8:00 a.m. — The morning Mir meeting. Expedition leader Dr. Anatoly Sagalevitch speaks with a new tone of clear resolve. He says we have an opportunity for two dives, today and tomorrow, but the weather could turn against us on July 5. He looks directly at the ROV engineer and kindly but firmly states that the success of the mission now lies on his shoulders. The submersibles, he says, are ready, now the bots must perform as designed.

The plan is to dive at 10:00 a.m. today without the fiber-optic link. The hope is to explore the wreck to the greatest extent possible and to test the limits of the bots. Tomorrow, we will put all the pieces back together and the team will do everything possible to explore the wreck with the live video and communications links in place. Dr. Sagalevitch instructs all teams to focus their energy and skills on making that dive succeed. "It will be our only chance," he says.

So, as it happens, out here, 350 nautical miles southeast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean, the success of Leg 1 of this expedition will be determined on the Fourth of July, 2005.

As the meeting adjourns, the morning sun on the ocean mist reveals a phenomenon sailors refer to as a "white rainbow." The early light refracts in a way that creates a horseshoe-shaped arc across the water that appears to glow with its own energy.

11:00 a.m. — The crew launches Mir 2 and 30 minutes later, Mir 1. Both subs begin their silent descent.

3:00 p.m. — Reports from the Russian crew indicate that both subs are on the wreck and the bots appear to be flying fine.

5:00 p.m. — A rumor sweeps through the ship that at least one bot has gone down.

6:00 p.m. — It is now confirmed that two of the three bots are now inoperable. Not good news for the team. Tomorrow's critical dive may now depend on the performance of a single bot.

8:30 p.m. — Both subs begin their ascent to the surface.

10:30 p.m. — Mir 2 reaches the surface. Her lights cast a unique glow on the surface from a few hundred meters away. This alone is remarkable. While the subs were on their extended dive, the Keldysh was mostly drifting free in the Atlantic to conserve fuel. The captain and crew, communicating only via a through-the-water acoustic link, coordinate their arrival and steam back, probably 10 nautical miles, to where the subs will resurface.

It's a careful dance of timing and navigation; if it didn't work, James Cameron and crew would be floating in a sub alone in the North Atlantic. Fortunately, the delicate dance has always worked. Our Russian hosts have once again brought the Keldysh to the sub and sent the tender Koresh out to meet her. In 30 minutes, the sub is back on deck and Cameron is aboard, tired, frustrated but again in remarkably good cheer for what has taken place. Predictably, his main concern is making the film he has promised to make. There is no way I can doubt his resolve. When he was doubted by many in 1997, he came up with the most successful motion picture in Hollywood history. I trust that again he will find a way.

11:30 p.m. — Mir 1 is brought aboard and we retire to the galley for dinner and conversation. Cameron is focused on all the possible routes to a successful outcome. He clearly relishes the challenge even when the odds of success are undoubtedly dwindling.

Stephen Reverand is Executive Producer and Vice President of Special Projects for Discovery Channel.

More Expedition Logs: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 |