The Deep Sea

This weekend, in the lead-up to World Oceans Day, we will be showing "Deep Blue" at the Pioneer Theatre in Port McNeill. This movie is a compilation of the best clips from BBC's "Blue Planet" and is incredibly worth your while, if you're in the area.

I've shown this film up in Haida Gwaii, so I've had the chance to see it more than once. No matter how many times I watch it, I continue to be mesmerized from start to finish. While the killer whale seal-hunting scene tends to be the crowd favorite, I always look forward to the scenes from the deep sea. More people have walked on the moon than have seen the oceans deepest floor. Home to some of the strangest looking animals as well as some of the most beautiful, the deep sea really is a world of its own. My favorite deep sea creatures are the colorful deep sea jellies.

My fascination with the deep sea makes it even more exciting that our very own Jennifer Lash will be diving in search of deep sea corals in less than two weeks' time. Hopefully, in addition to finding coral, Jennifer (in photo, taken at sub training earlier this month) will get to see firsthand the deep sea creatures that most of us can only marvel at in a BBC documentary. Do I sound jealous? Of course I am.

Kind of.

Until I think about the feeling of utter claustrophobia that I would get, going down to a place so deep that not a speck of natural light penetrates...
Alone and confined inside a one-man submersible submarine...
Would it be worth it to see my beloved jellies? Yeah, probably.
Would it be scary as hell? Absolutely.

For now, I'll wait for Jennifer to get home and tell us all about her adventure before I decide to add deep sea diving to my bucket list. Until then, join me at the Pioneer Theatre this weekend, and we can all marvel at the wonders of the ocean together.