"To the depths..."

Seas were calm and the breeze was slight as we traveled from Key Largo to Conch Reef. The horizon seemed sharper than usual; a distinct blue line of sky meeting bluer water. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I would soon be underwater for ten days, and no horizon would greet me the following day. I tried not to think about what I might miss, but instead thought about the expedition ahead.

The first dive was classic. I savored the slow drop to the 60 foot bottom and used the time to look carefully at the seascape below. The start of the dive was relatively shallow because we needed to check in at the gazebo before heading to our work sites. Earlier in the week we visited this site but were limited to a depth of 60 feet. Today we would go deeper. Moving away from the gazebo we followed the NE excursion line to the drop off. There was no stopping us today. Over the edge we went, to 100 feet. Water clarity was exceptional and we could see the complete wall and slope

Immediately we had a visitor. A spotted eagle ray circled us several times. It was strange to see the ray turn its head and watch while we worked. Maybe because we did not leave the bottom the ray was perplexed? At these depths a typical dive lasts 20 minutes. Our plan was to stay for three hours. The eagle ray was average size, with a wingspan of about 5 feet. I took a few minutes to watch. Without the nearly unlimited bottom time of saturation diving I would usually have time only for a glance and then I'd have to focus on work. Eventually, Steve Gittings found all seven stations we were looking for. And the ray was gone. My task today was to identify corals, and measure their size and condition. It was slow going but we finished nearly half the sites by the time we needed to head back to Aquarius.

On our way back up the slope we were surprised with another visit. Ten spotted eagle rays crossed our path. They did not stay long. Instead, they passed in front of us as they moved across the reef, and they didn't look back. A school of spotted eagle rays at 80 feet deep - not a bad way to end the dive. When we reached Aquarius the reality of saturation became concrete. We were not returning to the boat. We were returning to our new home for ten days. The surface was easily seen, but out of reach. A typical ascent would mean a certain case of the bends, and maybe worse. In training we learned that saturation diving is like cave diving. I will remember to glance up to the surface once in awhile, but I am now committed to "inner space."

Entering the moon pool, Mark "Otter" Hulsbeck greeted us. It was nice to know that we were expected. I also know that Mark was glad that we made it back within our scheduled dive profile. It was 1230 and we had four hours inside before our next dive. Fresh water, food, warmth, and a short nap defined our "interval." Then out to the reef again.