Deep Blue Marine

There were getting to be too many photos in the other folder, so I started a new one for you to see the most current photos. Click on Pictures and look at New Museum Pictures. I am heading back down there next week now that the container has been unloaded so we can get started on finishing it.

This is Boca Negra, our boat dog. She has been part of our crew for quite a while now and we decided it was time to for her to start pulling her own weight, so she is currently undergoing dive certification. She says she is determined to become our next Dive Master.

We have always been proud of the effort to pay it forward. Here are some of the photos of humanitarian deliveries we made last week in the Dominican Republic. Click on the photo section to see more.

Check out the picture section for new pics of the voyage of the Lady Laura from Florida to Samana.

Here is a picture of the new boat. It is the only one we have right now and better pictures will be available soon.

After 2 months and 10 days Capt. Billy and crew pulled into Samana this morning at 7 AM in the Lady Laura. The trip certainly took a lot longer than anyone anticipated as there was the wait for Billy’s surgery in Salt Lake City, his recovery time, the amount of work that had to be done to prepare the Lady Laura for the trip and then the numerous weather delays throughout the trip. All last week as he sat out the fronts in Caicos, we watched the computer models as the most dangerous part of the trip was just ahead. Finally, there were green lights across the board and they headed out for the north coast of the Dominican Republic early Sunday morning, hopefully non-stop for Samana. The computer models were right and they pulled into a calm Samana harbor early Monday morning having experienced no treacherous seas. One day per year there are 3 cruise ships here at the same time and today was the day so I radioed Billy to warn him and his response was that they had better get those big boats outta the way cuz he was comin’ in! Roberto and Domingo were also very anxious to get home and they became instant celebrities as they talked to everyone about their experiences in the USA – Seeing New York’s Times Square, experiencing snow for the first time, going to an NBA game, watching a Space Shuttle launch, traveling by boat from Florida to Samana and many more experiences which will certainly become legends in time.
Having the Lady Laura here will prove to be invaluable as Deep Blue undertakes the next venture. It is highly maneuverable and drafts just 3 feet so it will allow us to get into tighter situations than the Tracy – important for surveying. It certainly allows us to also be in 2 places at one time, which could be very helpful this year.
Stay tuned for more and check out the pictures of Capt. Billy’s return in the Pictures page.

Billy first; they have been holed up in the Caicos islands for almost a week waiting for the seas to settle to the point where it is safe to cross. We have been monitoring the ocean buoys along with him and it has been frustrating to set a date to depart and then see that the ocean didn’t bother to read the forecast. So right now everything looks good for a launch tomorrow morning.

Now the museum. The first thing I will say is that it is a real adventure to see how things are done here and I do realize I am not in Kansas anymore. That being said, there is a high degree of professionalism here, especially considering the limited resources. Can you imagine trying to cut a 2×4 with only a worn out blade from a hacksaw? Or jack hammering a 1000 sq. ft. floor with a 2 pound sledge and a cold chisel? The carpenter has an ancient planer with probably the original blades that have never been sharpened and have seen numerous nail hits. At times the lumber comes out thinner, but looking worse than when it went in.
Yet when they are done, the work rivals almost anything in the States and I won’t even tell you the cost compared to back home.
By the time I leave here next weekend the majority of the rough in construction should be finished. We will then hold for a little while as there is a lot of stuff to finish up that we are going to ship from the States and the container will take 3-4 weeks to arrive in Santo Domingo. Then it will be brought here and the push will be on to finish up.
Check out the latest pictures on the photos page.

Just a quick update on Capt. Billy’s progress as he heads back down to Samana in his boat, the Lady Laura. He is now at the south end of the Bahamas chain near the Turks and Caicos Islands with the most dangerous part of the journey up next; the crossing over to the north shore of the Dominican Republic. He is currently holed up for 2-3 days waiting for a front to pass so the situation will be more ideal. Once he crosses the channel he can hug the coast all the way around to Samana where we will be waiting and planning a big celebration – for a number of reasons. Roberto and Domingo have been away from their homes for 2 months and their families are anxious to have them back so I am sure there will be quite a welcoming party when that boat rounds the bend into the harbor! Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they approach this dangerous part.

I arrived back in the States a couple of days ago and have been shivering ever since. Allan flew down to take over the construction at the museum. We overlapped a couple of days to bring him up to speed as well as have him attend some meetings with Alejandro and I in Santo Domingo. The construction is proceeding on schedule. The demolition and major rebuilding is completed, now the finish work starts. You can tell from the photos posted that we have painted the entire interior black and have begun nailing on the furring strips to attach the lumber to. The museum will look like you are in the hold of an old ship and when you go from area to area it will have the feel of being in different areas of an old ship. The conservatory is now the main focus of construction as we are enclosing it in, putting in the ventilation system and building the recovery tanks. That was the subject of one of our meetings in Santo Domingo. We are greatly pleased to be able to work with the government offices to provide some artifact conservation as their facilities are nearing maximum usage. Our conservatory is not large; it will have two tanks – one large enough for a great gun and a smaller one for other artifacts. There will be a work bench along the wall where the window to the museum is so museum patrons can watch recovery taking place.
The lumber arrived from Santo Domingo today for the interior walls and Allan is starting to frame them up. Check the photos section for progress. We also met with a law firm in Santo Domingo to establish a Dominican company for the purpose of taxes and workmen compensation plans. This was a necessary step to ensure we could do business in the DR not just for the museum, but future ventures as well.

Deep Blue is pleased to announce that we have commenced construction of an underwater archaeological museum in our home port of Samana in the Dominican Republic. We have been looking for a building for the last 6 months or so and have decided to lease this building for the next two years with a 5 year option. Our hopes are that perhaps we can build our own building right on the waterfront within the next 5 years. This is the main reason for building the museum at this time and is reflected in this photo I took yesterday across and just up the street from the new museum location: There are over 250,000 visitors to Samana every year and we have been talking with the former governor on how we can help this wonderful city. The idea of a museum has been in the works ever since we got here and it is great to see it happening. Stay tuned here over the next little while to see progress reports and photos. This is the view out of the front door of the museum.