On Monday morning, Victor returns from the abyss with his first samples and images from another world. The sailors of the Pourquoi pas ? and the team in charge of the maintenance and piloting of the ROV are there to welcome him.
It is moving to see Victor’s leash on the surface. After a night at a depth of over 2000 m, he needs people on the rear deck to help him get back on board. The leash needs to be taken care of: it is a technique to master to roll it up properly and keep it in shape.
Great show for the first dive! Black smokers, shrimps (Rimicaris exoculata), mussels (Bathymodiolus azoricus), gorgonian and mysterious fish. And then an alignment of the planets (Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn) which bodes well for Arc en Sub!
Thanks to his arm (and his pilots!), Victor is able to sample just about anything we ask him to bring up in his traps. A small harvest for this first dive on an already known site. But Bobbie goes back glad to the lab with her basket under her arm.
The morning shift team (Alexandre, Isabelle and Bobbie) takes the first measurements and weighs. First discussions with Rémi too. And Marine, the ship’s doctor, helps Manon to clean the traps before taking her first geology lesson.
Meanwhile, Caroline and Marianne finally got the first IdfeX data they had been waiting for since yesterday evening. They will soon be able to present us with a first fine bathymetry map.