Undercurrent Online Update for Non-Subscribers

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March 16, 2024

You Found What? Sara Vanderkaden and two other Halifax divers were taking part in an underwater clean up in Terence Bay, Halifax, when they came across the remains of a juvenile great white shark in 35 feet of water. It's a rare find, not only because not many great whites get that far north, but most big animals sink to the deep upon death. (Canadian Geographic)

Divers Lose Their Boat. On March 2, Maldives Police found 10 Russian divers and three Maldivian dive guides drifting without any boat near GDh Atoll. The dhoni from the liveaboard, MY Alice, from which they were diving, was recovered and returned to its owner, presumably because it had been left unmanned.

What You Get if You Subscribe to Undercurrent: We cover subjects other dive publications avoid for fear of upsetting their advertisers. But we don't accept advertising. We are accountable only to divers. Our travel reviews are written by undercover authors who pay their way. Our stories cover equipment problems, liveaboard safety, the ins and outs of tipping, how dive insurance can fail you, and much, much more. In December, you will receive the Travelin' Diver's Chapbook, filled with hundreds of travel reviews by fellow subscribers. Not only that, you have full access to more than 11,000 Undercurrent independent readers' reports -- opinions and impressions posted without fear or favor by those who have stayed at the resorts or have 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.

Art Versus Illegal Trawling. Beam trawling -- dragging vast nets along the sea floor -- seriously damages everything in its path. It's prohibited in some zones throughout the world, but enforcement is difficult or non-existent. An Italian ex-fisherman, 62-year-old Paulo il Pescatore, has devised a novel solution. He drops obstructions to the seabed off the coast of Talamone, Tuscany, that snags the nets of illegal trawlers. But it's all art. After an Italian quarry donated 100 massive marble blocks, he enlisted artists worldwide to carve them into beautiful sculptures, turning art into barriers against illegal bottom trawling. So far, he's placed 39 sculptures, with more to follow.

Heroic Rescue by Liveaboard. On February 12, a small aircraft crashed into the sea near San Cristobal airport, and thanks to the prompt action and bravery of the crew of liveaboard Galapagos Master, every one of the nine passengers and crew were rescued.

NOAA is Offering a $20,000 Reward for information about who injured and killed an endangered sawfish, a fish few divers ever see, in the Florida Keys. The sawfish was missing its rostrum (the saw), which somebody cut off the night of January 30. While the agency says you must include your name and contact information to qualify for the reward, tips can also be left anonymously if you don’t need the money.

Top Ocean Predator Predated Upon. While orcas have been regularly attacking great white sharks off South Africa, whale watchers were stunned last year when they witnessed a lone orca attack and eviscerate a great white. Within two minutes, the orca made off with the shark's enormous liver. Previously observed orca attacks on great whites involved two to six animals and took up to two hours. The livers of great whites are huge organs, up to a third of their body mass, and rich in lipids. The orcas ignore the rest of the carcass.

A Territorial Seal. A group of eight mainly foreign tourists preparing to dive off the Oudekraal Beach in South Africa on March 2 were attacked by a seal that bit a number of them. Four crew members from the dive boat they arrived in recovered them before alerting emergency services. Two women were treated for wounds, and one woman was hospitalized. Four others received minor injuries, and all were advised to get a course of antibiotics.

Apple Watch Warning. A Port Barrington (IL) diver who has recovered more than 200 Apple watches from Indiana's Chain O' Lakes warns Apple watch owners to stay out of the water if their watches have the original band. Derick Langos says that those with sports bands do not stay on in the water. Langos also frequently finds smartphones, rings, jewelry and prescription glasses underwater.

Unpleasant Experiences. In Undercurrent (March) we wrote about a new diver’s unfortunate time with a dive guide. Have you experienced a dive guide who was unsympathetic to your needs or abilities or those of other divers? How did you or they handle it? Write to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org, telling us about it, but not forgetting to add your town and state.

This Month in Undercurrent. Diving with MV Valentina in the Sea of Cortez . . . Remembering Paul Humann . . . An oil slick reaches Bonaire . . . Playing with Sea Lions . . . Readers Report on Bonaire, Belize, Rangiroa, Fiji, and Indonesia . . . A dive ladder servers fingers . . . Diving the Avelo system . . . An unpleasant experience for a novice diver . . . Californian divers encouraged to bring hammers on dives . . . Tipping for divers (part I) . . . Insuring old scuba gear? . . . Recycle your old wetsuit . . . and much, much, more.

Free-to-Read in Undercurrent. Even if you are not a subscriber, some articles are made freely available to everyone. This month you can enjoy an article about whether it’s worth insuring old scuba gear.

Time to Subscribe to Undercurrent? If you enjoyed our mid-month email, you'll enjoy the Undercurrent newsletter more. Not only that, in addition you have full access to more than 11,000 Undercurrent independent readers' reports -- opinions and impressions posted without fear or favor by those who have stayed at the resorts or have been on liveaboards worldwide. I am offering you a seven-month trial subscription for just $19.95. 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