Saturday, October 13
It's good to be back on an expedition with JASON. Today was the Argonauts' first day back, and boy was it great. We started off the day with the CEO and COO of W&T Incorporated coming aboard the M/V Spree. First, we had to hook up to the natural gas platform that the company owned: High Island 389 located in the East Bank of the Flower Gardens. They are the only oil or gas platform located inside the Flower Gardens. The CEO and the COO were flown in from Houston, TX on a helicopter onto the platform. Houston is actually where their headquarters are located. To get onto the M/V Spree, they had to be lowered down onto our boat with a basket hooked on to a yellow crane on their platform. I was completely mesmerized at the sight and it was an amazing and looked really fun, too. I wanted to be on that basket!
As they came aboard, the Argos were introduced to them and found out the CEO was Tracy Krohn, and the COO as Steve Schrorhenburg. Of course, the first thing we did was to get the cameras out and begin filming for the day. Dr. Ballard, the Argos, Tracy, and Steve all climbed up onto the sun deck of the Spree and we began to talk about the natural gas platform that the company owned. I found out an interesting fact that it only takes two engineers to run the platform. I was shocked because the platform looked like it needed 15 maybe even 20 engineers to keep things running correctly.
After the interview, we joined Cliff Nunnally, who was from Texas A&M University at Galveston, and his ROV to look at the reef on the platform. We looked up and down the legs of the platform to see what type of organisms were on the platform and if it was used as either protection or camouflage. Using the ROV showed me the pros and cons of using an remote vehicle instead of a diver. For example, if the current is too rough and it is not safe then it would be a better idea to use a ROV and not a diver. The controls of the ROV are exactly like a video game controller just with different settings. So really it was easy to use; you just had to remember what button was what and which one to press.
Finally, after all of the other activities, it was time to get into the Gulf, which is about five miles from the natural gas platform we visited. I was actually scared but still anxious. It was interesting to get in because we saw a shark while we were at the platform and there are a lot of barracudas in the water swimming together. The animals and the fact that I had never swum out in open water were a little nerve-wracking, too. But I was ready to go and went for it. The experience of snorkeling in the Gulf was unforgettable. I could actually see the coral reef from the surface and it was pretty. There was a great abundance of chub, bar jack, creole wrasse, creole fish, barracudas, and a horse-eyed jack. The horse-eyed jack that I spotted was huge, it was about three feet in length. This was the first time I have ever saw a fish longer than one foot in my life. It was a jaw dropper.
One of my favorite parts of this whole expedition was the presentation from our lead researcher, Dr. Robert Ballard. He told us a little bit about himself and what he does, along with telling us about The JASON Project and how it got started. He quoted Joseph Campbell a few times; "Life is the act of becoming." Some of the things he said today were amazing and very inspirational to me. During the presentation he would come out with these quotes that would make you think for instance, "Life is the act of becoming. It's the journey that counts." This quote takes into consideration how people always try to cheat their way out of everything just to get to the end or take the easy route. Why take the ride if you are going to cheat? Instead just enjoy it and do your best. He has become one of the people I look up to because not only is he a great researcher/scientist but he is fabulous man to sit down and have a conversation with. This experience with snorkeling and meeting Dr. Ballard was really amazing and a once in a lifetime experience.
Sunday, October 15
Last night Conrad, Chirag, and I started out sleeping on the deck because it was a beautiful night and the stars were gorgeous. At about 5am I went back downstairs into the boat to my bunk because the wind was picking up and it was getting a little chilly.
Today was a very interesting day. We had a lot of things happen that either caused some tension or caused some great things to happen. The weather was a bit unfortunate and the Argos were not able to get into the water because of safety. The current was too strong and in the words of our guide, "We have to get you home to your parents in one piece." But it was fun today even though we did not get into the water. We had some attempts at ROV-ing with Cliff again at the West and Stetson Banks. Because the water was a rougher today it was very difficult to actually see anything with the camera on the ROV. I volunteered to put the ROV in the water and in doing so I was soaked with water because of the waves hitting the boat. Although it was fantastic!
After attempting the ROV with the currents, I saw the one thing I'd wanted to see. I have always hoped to see dolphins out in their natural habitat instead of just being in a tank at an aquarium. There were about five dolphins jumping up out of the water following the Spree, and three up at the bow of the boat leading our boat going home. I was so jovial to see them and now my wish had come true. We had an unfortunate incident today with being moored to the buoy. While G.P. and C.P. were diving to put something back at Stetson Bank, our moor line broke loose and we began to float away with them still in the water. To not "free-boat" with the divers, the captain Frank had to put the engines on which also could cause problems if the divers were underneath the boat. Fortunately, the divers were already attached to a line on the boat and were coming in. G.P. and C.P. got onto the boat safely and we began our journey home.