MANILA —

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen said Wednesday he had found one of Japan’s biggest and most famous battleships on a Philippine seabed, some 70 years after American forces sank it during World War II.

Excited historians likened the discovery, if verified, to finding the Titanic, as they hailed the American billionaire for his high-tech mission that apparently succeeded after so many failed search attempts by others.

Allen posted photos and video online of parts of what he said was the battleship Musashi, found by his M/Y Octopus exploration vessel one kilometer deep on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea.

How cold has it been on Nantucket? Chilly enough to freeze waves.

New York Times Feb 27, 2015 

Last Friday, Jonathan Nimerfroh, a photographer, arrived on the beach and saw an unusual sight: slow-moving waves of slush.

“I just noticed a really bizarre horizon,” said Mr. Nimerfroh, who is also a surfer. “The snow was up to my knees, getting to the water. I saw these crazy half-frozen waves. Usually on a summer day you can hear the waves crashing, but it was absolutely silent. It was like I had earplugs in my ears.”

It is not uncommon for the harbor to freeze, but even a fisherman he spoke with later said he had never seen anything quite like it.

South Florida local divers refer it to it as simply, “the Bridge,” while those from further away call it by its proper name, the Blue Heron Bridge. Located in Riviera Beach, just outside of West Palm Beach, Florida, the Blue Heron Bridge is a diver’s dream.  Situated on the Intracoastal Waterway near the Lake Worth inlet, the diversity of life along with its easy access and affordability (the shore dive is free!) make it one of the most popular dive spots in Florida.  In fact, Sport Diver named it the best dive in North America in 2013!

Divers swarm every weekend to Phil Foster Park an hour before slack tide where the mantra is “in the water 30 minutes before and out 30 minutes after.” The approximate maximum depth at the site is less than 25 — yes, only 25 — feet, but rarely has shallow water been so rewarding! It’s not unusual for divers to get an hour to two-hour dive from a single tank, and the variety of what can be seen is endless: seahorses, starfish and hundreds of species of nudibranchs are counted among its residents.

1. A PLACE TO START

A popular wreck dive, the Indra sits in the sand at around 65 feet. Scuttled in 1992, the 330-foot former Navy landing ship makes a great introduction to the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

2. SEE THE LIGHT

 For those willing to climb hundreds of steps to the top, a series of some of America’s tallest lighthouses offers eye-popping vistas of the barrier islands. 

For the first time in over one hundred and fifty years, it is possible to actually see the submarine Hunley. Until recently, it was completely covered by an encrusted layer of sand, sediment and shells that built up slowly over time. For the past four months, Clemson University conservators have been conducting the delicate task of chiseling away this concretion.

On the evening of February 17, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the world’s first successful combat submarine by sinking the USS Housatonic. After signaling to shore that the mission had been accomplished, the submarine and her crew of eight mysteriously vanished. Lost at sea for over a century, the Hunley was located in 1995 by Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). 

SCUBA Board News 

Many of you who know me, know that I love to volunteer. I simply love to give of my time and it's even sweeter when I get to combine volunteerism with Scuba! So, when I was asked by Ashley to help out on a nursery dive for the Coral Restoration Foundation, I dove at the chance. Everyone was talking how cold the water was, so I brought my 3 mil shorty. After all, it's the Keys, so how chilly could it get? Sure we were bringing lunch and planning on three dives, so I brought a light vest too... you know, just in case. Luckily the water was 77^oF so I didn't need anything but a bathing suit. I love living in the Keys!

Do you know your wreck-diving basics? 
If not, read on (and remember that penetrating a wreck is a whole different ballgame, and requires advanced training).

1. Follow the mooring line. Start your dive by surface swimming or pulling yourself along a tag line to the mooring before making your descent. The mooring is your shortest, safest path between the dive boat and the wreck.

2. Remember where you started. On a large wreck with multiple moorings, it can be easy to finish your dive at the wrong boat. Once you descend, take note of your location. Are you at the bow or stern? Port or starboard? Are there unique features like a crane or a winch that you’ll notice on the way back?

