We r almost at our final destination, Oahu. Currently @ 21º 26.7' N, 158º 55.8' W.
It's funny, there's a "farewell" feeling, as when vacations are finished, but at the same time, everyone is glad to touch land...
It was great and I had the chance to share with great people!
See you soon!!!! Sometime on Tuesday, I'll be back in Sydney.
Tavo
Day 21
Today we spotted the island of Nihoa. Very impressive, at least from afar.
We are now moving East on the way to the port. We are still more than 24 hours away. I started copying files, sharing pics, writing emails...
Sunsets have been great. Days a bit long, now that the adventure is finished. We are all thinking about a pizza, a beer, and the beach!
Cheers,
Gustavo
We are now moving East on the way to the port. We are still more than 24 hours away. I started copying files, sharing pics, writing emails...
Sunsets have been great. Days a bit long, now that the adventure is finished. We are all thinking about a pizza, a beer, and the beach!
Cheers,
Gustavo
Day 20
We are now @ 23º 51.22 N, 164º 35.00 W cruising near Necker Island, doing some mapping on our way back. To map better, we slow down to 6 knots, otherwise the mapping
quality diminishes dramatically.
It's been 20 days since we departed from Honolulu. It has been a great experience so far, but I can\t wait to be on firm land, now that the exciting part is over.
I have no clue what's going on in the world, except that Cristinita won again in Argentina, and that some zoo animals got freed in Ohio... weird. Chavez is still alive and Berlusconi
hasn't been kicked out yet... I guess.
Abrazos,
Tavo
quality diminishes dramatically.
It's been 20 days since we departed from Honolulu. It has been a great experience so far, but I can\t wait to be on firm land, now that the exciting part is over.
I have no clue what's going on in the world, except that Cristinita won again in Argentina, and that some zoo animals got freed in Ohio... weird. Chavez is still alive and Berlusconi
hasn't been kicked out yet... I guess.
Abrazos,
Tavo
Day 19
We are about to head E to Oahu, leaving behind Gardner Pinnacles. In three days we'll get to Honolulu. Today was an easy day on board. I spent a lot of time in the back deck where
you get the less noise and the less rolling.
Not much to tell.
It's been many days without news and without cellphone... not bad after all.
Saludos,
Tavo
you get the less noise and the less rolling.
Not much to tell.
It's been many days without news and without cellphone... not bad after all.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 18
We are now transiting around the N side of Gardner Pinnacles to map, and from tomorrow we will start our way back.
Today we had our last dive. Dave and Jenny collected samples at between 1900 and 1600 meters of water depth. They investigated a massive huge barrier-reef that surrounded the
Pinnacles many millions of years ago. The samples confirmed this hypothesis.
It was a cool day on board, not too long, and we had the best sunset so far, with a silky calm see reflecting the clouds and the sky colours on the ocean.
Now I go to bed, tomorrow I can sleep late, as there are no dives, just some reading and helping prepare the rock samples gathered today.
Saludos,
Tavo
Today we had our last dive. Dave and Jenny collected samples at between 1900 and 1600 meters of water depth. They investigated a massive huge barrier-reef that surrounded the
Pinnacles many millions of years ago. The samples confirmed this hypothesis.
It was a cool day on board, not too long, and we had the best sunset so far, with a silky calm see reflecting the clouds and the sky colours on the ocean.
Now I go to bed, tomorrow I can sleep late, as there are no dives, just some reading and helping prepare the rock samples gathered today.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 17
We are on transit on the Eastern side of Gardner Pinnacles, heading to the last diving site, at the very NW of this huge submarine 'island', which is Gardner Pinnacles. We will
investigate a structure that from the bathymetry data seems to be a huge barrier-reef, which was possibly developing on the NW of the ancient volcano, as the island sunk, few
million years ago.
The actual Pinnacles, which is the only feature that points out of the sea surface, are just some 50 meters high and few hundreds of meters long. We could see them today with the
binoculars.
We have collected several buckets of samples! Fedex will be happy.
Five or six more days and the constant sound of the engines and the rocking of the boat will be over, but a very cool experience as well.
Saludos,
Tavo
investigate a structure that from the bathymetry data seems to be a huge barrier-reef, which was possibly developing on the NW of the ancient volcano, as the island sunk, few
million years ago.
The actual Pinnacles, which is the only feature that points out of the sea surface, are just some 50 meters high and few hundreds of meters long. We could see them today with the
binoculars.
We have collected several buckets of samples! Fedex will be happy.
Five or six more days and the constant sound of the engines and the rocking of the boat will be over, but a very cool experience as well.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 16
Now @ 25º21.09 N, 167º53.39 W heading to our next dive site, 21:00 Hawaii time.
They launched a remote operated vehicle to inspect the bottom. It doesn't look very interesting so far... let's wait and see.
