The devastation in Florida from Hurricane Ian is beyond words . . .

NEXT UP IS HURRICANE ORLENE - This one is off of the western coast of Mexico, SE of Cabo San Lucas. It looks to be turning NE and will strike the Mexican mainland south of Mazatlan most likely Monday night. It's currently a Cat 4 hurricane (as was Ian) but the forecast calls for it to weaken as it passes over some offshore islands and will likely make landfall as a Cat 2 or even Cat 1 storm. Still, nothing to be trifled with as an extensive storm surge is projected. And that's what did in a lot of Fort Myers and Naples in Florida. Orlene will probably peter out over the middle of Mexico sometime Tuesday afternoon. There are two more tropical depressions lined up in the Atlantic, one NE of South America right now and the other just west of Cape Verde, Africa, where many Atlantic hurricanes are spawned. We'll keep you posted.

IAN'S AFTERMATH - The pictures are devastating and horrific. There are houses and businesses that are simply gone, with only the foundations remaining (if that). We have a couple of our divers who live in the general area. George from Naples reports that, other than a lack of power, there was minimal damage to his home. But some of his friends have lost homes, cars, and businesses. Steve is in Sarasota and we've not yet heard from him and are hoping things are all right. When you look at some of the aerial shots, which to me are the most dramatic, you can really see the scars on the landscape Ian has left as there are channels that have been dug that previously were coastline. You also have to wonder how much development plays into all of this. Islands are called "barrier islands" for a reason. But when you build on them and you destroy the mangroves in favor of construction (mangroves can act as a great buffer) and replace previously porous land which absorbed water with concrete highways, parking lots, and suburbs, now the water has nowhere to go and you get the flooding. On top of that, timing plays into this as Ian came ashore during some extreme high tides (aka king tides) which further exacerbates things. The destruction to infrastructure is extensive and the rebuilding effort is likely to take many years, maybe even a decade or more. Terribly sad on all counts.

GOOD JOB THIS WEEKEND!!! - On to better news: No reports of fatalities of serious accidents requiring chamber treatment over the lobster opening weekend. Whew!!! Job well done. But don't let your guard down. Always remember to dive safely and carefully when bug hunting because it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the hunt and to neglect checking on little critical things like . . .  how much air you have left.

SINGAPORE AIRPORT EXPANDING - Singapore has announced a planned expansion of the Singapore Changi Airport. The new Terminal 5 will be as big as the four existing terminals combined and will add capacity for another 50 million visitors annually. (SIN currently handles about 82 million folks a year.) The new terminal won't open for at least 10 years, but it's still going to be an impressive addition to an already-impressive airport. You can read more about it here: SINGAPORE AIRPORT EXPANSION.

REDONDO OCEAN WATER QUALITY ISSUE - They're not sure what the cause is, but the L.A. County Department of Public Health over the weekend placed eight SoCal beaches under advisories because of high bacteria levels in the water. Of specific interest to divers were the inclusion of the Redondo Pier and Redondo Beach at Sapphire Street. Veterans Park, a major dive site, is smack-dab in the middle of the beach between those two. The advice from the Health Department is to stay out of the water for three days following their measurements. So maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday, things will be better.

HOW ABOUT A PINK MANTA? - No you haven't had too much to drink. (That would make you see pink elephants.) We've mentioned this before and it popped up in one of our news feeds again so we thought we'd revisit. But the reality is that there's a manta ray with a pink underside who lives around Lady Elliot Island along the southern edge of the Great Barrier Reef. The pictures are gorgeous: PINK MANTAS ARE REAL.

And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!

- Ken