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​BLOG BY GRACE C. YOUNG                                                                              
                                                                               


The future of exercise?

4/3/2016

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A REVIEW OF LONDON’S EXERCEO TRAINING

Normally I write about ocean research and exploration, so this post is not the norm and in general I’d like to leave fitness blogging to actual fitness bloggers. That said, staying in shape is part of what enables me to <live underwater>, <dive to 100m>, and <sail across the Atlantic>, plus I was interested in the technology to see if it might add to underwater virtual reality experiences -- more on that later. For now, here’s my take on Exerceo Training.
 
I tried what’s called Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) at Exerceo Training in London. The idea is that you wear a suit that zaps (i.e., “conducts electrical currents to”) your muscles as you exercise, supposedly making your workout eight times as effective. 

​It sounds gimmicky, but my friend, Madhu Ramankutty, and I found ourselves wearing their suits after another friend, now an employee of the company, raved about their workouts.  
 
A session at Exerceo (Latin for “exercise”) consists of 25-minutes with a personal trainer who fits you into the suit and leads you through exercises. A sizable multicore cable, just like the kind we use on robots, trailed off each suit, connecting it to a controller that our trainer operated.
 
Before the suit went live, I felt a tiny bit anxious. It didn’t help that I had images of <Steven McRae’s Instagrams> from The Royal Ballet’s <Frankenstein> in my head. Our trainer kept us both at ease, however, as she powered on our suits muscle-by-muscle.
 
It felt like an intensified version of the sensation you feel when you wake-up sleeping legs – an intense tingling, not the vibration I was expecting. It’s your muscles micro-twitching. I’m not sure how else to describe it. It’s certainly cool. Matt Rudd of The Sunday Times described the feeling more violently, “like being stabbed with a thousand pins.” I’d say he  overdramatized the sensation. <Fitness Instagrammer @iona_ldnr> describes it more cheerfully:  “It feels like your muscles are being pummeled by little hammers, but in a good way!!”
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Image from coachmag.co.uk
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My arm automatically moved a few inches when my bicep band activated the first time. “So it’s electrocuting you?” a friend asked. Not really; “electrocuting” implies injury. It does, however, apply electric current to your muscles. Exerceo says it’s totally harmless unless you’ve a pacemaker, severe circulatory disorder, or are pregnant. You’re getting hit with a minuscule current:  “It takes only five-millionths of an amp to maximally contract the quad,” <one article explains>.
 
During your workout, e.g., while doing crunches or mountain climbers, you can ask the trainer, “more abs please,” and she’ll crank up the power there on you. And you feel it.
 
Ordinarily such a short workout, 25 minutes, wouldn’t get me tired or sweaty. This did. Afterwards I felt like I’d done an hour workout at least. I wasn’t sore the next day, although my friend was. This may have been because I’d just recovered from intense soreness after running the Seven Sisters cliffs earlier in the week.

Is this the future of exercise? I’d say it’s the future for those who want to squeeze an hour workout into 25 minutes. The technology has been around since the 60s, however, so one might think if it was the future it would’ve happened already. As with any effective exercise regimen, the trick is to stick with it and supplement it with a healthy diet. It’s not a miracle. It could also be an effective lunch-break exercise for those genuinely time-limited. There are other lunch-break exercise classes out there. A hot yoga studio I use to attend advertised hour-long “power lunch” classes, but you really need to take-off two hours for those to account for commuting, showering, changing, etc., so Exerceo has a definite advantage there.
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 Pro tips:
  • You don’t need workout clothes or trainers. You’ll immediately change into a skin-tight, freshly dry cleaned under suit they provide.
  • Exerceo has experienced rapid success since opening last year (expanding into four centrally-located London studios), but their website hasn’t yet caught up. It’s best to book by email, phone, or via ClassPass   (I couldn’t choose a preferred date for my session via their online reservation form, but it required me to enter a preferred time and location. Their later comfirmation email was missing which location they signed me up for, and the links in follow up emails were broken.)
 
And in case you’re wondering, I don’t think the technology is right for virtual reality experiences just yet. But it was a good workout! ​
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Reflection on Sailing Across the Atlantic

1/20/2016

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I’m sitting in the St. Thomas airport waiting for my flight to Heathrow. Toting a hiking bag stuffed with salt-encrusted clothes, I search for an outlet to charge my laptop; it’s been dead nearly three weeks. My hair is still wet from this morning’s dip in the ocean.
 
“You get off a boat?” asked the man ahead of me at check-in. I wondered what gave it away. Was it my freckled skin and I-don’t-care ponytail? My callouses? My travel partner joking about peeing in a bucket?
 
As I sit down to write this blog entry, I find reflecting upon the last 22 days somewhat overwhelming. In that time we, eight friends, sailed a 65’ boat across the Atlantic. Every aspect of my daily routine changed dramatically and abruptly during those days at sea. I was pleasantly surprised that, apart from friends and family, I didn’t miss land much. It feels as if a year, or several, passed in those days. It was an adventure of a lifetime.
 
For me the journey started about three weeks before we left port. While out in London at a celebration, I received the following text from a friend:
Hey, crazy idea and no doubt you already have plans… but want to cross the Atlantic Ocean? Dec 18 – Jan 5?
The friend is the founder of a non-profit called <SailFuture>. The reason behind the last minute request is a somewhat of long-story, see <previous blog post>. We chatted details, but all I could say initially was “still trying to work out logistics; haven’t forgotten.” Finally it worked out, in large part to the encouragement of my friend Elizabeth (“Bizzy”) Walton, and the support of other friends and family.
 
Before I explain the sail further, let’s get some “FAQs” that usually come up in conversation out of the way.
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​Q: When did you leave?
A: We departed the afternoon of December 19th, 2015 from Las Palmas, Canary Islands. We originally planned to leave December 18th, but a faulty pulley on our jib took us back to the marina for the night.
 
