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Tropical Ice, an Eco-Thriller
Online Dive Travel Booking Portals
Environmentally Unfriendly POTUS
Better to Have It and Not Need It
Mask Cleaning Debate
Fine Time in Raja Ampat
You Swallowed What?
What you Missed in Undercurrent for June
So, Please Subscribe: And you can immediately download two 40-page books – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards and One Disaster, as well as, Eight Great Dive Resorts, and One Dog – at no charge,

Tropical Ice, an Eco-Thriller  June 19, 2017

Divers gather round a frozen baitball during shark week in Belize, as marauding sharks rip out a gory surprise, sending divers scurrying. That’s the kickoff to Tropical Ice, an exciting new eco-thriller tackling shark finning, seahorse mining for phony Asian aphrodisiacs, jaguar poaching, and endless crimes against nature. And scuba travel writer Matt Oliver finds himself smack in the middle of trouble. The book was actually written by the founder of Undercurrent, Ben Davison, who has come out from behind his anonymous cloak to write this roller coaster of a ride that you won’t put down. It’s not self-published – he has an agent and publisher – so you can find it in select bookstores or order a paperback or a Kindle at Amazon.

Click here for a copy signed by Ben and KL. Read more at www.tropicalicethriller.com

Online Dive Travel Booking Portals  June 19, 2017

like diviac and liveaboard.com are revolutionizing the business, and traditional travel agents are understandably not happy about it. Have you completed a vacation booked in this way and were there any snags? Are you a liveaboard owner? What’s your opinion of this change in the way of doing business? We’d like to hear. Write, not forgetting your town and state, to BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

Environmentally Unfriendly POTUS  June 19, 2017

We all know the President has said the US will withdraw from the climate pact, joining only Syria and Nicaragua, but he is taking aim at the environment in other ways. NOAA announced on Monday that it is tossing out a pending rule meant to protect marine mammals and sea turtles, including several endangered species, from swordfish trapping gill nets off the West Coast. At the same time, scientists predict that rising seas will engulf Virginia’s Tangier Island within 25-50 years, forcing the 450 residents to evacuate. However, the President called to tell the mayor of the small Chesapeake Bay island “not to worry about sea-level rise. . . .Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.”

Better to Have It and Not Need It  June 19, 2017

than to need it and not have it. How many items of scuba equipment fall into this category? A snorkel, a surface-marker device like a buoy or flag, a knife, a flashlight? They are all items someone might take on a dive and never use, but the day you need it, you’ll sure wish you had it with you. Can you think of any other kit that can be as essential as sufficient lifeboats on the Titanic? Write and tell us your suggestions for items you never fail to splash in without. Don’t forget to tell where you are writing from. BenDDavison@undercurrent.org

Mask Cleaning Debate  June 19, 2017

We say use traditional toothpaste for the initial cleaning the silicone residue off the glass of a new mask but Jody Ward of Go Atlantis Travel (CA) says some toothpaste is too abrasive and recommends a glass scrub designed for mask cleaning, while Steve Ratts (Indian Harbour Beach, FL) insists that a flame will do no harm. As they say in the north of England, you pay your money, and you make your choice!

Fine Time in Raja Ampat  June 19, 2017

The Indonesian Government has fined the British operator of the cruise ship MV Caledonian Sky, which ran aground on a coral reef in Raja Ampat, the hefty sum of 6 trillion Indonesian Rupiah – over $420 million at today’s exchange rate. Apart from what was damaged, 13,270sq m of reef was totally destroyed when the British-owned, Bahamian-flagged vessel struck Kri Reef.

You Swallowed What?  June 19, 2017

You certainly swallowed seawater while diving, but there’s more to it than water. Photographer David Littschwager photographed a handful of seawater and magnified it 25 times. In the few drops of water captured of Kona, Hawaii, he encountered larvae of marine worms, cyanobacteria that help to produce oxygen, crab larvae, copepods (a shrimp-like crustacean that is a food source for many fish), fish eggs, and chaetognaths -- a predatory form of zooplankton that can inject a paralytic venom. It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it? Maybe next time you’re in the water, please keep your mouth shut!

What you Missed in Undercurrent for June  June 19, 2017

Paradise Taveuni, Fiji . . . Retire to Margaritaville . . . Endless acquisitions in the scuba business . . . Fancy buying a dive resort in the sun? . . . More on those disappearing warship wrecks . . . Fire aboard a liveaboard . . . Shooting RAW on your iPhone . . . Avoiding a diving heart attack . . . and much, much more. www.undercurrent.org

So, Please Subscribe: And you can immediately download two 40-page books – Eight Great Dive Liveaboards and One Disaster, as well as, Eight Great Dive Resorts, and One Dog – at no charge,  June 19, 2017

with your trial subscription to Undercurrent. Our 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.

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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