October 31 - Final Day

Today marks the final day of our 2011 Monterey Expedition. The team did a final servicing of Antipodes to prepare her for a future dive and began the process of demobilizing and preparing to transport our team and equipment for our next expedition and adventure. The team would like to thank the community of Monterey for the hospitality and support we've enjoyed over the last month. Over the next few days we will prepare a recap of the expedition and post it to the 2011 Monterey Expedition page on this website.

October 30 - Final Two Dives

For our first dive today we visited a sunken barge near the Monterey breakwater and did a photo shoot of Antipodes using scuba divers. Diving amidst the cloud of jelly fish and a few sea lions was a highlight. In the afternoon, we visited a site near the Anchor Field dive site and hosted Dick Quincy, who survived the sinking of the SS Montebello in 1941 after she was struck by a Japanese torpedo. Speaking about today's dive, Dick said, "much more enjoyable than my last submarine encounter".

October 29 - Two Monterey Bay Dives

Today the crew did two dives in Monterey Bay. One highlight of the dives was sighting the Ocean Sunfish shown at left. Another highlight was the swarm of Sea Nettle jelly fish that surrounded the 58" wide viewing domes -- at times the swarm was so dense it completely filled the forward viewing dome and made it difficult to navigate until the jellies swam past.

October 28 - Service Day

Today we replenished consumables on Antipodes to prepare for four dives this weekend. During each dive we use eletricity to power the dive lights and the maneuvering thrusters. High pressure air is used to fill the ballast tanks to change our buoyancy to control our dive depth. The rate that we use these consumables changes based on dive variables such as dive depth, water currents, amount of maneuvering needed, and amount of artificial light needed. In Monterey we've been replenishing consumables after 4 to 7 dives.

Joining us at the dock today was Scott Parazynski, the only person to have flown on the Space Shuttle and been aboard Antipodes.

October 27 - NOAA Sanctuary Exploration Center

Today we hosted four key supporters of NOAA's new Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz. Two of theses guests had never before had the opportunity to descend beneath the surface of the ocean so our crew was excited to not only show them the habitat of Monterey Bay, but also give each partipant the opportunity to maneuver Antipodes during the dive.

One of the highlights of the day was the gift of red beanies from Mark DiOrio who helped organize this outing for the Sanctuary supporters. The beanies pay homage to explorer Jacque Cousteau who made it an icon as he explored and documented the Undersea World.

October 26 - Another Two Dive Day

Two dives today near the Monterey Breakwater to explore our water world. Surface conditions were excellent with calm seas and sunshine. During the dives we explored a sunken wreck near the breakwater, and although the visibility was limited, the crew saw a red octopus, plus several varieties of anemones and sea stars.

October 25 - Submarine Service

Today the sub pilots and technicians hauled out Antipodes for normal servicing to recharge batteries and refill the high-pressure air tanks.

October 24 - Two Deep Exploration Dives in Carmel Canyon

We spent today exploring Carmel Canyon, taking Antipodes to her full-rated depth of 285 meters (936 feet) on two dives.  The winding gullies and crevasses of this underwater canyon hold an abundance of marine life that was wonderful to observe.  On the morning dive we saw what looked like millions of prawns along the sandy slopes, and on the afternoon dive we saw large schools of various small fish (along with squid hunting in their midst).  Our friends from Summit Series joined us for this incredible adventure, providing one of the high points of our Monterey Expedition.

Photo at left shows our analog depth gauge reading 890 feet.

October 23 - Great Day of Diving / Overnight Tow to Carmel

Fantastic set of dives today. On our first dive we had Fraser Black, supporter of the OceanGate Foundation and his son – Baxter, joined by Dominique Rissolo of the WAITT Institute, member on our Foundation advisory board as well as a teacher from a local High School. During their tow out to the dive site they were greeted by a pod of over 100 white bellied dolphins. Our second group of guest divers were all teachers from local schools who have been participating in the educational phase of our outreach. Throughout the evening we prepped Antipodes and began an overnight tow to Whalers Cove in Carmel, for our dive tomorrow morning.

October 22 - Diving Resumes

We resumed our normal diving operations today after having the sub on display all week. Our guest divers in the morning, were teachers from schools within the area. One of those teachers was Steve Moore, a professor at California State University of Monterey Bay (CSUMB). He was joined by one of his students, Josh Ambrose who has been working along with his classmates on projects that we may be able to implement with Antipodes. During our afternoon dive we were joined by two more teachers within the area as well as George Matsumoto from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and Science Writer, Amy West.

October 21 - Field Trip to the Sub!

What a day! We had 76 students make the journey to the marina for a chance to see the sub. Since Antipodes is still being serviced and out of the water we were able to let everyone climb inside with one of our pilots. All of the students also got an opportunity to pilot our VideoRay ROV, near the end of the dock. On top of that we had a number of pre-schoolers with their parents stop by to get an up close view of Antipodes. What a great way to end the educational phase of our expedition!

