We're driving to Grand Isle 2150 miles away...

OK crew on the road! We've got Mike Braniger and Stephen Posner and off we go.
Day 1 January 3rd: We made it all the way to Deming, New Mexico!
We forged ahead as we got the news that the WINDS were blowing from out of the South and that our destination was getting it's beaches covered again in Tar balls and oil

Day 2 January 4th: All the way to San Antonio, Texas !  
Went to the Riverwal, and wouldn't you know it, the one week a year they drain the river we show up.  Also it seems all the good eateries decide to close as well right when we show up!

Day 3 January 5th: It's RAINING Blackbirds as we headed out just before dawn fron San Antonio. Thousands took to the sky as we were rubbing our tired eyes in amazement!

 14 hours later we make it to Grand Isle, LA. Time for a shower & bed !! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FOLLOWERS AND SPONSORS

 Just wishing you all the best and thank you for supporting our efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

The crew is growing as we head back to the Gulf on Monday

Well let's welcome more of the "Film Crew" as we head out on phase II of Mike deGruy's "Science of the Spill!" On board we have Mimi deGruy, Co-Producer, Matt Levitz-Editor, Mike Braniger-Sound, Stephen Posner-Grip, Tissa Loehr-PA, R&D Michael Hanrahan all joining in this month as we head back to the Gulf of Mexico.  Seems to me one of the main requirements is that your name is MIKE!!! Pretty funny as we now have 4 out of 7 of us whose name are MIKE or MICHAEL! I'd say it's a good omen...Just ripping seats out of SUV's and stuffing our cars with gear as we start the next 3 1/2 weeks of shooting. Kind a hoping we have our wrap party in KAUAI!! Signing off for now with lots lots more to come from the road!...

WHOI's Ken Kostel and DIVE & DISCOVER Website for our Kids

Ken Kostel

Well I had the honor and pleasure of meeting WHOI's Photographer and editor of their website "DIVE & DISCOVER" Ken Kostel on the December 2010 trip we took on board Atlantis in the Gulf of Mexico.

This site is an incredible resource for classrooms to participate in each expedition made by WHOI vessels such as the Atlantis. Ken's detailed interviews, stories & scientific data are all accompanied with great photos and videos to provide a stimulating multimedia portal into the world of Marine biology.

Be sure to check it out!

Getting ready for driving the Gulf of Mexico coastline

Well the thought of driving from Santa Barbara all the way along the Gulf of Mexico coastline to Clearwater Florida is both daunting and intriguing at the same time. Why are we driving? Well we want to get the best coverage possible and flying from point to point just won't accomplish that quite as intimately as being there and seeing it all from the ground.

So what do we need to do to prepare for such a journey? A portable refrigerator would sure be nice along with a second floor living accomodations. Living accomodations on a car? For 3 people? Is that possible... Believe it or not solutions like this exist! Ok what about a shower? Bathroom...whoah ok slow down, next thing you'll be doing is asking for the Kitchen sink!

Here's a better question can we do this ALL GREEN, Eco friendly...I think so! So we'll be looking at solutions and your suggestions for our film crew's long road trip to bring this compelling documentary to you at home! Send us your comments on this one, we really need your advice!

hmmm what about a solar shower?

Cape Cod Times article on our trip aboard ATLANTIS

Courtesy of WHOI

 One of the scientists we were privileged to work with, Tim Shanks, played a key role in the investigation of the ocean floor. Here's an article that sums up pretty well what we did and what we found. That picture you see in the article is a frame grab from Mike deGruys footage as you can clearly see an HMI light in the left manipulator hand of Alvin.  We came up with a better light configuration for Alvin and this shot clearly demonstrates the added capability we achieved for lighting the subjects deep under the sea.

Tim Shanks inside ALVIN DSV. 
Photo H.Rabin

For a little more on Tim Shanks discovery that helped change the way we view deep sea life forever, check out his audio interview with WGBH host Mindy Todd right here!

Staying safe in contaminated waters

Well we are definitely concerned about our health when we set off in January diving and filming in and around Oil Rigs, river mouths, estuaries, remote barrier islands and other places that may be harboring oil and dispersants. So precautions and research are underway to insure we stay healthy.

So most important on our list will be our choice of diving gear that will help to isolate us from these caustic substances. Scubapro is at the top of our list when it comes to innovative and dependable gear. Their new semi drysuits are a bridge between the conventional drysuit and wetsuit. We will be working closely with them to test these new materials and make sure we create an isolation layer between ourselves and any oil or dispersants we may encounter.