Q: How long did it take?
A: It took us 22 days to cross the Atlantic. We originally anticipated a 14-day journey, but some mechanical hiccups took us slightly off course and slowed our progress. More on this later.
 
Q: What’s the boat like?
A: It’s a 65’ McGregor: [photo] You can also see photos from when I sailed on the boat last July; <see previous post>.
 
Q: Were there showers and toilets?
A: Showers no; toilets yes. We rinsed with ocean water. This is common among racing sailors and isn’t that bad really. Even if the boat’s proper showers had been functional, we wouldn’t have used them because we needed to conserve fresh water.
 
Q: Who was on the boat? 
A: We had eight crew, five guys and three girls. All of us were somehow acquainted with our Captain, Mike. On each shift, our roles sorted roughly into skipper, first mate, deckhand, and steward.
 
Q: Were you scared? 
A: No; see previous post <Anything scare me underwater?>. I'd like to write a longer post on this question, which I get often and that I've noticed females get far more often than males regarding adventure. It's like asking someone if they're scared to take their driver's exam... No, I've trained for the situation and know the range of things to expect. 
 
Q: Did you see other boats?
A: Yes; but not many. We saw about a dozen other vessels total during our 22-day crossing. Most were container ships. On Boxing Day we made contact with another sailboat over the radio. Nothing but clear blue ocean surrounded us during the vast majority of our journey.
 
Q: What did you eat? How’d you cook?
A: Lots of pasta and sandwiches. Fresh veggies for the first week, or until things went bad. We had a gas stove aboard. Lesson learned:  Even when rationing fresh water, don’t cook pasta in ocean water; it’s too salty. We also bought a leg of Parma ham that lasted two weeks. It got super creepy at night accidentally running into that hoof though, or watching the hoof sway with the boat.
 
Q: What marine life did you encounter? 
A: We had several dozen dolphins at a time follow our boat for about 10min on three different occasions. One of our helmsmen is certain he saw a whale on his shift as well. We spotted two sea turtles. Sometimes, even in the middle of the ocean, we’d see a lone bird flying around. A pigeon landed on our deck our second day at sea. We saw flying fish dance out of the water, and even onto our deck, many days.
 
Q: What was it like celebrating (insert: Christmas, birthday, New Year’s) in the middle of the ocean?
A: Fantastic. I missed family and friends, but we used our satellite phone to each make a short call home. We were blessed Christmas day with calm weather, so we could go for a swim. We had a great dinner too. On my birthday, the crew surprised me with a chocolate cake they managed to make in the oven. On New Year’s Eve you could say we all enjoyed a sunset cruise with some of our closest friends. It was great!
 
Q: What was harder, living underwater for 15 days or sailing across the Atlantic for 22 days?
A: I know it’s the boring answer, but the answer is simply that they’re different. Both had unique challenges. Living in Aquarius prepared me to live in close quarters for an extended period of time. For Aquarius though, by the end of our intense training I felt comfortable dealing with almost any imaginable emergency situation. We had two full-time habitat technicians living with us plus a full topside support crew, many of whom had run similar missions dozens of times in the past. This meant I could just focus on science work with other researchers.  On this sailing trip, however, we were all doing this for the first time. We had to figure things out as they came up, and, moreover, figure them out without the aid of Internet or anything that wasn’t already on the boat.
 
Q: Did you have any bad weather?
A: Not really. We were very fortunate with weather. We didn’t encounter any storms or rough patches that we couldn’t handle. We had some spouts of rain, but nothing major. The strongest winds we encountered were about 30 knots.
 
Q: What surprised you?
A: The songs stuck in your head when you leave land stay stuck in your head. I couldn’t shake Adele’s “Hello."

I really trusted our Captain, Mike. One of the first things you see below deck is a handwritten sign reading “No Bullshit” taped in the galley. When I agreed to join the crossing, I trusted him not only to lead us safely across the Atlantic, but also to pull together a competent crew with good group dynamic. Here’s a story from our fourth day at sea that confirmed our faith in the Captain; it’s taken from an excerpt of my journal entry three days before Christmas.

Sometime close to midnight, Maddie and I were below deck chopping greens when we heard a jibe. A jibe is when the boom swinging violently across the boat due to a change in the wind direction along the sail. Jeremy, one of our most competent helmsmen, was at the wheel, so it can’t have been caused by ineptitude or carelessness. Something was wrong. 
 
Mike bolted out of bed at the noise. Yep, something is very wrong. He knows the boat, all the noises it can make. He’s not taking for granted that the boat will sustain that kind of force. 
 
Both our captains and a 1st mate are on deck, plus one of our crew who is violently seasick. Maddie and I remain below, waiting to be asked to do something if help is needed. Space is so small up deck that especially in borderline-chaotic moments like this excessive crew can be in the way. 
 
Staying calmly below, just waiting, gives me a particular feeling I’m not use to dealing with. Part of me feels that I, as a sailor and mechanical engineer by training, should be handier on deck. I want to be up there, rain hitting me sidewise, climbing the mast, pulling in lines, shouting orders, whatever it takes. Another part of me realizes that while I may have more basic sailing knowledge than some of our crew with different experiences initially, I’m not as physically strong (able to winch in heavy winds or yank the oft-stuck halyard cleat in heavy winds) as our male crewmembers. I’m not the first person to come into mind when the Captain needs someone to furl in the Genny, for example. Is part of this because the high-adrenaline “survival mode” situations are bringing out some of the guys’ instincts to protect women? There’s room for a psychology experiment here (hello PhD prospect!). It’s just our first few days at sea, however. Roles will pan out. Everyone on this boat is a team player, which means we will do whatever is best for the group to reach our objective. I’ve been cooking or taking care of the ill the last few days because it’s been best for the group and I want us to reach our goal.  
 
