Hanging out with astronauts

One more time, a phone call changes everything. Also the phone call comes from a repeat source, Tug boat captain, Don MacKenzie of MacKenzie Sea Services. Don called to see if I was interested in going out with him to the Chaudierre dive site with some very special guests and cargo. The Chaudierre is a 366 ft warship that was sunk in Sechelt Inlet to provide a great dive site and artificial reef. The guests were underwater technical wizard Phil Nuytten with his NewtSuit dive systems and two of Canada's astronauts Steve MacLean and Julie Payette.

Julie Payette getting prepped for a dive in a Newtsuit    Phil Nuytten in the black dry suit

 It was easy to decide to skip out of work to go on this adventure, I mean really , what a collection of Canadian technical firepower, all in one spot.
 The idea was to have the astronauts dive the Newtsuits  down to the Chaudierre to get the feeling of working in space. The Newtsuits are hard-shell, one atmosphere, self contained  dive machines. The one atmosphere part is critical because it keeps the stress of underwater pressures from affecting the diver. Instead of risking the "bends" or various embolisms and other nasty side-effects of deep water diving, the Newtsuit diver is only ever exposed to sea level pressures, even at depths of 1000 to 2000 ft and beyond.

Getting lifted by a deck crane into the water

 And seriously, I've got to say that Julie Payette was a charmer, very friendly and outgoing, cute as all get out in her ripped jeans and scuffed work boots. She also packs more brains in her baby toe than I'll ever have, even if I studied from now until Jesus gets back from holidays. If you have a look at her Wiki site you'll see what I mean, that's one very accomplished woman.

Prepping the Newtsuit   as close to a Robo-Space suit as they come

 Steve MacLean was a tad more serious, but still talked openly and freely when he wasn't involved in getting the gear setup, it could be that he got the vibe that he just wasn't as cute and charming as Julie. He was more "engineer" like in his demeanor, totally immersed in the technical side of things. This must have worked well for him, as far as I know he is the president of the Canadian Space Agency these days....and Julie is the CSA Chief astronaut....good work if you can get it. I put my resume in, but haven't heard back yet.
 One more time, a corner store disposable camera recorded this day, without which , this marvelous day would be lost to the dusty corners of memory. I was so lucky to be on deck with one of my underwater heroes, in Can-Dive's Phil Nuytten and two of Canada's most accomplished astronauts. ( are there any astronauts that aren't accomplished? no I don't think so....moving on now ).

Astronaut Steve McLean in light blue jacket with Can-Dive techs

Steve McLean in light blue jacket and Julie Payette on the right at lunchtime  Chaudierre dive sight

Camera guy, Can-dive worker, Phil Nuytten in black dive suit and Julie Payette in the Newtsuit

 Don MacKenzie had done a ton of work with Phil in the past on the testing and deployment of some of his underwater inventions. This gig was a perfect blend of the man whose life was made on top of the ocean and the other who flourished under the waves, both very good at what they do.
 The dives went well, with several scuba divers in the water to shadow the Newtsuit astronauts and to video the excursions. I'm not sure if the video part worked out that well, I saw several flooded camera cases returning to the surface at various times.
 All in all, it was a great outing and one for my personal record books. A few years in the future involved shuttle flights for the two astronauts, Don would be salvaging the "Golden Cell" and making west coast maritime history....and me, well I went on to more unusual and unlikely adventures.

Always work to do, prepping complex gear