Trip Summary
During this period, there were 3 reef construction trips and 1 dive monitoring trip performed. Mississippi Power Company donated 2 barge loads of rubble to inshore sites, contracting Vice Construction to make the deployments on May 12 and May 16. On May13, the Von Rosenberg reef was created in FH-7 utilizing a 155 foot long Pogey Boat. The vessel was donated by Omega Protein who contracted Colle Towing to make the deployment. MGFB paid $25,000 to assist in cleaning up the vessel and make it environmentally sound. MGFB contracted PRIMOFISH.COM to conduct the spotter operations. On June 3 a dive monitoring trip was made to FH-7 but was unsuccessful due to poor water conditions.

000512 Horn island Middle Ground rubble (ID=245F10)
Lat 30°15.890'N Long 88°38.955'W TD's: 12381.9 47085.2-1 29601.1
The Tug "Miss Betty I" was met at the FH-10 site which deployed approximately 300 cubic yards of rubble concentrated at the above coordinates. The surrounding depth was 11 feet with a minimum depth of 8.5 feet recorded. The Northstar 951XD DGPS was tracking 9 Sats, had a hoop of 0.9 and an accuracy of 9 feet.

000513 Von Rosenberg Reef (ID=246F7)
Lat 29°37.473'N Long 88°23.615'W TD's: 12539.2 46923.1-2 29590.7-6
The Tug "Jim Colle" was met at the FH-7 site on May 13 to deploy the 155 foot long pogey boat "Sabine Pass". The name of the reef was dubbed "Von Rosenberg Reef" by Omega Protein, the donating company. Demolition work was performed by Jim Bowman. The vessel sank stern first with the bow lingering at the surface for a while before finally falling to her resting place. Soundings show the bow appears to be pointing in a generally southwest direction. DGPS Coordinates for the Bow and Stern are as follows:

BOW: Lat 29°37.465'N Long 88°23.622'W
STERN: Lat 29°37.481'N Long 88°23.604'W

The surrounding depth was 130 feet with a minimum depth of 100 feet recorded. The Northstar 951XD DGPS was tracking 9 Sats, had a hoop of 0.9 and an accuracy of 7 feet.

000516 Round island rubble (ID=247RI)
Lat 30°17.574'N Long 88°35.821'W TD's: 12414.6 47092.0 29639.3
The Tug "Miss Betty I" was met at the Round Island Site which deployed approximately 300 cubic yards of rubble concentrated at the above coordinates. The surrounding depth was 9 feet with a minimum depth of 7 feet recorded.

FH-7 Dive Monitoring Efforts (ID=125F7)
On June 3, 2000 Kirk Loy with ETV was carried to the FH-7 site in an attempt to collect video and data on the Von Rosenberg Reef in FH-7. It was desired to collect footage on that reef as well as an established nearby reef for comparison. Since water surface conditions were excellent, it was decided to first dive on the Jumbo Barge to get the comparison footage before other boats arrived and hampered our efforts. Water visibility was around 70-80 feet until about 90 feet of depth at which it abruptly dropped to about a foot. In addition, there was a current of around 4 knots that started about 15 feet under the surface and persisted all the way to the bottom. Visibility on the structure was so poor that the location of the bow could not even be determined to get a height measurement. The limited fish observations above 90 feet of depth revealed a large school of blue runners (300-400), some spade fish (20-30), and a few Amberjack (6). Since the conditions were so poor, the dive on the Von Rosenberg was aborted.

While returning to the dock, it was noticed that the FH-2 Buoy was about 2 miles off station. A quick dive was made to inspect the terminal tackle. The inspection showed no problems with the tackle, but a rope was found loop tied around the anchor chain. The rope was retrieved and measured approximately 1-1/4" in diameter and over 720 feet long. The anchor was one of the larger 1,000 pound Dor-Moor pyramid anchors which showed no subsiding into the bottom. It is hypothesized that the loop in the rope worked its way down the chain and the action of the buoy pulling up on the anchor allowed it to drag across the bottom due to the side pull of the large vessel which tied up to it.

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EMail Author: Mark@primofish.com