Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

the community was clearly a happy one. I went into various problems, from the
hoary one of dissatisfaction with communications with HQ, to ‘women in the
Antarctic’. After tea I had a discussion with Al Smith Dad Etchells, Joe Farman, John
Nutt and Mike Smith about the proposals for extension and refurbishment of the
base. I had suggested doing away with the loft in the extension and making it into a
2-storey building with bunk-rooms above and this was accepted as the best solution.
We went on to discuss other matters. The ice came in and so Stuart radioed to ask if I
required him to send a launch in to collect me before it got too thick. I decided to
stay ashore and had a pleasant evening in the lounge with the base members. The
French trio were there and Jean showed slides of their travels - including the ascent
of Pumori in the Himalayas, which were really excellent. He was a very unusual and
attractive personality and we spoke at length during the evening. They had seen
minke, killer and right whales near the Peninsula. One of the South Georgia Fids
also showed excellent slides of that island. I went to bed at midnight in the surgery
bed!
There was heavy snow during the night and we woke to a whiter world on 17
February. I spent the morning talking to the Fids and took a few photographs. A
minke whale was blowing nearby. Later in the morning I spoke for 11/2 hrs to the
whole base and discussed problems with them. I asked for the removal of their
budgerigar - Jimmy Byrd - which had figured in telegrams and was a mystery, but
was contravening the Antarctic Treaty Act by being there! It all went off quite well
and I had more individual and small group discussions. The main problems concern
the leaking of the Braithwaite tank, (fuel oil storage) which needed attention and the
generator shed floor. I went off to the ship in the last launch and we set sail in
overcast conditions, southwards through concentrations of icebergs, then westwards
and then north to avoid heavy pack ice concentrations. That evening in the pack was
really lovely, with many seals lying out amongst beautifully sculptured bergs. I
spoke with Dave Fletcher (Field Operations Manager) at Rothera and arranged for
some flights.
Next day, a Sunday, was overcast, with ice blink alternating with water sky on
the horizon. There were armies of icebergs, pale and ghostly in the diffused lighting.
As we broke up the floes by our passage pieces overturned and exposed the brown
layer of ice diatoms. The ship was in moderate pack most of the day and we
managed to keep up a speed of 7 knots. Adelaide Island, now to the east of us was in
cloud and there were uninterrupted ice cliffs undulating along the coast and heavily
crevassed. I wrote a number of messages to be sent next day, did more writing and
reading and some washing. I listened to some of Stuart's music cassettes during the
afternoon. I was invited to dinner in the Superfiddery and there was talk until
midnight. I thought I had escaped a cold, but next day it was back with a vengeance.
We anchored for the night off Jenny Island in Marguerite Bay and moved off in the
morning about 8 o’clock for Rothera, in overcast and low stratus cloud, reaching the
base an hour later. We tied up with the bows aground at ‘Honeybucket’, connected
the fuel lines and began pumping. I had a talk with Dave Fletcher and concluded
that all was well. The pumping of 138 tons of fuel into the pillow tanks on the ridge
was completed by 3 o’clock that afternoon and then we slipped the moorings and
steamed slowly south into South Bay to break up the ice. The ship went in very close
to the beach, at one point touching bottom about five yards offshore, which had
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