Today I won a travel writing award

I am absolutely delighted to share that I have won a travel writing award. I placed second in the We Said Go Travel 2017 Inspiration Travel Writing Award. The We Said Go Travel (WSGT) website is in the top 12% of websites in the United States of America, where there are over 80 million websites at present, and their travel writing awards are highly regarded. This contest was judged by Richard Bangs, the father of modern adventure travel, Amanda Castleman, a freelance journalist who features in the Guardian and the BBC amongst others, and WSGT's own travel expert Lisa Niver.The theme for the 2017 Inspiration award was “How travel has changed your Life”. Writers were asked to write about a place in their life or a place they visited where they took a risk and fought against fear and were willing to grow forward.You can read my entry below, which is about a huge turning point in my life that occurred in the bustling city of Hong Kong. Working my way through tears and fears in crowded streets, I found my way forwards to an incredible chapter of my life:http://wesaidgotravel.com/award/choosing-hope-a-migrants-crossroad-in-hong-kong/ 

World Oceans Day: Help Make A Mermaid’s Dream Come True

There was a time when putting my face underwater brought on panic attacks and the feeling I would die, which is why I decided to train as a scuba instructor. Go big right?!As Mark Twain so elegantly put it…‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the one you did do. So, throw off the bowline. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.’I certainly threw off my bowline and dug deep, and frankly, I scared the life out of myself for the next three years. With hypnotherapy, crying in my dive mask often, and more visualisations than an Olympic athlete would use, I showed myself and the world that we can do anything if we have the courage to try. Anything at all.What did success look like?This….That moment was when I knew I’d made it and it was worth every tear and moment of terror.Fast forward two years, I herniated a disc in my back and found myself unexpectedly unemployed. Who knew sneezing was so dangerous? I needed a new challenge whilst recovering in bed, so started a marine conservation cause Friends for Sharks with my partner. We planned to give free talks to adults and children around the globe, making marine conservation accessible to all, and talking about the importance of sharks. All whilst raising money for two charities, without funding or an income for ourselves for 18 months. Small matters we’d deal with later, or so I hoped when I lay awake wondering what on earth we’d taken on. We spent the last of our savings on two round the world flights before we could back out.We started off not knowing what Twitter was, let alone how to plan a world tour. I still don’t know what Twitter is but we finished having completed 87 talks, in 8 countries, and having presented to over 7000 people.What did success look like?A lot like this…   With plenty of this…  A little bit of this…  More of this than we’d like…    And finally, this!   We can do anything if we have the courage to try. Anything at all.With that attitude in mind, I have entered the Miss Diving Specials 2017 competition to win a diving adventure. I would like to win so I can join that liveaboard, give shark conservation talks to new audiences, and show others what can be done with a pocket full of courage. I also want to win to take my husband on honeymoon, which is something we can’t afford to do and he dearly deserves some ocean time. That man, he’s amazing. Truly he is.To win, I need the most likes of my photograph at this link. It’s that simple and the current leader has 600 or so votes.Please will you vote for me? It will take less than 20 seconds to do and you might just make a mermaid’s dream come true.Let’s dream big and make this happen! 

Vote Here

 Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.Kathryn 

Place your vote at: https://premium.easypromosapp.com/voteme/811128/627152656

Researchers Discover Why Humpback Whales Jump

Researchers in Queensland, Australia have discovered why humpback whales breach and how they use different vocal communication methods to communicate over short and long distances:http://au.thescubanews.com/2017/04/26/researchers-discover-why-humpback-whales-jump/

Vancouver Park Board Votes to Ban Cetacean Captivity

Vancouver Park Board has voted to ban the importation and display of live cetaceans at Vancouver Aquarium. The vote came after two nights of debate and thousands of public submissions concerning the welfare of captive cetaceans. The ban will come into effect by amending a Parks Control bylaw in 2017.http://ca.thescubanews.com/2017/04/05/vancouver-park-board-votes-to-ban-cetacean-captivity-at-the-citys-aquarium/

Dives Tours of Titanic wreck to begin in 2018

Blue Marble Private are offering diving expeditions to the Titanic wreck site in May 2018. For $105,129 per person, tourists can explore this world-famous wreck off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada during an eight-day expedition. With the wreck continually deteriorating, this is an opportune time to dive the Titanic before she disappears.http://ca.thescubanews.com/2017/04/06/dive-tours-of-the-titanic-wreck-to-begin-in-2018/ 

Ronald McDonald House is Awesome

I have had the privilege of supporting the work of  Ronald McDonald House New Zealand recently by donating some copies of No Damage to a #ComCastCaresDay, hosted by NBCUniversal and Bravo.The books were given to the staff at RMDH and I hear they're already enjoying them. People who work for charities are not often rewarded for their hard work and I'm delighted to have raised a smile.Receiving these photographs and a thank you email has made my day!

