Fabien Cousteau Logs 31 Days at 60 Feet Underwater
The air is syrupy at 3 atmospheres. Or at least it feels that way after 31 days in the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base of Key Largo, Florida. You find that breathing takes work because the air is three times thicker than on the surface. And you notice it so much more when you don’t have a regulator in your mouth. It’s a feeling you’re very conscious of in the beginning, but then forget about. You notice other things, like when waves pass overhead. They create a plunger-like effect, pulling on your ears. That’s distracting. Your taste buds go dull (and I was paranoid they would never come back). I doused all my food in bottles of hot sauce just to taste anything. And forget about whistling — that’s impossible. Your voice sounds different, and I noticed that my hair grew quicker. And while you heal faster down there, any cut is more likely to get infected because it’s so, so humid. Ear and sinus infections were a constant threat.
Claustrophobia wasn’t an issue for me; I grew up on Calypso, and I live in New York City with roommates. But all of these small things were really nothing because they gave us the luxury of unlimited bottom time. We didn’t have to stop to change tanks; we simply refilled them at an underwater station. It meant we were diving between six and 12 hours every day. Our six scientists completed three years’ worth of data collection in those 31 days. They’ll write no fewer than 10 papers. We’ll also release the highlights of the adventure in a documentary, for which we’re still fundraising. Our hope is to release the film in November 2015 at BLUE Ocean Film Fest in St. Petersburg, Florida. The footage is unbelievable.
One of my favorite moments was when a 6-foot-long goliath grouper boomed, and then bit a barracuda right in front of one of the Aquarius portholes. I’ve never seen that before. Nor had I seen nighttime plankton blooms that appeared like tornados and snowstorms. We also had special cameras that enabled us to see underwater without any lights. We spied on fish that would otherwise be spooked by our presence. It was all so incredible — worth every last drop of hot sauce.
More Amazing Underwater Experiences:
Photographing a 40-ton Humpback | Getting Bombed | Being a Mermaid
Changing Tides Media/Mission 31While aboard the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base, Fabien Cousteau spent 31 days at a depth of 60 feet.
The air is syrupy at 3 atmospheres. Or at least it feels that way after 31 days in the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base of Key Largo, Florida. You find that breathing takes work because the air is three times thicker than on the surface. And you notice it so much more when you don’t have a regulator in your mouth. It’s a feeling you’re very conscious of in the beginning, but then forget about. You notice other things, like when waves pass overhead. They create a plunger-like effect, pulling on your ears. That’s distracting. Your taste buds go dull (and I was paranoid they would never come back). I doused all my food in bottles of hot sauce just to taste anything. And forget about whistling — that’s impossible. Your voice sounds different, and I noticed that my hair grew quicker. And while you heal faster down there, any cut is more likely to get infected because it’s so, so humid. Ear and sinus infections were a constant threat.
Courtesy Kip Evans/Mission 31Fabien Cousteau looks out of the Aquarius' porthole.
Claustrophobia wasn’t an issue for me; I grew up on Calypso, and I live in New York City with roommates. But all of these small things were really nothing because they gave us the luxury of unlimited bottom time. We didn’t have to stop to change tanks; we simply refilled them at an underwater station. It meant we were diving between six and 12 hours every day. Our six scientists completed three years’ worth of data collection in those 31 days. They’ll write no fewer than 10 papers. We’ll also release the highlights of the adventure in a documentary, for which we’re still fundraising. Our hope is to release the film in November 2015 at BLUE Ocean Film Fest in St. Petersburg, Florida. The footage is unbelievable.
Carrie Vonderhaar/Changing TidesDuring his time underwater, Fabien Cousteau and his team completed three years' worth of data collection.
One of my favorite moments was when a 6-foot-long goliath grouper boomed, and then bit a barracuda right in front of one of the Aquarius portholes. I’ve never seen that before. Nor had I seen nighttime plankton blooms that appeared like tornados and snowstorms. We also had special cameras that enabled us to see underwater without any lights. We spied on fish that would otherwise be spooked by our presence. It was all so incredible — worth every last drop of hot sauce.
More Amazing Underwater Experiences:
Photographing a 40-ton Humpback | Getting Bombed | Being a Mermaid
