Lots of ❤️ from the DDE Team

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well.

This holiday season is unlike any other, to cap off a year unlike any other. Throughout this season, and as we move into a new (and hopefully better) year, we wish you moments of peace amid the difficulties, connections with family and friends even if they can’t be in person, the warmth of memories from holidays past, and wonderful glimpses of the joy that still lives under the surface.

We also want to thank you all for your support this year. We truly have the best customers anybody could ask for.

Finally, we look forward to some great adventures with you in the years to come and as always, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🎁Last Minute Christmas Shopping!

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. With this holiday season already here we thought we'd offer our take on a classic present.

GIFT CARDS

We will be perfectly honest, we only just realised Christmas is a week away with all the hustle and bustle of December. We bet a lot of you feel the same way working a busy month, and you might be stuck for buying last-minute presents.

Not to worry.

With our personalized gift cards you can give the gift of adventure

Spoil your pain in the ass brother, husband to be, your amazing son or your lovely wife. Give the present of excitement knowing there is a adventure of a lifetime waiting for them in the coming year after being inside most of 2020.

The voucher is valid to all our destinations and dates running as far as December 2024 - so there will be something to look forward and plan to as we come closer to a new year and beginnings.

Remember - there is no shame forwarding this to your better half with the subject “HINT HINT”. 😆

Send us an email HERE and we will organize a personalised gift card for you straight away.

TRIP ALERTS

Having said that, we have just wrapped up last minute openings that have come up in our otherwise sold out 2021 season. Email us if you are interested in getting to Bikini Atoll or Galapagos sooner than 2022.

TRIP ALERT: Galapagos 9-19 Dec 2021 - 1 space open

TRIP ALERT: Bikini Atoll 5- 18 June 2021 - 1 space open

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this Christmas but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely until then, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🐪Ever Dreamt Of The Blue Hole?

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. Last week we wrote you from an airport lounge and this Friday is exactly the same, this time in Istanbul. As the world starts to open up, Dirty Dozen visited one of its former headquarters in Egypt. For those of you that know Aron way back, these were years spent in the deep diving mecca of planet earth, Dahab.

This was when Team DD started getting serious about technical diving and exploration, setting up the first operation called Team Blue Immersion with Jonas Samuelsson and Erik Brown. Over 6 years we took countless explorers to the depths of the Sinai peninsula through its famous submerged canyons, blue hole and the breathtaking variety of marine life on the Red Sea’s coast. Today it is run by our team members Andy and Kerstin.

With full CCR support that meets the demands of our most hardcore customers, it’s everything you could possibly need for technical diving regardless whether you dive backmount, sidemount or CCR.

So - while we are waiting patiently for our Bikini Atoll season to start in May, Dahab is open with a negative PCR test.

This gave us an idea.

So many of you have met DD in our wreck diving destinations but we have not had the privilege to show you this spectacular location, so we are considering to do a special team trip to Dahab in March/April 2021.

One of its most famous dive sites in Dahab, the Blue Hole, is a spectacular dive site. In fact, we just surfaced from a 65m dive swimming past the arch yesterday morning at 6am.

This 120m submarine sinkhole with no current and warm water covered in rich marine life and coral. Its most infamous reputation, the “arch” is a spectacular overhang starting at 55m going all the way to the bottom. Its overwhelming nature is a dive that is simply not possible to get tired of doing again and again, especially on rebreather at different depths.

That’s just one of Dahab’s huge variety of breathtaking dive sites. If you ever experienced our seamless rebreather logistics on our vessels, this is replicated from this shore based operation.

The drive to the Blue Hole and the surrounding dive sites takes less than 30 minutes so there is no rush in preparation before the dive and we are able to conduct two normoxic trimix dives per day without stress, just like in Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll.

For those of you that want to learn more about this magical place, check out these videos we produced on site.

Availability for this 10 day exploration trip will be very limited, so inquire sooner than later as these trips will fill with our core team of explorers itching to get out of the house. We are setting up the program as we speak and should be able to send you information and pricing next week.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🏃‍♂️Hitting The Ground Running

Dear Team Member,

I hope this message finds you all healthy and well. It’s been a huge week for the world as the United Kingdom becomes the first country to approve a COVID vaccine with vaccinations starting on Tuesday. It is no longer speculation or a waiting game. Things are happening and as per usual Team DD plans to hit the ground running.

With our extensive network we have been receiving intel from all over the planet about upcoming vaccination plans that cover the area of our operations in the world that is most challenging, FSM and the Marshals, the news are encouraging!

The image below describes a plan to cover 80% of the population in Palau by easter, and Chuuk and the Marshall Islands are involved in the same initiative with the US government and COVAX.

Marshalls working to get early Covid-19 vaccine access

rnz.co.nz reports about Marshall Islands vaccination efforts in co-ordination with the US Goverment:

“Marshall Islands officials will meet with US government officials in early December to discuss logistical issues with getting Covid-19 vaccines into islands.

The Health Secretary, Jack Niedenthal, said the US was working with the Marshalls government, as well as governments of the freely associated states of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, to ensure early vaccine access.”

Read the article HERE

Knowledge Base Update

There was a big update done to the Knowledge Base this week. One highlight is a walkthrough we did of Bikini Atoll Divers in 2019, a 5 minute exclusive video walkthrough of the abandoned dive center at Bikini Atoll in 2019 during a DD Expedition.

Bikini Atoll Divers opened in June of 1996 to provide an economic base for possible future resettlement of Bikini Atoll.

In 2008 the Council had to close their operation due to local airline reliability issues, soaring energy costs, and US stock market conditions that impacted the local government budget. It is well worth a watch if you wonder how Bikini Atoll looks on land.

Now that you might be thinking its time to organize your travel, we thought we would also share this excellent chart of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon made by our captain Martin Cridge. The full resolution image and lots of other updates can be found on our knowledge base right now. The password is DDERocks.

Obviously these great news in the world have been positive for us at the office. We have been keeping really busy with new bookings as people see a path to free world travel and we plan to bring you a updated over availability in our next newsletter so you can calm down the FOMO effect.

Its exhilarating to think about all the good times that lie ahead after this hibernation. True to us hitting the ground running - we in fact packed the CCR’s this morning and in the airport when this is written. More about that adventure next Friday.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🛫IATA Travel App and Black Friday Deals!♠️

Dear Team Member,

First and foremost to our American readers, I wish you all had a great thanksgiving, and as always, I hope this message finds you all healthy and well as we all try and wrap up 2020 for good and look forward to a new year ahead.

Richard Wiese, President of The Explorers Club summarized this in a recent newsletter which I could not have said better “One of the hallmarks of a good explorer is the ability to adapt to a changing environment, in essence, to make lemonade from lemons. Whilst COVID-19 has been an impediment to exploration, it has created an opportunity for us to invest in and engage with our members and audience at a level we never have before, airing programs and events from around the globe, which we commit to continuing.”

This has been the case for our members too. It has been fantastic to engage with you all on livestreams, podcasts and the rest, spreading good vibes and stimulating thoughts before we move onwards with our adventures. Having said that, there are some good news coming out other than vaccines being released shortly.

IATA Travel App is launched

One of the big challenges moving ahead into 2021 is the thought of having to vaccinate the entire world before we can start moving again. With a very high efficiency rate of the new vaccines being released imminently, it is fair to assume once a person is vaccinated, they are free to travel. We were really excited to hear IATA addresses this exact problem in a press release this week where they announced the planned launch of their new Travel app. With IATA coordinating with 90% of the worlds airlines, these news are highly encouraging.

IATA said:

“To re-open borders without quarantine and restart aviation governments need to be confident that they are effectively mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19. This means having accurate information on passengers’ COVID-19 health status.

Creating a digital platform for passengers with information on what tests, vaccines and other measures they require prior to travel, details on where they can get tested as well as giving the passengers the ability to share their tests and vaccination results in a verifiable, safe and privacy-protecting manner is the key to giving governments the confidence to open borders. To address this challenge IATA is launching the IATA Travel Pass.”

In essence, once IATA has had this approved from the worlds governments, travel should be able to resume once people have been vaccinated which is great news.