As Maddie and I sit, braced between the navigation station desk and galley cabinets listening to orders cast above, Biz emerges from the main sleeping cabin, extremely seasick. She stumbles awkwardly to the floor and crouches in front of the stove, clinging to a bucket. She can’t keep even water (or Dramamine) down. I’m concerned she’ll soon be severely dehydrated. We try getting water with hydration salts to her. 
 
Above us, the three men shout across the length of the boat. From below, it’s unclear what the problem is, but things seem tense. My body wants to worry, but my brain remains even-keel, the only way it knows, “Grace Under Pressure." Whatever, I still feel useless.  
 
Mike starts singing “It’s a great day to be alive // I know the sun’s still shining’ when I close my eyes // There’s some hard times in the neighborhood // But why can’t everyday be just this good.” He’s either a lunatic or a thoughtful leader who has just goofily but purposefully quelled the unspoken anxieties of all his crew. It takes a few more days at sea to confirm the latter. 
 
As he darts below deck he takes a moment to tell Bizzy something sweet, like he’s never seen someone look so gorgeous while puking. It’s stupid but it makes her smile and she needed that. I know that not only is she dealing with crushing seasickness, but she’s also wondering if it was really a good idea for her to be here. She’s been the bravest of any of us, signing up for this adventure knowing only me and not having spent more than half a day on a sailboat. This is one of the times when I appreciate how aware Mike is of everything on the boat, mechanically and emotionally. 
 
Everyone is awake at this point; although I get the feeling that at best only the three on deck know what’s going on. Maddie and I are docile below, but we still need our brains turned on. For example, one of the guys passes down the fishing rod for us to secure. The quickest thing would be to wedge the rod between the table and bunk in the middle cabin, but we think one step ahead and find some less convenient place where no one in a hurry will accidentally step on it. This is one of those instances where you can’t be lazy and always have to be thinking ahead, of what might go wrong. 
 
As you learn in all aspects of life, but maybe more so in engineering, when there’s one problem, it’s easier than ever for things to snowball into a multi-layer problem. 
 
Maddie, taking a meta perspective, identifies issues on deck that we will remedy tomorrow. For example, those on deck might not realize it but they are wasting time rummaging around for headlamps only to find one of the headlamps has a dead battery. Tomorrow we'll organise the lamps and batteries in a reliable place. We also keep life vests and safety lines in a reliable location. We make a list, but must leave it for tomorrow. 
 
Even though our adrenaline is spiked, Maddie and I sleep. Plenty of crew is available. Someone will need to be rested tomorrow when the others aren’t. This is one of those times when my ability to completely ignore my surroundings and fall asleep, no matter the noise or chaos, is more useful than annoying to my companions. Perhaps counter intuitively, by being able to sleep I feel useful finally. ​

[The full journal entry is below...]
​

People make the boat.
 
We had no Internet or contact with the “outside” world during our crossing, apart from a satellite connection reserved for emergencies. This meant that all of us onboard couldn’t hide behind our phones or laptops; we had to hang out old-school style. It took perhaps two or three days to shake the habit of wanting to check my phone for updates. It took us no time to get to know each other. I guess hours and hours of uninterrupted conversation does that to people. If there was ever a lull during a night shift we’d play “would you rather” or go around telling stories. When our phones were all dead and unchangeable, we sang songs totally out of key.
 
We got on like a house on fire. Thank goodness, because this would be a very different crossing if not. Maybe the circumstances forced us to get along, but I don’t think so. We actually did all get along. Mike, the one who brought us all together, must’ve had a feeling we all would.
 
People dynamics have the potential to make all things sour when you’re living confined in close quarters 24/7, everyone out of their comfort zone in some way or another. If one person is in a funk it quickly infects the group.
 
There was only one day that I felt we got anywhere close to the “Mutiny” scene in Life Aquatic. I won’t go into the details, as they are mundane and have lost context; but we got over it by listening to each other and saying nice things before the evening meal.
 
There’s an unspoken rule for me when living in any form of inescapable tight quarters:  If a person has headphones on or has retreated to a spot on the boat away from others, leave them alone. On land if you saw your friend sitting at an edge of a café you’d of course approach them even if only for a quick hello. On the boat there is zero private space. There are times when you feel superfluous, question your usefulness, and become insecure.  Other times when you, rather vainly, think what would this boat do without me?
 
We’ve plenty of sea stories. I kept a detailed daily journal. Nearly all of it I wouldn’t publish. It’s personal, but also needs a good deal of context. Maybe I’m just a bad storyteller, but chatting with friends I quickly realize only a few of the stories really click, even if they weren’t the most telling for me. Here’s one of them:  On Boxing Day, I woke up in the middle of the night from what I thought was me falling asleep at the helm. I tried adjusting the wheel to the heel of the boat that I felt, but it was pitch black. We’re use to sailing in just moonlight, a small light illuminating our heading on the compass. I woke up the crewmember sleeping next to me. “Turn on the compass and windex lights! I can’t see anything! The boat isn’t responding!” They were confused. I was dreaming, of course, a very vivid dream. I laughed, relieved, once I realised I was in my bunk. Two days later another helmsman had the same dream. It became a recurring phenomenon.
 
Family and friends were the only things I genuinely missed about land. I especially missed my sister on her 18th birthday. She was playing squash for Team USA at the British Junior Open for squash (yes, she’s impressive) in England and I was supposed to be there. I wondered if she was going out for a drink since she’d be legal in the UK. I wondered how she was feeling about her game. I wondered if she was mad at me for missing her. Thinking more about it made me sad.
 
I also reflected on the high seas from a geopolitics perspective, something related to my PhD work. Appropriately, the week before departing I attended a workshop on the high seas sponsored by the <Global Ocean Commission> at my college in Oxford. All the proposed suggestions had a very tangible meaning now that we were out here on the high seas.
 
