Mike Nortje, the owner and hands on operator of Pisces Divers in Glencairn, Cape Town, has very kindly gone out of his way to give up his time, allow staff members off and donate his 8 metre Superduck boat, his tow-vehicle and his skippering talents for the release of "Elle" the ragged tooth shark off the Struisbaai coast on Wednesday.Ken Taytasac has also rescued Lesley at the last minute with a costly sponsorship of a High Definition Video Camera to be used by award winning cameraman and film maker Charles Maxwell for the filming of the release of "Elle"Our heartfelt thanks go out to Ken and Mike for the kindness and generosity in this project and we definitely look forward to working with them both in the future.Once again, well done.Please support those who support us. http://www.piscesdivers.co.za

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For as long as I can remember the Indian Ocean has captivated me. As a child its seemingly endless expanse of blue wilderness held a life full of adventure and of places even more mystical than those in Enid Blyton’s Magic Far Away Tree. Growing up in Kenya I often escaped to those picture perfect white beaches where the rock pools, filled with hermit crabs and brittle stars, became my playground. It wasn’t until later when the natural world became a complete passion that I first heard of ‘Aldabra’ and I have been drawn to it ever since. On a map it is only a stone’s throw away from the Swahili coast I know so well, but in fact this coral atoll is 400 miles southeast of Mombasa tucked away in a lost corner of the Seychelles Island Group. Described by explorers as ‘the island man forgot - a living natural history museum’ there is something magical and mysterious about it. Even the name rings of magic, say Aldabra to someone and the chances are ‘abracadabra’ pops to mind!With Arabs settling in East Africa from the 7th century and the island sitting close to their trade links with Madagascar and…

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Recently Lesley managed to escape us and the mayhem at The Save Our Seas Shark Centre in Kalk Bay and headed off to Durban for meetings related to future education and awareness projects. She joined Blue Wilderness Diving Expeditions in Durban who focus on shark ecotourism.Lesley had absolutely wonderful diving and the surprise highlight of the excursion was that on the return boat trip, two whale sharks were spotted. Naturally, Les was overboard in a flash with the rest of the crew and fantastic photo opportunities were grasped by all. Thanks to Simon De Waal for the image above.We would like to thank Mark and Gail for their passion, integrity, professionalism and kindness.To read more about Mark & Gail, please go to http://www.bluewilderness.co.za

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Jannie Wessels, Managing Director of The Rainmaker Group of Companies which manufactures BRIGHTWEIGHTS scuba diver weighting systems, has kindly stepped up to the plate and sponsored Lesley with her very own full set of diving weights. This includes the newly developed soft ankle weight system, the internationally acclaimed cylinder weight system and the industry leading Brightweights waist belt.Lesley will be wearing her new PINK Brightweights with pride and comfort, for many years to come. (Still a typical girl, she insisted on changing into a PINK dress just for the official handover photo!!)We would also like to thank Jannie for his very kind and spontaneous offer to sponsor the fuel for both the tow vehicle and the dive boat for the release of "Elle" next week off Struisbaai.Jannie Wessels also sponsors the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town and the Sydney Aquarium in Australia with his multiple award winning Brightweights Systems.For more information of this exceptional product range, please go to http://www.brightweights.com

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… But I will be going there from here (Cape Town) for five weeks as part of a small team of scientists and cameramen from the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) to assess and document Aldabra’s unique marine life. The countdown is on and together with the BBC Wildlife award-winning photographer Thomas Peschak we are laying out every single piece of camera equipment we own and trying to figure out how to get it (safely) half way up the continent and across the Swahili seas to the Seychelles Island Group.I won’t ask you to join me with the preparation and packing as it is total chaos but I will take you behind the scenes on a scientific, documentary film-making and photographic expedition to a place every conservation and marine biologist, film-maker and photographer longs to go.From March 12th to April 9th SOSF will be on a mission to assess the abundance of sharks, especially the large species such as tiger, oceanic-white-tips and great hammerhead sharks. We, led by Dr Rupert Ormond, SOSF’s director of Science, will be diving and using remote camera stations to try and find individuals. Chatting last week to Dr Ormond his words rung very true to…

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An incredible amount of change is taking place at 28 Main Road, Kalk Bay. The Save Our Seas Shark Centre is taking shape, some aspects very fast, others seem to drag a little. All in all progress is slightly ahead of schedule.Yesterday, Lesley met with a remarkable artist, who paints the most glorious murals of sharks. He has officially been commissioned, and will share his talent with us, creating a picture for the reception area of the SOSSC building.Even though the actual development of the centre is our priority, and the core group is working flat out, Lesley has undauntingly succeeded in getting the "SAVE OUR SHARKS PETITION" out.Lesley hit the "Send" button at 16h03 Central African Time and within one hour the response was over one thousand replies worldwide. Her phone has not stopped ringing with offers to assist from all quarters.Please support us in this quest and go to www.aoca.org.za and send the petition to as many people as you possibly can. Our latest reply has just come in from the British Virgin Islands!!

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On Tuesday morning, Lesley kindly invited the SOSSC staff to join her at the Two Oceans Aquarium to watch while "Elle" the raggedtooth shark was taken out of the I&J Predator Exhibit and placed into her holding pool on the roof of the aquarium, awaiting her release back into the ocean in two weeks time. Elle's release is part of the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) M-Sea Programme, an AfriOceans Conservation initiative, sponsored by SOSF.A fantastic time was had by everyone, and we came back to Kalk Bay filled with renewed energy, and focus on the tasks ahead."Elle" is a truly magnificent lady, Verona,Matheus and Lesley's daughter (Tamera) all helped to calm her in the transit tank.Lesley of course, is not just a bundle of driving energy and a pretty face, but proves that she is a real down to earth "tuffy" as she assisted in carrying "Elle" from the transit tank to her holding pool.(left to right) Neil Hermann- Videographer, Mathew Nahole- SOSSC, Verona Smith- SOSSC, Phil Parr - Underwater Videographer, Lesley Rochat and Jan de Bruyn.To find out more about Elle's release go to http://www.aoca.org.za/

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