This week we continued along the same lines as last week, with almost everyone working in their same areas. This coming week, we will probably begin to see a major shuffle as some areas are finished and new areas are opened, but for the past week, we have continued as before. Some of the same issues that have plagued us in the past continued to be an issue this week, including the currents, and swells.
We thought our problems with the current were in the past, until July 27th, when the current returned with a passion. The first two dives reported little problems, but later in the day, the current strengthened steadily, thus giving the later dives grief. Hanging on to the shot line and slowly ascending, the current pulled us horizontal, and we could see small bits of sediment and sea life whiz past us as if we were in a river.
Approaching the decompression stop, we could see the effect of the current on the oxygen regulators and dive slate attached to a line. The “trapeze,” a pair of heavy metal frames with a 20 pound lead weight hanging from them, seemed little affected until the four divers approached and held on. The current took the entire assembly and the trapeze hung askew, with the four divers hanging on and flapping in the breeze. It must have been about four knots, enough to consider canceling diving, but everyone stayed safe.
After another frustrating day hanging onto the ‘trapeze’ at the decompression stop in the current, Dr. Pulak devised a new system of anchoring the trapeze to both the Millawanda, and a second line anchored to the seabed, passing through a pulley block on the bottom of the trapeze, with a much-heavier weight suspended on this line. The result is a much more immovable decompression stop, making it both more comfortable and safer for our divers.
Matthew P. Dames keeps time onboard the Millawanda. Photograph by Ania Kotarba-Morley.
Emre Savaş enjoys a quiet moment aboard the Millawanda. Photograph by Ania Kotarba-Morley.
Emre Okan awaiting his chance to dive. Photograph by Ania Kotarba-Morley.
Also on the 27th, our two doctors, Roger Williamson and Hayriye Mutlu, along with our recompression chamber operators, archaeologist Orkan Köyağasioğlu and Virazon captain Zafer Gül demonstrated the recompression chamber aboard the Virazon. In order to maximize safety, INA installed a double-lock recompression chamber in Virazon’s former hold, between the two rows of bunk beds. The two major types of diving-related problems we might encounter in the field are decompression sickness, also known as “the bends,” and arterial gas embolisms.
DCS, or the Bends, can occur when a diver overstays their time on the bottom, rises too quickly, or misses their decompression stop and is caused by a too-rapid expansion of nitrogen in the bloodstream. Minor cases include skin rash and joint pain, but more serious cases can include paralysis, or even death.
An embolism on the other hand, occurs when compressed air bubbles are forced into the bloodstream, which can then causes blockages leading to heart attacks or strokes.
Dr. Roger Williamson (right) lectures on decompression sickness and arterial gas embolisms, while Dive Safety Officer John Littlefield looks on. Photograph by Çağatay Erciyes
From left to right, Dr. Harun Özdaş, Emre Okan, Dr. Nicolle Hirschfeld, and Dr. Nilhan Kaser in the hold of the Virazon during the recompression chamber orientation. Photgraph by Çağatay Erciyes.
(Left to Right). Çağatay Erciyes, Ryan C. Lee, Laura Gongaware, Haley Streuding, and Marilyn Cassedy watch as recompression chamber operator and archaeologist Orkan Köyağasıoğlu compresses the inner chamber to simulat a depth of 60 feet. Photograph by Çağatay Erciyes.
In the rare event that a diver suffers from decompression sickness or an embolism, they will be rapidly transported to the Virazon in a waiting inflatable, and carried into the recompression chamber. The interior of the chamber is pressurized to simulate a dive to sixty feet, with the patient alternating between breathing regular air, and pure oxygen. The air and oxygen tanks are kept full, and there are several compressors available for redundancy. We are very careful, and dive using the same conservative tables every day, but having the recompression chamber on site should we ever need it is certainly a welcome comfort, especially to those few in the past who have needed to use it.
Virazon's double-lock recompression chamber. Photograph by Çağatay Erciyes.
That afternoon, our diving was again foiled, as the wind had whipped up the ocean, and the Millawanda was pitching in 1 – 1.5 m swells. The danger of a diver getting an embolism at the decompression stop increases when the boat (and trapeze) are pitching up an down, so we were forced to cancel diving. However, we were back up and running on the 28th, and completed a full day of diving.
Kim Rash prepares to send divers Laura Gongaware (left) and Susannah H. Snowden (right) down from the stern of the Millawanda. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.
Marilyn Cassedy (left) and Laura Gongaware (right) wait for a dinghy at stern of the Millawanda. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.
Apart from diving, we are kept busy with a variety of project related tasks, including filling out dive logs detailing the day’s work, sorting and editing surface and underwater photographs, and editing video. The day cabin on the Virazon and the main cabin of the STS Bodrum are frequent hubs of activity.
(Clockwise from bottom left) Sheila Matthews, Susannah H. Snowden, Kim Rash, Laura Gongaware, Matthew P. Dames, and Ania Kotarba-Morley hard at work filling out dive logs, editing photographs and videos, and completing miscellaneous project paperwork in the cabin of the STS Bodrum at night. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.
By ten o’clock, work slows down and the crew begins settling in for the night. Sleeping on deck, we are fortunate to have a near-perfect climate, and an amazing lack of mosquitoes. Some nights, the most difficult element to deal with is the full moon, which can be shockingly bright. We also have a near nightly sightings of meteors, including one two weeks ago just before sunset that we observed breaking up into several pieces in the atmosphere.
Cape Gelidonya at night. Photograph by Ryan C. Lee.
At the moment, we are enjoying our last night in Finike. We had planned to arrive here after a full day of diving on Thursday, but we were again foiled by swells, and left before noon. As a result, we’ve enjoyed two and a half days off in port. It’s been a welcome break, but we are all very excited to start diving again tomorrow!