Atlantic Ocean Scavenger Hunt

[mdbuoyproject]

I have a small project deploying open-source drifting buoys at sea. Original idea was to show you could do this with off-the-shelf hardware and relatively new, inexpensive Iridium SatCom modems. The first buoy went in off Norfolk, VA in July '16 and is still operating today south of the Azores after 630 days at sea. You can see it's current location and get a status update (click on last icon) here:

Drifting Buoy Project

More info on the project is here:

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Wondering if there are any boaters travelling west from Europe or N. Africa this summer who want the challenge of finding a small object in the ocean on their way. It would be awesome to see what the buoy looks like after nearly 2 years in the ocean. Updates are nominally every 6 hrs, but it can be set to 1 hr for a recovery attempt. Ideally we'd like to have it hauled aboard, photographed, and then tossed back in. Would share the story on the website.

Maybe a crazy idea, but thought I'd "float it".

--MD (Maryland) Buoy Project