Day 24: Missing Moorings and Mahi-Mahi - Oceana USA
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September 4, 2010

Day 24: Missing Moorings and Mahi-Mahi

The Oceana crew has officially become used to the life aquatic. After a hard day yesterday and having worked on this leg of the journey for a little over a week, our heads hit the pillows hard last night.

We thought we had seen everything, but this morning we awoke to yet another surprise: silence. No waves, no wind and no clouds. The crew began work today under a clear sky – it’s the first time in this part of the expedition that the seas have been favorable.

Our first task was to seek out a mooring. With the given GPS coordinates in hand the crew took to the deck, eyes on all levels of the ship. We scanned the horizon but saw nothing; the first buoy of the day was missing. The story was the same at the second mooring site. Some of the crew suspected foul play and others thought it may have been run over by another ship, but only Poseidon will know for certain.

The Oceana Latitude continued its journey out to the next mooring site and this time, success—the buoy was there.  On the first cast of the grappling hook for the buoy line, the hook missed and as it was being dragged through the water, we had the delight of seeing two mahi-mahi swam up to the boat. Its colors were absolutely brilliant and radiated in the sunlight.

The next hook toss caught the buoy and was brought on board and the hoisting commenced. We spotted two more buoys and retrieved them in similar fashion.  On the last buoy, the typical two hours ensued and before the crew knew it, the anchor was hoisted on board right before a giant sun melted into the sea, a great ending to a great day.

Tomorrow we will attempt to pick up the farthest moorings.  Stay tuned!