Friday 28 March 2008

The final week !


We have just had conformation of the arrival of the 'James Clarke Ross'
The ship will be arriving here at Rothera on the 3rd of April and will be sailing on the 6th. This is when we will all wave to the new winterer's and wish them a great winter. I should be back in the Uk on the 14th of April and that will be the end of my 18 month adventure down here in the Antarctic.
The time spent here will always be very special to me, with excellent experiences and memories which i will always be able to share with the great friends that i was privileged to spend my winter with.

Dash 7 leaves signifying the end of the fiald season


An unexpected visitor to the base a few weeks ago was this small Yacht the 'Seal' with a crew of 7 they had sailed quite a long way in a small vessel and no ice breaking capabilities. Very brave. The crew came onto land for a quick look around but did not stay for the night as rough seas meant they had to find some sheltered waters for the evening.


So the Dash 7 finally left on around the 8th of March and took the management staff home for the British spring. Since they left we have had a snow covered runway!


On the afternoon that the Dash 7 left we had a surprise visit from the LM Gould an American science cruise vessel. It was great to sea this ship again and the crew all came aboard for a base tour and have a look around our newly completed main building, 'New Bransfield House'

As we head into winter the weather too heads into winter mode. However we still have a few good days each week to head up into the hills and lay down some fresh ski tracks.


Ohh the memories, only 12 months ago it was me who was heading out on one of those winter trips. Strange to think how the time has flown by and now it is this years wintering crew who head out for a week in a Pyramid tent soaking up the views from the other side of the Island.


There are still plenty of Fur seals around the base as playful as ever. For some reason we haven't had the amount of Elephant seals around base as we did last year however the presence of so many whales has made up for it.