One evening, I told Arlindo Serrao, the organiser of the Diving Talks, that number two, following up on a prior success, was often challenging. I was referring to the fact that most movie sequels, with The Terminator and The Godfather being notable exceptions, often fail to get the same sort of traction as the first one; and that book authors and musicians frequently have less success with their second opus.
Born in Portsmouth, England, on June 12, 1931, Bennett studied chemistry and biology at the University of London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951.
After university he worked at the Royal Navy Physiological Laboratory and in 1964 earned his doctorate in physiology and biochemistry from the University of Southampton.
We are very excited to return to an in-person event this year and will be hosting the film festival at Hofstra University. After three years of Covid restrictions, it’s time for divers to once again enjoy the pleasures of meeting in person.
You are invited to submit proposals for possible inclusion in this event. The Film Festival is an annual fundraising event for LIDA and traditionally features an exciting slate of world-renowned speakers, filmmakers and photographers.
The rescue mission in Thailand where a group of experienced cave divers miraculously retrieved a group of young boys and their soccer coach which were trapped in the system of underground caves as they became flooded, should be well known to readers of this magazine as we covered it extensively at the time.
While it’s a fun, challenging and tasty experience for most, more than 20 divers have lost their lives during mini season in the last decade.
Through analysis of these tragic deaths, researchers at Divers Alert Network (DAN) have identified the most relevant contributing factors and most important safety practices for divers participating in the annual event.
These tips probably won’t surprise you, but sometimes the most basic precautions are the most likely to save a life.
"Opt to arrive one-week earlier or leave one week later, and chose the stay and dive program for your type of diving and preferences," the organiser of Diving Talks writes in a newsletter.
Make the most of the trips and both attend the event and try out some local diving while you are there.
Earlier this year DAN launched a dedicated Spanish-language emergency hotline. Now, Spanish-speaking divers can call +52-557-100-0540 to talk to Spanish-speaking medical professionals.
Although DAN has had Spanish-speaking medical staff for many years, the Spanish-language DAN Emergency Hotline means that now the person who answers the call will speak the caller’s own language.
This new hotline follows the Portuguese-language DAN Emergency Hotline (+55-11-3042-1157) that was launched in 2015 for divers in Brazil.
The dive was piloted by Victor Vescovo, undersea explorer and founder of the ocean research company Caladan Oceanic, with Dr. Dawn Wright (Chief Scientist at Esri) as mission sonar specialist. The expedition was again led and coordinated by expedition leader Rob McCallum, founder of EYOS Expeditions.
Wright supported the dive with her expertise in marine geology and the company's geospatial technology and became one of the few individuals – and the first Black person – to visit Challenger Deep.
My 28 years as a dive industry professional have taken me to 130-140 dive shows, events and conferences. So perhaps it is understandable that I sometimes feel a little jaded or unenthusiastic about heading out for yet another one. Many of the dive shows become same-same-ish and the dealings routine.
There are but a few left that I genuinely look forward to and the upcoming Diving Talks, held in Portugal in October, is one of them.
Hudson Canyon is the largest underwater canyon along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and is about 100 miles off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The canyon — about 2 to 2.5 miles deep and up to 7.5 miles wide — provides habitat for a range of protected and sensitive species, including sperm whales, sea turtles and deep sea corals.
The canyon’s rich biodiversity is integral to the region’s economy, underpinning commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational diving, whale-watching and birding.