Many have likened the high seas to the Wild West. It’s true that you can get away with anything out here. There’s no one around. It is lawless. Check out the <New York Times’ fantastic expose on “Lawlessness on the High Seas">. On one side of the debate, there is the beautiful dream that the high seas could be a place, indeed an opportunity, for international peace and cooperation. But humans largely need a sense of ownership to act responsibility. I’m no exception. I remember sharing a bedroom with my sister when we were younger. She’s messy and I’m neat. There was a line in the room, dividing messy from neat. I never cleaned her side although she wouldn’t mind it. I’m also thinking of the high seas in terms of the game we often played on nightshifts. Would you rather have to respond to a radio call from a government every time you entered a country’s territorial waters, and perhaps even pay a toll for sailing across their waters? Or, would you rather have total freedom, but allow the ocean decline from overexploitation? What’s the balance? This issue begs for a longer discussion in a separate piece.
 
The thing I most wondered about before the trip was, how would it feel to be completely surrounded by nothing but ocean? For 22 days we saw nothing but ocean to all edges of the horizon. There was no reference for size or location. You could easily go crazy. If you didn’t trust the compass or maps you’d wonder, have we moved at all? Never have I seen so many consecutive sunsets and sunrises. Every day the sky put on a different show, between sunset, moonrise, and sunrise. Bizzy, a keen eye, saw nearly three-dozen shooting stars during the voyage.
 
My six-hour flight back to England over the same ocean was surreal. I’ll never look out the window during one of those crossings and view that ocean the same way.
 
Here’s a “FAQ” to end with: 
Q: Would you do it again? 
A: Absolutely.
Journal Snippets Continued
sailing_blog3_extra.pdf
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TEDx OXFORD TALK (Updated)

1/18/2016

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Jan 14, 2015  I'm sitting on the bus to London working on my 10 min talk for TEDx Oxford this Sunday. Excited! I'll post the video once it's out. The focus is "Why we know more about the dark side of the moon than the depths of the ocean." I'll present the argument from my BSc. thesis,  which distills the reasons down to missiles and miscommunication. Then, after understanding the history, we'll look at future of ocean exploration as a venture jointly funded by private and government sectors. I'll tie in stories from expeditions too. Everyone loves stories. 

PS ... in London for talk by Richard Pyle, big time rebreather diver and mesophotic coral reef researcher. His videos are really cool. Just listen to him:  "Our average rate of species discovery is 12 new species per hour we spend at depth." (!!) 
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UPDATEs

Jan 24, 2015  Many thanks to Stuart Young (@STUARTLIVEART), founder of Illustration Station, for creating this illustration during my TEDx Talk last weekend. 
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Feb 16, 2015 Teen Vogue ran a profile after the talk; full piece here. 
Dec 15, 2015 The talk is finally live! Check it out at out on the TEDx YouTube channel: 
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Thanks Sister! "My Surprising Vision of An Engineer" #ILookLikeAnEngineer

1/1/2016

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With the popular hastag #ILookLikeAnEngineer, it was a sweet surprise to see my sister Isabel's article (below). When I began in robotics, there were no girls involved at my school. Studies now show having role models in science and engineering that shatter stereotypes can be powerful for young girls who may be thinking about math, science, and engineering.  
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BRINGING "DEFY THE ODDS" Home ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

12/14/2015

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For three weeks over Christmas I'll help sail SailFuture's vessel Defy the Odds across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the US Virgin Islands. See previous posts about SailFuture's #SailforJustice program (why the boat is currently in the Canary Islands) and about my time onboard last July. 

After landing in the US Virgin Islands, Defy the Odds will take guests on week-long trips between January and April before the next iteration of its central mission -- providing high-risk juvenile offenders a transformative alternative to incarceration through training and teamwork at sea. Learn more about their "Vacations with a Purpose," and maybe you'll wind up on the boat as well! 

I likely won't have Internet again until about January 6th. More updates to come after that! I'll be taking plenty of photos and keeping a journal, so until then, bon voyage! 
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Introducing the #SailForJustice Program

11/11/2015

 
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I spent an incredible week on the #SAILFORJUSTICE boat in July (see post). The nonprofit SailFuture helps troubled teens break the cycle of behavior that keeps them in the criminal justice system by living, learning, and training together on a donated racing yacht and other sailing programs. You can read about their fantastic success and transformational program on their website. 

Their crew of formerly incarcerated teens is now training for a 2,700-mile race across the Atlantic Ocean. Follow their story by signing up for updates. Here's the most recent status report from the program's founder and executive director, Michael Long: 
Right now, five of America's highest-risk juvenile offenders are on board 'SV' Defy The Odds somewhere between Spain and Morocco. They left everything they've ever known for the opportunity to transform their lives.

In 26 days, they will race 2,700 miles across the Atlantic Ocean against 217 other sailboats crewed by 1,200 of the world's most experienced sailors.

A weekly video series takes a deep look into the lives of our crew and explores how they landed in the justice system. Join us for the chaos, progress and beauty of these young men working to transform their lives and come together as a team to win the 2015 Atlantic Rally.

Watch the program overview and first episodes below.
Help them spread the word. Click this link to sign up for updates. 

SailFuture utilizes the ocean as an alternative to incarceration for high-risk juvenile offenders and innovative mentorship practices to prevent at-risk high school students from entering the juvenile justice system.

UPDATE

Trying and learning is all part of success. See important update from the #SAILFORJUSTICE team.
(12 Nov 2015) After an emotional week filled with tough conversations, Dee, Pluto, Ridge, Tyler and Gavin have returned to the United States.

Lying, stealing, and a lack of willpower led us to decide that we weren't a strong enough team to compete in the race across the Atlantic Ocean. We could not sacrifice safety and ignore warning signs for the sake of the story.

Our mission was to create a transformational experience that would lead to transformational life changes for some of America's highest-risk juvenile offenders. We believe we did that.

