As May is falling into June and autumn finishes for the Casey station team, it is fast becoming all about the sea ice. The growth and formation of the sea ice at Casey station has been intriguing to watch and as the ocean freezes at −1.8°C, we have observed the frazil ice turn to grease ice, and progressively to pancake ice, then blow out of the harbour only to reform days later and try again.
We have educated ourselves on not only measuring the depth of the sea ice for travelling on but the integrity and the structure of the ice, and the hazards to be aware of. As winter truly begins and the ice finally holds fast and fixes itself to land to form what we call the ‘fast ice,’ we are ready to embark on sea ice travel training!
It was pretty exciting to be out with the technical search and rescue (SAR) team and be amongst the few to take our tentative first steps on the frozen ocean. Donned in many layers under a fully submersible dry suit with a PFD layered over that, we scooted out just offshore attached to rescue ropes and on a floatable rescue platform to drill and test the quantity and the quality. Solid! Really solid at 70cm thick and healthy too. The fabulous SAR team spent the day measuring the area and practicing their rescues just in case of an event where someone went through a patch of unstable ice. As a result we confidently declared this area open and ready for our expos to start their training.
Meanwhile community life at Casey station hums along with the majority of us working on our mid-winter gifts for each other. A Kris Kringle kind of set up where we drew a name from a hat about two months ago and have been busy ever since, squirreled away in timber or metal workshops, sewing rooms and hobby huts with late night knitting, lunch time welding, weekend lathes, drop saws or art supplies all being wielded by the highly varied and capable individuals that make up the 33 expeditioners of Casey station.
Personally, I can’t wait to see what each person has created and the giving is definitely way more rewarding than the receiving.
- Liz Charlton, Senior FTO