Today I was down at 1200 mbsl with Juan Carlos and Terry, the pilot. It was very cool. We saw more animals than in my first, deeper, dive. There was a dead octopus with a body
measuring more than a meter, and tentacles as big, a ray, many shrimps, crabs, stars, etc. There were nice cut walls of mudstones all over the place. Top.
Now my neck and head hurt because of the position of the neck during the dive... 8 hours with the twisted neck doesn't help!
Have a great weekend you all!
Abrazos,
Tavo.
They launched a remote operated vehicle to inspect the bottom. It doesn't look very interesting so far... let's wait and see.
Today I was down at 1200 mbsl with Juan Carlos and Terry, the pilot. It was very cool. We saw more animals than in my first, deeper, dive. There was a dead octopus with a body
measuring more than a meter, and tentacles as big, a ray, many shrimps, crabs, stars, etc. There were nice cut walls of mudstones all over the place. Top.
Now my neck and head hurt because of the position of the neck during the dive... 8 hours with the twisted neck doesn't help!
Have a great weekend you all!
Abrazos,
Tavo.
Day 15
We are on the N flank of Gardner Pinnacles on transit to out next dive site.
It was a loooong day on board. Jenny dived to a very interesting basaltic outcrop.
Tomorrow I dive with Juan Carlos down to 1100 mbsl. on the N slope.
Night is starry, we can see a very bright Jupiter and the dark stormy clouds in the horizon that contrast with the starry skies.
All ok, but I'm off to bed... tomorrow I have an early start.
Saludos,
Tavo
It was a loooong day on board. Jenny dived to a very interesting basaltic outcrop.
Tomorrow I dive with Juan Carlos down to 1100 mbsl. on the N slope.
Night is starry, we can see a very bright Jupiter and the dark stormy clouds in the horizon that contrast with the starry skies.
All ok, but I'm off to bed... tomorrow I have an early start.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 14
I'm starting to loose track of time, I was not sure which day of the week it was. We are now cruising on the W side of Gardner Pinnacles to the next dive site. 21:00 Hawaii time.
Tomorrow Jenny will go with two pilots to investigate what seems to be the headwall of a slide, NW of G.P.
It was a loooong boring day of transit. I read a 400 page book in 1.5 days. Mapping was good.
Saludos,
Tavo
Tomorrow Jenny will go with two pilots to investigate what seems to be the headwall of a slide, NW of G.P.
It was a loooong boring day of transit. I read a 400 page book in 1.5 days. Mapping was good.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 13
We are now going back to Gardner Pinnacles. Sea is getting worse, there was a thunderstorm, and boat start to wobble after few days of calm waters. I was slightly sick today but a
good nap and a dramamine helped loads. I haven;t been sick to the point of being useless, but still...
Good night,
Tavo
good nap and a dramamine helped loads. I haven;t been sick to the point of being useless, but still...
Good night,
Tavo
Day 12
Bio's had their penultimate dive. Currently cruising at 22º22.4 N, 167º17.7 W, 20:30 Hawaii time.
The sea was even flatter than yesterday's! The surface was glossy, silky. Clouds reflecting on the endless ocean water. All of it gave the illusion of being in some endless flat
depression of blue terrain. A strange panorama. There were some birds, and loads of plankton floating around, which seemed like pollution at first sight. Juan told us it was
diatomeas (tiny organisms with silicate skeleton). A tuna school (banco de atún) swam nearby and many of the tunafish jumped off the surface. Very nice. We also spotted two
Mahimahis swimming around the boat and few birds. I keep hoping for dolphins, but they don;t show up. We are in the desert of the Pacific.
Day a bit less productive in terms of reading, but I could work together with Dave, which was interesting.
Cuídense,
Tavo
The sea was even flatter than yesterday's! The surface was glossy, silky. Clouds reflecting on the endless ocean water. All of it gave the illusion of being in some endless flat
depression of blue terrain. A strange panorama. There were some birds, and loads of plankton floating around, which seemed like pollution at first sight. Juan told us it was
diatomeas (tiny organisms with silicate skeleton). A tuna school (banco de atún) swam nearby and many of the tunafish jumped off the surface. Very nice. We also spotted two
Mahimahis swimming around the boat and few birds. I keep hoping for dolphins, but they don;t show up. We are in the desert of the Pacific.
Day a bit less productive in terms of reading, but I could work together with Dave, which was interesting.
Cuídense,
Tavo
Day 11
Bio's had another dive. The pics were very nice, a bunch of strange corals and sponges with funny shapes. They recovered a Manganese rock from the bottom. Cool.
We are now transiting to the next spot, currently @ 22º37.2 N, 166º51.9 W, 23:36 Hawaii time.
Today the sea was very calm, I can guess that if this is what Magellan found after passing the windy Patagonian seas, then the name Pacific is well deserved.
