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Yesterday saw us crack into the cargo with sling loads flying in both directions. The crew of the Aurora did a great job of making up the lost time from earlier in the day when the fork lift and trolley jacks were suffering in the cold.
We finished the day with all but three cage pallets ashore and 42 new and old friends on board for the voyage home. It's always good to see lots of familiar faces...
Today we finished flying the cargo ashore and RTA (Return To Australia) cargo to the ship.
The only exception being low priority, empty ATK (Aviation Turbine
Kerosene) fuel drums which we have decided to leave behind.
The reason for leaving the empty ATK drums is that we may have a weather window to fly the incoming Mawson station leader to Mawson tomorrow (and bring the outgoing one back) if we can get to Cape Darnley, which is about 170Nm from Davis.
To have a reasonable chance of steaming this distance overnight through the pack ice that is covering Prydz Bay we need to be under way by 1400 today.
If this flight is successful it will save us from having to steam all the way to Mawson station, saving us a number of days...
A big thanks to everyone at Davis and the Helicopter Resources and Aurora crews for an efficient and safe operation.
Cheers
Andy, Leanne and Mark
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.