A $1400 Mistake

The previous day my camera and underwater housing worked fine, except on the second dive the lens clouded over causing me to stop taking pictures. But that happens often, especially if the air and water temperatures are significantly different and there’s a bit of moisture in the housing. No big deal.

The big deal was, apparently, that one of the camera housing’s seals got damaged overnight. The metal area around a seals was a bit rusted. Unknowingly, after playing with one of the rusty buttons, I must have damaged the seal. After jumping in the water at Blue Bay, and swimming 10 minutes, I noticed the camera housing flooded and got the dive master’s attention. We both quickly did a safety stop and waved over the boat. I placed the camera and housing on the boat in the sun to dry out. After completing the dive, I realized it was beyond repair.

The next day I visited an iPhone shop at a local mall and paid $1400 for a new iPhone Xs. I backup frequently both to iCloud and my laptop., so it was fairly easy and straightforward to setup my new phone. I didn’t lose anything.

Going forward, I plan to assess my iPhone and underwater housing every time I enter the water. If I notice it leaking, I will immediately place it back on the boat, which I regret not religiously doing previously.