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It all starts at the Venoco separation facility at the beach, near the Sandpiper Golf Course and the Bacara Hotel. P9060142.jpg

They are serious about security here! P9060143.jpg

Really serious! P9060145.jpg

Got the message?!

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Still lurking about... P9060149.jpg

More warnings! P9060150.jpg

The hardhats were arrayed on the table with care; safety first. P9060151.jpg

A view of the Pacific from the Venoco office.

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The tour group begins to gather. Venoco's Mike Edwards, Goleta Newcomers' President Chickie Long, and Christine LeBon arrive... P9060153.jpg

...and everybody signs in. P9060155.jpg

Linda Graham, Jean Weeks and Mary Anderson begin to suit up for the tour. P9060156.jpg

-----, Judy Purcell and Chickie listen to the safety briefing.

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Mike Edwards helps Steven Weeks with the jumpsuit. P9060159.jpg

Mike gives us all the word on safe transfer from the boat to offshore Platform Holly, in the Santa Barbara Channel. P9060162.jpg

More no-kidding security at the entrance to the Venoco pier. P9060168.jpg

At the pier, Mike Edwards continues his educational program. Here is a drilling bit -- the smaller size one used far underground.

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Again, we sign in for the boat trip out to the platform. P9060172.jpg

Mike shows us the technique for the rope-swing from the boat to the platform. P9060176.jpg

We walk to the end of the pier to meet the boat. P9060178.jpg

Mike gives us a little geology lesson on the upturned oil-bearing formations visible along the coast.

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At the end of the pier, we'll pick up life preservers... P9060184.jpg

...take a first look at our transportation... P9060186.jpg

...take a good look back toward shore... P9060187.jpg

...and view the pier again.

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Here's the Bacara from the ocean side... P9060189.jpg

...and our intrepid team, ready to embark. P9060191.jpg

Our boat maneuvers toward the pier... P9060192.jpg

...and we get a look at "the ropes". Very calm water today; we could imagine what this might be like in a rough sea!

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Here's our captain, checking his visitors -- landlubbers? P9060195.jpg

Our destination is in sight on the horizon -- Platform Holly. P9060197.jpg

We're underway! P9060203.jpg

A look back at the Bacara Hotel fro the ocean side.

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We visit "bird island", an abandoned oil platform now home to cormorants, pelicans, and the like. P9060209.jpg

As we get closer, ... P9060211.jpg

...the pelicans are the first to bail... P9060212.jpg

...followed by some cormorants. The group waddled over to the edge, reminding some of us of pictures of lemmings heading for the sea.

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Holly looms a little closer, and our pelican guide precedes us. P9060219.jpg

During the trip, Venoco's Mike Edwards explained the natural oil and gas seeps in the Channel, along with some of his striking pictures of gas bubbles bursting upon reaching the surface. The one in the lower picture is about a foot across. P9060220.jpg

Mike explains the geology of oil exploration and extraction. P9060223.jpg

There are some of the seeps, near a mooring point for a tanker barge which transports oil once extracted.

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In places, the escaping gas makees the ocean look effervescent. P9060238.jpg

Huge "tents" placed over active seeps catch about 500,000 cubic feet of gas per day which is then dried on shore and sold through the local gas company. P9060227.jpg

These tanks on shore store platform-extracted oil until a barge can take it to refineries further down the coast. This area is near the spot where a Japanese submarine shelled the U.S. coast during WWII. P9060229.jpg

The West Coast, from the Pacific Ocean...

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...and Platform Holly, further out. P9060245.jpg

On approach to Holly, the rig's size becomes more obvious. P9060248.jpg

...and even more obvious! P9060249.jpg

It's also a decent resting-spot in the sun for a tired visitor.

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The rope-swing from the boat to the platform was easy today -- very smooth water. P9060257.jpg

We didn't use these ropes -- already occupied! P9060259.jpg

Our boat stands by for the return trip. P9060263.jpg

No pictures are allowed on the rig, because camera flashes set off fire alarms...but trust me -- there were some unique views and experiences! A lot of hard work goes on here.

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We lost one hard hat during reboarding, and spent a while recovering it from the water. Can't have that sort of thing washing up on the beach...bad publicity! P9060266.jpg

Those vertical pipes are the individual wells drilled from this platform - some 30 wells as I remember it . A very involved process of drilling holes of ever-decreasing size to a mile or two from the platform and with directional control. P9060267.jpg

The flare stack to the left was added after some incidents resulting in release of hydrogen sulfide gas on shore. Now such releases are burned by the flare before they can affect people. P9060269.jpg

The entire drill tower is moved around on the platform to rest over the pipe containing the well being drilled. Big, heavy machinery there.