Howdy Hands!
The deck hands and scientists on this ship are always ready to deploy or recover a piece of equipment. On the ship, to deploy means put into the ocean, and recover means take out of the ocean. They don’t just toss equipment into the sea, it must be placed in carefully – in other words “deployed”. Similarly, getting the equipment out of the ocean is tricky so it’s called “recovery”. All deployed equipment is monitored closely to ensure safety and proper functioning. We would n’t want expensive pieces of equipment banging into the sides of the ship in rough seas would we? The deck crew and scientists routinely deploy, monitor and recover the magnetometer, the dredge and the AUV Sentry.
Serious science takes teamwork! Eight people work together to deploy Sentry. AB Mike operates the crane, AB Caleb (orange hat) operates the line winch, while Marine Tech Sonia (front left) and Mike (below crane) handle the front and rear guide lines. Zac (back center) lowers Sentry’s last support as Justin (front center) and Sean (behind Justin) guide Sentry out of its casing. Chief Mate Bruce (front right) instructs the crane and guides the launch. It’s important to always keep Sentry under control so it doesn’t swing around wreaking havoc. As Sentry is lowered into the water the lines are released, front then rear and last the top line. Sentry sinks and motors away to its assigned task.
While Sentry is in the water, its humans (Sean, Zac, Justin, Mike & Stefan) take turns monitoring its location and status. When it finishes its mission, it comes back to the ship and is recovered. Recovery is sort of the opposite of deployment.
Deploying to the depths,
Sally
