This morning I headed out to Salem, MA to meet Dave Caldwell and Heather Knowles. We would be going out on their boat the Gauntlet, for dry suit and advanced training. Heather and Dave run the Gauntlet as a charter dive boat on the weekends, so for the first charter in the morning I worked as a deck hand with Dave to help the divers with their gear. On the second trip, Dave and I dove the Chester Polling, the wreck of a small tanker located off the entrance to Gloucester Harbor. The visibility was amazing and we even saw a wolf eel! On the way back to shore, Dave taught me how to drive the boat. It was a lot of fun and the diving was great.
Category: intern-blog
Horseshoe Crab Survey
Today I worked with Alison Leschen from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries mapping horseshoe crab spawning behavior on Swifts Beach in Wareham, MA. To do the survey, we mapped out a series of 5ft x 5ft grids along the shore and into the water. We surveyed the beach from end to end. We recorded if there were horseshoe crabs within the grid, tallied the totals, and Alison entered the information into the database.
Bonaire
Bonaire is one of the small islands off the coast of Venezuela that make up the Netherlands Antilles. Our travels began early with a flight out of Boston and a layover in San Juan. When we arrived that night, the heat and humidity were still high. We stayed at Captain Don’s Habitat and I saw the saying “Diving Freedom” on their welcome sign. It seemed to fit with the countries’ license plate that said a “Diver’s Paradise”. For the first time in my life, I saw crystal clear blue water and the week was filled with diving and projects. The diving here was unbelievable! I saw so many marine creatures, from sea turtles, eels, angel fish, and many more. One day on the boat to a dive site a pod of dolphins swam by. If I had to pick a favorite dive there would be a tie between a night dive at Town Pier and the Hilma Hooker. The night dive was incredible; being my first night dive, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The colors of the corals at night and the creatures were wicked cool. The Hilma Hooker is a shipwreck off the south end of the island. It was amazing being able to see the wreck lying at the bottom in about 110ft of water, from 15ft below the surface.
Besides for diving, I worked at the Habitat dive shop, and at STINAPA and the Bonaire National Marine Park. While at STINAPA I helped conduct underwater surveys. The surveys were being done on the behavior of divers touching corals.
When not underwater, Dave and Pat Morton, Kim Douglas, and I traveled the island, where we saw the salt flats, Rincon, Lac Bay, and the slave huts. One of the last days I was there, Jack Chalk, our host, took Kim and I on motorcycle rides on his Harley around the island. It was a new experience being able to taste the salty air, while driving. The trip was filled with lots of diving and more leaning than I could have ever imagined, but mostly it was a wicked lot of fun!!!
DUI Drysuit Demo Days
We were on the road early this morning to drive to Stage Fort Park in Gloucester for the DUI dry suit Demo Days. I was going to be able to dive for the first time in my new dry suit. Faith talked with me and Jamie Brisbin (the 2008 Our World Underwater Scholar) about our suits and then helped us cut our seals. We were briefed and suited up for our first dive in our new suits with my Dad. It was amazing being underwater without getting wet or cold. After the dive, I met up with Patrick Scalli and Dave and Pat Morton to talk about how everything went with the suit.
Sea Rover’s 54th Clinic
I have attended Rover Clinics for most of my life, but I arrived at the Boston Copley Hotel to begin the weekend activities not knowing what to expect. I could only imagine what the weekend would be like. Friday began with COMS or Career Opportunities in Marine Sciences, hosted by George Buckley for high school students. As the morning went on, I was introduced to Sea Rovers, speakers, and the past interns with whom I would be working with this summer. Watching Ryan Hunter (2007 Intern) present, I knew the bar had been set high. The weekend continued with a pre-Clinic Reception at the Gamble Mansion. Here I met a lot of interesting people all with one common thing, a love of the ocean. Richard Simon and Kate Douglas (the first two Scalli Interns) were very helpful with introductions and networking around the room. I went to bed with my head spinning, thinking of all of the wonderful opportunities I would have this summer.