We attached the full press release presentation in our Knowledge Base where it can be downloaded. Remember - the password is DDERocks

MILES OFFER AND GETTING EXTRA LUGGAGE FOR FREE📦

United Airlines, who is the only end destination airline to get to Truk/Bikini is doing a flash sale on miles TODAY where you get double for your money.

This means you can get for example 100.000 miles for 1750 USD. To put that into context, from most major cities in the USA a ticket to Truk Lagoon is 35.000 miles each way. The United hub from Frankfurt is offering each way to Kwajalein at 50.000 miles.

It is also worth mentioning, the airline is making it a lot easier for new and existing members to climb their loyalty ladder as travel restarts, giving you the chance to work your way up within their system. About luggage, already on Silver level you are getting a free upgrade to 70lb/32kg, on gold its 2 bags of that size and platinum gives you whopping 3x 70lb/32kg bags for free on check-in. These rates work also while booking your itinerary mixed with another star alliance airline, but always make sure to confirm with your partner airline when booking.

You are not required to only fly United to do this as mentioned above. Simply register as a United frequent flyer, and then when you book any flight with Star Alliance, you put your United member number in on the booking, which will then reward you points into the United Account.

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS♠️

We have a whopping 25% off all our merch in the store TODAY. Grab the Black Friday chance and get your DD merch at a great price, just in time for the holidays.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🤝Big Changes Ahead

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

As always we hope this message finds you happy and well. With 2021 on the horizon and 2020 almost behind us, a year most of us will be happy to forget about, forever, the team at DD HQ is starting to see the light through the storm.

While reflecting on the year, we would like to take the chance to say a HUGE thank you to all our guests that have had to reschedule your trip in 2020. We honestly cannot believe how understanding you have all been and we appreciate your kindness and loyalty. We really have the best team and we love you all!

With a 100% rescheduling success rate no further than 12 months from the original date of departure with every single customer, our trips are going ahead full steam with the same special guests and custom itineraries as were before postponement. Check out the calendars below!

Having said that, there are some really big changes ahead behind the closed door, and the brevity of this newsletter reflects that. We are working really hard to bring some big changes into the new year and we are so excited to be able to tell you all about it in due course.

This does not mean you will not hear from us next Friday with a lot more updates on what else is new, but for now we have to get back to it!

It goes without saying we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are always here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💺WORLDWIDE AVAILABILITY UPDATE

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

With waves of progress signaled from vaccine manufacturers this week and scientists calling the progress the biggest medical breakthrough in a century, we feel a sense of hope and optimism that free movement across the globe will be kicking off sooner rather than later.

The big news from DDE HQ this week is that between reshuffling our customers who have been impacted by changes to our charter schedules this year, and our excited team members snapping up the chance to experience more adventures with FOMO in full force, we are on track to have an unforgettable year of expeditions in 2021.

To summarize - we are currently sold out in all our destinations: Truk Lagoon/Bikini Atoll and Galapagos for the calendar year of 2021.

NOT TO WORRY - THE PLANNING FOR FUTURE ADVENTURES STARTS NOW

LET’S CHECK OUR WORLDWIDE AVAILABILITY UPDATE

GALAPAGOS AVAILABILITY

Our exclusive 2020 Galapagos recreational end of year itineraries have had the ante upped from our head office now with 50% off on the LAST remaining departures to Galapagos in 2020. Bananas! The response has been wild, of course and we have had DD Members on this boat for every week the last month now.

Here are the dates and prices available:

7 Day Cruise 2975USD from 5950USD 

14 - 21 December 2020 

21 - 28 December 2020

10 Day Cruise 3800USD from 7600USD 

23 November - 03 December 2020

03 - 13 December 2020 

This truly is a once in a lifetime offer as Galapagos is always fully booked and always at full price. So if your schedule is flexible at the end of this year, get in touch! *This offer applies to standard Galapagos Master itineraries - no CCR support. The travel is seamless, with our crew showing up at the hotel and doing your pre-boarding PCR test on site in Quito before the trip starts.

Should you fancy DDE´s own rare CCR ONLY itineraries as well as a mixed CCR/OC expedition in 2022, we still have some spots left!

TRUK LAGOON AVAILABILITY

Not the first time that Jill has featured as a Special Guest on a trip to Truk for us, and we could not be more excited to get back there and dive with her again in 2022 on this awesome technical CCR adventure. We have not advertised this trip much and there STILL is availability but it won’t last long.

Some of the highlights of Jill’s experience during her first trip to Truk Lagoon with DDE this year included:
🗺️ The itinerary and very carefully curated expedition was fantastic ⁠
🧜 Small group⁠
🛥️ Comfy boat⁠
☀️ Lots of staff⁠
🏝️ Dived wrecks off beaten path⁠
🔭 Dives that were exploratory⁠
💠 There was an equal level of experience⁠
💪 Jill certainly recommends⁠!

We are NOT your average dive trip organiser.

BIKINI ATOLL AVAILABILITY

Although our 2021 calendar for Bikini Atoll is sold out there is always hope. We have spaces come open every now and again and its really worth sending an inquiry to go on a waitlist. There are also still plenty opportunities to discover Bikini in 2022.

Check out our updated expedition calendar below that runs until 2025. We hold over 40% of all the carters from 2023 onwards.

CONTACT US NOW TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

We can offer small deposits, flexible payment terms, and friendly booking conditions on all our trips to get you down and dirty with some of the most infamous wrecks on the planet.

COMPETITION RESULTS

The entries into the #MyDDEAdventure competition took us from stunning deep dark mines to Bikini’s best bar, so without further ado, let’s get down to business! 

Firstly we would like to say we have been overwhelmed by the support, as usual, and are so grateful to all our members for their lively participation.  

It has certainly been a tricky task picking a winner, all your adventures are so important to us, especially at a time when many of us are unable to travel.  

DDE HQ and all the team here are super pleased to announce our winner of the competition. 

We asked you to show us what your DDE adventure was, and we were not disappointed.  

Put your hands together for a great big dirty dozen rounds of applause for Perry B’s DDE Adventure!  

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PERRY SAYS

“Diving for pleasure is a young sport. Mass participation in the joy of swimming freely underwater, for no other reason than to be in the liquid world, has only been possible for fifty years. It is easier, cheaper, and safer to learn to dive than ever before. And yet, the prospect of immersion continues to inspire fear...

To go underwater is simply not a natural activity. We enter a hostile element where the most basic life fuel, air, is unattainable. To survive, we must take it with us. To confront the liquid world, to enter the element and return to the air world, reinforces our will to live. It provokes joy and contentment in a world where people find less and less time to experience their personal space.”

Follow Perry’s adventures here: @perrybrandes

This sweater is on its way to you now!

SPECIAL MENTION:

We are also loving this sweet little Galapagos Lobster entry, from @decodivershawaii who was diving on Darwin’s Arch with us last week!

Thank you, everyone, we had a blast and a half! 

That pretty much wraps it from us this week, and should you still be holding onto going somewhere in 2021 keep an eye out for these newsletters. Whenever space opens up we announce a trip alert on here and you are the first to know.

As usual, we hope you have a lovely weekend ahead but remember, if you feel lonely, we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

⏳Last Chance To Win Some DD Merch!

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

As always we hope you have had a great week. It has been the usual whirlwind of activity this week at DDE HQ catching up with new and old members alike about all the upcoming adventures on the horizon.

Having said that, check this amazing entry we have had for our competition. This shot includes DD members and Divers of the Dark, Antti Apunen, and Laura Tuominen. They were doing a 140m dive in Montala mine this week, can you spot the 2 DD stickers? Fantastic shot Patrik!

One of the many entries we had during the last few weeks

ICYMI, This is the last chance to get your pics into us for your entry into our competition, so get posting now!

⁠To be in it to win it:⁠⁠

🔴 Follow @thedirtydozenexpeditions on Instagram.⁠

🔴 Post a photo or video on your (public) Instagram with the hashtag #myDDEadventure & mention @thedirtydozenexpeditions⁠

⁠🔴 The two lucky winners will receive a prize— there are a tee-shirt and a hoody up for grabs. 🏔🎒⁠

⁠🔴 If you already own some DD merch then include it in the pic and you can win the hoody. ⁠

⁠🔴 If you are yet to acquire some DD merch, you could win the tee shirt.⁠

🔴 Tag your best dive buddies!⠀⁠

🔴 Winners will be announced on November 13 2020 at 1800 Ukraine time⠀⠀⁠

#CCDD

If social media is not your thing - there is another way to win.

