Day 10 – 5/30/2019 – Bah Hah-Bah

Today was the day to explore Bar Harbor (spelled phonetically in the heading).

We started at a leisurly time, taking the half-hour drive (we’re told that in mid-summer the drive can take as much as 2 hours.), and arriving in town in time for a quick lunch before the main event of the day.

After lunch we followed the detour directions (it’s road construction season here too.) to the meeting point for Diver Ed’s Dive-in Theatre. We checked in and boarded the boat

The name “Starfish Enterprise” was our second hint that this wouldn’t be a boring adventure.

Once on board we were met by Diver Ed, his wife “Captian Evil”, her first mate (whose name escapes me) and their dogs Nori and Elver. The dogs are water rescue newfoundlands – very sweet, kid loving,

and oh so patient during the Coast Guard safety lecture.

The lecture complete we headed out across the bay to an anchorage near an old abandon breakwater project. Ed being Ed, even donning his dry suit was a production.

He actually performed two dives, the first one to scout the sea floor, narrating his progress as he and Captain Evil bantered back and forth over his com link (while she tried to explain to us what was going on as he kept interrupting her).

While this was going on we watched a beautiful cat rigged four master leave port.

Eventually he surfaced, attached a bag of treasures to the line while retrieving a second bag, and taking the video camera

The camera is attached to an umbilical cord that is attached to the large display monitor on the boat.

Captian Evil narrates while Diver Ed quips and his dive partner (Mini Ed 163) investigates a starfish. Mini Ed serves several important functions in the team. First, one should never dive solo so he is Ed’s “dive buddy”. Second, he serves as a measuring stick helping we, the viewers, understand the size of objects on camera. Third, he performs the more dangerous operations (as evidenced by the fact that this is the 163rd Mini Ed). During this dive Mini Ed lost a hand when a mussel bit it off (It was later retrieved and will be repaired through he miracles of reattachment surgery.).

Diver Ed is a terrific showman. His commentary and antics kept viewers of all ages entertained and enthralled. We even learned a thing or two.

He “borrowed” a starfish to demonstrate why scallops hate starfishes.

He kissed a lobster – while it tried to rip his face off

Eventually he surfaced and, of course, taking the dry suit off was a production.

While Ed was carrying on Captain Evil hauled in the sample bags and sorted the critters into “pinchy” and non-pinchy tubs. Ed then called all the kids who aren’t afraid and don’t mind getting wet to come forward and sit on the life jacket bins. Then the fun began.

Ed explains the difference between the front end and the back end of a sea cucumber (and what comes out of each end)

Ed used a starfish to make sure people knew they were in the “blue splash zone”

Ed is a BIG fan of kissing things. Here he convinces Jesse to kiss a crab.

Following the lecture it was “open touching” time. Kids got to pick up everything he had brought up (including the lobsters once their claws had been banded).