RANGIROA
November 12th 2002 -240 miles Northeast of Tahiti, Rangiroa, French
Polynesia is one of the largest atolls in the world. The enormous size
of the lagoon belies the fact that you are on the inside of a true
atoll. You can only see the far side of the lagoon from the air. The
widest part is 20 miles, but you would swear it was bigger.
This was the first working test site for the OPS Force Fins. These fins
had proven themselves in our blue water diving outside the atoll and
during the challenges of decompressing through Tiputa pass, where
currents can reach up to 6 knots, at the end of each dive. In this area
we would experience the tidal force of massive amounts of water being
funneled into the lagoon. All of us would have the sense of flying while
being underwater.
It is quite an amazing feeling to be sucked from the outside of the
atoll into the lagoon. It is quite a feat of control not to break your
ceiling depth and risk decompression sickness.
Our underwater camera team was expert. All were specialists in both
underwater filming and lighting, and also in the geographic.
One night dive, the film and light team took only the expedition leader,
Don Santee and I on the dive to increase our chances of interacting with
a greatest number of sharks. Our planned max bottom depth would be at
150 feet. The objective was to capture with the high definition cameras
Don and myself on the bottom with about 100 to 150 Gray sharks. A
decompression night dive and the chance to be the foreground to over 100
Gray Reef Sharks this was going to be the most exciting dive to date
for me.
The journey on the boat through the pass was always an adventure. I
watched the strong tidal flux through the pass that reminded me of the
serve currents and major force I would experience as we decompressed at
the end of the dive. The swift moving inflatable boat seemed to stop as
it met the incoming tide.
We had most of our gear in place, ready to go. This always added to the
excitement to a dive because once we arrived at the site it would be
masks on and go!
We dove with 30 cubic foot tanks on our backs. I used a small under
water penlight tucked into my wrist cuff of my suit for simple ID
underwater and safety. I looked at Don as we snapped the second latch
that puts our SuperMask into dive mode and we signaled each other
followed by a two count. With my mini dive light on and wedged under my
dive skin I back rolled into the Pacific. Don and I hand signaled to
each other underwater and met the camera operator at twenty five feet
below the surface. He set up the camera settings using Don as a subject
and I glided out of the way and looked up to the surface as I brought my
left wrist close to my body. I turned off my light as I watched the
safety and light team begin their descent.
I knew our target depth was far away and I realized it is time to get
swimming. We started kicking our OPS Force Fins and the snapping of the
blade propelled us into the depths as a loose pack with visibility at a
clear 100 feet. At 120 feet all was well and it seemed the camera and
light team had located the species! About 100 to 150 of them /charhinus
amblyrhynchos /Gray Reef Sharks. Our goal was to get Don and myself
with the sharks on the bottom and in the same camera frame.
I reached the bottom and within 60 seconds I looked down to my dive
computer and read GAS ALARM as clear as day! I could also start to
recognize the effects of rapture of the deep with the increased partial
pressure of nitrogen hitting me and 600 watts of light power being
pointed in my face reinforced the fact. I glanced again and saw my
source gas at 2200 PSI- plenty!! I made a quick realization that my
computer was presenting the gas alarm due to decompression obligations I
would face later in the dive. I was back in the game!
Don and I were shoulder to shoulder on the bottom with more sharks than
we had seen on any other dive before. You could not help to wonder why
at night, why now. We had been diving for more than a week and had not
seen this many sharks at this depth. The song I love the nightlife, I
love to party started to play in my head and I knew I was narced.
After a very short time on the bottom we began our ascent to the
surface. After our first deep stop we continued our decompression stops
until we hit the fifty foot mark and drifted in to the entrance of
Tiputa pass. At this time of night it was slack tide and the current was
next to nothing. It was such a change traveling through this area
compared to the last ten days of diving with the full force of the tidal
current pushing us into the lagoon. I felt like I was getting on a
broken escalator we had to work at it to swim into the lagoon. It was
another indicator that the expedition was almost over and time to travel
home.
