Undercurrent Online Update for Non-Subscribers

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September 21, 2021

Is It a Shark or Is It a Pig? In early September, Italian naval officers near Portoferraio on the island of Elba, a popular diving spot, were stunned when they pulled the corpse of a shark with a face of a pig from the water. Rumors of it being some kind of mutant were quickly dispelled when it was identified as a rare angular rough shark. You won’t get to see one while diving because these animals inhabit waters 2,300 feet beneath the surface. Daily Mirror

U.S. Coast Guard Sued for Negligence in Conception Fire. Family members of the 34 people who died in the Southern California Conception liveaboard fire two years ago have sued the U.S. Coast Guard for lax enforcement of safety regulations and repeatedly certifying passenger boats that are fire traps. Since the owner of the Conception had only insured liability for the value of the vessel, leaving little more than chump change after the costs of its recovery, plaintiffs are looking to litigate where they can. One of the surviving members of the crew, Ryan Sims, who broke a leg while jumping clear from the burning vessel, is among the plaintiffs in the wrongful death lawsuit. The U.S. Coast Guard has declined to comment. More coming in October issue of Undercurrent (Associated Press)

This Email is a Sample of the more complete mid-month email we send our monthly subscribers. And, our 16-page monthly issue is sent the first week of the month. In September, Undercurrent subscribers read about: Our undercover reviewer visits Saba -- Fine dining and fishy waters . . . Getting to Saba and COVID restrictions … Bonaire: good diving, some restrictions . . . Vaccinated and safe to travel? Some tips for divers . . . Bent divers losing access to hyperbaric chambers thanks to unvaccinated COVID patients . . . Understanding your computer -- a Galapagos tragedy incident . . . Is your computer too conservative? . . . and much, much more. Click here to become a subscriber.

Hey, Divers, Your Eyesight Declines with Age, But Here’s a Trick. Instead of having bifocals in his diving mask, the original BBC Blue Planet cameraman and boffin, Peter Scoones, solved the problem by having a plus-diopter lens in one side of his mask for close up subjects, and a minus-diopter lens in the other for distance. He reckoned his brain sorted it out, and he could see clearly and photograph well throughout a dive.

Going Diving? You Might be Surprised by the Crowds: With few places to travel, the Caribbean being about the only option for American divers, you might be surprised by the crowds. In July, says Undercurrent subscriber Irina Zeylikman (Lexington MA), Captain Don's Habitat in Bonaire “was packed, I have never seen that many people at the same time in all our years coming there. They were running all boats three times a day, and all boats were full. But we did not mind, we've been diving, and it was good. There were noticeably fewer big fish and more lionfish. But the rest was plentiful, turtles, eagle rays, squid, seahorses . . . The flights were packed. Restaurant reservations were a must as the island was packed, too. Can't wait to go back.”

If you’re even thinking about a dive trip, you need Undercurrent. Each month, in our 16-page newsletter, we’ll keep you up to date on the safe spots to travel, who is operating safely, and where you should avoid traveling. As a subscriber, you can also access scores upon scores of reports pouring in from our fellow subscribers on the Keys, Belize, Bonaire, Hawaii, Cabo and Socorro, the Red Sea, and many other places. And there are plenty of features on safety -- like that bent diver who ignored her own computer and listened to her guide -- equipment, and much, much more. I am offering you a seven-month trial subscription for just $26.95, and if at any time during this time you want your money back, email me, and you’ll get it, no questions asked, a promise I’ve kept since 1975. Click here to become our newest subscriber.

You Think You’re Bent? Don’t jump back into the water, as one Bahamas spearfisherman did at the end of August near Providence Island. After early dives, the captain was motoring the two divers between dive sites when one diver collapsed. The captain stopped to administer first aid. The other diver, recognizing his buddy had a bends hit, re-entered the water to descend and recompress himself. Shortly afterward, however, the captain saw him floating motionless at the surface. Both divers died. Bahamas Press

Long Arm of the Law. Ten years ago, two Brits, Christopher Jones and Alison Gracey, who ran the Key Largo Scuba Shack, were accused of manslaughter when their boat Get Wet capsized off Molasses Reef, drowning Aimee Rhoads and injuring others (see Undercurrent August 2015). While the couple was in the Bahamas at the time of Rhoads’ death, they were later arrested on St. Maarten in 2015, but eluded extradition when they left the Dutch island. The U.S. indictment states, "The alleged unlawful and careless manner in which the defendants operated the boat caused the death of a scuba diver . . . the defendants knowingly and willingly made a false statement to the U.S. Coast Guard about the boat’s ownership.” They were arrested last April in Spain, and now face extradition to the U.S. Federal News Network

Call Me Snake Hips. Sexually frustrated olive sea snakes often mistake divers for potential mates. In a new study, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia analyzed 158 interactions with olive sea snakes (Aipysurus laevis) over several years in the Great Barrier Reef and found that interactions were more common during the reptiles’ mating season. The research team noted that the sea snakes cannot tell a diver from another snake until they lick the object to identify it. The snakes’ poor vision is believed to be behind the confusion. While the olive sea snake is highly poisonous, we’re unaware of any unprovoked attack on a diver. Live Science

If you’re even thinking about a dive trip, you need Undercurrent. Each month, in our 16-page newsletter, we’ll keep you up to date on the safe spots to travel, who is operating safely, and where you should avoid traveling. As a subscriber, you can also access scores upon scores of reports pouring in from our fellow subscribers on the Keys, Belize, Bonaire, Hawaii, Cabo and Socorro, the Red Sea, and many other places. And there are plenty of features on safety -- like that bent diver who ignored her own computer and listened to her guide -- equipment, and much, much more. I am offering you a seven-month trial subscription for just $26.95, and if at any time during this time you want your money back, email me, and you’ll get it, no questions asked, a promise I’ve kept since 1975. Click here to become our newest subscriber.

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

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org