It's Nearly Over....

The breathtaking midnight view from the top of Pyramid, overlooking The Sphinx and the permanently frozen King George VI Sound, Fossil Bluff. November 2009.
(Photo: Keith Waddell)

If you have followed my Antarctic experience from the start you may remember that my final posting just before I left the UK opened with a passage by William Shakespeare (read the post here).
I am sad to say that this will almost certainly be my last posting from the Antarctic continent, so it seems poetic that I should end this adventure as I started it:


Antarctica.
Your name conjures up visions of wind and snow,
Ice and cold.
And of challenge.
A harsh, barren land they call Antarctica.

Antarctica, Antarctica.
Your name conjures up thoughts of heroes;
Thoughts of suffering and of failure;
And thoughts of courage and of triumph.
And a cold, barren land they call Antarctica.

Antarctica, oh Antarctica.
Your name conjures up images of
A place that radiates such a serene and simple beauty.
You got under my skin,
And into my heart.
I was exasperated and exhilarated;
And I was captivated
By this beautiful, barren land they call Antarctica.

Antarctica, ohhhh Antarctica.
Your name conjures up feelings of love and awe.
But you are a cold and cruel mistress.
You twisted the knife in my soul
As I tore myself away
From this empty, barren land they call Antarctica.

Antarctica, my Antarctica.
I may be someplace else
But a part of my heart will always be yours.
And one day I shall return
To this strange, barren land they call Antarctica.


The support ship, the RRS Ernest Shackleton arrives here on Wednesday; she will spend a few days unloading all the supplies for the upcoming winter and reloading with everything that is leaving Rothera, then on Sunday she sets sail for the Falkland Islands.... and I will be aboard when she departs!
I will be aboard "The Shack" for two weeks as she sails up the Antarctic Peninsula, stopping at the BAS bases of Signy, Bird Island and King Edward Point (KEP) to pick up the staff who are not wintering at their respective bases, before arriving at the Falkland Islands to catch an MOD flight back to the UK, via Ascension Island. Come mid-April I will have my feet back on English soil again.

Those of us who are leaving are having mixed emotions right now - feelings of joy and excitement that we will soon be seeing our loved ones again and returning to the strange world we used to know; and feelings of sadness because this adventure is now over and we have to leave this magical land that has so indelibly etched it's mark on our hearts and memories.

I am so looking forward to holding and kissing my family again. I have missed them terribly. I wish that they could've been here with me, to share my experiences, to see what I've seen and to do what I've done.
I am also looking forward to so many other things: to seeing all my old friends again; to telling them the same stories over and over again; to laughing and joking with them and enjoying being in their company once again; just like the old times.
And I shall enjoy seeing a world of colours again after so long seeing a landscape of the most beautiful and striking white, blue, grey and black; although however simple the palette may have been, it was never dull, and I can never imagine a time when it will stop taking my breath away!!

There are so many things that I will never forget; like the daybreaks on the northern horizon, when the sun didn't show itself for over two months, but it would light up the sky with the most vivid colours of red, pink, orange and purple; like the bitterness and violence of the Antarctic winds that chilled me to the bone and were so physically painful to endure.
And I will never, ever, forget the smell of elephant seals on the beaches!!! They are fascinating beasts, but their smell.... Uhhhh...!!!!!

I have seen and done so many amazing things during my time here; things that, only two years ago I only ever dreamt of.
I cannot adequately describe the awesome panoramic views and vistas that have been part of my daily life, or how it felt to be laying inside a pyramid tent whilst Mother Nature unleashed her full fury outside.
You cannot imagine what a thrill it has been to get up so close to such captivating wildlife, or how it felt to be at the controls of a Twin Otter aircraft for the first time; or the wonderment of seeing for the first time blue ice and raised snow footprints, and penguins, humpback whales and killer whales.
These things, too, I will never forget.

These last few weeks I have stopped making things in the workshops. Needing an outlet for my inspiration I turned to poetry; the poem at the start of this posting was penned by me to sum up some of my feelings.I know it's not exactly in William Shakespeare's class, but hey - I've got to start somewhere!!

I hope that reading about my exploits here will inspire many of the younger readers (or indeed, anyone who harbours a secret yearning for adventure and learning) to get up and follow their dreams, whatever they may be, and however impossible they may appear to be. I have proven to myself that impossible dreams are not impossible at all; they are merely unfulfilled. If I can do it at my time of life, then so can you!!
Would I do it all again? Oh yesss.... without hesitation!

