Cameron Diaz Was, Like, Almost Swallowed by
a Grouper. Being a movie star doesn't mean you'll
get special treatment by fish if you pet them. While
on The Tonight Show last month, Diaz talked about how
she decided to get up and close with a Goliath grouper
during a Cozumel dive. "It was probably the size
of a Volkswagen bug, He has these big old lips and
someone said, 'Oh, you should pet him.' I'm rubbing
its lip and I'm like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing!'
I'm looking into its eyes, we're having this whole
moment and all of a sudden, it inhaled and I go flying
inside. I'm like inside this fish . . . The only thing
that stopped me was literally my neck. And he spit
me out, and I'm, like, rolling backwards. So that was
really good times."
More Hollywood -Goes-Diving News. The sad
tale of Gabe Watson, the American who pleaded guilty
to the mansalughter of his wife, Tina, during a Great
Barrier Reef dive, is being turned into a movie. The
producers of Australian film Fatal Honeymoon promise
to delve deep into Watson's psychology. Harvey Keitel
will play Tina's father, Tommy Thomas, "whose determined
pursuit of justice will be a focus of the movie."
It's unclear whether the movie will follow Thomas' pursuit back to Alabama, where Watson was acquitted of
murder in March.
Indonesian Liveaboard Corrections. In our April
article "What to Do with Smoking Divers," one subscriber
questioned whether the Philippine Siren had a smoking
policy, or if crew followed it. Yes to both, says Worldwide
Dive and Sail, the boat's owner. In a note to us, they
wrote, "We would like to assuere guests that the Siren
fleet does have a smoking policy, and concerns raised
by guests will always be addressed immediately by our
team." Regarding our March article on portable defibrillators,
in which we questioned whether any Indonesian liveaboards
have them, the Seven Seas spoke up that it indeed
does have a portable defibrillator on board. So divers,
your hearts and lungs are better protected from hazards.
Don't Mess Around in California Marine Reserves. State officials are cracking down on misbehaving divers.
When Marbel Para, 30, admitted to illegally taking more
than three times the daily limit of lobsters in Laguna
Beach State Marine Reserve in March, he had to give up
all his gear, serve a seven-day jail sentence, pay fines of
more than $20,000 and promise to stay away from protected
areas. The case was the first of kind prosecuted since
a California law took effect on January 1 that established
protected marine areas in the state.