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This morning, after another night spent stooging outside the harbour, the ship resumed its place in Newcomb Bay. All plans for commencing preparations for refuel operations in earnest were put aside as forecast updates indicated that the weather window anticipated between today and Friday had significantly narrowed. We were back to cargo operations, and if lucky with the conditions, would undertake the fly-off of two helicopters bound for Casey to support their summer operations programme.
Fans of the show 'RBT' would appreciate the sight of one being conducted against the backdrop of an Antarctic icebreaker for a randomly selected ship's crew member - not upon suspicion we hasten to add, but as part of their daily safety management system, (the billboards appear to be true; it really can happen to you anywhere).
With the domestics out of the way, we began to discharge cargo on the barge and send passengers via the rigid inflatable only to find the winds picking up with gusts trending once again towards the upper limits of our operating parameters. Often, the wind speed encountered on the station is considerably lower than that out by the ship and so our watercraft made good use of the wharf area to stand by until winds eased out on the water. By late morning the winds were decreasing and by lunch time conditions were ideal for the helicopters to be wheeled out onto the heli-deck, have their blades fastened and fly away.
Shortly afterwards, cargo operations resumed with station and ship based personnel working hard to make the most of the calm conditions. We hope they might prevail through tomorrow enabling us to send our contingent of Davis expeditioners ashore for their connecting flight and of course, more cargo.
Regards,
Voyage Management.
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.