We are still waiting and watching the weather. Craig is taking a "few brave souls" out to Conch Reef to see if there's anything we can get started. We expect that the seas will start to decline a bit today, even with the wind still blowing over 20 knots. Last week we saw six-foot waves on Wednesday during training, and then by Friday the seas were calm. There were storms and squalls on Wednesday that came up fast and hard. We had a bit of excitement at the end of our dive when the mooring line snapped in the middle of our safety stop. We were never in any danger because we always have at least one person on the boat in case of emergencies, and Captain Fred was quick to bring things under control. This is the second mission for me this year and I have tremendous confidence in our crew. Mark and Tim conduct an awesome training program and they are the kind of guys who know how to get things done right, so big waves and a bobbing dive platform seemed almost routine.

During a mission we can handle fairly large and sloppy seas, but we avoid starting a mission under conditions that make surface-based tasks difficult. It's a risk management decision not to engage the start of a mission under potentially dangerous conditions. However, if during the course of a mission conditions change and we are required to work offshore, we have the best staff to get the work done efficiently and safely. One of the problems we face with big seas is that the 10-meter diameter Life Support Buoy really rides the waves, and it's a challenge just to get on and off the buoy safely. And working inside the buoy is a "vomitous" experience for even the saltiest dogs on our crew. We're also waiting to get a report about water clarity. After a few days of heavy seas sediments are usually stirred up and suspended in the water, which will make it difficult to get some of our work started. Working underwater in low visibility is like working is a cloud. So, we wait.