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Friday,
July 11
Friday was a final,
busy day for the students. The crew was underway at 0815 for diving on
the Slobodna, which actually encompasses two sites known locally
as the “Mast Wreck” and the “Winch Hole.” Visibility was good, but the
current at the Mast Wreck site was very strong, making work difficult.
The Mast Wreck site has a relatively flat bottom profile, with little
relief to provide shelter from the current. For snorkelers on the
project, Captain Rob Bleser of Quiescence set up a drift snorkel, in
which he dropped them off up-current and maneuvered the boat to pick
them up on the other end.
Rigging fitting on the "Mast Wreck," now identified as part of the 19th
century sailing ship Slobodna. PAST completed field projects on
this site in 2005
and 2006.
Much better scuba
diving conditions were found on the Winch Hole site, where (as the name
suggested) there are deep depressions and channels amid the coral that
keep divers out of the full blast of the current. A wide variety of
marine life was found here, giving a great opportunity for the
experienced scuba divers in the group.
Forecastle winch of Slobodna. The drum on the end closest to the
camera was ripped away during efforts to haul the ship off the reef.
The
divers-in-training completed their final open-water dives on Friday
morning, as well. With the running current, conditions were challenging
even for experienced divers, but all five – Cassie, Jake, Zach, Deidra
and Dr. Bruening – all successfully completed the course and received
their basic open water dive certifications. Congratulations to the team
– well done!
Captain Tim, one of Quiescence Dive Service's oat captains, studies the
set of his anchor as diver prepare to enter the water.
After a final
snorkel/dive at the Whitebank Site, the team returned to Quiescence for
a quick lunch, and then it was off to the Upper Keys office of the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), where the teams attended
a presentation by Dr. Bill Goodwin, a specialist in coral reef damage
assessment, repair and restoration. According to Dr. Goodwin, there are
about 500-600 reported grounding on coral reefs within the sanctuary
annually, although the actual number is probably much higher. Dr.
Goodwin presented several examples of injuries to area reefs and
described the sanctuary’s techniques for restoring them; while damage
caused by vessel groundings and other accidents remains a problem, the
FKNMS has established a strong track record in techniques to restore or
mitigate damage within a relatively short time frame.
Captain Steve, another of Quiescence's boat captains, watches divers in
the water at the Whitebank site. The area was popular with other dive
boats that day, as a strong current made many other sites difficult to
dive on.
 ,
Dr. Smith, Lupe, Aposhia, Patrick and Adam on Quiescence II.
The remainder of
the afternoon was spent finishing student teams’ presentations for the
evening, and cleaning up the dorm at Quiescence.
Dr. Bill Goodwin, a coral reef assessment and restoration specialist
with NOAA, describes the outlines of the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary.
Dr. Goodwin shows students a chart showing changes to one specific reef
over the years since 1960.
After dinner, each
of the four teams presented their assessments of the wreck sites:
Charles W. Baird (“Captain Tom’s Wreck”), Slobodna (“Mast
Wreck” and “Winch Hole” sites), Menemon Sanford and Tonawanda.
The presentations were uniformly excellent. Rob Bleser, the founder of
Quiescence Dive services, commented that while he has been visiting
these sites for over 30 years, he learned something new about each of
them he’d not known before.
Patrrick, Jake and Cassie present their proposed dive cards for the 1934
wreck of the schooner barge Charles W. Baird, known locally as
"Captain Tom's Wreck."
And so ends the 2008
Florida Keys Environmental Sciences Project. Thanks to all who made this
program possible, particularly to Battelle and the Metro School in
Columbus, Ohio, who provided critical support for students to attend,
and to Quiescence Dive Services of Key Largo, whose expertise and
facilities made such a huge difference.
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