We are now well and truly into our stride in this work period in the Antarctic Peninsula. By making use of the long days, though the sun goes down it never really gets dark at this time of year; we can get a lot of work done. It is important to make the most of the periods of good weather that you get in the short summer in the Antarctic Peninsula. Even on the website, I notice that all photos we post usually show a clear bright blue sky with the magnificent jagged rocks of the mountains and contorted icebergs pictured as if they were the Swiss Alps on boxes of chocolate.
HMS Endurance in ice on one of Antarctica's better days
But, it's not actually like that, for two to three days out of five, there are no photos because it is not worth taking a picture of the whiteout conditions with snow being hurled horizontally across the front of the bridge by a very icy wind from the South.
Working with the conditions, and that is the only way to work in the Antarctic, we are steadily achieving the tasks we have set for ourselves. To give you a geographical perspective, we are operating in an area that is about the size of the English Channel with all its associated bays and headlands along the coast of France and Britain. Therefore, we have to plan carefully in order not to travel the equivalent distance from Cherbourg to Falmouth to conduct a task only to have to go back again to conduct another.
Hard at work making plans for HMS Endurance
Lieutenant Commander Adam Northover (the Operations Officer) and Lieutenants Matt Bouland, (the Air Operations Officer) and Lee Vessey (the Navigator) plan the next day's operations very carefully with our surveyors, the British Antarctic Survey scientists and combine this with the work we have to do on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office so that we maximise the use of the ship and its helicopters and boats. They were very closely with Leading Meteorologist Nev Southall and Lieutenant Stephan Jagt (a visiting weather specialist from the Netherlands) who use all the information from readings we've taken on board and a whole range of external sources to forecast the weather of us as accurately as possible. It is the weather forecast that affects our plans the most, whether it will snow or blow, or the cloud base will come down. This may mean we cannot fly in the mountains and has a huge impact on what we can achieve. One of the issues that that always seems to surprise me even though I know it, is just how quickly the weather can change in this region; from a fine calm day to a howling gale caused by a katabatic wind running down a glacier in a matter of a few minutes.
Recently seen wildlife
As well as the very important work that I have just been talking about, we have also been treated to some more amazing wildlife. Just yesterday, we saw several large pods of killer whales, gracefully swimming in perfect unity. We also saw several Crabeater seals sitting on icebergs, who were probably avoiding bumping into the killer whales. These are the most numerous seal in the world, with an estimated 18 million of them in Antarctica!
A short blog today, but we are very busy getting all our work done before heading to port to get vital fuel and even more important, more food!
Tight lines
Captain Bob