Ridge had never left his reservation in Peach Springs, Arizona before embarking on his journey with SailFuture and visiting 5 different countries and 25 cities.

Dee and Pluto were fresh out of jail with no direction. After 100 hours of work shops and life coaching sessions, they have a path forward. In a few weeks Dee and Pluto will move into a SailFuture donor's home in Florida to begin working and apply to attend college at the University of South Florida.

Tyler and Gavin came into the program with uncontrollable anger and fought violently or escaped from every program they have been placed in. We had 0 violent incidents on board and we are proud they have developed new ways to cope with conflict and anger.

We're working with each of the guys to start their transition plans early. If you can assist with job placement or temporary housing, reach out to Mike at MLong@sailfuture.org

As for SailFuture, we'll be debriefing with partners, staff, and youth to evaluate lessons learned, and we are already preparing for the next SailFuture Odyssey program in late April.

Starting in mid January, we are offering unbelievably affordable weeklong vacation in the Caribbean onboard SV Defy the Odds. We encourage you to grab some friends and join us for a week: http://www.sailfuture.org/itinerary/


All of us at SailFuture, staff and students, have felt an extreme sense of community, love, and support from your facebook comments, emails, and phone calls. Thank you for being part of this journey and standing by us through both the calms and the rough seas.

50 OCEAN FACTS

11/10/2015

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Thanks ​divein.com for this infographic about the ocean! 
50 fascinating facts about the ocean
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TALK IN OXFORD 

10/23/2015

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I'm speaking again at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics on Monday 2nd November at 8pm. It will be an informal talk/discussion over wine and vegan snacks. 

If you'd like to attend, shoot me a message!

Are they reefs or hazards? When industry can leave equipment in the ocean
Presentation by Grace Young
Monday 2nd November 2015 8pm

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DIFFERENT PROJECT

10/22/2015

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Over the next few months I’m working part-time as a process engineer on a different kind of project. We’re building a plant that will turn unsorted municipal waste into energy. The energy produced will not only power the plant but also feed the grid. The process, which involves mechanical sorting of recyclables, bacterial digestion of organic matter, and incineration, is now profitable in Europe due to advances in technology and steep taxes on landfills. The plant will process 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. 
 

The waste-to-energy process ultimately helps the oceans in major ways, which of course makes me happy. It will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas methane released into the atmosphere from landfills (in the U.S. landfills are the largest anthropogenic emitters of methane) and will reduce CO2 emission. Both of these are major drivers of climate change and ocean acidification.  


Special thanks to the commissioning team at Interserve for welcoming me on the project. I’m learning a lot and enjoying the experience working on a large-scale engineering project for industry. 
 
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More information on the project here.  
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We Need a CERN for the Oceans: Time Magazine Op-ed - How to Save Our Sick, Neglected Oceans

9/15/2015

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I wrote an op-ed that TIME Magazine published about the need to create a multinational research effort (like CERN) for the oceans. It's a timely piece, with the UN General Assembly meetings starting in NYC this week and the UN's International Conference on Sustainable Development next week at Columbia University. Read more at TIME.com/4029379/cern-for-the-oceans/ 
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... read full piece at TIME.com/4029379/cern-for-the-oceans/

Apparently it was talked about in Harvard's Environmental Science class this week!
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LOVE THIS PROJECT

9/7/2015

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Sara Skamser of Newport, Oregon, works with fishermen and scientists to design and construct specialized fishing nets that catch the species fishermen want and leave the rest in the water where they belong. ...Skamser designs and constructs specialized fishing nets at Foulweather Trawl, the business she owns with her husband, John, a retired commercial fisherman in Newport, Oregon.

Read more about the innovator designing nets that benefit both fish and fishermen.
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Image and text via Pew Charitable Trusts. 
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JOIN ME IN A GOOGLE HANGOUT! 

8/28/2015

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Details: 

Fri, Sep 25, 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM LONDON TIME
Created by Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants
Public Event

Free
 
Join Grace as she shares about what it was like to spend 14 days living and working in a laboratory 63 feet below the surface of the ocean! Grace will also talk about ocean engineering and robotics.

Grace just returned from exploring mesophotic coral reefs off the Honduran island of Utila. After earning her BSc in mechanical and ocean engineering at MIT, she’s currently a Marshall Scholar and PhD candidate with Oxford University’s Ocean Research & Conservation Group.

An avid sailor and diver, she’s participated in five marine expeditions on four continents this year, and is currently using new rebreather technology to dive deeper and longer. Her work experience includes helping to design, build, and text submersible and aerial robots that have deployed in the Arctic, Antarctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, to monitor endangered species and create 3D maps of ice shelves and coral reefs to measure effects warming and acidification.

Last year, she was an aquanaut on Fabien Cousteau’s Mission 31, living and working on the ocean floor for two weeks in the Aquarius underwater lab

This lesson is suggested for grades 4 and up.


https://plus.google.com/events/c7m204avp4hhd3mm2ei37ajkr4o?hl=en
This event is also advertised on the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth website.  

UPDATE!

Thanks to all who joined! You can watch a recording of the talk here. 
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION 

8/21/2015

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I'm one part shy of finishing Snyder and Murphy's The Wake, a graphic novel about ocean exploration gone awry. I recommend! And for other action-packed stories of ocean adventure, check out Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson (a true story!) and the Dirk Pitt Adventures by Clive Cussler (whose son Dirk visited us in Aquarius during Mission 31!). 
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Sneak peak of The Wake
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BAY ISLANDS

7/27/2015

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I'm currently on Utila, an island off Honduras, collecting data. I'm working with Operation Wallacea and two other graduate students from Oxford. Regular updates are on my Instagram and our expedition Facebook page, "Thinking Deep."
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Right to left that's Dom, Jack and me, the Oxford underwater research team.
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OCEANS PROJECT PODCAST

7/19/2015

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A few weeks ago I was a guest on the Oceans Project Podcast hosted by Roger Overall and Sarah Weldon. Check it out! Episode 43: The Lady Who Lived Under the Sea
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BLISS

7/14/2015

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 This week 15 volunteers sailed the Aegean with SailFuture Captain Mike Long on his journey from Turkey to Florida, bringing a donated vessel to the non-profit’s headquarters. Half of us knew each other previously; half of us didn’t. We were all somewhat acquainted with Mike.

