Morning - Day 3

Chris Finelli here. I am taking this moment to update the journal and give you my take on what has been happening. I must admit that I have cheated a bit and stolen a look at what Dean has written so far. I won't bore you with a rehash of what he has told you.

For me, the amazing part is just being here. I have known about the Aquarius project for about 11 years, and always wanted to get down here. It may sound cliché, but these are the types of experiences that lured me to this career.

Since arriving six days ago, we have had our technical difficulties and some triumphs. Getting anything to work correctly was our first triumph. The communications problem on Day 2 was our biggest hurdle. Since then we have settled into a routine of data collection. All indications suggest that most of our data is coming in as expected (Yahoo!). There are some mysterious data collection problems still to solve, but we are on track for a very successful mission.

After six days, living here in a tin can at two and a half times the normal atmospheric pressure is starting to take its toll on us (at least the science team). We are tired and cold most of the time, especially after diving for 3 to 4 hours at a time. Every nick and cut on our hands and feet refuses to heal due to the constant soaking, and the inevitable "funk" has set in. The funk is a type of skin rash/acne that seems to arise from the constant wetness and rubbing of wet suits and mask seals. Needless to say, the funk is not considered a benefit of underwater living. Other than these minor problems, life is somewhat normal and even pleasant.

I know Dean mentioned the food, and, to be honest, it's not terrible. Not great, but edible. There is a distinct lack of fresh food here. I haven't seen a hydrated piece of fruit or vegetable since we left the surface. I can't wait to eat a salad.

I have been totally amazed at the reef life we have encountered so far. During our training and surface preparations it was common to see sea-turtles and the occasional sting ray. But since we have arrived on the bottom we have been treated to an incredible diversity of sea critters. Just a few experiences. Wednesday night, during a two hour night dive for filming dye release a small crab decided to explore my hand as I was holding a bottle of dye in front of the video camera. Very cute. It was not so cute when the crab decided my ear would make a nice home. In a matter of seconds that crab had managed to swim off my hand, get under my mask strap, and start into my ear canal before I could wedge a finger in there to prevent it. Thursday night while wrapping up a filming session, a 5 to 6 foot nurse shark swam up from behind me and right through our instrument platform. It was abundantly clear that the shark was more at home here than us.

Our daily experiences also take us into close contact with the local residents. We are starting to recognize individual critters at our experimental sites. For example, at the site where we run our brass heating experiments there is a small mantid shrimp and half a dozen damsel fish constantly checking us out and trying to kick us out of their neighborhood. The larger fish are unafraid and come within a foot or two of the divers. This is particularly true of the filefish and angelfish that patrol the reef. Even here at the habitat site with all its commotion there is a regular cast of characters living around the portholes and under the wet porch.

Well it's time to start gearing up for our afternoon dive. I'll let you know how it turns out.