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Day 7: July 23, 2005

Today we woke to a rainy and stormy morning which dampened everyone’s spirits. But the thunderstorms passed through and we were able to get in a full day of diving. Last night we traveled about seven miles due north and are now 55 miles SW of Beaufort Inlet.

Air Temperature: 85 °F
Surface Water Temperature: 86 °F
Bottom Water Temperature: 76 °F

Dive Team 1 (surveyors): Doug Kesling, Roldan Munoz, Paula Whitfield
Dive Team 2 (collectors): Christine Addison, Casey Coy, Joe Hoyt, Jay Styron
Safety divers: Clem Shemanski, Tracey Hamburger, Dave Score, Joe Bishop

We completed four dives today at a location also known as lobster rocks. This area is very low relief hardbottom habitat. We are still seeing lionfish on every dive.  The underwater visibility was about 70 ft. I don't think I have ever done this much diving with the visibility so good. We will end our mission by diving a wreck called the Naeco where I can retrieve a temperature logger.

divers on waters surface
Divers are retrieved by one of the Nancy Foster’s small boats. Here you can see them lined up on a 'tag line"  as they wait their turns to board the boat. The divers take off their double steel tanks in the water, and the surface tenders pull the gear on board. This is probably the hardest part of the whole process. The divers then heave themselves aboard the small boat for transit back to the ship.
Courtesy of Thomas Nassif.
divers videoing with two lights
Here is a shot of the surveyor and videographer as they come back from completing a transect. Note the abundance of algae in the foreground. All of the algae is attached to rock outcroppings which we call 'hard bottom'. This type of habitat is very diverse both in relief and morphology (shape). No two sites seem to look exactly alike. This is was one of my favorites.
Courtesy of Doug Kesling.

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