My metamorphosis is complete. Life as a fish seems to suit me well - and slipping on the twin SCUBA tanks to explore the wonderful submerged world around me, seems as easy as changing one's shirt and trousers. Mark and James continue to be the best and most capable support one could imagine. There is an ease and humour within the Habitat that makes each day a lot of fun.

Our work is going well except that the larvae have all but dried up. Conversations and emails with Pete and Ruth have concluded that we were wise to regear toward maximising the second part of the project. This involves using the PAMs which have been performing well up to now - we do, however, continue to pray to King Neptune and various aquatic gods for their well-being.

Josh and Sarah have spent most of the day in the water - with a brief, enforced, rest in the middle of the day. They have been working on the reef crest doing measurements of reef complexity using chain transects to estimate surface roughness. They are cold and tired when they return.

Today, PAM number 1 was deployed again to 100 feet. The first run was cut short by a minor battery issue which we have fixed. Bill and I have been using the second PAM to ask some key questions about how variable the light environment is for corals at a single depth. Earlier work would suggest that depth gradients are the most major form of light variability. However, the light environment around a coral colony can vary by as much as 100-fold as one takes into account the influence of surface orientation, scattering or shading by other structures or the colony itself. We hope to show that depth is only part of the story. Our work took us until early afternoon, at which time our depth profile pulled us out of the water.

The surface support team tried to reach us again today but failed. Nine foot seas rage above us, making it impossible for boating, let alone surface diving. In the late afternoon, more or less as we finished our dive, the seas started to really toss and turn - the pressure fluctuations turning unpleasant. The Habitat is creaking and shaking every so often as huge waves presumably crash overhead.

It is interesting to watch the fish out of the windows. As the storm has increased, the smaller fish have begun to hug the Habitat closely. It seems being washed away in a storm is a real threat to a small fish and associating with a big beacon like the Habitat is a good way to go. The clouds of fish forming around the Habitat have, in turn, attracted huge pelagic fish. Barracuda and trevally - some measuring 4-5 feet in length come swirling in from the gathering turbidity in the hope of an easy meal. This is not a night to be a small fish!

With conditions deteriorating, our night time mission has been cancelled. I sit here in the Habitat kitchen now, staring out of the blue orb worrying about my PAM at 100 feet. I do hope I will see her tomorrow!