CHAMBER DAY WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING . . . SORT OF - We had some initial issues getting our Chamber Day 2023 website pages to connect to the payment page and we thought we had those resolved, but apparently not. So if you tried to go on to sign up and got a page that says "Sign-up for Chamber Day 2022 events is now closed" we'll have that fixed tomorrow (Monday), I would presume no later than end-of-day. Sorry for the inconvenience.
HISTORIC OCEANS TREATY - This past Saturday, nearly 200 countries put their names to a treaty designed to protect marine life in international waters. Previously, no laws had governed these waters so this is really a huge step in the right direction. Most countries declare their territorial waters to be within 200 miles of their coastline, but everything beyond that was fair game. And that represents some 60% of the world's oceans. The agreement has been 20 years in the making and covers things like establishing and enforcing marine protected areas, setting environmental assessment parameters, and a lot more. You can read more about this treaty here:
OCEAN TREATY PROVIDES PROTECTION FOR THE HIGH SEAS.
LAKE HURON SHIPWRECK FOUND - The wreckage o the Ironton, a 191-foot cargo vessel that sank in 1894, has been located in Lake Huron. What was especially sad about this sinking was that the captain and six sailors abandoned ship and climbed into a life-raft that was attached to the ship, but the vessel sank and dragged the raft down before the men could untie it. The raft was also found on the bottom, still attached to the ship. You can read a nicely-written account of all this (from the Associated Press) by clicking here:
LONG-LOST SHIPWRECK FOUND.
PUSHING AVALON DIVE BACK - We have an Avalon day trip on the sked for this Wednesday but I'm still fighting the remnants of a URI so I'm going to push it back a week and we'll see what's what for March 15 instead.
BATTERY FIRE ON AIRPLANE - This is why we don't want you charging things overnight and is likely what started the fire that sank the Conception and killed 34 divers. A Spirit Airlines plane landed safely after a battery fire started in an overhead bin. Apparently a battery pack was charging a cell phone in a backpack and something exploded and set the backpack on fire. Years ago, when the rule about not taking rechargeable batteries in checked bags but only in carry-on was instituted, I talked to the actual guy who wrote the rule and he said there had been previous fires in airplane baggage compartments and they were lucky no plane had crashed because of it. He added that their thought was "150 noses in the passenger compartment gives us a better chance of detecting these fires quickly." You can read more about this here:
BATTERY CATCHES FIRE ON PLANE.
FINALIZING PLANS FOR ISLA MUJERES - I'm inches away from getting all the details and pricing locked down. Looks like we'll come in right around $3,000 plus airfare. Trip dates will be Saturday-Saturday, August 19-26. Whale sharks, diving, and cenotes, all in a very laid-back location. What more could you ask for?
THIS WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION - Imagine you're on a paddleboard and a huge whale decides he wants to see what you're all about. And then invites another whale buddy to come look as well. Pretty amazing. And this encounter was all captured by a drone that was positioned overhead. Thanks to Harry O'Neil for the tip. Here's the video:
WHALE AND PADDLEBOARDER ENCOUNTER.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
