Shipwrecks, Fossils, an Hiking: The Island of Anticosti

Along with diving during my stay with Julie and Michel of Anticosti Ecotours, we also spent two days exploring the island itself! The first day was a more private tour with the three of us as well as Nick. We started the day by driving to the northern shore of the island. Anticosti has unique geological formations, including large sedimentary cliffs on the coast which host a plethora of fossils from the Ordovician period. Upon arriving, the massive height of the cliffs is astounding, and finding a couple million year old fossil is as easy as picking up any rock on the beach!

The next stop on our tour would be the Vauréal Waterfall. We walked to a nice viewing platform, where we could see tourists hiking in the canyon, and a gorgeous view of the falls. Apparently the flow was usually much stronger, however a period of weird weather had lessened the strength of the falls. While we had a snack and enjoyed the view, Julie explained that Vauréal was even taller than Niagara Falls! We enjoyed the view a while longer, took some photos and then moved to our next location.

One of the most unique things about Anticosti’s geology is the depth of the coastline. About .25-.5 mile offshore of the island, the water is relatively shallow, dropping down to only a foot or two in some areas a low tide. Because of this, coupled with the dangerous weather, the island has been the location of an estimated 400 shipwrecks over the years. While some are dive-able, a number of them have washed up on shore! We ended up visiting the wreck of the Wilcox, a minesweeper from the 1940’s which was wrecked due to a storm. The Wreck looked eerily pretty beached on shore, and it was interesting to explore and see parts of an old ship that aren’t covered in algae or zebra mussels!

 

The last site we visited on our private tour would be an old plane wreck. The plane apparently crashed in 1967 after running out of fuel over the island. While it tried to land on the main road on the island, it had to veer off course to avoid a logging truck. Luckily no-one had died in the incident, and the wreck now acts as an interesting point and place for tourists to leave their names.

 

Our next land excursion took place after we dove as a large group. Unfortunately dense fog and large waves prevented us from diving, but we made up for it by hiking to a cave! We all loaded up in two trucks, and made our way to the trail.  The walk to the cave would be around 2 miles long, and we saw a ton of unique things on the way. Including a plant know as a ghost pipe, which is a pale white flower that lacks any chlorophyll, and instead derives its energy from a symbiotic relationship with a fungi! We also came along a baby bird who had been pushed out of their nest and was walking on the ground. We eventually made it to the cave, which had a fresh water stream flowing out of it, making the rocky walk slightly hazardous but still worth the incredible view and experience. `We had a nice sandwich lunch in an overhang formed from the cave’s ceiling, and then walked back to the trucks!

For our last stop of the day, we went to a lighthouse on the northern shore of the island. While the lighthouse itself was very pretty, the highlight for myself was the pair of foxes which lived on the property and would come over to investigate.  The two were curious if we had any food for them,  and even came right up to the camera! They made a great pair of models to practice with the camera, and were super cute on top of it!

 

 

From the land to the sea, Anticosti was an extraordinary place and I feel so lucky to have been able to experience all it had to offer! With less than 100 divers experiencing their water’s yearly, I feel incredibly privileged  to have been apart of that number. Diving with Julie and Michel at Anticosti Ecotours is safe, exciting, and a once in a lifetime experience! I learned so much in my time there, especially how to manage diver safety when you are so far away from immediate medical care!

The Colder the Better: Diving in Anticosti

Diving in Anticosti was going to be exciting; even though most of my diving experience had been in New England waters, I had never been that far north. These northern waters meant it was time for some more practice in my drysuit! For my first dive with Julie and Michel, I got to tag along on a checkout dive for one of their customers who would be joining the trip later in the week. Going on a checkout dive from the shore of Port Menier would be a safe water to not only get a little acclimated to the water, but also to check on my weighting, trim, and any other small details. So, we suited up on the boat ramp, and started our dive! Immediately descending on our swim out, I saw one of the biggest lobsters I think I’ve ever seen underwater, and he was even missing a claw. Michel, his customer, and myself all swam along, practicing hovering after a depth change and making sure we were acclimating to the water, after about 20 minutes of swimming, Michel had me launch an SMB from depth, that way we could ascend safely in the event of any boat traffic, while also providing a visual reference for out ascent. It was great practice and I’m thankful I was given the chance do it! Our dive for the day was nothing crazy, but definitely a well needed checkout dive in a new area, our dive had a max depth of 25 feet, for a little over 32 minutes. There were lobster, crabs, and smaller invertebrates littering the bottom, and I was excited to see more soon enough!

