Scuba Diver – 25 June 2026

Summary

Sophie Shiels picks Cornwall as Britain's most versatile dive destination in the June 2026 Scuba Diver, arguing the county's north-coast Atlantic wrecks and south-coast sheltered reefs offer more variety per mile than anywhere else in the UK, as Jeremy and Amanda Cuff begin a 10-night Indonesian liveaboard on Pelagian and the Banda Islands reward the traveller willing to cross 2,500 kilometres of open ocean.

The issue stacks destination features across three continents. Shiels' Cornwall report (page 50) names specific sites — HMS Scylla off Whitsand Bay, the Rags reef system near Padstow — with depth profiles and best seasonal windows. The Cuffs' Pelagian diary (page 42) covers the Komodo-Rinca-Alor routing, cabin comfort and the crew-to-guest ratio of 14-to-10. The Banda Islands feature (page 58) targets history divers who want 17th-century Portuguese wrecks alongside pristine hard-coral walls. Jordan's land-based diving (page 18) gets a fresh look at the Red Sea's northernmost shore access. Andy and Miriam Goddard sit for a Q&A (page 26) on running a dive resort in Roatan.

Regular columns run News round-up (page 10), DAN Q&A (page 16), Divers Alert Network (page 64) and Monty's Musings (page 82). Gear testing covers a Test Extra item and What's New new-product listings. The TECH section (page 66) explores Japan's hidden river systems. Wakatobi celebrates 30 years of operation with an Aggressor Adventures spread. The issue closes with Industry News covering operator movements and certification-agency updates.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story / UK Diving

p.50 · A Diver's Playground
Sophie Shiels makes the case for Cornwall as Britain's most diverse dive destination. She details the HMS Scylla artificial reef (23 metres, now home to pink sea fans and crawfish), the Rags reef's boulder gullies and the Manacles reef system's tide-dependent drift dives. Anyone planning a UK dive trip gets a Cornwall-only shortlist with launch sites and tide tables.

▸ Indonesia Liveaboard

p.42 · Indonesia, Part One
Jeremy and Amanda Cuff board Pelagian for a 10-night crossing from Komodo to Alor via Rinca and the remote Solor Islands. They rate the vessel's 14-guest capacity, the onboard camera-station setup and the guides' ability to find pygmy seahorses at 5 metres. Divers budgeting for a premium liveaboard get a cabin-by-cabin value check.

p.58 · Indonesia (Banda)
The Banda Islands feature calls out Lonthoir's 40-metre wall dives and the historical wrecks from the 17th-century nutmeg trade. The piece names three GPS coordinates for the best hard-coral sites near Banda Neira. Anyone willing to fly Ambon-to-Banda gets a pre-trip packing list that includes surface-marker buoy and a reef hook.

▸ Middle East Diving

p.18 · Jordan
Jordan's Red Sea coast gets a re-evaluation focused on shore diving from Aqaba's Cedar Pride wreck (26 metres, penetration possible) and the 7 Sisters reef system. The article details visa-on-arrival logistics for 50 nationalities and the cost of a week's unlimited shore diving. Budget-conscious Red Sea divers get an alternative to Sharm el-Sheikh that cuts out the liveaboard premium.

▸ Interviews

p.26 · Q&A with Andy and Miriam Goddard
The owners of Roatan's Coconut Tree Resort discuss hurricane-season insurance, staff retention on a Caribbean island and why they built a hyperbaric chamber before the guest rooms. Resort managers get actionable lessons on infrastructure priorities.

▸ Tech & Safety

p.66 · TECH: Japan's Hidden Rivers
The TECH column explores Japan's submerged river canyons, focusing on the Yoshino River system's flooded gorges and the specialised gas-management protocols for altitude-adjusted decompression. Technical divers preparing a Japan trip get three site coordinates and the recommended mix for 50-metre bottom times.

p.16 · DAN Q&A
DAN answers whether a healed blister stops a dive trip, how surface intervals change after a freediving session and what to do when a dive computer loses satellite sync. Three practical medical scenarios with panel-sourced answers.

▸ Regulars

p.10 · News round-up
Industry news covers the PADI-DAN joint Rescue-Ready initiative, updates on the SS United States artificial-reef project off Florida and the opening of a new cave-diving training centre in Mexico.

p.72 · What's New
New products include the Pandora Labs K1 Extension Kit for rebreather configurations and the SeaLife Micro 3.0 Reef Edition camera set. Each entry lists RRP.

p.74 · Test Extra
Mark Evans tests an unnamed reg set (resource does not specify model) for cold-water performance and breathing-loop stability at 40 metres.

p.82 · Monty's Musings
Monty Halls writes about community-led marine conservation projects in the British Isles, profiling a seagrass restoration effort in Plymouth Sound.

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Editor's Take

This issue's strongest asset is the Cornwall cover feature — Shiels writes with local knowledge that lets a visiting diver plan actual dives, not just daydream. The Banda Islands piece is the sleeper hit; the history angle (nutmeg-trade wrecks) gives it a hook that pure reef features lack. The Pelagian liveaboard diary is well reported but covers ground that Indonesian liveaboard features have trodden many times before. Gear coverage remains thin — one Test Extra and a What's New spread across 82 pages. The Jordan piece is a smart value-add for Red Sea divers on a budget. Monty's Musings provides a conservation perspective that balances the otherwise travel-heavy lineup. The issue targets the intermediate-to-advanced diver who already has 50-plus dives and is choosing between UK staycations and an Indopacific trip.

Strengths
• Cornwall feature delivers site-level detail for UK divers
• Banda Islands history angle is genuinely fresh
• Goddard Q&A offers resort-management reality

Weaknesses
• Liveaboard-heavy destinations narrow the audience
• Single gear test is insufficient for a gear-buying readership

Verdict: Recommended — Strong UK content and a surprise Banda feature outweigh the thin gear section; aimed at divers planning their next trip.