Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Back from Roatan, MPC, local fatality, & more
(please scroll down for details)
(please scroll down for details)
We have returned from Roatan and Anthony's Key Resort . . .
IT WAS A LOVELY TRIP - I thought the diving this year was better than the diving we did in 2024. It seemed to me there was a better variety of fish life and just in general more fish as well. We also had a number of dives where large groupers hung with us the entire time (they could smell the fish that our most excellent DM John Carter had secreted away in a squirt bottle) and that adds to the diving enjoyment as well. Highlight of the trip was likely the dive where we had three Eagle Rays hanging around, rooting through the sand for snacks, and doing close fly-bys. It seemed that each of the 19 dives that we did had at least one highlight to it (seahorse, jawfish, groupers, etc.). That doesn't mean there weren't issues as the wind was blowing a good 20-30mph the day we landed. Fortunately it was from the east so it didn't affect the dive sites around Anthony's too much but it did mean that the dive planned for Mary's Place - on the SE side of Roatan - had to be scrapped. But overall a good time was had by all, as you can see from the smiles in the group photo below.
BUT THERE WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM - While walking barefoot on the concrete dock deck after a dive, one of our divers slipped, hit his head on a bench and fell, and also dislocated his shoulder when he landed on his elbow. The Anthony's folks quickly leapt to his aid. Fortunately, there's a medical clinic on the property and one of the doctors came down to take a look. They then took him to the clinic where the shoulder was popped back into place, a cut above his eye was stitched shut, they cleaned him up, and gave him some pain meds. Needless to say, that was the end of the diving portion of the trip for him. And it just underscores that whenever you're diving, you can't be too careful, even between dives. Fortunately his injuries will heal and he had a good attitude about everything. But there's no such thing as "too" careful.
HOUSTON AIRPORT IS A MESS - Eight of us came back through Houston and it was a minor nightmare because they're doing major construction and remodeling at IAH. Going through Immigration wasn't too bad (see follow-up article) and getting your bags so you could recheck wasn't too bad. However, it fell apart from there because rather than the usual four or five exit lanes through Customs, they had everyone squeezing into a single lane that then widened slightly and then squeezed in again. Once I got my bags off of the baggage carousel and on to my rolling cart, it took me at least 20 minutes to go maybe 200 feet to the exit and the United recheck area. And they no longer have an "In-Transit" security screening area so you have to go to the regular screening area along with everyone else. Quite disorganized and time-consuming to the point that two of our divers flying back to SFO almost missed their flight (90-minuter layover) because of how long it took to get through. (And then United mishandled one of their bags so that got delayed 24 hours.)
MOBILE PASSPORT CONTROL - If you don't have Global Entry (I have TSA Pre-Check but not Global Entry), this is an app you must download to your phone. (Thanks to trip member Lori Benham for turning us on to this.) It works pretty much the same as Global Entry but it's free. Once you open the app on your phone, you'll create an account and then scan in a copy of your passport. Then you'll punch in some details about your trip like you would on the old paper forms. It will then tell you not to hit SUBMIT until you're at the port-of-entry airport. Once you're there (I did it right after touchdown while we were taxiing), you take a confirmation picture of yourself, the app accepts it, and a 4-hour countdown timer starts. That's how long you have to get through Immigration for this submission. Like with Global Entry, there's a separate line for Mobile Passport Control (MPC) which is much quicker than the regular line. There were maybe five international flights that landed when we did and the standard passport line looked pretty long. When I went into the MPC line, there were maybe three people ahead of me and the whole thing took less than five minutes. Really worthwhile to have.
HONDURAS MAKES A RULE AND THE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY CANCELS IT - While we were in Roatan, Honduras announced that, effective July 7, you would need to show proof of measles vaccination to enter their country. If you couldn't provide proof, they'd offer to either jab you with a vaccine needle at the airport or send you back home. Cooler head prevailed and they cancelled this plan a day or two after it was announced. So yes, they said it, but no, they're not going to implement it. Much as I personally believe in the value of vaccination, this certainly seemed like it was taking things too far and was going to solve many more problems than it would have prevented.
SoCAL DIVER FATALITY ON JULY 4 - It happened on one of the oil rigs Friday morning. There aren't many details available other than that he was diving on a rebreather when something went wrong at depth. It sounds like there was a quick response from the dive boat and both Coast Guard and Long Beach Fire also responded quickly but could not save him. He was pronounced dead before they were able to get him back to land. Like with our Roatan slip-and-fall, you can't be too careful, especially when diving with advanced equipment like a rebreather and especially when diving a site like the oil rigs where currents and extreme depth can come into play. It bears repeating: There's no such thing as being "too" careful.
A BETTER WAY TO FINISH - I can't close on such a down note so how about three of my favorite Eagle Ray shots from the trip? I'll work on the trip report the rest of this week as well as finish tweaking pix and will hopefully get all of that to you by next Sunday.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
