February 21, 2004
Today's surprise dive, while en-route to Costa Rica, was run entirely by our Dutch clone crew. The purpose of this dive was to find and photograph the rare 'Flying Dutchman', reported to be in this area.
In the early hours of the morning the DutchCam was released to stealthily take pictures of the elusive 'Flying Dutchman'. Returning in the early afternoon, this time the fish outsmarted the camera, maybe Alvin will come back with a sighting of this elusive denizen of the deep.
As Alvin returned to the surface, the chief Dutch diver calls down to the ball to find the dissapointing news that no 'Flying Dutchman' was caught on this trip to the seafloor.
Catch of the Day.
After an unsuccessful search of the seafloor, we were bombarded on deck by the rare species of flying fish, aka 'Flying Dutchman'. Fortunate to photograph one of these rare specimens still alive, this cute little guy was released shortly after. This fish was estimated by biologists on board to be around 65 years old.
All of us on board wish Hans Schouten, our Chief Scientist, a Happy 65th Birthday!
See the map and data section for final maps of Alvin dives and Camera Tows