After getting up early on Saturday to help with setting up the Clinic, the day was filled with presentations and speaking with the Sponsors. In the afternoon, I was able to sit in on an underwater photography workshop with Jim and Pat Stayer. The presentation was wonderful and covered everything from buying a camera to editing video and everything in between. Racing off to dinner before the film festival, I couldn’t believe I was sitting at the same table with Evening Speakers Chuck Davis, Bob Talbot, Steve Drogin, Stan Waterman, and Jill Heinerth. Soon after we were at the Evening Film Festival, where I watched amazing footage of the speaker’s latest adventures. Then it was time for Patrick Scalli to bring me to the stage and officially introduce me as the 2008 Intern. All I kept thinking about on the way to the stage was “don’t trip”. Afterwards, I attended the reception back at the hotel, which included the traditional dunking of new Sea Rovers into the silver bowl. I was very surprised when I heard my name called as the next one to be dunked.
Sunday, I was fitted for my dry suit at the DUI booth by Faith Ortins and had a meeting with Dave and Pat Morton about the Internship. I was astounded when they told me that I would be going to Bonaire first. I couldn’t believe the weekend I just had and I am very grateful for the huge welcome I received from the Sea Rovers.
Diving and Editing with Jim and Pat Stayer
As part of my last trip for the summer, I boarded a plane and flew out to Detroit for some wreck diving and a little video editing. When I arrived, Pat Stayer greeted me at the baggage terminal. After collecting my bags, I headed out with her to meet up with Jim Stayer, who had been driving circles around the airport waiting for us to come out. After a 2-hour drive back and a stop along the way to grab some Chinese, arrived at their home in Lexington, MI. My time spent with the Stayer’s was primarily dedicated to wreck diving and video editing. The Stayers own a company named Out of the Blue Productions, which focuses on documentaries concerning the rich history of the Great Lakes immortalized by its shipwrecks. The Stayers have also written and edited a variety of books on the topic as well. During my stay, I had the opportunity to dive five shipwrecks in Lake Huron. The Stayers own a motorized catamaran that makes for an amazing dive platform. The Sport and the Strong were the first wrecks we dove. Both sat in about 30 feet of water, allowing for two, hour long, dives on both ships, all on a single 100 steel tank. While not much remained of Strong, as it had to be demolished, the Sport lies on its side and is nearly completely intact. Up until that point, I hadn’t done any wreck diving outside the New England area and was quite shocked to see the whistle, portholes, and a variety of other artifacts still on the hull. The following dive, we went out on the Mary Alice B and the Regina. The Mary Alice sits in about 100’ of water and is perched fully upright on the bottom. Like the Sport, everything is still on board. The wreck looked like it had just sunk and was easy to imagine cruising along on the surface. The Regina was the first “big” wreck. It sat in 80’ of water and was a 250’ steel hulled freighter. Just a single blade of the propeller was bigger than I was. The last day of diving was spent on the Northern Star. Another larger wreck, however, unlike the Regina, the Northern Star sits upright. However, time has taken its toll and much of the upper dec
ks have completely collapsed in. However, most of the engine is still intact and the massive cylinders tower above the remains of the hull. The rest of the time was spent putting together the video presentation for the internship. Pat worked closely with me, helping me use Final Cut Pro. The long hours put into the presentation were rewarded with a spectacular looking final product. The Great lakes truly are a wreck divers paradise. I can’t wait to return. I would like to thanks Jim and Pat Stayer for hosting me and taking me on a tour of a small sample of what the Great lakes has to offer.
