A Southern Christmas 2001 - Day 23

 Welcome back. There wasn't much journal writing for a few days, so we've jumped forward from Day 17 to Day 23 - but you haven't missed a lot - it was several days of ice bashing.  Here's my report at the end of that week. Read on...

Monday 7th January 2002

in ice Prydz Bay (68.20 deg S, 74.40 deg E)

 We’ve been here for nearly a week – not quite within a loud “Cooee” of Polar Bird, but pretty close. It’s been a long and frustrating few days, described by one of my fellow expeditioners as being in a state of punctuated equilibrium. I know what he means. Over the past few days, it has been a case of constantly adapting to changing conditions and situations as the weather and wind changes.

I have already mentioned that icebreaking is a lot more than just science - it requires skill, commitment, ideal conditions and lots of fuel. I have spent enough time on the bridge over the past few days to get an idea of the huge responsibility taken on by these guys when it comes to deciding the action plan for arriving at the right outcome for all involved. It is complex and has many conflicting priorities and needs.

First there is the annual shipping schedule which is built up around the resupply and the research program. The Antarctic Division has used two vessels through the 2001/2002 season, Aurora Australis and Polar Bird. Their role is to carry out re-supply to the three mainland bases at Casey, Davis and Mawson as well as the additional sub-Antarctic base at Macquarie Island. They take down the wintering and summering expeditioners and bring home those who have been there for the past season. There are also valuable marine science programs which are carried out both during the re-supply trips and as  separate voyages. A disruption such as having Polar Bird out of action for so long affects the operations of all the stations, and impacts the science programs and the people who are carrying out these programs. 

Additionally, there are many round-trippers such as Yann and me and many others, whose role it was to go to Casey, carry out their assignment, and return to their day jobs. So it is easy to understand that no matter how important it is to do everything that can be done to rescue Polar Bird, (and this of course, is priority number one) it is also essential that we do not get stuck ourselves and make the situation worse. I have stood on the bridge alongside Tony Hansen, many times over the past few days and repeated hear him saying, sometimes out loud, sometimes under his breath through gritted teeth:

"I’m not getting stuck; I’m not getting f*cking stuck!”

We bash and growl and bully our way into Prydz Bay, bit by bit getting closer to our target. The first time we come within 42 miles, before Tony calls it a day. 

If we should have a sharp change in the weather from the light south-easterly we are presently feeling to a northerly, then the ice channel we are creating, will close behind us as the wind blows the ice back toward the land. 

Aurora's crew are all highly experienced in ice, most of them having been down here many times before and without exception a repeated comment is:

“I’ve never seen this much ice in Prydz at this time of the year.” 

Many of the old hand expeditioners agree. (Maybe there really is something to this climate change talk.)

From the safety of the comparatively lighter ice, some 60 or so miles from Bird, a decision is made to start doing some helicopter reconnaissance and stores transfers. A little later we have two four-seater Squirrel helicopters from Polar Bird landing on the big white H on Aurora’s aft helideck, where only a few days ago our big waste containers had stood. Voyage Leader, Greg and Skipper Tony are soon up in one of the Squirrels with pilot, Ricardo and after a 10-minute sortie come back and confirm everyone’s fears that the ice around Polar Bird is not going to move for some time and it is too risky for Aurora to try to keep pushing further.

We start helicopter transfers to evacuate the ship of its stores and expeditioners, and later in the day it is decided that, for now, nothing more can be done to assist Polar Bird. We have not heard from the Chinese icebreaker and any way decisions on getting help from other sources are taken further up the line than on board Aurora. We don't have time to wait for that. The weather improves, then it deteriorates, then it improves again. During this time, phone calls and messages go back and forth between Polar Bird, Aurora Australis and the Tasmanian headquarters of the AAD. Eventually the weather clears enough for a 12-seater Sikorsky from Davis Base, some 80 or so miles to the east to join us. Aurora will take the Mawson bound expeditioners off Polar Bird and deliver them to Mawson. This will add another five or six days to the schedule but will get the expeditioners on their way at last and hopefully give a few days for the weather to improve, so that on the return journey we can have another attempt at helping poor old Polar Bird. So after having at one stage been as close as 35 miles, we leave Polar Bird with enough people and stores to keep the lights on, and with another 35 pax on board, we are off again in heading west to Australia’s oldest and many say, most beautiful of all stations, Mawson. 

Now there are four of us wedged into our tiny cabin, and there is a need for dual sittings at lunch and dinner. 

There is genuine concern that the beer is going to run out.

And so to Mawson …