Donovan: (writing for Reader’s Digest)
Hope all’s well out your way, and sorry for the delay in communications. We spent yesterday shaking down the bathometrics and the robot just outside the harbor at Adak, and, consequently, the mountains blocked our ability to connect with satellites and do e-mails. Now that we’re out in the open ocean, communications should be easier and faster.
The robot, incidentally, is amazing. As soon as the Oceaneering guys got it into the water, it swam off broadside the Aquila like a bright-yellow-painted puppy or baby elephant, smooth and buoyant. Then, turning its propellers vertically, it disappeared beneath the remarkably smooth seas in an explosion of bubbles. Within about 40 minutes, it was exploring the bottom at 300 feet–complete with halibut, pink anemones that resemble potted plants (that was Kale’s observation), and grumpy looking king crabs. After getting telemetry and communications roughed out, we got everything back aboard and secured for the journey.
We shoved off from Adak yesterday evening (08/21) and ran all night, meaning we should make Kiska at about 2200 EDT today (08/22). Once there, we plan to go immediately to work on mapping the site, as the weather forecast for tomorrow (08/23) has a gale of 35 predicted out of the southwest. While the site is somewhat protected by Kiska Island itself, we’re not taking chances and want to make as much progress as possible in advance of any weather changes. We’ll report more on that as we get it.
As for the trip thus far, it’s been wonderful. As you know, Adak–with its abandoned movie-set feel–is a strange yet fun place. All of the decommissioned Navy housing has, I’d expect, changed little since your visit last year, and meals at the old VFW are said to be roughly the same as last year. We did some exploring of the island by car, seeing sea otters and seals feeding in the tidal ponds on incoming tides and running up the sides of the mountains. With this crowd, and its combined interests in science, technology, and the human element that propels both forward, there’s been lots of great and excited discussions about an enormous variety of subjects: from nanotech to genetically altered foods and medicines to books to that guy from California who, a decade back, got a lawn chair, a BB gun, and a bunch of helium balloons and took himself on a ride to 20,000 feet.
Kale and the family and the whole Aquila crew are all in fine and stunningly capable form, as well, and we’ve felt welcomed like family: including personalized gift bags when we came aboard. The food has been wonderful, too: last night, for example, it was salad and stuffed tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes on the side. Whew.
Dave Gallo and I’ll write more as we progress, but please know we’ll keep you apprised of any and all events here over the next few days. And apologies again for the slow communications at the start.