NEEMO 11 Mission Day 1: Saturday, September 16th, 2006

By Roger Garcia

Mission: September, 2006 Saturation

Aquanaut Profiles
Mission Images

Arrived at O-Dark-30 this morning and started prepping for a 0700 departure from the dock. As the advanced party (Jim Buckley, Larry Ward, Tim Gallagher, Justin Brown, and myself) moved beyond the Port Largo canal jetty, I noticed the open ocean was flat calm. I knew it would be a quick trip out to Aquarius.

Larry Ward and myself left surface at roughly 0730 for a quick outside inspection before going inside. Once inside, our first task was to complete the “Saturation Day” system’s checks. All systems checked out satisfactory, so we notified the Watch Desk. At this point the aquanauts were cleared to depart the dock.

Despite being early in the day and with plenty ahead, my thoughts lay squarely on the up and coming SuperLite-17 dives. My main focus will be to evaluate the NEEMO-11 crew’s ability to set up dive station, dress, properly and safely hat, and deploy SuperLite-17 divers. Two dives later it was apparent this crew would need little or no supervision in the days to come during SuperLite-17 diving.

I am not only confidant this crew will shine 60 feet below the waves, but will also shine 60 miles above the clouds. A special “Bravo Zulu” from me goes out to this crew for a job well done on Mission Day 1.