Our summer season at Macca gets underway with a visit from L'Astrolabe last weekend.

L'Astrolabe visited Macca last Sunday and brought us twelve summer expeditioners to get summer projects running.

Last week we prepared on station for the coming visit of Voyage VR0, which comprised a brief visit from the French Antarctic Program research and supply vessel L'Astrolabe, whilst en route from Hobart to the French Antarctic station Dumont D'Urville. L'Astrolabe was bringing us twelve summer expeditioners to get our summer projects running, and a limited amount of cargo.

Our visit preparations on station included running further training in LARC (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply Cargo) operation by station boating officer and experienced LARC operator Pete, for our two other coxswains Ian and Chris. This ensured that we would be in a position to use a LARC, of which we have two on station, for the unloading from L'Astrolabe, with the second LARC with a qualified crew on standby on shore in case of any unforeseen emergencies.

Following a delay in departure from Hobart, it became clear that L'Astrolabe would arrive here overnight on Saturday night. Sure enough, at daybreak on Sunday, she was parked out in Buckles Bay on the east coast of the isthmus. By 0600, our LARC was in the water out to the ship with Pete and Chris at the helm. After four cargo runs ashore and one passenger run with our twelve expeditioners aboard the LARC, L'Astrolabe was gone by 1100.

We also bade a very fond farewell to our winter communications technical officer Ryan, returning on L'Astrolabe via Dumont D'Urville to his job in Australia. Thanks Ryan for great work on station and wonderful company through winter!

So we now have our complement of summer expeditioners, with three additional science projects and a Bureau of Meteorology infrastructure project to take place through the summer period. More on these later!

Macca photo album

On the wildlife front, things change rapidly at this time of year! The elephant seal pups, the oldest now about six weeks old, are being weaned as ultra-plump little round weaners, and finding pools of water in the tussocks in which to teach themselves to swim.

The returning king penguins are moulting prior to commencing breeding, while last year’s chicks are fattening prior to fledging soon too. The gentoo penguin chicks are hatching in nests throughout the coastal tussock grass.

The light mantled sooty albatross are courting on the hillslopes and engaging in spectacular paired aerobatic flights, and will commence nesting activities shortly.

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