Niku VI Underwater Search

[Randy W Kerr]

You might be surprised.....go through a Congressional representatives office...it would be more effective than a personal contact.  Training budgets are steadily funded and ongoing training is a priority...plus having an objective is more effective than dropping a artificial search datum.  And point out they would just be continuing a search that they had undertaken in the past......  ;D

[Andrew M McKenna]

I've noticed in several locations the statement that 100ft is the limit for SCUBA searches.  Just wondering if that is a TIGHAR created safety limit or exactly what the origin is for that number.  I know that one can reliably dive much deeper than that using the proper equipment and techniques.

Randy

The 100 ft limit is a self imposed TIGHAR limit for safety reasons.  During some of the early expeditions there was some diving to deeper depths, but the risks were not well appreciated at that time, and might be considered reckless in hindsight.  Since then, TIGHAR has since preferred to take a much more conservative approach.  There is no reason to loose a live person searching for a dead one.

Yes, it is possible to reliably dive much deeper with proper equipment and techniques, but out at Niku there is no margin for error, zero.  If we were to have a problem, the entire team and the ship would have to be expedited to the nearest evacuation site, Canton Island, some 24 hours away.  As you will probably confirm, a 24 hour delay in treating a dive accident would likely be devastating if not fatal.  TIGHAR is simply not willing to go there with volunteers, the consequences would simply be catastrophic for both a diver in distress and the organization.

I hope that helps put the dive operations in perspective.

Andrew

[Randy W Kerr]

Andrew..absolutely understood.  Even with conservative in water decompression protocols the risk of an incident is there.  Even a small portable chamber is not a device that is simple to support in a remote location and having an installation that can run SurDeO2 profiles is quite expensive. Given the probability of worthwhile results from a manned search on Niku considering the bottom morphology makes the utility of manned dives limited.  But diving those waters is sure enjoyable!!

[Ric Gillespie]

Bob Ballard, and Woods Hole are probably out of reach financially.

Nothing is out of reach of we have the funding. Everything is out of reach if we don't.  If we were to decide that we needed Ballard or Woods Hole we would approach them.

But--Discovery did sponsor the Waitt expedition, and my personal opinion is that TIGHAR has alot more evidence than undertaking an underwater search off Howland in 12000 feet of water.

Discovery was not involved with the Waitt expedition.  Waitt funded the Waitt expedition.  He also funded the Hilary Swank movie.  Ted Waitt doesn't need financial assistance. He is, however, a devoted Crashed & Sanker. For him to be interested in supporting TIGHAR's search he would need to abandon the convictions that have caused him to shovel many millions of dollars overboard into the Pacific in the vicinity of Howland Island.

Sign on Discovery again----with submersibles---an we'll have the answers!

Discovery may be interested in covering another TIGHAR expedition but whatever they might pay for the privilege will not come close to funding the expedition.