Posted by seahunt on October 21, 2000 at 20:05:06:
This was brought on by MHK's bit of humor about diving the Matterhorn.
While that might be 'One Of Those Places' for the tech divers now,
historically, that has been a lethal dive spot. Still, just to read the beginning of his post, it's got to make you think. Lethal it might be, but even more than that, exotic.. way exotic... and now, with the gear and preparation, it becomes just another challenge appropriate to tech diving. I doubt that I will ever dive there, but it has to catch any diver's imagination.
Well, talk about tech, do you know that some divers did a 1000 foot scuba dive off of Catalina some years back? Hydrogen. No decompression for that mon-atomic stuff. Actually, it was pretty tragic for various reasons. Only one diver survived. Pretty gutsy, pretty nutsy too, but interesting and it allows some technical accuracy to the story.
Well, I always wondered if you could make the swim between Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands. Maybe with a modern rebreather....
Anyhow, add it all up with a dollup of my kind of imagination and you get the ultimate California tech dive. I hope it amuses...
.
4 Leagues Under The Sea
Rarely do I communicate with the people beyond my shores,
those who live on the dry land. My domain is the sea. You know me
as Captain Nemo. Reports of my death are grossly exaggerated,
though I guess it is understandable. I will say no more of that,
beyond that some of my biological experiments, conducted many
years ago on an island, have resulted in my continued health.
Sometimes, documentation of my inventions and discoveries have
reached your world. When I have judged that they should. In this
case I have recently tested a prototype scuba system and feel that
the world should know what we found to be possible.
The equipment was designed to give divers great mobility with the
capability to dive more than 1000 feet for an extended time, without
risk of Caissons Disease. (It is commonly referred to as the Bends
or DCS these days)
While there were numerous places I could make this test, I had
decided that the proper place would be at the islands offshore from
Southern California. Looking at my charts, the water conditions and
terrain seemed quite appropriate for the test. Looking for the proper
place to carry out the test, I then remembered that some 20 years
before, an acquaintance had suggested this very thing at this spot.
He had said the dive he had wanted to make was to swim between the
west end of Anacapa Island and the east end of Santa Cruz Island.
With conventional diving equipment of the time, the dive would have
been quite impossible. The distance, depth and terrain seemed an
ideal test for my new equipment.
The logistics of the dive was both simple and complicated. We
would use one of my standard shielded torpedo sleds, powered by
compressed gas. The diver would then breathe the exhausted gas. The
problem is the necessary gas mixture to allow the diver to survive.
There is only one gas mixture that could allow the diver to safely
make this dive. That is a mix using Hydrogen, Oxygen and some other trace gasses.
The methods of this technique were complicated, but not unknown. The
problem is to overcome is the explosive flammability of the
Hydrogen. Hydrogen, mixed with a partial pressure of Oxygen that
would allow a diver to breathe on the surface, would almost
certainly result in an explosion. The solution to the problem is
to use 3 different gas mixtures. Normal Oxygen enriched air could
be used to 130 feet. Then a Helium and Oxygen mix could be used to
a depth of 300 feet. At 250 feet, the diver could use the primary
breathing supply of mixed Hydrogen gas. My aluminum silicate
crystal pressure vessels on the sleds have an operating pressure
in excess of 12,000 psi. Actually, something like this was done
off of Catalina Island many years ago. It turned out rather tragic,
because only one of the three divers survived, but they did leave
their diving bell to make a 1000 foot dive with scuba.
The actual apparatus would be a backpack for the diver that
would carry the two gas mixes for the shallower water and a
reservoir of the Hydrogen mix that was replenished from the torpedo
sled. The reservoir would both allow the diver to separate from the
sled for a limited period of time and also in an emergency. The
hydrogen and oxygen are combined by the backpack.
The objective of this test was to gather data for the
eventual creation of a rebreathing apparatus that could
dynamically supply these different gas mixes to the diver.
On the first dive it was planned that the divers would not
use the air mix for the descent. Instead, it was planned that they
would breathe pure un-pressurized oxygen before the dive to reduce
their nitrogen content. The first 150 feet of the descent would be
made in my vessel, the Nautilus.
I will note that in its 5 previous incarnations, my vessel and
home, always called the Nautilus, has been powered by what you call
nuclear fission using Uranium or Plutonium for fuel. My present and
greatest vessel is powered by a hydrogen fusion plant of my own
design. Its magnetic propulsion system allows for the speed of a
propeller driven aircraft. The silence of my vessel and its
indestructible ceramic hull allow me to undetectably go anywhere to
any depth for any period I desire.