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your unfailing support during my 16 months here (has it really been that long???). I know that many of you were eagerly awaiting every installment with excited anticipation. Without your interest and enthusiasm for my tales of derring-do there would have been no point in writing this blog. I regret that towards the end the postings were becoming more sporadic, and I have alluded to the reasons in previous postings, but it has been a real pleasure to share everything with you all.
I shall endeavour to get to see you all personally when I get home.

I know that many of you have enjoyed looking at the photographs that I've posted. They give you a wonderful visual insight to the beauty and excitement that is all around. But the photos I've taken can never fully capture the feeling behind the picture and so they will only ever be a two-dimensional representation of what I actually saw or experienced. Nonetheless, I'm glad you enjoyed viewing them.
I've taken over 10,000 (yes - ten thousand!!!) photos since I left England. Every one of them is a priceless memory; a reminder of a passing moment in time. But don't worry, I don't expect you to look at them all....!!!!
I haven't posted many photos this time, as today's musings are about how I feel, not what I've seen.

I couldn't have embarked on this incredible journey if it wasn't for the support of my family
I've often made the statement: "It's better to regret the things you did, than regret the things you didn't". (those of you who know me well are nodding sagely and smiling now). It was never my intention to cause such hurt to those I love, but to come here was an opportunity that came out of circumstance. My self-imposed exile has been painful for my family and loved ones back at home, but they have been a massive source of support, and shared in my excitement and wonderment during my time here.
So a huge thank you to Mandy, Jessica and Sam (and of course, Henry) for letting me live my dream. I love you all very much. xxx.

I have now handed over the mantle of "Rothera Electrician" to Nathan, my successor. My work here is done now. I'm sure he'll enjoy this experience as much as I have.
What will I do next? I have some interesting options that I can follow-up when I get home, but I haven't made any definite plans as yet, so if anyone out there in WorldWideWonderland wants to make me an offer, then get in touch. This will be a tough act to follow, I know, but I'm realistic in my expectations. I've had my cake and eaten it, and enjoyed every crumb, but I'm ready to return to life in the real world.
And if you are dreaming about following in my footsteps, then click here. This is where it all started for me. You never know where it could end....

Finally, to end, here's a quote from the man who first provoked my lifelong fascination with Antarctica: Robert Falcon Scott. My good friend and fellow winterer Mike Shortt found it and I just had to use it as it sums up my feelings for the good friends that I've made and will be saying goodbye to, and also for Antarctica herself:

"Yet although this inevitable parting has taken place, we hope that as the years roll on we may meet again, and we know that when such meetings come they will renew old friendships and recall some of the pleasantest memories of our lives"

Robert F Scott

This chapter on my life is now closing, but like a favourite book or movie that you are irresistably drawn to again and again - I will someday return to this land that I love so much and renew this bittersweet affair with my Ice Maiden once again....
















Tony McLaughlan
Rothera Electrician, 2008 - 2010 (Winter 2009)

I Know It's Been A While....

Rothera, February 27th, 2010











Yes, yes - I know it's been ages since I last posted, and yet again, I offer no excuses. I know that some of you are avid followers of my adventures and eagerly await each update with excited anticipation.
However, I have to report that this summer has almost been a carbon-copy of the last summer season with co-pilot flights, trips to deep-field support stations and boat trips. I feel that I have nothing new to tell you because I'm doing very little that I haven't already done before. The photos I'm taking are just variations on very over-exposed themes.
I could post photos of icebergs, but you've already seen plenty of those. I could post photos of me flying over the peninsula - again, nothing new there, and do you really want to see more pics of the somewhat limited but incredible native wildlife?

Awwww.... ok then. For those of you who have seen enough penguins, I apologise; but for the rest of you - here you go....






























This little guy was just finishing his seasonal moult and wasn't really looking his best.






























I guess no-one ever tires of penguins, huh??


And how about Fur seals, who are returning again in numbers...?
















A Weddell seal...?















Elephant seals...?






























A Snow petrel...?
















Minke whales...?





























And how about Orca....?




















Christmas was a low-key occasion again. It always is, here. We just had Christmas day and Boxing Day off.

On Christmas Eve the Rothera Am-Dram club entertained us with a not-so-traditional Nativity play with an Antarctic theme.


































