OIL IN THE UNDERWATER PARK - The picture you see above is a drone shot from Nick Morrow from late last week and yes, that's the Avalon U/W Park and yes, that an oil sheen you see. (The dark areas along the shore are NOT caked-on oil but actually non-oiled areas.) I called over there on Saturday to see what was what and was told (1) They don't know where it came from, (2) IT had been spotted in the harbor a day or two earlier, and (3) The winds had changed and blew the sheen out of the Park. It's unclear if this is a fuel leak from a boat (which is my best guess) that's only on the surface or if this is something more serious. The Avalon Harbor Department is aware and is investigating and since this is an official MPA, CADF&W was notified too. This seems to only be on the surface and there are no reports of oiled birds or fish (or divers). In fact, you can see divers in the middle of all of this so it doesn't seem to have affected the diving (and/or they have really poor judgement to go into water that has an oil sheen on the surface). I'll let you know if we find out anything more.
HEART-WARMING VIDEO OF THE DAY - A Sperm Whale who had a bunch of rope entangled around its mouth came to people to get some help. And this is what it looked like:
SPERM WHALE GETS SOME ASSISTANCE.
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION STINGRAY DIES - You may recall a few months ago we told the story of Charlotte, a stingray in a North Carolina public aquarium, who mysteriously turned up pregnant but there were no males with her in the exhibit. The aquarium was monitoring her and eagerly awaiting the birth of the pups, but that never happened. And now they say Charlotte has died without ever having given birth. I assume a necropsy will be performed that might shed more light on this but for now, this is all we know. You can read more about it here:
PREGNANT STINGRAY DIES.
NOT SURE WHAT THE LESSON IS, BUT IT'S A GOOD STORY - I dove with Atlantis Resort in Dumagueute, Philippines, back in 2020. had a lovely time and got in some really nice dives. But I ended up forgetting to pack my portable luggage scale and left it in my room. Sent them an e-mail when I got home asking if they found it, they sent back a note saying yes with a picture to confirm it was mine. All good. They said they'd ship it to me or find someone from L.A. to bring it back to me. Then the pandemic hit. I never got my luggage scale back (and have since purchased another one). Turns out I'm going back to Atlantis Dumaguete on a special trip that will follow our Yap trip in late September. And, while I knew it was a longshot, I wondered if they still had my luggage scale lying around. So I sent them a e-mail asking if it was tucked away in a corner. Lo and behold, I got a note back from them a day or two later with a picture saying, "Is this it?" And indeed, it is. They say it will be waiting for me when I check in on September 22. Hallelujah!!!
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, keep an eye out for our Indonesia posts, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