We are offering you the chance to tell us what you would like to see more of, less of, who, whom, why, when, and everything in between for our upcoming season 2 of CCDD by taking two minutes of your time to fill in our survey by clicking the button below.

It would be really appreciated.

As a token of our appreciation, those entering will have a chance of winning in our swag competition.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Knowledge Base Update - 60 Minutes Covers Bikini Atoll

For forty years, 60 Minutes have been telling Australians the world’s greatest stories. Tales that changed history, our nation and our lives. Reporters Liz Hayes, Allison Langdon, Tara Brown, Charles Wooley, Liam Bartlett and Sarah Abo look past the headlines because there is always a bigger picture - this time about Bikini Atoll.

FISH ARE FRIENDS

As much as we love wrecks at DDE, we are still partial to a bit of marine life and there is no shortage of vibrant coral growth and cool fish to see at both Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll! We don’t talk about it much as often we are too focused on the wrecks, but check out the picture below depicting the likelihood of seeing all these awesome species in in our wreck meccas. We thought the illustration below was quite funny as all of the species are literally to be seen year-round.

There really is nothing like exiting a penetration on the USS Saratoga and ending your decompression with a nuclear tiger shark, and its not uncommon!

Drop us a line now to find out all about our trips, schedules and super friendly payment terms now.

That is us for this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

✨💣 Getting Wrecked Seems Like A Thing Of The Future

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope you have been staying positive and testing negative. We have had a busy week at DDE HQ, with new customers taking advantage of our superior service and awesome booking conditions for trips to Bikini and Truk, a cool competition, and a bit of a “customer shuffle” but more on that later. If you are keen to get some adventure scheduled in and have something super sweet awaiting you on the horizon then contact us now to find out what all the buzz is about! 

COMPETITION TIME

Last week we announced the return of our retro merch and this week we are celebrating! 

Now is your chance to be a part of our competition to celebrate the relaunch of our signature retro-style merch. 

Show us YOUR Dirty Dozen adventure, or your vision of our rad adventures that you have been dreaming of!⠀⠀

1. Follow @thedirtydozenexpeditions on Instagram.

2. Post a photo or video on your (public) Instagram with the hashtag #myDDEadventure & mention @thedirtydozenexpeditions

3. The two lucky winners will receive a prize— there are a tee-shirt and a hoody up for grabs. 🏔🎒If you already own some DD merch then include it in the pic and you can win the hoody. If you are yet to acquire some DD merch, you could win the tee shirt.

4. Tag your best dive buddies!⠀

5. Winners will be chosen on 6th November 2020 at 1800 Ukraine time⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Good luck! 🍀⠀⠀

THE UGLY

It comes with great sadness, but not so much surprise, a decision has been made to cancel the Truk Lagoon Expedition that was scheduled to depart 9-19 December 2020. Despite a great effort from our team to work out new plans and logistics to see our divers set sail into the magical lagoon, we were regrettably unsuccessful given the world situation. As of this email, operations in Truk Lagoon are slated to resume on the 27th of December 2020.

The DDE Team has let all our affected guests know that there will be no charter. Along with our partners, we held out as long as possible within the margin for logistics and safety but in the end, rescheduling everyone has been the best option. 

But guess what?! All our guests have been contacted and rebooked onto charters leaving within twelve months so thankfully, no one will be left at home, and we can continue to rest assured that we standby the best service. In fact, most of our guests have been rebooked on to Nick Hollis’ rescheduled charter that is now departing 31st October 2021. 

Check out our updated calendar, and if you fancy getting down in Truk Lagoon, contact us now for more info. 

YOUTUBE BINGE AHOY

Have you checked out our YouTube channel? With videos featuring testimonials from our Special guests, antics from our expeditions, and crucial safety info there is plenty of cool content to keep you occupied on your surface interval.

Not that you need it but check out our highlights video from Truk to whet your adventure appetite, click the image below now to watch the video.

#CCDD

You can also learn more about Nick Hollis now in Episode 8. Nick Hollis: Born Into Diving from Season 1 of Coming Clean with the Dirty Dozen.

“If we can make someone’s diving experience with a good product that is what excites us.” Nick Hollis on #CCDD

IN OTHER NEWS

The Royal Oak

In a new film that chronicles the extensive visual survey efforts of a small international team of volunteer civilian divers as they explore the iconic wreck of the Royal Oak, the dive team uses pioneering underwater survey and visualization techniques to document the wreck as it rests on the seabed today. The wreck of Royal Oak is a designated war grave and lies almost upside down in 30m/100 ft of water. The hull is only 4.9m/16 ft beneath the surface. 

"On 14th October 1939, the HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed by German U-Boat 47 while she sat at anchor in Scapa Bay, Orkney. Of the 1259 men on board, 835 were killed. Over 100 of them were boy sailors between 15-17 years old. The event still resonates with the relatives of those lost and the people of Orkney, a painful loss for an island community witness to such tragedy at what was believed to be a safe anchorage."

Knowledge Base Update

Have you dropped by our Knowledge Base recently? We caught up on the wrecks under the sea that are creating a great cause for concern.

Accompanying scientists on their journey while they investigate the severity of the situation as places continue their contamination of the seabed from leaking oil, increasing toxicity, and developing dangerous circumstances. It is possible to remove leaking oil from wrecks, possible but expensive.

“Time bombs are ticking on the world’s sea beds. During World War II, 6,300 vessels were sent to the bottom. For years, they have been rusting beneath the waves and leaking toxic oil into the oceans. The biggest oil spill in history is imminent.

Experts estimate that the wrecks could hold up to 15 million tons of fuel, posing a threat to both holidaymakers and wildlife. This documentary takes viewers to Poland’s Baltic coast, to Norway, the USA, and the Pacific Ocean.”

Check out this awesome film, and all our other resources in the DDE KB now and remember - our password to the Knowledge Base is sent out when you sign up to our NL.

That’s it from us this week, time to get off your keister and start planning an epic expedition, and as always we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

👍🛩Plane Changer

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member, 

How has your week been? All is noisy on the western front as new research shines a hopeful light on air travel, communications from one of our members underwater in Galapagos and we take it back to the old school with the return of our retro merch!

PLANE and simple

New insight into the safety of air travel amid the pandemic reveals the risk of COVID-19 exposure onboard United Airlines aircraft is "virtually non-existent".

The new study finds that when masks are worn there is only a 0.003% chance particles from a passenger can enter the passenger's breathing space who is sitting beside them.

Per these results, it would take a minimum of 54 hours of sitting next to someone with Covid-19 to be exposed to an infectious dose.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to questions regarding the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure that may lead to transmission amongst passengers on an aircraft. This brand-new landmark study from the Department of Defense and United Airlines conducted 300 tests in over six months with dummies in-flight to examine the possible spread of droplets.

Overcoming the difficulties of human tracking in real-life transmission scenarios by using the aerosol expelling dummies, fluorescent aerosol tracers between 1-3 µm, and real-time optical sensors coupled with DNA-tagged tracers to measure aerosol deposition means that the test team completed the largest aircraft aerosol experimental validation testing to date, with eight days of testing involving both inflight and ground tests on Boeing 777-200 and 767-300 airframes. 

The results concluded that passengers wearing masks are at very low risk of contracting Covid-19 on planes, even during packed flights. The results state that the aggressive air filtration and circulation systems on planes lead to the near-immediate dispersal of particles carrying the infection. With United as our airline of choice for Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll we are very happy to find out about this great study with DOD.

Read the full article here and download the full PDF report in our updated Knowledge Base.

DD IN GALAPAGOS

We have had some good news from the Galapagos Islands! One of our DD team members, DJ Meacham has been having a wild time taking advantage of one of the great end of year deals we had to the Galapagos.

DD STYLE ALL THE WAY

Deloye was welcomed by Aron remotely with a bottle of wine even though we could not be there to join onboard for his paradise adventure.

We received this update once he was back in the signal range:

"F'in amazing!!!  It was amazing! I loved Darwin and Wolfe Islands, they were the real showstoppers but the other dive sites were good too. 

