Location: Kadavu, Fiji
Today was another fantastic day filled with all things water-related. The rain could not stop us from our search for mantas, diving deep and diving in the dark. Morgan prepared us a delicious cooked breakfast of egg casserole. After breakfast in Oceanography class with Steph, we conducted the water Olympics of Argo Summer 2021! We compared the surface tension between freshwater and saltwater by putting drops of each on a coin and floating tin foil in a bowl of each as well. We discovered that there would be more freshwater drops on the coin before it spilled over and that you could fold the tin foil more times before it would sink in freshwater, confirming our hypothesis based on our prior knowledge that freshwater has higher surface tension than saltwater. THEN… the manta searching continued! First, Pierce found his own manta that he was swimming with alone for 20 minutes before he could get the attention of everyone else to come over and see it as well. Pierce has now become one with the mantas. Then in the second rotation, the minute they jumped in the water, there was a manta waiting just underneath them! Not only did we see 4 mantas, but we saw the biggest female reef manta anyone, onboard has ever seen, SO BIG she was confused with the larger manta species, the oceanic manta!
After lunch, half the group went on a deep dive for their advanced open water certification. We went down to 84ft and did some skills where we saw the effects of light underwater. We all looked at a color slate on the surface and then compared it to how it looked underwater and then how it looked again when we placed it under a flashlight. We also took an egg down to demonstrate the effects of pressure at depth. As we go deeper, the pressure increases, so when you crack a raw egg underwater, the yoke is held together, and you can play with it like you would a ping-pong ball (as long as the fish don’t come and eat it first!).
While the divers were down, the rest of the crew had some study time and worked on their advanced open water knowledge reviews to be ready for their night dive tonight! Excitement and anticipation were building all throughout dinner and squeeze as the time grew closer to be in the water at night for the first time. There was a LOT of discussion about things that were seen and the experience they had when they were greeted back on board to some steaming hot chocolate.