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This afternoon finds the good ship Aurora Australis (and all those who sail on her) in light swell some 270nms south west of Hobart, from where we departed 26 hours ago.
Yesterday's embarkation was a smooth affair with all expeditioners on board and preliminary briefings, meetings and musters conducted prior to lunch.
At around 1400hs we departed Hobart, having been farewelled at the dock by members of the AAD shipping and operations team. It is by the efforts of the shipping and supply services teams and the broader AAD administration and operations sections and their affiliates (including of course P&O), that the ship has been turned around, loaded and operationalised in under a week since returning from its voyage to Macquarie Island and Dumont d'Urville stations. No small feat.
Yesterday, by Storm Bay, the ship was encountering a heavy swell. This increased to 8 or so metres once we were around 'The Friars'. Last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast were consequently quiet affairs (all the more Sunday roast for the rest of us). That said and with seas moderating today, we are starting to see more people out and moving around.
With over 600t of cargo on board and some 1,000,000lts of fuel bound for Casey station we are a heavy ship, but a quiet one. There are only 22 southbound expeditioners on board. The majority of these expeditioners are round-tripping and will support the station resupply along with the 7 ship-based projects on board, one of which, the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) was commenced yesterday evening.
This morning, ship's crew conducted a fire drill which evolved into a medical evacuation drill involving the transfer of an 'injured' person to the ship's on board medical facilities. Since then, voyage management and work group supervisors have been engaged in preliminary meetings, planning sessions and equipment inventorying.
It's good to be on our way.
Regards,
James, Anthea and Gemma.
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.