The crew and the boat were both outstanding.

The water was really cold so I would recommend bringing a drysuit.  Darwin and Wolfe not too bad temperature-wise but the other dives- yikes!  I brought an 8mm Hollis NeoTek suit with me and wished for my drysuit!

We went to visit the Mola Mola but they did not appear.  We only had whale sharks instead!!! I got some amazing footage of that dive, it was sensational.  The sharks were incredible too.

When we arrived we had to be tested for COVID within 72 hours of arriving in San Cristobal arranged by the staff.  You also have the option to do a test when you arrive in Quito, either way, no big deal.

Internet sucks!  I'll send more pics when we hit land!"

We have also received news of a marine life update from the Galapagos Cruise Director's Report dated: 5th-12th October 2020

"We greeted our 10 guests at San Cristobal with perfect conditions and 16°C water temperatures - ideal for sightings.  Our cruise commenced the next day with a visit to the Island of Seymour where we saw the first of many sea lions and plenty of birds, including blue-footed boobies!  The guests loved this. This visit was followed by diving off the Island of Baltra, with 19°C water temperatures - for a check dive. 

We then sailed to Darwin to the north of the islands, where we did seven dives.  Amazingly, we had 19 encounters with whale sharks!  Perhaps a record.  Not only that, but we saw a humpback whale and many many hammerheads and Galapagos sharks.  It was a real treat.
 
On Wolf Island, we lost count of the hammerhead sharks we saw.  We also saw a fantastic school of tuna and one of the eagle rays.  We moved on to Isabela where we dived at Vicente Roca Point.  There we were treated to a great variety - seahorses, turtles and bullhead sharks.  Cape Douglas on Fernandina Island came next.  The guests loved the marine iguanas - in a very calm sea.
 
Finally, in Cousin's Rock, we did two dives.  We were spoilt again with sea lions and eagle rays, mobulas and white fin sharks. 

We ended our trip with a visit to the tortoise breeding center in Santa Cruz.  Everyone had a fantastic time.  It is GREAT to be back!"

We are so happy to hear DJ had a good time and this is a great indicator for the many DD members that have taken us up on the 40% off Galapagos offers that are valid until end of 2020.

Contact us now if you would like more information.

Here are some of DJ’s photos from the trip:

NEW MERCHANDISE

Due to popular demand, we have been taking it back to the old times this week and designing some classic DD merch! Our original logo back/front designs are now back in our shop!

Now featuring the original DD signature style logo, it is time to shop ‘til you drop the new range of hoodys, tees, smart polos and freshen up that style as we head into fall.

Click on the pictures to visit our shop where you may check our out the retro vibes, and all our exclusive DDE merch out.

Aron even brought back our Retro pin-up design for his own wardrobe.

We have made this design available for one week only! Get it while you can!

Well, that’s about it from us guys this week. Back to dreaming about all the unearthly underwater adventures ahoy. Drop us a line now to find out all about our trips, schedules and super friendly payment terms now.

As always, we hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🏅👩‍🚀Explorer’s Gold

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope you have had a good week. A lot has been happening here at DDE HQ, so sit back, relax, and enjoy our weekly update.

EXPLORERS CLUB: CHALLENGE COIN AWARD

To celebrate the next generation of explorers, it was with great excitement that we presented a Challenge Coin from the Explorers Club to our youngest DD member, Perry Brandes.

Since the day we met his passion for exploration has been evident. Being the youngest diver surrounded by saltier, older sea dogs geeking out on WW2 history during our first expedition together last December, it has been an honor to see Perry’s adventurous drive continue to thrive. 

We understand how hard and confusing it can be taking an uncertain and unconventional route in becoming an explorer, and Perry’s unrivaled passion is a sure-fire way to exploring success. 

Congratulations Perry, you really are a shining example of the future of diving and we look forward to toasting your achievement with a frosty Natty Light on the next DDE expedition! Here’s to the Sea Donkeys!

Read more about The Explorers Club HERE

CHERNOBYL OPERATIONS RESUMING

Keen to strike a keen balance of being excited and not wanting to jinx it, we are over the moon to see that our November expedition to Chernobyl is going ahead with the extended exploration inside the powerplant being booked! If you are free next month, join us! We have a spot left with your name on it!

Rather topical this week, Chernobyl has been hitting the headlining bill on Netflix as David Attenborough’s witness statement detailing his experience with the devastating decline of biodiversity across his 93 years on earth is laid out in his latest film, A life On Our Planet. 

The film begins and ends in the great lands of Chernobyl and is a thrilling example of nature’s power to rewild and repair the seemingly irreversible damage that humans are causing.

Watch as David takes the viewer on a mesmeric journey into the harrowing state of the world we inhabit, as he appears defeated, and then empowers the audience with his tangible solutions to reverse the great death we are responsible for in order to preserve life for the future generations.

where in the world are TEAM DD?

If you ever dived with Aron, it is almost guaranteed he tagged your rebreather with the revered red spot! Here’s Laura on the HMS Cassandra with her tagged CCR! HMS Cassandra was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. The cruiser experienced a short career, commissioned in June 1917, and sunk by a mine in the Gulf of Finland during the British intervention of the Russian Civil War at the end of 1918. 

Send us your pics of your DD stickers showing us where you dive for your chance to be featured.

🎧👂THIS WEEK’S DEEPERBLUE.COM PODCAST

Listen as producer Jason Elias sits down with Aron as they delve deep into what draws him to these wrecks, why he chases them around the world, and why seeing these wrecks up close has given him some perspective on himself and mankind. 

Available for streaming on a platform near you now. Click HERE to listen in.

Canvas Shop Update

This weekend we are offering 20% off on all our canvases. 

We make canvases by gallery stretching, a method in which part of the image falls on the ends of the frame, it is then wrapped tightly over the mount and it has no gaps around the edge. 

This kind of printing does not require any additional work and your canvas is immediately ready to hang on your wall to add some adventure as soon as it arrives.

Check out our selection and get your print here now! What image will you choose?

TRIP ALERT: Galapagos

Remember when we brought the most insane recreational Galapagos deal direct to you a few weeks ago? Well, we are doing it again today. 

When travel agencies reserve spots on charters, they receive special deals that then expire after a set amount of time. Since this period has now elapsed, we had a insider alert early this morning and DD is able once again to offer you these remarkable prices to visit the real Jurassic Park. 

Please write to us straight away if you want to reserve a spot because last time we released these cheap spots, we sold them within moments and it really is first come first serve.

Oh, and before you ask, these recreational charters are unable to cater to CCR guests. If you are interested in diving the Galapagos on your rebreather then see our website for our exclusive CCR charter dates.

Galapagos is always full, and always at full price. This is only happening while the vessel resumes operations. If your schedule is flexible, do not miss this opportunity!

Galapagos Availability 

7 Day Cruise

3570USD from 5950USD

09 - 16 November 2020

16 - 23 November 2020

14 - 21 December 2020

21 - 28 December 2020

10 Day Cruise

4560USD from 7450USD

03 - 13 December 2020

28 December 2020 - 07 January 2021

TRIP ALERT: Chernobyl

Like we mentioned above there is a opening on our 19-22 Nov 2020 trip that is going ahead next month. 1030USD.

Contact us immediately for more information.

🔥Exclusive DD Direct Line: the hot line

👇👇👇 True to our level of customer service, here is our direct line IM contact if you need to reach Aron quickly. Just use the WhatsApp camera to scan the code and get all your expedition questions answered.

That sums it up for Dirty Dozen this week. We hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💰5 Cheats To Get That Money Shot

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope you have had a good week. This week we were excited to have been featured in GUE’s very own blog, InDepth, as they showcase our Knowledge Base to all their members.

We have also been spending time cataloging our vast array of imagery that we have collected over the years from all our incredible expeditions. Our photos have been used in dive press all over the world, and so we thought we would share some of our wreck photography protocols for all those aspiring wreck hunters. 

A SEMI-PRO RIG IS NOT A DEPOSIT ON A HOUSE

A common misconception is that to get photos that adorn dive magazines worldwide you need years of experience and photo equipment that belongs on decks on National Geographic shoots.

