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Dive After Dive

One good dive deserves another. Mike Skowronski leaped off the submersible Alvin shortly after it resurfaced from a dive to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in March 2014. Skowronski is an Alvin pilot, but he occasionally acts as a “swimmer“—someone who assists in the deployment or retrieval of Alvin into or out of the ocean. Among other jobs, swimmers attach a stabilizing tail line and a heavy lift line to the sub so that the ship’s A-frame can lift the 20-ton vehicle back on deck. Alvin returned to service in 2014 after a major overhaul and upgrade. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)