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Yesterday was a busy day. Whilst we delivered fuel to station we also provided the crew of the Everest the opportunity of a trip to shore to have a look around Davis Station. Under the Davis Tour Guide Team the crew visited the elephant seals on the Beach, the Vestfold Brewery, the various work areas on station and the living quarters where they got to enjoy a cuppa and a bite to eat. One crew member was ecstatic with the coffee that one of the expeditioners made from the station's coffee machine. Thank you to the Davis team for hosting the crew who were most appreciative of the chance to stretch their legs ashore and see the station.
Last night we continued pumping fuel until 21:00 when, due to decreasing light, it was time to get ready to launch the pig. At around 21:30 the pig entered the line and made its way to station being followed closely by the small boats on the water. The pig was caught intact in the pig catcher ashore, pushing out any residual fuel in the hose line. It was then time to disconnect the hose from the ship and reel it back into shore for the night. Under the watchful eye of the VMA on the bridge using night vision goggles the small boats with their navigation lights on retrieved the line. By 00:15 the last small boat was off the water, and at the conclusion of the day we had pumped 451 000 L ashore.
This morning, in the early hours, the small boats hit the water again deploying the fuel line back to the ship. By 08:50 we had once again commenced pumping fuel to shore. The colder conditions overnight saw grease ice forming and becoming pancake ice which collected along the fuel hose close to the ship. Yellow boat went into ice wrangling action lifting the line up with the special ice hooks releasing the ice off the line. During the morning the minimum volume of Special Antarctic Blend Deiseal, SAB, had been revised to 750 000 L. It is now nearly 16:45 local time and we have delivered a total of 759,100 litres plus the 7000 in the fuel hose to station, it is now time to pig the line!
The plan for the remainder of the day is to pig and retrieve the line, pack up the refuelling equipment and transfer the remaining passengers from Davis to the ship. The crew of the Everest are currently securing the ship as we will either depart the bay this evening if we have enough light to transit through the narrow passage between islands and icebergs or early tomorrow morning, making our way through the ice and turning left, heading to our next destination - Mawson.
REGARDS: Andy, Jenn and Lauren
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.