Sea world and south - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 86

to break down the receivers and secure them on deck. That done, the
boat was fueled up and made ready for the uphill trip against the north-
west swells back to San Diego.
This was the part I dreaded most about these expeditions. Not only
were we dead tired from the hard work of loading the boat, but then
we had rough seas and queasy stomachs to look forward to while stand-
ing wheel watch at all hours. What's more, no matter how rough it got
or how bad we felt, our precious cargo of fish needed frequent, around-
the-clock monitoring of water flow and temperature.
Without fail, we would hit heavy seas just north of Isla Cedros. On
one notable voyage, after the railing had been torn o¤, the skipper de-
cided that it was getting too rough for the boat and we should turn
around to seek shelter behind Cedros and wait for the seas to quiet
down. The Five Bells, though 110 feet long, is quite narrow. Turning
broadside to those swells and heavy with full fish and fuel tanks, we
ran the very real risk of rolling over. Fortunately we made it, but every-
thing not securely bolted down went flying, and two of the marine ra-
dios came o¤ the wall and smashed on the floor, leaving us without com-
munication. But at least we were safe behind the island, with a chance
to secure everything that had come loose from the recent pounding.
In two days the seas had calmed down enough for us to head north
for San Diego and Sea World. We walked, or rather staggered, o¤ the
boat, leaving the formidable job of unloading the fish to the more rested
aquarists and other Sea World sta¤ who pitched in to help. The ma-
jority of our precious cargo was destined for the fifty-thousand-gallon
Sea of Cortez tropical exhibit, while the smaller species would be on
exhibit in the tanks of the marine aquarium.
The next day everyone in the park came to see the results of the ex-
pedition. It was truly spectacular! There were huge, bright green
bumphead parrotfish, hundreds of barberfish, regal-looking Cortez and
king angelfishes, and a host of other colorful fishes. This was a sight
never before seen in an aquarium—a big exhibit full of the wonderful
fishes of Mexico's unique Sea of Cortez.