BAD NEWS August 2026
Upcoming Events:
August 30, 2026 - Scuba Poker at Mammoth Lake sponsored by Lunarfins and BAD
October 11, 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
Huish Recalls 7,200 Regulators. If the Hollis 200LX regulator second stage is dropped or struck near the inhalation-control knob, the inlet tube can crack or break, and may cut off air underwater -- obviously a dangerous problem. Huish Outdoors, the parent company, has received 17 reports of the inlet tubes breaking. If you have a Hollis 200LX regulator, don't use it again and return it to an authorized Hollis dealer for free rectification. You can also contact Huish Outdoors (www.hollis.com) to obtain a prepaid shipping label to return the product by mail for a free repair. Otherwise, email recalls@hollis.com.
A Surface Marker Might Save Your Life. A lobster mini-season dive turned into an emergency when three Florida Keys divers surfaced on August 2 and were unable to see their boat. Luckily, a person remaining on the divers' own boat issued an emergency call that reached first responders just before noon. Within minutes of launching the joint search, personnel in a U.S. Navy Search and Rescue helicopter were able to spot a surface marker and the three men from a quarter mile away, two miles from their boat. The Coast Guard said the marker was the reason they were able to locate the drifting divers. The three had started their dive near Duck Key during Florida's popular two-day recreational lobster mini-season.
An Underwater Mailbox? A struggling Japanese beach town needed tourists, so its postmaster sank a mailbox 30 feet underwater. Susami is a small fishing town in Wakayama Prefecture with a population of around 3,700 people. It was the kind of place tourists drove through without stopping. In 1999, Toshihiko Matsumoto, the town's 70-year-old postmaster, thought he could fix that. His solution was to sink a working mailbox into Susami Bay, 30 feet below the surface. Matsumoto arranged for waterproof plastic postcards to be sold at the local dive shop, along with oil-based markers that wouldn't smear. "I thought it would be interesting if divers could send letters from under the sea." Today, divers deposit up to 1,500 pieces of mail each day.
Not So Shy Swine. Divers often stop off at Stirrup Cay in the Grand Bahama-Exuma Islands to dive with feral pigs – yes, the pigs like to play in the water with people. New Yorker Jason Gordon visited from the Bahamas' Exuma Island chain on a cruise ship and took a dip with the swine, but one clamped down on his right leg and drew blood, later requiring stitches and painful post-exposure treatment to fend off the possibility of developing rabies. Nobody knows how the pigs came to be on the island, but if you plan to take a break from diving in the Bahamas to snorkel with them, be aware they, just like sharks, have teeth.
Disappearing Cuttlefish. A cuttlefish is a diver favorite, but in South Australia they have disappeared almost overnight. Each year, up to hundreds of thousands of giant Australian cuttlefish assemble off the coast of Whyalla to breed, the only place globally where cuttlefish gather en masse. In surveys dating back to 1998, populations ranged from a low of 13,500 in 2013 to a high of 247,000 in 2020, with 63,000 just last year. This year, scientists counted just 43. Numbers this year were widely expected to be the lowest on record, after the devastating effects of the toxic Karenia algal bloom. The divers who surveyed the coastline in July counted only 440 eggs where there would normally be millions. On July 1, the state government introduced restrictions on snorkeling to minimize disturbance to breeding cuttlefish and help protect their eggs and hatchlings. Cuttlefish live short lives and adults usually die after breeding, making the population heavily dependent on the success of each breeding season.
A Surface Marker Might Save Your Life. A lobster mini-season dive turned into an emergency when three Florida Keys divers surfaced on August 2 and were unable to see their boat. Luckily, a person remaining on the divers' own boat issued an emergency call that reached first responders just before noon. Within minutes of launching the joint search, personnel in a U.S. Navy Search and Rescue helicopter were able to spot a surface marker and the three men from a quarter mile away, two miles from their boat. The Coast Guard said the marker was the reason they were able to locate the drifting divers. The three had started their dive near Duck Key during Florida's popular two-day recreational lobster mini-season.
An Underwater Mailbox? A struggling Japanese beach town needed tourists, so its postmaster sank a mailbox 30 feet underwater. Susami is a small fishing town in Wakayama Prefecture with a population of around 3,700 people. It was the kind of place tourists drove through without stopping. In 1999, Toshihiko Matsumoto, the town's 70-year-old postmaster, thought he could fix that. His solution was to sink a working mailbox into Susami Bay, 30 feet below the surface. Matsumoto arranged for waterproof plastic postcards to be sold at the local dive shop, along with oil-based markers that wouldn't smear. "I thought it would be interesting if divers could send letters from under the sea." Today, divers deposit up to 1,500 pieces of mail each day.
Not So Shy Swine. Divers often stop off at Stirrup Cay in the Grand Bahama-Exuma Islands to dive with feral pigs – yes, the pigs like to play in the water with people. New Yorker Jason Gordon visited from the Bahamas' Exuma Island chain on a cruise ship and took a dip with the swine, but one clamped down on his right leg and drew blood, later requiring stitches and painful post-exposure treatment to fend off the possibility of developing rabies. Nobody knows how the pigs came to be on the island, but if you plan to take a break from diving in the Bahamas to snorkel with them, be aware they, just like sharks, have teeth.
Disappearing Cuttlefish. A cuttlefish is a diver favorite, but in South Australia they have disappeared almost overnight. Each year, up to hundreds of thousands of giant Australian cuttlefish assemble off the coast of Whyalla to breed, the only place globally where cuttlefish gather en masse. In surveys dating back to 1998, populations ranged from a low of 13,500 in 2013 to a high of 247,000 in 2020, with 63,000 just last year. This year, scientists counted just 43. Numbers this year were widely expected to be the lowest on record, after the devastating effects of the toxic Karenia algal bloom. The divers who surveyed the coastline in July counted only 440 eggs where there would normally be millions. On July 1, the state government introduced restrictions on snorkeling to minimize disturbance to breeding cuttlefish and help protect their eggs and hatchlings. Cuttlefish live short lives and adults usually die after breeding, making the population heavily dependent on the success of each breeding season.