 The Scubapro Novascotia 6.5 semi-dry suits are not like any wetsuit we have ever seen before! The traditional bulky hard to put on and hard to maneuver in is the typical drysuit that we have been accustomed to over the years. As for head gear well looks like Scubapro has that covered too. Used by the military and commercial divers their full faced mask will keep us safe from contaminated waters.

As soon as we get this all dialed in we will take a close look at the gear we put together to keep us out of harms way right here on the blog.

The submarine briefing

Ok so I actually got to go inside Alvin several times in preparation for my dive. On my last visit inside I received a full briefing from one of Alvin's pilots Dave!

Now Dave actually spent 5 years with the Navy and in submarines! As soon as he got out he was immediately attracted to the idea of diving in the Alvin DSV so off he went to Woodshole Oceanographic Institute to get his training and become a member of the elite Alvin team.

Dave covered emergency procedures in the event of a fire or complete loss of power. He also went over Radio procedures and the T Bar. The T bar is the last resort and believe me your in for one heck of a ride if you have to resort to it. What it does is to basically release the almost seven foot diameter Titanium sphere from the frame of Alvin. You the begin your ascent and it can be like the inside of a washing machine as it tumbles on your way up to the surface! Unfortunately I missed out going down with Alvin but Mike deGruy went down twice!

However I have been promised that when the new Alvin is ready about 1 1/2 years from now I will be heading down inside it with a WHOI scientist named Tim Shanks.  I'm counting the days for that adventure!

Next post we'll talk with Mike and get his take on the Alvinn dives he took down to the bottom in search of the oil from the DEEPWATER Horizon spill!

GRAND Isle not so Grand anymore

Well there will be a lot more information coming over the next 30 days regarding our 10 days aboard the Atlantis but need to wait for the show to air before we can release the stories along with the images. I can tell you that we worked 20 hour days for almost 20 days to get the unique footage and perspective of what it's like to be aboard one of the leading research vessels in the world along with leading scientists amidst a crisis of incalculable proportion. 205 million gallons of OIL!Where it is and it's impact will be revealed here and only here in first hand never seen before footage very soon.

So this brings me to my 2 day trip to Grand Isle to talk to some of the locals and get their viewpoint and insight to the mess at hand.

From Wikipedia:

Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, located on a barrier island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay where it meets the gulf. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population has increased to over 20,000. Grand Isle is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Grand Isle's only land connection to the mainland is via an automobile causeway bridge, near the west end of the island, which connects it to southern Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. To reach the rest of Jefferson Parish by roadway, one has to travel through two different parishes (Lafourche and St. Charles) through a total distance of about 95 miles (153 km).

 I drove past many fishing docks and quaint little communities with the ocean usually in view from either side of the roadway. So why Grand Isle? Well mainly because it was pretty much ground zero for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill! Most of that crude that got away on top headed right for Grand Isle and hit with a vengeance.  Many of the long time residents of this beautiful community are outraged over what happened. Eight months after the spill, oil is still hitting it's coastline with the high tide like clock work every single night.

Mike deGruy is working now editing the documentary and as soon as it's done we will post information here so you can see and hear the incredible stories that unfolded in the brief time we were there. Keep an eye on on this blog for a release date.

More to come I just need a couple days to re-cooperate!       : >)  ZZzzzzzzz

ALVIN makes its LAST DIVE tomorrow before retiring

Well seems like the good old satellite internet has just been to slow up until now for me to post from the Gulf. Glad to be back! We've seen 12-20ft swells over the last 2 days as the wind kicked up to over 40 knots! I'll be posting that footage as soon as we get back to port in Gulfport MS. That should be on Wednesday now as we extended the trip one more day to get ALVIN one last dive. That dive will be with Chuck Fischer and Mike deGruy. This will be ALVINs LAST DIVE after over 50 years.

SENTRY is an amazing AUV because it literally acts as a scout before each ALVIN dive. The data from SENTRY provides an accurate underwater road map for ALVIN to follow and is an essential element to the success of each dive made.

OK a little on the weather...WOW! Watching waves crest above the horizon is quite a sight and getting swamped while filming TWICE was exhilarating and COLD! We have passed many oil platforms that are humongous in size and it's amazing that they can be out here in such weather and still be functioning. They are basically SHIPS at sea that do not move...
An interesting fact is that they do move several meters and when drilling at these great depths the pipe actually can bend or flex no problem, we hope!

Well I have to get back to filming, more later!