9-29-12CNN broadcast story of TISIRI's aircraft wreckage investigation.TISIRI encountered wreckage several weeks ago, and after several dive surveys and some research determined the wreck as an A7 military jet that crashed in 1974. Pilot Robert Besal survived the incident and recently revisited the wreck site the TISIRI...
Read MoreAn Octopus Decides To Take His Own Picture
While diving the A7 wreckage location the day we had A7 pilot Bob Besal aboard, we ran into this somewhat vain octopus. Watch as he gets into the postion he wants and then attempts to reach out and take his own pictures.Octopus are truly amazing creatures!
Read MorePilot Besal Visits A7 Jet Wreckage Reef
Today TISIRI reunited Admiral Besal with his aircraft; which is now a thriving reef ecosystem. Two vessels captained by Steve Blalock and Jack Leone escorted the TISIRI team, media crews, and Robert and Jennie (Robert's wife) to the wreckage aka reef location 20 miles offshore St. Augustine. The vessels were precisely positioned over the wreckage. Dive teams explored the A7 reef to capture imagery to show Robert Besal back aboard. See pictures of the days events and underwater findings below:
Read MoreSt. Augustine Florida Dorthy Louise Barge Reef
St. Augustine's Dorthy Louise Reef, often referred to as the DL barge, is a nearly 200 foot long broken barge resting in 80 feet of water 20 miles east of the St. Augustine inlet. On Labor day TISIRI divers visited the reef to collect imagery for Reefs Revealed. Dive conditions were great with a sea floor visibility of nearly 50 feet but the abundance of schooling fish made it difficult to see at times. See pictures of the reef and marine life below.The usual suspects were encountered including seabass, soapfish, anglefish, flounder, and tomtates. Two medium sized nurse sharks were found resting under a portion of the barge and there were thousands of schooling fish in the area. In fact, TISIRI diver Ed Kalakauskis said this was the most amount of swiming fish he has ever seen on a single dive. Schooling fish included spadefish, almaco jack, barracuda, bonita, and several variety of bait fish. As the divers ascended they were completely surrounded by all of these schooling fish and reported it was a rather amazing experience.
Read MoreJacksonville Florida's Bob Engle Barge Reef Investigation
7-29-12TISIRI divers investigate Jacksonville's Bob Engle Barge Reef to collect imagery for Reefs Revealed mapping efforts. The Bob Engle Reef is a nearly 300 foot barge that was deployed 30 miles east of Mayport. The barge sits in roughly 110 feet of water but provides a...
Read MoreTriggerfish Attack Camera Equipment
During an investigation of aircraft wreckage offshore St. Augustine Florida, TISIRI cameraman Joe Kistel momentarily leaves a video camera recording unattended. The video camera was recording for approximately three minutes. It wasn't until the footage was later reviewed when it was learned what was happening throughout this time period. See the video below:Curious Grey triggerfish thought they should try to taste the camera housing. In particular they were most interested in the lever for a light filter just to the left of the lens. Throughout the video you can hear the lever being chomped on as the fish attack. One particular fish decides to bite the lens directly, yikes!
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