Welcome, everyone! We had another significant day at Ocean Builders. We were on the Ocean Builders’ barge, and we started with preparations for merging the Deepwater SeaPod together.
The Deepwater Model will be positioned about 1.7 kilometers from our Shallowater SeaPod – Alpha Blue, making this day’s operation crucial and very exciting!
The day’s operation was delicate and had been months in the making. We already moved the spar into the water, and moved the EcoPod onto the Ocean Builders barge. But, we had to wait for the right weather conditions, as the trade winds brought rough seas, delaying our plans for a couple of months since we last tested the waters for the “marriage”.
For the past two weeks, we had been closely monitoring the weather, hoping for calmer seas. That morning, the water was almost like glass, perfect for our operation. Although we planned to start at 7:00 AM, it was around 9:00 AM when we were ready to begin. If successful, the actual joining of the structures should be very brief, but the setup and preparation make the entire operation considerably longer.
Despite some logistical hiccups, like needing to fetch a few parts from the factory by boat, we swiftly made progress. I arrived by paddleboard, and from here, you could see the Flagship unit and Alpha Blue, where I had been living for the past 24 days. With six days left to complete a full month at sea, I was committed to experiencing the SeaPod Lifestyle fully. The experience was incredible, I didn’t want to return to land, even declining a land-based meeting the day before.
Standing on the SeaPod, you could spot the spar protruding from the water, with the underwater room floating just below the surface. We had strategically placed pumps and underwater weights that would rise once the fiberglass structure was in position, enabling us to complete the merge. The steel spar extended about ten meters beneath the water, anchoring the three-meter-tall underwater room, which was further stabilized by 20 meters of trusses connected to a substantial ballast weight.
Everything was in place, and we were optimistic that we’d soon complete the operation successfully, bringing our SeaPod community dream to life.
Watch the video below to see how it went!
