Archive for August 2011
Jamaica’s Underwater Wonders
August 30, 2011 | 
Author Over the many years many songwriters have referred to the beauty of this green pearl in the string of Caribbean islands, and these days it is recognized throughout the planet for its lush vegetation, reggae music, rum and espresso. One particular of the most disregarded attractions is, nevertheless, that part of the island that lies beneath the surface of the ocean that surrounds it.
Divers usually do not feel of Jamaica as a prime diving vacation spot, except for people who have explored its reefs and have discovered it to be the best destination of all. Wherever else can you do a breathtaking wall dive in the morning, enjoy the sea life on a shallow reef at noon, and have plenty of time left in the afternoon to go river rafting, horseback riding, play golf, pay a visit to a great home or indulge in any manner of routines.
Jamaica as 1 of the greatest islands in the Caribbean has numerous excellent diving and snorkeling web sites: shallow and deep, reefs and walls, wrecksand caverns, home to all method of sea existence: breathtaking coral, exotic sponges, spiny lobsters, moray eels, sea turtles and multitudes of colorful fish, big and tiny. Beneath we have selected by area some of the unique diving opportunities accessible to you based on your degree of encounter.
All dives supplied by business operators in Jamaica are guided dives. The dive guides must have, according to regulations, at minimum a dive master certificate from an internationally recognized association and be licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board. Though this limits your independence to dive wherever you like, this regulation increases the safety and exciting of diving in an unfamiliar location.
The dive classifications employed under have been assigned primarily based on the following principles: Novice divers: Individuals who are lately licensed, or who have completed only a minimal variety of dives with considerable gaps in among; this could contain divers with as severalas twenty dives. Dives in this category will tend to be less than 60 ft (18 m) or will not need sophisticated diving expertise. Intermediate divers: Persons who have been diving on a normal foundation but lack further instruction beyond certification, also people with sophisticated instruction who have not been diving for the previous several months. The atmosphere of this category of dive necessitates higher encounter. Advanced divers: Individuals with training past the open h2o diver certification that have been diving often in the last several months. This requirement will apply to most sites deeper than eighty ft (24 m) simply because these dives require a mastery of buoyancy and a thorough expertise of the dive tables. These dives may also be accessible to the less seasoned diver soon after a few of refresher dives.
MONTEGO BAY Rose Corridor Reef Depth: 20-45 ft (7-14 m) Class: Novice Named for the popular great residence that overlooks the sea just a few of miles east of Montego Bay, this shallow reef is teaming with marine life. At this site you are going to discover “Fairy Castle”, a enormous colony of pillar coral, and “Fairy Bridge”, a coral formation that connects two sections of reef about a sandy “river”. The reef kinds an intricate system of tunnels that are property to squirrelfish, goatfish, porcupinefish, bar jacks and grunts.
The Spanish Anchor Depth: 50-ninety ft (15-28 m) Class: Intermediate Located on the west facet of the marine park, the shallow reef drops to a sandy bottom at 50 ft. The site derives its identify from the big anchor, undated but of Spanish origin, that rests on the sandy bottom. Within the reef wall 1 can take a look at tunnels and caverns with considerable sponge colonies. Sightings of eagle rays are very widespread here, and in the deeper water big mutton snappers- and sometimes a docile nurse sharkmay pass by.
Widowmaker’s Cave Depth: forty-80 ft (12-24 m) Class: Innovative A deep dive along a wall with avertical, narrow crack which types the entrance to Widowmaker’s Cave. Inside the tunnel leading to the cave, there is wire coral with, in the beam of your dive light, red polyps, and the walls are coated with multicolored sponges. On this dive you’ll possible encounter colleges of silvery blue bogas, glassy sweepers, schoolmaster snappers, balloonfish, trumpetfish, hamlets, wrasses and parrotfish.
NEGRIL The Throne Room Depth: forty-70 ft (12-21 m) Class: Novice The entrance to the Throne Area, a relatively vast but low cavern, is a crack in the reef about 25 ft prolonged and 8 ft wide. The partitions on the inside of are covered with colourful sponges and on the bottom close to the exit you can see a big orange elephant ear sponge for which the web site is named. Ceros, cruising along around the sandy bottom, are a common sight, as are modest teams of yellow tail snapper.
