Post 3: First Drifter Recoveries
We’ve had an exciting few weeks tracking our drifters! As of November 12 two drifters – yellow "Sofia" and teal "Sophia" – have reached shore! Keep reading to find out where they came ashore and who found them. The other two – purple "Maddie" and red "Athvika" – are still drifting but have exited Cape Cod Bay!
First recovery: October 29
On October 29 at 6:19 am the first of our drifters – yellow Sofia (Drifter #2) – washed up onshore– just five days after it was launched! It landed very close to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) – south of the jetties surrounding the property. A huge thank you to Jim Manning, a retired NOAA oceanographer, for braving the windy and cold conditions to retrieve the drifter! Due to the wind, rough seas, and rocky coastline, this drifter sustained some damage during its landing; however, repairs can be made and this drifter will be able to be deployed again next season.
Second recovery: October 30
Around 8 pm the following evening, Oct. 30, a second drifter came ashore north of PNPS near the town of South Duxbury. The teal Sophia drifter (Drifter #3) was found early the next morning, Oct.31, by Morgan Nickerson, a local beachwalker, who called us and moved it off the beach so that it would remain undamaged until we could collect it. Later that day, Ralph Perrotto, a Scituate High School science teacher, was kind enough to retrieve it and returned it to our team. Thank you to them both!
Remaining drifters
What’s happening with the remaining two drifters? The purple one (Drifter #4 made by Maddie) exited Cape Cod Bay on Nov. 5, swinging around the arm of the Cape and is heading offshore. The red one (Drifter #1 made by Athvika) left the Bay on November 12, hugging Race Point at the tip of Cape Cod. They will continue to travel, and we will be able to track them for another two weeks before running out of GPS tracking time – check our live map to see where they end up! (Note: the colors of the tracks on the map change with updates.)
