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For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
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December 12, 2017

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Catastrophe at Cocos Island

On 30th November, a 49-year-old American lady diver, Rohina Bhandari, a private equity director from New York City, was fatally bitten by a tiger shark while ascending in a group from a dive at Manuelita Island. Despite some medics aboard the boat as tourists, they were unable to save her. The dive guide Jiménez, from the liveaboard, MV Sea Hunter, was also severely bitten but survived. It’s thought to be the first such unwarranted shark attack in the area. Full story in the Undercurrent, January edition.

The Perfect Gift for a Dive Buddy

That would be Tropical Ice, the facing moving scuba thriller written by the founder of Undercurrent. Set in Belize at Capt. Jack's Rum Point Inn, the opening chapter will knock your socks off, followed by a dangerous night dive, the discovery of sharks fins on a remote cay, rich men poaching jaguars, and a beautiful owner of a rain forest lodge with her own deep secrets. Click here to order an autographed copy (we'll email you to see how you want it inscribed) and we’ll send it priority mail, in time for Christmas. Or get it from Amazon by clicking here. Prefer non-fiction? What about Amazing Diving Stories by Undercurrent’s senior editor John Bantin? Click here.

Want to Dive Palau’s Jellyfish Lake?

You’ll be disappointed. Palau suffered a severe drought in 2016, the worst in the past 65 years, and combined with the effects of El Niño, millions of Golden Jellyfish in the famous Jellyfish Lake have vanished. Until the baby jellyfish grow to adulthood in the next cycle, you will have wait to swim with them.

Regulator Mount For Divers

Although many divers are obsessed with the idea of attaching a GoPro to themselves, they often come back with nothing but recordings of their exhaled bubbles. A novel mount that fits on the front of the diver’s regulator avoids that problem while allowing the diver to monitor the LCD screen and see what’s being recorded. $35 from www.regmount.com

Buying Travel Insurance?

We are all guilty of trying to get the least expensive travel insurance deal possible. It’s only when we need to file a claim that we check the small print of the policy -- often to our dismay. Insurance companies are not beneficent uncles waiting to make you financially whole even if their advertising promises that. They’re in the game to make money and pay out only when they must. And that’s the test – whether they pay out. Have you had to file a claim? Did they step up to the plate? Write and tell, not forgetting your town and state. BenDEditor@undercurrent.org

Participate in a Whale Sharks Study

They may be the largest fish in the sea, but science knows precious little about them. A study published in BioScience catalogs 30,000 human encounters with 6,000 individual sharks in 54 countries, during the last century. Researchers used a photo-identification library called Wildbook for Whale Sharks to list those seen at 20 hot spots including Ningaloo in Western Australia, Cancun, in Mexico, the Indian Ocean off Mozambique, the Philippines and the Maldives. You too can participate too by taking a photo (preferably of the left side) of any whales shark you dive with, uploading to www.whaleshark.org

Coming Up in Undercurrent:

Bahamas Aggressor after the Hurricane . . . Sidetrip -- Cenote diving from Cozumel . . . Does bad luck follow the Siren fleet? . . . Kauia follow-up . . . When wooden hulls are inappropriate . . . A glimpse of DEMA . . . Say no to plastic packaging with your dive equipment.

Thanks for being a loyal member and subscriber.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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