Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The Pinnacles are impressive granite peaks that rise out of deep water
to about eighty feet from the surface. Because of the exceptionally rich
life covering the rocks, we thought this location would be ideal for our
first rocks. We figured in three years they would be covered with growth
and we'd go back before the aquarium opened to retrieve them. We
had a boatload of people on board for this momentous event as we
headed around to Carmel Bay. Some were divers, while some were just
along for the ride and to watch the launching of our first fake rocks.
When we arrived at the Pinnacles, we hoisted the first rock o¤ the
deck with the ship's crane and lowered it into the water. There was a
bit of a swell running that day, and as soon as the rock was underwa-
ter the roll of the ship combined with the drag of the water broke the
rock in two. That wasn't a good beginning for our ambitious project.
Indeed, it quickly became obvious that the rocks were far too weak
to survive what we had planned for them. During severe winter storms
the Pinnacles are scoured by heavy ground swells, the e¤ect of which
can be felt as deep as a hundred feet. Our rocks would surely be swept
away and broken into many pieces. Even if that didn't happen, they
were so light underwater that when giant kelp spores settled on them
and grew, the plants' buoyancy would eventually lift the rocks o¤ the
bottom, and kelp, rocks, and all would drift away to who knows where.
When a piece of our rocks was found many months later, it already
had a number of small kelp plants growing on it. We learned several
lessons from that failed venture: the rocks had to be very strong; they
needed to be placed in an area protected from storm waves; and they
needed to be solidly bolted down if they were to stay where we put
them for three-plus years.
THE FINE ART OF NATURE FAKING
David Packard took a personal interest in the way the project was de-
veloping, and it wasn't just because he was paying the bills. As a self-
made man who, together with Bill Hewlett, started the Hewlett-Packard
electronics company in his garage, he had a do-it-yourself philosophy.
He also believed that if a project was going to be done, it should be
done right. However, Packard didn't get upset if something didn't work
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