October 20 - Sub Service Continues / Last Day of Class Presentations

While some of our team continued to work on the sub, everyone else set out for our last day of class presentations. We spent the morning with the International School of Monterey. The knowledge they possessed on the topics we discussed was impressive and made for great questions during the presentation. In the afternoon we had a few members of our team travel to Walter Colton Middle School, where we spoke to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) classes. The students were eager to hear about Antipodes and excited about their class field trip to visit us at the marina tomorrow. We also made our way to Highland Elementary School to speak with an after school program who had tons of questions for our team.

October 19 - Elementary, Middle, and High School! Wow!!!

This morning Antipodes was pulled from the water to replenish consumables. Our team split up again to present to a variety of schools ranging from Elementary School all the way to High School. In the morning we spoke at Buena Vista Middle School, where we had the entire 6th grade sit in on our presentation. At the same time we were also presentating at John Steinbeck Elementary School for an excited group of 4th graders. In the afternoon some of our team went to the Stevenson School to speak with a pre-engineering class about the design process that went into building our sonar mast.

October 18 - Class Presentations and a Trip to the Aquarium

The team was busy today. The first half of the day we split up, some of our crew made their way to Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Salinas to present to two classes of 4th and 5th graders. The rest of our crew went to the Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science. Later that evening the whole team traveled to California State University of Monterey Bay to speak with Steve Moore and his class about possible joint projects. Believe it or not some of the team even found time to break away and meet up with Steve Stratton, Opportunities Manager in Guest Experience at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He was kind enough to give us a private behind the scenes tour of their jelly fish exhibit and black sea turtle holding tank.

October 17 - Class Presentations / Field Trips to the Sub BEGIN!

We have launched into the education phase of our expedition. During the coming days our sub pilots will go to local schools to discuss marine science/technology and ways to become more involved in the field. We'll also have classes coming to the marina on field trips to tour the sub. Today some of our sub pilots traveled to Miramonte High School to present to over 75 students involved in an AP Environmental Science class. The rest of the team stayed at the marina to welcome the Mission College Prep High School MATE ROV team. They were given a tour of Antipodes from our chief pilot, Tym Catterson.

October 16 - Aptos High School - ROV Team

Today our team was joined be the Aptos High School ROV team, who won the 2011 International MATE ROV Competition in the Ranger Class category. Aptos team members, mentors, and family got a one-of-a-kind experience today. All received a chance to climb inside Antipodes for a tour with one of our sub pilots. A few lucky team members who have now graduated and are working on their undergraduate degree even got to go for a short dive to 20 ft to experience what it's like to be inside a sub during a dive and see how it operates. In the afternoon we were joined by Jill Zande: Associate Director, Co-Principal Investigator, and Competition Coordinator for the MATE Center and VP of Education and Research for MTS, Matt Gardner: Competition Technical Coordinator for the MATE Center and two students from the Naval Postgraduate School for a dive out to the sunken barge.

October 15 - Diving Resumes / MATE Center Outreach

Diving resumed today in Antipodes with dives in the morning and the afternoon. The team split up today - half of our team continued on with our normal dive operations which included teachers from some of the local schools and organizations in the area. The other half of our team went to Monterey Peninsula College (MPC), where the MATE Center held an 'ROV in a Bag' workshop for students to get an introductory course with Scout Class ROVs. The OceanGate Foundation sponsored today's event and provided lunch for all of those who attended. We had our VideoRay ROV on display and gave 26 lucky students and teachers time to pilot the ROV around the pool.

October 14 - OceanGate Open House

As part of the OceanGate Foundation mission to inspire humanity's understanding of the world's oceans through education and outreach, we held a 6 hour Open House on the dock at Breakwater Cove Marina. Antipodes was on display and our pilots hosted 57 people in the sub for an in-the-water tour at the dock. Partipants included residents, tourists, and the entire student body of 32 students from a local high school. We also demonstrated one of our remotely operated vehicles and many of the students had the opportunity to pilot the ROV around the dock.

To see more images from our Open House click here.

October 13 - MBARI Visit / MTS Presentation

Today the team took Antipodes to Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing. There it was on display and sub tours were made available to more than 75 employees and lucky onlookers. MBARI hosted the Marine Technology Society (MTS) Monterey Bay Section presentation where OceanGate co-founders Guillermo Söhnlein and Stockton Rush gave a presentation on OceanGate and some of the technologies we use. After the presentation, the team had an opportunity to tour two of MBARI's Research Vessels - The Western Flyer and Point Lobos - to see some of the ROVs they use during their research expeditions.

October 12 - Moving Day

Today the team transported Antipodes to Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing in preparation for a open house for their employees tomorrow.

October 11 - Outreach Presentations

Today we had the privilege of giving a presentation to a group officers and instructors at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. We also had the opportunity to visit the Google campus in Mountain View for a presentation by ARKive and Dr. Sylvia Earle. ARKive has created the ultimate media guide to the world's endangered animals, plants and fungi. Check out their excellent selection of photographs and videos -- with an overlay for Google Earth.