Well, in part this is true, however, the daily rig that i acquired as a workhorse for DD expeditions as you can see in the photo below, cost me less than 3000$ second hand. It is not the newest DSLR on the market but it has already taken several magazine cover shots, with hopefully many more to come. I will list in detail what equipment I use personally for wreck photography below.

FIGURE OUT YOUR YOUR RIG - AND SETTINGS

Let me guess - you spent a fortune on your dream photo setup with offboard lights and you found yourself pretty flustered on the dive deck after taking the setup out the first few times! 

From learning how to weight your housing correctly to understanding what buttons to press, underwater photography is complicated at the best of times, especially with a rebreather. Mix in variable exposure, visibility and hundreds of moving objects in one shot at a time, and you could easily be overwhelmed.

When I knew my underwater photography was going to be wreck focused for quite some time - I decided to rig my setup to make it as simple as possible to operate while taking care of the people around me on our expeditions.

Having spent most of my career filming underwater, a simple mechanical housing with a fixed 15mm lens has worked best for me. It allowed me time to get comfortable with adjusting the important part - camera settings and lights while “restricting” myself to 15mm.

Photo Settings

Wreck: Shinkoku Maru

Location: Truk Lagoon

Depth: 20m/60ft

Camera/Housing: Nikon D800/Aquatica housing with Acrylic Dome

Focal length: 15mm SIGMA

F-number: 2.8

Exposure time: 1/250

Onboard Lights: 2 x 15K Lumens - Big Blue

The beauty of this focused learning curve is that once you have your camera settings dialed, they only need slight adjustments while your shoot in the same environment (inside or outside a wreck for example).

Getting familiar with your camera and honing a winning set of baseline presets to begin your dive will help you accelerate the rate at which your images improve on a dive trip.

PLANNING

For some background on the photo below: I had a light assistant, a professional model and only two dives to get the money shot on this very well-known wreck and we decided to head straight for the famous 16” guns! 

Sometimes you only get one shot, and this time was no exception. 

Step 1: Find a good model that is willing to sacrifice their own exploration on one of the dives for the perfect shot. 

Step 2: Find a light donkey/assistant to carry all the heavy offboards! Many liveaboard vessels rent these bad boys out including our vessel which can save you mega $$$ for this kind of set up. 

Step 3: DO NOT try and do everything on one dive. On this shot, Geoffrey and I figured out the offboard lights and test shot on the first dive. We left the lights on the wreck in position and returned on the second dive to shoot so we would have a much higher chance for success due to our careful planning and execution.

Photo Settings

Wreck: IJN Nagato

Location: Bikini Atoll

Depth: 60m/200ft

Camera/Housing: Nikon D800/Aquatica housing with Acrylic Dome

Focal length: 15mm SIGMA

F-number: 2.8

Exposure time: 1/25

Onboard Lights: 2 x 15K Lumens - Big Blue

Offboard Lights: 2 x 30K Lumens + 2 x 15K Lumens - Big Blue

We ended up spending the best part of an hour at 60m getting this shot. It can be very hard to decide what to spend your time and energy on. But for the money shot, you need planning.

SHOOT FROM THE HIP

Contrary to the advice above, one of the best tips I received from a dear friend was to shoot from the hip. 

With big memory cards that get cleared after every dive onto primary and backup drives, you have the luxury of space! Shooting random shots from the hip during the dive can come out great. It makes the whole process more fun and you can look forward to finding that great shot during post-production sessions in the lounge between dives.

Wreck: Nippo Maru

Location: Truk Lagoon

Depth: 40m/120ft

Camera/Housing: Nikon D800/Aquatica housing with Acrylic Dome

Focal length: 15mm SIGMA

F-number: 3.2

Exposure time: 1/250

Onboard Lights: 2 x 15K Lumens - Big Blue

POST-PRODUCTION CAN BE KEY

This is where the magic CAN happen! Note that your new best friend will be white balance, so make sure you shoot in RAW. Sometimes a rusty dome, pesky fish and plankton can be a distraction to the wreck story you want to tell. 

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush says no problem! But be careful here as there is a fine line between distorting reality and telling a story. Focus on transforming your underwater photos into something you would be proud to share.

Before editing in post production.

After editing using Photoshop.

FINAL TIP - REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN

Underwater photography can become an obsession, and I have found myself behaving in ways which were maybe not appropriate because I put too much pressure on the shot. This can be a hindrance to the enjoyment of the wreck diving for you and the people around you.

Try diving with a buddy who shares your passion for capturing the perfect moment, remember to have fun and the MONEY shots will come!

IN OTHER NEWS

#CCDD Episode 7. SJ Alice Bennett: Capturing Shadows Underground

“Caves are magical and unique.  There is so much variety it’s hard not to capture a good shot.”

DD’s Special Guest SJ Bennett has a passion for creating images that tell a story, and that allows the viewer to relive the moment of capture, as it was experienced and during her time in the hot seat with Aron on Coming Clean with the Dirty Dozen, she gave us an extraordinary breakdown of her photography techniques. 

Catch up below now on SJ’s episode of #CCDD:

SJ Alice Bennett and partner Jon Kieren are running a trip for us! Fancy joining this dynamic duo on a trip of a lifetime to Truk Lagoon? We are now open for bookings on their expedition.

KNOWLEDGE BASE UPDATE

KNOWLEDGE BASE UPDATE

This week we have been glued to Jacque Cousteau’s Lagoon of Lost Ships in the DDE Knowledge Base and watching Philippe Cousteau search out the wrecks in the lagoon using a sonar scanning system to discover the wrecks of Truk Lagoon as they had been left mid-fight, 25 years before during the war

Check out this awesome film, and all our other resources in the DDE KB now. If you are not already on the email list inquire about it and we will send you the password!

That sums it up for Dirty Dozen this week. We hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🚢 🏥 HMHS Britannic: A DD Expedition In The Making

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member, 

How has your week been? We have exciting news on the table to share with you!

The DDE Team has been looking for an opportunity to dive the ‘Everest’ of wrecks for quite some time now. We are of course talking about the HMHS Britannic. This ship was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line’s Olympic class of steamships. The other liners in the fleet included RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic. 

There are a few challenges to diving this wreck that perhaps give it its revered status in the wreck dive world. 

Stringent permission is required from the Government as the wreck is situated in the deep waters of the Aegean Sea, near the Greek island of Kea, and lies at 120m.

We are not planning to make this an active part of our schedule, but more of a one-off special. The Britannic expedition is currently in the very early planning stages and a potential date for the dive is fall 2022.

SO, if you are MOD 3 CCR, have logged experience of deep diving in similar conditions, and are keen then email us now to register your interest and we can look at assembling an all-star DD team to dive the Britannic.

DD BRITANNIC KNOWLEDGE BASE

The Britannic has been mentioned several times during our lockdown podcast series #CCDD, notably and in length, with Dirty Dozen’s very own Special Guest, Richie Kohler. He has now dived the Britannic seven times, three of which in a submersible, and four diving expeditions.

“The reason why we went to the Britannic was that when the engineers looked at the pieces of the missing bottom of the Titanic, the double hull, and they started to come up with a theory that maybe these expansion joints are what broke the Titanic in two. We wanted to look at a similar ship, so where else would we go but the sister ship, the Britannic” - Richie Kohler.

Check out Richie in the hot seat and strap in for 90 minutes of epic interviewing:

Another great source of information while researching the Britannic is this historical docudrama that reveals the unique scenery on the ill-fated sister ship of the famous Titanic.

High-tech, deep-ocean submersibles and underwater research equipment allowed the team to capture unique footage of the sleeping giant in depths exceeding 100 meters and behold the long-gone wreck of the hospital ship in all her silent glory.

Watch the trailer here to get the urge to dive!

Richie is in good company with the other members of the Dirty Dozen Team who have dived the Britannic previously. 

Mark Powell visited this iconic wreck site and commented and his experience:

“The Britannic was one of my bucket-list wrecks. The Britannic, Truk Lagoon, and Bikini Atoll is probably on the bucket list for almost every diver. The Britannic, sister ship of The Titanic, absolutely fantastic wreck. The history behind it, the difficulty getting to it, and the wreck itself is just overall an incredible experience. Also, importantly, the divers that I did it with, same as The Dirty Dozen trips its the group that you go with that makes the trip memorable.”  Mark Powell

Check out our episode where we interview Mark Powell on Coming Clean with the Dirty Dozen. *Grab a notebook because you may want to remember some of this one.

