Our World – Underwater Scholarship Society in Europe

Sorry for giving all you readers the silent treatment – but I have been in Indonesia for 4 weeks now, with very limited internet access. Hope the pictures and the upcoming video make up for it.

Before Indonesia I had a short pit stop in Norway to repack my equipment and also test out some of the newly arrived TUSA gear. Because of a transport strike in Norway during the Spring, I did not get the gear in time before I left for the States. So, this was my chance to finally try it out. I loved my pink fins from the moment I put them on (yes, I am a girl). They are beautiful, and I am not the only one who thinks so. In Indonesia one of the underwater photographers actually said he would love to use the fins on a model for underwater shots.

Indonesa with its 17.000 islands is the greatest archipelago on earth, and a hot spot for biodiversity both below and above water. There is no need to say I was looking forward to this experience. The reason I was heading to Indonesia was that the Belgian award winning UW videographer, Danny Van Belle, generously offered me a 2-week course in videography, which was sorely needed. My end product for the Scholarship year is a movie, and I remember the feeling I had as I was handed the camera and the Light & Motion housing in April. How could this story get a happy ending? I had never been near a videocamera before, and had even less experience with an UW housing for one. Danny saved me. From my first unsteady, over-exposed images totally out of focus – I now have really nice video of ghost pipe fish, seahorses and nudibranchs. Since the course was taking place during the HUGYCUP 2010, a competition for UW photographers, the environment was perfect – I was surrounded by photographers who were happy to answer my silly questions.

Our base for the course was Scuba Seraya Resort, just outside of Tulamben, Bali. We  practically lived on the beach, and all we had to do after breakfast was to slip into our wetsuits and we were ready for amazing muck diving right outside our door. However, first things first. Danny spent 2 days with me in ”The Dark Room”, giving lectures on all the basic concepts of videography. After the theory lessons I was ready to try out underwater videography in practice. And here is where all the problems started. Have you ever heard of Murphy´s law? If something can go wrong, it will. This is me learning things the hard way.

For my first dive the housing refused to give me anything but a black LCD screen, and we left it above water this time. After the morning dive, time came for hours of struggling to get the housing to work. It seemed as if it communicated with the camera, but the screen was still black. After checking EVERYTHING we started sending e-mails and making phone calls. Little did I know that I had massive humiliation in sight. During one of the phone calls the expert asks; ”..and the four batteries is in place?”. Dead silence. FOUR?? We only put two in there… Please use this advice; Get the manual. Read the manual. Twice. If you can´t get it right after doing that, it´s probably still your fault.

But, when we finally got everything working – a new world opened to me. Since the area is heaven for muck diving, I could play around with lights and the close-up lens as much as I wanted. I have never paid as much attention to small details as I have this course, and at the same time had the opportunity to widen my view and make panorama video of a 1,5 meter long great barracuda. The barracuda lures around the wreck of the USAT Liberty, which we visited frequently during the course for panorama shots. The Liberty wreck is probably Bali´s most famous dive site, and I understand why. The wreck is easily accessible, it´s huge and the wildlife around it is stunning. You can spot everything from barracudas, garden eels and a tornado of Trevallies to color explosions of nudibranchs and soft corals.

During the HUGYCUP 2010, Beyond Scuba offered a free try-dive with a semi-closed rebreather. Me, Ronny and Stijn, two of the participants in the contest, went together, and all I can say is that its the weirdest dive I have ever had. It seems like everything is opposite when it comes to buoyancy with a semi-closed rebreather – and I was seriously struggling keeping myself neutral. If you breathe in using normal scuba equipment – you will go shallower, but with this setup it was the other way around. Even though I struggled a lot – it´s always fun to try new things.

After 2 weeks of video, my stay was about to end – and that is the part I always find hardest. Leaving good friends is never easy, but the prospect of maybe seeing them again sometime makes it worth it. And the diving world is not so big as one might think.

