MOBY Photo Album

CRUISE	DATES	LOCATION
MOBY-L317	15-Oct-2021 - 16-Oct-2021	Lanai
Description: MOBY-L317: 15-16 Oct 2021 MOBY Recovery Cruise: MOBY walkabout recovery cruise left the He’eia Pier in Kaneohe at 0430 on Friday morning October 15. We transited overnight to the last position received from the mobyargos emails and arrived on site at 1015 after spotting the buoy beforehand in 190’ water depth. We checked out the buoy and discovered that there wasn’t any tether left and it had failed at the arm clevis that comes out of the buoy. The 3/4” nut and bolt and cotter pin were still visible so the weld must have failed which I am not aware has happened before. The snorkelers were in the water at 1040 with the tow bridle. The tow bridle was two 16’ lift straps attached to the bales at the top of the float. The bridles were connected to a pear link and the buoy was towed from that configuration. The drogue was on the bottom and the divers could see the bottom as well. At 1100 the drogue was cut and we got underway along the south side of Lanai to the anchor position. It was great to turn downwind and down sea after hours of beating against it. We discussed where the best anchor position would be and decided to go with a spot between Shark Fin Rock and Kamalapau Harbor off the west side of Lanai Island. We figured it was the most protected from the weather and sea conditions as well as limited boat traffic. The targeted position was 22° 44’31” N and 156° 59’50”W and we headed there at 2-2.5 knots. It would be after dark when we arrived so we were going to attach the anchor line about 1600 and continue on. The anchor line was connected to the drogue bridle at the junction of the two legs off the bottom can of the buoy. Randy cates has the specifics of the anchor line if we need it. This was done at 1715 and we continued on to the anchor site at 2.5 knots. We arrived at the site at about 2015 and released the 250# anchor in 646’ of water depth with 1200 ft of line. The drop site was 20° 44’32.5”N and 156°59’45.7”W. The snorkelers were not allowed to remove the tow bridle as the captain said we were not insured. It was not clear as to what insurance he was referring. We circled the buoy a couple of times and it appeared to settle into a position. We then headed back to the Honolulu and Sand Island facility and arrived at about 0100 on the 16th. Andrew and I offloaded the boat on Saturday.
Details:

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moby-l317_09	moby-l317_10	moby-l317_11	moby-l317_12
moby-l317_13	moby-l317_14	moby-l317_15	moby-l317_16
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