BAD NEWS May 2026
Upcoming Events:
August 30, 2026 - Scuba Poker at Mammoth Lake sponsored by Lunarfins and BAD
October ?, 2026 - Underwater Pumpkin Carving at Mammoth Lake sponsored by Lunarfins and BAD
April ?, 2027 - Houston Underwater Film FestivalApril 25, 2027 - U/W Egg Hunt at Mammoth Lake sponsored by Lunarfins and BAD
It Was Always Going to Happen! A diver had to fight for his life after being attacked by a shark immediately on entering the water at Kooddoo, an island of the Gaafu Alif atoll, in the Maldives. On April 13, Borja Garcia Sousa, 31, a Spanish gynecologist, suffered extreme blood loss and had to have his leg amputated at a hospital in Gaafu Alif atoll before being transferred by air to the hospital in Male, the capital. The attack happened where large schools of spinner sharks congregate thanks to a fish-processing plant on Kooddoo, which often dumps fish waste into the sea. It had not done so for a week, so the sharks apparently were in a heightened state of hunger and anticipation and were aroused by the sudden splash of divers entering the water from the diving dhoni. The victim was with his wife on their honeymoon.
Don’t Dive from an Unattended Boat. High winds and powerful waves on April 9 pushed the boat of a Florida couple, Tony Riviera and his partner, away from where they were diving, leaving them stranded. They said the anchor of their boat failed while they were underwater about five miles off Boca Grande, northwest of Naples. Eventually, they made it to a crab-trap buoy about a mile off the coast, where they waited as night fell. They used their dive lights to signal SOS, and they were rescued after being in the water more than six hours. They hope someone recovers their missing boat. We point out that it’s a “page one” mistake to leave the boat unattended and a “page two” mistake not to check when you are underwater that your anchor is securely fixed. We reported a similar incident in our mid-March email, when a daft Aussie diver left his boat with those aboard unable to operate it.
Hurricane Seas? Forecasters at Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science believe that Atlantic hurricane activity will be below nonormal this season thanks to warming waters in the Pacific. A Super El Niño could change all that. They forecast 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. According to their forecasts, sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Atlantic will be warmer than normal but slightly cooler than normal in the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. Keep hurricane season in mind when you plan your fall trips.
A Whale of a Scientific Advance. In a monumental breakthrough for marine biology, researchers from the SETI Institute and the University of California, Davis, have engaged in a 20-minute "conversation" with a humpback whale they named Twain. Using a specialized underwater speaker, the scientists broadcast a recorded "contact call" into the waters off the coast of Alaska. To their astonishment, Twain not only approached the boat but responded in a conversational manner, matching the interval variations of the scientists' signals. This interaction represents the first documented instance of a deliberate and sustained acoustic dialogue between humans and a non-human species in its natural environment, opening a new chapter in our understanding of animal intelligence. (Engineering & Science)
The Conception Buck Stops Here. The federal appeals court rejection of the right to appeal of Jerry Boylan, the captain of the ill-fated Californian dive boat Conception in which 34 people lost their lives in 2019, signals a new chapter in the most significant legal case in diving history. Boylan failed to assign an overnight roving watch as required and failed to conduct adequate fire safety training of his crew, the basis of a conviction for seaman’s manslaughter. He faces four years in jail. Accountability at the highest level of vessel operation is no longer negotiable.
Snorkeling Skipper Knifed. Hawaii police reported that they had arrested 21-year-old Kansas resident Avery Nissen on April 16 for the attempted murder of Stan Lurbiecki, the 62-year-old captain of a snorkel trip boat, when it returned to Honokohau harbor on Big Island. Nissen had stabbed him in the lower abdomen and cut his head and hands with a fishing knife before he was restrained by the two other snorkelers on the vessel. No motive for the assault is known. Nissen then jumped into the water but the injured Lurbiecki, who had been conducting a private three-hour snorkel trip for the family of three, turned his boat, the 50-foot catamaran No Wiki, around to pick him up. Nissen has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and both first- and second-degree assault, with bail set at $1.57 million. He has been ordered to undergo a mental exam before his case can move forward.
