Scuba Shack Radio

Are you a dive watch junkie - check out the new book on vintage dive watches.

Want to visit a private island resort - Scuba Diving Magazine lists some really cool places to visit.

The Bonaire Bond is a pledge you can take to protect the reefs in Bonaire and help them plant more corals.

Stream2Sea is stepping up again - they are making a donation for every tube of mineral safe sunscreen they sell to Reef Renewal.

If you are looking for some summer reading about the ocean, check out Katie Hogge's blog post on the Ocean Conservancy website.

The NASA website on climate change you can subscribe to a monthly newsletter related to climate change. It is easy to find at climate.nasa.gov.

In the April issue you can read an article titled Too Hot to Handle - How climate change may make some places too hot to live. You can learn about wet-bulb temperature and how it impacts humans.

Heat stress continues to be a leading cause of weather related deaths in the US.

Will DEMA Show open to consumers? Find out more.

Green Fins is offering an environmental e-course for dive professionals.

NOAA finds the wreck of a whaling ship in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge go diving in Belize.

Great news for humpback whales. Global population is now tops 80,000.

The first edition of the NOAA Complete Underwater Diving Manual was released in 1977. It was developed to provide NOAA divers with the necessary fundamentals for safe and efficient diving. The manual has seventeen sections along with four appendices. Learn more about some of the interesting aspects of the manual now in its sixth edition.

REEF has announce their 2023 REEF Survey Trips - they have 16 planned trips on the calendar.

Divers Alert Network (DAN) is now offering two levels of memberships starting in 2022. You can choose either Regular or Enhanced Membership. Listen for more details.

California Diving News is back in publication. After a 2 year hiatus due to Covid-19, it is back. Great news as we recover from the pandemic.

More good news. It is looking like Shearwater is back to producing their Perdix and Peregrine dive computers. They are working on the backlog and we should be seeing shipments soon unless there are more supply chain issues.

Researches have found about 60 million icefish nests in Antartica. Wow, that's a lot of nexts.

Sea Hunt It's Still Alive takes us to season 2, episode 12 - The Dam. This episode premiered on March 22, 1959. Mike is hired by a company to head underwater security for a new dam that was built in a subtropical country. The chief at the dam is not too happy to see Mike show up. Mike must foil an attempt to blow up the bridge. The chief's right hand man, Fitch is in on the plot. Mike has to fight off a bad diver in a knife fight, and then content with Fitch and his spear gun. Mike saves the dam by foiling Fitch, Lalo and the other bad diver.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife commission has approved a highly regulated goliath grouper harvest for the Spring of 2023.

The Cayman Islands continues to battle Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Progress is slow but the Caymans are leading the way.

Dive RAID International recently announced a new diver certification - The Indoor Diver.

Aggressor Adventure is launching a new liveaboard on April 9, 2022 - the Philippine Aggressor.

The price of raw aluminum spiked 25% last month and is up about 50% in the past year. We just don't know where the price of aluminum scuba cylinders will end up.

If you are a professional first responder you can enter a drawing for a premium dry suit from Diving Underwater International (DUI).

Your Next Dive takes us to the wreck of the Antilla in Aruba. The Antilla was a German freighter that was scuttled just off the beach in Aruba at the beginning of World War II. This massive 400 foot shallow wreck is a must dive if you are in Aruba. The wreck is split in half around mid-ships and lays on it's port side. Exploring the wreck is easy given the depth and warm temperature. We were fortunate to get in the water early and have the entire wreck to ourselves for the first part of the dive.

Hawaii has recently banned shark fishing in Hawaiian waters. More protection for these apex predators.

Sea turtles on the verge of extinction in the Maldives?

Ghost Divers removing fishing nets from deep wrecks. Hear more about their latest effort.

The Nautilus Lifeline Marine Rescue GPS. Should you be carrying one on your next dive?

In addition to their new Rec Fins - Fourth Element is also releasing a Tech Fin in 2022. These fins look very cool.

Immerse Yourself at the History of Diving Museum - virtually.

Edward Ellsberg was not only known for his incredible salvage work prior to and during World War II, he was also a prolific author.

Ellsberg graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1914, transferred to the Navy's Construction Corp in 1916 and became a leading expert in underwater salvage. He was in charge of the efforts to raise the wreck of the submarine S-51 from 132 feet.

After leaving the Navy in 1926, Ellsberg started to write. His first book recounted the salvage efforts of S-51. The book was published in 1928 and is titled On The Bottom. Prior to World War II he continued his writing. His next three books were fiction about salvaging sunken treasure (30 Fathoms Deep), submarine warfare in World War I (Pig Boats) and S-54. He also wrote a trilogy of juvenile books on underwater adventure. Right before the war started he published Hell on Ice and Captain Paul.

During World War II, Ellsberg led efforts to clear a Red Sea port of scuttled ships and dry docks. Then he led all salvage efforts in the Western Mediterranean. He also was largely responsible for setting up the artificial harbor during the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach.

He wrote another trilogy about his World War II work and includes, Under the Red Sea Sun, No Banners, No Bugles and The Far Shore.

The Dive Medical Screening Committee has updated the Diver Medical Questionnaire by taking out all references to Covid-19. Progress.

The Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) has a virtual book club. The Into the Blue Book Club is a virtual club that meets quarterly to discuss different books and normally have the author participate. www.Reef.org/bookclub.

Climate change with warmer water temperatures are causing tiger sharks to migrate to areas they normally do not inhabit. According to the University of Miami Shark Research and Conservation Program, this expanded range will cause ecological imbalances.

The first quarter 2022 edition of the Journal of Diving History from the Historical Diving Society USA has arrived. This edition kicks off their 30th anniversary. Great magazine.