The day before customers arrived on the Island, Julie and Michel had received word that a boat part was somewhere in a given area, and they were curious to look for it, a s it could make an interesting dive site. We woke up early for our my first dive off of their boat, the Limitless. Diving today would be Julie, one of her friends and dive guides Nick, and myself, with Michel as out Captain! While the weather wasn’t ideal with some denser fog and 2 foot waves, going diving off of a smaller boat is always fun! We took a ride out to the expected coordinates, and then got ready to get in. Once we were in, we rolled off the side together and took a heading towards the general area we wanted to look. We began our decent and noticed that the visibility would be a bit lower than expected, quite like Rhode Island waters actually; with around 4-5 feet of visibility due to a lot of silt floating around the water from a mixture of the winds and tides. We swam following our heading for about 100 feet, until we came upon an object that was certainly man-made, but had been sitting in its spot for well over a few years, as it was concreted to the ground and covered in growth. Utilizing the TG6 Camera system provided by Backscatter photo and video,  I was able to take some murky photos so that Julie could review them latter on to figure out what the object was! We swam around a little longer around the area to look for anything else, but eventually began our ascent. Upon reaching the surface, we used two SMB’s in order to help Michel find us in the fog. This was a super fun first dive to do with them, and a great opportunity to get the process of diving off Limitless down before customers arrived.

The next two dives we had in Anticosti would be with Julie and Michel’s customers! Having prepped their gear beforehand, we met all of the customers at the boat and got dressed in out drysuits. The ride out to the dive site went well, and we all got dressed and ready to roll off the boat. Our first dive site of the day was a place called “Drifters,” named after the small animals they found hitching a ride atop jellyfish! We entered the water and descended together into 40 feet of water. Throughout the dive, I towed an SMB on my reel so that Michel could follow along in the boat. One of the most unique features about diving in Anticosti is the topography! The ground in almost all of the dive sites is flat limestone rock, with very little silt or sand, making it easy to plan dives but also more complicated or vague when navigating around. We drifted gently with the minimal current on the site, swimming around and looking for the macro creatures like nudibranchs and decorator crabs that entice divers to come. We even found a huge lobster hiding beneath of the larger boulders at the site! After a nice dive in 44 degree water for 54 minutes, we spent a nice surface interval relaxing on the boat while we headed to the next dive site. Our second dive of the day was going to be the coldest, and deepest of the trip. So w got suited up again, and entered the water. On our descent to the bottom we passed through a visible thermocline, and made our way to he 60 foot depth. The water was immediately cooler than the last dive, with the computers thermometer gradually declining till it settled at 38 degrees! The combination of the depth and cold decreased our maximum dive time, but we still enjoyed a great 40 minute dive, finding large feathered and norther red anemones on the side of boulders, and spotting a ton of nudibranchs hidden in the algae. Coming up to do our safety stop was a nice relief as we passed through the thermocline, and the temperature immediately rose to above 45 degrees. After warming up on our stop, we boarded the boat and began our trip home! We stopped at the large buoy marking the channel and took a group photo, and arrived at the dock a few minutes later! Since it was the first dive I had done with Julie, Michel, Nick, and their customers, I forwent bringing the camera as too not be too task loaded, and still able to lend a hand.

The diving in Anticosti is truly a special experience, and I’m so thankful for Julie and Michel making it possible. I would also like to again thank Fourth Element for providing their Hydra drysuit and Xerotherm undergarments, they kept me nice and comfortable even through the longest of out dives throughout the trip!

Welcome to Anticosti!

For one of my longest stints of travel during my internship, I got to spend 10 days exploring the Canadian Island of Anticosti! Anticosti is a large island occupying approximately 3,000 square miles in the gulf of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although the island is quite large, it is populated by as few as 250 people annually! Such a small number of people meant it wasn’t necessary for large commercial flights to fly to the island, which made getting there an adventure in itself. The first leg of my journey flew me into Quebec, where I would stay overnight for my smaller flights to the island. While waiting overnight, i got to try some poutine for the first time as well. Im shocked it isn’t more popular in the US.

