Life Aboard the Odyssey

My time aboard the Odyssey:

Pictures Here

            After thawing myself out after returning from Ohio, I found myself packing up for one last international journey.  This time I was on my way to spend a month in Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia working as a crewmember aboard the M/V Odyssey, a world-class live-aboard specialising in the wrecks of Truk Lagoon.  Chuuk is the smallest of the four island states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (formerly known as the Caroline Islands).  Originally a German colony, control over the lagoon was turned over to the Japanese after world war one.  During the Second World War the Japanese turned the small group of islands into a seemingly impenetrable fortress, using it as a staging point for almost all of the Empire’s naval activity in the Pacific.

            On February 17-18, 1944 an American naval task force launched an attack on the lagoon, sinking over 50 ships and destroying 270 Japanese aircraft, turning Chuuk into the Mecca of wreck diving.  Divers flock to Chuuk to see the largest and one of the most well-preserved and accessible collections of world war two era shipwrecks in the world.  As one of the premier live-aboard vessels in the world, the Odyssey is one the most popular diving operations in Chuuk.

            I was fortunate enough to meet Cliff Horton and Lenny Kolczynski and Cara Leonard of the Odyssey at DEMA in October.  They invited me to spend some time with them to gain some practical experience working on a live-aboard.  Captain Lenny and Todd Emmons, the second captain and dive instructor picked me up from the airport and after running a few errands brought me on board the boat that was to be my home for the next 28 days.  Life on board the Odyssey could be tiring, difficult and hectic, but ultimately rewarding and exciting and extremely educational.  Lenny, Todd, Mike, Madison, Ken, Kent, Sam, Jesse, Mika, Nelson, Emeren, Kermi and everyone else I worked with onboard were incredibly enthusiastic and friendly when it came to teaching me about boats, diving, running a business and the history and culture of Chuuk.  Right off the plane I was learning about generators, water makers, marine diesels, compressors and boosters, moorings and almost every other aspect of owning, operating and maintaining a diving vessel.  I also began my education in the fascinating history and disposition of some of Chuuk’s most popular wrecks.

            The wrecks in Chuuk are beyond belief.  Diving them is probably the closest thing to time travel I will ever experience.  These ships were sunk in the heat of battle and it’s still obvious.  The decks and wheelhouses are littered with artefacts.  Deep within the holds and engine rooms, gauges, machinery and tools lie as if their previous owners had just stopped in the middle of a job and walked away.  It’s especially eerie to be working on the engines or compressors aboard the Odyssey, then go diving and see some of the exact same equipment down below the surface in the wrecks.

            My experience was immersive, intense and immensely enjoyable.  For the next three weeks I tagged along on guided dives, trying to memorize as much of the gargantuan wrecks’ layouts as possible, repaired moorings, became a compressor and blending pro and met some very fun and interesting guests.  However, My fourth week on the Odyssey would be my true test.  Todd would be taking a week off from most of his duties while friends and family came to visit, and it would be up to me to fill the gaps.  With only three weeks under my belt as a member of the crew, I was a little nervous about giving dive briefings and assuming responsibility for entire groups of divers, but with some friendly pointers from Todd and help from the rest of the crew I think I managed to get through my final week onboard without mishap.

            Although I’m very excited about being able to spend the next month of my scholarship in the land down under, it was hard to leave Chuuk behind.  The people I met, and the things I learned there will hopefully stay with me for a very long time!

A few Chuuk pics

     A few pictures from my time on the Odyssey, keep checking back for more entries about my experiences there!  Click here for the complete album.

East Coast Image Gallery

     Now that I'm back in a part of the world that has the internet, I've begun the process of catching up with my blogging.  Expect a rapid series of updates over the next few days.  To start out with I've created album with some pictures from my road trip up the east coast.  Click here to view all of the images full size.

East Coast Road Trip

            Before taking off for Chuuk, I decided to squeeze in a little jaunt up the east coast before I left the country again.  The trip wasn’t directly related to the scholarship.  It started off with my friend Alix’s wedding which I had been invited to months ago, but until recently hadn’t committed to attending.  Once I had decided that I didn’t want to miss the wedding, and would be driving up from Virginia for it, a whole weeklong adventure seemed to spontaneously coalesce around the trip.  Slowly but surely new pieces began to fall into place.  One of my best friends that’s been living in Beijing for almost year decided to come back for a visit to Philadelphia at the end of January.  Another friend who flies for Continental Airlines was transferred to Newark, NJ.  I also had a professor and several friends on Long Island who I couldn’t imagine not taking some time to see after having driven 5 hours up there.

