Menu
Log in


Dive Lines header


March 2024 Newsletter

Facebook Link


Vol. 52 No. 03

The Current State of Sharks and our Oceans (Zoom Speaker)

Dr. Antoniou began his shark conservation path in 1994 as the Director of Field Operations for the Shark Research Institute based in Princeton New Jersey. He was the first to tag whale sharks in the Caribbean with satellite transmitters, tracking the sharks thousands of miles and to great depths of the Gulf of Mexico. He is currently working as the volunteer CEO for Fins Attached, which he founded in 2010. He has had a passion for shark research and conservation for over 30 years.

Dr. Antoniou, in his pursuit to protect sharks and has traveled to places such as Honduras  and Baja California, the Galapagos, Costa Rica, Malpelo Island, Guadalupe Island and the Revillagegdo Islands to research sharks and convince their governments to protect sharks. After reviewing data provided, the Honduran government decreed the whale shark a protected species their territorial waters with severe penalties for violators.Passage of this law made Honduras the first nation in the Caribbean to protect whale sharks. Alex was featured in a Discovery Channel documentary called ‘Future Shark’ for his work in Honduras.

Fins Attached has also been involved in advocacy work. In March of 2017 a position statement was submitted to NOAA Fisheries to lobby for the Oceanic Whitetip shark to be placed on the US Endangered Species list, which ultimately occurred.

Perhaps Alex’s greatest achievement was the 2017 acquisition of a 134-foot, long range research expedition vessel, to be able to expand the mission of Fins Attached. He did this by reaching out to colleagues and friends, who cared as much about sharks in the marine environment, to invest in this noble cause, to get the project moving, and to accelerate the effort to save sharks, the marine environment, and us. The vessel was acquired in April of 2017. At a dedication in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in July of 2017, the Senshu Maru was renamed to “Sharkwater,” in honor of the work started by the late Rob Stewart, the producer of the original Sharkwater documentary.

Over the past 28 plus years, Dr. Antoniou has established strong partnerships with scientists around the world. In recognition for his dedication towards shark conservation, Alex was awarded the 2017 “Shark Guardian of the Year” award from the Shark Project of Germany. An international award that is voted on by researchers and organizations from around the world. The equation is simple, Save Sharks + Save our Oceans = Save Us.

In 2022, Dr. Antoniou spearheaded the creation of an ocean coalition called, One Ocean Worldwide Coalition, comprising of Fins Attached, The Rob Stewart Sharkwater Foundation, For the Oceans Foundation and United Conservationists.

Public awareness is key to the conservation mission. In 2022 Alex attended CITES and helped lobby for the inclusion of 60 additional shark and ray species on Appendix II. He also rallied the public to lobby the USA government to pass the Shark Fins Sales Elimination Act, which was signed into law in December 2022.

Dr. Antoniou's full Biography: Alex Antoniou bio 2024.pdf

Overseas Diving Update

Upcoming trips 2024:

  • BVI (British Virgin Islands): Aggressor liveaboard - May 11-18, 2024 - Sold Out - wait list only
  • Little Cayman Beach Resort July 6-13, 2024 - We still have a few open spots for this trip
  • Solomon Islands: Bilikiki live aboard, New dates: July 24 - Aug 3, 2024
    • We have found a land based extensions in PNG - 10 days after Bilikiki: Tufi Resort - very close to Port Moresby - and serviced by a private airline (good for our photographer's luggage)
    • At this time Nils wants to hear from everybody interested...
    • The airfare from Fiji to Solomon and back is selling out fast
    • Updated trip details - see overseas travel pages or click here: Trip details _ 2024
    • We have added a recent Under Current article to the trip description - downloadable pdf.

The "far-out" future - 2025 and beyond

  • Before we make commitments and decisions on behalf of the club we are interested in hearing from our past travelers - say Fiji and Indonesia: How likely are you to join the club on another exotic trip - and if you are interested - what destinations?

Upcoming trips 2025:

TENTATIVE - Philippines - in Q2 - land and liveaboard. Please let me know if you would be interested:

CONFIRMED - Roatan Aggressor - Sept 6-13, 2025. Will be advertised for sale in the fall (Sept/Oct)

Nils Jacobsen
VP Overseas Diving


    Presidents Waves

    The Board of Directors had our first meeting and approved the volunteers to the Board, lucky for us everybody that served last year agreed to continue to serve the Club this coming year. The following is our Board of Directors. Anybody interested in joining, please reach out as several Board Members would appreciate some help and would enjoy teaching others about the club.