3. Use the current. Start your dive against the flow. If possible, keep to the leeward side, where the superstructure of the ship will provide some protection. For the return swim, you can explore the exposed side of the wreck, drifting with the current for an easy ride back.

4. Plan your dive. Always start your wreck dive at the deepest part of your dive plan. Follow the rule of thirds: Use one-third of your air (or bottom time) swimming out, a third coming back, and keep a third in reserve.

5. Gear up. Wear a full-length wetsuit when wreck diving to protect against sharp or rusted metal and other objects. Standard gear should include a dive computer, a knife and an underwater flashlight.

Henry's heart was pounding hard. His air supply was dangerously low, and he knew the three divers inside the wreck must have even less air because their dive was deeper and they were working as they penetrated the wreck. He swam a short way inside, hoping to find some sign of his friends. Finding no trace of them, he became even more anxious. Finally, in desperation, he ascended to the surface, where he blew his whistle to alert the dive boat crew that there was a problem 130 feet below. The captain immediately sprang into action, taking the steps necessary to get a rescue attempt started.

The Great White, on the other hand, is known to be an aggressive predator and has an extremely muscular body, capable of chasing down some of the fastest swimmers in the ocean.  Reaching lengths of up to 20 feet (6 m) and weights of several tons, the Great White’s body is perfectly adapted to a life of predation.

Great White Sharks are known to be highly migratory, with individuals making long migrations every year.  In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Great Whites regularly migrate between Mexico and Hawaii.  In other ocean basins, individuals may migrate even longer distances.  Like in many highly migratory species, the very largest individuals are female.  Great Whites mate via internal fertilization and give live birth to a small number of large young (over three feet/one meter).  Though they give live birth, Great Whites do not connect to their young through a placenta.  Instead, during the gestation period, the mother provides her young with unfertilized eggs that they actively eat for nourishment.  After they are born, young Great Whites are already natural predators, and they eat coastal fishes.  As they grow, their preferred prey also gets larger, and the largest, mature individuals prefer to eat marine mammals, like seals and sea lions.  Great Whites are known to take very deep dives, probably to feed on slow-moving fishes and squids in the cold waters of the deep sea.  Though almost all fishes are cold blooded, Great Whites have a specialized blood vessel structure – called a countercurrent exchanger – that allows them to maintain a body temperature that is higher than the surrounding water.  This adaptation provides them with a major advantage when hunting in cold water by allowing them to move more quickly and intelligently.  It is also particularly advantageous when hunting warm-blooded marine mammals that might otherwise have too much energy for Great Whites to successfully capture them.

It’s the bane of all divers. We want to go down, but the inherent buoyancy in our wetsuits, our BCs, our lungs and our fat cells are all conspiring to keep that from happening. 

To overcome the force of buoyancy you have to counterbalance it with ballast weight. The question is, how much? While the answer is different for every diver, the goal is the same: carry enough weight to enable you to function efficiently and safely at all depths, and not an ounce more. 

Divers are generally taught to define this as being neutrally buoyant at 15 feet deep while wearing an empty BC and carrying a nearly empty tank. But how do you get there? There’s the basic ballpark method--carry 10 percent of your body weight in lead. Or there’s the surface float method—in full scuba gear, load enough weight to enable you to float with the water at eye level (some would say at the hairline). 

But rather than just blindly piling on the lead, why not break it down to find out why you need to carry the weight you do, and what specifically you are counterbalancing. By deconstructing your buoyancy status, you know exactly where your counterweight needs are greatest, and that might reveal ways to reduce the amount of weight you ultimately have to carry.

Click Continue Reading to read how:

from Undercurrent magazine 

I’VE BEEN CAPTIVATED BY THE OCEAN SINCE EARLY ADOLESCENT YEARS.

