AD 2016 Q4

FROM THE SAFETY STOP
LETTERS FROM MEMBERS
COURAGE
I loved reading Cody Unser’s article
in the summer edition of Alert
Diver (Member to Member). As a
volunteer diver at the Aquarium
of the Pacific in Long Beach,
Calif., it has been my privilege
to dive with Cody on several
occasions. Each year the aquarium
presents the Festival of Human
Abilities, which brings together
at the aquarium individuals with
all sorts of challenges, and Cody
and her team have participated
in the event. When you consider
the courage it takes to dive in
deep water without the total use
of every physical attribute, Cody’s
achievements are even more
impressive. The opportunity to
dive with Cody has been humbling
and rewarding. Thank you for
helping tell her story.
— Andy Marias, via email
FOND MEMORIES
Typically, everything stops for
me when Alert Diver arrives,
and the Summer 2016 edition
was no exception. I particularly
enjoyed the piece on Kurt Amsler,
which brought back many good
memories.
When he arrived at UNEXSO,
in Freeport, Bahamas, I had been
on staff there for a year or so,
after a decade in the British navy.
As it was soon apparent that he
was just as broke as me, l let him
share my living quarters: the dive
club’s broom and wash bucket
closet. There was just enough
room for another cot. It was a
great couple of years diving and
socializing with this talented guy,
and, as your interview records,
he had a wonderfully developed
underwater eye.
Thank you for introducing
this remarkable underwater
MARLA BROSE/ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
photographic pioneer to today’s
diving community.
— Dick Clarke, Columbia, S.C.
OUR MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Kudos to Stephen Frink for
advancing the idea that divers
need to be doing more to promote
ocean conservation. Mentioning
David Doubilet’s concept that
every day is World Oceans Day is
right on point. Raising awareness
and encouraging divers to examine
how everyday choices affect the
oceans should be a part of the
diving curriculum. After all, the
dive industry would not exist if it
weren’t for the wondrous resources
found beneath the sea.
Every diver today should
be familiar with how plastics,
overfishing, bycatch, land-based
pollutants and fossil fuels affect our
marine ecosystems. Stephen, David
and other longtime observers of the
marine environment are well suited
to describe the changes and trends
they have seen over the years.
— Steve Mussman,
Lawrenceville, Ga.
I appreciated Stephen Frink’s
comments about plastic straws
and cups in the recent Alert Diver.
It is a shame that it’s cheaper for
bars to give out one plastic cup
after another than to wash and
reuse glassware. I actually have my
16 | FALL 2016