Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Luck, Manatees, Glowing Sharks, and more
(please scroll down for details)
Hard to believe that Easter is next Sunday . . .
AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC HAS REOPENED - As of now, running at 25% capacity, which means around 800 people at any given time. If you're planning on going, you need to make an advance reservation (includes those with comp/free tickets), wear a mask while you're there, and observe social distancing as best as possible. There are still no live diver shows (encourages crowding) and you'll find there are some restrictions on how and when you can move into some smaller areas. I've been there on two occasions and now and it's crowded, but not overly so. It's also nice just seeing people again in areas other than a supermarket or pharmacy.
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER IS OPEN TOO - Similar restrictions and advance reservations required there too.
CHAMBER DAY PROGRESS - We've still got seats left at our virtual Chamber Eve table. (I guess technically, that will always be the case since there's no real maximum.) We've also got plenty of room for Lost Souls on the Flying Dutchman. In fact, we're finalizing that logo as we speak so hopefully will be able to show it to you in a few days. Also bear in mind that this year, we are NOT selling extra raffle tickets so the ONLY way to win prizes is to sign up for either Chamber Day (Real Boats - Fake Dives) or the Flying Dutchman or to grab a spot at Chamber Evening. Go to the website (www.chamberday.org) and click on SIGN UP NOW.
LUCKY DIVERS - On Friday, a diver and guide entered the cenote Dos Ojos in Tulum around 4PM. (This is one we've dove before on our Isla Mujeres trips.) Generally, this is a 30-45 minute dive. By 5PM, they hadn't come out. Fearing the worst and knowing that time was of the essence, local authorities launched a rescue operation. It's not totally clear on some of the timing (info is being translated from Spanish reports) but shortly after dark, almost 4 hours after they'd entered, the two divers were found ALIVE in an air pocket. It seems one (or maybe both) had run out of air and either were very lucky to be near an air pocket or found it on their last breath. It sounds like they may have been in the area known as "The Bat Cave" (that's really a thing) which is one of the regular stops on the standard tourist cenote dive. Some on-line have wondered if that's where they were, why they weren't found more quickly. My speculation would be that they were among the last ones entering for the day and, once they were declared missing, Dos Ojos was shut down for the search so there wouldn't have been any divers coming along behind them who could have rescued them more quickly. Very lucky people.
"WE'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM BEFORE" - This leads perfectly into an area I wanted to discuss this week anyhow: Normalization of Deviance. Basically, it means you keep doing things outside of accepted safety margins or protocols and, because nothing bad happens, you continue doing so and the deviation from standard practice now becomes normalized. It was a key factor in the Challenger explosion and it's being discussed more and more in terms of diving accidents as well. Dan Orr (who was our January Zoom Seekers speaker) has written a nice article about this that appeared in DeeperBlue.com and you can read it here: NORMALIZATION OF DEVIANCE.
MANATEES IN TROUBLE AGAIN - Four years ago, Florida's manatees were re-classified from "endangered" to "threatened." It may seem like semantics but it also came with a loosening on restrictions on what can and can't be done around manatee habitats. Federal officials promised that the new status wouldn't change the protection the manatees got. Except that it did change. And the manatees have suffered for it. A lot of it has to do with the combination of weather, the pandemic, and a 58% reduction in the seagrass that manatees eat. There's a good article that ties this all together which you can read here: MANTEES NEED HELP AGAIN.
GLOW-IN-THE-DARK SHARKS - We can't quit on that note so I'll leave you with the discovery of sharks off of New Zealand that give off bioluminescence. Although this has been documented before in other fish (corals as well), this is the first time it's been observed in sharks: SHARKS THAT GLOW.
ONE MORE THING - Note what date Thursday is on your calendar. You've been warned.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, wear your mask, keep looking for a vaccine appointment, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
Hard to believe that Easter is next Sunday . . .
AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC HAS REOPENED - As of now, running at 25% capacity, which means around 800 people at any given time. If you're planning on going, you need to make an advance reservation (includes those with comp/free tickets), wear a mask while you're there, and observe social distancing as best as possible. There are still no live diver shows (encourages crowding) and you'll find there are some restrictions on how and when you can move into some smaller areas. I've been there on two occasions and now and it's crowded, but not overly so. It's also nice just seeing people again in areas other than a supermarket or pharmacy.
CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER IS OPEN TOO - Similar restrictions and advance reservations required there too.
CHAMBER DAY PROGRESS - We've still got seats left at our virtual Chamber Eve table. (I guess technically, that will always be the case since there's no real maximum.) We've also got plenty of room for Lost Souls on the Flying Dutchman. In fact, we're finalizing that logo as we speak so hopefully will be able to show it to you in a few days. Also bear in mind that this year, we are NOT selling extra raffle tickets so the ONLY way to win prizes is to sign up for either Chamber Day (Real Boats - Fake Dives) or the Flying Dutchman or to grab a spot at Chamber Evening. Go to the website (www.chamberday.org) and click on SIGN UP NOW.
LUCKY DIVERS - On Friday, a diver and guide entered the cenote Dos Ojos in Tulum around 4PM. (This is one we've dove before on our Isla Mujeres trips.) Generally, this is a 30-45 minute dive. By 5PM, they hadn't come out. Fearing the worst and knowing that time was of the essence, local authorities launched a rescue operation. It's not totally clear on some of the timing (info is being translated from Spanish reports) but shortly after dark, almost 4 hours after they'd entered, the two divers were found ALIVE in an air pocket. It seems one (or maybe both) had run out of air and either were very lucky to be near an air pocket or found it on their last breath. It sounds like they may have been in the area known as "The Bat Cave" (that's really a thing) which is one of the regular stops on the standard tourist cenote dive. Some on-line have wondered if that's where they were, why they weren't found more quickly. My speculation would be that they were among the last ones entering for the day and, once they were declared missing, Dos Ojos was shut down for the search so there wouldn't have been any divers coming along behind them who could have rescued them more quickly. Very lucky people.
"WE'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM BEFORE" - This leads perfectly into an area I wanted to discuss this week anyhow: Normalization of Deviance. Basically, it means you keep doing things outside of accepted safety margins or protocols and, because nothing bad happens, you continue doing so and the deviation from standard practice now becomes normalized. It was a key factor in the Challenger explosion and it's being discussed more and more in terms of diving accidents as well. Dan Orr (who was our January Zoom Seekers speaker) has written a nice article about this that appeared in DeeperBlue.com and you can read it here: NORMALIZATION OF DEVIANCE.
MANATEES IN TROUBLE AGAIN - Four years ago, Florida's manatees were re-classified from "endangered" to "threatened." It may seem like semantics but it also came with a loosening on restrictions on what can and can't be done around manatee habitats. Federal officials promised that the new status wouldn't change the protection the manatees got. Except that it did change. And the manatees have suffered for it. A lot of it has to do with the combination of weather, the pandemic, and a 58% reduction in the seagrass that manatees eat. There's a good article that ties this all together which you can read here: MANTEES NEED HELP AGAIN.
GLOW-IN-THE-DARK SHARKS - We can't quit on that note so I'll leave you with the discovery of sharks off of New Zealand that give off bioluminescence. Although this has been documented before in other fish (corals as well), this is the first time it's been observed in sharks: SHARKS THAT GLOW.
ONE MORE THING - Note what date Thursday is on your calendar. You've been warned.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week, wear your mask, keep looking for a vaccine appointment, and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
