During deployment of a buoy, the busiest area of a research vessel is the fantail, the portion of the deck near the ship's stern. What looks like mayhem is actually a highly organized and precisely choreographed procedure for getting the buoy, along with miles of line studded with dozens of delicate instruments (and with bright yellow, buoyant hardhats), into the water without tangling, damaging the equipment, or injuring any people involved. (Photo by Penny Foster, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)[back]
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