Legacy: Mediterranean 2006

This morning, Juan Cuetos and I crossed into Morocco through the Melilla border in order to inspect the Nador fishing port in search of drift netters. The “entrance to Europe” has a unique smell. A huge fence separates two worlds, Africa and Europe. We make our way through the noisy crowd that moves in all … Read more

And at last that is how the Ranger’s port engine roared once again, with a little piece of the Toftevaag, the Alnitak project ship; yes, you read correctly, one of our clutch discs was damaged and we were desperately trying to locate a machinist who could make one for us or a workshop that could … Read more

My first week on board the Ranger has been an experience full of mixed emotion, on the one hand, gradually getting to know each member of the crew has brought feelings of comfort (I feel as if I were at home) and admiration (each one of them has a vast store of knowledge that I … Read more

Yesterday, the ROV technicians arrived in order to prepare the equipment and begin our investigations in the waters of the Chella Massif (Macizo de Chella), also known as Seco de los Olivos. The ROV is a submarine Robot that allows us to film sea floors at depths which are impossible for divers to reach. Our … Read more

Today was the first day using the remotely operated vehicle “ROV” aboard the Ranger. On the way out to the research sight, most of the crew members were sitting in the kitchen area. Ricardo stuck his head in the door and yelled “pilot whales.” I shot out to the deck. I don’t remember the last … Read more

We woke up Sunday morning at sea and began preparations for the day. However due to difficulties with the underwater lights, the crane on the back of the boat, and the rough weather, the decision was made to head to port to insure that the boat was ready for the arrival of the ROV crew … Read more

We left Aguadulce in search of sea grass beds again today. The first dive was in the afternoon and it was very hot onboard. After the divers returned, the rest of us went for a swim to cool off. The water felt fabulous and refreshing when I first jumped in but within 5 minutes I … Read more

There are deep water waves and an easterly wind is blowing, but the conditions are still acceptable for working. Tomorrow, the weather may worsen. We must take advantage of the weather today to continue filming life amongst the prairies of Cymodocea nodosa. The upper limit of the prairie is at 10 meters depth and the … Read more

We arrived back in Aguadulce port this morning after a rough night at sea. I awoke several times to find myself bouncing up and down off of my bed. We spent the day preparing for the next leg of our journey. This meant doing things like laundry, grocery shopping and preparing equipment. We picked up … Read more

We being our dive in the area between El Plomo and Punta del Bergantín at 18 to 30 meters depth. We will combine two areas, one sandy, rocky bottom and a wall including some caves. In the sandy area, we find some rhodoliths or maerl, but very few. Here, the Lithothamnium is stuck to the … Read more