October 10 - Dive Site Recon / Submarine Service

The team hauled Antipodes out of the water today for routine servicing. While our sub pilots worked on replenishing consumables, other members of our team took time to scout out possible new dive sites. We took our surface support vessel Kraken, to both Carmel Canyon and Monterey Canyon to see if they would make for suitable dive locations. Driving our VideoRay ROV (remotely operated vehicle ) to depths of 350 feet allowed us a chance to observe the subsurface conditions and their habitats. The depths of Carmel Canyon are steep and rocky. The terrain of Monterey Canyon is similar to the surface terrain near Moss Landing -- very silty.

October 9 - Diving with a Free Diver

Today the OceanGate Foundation donated the use of Antipodes to Bob Talbot in support of his project to produce a documentary short for the new NOAA Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz. This short film includes expert free diver Kirk Krack and the dive took place in the waters near the Monterey Breakwater. The 20 foot visibility we had today was the best we've seen during our expedition. In the photo at left, Kirk reattaches the tow bridle to Antipodes at the end of the dive.

October 8 - Monterey Breakwater Barge

Conditions improved slightly today - allowing the team up to 20 feet of visibility for the majority of the dive at the sunken barge near the Monterey Breakwater. Joining us today were April and Glenn Bucksbaum from The Baum Foundation. One of the highlights was the close-up view of the sea nettle shown at left. This specimen measured approximately 14" in diameter when pulsing through the water.

October 7 - US Coast Guard and Night Dive

The crew performed our first Monterey Bay night dive to the sunken barge near the Monterey Breakwater. Our mission was to explore the nocturnal environment and document the differences in habitat to our daytime dives. On our morning dive, the OceanGate crew was joined by Ron Kooper and Lewis Weisenstein from the US Coast Guard Station Monterey. For our night dive, we hosted Erica Moulton from the Marine Technology Society and MATE, and Trevor Fay from the Monterey Abalone Company. On these dives, the crew saw red octopus, squid, rockfish, and rosy rockfish.

October 6 - Barge Dives

The crew performed two dives today to a sunken barge near the Monterey Breakwater. The visibility in the bay so far has been 10 to 15 feet so the barge was a great target to scan using our P900 900kHz multibeam sonar from BlueView Technologies. The barge is resting at a depth of roughly 60 feet and is approximately 90 feet long. This high-resolution, forward-looking sonar is primarily used for navigation and object identification.

Select thumbnail photo, or click here to see the sonar video.

October 5 - Submarine Service and ROV Recon

Today the sub pilots and technicians hauled out Antipodes for normal servicing to recharge batteries and refill the high-pressure air tanks. Other members of the crew performed a reconnaisance of local dive sites using our two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

We also took the opportunity for a team photo at the Breakwater Cove Marina. Front row, left to right: Guillermo Söhnlein, Erika Bergman, and Shilpi Chhotray. Back row, left to right: Sean Moody, Joel Perry, Stockton Rush, Karl Schwab, Tym Catterson, Brad Wells, Randy Holt, and Chris Ijames.

Select thumbnail photo, or click here to enlarge photo.

October 4 - Breakwater Cove - NOAA

Another two dive day. Our morning dive included Paul Michel, Superintendent of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and film maker Steve Ellzey joined us as part of the TV series they are producing about the sanctuary that will premier later this month. For the afternoon dive we were joined by Sarah Pousho and Glenn Bernasconi. During the dives the crew had a chance to see a number of nudibranchs, perch, squid eggs and also cruise through the Metridium Fields.

October 3 - Breakwater Cove - Bob Talbot

We had an exciting dive today near the Monterey breakwater. The OceanGate crew was joined by Bob Talbot and his wife Debbie Talbot. Bob is a world-renowned film maker, photographer, and active environmentalist who is interested in using Antipodes as an underwater filming platform. Incredible conditions, fun crew, great dive!

October 2 - Breakwater Cove and Kelp Forest

Two great dives today near the Monterey breakwater and the kelp forest. The highlight of dive one was a visit from dozens of mature and juvenile California sea lions. These curious mammals played for nearly an hour in front of the viewing domes -- poking their noses up to the domes for a good look into the sub, and at one point one even bit the stainless steel brow bar. Our second dive skirted the edge of the kelp forest where we were briefly visited by a cormorant, Lion's Mane jellyfish, squid, and countless sea stars.

October 1 - Expedition starts

Our Monterey Expedition got underway today as the OceanGate crew arrived in Monterey to set up base camp and prepare for our first dive tomorrow. The team launched Antipodes and the water visibility looks very good -- which may account for the 150 or so scuba divers on the shore. The weather is warm, sunny and clear. We also took the opportunity to tour five locals through the sub at the dock -- including Glenn and Scott from Glenn's Aquarius II Dive Shop.