Drysuits Save Lives. Two divers have survived after floating for 24 hours off Queensland’s east coast. Dan Fitzgerald, and Stu Fillman, 45, credit their insulated drysuits with keeping them alive in the cold water after they got separated from their dive boat in a strong current on April 18. Those on board raised the alarm when the divers were overdue, and the two were eventually spotted and winched to safety by a Westpac Surf life-saving helicopter.
Don’t Dive from an Unattended Boat. High winds and powerful waves on April 9 pushed the boat of a Florida couple, Tony Riviera and his partner, away from where they were diving, leaving them stranded. They said the anchor of their boat failed while they were underwater about five miles off Boca Grande, northwest of Naples. Eventually, they made it to a crab-trap buoy about a mile off the coast, where they waited as night fell. They used their dive lights to signal SOS, and they were rescued after being in the water more than six hours. They hope someone recovers their missing boat. We point out that it’s a “page one” mistake to leave the boat unattended and a “page two” mistake not to check when you are underwater that your anchor is securely fixed. We reported a similar incident in our mid-March email, when a daft Aussie diver left his boat with those aboard unable to operate it.
Hurricane Seas? Forecasters at Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science believe that Atlantic hurricane activity will be below nonormal this season thanks to warming waters in the Pacific. A Super El Niño could change all that. They forecast 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. According to their forecasts, sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Atlantic will be warmer than normal but slightly cooler than normal in the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. Keep hurricane season in mind when you plan your fall trips.
A Whale of a Scientific Advance. In a monumental breakthrough for marine biology, researchers from the SETI Institute and the University of California, Davis, have engaged in a 20-minute "conversation" with a humpback whale they named Twain. Using a specialized underwater speaker, the scientists broadcast a recorded "contact call" into the waters off the coast of Alaska. To their astonishment, Twain not only approached the boat but responded in a conversational manner, matching the interval variations of the scientists' signals. This interaction represents the first documented instance of a deliberate and sustained acoustic dialogue between humans and a non-human species in its natural environment, opening a new chapter in our understanding of animal intelligence. (Engineering & Science)
The Conception Buck Stops Here. The federal appeals court rejection of the right to appeal of Jerry Boylan, the captain of the ill-fated Californian dive boat Conception in which 34 people lost their lives in 2019, signals a new chapter in the most significant legal case in diving history. Boylan failed to assign an overnight roving watch as required and failed to conduct adequate fire safety training of his crew, the basis of a conviction for seaman’s manslaughter. He faces four years in jail. Accountability at the highest level of vessel operation is no longer negotiable.
Snorkeling Skipper Knifed. Hawaii police reported that they had arrested 21-year-old Kansas resident Avery Nissen on April 16 for the attempted murder of Stan Lurbiecki, the 62-year-old captain of a snorkel trip boat, when it returned to Honokohau harbor on Big Island. Nissen had stabbed him in the lower abdomen and cut his head and hands with a fishing knife before he was restrained by the two other snorkelers on the vessel. No motive for the assault is known. Nissen then jumped into the water but the injured Lurbiecki, who had been conducting a private three-hour snorkel trip for the family of three, turned his boat, the 50-foot catamaran No Wiki, around to pick him up. Nissen has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and both first- and second-degree assault, with bail set at $1.57 million. He has been ordered to undergo a mental exam before his case can move forward.
Drysuits Save Lives. Two divers have survived after floating for 24 hours off Queensland’s east coast. Dan Fitzgerald, and Stu Fillman, 45, credit their insulated drysuits with keeping them alive in the cold water after they got separated from their dive boat in a strong current on April 18. Those on board raised the alarm when the divers were overdue, and the two were eventually spotted and winched to safety by a Westpac Surf life-saving helicopter.