January 8, 2004 - The Oil Platforms Have Names

Henry, Grace, and Gilda? Who are they?  WHAT are they?  They are the familiar, and sometimes maligned offshore oil platforms of the Santa Barbara Channel. They have been mistaken for the Spanish Armada.  They have been called ugly and pretty and not-so-bad.  But, hey! They have names!  Just like your Aunt Sally’s German Shepherd.

Yesterday, the dedicated staff of edhat.com donned our hardhats and set off in search of information about a sight we look at every day, but never thought to ask…

new edhat local info Lunch with Louie [click here ]

There are 25 platforms along the coast of California.  Their names are Emmy, Elly, Edith, Esther, Eva, Gail, Grace, Gina, Gilda, Hogan, Houchin, Habitat, Hillhouse, Henry, A, B, C, Holly, Hidalgo, Hermosa, Harmony, Harvest, Heritage, Hondo, and Irene.  Yes, there will be a quiz.  No, none of them are named George or Dick.  The first letter of their name has to do with their north/south location.  Irene is the furthest north.  Emmy is the furthest south. We don’t know why A, B, and C were named as such.  We did find out that A was where the infamous 1969 oil spill occurred, an event that many credit with sparking the environmental movement in the US … and the careers of many politicians.

You cannot see them from the shore, but there are several hundred men and women working out there who call the platforms home. Location.  Location. Location.  An awesome three-sixty ocean view - just don’t forget anything at the grocery store!

The picture above shows the view from the Santa Barbara Mission. We labeled the picture for you so you can show off to your friends.

The picture on the left is an awesome shot sent in to edhat by Neil Myers. Click on the thumbnail image to see a full sized picture.  You can see two platforms peaking out of the clouds in the bottom left of the image.   Neil took this picture while he was flying his plane. If you happen to be flying behind Neil, it might be a good idea to keep a safe distance.

Not surprisingly, many of our well-informed and very smart edhat subscribers knew who Henry and the girls were. One of our more creative subscribers provided an alternative. We put the well–informed ones’ names in the proverbial edhat hat, and Voila!  DeeBee is the lucky winner of movie tickets! ABCD-DeeBee?

Want to get instant fame and cool prizes? ... enter today’s contest