NB! I am putting together a video from my stay as I am writing this – and I will post it on the blog as soon as it is ready!

I just got back from snorkeling with humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins. I could die and go to heaven, and it would suck. Totally suck, after what I did today. John Olivero took me, Frank and Séverine out in Ocean Quest´s rib, fully suited up in wetsuits or drysuit – ready for a close up with the whales of Newfoundland. We would watch them to see which direction they swam, and then John would let us three slip into the water to slowly approach them.

At one point, one of the humpback whales was straight ahead of me and dived down. I, of course, was twisting and turning around to see where he went so I could follow him. No sight of him. I looked up and scanned the horizon. No whale. Then! I faced downward again – and the whale is right below me! On its back, just floating away like it had no care in the world. We swam together about 15 meters before he took off… If you ask me how far apart we were or how big it was, I have no idea. I was too terrified to even think about it. It´s the weirdest feeling I have ever had. Intensely happy and at the same time so scared I could easily soil myself. But I truly enjoyed it. Honest. And after some serious soul searching I consider it a very natural reaction to animals that are bigger than me.

Photograph: Séverine Bär

At the end of our snorkeling tour we decided to try our luck with the dolphins. At the surface you could see 3-4 dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water, occasionally racing our rib. But once we got out of the rib and could see clearly, we realized it was at least 15 of them! They are magical creatures. So curious that they swam straight towards us, and then turned just a millisecond before they touched us. They were swirling all around, and I couldn´t do anything but laugh. The dolphins radiate happiness and playfulness like no other creature, and it hits you right in the heart. I beg you; never, ever turn down a chance to snorkel with these animals.

Photograph: Séverine Bär

But this was just the end of my day. Earlier I had been diving on the beautiful wreck of S. S. Saganaga. Saganaga has a population of 2 male lumpfish, and for those of you who don´t know what lumpfish are. They are awesome. Really bad swimmers, ugly looks, beautiful colours and suction pads. Need I say more?

Lumpfish!

In Newfoundland they have 4 shipwrecks just outside Bell Island, all sunk on two different occasions during the second World War (WWII). The ships were an easy hit for the Germans. They were loading iron ore from the mines on Bell Island, and were stone heavy. Ironically, the Germans had received iron ore from the same location before the war – and so they knew exactly where to hit. Saganaga was so full of ore that it took her only 90 seconds to sink. 90 seconds! And her load also made the ship itself crash down on its keel. Actually, all the ships stand on their keels – which is pretty neat from a diver´s point of view. Rick & Debbie Stanley and their Ocean Quest had even more interesting history to discover. On one of their expeditions they discovered a plane from WWII. It turned out this plane was on anti-submarine duty in the area where the ships sunk. However, on the day where the Germans attacked and sunk 2 of the ships – the plane was hired by the Department of Transportation to deliver pay rolls, so it wasn´t there to protect the ships. Who knows if it made a differnece, but it is no doubt interesting to play with the thought. And, if there is one thing I have learned after working with maritime archaeologists; knowing the history of things makes the sites come alive – and in that way, Newfoundland is very exciting.

The gun turret on S.S. Saganaga

After a taste of Newfoundlands shipwreck history, I wanted to learn more about their cultural heritage. Like Norway, Newfoundland had long been in the whaling industry, and to learn more about this, John Olivero at Ocean Quest took me to Dildo (yes, it is actually a place).

Outside the wharf at Dildo, there is a whale ”graveyard”. The fishermen used the place to butcher the whales after harvesting them, and the place is still full of their remains. There is no other word to describe the dive but serene. Seeing vertebrae as big as your torso does something to you.

In Conception Bay Harbour – you can find another proof of the sadder part of Newfoundland history. After whaling was forbidden in the 1960´s, some of the companies could not afford sending their ships home. So, they abandoned the ships and left them in the harbours where they today remain a symbol of the past.

