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Today the ship has remained at anchorage in Buckles Bay nestled on the leeward side of the island, all but its shorelines and the dark green bases of its steep slopes shrouded in mist and low lying cloud.
With strong wind gusts above station and low visibility, this was not a day for helicopters. It was a day for LARCs however. Through the morning and afternoon, the watercraft team and ship's crew worked effectively under difficult weather conditions to convey gas cage pallets, field hut supplies, an antenna, a caterpillar engine and other assorted cargo to shore. Throughout the last 2 days of cargo operations, both teams have demonstrably refined their approach to offloading cargo from the vessel onto LARCs and it is becoming a very smooth operation to behold.
Our resident film crew have divided to conquer their respective shot lists for ship and station, today filming interviews and operations ashore, whilst capturing bridge activity and cargo movements aboard the vessel.
With operations expected to conclude early this evening, we will gather supervisors together at each end for a debrief on the day's operations and the plan for tomorrow. Weather permitting, we plan to continue cargo operations tomorrow, supplemented by down Island helicopter work. Emphasis placed on 'plan'.
Deck 8. Out of the central stairway and onto Deck 8, we find ourselves standing in a large space, the width of the superstructure with both port and starboard doorways leading to outer decks. Lined by lockers this space is Muster Station 'B', where we gather for regular safety and evacuation drills, and where we would likely gather in the event of a real shipboard emergency. Central compartments running aft from this space down midships contains - as do many of the deck's rising above the engine room – the engine room casing, accommodating emergency power generators, auxiliary boilers and ventilation systems etc. On the outer internal circuit of this deck are more crew cabins and the cabins and day rooms of the Chief Engineer, Voyage Leader, Deputy Voyage Leader, Captain and 1st Mate. Aft of the accommodation compartment is the upper reaches of the ship's cavernous heli-hangar, and the two B3s tucked in out of the gusting wind.
Today's interview is c/o
1. Name: David 'Squid' Powell
2. Job: 'Integrated Rating'
3. Where from: 'Sunshine Coast'
4. Where To: V5 (round tripping)
5. Claim to Fame: 'Won Australian title for motorcross'.
6. Why did you become an RSV Crewmember: [Ed: it involved penguins]
7. Favourite thing about the RSV Nuyina: 'Adventure'
8. Favourite pastime on voyage: 'Creating 'squid' rings' (the squid patented wedding rings used aboard the vessel for the recent ceremony)
9. Favourite piece of Antarctic kit: 'Thermals'
10. Voyage / Antarctic experience in one word: 'Epic'
11. Favourite V5 moment: 'Stepping on to Antarctica'
Regards,
James & Brendan
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.