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Name of Site: DiveOz
URL: http://www.diveoz.com.au/
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Review: If scuba diving gets your outboard motor running, there's a good
chance DiveOz is going to become your homepage. The site has everything:
a beginners 'Learning to Scuba Dive' section, discussion forums, a 'buy,
swap & sell' directory, plenty of info, events, news, links, galleries
and plenty more. Interestingly, DiveOz is also the home of the new 'sport'
of Australian Extreme Underwater Ironing! "What the heck is that?"
you ask. Well it's the act of taking an ironing board and electric iron
(minus the electricity of course) and setting it all up, somewhere interesting
on the bottom of the ocean and taking the photos to prove you did it.
I guess all that pressure really does play with your mind! - SS
Name of Site: Penrith Whitewater Stadium
URL: http://www.penrithwhitewater.com.au/
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Review: It's funny that the Olympics seem like they just happened yesterday,
when in reality Athens 2004 is just around the corner. If you want to
relive some of the excitement or are just keen to try paddling about in
the foam, then Penrith's Olympic artificial white water stadium in Sydney
may be the place for you. The site lets you view activities, prices, learn
about upcoming events and download wallpapers to get you in the mood.
So if you want to try something adventurous, get a group of friends or
go solo, kayak style... Aquaphobe that I am, I'll stick to paddling about
in the bathtub. - SS
Name of Site: ModernBoating
URL: http://www.modernboating.com.au
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Review: It was difficult to accept that this was a mere addendum to the
newsstand magazine, more an entire web-zine in itself. The lads at the
helm here have hoisted the spinnaker and let the wind billow the content
to cup-winning extremes. Videos galore, a forum, a well-stocked shop,
boat tests, articles and editorials - archived and constantly updated
- will have you basking on the top deck and surveying the land ahoy with
smug sea-loving pride. You're going to subscribe to the mag in a fit of
guilt at how much you got here for free. The very model of a modern boating
magazine. - SS
Name of Site: Australian Swimming
URL: http://www.ausswim.telstra.com.au/
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Review: While most water sports require you to have some kind of equipment,
real tightwads can always go in for the cheapest water sport around: swimming.
And if you need some inspiration to get you started you can check out
this site, home of the national swimming team and full of info on the
squad, their records, events they're participating in, audio interviews
and video footage of swim meets. The whole site made me feel quite patriotic
and strangely enough I experienced a strong urge to change my phone over
to Telstra, but I can't think why. - SS
Name of Site: Cyber Diver News Network
URL: http://www.cdnn.info
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Review: If you're after a good honest source of cutting edge information
about diving, you can't go past CDNN. This site is huge! With tons of
news through it's UES Global Online Publishing parent (who run some 30
publications around the world), in depth articles on things like 'Shark
baiting' and 'Night Diving', Travel tips, Scuba Polls, Forums, newsletters
and lots more reading material, it's the sort of site that you can get
lost in for hours. So if you have some time to kill grab a snorkel and
go find Nemo! - SS
Name of Site: RecFish Australia
URL: http://www.recfishoz.com/
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Review: This is the peak national body for sporting and recreational fishing
in Australia, so you'd better bookmark it, even though at the time of
writing it is sadly a little too under construction. I can see that the
site is mapped out ready to become a major resource for fishing boating
enthusiasts across the land, with resources, habitat info, environmental
info, likns, R & D and all kinds of other things, but at this stage
it seems the Webmaster has, yes, you guessed it - gone fishin'! I'm sure
he'll be back soon with a bumper catch, a few that got away, and the renewed
enthusiasm to throw this site into the 'big pond' and hook a few more
visitors. - SS
Name of Site: Waterways
URL: http://www.waterways.nsw.gov.au/
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Review: Bob Carr and Co. give you their portal to the rivers, harbours
and seas around this fabulous country. Waterways Authority has a huge
responsibility, managing these massive assets and all the activities that
happen in and around the water. Safety, environment, mapping, licensing,
mooring - the list goes on. Like any good government department, they
have gone to a lot of effort to spend your tax dollars wisely on this
site to provide you with all the information and help you need before
setting sail. Now boating is not only good for you, it's good for the
country. - SS
Name of Site:
URL: http://www.yachting.org.au/
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Review: If you want to get an idea of just how big Yachting is in this
country just take a look at the site map here - gigantic! The yachting
fraternity would be mightily proud of this site, providing everything
they need, from race results and event calendars to a complete personalised
portal - where the site knows your club, your preferences etc, and helps
sort through the ocean of info for what you need. Whether you have a little
dinghy or an America's Cup contender, this is your home when you're not
out there catching the sea spray. - SS
Name of Site:
URL: http://www.safeboating.org.au/
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Review: Sometimes its hard to remember, when you're out there kicking
back in your skippers chair, knocking back a few cold ones after the slap
up barby of the marlin you caught earlier, that boating can be a very
hazardous past time. The ocean is an unforgiving mistress at times. Supported
by a consortium of organisations, this site aims to arm you with all the
safety know-how you will need, from pre-trip planning and preparation,
to equipment guides and emergency response training. They have managed
to make the site easy to use, friendly and appealing to all age groups
so that everyone can benefit from being properly trained and aware of
the safest ways to enjoy life at sea. Arr me hearties. - SS
Name of Site:
URL: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/theme/watersports/water_index.htm
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Review: From those kind folks who bring you the ultimate and definitive
tourist guide books, comes their little adventure guide to the best water
sports across the globe. It is by no means a comprehensive guide, more
a sampling of what the world has to offer - shark baiting, swimming, kyaking
and white water rafting. Each theme is described in some detail then links
are provided to the respective country in the guide-proper - the main
LP site. Now your appetite is whet, it's time to get really wet. Start
planning your adventure now - its not such a lonely planet after all,
the world is full of fun crazed people just like you. - SS
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