After a week of magnificent diving, it was time to get screeched in. This is a ceremony where outsiders become honorary Newfoundlanders. Earlier this day Rick & Debbie took me and 4 of their friends out whale watching and fishing – and with the cod we caught they organized a delicious  meal for all of us. After dinner, there were 3 of us who was about to go through the mysterious ceremony. All I can say is it involved a bat, screech rum, cod´s tongue and kissing fish. The rest you will have to experience yourself!

Once again I have to leave a fantastic place. Rick, Debbie, their daughter Jill and everybody who made my stay unforgettable – you have my everlasting gratitude!

Newfoundland is like Norway – just colder, wilder and friendlier. My destination, Conception Bay South just outside St. Johns, is pretty much as far east one can go on the American continent. And seriously, the names of the places in Newfoundland is in itself good enough reason to go there. I do not understand how one cannot be humoured by places called ”Witless Bay”, ”Conception Bay”, ”Dildo” or just ”Freshwater”.

I was going to spend the coming week with Ocean Quest Adventures, founded by Rick & Debbie Stanley. With their motto ”Whales ´n icebergs and all kinds of nice birds. Special places, wide open spaces and people with smiles on their faces” – it is an understatement saying I was excited.

I arrived after 36 hours of traveling, including an 18 hour bus ride from Alpena, MI to Toronto, ON. Rick´s daughter, Jill, and her friend picked me up at the airport – and they had the cutest little sign with them to be sure we didn´t miss each other. Back at the Ocean Quest Adventure Lodge was Rick and a German filmcrew filming for two documentaries (Newfoundland seems to be quite popular these days!). I also met with Frank Ratzel and Séverine Bär – who turned out to be my dive buddies parts of the upcoming week. They were visiting this place for the 4th time – and with that in mind I knew my stay here was going to be great. People don´t come back unless they really enjoy it!

The following day we had our first diving adventure, which was a true expedition. We had Port Kirwan in the horizon, longing for the sight of the 17th century shipwreck located somewhere out there. From a society of archaeologists´ report published in 1986, we knew the approximate location and their description of the wreck.

It was presumably a merchant ship from the era of the pirates, so the participants of the expedition was ready for adventure! Bill (the skipper of Ocean Quest Adventure´s diving boat), Frank, Séverine and me jumped in our cars and drove out there.

Frank and Séverine had been there before a couple of years ago, so they got in the water first – hopefully they would find the wreck and mark it with a surface buoy so that Bill and me could get there easily. We needed our bottom time for making video footage of the wreck.

We were sitting at the docks, eagerly scouting for the buoy. If it didn´t pop up it meant that we would do a regular shore dive instead – so it was a to be or not to be for us and the video. Finally, after a time period feeling more like 3 hours than 30 minutes – the buoy was there!

Both Frank and Séverine could tell us about the cannons and artifacts they saw there, and we got in the water as fast as humanly possible. Unfortunately, the current was so strong that the line had jumped off its anchor – and as we hit the sandy bottom it was nothing there but…sand. We made it back to the shore, disappointed of course – but still, we both thought it was totally worth it. That is exactly what adventures are all about – not necessarily always reaching the goal, but the excitement that comes with not knowing what is behind the next turn. As they say, the road is the goal (is that even a proverb in English? It is in Norway) – and the shipwreck isn´t exactly going anywhere!

The Great Lakes that is. I met with Joe Hoyt, the 2004 North American Rolex Scholar, in Richmond, Virginia – ready for the 18 hour drive up to Alpena, Michigan. It is intriguing how fast one get to know each other when you are stuck in a car, and even though it was a loooong drive, I will miss your stories, Joe. We finally arrived Casa Casserley, Joe´s friend and colleague, Tane Casserley, was hosting us for the week, and a couple of hours later Lauren Heesemann, a research coordinator with NOAA, arrived and our group was complete.

