Zero Point Buoy

In days at sea, little events like seeing the buoy at Lat 0.00/Lon 0.00 are the subject of dinner conversations. Many asked how is it moored in 16,000 feet of water? An “old salt” said: Back in the day, in the Coast Guard, we always used half-inch, grade #80, alloy steel chain.” Because the Coast Guard seldom does anything in 16,000 feet of water, I looked it up. At 236 pounds per 100 feet, that eight-foot wide buoy would quickly be dragged toward the bottom by 3,776,000 pounds of mooring chain.

Siri helped me find how the world’s Tsunami buoys are anchored in the very deep ocean. Neutral-Buoyancy, Polypropylene & Dacron line is the answer. It floats in seawater at average temperatures.

This is the “Zero Point” or “Null Island” buoy we passed by.
Paw’s technical manias continue, even at sea. LoveYa!