Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
Cancel all Undercurrent emails

May 16, 2017

Home | Login | Forgot Password? | My Account | FAQ

Tropical Ice, an Eco-Thriller

Divers gather round a frozen baitball during shark week in Belize, as marauding sharks rip out a gory surprise, sending divers scurrying. That’s the kickoff to Tropical Ice, an exciting new eco-thriller tackling shark finning, seahorse mining for a phony Asian aphrodisiacs, jaguar poaching, and endless crimes against nature. And scuba travel writer Matt Oliver finds himself smack in the middle of trouble. The book was actually written by the founder of Undercurrent, Ben Davison, who has come out from behind his anonymous cloak to write this roller-coaster of a ride that you won’t put down. It’s not self-published – he has an agent and publisher – so you can find it in select book stores or order a copy or a Kindle at Amazon.

Click here for a copy signed by Ben and KL. Read more at www.tropicalicethriller.com

A New Dive Site in BVI

Virgin’s Richard Branson and other ocean conservationists have saved the Navy fuel barge YO-44 Kodiak Queen from the scrap yard. One of only five surviving ships from Pearl Harbor, it will help conserve marine life in the British Virgin Islands, as well as providing an underwater art installation for divers. Called Project YOKO B.V.I. Art Reef, the ship was sunk off Virgin Gorda in April, with an 80-foot rebar and mesh sculpture of the Kraken, a legendary sea monster as its passenger.

Travel Advice

Prompted by a report in Undercurrent on a coral cut turning nasty, subscriber Lynda Durfee says that after suffering cellulitis from a skin abrasion due to the sharp edge of a boat ladder in Hawaii, she now carries a generic Keflex z-pack, prescribed by her doctor for travel emergencies, and a prescription antibiotic cream. Keflex is used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including infections of the upper respiratory, ear, skin, and urinary tract. Talk to your doctor about building a precautionary travel kit.

Don’t Burn Your Mask!

When masks are assembled in the factory, silicone is used to lubricate the process resulting in the glass of every new mask being left with a fine deposit. This allows the humidity from your face precipitating on the inner glass surface, causing it to fog. Remove this silicone from the glass of a new mask by rubbing it with some old-fashioned abrasive white toothpaste, rinsing it off afterwards. Never try to burn off the silicone with the flame of a cigarette lighter. You will risk damaging the silicone skirt.

Help Tag Sharks at Cocos Island

Turtle Island is offering expeditions in August and December to Cocos Island, Costa Rica, for divers to assist in our shark tagging and tracking research. It’s a unique opportunity to participate in conservation research and, for U.S taxpayers, much of your trip is a legitimate tax-deduction. Plus you’ll be aboard a fine liveaboard: Undersea Hunter’s MV Argo. And, if you tell them Undercurrent sent you, they’ll give you a $500 deduction on the August trip. And for either trip, a Turtle Island tote, a t-shirt and other goodies. www.seaturtles.org/expeditions

Hidden Extras?

It was two decades ago when John Bantin and Chris Boardman (the Olympic gold-medal cyclist) stayed a week at the Bluff House Club, Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. They stayed full-board, and everything was paid for upfront apart from their drinks. Or so they thought. When they went to pay the final bill, there was an extra charge of $1000 for club membership and “use of the facilities.” This amounted to using the boardwalk to get from their room to the restaurant. They watched while other guests left the reception area after paying their bills and reeling from this unseen extra cost. Have you been hit by hidden extras on a dive trip? Write and tell us about it. BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

Lucky River Find

When Brooke Leavins’ wedding ring slipped off her finger during a pontoon boat trip on Alabama’s Coosa River, she and her husband Steven thought they’d never see it again. Spencer Phillips, co-owner of Birmingham’s Southern Skin Divers Supply and a scuba instructor, came to the rescue with an underwater metal detector and, aided by a photograph of where the ring had dropped, he emerged from the water after only the second dive, lost ring in hand.

Sherwood BCD Troubles Persist

After we reported about problems that some subscribers have had with Sherwood Avid and Luna BCDs, (Undercurrent Sept 16), Michael J Pezze (St Petersburg, FL) wrote to tell us his experience with a Sherwood Solaris BCD. His wife had used it less than a dozen times, but he took it to a dive shop to have it checked before an oncoming dive. When the technician tested the tank strap, the tank bracket broke right off, despite the Solaris only been hanging on a proper hanger in a cabinet for most of its life. The plastic is clearly not strong enough for the job and such a failure during a dive could have caused a disaster. We say: Sherwood, get your act together! You've known about this problem for close to a year! Want to contact Sherwood? www.sherwoodscuba.com/comments.php

Have You Been Diving?

Then don’t forget to file a report on your last dive trip. You can browse thousands of other first-hand reports other subscribers have filed on their land and liveaboard trips, to get the full-nine-yards on your next destination. Your fellow subscribers count on you, just as you count on them so please, fill out our online trip report form at www.undercurrent.org/members/UCnow/SubRR.php

Coming Up in Undercurrent

. . . Reports on Fiji, the Great Barrier Reef, St Lucia, Bali and a new Indonesian liveaboard . . . Dive businesses for sale in the sun . . . More on those disappearing warship wrecks . . . A hidden killer in our midst . . . Using a compass . . . Shooting RAW on your iPhone . . . and much, much more.

And Don’t forget to check it out.  www.tropicalicethriller.com

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben