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Saving Your Life with In-Water Recompression
Undercurrent, the Consumer’s Guide for Sport Divers, is in our 42nd year of Publication
Scuba Tank Explodes
Lithium Batteries on Board
Give a Diver a Lift
Yikes, a Spear Through the Head!
Buck Naked Scuba
An Outgoing President
Tragedy Strikes Again at The Eagle’s Nest
The Weather Outside is Frightful?
Are You a Confirmed Air Addict?
Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards – and One Disaster
What you Missed in January’s Undercurrent

Saving Your Life with In-Water Recompression  January 18, 2017

If you were diving somewhere remote, such as Raja Ampat or Cocos Island, and had symptoms of decompression illness (DCI or DCS), would you opt for treatment on the spot using oxygen-enhanced recompression underwater?? It’s obviously preferable to be evacuated to a hyperbaric facility, but it may take so long you won’t recover. Undercurrent explores this controversial subject. It’s augmented by a specific protocol for treatment.

Undercurrent, the Consumer’s Guide for Sport Divers, is in our 42nd year of Publication  January 18, 2017

Each month we publish 20 or more pages of articles like the above, unaffected by advertising or industry pressure (a lot of people in the industry don’t like in-water recompression). Our travel reviews are written by undercover writers who pay their own way. Undercurrent is a divers only source of the unvarnished truth. Click here for a very special offer to subscribe, and if for any reason you want to cancel your subscription, we’ll give you your money back, no questions asked.

Scuba Tank Explodes  January 18, 2017

An Australian man in his 40s was flown to a hospital in November after being seriously injured after a scuba tank exploded in his garden shed in Melbourne. The explosion propelled the cylinder, causing it to break the man’s leg. The man also had burns to his head, back, hands and legs. Don’t forget, if you don’t care for your tank properly, it can become a bomb.

Lithium Batteries on Board  January 18, 2017

Whether you can carry your lithium batteries on a commercial flight depends on their configuration and either Watt/Hour (Wh) rating for rechargeable batteries or Lithium Content (LC) for non-rechargeable batteries. To convert Amp/hours (Ah) to Wh, multiply the marked Ah rating by the rated voltage of the battery. (There are 1000 mAh in 1 Ah.) Less than 100Wh or 2G (LC) batteries contained in equipment can be carried on or stowed in your checked baggage. Typically, the AA batteries commonly used in much photographic equipment fall into this category. However, you must carry spare batteries with you, not checked-in.

Give a Diver a Lift  January 18, 2017

In February 2016 we wrote about electric lifts that conveniently transport UK divers, often weighed down with multiple tanks and lead belts, from the water to the boat deck. The Truk Odyssey now sports such an item of equipment meaning that divers can be retrieved from the waters of Truk Lagoon in double-quick time and with little effort on their part. www.TrukOdyssey.com

Yikes, a Spear Through the Head!  January 18, 2017

Every month on Facebook, we bring you a collection of video clips from the underwater world. On average, several thousand people see each. This figure increased ten-fold when we showed the unfortunate victim of a speargun accident. The picture was pretty gruesome. The accident apparently occurred in the Bahamas and the man (un-named) suffered a spear in through one temple and out of the other. Miraculously, he survived! Those spearguns are lethal weapons.

Buck Naked Scuba  January 18, 2017

CottonTail Corner naturists who manage a nude beach near Edmonton, Canada, are planning a nude scuba event February 25, after last year’s successful event. It’s all in in the name of charity, with a collection for Parkland and Edmonton banks, delivered by people hopefully dressed. www.cottontailcorner.ca

An Outgoing President  January 18, 2017

The February edition of National Geographic magazine has a story about President Obama visiting Midway Island during last September to show off the 583,000 square-mile no-take zone. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was established by President George W. Bush but has been quadrupled in size. Underwater photographer Brian Skerry captured the President snorkeling the reefs. Elected officials need to see more of the underwater world. The last was Vice President Dan Quayle, who, in the ‘90s, scuba dived in the Florida Keys.

Tragedy Strikes Again at The Eagle’s Nest  January 18, 2017

After two divers lost their lives in the well-known Florida cave system last October, it’s awful to discover that there has been yet another fatality there. 55-year-old Charles Odom was found dead when first responders arrived at the remote sinkhole. Three other divers were accompanying Odom when he apparently lost consciousness around 100 ft (30m) deep. (Source: Tampa Bay Times)

The Weather Outside is Frightful?  January 18, 2017

The Undercurrent bookshop offers a number of publications that will interest a diver. This winter take a look at www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/bookpicks.shtml where you will find everything that’s recently been reviewed. Just the thing to keep you stimulated if you’re sitting by a warm fireside.

Are You a Confirmed Air Addict?  January 18, 2017

In the last Undercurrent newsletter, we extolled the virtues of nitrox diving. We were surprised when arguments long thought to be put to bed were reawakened by some readers who insist nitrox is dangerous. It brought back memories of diving magazine editors in the ’80s calling it ‘Devil Gas’! More in the February edition of Undercurrent, to be delivered soon to subscribers.

Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards – and One Disaster  January 18, 2017

with your trial subscription to Undercurrent. I’ve pulled together eight complete first-hand reviews from our best travel reviewers who pay their own way and never disclose their purpose. They tell you the truth about the diving, the fish, the reefs, the food, the beds, and much, much more, so you can pick your next trip with no worries. Click HERE for details.

What you Missed in January’s Undercurrent  January 18, 2017

Guadalupe Island and the great white sharks . . . Diving a little-known island off the coast of Nicaragua . . . A Hawaiian tragedy and its effect on liability waivers . . . Problems with the Sri Lanka Aggressor . . . The terror of the Irukandji . . . An appeal by a shark lover . . . A social media hoax involving clown fish . . . Rules on flying with lithium batteries . . . Keeping away from that propeller . . . Hard lessons learned . . . and much, much more.

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.

Highlights of Previous Online Updates*

Here are past Online Update emails sent out . You can sign-up for free to receive these in the future here.

Online Updates* Archive, 2000-2015

* Sometimes referred to as Upwellings