The Caves Depth: 40-70 ft (12-21 m) Course: Intermediate This website is named for the two caverns, asingle tiny and one somewhat more substantial, with a narrow tunnel connecting the two. You can uncover a assortment of sponges right here along with soft gorgonians. On the sand flat you will see the common occupants: furry sea cucumbers, stingrays, jacks and some lane snappers.
Kingfish Stage Depth: eighty-90 ft (24-27 m) Class: Superior Amongst the elephant ear sponges and yellow tube sponges, you may possibly discover Spanish hogfish, easy and bandtail puffers, and of program the everpresent damselfish. Golden crinoids are tucked in among star and brain coral, and in the surrounding sandy region sand tilefish hover near their burrows. Kingfish, the Jamaican name for ceros, can be observed passing by. These silvery fish are usually solitary and are observed on reefs and drop-offs close to deep h2o.
RUNAWAY BAY Reggae Queen Depth: 50-60 ft (15-18 m) Course: Novice The “Reggae Queen”, a a hundred-ft tugboat with a wood hull, was sunk right here in early 1993. The wreck lies upright in the sand in between two reef reas. Hovering about the wreck is a large school of blue chromis, bogas and creole wrasse. Southern stingrays have also been reported cruising the adjacent areas. In the reef you can see clusters of yellow tube sponges and green rope sponges coated with tiny zoanthids.
Pocket’s Reef Depth: ninety-120 ft (27-36 m) Course: Sophisticated A wall at 80 ft dropping down to around 200 ft adorned with clusters of vibrant azure vase sponges, elephant ear sponges and huge red sea fans. Big colleges of fish go back again and forth, and ceros and bar jacks pass overhead. Rainbow jacks are noticed regularly and occasionally you may possibly encounter an ocean triggerfish. A shallower reef plateau at 50 ft is residence to grunts, goatfish and blackbar soldierfish.
OCHO RIOS Jacks Corridor Depth: 30-50 ft (9-15 m) Course: Novice This medium-profile reef has finger coral, brain coral, star coral, an occasional elkhorn coral on the shallower finish,and a range of sponges. Drifting with the latest you pass more than a segment of reef, followed by a sand chute, yet another reef part and one more sand gully and so on. Nurse sharks frequent the place and can frequently be found napping in the sand.
Top of the Mountain Depth: 60-80 ft (18-24 m) Class: Intermediate Near Dunn’s River Falls, a substantial underwater mountain plateau rises up from the sandy ocean ground to 60 ft beneath the floor. The top rated of the reef is coated with a lot of diverse species of soft gorgonians and little coral heads, consisting of sea rods, sea plumes, sea followers, mind coral, star coral, and clusters of clean flower coral. Look out for golden hamlets that regular this place and the scarce yellowcheck wrasse. Hiding in the coral heads are glasseye snappers, graysbys, and squirrelfish.
Snorkeling opportunities abound in Jamaica for guided tours to regions reachable only by boat or solo, shore entry reef exploration. Be certain to employguides licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board or if you have the encounter to enterprise out on your very own be positive to seek neighborhood advice on the currents and other likely hazards.
Excerpted with permission from the book “Diving and Snorkeling Manual to Jamaica” by Hannie and Theo Smit. This e-book is out of print but copies are offered for purchase at the Montego Bay Marine Park customer centre at Pier 1.
Montego Bay Marine Park Covering an area from the airport to the Excellent River west of Montego Bay, formally opened in 1992, mooring buoys and boundary markers are maintained, rangers patrol the place and spear fishing is banned from the park. Instruction programs exist to aid displaced fisherman in finding out new skills and locating choice employment. A zoning strategy addresses the influence of numerous user groups on the park. Also, an substantial public education plan seeks to make Montego Bay citizens more conscious of the significance of preserving themarine surroundings. The impact of damaging environmental practices on land, which influences to a excellent extent the well being of the reefs, is emphasized. For far more data, call (876) 952-5619 or pay a visit to the head office and visitor centre, positioned at Pier 1. http://www.mbmp.org
Friends of the Sea Determined to halt the destruction of the marine environment in the areas of Discovery Bay, Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios this group of involved citizens seeks to enhance public consciousness of this problem via education, h2o-quality monitoring and a variety of conservation initiatives. For much more info about their routines, you can publish to: Buddies of the Sea, P.O. Box 327, St. Anne’s Bay.
