Blog 4 | Visiting Damoy
09/03/2021
My second historic site visit was the small but pretty turquoise Damoy Hut, which stands in Dorian Bay on Wiencke Island, a short 20-minute trip by zodiac from Base “B” Port Lockroy. Built in November 1975 by the British Antarctic Survey, it is the most modern of Britain’s Historic Sites and Monuments (HSM) in Antarctica and was used as an air transit station during the summer for stores and personnel travelling to Rothera, Base R, Britain's largest Antarctic Research Station up until 1995. The large ice runway on the glacier behind the hut makes it look even smaller!
I had a good inspection of the site and all appeared well. We downloaded the data loggers and made some repairs to the shutters and then closed the building for the winter. The Bahía Dorian hut (corrugated red hut as seen in the photograph) was established by the Argentine Navy, is located approximately 50 metres from the HSM and can be used as an emergency refuge.
Damoy is well preserved and still holds many original objects and equipment offering a glimpse into life on the base. I’ve always wanted to spend the night here, it is so simple and yet homely. Essentially a two roomed wooden building, you enter into the kitchen which has a lovely big table with wooden benches and some basic kitchen units with a small stove. I imagine many a comfy evening was spent here; the warm glow of food and good conversation, before retiring to the high bunk beds in the bedroom. Sometimes men were holed up here for weeks waiting for the weather to allow a plane to arrive.