TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - June 25 - July 2

[Ken Kurtis]

​ ​ Titan tragedy, Avalon, lost fin, and more (please scroll down for details)​

​ It has been a rather surreal week . . . LOSS OF THE TITAN SUBMERSIBLE - I'll have longer riff on this in the July 1 newsletter because I think there are many lessons to be learned from this that are applicable to diving situations. But I'm sure many of you were as fascinated as I was as this story unfolded and wondered what happened. And even before the implosion was confirmed, the stories that started coming out about deviation from safety protocols, poo-pooing expert advice that contradicted the path they were on, and other factors really give one pause to think. There was an article Saturday that talked about whether or not the fact the passengers signed waivers can protect OceanGate from liability. And while this is a complex legal question, in its simplest form, some of this will come down to whether or not information was withheld and whether the passengers were making a truly well-informed decision that might have been different had they been aware of other facts now coming to light. This seems to me to have direct relationship to when we board a dive boat, especially in light of the Conception and Red Sea Agressor fires of 2019 as well as the recent Hurricane one. We assume - sometimes wrongly - that regulations are being followed, duties are being fulfilled, and protocols are in place and effective. It's hard to eliminate all risk in any of the things we do in life but that doesn't mean we should go in with our eyes closed and simply say, "What will be will be." JAMES CAMERON ON CNN - He's made many dives to the Titanic as well as built a sub to go the Challenger Deep, the deepest spot in the ocean in the Mariana Trench. And he's an active member of the "deep submergence community" as well as being opinionated and shooting straight from the hip. So it was interesting to hear his take on things, as well as his criticisms of OceanGate, Thursday night on CNN when interviewed by Anderson Cooper. I couldn't find the entire segment but this is a good portion of it and I think it's worth viewing: JAMES CAMERON ON THE ISSUES WITH TITAN. THE ALLURE OF SEEING THE TITANIC FOR YOURSELF - Personally, I get why people would want to do this. I would do it. (I wouldn't pay $250K for it though, which brings up a whole 'nother area of discussion.) Tim Gilpin sent me a BBC video about OceanGate and the Titan, produced a few months before the fatal dive, that really gives insight into what was going on and what was motivating people to be wiling to do this, as well as gives a glimpse into the mindset of Stockton Rush, OceanGate's CEO (who was pilot the sub on the fatal dive). It's 43 minutes long and very well done, includes footage of the actual dive to Titanic from inside the sub, and details a problem they had with the sub thrusters on the dive and how they solved it. I found it interesting viewing and you might too. Here's the Vimeo link if you're interested: TAKE ME TO THE TITANIC (BBC - MARCH 2023). On to more pleasant topics . . .​

​ AVALON LAST WEDNESDAY - We had a lovely day last week in Avalon diving the Underwater Park. Not only was the June Gloom not present, but the water was amazingly warm, showing 65-66º on my gauge. This doesn't seem due to an early arriving El Nino but was simply luck of the draw. Visibility was a hazy 30 feet or and while we didn't see Giant Sea Bass on every dive, we did have a really nice encounter with one guy (GoPro video frame-grab above) off in the Pinnacles around 40 feet deep. He was quite content to hang with us for a few minutes. Next trips over to dive the Park are on our books for July 5 and then August 9. COUSTEAU PLAQUE IS HOLDING UP - It's been almost three years since we replaced the original plaque with a new one and - with the notable exception of Jacques' picture (which was done using a different casting method) - the plaque is holding up well. Anytime I dive the Park, I take a special set of brushes on my first dive as I like to do some plaque cleaning and maintenance. Brian Biondi was with me and got a nice pix of me and the cleaned-up plaque, as you can see below. It's in 40 feet of water (give or take depending on the tide) and it's about a 45º angle to the right from the bottom of the entry stairs. Say hello to Jacques the next time you dive the Park.​ THE SAGA OF THE LOST FIN - We had a little minor drama on our Avalon trip as well. One of our divers was under-weighted and, in trying to kick down on the first dive, somehow managed to kick off one of their fins. Ooooops. But how hard can it be to find a fin that just fell off someone's foot? Harder than you think. I must have spent a good 20 minutes scouring the area to no avail. Alerted a couple of instructor friends who were going in to keep an eye out. Scoured some more. Even took the remaining fin and dropped it to see if it sank (missing fin could be stuck under something and out of view) or floated (may have drifted downcurrent). Turns out it was somewhat neutrally buoyant. So I decided to re-double my efforts and check down-current. But then I also said to our single-finner, "Check up on the shore and make sure no one brought it in already." I searched the shallows fruitlessly but when I came back to the bottom of the stairs, there was our previously single-fin diver with a pair. Turns out some HAD seen it right away, brought it in and set it down, and we were none the wiser. DIVING LESSONS LEARNED - My diver then said, "I've got 2,000psi. So we can still dive." (I had about 1,500.) But I quickly said, "No." Instead, I said we should abort for now, go back on shore and do a mental reset, get airfills, take a short break, and then start the dive properly. I told him my reasoning was that this is how accidents happen and the report starts off with, "After exerting themselves looking for a missing fin and being low on air, they decided to dive anyhow . . ." Better safe than sorry and, as many of you have heard me say over the years, you never get hurt on a dive you don't make. (Just goes to show that I really do follow my own advice.) SUMMER HURRICANES - There is now a second Caribbean hurricane (Cindy) churning away, with this one taking aim at Bermuda. This is a bit early in the season for named storms to develop and some experts think it might be an unusually active summer for major storms. If you have plans for the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico this summer - we'll be diving Isla Mujeres near Cancun in August - make sure you keep an eye on the weather before you leave. And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​