Hey All,

So after another long weekend, we are at the eve of Silbo’s next deployment.  This time, the destination is Brazil.

After quite a few delays, Chris DeCollibus of TWR arrived in Gran Canaria and immediately met with Alvaro at PLOCAN to begin preparations for the deployment.

Among a number of issues to cover, they worked on ballasting, measuring the h-moment, replacing the membrane on the oil bladder, applying anti bio surfaces to the hulls, and upgrading the software.

One difficulty found while ballasting, is that there is not just one density Silbo will encounter on this journey.  He will by flying from 1025 to 1022 sigma units as he moves from the Canaries to Brazil.  To get the most accurate density readings, we drew data from the extensive argo buoy fleet along the proposed path we will take

As for the bio fouling, Silbo is now equipped with a single hull sheet sticker which causes the hull to be slick, preventing anything from latching on.  There is also a potential of a diaper cream of urethane based tape that will go over the seams in order to prevent growth on those surfaces.

Antonio also chimed in with his forecasts for the upcoming week, providing us with sea surface height, wind speed, and wave data for the area of deployment.

Wave Forecast for the next couple of days

Wind Forecast for the next few days

Sea Surface Height near the Canaries

From the forecasts that Antonio provided, the weather isn’t too bad and only gets better as the week goes on.  Also we can clearly see that upon deployment, Silbo will begin his journey by riding the strong warm eddy to the south around in a clockwise fashion as he makes his way south towards Cape Verde.

Early this afternoon, deployment details were finalized and the last of the preparations were made.  At noon tomorrow (Canary Time +5 hrs from EST) our team will set sail from the southern shores of Gran Canaria on The Blue Spirit (pictured below) out of Pasito Blanco yacht club.

Chris and Alvaro will lead the deployment and get back to us with further details.

Force, Wind, Sea & Honor!

Nilsen & Antonio