December 17, 2013 - 8:58 AM
DEEP BAY, B.C. - Several Vancouver Island University students were already excited as they began their first session guiding an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle across the bottom of Deep Bay, in the Salish Sea, about 80 kilometres northwest of Nanaimo, B.C., but that was before the lights of the little ROV illuminated a mysterious box.
VIU Deep Bay marine field station manager Brian Kingzett says the discovery fired up the students' imaginations because the odd-looking truck tool box was securely tied off with a bunch of concrete anchors.
Kingzett says the discovery was made last week and the fact that the box was the size of a small coffin was not lost on the trainees, prompting rampant speculation as they used the ROV to take pictures and make plans to pull the container to the surface.
That happened Monday and Kingzett says the contents couldn't measure up to the anticipation.
He says the only thing sleeping with the fishes was a very healthy giant Pacific octopus, which was quickly returned to the ocean, while other junk and concrete inside went to the landfill.
It's believed the box was likely made as some sort of anchor or mooring, but students remain delighted with their unexpected underwater training opportunity. (CKAY)
---
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013