An Album of Sunspot Images

ALL IMAGES © Rex I De Silva

Transit of Venus

The Bear Claw Sunspot

Annular Eclipse 1

Annular Eclipse 2

Annular Eclipse 3

Sun without sunspots

Equipment used # 40mm spyglass # Point-and-shoot digital camera,

MY THOUGHTS ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

 

Today 5th June 2021, the World celebrates World Environment day. I note it but, do not celebrate as in my mind, there is nothing to celebrate.

More than half-century ago Sri Lanka boasted considerable forest cover with plentiful wildlife, an almost pristine ocean replete with marine life including, my speciality, sharks. On clear nights the unpolluted atmosphere enabled one to see with the naked eye an array of stars, planets, the milky way and the occasional comet. Even under these idyllic conditions renowned environmentalists like Lyn De Alwis, Thilo Hoffmann, Sarath Kotagama and many others warned that, given the large number of environmental threats, conditions could soon take a turn for the worse. Although I was an experienced jungle man and diver since my school days, I really got involved in the environmental conservation movement when I joined the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society in 1970. While I was aware of the threats I assumed that, if uncontrolled, the problems would manifest themselves long after I had entered “That unknown country from whose bourne no traveller returns”. How wrong I was! The decline set in much faster than my colleagues or I ever expected.

Today, Sri Lanka is smitten with threats which no one could foresee a half-century ago. Our forests have been devastated, our wildlife endangered and iconic species, including our leopards and elephants, threatened with extinction within the next decade or so unless some miracle occurs. Our seas have been polluted, overfished and some species are on the verge of extinction. A new generation of Sri Lankan divers has, for example, never seen a Giant Grouper or Grey reef shark underwater. Today one must get away from the cities to a dark site to see the Milky Way, Omega Centauri or Andromeda Galaxy with the unaided eye.

What has happened? There are many reasons which have been dealt with by more competent people than I but, in my mind, the most important is the continuously expanding human population with its ever increasing demands on limited resources. As Bittu Sahagal, a great Indian environmentalist once said to me many years ago “We must understand that population and consumption are the same thing”.

Next to the matter of an exploding population is, to me at least, human greed which will lay waste to thousands of hectares of natural habitat to fill the coffers of a few privilaged individuals. This brings to mind a saying attributed to an old Native American chief who once said "Only when the last tree has been felled will we realise that we cannot eat money".

So what is the solution? Regrettably I have no answer to offer. The fact is, I am a part of the problem, I am not a part of the solution.

A glimmer of hope exists in that there is great environmental consciousness in the population today, especially among the younger generation who are performing yeoman service in making their peers, elders and others aware of the problems Sri Lanka faces. Education and information are important but is this enough? Only time will tell and unfortunately there may not be much time left before we have to face Armageddon.

 Rex I. De Silva’s Diving History

Rex Ian De Silva FLS MIBiol is compiler of this site. He is a pioneer Sri Lankan diver who has been diving and spearfishing since 1955. He was Secretary and Spearfishing Captain of the Reefcombers of Ceylon, one of the World’s earliest diving clubs. He became a commercial diver in 1968 and continued to dive professionally for over eighteen years. Although no longer diving professionally, he continues to dive for sport and research purposes. He is author of the definitive work '‘The Sharks of Sri Lanka' and approximately 120 scientific research papers, book chapters and other publications.. In 2013 Rex was declared an ‘International Legend of Diving’. Rex is an authority on Sri Lanka’s diving history as he was, and is, an integral part of it . His achievements are detailed below.

 

·        Started spearfishing around 1956 and SCUBA diving c. 1958.

 

Some activities as a commercial diver (from 1968 to 1985).

Posts held:

·         Chief Diver for ‘Mobile Marine Engineering Company’ (Colombo) 1968-1974.

·         Head of ‘Premier Engineers (Colombo) commercial diving unit’ 1974-1985.

 

Summary: 

·         Qualified for Colombo Port Commission Commercial Divers’ Licence in 1968.

·         Underwater hull cleaning of Supertanker M/t. “San Juan Vanguard” (165,000 tons) – the largest vessel to dock in Colombo Harbour at the time (1972).

·         Underwater hull cleaning of 44 cargo vessels in Colombo and Trincomalee harbours.

