Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For Subscriber David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi' exp: 2024-08-20', at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
February 13, 2013

Whenever we write about dive equipment insurance, we always get a few reader complaints about Dive Equipment Protection Plan (DEPP) and its slow handling of complaints. In this month's issue, Deane W. Lehrmitt, who handles the DEPP program, explained why DEPP has recently been giving its customers the silent treatment (a five-week computer systems failure), but some Undercurrent readers aren't buying that. "If they are up and running again since December, why are they not responding to all the claims filed before that?" asks Helena Soler (Mammoth Lakes, CA). Have you too had any bad experiences with DEPP or another dive equipment insurer? Or can you share a good customer-service story, or advice on how to get a claim handled right? Send me your stories, comments and tips at EditorBenD@Undercurrent.org

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association has canceled plans for its consumer-focused Water, Sports and Travel Festival, scheduled for April 26 to 28 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The festival was supposed to supplement the big trade-only event that DEMA runs later in the year, but it failed to gain support from key members in the dive trade, especially those based in Florida. DEMA's executive director Tom Ingram said in a statement, "The cross marketing concept, originally introduced in 2011 . . . as a way to reach potential new diving customers, was initially embraced. Unfortunately, even after several changes to the proposed festival structure, including prohibiting life support equipment sales by exhibitors, the Festival concept has not generated sufficient support from the diving business community." Why is the dive trade so reluctant to let Joe Diver see the goods and gear? If they want to reach those potential new diving customers - and to keep their businesses afloat, they sure do - this is certainly not the way to do it.

On January 17, the USS Guardian ran aground on the Phillipines' Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. The crew was not injured, and there were no oil leaks, but the marine park manager said the 220-foot-long Guardian, an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, flattened an estimated 44,000 square feet of the World Heritage site. The U.S. Navy has apologized, and promises to pay the $600-per-square-meter fine. It also recently confirmed that it needs to dismantle the badly-damaged ship instead of haul it off, in order to do the least possible damage to the reef. A floating crane from Singapore is on its way, and the dismantling is expected to take more than a month to complete.

January 27 is an historic date because the giant squid was finally filmed for the first time, after multiple failed attempts, in its natural habitat off Japan's coastline. Oceanographer and marine biologist Edith Widder was a big part of the successful mission, due to her "Eye-in-the-Sea," a deep-sea camera observatory she developed to explore the ocean unobtrusively. See the squid footage and an interview with Widder on CBS This Morning (thanks, WetPixel), and read more about the Eye-in-the-Sea and the successful mission.

Underwater photographer Jason Isley was getting bored with macro shots, so he decided to mix things up. He got a selection of toy human figures, from soldiers to sunbathers and photographed them in hilarious scenes as they interacted with marine life in Borneo and Indonesia. Like sunbathers using a feather duster tube worm as a sun umbrella, or a traffic cop giving a citation to a sea slug. Isley glued either coins or nails to their feet to prevent them from being taken away by currents and curious fish. See the photos here

Here's another set of photos, but this time it involves real people, high fashion and whale sharks. Photographers Shawn Heinrichs and Kristian Schmidt took a team of models to the small Philippine village of Oslob to shoot fashion photos with whale sharks, in order to bring the plight of the at-risk fish to public attention. It took them a challenging week to get the shots, but they're well worth the effort. See them here

The 2013 Travelin' Divers Chapbook print edition is still available to our subscribers for a discounted rate of $17.36 (plus shipping and handling). You can order the 700 page, 8.5"x11" paperback from our partner here. Or you can still download it for free here.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher

Contact Ben

*** Do Not Reply to This Email -- This Address is NOT monitored ***

You have received this message because you are a current subscriber/Online Member and/or are a current paid subscriber to the former print edition of Undercurrent . To manage your account settings, visit our Account Center.