I do not know what led me to my final decision about this test.
Perhaps it was the energy he seemed to take from the sea, but in
any case, I decided that I would invite the diver along that had
suggested the dive to me so many years before.
I had been studying Sea Lions at the time we met. Because the
political powers of the surface states were on the verge of war,
it was necessary for me to develop concealment and detection
capability to keep my privacy. My vessel cannot be found by their
sensors. One night, I checked that their were no boats or aircraft
near and surfaced near 2 miles off the coast just north of the city
of Los Angeles. It was a silent, still, moonless night. While I
have little to do with those who live on land, even I had to admire
the lights of the city, looking like burning jewels on the black
velvet shore. They do not tempt me. Perhaps I was tempted though,
because then the unthinkable happened. I was hailed from behind
with "hey dude, neat ship". I spun around and there in the darkness
was a diver standing on the aft deck.
It was unimaginable that my world had been intruded on and my
secrecy put at such risk. A diver, out here at night, with no light
on, was not something I had considered possible. I could tell by
the way he closely examined my vessel, that he could not easily be
put off with a story that it was in anyway a common craft. I have
rarely been in this situation before, but in my many years, I have
actually had occasional invited and uninvited guests from the
surface world. Some were castaways that I took pity on. A few, like
this diver, came to me as a suprise. I am the master of my vessel
and the master of my domain though and unless offended, will take
them aboard. How they leave is something I can always determine
later.
To make a long story short, this was a very young man, who
drove me crazy with his ceaseless motion. It was not his physical
motion that one noticed so much. It was his emotional and
intellectual gyrations that seemed to never cease. He said that
only the ocean could completely fill his attention. One of these
gyrations was to suggest this particular dive. He seemed to be
at home in the ocean near as much as myself, often scuba or
freediving far off what he said was the Malibu shoreline. He was
clever and quickly surmised who I was. It didn't seem to suprise
him. He seemed to look at the world from another place, with a
purpose so overwhelming that facts that would shock another
person, were simply filed away as "fascinating" information. He
said he knew of his drive, but did not know its purpose. He
spent a short time with me and so delighted in the ocean, that I
delighted in showing it to him. It was all so new for him, that
it took on a newness for me. He did say though, that his purpose
involved mankind and so he had to return to the land. For many
reasons I allowed him to go and he assured me that my secrets
were safe with him.
So 20 years later I made contact with him and told him to
meet me as before. He still had the same smile, though the fires
in his soul had cooled some with age. He said that he now knew
his purpose. He also still loved the ocean and had spent a great
deal of time in it and learning about it. Now he would get to
see it as never before.
The planned journey was to be close to 4 leagues. Going
straight on the sleds, it could be crossed in a little over three
hours at very minimum. After studying the topography, it was
decided that for our purposes, we would follow a longer
triangular route that would take us to a seamount topping out
at 50 fathoms below the surface. This would allow for a simple
depth profile with a peak in the middle. Most of the dive would be
spent at a depth of more than 150 fathoms with a maximum somewhat
past 180 fathoms (1080 feet). We would meet the Nautilus at the
outer edge of the large reef on the south east corner of Santa
Cruz Island.
As the gear was assembled, I explained that while it should
get quite dim at that depth, the water was clear enough that we
should have no trouble seeing. Our equipment had light
amplification capability as well, though it had another primary
purpose. I had mounted small diode lasers on the utility railing
along the side and front of the sled. While bright, they are not
that noticeable. However, with the night vision gear, the lasers
light allowed a sled to be visually recognized from almost a mile
away. One apparatus I did not bring was any voice communication
gear. While I do occasionally use such devices, it potentially
could be detected by the sensitive anti-submarine sonar buoys that
line the American coast. Those and the P3-Orion aircraft are the
eyes and ears that I avoid. We had already planned our hand
signals to be able to communicate a variety of messages,
especially about personal physical and psychological condition.
.
Then I handed him his sword. It got the expression I
expected, but give a man a sword and he will hold it. 'Yes'
was his only question. 'I do not travel the ocean foolish, blind
or defenseless' was my reply. I then proceeded to show him the
controls of the 'sword'. It could project a high tension
electrical discharge that would focus for as much as 20 feet.
