The storm had more or less passed in the early hours of the night (apparently my snoring had been a greater concern to the Aquarius inhabitants)! Our excellent technical had apparently (joke) discussed various solutions during the evening as I snored that included the Wet Porch, Gazebo and Barracuda.

My thoughts focused during breakfast on my beloved PAM. Josh and Sarah hit the water stoically at 8:00 am. They are looking a little water logged right now but their work is going well and they are cheerful enough. I can see that these two young people enjoy their budding careers. Who wouldn't!

Bill and I headed out at 10 am. This will mark the end of the second attempt at placing the PAM at 100 feet. The tension built as we descended the 80 foot mark. Was I going to see a blank screen (indicating data storage had failed) or worse (flooded equipment)? Was I indeed going to find it or had the storm scoured it away?

The flash of white in the near distance reassured me that I would indeed find it again. I swam nervously over to the patch of reef upon which the PAM was bolted and dropped down beside it. Fantastic - the small winking LED indicated that it was alive and taking data. Happily we unbolted it from the reef and returned to the habitat.

At the Habitat, Sarah and Josh had staged in and were showering in the wet porch area. Bill and I decided to stay top side while we downloaded the new data and prepared the other PAM for deployment. My ear was playing up again - Mark had a quick looked and after a quick conversation with Doc by phone confirmed that I should stay out of the water for the day. I prepared the second PAM once it was charged. Bill then teamed up with Sarah and headed back into the drink with it.

Inspection of the data revealed unbelievably low light levels during the storm. It alsio revealed that chlororespiration had occurred in these corals, despite the very dim conditions under which they grow. I was quite amazed by the strong diurnal trends in the data. While I was working on the data - Bill and Sarah returned. All had gone well, and they had got some excellent data using the PAM.

Then I noticed the problem.

In my haste to ready the PAM for the dive, I had neglected to replug one of the connection ports. My worst fears were soon confirmed. I had single-handedly destroyed one of the PAMs for the mission but this seemingly minor mistake. Horror or horrors.

After a quiet rational moment talking to Bill, we decided to have a go at fixing it. The afternoon was spent tracing wires and tearing at our hair. David the Discovery Producer came down with his normal chirpy manner and met some glum scientists (I hope I wasn't rude to him!) bent over the complex inner workings of the PAM. Ideas scanned from hopelessness to contacting the inventor (Rolf Gademann) and getting parts shipped express from Germany. After more tense moments, we noticed the similarly (identical) of the Auxiliary plug and the one that was damaged. Closer inspection revealed the unbelievable. We could simply take the Auxiliary plug and swap it for the main one. This was done and 30 minutes later we had the PAM back to working order! It does not get much closer than that!

The rest of the day was spent crunching data and developing our plan for the coming days. The half way point is a crucial point - time is critical for the completion of the mission. With the excellent downside technical support and the incredible efforts and skills of the topside support, we have the best chances of completing the science. As I drifted off to sleep, I reflected on the high art and capability of the NURC operation. There is nothing like it anywhere.