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Yesterday play commenced at 0800 with the focus firmly on
cargo. The Mawson crew had done a cracking job of laying out all of
their return to Australia (RTA) containers, well in advance of our
arrival. This made the day's operations run particularly smoothly. It
had the benefit of allowing us to commence back loading almost
immediately after we had cleared some deck space. By the early afternoon
the cargo was flowing back and forth very quickly and the ship was fully
discharged at 1710 when the last gas cage was sent ashore. All up the
ship managed 54 lifts during the day and at one stage it was taking six
minutes from when a barge left the ship to when it was back alongside
and discharged. I think another record has just been set. Keeping the
cargo up to the hook, so to speak and not letting much idle time creep
in is a sign of a well run operation both ashore and on the ship.
Today the high turnaround continues with a typical barge run taking one
minute to load, two minutes to get to the ship, one minute to discharge
and another two minutes to get back to the shore, all up six minutes.
Too make this happen takes a lot of people working as a team in some
pretty ordinary conditions (balmy 0 degrees at the moment)for up to 12
hours a day. All up, there are around six people on the shore point,
three on the barge and ten on the ship, not to forget the ship's
engineers keeping the steam and green steam flowing. UPDATE: The four
minute mark was just broken on a barge run! Fruit buns all round!
The round trip programs are reporting good progress ashore as well as a
very hospitable team at Mawson, making their time ashore very enjoyable.
Had another visit from a pod of Orcas yesterday afternoon. This was the
second visit, the first being around the same time the previous
afternoon, which I forgot to report in the previous SITREP. The first
sighting was spectacular with a big bull surfacing with a number of
females right off Horseshoe Harbour entrance. It was only a fleeting
visit with only a couple of surfaces before they disappeared. But it was
the first sighting of an alpha predeator so far this voyage. The second
sighting was even briefer but coincided with another visit to the bridge
of 'Whale Whisperer' George, and by the time we had made an announcement
over the ship's public address system, they had disappeared again. Its
amazing how fast people will get dressed, get off their bunks, out of
their cabins and up on the upper decks when there is a chance to see one
of these magnificent creatures.
Also on the wildlife front, we have had the pleasure of the company of
an Emperor penguin since we arrived. This particular bird is in the
middle of molting and has been sitting on a large piece of ice in front
of the Mawson fuel farm, the entire time we have been here, constantly
preening itself and removing its old feathers. Apparently this annual
process is not a particularly pleasant experience for penguins and
because the molting results in a loss of their insulation layer they
must remain on the shore until the process is complete. Looks like this
particular penguin is nearly finished and should be back in the water -
watch out for the Orcas little buddy!!
The Mawson boat ramp also had another visit from a seal yesterday, this
time it was a Weddell seal who came to visit, but because it had chosen
to come ashore at probably the busiest 10 square metres of earth in
Antarctica at the moment, the visit was very brief.
I have to make an amendment to my Dessert report for yesterday, in fact
there was a case of forgery! The Danish reviewed yesterday was in fact a
packet one - the horror!! Ken confessed after the SITREP had been
published, that due to the limited people on board at the moment, he had
slipped the old packet Danish in to save time. Despite the mid afternoon
flogging, Ken returned to form last night with a gastronomical
combination of rice pudding, stewed apples and meringue. The latest
rumour is that Ken has planned something special for Valentines Day.
Speaking of Valentines Days a big kiss and hug to all our respective
partners, wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses (I think
that covers the lot) at home from all those aboard the AA, we may be
working hard but we are still thinking of you!
All aboard working our proverbial off but still living the dream and
kicking goals at the same time!
Regards
Rob, Simon and George.
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.