The perfect field day!
Canal transit
A small canal system links the Aquarius Land Base to the Atlantic Ocean. Here, we are motoring out for the day.
Chris Petrone
Fetch in transit
While underway, Fetch1 is securely fastened to its cart and the boat.
Chris Petrone
Transit to Aquarius
Fully underway, we head out to Aquarius.
Chris Petrone
Captain Tim
Captain Tim Roberts of the Aquarius Reef Base program carefully navigates us to Aquarius. Tim not only pilots the boat, but is also responsible for all diving operations aboard the boat.
Chris Petrone
Rodriguez Key
On the trip out to Aquarius, you pass Rodriguez Key, an important landmark and potential harbor of refuge during storms. At low tide, the north end, seen here, is a popular swimming area. Little do folks know that this area is also a favorite place for sharks; though there have been no negative interactions to date.
Chris Petrone
Mark's Notebook
In Mark's Fetch notebook, he carefully documents every dive, every problem and every augmentation that Fetch undergoes. Because of the angle of this shot, it appears that Mark has been banished to some sort of room below deck, but this is actually taken from the boat's flying bridge (second level, where the boat is driven from).
Chris Petrone
Cormorant on the LSB
When we first moored at Aquarius, a double crested cormorant was sunning itself on the Life Support Buoy's (LSB) davit (left side of buoy).
Chris Petrone
Cormorant on the LSB closeup
When we first moored at Aquarius, a double crested cormorant was sunning itself on the Life Support Buoy's (LSB) davit (left side of buoy).
Chris Petrone
Visibility to 20 meters
As Mark and I mentioned, the visibility today was great! Here you can clearly see the Aquarius "gazebo" in white. The habitat may be hard to see here, but it sits immediately to the right of gazebo.
Chris Petrone
Surface barracuda
Out at the habitat, the barracuda are plentiful. Here you see not only how great the visibility was, but a 1+ meter barracuda near the surface. At one point, roughly 20 barracudas were following Fetch on a dive!
Chris Petrone
Sargassum mats
As Mark mentioned in his blog from today, there were many mats of Sargassum weed that floated by. Within these mats were small fish and invertebrates that were fed on by the larger fish that live around the habitat.
Chris Petrone
Rising cloud
As is the way in Florida in the summer, afternoon storms build throughout the day and usually occur in the evening. Here, some clouds are slowly building up into the sky.
Chris Petrone
Blue skies, tons of fishes, great AUV ops and calm waters were the name of the game today! We left the dock on time, with a fully recharged AUV and high hopes for success. The day did not dissapoint. Instead of describin/g everything, I thought I would instead provide a slideshow. Enjoy!