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Puerto Rico Cruise Day 1
Under cloudy skies we set sail shortly after 9am. There was a mild chop to the sea as we cruised past El Morro, the antiquated guardian of Puerto San Juan. The flags of Puerto Rico, the United States, and the Spanish military waving majestically seven levels above the rolling surf, as if wishing us bon voyage.
Commanding Officer Jamie Verlaque at the helm of Nancy Foster, making sure our transit is safe and as smooth as possible
Six hours later we arrived at our anchorage off the east end of Isla Vieques and began deploying the small boats to carry divers to their sampling destinations. Launching the small boats is no easy feat, involving no less than four line handlers and one crane operator to tame the boat like a Macy’s Parade balloon.
Our first order of business was to send two dive teams to the northwest corner of Isla Vieques to revisit three of our seagrass disturbance sites. These natural, crescent-shaped blowout features were created from scouring during the passing of Hurricanes Hugo (1989) and Georges (1998). The teams marked shoots of seagrass, by piercing the base of the leaf bundles with a hypodermic needle. As the leaves grow and elongate, the hole-punch will migrate up the blades, and a leaf growth rate can be calculated given the distance that the hole has moved. The shoots that were marked today will be harvested on the last day of the cruise.
Our first day was a success. However, the trip out to Isla Vieques and subsequent diving has left everyone a bit droopy-eyed. Tomorrow we will focus on the fish and habitat surveys and begin taking seagrass samples from an area heavily disrupted by manatees during feeding activities.