Mike founded the non-profit, SailFuture, which teaches at-risk youth responsibility through sailing as an alternative to incarceration for teens with extensive criminal records. Their goal is to help troubled teens break the cycle of behavior that keeps them in the criminal justice system and prevents them from being responsible and happy members of their communities. You can read about their fantastic success and transformational program on their website. I also had them highlighted on the ACT NOW page a few weeks ago. I can’t speak highly enough of the program.

This year a generous donor gave SailFuture a 65' racing yacht (a MacGregor Pilot House for the boat nerds out there). Mike and his first mate Jeremy repaired the boat and are sailing it from its donation point on the Black Sea in  Turkey to its destination point in Florida. Along the way they’re picking up a ragtag bunch of SailFuture friends and supporters to help sail each leg of the journey home. For the uber-curious, here’s my day-by-day account of the week.

In short, my leg of the trip was wonderful. Mike and his team’s passion and dedication not only impressed me, but invigorated my own endeavors. Not to get all soppy, but it was a seminal week that I’ll forever remember -- easily the most fabulous week of the year. I’m look forward to supporting SailFuture’s endeavors as best I can going forward. They’re currently fundraising to race a misfit group across the Atlantic. You can learn more at SailFuture, or reach out to me or Mike with questions.
Other crew posted about the trip as well: 
     Elizabeth Linzer: “The Best Way to Vacation: With Purpose”
     Kristen Moran: “Greece 2015 with Sail Future”
     Francisco Gonzalez: "Americans Stimulate Greece on Sail Future’s Week 4 Expedition" 
     And! From our onboard reporter: "James O'Keefe Goes Undercover in Greece During Financial Crisis"  
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SailFuture’s donated vessel. More photos coming soon. Photo credit Mike Norton.

Vacation over. 

After Greece I pit-stopped in Oxford to repack gear. I flew out early in the morning to begin the three day journey to meet up with the rest of the Oxford research team at our research site on the island of Utila, off Honduras. I’m looking forward to the adventure and to testing new technologies and gathering data for my PhD. 
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SUBMARINE MIGHT EXPLORE SEA ON SATURN'S MOON 

7/13/2015

 
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Image credit: NASA
Aside from Earth, Saturn's largest moon Titan is the only place in the Solar System with bodies of liquid on its surface that we've discovered so far, making it a rather attractive place to explore.

Step forward the Titan Submarine, a proposal that NASA has just awarded a second round of funding through their Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. It is very much just a concept at the moment, but it is promising nonetheless.

Similar to an Earth-based submarine, the cylindrical vessel about the length of a car would plunge through the thick atmosphere of Titan and dive into its largest liquid hydrocarbon sea, Kraken Mare. 

Read more in Jonathan O'Callaghan's "This Titan Submarine is one of Several Futuristic Projects NASA is Funding" or at nasa.gov. Thanks friend Nick for bringing this to my attention. I'd also like to chime in -- Wouldn't it be easier to develop these technologies on earth before we ship them to space?! :) 

FEATURE IN TIME Modern Explorers MAGAZINE (!)

6/19/2015

 
Hey there! Mission 31 made it into TIME Magazine's Modern Explorers Edition! Check out the magazine at news stands or via collectors on Amazon.com. TIME's online coverage here. 
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TIME Modern Explorers 2015 Edition 
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^ recognize anyone? :P 

SICILY

6/4/2015

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I'm currently with Professor Carlo Beltrame's team diving shipwrecks off the coast of Southern Sicily. More to come when I've better internet! Check out their recent papers here. 

UPDATE:  Photos!

^Team from University of Porto testing underwater robot
^Dive to 1st century shipwreck 
^Cute-as-can-be kittens in dive shop by the harbor
^Sunset snorkel on #WorldOceanDay at archeological site 
^Boat trip out to Roman shipwreck, passing stunning landscape of Taromina, Sicily
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DIVE GEAR BREAKDOWN & REVIEWS

6/3/2015

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My room looked like a dive shed the last few weeks, gear strewn about as I packed for our 100m dive training in the Red Sea. I try to be a minimalist in general, but you need a sizable amount of gear to safely reach 100m and return all in one piece! People often asked me what gear I'm using, so here it goes, a "what's in my bag" post (not-quite a la Zoella style). I hope this helps others sorting out dive kit! Please add any questions below. 

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Rebreather. We're diving the Hollis PRISM 2. There are dozens of other rebreathers on the market; I'll leave it to other forums to discuss each unit's relative merits. I'm happy with the PRISM, however. Hollis and Oceanic helped in a major way on Mission 31 and I'm glad to be working with the company again. 
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Wing and Backplate. I'm using the Hollis wing and backplate that support the PRISM. I secretly want OxyCheq's 40lb wing in camo :), but the Hollis system is great and looks cool too. 

