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Yesterday was a great success. The fly off operation went very well with
all remaining 27 pods flown ashore, the 15 drums of fuel filled earlier
that morning flown ashore, and 7 cage pallets of essential cargo (mostly
heli and pax gear) and the last two passengers flow ashore. In addition
we managed to get 20 bulka bags of marine debris, 16 cage pallets of
cargo and personal effects, 67 drums of old liquids and contaminated sea
water from the previous attempt to refuel, all flow aboard. And of
course the 14 returning passengers. All of this was done in a short
weather window by the two AS350B2 helicopters. We upped stumps and set
for sea shortly after dark, celebrating with a beer in the bar after the
crew had finished lashing loads and securing the vessel for open water.
We are now in open waters, heading home, being pounded and rolled around
by strong winds and very rough seas.
As a final note can Beechy and I please extend a huge thanks to the
efforts of the Aurora Australis' Master and crew, the Helicopter
Resources pilots and engineers, the watercraft team, and to the Bureau
Of Met forecaster - all of whom have worked closely together to enable
us to discharge the 436 x 800kg bait pods, the 189 drums of fuel, three
20 foot containers of general cargo, and of course the Macquarie Island
Pest Eradication Project team of 17 excited "Bunny Bashers".
Cheers
Cianchi and Beechy
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.