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The reviews are in!!

The following is the full review from
DIVER magazine:

A very cute seal buzzing divers and peering at its whiskered reflection in the videographer’s dome port, animates an exploration of HMCS Saguenay, one of the many dives to enjoy vicariously watching Dive in Nova Scotia, a new DVD release from Halifax-based Sea Monkey Productions.

The seal and the wreck, the province’s first sizable artificial reef, are located off the historic shipbuilding town of Lunenburg . Well, the wreck is there for sure. And I should quickly qualify the artificial reef remark. This Maritime Province is home to many ‘unplanned’ steel reefs, a distinction I’m sure not lost on the mariners who were … lost that is.

A number of these Atlantic coast shipwrecks are, for me, the highlight of this DVD with its generous selection of underwater vignettes that serve as an informative primer for any diver or curious tourist for that matter. For 25 bucks it’s a cheap education, especially if east coast diving appeals and you’re the type who prefers to see with the eyes and not the mind’s eye.

In all, eight wrecks and six dive sites are showcased, shore and boat dives, but that doesn’t include a specially featured shark/cage dive and two technical wreck dives on the British Freedom and the Kolkhosnik, known locally as the Russian. I found this Soviet ship and her military remains especially intriguing. Other wrecks include Cape Breton ’s infamous Arrow (see Diver July 2005) and in Halifax Harbour and approaches, the Ilsworth, Daniel Steinman and Martin van Buren.

This value-packed DVD shows its subject with effect, I only wish it had spoken to me as well. Some of the guitar riffs blend nicely, I thought, but in the final analysis the absence of voice over narrative left me wanting more, and that’s a compliment. Impressively detailed information is provided in text format: driving directions, dive site descriptions, water conditions, even general tourist stuff, it’s all there so if you want to dive in Nova Scotia then Dive in Nova Scotia is a good place to start. Orders and information from Sea Monkey Productions.

Peter Golding, Editor

For more information check out http://divermag.com/

DVD dives into Nova Scotia

Photographers take viewers on underwater tour of 15 sites

By BILL SPURR Features Writer

The camera slips beneath the waves, descending to the wreckage of the ship deep below. The ribs of the ship, through which several varieties of colourful fish swim, are encrusted with brilliantly hued seaweeds. As the diver takes an eerie journey down a flight of stairs, through a doorway and down a hall, what looks like thousands of mushrooms are growing out of the ship's floor.

The Cayman Islands ? Jamaica ?
Nope. Chedabucto Bay.

The wreck of the Arrow, an oil tanker that hit rocks, broke in two and sank off Guysborough in 1970, is one of 15 explorations on Dive In Nova Scotia, a DVD about scuba diving adventures off the coast of the province.

The Arrow, which is in 25 metres of water, is described as "a challenging dive to even the most seasoned wreck divers."

Accompanying text tells prospective divers the water temperature ranges from 15 degrees in the fall to zero in the winter and that visible marine life includes sea cucumbers, sea perch and sea anemone. Another section lists accommodation and dining options nearby.

The DVD is the creation of Sea Monkey Productions, a Halifax company.

"We went to a tourism expo and just played some footage, and the reactions we got were just phenomenal," said Nancy Anningson of Sea Monkey. "People just couldn't believe it when they saw the footage of a 10-foot blue shark off Lunenburg."

Anningson and her husband Andrew started diving a couple of years ago after their company acquired an underwater video camera and their two partners, both experienced divers, started showing them footage.

"Before very long, we got to see the footage of the Saguenay , off Lunenburg, with the seal, and as soon as we saw that we knew we had to dive, too," Nancy Anningson said. "We were really blown away - when you imagine what it looks like off the coast of Nova Scotia , underwater, it's not what it really looks like. You'd figure it would be kind of dark and dreary. But … there's all these creatures and these bright colours. On the DVD, the Arrow is a really good example of that, it's got such a tropical look to it."

HMCS Saguenay, Nova Scotia's first artificial reef, is located in the approaches to Lunenburg Harbour , and the DVD's section on that trip begins with shots of whales on the surface. Soon, a gigantic jellyfish floats by the camera, and throughout the dive a seal frolics with the diver, at one point actually putting its nose on the camera lens.

"We wanted people who are in Nova Scotia to have a chance to see what it looks like, as well as those across the country and elsewhere, too," Anningson said. "There's such a conception that you have to go down south. Now, mind you, gear-wise, it is a lot easier
diving down south, but still it's phenomenal here and we wanted to open people's eyes to that and get them to start thinking about Nova Scotia as a dive-trip destination."

So far, Dive In Nova Scotia DVDs have sold across Canada and the U.S. through the company's website ( www.seamonkeyproductions.com). One order came in from Italy . Anningson said future marketing efforts will focus on Britain .

"The U.K. has very similar water temperature and visibility, but we have more wrecks per kilometre of coastline than anywhere in the world, from everything I've been able to learn," she said. "And there's hardly any divers out there — apparently in the U.K. , there
are divers everywhere.

"There's another market we've been able to tap into as well, and that's folks who will never dive, because of age or health or inner-ear issues or whatever. It's a great chance for them to see it, as well as people who are thinking about diving."

Dive in Nova Scotia
"Dive in Nova Scotia" is a interactive DVD based map that extols the virtues of diving in Nova Scotia.

Using world-class underwater videography we have created an exciting interface allowing the DVD viewer to navigate through the various dive sites of Nova Scotia and access never-before-seen underwater footage of our incredible Atlantic treasures. We have combined this with a multitude of menus that share years of accumulated knowledge of dive site conditions, local history.

Nova Scotia has barely broken the surface of the potential adventure tourism market. Scuba diving is a sport that appeals to an affluent, educated, energetic crowd who spend even more time enjoying adventures on land than below the water. There are many scuba divers worldwide, a large percentage of which specialize in cold water diving. With its abundant coastline, numerous shipwrecks, and diverse marine life, it is time for Nova Scotia to start bragging about these resources and to be recognized as a premier diving destination.

Divers and non-divers alike will enjoy our DVD, which will be packed with mesmerizing underwater footage. We feel it will appeal to anyone who has ever looked out over the water and wondered what lies beneath.

Nova Scotia Underwater Footage - Stills from our video