Waking up the next morning, I got myself to the smaller private airport and boarded my first flight. Taking such a small plane was a brand new experience, but super fun! The smaller flight agencies work as the primary method of transport for many of Quebec’s more isolated towns. To get to Anticosti, my route consisted of 3 flights between these towns, with some small layovers in between. Landing in a smaller plane was super interesting, as it is much more noticeable when the plane sways side to side. Once I got to Anticosti, I was immediately met with smiles from Julie Ouimet and Michel Labrecque. Julie and Michel are the owners of N2Pix Expeditions, and Anticosti Ecotours, which specialize in nature experiences and scuba diving in special destinations! Not only do Julie and Michel operate these amazing companies, they are also accomplished photographers and videographers, making them some of the coolest people to dive with.

After being picked up from the airport, Julie and Michel took me on a quick tour of Port Menier, the most settled part of the island. After seeing the only paved section of the island, I knew this was going to be a run trip! On our small tour we also went through how the dive operations are run on the island, including their compressor system, their boat storage and care, and finally how the customers gear is taken care of. One of the most unique parts of their dive operation when compared to other northern dive operations, theirs is practically a hands off experience that they provide their customers. Once the customers arrive on the island, almost all of their gear (drysuit undergarments excluded) is taken and set up, cleaning, and dried for them throughout the trip.

Once we arrived back at Julie and Michels home for the time being, I got to meet Nick, who would be helping them out as a dive guide and spotter on our dives. We all had a nice dinner, and Julie, Michel and I were able to talk about a mixture of things. Including what their goals were for their operations on the island, as well as my own goals for my upcoming presentation about my experience as an intern. Being able to talk things over with them was super helpful, and it was interesting to learn so much about their experiences in diving and in business in general! After dinner we sat outside for a while, and I had my first encounters with the local fauna. The deer population on the island is well over 150,000 individuals, and there are also a ton of red foxes. The animals are super curious about the people in town and often will come right up to us looking for food! My first hours on the island had been incredibly welcoming and fun, and I was absolutely thrilled to see what the coming days had planned.

Tropical Galleries and Jellyfish!

For my last day at the aquarium, I got to take a look behind the scenes at how some of the many galleries in the New England Aquarium are run! I spent the day with Summer, the head aquarist for the tropical galleries, as well as her intern Nick. We spent the first part of the morning going over all of the usual day to day maintenance for the gallery exhibits, and it was interesting to see how some of the life support systems are taken care of. We did checks on things such as the tank temperatures, protein skimmers, and more; all of which are vital to a clean and healthy exhibit. While I had some minimal experience in taking care of fish at home, it was really insightful to see how things such as protein skimmers work to use air bubbles to clean the surface of the water, capturing things such as fats/oils and grime on the water’s surface. Once the protein skimmers were all cleaned out, we dried and rinsed some more cleaning equipment that we would be using later on.

After the morning routine was done, Nick showed me the way the food is prepped for the galleries. Each exhibit got an assortment of foods, appropriate for both the amount of fish in each, as well as depending on what level/type of nutrients they require. While some of the tanks are fed in a simple method of scattering the food across the surface, some exhibits such as those which house venomous animals require special care and safety precautions to avoid any hazards presented by the animals themselves. These precautions can look anything like feeding the animals from a distance, to even training the animals to be target fed!

Summer and Nick went through feeding all of the exhibits in the tropical gallery, and then it was time for lunch after a quick cleanup! We all had a nice and relaxing lunch on the dock outside, and even got ice cream from the stand in front of the aquarium. Once lunch was done, Nick and I got to help out with a special project of catching comb jellies that had been washing ashore! We worked with a team of interns and staff at the aquarium to scoop up the numerous ctenophores gently in large cups  in order for them to be as healthy as possible. We caught the comb jellies for a while, and then decided to head back inside and to some final cleaning for the day. We went through scrapping the walls of the tanks to make sure no algae was growing the wound be visible to aquarium goers, no would it impact the health of the exhibit.

Today was a lucky day for me, as it was the first day a new giant pacific octopus was being placed on exhibition! We got to watch as it was placed in and explored its new home. Over all today was an amazingly insightful and fun way to end a once in a lifetime experience at the New England Aquarium. Thank you so much to the incredible staff and volunteers who made the experience so incredible, as well as Dan Dolan who organized the experience!

 

The Giant Ocean Tank and More!

