Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For Subscriber David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi' exp: 2024-08-20', at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
March 19, 2014

Hollis has recalled certain counterlungs for its Explorer rebreather. "We have traced this problem back to one production lot of counterlungs that had weak welds around the retainer fitting, and affected counterlungs can develop leaks over time," the company said in a press release. It has published the serial numbers on its website, and divers with affected counterlungs should contact their local Hollis rebreather dealer; the company will send a free pair of new counterlungs. For more details, go here.

A return to CoCo View in Roatan: better the second time around? . . . Part 2 of Bret Gilliam's story on the decline in dive training . . . the segment of the diving industry that's growing the most in popularity these days . . . and much more.

DiveNav, a maker of digital dive tools for smartphones and computers, recently went on the crowdfunding website to raise money for its latest product, Dive Computer Buddy, which lets divers quickly download logs from their dive computers to a tablet or smartphone. They asked for $20,000 and raised $25,000 in less than 30 days. With that money, the plan is to put the Dive Computer Buddy app inside its already-on-the-market tool, divePAL, which lets divers plan, analyze and log dives. DiveNav plans to release versions of the dual tools that support model-specific dive computers this summer, with Suunto computers being the first to be supported in June. Aeris, Oceanic, Sherwood and TUSA Zen computers will be added to the group in July, followed by the Mares Puck family in August, and the Cressi Leonardo, ScubaPro and SubGear models in September. For more details about Dive Computer Buddy and divePAL, go here.

You may still be browsing through our 2014 Travelin' Divers Chapbook ( or you can get it here, but we are already starting to gather reader reports for the 2015 edition. To send us your reviews of dive operators, liveaboards and resorts, complete the online form here. You can also follow the link "File a Report" on the left side of our homepage; or after logging in, follow the "Reader Report" link in the top navigation bar.

Researchers studying fluorescing corals in the Solomon Islands have discovered certain sharks that glow in the dark - and fish and sting rays, too. The team dived at night, using blue-light torches with yellow filters on their masks, and found 180 species that fluoresced, absorbing blue light and reemitting it in a variety of colors, such as catsharks glowing in neon green. The researchers wrote up their findings in the online journal PLOS One but it's not clear yet why the fish glow in the dark. See the colorful fish in this National Geographic video.

The hotel chain announced last month that it would stop serving shark fin and accepting new orders for shark fin dishes by April 1. The ban will then be effect in its 96 owned and managed Hilton hotel properties across the Asia Pacific.

In this month's issue, we wrote about seven divers who got swept away by bad weather on February 14 while diving near Nusa Lembongam, a small island near Bali, leaving one diver dead, and another missing and presumed dead. The latest on that story: The captain of their dive boat was charged with negligence two weeks after the incident. The five divers who survived the ordeal told Indonesian police that the boat captained by Agustinus Brata Kusuma could not be found after they surfaced from a 30-minute dive. Kusuma told police the weather became cloudy after the divers submerged, and he followed their bubbles in an attempt to locate them. However, the head of Bali's search and rescue team challenged that account, saying he had information suggesting that the skipper had left to refuel before heading to the agreed meeting spot. Police charged Kusuma with criminal negligence causing death, and if convicted, he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

We're approaching 10,000 divers now who have "Like'd" our Facebook page (9,911 now) , which we launched only last June. Thanks to all of you who've visited and posted comments on it! If you haven't yet, you'll find interesting dive-related discussions, news, and comments there. Just go here https://www.facebook.com/Undercurrent.org or search in Facebook for Undercurrent.org

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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