Today is Day 6, Saturday the 16th of August and I am remembering the people who have to work topside to support this Aquarius mission. When Aquarius is in saturation mode there are a lot of people who work on the surface to support the mission. We operate three shifts and run 24 hours a day for 10 days straight. After being inside Aquarius for 6 days, I realize it's easier being inside Aquarius for 10 days than being part of the surface support crew for 10 days. It is a team effort and I am proud to be part of the team. Special thanks to all my teammates who have helped me get here, although I know most of them really don't have time to read this during missions.

I was up at 0500 again watching the fish outside the viewport this morning when two huge tarpon (Megalops alanticus) swam over the top of Aquarius! Both of them most have been at least six feet long and with their glimmering silver bodies reflecting the light, they seemed much larger. Roger Garcia (diving safety officer) had mentioned that he had seen tarpon on the last Aquarius mission so I was glad to see them too. I have seen them surface their dorsal fin and tail early in the morning in the marina where I live, but have never seen them in the water before.

Last night I did a night dive until about 2130 hours (9:30 P.M.). The reef and Aquarius take on a new perspective at night. When cleaning pipes and plumbing on Aquarius, the dinoflagellates (single celled algae) light up with bioluminescence (they look like fireflies) and tell you they are upset you are working so late at night. On the reef, the day creatures go home and a new set of creatures and fish inhabit the reef. More on this later after I identify the ones I found.

Time to go to work so more tomorrow.