Today was another special day at the Aquarium since I would get to dive in one of the most well known exhibits, the Giant Ocean Tank (GOT)! Before we got to that however, there was work to be done and things to see. I started off by observing and helping with the food prep for the GOT, This was similar to other departments food preps, however we got to make a few unique things such as squid tacos! While they didn’t really look like tacos, it was a fun way to pack squid full of fish and make the meal more nutritious for the animals! Once the food prep was done, myself and another intern at the aquarium were given an amazing tour of the exhibits life support systems, including how the GOT’s chemistry and cleanliness are maintained. It was super impressive to see such a massive life support system in action, and it was eye opening to see how much effort goes into maintaining such large scale plumbing!

After an amazing tour, I was given the amazing opportunity to help feed Myrtle. Myrtle is a green sea turtle who has been living in the GOT for over 50 years! Everyday she eats over 6lbs of food to maintain her weight of around 550lbs.  Feeding her was super fun as she came right up and loved to interact with people; we made sure she ate her share of veggies along with fish and squid for protein. Myrtle ate up her food for the day, and then it was time to get ready for our dive!

My dive for there day would be led by Ashley, the aquarium’s dive safety officer! We put together the gear, using the aquariums gear to keep everything sanitary, and then I prepped my camera since I would get another unique experience to practice photography. It was super interesting to see how most of the aquariums divers set up their gear while, especially their methods of proper weighting so that they do not need to dive with a wing for any additional buoyancy control! Ashley, Dan and I all got suited up and then headed to the tank, we got in nice and slow as to not startle any of the animals, and then we began our dive! Ashley and I was for a nice tour around the exhibit, highlighting some key features and areas to be aware of, and then I got some time to explore! It was crazy being able to swim so close to such massive sea turtles, and it was just as fun to interact with people outside of the exhibit. Thanks to Dan, I was lucky enough to get some photos of myself as well! We swam around for a bit longer, gave Myrtle some scratches and love, and then exited the exhibit. Once we were out, we cleaned up our gear with fresh water, put it all away, and then we were done for the day!

 Diving in the GOT, and being able to observe all of the facets of its care was another once in a lifetime experience, and I’d like to thank all of the members of the GOT team, as well as Ashley for making it an amazing day!
Another huge thank you as well to Backscatter Photo and Video for providing an amazing setup that allows me to document an amazing dive.

 

Penguins, Penguins, Penguins!

For my next day at the New England Aquarium, I was lucky enough to get to shadow the caretakers of the Penguin Exhibits! The aquarium is home to about 50 penguins, including a mix of African Penguins and Southern Rockhoppers, with each individual penguin being marked by a colored band in order to make them more easily recognizable. My day started with a general tour of the exhibit, highlighting the individual structures and facilities unique to each species section, as well as some of the systems that make maintaining the exhibit easier (Such as concealed sprinklers to clean up after the penguins). Once we finished the tour, I got to see how the penguins food was prepped for the day! The penguins get a filling serving of fish, and have the species of fish cycled through to ensure they all get plenty of nutrients that they may need while living in the Aquarium!

Once the food was all prepared, we got suited up to head into the exhibit. Because the water is pretty brisk, the staff and volunteers working in the water normally wear 7mm wetsuits, so that they aren’t worried at all about being cold after a decent amount of time moving around. Once we were ready, we hopped on in! The first task on schedule for the staff today was a feeding, so we moved through the exhibit until we got to a rocky island that seemed conducive to for anything else going on in the exhibit, such as cleanings. Feeding the African Penguins was super interesting to watch and help with, since the penguins are basically fed until their full, and they tend to swim away once their full, making it simple to know who needs to eat. I was able to help as the scribe, keeping a tally of how much each penguin ate, which would be logged later as a record of each individual penguins’ diet!

Once the penguins were all full from breakfast, I got to help clean some of the Southern Rockhopper exhibits rock scapes. The exhibits are all cleaned by not only chipping away at any physical debris left on the islands, but also by scrubbing them down with a sterilizing agent to make sure there’s no bacteria or anything else left on the rocks’ surfaces.

We scrubbed the exhibits for a little while, and then it was time for the penguin’s enrichment. Because the penguins are kept in the same exhibit all day, its important for them to get enrichment through either visual, tactile, or other stimulations to keep their skills sharp. I got to shadow the exhibit’s enrichment coordinator for the sessions, and luckily she said I was there on the most fun day! Today was bubble day, which meant we would be blowing bubbles at/around the penguins for them to not only chase said bubbles, but to also work on a behavior called “tracking,” which is the penguins following an object with their eyes while being stationary. Blowing the penguin-safe bubbles around was super fun, especially when they would get curious enough to chase them.

