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We are all living from forecast to forecast each day - operations on Macquarie Island depend heavily upon the weather so it was with much relief that we pulled into Buckles Bay this morning to reasonable conditions and were able to get LARCs into the water. We had to wait a few hours for conditions to improve for the IRBs (inflatable rubber boats) but this had no impact on our operation.
After anticipating that the weather may prevent us working today we ended up with a great day of operations, with all cargo except a few fuel drums discharged from the ship. We started taking RTA (Return to Australia) cargo back to the ship today and are about half way through the pile of cages and crates to come back with us. The LARCs have been busy all day, and the teams in the IRBs did a great job of moving people between ship and shore to finish off tasks. We also revisited our plans to resupply the down island huts by watercraft and now await weather forecasts to determine what we will be able to achieve.
We are switching off cargo tomorrow to focus entirely on the refuelling operation. This is one of the most weather dependant aspects of our voyage but the forecast is positive and we are all hopeful as briefings are complete, rosters have been finalised and we are ready to get underway.
We're all looking forward to a warmer, less windy day tomorrow - even the birds were flying sideways above the ship today.
Cheers, Nicki & Sharon
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.