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BAHAMAS JOURNEY A Quest For Drugs From The Sea MISSION DISPATCH 1 • October 10, 2003 Dispatch by Mark Carroll - @Sea Photo-Journalist 
The Big Blue Being away from the ocean, I always seem to forget just how overwhelmingly large the sea is...what an entity it is...and how small we all are upon it. Looking off the deck of the Research Vessel Seward Johnson II at ten thousand diamonds of sunlight sparkling on the undulating surface of the sea, I'm reminded of and humbled by the ocean's vastness and the countless secrets hidden below. In Star Trek-like terms, "we're here to discover new species," simply put by Chief Scientist, John Reed at this morning's briefing aboard ship. To uncover these new species requires good, solid science. But, to glean from them their biological and chemical essences - as this group aims to do - and to unlock potential medicines from within their very compositions calls for hands-on, wet-faced, deep-diving kind of research where the only guarantee is the shifting tide, but the payoff could be as big as the cure for cancer. 
Today, the mighty sea said "rock" and so we all rocked...through the Gulf Stream and across the Straits of Florida, 100 miles from
Florida's Treasure coast to Grand Bahama Island, our first stop. Beyond is the fluid unknown. Our weather-dependent, meandering
course through the Bahama Islands could take us to Eleuthera, Cat Island, and the Acklins, perhaps Abaco and as far south as Hogsty
(which sounds like a nice place). In true spirit of research, there is no defined course out here, just open ocean and possibility.
ADDITIONAL DISPATCH IMAGES [ IMAGE 01 ] [ IMAGE 02 ] [ IMAGE 03 ] [ IMAGE 04 ]   |  |
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