US. Four and five month segments of the tour are also available. For more information contact East-West at 17, Avenue Hoche, 75008, Paris, France. (33) 1 53 89 13 33 fax (33) 1 53 89 13 34.

Stay at Rum Point
Accommodations are now available at Rum Point, a beautiful beach site on northern Cayman Island. Red Sail Sports is offering packages including daily two tank dives, a round trip ferry ride from Rum Point to the Hyatt Hotel and meals. Amenities at the beach include beach bar and grill, restaurant, changing rooms with lockers and showers, boutique and full watersports center. For more information contact Red Sail Sports at PO Box 31473 SMB, Grand Cayman, BWI. 800-255-6425.

Jean-Michel Cousteau and the Bahamas
Jean-Michel Cousteau has teemed-up with the Out Islands of the Bahamas, American Airlines/American Eagle and US Divers to create a snorkelling program with 24 resorts on nine islands emphasizing marine environment education and conservation.
Christened "Jean-Michel Cousteau's Out Islands Snorkelling Adventures," the program introduces visitors to the thousands of colourful reefs full of abundant marine life.
The program includes snorkelling instruction by trained professionals, three guided excursions, waterproof I.D. charts and reference books, signature T-shirt and use of snorkelling gear on the islands. Participants will also receive a set of snorkelling gear delivered to their home. For more information contact the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board at 1-800-688-4752.

Fiji celebrates the oceans
Celebration of the Oceans will take place on the islands of Fiji on April 18-29, 1997. Included in the itinerary are lectures by well known people in the diving community, including Jean-Michel Cousteau and Sylvia Earle, an international underwater film festival and a week of diving with a choice of 18 resorts and liveaboards to choose from. For more information contact Fiji Visitors Bureau, Thompson Street, GPO Box 92, Suva. +679 302 433, fax +679 300 970. E-mail infodesk@fijifvb.gov.fj or contact a travel agent.

New Websites
Diving Dynamics has a new website at divingdynamics@silk.net..

Wrecks and teks
PDIC (Professional Diving Instructor Corporation) and the Boston Diving Show will present the second in its Celebrity Series of scuba diving seminars on February 15, 1997. The show, Wrecks and Teks '97 will feature Tom Mount of IANTD (International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers), Richard Nordstrom of DIVE-COM, Don Whitehead and Fred Calhoun of PDIC. For more information contact Wrecks and Teks '97, Apple Ridge 2-6, Maynard, MA 01754. (508) 897-0877.