The Tuna Clipper

Location: Catalina Island

Wreck/Site: The Tuna Clipper

Teams:

Team 1 (Net Handling): Jim Babor & Karim Hamza

Team 2 (Net Handling): Michael Gasbarro & Norbert Lee

Team 3 (Photogrammetry Team): Tianyi Lio & Curtis Wolfslau

Surface Support: Quinn Shin

Mission Impact: 1,000 square feet of net recovered, photos collected for photogrammetry

Our team returned to the wreck of The Tuna Clipper to remove more nets and continue to collect photos for the photogrammetry model of the wreck. While the divers were focused on their mission, their mission was not without challenge.

The conditions were rough. Aboard the Giant Stride, the team ventured into 5 foot swells at 10 second intervals. This means that every 10 seconds they experienced a 5 foot wave, making for a bumpy ride and seasick divers.

Jim and Karim descended first and staged lift bags for Michael & Norbert. The net handling teams teams were able to recover 1,000 square feet of net that was taken to Aquafil for repurposing. The photogrammetry team continues to collect images to complete our model. Their focus for this mission was to collect images in targeted areas that required refining.

Overall, the team is making good progress on the Tuna Clipper and continues to maintain its focus on the outcome of cleaning and appropriately documenting the collection of net at this site.