Cold

I see the weather link I added right at the start of the blog (yr.no) predicts the weather as a little too extreme.  At the moment the average temperature is around -15 degrees.  The biggest factors in how cold it gets is wind and the height of the sun.  The padded jackets and dungarees together with the "pampoen skoen" (pumpkin shoes - orange multi layered shoes),  one or two layers, proper gloves and headgear make this climate very livable.  My feet for instance has only felt cold once or twice.  When you, for instance, need to untie a knot and you take your gloves of in windy conditions your finger tips become painful in a matter of seconds also your nose tip if not covered can become painful. Your rate of work also affects your comfort levels so we generally don't go into stormy weather to stand around.


Apart from the chill factor associated with wind the winds can also get strong enough to blow you off your feet.  As our base is on the edge of a 200 m cliff you don't want to loose your footing for too long.  In strong winds being a little over-weight is recommended.  The rule of thumb for the minimum weight for a certain wind speed is the wind speed in knots plus 10.  (I.e. for 50 knot conditions you need to weight 60 kg).  During the last storm that delayed the ship's departure we had gusts of up to around 70 knots.


Also bear in mind that we are at the end of our summer so I might revisit this page in a few months.

Colour

Before leaving for Antarctica I was warned that you get tired of the constant white around you.  Admittedly when the sun shines for the whole day most of the surroundings is white.  However, when the sun starts moving lower, as winter approaches, the range and intensity of colours are breathtaking.  Sometimes the scenery is really so big and so beautiful that you can just sit and stare into it.  It also changes so quickly that you can almost get frantic in trying to absorb all of it.  

Update

Such a lot has happened since my last post.  I will try and update as much of my experiences and thoughts as possible.  All posts may, however, not be in chronological order. 

 I have just returned from a Cat train.  As probably mentioned before that involves heavy strong agricultural vehicles pulling cargo and transporting passengers over the ice at a snail's pace.  The purpose was to take the last summer personnel and cargo back to the ship. Seeing that this was the first Cat train for our team as the people taking charge it had a different flavour to it.  Personality clashes, that was easy to ignore up until now, became a bit more pronounced.  With the weather not allowing things to go as planned our trip also took much longer than was anticipated.  So hard work, hard conditions and a lot of waiting had to be overcome and it put some strain on us as team more specifically the 6 that went with.  I do think, however, that some bridges between us as members are now stronger than before but on the other hand some divides seem bigger than was thought.  Division in our team will be a huge downer on what is otherwise a very special experience.  


So, reading between the lines you probably gathered that the days of isolation started.  We are now 10 people in SANAE.  With the Agulhas not able to reach the ice shelf due to 12 nautical miles of bay ice the cargo and passengers (in groups of 5) were flown off to the ship.


It was quite a reality check to see very competent people that have done so much work around the base leave and realising all that work is now on your plate.  It was also hard to say goodbye to some people that you started befriending.


That moment when we are left alone on the ice was something we discussed while still in Cape Town and I really dreaded that feeling and thought the enormity of it might be frightening.  It was quite a moment but I was also surprised how quickly one can grow accustomed to something.  All the terms and concepts that seemed so foreign 3 months ago are now my current normal.  

Check out my links

My blogging is a bit sporadic as there are things keeping us busy and because the internet is not always available.  I have added two other blogger's pages to my links so if you want to check it out please do so.  The one is from a journalist staying for the summer and the other is from my fellow team mate.

Handover

This past weekend marked the official handing over of SANAE base from team 50 to team 51.  It included a formal dinner with some speeches and on the lighter side some sports like tug-of-war, darts and table tennis.

The highlights of the speeches included the DCO's (Departmental Coordinating Officer) message that he no longer wants to encourage teams to be better than the previous but rather for them to become the best team they can be.  Jako's (our team leader) speech had a very powerful analogy for teamwork, namely the fact that geese, in formation, can fly up to 70% further than they can individually.  Both were good messages to hear.

The handing over ceremony was laden with words synonymous to 'responsibility' so I guess my employer wanted to emphasise that point.  I would guess that Antarctic programs will have difficulty with personnel.  It is rather difficult to substitute someone in Antarctica and despite any recruitment evaluation you are always taking a risk with whoever you appoint.  It also seems like some people love the fact that they can see and experience this weird and wonderful continent which amplifies their sense of duty while others tend to focus on their own comfort.  So I guess the emphasis on responsibility was maybe the subconscious holding of thumbs.  

After the dinner we finalised some games and I am the proud to announce that I am the top South African table tennis player in the whole of Antarctica.  Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and I think the summer and winter personnel have become a fairly tight knit community.  The departure date for the summer personnel is around the corner and it will probably be a sad goodbye.  6 Of our overwinter team members need to go on the last cat train, that is leaving on Sunday, to finalise the back loading and then shut our Summer Station down and tow the last odds and ends back to SANAE.  

I will also join the last cat train and will return to a near empty base where the dynamics of life in Antarctica will probably change once again.