Last Friday the GEOMAR Helmholtz ’s team went out to Santa Luzia in order to have a visual inspection of the bottom lander retrieved (see our post) and deployed (Santa Luzia) last September.

« Peri and Dario went diving and they did a really great job… » said Björn Fiedler (who is a bottom lander specialist and currently on a six-month research stay in Mindelo) « …They know that area quite well and the exact time to enter the water (depending on the tides and the current) ». The 2 divers did their inspection and removed the end caps of the trap as well as the painter lines.

« The lander is already quite a bit covered by biofouling… we intend to recover it on Nov 5th. » add Björn.

Looking forward to seeing the data from this deployment.

After leaving Branco, we traveled to the neighbor island of Santa Luzia where the GEOMAR team placed the bottom lander in its next location just off the coast at about 20m depths. It was a very windy morning and we were lucky to have professional divers with us to help determine a good location in such a rough sea. It was quite a chore also for the Yersin crew to get the bottom lander off the deck and into the water, as the wind sways the arm of the crane and threatens damage to the vessel.

After placing the bottom lander, the Yersin traveled back to Mindelo to welcome HSH Prince Albert II on the mission. These dolphins escorted us for a long period of that trip. Here is an unedited video taken with an iPhone where you can really get a feel for the dolphins that were traveling on both sides of the Yersin, and hear the wind and the sea. Enjoy!

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