As the sub slowly sinks beneath the surface, the crew continues to feed out the cord, as the scientists scurry to the monitors and glue their eyes to the screen for their first glimpse of an animal alive in its natural habitat. Each scientist has a checklist on a clipboard. As the depth is called out, they jot down the scientific name of the animal and its depth, then eagerly continue to watch the screen. The sub slowly drops to the depth of 2000 feet, and can stay there for 4-5 hours. Suddenly, the call goes out aboard the ship to get ready for the surfacing of the sub.
All persons proceed to their stations and look with anticipation across the water.
A curious seal swims past the ship, and finds it uninteresting. A while later, a blue shark lazily swims around the ship. In the distance, a pod of six orca whales circle the ship less than 100 meters away. The high mountains surround us and frame this idyllic scene. About 200 yards starboard the flag pierces the water's surface.