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Backup Dive Computer. We dive Shearwater Petrels. They're pretty standard for rebreather diving. There's also a Shearwater connected to the rebreather as the main dive computer. My backup died on this trip to the Red Sea, I'm sad to say. It's still unclear what the problem was, but fortunately I was still able to dive using paper dive tables as a backup. 
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Regulator. I attach this to a bailout tank carrying less than 50% O2, usually my bottom gas, travel gas, or air bailout. Attached to the first stage is a second stage, low pressure hose and submersible pressure gauge (SPG). It's got a DIN valve, which is what's recommended for tech diving. I'm happy with the Hollis 212 DC1 N-Swivel DIN Maxflex. My dive buddies use Scubapro and Apeks.
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Oxygen Clean Regulator. I'm happy with the Hollis 210 HO2 Oxygen DIN regulator. I attach it to a bailout tank with high percentage O2. It also has a low pressure hose and submersible pressure gauge (SPG) attached. Tip: It's nice to have different-looking SPGs on bailout regulators so it's harder to accidentally read the wrong one on a bailout ascent. 
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Cylinders. I've two 3L cylinders for the rebreather, one for pure oxygen and the other for diluent gas. I'm happy with FABER tanks although it's hard to go wrong here. I leave my tanks at our research site where we can't rent 3L cylinders easily. I don't travel with them if I can avoid it. You have to remove the valve if you travel with them. It's important your O2 tank is clearly marked as such.
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Fins. I have the Military Fins from Northern Diver. I chose them because only Northern Diver offered jet fins in a size smaller than XL or XXL. My feet are small (i.e., normal woman size). I wanted Hollis Yellow-Tip F1s, "the Ferrari of fins," but they only come in large sizes. 
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Cutting Device. Aquasnips are so great I even used them to cut my hair. Tip: If you can be bothered, you should drill out the bolt in the middle and replace with a stainless steel one to avoid corrosion on the blades. 
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Backup Cutting Device. I got this badass-looking knife/shears multi-functional tool from Northern Diver but I don't recommend it. The knife is so sharp and exposed that in stressful situations underwater you can easily puncture the wrong thing (your counterlung! your finger!). I'd rather just have a secondary set of shears or a line snip.  
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Mask. I dive with an Oceanic Shadow. The important thing for a mask is that a) it fits and b) it doesn't leak. Simple as that, and yet some divers could talk for days about masks. I don't recommend you get into one of these "debates." e.g., there is discussion as to whether clear or black mask edges are better. Really, either is fine. My dive buddies have sea fungus growing in their masks and don't care. I put neoprene straps on my masks so they don't tug hair. 
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Backup Mask. I used a SEAC Capri S/BL Snorkeling Mask. It fit my face great and had a great field of view, BUT when ascending from 60m it started leaking from the seams. So yes, don't go cheap on the mask. For the truly crazy (or desperate) diver, my instructor claims as yet another backup mask you can trap bubbles under your hand and look through them. But also people forget you can open your eyes underwater without a mask and see kindof ok. It's not pleasant, especially in the salty Red Sea, but you will be able to make an ascent. We do many drills without masks to prepare us for this worse-case situation. 
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Mask Case. You certainly don't need one of these; SCUBA masks don't scratch that easily. But I tend to be rough on gear and have been really happy with this soft mask box by iQ-Company. Both my primary and secondary masks fit inside. It helps keep things organized and scratch-free while traveling, and while I'm diving I sometimes stash my phone and sunglasses in it. I secretly want iQ-Company's orange dry bag too. 
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Wet Notes. It's a simple thing but SUPER IMPORTANT. I use this to communicate underwater when what I need to say is too complicated for hand signals. I also use it to record data and a dive plan. Our instructor uses one to list emergency drills.  I really like the Hollis Waterproof Notebook. It's robust, easy to clip on, and easy to refill with commonly available wet journals. 

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Surface Marker Bouys (SMBs). For 100m dives we need one yellow (to signal an emergency) and at least one orange (to indicate our presence to boat traffic). I have Northern Diver DSMBs and love them. They are 1.8m tall and thin, so yours will be taller and stiffer than everybody's muahahah. My dive buddies use BSAC SMBs and they are ok too. It's great having a low pressure inflator on the SMB. You also need reels or finger spools to attach to each SMB. 
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Pockets. These are to store your backup mask, cutting devices, wetnotes, etc. other things you might need on your dive. I originally used IST Sports Scuba Divers Thigh Storage Pouchs but THEY FELL APART. They are shredded and completely unusable after only a dozen dives. Instead I'd recommend Dive Rite Pockets or, for the oh-so-stylish, dive shorts with pockets. 
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Spares Kit. I've the official Hollis PRISM 2 spares kit but it's not great. Here's what I really wanted/have needed as spares:  an extra mouthpiece, extra scrubber basket mesh (I heard of someone fixing a cut scrubber basket with mosquito net), spare O2 sensor, spare wiring harness, replacement O-rings, and white sponges for the scrubber basket. 
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Exposure Protection. For the Red Sea I wore my 5mm Oceanic wetsuit from Mission 31 (it's awesome) with a neoprene hood and old sailing booties inside my fins. Our instructor dove dry suit. 
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Travel Case. I like to save my back so I "invested" in the cheapest hard-shell four-wheeled suitcase I could find and slapped a Hollis sticker onto it. If you are macho you can carry your rebreather in the flight case it came with, but the suitcase saves a lot of hassle. 
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Additional Gear Bag. Not everything fits into the giant wheeled suitcase believe it or not. I put everything else in a mesh SCUBA bag that I'v had for a while. I don't even know who makes it, but it's so durable I love the bag. You can put all your kit in it and then dunk the whole bag to rinse. I've used it for 8 years to transport gear and even used it to move across to Oxford from Boston. 
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Dive Light. I recommend anything by Light & Motion. A light isn't always necessary in the Red Sea and Caribbean, where we are lucky because there's plenty of light even at 100m most of the day. Light & Motion supported us on Mission 31 and we used them for some of the underwater high speed filming on Mission 31. It's a great company. 
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Random Little Things. A pouch in my dive bag contains spare 9V and AA batteries for the rebreather, ever-so-handy bolt snaps, a lighter to stop frying nylon, a USB stick (to grab photos when Internet is ultra-slow!), my certification cards (which I use to clean the threads on the rebreather scrubber basket). I need to add to this bag some O2 grease, a sharpie and tape. 

