Diving Archives - Page 12 of 34 - Books by Eric Douglas

“Sea Turtle Rescue and other stories”now available!

October 14, 2015 By Eric Douglas

Everyone gets excited when they see a sea turtle in the water. They are just cool and fun to watch.

When my girls were young, after reading innumerable Magic Treehouse books with them, I decided to write them their very own chapter books to read. The first story was Sea Turtle Rescue and sea turtles still hold a special place for us today. Over the years, I wrote three more children’s chapter stories with the same characters and now, for the first time, all four stories are available in one place. Three of these stories were published as part of the Newspapers in Education program, making them available in serial form for kids from all over the country to learn about the ocean. They were published in places as far apart as Bermuda and Iowa.

These stories are great for kids (or grandkids) interested in the ocean, history, sea turtles, sharks and science. The two main characters are young girls, but boys like the stories as well. My step-nephews tell me how much they like the stories all the time.

“Sea Turtle Rescue and other stories” is available in softcover for $10 and in ebook format for $5.99. The ebook is available through Kindle, Nook and most of the other ebook retailers. You can download it in multiple ereader formats through Smashwords.

Many thanks go out as well to Rick Melvin for three of the inside illustrations and to my older daughter Ashlin Douglas for the cover art.

Description

Two young girls move to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and learn about the ocean and life on the coast. There are four early chapter books in this collection, written for readers six- to nine-years-old. The stories are exciting but also include information on science, the ocean and history.

Sea Turtle Rescue is an ocean story about protecting sea turtles. When an injured sea turtle shows up near their home on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Jayne and Marie, along with their friends Javier and Monique, search the beach to find the turtle’s nest and protect it from danger. They know the time is getting short and if they don’t find it soon, the eggs might not get a chance to hatch.

Fight for Fort Hatteras is a history story about the civil war. Jayne and Marie take a school trip to visit the site of a Civil War battle near their home on the Outer Banks. Marie wanders off and finds herself in the middle of the battle and afraid she may never see her family again.

Hurricane! is a science story on hurricanes hitting the coast. Jayne and Marie are faced with Hurricane Erin bearing down on their seaside town. Do they evacuate or stay with their father and protect the aquarium?

Swimming with Sharks is an ocean story about sharks and their value. Jayne and Marie love the ocean and enjoy spending time out on the water with their parents. For them, sharks are beautiful creatures, not something to be feared. But an up close and personal encounter makes Marie think twice.

You can read a number of reviews from the separate stories on the book page..

Fiction becomes reality on Grand Cayman

October 5, 2015 By Eric Douglas

Ten years ago, my first novel (Cayman Cowboys) revolved around the conflict that happens when development squares off against the environment. In that case, a developer was destroying coral reefs in search of treasure while building a cruise ship dock. There were protests, corrupt politicians and good guys trying to save the reef. At the time, I honestly thought it was a little farfetched because the reef in Grand Cayman is a main draw for visitors. The idea that anyone would allow a developer to come in and haplessly destroy coral reefs that have earned the island the distinction of being one of the top diving destinations in the world was a bit out there. I thought.

Flash forward 10 years and the government of the Cayman Islands is planning to build a new pier that will allow cruise ships to dock in the harbor and not have to rely on shuttle boats, called tenders, to get the tourists back and forth the dock. The problem is, to build the dock, the government is going to have to destroy acres of viable coral reef and a historic wreck dive site that is in the middle of the approach to the harbor. They have discussed the idea of moving the reefs, but that’s just about the most absurd thing anyone without a financial stake in getting the dock built has ever heard. Those who have a financial stake in the dock think it makes perfect sense.

The short version is they would have to cut loose and lift thousands of tons of rock and then relocate it to a new area. It’s all underwater, of course, and you just can’t blast it loose and then scoop it up. It would have to be cut loose from below the sand and carefully lifted and moved. On top of that, wherever you would move it to would have to have similar conditions of currents, depth and sunlight to allow the coral reef to continue living.

In short, it’s impossible. Read this opinion piece on the subject.