     President  Chris Harham
     VP of Programs  Rick Dayan
     VP of Overseas Diving  Nils Jacobsen
     VP of Local Diving  Ryan Goheen
     VP of Social Events  Lureen Ferretti
     Secretary  Amy Wellman
     Treasurer  Ronnie Farr
     Hospitality  Clare Anthon
     Membership
     Photo Gallery Coordinator
     Julie Manhold
     Photographer
     Social Media Coordinator
     Laura Moran
     Newsletter & Website  Roger Cooper
     Education Coordinator  Howard Ratsch
     Historian  Robert Shearer

    The club has been growing at a faster rate than since I joined the club, please come to meetings and help our club grow.

    Local diving is continuing this winter, so if you are brave enough to dive in “cold” water come join us. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends.

    Happy diving,
    Chris Hardham
    President

     

    Hospitality Hut


    Greetings From The Hospitality Hut,

    It's always a pleasure to see a returning face from the past.  That is just what happened at the February meeting of our club.

    Former member, John Fisher,  joined us for another wonderful presentation. I remember a dive with John, Glada and several other members on the Starfish Enterprise. John stated he is interested in rejoining the club! As a Master Diver, John was certified in 1999 and has over 1000 dives under his weight belt.  Hopefully he will rejoin soon.

    I encourage you to visit our home page www.usadiveclub.org.  Please click on the calendar and keep up to date on all the diving and non-diving scheduled activities. You may also take a look at the photo gallery and take a peek at past events.

    I wish you all Happy Diving.

    Clare Anthon

    Hospitality Coordinator


    Putt'n Around Mini Golf in Delray Beach with Lunch at Duffy's

    Meet ten “mini” golfers from the USA Dive Club who had a great time at Putt'n Around Mini Golf, a tropical oasis situated in Delray Beach.


    We met on a sunny Saturday morning, February 3, 2024, and gathered in the parking lot.  We set up teams, chose our colorful clubs, and off we went.  Now, we had to make a decision.  Do we play the Everglades or Ocean course?

    The Everglades was the easier of the two with shade and a nice breeze.  The Ocean was a bit more challenging with a couple of water hazards.  We chose the Ocean unanimously.  Carefully, we worked our way through the greens, water hazards, and obstacles.  Every so often, we would hear the hoots and hollers of someone getting a hole-in-one.

    We had a fantastic time playing, and we worked up a considerable thirst and appetite.  Afterward, we drove to Duffy's, which was nearby, to enjoy some delicious food and drinks.  We raised a glass to a wonderful day and gave special thanks to Chris for standing in for Lureen and being the Person In Charge of our event.


    If you would like to see the rest of the photos from this event, click the following link  Putt'n Around Mini Golf.

    Don't miss out on socializing with your fellow USAers at the next event. You'll be amazed at how enjoyable it can be. 

    Membership

    Remembering Dave Smith

    I am saddened to inform all the members of the Club about the passing of our fellow member Dave Smith on January 12, 2024. Dave was a long-time member of our Club, joining us in January 1995.  He was a familiar face to many of us, always keen to participate in our monthly meetings, try his luck at the Lobster Pot, and attend social events.  Occasionally, Dave was a part of our overseas dives.

    Fellow member, Russ Manhold, recently spoke to Dave's family.  They informed us that no obituary or memorial service is planned at this time.  However, if you are friends with Dave on Facebook, you may leave a message on his page, David Barclay Smith, which is being actively managed by his daughter.

    In honor of Dave's memory, we have created a photo album that showcases his fond memories with the USA Dive Club.  We invite all of you to take a look at the album by clicking on the link below.

    Remembering Dave Smith

    Please keep Dave's family and loved ones in your thoughts during this difficult time.


    Sheila Ott is currently residing in Switzerland and has recently become a member of the USA Dive Club.  She joined the Club to participate in our upcoming overseas dive trip to the Solomon Islands, a nation of hundreds of islands in the South Pacific.  We would like to express our gratitude to Lureen Ferretti, a fellow member of the USA Dive Club, for introducing Sheila to our community.

    After diving in the Galapagos Islands, Sheila is excited to revisit them, but her most unforgettable diving experience was on Komodo Island in Indonesia.

