Line Locked

I am still at Palmer Station. The Gould arrived here a week ago to try and tie up, but was prevented by a long line, laid underwater starting at our pier and stretching 300 meters towards Janus Island. Before the line could be removed, sea ice moved in and covered the line. Due to the lowest temperatures of the year and a nearly constant wind from the west, the line is proving extremely difficult to recover. The Gould cannot drive over the line and our cargo operations have been thrilling and difficult. Click here for Carla's fantastic account of our Shackleton style cargo operation, which involved the Gould breaking ice, firing a rope gun ($1000 a shot!) and setting up a pulley system to transfer people and cargo from ship to shore.

Photo courtesy of PQ.

Photo courtesy of Mayor Waslo.

Instead of being called back to the Gould I have been left at Palmer station to help figure out a way to remove the line from underneath the sea ice, which is littered with giant bergy bits and over 5 feet thick in areas. The following video will give you a quick idea as to the forces of nature we are grappling with. The video was taken at the beginning of our first day breaking a crack to pull up the line. As the days have progressed, we have made progress, improved our technique vastly and had many humbling moments.

Lily (the current Boating Coordinator) and I scouting cracks.

The sea ice makes us feel small.
These two photos are courtesy of Wally.

For now, we work on the problem day and night. Many on station have put in long hours in order to help Palmer Station receive the Gould, which should be arriving tomorrow with a good amount of cargo, fish and people.