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All going to plan this will be the last SITREP for VE1, as we expect to be alongside by around 1500 tomorrow afternoon. As regular readers will know, this has been another record breaking AAp voyage, for those that came in late lets list them:
- Youngest person ever to step ashore at Macquarie Island under the auspices of the AAp, well done Brittany! (17y 10m),
- possibly the youngest AAp expeditioner ever (still verifying this one),
- first visit to a foreign port by an AAp controlled Australian flagged vessel,
- first visit to New Zealand by the 'Royal Australian Navy's' massive icebreaker Aurora Australis'- direct quote from the Otago Daily times!,
- youngest group of AAp expeditioners to ever sail south,
- greatest movement to the left on the Right skewing age profile of AAp expeditioners in history,
- most helicopters ever on deck at the same time on the AA - 6,
- longest time south of 50 degrees for an RAN 'Chartered' vessel,
- first visit to the Auckland Islands by an AAp vessel,
- first time an AAp ship has had to avoid 'flying whales',
- first tow of a vessel not stuck in ice,
- first song written, recorded, video clip made and sent to another vessel ever,
- most weight gained by a VL in a two week period,
- most dirty unwashed brew mugs left lying around the ship, in the most bizarre places, by a DVL,
- most newspaper articles generated by one voyage across two countries,
- most time spent ashore by a Chief Mate and a DVL, supposedly '..checking the cargo..',
- greatest understatement ever - VL 'Don't worry, we'll be back in Hobart in a week.', and
- most smokers on the same voyage to run out of smokes, because they listened to the VL.
To make all these records happen takes a great bunch of people, on behalf of Andy and myself I would like to thank all who participated in
VE1 and made our job easy. Big thanks to Scott and crew of the Aurora Australis once again constantly kicking goals. A big thanks to the catering crew for looking after us with the three highlights of the day, breakfast, lunch and Dinner.
Tony needs a mention in dispatches for looking after the 38 members of the RAN contingent, especially trying to keep 15 under 20's amused and on track for nearly three weeks. I have trouble just keeping Andy on track and at the sink washing his brew mugs! To his team who put in the big effort when asked and did so with a smile, credit to the service and BZ!
To the Macca crew thanks again for a short but interesting resupply operation and to the expeditioners on board for being happy to hurry up and wait.
You can stop reading here if you aren't interested in the dessert ramblings:
Zooey stepped up to the plate last night with his rendition of another classic, the Apple Crumble. First impressions were positive with a deep golden brown top reminiscent a dry Kimberly river bed with cinnamon instead of sand. It was clearly obvious from the outset that a significant amount of brown sugar had been used in the creation of this dessert as it was glistening under the galley nights. A spoonful was like unleashing a blitzkrieg across the palette! The firm and sugary cinnamon encrusted crust mixed well with the precision cut pieces of apple that were enveloped in a superb sauce. The crust and apple interior were in balance and in harmony with each other, almost ying and yang on the tongue so to speak. The final comment comes from one of the Chefs, who when quizzed about his reaction to the dessert, responded, '...its pretty good, but he made a hell of a mess!' Thanks Zooey well done! And make sure more ingredients go into the bowl next time and not on the galley floor....
All aboard looking forward to getting home tomorrow, and all the best to the readership out there, your feedback through people aboard the ship has been fantastic and really appreciated. Until next time, au revoir!
Regards
Rob and Andy
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.