Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
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June 14, 2018

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Single-Use Plastic

Dismayed at the quantity of plastic used in packaging diving equipment, Undercurrent has contacted all the major manufacturers to ask if they will take steps to reduce this menace. Why wrap fins or snorkels in plastic? After all, dive gear manufacturers make their money off the ocean, and they should be first in line to protect it. That said, after six weeks, only one has responded to our query. In the next issue, we will call out those who are ignoring how their plastic wrap is polluting our oceans and will tell you which dive manufacturers is taking steps to reduce or eliminate their sea-life killing plastic trash.

DEET and Non-Natural Fabrics

While DEET is the go-to ingredient to keep away mosquitoes and no-see-ums, it will break down plastic-based fabrics such as rain and wind shells, microfibers and other apparels, even Gore-Tex. It doesn’t harm wool or cotton, but if you get it on a dive skin or wetsuit, wipe it off.

Maluku Divers in Ambon Closed

Due to a long running legal dispute over land-ownership, Indonesia's Maluku Divers has closed its doors. The owners say all deposits for the 2018/19 season will be refunded. More in the July issue.

Coming Soon in Undercurrent

Who’s rude -- those divers who stay too long underwater or those who protest about it?. . Alami Alor -- a luxury Indonesian resort at reasonable price, with great diving . . . That new Marriott on Bonaire . . . . Diving at Carriacou Island, a hidden Caribbean gem . . . . Costa Rica’s Cano Island by liveaboard . . . Sunscreen; what’s banned and why . . . .The out-of-air crises; it should never happen . . . We call out those dive manufacturers that wrap their products in excessive plastic, while the oceans are suffocating in bags and bottles . . . A dive discovery course leading to an unnecessary death; why don’t agencies fix the problem . . . .and much, much more.

Give Your Gear a Good Soak at Home

After your last dive on a dive trip, you or the crew will invariably give it a fresh water rinse, but you many not know that sometimes that water is not free of salt – especially in a rinse tub if the rinse was perfunctory. If so, in storage salt can leach from cavities and degrade your equipment. Give it a good soak when you get home. If not in the bathtub, in a clean 21-gallon (80liter) garbage can (which can use in your yard, if you have one). And, don’t press that purge button on a wet regulator when it is not pressurized or water will makes it back in. Then, hang it all up to dry in a well ventilated area.

Winning Underwater Photographer Alex Mustard Makes the Queen’s List

In the UK, the annual Queen’s Birthday Honours list features people who have made a difference. Alongside captains of industry, actors, sports personalities, and members of the political establishment, people from humbler occupations get recognized, and this year, underwater photographer Alex Mustard was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire). You can see Mustard’s work in his book, Secrets of the Seas, available on Amazon.

Italian Job

Italian police are hunting for thieves who took the bronze statue of Christ of the Deep that has stood on the seabed off the Adriatic coast near the village of Rocca San Giovanni since 1994. Sculpted by Vito Pancella, the statue was no where to be seen when divers arrived to carry out routine maintenance. Authorities are keeping an eye on the more famous statue at San Fruttuoso, close to Porton Fino, a statue replicated by a twin in the John Pennekamp Marine Park, Key Largo.

Your Travel Reports

Resorts and liveaboard operators that aren’t performing well don’t like it, but your honest appraisals of dive trips are unique in the diving industry and form the backbone of Undercurrent values to subscribers. Sharing your experiences and reporting the good and the bad gives your fellow divers an honest view of what they may expect in their travels and help them pick the best destination for their next trip. And, we’ve even made it easier for you to file a report using the online form here.

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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