Aquarius Day 1

Day one

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Training

    We had to do a swim test today. I had to tread water for 10 minutes. Then I had to swim 400 yards (up and down twice on a football field) in 12 minutes. Finally, I had to swim underwater on one breath for 25 yards. I was tired!

   We then had hours of safety briefings, where we learned about how the habitat works and what the science team is trying to accomplish. The3re are three experiments going on at the same time.  The first one concerns how microscopic algae grow in coral reefs. The second experiment is trying to find out how sharks and the coral reef work together as in food webs and human impact. The third experiment is about the sharks themselves. They are using different sounds to see if they attract sharks to a certain area. Kind of like a duck call for sharks….. J

   After lunch, I had to dive to show that I could take off put back on my mask underwater. I also had to demonstrate that I could share air with someone. Finally, I had to drag an “unconscious” diver 50 yards to a boat. I did get a break when the other diver had to pull me…lol.

Tomorrow we start training with two air tanks at one time. This thing weighs over 100 pounds on your back!!

    What is so cool is that the NASA astronauts just finished training here. Hopefully, I get to meet some when they come back for their equipment!

More tomorrow!

Love and miss all of you....especially Mrs. Bartnick!!

Mr. Bartnick