The 74th day of Dr. Joseph Dettori’s stay at the Jules Under Sea lodge, at the bottom of a 30-foot lake in Key Largo, wasn’t much different from his earlier days there since he was submerged on March 1.
Dettori ate a protein-rich microwaved egg and salmon meal, worked out with resistance bands, did daily push-ups and took an hour nap.
The previous record of 73 days, 2 hours and 34 minutes was set by two Tennessee professors, Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fine, at the same location in 2014.
But Dettori will not be satisfied with this number and reappearance, as he plans to stay in the lodge until June 9, when he reaches 100 days and completes an underwater mission called Project Neptune 100.
The mission combines medical and ocean research with educational outreach and was organized by the Marine Resources Development Corporation, which owns the lodge.
“This is a limited achievement and I really appreciate it. I’m honored to have it, but we still have more science to do,” said Dettori, an instructor at the University of South Florida.
“The idea here is to reside in the world’s oceans, take care of them by living in them and treating them really well,” he added.
Dettori’s research involves everyday physiological experiments to observe how the human body responds to long-term exposure to extreme stress.
The outreach part of Dettori’s mission includes conducting online lessons and radio interviews from his undersea digital studio.
Over the past 74 days, Dettori has reached 2,500 students through online classes in marine science, and more during his regular biomedical engineering courses at the University of South Florida.
And while he says he loves living under the ocean, one thing he really misses is the sun.
About that, he says: “The sun was a major factor in my life. I usually go to the gym at five and then come back to watch the sunrise.”
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