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Sharkwater Filmmaker Lost
Disintegrating Dive Gear
Shark Attacks Dive Boat Skipper
Want to Buy a Dive Magazine?
Don’t Get Caught in Passport Error
What you Missed in February’s Undercurrent
Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards – and One Disaster – is yours, at no charge
Another reason to subscribe
Website News: Undercurrent on your Mobile Phone

Sharkwater Filmmaker Lost  February 15, 2017

The diving world was stunned at the loss of Canadian environmentalist, filmmaker and shark activist Rob Stewart who disappeared while diving the Queen of Nassau wreck near Islamorada, in the Florida Keys. Stewart is known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, an examination of global shark hunting and its impact on the oceans. His buddy, a CCR instructor, became unconscious upon surfacing, distracting the boat crew. Stewart surfaced, but disappeared quickly and was not seen again. Filming a Sharkwater sequel, at 230ft/70m, Stewart, 37, was making his deepest dive ever, possibly the third in the day. He was using a closed-circuit rebreather on which he’d only recently been certified. His body was recovered with the aid of an ROV a few days later.

Disintegrating Dive Gear  February 15, 2017

An Undercurrent subscriber living in Arizona wrote that his fins and the polymer computer strap disintegrated after 15 years and he wasn’t too happy. Manufacturers of dive gear, you see, change the technopolymers they use as problems become apparent, but it can take time before they reveal themselves. One computer manufacturer has now opted to use silicone for its straps. However, the high Arizona temperatures and low humidity can’t have helped the longevity, either.

Shark Attacks Dive Boat Skipper  February 15, 2017

Craig De Wit, a popular dive boat skipper operating in PNG was savagely attacked by a shark recently. He endured an 8-hour ordeal before he could be flown to a hospital and nearly lost his life, had it not been for a friend, a paramedic, who was on-board and stemmed the bleeding. You can read Craig’s take on what happened, free for you to read, in Undercurrent along with our report on the more interesting and quirkier products that were exhibited at the recent DEMA show in Las Vegas. www.undercurrent.org

Want to Buy a Dive Magazine?  February 15, 2017

Dave Moran, editor and MD of Dive New Zealand and Dive Pacific tells us his magazine is up for sale – and it could be a bargain for any publisher who is passionate about scuba diving, especially in that part of the world. You can see what it’s all about by going to www.divenewzealand.com. Interested parties should contact Dave directly at davem@divenewzealand.co.nz

Don’t Get Caught in Passport Error  February 15, 2017

Eighteen million US passports will expire this year and since many foreign countries demand that you have at least 6 months to run – plus a number of blank pages for their visas – if you don’t meet the requirement when you land, you may be refused entry and required to fly to another country to have your passport updated. So, if you have a renewal coming up, renew early because sudden demand could cause wait times to be lengthy. http://travel.state.gov

What you Missed in February’s Undercurrent  February 15, 2017

It was a bumper issue for Undercurrent subscribers with articles about a psychedelic experience in Ambon (Indonesia) plus a luxury liveaboard in the Sea of Cortez . . . Our reader’s reactions to the idea of emergency in-water recompression . . . the latest DEMA show report . . . the verdict in the Wes Skyles fatality case . . . more information about the Sri Lanka Aggressor . . . putting the myths regarding that devil gas to rest . . . and much, much more.

Our New 40-page book – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards – and One Disaster – is yours, at no charge,  February 15, 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.

Another reason to subscribe  February 15, 2017

Our readers post more than 600 trip reports a year, covering all the important international dive destinations. They are accurate, first-hand accounts, not beholden to any advertising revenue, Undercurrent is unique among diving media. Our reader’s reviews of dive operators, liveaboards, and resorts they’ve dived are available to any other Undercurrent subscriber, and you may email the reader who filed the report to get more information about the destination. Indispensable when planning dive trips.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben

Website News: Undercurrent on your Mobile Phone  February 15, 2017

We are gradually making progress on making our website more mobile-friendly, i.e. so that important parts are easier to read on your mobile phone, and you don't have to scroll horizontally to look at the pages. We are proud to announce that we just so converted all 9,000+ individual reader reports to a mobile friendly format, and are continuing to work on other parts of our website. So if you access any of these on your mobile phone, you'll have all the info you need in an easily readable format.

And, as always, if there's any significant problems with these, or anything else the website for that matter, please contact me at problems@undercurrent.org. For any problem you see, be sure to tell me:

• the phone you are using (e.g. iPhone 6s, Google Pixel),

• the browser (e.g. Safari, Chrome),

• the operating system (e.g. ios 9.3, Android 6.01), and

• what page you are having the problem on (/...)

If you can send a screenshot of it, that would help. (Note: we have seen some problems with the display on older iPhones running Safari, but there's nothing we can do about those, other than recommend you either upgrade the ios version or use a different browser.)

Dave S. Eagleray, webmaster

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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*

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Online Updates* Archive, 2000-2015

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