The whole idea of being able to live underwater was exciting. I've been diving for more than 20 years, but I've only been able to experience the ocean for brief bits of time, maybe an hour or two per dive. This time I was able to live underwater for seven days, and some very special moments came with that.
I remember days when I saw huge schools of baitfish sweep in past the exterior of the habitat. Big schools of barracuda that had been up in the water column during the day began to drift down onto the reef to hunt. I saw this whole transition from day to night that I normally never get to see. Most of the time I wasn't able to photograph this kind of stuff because it was happening beyond my range for photography at a time of day when there wasn't much ambient light. But it was still great to be part of that.
|
My worst moments came during the training that led up to going into saturation. Training is critical, even for an experienced diver, because saturation diving is unique. I was preparing to live at the bottom of the ocean, and I wouldn't be able to come to the surface if there was a problem because decompression sickness could kill me. So I had to retrain the way I think.
Part of the training involved going into the ocean and learning how to find my way if I got lost. The instructors conduct the training in a Marine boot-camp style. They get you down there and really harass you. They have you swimming sometimes 20 or 30 minutes underwater with no mask, trying to follow lines and find your way back to the habitat. They watch the whole time, so it's very safe. But it wasn't a lot of fun being in 60 or 65 feet (18 or 20 meters) of water with no mask on, trying to see with the salt burning your eyes, and trying to figure out where you were going. This specialized training was great, but there were some pretty demanding moments down there.
|
After being inside this habitat for any length of time, nitrogen can have a narcotic effect on you, sort of like being drunk. Everybody reacts differently, but after about five or six days most everyone started to get a little giddy.
But nitrogen had a relaxing effect on me. I was more relaxed than I would ordinarily be in the field. Normally, when I'm on assignment for National Geographic, I'm very keyed up. I want to make sure I get all the pictures. I'm thinking a lot and not sleeping well. It's all part of the game, and that's fine.
Down there I wasn't so affected by nitrogen that I forgot things or let them go. I still had the presence of mind to do what I needed to do. But I was very relaxed at the end of the day, I slept very well, and I didn't have any overly stressful moments that I might otherwise have had on a boat somewhere else in the world. So I guess it was a little quirky that nitrogen affected my physiology in a way that I kind of liked. I wouldn't mind it happening again.
|
