Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

was used on a 350 m nylon rope, run over a block attached to the end of a small
boom run outboard from the forward well-deck. It was triggered on reaching the
bottom, closed and was hauled in on the drum of the main cargo winch. Our rate
of drift was about 1/2 knot in a wind of about 10-15 knots. The samples were put
in polythene basins and washed through two sieves of progressively smaller
mesh, using a seawater hose. The residues, mainly worms and molluscs were
bottled. This was quite a historic moment - the first offshore shipboard work
conducted by BAS - and the precursor of the later pelagic achievements of our
Offshore Biological Programme (OBP). OBP led to the International programme
on Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks, (BIOMASS).
We called this precursor the South Orkneys Benthic Survey (SOBS).
As we drifted, with occasional kicks from the propeller, we put the 12 ft beam
trawl overboard for the first time in about 140 fms, having attached a nylon bridle
to it. It was on the bottom for about 1/2 hr but when hauled in proved to be
almost empty, because the net had become tangled. There were a few fish. The
trawl was on a 230 fm rope, passed through a block on the starboard derrick
boom. It was paid out and brought in on the main winch. Having finished we
returned to anchor off Signy. Next day we sailed for Orwell Bight to do grab and
trawl sampling. Our first effort was a trawl in about 85 fms on a bank about 71/2
miles west of Skilling Island (named after Charlie Skilling, my companion in
1949-50). We started at 9.30 am, having first shortened the bridle ropes, fixed a
revolving shackle so that the rope could twist without affecting the trawl, and
adding weight - a harpoon head - to the cod end. This time we just let the Biscoe
drift and this was adequate for bottom trawling. The line streamed out well, was
down for half an hour and brought up an interesting and varied catch: fish,
worms and molluscs all well represented, but surpassed by the sponges which
were a bulky, not to say bloody, nuisance. (I was reminded of the "duff" I
encountered off Greenland in l952). We did a second trawl in the same area, with
moderate success and then moved south to a position about 8 miles south south
west of South Cape in about 150 fms; this was only moderately successful. We
tried another grab, but it was really much too deep for it to work well. During
these operations wandering and a black-browed albatross flew around the ship;
how strange that we never saw them from shore. Then we returned to Signy to
anchor and sort the catches. There was a film in the wardroom - "Cat Ballou, with
Joan Fonda, rather a contrast to our life!
On 4 February we moved further afield, east towards Lewthwaite Strait for
sampling. We tried grab sampling in about 120 fms, east of Steepholme in the
deep hole that is marked at that spot on the chart. Unfortunately the nature of the
bottom meant that small rocks wedged the grab open and allowed the finer
contents to wash out. We then did a trawl in 80 fms, drifting in the same area. It
was blowing hard, but fortunately we were partly sheltered by the Robertson
Islands. We then moved up into Lewthwaite Strait and took three grab samples
just east of the islet in Petter Bay - again not much luck. Continuing our search for
a muddy substrate we took two samples off Rayner Point in about 120 fms in a
deep trench shown on the Admiralty Chart. This was offshore from the Roald
Glacier and there were stones on the bottom, which again caused the grab to jam
partly open. We had other disappointing results.
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