Undercurrent Online Update for Non-Subscribers

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August 18, 2021

Our apologies for leaving out the pictures from the previous email.

Freediving and Scuba May Enhance the Side Effects of the Vaccine. Diver Alert Network (DAN) reminds us that divers should keep out of the water about seven days after receiving the COVID vaccination and keep that in mind when it's time for your booster. Mild side effects are common in the first three days, and these can include a sore arm, red at the injection site, fever/chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, or nausea, which may be enhanced by increased ambient pressure. As for the side effects, not to worry; they simply indicate your body is building an immune response (called 'reactogenicity').

Only Your Computer Counts: Recently, we've received too many reports of divers depending on a guide's computer to finish their dive. It doesn't work that way. Your computer keeps YOU safe from the bends by monitoring YOUR time and YOUR depth to compute, through its algorithm, YOUR safe ascent time. You need to be fully versed in what the data on the screen tells you. Different computers use different algorithms and give different results, some more liberal than others. The only computer that is accurate for your dive is the one YOU carry. No other diver has the same dive profile you had (or, most likely, the same algorithm). If you wish to carry a backup computer, make it identical to your primary computer.

Become an Undercurrent Subscriber Today: Right now, we’re offering a 6-month subscription for just $16.95, that includes more-than-monthly emails with much more detailed and timely information (this email is for nonsubscribers only), four full issues, chock full of dive reviews, reader reports, travel tips – you have to be careful with COVID – and much, much more. Last month we reviewed Cozumel (subscribers can view it on our website) and coming up are liveaboard and resort reviews covering Saba, Belize, Bonaire, Bahamas, Hawaii, and much, much more. Subscribe now to get full access to the scores of reader reports being filed that detail dive resort and liveaboard diving in this difficult new world. And, if you don't like what you get, I'll give your money back, no questions asked. Click here to subscribe now.

Camping at Sea. The press calls it an inflatable tent, but it is an inverted tent that holds air underwater so that divers can effectively use it for camping out. It was invented by Winslow Burleson, a professor at the University of Arizona College, and professional diver Michael Lombardi. The tent provides a relatively dry and protected space underwater for divers to enter, remove their equipment, and carry out tasks before returning to the surface. The high-tech habitat provides a place for divers to decompress after deep scientific dives and even an underwater facility to treat decompression sickness in remote locations. It also provides shelter for long-term observations of wildlife behavior. The highly portable system can provide adequate life support to two occupants through an overnight stay.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning at a Scuba School. The director of U.K. company Aqua Logistics, Geoffrey Shearn, narrowly avoided a jail term this month after the tanks his company filled from a 'modified compressor' for a 2017 Manchester, England, school scuba class were found to be contaminated with carbon monoxide, poisoning eight children and putting two in a hospital, one who had to be put in an induced coma. The company was fined the equivalent of $13,000 with more than $15,000 in Court fees. Daily Mail

Who Knew? Most movies portray sharks in a negative light, hurting conservation efforts. It all appears to have started with JAWS, and the Daily Mail reports that 96 percent of shark movies since then portray interactions between humans and sharks as overtly threatening. Around two percent of 548 known shark species have been involved in shark attacks, and the chance of being killed by a shark in U.S. waters is around 3.7 million to one, but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Using the Wrong Sunscreen Can Cost. Thailand has just banned the use of sunscreens that damage coral, joining Palau and Hawaii. You may think that's a drop in the ocean regarding the ecological damage we're doing to the planet, but you may be more concerned with the damage to your bank balance if you are caught flouting the rule: Fines in Thailand approach $3000. The banned lotions are those containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben. BBC

Stay Safe
Wear a Mask, Get Vaccinated
Don’t Share Your Air

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org