BUOY RECOVERIES 



In 1988 Ice Patrol had the rare 

 opportunity to recover five of the 

 six buoys deployed during the 

 season. Buoy 4564, which failed 

 completely upon splash-down, 

 was the only operational buoy not 

 recovered. Four buoys (4530, 

 4540, 4558, and 4563) were 

 recovered by USCGC NORTH- 

 WIND, which was conducting an 

 Ice Patrol Research Cruise (IIP 

 88-1) that carried the vessel near 

 the buoys. The fifth (4566) was 

 recovered by the Canadian Coast 

 Guard icebreaker CCGS SIR 

 JOHN FRANKLIN. 



Recovering the buoys serves 

 three purposes. First, it permits 

 the reuse of the buoys in the next 

 season, saving $6-8,000 per 

 recovered buoy. Second, it 

 permits Ice Patrol to determine 

 whether the drogue remained 

 attached during the entire drift 

 period. A detached drogue results 

 in the buoy moving with the near- 



surface currents rather than the 

 currents at about 50 m, which is 

 more appropriate for iceberg drift 

 predictions. Finally, it permits Ice 

 Patrol to evaluate the effective- 

 ness of the air-deployment pack- 

 age, e.g., whether or not the 

 parachute detached, whether the 

 drogue deployed properly. From 

 these findings, design improve- 

 ments can be made. 



Table B-2 summarizes the buoy 

 recoveries. 



All five recovered buoys had the 

 drogues attached when they were 

 recovered. Two of the buoys 

 (4563 and 4530) also had their 

 parachutes attached. In both 

 cases, the parachute cutters were 

 still in their place in the collar, but 

 there was damage to the power 

 cords, suggesting that in both 

 cases the air-deployment package 

 failed. The parachute was en- 

 tangled in the first few meters of 



the drogue tether, so the para- 

 chute was not acting as a near- 

 surface drogue. A review of the 

 Ice Patrol Reconnaissance 

 Detachment (ICERECDET) trip 

 reports showed that 4563's pallet 

 broke apart during the deploy- 

 ment, and the parachute did not 

 separate from the buoy when it 

 entered the water. Although the 

 deployment of 4530 appeared to 

 be normal, the ICERECDET could 

 not confirm that the parachute 

 separated from the buoy despite 

 three fly-bys after the deployment. 



All of the recovered hulls were in 

 excellent condition, with no bio- 

 fouling. All of the drogues exhib- 

 ited some minor damage, such as 

 short tears or abrasions. The 

 antenna housing of buoy 4563 had 

 a hairline crack of unknown origin 

 near its base, but the buoy's per- 

 formance was unaffected. 



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