Trip Summary
During this period, three trips were conducted. On February 11, a trip was made to FH-8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 to obtain accurate coordinates for the site boundaries to determine new GPS coordinates to submit for permit renewals. On February 27, a trip was made to tow the FH-6 buoy back on station. On March 7, a trip was made to replace a piling light at FH-8.

Site Boundaries
Almost all of MGFB's reef sites use LORAN coordinates in the permits to define the site boundaries. Since the permits are coming up for renewal in May, 2001, and the fact that LORAN is scheduled to be shut off, it was desired to obtain GPS coordinates for the renewal process. For the past couple years, GPS coordinates were obtained as trips were made to the reef sites. Reef sites FH-8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 were remaining and with the deadline approaching, a dedicated trip was made to these sites on February 11, to get the remaining data. After compiling all the collected data and reviewing the existing permits, the following coordinates were submitted for the permit renewals. It was noticed that existing charting placed a single box around FH-9 & FH-11 due to their close proximity, so coordinates were submitted to combine these sites.

FH-1 (MD96-00996-V): N-30°04.100' S-30°03.000' E-88°36.300' W-88°37.000'
Depth=63-68 feet; Clearance 42 feet.

FH-2 (MD96-00999-V): N-30°05.600' S-30°04.800' E-88°32.800' W-88°35.000'
Depth=54-56 feet; Clearance 30 feet.

FH-3 (MD96-01000-V): N-30°09.960' S-30°09.880' E-88°44.960' W-88°45.100'
Depth=45 feet; Clearance 30 feet.

FH-4 (MD96-01001-V): N-30°10.600' S-30°10.000' E-88°53.500' W-88°54.100'
Depth=29 feet; Clearance 23 feet.

FH-5 (MD96-01002-V): N-30°11.000' S-30°10.450' E-88°49.900' W-88°50.800'
Depth=35 feet; Clearance 25 feet.

FH-6 (MD96-01003-V): N-30°02.100' S-30°01.700' E-88°41.600' W-88°41.800'
Depth=55-75 feet; Clearance 45 feet.

FH-7 (MD96-01004-V): N-29°37.500' S-29°36.700' E-88°23.500' W-88°24.700'
Depth=125-130 feet; Clearance more than 85 feet.

FH-8 (MD96-01005-V): N-30°16.100' S-30°15.900' E-88°57.600' W-88°57.800'
Depth=15 feet; Clearance 12 feet.

FH-9/11(MD96-01006-V & MD96-01008-V): N-30°16.000' S-30°15.300'
E-88°53.600' W-88°54.300' Depth=17-18 feet; Clearance 12 feet.

FH-10 (MD96-01007-V): N-30°16.000' S-30°15.860' E-88°38.900' W-88°39.000'
Depth=9-14 feet; Clearance 7 feet.

FH-12 (MD96-01009-V): N-30°03.200' S-30°00.500' E-88°45.000' W-88°46.500'
Depth=40-45 feet; Clearance 32 feet.

FH-13 (MD96-01010-V): NE1: Lat 30°04.000' Long 88°31.700'
NE2: Lat 30°01.700' Lon 88°29.300' S-29°59.200' E-88°29.300' W-88°32.400'
Depth=65-89 feet; Clearance 63 feet.

FH-6 Buoy Tow
At last months MGFB meeting, the DMR had reported the FH-6 buoy was off station and provided coordinates of it at 29°47.184/88°46.349. On February 27, a trip was made to determine the cause of failure and to tow the buoy back on station. The buoy was indeed at the designated coordinates in about 40 feet of water, just east of the chandeleur islands. A dive was made to inspect the mooring and tie on a tow rope. The 1-1/4" chain links had simply worn all the way thru. A tow rope was attached and the buoy was towed the 15.2 nm @ 15° and placed back on station at 30°01.884/88°41.706. The tow took about 6 hours to complete. Due to limited equipment, a temporary #15 danforth anchor with 6 feet of 3/8" chain was attached to the tow rope. It is desired to implement a more permanent solution soon as 3 offshore buoys are awaiting deployment at FH-1, 2, and 12.

FH-8 Light Replacment
During the February 11 trip, it was noticed that the light on the FH-8 piling was missing. A new light was ordered and mounted on top of the piling on March 7.