Undercurrent Online Update for Non-Subscribers

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February 21, 2023

Insurance Woes? For our next issue, we're working on a story about the woes and triumphs of divers' insurance claims. Have you submitted a claim to an insurance carrier that led to a disappointing response? Tell us about it. Don't forget to include your town and state, and email BenDDavison@undercurrent.org.

Those Junk Travel Fees. As a dive traveler, you must be fed up with those sneaky fees that show up as "resort fees," forced tips, or unexpected fees tacked on to your final bill, though you were never prewarned. And then there are endless airline fees tacked on to the advertised price. Joe Biden has asked Congress to dump these "junk fees," a proposal that should have bipartisan support. In California, a legislative bill was introduced in February to protect Californians from blind charges. In the meantime, if you come across one of those surprise fees, just say "nope." Chances are, it will be removed without a complaint. We've done it successfully.

Where Can Divers Volunteer to Save the Reefs?: We're researching destinations and operations, and if you know of any volunteer programs, let me know. BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

Undercurrent is Unique Among Diving Media because it does not accept any advertising and is genuinely independent. Subscribers get a lengthy newsletter eleven months per year that deals with many subjects traditional magazines shy away from for fear of upsetting their sponsors. Mid-month mail keeps you up to the minute with diving news (this is an abbreviated version), and you get the Travellin' Diver's Chapbook every December. Not only that, subscribers get full access to more than 11,000 Undercurrent independent readers' reports -- opinions and impressions posted without fear or favor by those who have actually stayed at diving resorts and been on liveaboards worldwide. I am offering you a seven-month trial subscription for just $19.95. And I'll send you a FREE download of the 40-page e-books Eight Great Liveaboards (and One Disaster) and Eight Great Dive Resorts (and One Dog). If you want your money back at any time during this period, you'll get it, a promise I've kept since we started publishing in 1975. Click Here

Fatal River Shark Attack. During the first week of February, a 16-year-old girl swimming in the Swan River near Perth, Australia, died after being attacked by a bull shark. Bull sharks can tolerate fresh water and visit estuaries and rivers. They travel up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua and have been found in the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois.

After the Dust Settles on the Linnea Mills Case, attorney David Concannon is asking the U.S. Attorney for the State of Montana to reopen the investigation into Linnea's death, believing that the instructor is liable for her death. Details about this case, the outcome, PADI's role, and the call for the investigation will appear in the next issue of Undercurrent.

Florida Gets Another Artificial Reef. The former research vessel R/V Manta was sunk 16 miles off Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, on January 15. At about 110 feet deep, the wreck features a statue of Christ of the Gulf at a depth of 50 feet and is accessible to basic certification divers. The R/V Manta is due to be joined by its sister ship R/V Dolphin in the coming weeks.

This Month in Undercurrent: Two weeks on Spoilsport in Australia's Coral Sea . . . Another propeller accident in Cozumel . . . Bonaire visitors should watch out for an Internet scam . . . A fortunate lad is lost and found at sea . . . A visit to Turneffe Island Resort in Belize . . . Ships may be fueling a coral-killing epidemic . . . Manta populations are increasing . . . A painful ear infection from polluted seas . . . A Cozumel diver is lost to a down current . . . Don't forget about riptides . . . Mexico closes down great white cage diving . . . Dave Crosby was a serious diver . . . A Red Sea liveaboard smacks into a reef at night . . . and much, much more.

A Horrific Shark Attack. A giant great white shark decapitated a 19-year-old Mexican diver in front of horrified fishermen on January 6. Manuel Lopez had been collecting scallops in Tobari Bay in the Sea of Cortez using surface-supplied air. Local divers and anglers had not been out for several days due to the presence of large white sharks.

Mosquitoes Chase You on Dive Trips? Pregnant women are attractive to mosquitoes, as are people who have had a few beers. Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have found that people with higher levels of carbolic acid on their skin are 100 times more attractive to the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, which haunts you wherever you dive. The acid your body generates smells like cheese or smelly feet, which attracts female mosquitoes hunting for human blood. You can't cover it up with cologne. Take a shower to cut down those juicy compounds, especially around your feet. (Washington Post)

Undercurrent is Unique Among Diving Media because it does not accept any advertising and is genuinely independent. Subscribers get a lengthy newsletter eleven months per year that deals with many subjects traditional magazines shy away from for fear of upsetting their sponsors. Mid-month mail keeps you up to the minute with diving news (this is an abbreviated version), and you get the Travellin' Diver's Chapbook every December. Not only that, subscribers get full access to more than 11,000 Undercurrent independent readers' reports -- opinions and impressions posted without fear or favor by those who have actually stayed at diving resorts and been on liveaboards worldwide. I am offering you a seven-month trial subscription for just $19.95. And I'll send you a FREE download of the 40-page e-books Eight Great Liveaboards (and One Disaster) and Eight Great Dive Resorts (and One Dog). If you want your money back at any time during this period, you'll get it, a promise I've kept since we started publishing in 1975. Click Here

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org