Articles

Thank you.

The Finding Coral Expedition has now concluded and I am happy to say it was a great success. We documented over 14 species of coral, ranging from small orange cup corals to meter high red tree corals.

Yesterday I dove to 900 feet in Dixon Entrance. Lance Morgan, the pilot of the other Deepworker and I landed on the bottom simultaneously and started making our way across the flats to a nearby wall. We flew over a silt bottom that slowly turned to cobble and then boulders. Through the misty water, I glimpsed a patch of pink gently swaying the current and as I made my way over to it, a beautiful Primnoa coral came into view. Then another, and another, and another. They just kept on going.

The subs are descending into Mid-Morseby Gully and we are gathered in the navigation room waiting to hear what they see at the bottom.

Planning a dive is easy, making sure it actually happens as planned is a whole other ball game. If the weather is not right we might have to delay the dive. If the subs have a mechanical malfunction, we all go on standby. If the communications are not working when you are underwater, you have to abort the dive. The beginning of a dive is exciting and tense as we keep our fingers crossed and pray to our own gods that everything will go as planned and the divers will get to the bottom.

There are some experiences that words cannot explain. When you fall in love for the first (or second) time, when you give birth to a child, and when you sit at the bottom on the sea at 750 feet, entertained by the creatures that live there.

It’s 6:30 in the morning and I am having coffee in the wheel house of the Cape Flattery with the First Mate Karl Olson. He is telling me about his flow harmony. Karl has many years of cruising this coast under his belt and at first I thought I was misunderstanding some old nautical term from this salty dog. In fact, he was talking about his inner energy and state of mind. This is defiantly a West Coast boat.

Living Oceans Society would like to thank Mountain Equimpment Co-op for outfitting the Finding Coral Expedition in stylish fleece jackets and moisture-wicking toques.