Mission 2- MK-16 rebreather with drysuit. I dove the USIA drysuit (laminite shell) with integrated gloves and soft booties. Corey ripped a hole in the right hand of the integrated dryglove so it became a constant source of leaks throughout the whole dive. Visibility was excellent as a colder thermocline moved through. Wildlife was plentiful. We tightened 2 turnbuckles on the forward end of the habitat and covered all turnbuckles with hose. Saw a nice green eel and a nurse shark. Dive time- 3 Hours.
I am working the onshore, night shift for this mission and, as one might expect, there isn’t a great deal of activity in the habitat that holds our attention once all the aquanauts have gone to bed. Nonetheless, here in the Watch Desk, we continually monitor the video feed from in and around Aquarius and regularly record life support readings that might alert us to any unfavorable changes. I’ve had the honor of saturating two times since joining the Aquarius crew in 2003, and as an aquanaut, I can say that I took a great deal of comfort in knowing there is an entire crew on shore dedicated to making absolutely certain each and every aquanaut is safe.
When we are not manning the Watch Desk, we take turns through the night working on various projects, usually related to equipment maintenance. For the last few nights, while Joe March took the “Watch”, I have been collecting data from all the previous Aquarius missions completed here at Conch Reef. With this saturation, Aquarius logs a total of seventy–eight missions in thirteen years. On a personal level, I realized that this month marks my eighth year with the National Undersea Research Center, and during that time I have had the pleasure of helping support forty–three of those missions. It never ceases to amaze me how much quality research is generated with each and every one of the Aquarius missions, and with the additional support of our Dayboat crew, this facility can boast the most outstanding record for successful scientific marine research.
I have seen many changes over the years and one of the most notable is the cooperative effort with the Navy. On these last two missions and over the last few months in fact, the Navy has expended a tremendous amount of man power to help us complete repairs resulting from a debilitating hurricane season. Over the last few years, the Navy’s participation has made a marked difference in how much the program has been able to accomplish in terms of scientific research. Thank you Navy Divers and especially Bob Barth for making both your vision a reality, and that huge pot of chili!
Every mission has a day like today, you know the type of day I am talking about, it’s the one where Murphy rears his ugly head. It is also the type of day that shows the character of all the team members. You either fix the problems that Murphy presents you with, or things get worse. Today our u/w chiller unit failed, but thanks to the quick work of NOAA’s support divers, they were able to get a replacement on–line in just a few short hours. The chiller unit is what keeps the temperature and humidity down in the habitat, if repairs weren’t made it would have been very uncomfortable to live in. Swapping out the bad 1000 pound unit at 50 feet with another unit brought out from the beach is not like changing a spare tire on your car, but it comes with the game of living underwater.
Murphy then tried a new tactic, he decided to send a 6 foot barracuda to take a snap at me, thanks to my lightning quick reactions he only cut my finger. Oh, I’m just kidding, I cut myself on an oyster while cleaning the baseplate. Sorry for the exaggeration, the truth seems so trivial.
We have one more day in Aquarius before we start our sixteen hour decompression. The days have flown by and all six of us have lived and worked great together. Usually after the second or third day it becomes clear who’s the nut in a bucket of screws, but fortunately we are all just screws and were able to work well together.
Today’s mission involved securing auger anchors with grout, packing marine safe grease into the threads of the screw jacks, then covering them with PVC covers to minimize growth.
Much was completed today for this mission, but the highlight of my day happened when HTC Glen Rubin made a dive while flying our American flag, capturing the event for his retirement. Chad and I were fortunate enough to be diving at the time, and were able to be a part of the pictures. I am honored to have been underwater with the Stars and Stripes flying over our heads. This flag will be encased in his retirement Shadow box, and will be seen by his ancestors to come, reminding them of his dedication to this great nation. Thank you Glen.
I suppose I should be writing about Day–2 since Day–2 was certainly a respectable day for this team of Navy Divers. As I’ve said, “Give credit where credit is due”. This team lead by HTC(DSW) Terry Pace, worked hard, accomplished all assigned task’s and collectively put in roughly 1,520 minutes of dive time for Day–2.
BRAVO ZULU
I will not go into any detail regarding their work because I feel this entry, at least for the moment, should briefly shadow Day–2. At O–Dark Thirty I received a phone call from a saturation diving icon, Bob Barth. Remember that name… Bob Barth. Bob is a former US Navy saturation diver and pioneer from the US Navy’s Sea Lab I, II and Sea Lab III program legacy. Thanks for the phone call Bob.
Today I also was witness to a diver circling Aquarius with a large American flag. As the diver swam by our view port, the flag waved as water flowed across the stars and stripes. A picture was taken of that diver swimming with the American flag waiving proudly. That diver was HTC(DSW) Glen Rubin. Glen, who is a friend I dove with while I was active duty Navy, will be retiring soon, retiring from a 26 year Naval career, which I’m sure he’s very proud of. The picture will be presented at his upcoming retirement ceremony with a plaque, the picture nicely framed. This picture of Glen with the American flag, set against Aquarius as a background, will serve two purposes in my opinion. One is to remind Glen of his illustrious Naval career as a Navy Deep Sea Diver and friend of Aquarius, as well as it’s staff and crew. Two, to remind me, and hopefully the rest of the Aquarius staff and crew, that a loyal friend felt it important enough to him, to fly his retirement flag “amidships” Aquarius, America’s Inner Space Station.
Today I write about Bob Barth and Glen Rubin, two heroes respectively. Gentlemen, this is from me… A retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer and former Navy Deep Sea Diver like the both of you. I would like to personally thank you both for your dedicated Naval service and personal sacrifices that we share. I personally salute you and your families.
I want to close with these final words. With all that is going on in the world today, and despite our little imperfections, be proud to be an American! The next time you see or speak with a member of America’s armed forces, take the time to thank them for their dedicated and selfless service to this great country.