Port Lockroy Update
30th December 2009 - 4th January 2010
We can hardly believe it's 2010 already and the season is half-way
through. 'Out with the old and in with the new' doesn't really apply
when you live in a historic monument(!) but with the new year and a
new decade have come new faces, new visitors, new ships and new
stories. We've also loved welcoming back familiar faces and old
friends, including authors Bob Burton and Olle Carlsson and an old
member of British Base 'E'.
We've also been doing a spot of spring cleaning (which again seems
strange as we head into the austral autumn!) tidying up the
boatshed, shovelling snow to try and level the Nissen Hut pallets
and sorting out shop stock and post office supplies. There are
always jobs to be done on base and every year Bransfield House
needs to be weather-proofed to protect it against the coming winter
winds. On the first dry day this week we donned our Dickies overalls
and began by painting the roof. With dramatic clouds surrounding the
stunning Fief mountain range and skuas soaring overhead, it was the
most scenic manual labour any of us had ever done!
We'll finish painting the rest of the building when the chicks
have left the nests, but with eggs hatching by the dozen it'll be a
few weeks yet. The chicks never cease to amuse and amaze: Uno, our
first chick, is now half the size of his mother, and Dora and her
new sister Aurora are the apple of everyone's eye. We're still
keeping an eye on the chronology colony, waiting for the moment when
egg hatching there hits 95% and at this point we'll carry out a full
island count to establish the breeding success.
We've also been outside beachcombing, taking advantage of the few
dry days. This year, for the first time, the Lockroy team is
recording any man-made items found along the shore. Old chains and
other artefacts from the early whaling days are not being counted,
but so far we are pleased to report that almost nothing has been
washed ashore. We undertake the exercise once a month and always at
low tide which almost doubles the size of the island. This allows us
to stretch our legs a little further than usual and explore parts of
Goudier we don't usually get a chance to see. With only small
patches of snow now remaining, we were able to admire the vivid
green mosses and bright orange lichens which adorn the higher rocks,
and the pink-trimmed seaweed in the rock pools by the shore.
Our outside activities allowed us several sightings of a Southern
Giant Petrel this week – a great excitement and the first sightings
of the season. A beautiful mottled-grey bird, the Southern Giant
Petrel is not dissimilar in appearance to an albatross, and was
spotted circling the island and disappearing down the Peltier
Channel. We've seen it several times since, each time marvelling at
its graceful flight around the bay, the distinctive salt-drop on the
end of its beak.
As the Petrel disappeared, the Molchanov came into view, kindly
inviting us on board for much mirth and merriment on New Year's Eve!
It was a wonderful evening, full of laughter and fantastic food and
drink, and there was Russian, Greek and Scottish dancing on deck
before celebrating midnight with champagne in the bar. In the early
hours of the morning, Expedition Leader Rolf Stange kindly gave us a
wonderful zodiac ride home, taking us right up to the glacier face
to touch millenia-old ice as minke whales swam in the waters nearby
– a beautiful, contemplative and humbling way to welcome in the new
year.
On 2 January it was Rachel's birthday and as luck would have it a
sack of post arrived from Stanley with cards and letters for the
birthday girl! We had a birthday tea with cake, candles and presents
in the kitchen (many thanks to Phil Wickens and James Cresswell on
Ocean Nova for their help with this secret operation!), and in the
evening we were fortunate enough to have the beautiful tallship Bark
Europa anchored in the back bay. Bark Europa gave Rachel a birthday
dinner to remember: a zodiac cruise with mulled wine followed by
birthday cake, singing, presents and Beagle beer in the bar couldn't
have been a more perfect ending to a perfect day.
And if it sounds like we've simply been wining and dining, rest
assured we've been flat out with yacht visits, ship visits and
sweeping and scrubbing galore. We've had Minerva, Vista Mar,
Hanseatic, Antarctic Dream, Polar Pioneer, Ushuaia and Corinthian II
to name but a few and we look forward to seeing both friends and
passengers on board every ship each time. In particular this week
was Forrest Mars (of Mars Bar fame and a generous supporter of the
AHT) whose beautiful yacht Dione Sky was admired by every visitor to
the bay. We were lucky enough to be invited on board Dione Sky for
dinner and hot showers and were spoilt rotten with a case of
chocolate to accompany us home.
The chocolate was enjoyed on a quiet evening this week, as we
gathered round the fire to eat the last of the Christmas food. We
dug out a DVD of 'Groundhog Day' (a suitable Lockroy favourite!) and
after a cold snap in the weather the evening was all the more
enjoyable. Even on busy evenings we've had great fun playing 'Bananagrams'
after dinner, the totally-addictive letter game kindly sent South by
Eleanor's Aunt and Uncle! It's safe to say we are indeed now all
totally addicted(!) and crys of “just one more game!” have led to
into the wee small hours before we all crash into bed, physically
and lexicographically exhausted. We were also delighted to receive a
package from Judith Black (2008-9 Lockroy team) in the post with all
the right ingredients for a girly night-in (magazine, DVD and
sweets). We look forward to a break in the ship schedule to really
enjoy it and think of all the girls from last season – thank you
Jude!
So from last season to this season the fun and laughter continues.
As does the work to keep the base alive. We love hearing stories
from visitors who have a connection to Base 'A', and are enjoying
building a collection of stories of our own. Later this month we'll
be welcoming Rick, Joe and Graham to the island as the build team
for the Nissen Hut reconstruction which will provide much-needed
accommodation for those who come next year. But the life and history
of Bransfield House is palpable everywhere in the building, and we
feel a real affinity with the old boys of the base who, just like
us, came to discover new things and experience the timeless beauty
of the Great White South: Antarctica, the 'last continent', the
final frontier, which now has four new Antarctic addicts who I have
no doubt will all be drawn back, time and time again.
Eleanor
|
|
|
|