IN OTHER NEWS

Aron’s been talking about travel, wrecks, and freedom in the latest episode of Fancy A Brew Podcast. 

Host Andy the Northern Diver talks to those who have influenced him as a diver, about their incredible experiences and how they found mental and physical resilience while devoting their lives to Scuba Diving. Check out the interview in the link below.

KNOWLEDGE BASE UPDATE

The latest edition to the DDE Knowledge Base is from OceanX with an ocean exploration initiative from Dalio Philanthropies.

OceanX is on a “mission to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world.” Check out their recent video from Bikini Atoll. Remember - our password to the Knowledge Base is: DDERocks

That sums it up for Dirty Dozen this week. We hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🇪🇨Galapagos Availability (UPDATE)

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

Due to the unprecedented amount of interest this weekend over our exclusive 40% offer on Galapagos sailings until the end of the year, we decided to give you an availability update as of Monday morning, giving you a chance to see what dates are left should you still be interested.

These are all 7 Day Cruises and the price is 3570USD from 5950USD and the dates available as of 21 Sep 2020 are:

• 12 - 19 October 2020

• 26 October - 02 November 2020

• 02 - 09 November 2020

• 14 - 21 December 2020
  

This really is a once in a lifetime offer as Galapagos is always full, and always at full price. So if your schedule is flexible at the end of this year, get in touch! *PLEASE NOTE that this offer applies to standard Galapagos Master itineraries - no OC Tec or CCR support.

You can read more about the vessel and itineraries on our website or from our partner Blue O Two on THIS link.

Should you want to book - the time is of the essence as offices open this morning. Please send the following information to aron@thedirtydozen.org with the date you wish to request to book:

• Full Name as per passport

• Email

• Telephone Number

• Diving Certification

• Country of residence

That is our quick update this Monday morning. We hope you had a great weekend and don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

💥☄️Galapagos At Nearly Half The Price

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We are here to pump you up for the weekend with an unreal offer from our newly reopened expedition vessel, The Galapagos Master.

EXCLUSIVE DD BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!

The Galapagos Master liveaboard is celebrating the commencement of operations from 14th September 2020 since they were grounded earlier this year. As the vessel does a soft re-launch, we are able to offer 40% off all remaining departures to Galapagos in 2020.

This really is a once in a lifetime offer as Galapagos is always full, and always at full price. So if your schedule is flexible at the end of this year, get in touch! *This offer applies to standard Galapagos Master itineraries - no CCR support.

Email Aron now to claim your spot: CLICK HERE

Still MODERN-DAY Jurassic Park

We know that this destination is slightly different from our usual hangouts as this underwater paradise isn’t strewn with magnificent wrecks, but it is the best place in the world to experience pelagic diving so of course, we love it and we cannot wait to launch our CCR ONLY Expeditions!

Fancy exploring the Galapagos on a DDE expedition on a CCR? Check out our VERY rare and exclusive CCR ONLY itineraries as well as a mixed CCR/OC expedition in 2021/2022.

Contact us now to find out more as the dates are close to selling out.

PLASTIC BOTTLES ARE SO UNCOOL

Taking a leaf out of our partner’s book, we have joined the fight and all single-use plastic water bottles have been banned from our expeditions.

We invite you to become part of the solution in fighting the growing plastic problem, by bringing your own personal water bottle for your holiday. 

Stay cool and get your hands on an exclusive DDE Signature Series water bottle. Click on the picture below to visit our shop where you may check this and all our exclusive DDE merch out.

Knowledge Base UPDATE

First of all, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude for all the amazing responses we have been getting out in the community since setting up the knowledge base. This will energize us to keep stocking it up for many years to come!

One of the highlights of this week’s uploads is the National Park Service Submerged Cultural Resources Unit assessments of both Truk Lagoon and Bikini, available now in the base. An excellent resource to establish a baseline while doing research for either destination.

NPS SUbmerged cultural resources unit

Assesment of the fleet of Operation Crossroads at Bikini and Kwajalein Atoll Lagoons.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

NPS SUbmerged cultural resources unit

Submerged cultural resources assessment of Federated States of Micronesia.

Want to know more?

Video Highlight

We added quite a few documentaries and various clips from around YouTube that will keep you intriqued over the weekend. If you have not had the chance to see Radio Bikini yet, please do. It was nominated for an Oscar in the 80’s, one of the really few well produced documentaries of the history of Operation Crossroads.

If you have not gotten the password to the knowledge base yet, sign up to our newsletter by sending a inquiry and we will send it to you!

Wreck Watch Magazine

If you are into ocean exploration, adventure, marine conservation, history, archaeology & treasure, do not miss the opportunity to get your geek on and check out this new magazine only just launched onto the scene.

The inaugural double issue released in September 2020 features 113 packed pages, the biggest marine exploration magazine in the world, rich with cool content including Seven Seas News, features, scandals, iconic explorers, and further reading with some cool book recommendations.   

And of course, we couldn't let an opportunity pass us by to talk about wrecks! Stay tuned for an article from DDE coming soon in Wreck Watch Mag.  

Read more now, click the image above.

Well, that’s about it from us guys this week.

We hope you have some fun plans coming up this weekend but if not, don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🤓 Knowledge Base BETA Launch

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

As always we hope you have had a great and dirty week.

Today we had to upgrade our subscription to the email provider we use because so many of you have signed up, and second because we reached a new level of subscribers. Thanks for everyone signing up! Now, lets get onto the highlights of this week.

DD KNOWLEDGE BASE BETA - Spreading Love: the DD Way

As we love sharing information with you all, we made a new resource for you to explore. Study up on the blueprints of the wrecks we dive in Truk and Bikini, get geeky with academic papers, and watch hard-to-find documentaries in our new Knowledge Base.

This is a password only page for our members and will be sent out in this weeks newsletter.

This knowledge base will be updated regularly and we are heavily updating it over the weekend, so make sure you drop in every now and again before your trip.

For those people keen to enter the Knowledge Base and who are not on this mailing list, subscribe now - drop us a inquiry at the bottom of the page asking for the password in the comments section.

USS Saratoga Schematics

DIVESOFT DIVETALKS EXTRA

Aron was in the hot seat last night at Divesoft.TV getting grilled by Jakub on all things Truk, Bikini, and Chernobyl on Divetalks Extra. This informal chat was accompanied by a few drinks and lots of laughs.

Catch up on the episode on the YouTube link above!☝🏼

DIRTY DOZEN FEATURED ON EXPLORERS CLUB SOCIAL

This week DD had a feature on the revered Explorers Club page. As a company, we go on quite a bit about the Explorers Club and often mention some of our Special Guests are members. Since its inception in 1904, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide.

Featured image from USS Lamson in Bikini Atoll.

The Club’s members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon—all accomplished by their members.

Our Aron is a proud member too and between this video and photo below - you can see their annual dinner in New York where all the club members meet for a weekend in the clubhouse, finishing off with a huge Gala dinner. Last year ECAD was celebrating 50 years since humans stepped on the moon, with Buzz Aldrin and seven other NASA astronauts in attendance.

Check out more about the club here, and if you fancy yourself as a member and think you have what it takes… drop Aron a line to ask him for a guidance and sponsorship.

DIVEASSURE C-19 UPDATE

Our affiliate partner DiveAssure is happy to announce that their new Dive&Travel membership plans currently include different kinds of Covid19-related coverage such as

• Medical expenses for treatment of Covid19 during a covered travel, as described in the schedule of benefits.

• Cancellation and curtailment of travel due to Covid19, as described in the description of coverage.

• Quarantine expenses during a covered travel, as described in the schedule of benefits.

 It should be emphasized that the membership plan must be completed within 14 days after the first payment of a deposit for the trip and at least 14 days before an infection occurs for the Covid19-related coverage to take effect. Furthermore, they are offering 15% discount on their Dive&Travel plans until the end of the September.

Interested? Click here to use our affiliate link to get the best deal.

Important Availability Update

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Trip alert: 1 space has come available on a coveted trip to Bikini Atoll with Special Guest Dr. Derek Covington departing June 2021. First come first served.