It was hilariously funny (another genius script by Dr Matt), but it did contain some good-natured irreverence, so I'm not going to say any more....












We had our New Year's Eve party in The Twigg & Giggleberries.















The house band played a cracking set to a packed crowd and at midnight we all went out onto the veranda and welcomed in the new year looking out at the midnight sun over Ryder Bay.
















Two of the incoming winterers are house DJs and they brought their mixing equipment down with them, so after the band had finished they kept the party going until the wee small hours with some top sounds. I think they are going to have some great parties next winter!!!


This is Nathan, who is taking over from me as base electrician.











The new year was properly welcomed in and a good time was had by everyone.


I had a second trip to Fossil Bluff in early January. Fossil Bluff is my favourite place in Antarctica, but getting sent to a forward field station isn't a holiday.


I had a few days digging out fuel drums and refueling planes, but the foul weather meant that I didn't get to do much exploring this time.
But hey - it's always good to stay at The Bluff!!












In late January we had the annual visit by the American research and support vessel the Laurence M Gould.
The Gould calls here every year. We have a traditional soccer match outside the hanger, which we won 4-0 (we win every year) and we treat the American scientists and crew to some good ol' Rothera hospitality. That means opening up The Twigg & Giggleberries (again) and having a party.





In return, the Gould took some of us out for a cruise around Marguerite Bay.



We were given unlimited access to the ship.













I've seen the bay many times from the air, but this cruise gave me a chance to see it from sea-level. The weather was perfect and the scenery was spectacular....














(Photo: Paul George)








This season has been very successful for the air unit. The favourable weather has meant that Rothera International Airport has been very busy, not only with our own planes, but also with planes from other nation's research programmes


Here is a German DC3 coming in to land....













and here it is flying in formation with one of our own Twin Otters.














Living in a remote location as we do, we have to be self-sufficient in everything. Our workshops are well-equipped, our food supplies are substantial and we are trained to cope with any eventuality that may arise. We are our own emergency services.
I'm a training instructor for the fire and rescue Breathing Apparatus equipment and we have regular training exercises to keep us on our toes. We hope we'll never have to use these skills in a real-life situation.































There was an incident this week that we haven't been trained for and could never have anticipated.
At 6:00am yesterday we were woken by the sounding of an emergency alarm. We were informed by John Withers our Base Commander of the earthquake in Chile.
He explained that we had received a tsunami alert and we should be ready to react as further information became available.
We started to make preparations for a possible evacuation.
A short while later we received notification that the tsunami alert was now a tsunami warning!!!
John issued the instruction to evacuate the base immediately.

The evacuation was carried out in a calm and professional manner. We headed for higher ground and waited.

















Bubba wondered what the fuss was about and came along to keep us company.











Fortunately the tsunami never arrived, but if it had it could have been disasterous for us.
It was sad to hear of the devastation that the earthquake caused in Chile. I spent seven days in Santiago and Punta Arenas on my journey south. It is a beautiful and friendly country. The Chilean people are in my thoughts.


24-hour daylight is over now. As we head relentlessly on towards another Antarctic winter it is good to see stars in the night sky again.



As I've explained before, summer life here is frantic and time really does fly by far quicker than you could imagine. In four weeks time I will leave Rothera and my Antarctic adventure will be over.
I am so looking forward to seeing my family and friends again after so many months away, but I will also be very sad to leave here - sad to leave Rothera, my home for so long; sad to leave the good friends I have made, and sad to leave this harsh, barren, but oh-so beautiful land of snow, ice and wonderful wildlife.

I've started packing ready to come home. It is becoming a bit of a mission to pack away all the wood carvings and things I've made whilst I've been here.



























































I'm going to miss the workshop, that's for sure!!!

And finally - today is my wife's birthday.
Happy Birthday Mandy - I'll be home soon, then we can celebrate....!!!!

A Busy Time, On Base And Off....

Yet again, it's been a while since I last posted an update. Time just flies past so very quickly these days. Of course, now that the summer season is in full swing the pace of life has accelerated accordingly.

Firstly... the 2009 wintering team's Winter Photo has been published and now hangs proudly in the New Bransfield House lounge.















What a mottley crew we are.... (or rather, were.... the winter is over now).


