Two days ago our fearless aquanauts resurfaced after 18 hours of decompression. It was great to see them although they looked quite frazzled, unshaven, and the crazy glint in their eyes remained. They were thrilled to be in some sunshine and walk more than 10 steps in a row before having to turn around. The aquanauts have to stay on the NURC compound site for three hours after decompressing and then afterward may leave only under the careful watch of an escort. This is to make sure no one shows signs of being bent. So after three hours we all headed out for a celebratory lunch at good ol' Sharkeys and then went off to grocery shop for the party that night. The party went well, many nice things were said about the staff, and I showed a video I had made for the group. Being the dork that I am and wanting to procrastinate more, I also baked the cake:
I know Sponge Bob looks a bit out of sorts but he, too, was an aquanaut for a few days.
Unfortunately shortly after this picture was taken Sponge Bob was lost at sea. He was just too buoyant for his own good.So all in all it was a wonderful mission. The three weeks I spent here will go down as one of the best experiences not only during this scholarship year but in my life. I am amazed at the amount of hard work, effort, technical instruments, and patience this project required. It is not always easy to get work done underwater. Not only do you have normal SCUBA constraints to watch for (time, depth, nitrogen, oxygen exposure) but you don't have the full fine tuning of your hands, tools, or instruments. Try to get things level underwater. Things float away from you unless they have enough weight on them. And if they have enough weight then they are hard to get on and off the boat especially in wavy seas. And above all there is the safety of the aquanauts, the topside crew, and the NURC crew. I am impressed by the group working together to accomplish so much. I am proud to be a part of this mission.
We were awarded certificates at the party and I am now an honorary aquanaut. I am hoping that later in my career I will become an actual aquanaut.
Some highlights of the mission:
Me filming pumping rates of sponges using dye.
Princess Brian
Visiting aquanauts Jim and Patrick at 50 feet down.
They gave Sarah and I hot chocolate
An array of instruments underwater
Howard and Brian working in their dry lab at 50 feet down
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