Undercurrent Online Update for Subscribers

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

August 16, 2019  

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Using a Transmitter?

If you have a wireless air-integrated computer, the transmitter, jutting out from the side of the regulator’s first stage, can look seductively like a tank handle to uninitiated boat crews, and they may grab it. Mounting it at the end of a short (six-inch) high-pressure hose avoids costly errors, but don’t also forget to install the little double-ended flow restrictor supplied with your computer’s transmitter, rather than the single-ended one for use when fitted directly to the first stage.

Your Reader Reports Are the Lifeblood of Undercurrent

Your Reader Reports Are the Lifeblood of Undercurrent because they reflect your own experiences. And because they tell both the good and bad, these reports help make our monthly newsletter a unique source for serious divers. Your reports join more than 10,000 others in our online database (and our annual Travelin’ Divers’ Chapbook), which is easily searchable by you and every other subscriber. . File your report here.

Dive Rite Recalls Its Low-Pressure Regulator Hoses

The hoses, in lengths between six and 84 inches, were sold between February 2018 and July 2019, either individually or as part of a regulator or rebreather package. They’re suspected of not meeting design and performance standards. The specific hose assemblies recalled are marked with the codes of: 0308, 0388, 0598, 0808, 1648, 1738, and 1998 – look for the coding on the ferrule or hose itself. Return your recalled hose to the dealer from which you bought it for a replacement. More recall details are here.

Will Shark Bites Transform Bahamas’ Dive Industry?

With three shark attacks in two weeks – the tragic death of a woman snorkelling at Rose Island in June (which we wrote about in our July issue), and shark-bite incidents involving snorkelers at both Abaco and Guana Cay --Bahamas Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar says that the islands’ excursion operators will adopt “transformative measures,” and that he’s talking with other officials about ways to mitigate shark attacks. Political bluster? Or will there be new rules that have teeth?

Amos Nachoum’s A Picture of His Life

Some of you know Amos from his underwater photographs of large marine life, from humpback whales at the Silver Banks to leopard seals in Antarctica. His greatest ambition has been to photograph a polar bear swimming underwater, surely his most dangerous subject. Although this documentary focuses on meeting that goal, it also delves into how Nachoum’s life in Israel, the complex relationship he had with his father, and his military history have led to his quest. See the film trailer here.

Pedophile Island

In the waters near now-deceased Jeffrey Epstein’s private St. Thomas retreat in the Virgin Islands, there’s some decent diving, but when guides took scuba divers to spots near Epstein’s Little St. James Island, security guards would immediately walk to the water’s edge. “Everybody called it ‘Pedophile Island,’” says Kevin Goodrich, who runs Alternate Attitude boat charters out of St. Thomas. “It’s our dark corner.” On August 12, the FBI raided Pedophile Island to probe further into Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring.

Have You Been on a Photography-Instruction Dive Trip?

A good way to improve your underwater photography skills is to take a course led by a pro. Some courses are well-structured, others seem to simply be the means to financially support someone else’s dive trip. What type of dive photography course have you taken? Let us know what you encountered, good and bad. Email your experience to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org including your town and state.

Coming Soon in Undercurrent

Underwater photography courses in the Philippines . . . the seahorses of Long Beach . . . how to deploy surface marker buoys from depth . . . recent deaths that highlight risks for older divers and snorkelers . . . is PADI training adequate? . . . when diving and politeness don’t always go together . . . what you -- and the dive industry -- think about tipping . . . which underwater photography courses are worth paying for? . . . why you shouldn’t freedive during surface intervals . . . and much, much more.

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
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