Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

The base was to throw a party that night and so preparations were made and the
Bransfield returned from Adelaide, having put Clapperton and Sugden, with Dave
England and Ed King, ashore on Jenny Island for the geomorphology. Unfortunately
the ship couldn't get in at the preferred place and so they were put ashore on the east
coast and walked across to where they wanted to be. It was an excellent party with a
great variety of dishes. I had a pleasant evening talking and also played liar dice in
the bar, where I maintained my reputation for success. The aircraft had completed
the Charity run in the afternoon so we could now prepare them for the ferry flight
out. We left at 10.45 pm to walk to the launch on the other side of the point and so
out to the ship. It was a calm, clear night and very beautiful. I stood on the bridge
until 1.30 am when we anchored in the preferred spot off Jenny Island. The colours
were most unusual soft shades of lemon, orange and blue, with icebergs and lands
silhouetted.
On 26 February I woke at 6 o’clock and looked out on perfect pale reflections of
the surrounding peaks and icebergs. The dawn sun was just beginning to catch the
tops of the peaks and elsewhere it was flat grey-white. I went on deck to take
photographs and watched the dawn develop. It was breathtakingly beautiful, as the
scene gradually lit up with living, warm colour and I spent an hour on deck. The
anchor was raised at 9 o’clock and we were off to Rothera again. There were
fantastic reflections in the mirror-calm sea. On arrival we found Ryder Bay to be
blocked by ice, but we poked in far enough to launch the ‘Terror’ (workboat) and
make a limited exchange between ship and shore. Garry Studd offered to take some
mail out and I gave him a letter for Maureen. I sent a case of wine ashore for the base.
It was a 'dingle day' - bright sunshine and cool sparkling air. We departed from
Rothera after lunch, the conditions still 'dingle'. As we approached Jenny Island,
dark banks of cloud appeared and we eventually passed into it. We had to slow
down because of icebergs and eventually we anchored off Jenny Island again, finding
the ‘hole’ to drop the anchor into at the first attempt. The fog was very thick, but
cleared later. But Stuart preferred to wait until he had a full day in which to engage
the ice.
We up-anchored at 5 o’clock and entered the pack at 6.30 am, although it was
fairly open. The yacht Damien II, with Jerome and Sally Poncet followed in
Bransfield's wake. They had wintered at Avian Island. They had been attempting to
break out of Marguerite Bay for over a month without success and weren't looking
forward to another winter there. Their boat looked very sturdy and well designed as
it sat astern of us, doing about 6 knots. I got Alan Allinson (Chief Engineer) to take
me over the engine room to refresh my memory. It was quite impressive. There had
been no real problems, but they would like the itineraries to provide for more time
during the season for engine overhaul - say 2-3 days at Stanley or Grytviken. And
this would make for savings on the annual refit costs. The pack proved no problem
and by mid-afternoon (4 o’clock) we were out in open water with a slight swell,
having left Damien II behind.
Two days later we passed through ranks of bergs and light pack, through French
Passage, to reach the outside anchorage at Faraday by 9 o’clock. The launch went
ashore with Alan Smith, Dad Etchells and Will Hudson. There were many floes
around us with seals upon them. I went in after lunch for further discussions about
the rebuilding and we had a useful talk. It was proposed to have a lounge on the
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