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For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
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June 19, 2017

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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 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

Online Dive Travel Booking Portals

like diviac and liveaboard.com are revolutionizing the business and traditional travel agents are understandably not happy about it. Have you completed a vacation booked in this way and were there any snags? Are you a liveaboard owner? What’s your opinion of this change in the way of doing business? We’d like to hear. Write, not forgetting your town and state, to BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

Environmentally Unfriendly POTUS

We all know the President has said the US will withdraw from the climate pact, joining only Syria and Nicaragua, but he is taking aim at the environment in other ways. NOAA announced on Monday that it is tossing out a pending rule meant to protect marine mammals and sea turtles, including several endangered species, from swordfish trapping gill nets off the West Coast. At the same time, scientists predict that rising seas will engulf Virginia’s Tangier Island within 25-50 years, forcing the 450 residents to evacuate. However, the President called to tell the mayor of the small Chesapeake Bay island “not to worry about sea-level rise. . . .Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.”

Better to Have It and Not Need It

than to need it and not have it. How many items of scuba equipment fall into this category? A snorkel, a surface-marker device like a buoy or flag, a knife, a flashlight? They are all items someone might take on a dive and never use, but the day you need it, you’ll sure wish you had it with you. Can you think of any other kit that can be as essential as sufficient lifeboats on the Titanic? Write and tell us your suggestions for items you never fail to splash in without. Don’t forget to tell where you are writing from. BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

Mask Cleaning Debate

We say use traditional toothpaste for the initial cleaning the silicone residue off the glass of a new mask but Jody Ward of Go Atlantis Travel (CA) says some toothpaste is too abrasive and recommends a glass scrub designed for mask cleaning, while Steve Ratts (Indian Harbour Beach, FL) insists that a flame will do no harm. As they say in the north of England, you pay your money, and you make your choice!

Fine Time in Raja Ampat

The Indonesian Government has fined the British operator of the cruise ship MV Caledonian Sky, which ran aground on a coral reef in Raja Ampat, the hefty sum of 6 trillion Indonesian Rupiah – over $420 million at today's exchange rate. Apart from what was only damaged, 13,270sq m of reef was totally destroyed when the British-owned, Bahamian-flagged vessel struck Kri Reef.

The Full-Nine-Yards

That’s what you get with Undercurrent Reader Reports – nothing held back. With no advertisers to please, you have the unique opportunity to tell it as it is so that others can benefit from your experiences, good and bad. So 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

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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