Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For Subscriber David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi' exp: 2024-08-20', at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
December 16, 2013

Here's a worthy way for divers to support those devastated by the typhoon that hit the Philippines last month. Ange Amon at the Lissenung Island Report is leading a Red Cross fundraising effort for victims, and other dive businesses are adding their own incentives. Anyone donating at least A$50 (Australian dollars are on par with the U.S. dollar) will be entered in the drawing for an eight-night stay at the resort, which includes all meals, round-trip flights from Brisbane, and diving. You may also win a Scubapro MK17/C300 regulator or an eight-day trip on the MY FeBRina. Donate at www.redcrossfundraising.org.au/haiyan

Our 240-page book is the best of the unusual, entertaining and jaw-dropping true stories Undercurrent has published during the past 35 years -- like the stingray that gave a diver a hickey, an exploding tank that yielded $150,000 of cannabis, and what happens when buddy couples fighting with each other. Priced at $14.95, it's the perfect gift for a dive buddy with a dry sense of humor. We'll send yours in time for Christmas if you order by December 19. Go here for details and to order online.

Dong-Eun Kim, a professor of fashion merchandising and design at California State University Long Beach is looking for volunteers to take a short survey that assesses scuba divers' wetsuit needs. "The goal of this research is to provide the wetsuit industry with vital information concerning wetsuits' overall function and appearance," says Kim. As a thank-you, five random participants will get a $20 Target gift card. Take the survey here, and use "wetsuit" as the password.

The 2014 Travelin' Divers Chapbook is now available online (824 pages worth), and it can also be ordered in print (723 pages, published in a bit-smaller font). Subscribers pay only $17.86, plus shipping and handling. Ordering details are here

Garuda, Indonesia's national airline joined a growing list of airlines (Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air) to ban the transport of shark fins on all flights. Prior to the ban, Garuda transported an estimated 36 tons of sharks fin each year. Indonesia is a top supplier of shark fins- it exported 434 tons last year -- but its Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry announced last month that it was considering a quota system, and would issue a new regulation on shark fishing by year's end.

Undercurrent subscriber Ben Mandell spent the last two years working on an underwater-camera app optimized for divers. Photo Fish Underwater Camera, says Mandell, is "a new entry-level for people wanting to explore underwater photography in a less expensive manner." The iPhone app, available at here, costs $6, but Mandell is offering 10 free download codes for the first 10 people who e-mail asking for one. Contact Mandell at www.photofish.me/contact.html

As far as we know, it's the Infiniti, a new 130-foot boat built in Thailand that will do trips to the Andaman and Lakshadweep Islands between September and May. Dive sites include the Barren Island, which has an active volcano, and the still-being-discovered reefs in Ritchie's Archipelago. Four-day trips start at US$925, seven-day trips start at $1,059. If you take the trip, give us a report, please. Details are at www.infinitiliveaboard.com

Looking for a trip of a lifetime?  Here's some 20% off deals with Flamingo Bay Ocean Adventures in Australia.

No, we're not the only great online magazine for divers. I enjoy reading Pacific Northwest Diver for its great photography and articles focused on diving the coastline north of me. The Pacific Northwest Underwater Photography Society is currently offering a free PDF download of its November issue, all about the Great Pacific Octopus (we wrote about protection efforts for it in our October issue), and it's worth a look - download it at http://pnwups.com. To get future bi-monthly issues, subscribe free of charge - editor Dan Clements promises to keep your info private.

You may have seen this by now, but if not, here's a video of this incredible tale of a man found surviving three days in a pocket of air formed in an overturned boat. A commercial boat sank in Nigeria, and it wasn't until three days later that divers could go down to recover the bodies. Imagine their surprise when they came upon the cook still alive, sitting in an air pocket. Then the trick was to get him out without severely bending him. One of the recovery divers had a camera mounted on his helmet, and you can see and hear the entire recovery (the divers sounds weird because they're breathing Heliox) by clicking this link

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

Website Tips

Our 2014 Chapbook will be a big help in your planning. Also at any time you can generate a personalized collection of the newest reader reports of your choosing using our MiniChapbook facility -- read them online or download as a pdf. For example, if you're thinking about a trip to Raja Ampat, you can quickly assemble all recent reader reports on liveaboards there and read what other Undercurrent subscribers thought about different operators. Or if you're dreaming about Little Cayman, see all recent reports on dive operations there. It's a quick and easy way to personalize the information you need from the Undercurrent website.

Dave Eagleray, webmaster
Contact Dave

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