DISPATCH 02: Tightening the Screws
@Sea correspondent/photographer, Mark Carroll



As the expedition gets underway a distant rain shower spills into the sea just outside of Natal's port.

Early yesterday morning, the research vessel SEWARD JOHNSON, left Natal's dock, destined for the atoll of Fernando de Noronha, 100 miles off the coast. The port's turbid waters quickly turned to turquoise outside the harbor, then subtly shifted to crystal blue, hinting at the incredible underwater visibility to come.

Although the ground work for the expedition is in place, Chief Scientist Samuel Gruber confessed that a lot of the coming work will be ad hoc, adapted to sea conditions and a host of other factors beyond human control.

So, the long transit was spent preparing for what might come, a tightening of the screws, so to speak.

Onboard laboratories came to life with microscopes and duct tape and bits of PVC pipe. The trappings of science spilled from the labs onto the ship's deck where small boats sat readied for launch. Many of these crew members know the procedure; they have done this before at Gruber's lab in Bimini, Bahamas. Nevertheless, the entire crew needed some tightening, too.

As land disappeared behind the horizon, an emergency drill rocked the ship into action!

The expedition team assembled outside, life-jackets secured, survival suits in hand, rain showers gathering in the distance -- a frightening scene for an active imagination. However, there was a sense of security, knowing it was only a drill. That comfort quickly evaporated when Captain Vince Seiler announced, "a person lost overboard at night and in rough seas has only a 1 in 20,000 chance of survival."

I returned to my quarters next to the ever-noisy engine room with my cabinmate, biologist Devon Keeney. We stowed our emergency gear within arm' s reach and made some passing jokes about the drill in some Freudian attempt to ease our minds.

For its sheer size and impeccable condition, it is hard to imagine our ship in distress, but even with constant maintenance and watchful eyes, there are no guarantees against the whims of the sea.

We were all prepared, but for this expedition to succeed, we would all also need to be flexible -- a sentiment echoed by our first hours at sea.

6pm -- The science crew decides to turn away from Fernando de Noronha in order to explore a promising seamount close to the ocean's surface. Several scientists boarded a small Boston Whaler and departed into the night. They planned to probe the depths with a series of baited hooks dangling from a single floating line, a procedure called longlining.

On into the night and early this morning, I've been busy running my own equipment through the paces, perpetually troubleshooting the laptop and repairing an already ailing underwater camera housing with parts obtained at tightly-timed equipment drop at the Miami airport.

Perhaps the scientists will find sharks here? Maybe not? It is literally a shot in the dark, but the research has begun!