Enclosing I would like to thank the U.S. Navy for this great opportunity, my family for their love and support during my naval career. Plus, a big “THANK YOU” to the NURC/UNCW personnel for their professional training, expertise and support during our 2004 mission and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, God bless.

Mark Hulsbeck was locked in to assist with decompression (DECO), for all six of us are required to breathe 100% oxygen for three 20 minute periods. Roger Garcia had completed about 90% of the DECO checklist and everything is moving along smoothly.

At 1800 hours we started are ascent to the surface. While breathing oxygen we are required to relax and stay in our bunks until oxygen phase is complete. DECO is a very slow process taking 16 hours.

Reluctantly, I fell asleep knowing that tomorrow we would be that much closer to the surface and this would soon come to an end.

Divers splashed around 0810 and cleaned piping and valves until the blaster arrived. At approximately 1000 it was time to blast. IC2 Cox had first crack at the blaster and directed its force at our base plate to get a feel. MM1 Saulman blasted second, then MDV Grubbs and finally LCDR Ince. The hydro blaster had mixed reviews among the divers but Aquarius proved to be a fine platform for Beta testing.

I started briefing the divers and making some preparations for decompression shortly after divers staged in and diving was done. After all, today is the day we leave the bottom. Most divers that saturate in Aquarius have mixed feelings on decompression day. Some can’t wait to get out after 10 days, others would like to stay a day longer. With me, well… I suppose in some way she (Aquarius) reminds me of a song “One more day with you.” Every time I saturate I always want to stay one more day with her, but honestly… I’d be happiest staying with her for good.

A French engineer named Triger, invented a pressurized caisson in 1841 used to keep water out of coal mines. Coal miners worked inside this pressurized caisson all day long (7 – 10 hours). Many of the men that worked within the caisson had experienced a variety of symptoms ranging from joint pain to paralysis and in some cases death upon decompression from the mine. Triger once wrote “One only pays a price when leaving the pressurized caisson.” Speaking of the symptoms workers experienced when decompressed at the end of the work day. We left bottom at 1800 today, we are all willing to “pay the price” upon leaving the pressurized environment Triger wrote about. The price of developing a serious case of decompression sickness. I see it this way though… I’m paying a price for not spending “One more day” with her.

I have described my awe and wonder in my previous entries, the awe and wonder will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have discovered a new appreciation for an environment I have always appreciated. I already know the value of the marine research work supported by NOAA and the Aquarius Project, and the message that our precious ocean resources need conserving and protecting is beginning to reach the right ears. I only hope it is not too late.

We were to start diving at 0800, but in the event hit the water at 0756. My mission here is to laser profile the sea lab’s hull, and today we began in earnest. The local inhabitants had other ideas though, and the hab’s living exoskeleton of snappers that I had admired so much yesterday quickly became a hindrance to our work as they herded directly in the areas we were trying to scan. My attempts to shoo them away were laughable and if anything encouraged their curiosity. In the end we just persevered and managed to build the picture we required by re-scanning the areas of interest several times, hoping that the fish didn’t have the skill to occupy the exact same position every time. The ruse appeared to work, though I’ve yet to fully analyze the data! Next time perhaps I should employ one of the barracuda as a ‘sheep dog’, they seem to have the uncanny ability to clear an area of fish instantly.

In the moments between scans (it is a pretty dull and slow process) I just watched the marine sanctuary pulse around me, taking every opportunity to put my digital camera to good use. The hab itself has become a part of the reef, and you don’t have to look too far, just keep still and watch. I amused myself for quite a while teasing a small jawfish, no bigger than half my little finger, allowing it to snap at the self same little finger as it popped out of its adapted home in the deck grates. Despite it diminutive size I wasn’t brave enough to take off my glove! I certainly got lots of practice with the macro function on the camera.

We finished today with an awesome night excursion dive, a surreal experience as my buddy (Dom Hove) and I swam through the hazy glow of the lights and saw the full compliment of marine animals gathered around the hab. The bigger animals definitely rule the night, attracted to the beacon of hab lights knowing that there will be easy pickings, sharks, rays and big mean looking barracuda. We are pretty big mean ‘fish’ too, so fortunately we were not on their menu….tonight at least!

About thirty minutes to an hour passed and my dive buddy had one of his fins swept away by the current (he had taken them off so he could work better on the wet porch). We then got the word that the hydroblaster wasn’t going to make it down because of the rough seas for the second support boat with the deck equipment. DARN! I don’t want to sound bad, but that was an answered prayer for me! The guys then handed us some scrapers and wire brushes, so we scraped for a few minutes, but my buddy needed to search for his fin. SLACK ON RED! I don’t think I missed an inch while scanning the bottom and surrounding area. I eventually made it to the reef, and I just stood and watched the many different, colorful, tropical fish, and looked in every nook, cranny and hole I came across. It was breathtaking to see all the beautiful and odd shaped creatures God created. I just wish I could explain the feeling I had while I was doing my exploring, hoping to see a shark during my time on the bottom (a small one and at a comfortable distance of course). We previously watched a couple of nurse sharks from out of the view ports the night before, but none while blowing bubbles.