As an additional layer of absurd, beyond the reef that will be destroyed by the construction of the dock, many additional acres will be destroyed by the silt from the construction and dredging. That will devastate many existing hotels just outside the harbor by destroying their house reefs and the dive sites they frequent.

None of this makes any sense. Unless you consider that the cruise ship lines want the dock. And they spend a lot of money on the island. It all comes back to short-sighted decisions in the interest of money.

The above video is just a simple collage of eight different dive sites in the area near the harbor. All of it will be destroyed or seriously degraded by the actual construction and the dredging. The conditions weren’t perfect the week I shot the video. As a matter of fact it rained every day so the visibility was a little degraded. A couple days, it was raining while I was in the water. Still, it shows the amazing diversity of undersea life on Grand Cayman. And it shows what we all stand to lose all in search of money. In the long run, tourism will suffer.

I think I’ll try to get back to Cayman one more time before they move forward with this disaster. Because once construction begins, the island will be permanently off my destination list..

Underwater debris not “out of mind”

September 17, 2015 By Eric Douglas

Those straight lines are actually fishing lines that are now encrusted in the reef.

“Out of sight, out of mind.” This cliché is true for a lot of things. Something might be vitally important to us, but the moment we set it down, and walk away, we forget where we left it. Like that cup of coffee this morning. Or your car keys.

Just because something is out of your mind, doesn’t mean it’s not there anymore or is no longer a problem. For years, our oceans have been a dumping ground for the things we don’t want to see any more.

The problem is that junk that we’ve thrown into the ocean just stays there. Or it floats. And it kills birds or turtles, porpoises and whales who get tangled in it.

When I dive, I often pick up trash that hasn’t been down too long. When I was diving in Grand Cayman recently, I spotted an empty tuna can and tucked into my BCD to bring it to the surface, for example. I know lots of divers who do that. On the other hand, if fishing line is entangled in a reef, you’ll do more damage by pulling it lose than leaving it in place. A can or a bottle that has been on the bottom for a while might have something living in it. In the local lake where I learned to dive, and many divers explore every day in the summer, I often see beer cans, plastic cups and other debris on the bottom.

Today, most of us who grew up with the crying native American standing beside the road from the Keep America Beautiful commercial get angry when we see litter by the side of the road where some inconsiderate, selfish slob has thrown it from their car. We need to have that same reaction when we see trash in the ocean. National Geographic reported earlier this year that eight million tons of plastic trash is dumped into the ocean every year.

You might have heard of the floating garbage dump in the North Pacific, but did you know there are actually five floating gyres of plastic and trash?

What you can do

1) Look for alternative materials or avoid excessive packaging when deciding on purchases. Use paper bags, milk and juice in cardboard, and cloth diapers. Insist on paper bags and glass bottles.

2) Recycle. Many communities currently offer pick-up recycling programs for #1 and #2 plastics. Other forms of plastic may be accepted by a local recycling business. If your community doesn’t have a recycling program, contact your city or town hall to request one.

3) Educate others about the problem of marine debris, enhancing “voluntary compliance through awareness.”

4) Get involved. Locate or start a cleanup in your area.

From the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

PADI’s Project Aware is organizing the Beneath the Waves drive for divers to share their photos of underwater debris on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #BeneathTheWaves leading up to the Our Ocean 2015 conference on October 5 and 6.

Divers, it’s time to do more than picking up a piece of trash or two and bringing it to the surface. Show the world what you see. Maybe then, it won’t be out of sight any longer.

Sunday Gazette-Mail: Review of Return to Cayman

August 17, 2015 By Eric Douglas

WV Book Team Review: Diver challenges a war on coral in the Caymans

By Cat Pleska
WV Book Team

“Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage” by Eric Douglas. 238 pages. Visibility Press (2015).

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “Return to Cayman” is the sixth in a series of novels Eric Douglas calls the Mike Scott Adventures.

In each book, Mike Scott is a photojournalist and diver who gets himself involved in some serious crime-fighting. In the latest novel, the plot involves a crime that has global repercussions riding on a “red herring” — that is, it seems what’s at stake are the coral reefs around the Grand Cayman Islands and being able to save them, but in fact the possible damage is much more far-reaching than anyone dreamed.

