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March has been our first full month of winter. The pace of life has settled down now with just the 16 of us on base after the hustle and bustle of summer. The new winterers have been finding their feet and settling into their new home for the next year whilst the second year winterers have been passing on our experience to them.
People have been going out on our pre winter trips to the Hinge Zone. This has meant a busy time for Karl Farkas the Field Assisstant, who accompanies us to ensure our safety and well being. He has taken us all over the place to the various bergs that make up the place, Aladdins, Eiger, Matterhorn, Stoney Berg the list is endless. On the journeys out he took us via the old Halley 4 Base, which is now no more than a mast just sticking above the snow surface and Precious Bay.
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Already the days are shortening rapidly. With it Antarctica has started to show her other side. Around sunrise / sunset we get the pastel shades of pink and orange which are really spectacular. The orange glow would last well into the evening. As well as this we have see other phenomena, halo effects round the sun, sun pillars, false suns along with the start of the auroras. During the first aurora the majority of the base were stood out on the open platform watching it move across the sky.
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The coming of winter has brought the usual amount of base work needed to get the base ready for winter. Needless to say this mainly revolves around the large quantity of fuel drums we keep on base. Over the month we have raised drums of avtur, which keep the generators and the vehicles running. The underground fuel flubbers have been topped up and all the sledges are crammed with barrels to keep us going through out the winter. This has been organized by Dave Glynn (SHARE Engineer & Winter Base Commander), which has meant the producing of many lists to get us all to volunteer. With the planes now gone from Rothera the skiway was taken up for winter.
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March has also been a busy month for birthdays. This month we have had five on base meaning a busy time for our chef Richard Turner. As usual the meals are excellent even with the limited "freshies" we still have. Gradually the choice is receding but we still have apples and oranges which are really nice. At the start were Cathy Moore (Met) and Tom Reily (Doctor). After the meal we had a cocktail party with the bar run by Neil Farnell (AIS Engineer). The evening went really well. Next up was Richard Turner so was up to myself and Tom to make the meal. No easy task when the chef has to eat it! Dave Glynn was next and latterly Liz Hudd (Met). Birthdays are a special time here and people make presents and a birthday cake for them.
The Met department have been having lots of fun with MAWSON the computer that takes weather readings. It meant lots of time in the electronics lab for Dan Carson to get it up and running. Hopefully it is sorted for winter.
Earlier in the month we had a darts match with our colleagues at Bird Island. Strangely enough we managed to lose again like most bases do against Bird Island. Still it was good to speak to friends there and people who have been at Halley but stopped off on their way out. Mark Ryan (Comm’s) had a busy time flicking through the various frequencies during the course of the night to keep us talking.
Things have been busy down in the garage for our Vehicle Mechanic Gary Middleton. Numerous problems with the aging suspensions of our winter trip skidoos have kept him busy along with the regular servicing of the base Sno Cats and Bulldozers. Most of the vehicles are decommissioned for winter and put on snow mound’s as we do not use them.
The rest of the Technical Services team have been carrying on with their normal work. Richard Casson (Steel Erector/ Chippy) has been sorting out the chippies container along with the monthly surveying and jacking of the three platforms. Unlike summer when we have electric motors to drive the jacks in winter we do it all by hand. Paul Sharp (Electrician) has been fixing the numerous electrical problems that crop up now and again as well as instructing us in breathing apparatus gear should the need ever arise for it. Andy Maconnichie (Gennerator Mechanic) has been keeping the five generators on base running, servicing them as and when the need arose. Myself Richard Borthwick (Heating and Ventilation Engineer) have been servicing the boilers in the different buildings along with the annual cleaning out of water tanks and hot water storage.
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Richard Borthwick, Halley Heating and Ventilation Engineer.
