Flotsam & Jetsam

Crazy Instructor Court Judgement Overturned. On February 22, an Appeal Court in Malta overturned a previous judgment that found 60-year-old diver Arthur Castillo guilty of the involuntary homicide of his dive buddy, who died during a dive in January 2020. It was clear to nearly everyone in the dive industry that the deceased diver, an experienced instructor, made a series of mistakes leading to her demise. The European diving industry is collectively relieved that the notion that a diver is responsible for another diver's life has been dismissed. You can read full details of the case in Undercurrent's January issue.

Spectacular Footage of Whales Sharks Feeding. CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, recently posted footage recorded at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia of whale sharks feeding on bait balls of sardines in the presence of other predators, on its Facebook page. It's an unusual insight into their feeding habits. You can see it here: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=6280233782005266

Aqualung Calypso Regulator Voluntary Recall. Regulators with first-stage serial number L077601-L077700 or Common Part Number RG126111 have a potentially defective first-stage body that could lead to a severe second-stage freeflow due to a sudden increase in inter-stage pressure. If you have a Calypso regulator with one of the CPNs or serial numbers listed above, don't use it and contact your dealer for a free replacement. Click https://tinyurl.com/yw553ehz for details.

Another Regulator Recall. If you are one of the 50 or so divers who bought an X-Deep NX 700 regulator, don't use it and return to where you bought it for replacement or refund. A defective screw on the first-stage turret can break, risking catastrophic failure. www.xdeep.eu/nx700-product-recall.html

Photographer of the Year 2023. The overall winner of the international competition sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation was American Kat Zou, with an unusual image of a pink river dolphin breaching the Amazon's surface. Underwater photographers from 72 countries entered more than 6000 photos. To see the winning shots, go to https://tinyurl.com/yc2urhju

But Pink Dolphins Aren't as Benign as You Imagine. A 28-year-old British woman was savaged by a pink river dolphin while swimming in Bolivia's Santa Rosa de Yacuma. The dolphin grabbed Claire Bye's right foot with its sharp teeth and almost ripped it off. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors closed the wounds with 32 stitches. She flew to La Paz for further treatment, where she waited two weeks before she could fly home for reconstructive surgery.

Damp Days and Pizza in Key Largo. Retired U.S. Navy Commander Joseph Dituri will attempt a world record of 100 days spent in an underwater fixed habitat, from March 1 to June 9, at Jules' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, a hotel located 30 feet underwater and accessible only by scuba diving. Ordinary guests can stay at the tropical underwater paradise for just under $1,700 per night for two, and have a pizza delivered by a scuba diver. John Bantin once stayed there and says that the accommodations felt rather damp despite the aircon and the pizza got soggy in no time. https://jul.com/overnight-stays/

Liquid Gold in a Discovered Wreck. In December 1854, the Westmoreland, a passenger steamer, sunk in the frigid waters of northern Lake Michigan. Seventeen lives were lost that night, in addition to 280 barrels of whiskey. Shipwreck diver Ross Richardson discovered the Westmoreland in 2018, 200 feet down. According to his team, the cold and calm conditions of the water worked wonders in preserving the submerged vessel . . . and its whiskey as well. Bearing in mind a single bottle of scotch whiskey salvaged from the SS Politician off the coast of Scotland fetched more than $15,000 at auction in 2021, it's too much to imagine what the Westmorland's liquid gold could be worth.

Unawareness of IPE Strikes Again. A diver signaling out-of-air when he has a working supply of air is a recognized sign of Immersion Pulmonary Edema (IPE), where the lungs spontaneously fill with fluid upon immersion in cold water. If it is not treated quickly, the diver asphyxiates. Nigel Craig, a British technical diving instructor, was prosecuted in 2022 for the death of trainee Richard Stansfield in 2016. The prosecution seems to have based its case on the macabre idea that Craig had held his unwilling student underwater in the misguided belief that forcing him to make a safety stop was more critical than preventing him from drowning. Yet both he and the casualty had adequate air supplies. The prosecution had largely ignored that IPO was possibly a reason he drowned. Craig was found not guilty.

Another Diver's Close Call with a Boat. 30-year-old diver Christopher Lastra was filming himself spearfishing off Hawaii's Magic Island in early February when he surfaced to see a sport fishing boat bearing down on him. He had lost his surface-marker buoy a few days earlier but went for a short, shallow reef dive anyway. The captain of the Wind Whisperer immediately stopped the engine when he thought he'd hit something and searched the water before spotting Lastra some distance away. He then circled back to check on the diver and offer his help, which Lastra politely declined, instead choosing to return to shore despite the boat's propeller having shred one of his fins.