Undercurrent Online Update for Subscribers

For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )

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October 1, 2020

Tick a Box and Save a Life. Twenty-two people die every day in the United States waiting for a kidney transplant, most waiting 7 to 9 years. For some, this may be an unpleasant subject, but thousands of people could live many years if they could get the organs of a healthy deceased person. Divers are generally healthy folks who, if they, unfortunately, have a fatal diving accident, would enable others to carry on. Please click here to understand how, someday, even if it’s many, many years from now, you might contribute to someone else’s future.

Missing the Undercurrent Monthly Newsletter? Our publishing is still in abeyance until our writers and divers can travel freely again. If you visit our website, you’ll notice we’re adding blogs that you might find interesting. One of the latest reflects diving the Blue Hole in Dahab, Egypt, back in the early 1980s. We hope they make entertaining reading. You can read it here.

Florida Finally Bans Shark Fin. Signed by the governor, it is now law in the Sunshine State. It’s a game-changer because Florida had become the shark fin trade hub of the United States. As other states outlawed fin possession, Florida became the route for shark fin importers and dealers. On Friday, September 18th, 2020, a giant stride forward was made for shark protection within the United States and beyond with the Florida SB 680, a Shark Fin Ban Bill. www.flsenate.gov

A Netflix Film for Divers to Watch when Isolating at Home. The film My Octopus Teacher is the story of a Cape Town (South Africa) filmmaker and free diver, Craig Foster, who takes a break from conventional life to snorkel in the kelp forest near Camps Bay. Tracking the movements of one cephalopod, with which he develops a strong bond many months, he transports the viewer to the natural world to level of consciousness few have experienced before him. The film is backed by Sea Change Project and is available as a 2020 Netflix Original documentary. www.netflix.com

Sponge Skeletons Are Inspiring. Nature has a lot to teach us. From next-generation body armor to new treatments for tuberculosis, marine sponges have plenty to offer science, and now we see how they might inspire stronger and lighter skyscrapers and bridges. Engineers at Harvard University have demonstrated a new type of load-bearing structure based on the glassy skeletons of sponges, which they say is more than 20 percent stronger than some current structural designs. New Atlas

Developments in the Rob Stewart Litigation. The case continues against co-defendant rEvo BVBA (the rebreather manufacturer) and others in which the defendants claim that professional diver Stewart had a history of blackouts and low blood pressure, which he failed to disclose on his medical declaration to Sotis. They say these were disqualifiers for commercial diving and film making under Canadian and U.S. law. There are also questions concerning the legality and actions of the initial dive team that found the body and their use, and hence loss into the water, of the helium mixes Stewart was using in an unsuccessful attempt to raise his body, making it unavailable for forensic examination.

Boot Plans to Go Ahead. The world’s biggest watersports show, which spans 17 trade fair halls – two are usually devoted to scuba diving -- plans to go ahead in Germany next January. Boot Düsseldorf management says they are well aware of their responsibility to the industry, and the show will be organized following the proper hygiene and infection protection regulations.

Lost Underwater for More than a Decade. Ten years. That’s how long a Kodak waterproof digital camera was lost in Tennessee’s Hiwassee River before it was discovered mid-September by Tripp Hartson/Nunyo, 27, a diver from Cleveland. The memory card was still intact and, say what you will about the evils of social media, it has its uses. After pictures from the camera were posted on Facebook, the rightful owner, Tisa Treece, claimed them and got them back, although the camera had seen better days.

Cleaning Up in Nevada. Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake are beautiful to look at, but underwater, they’re less so. A nonprofit, Clean Up the Lake, have collected more than four tons of underwater garbage since early July. Divers covered eight miles of shoreline down to a depth of 25-feet. This cleanup has been funded by the License Plate Grant from the Nevada Division of State Lands. Next year they intend to clean up a 72-mile stretch of Lake Tahoe.

Our Apologies to Drew Richardson and PADI: In our last email, we got caught by a Facebook spoof by disgruntled divers and reported erroneously that Drew Richardson, CEO of PADI, had said that “PADI was successfully improving corporate profitability by firing employees . . . As we learned later, Richardson never said such a thing and we apologize for putting untrue words in his mouth. Like virtually all companies worldwide, PADI did lay off employees to preserve itself, as did Undercurrent. It’s an unfortunate strategy, but a valid one for any business to survive the loss of income from the pandemic. We traveling divers need PADI to survive and flourish so as to help ensure their hundreds of worldwide resorts survive this crisis and are up and running when we're ready to return.

Stay Safe,

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org