Three hours and forty minutes of bottom time; yeah, that’s a very pleasing start and I wanted more. We completed the diving for the day and as soon as I got cleaned up I went to the bunkroom and peered out the view port. I spotted an enormous shark. I’m pretty sure it was a bull shark and it was without a doubt no less than 7 feet long. If I would have seen that cruise over me, I would have probably balled up in the fetal position and wined like a baby. Cox and Mr. Ince got to catch a glance at it also, and we started making plans for a night dive after dinner with a one hour bottom time for more exploring. Another meal and some relaxing and I am still stuck in the view port waiting for our night excursion. I was thinking back in awe of all that I had witnessed that dive and the total blessing it was to experience it. Cox and I were first to do the night excursion. I got to see many other creatures on the reef that you don’t get to see during the day. I also got to swim alongside a 50 pound goliath grouper, another dive that was absolutely amazing. Hopefully I’ll get some good rest tonight because I’m beat.

Outside the view port, our mission continues with cleaning and photographing the Aquarius habitat. With a total of five excursions to a maximum depth of 70 fsw, it is still hard to grasp the thought that we are living down here and do not have to decompress after each dive. The first three dives consisted of an average excursion time of three hours. The next two dives were night dives of 60 minutes each, a limit we set to obtain a 12 hour clean time so that we can dive again tomorrow. I had the opportunity to dive with LCDR David Ince of the Royal Navy. As we started our night dive we came upon a Stingray that was 5 to 6 feet wide. We took pictures and watched him feeding off the bottom. As we continued our dive we moved aft of the habitat as far as our umbilical would take us. Then we moved along the reef taking pictures and making our way around the portside of Aquarius to the forward section of the habitat. As I looked out into the darkness with only the beam of my dive light, I saw what I would consider a large Reef Shark. Fortunately, he decided not to get close enough for me to take his picture, and I was okay with that. Before we knew it, it was time to return to the habitat and cleanup for the night.

As we sit around the Aquarius at night taking turns calling loved ones, I feel most of us are living in a dream while we try and to convey to them what we are feeling. Again, I am overwhelmed with the majesty of Gods creation. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to live underwater and enjoy some of the beauties of this world that others will only see in a magazine or on television.

The military in me will never fade away. I woke up at 0530, but lay in the rack until 0630 watching fish swim at my bunkroom window. Not too long after that, the rest of the aquanauts woke up and had breakfast. The dive plan was to splash the first set of divers at 0800, and in true form our divers splashed at 0756. LCDR Ince and MDV Hove started by setting up the laser scanner in preparation for the arrival of the R/V Sabina with surface support. The laser scanner will give us an accurate 3-D view of the Aquarius habitat for future maintenance. This is where I failed to give credit to LCDR Ince, he is the laser scanner expert, but he also has engineer topside in support of the laser scanner named Ian Stifle. Sat divers, in concert with topside support positioned the laser, scanned and took snap shots of the habitat from 0830 until 1600, and all seemed pleased with the results.

Mid day Jim Buckley (Habitat Operations Manager) called me and asked if Capt. Wilkins (US Navy Supervisor of Salvage) and Capt. Murray (former Supervisor of Diving and current Navy Diving Program Manager) could come down for a visit. Both Capts are qualified Navy saturation divers, and both have an Aquarius saturation mission under their belts. Following a quick meet and greet, both men sat down and had lunch. We talked for a few moments, after all… we do have some history between us. The view from the table was like no other (if you know what I mean).

The significance of this lunch today with these two men at 45 fsw (feet of sea water) over cheese quesadillas and gatorade would not be seen by most people, at least by people who aren’t used to paying attention to tiny details. This lunch was loaded with tiny details… and to those people I say this… “Some of the best business deals have been made over what may have seemed to be an insignificant lunch.”

One last thing. Usually there are un-song heroes, people in the background that are seldom noticed. Today, as well as yesterday, the topside crews of NURC and of the U.S. Navy, along with others, once again braved a long day and 6 – 7′ seas to ensure our success. HOO YAH TOPSIDE!

It wasn’t long before I was outside swimming with them, weighted down with necessary but cumbersome life support equipment, flowing past me unconcerned but curious about my presence in their environment, thousands of sleek multi-colored bodies turning the hull of the habitat into a shimmering living exo-skeleton.

In the darkness that evening I lay listening to Holst’s (Planet Suite), Neptune the Mystic, a moving and serene music which seemed to fit perfectly the ethereal view from the darkened view ports, as the denizens of Conch Reef glided in and out of the loom of the habs spot lights, the hunters and the hunted, a beautiful yet lethal dance of light and shadow.