Poised and ready
Well, friends, we're almost there.
My day started with a shopping trip with Peter, and believe it or not, we had to go to three different places to find all the nuts and bolts that we needed. No, that does not mean we shopped at competitive stores and chose the one with the best price; it means we had to chase the bolts down. We inquired at one place, and they said to go to their warehouse. We went to the warehouse, and they only had half of what we needed in stock. We ended up buying a box of nuts from the mechanic shop at the car dealership. Yes, that means Svalbard has a car dealership - only one, and there were three examples of the same truck on display in the showroom.
After getting all the necessary details worked out back at UNIS, it was time for a dive - a reconnaissance mission, if you will. Peter wanted to survey around the pier where my frames will be attached to get an idea of the pier's underwater structure and where the best attachment points might be. Daniel came along but stayed on the dock as a rescue diver in case something went wrong below. We also had another participant this time, a technician from UNIS who served as the so-called lineman. Scientific dives require a lot of communication, which is accomplished via a cable between the diver and the lineman on shore. I think there might be a little battery power involved, but it's basically a glorified string-and-tin-can system. The lineman wears a headset and can hear everything the diver says into their full-face mask. The communication cable must be kept untangled at all times, so the lineman is constantly letting out slack or pulling some in, depending on where the diver is.
It was a highly successful dive, and Peter said there was great visibility underwater. He was able to identify multiple possible attachment points, which he diagrammed for me back at UNIS. We chose the best one, so it looks like we'll be able to deploy my plates tomorrow. Progress!
My day started with a shopping trip with Peter, and believe it or not, we had to go to three different places to find all the nuts and bolts that we needed. No, that does not mean we shopped at competitive stores and chose the one with the best price; it means we had to chase the bolts down. We inquired at one place, and they said to go to their warehouse. We went to the warehouse, and they only had half of what we needed in stock. We ended up buying a box of nuts from the mechanic shop at the car dealership. Yes, that means Svalbard has a car dealership - only one, and there were three examples of the same truck on display in the showroom.
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| Our lineman (well, linewoman) on the dock, holding the communication cable as Peter gets into the water. |
It was a highly successful dive, and Peter said there was great visibility underwater. He was able to identify multiple possible attachment points, which he diagrammed for me back at UNIS. We chose the best one, so it looks like we'll be able to deploy my plates tomorrow. Progress!
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