Texas Dive Center

Another Liveaboard Burns. In what is now becoming a regularly reported disaster for liveaboards, the Thai-operated DiveRACE caught fire in the early hours of April 12. The 113-foot steel-hulled luxury vessel that accommodated up to 20 guests was positioned over the Boonsung wreck dive site near Khao Lak in the Andaman Sea when the fire broke out. The cause has not been reported, but it is believed to have started in the engine room. Nobody was reported hurt, but the Thai coastguard took four hours to reach the stricken vessel. The day before, a small diving day boat, the Aor Subpiti, had burned when its engine caught fire. The 16-year-old helmsman, Manawat Bialy, sustained significant burns to his arms and face.

Not Lost to a Down Current. Although Cozumel diving is known for its down currents, the dive area San Juan, where 74-year-old Greg Romes went missing (as we reported in our mid-March email), is not close to the wall. It’s a long series of rolling hills between 60 and 80 feet deep, and an Undercurrent member who dives frequently there says it is known for its fast to ripping horizontal currents. Romes used a side-mount system and was reported to have had some issues with it the day before he disappeared