I can still remember sitting in our family den glued to the TV watching ex-Navy frogman Mike Nelson surfacing to the Argonaut after tangling with dangerous villains underwater. “Sea Hunt” was both in­spirational and entertaining. Nelson’s underwater adventures were nothing short of “otherworldly.” Five or so years later my new weekly television highlight became “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” Never missing an episode, I dreamed of someday meeting Jacques Cousteau and going on the Calypso. The former I did; the latter, alas, I did not.

Click Continue Reading on migrating from Diving to Serving

In 2014, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added a whopping 221 new plant and animal species to our family tree, enriching our understanding of Earth's complex web of life and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species include 110 ants, 16 beetles, three spiders, 28 fishes, 24 sea slugs, two marine worms, 9 barnacles, two octocorals, 25 plants, one waterbear, and one tiny mammal. More than a dozen Academy scientists--along with several dozen international collaborators--described the discoveries. 

Proving that there are still plenty of places to explore and things to discover on Earth, the scientists made their finds over five continents and two oceans, ventured into remote caves and descended to the bottom of the sea, looked in their owns backyards (California) and on the other side of the world (Africa). Their results, published in 64 different scientific papers, help advance the Academy's research into two of the most important scientific questions of our time: "How did life evolve?" and "How will it persist?"

"Biodiversity scientists estimate that we have discovered less than 10% of species on the planet," says Dr. Meg Lowman, the Academy's Chief of Science and Sustainability. "Academy scientists tirelessly explore the unexplored regions of Earth--not only to discover new species, but also to uncover the importance of these species to the health of our natural systems. Our findings help to sustain the future of life for our children and grandchildren. Even in our own backyards," she adds, "new discoveries abound!"

Click Continue Reading for the new species found in 2014

Christmas Tree Schooner by Charles Vickery. (Courtesy of the Clipper Ship Gallery, La Grange, IL)

On a drizzly, overcast day in late October 1971, Milwaukee scuba diver Gordon Kent Bellrichard was surveying with sonar the bottom of Lake Michigan's west coastal waters off of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Bellrichard was searching for the Vernon, a 177-foot, 700-ton steamer that had sunk with only one survivor in a storm in October 1887.

Local fishermen described an area to Bellrichard where their nets had snagged on previous occasions as a potential site to search. His sonar made a promising contact, and he descended to what appeared to be a well-preserved shipwreck resting in an upright position on the lake bed in 172 feet of water.

Upon reaching the wreck, his jury-rigged dive light promptly malfunctioned, leaving him blanketed in murky darkness. Without light, he surveyed the wreckage by feeling along its hull. Bellrichard quickly realized that he had not discovered the larger, propeller-drive Vernon, but the wreck of the elusive Rouse Simmons, a 205-ton, three-masted schooner that had disappeared beneath the waves in a winter gale in November 1912.

When Bellrichard surfaced, he lay in his boat and yelled for joy. His discovery ended a mystery that surrounded the fate of one of the most legendary ships, and its much-loved captain, to sail Lake Michigan's waters. For Bellrichard had discovered the grave of one of the most famous "Christmas tree ships" and its skipper, "Captain Santa."

On the morning of May 9, 1868 the fishing boat Santa Monique emerged from the grey mists of the Atlantic and sighted her home port of Tomancha, a small fishing village between the cities of Bilbao and Gijon on the north coast of Spain. She was a day overdue. The rough seas of the Bay of Biscay had torn away part of her keel and the crew manned the pumps constantly to keep her afloat.

But her nets had remained intact and she had a passable catch of plaice and whiting. More important, she had caught something which was to make the ship and crew a legend along the north Spanish coast and spark off a controversy which exists to this day. For in the hold, securely tied inside a fishing net, was claimed to lie a creature which until then had only been found in legends and fables. Yet in the coming weeks at least 1,000 people testified that what Captain Tomas Cinoda had brought ashore from the Santa Monique was a living breathing merman…

Click Continue Reading for the complete story

The town was destroyed almost 28 years ago.