HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE - Whether you're diving or not, please remember to drink plenty of water and other (non-alcoholic) fluids to stay properly hydrated. Be aware of signs of dehydration which can include feeling thirsty, less urination, dizziness, mood swings, irritability, fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps, changes in heart rate and breathing. When it comes to urination, pay attention to the color of your pee. Dark is no good and indicates dehydration. Light-colored is where you want to be. Take the heat seriously, drink plenty of water, and don’t become a heat victim.
CONCEPTION CRIMINAL CHARGES DISMISSED - There have been some major develops in the criminal legal issues surrounding the Conception fire of 2019. Initially, 34 counts of what's referred to as "seaman's manslaughter" (a Civil War-era statute aimed at steamboat captains who had fatal fires break out on their vessels) were filed against
Conception captain Jerry Boylen, one count for each person that died. The allegation is that Boylen's alleged failure to schedule a roving watch-person directly led to the 34 deaths. Each charge, if convicted, carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, so Boylen was looking at potentially 340 years of prison time. On Thursday of last week, Boylen's attorneys argued that Boylen's alleged failure was a single act, not 34 individual acts, and asked that the charges be reduced to a single count. The federal judge (U.S. District Judge George Wu) agreed and Boylen entered a not guilty plea to that subsequent single count. But the very next day, ironically on the third anniversary of the fire, the judge heard arguments about whether seaman's manslaughter requires the defendant to have committed simple negligence (essentially an oversight, act, or omission leading to an unexpected consequence) or gross negligence (willful oversight, act, or omission leading to a predictable outcome and the defendant didn't really care), which is a higher standard. Prosecutors had filed the charges as simple negligence but after hearing arguments from both sides, the judge ruled that the requirement should be gross negligence, the same as for regular manslaughter, and dismissed the now-single charge based on prosecutors not alleging sufficient basis to legally make it a crime. Prosecutors have said that they will appeal to the 9th Circuit Court and this issue could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Wu dismissed the charges without prejudice which means prosecutors can refile, but they would have to allege and prove gross negligence. The legal wrangling that will ensue will also likely delay the civil litigation, which is separate from the criminal case.
DISCUSSING CONCEPTION DURING ZOOM SEEKERS - We have always assumed our September 13 Zoom Seekers, which will feature a discussion of the NTSB report and the USCG regulations that have resulted from the various investigations, was going to be of high interest and the legal wranglings now have made that even more so. We will have those as part of the overall discussion and your (polite and rational) thoughts and comments will be welcome. I will send the link out next week but remember that we start at 7:30PM (you can actually sign in earlier than that and will be in the "Waiting Room") and are limited by Zoom to 100 people. I don't know if we'll hit capacity or not but if we do, we'll also be live-streaming on FaceBook as well. These are important issues for the diving community to be aware of and to be able to weigh in on and I hope you'll be able to join for the discussion. (And if not, the session will be recorded and posted the following day.)
BUCK SAYS THE PARK WAS PERFECT - He was over there Friday and reports water temp of 71º down to 50 feet (slightly chillier below) and visibility of 50-60 feet. Nice!!! There were even a couple of GSB sightings by others in his group. (Buck got skunked.) And we mention all of this not only to keep you informed but because . . .
THE AVALON U/W PARK WILL BE CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY MORNING - This is not a September Fools joke. There's a film shoot scheduled there so the Park will be inaccessible from 7PM Tuesday evening until Noon on Wednesday. Given that film shoots don't always wrap when they say they will, you might take the Noon time with a grain of salt. And from a practical standpoint, if you were planning on taking one of the morning boats over on Wednesday to do some diving in the Park, that may not be the best plan.
WANNA SEE A DOLPHIN HUNT? - This is an interesting video. It seems some U.S. Navy dolphins were doing some training off of San Diego with GoPros attached. The report says they targeted a sea snake. Now given that we don't have sea snakes around here, I sort of question that part of it and I personally don't see that in the video. But you can definitely see the dolphin grab a couple of what appear to be Kelp Bass (which would make sense) and they seem rather proud of themselves as you can hear them vocalizing. Interesting video to watch, even if it's maybe not entirely accurate describing what they're seen eating:
DOLPHINS HUNTING UNDERWATER.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