You can be a citizen scientist by participating in the Great Shark Snapshot sponsored by the Shark Trust. The Great Shark Snapshot runs July 24 to 31, 2022.

Fourth Element wants you to Reduce Your Finprint with their new recycled fin. The Rec Fin is made from 97% recycled plastic.

Sea Hunt It's Still Alive reviews Female of the Species from season one in 1958. In this episode Mike takes on the challenge of teaching a woman how to dive. He doesn't know why Kay Dalton wants to go to 150 feet but one thing he does know is she is not good in the water. After many mishaps, Mike tells her he won't teach her anymore.

That doesn't deter Kay. She goes out and buys her own equipment. It's then that we are introduced to an insurance investigator, Pete, who tells us that Kay is really Joanna Morrow who's boyfriend stole industrial diamonds. Her boyfriend is in prison so they figure Joanna is trying to find the diamonds.

Joanna makes the dive and finds the drum containing the diamonds. As she cuts the line and starts riding the drum to the surface, Mike catches up and stops her from the rapid ascent and saves her. The diamonds are recovered and Mike and Pete agree to let Joanna off the hook.

PADI has announced a partnership with National Geographic Pristine Seas Initiative to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030.

SUUNTO is being sold to Leashing - they will however remain in Finland for now.

Shearwater has also announced a special edition Teric - Journeys Edition Teric.

Coral Restoration Foundation had a remarkable 2021 and plans to do even more in 2022.

There are signs that we are getting back to some sense of normalcy after Covid. The Scuba Show in Long Beach CA will be a physical event and the Philippines is set to open to tourists on February 10, 2022

One of my more memorable dives was off West Maui in 2010. We were blown out of a dive to the back wall of Molokini and our boat captain suggested we try a place called Manta Point. Sometimes you are disappointed with a dive because you don't get to see what you had hoped to encounter. Well, Manta Point did not disappoint. We were fortunate to get to dive with three large mantas.

The New England Wreck Symposium has been rescheduled to March 26, 2022 due to the current Covid-19 spike.

Gray Quarry in Gray, TN used an aerating system to make it into a diving destination.

Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, PA may be open to reservation-only diving in 2022.

Beware of stolen Shearwater computers. Seems like a number of these high-end dive computers were stolen from dive shops using bad credit cards. Only buy from a certified dealer.

Virtual Divers International (VDI) and Scuba Schools International (SSI) have announce a partnership.

Good news on the North Atlantic Right Whales. To date, the New England Aquarium reports that 11 calves have been born this season.

Dark Descent by Kevin F. McMurray details diving on the Empress of Ireland wreck in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Empress of Ireland sank in 1914 claiming the lives of over 1000 people. After salvage operations in 1914, the wreck was unvisited until five friends decided to find the wreck in 1964. From there, Kevin takes us through the various twists and turns and politics that surrounded the wreck. He tells us how he first did a dive on the Empress of Ireland in 1971 while attending Syracuse University and that he knew he would need to return.

In 2002, Kevin ran an expedition to the Empress of Ireland. He details this unique experience and then tells us about the expedition he conducted in 2003.

Virtual Divers International has released a virtual dive program that touts training divers at all levels. Available for both iOS and Android operating systems.

The Maldives Manta Research Expedition explored the northern part of the Maldives where they studied the manta population back in October. The first two episodes detailing the results are on YouTube.

The SECONN Skin Divers and UCONN Avery Point Scuba Club are hosting a New England Wreck Symposium on January 29, 2022. It will be at the UCONN Avery Point campus in Groton, CT. You can get your tickets at the SECONN website.

Aqualung issued a recall notice for Calypso 1st Stage regulators (both Yoke and DIN) due to a quality control issue. Approximately 1545 regulators were impacted, so check with your local dive shop to see if yours might be subject to a recall.

Here is a feel good dive story from Wyoming. A scuba diver was able to recover a very sentimental fly fishing rod from the depths of a reservoir.

Sea Hunt - It's Still Alive takes us to season 4 episode 34 titled "PT Boat". This episode takes place in Nassau where Mike is helping a millionaire inventor, Ken Calway, to develop an underwater controller for boats and ships. After having success with their first try, Mike enjoys three days of fun in the sun in Nassau with Ken's sister - Linda. As Mike and Linda are having fun, we find that Ken has gotten into trouble. He bought a PT boat, installed the controller and wrecked the PT boat on the reef. Turns out someone moved the underwater controller so that the boat would crash on the reef in the hopes that they could steal the device worth multi-millions. Mike has to catch the bad guys. Another underwater fight scene where Mike prevails and gets the girl in the end.

Divers Alert Network has released a special edition of Alert Diver Magazine. This year-end special edition is a compilation of some of their best articles. This is a great reference.

According to the Alaska Daily News, there has been a successful clean up effort in Dutch Harbor where they have removed over 1 million pounds of old fishing net and line.

Divers Alert Network has funded a study with Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine to research the safety of Full Face Snorkel masks. They have recently released their results.

The December issue of Scuba Diving Magazine is now available. The December issue is their gear guide edition. Check it out.

A couple of paddle boarders out in CA were treated to an encounter with a very large Mola Mola - the ocean sunfish.

The Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, FL is definitely a bucket list dive. Just off of Interstate 95 and just north of West Palm Beach it is easy to get to and easy to park and set up your gear. You can pick up tanks, weights, and a dive flag from Force-E dive center just minutes from the bridge. Diving is from the Phil Foster Park. The park has a full bathroom along with an outdoor fresh water shower to rinse the sand and salt from your gear. Your dive should start 30 to 45 minutes before high slack tide. You will get in at least a 90 minuted dive where you will see all kinds of fish and critters. With water temperatures in the 80s and visibility between 50 to 70 feet, you will love this dive. The Blue Heron Bridge is most definitely a place that you will want to dive multiple times and even get in a night dive.