From Deptford to Antarctica by Wilkinson Pete

Author:Wilkinson, Pete
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Greenpeace, Rainbow Warrior, Antartica, David Fraser McTaggart, Friends of the Earth, Pete Wilkinson, Deptford
Publisher: Fledgling Press
Published: 2014-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

18 January 1987

Hot shower! Luxury! New sheets on my bunk. Cleaned my cabin. Andi reported that he had managed to get pictures of the McMurdo dump when he went ashore yesterday and we set about sending them plus press release to keep the story going. They are quite impressive pictures showing a pile of discarded junk casually stashed on the ice in McMurdo Sound awaiting the thaw. There are now estimated to be ‘a few thousand tons of rubbish’ at the bottom of Winterquarter’s Bay where Scott anchored Discovery and the Bay itself is thought to be biologically dead. Three flights today: ice spotting, Graham, Hugh and Ian to Cape Evans to begin preparation of the site and a further trip to the McMurdo dump involving Kevin (for sea ice safety) and Gudrun (for the taking of scientific samples for later analysis). On their return, I began the laborious task of putting out pictures with captions and the press release to accompany them. Finally finished at 2250. Andi makes many demands on the helicopter and I’ve had to tell him that we’re limited in the fuel availability which will restrict his freedom to shoot when he feels like it. I’ve also had to have a few words with him about his use of our precious water supply: we’re down to 100 tons now and we use it at the rate of 2-3 tons a day. The water maker doesn’t operate when we’re stopped which we are most of the time. But we’ve got through a lot of work today and everyone is co-operative and the atmosphere is genial.

The weather is still fine – light winds and thin cloud cover for a few hours a day. The ice conditions improve daily and Jim is confident that we can pick our way through the ice to McMurdo Sound and Cape Evans in a few days. He inspires great confidence although Ken raised his eyebrows at one or two manoeuvres Jim has made going astern which sucks in ice towards the propeller rather than pushing it away as it does when we go ahead. We experimented in pushing a floe out of the way today: after the initial bump, there was no problem. Tried to catch up on my sleep today but a constant procession of people to my cabin for discussions and decisions forced me to give up. Chatted with Xavier, Chris, John and Grace before turning in. Knackered but contented.

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