Big waves break against what remains of the New Carissa on Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. Photo by Susan Chambers

Monday, Aug. 18, 3:50 p.m., By Susan Chambers, staff writer

Thunder and lightning won’t keep the Titan Salvage guys away from their work.

Today, they were back cutting steel and working on repositioning the chains so the pullers can begin working their magic, jerking the wrecked New Carissa from the sand and mud.

It can be a downright ugly process.

Tar balls came ashore on Friday, but as of today, environmental crews now are finding only very small pieces.

Big weather is moving the ship around and more big waves are on the way this week. Hardly any of the ship is above the waterline anymore and what is there was once under water — and covered with barnacles and seaweed. It stinks when you have to cut through all that stuff, salvors say.

Don’t think I want to find out. It’s fun to watch the progress, watch the pieces come off, but the nitty gritty is not for me. I’d like to get closer photos of the guys with their cutting torches and welders but it’s a small wreck. Don’t think my cameras and I fit into the hard metal world of salvage.

Fortunately, some of the guys have taken lots of photos of the process. Some have high-quality cell phone cameras, some have digital cameras. At any rate, the photos by Titan Salvage Managing Director David Parrot, salvor Eric Woelfel and others can give you some different views of the New Carissa salvage process since June.