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After finishing some more marine science stations last night we started steaming for Commonwealth Bay. It was a highly successful day for the scientists in entirely new areas off the Mertz Glacier. We have had to come North about 60nm to get around the massive B9B iceberg and then South again for Commonwealth Bay. Penguins, seals and Minke Whales have kept everyone entertained along the way despite the falling snow and very poor visibility in the fog. After lunch we encountered the tourist ship Akademik Shokalski and gave them a wave as we sailed by. Sounds like they are having a great trip down here. We were honored to be visited by King Neptune today. His Highness inducted first time travellers to his realm below 60 South, the lucky things! We are now steaming for the fast ice we know to be about 10nm off Commonwealth Bay. The presence of this fast ice is highly unusual with Commonwealth Bay usually being open water to the harbor and huts at this time of the season. Many uncertainties will be answered once we get there and see how thick and extensive the ice is. We have great weather forecasting from an onboard forecaster and ice imagery regularly sent to us, so we can only imagine how hard it was for Mawson and Davis on the SY Aurora with nothing but what they could see in front of them to guide their way. Often they could see very little. On board that ship one hundred years ago Percival Gray wrote in his diary “At present there seems to be no chance of landing, as it seems to be nothing but ice barrier, and it will be an awful job landing them over [the] barrier. They will have to be landed somewhere so the sooner we start about it the better… I only trust that the show is not a failure.” In the end it certainly was not a failure!
REGARDS: Robb, Steve, Barb and Nisha
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.