C4
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, May 18, 2019
THE DEEPEST DIVE
Explorer recounts making the deepest ocean dive in history
By NEKESA MUMBI
MOODY
Associated Press
N
EW YORK — Tak-
ing the hours-long
journey to what is
believed to be the
deepest point man-
kind has visited in
any ocean was a
complicated one, and for Vic-
tor Vescovo, it meant being
constantly on the alert as he
monitored his state-of-the-art
vessel.
But when he reached 10,928
meters into the Challenger
Deep in the Mariana Trench
of the Pacific Ocean, Vescovo
took the advice of the man
whose record he just broke —
Oscar-winning director James
Cameron — and took 15 unin-
terrupted minutes to take in the
view and the enormity of the
moment.
Cameron told him he’d be
busy, of course, but noted that
“few if any people have seen
what you’ve seen” so “deeply
appreciate how fortunate you
are to see it,’” Vescovo recalled
in an interview.
Last month’s groundbreak-
ing mission was filmed as part
of an upcoming Discovery
Channel documentary series
that will chronicle Vescovo’s
trips to the furthest parts of the
world’s waters — the Atlantic
Ocean, the Southern Ocean,
the Indian Ocean, the Pacific
Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.
He has done all except the Arc-
tic plunge, which is set for the
fall.
The entire journey took
nearly 12 hours — four hours
Atlantic Productions Photo/Tamara Stubbs, File
In this photo provided by Atlantic Productions for Discovery Channel, Victor Vescovo emerges from
his submersible “Limiting Factor” after a successful dive to the deepest known point in the Mariana
Trench on April 28, 2019. Vescovo, a businessman and amateur pilot, has also traversed the highest
peaks of mountains, including Mount Everest.
to descend, four hours spent
at the bottom, and then about
four hours to ascend again.
Vescovo, a businessman and
amateur pilot who has also tra-
versed the highest mountain
peaks, including Mount Ever-
est, said the goal of the expedi-
tion was not to best Cameron’s
mark in the ocean, but to go to
areas of the waters that were
unexplored.
“I was stunned to discover
when I did my research that of
the five oceans, four had never
had a visitation to their bot-
toms,” he said. “I thought it was
about time that someone actu-
ally did that.”
For his journey, Vescovo
traveled in a vessel called the
SDV Limiting Factor, a titanium
craft that is billed as the “ulti-
mate submersible” and the only
one able to travel to such depths.
It was outfitted with high defi-
nition cameras that documented
everything, including creatures
unknown to man.
“There’ve been numerous
new species thought found on
this expedition. The scientific
group is thrilled with the things
that have been brought back for
additional analysis. It’s really
great,” he said.
He saw a very unusual jel-
lyfish in the Indian Ocean but
there was also an unsettling
find — trash, particularly plas-
tic, in the deepest part of the
water.
The discovery of plas-
tic in such far reaches proves
the need for more vigilance to
protect the oceans, said Andy
Sharpless, CEO of Oceana,
which describes itself as the
largest worldwide group in the
world with the goal of saving
the oceans.
“Vescovo’s discovery of
plastic in the deepest part of
the ocean is disturbing but
not surprising because plastic
is found throughout the water
column in our oceans,” he said
in a statement. “That’s why it
can’t be easily ‘cleaned up.’ We
need to focus on reducing the
use and production of plastic in
order to really protect our seas
from plastic.”
Patrick Lahey of Triton
Submarines, which made the
vessel that transported Ves-
covo and also followed Ves-
covo’s dives to the Challenger
Deep, said the missions show
why more exploration of the
oceans are critical for science’s
benefit.
“These are large swaths of
the oceans that we’ve never
seen that really we know vir-
tually nothing about. I think
it’s important for us as human
beings to study these areas,”
said Lahey.
“The ocean is the life force
of our planet. I think this is a
great opportunity for us to
learn more about it and to try to
use this tool that we’ve devel-
oped for that purpose.”
“I WAS STUNNED TO DISCOVER WHEN I DID MY RESEARCH THAT OF THE FIVE OCEANS, FOUR HAD NEVER HAD A
VISITATION TO THEIR BOTTOMS. I THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT TIME THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY DID THAT.”
Victor Vescovo
AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN
Zucchini or summer squash makes for a colorful pasta dish
A
combination of
pasta and summer
squash results in a
light, flavorful dish that’s
full of color.
We decided against
peeling the squash, as
the skin helped to keep
the pieces intact through-
out the cooking process.
Because summer squash
contains so much liquid,
we salted and drained it to
keep our sauce from end-
ing up watery and bland.
The salted squash also
browned beautifully; just
5 minutes in a hot skillet
gave a light char to each
batch. To accompany the
squash, we chose halved
grape tomatoes, fresh
basil, and pine nuts.
We finished the sauce
with balsamic vinegar to
give it a kick and paired
the sauce with farfalle,
since its nooks and cran-
nies easily trapped the
flavor-packed
ingredi-
ents. A combination of
zucchini and summer
squash makes for a more
colorful dish, but either
may be used exclusively
if desired. Cherry toma-
toes can be substituted for
the grape tomatoes.
If farfalle is unavail-
able, campanelle and
fusilli are good substi-
tutes. We prefer using
kosher salt because resid-
ual grains can be eas-
ily wiped away from the
squash; if using table salt,
be sure to reduce all of
the salt amounts in the
recipe by half.
FARFALLE WITH ZUCCHINI, TOMA-
TOES & PINE NUTS
Servings: 6
Start to finish: 1 hour
2 pounds zucchini and/or summer
squash, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2
inch thick
Kosher salt and pepper
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound farfalle
12 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
cup chopped fresh basil
cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Grated Parmesan cheese
Toss squash with 1 tablespoon salt and let
drain in colander for 30 minutes. Pat squash
dry with paper towels and carefully wipe
away any residual salt.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick
skillet over high heat until just smoking.
Add half of squash and cook, stirring occa-
sionally, until golden brown and slightly
charred, 5 to 7 minutes, reducing heat if skil-
let begins to scorch; transfer to large plate.
Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining
squash; transfer to plate.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skil-
let over medium heat until shimmering.
Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until
fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in squash
and cook until heated through, about 30
seconds.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil
in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon
salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente.
Reserve cup cooking water, then drain
pasta and return it to pot. Add squash mix-
ture, tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, vinegar, and
remaining 2 tablespoons oil and toss to com-
AP Photo/Daniel J. van Ackere
This undated photo provided by America’s Test Kitchen in May 2019 shows Farfalle with Zucchi-
ni, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts in Brookline, Mass. This recipe appears in “The Complete Mediter-
ranean Cookbook.”
bine. Season with salt and pepper to taste
and adjust consistency with reserved cook-
ing water as needed. Serve with Parmesan.
Nutrition information per serving: 463
calories; 154 calories from fat; 17 g fat (2 g
saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol;
177 mg sodium; 65 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber;
9 g sugar; 13 g protein.