Over the last decade setting up an underwater Christmas tree became a tradition in several Eastern European diving communities. This season divers placed these as far as Vladivostok, Russia, as deep as 100ft (in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine) and as cold as under the ice.

 
An interesting underwater Christmas tree was placed at the bottom of the Black Sea in Odessa, Ukraine. The city is well known among tourists but not that famous as a diving destination due to relatively cold water, unstable weather and challenging diving conditions. However those who are comfortable with dry suits and wreck penetration can find several amazing dive sites there.

The most popular shipwreck in the area is a Romanian transport "Sulina". Sunk during WWII, it still is in great shape and is usually chosen by local divers as a place to celebrate "Underwater New Year". This year they decided to put the tree near the wreck's stern as it's a very picturesque spot and it's easy to avoiding too much silting there.

The team included 10 regular divers, one underwater Santa and his granddaughter (the Slavic equivalent of Santa usually travels with his granddaughter who helps him during the busy holiday season). The Christmas tree was about 5 feet tall, decorated with proper Christmas tree toys and lights (two independent custom designed sets as all technical diving courses teach :)). Visibility was fantastic, the day was clear and sunny so photographers and videographers managed to get some awesome shots for us to enjoy. 

Let's wish this team all the best in 2016 and hope to see more interesting dives from them!

(c) DivingUniverse.com 2015

In a bizarre stroke of luck, a boy from Vienna, Austria managed to fish out a sizable treasure from the River Danube: €100 and €500 banknotes totaling a whopping €100,000!

The boy apparently noticed the notes from afar, and jumped right into the icy cold water to retrieve them. Passersby, worried that he was attempting suicide, immediately notified the police, who arrived at the spot just as the boy was coming out with the money. They later dried the soggy notes using a clothes dryer, giving rise to cheeky puns over ‘money laundering’.

At first, police thought the €100,000 were fake, and thrown in the river as a prank, but upon closer inspection, they realized the banknotes were genuine.

A police spokesman said: "The boy said he wanted to bring it to the police, but the question is whether the police found it or the boy," 

In Austria, anyone who finds cash and hands it in to police can claim between five and 10 per cent of the sum. 

Eric Stine, 58, was reported missing by a diving friend on Saturday. 

According to authorities his body was discovered Sunday in the surf in Manchester State Beach, 140 miles north of San Francisco.

Stine becomes at least the ninth person to die in Northern Cali while diving for abalone this season, which started April 1 and ended November 30. Six divers have died in coastal Mendocino County alone.