Into Nothing

Lat 28.05N Long 92.32W

More or less, when you go to sea, you lose site of land within 12-15 miles. But when you go to sea in the northern Gulf of Mexico, you’re really never alone. Oil companies have carpeted the surface of this part of the gulf with oil rigs, production platforms, and who knows what else. During the day, you can see 10 or 15 pieces of equipment at any given point in time. At night they light up the horizon all around us.

Like the tree line on a mountain, at around 300 feet of water depth, oil production suddenly stops. This evening as we pass through this no mans land, the darkness ahead of us holds the promise of clear sailing, but also reminds us how alone we really are when we’re at sea.