Vanuatu 2013 Christmas

Vanuatu released a 4-stamp issue for Christmas on 6 November 2013. One of the stamps shows Santa Clause diving down to the underwater post office to send a letter to Mrs Clause at the North Pole. (Scott 1066)

United Arab Emirates 2013 Fazza Championship - Free Diving

This stamp showing a free diver from the water surface is part of a 2-stamp issue released on 28 July 2013 to mark the 11th edition of the Fazza Championship. Launched in 2002 under the patronage of His Royal Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the Fazza Championship is an annual affair as a way to display the cultural history of the Emirates, with various events held at various locations across Dubai. This year the championship features six events including hunting falconry, falcon racing, al yullah (rifle acrobatics), shooting, hunting dog racing and free diving. The other stamp features al yullah.

Stamp image contributed by Glen Carr.

New Caledonia 2013 Reopening of the Maritime Museum

A single stamp was released on 28 June 2013 to mark the reopening of the New Caledonian Maritime Museum after 3 long years of renovation work. The selvage of the full sheet of 10 stamps contains very interesting illustrations that probably refer to the subjects on display in the museum; the illustration that is most interesting here is at the bottom left corner of the sheet, showing a scuba diver recovering/studying a sunken artifact.

Liberia 2013 International Horticultural Expo 2014 in Qingdao

This commercial issue from Liberia announces the 2014 International Horticultural Exposition to be held in Qingdao, China.The 6 stamps in the souvenir sheet features the expo mascot named “Qingqing” in various poses; the mascot design is a combination of natural landscape and ideals, inspired by such images as rolling waves, drifting clouds, lofty peaks and wavering tree crowns. One of the stamp features Qingqing snorkeling alongside a fish. The top left sheet corner features the Theme Pavilion, one of the landmark buildings of the expo, it takes on the appearance of a Chinese rose, the city flower of Qingdao; this will be the venue for showcasing the theme of “From the Earth, For the Earth” and other major events like the floriculture contests.

Guyana 2013 International Horticultural Expo 2014 in Qingdao

This commercial issue, released in April 2013, from Guyana announces the 2014 International Horticultural Exposition to be held in Qingdao, China.The 6 stamps in the souvenir sheet features the expo mascot named “Qingqing” in various poses; the mascot design is a combination of natural landscape and ideals, inspired by such images as rolling waves, drifting clouds, lofty peaks and wavering tree crowns. One of the stamp features Qingqing snorkeling alongside a fish. The central label in the sheet shows an artistic rendition of one of the several major expo structures: The Botanical Pavilion, that looks like a glasshouse with a leaf design; the pavilion is divided into the Marine Plants Section, the Bamboo and Rattan Section, and the Temperate Plants Section.

Guyana 2012 World Environment Day

For the 2012 World Environment Day, Guyana released a set of 2 souvenir sheets. The first one, shown here has 3 fan-shaped stamps arranged around a circular vignette, and together they form a blue sphere, perhaps to represent our blue planet. The outer ring of the blue sphere, formed by the 3 stamps, is populated with all sorts of marine creature, while the surface of the sphere is festooned with land creatures, together with creatures in flight flitting around the blue sphere. And on the lower left quadrant of the souvenir sheet one can find the yellow silhouette of a scuba diver placed across 2 regions, lying both inside and outside the blue sphere - a very interesting concept!

Egypt 2013 Scuba diving in the Sinai Peninsula area

This stamp, featuring a pair of scuba divers, is part of a se-tenant block of 4 issued by Egypt on 25 April 2013 on the Sinai Peninsula.