On Mon, 4 Sep 2000 14:48:12 +1300, J.M. Vitoux wrote:

>Just fresh from the BBC this morning. Diving is the single
>largest source of injury to tourists visiting Australia.
>
>The only logical conclusion for us is of course: dive anywhere
>but downunder!

Jean-Marc
I did my best to:
*leave the foreign nationals behind
*slash their hoses Sea-Hunt style
*use them as shark bait
*limit their dive time due to their quantity of Spare-Air
But Huw & Natsuko demanded more ;-) .. gluttons for punishment <g>

Luckily I didnt take them to the beach yesterday as we lost a tourist, who
was a novice swimmer. Silly bugger went in to the water in a WELL SIGNED
*non-swimming* area & was sucked out in a serious rip. Lifeguards searched
till sunset for a body. Remember folks - keep within the swim flags that
are specially set up & patrolled by the life guards if you are not a
competent swimmer & not accustomed to surf conditions in OZ.

Diving death statistics are a lot higher here in OZ as they INCLUDE snorkel
deaths also - comes under the heading 'Silent drowning' as no one noticed
they were drowning until it was apparant the snorkeller had not moved much
in a while :-(
Viv

PS Jean-Marc Huw will be arriving in Singapore around Nov 12 so you should
email him - [log in to unmask] - if you want to organise a mini-NEDfest
for drinks or dinner somewhere.