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"Like" Us on Facebook
DiveAlert Issues Recalls on Some Models
Why You Should Subscribe
What You're Missing This Month
An Easy Way to Clean up in Lembeh Straits
Dan Brown References a Scuba Documentary in His New Novel
Sharks Win in New York but Lose in Texas
Coming Up in Undercurrent
Dive in via Airlock?
Travel like an Ivy Leaguer on Your Next Dive Trip
Why Do We Call Them Jellyfish?

"Like" Us on Facebook:  June 17, 2013

Yes, we have a Facebook page . If you're a Facebook user, "Like" us. We'll be posting dive-related news articles, alert you when our latest blog posts and monthly issue is available, and asking for your stories, suggestions, tips and feedback. We promise not to clog your Facebook news feed with multiple posts -- only the best and most relevant stuff. We're just starting the page so bear with us if there are technical difficulties to start, but we hope our new page is another good way to give you what you like to get from us.

DiveAlert Issues Recalls on Some Models:  June 17, 2013

Specifically, 2,500 of the DiveAlert and DiveAlert PLUS signaling devices with model numbers DA2, DP2 and DV2. They attach to the BCD's power inflator/alternate regulator system, and these models' female coupling poppet o-rings can come dislodged, which could result in reduced air flow. The DA2 is black with an orange button, the DP2 is black with a gray knob and red button and has DiveAlert PLUS printed on it, and the DV2 is black and red. The recall models were sold from July 2009 through May 2013 and don't have any stamped writing on the coupling's collar. Return the device to an authorized DiveAlert dealer or to DiveAlert for a free repair. You can call DiveAlert at 800-275-4332, or send an email to info@divealert.com

Why You Should Subscribe:  June 17, 2013

Letters from our readers say it all. Regarding our recent stories on the problems with Miflex high-pressure hoses and their eventual recall in the U.S., Joe Puckett (Burbank, CA) wrote us, "Thanks so much for the Miflex high-pressure hose recall reminder. Heading to Cozumel next week and had a Miflex, a gift from my wife, all packed and ready to go. Needless to say, I pulled it from the bag and shipped it to XS Scuba for replacement. (Do you think my wife is trying to tell me something?) Love Undercurrent, keep it up." You can be another fortunate diver who gets the scoop first in our monthly issues. Subscribe now for $39.95 per year or $4.95 per month. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

What You're Missing This Month:  June 17, 2013

Hanging in the Bahamas with oceanic whitetips . . . Fiji Airways: a major link in the shark fin trade . . . New Caledonia: a lack of Americans, an abundance of pristine dive sites . . . what to tip on your next dive trip, part II: what the travel pros recommend . . . why some Indonesian liveaboards don't let you pay with credit cards . . . biting barracudas are now going after divers' faces and feet . . . problems with weight pockets from multiple BCD manufacturers . . . are we loving whale sharks too much? . . . and much more

An Easy Way to Clean up in Lembeh Straits:  June 17, 2013

Those of us who have dived in Indonesia's Lembeh Straits are familiar with the heaps of plastic trash piled on the seafloor and floating on the surface. During a recent visit there, Mario Cabading, co-owner of the San Diego dive travel agency Scuba Travel Venture , came up with a plan to start cleaning it up. At the DEMA trade show last fall, he presented the Lembeh Resort with 200 green mesh bags for their divemasters and visiting divers to use voluntarily. Each bag has a clip so it can easily connect to a BCD, and divers can put plastic bottles, wrappers, paper trash, etc. in it. Other resorts in the area are now inquiring about bags too and want to participate. This seems easy enough to replicate in dive sites worldwide, don't you think?

Dan Brown References a Scuba Documentary in His New Novel:  June 17, 2013

Robert Langdon makes his fourth appearance in Inferno, which revolves around Dante's Inferno. But Istanbul's famed religious structure, the Hagia Sophia, makes an appearance, as does a documentary about diving underneath the building. Filmmaker Goksel Gulensoy was happy to see his In the Depths of the Hagia Sophia - in which he and his crew find submerged graves of children, and tunnels leading to palaces nearby - discussed by Langdon and another character. We don't know how it figures into the plot, but Gulensoy says his latest documentary, Beneath the Hagia Sophia, will be released at the end of the year. For more information on his dive explorations, go here

Sharks Win in New York but Lose in Texas:  June 17, 2013

New York politicians voted last month to ban all commerce related to shark fin products. The bill now awaits the governor's signature before New York becomes the eighth U.S. state to instigate a ban. But in Texas, a similar ban was passed in the state's House of Representatives but received insufficient support to go forward for a Senate vote. Senators said that while shark finning is already against federal law, fishermen should remain able to sell any parts of sharks which are brought ashore whole. As it stands, general trade in shark fin products, whether caught in legal fashion by Texan fisheries or imported from abroad, still remains legal in that state for the time being.

Coming Up in Undercurrent:  June 17, 2013

Our undercover travel writers visit the Philippines and Indonesia's Komodo Island. . . shark baiting or eco-tourism?: why sharks and divers benefit . . . the cost of losing your PADI card . . . does using decongestants raise your risk of DCS? . . . and much more.

Dive in via Airlock?:  June 17, 2013

Introducing the Water Discus Hotel, a luxury, multi-million-dollar, underwater resort, featuring 21 moveable rooms in the heart of coral reefs. Backed by a Polish company called Deep Ocean Technology, it looks like something out of a James Bond film, but it's set to be built in the Maldives. According to CNN, the National Ministry of Tourism gave the go-ahead last month for construction on the island of Kuredhivaru. The 21 bedrooms will be 100 feet underwater, with windows looking out at the reef. Divers can go in straight from the hotel's airlock compartment, including its own decompression chamber. Non-divers can ride in a three-passenger submarine. Developers hope to limit the impact on coral reefs by laying the foundation in as few points as possible. There are also plans to rebuild coral reefs, by growing them in a special plantation before relocating them around the hotel. To see what the hotel is supposed to look like, go here

Travel like an Ivy Leaguer on Your Next Dive Trip:  June 17, 2013

Meaning wear shoes but no socks. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that mosquitoes infected with the malaria parasite are significantly more attracted to human odors -- in this case smelly socks -- than are uninfected mosquitoes. They collected human odor on nylon socks -- by having someone wear them for 20 hours -- and put them, along with clean socks, into an enclosure with mosquitoes. The bugs infected with P. falciparum showed more landings and more probing of the smelly socks. None of the mosquitoes, infected or not, were especially drawn to the socks with no human odor.

Why Do We Call Them Jellyfish?:  June 17, 2013

After reading our book There's a Cockroach in my Regulator, Robert Goodman (Pittsburgh, PA) wrote in to say he enjoyed it, but he also had this question. Why do you always use the term 'jellyfish'? They are not fish. Fish are chordates, and sea jellies belong to the phylum cteophora and cnidaria. Do you just dislike using the terms 'sea jellies' or 'jellies'?" Robert, you are indeed right. "Jellyfish" is considered a misnomer, and "jellies" and "sea jellies" are listed quite often in public aquariums and scientific literature. We're probably going along with jellyfish because it has been the most "popular" name for the creatures since the late 18th century. Or maybe we can refer to them, like some scientists do, as "gelatinous zooplankton."

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

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Note: Undercurrent is a registered 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization donating funds to help preserve coral reefs. Our travel writers never announce their purpose, are unknown to the destination, and receive no complimentary services or compensation from the dive operators or resort.

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