While a very effective defense under water, it had the
unfortunate side effect of somewhat of a backlash shock to the
operator 'so play with it if you really want and don't try it
over the number 5 setting or it will hurt'. There were 10
settings. It may look like a cutlass, but it is far more than
that and far more effective under water than any blade that you
could manage swing. 'Well, swords are fun' he said. I was just
hoping that he wouldn't play with another potential of the 'sword'
that I had not mentioned
....
We proceeded on the dive as planned. When learning how to
handle the sleds, my companion had learned to do loops and
acrobatics. Now was not the time for it, but as we headed west,
he did his usual habit of hugging along the bottom so that he
could look in the rocks. From previous dives with him, I knew
that he was exercising his endless habit of looking for some
poor creature to eat. On previous dives, he seemed to be
endlessly turning up mollusks, crabs or lobsters, often where
I would not have expected them to be. Really, we didn't have
the time for it, but he was keeping up well and it seemed to
be no real problem.
.
Soon, we had passed the reefs of the island and were
traveling sharply down over sand slopes with occasional rock
piles. He still was enjoying looking in the rocky reefs, but
here they were different. We were already below 50 fathoms
(300 feet) and any small rock pile we passed, had its resident
population of rock fish. He, of course, had to travel near
each pile for a look.
I tended to travel about 10 feet from the bottom. He was
at about 3 feet off the bottom. As we got deeper and the light
became dim, I too was forced to stay closer to the bottom, just
to see it well. He seemed stuck at a point just a little behind
and to the right of my sled. Our sled lights are bright, but
here they seemed to shrink. The sand is like a desert, but
like a desert on the land, there was actually quite a bit of
life to be found if one looked.
I could tell that my companion was enjoying himself as
he tended to when diving. I myself was feeling a sense of
accomplishment. We were almost down to 150 fathoms (900 feet) and
were experiencing no ill effects. All the equipment was
functioning as planned. I expected the next challenge would
come as we ascended the seamount.
Suddenly I saw a large squid. It was paralleling our course
about 100 feet away and was almost completely invisible. It was
definitely paying attention to us. It was also getting excited,
if all the rapid changes in the color of its skin was any
indication. This was not a Kraken or Deep water Giant Squid, but
it was a big variety, with a 15 foot body and heavy 20 foot
tentacles. I still did not believe that it offered any danger to
us, but it was definatly moving closer and it was interested.
Then suddenly it darted right beside me and grabbed the body of
my sled with its large grasping tentacles. Just as quickly, it
was gone. My companion had seen all of this as well.
We were past 160 fathoms (1000 feet) when we started moving
up at the base of the sea mount. This was the half way point of
the journey. The squid was back and now I was concerned, because
it was not alone. There were about 3 of them, but as time went
on, more appeared. I could not make any guess as to what their
interest was. I know that large squids, like sharks can become
dangerous when a group starts to get excited. In a group, I have
seen them suddenly grab a large shark and then retreat. Only,
then the shark had a grapefruit sized hole where the parrot like
beak of the squid had instantly gouged out a meal. That shark
soon died from the continued attack of other squids in the
group.
Suddenly, a squid grabbed the front of my sled. This time it
stayed long enough to give a good yank at the sled before it left.
My companion moved nearer and we didn't need to signal anything.
We moved closer to the bottom and kept moving fast, but then a
squid attacked him. Looking at me, he never saw it coming. It
grabbed his sled and attempted to wrestle with it. Again it let
go, but there were many more squids and they were excited. I
pulled my 'sword' loose and he followed my lead. A squid was just
10 feet away and moving towards me when I pushed the stud on the
sword and (for lack of a better word) zapped it. It was too late
though. We were both under attack. While it was the sleds that
they were attacking, when something that big attacks, it grabs
everything near. That's what tentacles are for... I repeatedly
got loose from the squids, but they were clearly getting more
excited and the electrical charge from the sword was not keeping
them away. Occasionally, there was a chance to stab a hole in one
of them, but it didn't seem to hurt them. My sword was set on 6
such that each time I triggered it, I got a painful shock. It
didn't seem to do much to these now frenzied monsters. I could
see my companion in the same situation and could not help him.
He was trying to do gyrations and bump the bottom to rid himself
of these tentacled monsters. We were forced apart. Then, I
was under attack by three at the same time and they were very
brave in numbers. Two had a hold of my sled and one was mostly
holding me. I was no longer able to move or use the sword in any
way.
