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The morning finds us at the multibeam test site about 60 nautical miles to the south-east of Storm Bay. Overnight, we sailed off the edge of Tasmania and are currently floating on 3700 metres of water. As we left the shelter of the coast, the ship welcomed us to "A Life pelagic" with a bit of rolling that tested everyone's skills at securing loose gear.
Yesterday evening, we completed the acoustic noise tests by recovering the hydrophone that was listening to us as we passed over it in various propulsion configurations. The most nerve racking moment of the voyage passed without incident as Jill confirmed that she had successfully pressed the record button on the equipment before it was deployed 10 hours earlier.
This morning, we deployed the Sound Velocity Profiler (SVP) to the ocean bottom to measure the sea water properties from top to bottom. This information allows us to calibrate the multibeam echosounder. The SVP has just been recovered and we will now proceed to map the local area which is an established seabed mapping test site. This allows us to make sure that our equipment is in good working order before we proceed to the Antarctic.
Simultaneously, we are going to prove that we are multitaskers by enjoying a Christmas lunch. Santa is allegedly arriving afterwards and I have heard that he is determined to find out exactly who has been nautical and who has been nice.
We're bouncing around a little bit in 30+ knot winds but most people seem to be travelling well.
Lloyd & Justin
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.