NOWRAMP
2002
Into
the Murk, Maro Reef
Posted by: Brian Hauk, Safety Diver, Documentation Team
Underwater
Photography by Jim Watt
September
15, 2002
Woke
up this morning a bit late, it was 7:30 and we were still
in transit. I was lured downstairs by the smell of French
toast and sausage. The captain gave an announcement that
there was a pod of dolphins off the bow riding the ship's
wake. I scurried upstairs to get my camera and headed to
survey the excitement. We had a double rainbow off in the
distance and a dozen dolphins leading our way, not a bad
way to start the day.
Our
plan was to follow the maritime archeology team in hopes
of documenting their investigation of a 528ft navy tanker
that went down in 1957. The ride out was a wet one. I had
luckily ended up on the leeward side of the tender, but
I can't say the same for my friend Carlos, our expedition
writer. He was getting soaked constantly from which we all
got a good laugh, especially when he donned his mask, snorkel,
and hood as we continued on our zodiac ride. I almost fell
off the boat from the sight of him geared up and taking
on the sea.
When
we reached Hans, the leader of the archaeology team and
his crew, they were going over various coordinates they
had for the supposed tanker's grave. The water was murky
and resembled a giant lukewarm bowl of split pea soup. We
decided to help them scout and donned our snorkeling gear.
We dropped in a mile upstream from the 1st set of coordinates
and began to work our way down, sweeping through the murk
with our eyes. I watched as Carlos free dove down, disappearing
into the green. He would be out of sight for a good thirty
seconds before emerging, trailing bubbles on his race back
to the surface.
The
water was eerie and I didn't want to be in there alone.
My eyes were playing tricks on me, turning shadows into
objects that weren't there. That's always when the Jaws
music theme starts to hum in my head (duh duh, duh duh…).
I was certainly glad when we decided to 'call it quits.'
The ocean is big and can easily make a 600ft ship disappear
like a needle in a haystack.
The
search continued as the archeology team put on their tanks
and made a series of sweep passes down below, where the
visibility wouldn't be such an obstacle. That dive apparently
turned out to be quite strange as well. Still near the surface,
we followed the divers' bubbles waiting to hear what they
might have found. When they surfaced, they had nothing to
announce besides the 7 to 8ft shark that was circling them
on their safety stop. Once again I was glad to be back on
the boat thinking of what I was going to eat for lunch,
rather than what was going to eat me.
Before
stopping for lunch, our tandem skiffs made the 2.6-mile
journey to the next set of coordinates. This second search
area was much more inviting. It was littered with shallow
coral heads and large stretches of reef. We ate our lunch
and instead of continuing to follow the archaeology team,
we decided to 'bag' the ship hunt for the day. We then checked
out a shallow section 
of
reef just beyond the boat's position. This area was colorful
and abundant with fish. Now that's what I thought this place
would look like! We snorkeled, taking pictures for about
and hour and a half. It was now getting late and we decided
to head back to the ship for some much needed dry clothes
and stability. We wove our way through the shallow reefs
and came upon a flock of sea birds feasting on a bait ball
of small fish. We pulled closer and noticed a large school
of tuna and a dozen sharks also taking advantage of this
buffet. From there we headed home, traveling through one
of the most isolated places on Earth back to our 'home away
from home,' the Rapture. We didn't get any SCUBA
dives in, but we sure did laugh a lot and came back with
some good pictures too. Round II tomorrow, who knows what
it holds!
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