We get stuck

Today I had to resort to primitive methods for retrieving our Soundtrap logging device.

We had deployed it in Carlingford Lough in Ireland, not as much to measure anything specific as to get some insight into the soundscape of our local patch. The mouth of the Lough is quite busy, with big boats passing regularly, along with the occasional fisher boat and jet ski from the friendly local life guards (RNLI).


The hydrophone was attached to an anchor but with a separate line to the buoy to avoid unnecessary noise from the mooring. It's sitting close to the shipping channel, ready to record any passing ships. I should mention that we might get dolphins or porpoises as well, as this Soundtrap supports super high sampling rate, 576,000 samples per second!



The Soundtrap is deployed, safely hovering a couple of metres above the seabed. Yes, the sticker is upside down, I'll correct that later.

Long story short, our anchor was too good, and we had to send a diver down to retrieve both hydrophone and anchor. This meant waiting for slack water, which occurs when the tide is not moving water in or out of the Lough. Because of 4-5 metres difference in high and low tide, we could not send a diver down during the tidal race!

In the end we got our kit back.
It's always good to be reminded of the forces of nature - and strong anchors!




The sublime view from Cranfield Bay over the Irish Sea and the Cooley Peninsula. 

Thanks for reading!

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