November 12th 2002 -240 miles Northeast of Tahiti, Rangiroa, French
Polynesia is one of the largest atolls in the world. The enormous size
of the lagoon belies the fact that you are on the inside of a true
atoll. You can only see the far side of the lagoon from the air. The
widest part is 20 miles, but you would swear it was bigger.
This was the first working test site for the OPS Force Fins. These fins
had proven themselves in our blue water diving outside the atoll and
during the challenges of decompressing through Tiputa pass, where
currents can reach up to 6 knots, at the end of each dive. In this area
we would experience the tidal force of massive amounts of water being
funneled into the lagoon. All of us would have the sense of flying while
being underwater.
It is quite an amazing feeling to be sucked from the outside of the
atoll into the lagoon. It is quite a feat of control not to break your
ceiling depth and risk decompression sickness.
Our underwater camera team was expert. All were specialists in both
underwater filming and lighting, and also in the geographic.
One night dive, the film and light team took only the expedition leader,
Don Santee and I on the dive to increase our chances of interacting with
a greatest number of sharks. Our planned max bottom depth would be at
150 feet. The objective was to capture with the high definition cameras
Don and myself on the bottom with about 100 to 150 Gray sharks. A
decompression night dive and the chance to be the foreground to over 100
Gray Reef Sharks this was going to be the most exciting dive to date
for me.
The journey on the boat through the pass was always an adventure. I
watched the strong tidal flux through the pass that reminded me of the
serve currents and major force I would experience as we decompressed at
the end of the dive. The swift moving inflatable boat seemed to stop as
it met the incoming tide.
We had most of our gear in place, ready to go. This always added to the
excitement to a dive because once we arrived at the site it would be
masks on and go!
We dove with 30 cubic foot tanks on our backs. I used a small under
water penlight tucked into my wrist cuff of my suit for simple ID
underwater and safety. I looked at Don as we snapped the second latch
that puts our SuperMask into dive mode and we signaled each other
followed by a two count. With my mini dive light on and wedged under my
dive skin I back rolled into the Pacific. Don and I hand signaled to
each other underwater and met the camera operator at twenty five feet
below the surface. He set up the camera settings using Don as a subject
and I glided out of the way and looked up to the surface as I brought my
left wrist close to my body. I turned off my light as I watched the
safety and light team begin their descent.
I knew our target depth was far away and I realized it is time to get
swimming. We started kicking our OPS Force Fins and the snapping of the
blade propelled us into the depths as a loose pack with visibility at a
clear 100 feet. At 120 feet all was well and it seemed the camera and
light team had located the species! About 100 to 150 of them /charhinus
amblyrhynchos /Gray Reef Sharks. Our goal was to get Don and myself
with the sharks on the bottom and in the same camera frame.
I reached the bottom and within 60 seconds I looked down to my dive
computer and read GAS ALARM as clear as day! I could also start to
recognize the effects of rapture of the deep with the increased partial
pressure of nitrogen hitting me and 600 watts of light power being
pointed in my face reinforced the fact. I glanced again and saw my
source gas at 2200 PSI- plenty!! I made a quick realization that my
computer was presenting the gas alarm due to decompression obligations I
would face later in the dive. I was back in the game!
Don and I were shoulder to shoulder on the bottom with more sharks than
we had seen on any other dive before. You could not help to wonder why
at night, why now. We had been diving for more than a week and had not
seen this many sharks at this depth. The song I love the nightlife, I
love to party started to play in my head and I knew I was narced.
After a very short time on the bottom we began our ascent to the
surface. After our first deep stop we continued our decompression stops
until we hit the fifty foot mark and drifted in to the entrance of
Tiputa pass. At this time of night it was slack tide and the current was
next to nothing. It was such a change traveling through this area
compared to the last ten days of diving with the full force of the tidal
current pushing us into the lagoon. I felt like I was getting on a
broken escalator we had to work at it to swim into the lagoon. It was
another indicator that the expedition was almost over and time to travel
home.
