Never Again
In 2003, I was part of an expedition that made history. I was the Chief Diver aboard the Vessel Searcher and a part of a team from Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society that would voyage to Kure. Kure is an island 1200 nautical miles from the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. We were excited to document and explore the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for the premiere PBS episode for Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventure series. Most of us would never have guessed the impact our voyage would have.
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
http://www.oceanfutures.org/kure_index.asp
It was an amazing time for me! I was getting to dive a region that not many people get to explore. In fact it was tough for us to get the chance to go there considering the permits we needed. It took over a year of preparation and when we set out for our journey we were ready. Cameras, lights, dive equipment, we even had a chamber and multiple NOAA scientists onboard, we were ready!
We were diving a lot and as I remember the total of everybody’s dive time added together was close to 12 - 24 hour days underwater. We had 4 Closed Circuit Rebreathers, 2 Semi Closed Rebreathers and enough tanks and regulators to put 20 divers or more in the water.
One of the most interesting pieces of gear we brought along with us was the OPS Fin from Force Fin OPS - Oscillating Propulsion System We had used this type of fin before when Bob Evans took it upon himself to make an exclusive fin for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s dive team. We used it in Rangiroa when filming Shark’s at Risk the previous year. This time it was a redesigned fin that Bob had been perfecting during the preceding years since we tested the first version. I knew we were going to be faced with some challenging dives and the fins were going to be put to the ultimate test.
They performed and performed and performed. I was using the Inspiration closed circuit rebreather 100% of the trip, and pulling cable and lights through the water most of the time. Some dives the current was near to the cancel point and some dives were picture perfect, but every dive the fins worked for me and my dive objective. Sometimes I would jump in the water with the blade racheted into power mode because I could tell the current was ripping, but it was the Force Fin efficacy that made the difference. Its patented open toe pocket and again superior design features allowed me to kick and kick and kick, and not become exhausted to the point of becoming dangerous to myself and the team underwater. The rebreather units I was using could last up to three hours and the underwater environment sure can change in three hours as you all know. I survived massive current and shocking encounters with sharks, but one dive stands out and it is only the last part of the dive that I’ll never forget.
It was at night and it was time for decompression – truly a four-letter word. This time was different, and as we crested over the wall onto the shelf where the vessel was anchored we could see the lights shinning bright from the back deck. It was clear and I immediately shut off the large HID light I had been using for the last 2 hours. The lights from the back deck truly were creating a shimmering underwater playground with fish swimming by and the details of the coral ridge punching into my eyes like a vivid 3-D movie that did not seem real.
OK. I had to do a diluent flush and put a fresh cycle of gas into my rebreather loop - my eyes still seeing the same, I reached the DECO line as the current started to pick up a bit. I decided that it was more comforting to me to have a slow steady kick in the water for the next 30 minutes than to hang on the line. It was a way of mediating that I have never been able to repeat. I went back and forth from 100% O2 to air and did my whole deco while kicking lightly and staying in place under the back of the boat. I had the DECO line next to me in case, but it is something I will never forget. Another diver was next to me and he started doing the same. If I was using any other fin besides Force Fin I could have never had this experience.
These fins are one of a kind because after that trip Bob Evans and Jean-Michel Cousteau decided to change the design of the OPS blade and leave those blades as a memorial to the voyage and to the accomplishment of helping bring information to the President of the United States of the importance of this region. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are now a national monument Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and in Jean-Michel Cousteau’s word’s to us all on the team after the bill was signed “This is what we should all be most proud of, our work towards helping the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands being protected.”
Bob and Jean-Michel have the original blades that were on this expedition signed by the team members and are available for tax donation to Ocean Futures Society for $5000.00 Welcome to Ocean Futures Society! Two of them have already been sold and that fin design itself was named Most innovative Design of the Year by Time Magazine. It is truly a remarkable fin, it is a piece of History and it will never be made again!
In 2003, I was part of an expedition that made history. I was the Chief Diver aboard the Vessel Searcher and a part of a team from Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society that would voyage to Kure. Kure is an island 1200 nautical miles from the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. We were excited to document and explore the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for the premiere PBS episode for Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventure series. Most of us would never have guessed the impact our voyage would have.
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
http://www.oceanfutures.org/kure_index.asp
It was an amazing time for me! I was getting to dive a region that not many people get to explore. In fact it was tough for us to get the chance to go there considering the permits we needed. It took over a year of preparation and when we set out for our journey we were ready. Cameras, lights, dive equipment, we even had a chamber and multiple NOAA scientists onboard, we were ready!
We were diving a lot and as I remember the total of everybody’s dive time added together was close to 12 - 24 hour days underwater. We had 4 Closed Circuit Rebreathers, 2 Semi Closed Rebreathers and enough tanks and regulators to put 20 divers or more in the water.
One of the most interesting pieces of gear we brought along with us was the OPS Fin from Force Fin OPS - Oscillating Propulsion System We had used this type of fin before when Bob Evans took it upon himself to make an exclusive fin for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s dive team. We used it in Rangiroa when filming Shark’s at Risk the previous year. This time it was a redesigned fin that Bob had been perfecting during the preceding years since we tested the first version. I knew we were going to be faced with some challenging dives and the fins were going to be put to the ultimate test.
They performed and performed and performed. I was using the Inspiration closed circuit rebreather 100% of the trip, and pulling cable and lights through the water most of the time. Some dives the current was near to the cancel point and some dives were picture perfect, but every dive the fins worked for me and my dive objective. Sometimes I would jump in the water with the blade racheted into power mode because I could tell the current was ripping, but it was the Force Fin efficacy that made the difference. Its patented open toe pocket and again superior design features allowed me to kick and kick and kick, and not become exhausted to the point of becoming dangerous to myself and the team underwater. The rebreather units I was using could last up to three hours and the underwater environment sure can change in three hours as you all know. I survived massive current and shocking encounters with sharks, but one dive stands out and it is only the last part of the dive that I’ll never forget.
It was at night and it was time for decompression – truly a four-letter word. This time was different, and as we crested over the wall onto the shelf where the vessel was anchored we could see the lights shinning bright from the back deck. It was clear and I immediately shut off the large HID light I had been using for the last 2 hours. The lights from the back deck truly were creating a shimmering underwater playground with fish swimming by and the details of the coral ridge punching into my eyes like a vivid 3-D movie that did not seem real.
OK. I had to do a diluent flush and put a fresh cycle of gas into my rebreather loop - my eyes still seeing the same, I reached the DECO line as the current started to pick up a bit. I decided that it was more comforting to me to have a slow steady kick in the water for the next 30 minutes than to hang on the line. It was a way of mediating that I have never been able to repeat. I went back and forth from 100% O2 to air and did my whole deco while kicking lightly and staying in place under the back of the boat. I had the DECO line next to me in case, but it is something I will never forget. Another diver was next to me and he started doing the same. If I was using any other fin besides Force Fin I could have never had this experience.
These fins are one of a kind because after that trip Bob Evans and Jean-Michel Cousteau decided to change the design of the OPS blade and leave those blades as a memorial to the voyage and to the accomplishment of helping bring information to the President of the United States of the importance of this region. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are now a national monument Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and in Jean-Michel Cousteau’s word’s to us all on the team after the bill was signed “This is what we should all be most proud of, our work towards helping the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands being protected.”
Bob and Jean-Michel have the original blades that were on this expedition signed by the team members and are available for tax donation to Ocean Futures Society for $5000.00 Welcome to Ocean Futures Society! Two of them have already been sold and that fin design itself was named Most innovative Design of the Year by Time Magazine. It is truly a remarkable fin, it is a piece of History and it will never be made again!
