Collecting coral, counting down

By Suzanne Wentley
Posted at 07:23 PM on June 08, 2006

It's been a little more than two weeks that many of these scientists and crew members have been on board, and I'm starting to hear some people counting down the hours until we arrive at the port at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce. They're dreaming of riding bikes, driving cars and just being on vacation. We're due to dock around 9 a.m. Friday.

The captain will head north from Fort Lauderdale after the final submersible dive. The sub just returned -- it's a big deal to head out to the deck and watch the horizon. First, when the sub is about 100 feet below the surface, the pilot lets out a big bubble to alert the technicians to its location. Then, upon receiving permission to surface, they bob up. The ship then motors toward the submersible. which is drifting with the currents. Once the ship moves so that the sub is on the starboard side, a diver dives into the water and attaches a thick rope to the sub. A huge crane then pulls it toward an even bigger contraption that brings it on the boat.

Before we set sail at around 14 to 17 knots, according to the captain, there's a training submersible dive planned. Frank Lombardo, who was the sub technician who rode in the aft compartment with me, will drive. He said there's a lot of training involved, because the pilot has to be prepared to drive in strong currents.

In the meantime, scientists just collected a bunch of new Lophelia corals for research. The rest of the crew -- and me, for that matter -- are planning on watching the basketball finals. Let's go Heat!

So, with that ... thanks for all those who have been following the great week Sarah and I have had on the R/V Seward Johnson. Thanks also to the ship's crew, the sub's crew and the scientists who have all been so accommodating and kind to a bunch of curious journalists.

I hope Treasure Coast readers got a better understanding of the life aboard a research vessel. I know I learned a lot and really had an experience of a lifetime! Now, bosses... do I really have to go back to my desk on Monday??

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