Negril Environmental Safety Area Covering around 80 square miles and which includes the Negril Marine Park and the Great Morass, as properly as rain and limestone forests, cliffs, caves and blue holes. The marine park incorporates demarcation of recreational, fishing and replenishment zones with around one hundred fifty marker and reef mooring buoys, and the system incorporates academic projects and mariculture tasks as well as an option to destructive fishing and farming practices, and a distinctive reef restoration program making use of mineral accretion to develop artificial reefs. These efforts are financed by user charges, ecotourism activities, souvenir product sales, donations and environmental levies. For far more info, call (809) 957-4472.
**for far more information go to http://www.jam-boree.com/, Jamaica’s visitor web site, the full source for travel and tourism information featuring hand-picked deals on trip deals, resorts, villas, flights and auto rentals**
Zoanthid
Written by jessica33mcdonnell
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Top 10 Music Games
10. Guitar Hero Aerosmith
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. It was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a Wii version developed by Vicarious Visions, a PlayStation 2 version by Budcat Creations and with a PC and Mac version by Aspyr Media. The game was released on June 26, 2008 in Europe, on June 29, 2008 in North America, and on August 6, 2008 in Australia. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith sold as both a bundle with a specially designed guitar controller as well as a game-only package.
The game is considered an expansion in the Guitar Hero series, extending upon the general features of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. As with other games in the series, the player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of rock music by playing in-time to scrolling notes on-screen. It is the first game in the series to primarily focus on the work of one rock band, with Aerosmith songs comprising approximately 60% of the soundtrack, while the remaining songs are from bands that have been influenced by or opened for Aerosmith.
The single player Career mode allows the player to follow the history of the band through several real-world-inspired venues, interspersed with interviews from the band members about their past. Aerosmith re-recorded four songs for this game, and have participated in a motion capture session to create their in-game appearances. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is the final installment of the series to only feature guitar and bass as possible instrument choices. The next entry (Guitar Hero World Tour) would introduce other roles to create a full band experience. -Wikipedia.org
9. Guitar Hero Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009. Guitar Hero: Metallica is the second game of the Guitar Hero series to focus on the career and songs of one band following Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The game is based on Guitar Hero World Tour, with support for lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game has many of the same features from World Tour, including single-player and band Career modes, online competitive modes, and the ability to create and share songs through “GHTunes”.
In addition to the normal difficulty levels presented in Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero: Metallica provides an “Expert+” difficulty for drums that allows the use of a second bass drum pedal to match the drumming style of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. The game features 28 master recordings spanning Metallica’s career and an additional 21 songs selected by members of Metallica. The band performed extensive motion capture for the game for their in-game avatars and performances. The game includes several extras including behind-the-scenes videos of the motion capture sessions, tour and concert videos of the band, and Pop-Up Video-like facts for many of the songs on the game disc. -Wikipedia.org
8. Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour (initially referred to as Guitar Hero IV or Guitar Hero IV: World Tour) is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was launched in North America in October 2008 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 consoles, and a month later for Europe and Australia.
A version of World Tour for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh was later released. While the game continues to feature the use of a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of rock music, Guitar Hero World Tour is the first game in the Guitar Hero series to feature drum and microphone controllers for percussion and vocal parts, similar in manner to the competing Rock Band series of games. The game allows users to create new songs through the “Music Studio” mode, which can then be uploaded and shared through a service known as “GHTunes”. -Wikipedia.org
7. Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was released in the U.S. on December 18, 2007. The game was released in Canada for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on December 22, 2007 and for the PlayStation 2 on January 2, 2008. It was released in parts of Europe on the PS3, 360 and Wii on May 23, 2008 while the PS2 version was released on September 22.
Rock Band allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular rock music songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with “instrument controllers”, as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical “notes” while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer’s pitch on vocals. Players with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions can interact through both online and offline multiplayer capabilities. In addition to the 58 core songs included on the game disc, over 1000 downloadable songs have been released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions, with more added each week. -Wikipedia.org
6. Guitar Hero 2
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero. It was first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006 and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007, with additional content not originally in the PlayStation 2 version. Like in the original Guitar Hero, the player uses a guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate playing rock music as notes scroll towards the player.
Most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact, but the new controller, with electronics designed primarily by Jack McCauley, provides new modes and note combinations. The game features more than 40 popular licensed songs, many of them cover versions recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s). The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II can be purchased individually or in a bundle that packages the game with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. The Xbox 360 version of the game is offered in a bundle that packages the game with a white Gibson X-Plorer guitar controller. Both of these controllers are wired, but RedOctane also sells a wireless controller for the PlayStation 2. -Wikipedia.org
5. Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles. Similar to the preceding title, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5 is geared towards playing in a four-person band experience, including lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game is available as a standalone title, allowing players to use existing compatible instrument controllers, and as a bundle that provides these controllers.
