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It has been both a busy and quiet 24 hours. Yesterday morning, 33 excited AAD expeditioners boarded the AIVIQ. This trusty American icebreaker will take us first to Mawson Station, where we will deliver fuel and cargo and swap out the wintering teams, and then to Davis Station, where we will retrieve the summering personnel and deliver a small amount of critical cargo. Our team is made up of nine watercraft operators, two doctors, two refueling specialists, one comms tech, one scientist, the ingoing Mawson wintering team, and voyage management.
We were greeted on board by the friendly American crew who gave us a comprehensive ship safety induction. This was followed by a brief from the Voyage Leader, Doctor, and Comms Tech. After this information overload it was time for lunch. Chief Steward Chad put on a delicious spread and the salad bar was topped up with fresh veggies and fruit. Our departure was delayed by several hours, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as everyone had time to settle in and make their final phone calls home. We pulled away from the dock at 1900 and set sail down the Derwent River. It was a beautiful, warm evening to be outside and the decks were packed with people watching the land go past.
Before we could get too relaxed, however, there was one more activity left. The abandon ship alarm (drill) went off and we all mustered. Everyone donned their immersion suits and we even buckled ourselves inside the lifeboat. By 9pm most people were in bed, either tired from the exciting day or drugged up on seasickness tablets in anticipation of bigger seas.
The buzz of yesterday now feels far away. It has been very quiet on the ship this morning. With a slightly bouncy swell hitting the bow, most expeditioners are laying low and finding their sea legs. A few keen bird lovers are out enjoying the fresh, warm air and five old souls made it to the daily Deck of Cards workout. The Incident Management Team met this afternoon and is now ready to be stood up if any incidents should occur. A jigsaw puzzle has appeared in the conference room and the movie 'October Sky' is planned for later tonight.
Tomorrow will be our Day 2 PCR testing. We are currently in COVID level AMBER, which means mask wearing and social distancing. This is a precautionary measure after having been in port. If everyone tests negative on Day 2 and Day 5 of the voyage we will transition to GREEN, which means no masks and lots of high-fiving.
REGARDS: Sam and Anthony
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.