Rothera: It’s time to wave goodbye…
Our time at Rothera is coming to an end. There is only one week left before the RRS Ernest Shackleton arrives at Rothera to take us all Northwards to the Falkland Islands where we would begin our flights home.
There was just enough time to take our final water sample as we took in the beautiful scenery of Ryder Bay for one last time whilst listening to the crackling of ice floating around the boat and the loud cracking and booming of ice movement at the glacial edge.
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| Above: A view towards Rothera Research Station from RaTS sampling site 1. |
As soon as the water had been processed, these final samples were packed away ready to be loaded onto the Shackleton and the Gerritzs Lab shutdown procedure could be completed.
On Sunday morning we awoke to the Shackleton docking alongside the wharf bringing with it not only the ship’s crew but also the summer staff from the BAS bases on Bird Island, King Edward Point and Signy, that had been picked up en-route to Rothera (see map below).
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| RRS Ernest Shackleton moored at Rothera |
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Map to show the location of British Antarctic Survey bases |
Next began the week long process of unloading and loading the ships cargo. Towards the end of the loading process, four of us managed to spend a night out at the caboose located at the bottom of the ski slope. Skiing under the moonlight was remarkable which ended up in the caboose for a hot cup of tea made from melted snow.
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| Above: One final walk around Rothera Point before leaving. |
And then that was it, time to leave! We said a teary goodbye to the winterers who had all come out to wave farewell.
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| This is the team of 18 people who will stay at Rothera for the winter and who will not have any contact with the outside world for another 6 – 7 months, until the first dash 7 flies in next October. |
It was a sad moment as the ship pulled away from the wharf and we were bid farewell with a shower of flares as if saying “please don’t forget us!” but at the same time marking the start of winter on Adelaide Island.
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In front of us lay a 6 day journey to the Falklands islands across the infamous Drakes Passage, known for some of the roughest seas in the Southern Ocean. Pretty much as soon as we left the protection of Ryder bay and Adelaide Island the Southern Ocean lived up to its reputation with rough seas and high winds, as did the Shackleton, a.k.a. ‘the Vomit Comet’, with the quick retreat of the majority of its passengers to their cabins. The next day I was awoken by being thrown around my bed by the rolling ship. Today for me however was Gash day. Even on the ship gash never stops as I made my way to the kitchen for 7am. Five people had been assigned to Gash which many seem like a lot but over the course of the next hour or so the numbers started to dwindle as people had to retreat to their beds due to seasickness. Luckily for me I found my sea legs a bit quicker than most and was glad I had taken my seasickness tablets the day before as a pre-emptive strike because soon I was the last one standing. Potwash in a ship on a rough sea is an interesting affair. Not only are you trying to stop yourself from flying around the kitchen but you have to catch the pots and pans which go with you whilst trying to keep the dishwasher locked shut as every time the ship rolls the lid of the dishwasher slams open and shut spraying water all over the place. Even in your cabin you can’t leave anything laying around which is not secured and quite often people return to their bunk with their computer, books, clothing etc. in a pile on the floor.
We did have a couple of calm days which was a nice break. Gradually more and more people emerged from their beds looking tired and weary but all this was soon forgotten as Humpback and Minke whales started to appear as well as various seals and birds and even a pod of dolphins playing in the wake of the ship. Whenever you went outside on a calm day there were always Albatrosses majestically gliding to and fro around the stern of the ship, most likely thinking we were a fishing vessel and waiting for scraps.
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| Dolphins | Albatross |
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| Lemaire Channel and the bridge, the best place for sighting whales and birds | |
Finally after 6 days on board the ship we arrived at the Falkland Islands at 7am on 5th April.
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| Arriving at the Falkland Islands |
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| The Shackleton docked at Mare Harbour |
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This is the first time I had seen greenery in over 5 months and it was a beautiful sight with the smell of Heathland filling the air. It was nice to be walking on soft ground rather than hard ice and snow or loose boulders. We walked off the ship and explored the island a little. The landscape is mostly flat with low lying vegetation mainly due to the strong winds that the islands are exposed to all year round. We took a walk to the beach and were quite surprised by the beautiful scenery and long sandy beaches with dolphins playing in the waves and a penguin sunbathing on the beach.
A group of us left the ship there and spent the night In Stanley. In the taxi to Stanley from Mare harbour the evidence of war was still apparent with live minefields all along the side of the road which still have to cleared. The taxi driver was saying that every now and then cows and sheep get onto the wrong side of the fence and set them off, “the last cow to set one off must have stepped on a tank mine” he said, “it was a bit of a mess”.
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| View over Stanley and "Lady Elizabeth", a wreck of a sailing ship from 1879 in Whale Bone Cove. |
From the Falklands we took a flight to Santiago via Punta Arenas (6 hours) and then a 13 hour flight to Madrid followed by a 2.5 hours flight to London Heathrow.
And here I am, back in the real world and beardless, reflecting back on our time in Rothera as if a distant memory knowing that in reality, I will never see most of these people again, who have been all we have known for the past five months.
It certainly has been a spectacular experience with memories to last a lifetime.
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| Another day in the office……Left to right; Zoi Tristan and Amber on-board Terra Nova collecting water. |