Seasick on the Mermaid Sapphire
Last night we headed back to Jervis Bay—a ten-hour passage with 30-knot winds from the southeast and seas of 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters). It was a difficult trip.
Jim Takes First Piloted Dive
The heat coming off the electronics system pushed the temperature to 102°F (39ºC) inside the sphere. Humidity was 100 percent. For three hours, Jim was swimming in his own sweat.
Predive Preparations
The team is getting better. Yesterday it took five hours to run the checklist; today things are moving faster.
At 11 a.m., the sub hanger fills with men whose task is to make sure the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is ready for her first manned dive.
DEEPSEA CHALLENGER Makes First “Dive”
Last night, while the city slept, a large flatbed truck carried the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER out of the shop and down narrow and twisting streets to the Garden Island Naval Depot in Sydney Harbour.
Launch-and-Recovery Trials in Jervis Bay
From decades of exploring oceans, I know that in big seas, launch and recovery is the riskiest part of the dive. If the sub swings out of control it’ll destroy itself, damage the ship, and turn the pilot into pink hash.
