June 2009
US State Department advises against Honduras travel
As a result of the June 28 military coup that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zeleya and sent him into exile, US State Department alert states, “The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the current unstable political and security situation in Honduras, and recommends that American citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras until further notice. This Travel Alert expires on July 29, 2009.” -- Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009 by chb
Book review: Ocean Gladiator by Mark Ellyatt
Ocean Gladiator, written by British extreme tech diver and former world depth record holder Mark Ellyatt, is a most enjoyable and remarkably cohesive book that details the author's journey from open water certification all the way to some of the world's most extreme dives. Ellyatt, in a friendly, lighthearted style, covers his world-traveling adventures as well as some of the most intense deep-diving projects. [See book review of Mark Ellyatt's Ocean Gladiator] -- Posted Sunday, June 28, 2009 by chb
Two vastly experienced divers lost in separate incidents
The scuba community mourns the loss of two giants of the sport. On May 18, 49-year-old Paul Blanchette, a very experienced deep-sea and tech diver who had made 57 dives to the Andrea Doria and was among the first to reach the 460-feet deep steamship Portland, died on a seemingly simple 90-foot dive to the the wreck of the Chester Poling outside Gloucester Harbor (see report). Then, on June 20, Joseph Terzuoli, 46, who was known as "Captain Zero" and had more than 3,500 dives, including reportedly more than 250 to the Andrea Doria, perished on a solo dive to the Dutch Steamer Texel, which lies at about 200 feet 53 miles east of Atlantic City (see report). -- Posted Wednesday, June 24, 2009 by chb
Upload your dive pics wirelessly with the Eye-Fi Pro SD card
Eye-Fi SD memory cards add wireless to your digital camera, but until now they needed a standard WiFi network. The new Eye-Fi Pro now supports peer-to-peer wireless, so no router or Internet connection required. This means your dive pictures can automatically upload to your notebook wherever you are. Eye-Fi wireless SD and SDHC memory cards range from US$49-$149 and are available at www.eye.fi. -- Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009 by chb
Waterproof cameras take center stage at PMA 2009!
PMA is the annual international convention and trade show of the Photo Marketing Association. It's sort of like the DIMA of the photography industry, and it took place at the same venue, the Las Vegas Convention Center. We attended and found an amazing amount of underwater gear! [Read our full conference report of PMA 2009] -- Posted Sunday, June 7, 2009 by chb
Cool new stuff from Aqua Lung
Aqua Lung's popular midrange Pro QD BC is getting a new look, including a bunch of new features (weight system, pockets, attachment points, etc.) (see details). They're also bringing back an old favorite, the Ventura mask with its very wide visionand extra-thick tempered glass. It's available with a clear or a black skirt (see detail).
-- Posted Sunday, June 7, 2009 by chb