|
READ
EXCERPTS
From A Whale of Three Tales
by Ralph White
“As vast as the lagoon is, it was not hard to spot
the action once we were airborne. The evidence of the
Killer Whales' savage attacks on the more gentle and
helpless Greys loomed below. Carcasses were floating
or beached on sandbars, blood streaming from their lifeless
mouths and shredded genitals, the only exposed areas
of their anatomy open to the swift and lethal attacks
of the deadly carnivores. We were filming three Killers
approaching an adult Grey, when that old enemy of bush
pilots everywhere—"Bad Fuel"—reared
it's ugly head and instantly turned our magnificent
flying machine into a glider with the trajectory of
a falling brick.”
From
Sea Lion Attack
by Scott Cassell
“I felt a firm pressure on my right forearm.
Thinking it was more old fishing line, I jerked my right
arm towards me to snap the line. Instantly the firm
pressure changed into a severe crushing pain that began
to violently thrash me from side to side, pulling me
off the bottom and slamming me into the nearby pile.
With
all my strength I tried to pull free, but it didn’t
work. Then I saw it. My helmet’s right port was
filled with fur. My worst nightmare had come true—a
giant furry monster had rushed at me from the darkness
and was now ripping me limb from bloody limb.”
From Crossing the Line
by David Horrigan
“I looked aft, only to see water pouring into
the engine room, and quickly turned and ran to stop
the flood. It took me fifty strokes on the hydraulic
ram to shut the three-inch thick hatch. As I pumped
furiously, water pouring over my head, I caught a glimpse
of Fred outside. His eyes showed mixed emotions. He
seemed relieved that I was stopping the submarine from
sinking, but we both knew he would probably be locked
outside in the conning tower for the rest of the voyage.”
A
Fortunate Mistake
by Keith Hinrichsen
“The first indication that something wasn’t
right came when I looked at my instruments. I could
tell that the nose of the blimp was down, and the tail
was up. Because this is not the way a blimp is supposed
to ride, I gave it power, but the airship didn’t
respond. Instead of going down, we were going up. We
were also going around and around in the hurricane winds
and finally, at about 2000 feet, we stopped rising,
leveled off, and then started sinking back down. As
we headed toward the water, the tail was low and the
nose was high. Again, we had full power on, but we couldn’t
make any adjustments. We just kept on going down, down,
down at a rapid rate. And I didn’t want that.”
How Do You Know
by Amos Jessup
“As night came, the seas grew crosser and rougher.
Every hour that passed without raising landfall increased
the chances that we were not just a little lost, but
seriously lost, with hundreds of miles in most directions
offering nothing but angry sea. Facing another sleep-deprived
night, I stood on the bridge wing staring at windswept
whitecaps, feeling the pitch and roll of the oceans
in my feet and bones, and catching occasional glimpses
of the North Star through thickening clouds. All I heard
was the wind, the crash of crossing seas, and the monotonous
thunk, gasp, and shudder of the three-cylinder steam
engine. I had had enough of this skippering business,
I thought. I wanted to go home.”
2000
Miles under the Sea
by David Horrigan
“We were in much deeper water than we had bargained
for, something I didn’t realize until I stopped.
My heart raced as I watched Tom fall. I will never forget
the look on his face as he disappeared into the darkness.
The increasing water pressure had pressed his mask up
close to his face and in his extreme panic, his eyes
seemed to fill the glass. Beyond the panic, I saw a
helpless pleading. Then he was gone.”
Oh
To See in the Deep
by Andreas B. Rechnitzer
“When Barton reached 3,331 feet he placed a
distressed call. “Oh, Dr. Nelles, Dr. Nelles!”
Then Barton's voice cut out completely and contact was
lost for good. Fear and tension rose among the entire
deck team and observers.That Otis was dead seemed most
likely as they only knew that something was wrong inside
the sphere and that, at best, it would take, at least,
40 minutes to raise him.”
The Touch
by Jayne Martin
“I was so excited that I was shaking. Was I
actually going to witness a dolphin giving birth? They
swam and swam, weaving in and out, constantly nudging
each other—a dance that seemed filled with grace
and joy. Then something started to come out of
the large one. I held my breath and strained to see
every single detail of the incredible event unfolding
before my eyes.”
It’s
Just a Matter of Time
by Robert Wernli
“We brought both vehicles up at the same time—the
CURV’s umbilical was wrapped around the recovery
line. But not severely. Divers met the Pisces III as
it reached 100 feet and attached another safety line.
I flew the CURV away from the Pisces and joined the
others on deck. The Pisces III was on the surface at
1317—84 hours after their initial launch and 12
hours beyond the expected end of their air supply.”
Code Words: White Star (We’ve Found the Titanic)
by Ralph White
“Four days before the Phase II search ended,
we started to pick up the debris corridor. This was
at 0104 local Atlantic time, on September 1, 1985. The
vehicle that was deployed at the time was the experimental
cable-controlled ARGO, making its first sea trials.
The ARGO is equipped with a small side scan sonar, lights,
and three television cameras which transmit real-time
pictures to the control room aboard ship. As the pictures
came in we started to view bed springs, bottles, china,
silverware and miscellaneous wreckage, but nothing which
would confirm that we had finally found the Big T.”
|
