Sunday 26 February 2006
Back on the Shack
We left the base early on Saturday morning for the long drive to N9. The vehicle mechanics had already been up for hours getting the vehicles warmed up, and setting off in the slower vehicles - a bulldozer and crane which were being sent back to Cambridge for a full service. We left Halley just after 8:30am in a convoy of seven sno-cats, each one towing a sledge full of cargo or waste.
Sledges of cargo loaded and ready to go.
The drive to N9 took us about five hours so we arrived just in time for lunch. Since the ship has come from the north they had a plentiful supply of fresh fruit and vegetables and I was able to enjoy a salad for the first time in a year.
The Shackleton moored at N9.
It's getting rather late in the year for a ship to be this far south, as the temperatures begin to drop rapidly now the sun is starting to set. During the journey to reach us the ship sailed through some rough seas and in these temperatures the spray freezes on impact, causing up to 4 inches of ice accretion onto the hull in places.
Ice accretion on the hull of the ship.
The temperature dropped to -20C last night, and we were able to stand on deck and watch the sea freezing in front of our eyes. First the surface becomes waxy then ice crystals form and start sticking together. These patches grow in size and the constant motion of the tides pushes them against each other to form flat, circular lumps known as pancake ice.
Pancake ice forms on the sea as it begins to freeze.
Another sign that the sea is freezing is the sight of sea smoke. This was the first time I had seen it close up and it is amazing - the whole surface of the water appears to be evaporating and any wind creates swirling vortexes much like the way it plays with spindrift at Halley.
Sea smoke rising from the water. Click to view a video (2.2MB, AVI file)
With all these signs of the approaching winter, the captain is no doubt keen to get underway and return to warmer waters. The second wave of sno-cats (carrying the remaining passengers and cargo) is due tomorrow, then on Tuesday we will sail along the coast to a nearer Creek to say one last goodbye to the new wintering team before heading northward.
Posted by simon at 2:39 PM | Feedback (8)