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Day 10 and after a night of strong winds, the Macquarie Island that we knew way back when this resupply first commenced is back. 10-15kt wind averages and blue skies.. if only for today.
Making use of the good conditions, our 2 remaining LARCS have been steadily ferrying Macquarie Island Modernisation Project (MIMP) cargo ashore despite a tricky swell alongside the vessel. The helicopters have been tasked with supporting the last of the outstanding down island activities. By this afternoon, we are hopeful that the last field hut resupply will be completed and the footage from the field as required by our resident documentary film crew will be 'in the can'. With all 'sustainment' cargo now at station, our attention is focussed on processing the station bound MIMP cargo and retrieving 'Return To Australia' (RTA) ship bound cargo. Being one LARC down has changed how we configure cargo operations to use the weather windows we have efficiently. This being the first ship>shore cargo operation attempted from this vessel, and one of the largest cargo resupplies of Macquarie Island, we are collectively working very hard to identify methods for optimising the ship's capabilities with those of our available helicopter and watercraft. this is involving some creating thinking, problem solving and trialling of different configurations. For anyone out there with a bit of a thing for operations research... each of these configurations is being scrutinised by an ad hoc group of volunteer time keepers and data managers collecting operational data on each different configuration. Preliminary analysis of these records is already informing our approach to each coming days activities. In the long run, hopefully it will serve future years well when it comes to voyage planning. This afternoon we plan to trial RTA cargo runs via the LARC to the aft deck whilst sling loading MIMP project items to station from the forward hatch lids – a process that began mid morning with the prepositioning of 80 bulker bags with the ship's forward starboard crane whilst simultaneously discharging concrete slabs to the waiting LARCs.
Ultimately though, the effectiveness of all the planning comes down to the professionalism and skill of those on the decks, water, island and in the air – prepared to give things a shot and evolve our approaches from the experience generated.
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.