Scuba Shack Radio #20 11-30-19



In this episode we discuss the Suunto SK-8 compass, Ballast – a five part podcast from Hakai Magazine and another installment of Sea Hunt – It’s Still Alive.

The Suunto SK-8 underwater compass is my compass of choice. The compass is billed as the world’s most popular dive compass. The SK-8 is a liquid filled compass. Suunto claims that both the Northern and Southern hemisphere models can be used over a wider area of the glob based on their upgraded magnets. The compass is 2.58″ x 2.58″ x 1.72″. We prefer to wear our compass on our wrist and you can get it with a wrist strap or a bungee mount. One of the biggest benefits of this compass is its ability to function with a high degree of tilt – +/- 30 degrees. Additionally, the bezel ratchets every 5th of a degree making it turn smoothly in all conditions.

Ballast is a five episode podcast brought to you by Hakai Magazine hosted by Elin Kelsey. It seems like a pretty dull subject but if you listen to the podcast, Elin makes the topic quite interesting. From the history of ballast, to how ballast effects living things, to ballast in skyscrapers, I think you will enjoy. Here is a link to the website for “Ballast” https://www.hakaimagazine.com/ballast-podcast/

Sea Hunt season one, episode 35 is titled “The Amphibian”. It was released on September 6, 1958 and was filmed in Silver Springs, Florida. Mike is hired to supervise a group of local skin divers on an outing to an offshore island – San Granata. The local skin diving group includes Queenie Miller(Zale Parry), Courtney Brown (DeWitt Miller) and Jon Lindberg (Jack Padgett) – he is Charles Lindberg’s son. There is a lot of underwater footage of Zale and Courtney. Turns out one of the divers is a bad diver with a scooter and a double barreled spear gun. The bad diver – George Peterson uses his scooter to go into a restricted Navy area to take pictures of a secret underwater rocket launcher. Mike saves the day. A lot of action and some interesting underwater shots. Another great episode of Sea Hunt. We picked this one because it featured Zale Parry who I had the pleasure of talking to at DEMA.