Bren on 30 November 2017 On Wednesday 29 November the sun finally set at 12:10am, only to rise again shortly after at 1:02am. As Mawson station resides within the Antarctic circle our summer will now continue with a full 24 hours of daylight each day.
Our next sunset will be on 13 January when it will finally set at 12:47am, only to rise again a mere 19 minutes later! The nights will then progressively get longer as it moves out of the summer season.
Bren on 29 November 2017 A quick walk home from the office at Mawson station. The winds were somewhat high but the visibility was good so we can see a few things on the walk.
Bren on 26 November 2017 Thursday and Friday we were off station on our field training. This is a course most expeditioners complete shortly after their arrival on station, to learn skills such as navigation and survival essentials for an Antarctic environment. Over the two days we completed a number of exercises such as preparing for a field trip, driving quads along GPS waypoints, waste management, and orienteering using a map and compass.
What was really fun though was a ration pack dinner and camping out in a bivvy bag on the snow! It was surprisingly warm in my sleeping bag and I got a pretty good night’s sleep.
The trip took us up the plateau to Rumdoodle for the night, which is the landing area for planes later in the summer season when the sea ice is gone, then a drive around and up to Mt Henderson for some breathtaking views over the plateau to the fast ice.
We all returned safely to station in the afternoon, a bit tired but full of stories to share with our fellow expeditioners and new skills to keep us safe when travelling out in the field.
Bren on 23 November 2017 Work has been going well this week, and now today we’re off up the plateau to Rumdoodle for our Survival Training. This is an overnight course all new expeditioners.
See you tomorrow evening!
Bren on 20 November 2017 It has been a rather busy start since arriving here at Mawson that it is now day 5 down here. A bit of a summary:
It was a pretty busy day leaving the ship on Wednesday. I was scheduled for flight #2 which we weren’t too sure if it would make it into the forecasted weather window. They always ensure it’s a good day for flying. The news came in that the flight was going ahead so we got ready. When it was time we went straight from the ship to the plane over the sea ice on a Hägglunds snow vehicle. Once ready for take-off we were on our way. The flight over is amazing with our route mostly following the East Antarctic coastline.
Getting in to station was fun. We landed on the sea ice, donned microspikes on our boots, and walked into “town”. There we met our wintering team and then went straight into inductions around station. Following a fire drill we all sat down to dinner and got to know each other. They’re an amazing bunch of people who haven’t seen any new faces for half a year, so it was great hearing what they’ve been up to over the winter.
My primary role started on the Thursday as the IT Officer for the station. So far I’ve been helping the summer expeditioners get connected and a few other things around the office. I’ve also been helping with upgrading the webcams around station and some satelite upgrades, two projects we’ll be working on over the season.
The weekend rolled around and after completing my Saturday community duties (this week I was on the garbage run around station) we got the bar ready for a party. This week we celebrated the Station Leader’s birthday and the theme was “red”, so I wore a red shirt and found a tartan hat in the costume store downstairs. It was a great night to all celebrate together and just enjoy ourselves.
On Sunday I had my first walk off station. The doc took a few of us newbies on the Guamm loop, a 4.2km walk up the plateau and back. It’s amazing to look back and see how tiny the station is compared to the local scenery of glaciers and icebergs trapped in the sea ice. I’ll definitely be doing this walk again soon.
Bren on 16 November 2017 I’m now “home” for the summer. In my own room! With (basic) internet!!
Been a very long day though so more soon.
Bren on 14 November 2017 Today was heli fly off for essential Davis personnel, so those like myself not involved spent most of today bunkered in with the bridge and external decks closed. So a rather uneventful day for myself and no opportunity to get off the ship unfortunately. Wandering around Davis might have to wait till V3.
Tomorrow morning Mawson flight #1 is a go, with those personnel going straight from the ship to the plane which we can see not too far away on the sea ice skiway.
I’m flight #2, so it’s still undetermined if we’re a definite at this stage, if we will get a quick chance to see the Davis living quarters “flight lounge” on route, or if we too will go from ship to plane direct. All will be revealed tomorrow…
Bren on 13 November 2017 Today has been an absolute stunning day of cruising between the ‘bergs, followed by a glorious sunset just before midnight. It’s been a beautiful orangey-yellow twilight since, and with sunrise less than 4 hours away from sun down, it just doesn’t get dark at night anymore. More opportunity to stay up and see the incredible landscape.
We reached the fast ice edge at 01:35 where we commenced crunching our way in. Helis are due to fly off tomorrow morning.
Davis is now in sight! From the bridge you can see all the station buildings and a few lights on.
Bren on 13 November 2017 We’re through most of the first year pack ice at this point. Yesterday we had to crunch through some pack where the ship will go through as much of a crack lead as it can, get stuck, reverse, then full speed ahead on both engines as it kind of beaches itself on the ice, using the weight of the front of the ship to break through the ice and push it to the sides. For particularly tough spots the ship can go forwards, back, forwards, back; many times until it finally crunches its way through.
Right now we’re cruising through a polyna – a large open body of mostly ice-free water kept unfrozen due to local currents and wind conditions. It’s a beautiful sunny day outside with calm winds, making going up to the front forecastle of the ship a real highlight of the voyage. The open water should continue today and we could reach the fast ice edge overnight if all goes to plan.
Wildlife is everywhere with many petrel, seal, and adelie sightings. I even saw my first emperor yesterday.
With the ship no longer rolling there’s been a number of ship tours organised. I was very fortunate to get picked to go down and check out the engine room yesterday, and see the massive V16 and V12 engines that drive the ship. This evening I’ll also be heading up to the monkey deck (the roof of the ship above the bridge) to get a tour of the MARCUS and ARM scientific instruments which have been running throughout the voyage. The team running those projects have had many long, tough days up top, so we appreciate them taking the time to show us around.
Planning and briefings continue for resupply. Yesterday we had training and a visit to the heli hangar to learn about the two squirrel helicopters we have onboard. I’m not scheduled to fly on one as they will be based at Davis for the summer, but it’s good to know just in case I need to fly at some point this season. For the Mawson fixed-wing flight which I’ll be on there’s no scheduled date yet – it’s highly dependent on how the ship goes breaking through the fast ice to Davis, and how the plane goes with its current flight schedule and weather windows.
Today I received my iceberg sweepstakes winnings at the morning meeting. Too bad there’s not much use for money for the next few months down here.
Bren on 11 November 2017 Today was quite eventful as we’ve now reached the pack ice. I woke up this morning to the sound of “doonk”, “doonk” – little bergy bits hitting the ship’s hull.
We had another safety drill this morning and by now we’re quite well versed in grabbing survival packs, lifejacket, and heading to the muster points. Once that was completed and cleared away it was time for a minute’s silence for Remembrance Day. I took that moment to be up standing on the bridge, looking out onto the southern waters.
With official duties out of the way, this afternoon we had a royal visit with King Neptune coming aboard our fine vessel. We first timers crossing 60 degrees south must seek permission to enter his watery realm through a ceremony. With the King’s blessing I am now a South Polar Sea Dog and I now take pride in the brine that courses through my veins. I also have old clothes that now smell like fish guts and we can’t quite get the smell out of the cabin. All in good fun.
For our efforts we had a BBQ dinner out on the trawl deck which really gave us a chance to see the pack ice up close. We’re starting to see lots of wildlife now with adelie, petrel, albatross, and seal sightings happening quite regularly.
Only two more days then resupply operations commence, so we’re definitely down to the pointy end of the voyage.