Flotsam & Jetsam

PHOTO MAGNET: Pick up any dive magazine and you’ll often find the smiling face of Jean-Michel Cousteau — usually more than once. I counted more than a dozen pictures of him in a single issue of a recent Australian magazine. But is there trouble abrewin’? Most recently, his photo appeared twice in a Divers Direct mail order catalogue to tout his nonprofit organization, Ocean Futures. In an advertorial with his picture, Diver’s Direct said it will contribute one dollar for every person who signs up for its direct rewards program. But wait, is this politically correct? While Jean-Michel has been the darlin’ of Skin Diver, Rodale’s, and the entire “support your local dive shop” industry, will he now be eschewed for hooking up with, of all things, the dreaded mail order equipment sales industry? Well, perhaps he’ll escape criticism; Diver’s Direct is a business of Diver’s Outlet, which also has six retail stores in Florida.

THAI DIVE OPTION: Readers have always liked the whale sharks and big critter action of diving Thailand from the Fantasea, but the boat itself always got mediocre ratings. Now it looks like they are building a new, upscale vessel we’ll have to check out: Ocean Rover. The new craft is scheduled to begin offering Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) cruises beginning in December, 2000, with possible future itineraries in Malaysia and Indonesia. For more info, see www.ocean-rover.com or www.fantasea.net, or e-mail info@fantasea.net.

NO FISH STORY: Fish stories having the reputation they do, a 38-year-old Briton deep-sea fishing in Portugal made a catch he figured friends would have to see to believe. So he did the natural thing and decided to take it home. Thing is, his “catch” was a 5-foot shark taken off the southern Algarve coast. He snuck the critter into his posh room at the Marinotel in Vilamourna, put it in the bathtub — and frantically phoned the front desk. It seems his catch wasn’t in the mood for a hot tub and instead flooded the bath. The guest checked out, leaving a humorous thank-you note, but there was no word as to the shark’s fate.