Once their enrichment was completed, I got an amazing tour of how the animals are taken care of at both a young age prior to entering the exhibit, as well as any individuals which may be having issues with the rest of the colony or environment. All of the penguins at the New England Aquarium are taken care of in both a preventative, as well as a remedial stance, and it is absolutely amazing to see how much effort is put into keeping them as healthy as they can be. Thank you so much to the penguin team for a once in a lifetime day!

Welcome to the New England Aquarium!

For an adventure closer to home, I got to spend time at the New England Aquarium! For my first day, I met up with Dan Dolan at the Aquarium’s Husbandry Facility! Dan has been a volunteer diver for the aquarium for many years, and for the past few years has been working at their offsite facility. For the first half of my day, I got to spend some an amazing time with the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Facility! I met some of the amazing staff and volunteers who make the entire facility run, and got to learn all about their day to day work.  The Rescue and Rehab program has been ongoing for over 25 years, working to rehabilitate Sea Turtles that become cold-stunned when they are caught in Cape Cod bay, as well as helping turtles with a number of other injuries.

It was interesting to see all of the observation and care that goes into each turtles rehabilitation, with the staff and volunteers noting everything from their swimming habits to dietary changes, and more; especially since there were two different species at the facility! I was also lucky enough to get to help feed the sea turtles. Each of them ate a mixture of food and we made a sure every turtle ate its share for the day. Once the turtles were fed and happy, it was time for their exams! Some of the turtles had general checks, while a few were getting prepared to be released soon. Thanks to some guidance from the aquariums vet staff, I got to help hold the turtles while they were being inspected! It was super interesting to see how some of the procedures went, especially the process of tagging the turtles!

Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Facility Photo by Vanessa Khan, from the New England Aquarium Website

I finished up with the team for the day, and then I got to spend some time with the husbandry division! Dan gave me a quick tour of the facilities, and we even got to watch some target feeding training for animals which could be soon released into the Aquarium’s exhibit! After watching such a cool demonstration, Dan and I spent some time cleaning some of the holding tanks in the facility. The biggest problem for these tanks is the growth of algae while they sit in the bright light, so Dan works hard to make sure they are scrubbed clean and ready for any animals that may need to find a home in them. Cleaning the tanks was really satisfying, and super fun when we had some of their newer animals swimming around and investigating us while we cleaned!

Once our day at the facility was done, Dan and his wife were kind enough to take me out to dinner with them. I had some amazing food at a local restaurant in Quincy, and was able to meet a ton of their friends at a really cool beachside venue where we listened to one of their friends play in a band. In all my first day with the New England Aquarium was super interesting, and I cannot wait to see what the next few days have in store.

 

The International Submarine Races!

After completing an amazing week with Holly Bourbon at the National Aquarium, I got to head right into my next assignment. I got picked up from the aquarium and we started the journey to our new home for the week. After picking up another member of our crew from the airport, we arrived at our hotel and got unpacked for the fun week of work ahead! The International Sub Races are a biennial event in which students from around the world are challenged to design, build, and then race a human powered submarine. The event is sponsored by FURE, the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education, and held at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. For this week I got to join Vin, Kim, Bobbie, Ryan, Jessa, and Lissette as a member of the dive staff! At the races, the dive staff works with the help of the the Navy and other volunteer divers to ensure the races go smoothly and all of the contestants are safe in the water!

For our first day at the facility, we spent the bulk of the time setting up the dive station. This included a medical station for any emergency we may have to deal with, a method of organizing divers’ ID’s while they’re in the water, as well as all our or personal gear. After the station was all set up, I got to meet some of the Carderock staff, some of which are even previous contestants at the sub races!

The races themselves are held in the David Taylor Model Basin, which was a super impressive body of water which is twenty two feet deep, fifty feet wide, and over a half mile long! Prior to all of the contestants arriving, we all got into the water to go for a dive and make sure the bottom of the basin was clear of any major debris. We swam the length of the basin in a line as to not miss anything, and picked up a shocking amount of zip ties from previous races.