Alpena, Michigan is a city. It is not a town. It is not a village. Even though it might appear as one. A sweet one of course. It is situated right next to Lake Huron, and there you will find Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Joe is a maritime archaeologist with NOAA, and he invited me to take part in a project they were doing this summer. A live webcast from the bottom of the lake on a shipwreck called Montana. The Montana was a wooden freighter from the late 1800s that burned and sank in Thunder Bay in 1914, and now it sits at about 70 feet below the surface.

I was amazed by how professional and serious they were when it came to planning the broadcast – we spent both Monday and Tuesday on the research vessel, R/V Storm, preparing for the big day. Testing all the equipment, which included divers, a ROV, advanced broadcasting tools, communication tools and so on. The first day I was on tether cord management – which means I had to make sure the divers, whom I like to call ”Team Awesomeness”, Joe Hoyt, Tane Casserley, Russ Green and Wayne Lusardi got the wires they needed. However, for an unknown reason I was repositioned to the com box. The com box is basically a black box which controls the divers´ communication with the surface. Sounds pretty cool, eh? It was.

Wednesday was our big day, doing 3 live broadcasts. The goal was to let the viewers learn how maritime archaeologists document shipwrecks and how they work to preserve them. They use a wide array of tools, everything from slates and pencils to photomosaics. Cathy Green, also a maritime archaeologist, was our reporter, and she was magnificent.

Everything went smoothly until the end of the last show. A set of double cylinders had been baking in the sun all day, and the pressure increased to such an extent that the burst disc ”fired”. It scared the living daylights out of everybody. It sounds almost like a small explosion, and I am sure people in their minds pictured body parts all over the deck. But, after just half a second we realized it was the burst disc and we started laughing nervously. Relieved that it was nothing serious.

After the broadcast was done and I was cleared by the NOAA administration to dive – it was time for me to get in the water. Nothing could stop me to do some freshwater, drysuit-diving now. Literally. Even rain, wind and a bad case of motion sickness gave its best shot – but after hard core barfing in Key Largo I know how to deal with it. Just let it all out. And, honestly, I am starting to appreciate a good barf.

The diving was, needless to say, sickeningly awesome. Even though the visibility is known to be better, the wrecks are breathtaking. The first day we visited the wooden schooner, Lucinda Van Valkenburg, and the Grecian, a steam engined steel bulk carrier. Lauren and me had never dived there before, and we were speachless after ascending. I have never seen such an intact and impressive ship as the Grecian. The cold freshwater acts like a freezer when it comes to preserving the wrecks, and I would recommend this kind of diving to everyone who fancies wreck diving.

The next day wiped out the horrors of yesterday´s throwing up. The weather was beautiful and we went out to put some marker buoys on the wreck of the Nordmeer. The deepest part of it lays only about 20 feet below the surface, and the shallower part poses a threat for the fishermen during the upcoming local Brown Trout Festival, so NOAA agreed to help them by marking the ship. Even though it is smashed to pieces, it is a great dive since the sunlight provides it with a fairytale-like atmosphere.

On my next dive I was finally about to see Montana with my own eyes. We had been talking about the Montana all week because of the broadcast, so getting to see her in real life was amazing. Had I been smart and listened to Joe, I would have used my drysuit instead of the 5mm wetsuit for this 11°Celsius-dive. But I wasn´t.

Evening came, and with that Tane´s BBQ and closure of a great, but wild week. All of us who had been working on the broadcast could finally get together and debrief in a very informal fashion. Also, a group from the National Association of Black SCUBA Divers (NABS) were there. They were traveling around for the summer, experiencing different aspects of the underwater world. And, the world really is a small place. I actually ran into the same group in Key Largo – when they were diving with the same dive centre as me. That is one of the things you realize when you do a little diving around the world, you meet someone you know or share friends with everywhere.

