Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

morning. The wind increased to storm force 9 (up to 45 knots). I was on the bridge
before breakfast and later stood in on Neil’s (Third Officer) watch 8-12 am). I spent
the day reading and writing, with breaks on the bridge, weather continuing rough,
but getting better. I went down to the bond store and made a few purchases. Also
looked around the ship including the gym and sauna – rowing machine, bicycle, step
machine, multigym. Meal times were 7.30, 12.30, and 6.30 pm, but somehow I was
put onto a 6 o’clock meal sitting, so was out of touch with officers and BAS people.
A lot of people were sleeping or relaxing. Noon position 52º 05, S; 52° 27’ W.
Next day was a Sunday. Andy Woods gave me a tutorial on the computer e-mail
system and afterwards I sat near the stern and watched birds flying in bright
sunshine - black-browed albatrosses, giant petrels, fulmars, Cape pigeons, Wilson’s
petrel etc. Graham (Chief Officer) gave a talk on Bird Island procedures and showed
a video demonstrating handling heavy weights – to avoid back problems during
relief. Jerry Bergan looked in and we had a chat. We crossed the Antarctic
Convergence during the morning and the sea temperature dropped to a chilly 2.7°C.
Satellite sea ice maps showed our Signy Station in the South Orkneys surrounded by
4-6 tenths pack ice, Rothera Station on Adelaide Island by 9-10 tenths pack.
I spent more time on deck watching the birds, and sent an e-mail to Maureen,
Andrew & Martelle, Richard, Chris. My kitbag was delivered and I unpacked and
stowed the contents. In the afternoon I began Annan “The Dons” (about Cambridge)
and later went up on the Monkey Deck. The movement was less, but there were still
whitecaps on the waves. I talked with Jerry on the bridge, and had drinks with Jerry,
Duncan (Chief Engineer), Keith, Colin – very sociable and dinner with them. As I
stood on the bridge the masthead searchlight (maximum range about 2 miles) was
turned down to hit the sea surface about 200 m ahead. It picked out the foam on the
wave crests as brilliant white and where it shone into the wave was a beautiful
luminous blue. Snow blizzards drove across the beam. Earlier I had watched the
water drops on the bridge windows. They were dense like stars, of different sizes,
occasionally coalescing and running down the glass – like shooting stars with a tail.
Up at 6.45 am after a night of violent rolling and pitching. I must have got some
sleep, but was woken at times by the movement. I went onto the bridge when the
Willis Islands, snow covered, were abeam to starboard, visible then blotted out by
snow storms. Bird Island and the main island of South Georgia and the rocks Sorn
and Bernt appeared too. The land was snow-covered down to sea level apart from
some steep rock exposures – it was October after all. Seabirds included: Wandering
albatross, BBA, Light mantled sooty albatross, Giant Petrels, Cape pigeons, Blackbellied
storm petrels and snow petrels – very elegant. No penguins or seals were
seen.
We had breakfast and I chatted with Jane Tanton – going to Bird Island as a Field
Assistant. She knew John Skinner, S. Africa, and Rudi van Aarde, having done an
MSc at Pretoria and was now going to Bird Island for 2 1/2 years. We came abreast
Bird Island Sound about 9 o’clock, but the sea was too rough for a landing, so we
carried on along the north west coast of SG, past Elsehul. I stood on the bridge for an
hour watching it go by and then got on with some writing.
We moved along well offshore from this rocky coast in winds of force 10 (50 kts),
not seeing the shores because of the clouds of mist and occasional blizzards. But we
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