|
Never let it be said that watching the Dodgers
in the World Series isn't a good test of your
cardiac health . . .
MONDAY'S TEST -
I will be at the game and will hope my heart
holds out.
HURRICANE MELISSA -
As I'm writing this Sunday evening, this major
storm is sitting just south of Jamaica and is
poised to pass right over the island, most
likely on Tuesday morning. There's already been
a state of emergency declared there and the
presumption is that the devastation will be
vast. We try to keep you aware of storms like
these because they affect the areas in the
Caribbean where we go diving but don't lose
sight of the human toll as well. Jamaica's not a
wealthy country and this could be a Cat-5 storm
when it finally makes landfall. Years ago we had
to fly through Jamaica ahead of a major
hurricane and it was interesting to be in the
airport, to say the least, as they fly all the
planes out so they don't get damaged on the
ground. We were on one of the last planes to
leave before the storm hit. At that point, all
people can do is hunker down and hope for the
best. Once it leaves Jamaica, Melissa is
projected to clip the eastern edge of Cuba and
then will proceed at a 45Ί angle over open water
- which usually strengthens storms - and will
pass over some of the smaller Bahamas islands
and looks to be taking dead aim at Bermuda. I'm
sure the news will not be good.
SPEAKING OF NOT GOOD NEWS -
There's more of it coming out of Antarctica,
where underwater methane seeps have been
discovered. This is likely a result of global
warming (yes, it's real) and may be a result of
incrementally warming in the Antarctic waters.
The concern is that this methane may be able to
escape into the atmosphere and if enough of it
does, it can exacerbate planet-warming
predictions. So it's something being taken
seriously. You can read more about it here: ANTARCTIC
METHANE SEEPS.
PHILIPPINES SPOT TAKEN -
I mentioned last week that we had a spot on our
2026 Philippines trip open and and it was only a
few hours after I sent out the notice that
someone called to snatch it up. So we're full on
that one again but still have two spots
available for our Indonesia trip in July of next
year.
FLIGHT SKEDS -
I'm still working on those for both of those
trips. The complicating factor is that airlines
don't reveal their skeds until about 10-11
months ahead of the travel dates so we don't
have all of the info yet. Not unsurprisingly
though, some of the airfares have gone up
compared t what we've paid previously.
ANOTHER RED SEA DIVE BOAT RUNS AGROUND -
This time it was the Royal Evolution out of Port
Ghalib. The owners have issued a statement
saying the damage to the vessel was minor, that
all passengers were evacuated and safe, and
damage to the reef was minimal. They also
decried all the hand-wringing about questioning
the safety of Red Sea boats. By the same token,
it seems like every month or so, we hear of
another Red Sea boat mishap, whether it's a fire
or a grounding or even a capsizing. I don't know
of any other area in the world that has this
happen at such a seemingly regular (and
alarming) rate. By the same token, there are
lots and lots of Red Sea liveaboards so you can
argue it's a case of numbers. But that also may
mean there's a dire needs for crews which may
dilute the "culture of safety" that many of us
preach about because you've got people either
inexperienced or not well-trained crewing these
vessels.
NOTABLE THINGS THIS WEEK -
Other than the Dodgers . . . Don't forget that
Halloween is this coming Friday evening and that
means that this coming Sunday, Daylight Savings
Time ends at 2AM. Enjoy the extra hour of sleep
- don't forgot to change your clocks - before we
wake up to bemoan the shortened amount of
daylight.
LOOK AT THAT FACE -
It's a wonderful song from "The Roar of the
Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd" but it's
also an apt description for the image below. I'm
sort of the resident in-water photog for the
Aquarium of the Pacific and we're updating our
fish ID charts so I was in our Tropical Reef
exhibit shooting our animals and this Sailfin
Sculpin kept me company, occasionally giving my
the stink-eye for some unknown reason. But when
you think fish don't have feelings or emotions,
keep this shot in mind. |