During the winter the atmosphere on base was very laid back. We all had plenty of work to keep us occupied, but with half the base closed up and winterised and only 21 of us on station, Rothera had transcended into a sleepy little village. Now, with almost 100 people on base all rushing around trying to get as much done as possible during the 5-month summer, Rothera has transformed into a hustling, bustling metropolis. There are all manner of vehicles whizzing round all over the place and people going about their business with a purpose. Everywhere you look there are new names and new faces, and it isn't always easy to match one with the other. But Rothera is, perhaps, the friendliest place on the planet; it doesn't matter if you don't recognise the face or you don't know the name - strangers don't stay strangers for long here.
There is always someone interesting to talk to, whether they are seasoned FIDs returning for yet another season, or someone just having their first experience in Antarctica. The newbies are, of course, the easiest to spot - they are the ones with wide eyes and open mouths, transfixed in a hypnotic trance, looking around and going "Oh.....Wowwwwww.....!!!!!"
Just over a year ago I was just like that. Come to think of it - I still am!!! I still look around and chuckle to myself and think how very lucky I am. I haven't yet tired of this place; I haven't yet lost the "wow-factor". Antarctica still takes my breath away.

Lots of exciting things happen during the summertime, the best being that the planes are flying again. And that means that I get to be a co-pilot again.

















So far, I've been on two depot drops to the Larsen Ice Shelf, flying over the spectacular mountains of the Antarctic peninsula and yes, I got to fly again - hee hee heeeee!!! Back in the UK I'd make deliveries in a van - down here I do it in a Twin Otter. And the view out the window is so much better than anything the M25 can offer!!!!

















Oh, it's a hard life down here.....!!!!


















If the flight over the mountains was spectacular, the campsite where the scientists and GAs would be living for up to twelve weeks was a complete contrast.




















Antarctica is a hostile and dangerous environment to work in. This photo shows quite clearly the crevasses on the glacier. But not all the crevasses are clear to see. It is the ones that you can't see because they are covered by snow bridges that pose the greatest threat to us.

















Being high in the sky gave me another opportunity to see Rothera from a different perspective. These photos show just how small our Antarctic home really is.













































The summer also means a return to 24-hour daylight. This is a photo of one of our last sunsets....
















... the sun no longer drops below the southern horizon. It will be February before we see the night sky again.

Towards the end of November I was told that I was going to be sent out to man one of our deep field stations. As is typical here, it would be for an unspecified time, but they couldn't tell me when I would be going, or which depot I would be sent to.
Eventually, it was decided that I'd be going to Fossil Bluff.
Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!
Followers of this blog may remember that I spent some time at the Bluff last summer and I loved it there ("A Lot Has Happened...", January 2009). It is my most favourite place that I've been to since I've been in Antarctica, although to be honest, I haven't really been to many other places yet.
I packed a bag in readiness because I know that things happen very quickly here.
Things also change quickly, too. Twice I was told that I'd be leaving in the morning, but we were unable to fly because the weather crapped out. Hmmm...... frustrating!!!
The third time I had just one hour's notice to be ready to fly. It's just as well I'd packed that bag!!!


The Fossil Bluff forward logistic station (latitude 71°20' S, longitude 68°17' W) was established on Alexander Island in 1961. It is about 225 miles south of Rothera, about 1 hour 50 minutes flying time away and again, I flew for some of the way there. I would be relieving Riet van der Velde, who had been there for the last 10 days, and sharing the cabin and the work duties with Keith Waddell, who was new to Antarctica.

















Living at Fossil Bluff is like stepping back in time; the cabin has hardly changed since it was built in 1961. The hut itself is painted red, but was affectionately named "Bluebell Cottage" by it's first inhabitants.... Hmmmmm...!!! I don't know the significance of the reference to bluebells - there aren't any here; in fact there aren't any anywhere in Antarctica!!
(Trivial factoid here: there are no trees or plants at all in Antarctica, apart from some hardy species of moss and lichen which are found only in coastal areas or on some of the many islands around the continent.)

Inside the cabin I quickly settled in and made myself at home. Ahhhh - it was good to be back.
















But manning the deep-field stations isn't a holiday; first and foremost,we have to work. Responsibilities (in no particular order) include:

Sending hourly "Met Obs" (Meteorological Observations) via the HF radio...















Met obs every hour are vital for the pilots because the weather can change so very quickly. The Bluff is an important way point and potential refuge for planes flying further south or depoting science projects on the nearby peninsula. On busy flying days we were averaging 11 hourly obs a day, and on the longest day we did 16!!


