Into the deep, wide ocean

By Suzanne Wentley
Posted at 04:53 PM on June 06, 2006

I'm a little cramped, a little cold and a little dehydrated from not drinking water all day for fear I'd have to go to the bathroom 1,000 feet under the sea -- but I feel so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to go down in the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible this afternoon!

We just returned from a three-hour trip along an unexplored section of the Miami Terrace, about 15 miles directly off Dania Beach. It was completely different from other areas that were previously mapped, said John Reed, Harbor Branch's lead scientist who led the expedition.

There were miles and miles of barren, broken asphalt-looking bottom, which small corals sticking out like weeds. Then there would be a steep ridge that would have Lophelia corals, sponges and little crabs and fish. They deployed crab traps, look videos and gathered samples.

It was like another world down there.

Inside the aft compartment of the submersible, it was pretty darn cramped. Good thing I'm petite. The senior submersible technican who was in the back with me, Frank Lombardo, is 6'3" with bad knees. Poor guy! We were cross-legged most of the time -- he read a book while I leaned down to get a peak out of the porthole. It got really cold -- the water was about 40 degrees -- so we had blankets and sweatshirts.

When we returned to the main boat, I made a pit stop and got a glass of water. And then I saw -- the cook, like a angel, had put out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. A delicious way to end an awesome experience!

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