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August 2007 |
| 25th - 31st August casino night, Dr Zhivago, bank Holiday, Terra Nova repair, gash, fire alarm, gearbox repairs, darts with halley, |
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18th - 24th August
Winter trip #2 - it is the second half of winter and time to elope to the depths of the field and engage in crazy Antarctic activities. Well, that is the plan for some but given the recent spat of atrocious weather and a strong desire to put ones feet up, my FGA for the trip Mr Drew Cook and I are going to assess the conditions each day from the comfort of the Library with a nice fresh cup of coffee and some good banter. Saturday was a day of tidying up lose ends and none the less in preparing the boats for Ali the marine biologist to continue her desired CTD surveys even if I were not available. So I spent the day topping up fuel levels, getting the boats ready and generally tidying the place a little bit. So by Sunday, I was very ready for a relaxing week off. Drew and I met early-ish and enjoyed the views from the Library. As we were joined by Cyril and Pete we decided that we should muster a group of folk for snowboarding on the Ramp (the area immediately above the runway and the main access route to the rest of the island). After a quick brunch, we dashed off donned snowboards and skis and enjoyed a pleasant if not slightly windy period on the slick, selectively icy Ramp. Soon eyes became fixed on a steep snow slope adjacent to the Bonner Lab that promised deep powder and an excellent test of stamina. And so we moved back to base for some extreme snow sport. Dinner was relished on the return of the snow dudes and Andy the Mech had cooked a fabulous roast dinner with all the extras. It was suitably devoured and while many settled down for 'Pan's Labyrinth'; Drew, Birgit and I watched 'Out of Africa' in the Arts Cinema, as we like to call it. A wonderful film and especially attractive to the white-stained eye of an Antarctic Winterer, although by the end all eyes were surprisingly damp (I think I had a bit of grit stuck in there!).
The rest of the week proved a mixed bag of emotions. Some mornings were spent attending to duties shelved for a rainy day as we waited on winds to drop or cloud to lift. We managed more snowboarding and ice climbing lessons. Though as the week developed so did a terrible tiredness and by Thursday I was struggling to feel so positive about the holiday. Alas, by Friday, I was bed-bound with flu-like symptoms of headaches, achy muscles and tingly skin. Some say I am allergic to time off work and others that my body has let go once on holiday. Either way it forced me to rest and sleep. However we had managed some great trips, undoubtedly the lessons in ice climb leading was excellent. Thank you Drew.
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11th - 17th August
With the future weeks of marine team activity soon to be disrupted by winter trips and night shifts, the diving pushes on and after a relaxing Saturday morning, I found myself under the ice in Hangar Cove with Birgit searching for nudibranchs. These little delicate white creatures are an integral part of Birgit's studies and proved elusive as ever. The dive was excellent however, with the visibility improving each day. Saturday dinner was a delicious Cantonese ensemble and Cyril continues to cook first rate meals that we'd otherwise be paying high prices for in the city. Sunday is Cyril's day off so Alistair (who was on gash) and I cooked a brunch of fry-up and bagels (Alistair's specialty) and in the evening, a rich cottage pie and chocolate sponge with chocolate custard. Well-received! Monday was typically crazy with diving to attend to but entertainingly a treatment of dental work in the morning. Alistair the doctor is trained in the essentials of dental checks and emergency treatment including polishing. Halfway through winter and he has been checking the winterers teeth and giving a little polish. He called me to get these checks done on myself and I likewise for him. As his assistant, he gave me a lesson on one of the other winterers so that I could check him over and give his teeth a quick polish which is a most intriguing lesson. Continuing the medical lessons of the week on Wednesday, a group of FGA's and the Marine team were taught the procedure for emergency blood transfusions. In this isolated environment, we can't get ready access to blood (neither can you store blood as it has a storage life of a couple of weeks hence the demand from the National Blood Service) and so everyone on base is screened for blood type. In the event of an emergency, a match can be found and we can draw a limited amount for the patient. Even though we know the group, tests must be made to ensure cross-contamination does not occur and consents signed. It is an engaging process and we practiced with a couple of volunteers allowing some skill development in drawing the test samples of blood for a couple of us.
The rest of the week was decidedly unsettled as temperatures around base reached +3oC caused complete carnage with people. We are all used to the average -10 so to step out the door and start boiling in our coats and watch water dripping off the roofs was most unsettling, especially as the snow become soft underfoot. These temperatures and high winds from the north meant that much of Ryder Bay sea ice has been blown away causing sadness to those that wished to do some sea ice travel. It does mean that the boats are active again and so I was busy trying to provide the access for the Marine Team. |
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4th - 10th August
With Cyril the chef on his winter holiday, winterers are encouraged to cook for each other. Always interested in flashing my skills in the kitchen, I volunteered to cook Saturday night dinner. This week was curry night. Cyril was about and helped with the naan bread and the yoghurt cake dessert. I managed to rustle up four curries of varying types and spiciness which was generally well received, though many seemed unable to manage the dessert. Wintering in the Antarctic can have many effects on the human from the lack of sunshine, to the cold temperatures and being cooped up inside. These can be physiological or mental. It seems that too much coffee (had cut back to one a day after Mid winter) and slogging about in the snow has given me some muscle discomfort. That and my posture being too much akin to a gorilla! So with Liz's assistance I have been stretching and using Pilates to loosen my back. I've noticed not only an improvement in muscle condition but also general contentedness. Monday night has been an opportunity for some of us to talk about our interests or summer field seasons (for the FGA's who were off in deepest Antarctica). I chose to talk about how I came to be Boatman which included pictures of beaches and big, fast boats. I've often thought that this subject could assist insomniacs but those that came to watch seemed interested enough and I didn't notice anyone snoozing. I think the thought of sunshine and beaches made many dream of life after the Antarctic. The weather persisted in preventing diving much to Kelvin's disgust though Ali was able to achieve a CTD trip, before the base was hit by 30kt winds.
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28th July - 3rd August
Finding the dive holes proved difficult after some heavy snow fall, but eventually with me aimlessly prodding for the board, we fell upon them literally. Kelvin and I got to dive and I earned my underwater marine biology photographer as Ali did not wish to dive and we were to be photographing settlement plates. Cyril gave a great dinner with an Antarctic take on fondue. Using Primus stoves and heavy iron pots, we heated a delicious wine and cheese sauce before dipping in a delicious herb bread. Tables were in little groups of 5 and there was much competition to see who wouldn't lose their dipping bread. I can't actually remember dessert because I was so stuffed. The weather and sea ice are very fickle at the moment, and on Monday we woke to find that all the hard work of cutting holes in South Cove was wasted as the ice was blown away and Ryder Bay became open water. And so very hastily but with the intended planning, I setup the boast and we were able to dive of Cheshire Beach to recover a couple of data loggers. The middle of the week saw more high winds but I was able to squeeze a boat trip out and around the local waters for a couple of base folk. It was very pleasant and we even saw some wildlife (terns and snow petrels, and crabeater seals hauled out on sea ice).
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