    Sheila is an alumni PADI Open Water Instructor and loves to capture photographs of the beauty and diversity of the underwater world while diving.  She has already logged an impressive 1,284 dives and is looking forward to increasing that number when she travels to the Solomon Islands with us this year.

    Apart from traveling the world, Sheila is also interested in hiking and exploring new places.

    Josh Leigh, resides in Ft. Lauderdale and discovered us on the Internet.  He has an Advanced Open Water certification and has completed more than 70 dives.

    His most memorable diving experience was with bull sharks in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico.  When he's not diving, he enjoys losing himself in a good book.

    Ryan Page joined the Club on the recommendation of a family member and resides in St. Petersburg, FL. 

    Ryan is excited to join the Club's upcoming overseas dive trip to Little Cayman.  He holds an Open Water certification from PADI and dreams of diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

    We are excited to welcome Sheila, Josh, and Ryan to the USA Dive Club family, and we look forward to exploring the wonders of the underwater world with them.

    As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities



    Local Diving

    Overseas Dive Trips

    Social Events

    • No upcoming mini-trips

    Educational Blog

    Delays and Misdiagnosis

    By Jon Hardy

    This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

    Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

    Setting the Stage

    A physician named George took a tropical dive vacation with his wife Eve and teenage son Todd. The family took advantage of the two boat dives per day and unlimited shore diving offered by their resort. By Friday, George and his family were 13 dives into their weeklong vacation and planned only two morning boat dives so that they would have a 24-hour surface interval before their Saturday afternoon flight home.

    The Accident

    When they surfaced at the stern of the dive boat after their second dive Friday morning, George and Todd let Eve board first. George started to tell Todd that he felt something was wrong when he suddenly lost consciousness.

    Todd swam to his father immediately and yelled for help. The crew jumped into action and promptly got George and Todd out of the water and out of their dive gear. George regained consciousness quickly and, other than feeling out of sorts, he seemed to be all right.

    While the crew secured the boat, George's symptoms worsened. Because English was not the boat crew's primary language, the family had difficulty communicating with them. No neurological exam was performed, no first aid was provided and George, the only person on hand with any medical training, was in no shape to provide a diagnosis. On the ride back to shore, the crew told the family that George must have been stung by something in the water and he would be better soon. They volunteered to arrange a ride to a local medical clinic.

    When they arrived on shore, the dive guide called a cab, and George and his family went on their way. But the cab driver, seeing they were scuba divers, took them to the local hyperbaric chamber rather than the clinic. While paperwork was being completed and a medical exam was started for George, the dive guide from the boat caught up with them. The dive guide convinced George that he should go to the clinic, rather than be treated at the chamber.

    After some delay, the clinic began administering oxygen, but stopped the oxygen treatment during the night when the oxygen supply was needed for another patient. The next day, with worsening symptoms, George was returned to the hyperbaric chamber and treated.

    After multiple treatments at the local chamber and then back home, George was left with residual damage that precluded his continuing to perform surgery as part of his medical practice. He brought a legal action that was decided in his favor at trial.

    Analysis

    George likely suffered from a poorly understood form of decompression illness that appears to be caused when a minor arterial gas embolism occurs in a diver who has significant nitrogen loading. This causes a hard-to-treat form of decompression sickness, Type III DCS.

    Administering oxygen promptly to an injured diver is the best first aid, and getting hyperbaric oxygen therapy without needless delays is the definitive treatment.

    Lessons for Life

    • If a diver suffers a lapse of consciousness upon surfacing, immediately suspect arterial gas embolism, administer first aid and get proper medical care.
    • Carry dive accident insurance so there is no question about payment for treatment.
    • Be assertive. Insist on medical care, and make it clear to the medical professionals that the injured person has been scuba diving.
    • Contact Divers Alert Network (919-684-4326) and enlist their help to find proper medical support or to consult with local physicians for you.
    • To the best of your ability, ensure that the dive boats you use have radios and oxygen, and that the crew is trained and prepared to use them. At least one crew member should be able to recognize and deal with the signs and symptoms of diving accidents. In countries where English is not the primary language, try to determine if the boat crews can function in English, even if things become difficult.

    LOBSTER POT

    USA's Lobster Pot drawings Include CASH prizes, and a variety of PRIZES donated by Sponsors or Club Members.

    Funds from ticket donations help to support our many club activities. Congratulations to all our Lobster Pot participants. Be sure to visit our Local dive shops who support us and say 'Thanks'.


    © Copyright Under Sea Adventurers Dive Club 2024

    Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software