Jeff, the Dive Supervisor

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.

Holding our hands through this is Jeff Heaton. Jeff was destined to work with submarines. His father was a professional wrestler raised in a Mormon community who did commercial diving on the side. As a result Jeff got to fly his submarine before he could drive a car and he has been flying underwater ever since. He left the submarine world and earned a degree in marine biology but the adventure of deep sea diving lured him out of the lab and back into the pilot seat.

On this trip Jeff is the Dive Supervisor. He decides if the waves are too big or the winds are too strong. He decides when the subs are not at their peak performance and if the conditions underwater are suboptimal. Jeff coordinates the Nuytco team that provides us with the support we need. In short, our fate lies in Jeff’s hands. And this is a good thing.

Jeff is one of those people who inspire trust and respect. His love of the deep sea means he does his best to get us in the water. His respect for the sea means he does not put us in situations where we would be in danger. When Jeff makes a call about delaying a dive we do not question it because we know he is walking the fine line between giving us an adventure of a lifetime and bringing us home safe.

This morning the wind was blowing 10-15 knots and I watched Jeff study the weather carefully and work with the ship's crew to makes sure the conditions were right for the launch and recovery of the subs. He found a way to make it happen and now we are listening to the Sheila and Greg, today’s sub pilots, investigate the Moresby Gully at 1,200 feet. Thanks Jeff.

~ Jennifer Lash