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July 7, 2010

Come wind or weather

BY: Guayo

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© OCEANA / Eduardo de Ana

 

We set sail from the Rota marina this morning, as planned. The sun gave us a break, hiding behind some clouds and there was more of a breeze today, thankfully.

We had a full day’s work ahead of us: ROV, dredge, divers, photography and video, both underwater and on land and, to top it off, the World Cup semi-final between Spain and Germany.

In the early afternoon, the wind picked up and the zodiac let us know they were returning to port. The conditions at sea were getting uncomfortable, visibility was getting worse under the water and the waves were making it difficult for the divers to get back on the zodiac safely.

As far as we were concerned, from the Oceana Ranger, we were only able to submerge the ROV twice before having to return to port. The weather forecast for the next few hours was calling for high winds, force 5/6, so working with the ROV was out of the question; getting it back on board would have been sheer torture, apart from the obvious risk of accidents. There was nothing we could do about it, we had to return to port earlier than expected.

Once safely at port, we took advantage to get some identification work done, answer emails, clean the deck, wash clothes, take showers and get ready to have dinner and watch the game on land.

After 90 minutes of stress, applause, “mini-vuvucelas” and laughter. The red tide marched on to the World Cup final next Sunday the 11th.

Good luck!