Day 1 of a 'Monumental' Voyage - Discovering the Secrets of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

This post is part of the series A 'Monumental' Voyage - Discovering the Secrets of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Greg McFall – NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

My association with the Waikīkī Aquarium goes way back...way back to last Saturday, that is, when I had the opportunity to meet MaryLou Foley.  The Waikīkī Aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been partners for many years and my introduction to MaryLou came as just another coincidental connection, or did it? While having a conversation about how the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument means different things to different people, we found ourselves saddened by the fact that not everybody will have an opportunity to see this special place; how can one truly appreciate that which they cannot see? That's when the lights went off in her eyes; you apparently don’t have to know MaryLou for very long to know when she's got an idea in mind. We decided to bring Papahānaumokuākea to you, the friends and followers of the Waikīkī Aquarium, in an attempt to show you just how special this place is and how it means many things to so many different people. Whether it's the understanding of its cultural significance, the discovery of new species or exciting shipwrecks that intrigue you, sail along with us on this 'Monumental Voyage' as we explore the secrets of Papahānaumokuākea.

People often tell me, "You have the perfect job! You get to travel all over and take beautiful pictures of the resources protected by the National Marine Sanctuaries." And they would be right. But what people don't often realize is all the hard work and dedication that goes into getting the images to bring back to those who don't have the opportunity to see it for themselves. It takes months of planning and preparation to pull together a cruise like the one on which we've just embarked. The meticulous attention to every little detail can mean the difference between a successful mission and one that results in partial failure. There are no stores where we are going and UPS doesn’t deliver, so if you forget something as simple as a battery for a camera you could be out of luck for the entire twenty-five day cruise. This cruise is particularly complex, in part, because of the type of diving in which we will be engaged; there are eleven divers on board who will be diving as deep as three hundred feet to explore new areas of the Monument and with that capability comes a LOT of equipment and technical gear but more on that another day.  Gathering, shipping and loading all that equipment has taken the better part of three days to complete and it is with a sigh of relief that we got it all done and were ready to depart today.

The success of our scientific and cultural missions does not rely solely on the scientists to bring back the data and the imagery; there are many people who support getting us to and from the different dive sites that we’ll visit.  For the twenty-one scientists onboard this voyage, there are twenty-seven crew members to ensure that we safely get to the Monument and back again. Much like a floating city, we have a myriad of professions and experience onboard the NOAA Ship Hi‘ ialakai. There are navigators, chefs, stewards, engineers, mechanics, deck hands, boat operators, electricians, plumbers, computer experts, data collection specialists and our own physician to name but a few.  All these people work many long hours to support our mission and we would not be able to accomplish our goals without their expertise and assistance.  So the next time you see a nice image on this site with credit given for the photographer, it should really say "Photographer and 47 others."

Hi‘ lalakai

Hi‘ lalakai

With all the prepping, planning and loading behind us, we left the dock this morning and went to fuel up before heading out to sea. After taking on fuel for three hours (30,000 gallons), we were ready to depart. Leaving the dock for these cruises is always bittersweet; we're excited to be leaving on an adventure to this incredible place but a bit sad to leave our friends and loved ones behind. There is always an electricity in the air during a departure as the many months of logistics and hard work come to fruition. No sooner than we head offshore, the briefings, meetings and instructional sessions commence to orient us to our home for the duration of the mission. The scientists on the cruise are 'visitors' to the ship and we need to learn all about the safety of life aboard a vessel of this size. Today's sessions were geared towards diving safety and meeting with the physician to get a baseline 'assessment' of our physical condition so that we can be monitored as the days of diving progress. Tomorrow will be more briefings on boating safety, fire drills, abandon ship drills and what to do if someone falls overboard. We need to know what to do and as importantly, what not to do in all these different scenarios.

All this activity certainly results in one undeniable reality; it makes you very tired. Most of my colleagues have already gone to their racks (nautical term for a bed) as I type this first report of the cruise. With Oahu literally in our wake, we'll ply the seas overnight and wake up in the morning very close to one of the most incredible places on earth – the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Oahu in the wake of the Hi‘ lalakai

This post is part of the series A 'Monumental' Voyage - Discovering the Secrets of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument