We have finished!!!

 Platuxa 2016 is over!

The last haul. Alberto, David and Javier.

The last haul came on board two hours ago, and the last CTD, one hour ago. Platuxa is finished and preparations for Flemish Cap have started. Our fishing gear has been cleaned, packed and stowed, the trawl that will be used in Flemish Cap is already on deck. The team in watch has finished the sampling and they are cleaning the working deck before the sailors give it the finishing touch.

The Lofoten trawl used in Flemish Cap on deck. Alberto, David, Suso barely seen, just his head, and Javier.

Andrés, Eduardo, Roi, Venicio, Alba and Javier welcome the last haul.

Many records have been broken during this survey. We only had a void haul. We did not have any serious issues (the CTD does not count because it is a pain every year), and best of all by far is that nobody got hurt or has gotten bad news from home. Thus, as far as I am concerned, Platuxa 2016 has been a success.

Congratulations to everybody taking part in the quiz yesterday and guessing right which was the shearwater and which the whale. We haven’t got any wrong answers and you deserve to go out and celebrate. We are not taking into account Santi’s answer. Santi, thanks a lot for your messages, you have been sorely missed here.

And today I want to introduce Eva, who has been besides Teo the CTD victim. It is unbelievable the CTD is the most problematic part of the survey year after year. Truth is, if we had lost it I wouldn’t have felt sorry at all.

Eva and the CTD, at last.

Eva, besides fighting the CTD, has typed most of the data collected, so it is partly thanks to her that IEO will get a preliminary survey report as soon as we get to land. She has also had the most inconvenient schedule because she hasn’t got any, and she had to be on deck anytime the CTD had to be cast. So, Eva’s mum, we promise that Eva has been on board all this time rather than holidaying in the Bahamas. We have met her during the meals, she looks healthy and I just spoke to her.

Teo also gave up and allowed to have his picture taken (another record in this survey), and he has told me, a mere 25 days after I got on board, that the acoustics lab has been completely renovated and there are very, very few ships in the world as well equipped as our Vizconde de Eza for submarine cartography. More about this tomorrow.

Teo showing off the new equipment. R.V Vizconde de Eza, Secretaría General de Pesca.

And, we caught again the engine room guys out in the open. They were checking that the engine in the rubber boat works correctly. If there is any nasty person out there thinking they do nothing at all except for watching the others work, you were all wrong. This is then another record, two pictures of these guys taken within the same month out on deck.

Engine room: plenty to do!

The last record I think it belongs to me: more complaints than ever before about the blog: I haven’t been featured, the other team is more often in the blog, you got my name wrong, you got my name wrong too, you forgot to upload the blog… too many things going on!!! I am truly sorry about the details I overlooked, and very thankful to crew and biologists alike for a very enjoyable survey. Same place, same time next year! And now I must go back to my fish.

See you tomorrow...