Guitar Hero 5 adds several new features, such as drop-in/drop-out play, bands composed of any combination of available instruments, a Rockfest competitive mode consisting of several various scoring mechanisms, and both song-specific and general Challenges to unlock new avatars, clothing, and other extras in the game. Many of these changes were added to make the game a more social experience, allowing players across a range of skill levels to be able to play cooperatively and competitively against each other both locally and online. -Wikipedia.org
4. Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in Australia. The game’s development was a result of collaboration between RedOctane and Harmonix to bring a GuitarFreaks-like game to America. The game features a guitar-shaped controller (resembling a miniature Gibson SG) that the player uses to simulate playing rock music.
The gameplay is similar to GuitarFreaks, in that the player presses buttons on the guitar controller in time with musical notes that scroll on the game screen. The game features covers of 30 popular rock songs spanning five decades of rock, from the 1960s up through 2005, in addition to bonus tracks. Guitar Hero became a surprise hit, earning critical acclaim and winning many awards from major video game publications, and was considered one of the most influential games of the first decade of the 21st century. The game’s success launched the Guitar Hero franchise, which has earned more than one billion dollars in sales, spawning several sequels, expansions, and other game-related products. -Wikipedia.org
3. The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series, in which players can simulate the playing of rock music by using controllers shaped like musical instruments. The Beatles: Rock Band is the first band-centric game in the series, and it is centered around the popular British rock group The Beatles. The game features virtual portrayals of the four band members performing the songs throughout the band’s history, including depictions of some of their famous live performances, as well as a number of “dreamscape” sequences for songs from the Abbey Road Studios recording sessions during the group’s studio years.
The game’s soundtrack consists of 45 Beatles songs; additional songs and albums by The Beatles were made available for the game as downloadable content. The game was released internationally on 9 September 2009, coinciding with the release of new, remastered compact disc versions of The Beatles albums. It incorporates many of the gameplay features of the Rock Band series; however, it is not an expansion pack for the Rock Band series and content for it and other Rock Band titles is not cross-compatible. Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos described the game as “… a new, full game title production built from the ground up.”Gameplay mechanics differ slightly from previous Rock Band games, including the addition of a three-part vocal harmony system. -Wikipedia.org
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall. The game was published by Activision and RedOctane, and is the first game in the series to be developed by Neversoft, after Activision’s acquisition of RedOctane and MTV Games’ purchase of Harmonix Music Systems, the previous development studio for the series. The game was released worldwide for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 in October 2007, with Budcat Creations and Vicarious Visions assisting in the PlayStation 2 and Wii ports, respectively. Aspyr Media developed the PC and Mac versions of the game, releasing them later in 2007.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock retains the basic gameplay from previous games in the Guitar Hero series, where the player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the playing of lead, bass, and rhythm guitar parts in rock songs by playing in time to scrolling notes on-screen. The game, in addition to existing single-player Career modes, includes a new Co-Op Career mode and competitive challenges that pit the player against in-game characters and other players. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the first game in the series to include an online multiplayer feature, which is enabled in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions. Initially the game offers over 70 songs, most of which are master tracks. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature the ability to download additional songs. The musicians Tom Morello (of the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) and Slash (of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver) make appearances both as guitar battle opponents and playable characters in the game. The PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions also include Bret Michaels (of Poison) as a non-playable character. -Wikipedia.org
1. Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments. Players can play the lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums parts to songs with “instrument controllers”, as well as sing through a USB microphone. Players are scored on their ability to match scrolling musical “notes” while playing instruments, or by their ability to match the singer’s pitch on vocals.
Rock Band 2 features improved drum and guitar controllers, while supporting older controllers, as well. New features include a “Drum Trainer” mode, a “Battle of the Bands” mode, online capabilities for “World Tour” mode, and merchandising opportunities for the players’ virtual bands. In addition to the 84 songs included on the game disc and 20 free downloadable songs, over 1400 additional downloadable songs have been released for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 versions, with more added each week. All of these songs, existing and future, are compatible with all Rock Band titles. -Wikipedia.org
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