Good Day, Green Bay!!

Today we took advantage of the time change and lighter schedule to catch up rest-wise before jumping into our first significant assessment of Green Bay Cave. We started a bit later than usual and hit the water at 12:30. Gil Nolan and Tom Iliffe comprised one dive team, with Renee, Bob and Karl making up the Cambrian Foundation team. Amy, Betsy, Jen and Annie stayed topside in support roles. Our goal was to explore the northeastern side of the cave through the Green Bay entrance to determine specific requirements and challenges for surveying the cave in the future. Also, the cave has recently had a lot of the permanent line replaced, and we wanted to become familiar with the placement, as it affects survey.

For this, dive, we each took three 80 cf cylinders. We also had three oxygen cylinders for decompression (not expected to be required, but just in case). Being familiar with the cave, Gil and Tom went first, leading the way for our team.

The first several hundred feet took us through a low silty area called the Rat Trap. This led up into an expansive room topped by a ledge, where we left our first stage bottle. We followed the line right through a small opening called the Letter Box, which took us in a large area of break down. The water was noticeably clearer and warmer than the ocean outside. We continued, then jumped to the right again, heading down into a small, tight area of breakdown. Suspecting that the line hasn’t gone as far as it can go, Tom tied on a reel and we explored into some wonderful but tight breakdown. We reached thirds on our final bottle while sliding through this area, turned (with a bit of finesse) and headed out. We surfaced after 90 minutes, having reached a maximum depth of 54 feet.

After a brief surface interval, Renee took Betsy and Jen (both certified cavern divers) into the cave’s cavern zone to explore and to retrieve our primary reel, which Gil had put in place prior to our dive. Afterward, we returned to Clear View to unload and prepare for the next day. Two went to fill cylinders, while the rest cleaned up gear and prepped for tomorrow. Thankfully, Tom scootered to pick up 5 pizzas for dinner.

The day ended on a special note as we sang happy birthday to Rima. Ever the chef, Renee improvised a cake from a pizza box and candles from a ballpoint pen and a cave light. We never asked if Rima made a wish as she clicked her Bic.

We would like to thank Anne Glasspool for all of her hard work and dedication to this project. Thanks to her, our team is happy, well fed, in good spirits, well photographed, and accomplishing our goals. Thanks a bunch, Annie!!

Team Members

• Jen Cate
  
• Rima Franklin, Ph.D.
  
• Amy Giannotti
  
• Bob Giguere
  
• Anne Glasspool, Ph.D.
  
• Betsy Hackley
  
• Tom Iliffe, Ph.D.
  
• Gil Nolan
  
• Renee Power
  
• Karl Shreeves
  
• Bernie Szukalski
  
• Terrence Tysall
  
• Jack Ward
  

Dear Renee,

Your Mother

Hi Mother,
…only if Bob is driving…
Your Daughter