The Cambrian Foundation
I resumed my adventures in Orlando, Florida with the Cambrian foundation. When I touched down in Orlando, I was greeted by Amy Giannotti, her daughter Alli, and John “Boz” Boswell. During my time spent with the Cambrian Foundation, we sampled three different cave systems: Wekiwa, DeLeone Springs, and Rock Springs. I was unable to dive with the collection team because doing so required a full cave certification. However, I was in charge of running iron samples on water collected by the divers and brought back to the surface. In addition to learning about the scientific side of cave diving, I learned more about what it takes to become a certified cave diver. I had an excellent time while in Florida and wish to thank Amy Gianotti and her family for hosting me.
Cocos Island, Costa Rica
I was on a plane and on my way to Costa Rica. I had been sponsored aboard the Undersea Hunter group’s dive live-aboard, the Sea Hunter, to Cocos Island by Steve Drogin and Ernie Brooks. After the 36-hour trip to the island was complete, we woke up early the next morning and immediately hit the water. From the first dive I knew this trip was going to be incredible. From the moment we back-rolled into the water to the moment we got out, we were constantly in contact with varieties of colorful fish, schools of hammerhead sharks, and reef white tips. For ten days we made 4 dives a day, one of those being a night dive during which we witnessed the white tips chasing down prey. Aboard the Sea Hunter was Steve Drogin’s deep diving submersible, the DeepSea. While I was in Cocos I had the pleasure of making two dives aboard the DeepSea. One to 600 ft and another to 1200 ft. The submarine was designed specifically for underwater filming. Its acrylic hemispherical dome allows a 360 degree view of your surroundings. In addition, as soon as the hemisphere submerged, it all but disappeared, making you feel 
as if the fish were right there next to you. However, the crowing moment of the trip came on our last dive on a submerged seamount called Alcyone. As we hung on for dear life in the ripping current watching a school of hammerheads swim by, a 37’ whale shark broke through the school and swam directly over us. Literally, the thing looked like a blimp with a tailfin. It was quite an aweing experience. It was hard to leave Cocos, but one thing is for sure, I will be back! I want to thank Steve Drogin and Ernie Brooks for sponsoring me on such an amazing trip.
Technical Diving International
I’m on the road again. This time, to Topsham, Maine to visit with TDI world headquarters. When I arrived at their offices I was a little surprised by its appearance. I was expecting, well, an office building. TDI turned out to be nothing like I expected. Instead of strict dress codes and cubicles that I normally associate with such operations, I was greeted at the door by a black lab and a smaller dog named Maggy. Everything in the office was very layed back. But that’s not to say they don’t do any business. In addition to being a fun place to work, TDI is a tightly run operation. In a time when dive training is at a low, TDI manages to continue to grow its operation, which is now based globally. I stayed with TDI’s current owner and president Brian Carney and his wife Stephanie. They own a wonderful house surrounded by quintessential Maine… the woods of course! While there, I learned the ins and outs of running a dive training agency, played Xbox with Brian, got trained in ni
trox, and even got to print my own card. I had the pleasure of meeting both Bret Gilliam and John Chatterton. The trip finished up with a dive in a salt pond on the Rachel Carlson nature preserve. I hope to be able to work with TDI as I continue my dive training. Thanks!
http://www.tdisdi.com
http://www.fathomsmagazine.com
http://www.johnchatterton.com
The New England Aquarium
I must admit, driving into Boston on a weekday morning is no fun. However, all was made up for and more when Paul Leonard at the New England Aquarium (NEAQ) greeted me. Paul helps to run the penguin department at the NEAQ. I started my time working with the penguins. Right away I was allowed to get into the water with them and help feed. Initially, all I did was carry the clipboard and tally what each penguin ate, however, later on; I would actually get the opportunity to feed them myself. The portion of time spent not working with the penguins was spent working with the Giant Ocean Tank (GOT) and its staff. The GOT is the large center tank containing a recreation of a tropical reef. While the reef is merely fiberglass, the fish are huge and active. Being in the GOT is like being in the Bonaire you see in the brochures. During my time at the aquarium I had the privilege of working with a variety of staff and the interns working for the aquarium. Thank you for an unforgettable experience!