Test deployment successful

Honey Badger spent a long memorial day weekend in the water off the Big Island.  We've got our data streams up and running, and the website can present graphs of data and position. We are very happy!  There are still a few things left to do. The towfish was not a happy camper and was quite negatively  buoyant.  Brad and I spent much of the day getting it reballasted and figuring out ways to rapidly vent trapped air.  The problem with the phyto-flash was fixed by the Keith in Sunnyvale (thanks!) and is working.  Brad is prepping Honey Badger for the long haul, touching up paint, and the like.  We had one 11th hour crisis when Brad asked "when was the anti-fouling device on the CTD replaced?"  My blank stare pretty much said it all.  We don't know.  So, after a hurried phone call to the vendor (Seabird Electronics), I got another set ordered and FEDEXed overnight to us for delivery on Friday.  Brad will swap them out on the boat in the test area.   Meanwhile, Honey Badger goes into the sea again tomorrow for the final ballast check of the towfish. We will let it tow 24 hours, test the remaining instrument's performance (the phyto-flash) and on Friday, Brad will install the new anti-fouling device at sea.  Then, Honey Badger is good to go!

We have not decided whether to hold station in the test area for the weekend, or just send Honey Badger off over the horizon.  A lot will depend on the ballasting situation.  Stay tuned.

Here's a youtube video of Honey Badger being unloaded from the support vessel:
http://youtu.be/bH5WhSC7py8

Brad checking the tow cable.

Derek touching up the paint on the towfish.