The story begins with the arrival of Mike Scott to visit old friends Kelly and Tanya, residents of Grand Cayman, an island with a population of 56,000. Kelly and Tanya own a dive resort, Sunset House, but Tanya is also working with the Department of the Environment to protect and restore the coral reefs surrounding the island, which are crucial to the diving industry.

A coral reef represents hundreds of years of growth of tiny, living sea creatures that form hard (mostly) outcroppings on the bottoms of oceans, especially around islands or just off shores of continents. Coral beds are the nurseries for small fish, who in turn are in the feeding chain for larger fish, the kind humans use for food. Besides natural disasters, such as hurricanes, that can devastate coral colonies, man-made destruction — by the massive anchors of cruise ships, agricultural runoff and dock development — is increasing.

An eccentric billionaire, Jay Taylor, arrives on the island with the stated intent to save the coral. He’s planted sensors in the water that can detect problems, and he also pledges a million dollars to the Caymanian government for coral recovery and protection. But Tanya, a marine biologist well-versed in protecting the coral environment, has her suspicions. Free help is nice, but it could mean strings attached.

Mike, ostensibly along for the ride, helps his friends assess the state of the coral. He and Kelly dive to begin the survey and are almost killed when an off-course cruise ship drops anchor nearly on top of them.

Each link in the anchor chain weighs hundreds of pounds. Besides nearly ending their lives, massive amounts of coral are destroyed — and also Bubba, a huge, 1,000-pound grouper, who is considered an “old man of the sea.” How can such a massive ship be off by 100 feet coming in to dock? Could the drone flying overhead have anything to do with it?

And after Tanya is nearly killed in a bizarre car accident — also when a drone is present — the three, led by Mike Scott, begin a race not only to save the coral, but also the international banking systems that are present on the island — more than 600 banks where billions of dollars are at stake. Someone masterminds a complete shutdown of all electronic interaction with the world, essentially erecting a “cone of silence” around the island.

The chase is on to stop whomever is creating havoc. The island divers, or “cowboys” as they’re called, saddle up (that is, they don scuba gear) and vow to help the threesome save the world. Plenty of action and deception ensue, and Douglas is good at developing tension and getting a reader to turn a page, the hallmark of thrillers. A few passages seem repetitive, but my hat’s off to Douglas for creating a complex mystery involving computer sabotage. It reminded me a little of “Mission Impossible” plots.

Douglas’ own decades of scuba diving provide a realistic environment. Perhaps my favorite passage was the swim through the coral “tunnel” with its “windows” (gaps in the coral wall) that allow sunshine to come through, which is crucial for coral growth.

“Return to Cayman” is a good summer read — fast and furious — with the occasional slowdown to admire the scenery. In true thriller fashion, the novel provides not only an exciting ride, but a greater awareness of what’s happening in our oceans.

Long live the coral and Bubbas of the sea! And maybe then we’ll thrive too.

Read the follow up Q and A here:

– See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20150816/GZ05/150819788/1178#sthash.EssugIIn.dpuf .

New Withrow Key novella features ScubaRadio!

August 15, 2015 By Eric Douglas

The ninth story from Withrow Key is the novella “Lyin’ Fish”. It is now available in print and on Kindle. Lyin’ Fish is doubly special because it features an appearance from long-time fans of the series Greg Holt and the mermaids of ScubaRadio.

“The crew from the nationally-syndicated talk radio show ScubaRadio comes to sleepy Withrow Key for a lionfish rodeo, but immediately Jackson Pauley feels something isn’t right. “Greg the Divemaster” Holt can barely dive. When Jackson spears a lionfish, Greg grabs it and gets stung. The radio show is a disaster. When Duffy, the local bar owner, goes missing Jackson, Littlebear and Zach jump into action to unravel the mystery and save their friend.”

If you’ve missed the earlier Withrow Key stories and want to read the entire series leading up to Lyin’ Fish, check out Tales from Withrow Key..