·         Stern tube sealing of several vessels in the Port of Colombo

·         In situ repair of the damaged underwater section of the hull of M/v “Pulawy” (20,000 tons) in 1974 preventing it from sinking in Colombo Harbour.

·         Salvaged cargo of mining equipment from the “Wombat” sunk in deep water off Nilveli Point.

·         Refloated trawler “Maple Leaf” sunk in Colombo Harbour.

·         Recovered main anchor of M/v. “Drachenfels” (30,000 tons) lost in silt in Colombo harbour.

·         Underwater sealing of the damaged scour gate and outlet at Hasalaka tank (reservoir) to prevent it from losing its water content during the cultivation season.

·         Underwater sealing of main outlet of Maduru Oya reservoir.

·         Underwater salvage operations at Maduru Oya reservoir

·         Annual underwater maintenance and clearing of the main intakes at Kelanitissa power plant (1970s).

·         Underwater salvage operations in Castlereagh Reservoir.

·         Underwater search for and recovery of drowned corpses.

·         Training of individuals for commercial diving operations.

·         Miscellaneous diving, search, rescue, and salvage operations.

·         Diving operations carried out in the Maldives on Japanese     HOKO company fishery factory vessels.

L         

Equipment used:

·         SCUBA single and twin sets

·         Surface air supply equipment (Hookah) and Air Buoy.

·         First to operate ‘Brush Buoy’ hydraulic underwater hull-cleaning machines in Sri Lankan harbours.

·         Oxy-arc underwater cutting equipment used in salvage work.

                                                                    

Sport Diving

·         Honorary Secretary and Spearfishing Captain of the “Reefcombers of Ceylon” diving club from the mid-1960s. 

·         Began underwater photography in   November 1967.

·         Spearfishing Captain of Kinross Swimming & Life Saving Club 1974.

·         Largest fish speared 115lb Ray.

 

Scientific activities

·         Studying sharks and marine life since c. 1968.  Documented 22 shark species which had previously not been recorded from Sri Lanka. Documented a further three species of sharks and a single Chimera (Ghost shark) with colleagues.

·         Author of 120 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, articles and other publications on Sri Lankan marine life.

·         Declared an "International Legend of Diving" by the Legends of Diving Organization (USA) in 2013.

·         Author of THE SHARKS OF SRI LANKA. 2015.

·         Currently writing a “History of Diving in Sri Lanka”

Comments

·         “I have known Rex I De Silva for over two decades and admire his work and accomplishments in underwater exploration, wildlife and astronomy”.     Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Chancellor University of Moratuwa. 29 September 2001.

 

·         “Mr. Rex De Silva, ‘Renaissance Man’, Naturalist, Environmentalist, Deep Sea Diver, Birder, Martial Arts expert and Scholar is as unusual as they come”.   Vidya Jyoti Ashley de Vos, President of the Wildlife and Nature  Protection   Society of Sri Lanka (1999-2000). 8th October 2001

 

·        “[Rex De Silva] is a person with an excellent knowledge of the ocean, land and sky”.                                                                                  Professor Sarath Kotagama, University of Colombo.

Other:

·         In early 1970s held the Reefcombers SCUBA depth record at 240 feet in the Trincomalee Submarine Canyon. This was also the unofficial Sri Lankan SCUBA depth record. 

L Logged an estimated 8,000 - 10,000 dives between 1956 and 2010     

·  Read “Dharshana Jayawardena interviews Rex I De Silva” at: https://reximages.blogspot.com/2017/04/dharshanajayawardena-author-of-ghosts.html

·   Listed in ‘Who’s who of Sri Lanka’ (volume II).

 

Other Interests and activities:

 

·         Former astronomical (lunar occultations) observer for the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) Station reference SXT94.

·         Current observer/photographer of solar activity.

·         Holder of advanced Black-belt degree in Shotokan Karate and holder of Master Instructor’s certification (SHIHAN) in martial arts. 

Awards

 

 Abacus Institute: Honorary Diploma for “Outstanding contributions in the field of Environmental Protection", Marine Conservation Forum Award and Mid-city Rotary Vocational Services Award etc.

 

Text corrected and updated on 10th February 2023

                                                                                                                          © Rex I. De Silva