In preparation for the recovery early tomorrow morning, Scott and Chip took a trip out to the ship that will be used for the operation. It is a larger ship than can dock in the area, so it gets parked close by and a zodiac is used to load.
view from the zodiac ride out to the USP RV Alpha Delphini
Upon arriving at the boat, they took to the bridge to see where they would set up the equipment to communicate with the glider once on location.
View of the bridge aboard the Alpha Delphini
View of the A-frame
Once on location, the plan will be to get the glider on a cart into the zodiac and then use the A-frame to transfer the glider from the zodiac to the aft deck. Once on board, the team will then return to the shore lab, and the glider will be sailed south to Santos where it will be handed over to be inspected by customs on monday. If it clears customs, 29 will be transported back to the shore lab by truck monday night (hopefully) or tuesday morning (more likely) where Scott and Chip will then get to work preparing her for the next leg.
Assessing the situation and getting the work done as quickly as possible is crucial as we need to leave the dock wednesday and try to get way offshore. Running the numbers for distance vs battery life on the upcoming leg, there is not a lot of wiggle room. Each day in shallow water looks to be equivalent to about 2.5 days in deep, so we need to minimize the amount of time spent in the shallows as much as possible.
Tomorrow will be an early morning for our team both in the field and providing shore support. To them we wish good luck
Force Wind Sea & Honor