            By the time I hit I-95 I had a pretty good plan drawn up in my mind as to how I was going to squeeze the absolute life out of the week, and I have to say that it went far better than I ever could have planned.  I watched Masters of the Universe and erged at Vesper with Delux in Philly.  I got really lost and drank amazing milkshakes of death with Andrew in New Jersey.  I went to B & H, the worst surf shop in the world (no wetsuits or boards, really?  I'll give you a hint, it was near times square and started with a 'Q') and some awesome bars with Matty in New York.  At the insistence of the father of the bride, my friends and I ate too much, had a little too much to drink and even cut a little rug at the wedding (congratulations Alix & Brad!!!).  I made some very tangible progress towards solid plans for my immediate future with Dr. P, caught some wicked waves and even managed to squeeze in a chill session in Hudz basement before heading south.  It was a week of weeks.

Also:  I'm now in Chuuk, and will be here until the middle of March.  I only have internet on weekends and very limited bandwidth, so unfortunately this blog is now text only until further notice!

Chillin Out in Ohio!

     After taking a fun and relaxing winter break with family and friends I am back on the road for 2009!  My first stop in 2009 was Port Clinton, Ohio.  That's right... Ohio in the middle of January!  I spent a little over a week there with Patrix Heschel, completing my PADI Instructor Development Course and going Ice Diving.  Rod and Jenny Althaus from New Wave Snorkel & Scuba Center in Port Clinton were gracious enough to host Patrix and I for the IDC.  Patrix and I worked our butts off keeping warm and getting through all the classroom material so that we could go ice diving at the end of the week.

     After a week of sub-zero temperatures (Fahrenheit, not Celsius!) we had plenty of iced-over bodies of water to choose from.  Patrix, Dave Gwin (another New Wave instructor) and I headed over to Gibsonburg, Ohio to dive in the White Star Quarry.  Our chainsaw refused to start so we used heavy steel spud bars to break a large triangular opening in the 5 inch thick ice.  The water in the quarry was 35 degrees and crystal clear.  Visibility was easily in excess of 100 feet and the dim light that filtered down through the ice and snow gave the dive an incredibly beautiful and surrealist feel to it.  I want to thank Patrix, his family, Rod, Jenny and Dave for making my trip to Ohio so much fun.  It was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed the challenge of learning to safely dive under ice.

Sunset in Port Clinton

NorCal

            After spending a fun and delicious thanksgiving with the Bozanics, I began preparations to leave Southern California.  The holiday season isn’t the easiest time to go diving, let alone be a guest in someone else’s home, but I spent most of December further up the coast in San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Monterey.  My first stop was San Francisco, where I stayed with Sara Shoemaker-Lind.  Since being the North American scholar from 1997, Sara has been working above and below sea level as a highly successful photographer.  Although we didn’t make it underwater this time around, we had a terrific time exploring San Francisco through photography.  Photography has always been intriguing to me, but up till this year, I had never really seized upon an opportunity to explore it.  Sara and I really lucked out on the weather and made trips to the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field, the brand new and fantastic California Academy of Sciences and her show, A Mermaid’s View at the San Mateo Public Library.  Sara and her husband Kevin also took me to several Christmas parties, including one being held by the Northern California chapter of The Explorer’s Club.  I had a great time learning all about photography and managing media from Sara, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with her, Kevin and Remy!

            Although I was leaving the Shoemaker-Linds in San Francisco, my next stop was with the Shoemakers in Aptos, CA!  Sara’s parents, Wells and Sandie had graciously invited me to stay in the guesthouse of their home and winery, Salamandre Wine Cellars, while I was visiting Monterey and Santa Cruz.  Venturing a little further south from Aptos I was lucky enough to spend two days with Gil, Justin and George at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I had never been to Monterey before, but I had heard from a number of different people how great it was.  Gil Falcone, the diving safety officer, and Justin and George, two other divers from the aquarium were more than happy to show me around the aquarium and take me diving in the kelp forest tank.  Although the aquarium doesn’t currently have a white shark in its huge outer bay tank, there are still hammerhead and Galapagos sharks so the divers working in that tank have to wear chain mail and work in coordinated teams.  Maybe next time I’ll have a chance to dive in that tank.

            By this time I had booked tickets to head back to DC on the 17^th, so I didn’t have too much time left in California, but before I left I wanted to visit last year’s North American scholar, Brenna Mahoney.  Brenna is currently working towards her PhD at UC Santa Cruz and was nice enough to take a day to show me around Long Marine Station in Santa Cruz.  It was nice to see some of the work going on there, and interesting to see what Brenna’s been up to since finishing up her term last April.

