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Work started in pretty chilly conditions, with temperatures sitting around 3.5°C for most of the day.
We managed to get one group to shore by LARC when a weather window opened mid-morning but a second group, day trippers, were told to stand down. Station is very busy at the moment and we didn't want to risk getting them to shore and not being able to bring them back again. Thank you for your patience – hopefully we'll have better luck tomorrow.
After lunch the skies cleared and we saw our first view of Macquarie Island all the way up to the plateau – great news for the walkers who started out on their nine-day trek yesterday.
By early afternoon both helicopters were in the air sling loading cargo from the aft end of the vessel. The ship's crane drivers, deck crew and LARCs were hard at it again, moving things off the ship from the forward holds to station.
Our first shift of LARC operators returned after three days of hard work, no doubt to do some washing and enjoy the luxury of the Observation Deck. They did a fantastic job and really made a dent in getting cargo off, so thanks to you all.
For those of you who may be wondering how we can currently be at Macquarie Island, but also have travelled 88nm in the last 24 hours, it's because at night the ship sometimes doesn't hold position just off the station. Constant wind direction and strength changes make it less appealing to stay at anchor, so we slowly steam up and down the island a couple of miles off shore. This also allows the ship to make water for the over 90 people still on board.
REGARDS: Brendan, Jenn, and Nick
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.