Refuelling the planes...















The skiway, where the planes take off land, is run just like any normal aerodrome, with safety procedures and fire precautions strictly adhered to, so not only was I a filling station forecourt attendant, I was also a fireman, paramedic and.... tea-boy!!


Organising the fuel depot...

















Don't let the t-shirt and shorts fool you - it was actually minus 8C that day!!!
Because the air is so dry and there was little or no wind it was surprisingly comfortable.
The depot has to be organised so that the fuel drums are readily accessible to enable a quick turnaround when the planes come in.
But we don't have glorious weather every day. Sometimes it snows - well, what did you expect??? And when it snows we have to... yup - we have to dig!!!!
















All the barrels and any equipment such as fuel pumps and fire sledge, all have to be dug out and re-sited on top of the newly deposited snow. This is known as "raising the depot".

There are also some periods of prolonged inactivity whilst we are waiting for the next plane to arrive....
















When the flying finishes for the day it's back to the hut for some dinner. Unlike at Rothera, where there are world-class chefs and professional caterers to feed us, we have to cook ourselves!
There are usually only two of us manning the station so cooking isn't really a major problem, but because of the changeable weather, on three occasions we had planes making an overnight stay, and one team actually stayed over for two nights!!

Cooking at the Bluff isn't always the easiest of tasks - there is only a stove with a single hotplate, and a single-burner kerosene stove, better known as a Primus stove. But in spite of this, everyone was well fed. I even baked bread - not easy with no oven, but, using some pots and pans a bit of ingenuity I managed to create an "oven" of sorts.
This was the end result...















...and very tasty it was, too.


For some reason, my banoffee pie was also very popular...
















After dinner was usually when we'd go out exploring - weather permitting, of course. With 24-hour daylight, we didn't have to worry about it getting dark.
One fine, bright evening Keith and I decided that we'd climb some of the local peaks. First off, we attempted The Sphinx...















I'm not much of a climber, but Keith has a lot of Alpine experience. After a couple of hours of frantic scrambling we made it to the summit.

The view across the permanently frozen King George IV Sound was just breathtaking and well-worth the effort of the climb...
















We sat on the summit for almost an hour eating Mars bars and drinking ice-cold glacial water that we'd collected on the way up and chilled out for a while in the total and absolute silence of Antarctica.

Fully rested and refreshed after our exersions we decided to attempt the magnificent and mighty... Pyramid!!

This photo (below) shows Pyramid towering above Bluebell Cottage...

















... and this next one shows Pyramid from a different angle...















...if you click on the photo to enlarge it, Bluebell Cottage can just be seen as the red splodge in the foreground. The blue building is the garage/workshop and the red, white and blue building is Tesco's, our food and provisions store.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to the top of Pyramid; the final push was a bit too technical for my limited climbing skills. We got to the highest plateau just below and to the right of the summit (see the photo above), and that was good enough for me.

If the weather wasn't good enough to go exploring or climbing I'd occupy my time sitting out on the veranda playing my harmonica...















... and chatting to my old mate George...

















... the skua I befriended last time I stayed at the Bluff.
It was good to see him again.

One day, when we'd had a delivery of food and provisions, I found some mail addressed to me. The plane crew had found my mail back at Rothera and kindly decided to bring it down for me.
You cannot imagine how it felt to be living in a vast, barren wilderness, hundreds of miles from anywhere, opening real envelopes! What a joy it was!
















The mail turned out to be birthday cards that hadn't been delivered in time for my birthday. But it didn't matter - Alexander Island is approximately the size of Wales, and Keith and I were the only two people there.... and I was getting mail!!!
Brilliant!!!

















After two fantastic weeks at Fossil Bluff I finally got the call to return to Rothera. With much sadness I said goodbye to Keith, George and Gordon (who came out to replace me) and climbed aboard the plane. But hey - that meant I could fly again...
















I got back to Rothera to find that things had changed a bit in the fortnight that I'd been gone - much of the snow around the base had melted, and more new faces had arrived; some had flown in and others had travelled down from the Falklands on the RRS James Clark Ross, one of BAS's ships.
















This photo was taken during the JCR's second visit.

Christmas and New Year are only a short while away now, and then it will be the final countdown to my departure from here and my return to the UK.

There - you are up to date now...