Febuary 2013 Expedition - We have arrived
The Chagos 2013 Expedition team have arrived in Diego Garcia!
We’ve come from the UK, Australia, the US, Wales and Diego itself to research this outstanding part of the Indian Ocean. Our advance team have been busy sorting our stores and, as usual, our first day together has involved preparing equipment. With Chagos being so isolated, we have to be completely self- contained. All the equipment that we need for the trip – and all the equipment that we think we might possibly need - has to be shipped out in advance.
Today, we’ve unpacked, tested, assembled, prepared and stored all the things we’ve been shipping out over the past year. A substantial Darwin Grant from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has allowed us to buy a lot of scientific and diving equipment. We’re particularly pleased to have the Portalab. A refitted Portacabin on the top deck of the boat we’re working from, the Pacific Marlin. It’s got benches, a sink refrigerator and, the luxury of it, air conditioning! Much of the post-dive work will be done here: data entry, sample identification and preservation. It’ll make a great change from working in the hot sun on the back deck of the Marlin.
It’s been a hot, busy and tiring day, but now most of the work is done with the usual incredible help from the Marlin crew. Soon we’ll be heading off to the outer atolls, where the ‘real’ work begins. Watch this space for more from us, live from the Chagos February 2013 expedition.
Meanwhile, here’s a shot of a very large school of huge barracuda swimming by us on our shakedown dive. A truly fantastic sight!
Anne Sheppard
Creole translation
Sa tim pou lekspedisyon Chagos 2013 in ariv Diego Garcia!
Noun vini sorti Langleter, Australi, Lanmerik, Wales ek Diego limenm pou resers sa parfe part Losean Endyen. Nou premye tim in bizi pe aranz nou stor parey labitid, ansanm in enkli preparasyon lekipman. Avek Chagos ki tre izole, nou bezwen vin konpleteman efikas. Tou bann lekipman ki nou bezwen pou sa voyaz – e tou bann lekipman ki nou kwar nou kapab bezwen – in gany avoye an avans.
Ozordi, noun demenaz nou sak, teste, asanble, prepar e stor tou bann keksoz ki noun avoye pandan lannen. En sibstansyal Grant Darwin sorti kot departman lanvironman langleter, manze ek bann zafer(DEFRA), in fer li posib pou nou aste enta bann lekip plonze siantifik. Nou partikilyerman apresye pou annan sa portalab. En kontener kin gany aranze pou nou lo bato ki nou pe travay lo la, Pacific Marlin. I annan ban, sink refrizerater e menm i erkonn! La plipar bann traval apre plonze pou gany fer ladan: antre bann lenformasyon, idantifikasyon bann sanple ek prezervasyon. I pou fer en gran sanzman kont travay dan soley deryer lo bato Marlin.
In en zournen so, bizi e tre fatigan, me laplipar bann travay i gany fer par manm lekipaz lo Marlin. Byento nou pou pe komans nou semen pou al kot bann latol, kot la travay pou komanse. Regard sa lespas pou plis kot nou, sorti kot lekspedisyon Chagos 2013.
Antretan, sa i en portre en gro group tazar ki pas obor nou ler nou pe sey bann lekipman. En fantastik portre!