People interested in more information or submitting applications should contact Deborah directly.

Deborah Barker-Manase
General Manager
RMI Environmental Protection Authority
P.O Box 1322 Majuro Marshall Islands 96960
cell 692 455 3329 (debz) office 692 625 3035/5203
email: _Deb Manase_

This position is responsible for coordinating/tracking research projects/activities occurring in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and represents the State's interest in the research planning for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Must have valid State of Hawaii Driver's License and SCUBA certification.

See here for full job announcement

Duties: Nature Seychelles, a leading environmental NGO in the Western Indian Ocean, has a potential opening for four (4) mid-level scientific scuba divers to help to implement a 3-years USAID-funded project on coral reef restoration around Cousin Island Special Reserve and Praslin Island, Seychelles. For more information, click here.

This position will be a 3 months (minimum) temporary placement, with preferably longer term placement (up to 2 years).

Location: Cousin and Praslin Island, Republic of Seychelles

Please apply by sending cover letter, photo, CV, copies of certificates & testimonials by email to: The Chief Executive, Nature Seychelles. *Deadline: Sunday 18th September 2011*. Direct questions regarding this position to Nature Seychelles Project Operations Coordinator, David.

Maritime Fest '11 was a huge success: thousands of people joined us to celebrate our country's birthday and Lake Huron's maritime heritage. I ended up helping in the dive tank, where three spectacles were occurring simultaneously. The 13-foot deep pool became the temporary home for three activities: a kayak demo from Green Planet Extreme, an ROV demo hosted by NOAA, and a chance to observe a scuba open-water certification class in action, executed by Captain Luke Clyburn, Lieutenant Kathy Trax and the US Naval Sea Cadets. Guests could paddle around in the clear-bottom tandem canoes, while watching an ROV operate below and the scuba students run through drills. The ROV attraction was open to everyone, and guests could maneuver the ROV around the pool. The ROV was one of the two built by Bob Thomson and his Sanborn Elementary School students. The students engineered the ROV to move in four directions, with a camera mounted on the front that relays the picture onto a small screen by the controls. Having never operated any such vehicle, of any size, it was fun to get behind the controls and sneak around the pool.

The Cardboat Boat Regatta was an absolute hit, with two high school students hoisting the Thunder Bay Cup after battling down the Thunder Bay River. The Thunder Bay Cup is the most prestigious award of the Regatta. This trophy draws from teams of all four classes. Observers lined the foot bridge next to the course, and filled out on the hillsides.

Most importantly, the event brought thousands of people into the sanctuary, many of whom had never been through our exhibits.

In more personal news, I celebrated my birthday over five dives aboard the Pride of Michigan. Captain Luke Clyburn of the Pride of Michigan, president of the Noble Odyssey Foundation and acclaimed underwater researcher, invited me aboard the Pride for a day of wreck diving in Thunder Bay. It has been a long wait to get under the surface in Lake Huron, but it was incredible. We took two dives on the Grecian, a 296-foot bulk freighter that sunk in 100 feet of water in Thunder Bay. It struck a reef north of Thunder Bay, and while in tow to Detroit for repairs, flooded and sunk in Thunder Bay. All divers can relate to the excitement getting geared up before a big dive. The time had finally come for me to get on these wrecks that I've been salivating over the past four months since I received my AmeriCorps acceptance phone call.

As I wrote in my wet-notes, "ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!" describes my first experience on the Grecian and on a Great Lakes wreck. Timbers, planking, the triple-expansion engine and windlass were the highlights. Having never dove in fresh water before, the preservation and abundance of wooden features was the most notable theme as I explored the different levels of the ship.

We took two on the Grecian, and headed out to Scanlon's Barge, of main shipwrecks we visit on the glass bottom boat. Having talked about this wreck many times aboard the Lady Michigan on shipwreck tours, it was a cool opportunity to dive on it. A little hand-fanning exposed perfectly-preserved 2x12 wood deck planking. I used this tidbit on a tour I gave the following day, and passengers reacted positively. I find it helpful to the passengers to supplement the script and "hard-facts" about Scanlon's Barge with my personal accounts underwater.

Scanlon's Barge is also within swimming distance to a natural feature that Captain Luke has studied immensely: tree stumps. Clyburn and his Sea Cadets have identified nineteen tree stumps, with an average radio carbon date of 7,500 BP. The particular grouping of the tree stumps yield valuable information as to the progression of the Lake Huron water line. Cool stuff.

We then took the Pride of Michigan over to the Montana: a 236-foot package freighter sunk in 60 feet of water. The freighter has an interesting history: the ship carried just about every cargo imaginable on the Great Lakes. In the last part of it's career, the Montana was converted into a lumber-hooker, until it caught fire in 1914. The Montana sports a three-story steam engine with a mammoth boiler close by. The doors to the boiler are open, and coal remains in the fuel pit. The propeller is 12' in diameter, and is a great photo spot; too bad my Nikon died 25 kicks before we rounded the stern! We took two dives on the Montana, and then headed back into port. I had an awesome day on these wrecks; they turned out to be far more intricate and preserved than I have seen in pictures. Dry suit repair is keeping me topside for a couple weeks, a cruel punishment after my first day on the wrecks. Can't wait to have it back, and get back under the surface.

Up and coming this week is another installment of Friday Night Downtown and the Roscommon River Festival, both are high-traffic outreach events! More on this later.

Until then,
Phil

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Part Two

Dial Cordy and Associates is recruiting temporary scientific field technicians for nearshore and offshore natural resource assessments in the Gulf of Mexico. Individuals must have a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in marine and/or coastal sciences specifically related to 1) quantitative benthic sampling, 2) protected species surveys (sea turtles), or 3) coastal vegetation.. Technical diving is a requirement for certain components. 24 hour HAZWOPER certification is a plus. Employment is based on availability and includes potential alternating deployments of 2 to 3 weeks.

To apply, please email your CV and availability to Dawn York.

Details can be viewed here.

Please do not contact me about these opportunities. Good luck!

Since I started my work as an AmeriCorps member at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary on June 20th, I've been trained to do a variety of tasks, mainly education-and-outreach related. Perhaps my biggest task on the intern agenda is giving shipwreck tours on the Lady Michigan, a 65-foot glass bottom boat. The Lady Michigan is a brand new vessel, and it just completed its first month of service to tourists and locals of Northeast Michigan. The boat leaves from its dock just outside the Sanctuary and each cruise lasts 2.5-3 hours. During this period, guides like myself give narrations about a variety of things: the National Marine Sanctuary System, ship construction history, local Lake Huron history, and information concerning the different industries local to Alpena that made Thunder Bay a busy, commercial port. We generally cruise out to two wrecks, and out to Thunder Bay Island, an important natural landmark historically used in maritime navigation. This cruise is a great way for visitors of the Sanctuary to apply and build upon their knowledge of Great Lakes maritime history by seeing some wrecks face-to-face. The glass bottom boat tours have become somewhat famous in the last few weeks, since the tours started. Journalists of all sorts frequently mingle with the passengers and snap photos for articles that will be published in local papers. While the boat itself is not owned by NOAA or the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the company who does own it provides the boat for tours everyday at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM.