Blaiklock Island Refuge: our ambitious plan for the polar pit stop

23/11/2024

In the second of a two-part series on our upcoming season of conservation, Ruth Mullett and continue to discuss one of our most ambitious projects yet.

We are preparing for a groundbreaking season of conservation in Antarctica. This year, we are sending a conservation team to the remote Blaiklock Island Refuge in Marguerite Bay. The site is notoriously challenging to access so requires a significant amount of planning and preparation compared to our other heritage sites. 

In the second of a two-part series on our upcoming season of conservation, Head of Buildings and Conservation Ruth Mullett and Head of Operations Sophie Montagne continue to discuss one of our most ambitious projects yet.

Snowshoe Lodge: the polar pit stop

Blaiklock Island Refuge (67°32'S, 67°12'W) was established in 1957 and used intermittently from 1957 to 1958 as a refuge and satellite base for survey and geological parties from nearby bases.

The wild and rocky island is one of the most remote places on Earth. The refuge was built and used by pioneers who charted the first maps of the region and is a rare example of a designated 1950s British sledging refuge. It provided men a place to shelter and rest with their dogs in bad Antarctic conditions.

John Rothera at Snowshoe Lodge, AKA Blaiklock Island Refuge, in 1957 (Margaret Rothera)

As an intermediary sledging base it was a safe space for use during journeys, specifically as a ‘pit stop’ for sledging parties to stop off, rest and resupply while conducting journeys from  Base Y, Horseshoe Island. However, it was also used by sledging parties from Base W, Detaille Island, and Base E, Stonington Island, as well as by other expeditions even after it was officially decommissioned. 

Blaiklock is considered an integral part of Base Y, Horseshoe Island. In 1995, the base at Horseshoe Island and the refuge at Blaiklock Island were collectively designated Historic Site No. 63 and have been managed by UKAHT since 2014. Despite its joint designation, it is geographically separate from Base Y and is therefore the smallest heritage site we manage. 

Who is going to Blaiklock Island Refuge?

We are sending a team of four to Blaiklock. Lizzie Meek is returning to us from the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZAHT) as an artefact conservator and cataloguer, and our health and safety lead. Then we've got our conservation carpenters Dale Perrin and Graham Gillie, who were both at Detaille last season. They will also be joined by filmmaker, Michael Duff, who will be documenting the conservation project and producing two short films to tell the story of our work and its impact. 

Dale and Graham were at Detaille Island last season (UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

This is the first time we’ve sent a filmmaker embedded in our field team and they will very much be part of the team. They will be completing tasks as part of the conservation schedule, including photogrammetry of the building.

How are you going to get to Blaiklock?

This will be the first time in a generation the charity has used a sailing boat for conservation. As bigger ships rarely access the area, we will conduct our field season at Blaiklock from a sailing boat. As such, our field team will fly to King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands, where they will rendezvous with the 20m/66ft sailing boat, Ocean Tramp, and its crew of three.

Blaiklock Island is only accessible by ship (BAS Archives)

From there, the boat will sail to Port Lockroy and collect Graham Gillie who will be completing some carpentry work there beforehand. From there, the team will sail to Rothera Research Station, the UK’s largest Antarctic facility,  where our supplies will be waiting for us before continuing to Blaiklock. For the return journey, they will be sailing back across the Drake Passage to South America to keep costs down and minimise the environmental impact. 

What are the biggest challenges at Blaiklock?

The team are scheduled to spend around 20 days at Blaiklock. Every day, weather permitting, they will be ferried ashore to complete their tasks before returning to the boat in the evening. 

The biggest challenge will be weather and ice. Firstly, getting the sailing boat in there could scupper the entire expedition. Obviously, we sincerely hope not – which is why we’ve opted for a small sailing boat in the first place – but it is the biggest risk from an operational perspective.

Constructing the Blaiklock Refuge in 1957 (Margaret Rothera)

Assuming we can get into the fjords around the island, the next big challenge will be getting ashore. It is possible that brash ice can come into the area and stop the small motorboats from operating and getting us ashore. When ashore, the team will have emergency supplies in case they get trapped on the island and have to camp out overnight. We're actually asking our field team to test several pieces of kit including a new tent anchoring system which we plan to use in future conservation seasons.

We have purposely scheduled the conservation work at Blaiklock for as late in the season as logistically possible – late February into March – so we can take advantage of the best weather and ice conditions.

Blaiklock in 1957 (George Lamour/BAS Archives) 

We have an ambitious programme of work to complete, prioritised by task. Of course, there will need to be an element of flexibility. Bad weather often scuppers conservation plans, but there are plenty of contingency plans in place for days when the team cannot get ashore. The most important thing for us in terms of conservation is to make sure the building is watertight by the time we leave.

Special appeal: Blaiklock Island Refuge

Antarctica’s historic buildings are unique in the world, but they are vulnerable. Warmer, wetter conditions threaten the survival of these sites, and we must act now. We need your help to deliver conservation in one of the most challenging and remarkable places on Earth.

We have four options available, from funding essential tools and materials to sponsoring a conservation carpenter. However you choose to support Blaiklock, know that you've helped us expertly care for this very special place, protecting it for years to come.

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Who else will be involved in the operation?

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will be helping with logistics. They will be taking all our equipment aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough which departs in September. That will be shipped via the Falkland Islands to Rothera. They will also be helping with shipping any remaining equipment back to the UK.

The other main partner will be the NZAHT which will be providing Lizzie Meek, our Artefact Conservation Programme Manager, who has supported us on several conservation seasons including the most recent one at Detaille.

What’s happening at Port Lockroy in terms of conservation? 

So around the end of January or early February, we will be sending carpenter Jim Brearley-Ratcliffe who is also a current fellow of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). He will be completing an assortment of maintenance and conservation tasks such as repainting and repairing external timber on the site. He will also be completing structural work including replacing some rotten timber underneath the bunk room. This is the oldest part of the building and will require lifting one end of the structure using hydraulic jacks.

We another exciting season of conservation planned at Port Lockroy too (UKAHT/A Calire)

We are also trialling some new products including a new type of linseed oil paint as well as installing some upgrades to the comms system on site. Finally, we will be building a polar pod which is a self-contained living area for one person, modelled on the NZAHT design by Al Fastier which will give us more capacity at Port Lockroy with potentially up to eight able to stay at the site.

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