I have recently returned to Abu Dhabi. I am here for a short two weeks to get ready for a REAL adventure. I have been invited by the Biosphere Foundation to be a part of their marine research.
A little background: The Biosphere Foundation has numerous programs based off of their boat Mir, a 113 ft double masted tall ship. One of the oldest programs is coral reef research, documenting the health of reefs all over the world. This season, Mir will be hosting research projects collecting data on coral reef health and sea turtles (I put links to their websites at the bottom of this page). One of their ongoing projects is called ‘Studio of the Sea’ which puts together films to help raise awareness about the beauty of the ocean and the hazardous rate of its destruction. Gaie and Laser are two of the scientists that I have been in contact with. These are not their real names, but nicknames they adopted while part of Biosphere 2. Many people are familiar with the movie Bio-Dome where Bud and Doyle get trapped in a bubble for 1 year, but few realize that this scientific experiment actually happened. Gaie and Laser were part of the real Biosphere project.
I have been researching grants to try to raise funding for this foundation in order to join them for 6-9 months of research. Since most of the deadlines are towards the end of the year, I was too late to apply for any. Gaie presented me with a proposal to join Laser’s crew and help prepare the boat for research operations.
On Jan. 20th I will be boarding Mir in Singapore to help build bunks, outfit the rigging, and complete the finishing touches for the 9 month journey. On Feb. 12th we will be launching from Raffles Marina beginning a week long voyage for Jakarta, the Capital of Indonesia. There are meetings set up in Jakarta to get approval for the research and time for the crew to see friends in the area. I will have the opportunity to explore the city during the week that we are in harbour. Feb. 26th we will depart on another week long sail bound for Menjangan Island, Bali. This is where the boat will remain until the rest of the research team arrives at the end of March. I will be onboard Mir for around two weeks while we are anchored off the coast of Bali, assisting with marine surveys and testing the scuba equipment! I have a flexible ticket departing from Singapore on Mar. 22nd to head back to Abu Dhabi, but I may be asked to stay on Mir longer to remain part of the crew and begin learning about their research.
As of now, I am planning on either exploring Bali for a couple of days, or travelling back through Java on route to Singapore for my ultimate departure from the region. I have been in contact with a local guide, Prita, to learn more about the area and must see places, and I am still waiting to hear from Mason and Stefanie. We spoke before they left, but I didn’t get my itinerary until the day they departed. We are trying to meet up somewhere in Malaysia or Thailand. I hope they are safe and well and I get a chance to see them!!
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