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Today our watercraft operators, resupply coordinator and some members of the shoreside cargo roster enjoyed a very well earnt break. No alarm clocks and a scenic wander off was the order of their day. For the rested aviation team, it was back to the skies. Sadly, local area conditions (again as forecast) precluded down island project support. This presented an opportunity to use helicopters to ferry cargo ashore and begin retrieving 'Return To Australia' (RTA) cargo from station. Whilst we missed having the LARCs alongside the ship, it did open up some options as to how crew discharged cargo via helicopters from the forward deck. With both forward cranes deployed out to the ship's sides, the forward deck of the ship becomes a winch point from which cargo can be received and discharged via helicopters utilising their sling lines. This operation, involving crew working directly with helicopters is dynamic and fast paced. Trials on the Derwent, and again off Davis have proven the concept, it was time to put it into action. Over the course of the morning, cargo brought from the forward holds and up onto the deck was slung to station, and on return, RTA cargo brought back. Once the forward deck above the winch point had reached capacity as far as workable space, the helis were tasked to replicate the same cycle but from the ship's aft heli deck, whilst crew lifted the hatch lids on the forward deck and used the ship's crane to move the RTA into its final stow location for the voyage home. With the weather in the afternoon still not conducive to down island project work, the helicopters were re-tasked to ferry frozen food to station (the last of the sustainment cargo required by station to maintain function) and return further RTA. All in all, yet another productive day of cargo operations and a very worthwhile test of the ship's capabilities. As with all of these operations, a small band of timekeepers is tasked with recording key timings of each phase of operation. Not only is this data useful for us projecting time required for current and planned tasks.. it also guides us with respect to what operating configurations are most efficient. Handy as our weather windows become increasingly uncertain.
Regards,
James and 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.