In other news

DD ARROW PROTOYPES ARE COMING TO LIFE

Remember when we said we got ourselves a 3D printer? We actually managed to break the poor thing while putting abrasive metal and wood infused materials amongst others. It got very Dirty so to speak and is under upgrade/maintenance as we write this very newsletter.

On top of that, we have hired a 3D Graphic designer to create the whole furniture set of DD accessories which will be presented to you on the trips. First off, we started with making a unique arrow design. This is a very early draft, but expect something to come up soon in our upcoming newsletters! Never a dull day at the office.

DD Arrow Prototype

Well, that’s about it from us guys this week. We hope you got some great plans coming up this weekend but don’t forget, if you are feeling lonely, then we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

⌚ICYMI: The Clock Is Ticking Again

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

Can you believe we welcomed September this week?

Summer has departed and Autumn is here bringing with it a fresh breeze. Time to sort out some sunshine and diving to look forward to!

United Rocks🛬

The DDE Team are not the only ones celebrating travel this month. Remember we told you that United was waving their flight change fees when you book in August?

Well, they have announced this week that this perk will be ongoing forever on all standard Economy and Premium tickets for travel within the U.S. and making same-day standby free for everyone.

International change fee waivers will be valid until the end of the year.

Read more now in their article here.

Don’t be like Aron, the messiest donkey on board, shotgun YOU don’t share a cabin with him!

Checklist Resources📃

In light of us focusing on moving forward, we want to draw your attention back to one of the coolest resources you will find on the internet that we and some of our DDE team spent quite some time creating for you.

Initially, we set out to answer the burning question on every divers lip: I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO PACK. HELP!

Even the mere mention of dive trip logistics, packing, and getting to the other side of the world can make even the most organized explorer sweat. We’ve devised a protocol to get you into the water and up from your dives stress-free!

But we quickly got carried away and included a bulletproof checklist in co-operation with Richard Lundgren, Jill Heinerth, and Adam Hanlon.

Catch up on the golden list here in: 🛩️🛄 Insiders Guide Traveling To Truk Lagoon And Bikini Atoll

DDE ❤️Recreational Divers

I know we bang on about tech divers, like, all the time but did you know we love recreational divers too?

To celebrate recreational divers as you know we put together a trip with the machine that is James Bond, ahem, I mean Andy Torbet (James’ doppelganger in the upcoming 007 film).

Of course, that is not his only claim to radness! BBC Earth and History Channel host, explorer extraordinaire, all-round dive junkie, Andy Torbet is a machine...

And as its September and we miss the sunshine already (it’s grey and raining here) we are giving away 60 heavenly days of no fees when you book onto this trip because we are feeling nice like that for the last few remaining spots.

This risk-free booking means that your first payment date is 60 days after you book.

Nice right?

Contact us now to secure space HERE, but first, check out how excited Andy is☝️

Top 5 recreational wrecks in Truk Lagoon🛳

Truk Lagoon is really a paradise playground for all divers, both technical and recreational. 

Putting our money where our mouth is we have launched a series of exclusive expeditions for recreational divers finnin’ off in March 2021 with trips scheduled up until 2025.

We made a list of just a few of the wrecks above 40m that make up 70% of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon that are perfect for recreational diving (and tech divers too)!

Read our post now: 🛳⚓️ 5 Incredible Wrecks for Recs. in Truk Lagoon, you will not be disappointed!

As with all our expeditions, you can enjoy small deposits, flexible payment terms, and friendly booking conditions because we want you to get down and dirty with some of the most wildly exciting wrecks on under the sea.

Interested in joining? Enquire now: HERE!

In Other News

One Strange Rock "Alien" now on Disney+

"To find out, we can't just look into space. We also need to look down here." Watch The Dirty Dozen explore untold secrets of Truk Lagoon in "Alien" on National Geographic's One Strange Rock, now also on Disney+ and United In-Flight Entertainment!

Episode Producer Chris Baron, National Geographic said of his experience: ⁠

“We recently worked with The Dirty Dozen Expeditions on a landmark new series for National Geographic Channel. The filming required two divers to penetrate various wrecks in Truk Lagoon, Aron was one of our on camera divers. The filming process can be challenging and myself and the crew were amazed at how easily Aron dealt with everything. Having such a highly experienced and talented diver on the team made our lives significantly easier. He quickly understood what we were trying to achieve and helped us get the shots we needed, which is such an incredible asset to have on these tricky dive shoots. This intuition was also very useful in all aspects of our shoot (topside and underwater) and would definitely recommend him as a location fixer or contributor. ⁠

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He was also simply just a great guy to have on our crew, which is one of the most important things in my opinion and adds huge value to the whole experience. “⁠

That wraps it up for this week. We hope you had a great week planning your upcoming adventures, and don’t forget if you feel lonely, we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

👀Fresh Hall Of Fame Additions On Our Roster

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

We hope you are all well, happy, and planning some cool adventures. We are traveling this week catching up with family for the first time since before lockdown and feeling very blessed to have some time with our loved ones.

We wanted to communicate the joy we are feeling with you and tell you about a few special topics that are also making us very happy.

Unusually for us, we are we’re drawing maximum joy from cave divers this week. To our avid wreck fans, think of it as a breath of fresh compressed air, and don’t worry, our normal wreck service will resume next week!

Jill Heinerth Gives You Wings

There is no doubt that DDE’s Special Guest Jill Heinerth has one of the coolest jobs on, or should we say under the planet. As she has boldly gone further through the veins of Mother Earth, a term that she uses to describe the feeling she has when penetrating unknown cave environments, where no other person has been before.

Her long list of incredible accolades is by no means a fluke, Jill has dived the world’s longest, deepest and narrowest caves, including an iceberg in Antarctica to name but a few. She is a member of The Explorers Club, an original member of the Women’s Diving Hall of Fame and this year has been inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.

When Jill is not submerged, she avidly works in and around the community across the world encouraging divers and non-divers alike to pursue their dreams and not be disheartened by any ceilings one may encounter.

So it goes without saying we were over the moon last week when into our inbox Jill dropped links to her brand new documentary about her life a radical cave diver, by Red Bull.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Canvas Shop Update

Second up on our list is the amazing response we have had on our Canvas Shop. Another bright idea we had during lockdown when we, like everyone else, took some time to work on our homes.

Originally, Aron our founder was just going to upload his own photography. However, we quickly realized with the fantastic line up of special guests past/present/future that we would be able to provide a huge array of incredible photos from incredible photographers.

Scroll through the selection below to see some of or canvases from Truk and Bikini that have already found a wall to adorn in our team member’s houses!

We make canvases by gallery stretching, a method in which part of the image falls on the ends of the frame, it is then wrapped tightly over the mount and it has no gaps around the edge. This kind of printing does not require any additional work and your canvas is immediately ready to hang on your wall to add some adventure as soon as it arrives. 

Check out the Galleries here and get one for your living room!

Upcoming Special Guests

Finally in our news this week we are making fresh additions to our awesome Special Guest lineups as the 2022 roster starts to fill up. They not only make us stand out from the crowd but allow you the chance to dive alongside a selection of real modern-day pioneers and cool characters. Check out the other team members here!

We have several new announcements to make, but we would like to start with our dear friends Jon Kieren and SJ Alice Bennett.

With a background in event and documentary photography, SJ has a passion for creating images that tell a story, and that allows the viewer to relive the moment of capture, as it was experienced.

With a camera in her hands since the age of 10, and degrees in communication and graphic design as well as visual and motion design both with a focus on photography, it was only natural for SJ to combine those skill sets with her passion for diving.

Settled in Tulum, Mexico full time, SJ works as a full-time offering land and underwater photography, print and digital design services, brand development as well as design projects to businesses around the globe.

Global Underwater Explorers Photo Of The Year 2020

SJ's photos are unreal with an ethereal quality, check them out for yourself on the ‘gram here! 

You may recognize more of her work than you think as all the DD branding and design is her awesome handy-work since day 1.

Her partner in crime, Cave, tech and CCR instructor trainer Jon Kieren has spent the past twelve years working on improving diver training on a global level. As an active TDI/IANTD/NSS-CDS and GUE Instructor, TDI Training Advisory Panel member, and former training director for TDI, he sure is the person for the job.  

