A Batch of Corrections. We need a better
map - - some astute readers caught two
geographic errors we made in the March
issue. In “Why Divers Die,” we incorrectly
stated that a female diver died while diving
in Yakima, WA. Actually, she was from
Yakima, a land-locked town, and drowned
in Puget Sound. In Flotsam & Jetsam, the
Northern Marianas’ successful spearfishing
ban is in Saipan, not Sipadan, the Malaysian
island. And in “Backup Lights for Divers,”
reviewer John Bantin found out after the
issue went to press that the sample Aquastar
3 lamp he was given for testing has only one
O-ring while retail models actually have two.
“That is probably why it leaked slightly during
my test dives.”
When Is a Passport Full? Make sure
you have plenty of empty passport pages
before your next international dive trip.
While en route to an Indonesian liveaboard
last fall, Undercurrent reader Eldon Okazaki
(Sunnyvale, CA) was stopped at the Manado
airport because he was told his passport
was full, even though the last two pages were empty. “The customs officer said
when you get to the last four pages, it is
considered full. I had to pay a ‘fee’ to get
through.” After his trip, Okazaki’s local
passport agency confirmed it was true. The
State Department says it’s prepared to fulfill
passport requests within four weeks but if
you need it earlier, it will do overnight delivery
for an additional $60. Get the details
online at http://travel.state.gov.
Even Royals Lose Rings Underwater. Princess Mary of Denmark is probably
not amused - - her husband, Crown Prince
Frederik, lost his wedding ring, designed
from the first gold nugget mined in
Greenland, while diving near Key West in
January. While the average Joe Diver would
have given up by his flight departure time,
Prince Frederik merited a team of divers
searching the reef for his ring even though
he couldn’t remember where he lost it. Dive
instructor Steve Tropp, who accompanied
Prince Frederik on the dive, says it’s hopeless.
“We have a lot of barracudas that fancy
shiny objects so I think the ring likely ended
up in one’s belly. Perhaps it will end up on a
dinner table one day.”