[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/5737676[/vimeo]
(Grrrrrr! Stupid URL)
The task at hand was to recover this buoy we have moored in 300 feet of water that sits 60 feet down. The buoy is equipped with a wave height and current monitoring sensor. We grabbed it to download it's onboard data and swap batteries. It's a bit of a complicated process that includes shackling weights onto this very buoyant monster... then shackling a big float onto the anchor line. The thing had been out there for about a month and a half and accumulated a moderate amount of growth. First the slime comes, then the barnacles, then the fish. Anything we put in the water for an extended period of time without anti-fouling paint becomes a FAD. Continuing with my x-treme scuba narcissistic rampage here's a photo of me rigging up the buoy at 60 feet.
![Image](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3750002621_38f53a135c.jpg?v=0)
![Image](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2473/3750007717_e10b7981f1.jpg?v=0)
Shortly afterward at another location we were buzzed by curious mahi:
![Image](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/3750800400_e71fc74a93.jpg?v=0)
In the later afternoon we took one of the design engineers visiting from CA for a swim on one of our vehicles. I was on deck as the safety observer when the three guys in the water signaled frantically that they wanted to be picked up by the boat. I guess they spotted a pretty good sized hammer head. I'm a little sad I didn't get to see it.
Aloha hard,
-Eric