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After a fairly desperate (and increasingly frustrating) battle with the ice yesterday (we made only 27 n. miles in 21 hours), we finally emerged into ice-free calm waters NW of Cape Poinsett at 2200 AEST. Palpable relief on the bridge... About half an hour later, we’d located the target water depth for WHOI #5 (-1040 m) and Team America and Co. leapt into action for the final deployment of their program. Halfway through deployment, a CASA aircraft (Survey 2: VH-VHA) from Casey gave us reason to grin as they flew past our location, having conducted an ice reconnaissance for us. At 0130 this morning, the mooring anchor dropped with a sploosh, and that was that! Five moorings from five attempts! High fives all ‘round! A well deserved sleep-in for the mooring crew this morning. We’re now heading to Casey with all speed, in delightfully calm conditions, and about to encounter our next potential sticking point to the north of Petersen Bank, where ice conditions once again appear to become heavy. We could get through in hours, or it could take a day or two. Stay tuned (exciting, isn’t it?)… Regards, Doug, Aaron & Margaret
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.