Knorr and Lulu Head to Sea

A towline connects the crane of the R/V Knorr (right) to Lulu, a 105-foot catamaran that served as the Alvin submersible’s first tender, as the two ships prepared to take part in the French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study (Project FAMOUS) in 1974. During the three-year international program, the human occupied vehicle Alvin (secured to Knorr‘s deck in this photo) and the French deep-diving submersibles Archimède and Cyana allowed researchers to explore a mid-ocean ridge for the first time. (Photo by Frank Medeiros, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)