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Those Curious Manganese Nodules: from Intelligence History to Science Mystery

Shortly before Howard Hughes’ massive ship, the Glomar Explorer, conducted a secret mission to recover a sunken Soviet submarine in the Pacific, under the guise of collecting manganese nodules, a much smaller Research Vessel was collecting the real thing, on the Blake Plateau about 150 miles southeast of the Georgia-Florida Coast . In 1970 I … Continue reading “Those Curious Manganese Nodules: from Intelligence History to Science Mystery”

Me and My Arrow

1971 Piper Arrow 200 OK, I admit it. I’m in love with an inanimate object. But if you could see her, you’d understand. In fact you might feel the same way. Sometimes I even wonder, if she really is inanimate? So what if she’s forty years old. So what if she’s high maintenance? So what … Continue reading “Me and My Arrow”

My Top Three Diving Sites: Herod’s Port, Caesarea

Visibility was lousy that day, which made the dive just that much more exciting. I and some U.S. Navy SEALS were cruising in shallow water searching for antiquities, when out of the gloom appeared, fuzzy at first, and then with startling clarity, a fluted Roman column lying on its side. The effect was stunning. We … Continue reading “My Top Three Diving Sites: Herod’s Port, Caesarea”

My Top Three Diving Sites: The Red Sea Pt. 2

I was one little inch away from BIG trouble. Twenty kilometers north of Sharm el-Sheik are four current-swept reefs that attract Red Sea divers and bountiful sea-life alike. We left for the dive site from Ras Nasrani, heading for Thomas Reef, in the middle of the current-swept Straits of Tiran. Thomas Reef is the smallest but most popular reef … Continue reading “My Top Three Diving Sites: The Red Sea Pt. 2”

My Top Three Diving Sites: The Red Sea, Sharm el-Sheik

I’ve read a couple of books lately where the author, critically injured in an accident, experiences what seems to be a visit to heaven, followed by a swift return to Earth.  The most recent such book was Flight to Heaven, by CAPT Dale Black, a plane crash survivor. A common theme in these books is … Continue reading “My Top Three Diving Sites: The Red Sea, Sharm el-Sheik”

My Top Three Diving Sites: The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

My Navy travels have afforded me the privilege of diving in some of the most interesting places. In this, and the next couple of posts, I list my top three diving destinations. I’ve been diving on the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on two occasions, both times departing for the reef from Cairns, pronounced like the first … Continue reading “My Top Three Diving Sites: The Great Barrier Reef, Australia”

My Family’s Exciting Flight with the Navy’s First Ace

Sometimes weather makes for an altogether bad flying day. The luxurious turboprop was speeding through turbulent skies, using its radar to pick its way around southern thunderstorms, en route to a quail hunting plantation just across the Georgia-Florida border. The craft had left Cleveland with my wife and one-year old son on board. Occasionally the … Continue reading “My Family’s Exciting Flight with the Navy’s First Ace”

Polar Bear in Town

In some places, the food chain gets down-right personal. In the high Arctic, a careless human is not a top predator; he is a meal. Polar Bears are methodical hunters, showing no fear of humans. When hungry, they are white death on paws. In 2007 the U.S. Navy and I were helping the Smithsonian Institution Scientific Diving … Continue reading “Polar Bear in Town”

Diving Under Antarctic Ice

You are 100 feet down using scuba, with your dive light spotlighting the most exotic looking Sea Hare you’ve ever seen. It’s noon at McMurdo Station, Antarctica but it’s dark at your depth because between you and the surface of the Ross Sea lies19 feet of snow-covered ice.  Your dive buddy has drifted about 100 … Continue reading “Diving Under Antarctic Ice”

Only Classical on Sunday

Music Appreciation classes notwithstanding, I sense that the best way to become absorbed in music is to sit in the middle of it, in an orchestra or choir, and to be part of the organic music-making machine. Although I am not from a strongly musical family, my mother was a dancer and dance instructor. My … Continue reading “Only Classical on Sunday”