Once our dive was finished, we headed back to the hotel to organize some paperwork, and got to sit in on the briefing for the contestants participating in the races. It was super interesting to learn more about the history of the races, and even get a better idea about how the general procedure works with sub inspections and more! After hearing from a list of distinguished FURE board members, we went to get dinner at the local Thai restaurant. It was a great first day with everyone, and I look forward to the week ahead!

 

Day 2

After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we were on our way back to Carderock. We all got their nice and early to prepare for everyone to arrive. Bobbie and I went through paperwork we had received prior, making sure we had all of the forms for both contestants and volunteer divers. This ensured that no one who had a possible medical condition or even the risk of one would be allowed in the water, as well as verifying that every diver was certified and safe! Once we had all of the paperwork prepared, we got ready to take on the rush of divers coming in, this included a station where we could inspect the tanks that divers brought with them, ensuring they were all within visual and hydrostatic inspection, and had  no obvious causes for concern.

With everything ready to go, Kim, Jessa and Lissette began taking in the volunteer divers for checkout dives! The purpose of the checkout dives was to guarantee that divers were confident in their skills, that way they could work together on their submarines underwater.

After a fun day at the base, it was time to head back to the hotel. Here we were able to sit through a briefing given by both Navy staff, as well as FURE members. This meeting was super helpful to listen too, as it provided a great outline for how the week would go! Contestants go through a series of presentations and inspections leading up to their races in order to ensure the submarines work as designed and that the Navy is comfortable recovering divers from each sub.

We listened intently to all of the briefings presenters, including staff who had previously been a contestant in the races! Once the briefing was concluded, A few of us went out to enjoy a nice dinner before an even busier day tomorrow.

Day 3

Time for contestants to arrive on base! Since today would be a busy day, Ryan, Lissette and myself headed to pick up donuts so all of the staff, including the navy, would have some motivation for the day. After doing or coffee/donut run, we arrived on base to attend the first daily meeting for team captains, which provided a great method of organizing teams and streamlining how teams were informed of the days proceedings. Following the meeting, contestants were ready to get checked in and geared up for checkout dives! The experience from previous races really showed in Vin, Bobbie, Kim, and Ryans organization, as they already had methods of checking divers in and out of the water, which kept things moving super quick and organized. The dive staff took groups of contestants into the water, entering using a huge elevator which would come in handy for lowering submarines into the water later on. The elevator was super fun to both watch and use, as it moves slowly and can be stopped at varying heights to make donning and doffing fins much easier.

The checkout dives went on till a bit later in the after-noon, and then we headed back to the hotel to organize the paperwork from all of the divers who checked in today. Once the days work was over, we found a local Mexican restaurant in an area that the staff hadn’t checked out previously, so we ventured over and found a ton of restaurants that we planned on trying throughout the week! Dinner was great and then we headed back to the hotel to relax before another day begins.

 

Day 4

After another great breakfast at our hotel, it was off to the base! Today we started the day by setting up dive gear, since there were a few checkout dives to complete from the previous day. I was lucky enough to get to shadow the instructors on the dive staff, which was super insightful as I was able to experience and learn from minute differences between each individuals teaching styles and preferences! Some of the most important things I was able to learn pertained to teaching and safely motivating students who may be slightly nervous, as well as methods of teaching students complex skills by breaking them down into simple parts! Thank you to all of the instructors who allowed me to learn from them!

Once the checkouts had been completed, it was time for something completely different. The race course consists of a 100 yard straight away, and at the point when a races was ended for any reason, the pilot would be safely removed from the sub, and it needed to be brought back to the starting area. The subs were often brought back utilizing a combination of a tow line from the dock, as well as a swimmer in the water to prevent the sub from dragging agains the concrete walls. My job for the afternoon would be to both observe teams and ensure they were safe, as well as assist in swimming submarines in, should it be an extremely heavy vessel, or if the team had a limited number of contestants available to help. As the day went on, teams become more and more efficient at retrieving their subs, and were even creative enough to through buoyant objects such as pool noodles into the submarine to keep in on the surface and easy the efforts of the swimmers.

Throughout the afternoon, it was a great experience being able to not only talk to the contestants, but also to some of the Navy divers who were helping retrieve the subs and their pilots! Their experience and efficiency was impressive, and it was great to watch their methods of diving for a while.

The teams raced until later in the afternoon, and then it was time for dinner! The dive staff continued to explore the new group of restaurants we found previously, and tonight was Lebanese food! While we ate, we spent time talking about how everybody’s day had gone, as well as any areas we could think to improve. These cooperative sessions were definitely an important part of each day, and I’m grateful to have been included in them! Any suggestions or changes made just got us more excited for the next day.