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Credit @scidiving
<-- I know it's a ton of gear, but to put things in perspective, it's a small amount compared to what our rebreather instructor Elliot Jessup took on his recent expedition. Check out their 200lb of gear on @scidiving Instagram! 
<-- Packing Hollis breathing machine while getting ready for Red Sea expedition! Video from INSTAGRAM - check out #GirlsWithToys 
 
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MARSHALLS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

5/25/2015

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I’m grateful for the Marshall program for exposing me to policy issues and giving me an education in UK government and international affairs, topics I normally wouldn’t have exposure to in my engineering-focused graduate work. Yet they are critically important to the ocean, especially in the coming decade as multinational bodies shape the future of our waters, for better or for worse.

Each year the Marshall Scholarship, the program funding my PhD, takes scholars on a trip to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. This year’s destination was Northern Ireland. Our first stop was Belfast, the capitol. We toured the Parliament buildings there, received an overview lecture on Northern Ireland’s history, and a tour focused on the political history by Dr. Dominic Bryan, Director of Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University.

During the 4-day trip we also went on a walking tour of the walled city of Derry and attended a reception hosted by US Consul General Greg Burton. I particularly enjoyed the afternoon at the University of Ulster, chatting with graduate students in the Department of Computing and Intelligent Systems. It was a packed schedule! More photos on Instagram. 

The highlight of our trip was a talk by Anne Applebaum over a delightful lunch in Queen’s University Great Hall. Applebaum is a Marshall alumna, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, and wife of Poland's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski. She spoke to us about her research on communism. Her talk was one of the Marshall Scholarship’s 60th anniversary lecture series.  

Many thanks again to the Marshall program, including administrators, alumni, sponsors, and my fellow scholars for the intellectually stimulating  and action-packed week.

After the official program I spent the weekend in Dublin with a few other scholars. A day trip to the Cliffs of Moher was the highlight of the weekend. More photos on Instagram. 
I had the chance to reunite with a PR2 robot at University of Ulster, Department of Computing and Intelligent Systems. 
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The Cliffs of Moher. I feel so fortunate and grateful to be living and working to better understand this great ecosystem lapping at the shores of the cliffs. 
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THANKS SPORT DIVER MAGAZINE 

5/23/2015

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Thanks Sport Diver magazine for the profile in April's issue! Also thanks to Teen Vogue for the profile earlier this spring. I'm grateful for the opportunity to spread the word about the urgent need for better ocean management and exciting new frontiers in ocean exploration.
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TALK IN OXFORD

4/21/2015

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I'm speaking about noise pollution in the ocean and its affect on animal welfare at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics on Monday 4th May at 8pm. It will be an informal talk/discussion over wine and vegan snacks. If you'd like to attend, shoot me a message!

More information here.
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PHOTOS FROM ISLAND EXPEDITION 

4/9/2015

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The last two months my research team at Oxford and I have been exploring mesophotic reefs using Hollis Prism 2 rebreathers. More information in this blog post -- "Diving Deeper and Longer to Study Never Before Seen Coral Reefs" and our Facebook page -- "Thinking Deep."
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DIVING LONGER & DEEPER WITHOUT BUBBLES TO STUDY NEVER BEFORE SEEN CORAL REEFS

3/11/2015

 

REBREATHER TRAINING: BEYOND TRADITIONAL SCUBA

The past weeks I've been learning to rebreather dive with two other Oxford PhD students. The rebreathers allow us to study reefs below traditional SCUBA depth limits (up to 120m/400ft). They also scare away fewer fish than traditional SCUBA because they don't produce bubbles. The concept is that on a rebreather you're essentially breathing the same breath over and over; when you exhale CO2 is removed and oxygen added. The only caveat is that the units are more mechanically complex than normal SCUBA rigs and therefore require more training and skill. 
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Resurfaced from our first rebreather dive; from left to right, our instructor Elliott Jessup, Jack Laverik (fellow PhD student), me, and Dom Adriadi-Brown (fellow PhD student). 
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Our team is keeping up a Facebook page. "Like" for updates. 
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Learning to use Google Ocean "Street" view.
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Filling oxygen cylinders; getting ready for a dive.

A LITTLE REBREATHER HISTORY

Rebreather technology has been around more than a decade, but they are only recently becoming more widely used and accepted in the scientific and recreational diving communities. Statistically, diving a rebreather is more dangerous than diving SCUBA. Accidents are all linked to user error, however, apart from a few truly freak accidents. If a diver is well trained, thoroughly inspects and maintains her unit, and follows a conservative dive plan, the rebreather diving is extremely safe and greatly benefits research. They allow us to dive to greater depths for longer periods of time and without bubbles that disturb marine life.  

WHAT & WHERE

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One of the research questions we are looking into is how deep reefs may (or may not be) sheltering some corals from the effects of climate change and fishing. More on that question in this PBS article. 

We are training off the island of Utila, which is the site of my dive buddies' (Dom and Jack's) PhD experiments. They have a close relationship with the dive center here as they help run a program for marine biology students here on the summers. The reefs here are fairly healthy and can be reached without expensive boat trips, which is somewhat rare and helps keep research costs low. To top it off, Utila is a gorgeous Caribbean island! 

The pictures with captions in the slide show below illustrate some of our adventures so far, including learning to use the Google Street "Ocean" View camera. 
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    Author

    Grace Young  (B.S., MIT, Ph.D, Oxford) is an ocean engineer, aquanaut, and explorer currently working at X. She lived underwater as a scientist and engineer on Fabian Cousteau’s Mission 31, and is a National Geographic Explorer. 

    Blog Highlights: 
    1. No Engineer is an Island
    2. Mission 31 Highlights
    3. Sailing Across the Atlantic 
    ​3. Return to CERN

    Tweets by @grace_h2o
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