Sitka is a scientific mooring that continuously collects and sends data from the Pacific Ocean. Every six months, this ocean observing mooring needs to be brought back to land for maintenance. The biggest challenge to recovering Sitka is that everything moves on the ocean. The rolling seas cause the ship to pitch and sway. The buoy swings when attached to a crane. The physical mass of a mooring in that kind of environment can be dangerous. This video documents the recovery of Sitka.
See data from mooring at
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46094
