Information
Comments
Well we have just received the Sitrep from our friends on the Aurora Australis and along with a big congratulations for the progress that are making on their air resupply we have to declare that we are just a bit jealous today. It sounds like they are having one of those rare and stunning Antarctic days where you realise just how lucky we are to be doing this work. We'd love to be able to describe the beautiful vista of Macquarie Island but we haven't really been able to see it for a few days now and today was the worst day that we have had since arriving. We know that there is an amazing landscape and a great variety of animals out there but alas the only thing that we saw today was a LARC and the landing beach and then after lunch it was all fog and an increasingly rough seas around the ship as we seek shelter in the lee of the island.
We arrived at our position in Buckles Bay this morning and decided not to proceed in to where we normally park to do cargo as visibilty was poor. This soon improved and we could see the beautiful Macquarie Island again but alas it was only going to give us a glimpse before the cloud and fog began to descend again. We still had visibility ship to shore so cargo operations commenced and we sent our last drums of fuel ashore and received some RTA bundles. After lunch we paused cargo operations as the swell was increasing and the windspeed was also picking up. The LARCs are incredibly versatile and can operate at this windspeed but in combination with declining visibility we decided to halt before conditions deteriorated any further. This wasn't unexpected as our forecasts had been suggesting this for a few days and we were expecting winds of up to 30 knots so we went into watch and wait mode. We stayed off the island in the (false) hope of improvement but called a halt to the day at 3pm. We then spent the rest of the afternoon organising the RTA cargo that we have on board so that it is all stowed as effectively as possible to make the rest of the operation run smoothly. We are now off to make our cabins seaworthy for what may be a rolly night out here - we've all become a bit slack with all the lovely smooth nights we've had so its time to tie things down and put things away again which is all good preparation for our departure.
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.