A team of seven – Chief Investigator Mark Staniforth, Research Associate Peter Harvey, Researcher Toni Massey and volunteers John Munro, Eric Bruning, Scott Allen and Sven Bartels took the current deflector screen (CDS) system out to Clarence to test it. After an early start at Altona we drove down to Queenscliff to launch Heritage Victoria’s boat Trim. We had 50 sandbags (remind me to get washed sand next time – sorry about that!) which took us two trips out to the site to deliver. Then got the CDS (which consists of two shade cloth panels each 10 m long and 3.6m high weighed down with sandbags and held up with buoys) into place using the Clarence pile as the apex of an open ended equilateral triangle.
Guess what – it worked a treat! The CDS cut the current down from more than 1 knot to something we can work in easily which is going to help greatly when it comes to the project fieldwork. The team also deployed a current meter on loan from Dr Perran Cook of the Water Studies Centre at Monash University in order to measure the tidal currents on site. Thanks to all who helped out on the day and to Geoff Miller Pty Ltd (which is a Supporting organisation for the AHSPP) for constructing the CDS and to Des Williams for arranging it to be made.
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Caption – (left) Eric Bruning, Mark Staniforth, John Munro, Scott Allen, Toni Massey and Peter Harvey at the Queenscliff boat ramp on 27 March 2012 (photo by Sven Bartels) and (right) the Current Deflector Screen (CDS) in place and working (photo by Eric Bruning).