 

Day 5

Today started bright an early to do some maintenance prior to contestants arriving on base. I was lucky enough to buddy up with Kevin, Carderock’s very own dive safety officer (DSO). Our goal was to sweep the bottom of the race course to search for some items possibly lost in the tank by divers the previous day. After about 30 minutes of searching, we came up empty handed with the exception of a bouquet of zip ties.

I started the morning helping out again with the submarine recovery teams, and was able to see some great improvement in the team organization from the previous day! Along with the teams working even better together, the Navy staff had even built a platform for swimmers to enter the water in an even safer manner to recover the subs more easily.

After some time observing and helping out here, I eventually moved to the busier side of the races, where dive staff on the dock was managing all of the teams, as well as their submarines as they entered the water via elevator, and then moved to and from large beach like platforms between races. It sounds like a hectic setting, and it was even crazier in the water! Luckily the dive staff, including Vin, Kim, Jessa, and Lissette were all great at organizing and guiding the teams to keep them safe and out of the way. The system worked out perfectly, having our dry staff organizing and planning which subs needed to come in and out of the water, and the staff in the water organizing and moving submarines and their carts around the beaches and floor of the tank.

Kim and Jessa above the elevator to the basin.

We worked in this format until the end of the day, and ready for dinner we went to our next stop in the dinner exploration, Japanese Barbecue! The restaurant was super fun and Kim showed me the best ways to cook some of the meats we got, and we all enjoyed some great food. Today was another great day of new experiences, and I can’t wait for the next!

 

Day 6

As a continuation of yesterday, I started the day helping the staff manage subs from the water. One of the tasks that the dive staff is responsible for rather than the contestants themselves is moving the carts which the subs rest on into the water. These carts allow teams to store the subs for longer periods in the water, and also provide a stable work platform for any modifications they need to do in the water! Because the carts themselves are usually built out of metal, they are to negatively buoyant to carry without the help of a flotation device such as a lift bag. Using one or two lift bags allows the dive staff to gently lower the cart to the bottom without straining themselves moving it, or by dropping it quickly to the bottom of the basin. Being able to make so many trips with these carts for teams was a great opportunity to get practice using lift bags, and I was much more confident by the end of the day in using them!

Today was a super busy day of racing, but we also had a special lunch today since a food truck was brought for the contestants and staff! After enjoying lunch, we got back to work in our newly stablished system, cycling through roles as either dry staff, sub recovery, or in water staff. The day went great and a ton of subs got to race for the first time, and some even broke their own records for the week!

Day 7: The Final Day

For the last day of the races, I was lucky enough to have some time to dive and take some photos using the incredible TG-6 setup provided by Backscatter Photo and Video! While there were less divers in the water, the ambient lights dropped in the tank provided some unique opportunities for photos to take, and I was able to learn a ton shooting the still subjects, which were drastically different than photographing moving animals at the aquarium.

While I’m no photography expert yet, it was super fun trying to take some creative approaches with the photos!

Today the races only went until noon, but teams were all able to get their final races in, and the encouragement for each team throughout the basin was amazing. Once the races had concluded and all of the subs were removed from the water, the volunteers as well as dive staff did out final sweeps of the tank, making sure there wasn’t any trash left behind. We cleaned up the basin itself, and then began to break down out dive station on the dock. Before finishing however, we got to attend the award ceremony!

It was great to listen to some of both the Navy and FURE’s distinguished members, as they reiterated the values and goals of the International Sub Races. The teams then took photos together after the awards were announced for best design presentations, top speed in each category and so on. One of the teams were even gracious enough to give us all donuts! After the ceremony was finished, we went back to the dive station and completed the clean up.

For our final meal of the week together, we went to a combo restaurant that had pho and crêpes.

This past week has been one of the most unique and amazing experiences ever! Thank you so much to the Navy and The Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock for hosting, as well as FURE for funding and organizing the entire event! And finally, thank you to Vin, Kim, Ryan, Jessa, Lissette, Bobbie, Bill, and all of the other staff and volunteers who showed me the ropes and helped me learn so much!

Day 5 at the National Aquarium: The Final Day!