Suddenly, the other sled shot by and my companion had the
blade of the sword braced against the control handles of the
sled. As he passed by he turned so as to drag the blade of his
sword half way through the squid grasping me. He did a vertical
loop back and was able to hit another of the monsters with the
braced blade. He was then heading straight at me while holding
the sword in front of him towards the last squid. I just hoped
he wouldn't trigger the sword. It would hurt me worse than it
would the squid. Then he basically rammed his sled into mine and
started trying to slash away with his 'sword'. The problem was
that he seemed to be furiously hacking away at my sled instead
of the squid. I was sure he had gone mad and would be the death
of us both. Finally though, he seemed to regain his senses,
because he then poked the squid. It and the all the others
seemed to give up interest. I was expecting them to quickly be
back, but they continued to move off into the gloom. As my racing
mind started to calm, I could see that when my companion
attacked my sled, he had disabled the laser beacons on the
utility rail. When I looked up, he was looking at me and I
understood. It had been the lasers that had attracted the
squids.
I quickly checked the status of the machines and our
breathing supply. They were in better condition than the minds
of their riders. Potentially, we could abort the dive once we got
to the shallower area of the sea mount, but still it would be
very dangerous. We were again heading up its side. After some
thought and no sighting of the squids, I saw no reason not to
continue. Aside from some tears in our suits, our gear was in
good condition. Our status, minus the beacons and some peace of
mind, was the same as at the start of the dive.
We came to the summit of the seamount and looked up through the
azure waters to the noonday sun. This was at 50 fathoms (300 feet).
The water clarity was amazing. As planned, we lingered there long
enough to look around. The schools of fish were incredible above
the rocks. Cathedrals of Hydrocorals showed brilliant red and blue
in our sled lights. Six foot tall, lacy, brilliant yellow Zoanthids
grew from the bottom and stars covered the rocks. There
was a beautiful patch of white Metridium anemones as well. All of
these thrived in the current between the two islands.
As usual, my companion was scanning the cracks in the rocks,
presumably looking for dinner. I guess it seemed fair after
another sea creature had almost made us into dinner. I am afraid
that it was a bit deep to find much in the way of abalone. Then,
suddenly he tipped his sled sideways just as he swooped by a rock
ledge and he actually jumped off the sled. The sled bumped into
the rocks, but he was struggling with something and didn't seem
to care that the only other thing he could breathe from was more
than 50 fathoms away... up. He came up and had grabbed a huge
lobster. It was one of the largest I had ever seen and he needed
two hands just to hold onto it. Even appreciating that he had
probably just saved my life, this was just about too much.
I should not have wondered what he was going to do with it. He was
petting it... When it seemed to calm down some, he positioned it
on the front of the sled so that, by instinct, it grabbed onto the
utility railing with multiple legs. I couldn't believe it, but he
remounted his sled and we continued our journey with a mascot in
front of him.
Again we descended into the dim abyss. Travel was silent
except for the soft sound of our breating. Though we moved fast,
the clear shields in front of us created a calm invisible bubble
that everything else just rushed by, unfelt and disconnected from us.
We traveled north of west and the bottom began to rise slowly and
steadily. At 50 fathoms, we again started to see the rocks that were
the deep bones of the upcoming island. I think we were both glad by
this time. We had no need to decompress. The tiny monatomic
molecules of hydrogen left our system as fast as we exhaled.
Then, sure enough, he tried what I was hoping that he wouldn't
think of. He pulled away to the side a bit. That was nice of him.
Then he stopped and looked up. Holding the sword, he exhaled a
large breath. I expected him to get a well deserved headache, but
he was cautious and only aimed the sword at a small bubble. Even a
small bubble of compressed hydrogen and oxygen makes a pretty big
explosion underwater. I could easily hear him laughing as he came
back towards me.
Soon we were picking up a ping from the Nautilus. As we came
up in her underwater lock, he pushed on the lobster and shoved him
of into the water above the reef. As he pulled off his mask and
dropped his regulator, his comment was 'well that was for good
luck'.
My design was more than tested, as were we both. He stayed a
short time longer with me. We made a number of interesting dives.
He likes to cook and prepared some lobsters for me by different
recipes. Small lobsters. We had some excellently prepared abalone
as well. He said he just can't stand Calamari.
He is back on the land. I don't know if I believe him that it
is where he belongs. He said he would return when it was time to
test my new design.
I still wonder what he meant as he swam away. 'By the way,
have you ever seen Sea Hunt'?
.
PS. It took me two weeks to figure out how why we were attacked by the squids, but it did have to happen now didn't it.