Legacy: Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2010

News Flash – the oil in the Gulf is not gone. Although there have been lots of media reports that the oil in the Gulf is “gone,” two new scientific studies were released today that give a different, and less happy, picture. First, independent scientists estimate that as much as 80 percent of the oil from the … Read more

The Oceana Latitude faced rougher seas today as it reached The Florida Middle Grounds off the West Florida Shelf in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, roughly 100 miles from shore. This is another area that was apparently spared the impacts of oil drilling, at least this time. Oceana chose this location for its next diving operation … Read more

After nearly 30 hours in commute, we finally arrived to Tampa. The crew took off early this morning on the Oceana Lat-Long, the Latitude’s 28 foot tender, to dive at Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Egmont Key, a national wildlife refuge only accessible by boat, was home to Fort Dade during the … Read more

The Oceana Latitude sailed all night and day to reach its next destination, Tampa. We left at midnight and aren’t expected to arrive until 6 a.m. Sunday. The long commute allowed the crew to review and prepare photos and video from the dive operation off the coast of Key West. Although the conditions were not … Read more

The Oceana crew set off for their first dive operation at the Western Dry Rocks off the coast of Key West today at 9 a.m. The diving conditions at this first location were far from ideal. Recent storms stirred up the water with sand and mud, leaving the divers with limited visibility of only three … Read more

The Oceana Latitude is now anchored off the coast of Key West for the first leg of its two-month expedition. On our long voyage from Fort Lauderdale, we spotted a lot of sargassum floating on the surface of the water. It’s sad to imagine that this floating seaweed is at risk in the Gulf of … Read more

I’m happy to report, along with the rest of the crew, that the Oceana Latitude has officially set sail for the Gulf of Mexico. First stop…Key West! About 18 hours away for a vessel that cruises at approximately 11 mph. Oceana will work with its ROV and specialized divers to document bottom habitat and other … Read more

Good news. The satellite internet and phone system is back up and running. The crew took advantage of the day by spending time testing a majority of the equipment onboard the Oceana Latitude. Matthias Gorny from Oceana’s Chilean office, launched the ROV from the vessel to assess its standard operating procedures, including ensuring that its … Read more

It’s another warm day on the intracoastal of Fort Lauderdale. But great news! The ROV from Oceana’s Chilean office has finally arrived. After it was loaded on the vessel, the crew spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking several boxes of SCUBAPRO diving gear and making final scheduling arrangements for later in the expedition. However, … Read more