Gulf Of Mexico Overflight 2011 Mar 19 Saturday
Today we decided to take a close look at Barataria Bay, Louisiana and southward, from Grand Isle on the west to South Pass on the east. We had to investigate what we saw yesterday that had looked gruesomely reminiscent of the large oil spills of last summer -- especially the one in northern Barataria Bay at the end of July 2010, when a tugboat accidentally bumped into an abandoned platform and set it spewing, filling Bay Jimmy and northern Barataria.
The moment we reached Grand Terre Island, we knew that what we had seen yesterday was for real. Those long dark red streamers and large sub-surface plumes were now even larger sheets of dark red crude that reached to the beaches of Grand Terre Island. We tried to follow the stuff offshore to find its source, but could no longer see it clearly after about 30 miles. There had been rumors of the Matterhorn rig being the source (located about 25 miles west of the Macondo well), but since we didn't know for sure, we opted instead to examine these large expanses of subsurface oil and look for wildlife. The oil did extend for many miles eastward and out to sea, but it did not seem to be coming from far offshore.
NOTE: Unless noted, no photos or video provided by On Wings Of Care are "photoshopped" or otherwise altered in any way that could degrade accurate interpretation of what we observed.
Read more: 2011 Mar 19 OWOC Gulf Flight - Barataria Bay and south
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