teeks

Well, it seems my prediction of never arriving here was inaccurate, we’re currently sitting next to N9 – the unloading creek around 55miles north-east of Halley. It’ll take a while to prepare the edge and survey the surrounding ice and ramps, but once the field assistants give the go ahead the vehicles, equipment, cargo, supplies and people will be moved onto the ice and then shuttled to Halley … which will be a lovely 6 hour drive (or a 20 min flight).
Everyone gets involved with relief, and their normal jobs are dropped for a week as they get the cargo and equipment to the base … except for me. I’ll be flown to the base shortly to take up residence in the radio room, to help out with the comms work and flight following – exciting stuff. It’s 18:25 (21:25 in the UK) and our New Years Eve party will be delayed for us, so my 70s gear will have to stay in the cupboard for a few more days.

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We’re still not there, but we’re told we’ll get there today. I’m not holding much hope tbh, even bet a crate of beer with the 2nd mate that we wont get there til the New Year.

Days are ticking along nicely, and there’s always plenty to do. We’ve got captains inspection in a bit, so everyone’s running around cleaning stuff Seeing as its new years eve we’ve organised a 70s party for tonight… dunno what I’ll wear. Should be a night of getting pissed and hitting the bed really late.

I wish we could get there already.

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We’re stuck in the bloody ice,
We’re stuck in the bloody ice,
We’re stuck in the bloody ice and going nowhere fast.
The ship is stuck true,
Surrounded by ice so blue,
We’re stuck in the bloody ii-ce and I suck at writing songs.

(sung to the theme of ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’)

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! We’ve been stuck in 7metre ice for a few days now, but our spirits are still high, especially with the ever enthusiastic Tamsin keeping everyone jolly. Not content with plastering the ship with decorations, but she also managed to convince everyone to gather on the forecastle for mulled wine, mince pies and a jolly good show of carol singing last night. It was quite bizarre, I’ve never sung Christmas carols in blazing sunshine before, and it got everyone in the Christmas Spirit.

The views are breathtaking. I keep getting impressed everyday, and I’m wondering when I’ll reach a stage when I’ not impressed any more, each day brings something new. I stood at the arse end of the ship today as we were braking through the ice – move forward … break ice … back off for 50m … drive forward 51m …. back off 50m … drive forward for 52m it really is a painstakingly slow process that requires a huge amount of power. Standing on the poopdeck (lol poop) as the prop underneath churns on, regardless whether it be water or ice, ejecting plumes and shards of ice into the wake with an almost poetic violence. The noise and vibration alone was incredible, but the white flashes of ice chunks some big as a car are thrown back at alarming speeds made my morning. I’m hoping to get some footage from a fellow poopdecker today and I’ll upload it asap.
Despite being stuck, I’m still enjoying this more than I should. People pay thousands to experience this, and here I am, surrounded by some of the nicest people I have ever met and getting paid for it.

Ohh, Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda Mam, Dad, Steff Dest and Jac, Gav and Laura, Paul Sarah and Dan, Si, Tom, Paul and Emma, Darren and Tre, Amie, Becki, Nick Kate Ella and Ben, Rob Val and Toa… Charlie, Lucy JJ and the BDW lot, Q and the Trotters lot, Kelly Dickie Ivan Steve and other Pisteidiots!, Mike and Chris, Aled and Steph, Graham Sam Luke and Tasha, the Mental wing at MGE and the BiA lads… I think thats everyone I know, I miss you all not very much at all really.

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I’ve been waiting months to use that title. It’s finally here, and its arrival has been announced with constant crashing noises and never ending vibrations throughout the ship. The ice is being ploughed like a slapper at a sweet 16 party, and everyone’s excited.

Never one to shy away from swish scenery, I grabbed my camera…

Check out the ripples, it was like glass. Glass that looked a lot like water with lumps of ice in it.

I quickly got bored, so started to experiment with iso values, shutter speeds and aperture sizes. The result? Pictures from the future, not long after WW3 infact!

Then the sun went down, boo. Then came back up again in like 10 minutes… yay! The the ice cleared up too, leaving a few lonely icebergs on the horizon.

The ice came back though, and it’s thick as soup out there. It’s funny, we’ve all been looking forward to seeing the ice. It’s almost like confirmation you’re somewhere you’re not designed for, but now the ship’s bashing its way through ice, crashing and rocking along, I’m fed up of the noise already. I havent had a good nights sleep in ages thanks to force 8 winds and the bloody rocking motion, now I have to put up woth a shitload of noise. Damn it, lets get there already.

Click for biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig.

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As Neo would say, ‘Woa’. This place is fantastic, and nowhere near as disappointing as the Matrix movies. Snow topped mountains, not blue, but B-L-U-E seas, crystal clear lakes, rolling hills, helicopter wrecks – this place has everything.

The ship parks its arse right next to the quay for KEP, so relief is relatively easy. Us FIDS (the nickname given to BAS employee going south) help loading things from the hold, then the crane drops it off on the quay which is taken 50 yards to the base. This work was completed by midday, so we were given the afternoon off and we went exploring the immediate areas of the base – give or take 10 miles.

First off we hit the old whaling station Grytviken, and the resting place of some bloke called Ernest Shackleton. The station hasn’t been used since the 60s, but before whaling was seen as a bit horrible, this station was a thriving base for Norwegian whaling and sealing (is that a word??) interests. For the first few seasons the whaling ships didnt even need to leave the bay, and the whole bay area was red with blood with the huge amount of whales killed each day.

Big Ernie was a bit of a hero to FIDs. His Endurance Expedition to reach the Weddell Sea in 1914 wasnt that successful, especially when his ship got caught in the ice in 1915, and eventually got crushed. He took 3 boats (dragged em over the ice – mad bastard, use a sled like normal people) something like 900 miles and found Elephant Island, and launched a rescue that saved all his men – what a champ.

Seals were also slaughtered in their thousands. This one was angry and stupid.

A cub. Or is it a pup? Anyways, this one was crushed by an adult Elephant seal about 5 seconds after I took the photo*

I dont think the penguins were touched, as anyone actually chasing a penguin would uncontrollably fall over with laughter once the comedy birds started running. I swear they’re just like scousers, arms held up waddling back and forth.

HMS Endurance, our sister ship. She was anchored in the bay, sending out ribs now and again.

Mat (just a Mech) contemplating something deep and meaningful no doubt. Like what would poo look like if you ate nothing but sweetcorn for 2 weeks solid. He’s deep.

We had a BBQ later that evening, but I forgot to take pics. Shame really, as we had a game of Play your (dodgy) Cards Right and I won! I took home a pair of sunglasses, a bottle of red, a watch and 2 cassette tapes. Yup, two cassette tapes.

This was the final island stop for us, and we’re heading to Halley now. We should arrive on the 21st, if the weather and ice cooperate. They probably wont, and we’ll get there much much later. Bastards

*LOL I kid. It found its mum and they cuddled…

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Waiting to go ashore, standing on the Tula, (the ship’s main tender, a small boat used to ferry people and cargo ashore), I couldnt help but get a heavy prehistoric vibe from this place. A backdrop of moutain peaks just poking out of low cloud with rolling green hills, a bustle of life just just out of visual range, but you’re still aware of it somehow. It’s straight out of Jurassic Park, you half expect a pack of raptors to appear over the hills, chasing a bunch of stupid scientists.

I was dumb enough not to take my camera on this trip (I was working so figured I wouldnt need it … stupid stupid). So muchos thanks to Mat (just a Mech) and Dave (just a Met).

This place should be called ‘Godamn Seal Island’, or as Ted puts it ‘Bird Shit Island’. Thats all we have here, seals, birds and a lot of shit. The beach stank like no other beach I’ve ever visited. I’m all for new experiences, but visiting a beach that smells of seals, death and a lot of shit is not something I planned. Nevertheless, the place was truly breath taking.

Check out the trolley, we were using that to carry the cargo to the base. A seal tried to eat it.

Kinnell, look at those seals!

Not only was the seal population in the billions, but it’s bang in the middle of mating season. So the normally irate, angry, deadly, bitey seals were double trouble this time, as they’re super territorial just for good measure. Step into their personal bubble of space, and you’d have teeth and hissing thrown in your face – it was like a night out in Ipswich. These Fur Seals were bloody everywhere, and finding a path passed them from the jetty to the base was no small task, but poking them with sticks forcing them to back off and watching them step on another seal’s area was interesting to say the least, as it ALWAYS resulted in a fight! One lucky chap was unfortunate enough to get bitten by a sneaky little Ninja Seal that was hiding under the jetty, which forced the Doc into crazymode and instead of actually addressing the wound, he took a load of pictures, stuck things into the hole etc

A typial bitey seal. This was a small one, only the size of a bungalow. Pic by Mat

The island is also a haven for Albatrosses of all kinds, and Dave was snappy as ever to get some hot Albatross action.

Birds by Mat. One’s saying ‘Aqwaaaahhhhh’. Other’s thinking ‘twat’

We only stayed at Bird Island for a day, and King Edward Point was only a day’s steam (lol naval term), so we set off early the next morning for South Georgia proper.

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Icebergs are weird. They’re only big lumps of ice that float on the sea, and yet, they demand a lot of attention … They seem to glow with deep blues and perfect whites, its all very strange. I got excited for a picosecond when I spied my first iceberg, and ran to my cabin to get my camera.

The lads (Andy and Pete) admiring the view.

Richard the Doc smiles for the camera. Attention whore omg

Iceberg. It looked bluer than that I’m sure.

We actually had work to do on Signy, so virtually everyone was on shore working on a new walkway, the met team were working on some of the instruments … and I was working on the anti-virus server in the warm comms office :D:D:D:D:D:D

We stayed over night, and celebrated the return of James the Carpenter (not the band, he works with wood and shit). We last saw James back in Cambridge about 5 weeks ago, and we missed him about as much as severe toothache.

Next stop, Bird Island.

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I’ve still got 3-4 entries to make dated before this, but I visited the penguins at Bertha’s Beach on the Falklands yesterday and took a bunch of pictures. The weather’s been unbelievable so far, and I’ve spent a few days exploring these islands and getting burnt by the southern sun.

More here
http://picasaweb.google.com/deanevs/PenguinsBerthaSBeach

I’ll get updating with the Montevideo, the ship and the Falklands entries sometime today.

Filed by admin at 3:39 pm under antarctica
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