            I spent my last few days in California with Sara, Kevin and Remy.  December might not have been the warmest or most exciting time to visit Northern California, but I still met a lot of really interesting people and had a fantastic time.  It was a really nice way to wrap up the 2008 portion of my scholarship.

November 2008

My official journal entry for the month of November, also shortly available at OWUSS:

            Fresh from the excitement of DEMA, Steve, Eline and I arrived at Jeff Bozanic’s house in Huntington Beach ready to begin our rebreather course.  Jeff and his family are a great bunch, and very hospitable, so we were not the only guests staying with them after DEMA.  Joining our class was a diver from Norway, Magne.  Two of Jeff’s friends, Barry and Celia from South Africa would also be with us for a few days.  Last year’s scholars had unanimously voted their rebreather with course as one of their top experiences, and by the first day I could see why.  Jeff is a fantastic teacher and his course was fascinating and incredibly challenging.  After working non-stop for three days we were ready to get in the water!

            Even though the water was just the shallow end of the pool in Jeff’s backyard, we were all extremely excited.  Magne and I drove up to Oxnard to pick up our Inspiration and Evolution rebreathers from Richard Graff, owner of Xtreme Scuba.  Returning to Huntington Beach we were joined by Ian Martin, Jeff’s assistant instructor, who would be helping Jeff keep an eye on us in the water.  We spent most of the next two days underwater in Jeff’s pool, struggling to master our buoyancy, minimum loop volume and a myriad of emergency drills.  I think that all four of us were doing well, but when the time came for our first open water dive, I know I was a little nervous.

            Early on Friday we loaded up Jeff and Ian’s cars and headed down to San Pedro to board the Psalty V, captained by Gary Jackson and his trusty canine first mate, K.O.  We’d be spending the next three days on the Psalty, diving off of Catalina Island.  Switching to closed circuit diving was definitely the toughest challenge I’ve faced in diving, but having Jeff and Ian right there to offer assistance, criticism and support as needed was great.  Our rebreather course was an incredibly intense and whirlwind experience, but thanks to Jeff and Ian I feel very comfortable as a beginning rebreather diver.

photo: Elaine Jobin

            By the time our course ended and we said goodbye to Ian and Magne, Steve and Eline were getting ready to leave the U.S. as well.  Before they left we made one last trip together to visit DUI in San Diego.  We were only there for the day, but it was more than enough time to meet with owners Dick & Susan Long, and to receive an in-depth tour from Faith Ortins!  It was really fascinating to see how all of the different DUI suits are put together, and to see how much effort goes into making each one.  We were also treated to lunch at one of the most incredible Mexican restaurants I’d ever been to.

            After Steve and Eline left California I decided to stick around for a while.  I was having a great time with the Bozanics.  Jeff and I spent some time working on a new edition of his book on rebreather diving, and we took his son Evan on his first few open water dives in Shaw’s Cove, one of my favourite dive sites from when I lived in LA.  On the way home from one these dives Jeff asked me if I was interested in doing a little more rebreather diving.  I said that I’d love to get a little more experience under my belt, so he suggested I tag along on his next business trip to Hawai’i!

            Jeff was heading to Hawai’i to meet with his business partner Harry Donenfeld and evaluate a new piece of diving equipment being developed in Hawai’i.  Because of an NDA I can’t really explain what that product was, but it was definitely the kind of thing that James Bond packs up when he goes diving.  We spent almost a week exploring Maui with Harry and diving the windward side with the crew from North Shore Explorers.  It was my first time in Hawai’i and was blown away by the islands’ rugged beauty.  The diving was awesome and Jeff, Harry and I had a great time with all the guys and gals from North Shore Explorers.  After our week on Maui, Jeff headed home, while I travelled to O’ahu to meet up with Katie Laing, the 1993 North American scholar. 

            Katie’s originally from North Carolina but now lives on the North Shore of O’ahu.  She works for a marine environmental consulting firm that’s currently involved in evaluating plans for a beach nourishment project in Waikiki.  Katie was a great host and besides getting to tag along to a few meetings on the beach nourishment issue I got a weeklong immersion in life on the North Shore.  It’s not known as the seven-mile-miracle for nothing, and even though the waves weren’t really ‘on’ by local standards, I still managed to get out for some mind-blowing surf sessions.  After spending two weeks in Hawai’i with Harry and Katie I was pretty sure I’d found my new favourite place, but it was time to pack up my dive bag and head back to California for Thanksgiving with the Bozanics.

Aloha!!!