Showing posts with label rain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rain. Show all posts

5/22/12

Bahamas Expedition: Sending the fish packing

This guest blog was written by trip participant George Bauernfeind (left), who also happens to be Chris' dad. Stay tuned for one final post from Chris with his favorite pictures from this expedition.

It was 5 a.m. Sunday morning when Chris’ alarm went off.  I was already awake, relaxing in the hum of the boat’s generator and reliving the wonderful experiences of the past week (night diving, learning to catch fish, hunting for moorings, making new friends, hunting for invasive species... I could go on). In minutes the 15 crew members would be up and about, hot morning coffee in hand as “good morning” greetings would be exchanged.

Per usual, we were on a timetable, with this morning’s agenda being packaging of the 300-plus fish and invertebrates we had collected and delivering them to the Miami airport for their flight to Boston. As had been the case every other day, with Captain John barking orders and Expedition Leader Sherrie scurrying about, the 15 of us came together and functioned as one, accomplishing our objective with time to spare.

A compilation of pictures from the morning of fish packing

First, let me back up a bit. The trip started out with a rough Gulf Stream crossing and several days of seemingly endless monsoon-like winds and rain. With no dryer on the boat, wet gear and wet towels hung in futility, extra clothespins and bungee cords needed just to keep the stuff from getting blown overboard.



Even in the rain, of course, once underwater, the wonders of the ocean opened up as only they can to a scuba diver. Swimming with the fish is an experience unlike any other; the quiet and serenity of the ocean floor a welcome relief from the noise and busyness of our normal everyday schedules.



The animals generally were unbothered by our invasion of their world, with one exception — the young green sea turtle who was curious enough to follow us around for a while, even nibbling at a diver’s outstretched fingers.



In our one-on-ones with a fish, more often than not the fish won. An early target was a longspine squirrelfish, and as we clumsily approached with outstretched nets in hand, he definitely had the initial advantage. His sight, and his ability to feel the increased water pressure from the advancing nets, heightened every defensive mechanism he had. But with our advantages of a bigger brain, persistence, and a bit of luck, the little guy soon was in our catchbag. A short stay in the boat’s holding tank, a quick trip to Boston, and before very long he would be entertaining and educating the many thousands of schoolchildren, their families and tourists who come to the Aquarium each year. 



Chris the cook fed us well the entire trip. We all continued to be amazed at the creations he produced out of the cramped little boat kitchen, any thoughts that we had of possible weight loss from a week of good physical activity soon dispelled.

I’ll think back often to the new friends made, that feeling of exhaustion as I climbed into my bunk each night and the many highlights of the trip. Thanks to Captain John and Co-Captain Lou for their leadership and continuing emphasis on safety during the trip. Thanks also to the aquarium staff:  Chris, who also happens to be my son; Shara, the natural-born teacher who had the patience to explain to me, more than once, the operation of my new dive computer; and the amazingly energetic Sherrie who, even after a long day on the boat, found even more energy one evening when we were granted a few hours of shore leave and discovered a place in Alice Town with loud music and a sand dance floor.

One last group shot before the fish head to Boston

5/15/12

Bahamas Expedition: A first timer's experience

This guest blog was written by Christine (left), an Aquarium volunteer, and former intern in the Dive and Penguin departments. Stay tuned for more posts and pictures from expedition participants and staff diver Chris.

My adventure aboard the R/V Coral Reef II was the experience of a lifetime! We boarded the ship on Friday, April 27, enjoyed a fun dinner together and met all the other participants. Then on Saturday we made our crossing into Bimini, which was one of the roughest crossings anyone had experienced. We faced huge waves and down pour rain.




Smiling despite the rain: Trip participant George with staff diver Chris

Our next couple days in Bimini we faced more rain and very strong currents so we lost just about a full day and a half of collecting. We had such a great group of people on this trip that everyone kept their spirits up and we continued to have fun despite the bad weather.

The rest of the week brought us amazing weather and we brought some really great fish on board. Learning to catch fish with vinyl nets was extremely challenging but working with a fantastic Aquarium staff and ship crew we were able to learn and have a great time with it.


Shara, Sherrie and I diving the Sapona  

This picture was from our very last dive of the trip. It was taken at the Sapona shipwreck. I have never dived at a wreck site before so it was a very cool experience. Parts of the wreck stuck up all over the place along with strong currents so it made for an eventful dive. We were following and catching fish in every crack and crevice of that wreck. We were so determined to catch fish that we banged our heads and came back with rust residue from the ship all over our wetsuits and BCDs.

The night dive 

The night dive in Bimini was another great first time experience! We dove in groups of three. Shara, Genevieve and I dove together, we each had a glow stick attached to the back of our tank so we could always see our dive buddies. We were also were equipped with a flashlight. Once we zeroed in on a fish we wanted to catch, Shara and I had the nets so we dropped our lights and Genevieve held her light on the fish we were trying to catch. It took a lot of teamwork and underwater communication, but we did it! It was a little intimidating at first jumping into the dark waters but by far one of the coolest dives.

This was by far the most unique experience I have ever had. Catching fish while scuba diving, living on a boat for a week and a half, traveling, working, living and hanging out with many people that just a few days ago were total strangers! But I could not have asked for a better group of people to go on this trip with. Everyone worked hard and were just a lot of fun to hang out with. I will be talking about this trip forever and I hope one day to be able to go again because it truly was a fabulous experience.

-- Christine