Day 3 "dawned" for the Sanctuary Aquanauts like every morning at 50 feet below the ocean's surface…with more of a gradual increase in ambient light than an actual sunrise. However, as most of the team will no doubt affirm, this gradual increase in light is every bit as exciting as the most beautiful sunrise.

We rose today with an agenda not unlike yesterday's (as described in Laddie's account), with plenty of diving and lots of data collection. Our 8 am departure from Aquarius was moved back ½ hour as we each took a few minutes to speak to Bill Becker and Jean Michaels, "live" on US1 Radio in the Florida Keys. We talked about our respective projects and general impressions of living underwater.

Out in the water, we each continued the work we came out here to conduct. Billie and Cathy returned to the benthic surveys they began on Wednesday, while Laddie and I resumed fish counts and fish behavioral studies to the northeast of Aquarius. Visibility continued to be good (about 50 ft) and the water temperature remained around 84 Degrees F.

I cannot complain about the work completed thus far. Working in the marine environment is always interesting, and usually challenging. I have participated in many research expeditions that end with more than half the work days lost to weather or technological difficulties (expensive electronics and seawater do not mix). After 3 days and nearly 21 hours of diving, I am well on my way to meeting my research objectives. By allowing us to remain below the surface, Aquarius frees us from most of the surface activity that normally delays oceanographic research. It is an excellent research platform.

Following the last dive of the day, we cleaned up, ate dinner, and began the daily task of transcribing our notes. Even in this age of stunning technical innovation, there is no more reliable technology for data collection that the good old pencil and paper!