Right Whale Sightings at an All-Time Low

Scientists and volunteers conducting surveys of North Atlantic right whales off the Florida coast have seen a significant decline in right whale numbers this winter. They have seen only four adults and three calves so far. With a whale population of over 500, these sightings are the lowest since surveys began. A meeting in Massachusetts later this month will discuss the possible reasons for the lack of sightings. Climate change and a lack of food are likely causes leading to dwindling numbers of right whales.The North Atlantic right whale has a long history of human exploitation. Current threats include entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. This species of whale had a population of just 50 individuals until the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration passed rules to protect them. The population has grown to over 500 in recent years.Annual surveys of the right whale population provide population size estimates. Photo identifications of individuals are also used tell ships where whales are located to prevent collisions. A network of committed volunteers and organizations, including the Marineland Right Whale Project, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, conduct both aerial and shore-based surveys each season. This consistent and large-scale effort resulted in sightings of up to 200 whales off the coast of Georgia and northeastern Florida in winter of 2011.Jim Hain, program director of the Marineland Right Whale Project, confirmed that the low number of whales during the 2017 season has occurred despite good weather and survey conditions. While the winter season has not yet ended, surveyors do not expect an increase in whale numbers.

Migrating Right Whales

These sightings are part of an annual right whale migration. Found off the coast of New England and Nova Scotia in the summer, pregnant females, juveniles and some males migrate to the southeast Atlantic coast in winter. The whales may not have not migrated as far south in 2017. But surveys carried out further north at Cape Hatteras have also confirmed an absence of whales.Philip Hamilton, a research scientist at Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at New England Aquarium, confirmed a significant decline in the distribution of right whales in other habitats, such as their summer feeding grounds in the Bay of Fundy and the Great South Channel. Cape Cod is the only place where more whales are present at their feeding habitat.Scientists are unsure what’s causing the decline, but it may be due to climate change and warmer ocean temperatures. Hamilton’s concern is that female whales are not getting enough food and so are experiencing a longer calving interval. Calving usually occurs every three or four years, and the females lose one third of their body weight while pregnant and nursing. A lack of food sources may result in a longer recovery time for the females. This may in turn delay calving to every six to seven years. 

Indonesia Pledges to Reduce Plastic Waste

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhat Binsar Pandjaitan, has announced a pledge of up to $1 billion USD to reduce Indonesia’s plastic waste by 70 percent over the next eight years. He made the announcement at the 2017 World Oceans Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali. Luhat confirmed that Indonesia will be focusing on plastic alternatives and education initiatives to achieve their goal. Their plan is part of the global U.N. Clean Seas campaign to reduce major marine waste sources by 2022.Read more here: http://seasia.thescubanews.com/2017/03/29/indonesia-pledges-1-billion-to-reduce-plastic-waste/

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Conservationist Rob Stewart’s Family

The family of Rob Stewart, a Canadian filmmaker and shark conservationist, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on 28th March 2017 at Broward County, Florida. The lawsuit has been filed following the death of Rob Stewart during a dive off the Florida Keys in January 2017 and seeks unspecified damages.Rob Stewart died whilst filming for Sharkwater Extinction at the Queen of Nassau wreck, 9.7 kilometres off the coast of Islamorada. According to the lawsuit, Stewart dived to a depth of 70m with dive organizer Peter Sotis and came into difficulties during the third dive of the day.Read more here: http://ca.thescubanews.com/2017/03/29/wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-by-conservationist-rob-stewarts-family/

Top Shark Diving Tips

Diving with sharks is at the top of many, if not all, divers’ bucket lists. Here are 10 tips to help you have a safe, and fun, encounter with the ocean’s apex predator.http://scubadiverlife.com/top-shark-diving-tips/