A helping hand: thank you to all our partners

18/07/2024

We would like to say an enormous thank you to the following companies for providing clothing and equipment for our Antarctic teams last season.

As a charity operating in the harshest, most remote region on the planet, we couldn’t do what we do without a little help from some friends. Last season, we deployed our team will to two remote Antarctic islands: living and working at Base, A Port Lockroy, during the heritage site’s 80th anniversary year and Base W, Detaille Island, which operated as a science station in the 1950s. 

Now that all our staff have returned from Antarctica, we want to take a moment to say an enormous thank you to the following companies for providing clothing and equipment for our Antarctic teams this season.

Ship to Shore: thank you from Jerome

As the wildlife monitor at Port Lockroy, I spend a lot of time outside observing and gathering data about our resident Gentoo penguin colony. I count the number of nests, eggs and then chicks. This task does take some time observing and using clickers so as not to lose count I always try to involve everyone in this task as it is in my opinion the best job on the island!

Jerome monitors the penguins in his Ship to Shore gear (Credit: UKAHT/Laura Büllesbach)

I count a specific sub-colony every two days no matter what the weather. I know I can rely on my Patagonia puff jacket to help me keep warm and my Patagonia rain jacket to keep me dry. Counting outside can also be very tough on my fingers so I am so glad I can stay warm and dry with my lightweight, waterproof Gore-tex gloves.

Those essential pieces of clothing were provided to us by Ship to Shore who have specialised in providing quality expedition clothing and equipment for professional and amateur travellers for over 30 years. 

Snugpak: thank you from Lesley

We spent 28 days camping on Detaille and witnessed the entire spectrum of Antarctic weather during our stay on the island. On the good days, we had bright blue skies and a warm sun and were often working in our shirt sleeves but on bad days – and there were plenty – the sky was leaden, the wind relentless and we had every layer on we could muster. 

One of our adopted penguins makes itself comfortable in a Snugpack sleeping bag (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

Whatever the weather during the day, the temperature invariably plummeted by the time the sun sank dipped behind the mountains. Fortunately, we had our Snugpak Antarctica sleeping bags spread out in our tents, waiting for us to dive into as soon as it got too cold.

Whether it was reading, reviewing photography or finishing off a few tasks on the laptop, I whiled away many an hour in my sleeping bag over the course of our stay at Base W, Detaille Island.

Paramo: thank you from Laura

Life here in Port Lockroy can be quite chilly! While most people expect there to be cold winds and snow outside, they are often surprised by how cold it can be even inside our Nissen hut. Despite having a propane heater, the indoor temperature never climbs up quite high enough. When we first arrived, it averaged around 10°C (50°F) during the day but dropped to 3°C (37°F) during the night! 

The team in their Paramo jackets (Credit: UKAHT/Clare Ballantyne)

To stay cosy, we can mostly be found wearing our comfy puffer jackets and gilets gifted to us by Paramo on top of our clothes and pyjamas. Being the first thing we slip on when we crawl out of bed in search of coffee in the morning and the last thing we take off before climbing under our double duvets in the evening, they have accompanied us throughout the season.

Therefore, they have witnessed most situations of Lockroy life, be it movie nights huddled up on the sofa, Christmas morning, board game nights (including our wonderful “Race Around Goudier Island” game created by Bridie!), cancelling mail, cooking dinner, whale watching on the rocks, and celebrating Polar Pride. Thanks, Paramo, for keeping us warm and sharing this experience with us!

Iridium: thank you from Lisa

Life at Port Lockroy is busy and full of all sorts of challenges but so enjoyable. There has been a lot of heritage conservation underway this year as well as the team going on and off the island most days to do pop-up shops for passengers on ships and yachts and delivering presentations about the history of Port Lockroy and life on base. Work on the museum has progressed well and the roof beam has been repaired after it was damaged by the heavy snow last season.

Bridie using an Iridium handset (Credit: UKAHT/Laura Büllesbach)

Communication with the UK and ships nearby is essential to living here. Bridie sends confirmation each day back to the UK letting the team know that all is well on the island. We have been testing the various communication options including our Iridium GO! exec equipment to enable us to contact the UK and emergency health care backup options.

We practised our first aid emergency training skills and recently completed an emergency scenario, testing our skills and ensuring we all know how to use the communication equipment. All went very well, and of course, we hope that we will not have to deal with any emergencies on the island.

Xtratuf: thank you from Bridie

Since our arrival in Port Lockroy in early November, the island changed so much. When we stepped off the zodiac and took our first steps on Goudier Island – all of us wide-eyed, clean and excited to start our adventure – the island was covered in deep, fluffy snow. Our gentoo penguin neighbours had only just begun their breeding season so their guano hadn’t yet stained the brilliant gleaming white landscape.

Bridie in her Xtratuf boots (Credit: UKAHT/Laura Büllesbach)

By February, most of the snow had melted and the gentoos had successfully managed to get their guano everywhere! Our Xtratuf boots were fantastic on all the different surfaces we were challenged with on the island. They were wonderfully waterproof so kept our feet dry during the Beach Plastic Surveys and are also extremely warm – which is vital when you live in Antarctica! The guano can be particularly slippery, so when we carried the water jerries cans from the shore to the Nissen Hut, the Xtratuf boots kept us from falling over in the muck!