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Updated December 18, 2013
These brief news articles below were sent out via email to all divers who signed up for our free email list.
You can sign up here to receive future Undercurrent Online Updates and get news alerts and special offers like these every month.

Kick Off 2014 with a Subscription to Undercurrent
Get a Print Copy of Our Chapbook
Want to Buy a Dive Shop?
GoPro's Newest Camera
Another Airline Bans Shark Fins on Its Flights
The Humpback Whales of Tonga
A Feel-Good Dive-Related Story for the Holidays

Kick Off 2014 with a Subscription to Undercurrent:  December 18, 2013

Stay up to date on critical developments in diving, equipment and travel with our 11 monthly issues. Our articles can help you save money, and even help save you from diving disasters. Then you'll understand why our subscribers keep on subscribing, even after they've stopped diving. William King, Isle of Palms, SC) writes, "In 1984, I wrote to Ben asking where in Hawaii I could take my newly certified but reluctant wife to dive. He recommended Dive Makai on the Big Island. Lisa and Tom did a wonderful job, and subsequently my wife has dived everywhere from the Caribbean to Truk Lagoon. Last month, my wife decided to retire from diving due to a physical condition that makes coming aboard dive boats via a ladder a difficult situation, but thank you, Ben, for giving me a great dive partner for 28 fantastic years. I couldn't have done it without your advice." Subscribe now!

Get a Print Copy of Our Chapbook:  December 18, 2013

The 2014 Travelin' Divers Chapbook, all 600-plus reader reports on dive operations in 50-plus countries, can now be ordered in print. Non-subscribers pay $29.95, plus shipping and handling. Order now here.

Want to Buy a Dive Shop?:  December 18, 2013

DiveShopsForSale.com touts itself as the first website dedicated to the sale of them, and says 70 percent of its customers are first-time buyers, largely out of corporate America. Now there's the old joke about buying a scuba shop (How do you make a million dollars in the dive industry? Start with two million), but the DiveShopsForSale founders (who don't list their names on the site) say they'll offer prospective owners a training and support program to help get financing, negotiate with vendors and compete with internet retailers. A Central Florida dive shop, "one of the most profitable dive stores," was recently priced at $275,000; a 70-foot liveaboard in Honduras was $395,000. Still interested? Details are at www.diveshopsforsale.com.

GoPro's Newest Camera:  December 18, 2013

John Bantin just wrote about the GoPro Hero3 in the October issue, and lo and behold, GoPro launched a new model a few days after the article came out -- the GoPro Hero3+. There are not many changes to it, but according to DiverWire writer Bobby Johnson, they are welcome ones. It boasts a slimmer frame, a 12-megapixel camera, and video recording at 30 frames-per-second, in addition to new shooting modes and built-in WiFi. That doesn't mean you'll have to buy all new accessories; anything that fits the Hero3 will continue to work with the Hero3+. "The reduction in size and weight makes the camera even better suited for wearing on a helmet or a dive mask," says Johnson. "The buttons on the underwater housing have also increased in size, making it easier to snap a shot even through thick gloves." Pricing starts at $300. Read Bantin's reviews and other need-to-know dive news by subscribing to us at Undercurrent.

Another Airline Bans Shark Fins on Its Flights:  December 18, 2013

If you had subscribed to Undercurrent in 2013, you would have read our articles this year about the pressure on airlines to allow cargo transport of shark fins. Garuda, Indonesia's national airline has joined a growing list of airlines (Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air) to ban the transport of shark fins on all flights. Prior to the ban, Garuda transported an estimated 36 tons of sharks fin each year. Indonesia is a top supplier of shark fins- it exported 434 tons last year -- but its Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry announced last month that it was considering a quota system, and would issue a new regulation on shark fishing by year's end.

The Humpback Whales of Tonga:  December 18, 2013

Looking for a trip of a lifetime?  Here's some 20% off deals with Flamingo Bay Ocean Adventures in Australia.

A Feel-Good Dive-Related Story for the Holidays:  December 18, 2013

You may have seen this by now, but if not ,here's a video of this incredible tale of a man found surviving three days in a pocket of air formed in an overturned boat. A commercial boat sank in Nigeria, and it wasn't until three days later that divers could go down to recover the bodies. Imagine their surprise when they came upon the cook still alive, sitting in an air pocket. Then the trick was to get him out without severely bending him. One of the recovery divers had a camera mounted on his helmet, and you can see and hear the entire recovery (the divers sounds weird because they're breathing Heliox) by clicking this link.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

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Note: Undercurrent is a registered 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization donating funds to help preserve coral reefs. Our travel writers never announce their purpose, are unknown to the destination, and receive no complimentary services or compensation from the dive operators or resort.

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Highlights of Previous Online Updates*

Here are past Online Update emails sent out . You can sign-up for free to receive these in the future here.

December, 2012

November, 2012

October, 2012

September, 2012

August, 2012

July, 2012

June, 2012

May, 2012

April, 2012

March, 2012

February, 2012

January, 2012

Online Updates* Archive, 2000-2011

* Sometimes referred to as Upwellings


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