Flotsam & Jetsam

Another Recall of High-Pressure Hoses. We've written a few stores about Miflex, the issues with its double-braided, high-pressure hoses bursting at the consoles, and how the company had to recall 17,000 of them in North America last May. One of the dive shop owners we interviewed told clients to go for Phantom, hoses over Miflex. Well, turns out that Phantom is now issuing its own recall -- its double-braided, flexible high-pressure hoses can burst at the crimp fitting attaching to the first state, leading to rapid depletion of air in the tank. The recall applies specifically to the 11Q3, 11Q4, and 12Q1 lots (the date codes) of those hoses. Phantom hose users should check the hose male fitting that screws into the regulator first stage -- if the hex is stamped with one of those date codes above, send the hose to Innovative Scuba Concepts, the distributor (no packaging or proof of purchase required). For all the details, go to www.innovativescuba.com/Phantom-hose-recall.html

Keep Your Dentures In While on the Dive Boat. Or at least don't clean them over the side. That's what British diver Keith Ashmall was doing while on a dive trip near Nab's Head in St. Bride's Bay. They slipped out of his hand while he was cleaning them. The captain immediately dropped anchor, and members of Ashmall's Pembrokeshire dive group hopped in to search for his choppers. After 90 minutes of searching, the slippery teeth were found at 65 feet. Talk about great dive buddies -- they saved Ashnall from paying US$400 for another set of dentures.

Not Following in Dad's Footsteps. Guy Harvey is known for his marine life artwork and conservation work, but perhaps he's not passing on his teachings to his daughter. While the Guy Harvey Expeditions Team was in Isla Mujeres last month to film whale shark gatherings there as part of a new documentary, Jessica Harvey, 22, took a film break to do some fishing and caught a 600-pound-plus swordfish, the largest caught on rod and reel by a female angler in the last 30 years, and the largest on record in Isla Mujeres. Jessica fought the fish for nearly three hours, then posed with her proud papa in front of the strung-up fish for a photo op. Very surprising for a man who calls himself a conservationist. What happened to catch and release, especially when they don't make swordfish of this size like they used to?

This Hit-by-a-Boat Diver is to Blame. The sherriff deputies in Ontario County, NY, show no mercy when it comes to divers who break the laws, even if they're the ones who get hurt. Frank Porter of Penfield, NY, was diving 20 yards off the shore of Canandaigua Lake when he was hit by a pontoon boat while attempting to surface. Porter, 63, broke his right arm, and the pontoon driver got him to shore, where he was taken by ambulance to the hospital. When the deputies arrived to investigate, they quickly ruled out drugs or alcohol as having a role in the incident, but they did issue Porter a citation for not using the proper marker flag while diving.

A Good Signaling Device. Next time you're diving, consider wearing a yellow bikini. It came in handy for Candy Tutino of Naples, FL, when she got separated from her husband and son while diving in the Gulf of Mexico last month. The Tutinos had taken their boat four miles offshore, and when Candy surfaced from the dive, the boat had drifted away. She started swimming for shore, but then had the idea of tying her yellow bikini top to a flipper and waving it in the air to attract boaters. It caught the eye of David and Lyn Hunerberg in their 58-foot boat. Luckily, Tutino was only three-quarters of a mile from shore, but she still enough time to put her top back on and look decent before arriving back at shore, where her family had alerted authorities.