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We continued to stooge up and down the coast throughout the afternoon and overnight, with low cloud cover concealing the snow covered island from our view. This morning we awoke to more settled conditions. The southerly swell maintained throughout the morning but the wind had dropped and the cloud cover lifted. It turned out to be a good flying day for us between ship and shore and for the tasks that we need to complete down island. Our first task this morning after completing our 0630 meeting was to sweep the snow off the helideck before we could commence flights. The way that the ship was sitting at anchor this morning was not optimal for LARC operations and as we have only heavier and bulky loads for them at the moment we stood watercraft down for the morning to await more favourable conditons which have been forecast for later on. As the swell at the ship settled, the surf at the shorepoint grew to the point where the surfers on board were gazing longingly out the bridge windows and the LARCs were stood down for the rest of the day. We were able to fly helicopters ship to shore with cargo all day.
Today we crossed the half way point of our resupply visit, and things are progressing quite well but we still have a lot of tasks ahead before our departure. We've made a good sized dent in our ingoing cargo and are now starting to get a feel for the quantity of RTA (Return to Australia) cargo that we may be able to get home on this voyage. We were unable to change over field hut supplies last season and are looking to maximise the removal of cargo from the island this season which takes considerable planning at both the ship and shore sides of the operation. Down island flying needs to link up with manifesting and the LARC or helicopter transfer of the cargo out to the vessel. On the vessel we need to ensure that the cargo is sent out in the order we need it to fit into the available holds and spaces that we have opened up by flying ingoing cargo ashore. It's pretty much like a giant jigsaw puzzle where the pieces are almost made to fit together ...
REGARDS: Nicki and Mike
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.