The Dagmar Aaen has been operating as a volunteer weather observation vessel since the early 1990s. Back then, data was still recorded manually and transmitted by radio. Today, we have a fully automated weather station on board which sends the latest data via satellite every hour. We can manually enter observations such as cloud cover and wave heights, etc.

In recent years, we have also repeatedly deployed measuring buoys for the German Weather Service (DWD) and Météo France. These buoys operate completely autonomously for around 2–3 years whilst drifting across the oceans, continuously transmitting weather data to the relevant authorities. This data is then incorporated into daily weather forecasts, including, for example, the marine weather report. Weather forecasts can only be as accurate as the data on which they are based. The more measuring stations there are, the more precise the forecasts.

However, these drifting buoys are made of plastic, which has always left us feeling uneasy when we’ve deployed them overboard. Even more plastic in the oceans! Even if it is for a good cause. Arved’s suggestion to build the buoys out of wood was initially met with surprise – then with enthusiasm. The result is a joint European effort: the concept and electronics by E-Surfmar and Météo France, the electronics manufactured by CLS in Toulouse, the wooden body by the Bremen woodturning workshop, and data transmission via the new European satellite system Kineis. The DWD is actively involved in its further development. We now have one of these prototypes on board and are deploying it between the Faroe Islands and Iceland – this is the first time that such a buoy has been tested under real-world conditions in the North Atlantic. We wish it a long service life and many successful data transmissions, so that more of its kind can be built...