It was a productive, yet calm and fun day on board. Played cards with the colleagues, read my GBR stuff, science meeting, etc. etc...
At night some bioluminescence on the sea surface + loads of stars + the orange moon-rise on a calm sea. Beautiful.
Saludos,
Tavo.
We are now transiting to the next spot, currently @ 22º37.2 N, 166º51.9 W, 23:36 Hawaii time.
Today the sea was very calm, I can guess that if this is what Magellan found after passing the windy Patagonian seas, then the name Pacific is well deserved.
It was a productive, yet calm and fun day on board. Played cards with the colleagues, read my GBR stuff, science meeting, etc. etc...
At night some bioluminescence on the sea surface + loads of stars + the orange moon-rise on a calm sea. Beautiful.
Saludos,
Tavo.
Day 10
The bio's dive just finished. We are now @ 21º56.62' N, 167º19.33 W, 17.45 Hawaii time.
All ok, I was sea sick yesterday for a while, but today I'm ok. We spent the afternoon reviewing the videos of the other dives, realizing what we missed or not...
Not much going on today.
Saludos,
Tavo
All ok, I was sea sick yesterday for a while, but today I'm ok. We spent the afternoon reviewing the videos of the other dives, realizing what we missed or not...
Not much going on today.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 9
All ok, I didn't copy the coordinates today, bt we are not far from our last dive point and cruising to the next, some miles to the NE. It's almost mdnight Hawaii time.
Today it was a long day... it felt long.
Now off to bed.
Saludos,
Tavo
Today it was a long day... it felt long.
Now off to bed.
Saludos,
Tavo
Day 7
We are now above Necker ridge @ 21º33.78' N, 168º14.52' W, 18:15 Hawaii time.
The Baco-Taylor team had their first dive. They brought up a bunch of deep sea corals and sponges and are now in the lab taking care of every sample as I write. They put samples in
ethanol, in a RNA preserver, whole branches for morphology, etc. etc... and they keep that at different temperatures (-20ºC and -80ºC) to favour the preservation of DNA and RNA. They
also brought two samples of rocks that seem to be lava covered in a dark crust of metal oxides.
The day was ok, very quiet on board. I had a bit of sea-sickness, but I'm better now, it was not too bad. Wind keeps blowing and swell is higher than two days ago. The boat keeps
wobbling.
Today it's a week since we started the trip!
Saludos a todos,
Tavo
The Baco-Taylor team had their first dive. They brought up a bunch of deep sea corals and sponges and are now in the lab taking care of every sample as I write. They put samples in
ethanol, in a RNA preserver, whole branches for morphology, etc. etc... and they keep that at different temperatures (-20ºC and -80ºC) to favour the preservation of DNA and RNA. They
also brought two samples of rocks that seem to be lava covered in a dark crust of metal oxides.
The day was ok, very quiet on board. I had a bit of sea-sickness, but I'm better now, it was not too bad. Wind keeps blowing and swell is higher than two days ago. The boat keeps
wobbling.
Today it's a week since we started the trip!
Saludos a todos,
Tavo
Day 7
Now @ 23º33.78' N 168º14.52 W, 19:00 Hawaii time.
Since last evening the wind has been increasing and the swell is now strong. The dive in program was cancelled, and the plans changed. With bad weather, it becomes difficult to launch
and pick up the sub safely.
Now we are heading south to the Necker Ridge, an underwater chain running SW-NE in the middle of the Pacific, where the bio's plan to sample deep water corals for genetic
characterization. Hopefully we'll get too a piece of rock that could help understand some of the geology.
The day on board was very quiet. Reading, playing cards, chats on the main deck, brief science meeting, eating... and I finished reading the Lord of the Rings.
Saludos a todos!
Tavo
Since last evening the wind has been increasing and the swell is now strong. The dive in program was cancelled, and the plans changed. With bad weather, it becomes difficult to launch
and pick up the sub safely.
Now we are heading south to the Necker Ridge, an underwater chain running SW-NE in the middle of the Pacific, where the bio's plan to sample deep water corals for genetic
characterization. Hopefully we'll get too a piece of rock that could help understand some of the geology.
The day on board was very quiet. Reading, playing cards, chats on the main deck, brief science meeting, eating... and I finished reading the Lord of the Rings.
Saludos a todos!
Tavo
Day 6
Current position 24º36.152' N, 168º16.115 W @ 20:30 Hawaii time. Now transiting to our next dive site.
We dived to 1700m below sea level on SW of Gardner Pinnacles! Dave, Terry (our pilot) and I departed from the surface at 8.30.
It's amazing out there, or down there, rather. A whole pristine world in the dark. Not a sign of marine trash. Few animals (corals, shrimps, fish, anemonae), some rocks impossible to
sample for they were too consolidated and hard... basalt, lava? A bit higher we got to the ancient corals at some 1600mbsl.
