Undercurrent Online Update for Subscribers

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

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September 26, 2023

Saudi's Blue Holes. "The geology of the Red Sea's blue holes is unique," says Carlos Duarte, a Saudi Arabia professor of marine science. The Red Sea has more than 20 of the naturally occurring phenomena formed when water floods a previously cavernous region. Not discovered until 2022, some reach a depth of 1,200 feet, while the depth of others is not yet known. Each blue hole can contain very different biodiversity and vary in shape, size, and depth. No doubt, the worldwide dive industry is eager to create a new dive destination for traveling divers; Saudi Arabia opened for tourism only four years ago.

Too Much Florida Sun? The great songs of the patron saint of diving, Jimmy Buffet, always seem to fill the air as a dive boat returns to port after a good dive. His sad death at 76 years old left a cautionary note about the tropics he loved, as do we. He secretly battled a rare form of skin cancer -- Merkel cell carcinoma, mainly attributed to the sun -- for several years before his death on September 1. "Same place every year, I come down and talk to me, when the coast is clear." Slather yourself with sunscreen, friends.

What's with Celebrities? Endless celebrities report that they almost died while scuba diving, apparently trying to assure their audiences they're just typical idiots. The latest yarn comes from Shaq O'Neill, who told an interviewer, "I'm too heavy. Because when you scuba dive, they give you weights and then when I went down, I hit the button, but I never came back up. Almost drowned. But then my instincts kicked in … I just said the famous word Shaqmu. Shaqmu, like Shamu. And I just did like that [he wiggled], and then I was at the top." Yeah, right.

Other Subscribers Need Your Reports: Independent reader reports are your opportunity to tell it as it is. Unedited and unmoderated, your reports can inform other subscribers of your experience of dive resorts you've visited recently and liveaboards you have traveled on. Don't hold back. You can tell both the good and the bad and everything in between. For more than 40 years and 10,000 entries, these reports have become essential reading for traveling divers. Nowadays, you can post photos too. So don't forget to post a report of your last dive trip. It's easy to do, and you can have several goes at it until you are satisfied with what you have written. Other subscribers depend on the information you provide. File your report at www.undercurrent.org/SubRR

Where are the Sharks of Cozumel? Mexican authorities seized three tons of sharks from an illegal fishing vessel on September 11 off the coast of Cozumel. The suspicious boat was spotted during aerial and maritime surveillance, and when authorities boarded it, they found the shark meat concealed below deck.

U.S. Emergency Recompression Chambers Disappearing. An article in DAN's Alert Diver warns there are few hyperbaric centers open 24/7 for the emergency treatment of diving injuries. "The percentage of hyperbaric medicine programs introduced during the last decade that are available on a 24/7 basis to treat divers . . . .has collapsed into single digits at best. This contrasts sharply with the prior decade, in which a majority of new programs were available 24/7; this availability was an almost universal standard in previous years. Adding to this conundrum is a growing trend among established facilities to discontinue their existing 24/7 coverage. . . .The rate at which access is lost continues to accelerate." You can read the article here.

Connecticut Couple Save Shark in a Glove. Deb and Steve Dauphinais, of Glastonbury (C.T.), were diving 35 feet down on the sand flats off Jamestown, Rhode Island when Deb spotted a 16-inch juvenile shark with its head stuck inside a heavy-duty rubber work glove. A dive instructor for 30 years, Deb initially thought the shark was dead, but on closer examination, she saw it move, and they pulled it free. It swam off, apparently undamaged by the experience.

Golf Sharks. For nearly two decades, the Carbrook Golf Club near Brisbane, Australia, had the ultimate water hazard: a lake teeming with bull sharks. They arrived in 1996 when raging floods swept six young bull sharks from a nearby river into a 51-acre lake near the golf course's 14th hole. When the floodwaters receded, the sharks found themselves stuck, surrounded by grassy hills and curious golfers. The sharks spent 17 years in the lake, sustaining themselves on its large stock of fish and the occasional meat treat provided by the club's staff. One shark was illegally fished out, while the others ultimately vanished after subsequent floods. Peter Gausmann, a shark scientist at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, said they proved that bull sharks can live indefinitely in low-salinity water. (NYTimes)

Breath-taking Ocean Images. The winning and commended images of the Oceanographic Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 competition were recently announced, with the marine biologist and amateur photographer Jialing Cai from the China named the overall winner for her image of a paper nautilus floating on a piece of ocean debris taken in the Philippines. The gallery of winners by contest organizers Oceanographic Magazine, with subjects from the very large to the very small, can be seen here.

Cayman Aggressor IV Runs Aground. The well-established Caribbean liveaboard ran aground in Grand Cayman’s North Sound on the morning of September 21. The 108-foot vessel was stuck on the sandbar at Stingray City, while all guests and crew were reported removed in a timely manner. The vessel was pulled free by the tugboat Navigator four hours later and taken into George Town for inspection of its hull. For just about 40 years, an Aggressor liveaboard has operated in Cayman waters. One would think, by now, they would have the reefs sufficiently charted to avoid them.

Spectacular Diving in Indonesia. One of our well-traveled writers visited an isolated embryonic resort, Maratua Island, Kalimantan, Indonesia. and found the reefs loaded with everything from critters to thresher sharks, and there was hardly a diver around. We've posted her story on our website and you can read all about it here.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
BenDDavison@undercurrent.org