The Equipment

When we were setting up this project we visited the Friends of the San Juan Islands eelgrass monitoring team to see their set up. They also started because of concerns about eelgrass beds in their county, principally Wescott Bay where the plant disappeared a few years ago.

Jim and Tina showed us the open skiff they use and explained their equipment array and video mapping methods.

The red box contains the electronics for the video. Attached to the nav station are all the connections to integrate the navigation software and GPS coordinates. The cage with the white hourglass shape that Jim is holding is their tow fish. The camera - gray cylinder at the center - is protected by the cage and the hourglass shaped fin stabilizes the unit as it is pulled through the water.

Our Eyes are on Cornet Bay - And Duvall

Island County Beach Watchers eelgrass project team members are like Type A kids waiting for Christmas, simultaneously excited and stressed out. We're almost ready to go and already facing deadline.

Our mandate and funding stipulate that we map Cornet Bay at the north end of Whidbey Island near Deception Pass by June 30, 2008, but we're biting our nails over those slowdowns and glitches typical of any new project. Nevertheless, we're positive we'll make the date.

Equipment is coming together. We have our boat and captain, we have our laptop and navigation software, we have our power supplies and our GPS rig. All we're waiting for now is the tow fish which houses and protects the camera and the electronics box that houses the techie stuff that makes it all come together. These should arrive from our outfitter in Duvall, Washington by the 20th. Which will give us ten days to learn how to use the setup, do a few practice runs and then head to Cornet Bay for the start of our eelgrass videotaping careers.

We're hoping this will be a widely used project that will benefit Beach Watchers, the Marine Resources Committee, Island County, Washington Department of Natural Resources, the UW, Puget Sound in general and our eelgrass beds in specific. Everyone is raring to go.