Legacy: 2017: North Sea Expedition

Back at sea, this is my sixth expedition with Oceana, my first in the North Sea and also my debut as a logistics coordinator. There have been many pre-campaign preparations and many hours of work focused on making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. It seems that the effort has paid off in the … Read more

Thirtieth day on board and almost half the expedition is over. I feel extremely welcomed by the wild North Sea and, for the time being, it’s been showing its best side. Outstanding temperatures, light passing rains and more than acceptable conditions at sea. We left Scotland after seeing an extensive variety of species and magnificent … Read more

It’s interesting how they react when they see us coming: they raise their heads, eye each other, and when one makes the first move towards escape, the others follow. They stop a few meters away (a precaution and hardly effective) to satisfy their curiosity. They watch us, watch each other, and exchange concerns in a … Read more

When we dive in tropical seas the water is a transparent, warm blue – ideal conditions. Yet 15 days into the campaign we’ve been diving in cloudy, green and cold water and we’re delighted. We’ve found ecosystems similar to those in warm water in both Scotland and Norway, that is, “if you can call temperatures … Read more

It’s taken many years for this wish to finally come true: to document underwater life in the cold waters off the Norwegian coast. This is what we have been doing for the last few days. I’m really happy to be one of the first to explore these sea bottoms and to finally find the one … Read more

Today, like most days, when I got up it was already daybreak. The sun looked amazing (it was actually raining) but I was in a good mood and left the bedroom to go and have breakfast with the crew and to prepare ourselves for another day lost out at sea near Norway – not knowing … Read more

We’re kicking off Monday ready and raring to go after our first stop in the port of Haugesund in Norway. At 7 am we were already lowering the two small boats into the water – today we’re going to be diving! At lunch time, we sheltered between some islands about 8 miles off the coast … Read more

This is my first campaign with Oceana, my job is to captain an inflatable and help with ROV maneuvers and dredges on deck. The experiences of the past fourteen days of sailing in Scotland were unbeatable, and we had great weather, except today, Sunday, as we’re docked at a Norwegian port and the day is … Read more

My name is Adolfo De Los Ríos Cerón, I’m 23 years old and I captain of one of the campaign’s inflatable boats. I finished the advanced course in underwater and hyperbaric operations two months ago and I was offered this opportunity just as soon as I was done. Honestly, I feel extremely lucky that my … Read more

Sometimes you take a dive in fresh water, other times in salt water. Today, the ROV had to dive in water with gas. These are small areas that turn out to have gaseous activity below the seafloor; this gas sometimes breaks through the surface in a big soap bubble (at least that’s how I imagine … Read more