Volume 4, 1951 - The Arctic Circle - Home

The first task on arrivaI at Koojesse was the siting
and construction of a fifty-foot steel tower to carry the
tide gauge. A reconnaissance was made on the day we arrived,
and, as the following day was foggy, the first sections of the
tower were assembled on deck. It was found that the six-footsquare
section originally designed did not give sufficient
stability to build to fifty feet in height. It was therefore
necessary to heat and bend the angle iron of the first section
to open out the base to twelve feet, and we were fortunate to
have the assistance of the Chief Engineer of the Algerine.
Speed was necessary to get the tower constructed as spring
tides had passed and every day's delay lessened the chance of
getting it into a suitable site. The first section of the
tower, complete with crib work, was lowered over the side on
Sunday, August 6, on to a float of oil drums. Both launches
towed it to the chosen site and the survey staff worked until
2200 getting it firmly in place. The following day Robichaud
and Graham took charge of the completion of the tower, while
the remainder of the party commenced station building. The
tide gauge was in operation by August 9 and looked very impress
ive and solid standing fifty feet above low water. The
tide range was established at fort y feet at normal springs.
Triangulation continued, with aIl staff engaged in
building stations and observing, until interrupted by the
first real snowfall of three inches on August 14. From then
on there were visibility difficulties, as snow squalls became
a daily occurrence.
Irvine, in the launch Shag, with Lynch as assistant,
commenced sounding and plotting Koojesse Inlet at a scale of
1,000 feet to the inch on August 15. The main triangulation
net was carried south 20 miles to the Bartlett Narrows, using
the Jaeger, while ship sounding was begun south of Deception
Reef on August 17. The work progressed weIl until August 22,
when the effects of continuous southeast winds were noticeable
by the amount of heavY ice returning up the bay, and it became
impossible to ship sound south of Koojesse. On August 22, and
during the early morning hours of August 23, ice packed into
Koojesse Inlet itself, carrying away the tide gauge tower, which
was'completely crushed by a pan of ice some fort y feet thick.
Hereafter, aIl tide readings were obtained by levelling from
bench marks.
As the season wore on the work was hampered progressively
by ice, and by increasingly cold and snowy weather. The supply
ships Theron and Titus, which had arrived at Koojesse Inlet on
AUgust 24, with stores for the airfield, were delayed unloading
by the prevailing conditions. The Theron sailed from Koojesse