Legacy: Bay of Biscay 2008

Today, we will spend the day diving around Urdaibai while the ROV technicians install and test the equipment. The natural areas from Mundaka to Gernika that comprise the Oka River, which extends to the Urdaibai marshes, were declared a Biosphere Reserve. Interestingly enough, we are finding an abundance of fish precisely in the areas where … Read more

We departed from port early in the morning in order to take advantage of the day and document the area during three dives with the divers. The first dive was carried out off Cape Matxitxaco, an area surrounded by small fishing boats. The seabed was a continuation of the cape, a rocky arm with N-NW … Read more

We spent the day working on the Gaztelugatxe protected biotope, the only marine protected area in the Basque Country, apart from the Mundaka estuary that is within the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. We carried out two dives off the two islands within the protected area, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and Aketze. On the first island, there … Read more

Today was a very special day. We didn’t go sailing, but instead, we’ve spent the morning in port, in Getxo, doing some cleaning and maintenance work. In the afternoon, we went up the Bilbao estuary to the maritime museum, escorted by Unai Basurko and his regatta team. Unai Basurko is a Basque competitive yachtsman, specialised … Read more

We depart early from Getxo to carry out two dives with the divers, one north of the Villano Islote and another off the Culebra seamount, located on the Meñacoz coast. We have been very lucky with the weather, so far. Sunny days and slight winds have allowed us to work comfortably. On the Villano Islote, … Read more

Finally, the ROV technicians couldn’t solve the problem and decided the best option was to take it to Barcelona, because it would be easier to solve technical problems there. Joan and Manuel left with the ROV and we continued our work with the divers in shallow waters. We started the day with a dive off … Read more

We returned to Sonabia in order to document the sea floors in that area. We carried out the first dive off Cotonera Island, in front of Islares, where there are various rock formations atop a sandy seabed. The top part of the rock formations was covered in Cystoseira algae and we found other species on … Read more

In the morning, we return to the mouth of the Oriñón estuary to dive, once off the whale of Sonabia and then again off the Cercadas Islands. For the first dive, we return to the underwater passageways of the Whale, where some rocks are 6 meters high and many of them are covered with red … Read more

We say goodbye to Santander under cloudy skies and set sail towards our next port, Castro Urdiales. During the first dive, off the Morcejonera rock in front of Ris beach, the flat seabed was comprised of sand and small rocks. The rocky area was covered with Cystoseira algae. We also spot some areas covered with … Read more

We took advantage of the lack of wind and calm day and made two dives near the shore. In the first dive, at Bajo El Doble or Ganzanilla off De Berria beach, we found a sea bottom with rocks at different elevations and overhangs where the great majority of the rock is covered by some … Read more