Sub is very uncomfortable, cold, damp (if you want to pee you have to do it in a bag... as I did!) but all of it is worth it... to be an acquanaut for a day! It's not being an astronaut, but
it's the closest thing to it I can think of!
For some reason I feel super tired. Now I'm off to finish reading the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings. These Hobbits...
Tavo (my real nick)
We dived to 1700m below sea level on SW of Gardner Pinnacles! Dave, Terry (our pilot) and I departed from the surface at 8.30.
It's amazing out there, or down there, rather. A whole pristine world in the dark. Not a sign of marine trash. Few animals (corals, shrimps, fish, anemonae), some rocks impossible to
sample for they were too consolidated and hard... basalt, lava? A bit higher we got to the ancient corals at some 1600mbsl.
Sub is very uncomfortable, cold, damp (if you want to pee you have to do it in a bag... as I did!) but all of it is worth it... to be an acquanaut for a day! It's not being an astronaut, but
it's the closest thing to it I can think of!
For some reason I feel super tired. Now I'm off to finish reading the last chapter of The Lord of the Rings. These Hobbits...
Tavo (my real nick)
Day 5
@ 24º25.63' N, 167º49.95 W @ around 19:00 Hawaii time.
Transiting to our next dive site.
Second dive successful. Interesting samples. Bio's and geo's happy.
Sun bath on the main deck... it felt like a vacation cruise for 5 minutes. No cocktails, though.
Tomorrow I dive to 1700m water depth with Dave and Terry, it will be cold, few ºC. Very exciting, I feel like Jacques Cousteau and I do have a wool hat too.
Saludos, Gus
Transiting to our next dive site.
Second dive successful. Interesting samples. Bio's and geo's happy.
Sun bath on the main deck... it felt like a vacation cruise for 5 minutes. No cocktails, though.
Tomorrow I dive to 1700m water depth with Dave and Terry, it will be cold, few ºC. Very exciting, I feel like Jacques Cousteau and I do have a wool hat too.
Saludos, Gus
Day 4
First dive @ SE Gardner Pinnacles @ 2000m depth with Charlotte and Dave. Now transit @ 24º37.8'N, 167º44.7'W 19:45 Hawaii time.
23 samples gathered from what seems to be carbonate walls. Samples themselves consist of a variety of corals, some algae, and some other material to be identified, many covered by black metal oxides.
All indicates that we are sampling a miocene (?) reef that is now @ 2000m water depth... Very cool stuff.
Another quiet day in general, reading, talking, playing cards, then preparing samples w Jenny & Juan.
Saludos a todos, Gus
23 samples gathered from what seems to be carbonate walls. Samples themselves consist of a variety of corals, some algae, and some other material to be identified, many covered by black metal oxides.
All indicates that we are sampling a miocene (?) reef that is now @ 2000m water depth... Very cool stuff.
Another quiet day in general, reading, talking, playing cards, then preparing samples w Jenny & Juan.
Saludos a todos, Gus
Day 3
24º 02.15' N, 166º20.45' W @ 17:50 Hawaii time.
All ok. Transit time day reading, talking, learning about biology, genetics, geology, oceanography, chit chat. Few birds near the boat.
Tomorrow is the first dive. Dave and Charlotte will go down to 2000m water depth!
Dave and Jenny r optimising the track and reviewing the targets. Exciting. Gus
All ok. Transit time day reading, talking, learning about biology, genetics, geology, oceanography, chit chat. Few birds near the boat.
Tomorrow is the first dive. Dave and Charlotte will go down to 2000m water depth!
Dave and Jenny r optimising the track and reviewing the targets. Exciting. Gus
Day 2
We r now passing the coord 22º57.8' N, 162º56.2' W, 17:50 Hawaii time, Heading WNW @ 10 knots
All ok. Quiet day, it passed QCing the dive points & mapping tracks, reading, talking, editing pics. No nap today.
Tonight: a movie. Saludos!
All ok. Quiet day, it passed QCing the dive points & mapping tracks, reading, talking, editing pics. No nap today.
Tonight: a movie. Saludos!
Day 0, 1
All ok, except 4 Charlotte being sick from the boat. Hopefully she will recover quickly. We r now near the point 21º47.5', 159º28.3' W, just off the southern shore of Kauai. Pity it's
night, we can't see the view! We just had a first science-team meeting where each team (bios and geos) explained their objectives and expectations... geological history and
biodiversity put in two words. All very exciting & new. Muchos saludos a todos. Gus
night, we can't see the view! We just had a first science-team meeting where each team (bios and geos) explained their objectives and expectations... geological history and
biodiversity put in two words. All very exciting & new. Muchos saludos a todos. Gus
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