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REMARKS: Due to deteriorating conditions preventing any further activity yesterday, the ship moved off on a southerly transit along the east coast of Macquarie Is. The intention being to see if we could land some of the Pest Eradication Project Team ashore at Green Gorge to scout out possible work sites. The hope was that the island would provide some semblance of a lee to the north westerly winds to allow us to crack out two IRBs and proceed into shore. Unfortunately the weather was way outside our operating parameters for boating operations and the exercise was called off.
Despite this, the ship closed the shore to a distance that allowed the Pest Eradication team to gain a good appreciation of the terrain and the difficulties posed in accessing and working in the area. The ship then moved further south to the bottom of the island so the project team could have a look at Hurd Point, another work site. Once this was complete the ship came back to a more northerly course.
After a review of the latest weather charts, the Aurora's captain predicted that there would be a short lull in the winds in a gap between two fronts, that would occur at around 1700. It was decided to take the opportunity to see if we could get the last of the critical cargo in at this point. The plan being to use the station IRBs and crews, which would save time by having them standing by ready to go as soon as the ship settled into a suitable position in Buckles Bay. While we were steaming up the coast, the voyage support team along with the boat operators and Aurora crew, broke down the last two cage pallets of critical cargo, transferred it to the helideck and repacked it into bulker bags. Nearly 400kgs of cargo was moved pretty quickly between the tween deck hold and the heli hanger and repacked in about 30 minutes.
Upon entering Buckles Bay, the weather was still doing its utmost to thwart our plans, but, as predicted, at 1730 the wind started to abate. The Macca boat crews were already standing by on the beach and were in the water as soon as we were ready to receive them. All up it took about 20 minutes to get all the cargo ashore, in what was a smoothly run operation. Credit goes to all players involved, especially the Macca boat crews who did a cracking job!
The job was completed just in time as the wind began to pick up again almost immediately after the last load was sent ashore. The ship moved out of the bay and back to sea. A further review of the weather charts showed only worsening conditions for the next two days, with little chance of any further objectives being achieved, it was decided to commence a northerly passage back to Tasmania to undertake marine science trials.
Overnight the ship has been pounded by 10-14 m swells and 60 knt gusts of wind as we try to make some headway towards Tasmania. At the moment we are on a south westerly track, bow to swell and wind in an effort to find some calmer conditions to allow us to track more northerly.
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.