Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

Back to the ship at 2.15 pm through the grounded bergs. The Bransfield was
quite dwarfed by some of them, which were at least twice the height of her masts.
Then on around the west coast of Signy and through Normanna Strait to anchor in
the usual place in Borge Bay. In fact it was within feet of the previous position as
marked by the buoys put down to indicate where a load of concrete beams was lost
from a flubber, and where Mickleburgh’s camera disappeared.
Next day I was up at 7 o’clock. The wind and sea had dropped and conditions
seemed good for ferrying the heavy muskeg tractor from shore to the ship on the
flubber (an inflatable rubber raft). At 7.30 am therefore, the ship moved to anchor
inside Bare Rock and Small Rock; it was still calm and windless. The flubber, with
the 'keg on it and towed by the launch, came out, nosed alongside and the 51/2 ton
vehicle was hoisted aboard. Only the men were still to come off the base and we
sailed for Halley Bay on the eastern shore of the Weddell Sea, at 9.30 am. The ice
reports from the US satellite pictures were favourable - a small tongue of pack ice
to cross in the Weddell Sea and then an open water shore lead along the coast to
our base. It developed into a beautiful sunny day, though cold. We passed through
scattered icebergs with the South Orkneys slowly disappearing astern until only the
mountain tops remained, heightened by a mirage. Then they too went and we sped
on across the eerily flat ocean at the bottom of the world. At midnight we reached
the first pack ice - in belts a few yards wide, but not extensive.
We came up with more pack ice in the morning, not very dense (c.2/10ths),
overall and the floes were old, each surrounded by an underwater shelf of bright
emerald green, due to the clear water. There were very few seals; we saw two then
a single crabeater and at 2.15 pm a Ross seal quite close, with the very characteristic
markings, dark above, light below and with stripes on the flanks, a small head and
characteristically ‘chinless’. Even when it was lying with its tail end to the ship, I
identified it as a Ross seal, confirmed when it moved. Another Ross seal was seen
close-to at about 5 o’clock at 66°30' S, 39°40' W) and a leopard seal. Also two
emperor penguins were sighted during the course of the day. There were a few
snow petrels and Antarctic petrels throughout and one killer whale.
The ice thickened towards evening, but was still only c. 5/10ths and with large
open patches - varied ice and water sky. The floes were 4-6 ft thick and with ragged
green ledges underwater as a fringe, and the water so clear that one could see to
their bases quite easily. The surfaces were flat and virginal white. Some of them
were of much younger ice - only a few inches thick - and there was no old ice. At
11.15 pm, still in daylight, we were steaming fast and there were occasional bumps
and grinds as we hit a floe. Next day we passed through very open pack with only
a slight breeze. Then we were out of the ice with but a few bergs around us. There
was a marked absence of wildlife though - a crabeater at about 9 o’clock, four
Adélies, the odd snow and Antarctic petrels. We continued throughout the day in
these conditions. In the evening I gave a talk to the crew and answered questions
and discussion. This lasted three hours and I got to bed at 12.30 am; still no sign of
pack ice. A message came through to say that Peter, Tilbrook, Barry Heywood and
Martin White had got their promotions, but that Inigo unfortunately was
unsuccessful.
The ship entered the ice again at 1.30 am and it continued dense but thin until
about 9.30 am., when it opened again to show large leads and pools. Even though
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