To experience some local culture, Tane, Russ and Joe took Lauren and me to the opening of the local Brown Trout Festival. If you imagined the festival was all about fishing – you were wrong. So wrong. The main attraction this night was cage fighting! Who would have thought that brutal fist fighting was so popular in Alpena? Well, it was. However, the week brutally ended, as my stay with the archaeologists. Again, I found myself with tears running down my face – and at the same time laughing of the hilarious group driving away after dropping me off at the bus station shouting: ”KRUUUGEEER! KRUUUUGEEEER!”

Leaving Saba was hard.

I got all sentimental on the plane to St. Maarten, and when Jo & Frank was waving their goodbyes as the plane left the runway tears came pouring down my face. I honestly think one of the hardest parts of this Scholarship is that every place you visit, you stay there just long enough to get to know, appreciate and love the people – and then you leave. Luckily, you are always arriving somewhere nice and that keeps your mind occupied with other things than missing what you have left. Though, it is important to remember them.

Visiting Divers Alert Network (DAN) was amazing. The president and vice-president, Dan and Betty Orr, met me at the airport with their other house guest for the week – Sarah Brightman. She is the Boston Sea Rovers Frank Scalli Summer intern, and we were about to have a fantastic week together.

On the airport:

Most people only know DAN through the insurance part, which is sad because they do a lot of important work beyond that. They have both medical, research, education and development sections at their headquarters, which are actually DAN´s primary focus. It all started in 1980 with a single telephone service at Peter Bennett´s desk at Duke University, because the Air Force and Navy were getting pretty tired of answering phone calls from people wondering where the nearest recompression chamber was. It quickly developed into a steadily growing organization, and to motivate the employees, the current president challenged them. If they got the organization to reach 250.000 members – he would shave his head. And he did! (I wish I had a picture of it).

I do have a picture showing me enjoying myself at DAN:

Sarah, me and the OW-USS DAN intern for the summer, James Cotton (also called Jimmie-James) started our training the next day. We had a series of lectures given by Nicholas Bird, Brian Harper and Marty McCafferty about different aspects of diving medicine, which were really good. Patty Seery and Scott Smith were the instructors on our Diving Emergency Management Provider-course, and we had so much fun examining each other and patching imaginary wounds caused by jellyfish stings, octopus bites and sea urchin spikes. After working hours each of the departments would take us out to dinner. This way we really got to know the people there – and they are without doubt awesome. Thank you guys for making our stay unforgettable!

During our week there we also got the grand tour at Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology. Mike Natoli showed us around and told us about all the interesting research they´re doing there. The facility is actually a hypo-hyperbaric complex – and they work on research projects concerning both divers, pilots and astronauts (cool, eh?). We even got to ask important questions we were pondering about, such as what they do with all the ”excrements” the research subjects produce during long hours in a chamber. We suggested it was produced in a bag, gift-wrapped and then sent through the airlock to the outside tenders. This, we learned, was not far from the truth. However, in some chambers they actually have a toilet! Like this one:

I even celebrated my 24th birthday in Durham – doing probably the most American thing you could possibly imagine. Yes. Going to a baseball game. In order to assmiliate as much as possible – we bought baseball caps and ate hot dogs and Cracker Jacks.

Thank you Dan & Betty for hosting me – it was a great experience and I really hope to see you again some time!

And, my military father´s wise words: Mission first, safety always.

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« Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosts live webcast from the shipwreck Montana

The project I am participating in at the moment is exactly that – the mapping of the intact, wooden shipwreck of Montana and the production of live webcasts from the site.

Tune in: July 14 at 10am, 12:30pm, and 3pm EST at www.immersionlearning.org (Norwegian time 4pm, 6.30pm and 9pm)

The audience will learn how marine archaeologists document shipwrecks and work to preserve them for future generations. Each program will highlight different themes including underwater research techniques, diving technology, and the study of Great Lakes health and ecology through NOAA observation platforms.

To read more about the project, follow this link: http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/

Enjoy!