Trip Day 4 - Sunday
0700-Finished Bible study. Verse for the day: "I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues." (Psa 120:1-2)
0750-Completed prayer and reading before breakfast. Sun is out, weather like yesterday. No wind, high thin clouds. 69F/69F.
0820-Made breakfast. I may fly the drone since it is calm and sunny.
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| Anchorage Between The Islands |
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| Island To My South - Later I Became Very Familiar With It! |
0900-Flew the drone, landed once to change batteries. The new grip worked well for catching the drone on the fly.
On the second flight I was flying sidewise and low behind me and thought I was close to the boat and over water when the drone obviously crashed. The video showed it was hung up in a birch.
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| Drone Crash Scenario |
I got too hurried and thought it must have hit the adjacent island since it was going in that direction and I thought it was close to the boat.
I put on rubber boots and got in the kayak, but forgot to bring the boat hook in case I needed to clear it from the tree. I searched the island clomping through heavy brush to no avail. I returned to the boat to do more analysis.
Onboard I checked the video again but the battery had died. So I then checked the "Find Me" function in the DJI app which showed the last known coordinates. I tried to put the coordinates into the satellite map app, but it showed the drone 5000 miles away! I tried two maps but no go!
Next I pulled up Google Maps since I knew I had downloaded the area before my trip, just in case. That worked better, but it indicated the drone was some place on the mainland, not the island! That surprised me but I figured it had to be correct, so I went in search. I remembered to bring the boat hook this time and the phone of course that showed the drone location as well as my position. This time I forgot my lifejacket. Again, in too much hurry for an old man. Think, think, think before acting!
I went to the area indicated in my satellite map as well as the DJI map in the app. Both took me to the spot but Google Maps was the best giving me distance to the drone. When paddling I got within 100 feet I went ashore in terribly thick shore brush, almost like mangroves. I was on my hands and knees getting through.
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| The Obstacles Of Getting Ashore To Retrieve Drone! |
I fell when some thick brush tripped me and almost skewered myself on a sharp stick that went just by my ear! Could have easily been my eye or my throat! Whew! A close call.
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| Thick Brush Along Shore Made It Difficult |
Once ashore I followed the app and found it right away but the boat hook would not quite reach fully extended to about 9' or 10'. I had to pile some downed logs to get the height needed. I prodded the drone and it came crashing to the ground. I couldn't catch it. The immediate assessment indicated one float strap (Velcro) was broken and my retrieval handle was broken. The props and gimbal looked okay which are much more tender. Later tests indicated the drone was functional. I will test fly tomorrow.
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| Drone's Crash View From Tree |
The kayak was a mess. Leaves, broken branches, and moss covered the bottom.
1130-I got something to drink and put the gear away. Hooked up the kayak to the bridle, prepared the cameras and sound, activated Zoleo, and finally got underway.
My plan to make a couple short drone flights and get underway without delay went awry!
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| Looking Up Lake - North |
While moving along to the next anchorage I looked at my life vest I was not wearing at the time and noticed the attached PLB was missing! I realized I was not wearing the vest when I retrieved the drone but had been wearing it on the island search. I had removed the vest leaving it on the ground near the kayak so I wouldn't tear it up in the heavy brush. It must have fallen off when I went to pick it up again but the PLB is in a black case which would have easily blended in with the forest ground debris. I will have to try to locate it on my return trip.
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| Terrain Along Leg 4 Track |
1330-Arrived at a tight anchorage nicely hidden from the main channel. I traveled 10.3 miles today.
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| Leg 4 Track - Google Earth |
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| Leg 4 Destination Anchorage |
I washed dishes and tested the drone, which seemed okay. I'm now charging all devices. Water temp is 62F, so I went swimming to clean up. It was shallow so I touched bottom easily when jumping in. The bottom was muddy not sandy.
Charged the drone batteries after putting on some clean clothes. I feel fresh and more upbeat despite a lot going wrong today. My attitude at times was dour!
1700-Baking pizza for dinner. Will have a salad and cold beer to balance it out. Sun is still shining between rainy looking clouds.
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| Pizza, Salad, & Cold Beer |
1930-I did a video in the cockpit then had strawberries and ice cream for dessert.
The tight anchorage with high trees to the west will bring sunset early. I will have a Baileys and listen to my audio book "The Bone Orchard" by Paul Doiron. Later it will be my e-Book "Black Coral: A Thriller (Underwater)" by Andre Mayne.
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| Looking South - Note Spit To Left |
2000-Sipping that Baileys. The sack will come soon. Mean while a beaver made the required three slaps of his tail to express his displeasure with my presence.
YouTube Video
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