Please who has a set of Arthur C Clarke's diving books?

[Nishan]

Arthur C. Clarke wrote 3 books about diving in Sri Lanka. The best known are 'Reefs of Taprobane', and 'Treasure of the Great Reef'. These two were part of the Blue Planet Trilogy together with 'The Coast of Coral' (based on his adventures on the GBR in Australia). The 3rd and less well known book on diving in SL is Indian Ocean Adventure.

Answers to your questions;
1. Reefs of Taprobane by Arthur C. Clarke
I dont have the original version but the new paperback version I have is by ibooks (ISBN 0-7434-4502-3) and the particular story is on page 138.

2.“………..and only a few feet below them, was the largest fish Mike had ever seen from such close quarters. It was the inevitable giant grouper – and this time he was a giant, all of fifteen feet long. He was massively built that though he was actually moving he appeared at first to be motionle, like a submarine poised in mid-ocean. His body was about four feet thick and he could obviously swallow either of the divers at a gulp should he feel so inclined.”

3. The scene of this encounter is the Admiralty Floating Dock in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. I didnt find a reference to Elphinston Inlet in the book and dont know of such a place in Trincomalee (looked at the Admiralty charts). There is an island called Elephant Island so maybe you are referring to that.

I think the size of the grouper is probably a bit exaggerated but must certainly have been a huge fish. Have dived the same place and its quite interesting although part of the wreck is now broken up. Good fish life and some big groupers!

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Nishan

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

Thanks.

Arthur C. Clarke wrote 3 books about diving in Sri Lanka. The best known are 'Reefs of Taprobane', ...

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

Giant grouper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A grouper that size (probably Epinephelus lanceolatus) is built for strength and heavy dredging and bulk swallowing, not for speed, and would be at risk of attack by sharks unless it found a hiding hole big enough (such as in a suitable big wreck). If men including for the shark's fin trade keep on destroying the world's sharks, Epinephelus lanceolatus big enough to be a danger to scuba divers may gradually become much more common as they no longer need hiding holes to be safe in. (I remember reading in a "letter to the editor" in a scuba diving periodical that off the coast of California a big grouper sucked a scuba diver completely into its mouth headfirst so far that even his fins vanished inside, tried to crush him between its heavy pharyngeal teeth (inside its gill chamber), but fortunately only squashed his backpack cylinder, and spat him out (likely thinking that it had sucked up a stone) and he lived to tell of it.

I think that the periodical was Skin Diver, in the 1960's or 1970's. If anyone has the reference, that would be useful.

 

[Dr Neil]

It's good to see SB members who enjoy good reading. I have forgotten that Arthur C. Clarke wrote about diving.

Now I need to go find copies and reread them!

 

[Nishan]

Clarke was a pioneering diver in Sri Lanka in the 50's and 60's and was even a founder and co-owner of a dive station which is still in operation.

With reference to the groupers Epinephelus lanceolatus is the largest bony fish but is still only known to grow to a length of around 3m. Large enough to swallow a diver though and attacks, although rare are not unknown. Unfortunately in Sri Lanka large groupers are being speared on a commercial scale and are now rare, as are sharks. Both shark fins and grouper fillets fetch good prices in Asian markets. A stark contrast to when Arthur C. Clarke first dived large fish were abundant. In fact, filming and photographing sharks and groupers was a major reason he dived in Sri Lanka in the first place.

 

[Rex De Silva]

Sir Arthur C. Clarke wrote five (non fiction) books on diving. They were "Coast of Coral", "Reefs of Taprobane", "The First Five Fathoms", "Indian Ocean Adventure" and "Treasure of the Great Reef". Sir Arthur was an old friend and I am the proud owner of autographed copies of all these volumes. (Sorry, they are NOT for sale). In the late 1950s diver Langston Pereira and I saw the Giant Grouper on the Sunken Dock. The fish was definitely Promicrops lanceolatus and my estimate is that it was over 10 feet in length and probably weighed more than 1,000 pounds. I have documented my sighting in "Random reminiscences of a Diver Naturalist" which appeared in Loris vol.25, no 3 (2009). My article "A Tribute to Sir Arthur C. Clarke" appeared in Loris vol. 25 Nos 1 & 2 (2008). The major part of the Sunken Dock was salvaged by Viktor Baroukh in the late 1960s-early 1970s and towed away to the Middle East. (A small section of the dock remains on the seabed). The Grouper was never seen again. Please contact me if you require more information.

Rex De Silva
caranx@sltnet.lk

 

[Rex De Silva]

Hi Anthony,

Please read my message on page 2.

Rex

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

Thanks.

 

[Rex De Silva]

All this talk of Giant Groupers and the Sunken Dock raises the subject of the salvage operation to refloat the dock. The dock was refloated in the late 1960s to early 1970s and towed away to (I believe) the middle East. (A small part of the dock remains on the seabed). This monumental salvage operation was carried out by Vicktor (or Victor) Baroukh. Can anyone send me a photograph of Baroukh or his Chief Diver Foscoe? Can anyone give me some biographical information on Baroukh? I require this for a book I am writing on the History of Diving in Sri Lanka.

Also does anyone have a photograph of Bandhusena the Colombo Port Commision diver who had to cut off his own finger when it became wedged between two concrete blocks while he was underwater? When this incident occurred (late 1940s or early 1950s) he was participating in construction of the South-west Breakwater in the port of Colombo (Sri Lanka).

Any information/images used in my book will be gratefully acknowledged.

Thanks in advance.

Rex