My underwater ROV project

ROV-remotely operated vehicle.

I am currentlty adding remote controlled motor thrusters to my drop down camera system which will allow me to maneuver the cameras along the ocean floor while viewing and recording the undersea scenery live on the surface in a boat. This project when complete will greatly expand my reef exploration and video photography capability.

Please visit my youtube channel  www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrBd5oYSFw23bt3uzuU5KQ

to my latest work. Note that the marine life is not at all disturbed by the camera presence. They seem to just go about their usual business. Not necessarily true with SCUBA diving. The fish are disturbed by the bubbles and the noise of  human breathing.

I haven’t been out much in the past several months due to unusually rough sea conditions. Hopefully, I will get some opportunities this winter between the fronts passing through. Have a nice holiday.

Richard

Exploring the Ocean Floor

Hello ocean lovers. My name is Richard Fast. I am 75, and really enjoying life in Jacksonville, Florida. I am a retired Navy submariner (30 years) with a follow-on career as a commercial pilot. I moved to Florida two years ago from Michigan following my wife’s retirement from the FAA (she is also a pilot). My favorite place to be is near the ocean, on the ocean, viewing sealife, fishing, and recording underwater videos. I used to SCUBA dive but I am getting a little old to still be doing that, so I have come up with a substitute: dropping cameras down from a boat. Not quite the same, but it is what I can still do safely.

There are over 100 artificial reef sites off of the Jacksonville coastline 10 to 30 miles out, in 50 to 100 feet of water. I find it really enjoyable to view and video record the ocean floor and undersea life near these reefs. I hope you will also enjoy watching undersea life through my videos and pictures. You can see my work to date on youtube. Here is the address:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrBd5oYSFw23bt3uzuU5KQ