Day 8 – Bonus level: finishing up the Bounties

November 15, 2022 at 4:03 pm

We spent another night at the anchorage at the northern end of the channel between Proclamation and Spider. Early sun on Spider Island is replaced by misty conditions around 8am. By 9.30am the Evohe raises and raises the anchor. Plan is to fly Molly Cap and North Rock drone missions from the boat. If we pull those two off, we have managed to our bonus missions done as well.

Approaching Molly Cap from the South.

Mist dispersed by a freshening northerly breeze. Molly Cap successfully surveyed despite rising wind. Launch and catch of the unit done by Richie Robinson, as this requires a degree of experience that our drone pilots Thomas and Hannah so far had no chance of making.

Orthomosaic of Molly Cap generated from the drone images taken during the boat-based mission.

After recovery of drone and exchange of battery and SD card we fly the final Bounty Island mission – North Rock. Goes even smoother as wind drops again. All 13 main islands of the Bounty archipelago surveyed by 11am!

The Bounties – main group left, Centre group middle and Molly Cap right – disappear behind the northern horizon.

Evohe sets course to the Antipodes in calm conditions with hardly an wind. Overcast and warm. Bounties disappear behind the horizon by 1pm. Spotted the first Light-mantled Sooty albatrosses as if our next destination is calling us. ETA Antipodes: some time after midnight.