As an instructor, Jon works alongside his students to give them an unforgettable learning experience so they may confidently achieve their diving goals.  

Fancy joining this dynamic duo on a trip of a lifetime to Truk Lagoon?   We are now open for pre-bookings on their expedition. 

That pretty much sums up the news for this week.

I hope you all had a great week and have some fun plans this weekend. If not, or even if you do, don’t forget, if you feel lonely at any point, we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team

🛩️🛄 Insiders Guide Traveling To Truk Lagoon And Bikini Atoll

Dear Dirty Dozen Team Member,

It is time we return to a very popular blog post we covered last year and expand on it as the 2021 Truk and Bikini season gets closer and a lot of the DDE team members are already planning their wreck pilgrimage.

The mere mention of dive trip logistics can make even the most organized explorer sweat. We understand, so don’t panic. Getting to the other side of the world to join us on your trip of a lifetime does not have to be a nightmare, quite the opposite in fact.

Check out our summary of the most frequently asked questions below, with links at the bottom to read more so your travel is as we like it, totally seamless.

Q: I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO PACK. HELP!

It’s no secret, technical diving is as gear-intensive as it gets. If you’re packing for Truk Lagoon or Bikini Atoll — some of the remotest diving destinations in the world — you want to have all your essentials with you. Add a sophisticated underwater camera setup and an advanced life-support system, and you have a recipe for sleepless nights wondering just how much you can stretch the bounds of your luggage allowance.

That’s why we have made our bulletproof checklist in co-operation with Richard Lundgren, Jill Heinerth and Adam Hanlon. And you can forget about the hairdryer. (We’ve got one onboard!). We also try and organize rebreathers spares between divers that have the same units before departure.

Download Checklist here

Download checklist HERE

Q: HOW DO I GET THERE?!

truk Lagoon, Micronesia

You can fly to Chuuk (TKK) from either Guam, Hawaii, or Port Moresby, depending on where you are in the world. Flying from Mainland USA, Seoul, Tokyo or Manila will get you to these travel hubs.

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

You can fly to Kwajalein (KWA) from either Guam or Hawaii through the travel hubs mentioned above.

UNITED AIRLINES

A Star Alliance member, United serves both these destinations exclusively from Guam (GUM) and Hawaii (HNL) on the famous island hopper and the route is served 4-5 times per week. These is probably the longest flight legs you have ever taken, so we highly recommend arriving 2 days before the trip starts or do a stopover in Guam or Hawaii.

Take advantage of free flex tickets

Usually, there is a hefty fee on booking flexible airfares. In these extraordinary times, United has no change fees on new bookings and we highly recommend taking advantage of it for peace of mind.

Q: DO I NEED A VISA?!

VISA RULES

For most visitors, a free 30-day tourist visa is granted on arrival in Micronesia and Marshall Islands, which can be extended for up to 90 days.

US citizens can stay for one year.

Passports should be valid for 120 days prior to the departure date and guests must have proof of onward travel before they arrive.

ESTA

It’s important that you have the necessary VISA arrangements sorted out before you travel as you most likely will need an ESTA or a US Visa if you are not American while transiting through Guam and Hawaii because they are both parts of the US.

Q: I HAVE 70kg of LUGGAGE. HELP!?

United allows up to three 32 kg bags when traveling to either destination, depending on your status within Star Alliance and your departure city. If you are not a member of Star Alliance, look at your reservation for terms and conditions regarding your luggage. When traveling with a different airline, you must check their baggage allowance guidelines.

Q: I arrived EARLY. NOW WHAT?!

Its hardly surprising there is not a long list of apartments and chain hotels waiting for you while typing in “Kwajalein” on Booking.com. In Truk, we recommend the 3 hotels below, with the first 2 offering diving on-site.

Blue Lagoon Resort

+(691) 330 2439

blresort@mail.fm

www.bluelagoondiveresort.com

Truk Stop Hotel and DIve Centre

diveshop@dive-truklagoon.com

info@dive-truklagoon.com

www.dive-truklagoon.com

L5 Hotel

+(691) 330-7048/7049

admin@l5hotel.fm

www.l5hotel.fm

Getting to Bikini Atoll however, it a different story. As you land on Kwajalein Island when entering the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein is an U.S Army base, and they will waste no time escorting you to the ferry terminal from the airport where you will be promptly shipped to the neighbouring island of Ebeye until you get picked up by our boat. There is only one hotel, Hotel Ebeye.

Hotel Ebeye

Telephone: 692-329-5230

email: hotelebeye@yahoo.com

Persistence is key to securing your reservation as they are infamous for not replying, and it is the only hotel.

Cash is king in both destinations, bring plenty of American dollars as the ATMs rarely work. Bigger hotels will accept credit card payments and our expedition vessel does too.

Q: WHY ARRIVE EARLY IN KWAJALEIN/EBEYE?

This is not our first rodeo! DDE has learned from experience and we have a few tips that will help you ease into your expedition in a relaxed manner.

We recommend starting your long-awaited dream holiday jetlag free and ready for action. There are plenty of high-end chain hotels in Guam or Hawaii to recover the time difference two days early if you are going to Truk.

If you are heading onto Bikini then lace up your expedition boots and aim to arrive in Kwajalein two days ahead of ropes off to avoid a catastrophic luggage disaster.

As United’s island hopper makes up to five stops along the way, there is a tiny chance your luggage might not make it off the plane as ground staff can miss things in quick turnarounds if luggage has shifted during flight.

The boat won’t wait for you if it happens and you arrive same day of departure, and I am sure you did not plan to dive Bikini with half a rebreather and a rented wetsuit.

Hot Tip: Labelling your luggage with the airport code TKK for Truk and KWA for Bikini Atoll in VERY BIG WATERPROOF LETTERS and tracking your luggage on the handy UNITED App.

Health Considerations

Vaccinations may be required before entering the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, check with your local clinic for the latest advice on how to stay safe during your trip. If you are traveling from a Yellow Fever area, proof of immunization might be required. It’s recommended that tetanus immunizations are also up to date before traveling.

Truk and Bikini are malaria-free zones and mosquitoes are not a problem on the boat. But they can be annoying onshore, so consider bringing insect repellent. The Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses have all been reported in the Marshalls and are spread by mosquitoes.

Ready For A Splash?

Once on board, settled, and ready to crush some awesome dives there is one more list you need to be familiar with. Predive safety checks, dive deck checks, and final checks are a crucial part of our safety protocol here at DDE.

Check out DD Special Guest Jill Heinerth running through our dive platform Splash checklist in the video below.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Q: Is my booking protected in the time of COVID?

The DDE team aims to give you clear, simple information about the protection of your booking. We pride ourselves on being direct, and we understand that sometimes plans have to change.

We have been upfront with you about having to cancel the 2020 Bikini season due to COVID, and also our efficient handling of the situation. All our guests have been contacted and rebooked onto charters leaving from 2021 so no one has been left at home.

Understand your rights and check out our partner Bo2´s Terms and Conditions and Coronavirus clauses. Blue O Two also, in the interest of customer satisfaction and financial protection has AVS booking protection insurance. Read more here

Closing Statement

OK team, we know this was a lengthy one but it’s an important topic for a successful expedition. We will load you up with even more insider info about how to navigate a successful globe crossing in our FB groups, group emails etc... We are here for you 24/7 before, during and after your trip of a lifetime!

And of course all the topics we have covered so far are detailed on:

https://thedirtydozenexpeditions.com/info-truk-lagoon

https://thedirtydozenexpeditions.com/travel-information-bikini-atoll

Share this blog with your wreck diving friends: https://thedirtydozenexpeditions.com/blog/insider-guide-to-truklagoon-bikiniatoll

DDE TEAM TOP TIP:

Our last hot tip, perhaps our hottest tip we can offer you, has to do with Aron. His idea of an orderly cabin has a lot to be desired and he sleeps on CCR parts. Whatever you do, don’t share a cabin with this donkey!

I hope you all had a great week and have some fun plans this weekend. If not, or even if you do, don’t forget, if you feel lonely at any point, we are here to chat Dirty.

Love,

Aron Arngrímsson and the DDE Team