Operation Rising Sun

The story of the search for the Japanese submarine I-52 is one of two discoveries separated by time and purpose. In the dark of night in the Atlantic Ocean in 1944, U.S. Navy anti-submarine ships searched for a clandestine meeting between German and Japanese naval crews. Operating on captured intelligence, they sought to surprise and sink the two submarines. Half a century later, the I-52 still rested undiscovered on the seafloor, but this time the search was in the dark of the deep ocean in pursuit of possibility, not destruction.

anti-aircraft guns still point skyward on the wreck of the I-52

The Maldives

WHILE THE WORLD WAS STILL MOSTLY LOCKED DOWN with travel restrictions, my social media feed was alive with gorgeous photos from the Maldives. The Maldives opened sooner than most foreign dive destinations, so there was ample photographic inspiration for our trip in May. The online coverage included the whale sharks, manta rays, tiger sharks, and […]

divers with a manta ray

Kavieng

As a diver and photographer, I seek remote locations offering unparalleled underwater experiences. The farther away and the fewer the people, the better. Papua New Guinea is such a place.

A split image shows the house reef at Lissenung.

A Tale of Two Passes

This is Fakarava — a remote atoll in French Polynesia that feels more like a gateway to another world than a dive destination. Nestled in the remote Tuamotu Archipelago, this UNESCO biosphere reserve is where discriminating divers come to leave the ordinary behind.

The Tumakohua Pass of South Fakarava

Central California Photo Gallery

View Andy and Allison Salmon’s bonus photo gallery that accompanies their feature on diving Central California.

Cocos Island

“Pura vida!” our dive guide, Sergio, exclaimed with a relaxed smile. Eight dive buddies, Sergio, and I just had an incredible experience: A 35-foot-long whale shark swam a few feet over our heads at one of the better-known dive sites at Cocos Island, Costa Rica. It silently came and went, seemingly carefree, like a giant spotted apparition sliding out of sight into the deep blue.

South Australia’s Great White Shark Adventure

Great white sharks are capricious fish. They are iconic, impressive, photogenic, and awe-inspiring but also frustrating. That frustration is not all about the animal — part of it is how few places in the world you can go to see them.

A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) swims near the surface cage

Thailand’s Surin Islands

The Kingdom of Thailand, a sprawling Southeast Asian country slightly larger than California, shares land borders with four countries and neighbors a fifth by sea.

A pair of cleaner wrasses remove parasites from a longfin batfish

Getting Centered

With the COVID-19 pandemic curbing international travel, divers can still choose to dive locally. Andy and Allison Sallmon take us along on their road trip to Central California dive sites, where we can discover macro subjects in Morro Bay and bountiful marine life at the well-protected sites at Carmel and Monterey Bay.

California’s Big Sur coastline

Fakfak

Just before sunrise I make a cup of strong Indonesian tea and feel the familiar rush of anticipation that always builds when I dive where no one else has. From the liveaboard’s top deck I squint at a string of islands— just green dots from here — that stretch offshore from the Fakfak Regency …