Sadly its my final day at the National Aquarium, luckily however I got to squeeze in some fun things in the time I had remaining. I started the day meeting some of the aquarium’s husbandry experts, giving them a hand preparing food for the animals in the Blacktip Reef. Because there are so many different species in each exhibit, they all have their own array of feeding strategies. For example, the larger animals like the sharks in this exhibit are all target or hand fed, that way the aquarists can track which individual is eating, as well as how much. It was super interesting to see how the sharks were fed, especially since one of the zebra sharks has vision issues. They counter this by using a pole with metal prongs, which is able to guide the shark to where the aquarists can hand feed it!

Once the zebra sharks are fed, its time for the Blacktips. These sharks are fed using longer poles to hold the food, since they have a much different style of feeding. The five sharks in the exhibit all took turns feeding, and then the rest of the fish were fed using a mixture of chopped fish and more traditional food being dispersed on the surface! The aquarists make sure to give a great mix of fish, pellets, and other supplements to ensure the fish get all the vitamins they could need for a busy day of swimming around.

Zuri the zebra shark getting fed on her platform!

After feeding all of the animals in Blacktip Reef, we were off to retrieve a fish who was having an operation. One of the smaller fish in the aquarium had an injured jaw, and today he was getting it fixed! The aquarists gathered up the fish, as well as an ample supply of fresh water and then we brought it all over to the medical area. Here I got to watch as the veterinarian and techs anesthetized the fish, did their exams, and then operated super swiftly so they could wake him back up. The procedure did not take too long as all, and they were able to hopefully fix his jaw for good!

 

Holly and I had a nice lunch, and then it was time for my last event here at the aquarium. The National Aquarium has an exhibit named Shark Alley, which houses multiple species such as nurse sharks, sand sharks, sand tiger sharks, one ray, and today’s focus: the Largetooth Sawfish! For their job today, three of the aquariums staff divers would head into the exhibit (with partitions in place to separate the sharks from the divers), and make their way closer to the sawfish, with a goal of acclimating him to divers in the water. If the sawfish is more comfortable around divers and the noise their SCUBA gear creates, it can make it much easier to handle him in the event he needs to be moved or any other circumstance where a diver would be in the water. The divers works slowly and patiently, carefully not to approach too fast, and after a while they were able to get relatively close to the sawfish, and stay there for a moment. The dive was a success! While the animal is not yet super comfortable with people in the water, every experience like this can grow his comfort level.

My week at the National Aquarium with Holly and Billy has been absolutely amazing, and I cannot thank them enough, Holly and Billy were wonderful hosts, and I am so glad I could spend time getting to know them. Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers at the National Aquarium who made my week so interesting and fun!

 

Day 4 if the National Aquarium: The Animal Care and Rescue Center and a Scrub Dive

We started today at a different location! Today I got to tour the National Aquarium’s Animal Care and Rescue Center (or the ACRC). The ACRC is a state of the art facility which is responsible for housing and treating any incoming animals, putting them through a quarantine process to ensure their health and that of other animals in an exhibit. The ACRC also treats any animals which have become injured or sick in their exhibit; which ids exactly what I got to observe today!

After a quick tour around the building and meeting some of the personable patients, such as Pecorino the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle, I got to tag along while the staff headed to the aquarium’s main building to pick up a fish who had injured himself on a piece of decor. The fish was picked up and transported back, then he was swiftly given medication and placed in a nice tank for him to recover in!

The next thing in store at the ACRC was turtle exams! Some of the turtles being held in the building needed their general check ups, so I got to see how the process works, and some of the details and strategies vets use when dealing with specific species. I had never contemplated being a veterinarian before this, however it was definitely an intriguing process to watch and learn from!

Next on the docket for today was sadly my last dive at the aquarium. I got to join a group of the aquariums volunteers to dive in the Blacktip reef Exhibit and help with scrubbing the rock and coral decor. Scrubbing the exhibit is important because a biofilm can form on the material, as well as a buildup of miscellaneous debris. Prior to the dive the entire team was given a safety briefing, discussing any possible hazards during the dive and more, and then we were off!

During the dive we focused on a specific area while cleaning, and it was fun to find pieces of decor that the fish called home! We cleaning for about an hour, using a set of brushes on specific parts of the exhibit, and enjoying the company of the sharks that would swim by and the onlookers through the aquarium windows.

Thank you again to Holly for taking such cool photos! Diving in these exhibits has been amazing.