This week at Macquarie Island: 29 August 2014

After a long Winter with an unchanging west beach littered with elephant seals and gentoo penguins, we are all keen to see the bigger male elephant seals return for the breeding season. Stories are shared each day at meals about the biggest seal seen that day or more aggressive fighting that has started up outside the workplace window, or a seal that decided the road was no longer just for the Polaris. Occasionally someone bursts into the mess to announce that there is a seal worth seeing right close to station and we head out with our cameras.

On the weekend however we were in for a treat. Noisy seagulls attracted the three tradies on station to the beach to investigate, where there was a very large mature male elephant seal. But just 50 metres away to the south, we spotted our first leopard seal for the season. They are solitary animals so it was no surprise to have just one visit us. The leopard seal put on a show for the cameras and we spent an hour or two photographing it – the next day it was gone. They are solitary animals so it was no surprise to have just one visit us. The leopard seal put on a show for the cameras and we spent an hour or two photographing it - the next day it was gone.

We are looking forward to the return of albatross, the baby gentoos and, hopefully, more leopard seal sightings as we head into September.

Meg McKeown

The summer insertion on Voyage VRO is now less than two months away via the French ship, L’Astrolabe. Agreed training has begun on the LARCs, land and water vehicles, with our certified coxswain boating officers. If the conditions are suitable when L’Astrolabe arrives, it will be much easier to use the LARCs for the summer crew and for the incoming cargo.

Peter Raymond, our lead boating officer who has great experience in many facets of boating, has been given the all clear to train our other two certified coxswain boat, Ian Whiteley and Chris Howard. On Monday 25 August both Peter and Ian seized what is considered to be a pearler of a day here at Macquarie Island. That is, the winds actually got below less than ten knots for three to four hours.

Peter guided Ian through the functions and controls of the LARC via some land based training throughout the day. Ian has reported that there are many more functions than the usual IRB (inflatable rubber boat)/outboard and is relishing the extra training.

The tradesmen, or tradies, awesome foursome of Graeme Freeman, Paul Deverall, Greg Gerbich and Peter Raymond have continued their great work on completing the fencing and other works on the machinery shed. All of the posts are now concreted in the ground and the remaining touches on the upper fence railing is being completed. They have put the decking planks down for the cold porches, and its roofing is now being cut to size.

Keep up the great work boys, those big elephant seals are starting to arrive and the machinery shed would make a nice, warm, wind-free zone for them.

Over the past month or so, the ‘Inter-Station Darts competition’ has been heating up. Here on Macquarie Island, we have almost all of the station participating in darts. Scotty Hanson and Dr. Meg McKeown, our team captains, have been really putting in some great work encouraging their respective team members. The darts competition has boosted the morale on station and increased the social landscape of the crew, with many laughs and the competitive nature of some expeditioners shining through.

Currently Casey station, with a strong team, are leading the competition closely followed by Macquarie Island. Watch out Casey, we are after you! A big thanks goes to Scotty Hanson for organising the darts events.