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Antarctic rescue: how we expressed our heartfelt thanks | Antarctic rescue: how we expressed our heartfelt thanks |
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We're on the move again. It felt a little strange after 10 days of being stuck in the pack ice. All the familiar sensations from a month ago have come back one by one – the insistent hum of the ship's engine, the rocking from side to side, being surrounded by an endless expanse of rolling water. (The sea sickness, fortunately, has stayed away this time. For now.) | We're on the move again. It felt a little strange after 10 days of being stuck in the pack ice. All the familiar sensations from a month ago have come back one by one – the insistent hum of the ship's engine, the rocking from side to side, being surrounded by an endless expanse of rolling water. (The sea sickness, fortunately, has stayed away this time. For now.) |
After last week's rescue, adrenaline levels went back to normal and those of us who were erstwhile passengers on the Akademik Shokalskiy have spent the past few days quietly adjusting to the rhythms of our new home, the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis. | After last week's rescue, adrenaline levels went back to normal and those of us who were erstwhile passengers on the Akademik Shokalskiy have spent the past few days quietly adjusting to the rhythms of our new home, the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis. |
A day after we came on board, we heard that the Chinese icebreaker that had arrived first near the Shokalskiy, the Xue Long, had issued a distress call to tell the authorities that it was stuck. As the closest icebreaker in the area, marine authorities requested that the Aurora Australis remain on standby in case the Chinese ran into any trouble. | A day after we came on board, we heard that the Chinese icebreaker that had arrived first near the Shokalskiy, the Xue Long, had issued a distress call to tell the authorities that it was stuck. As the closest icebreaker in the area, marine authorities requested that the Aurora Australis remain on standby in case the Chinese ran into any trouble. |
It was unlikely that the Australian vessel could go to help directly – it had already been trying to reach the Xue Long for several days before our rescue but had been beaten back by the thick pack ice. But the crew of the Aurora Australis told us that we would have to wait in position, at the edge of the ice pack, in case there were any further problems aboard the Chinese ship. | It was unlikely that the Australian vessel could go to help directly – it had already been trying to reach the Xue Long for several days before our rescue but had been beaten back by the thick pack ice. But the crew of the Aurora Australis told us that we would have to wait in position, at the edge of the ice pack, in case there were any further problems aboard the Chinese ship. |
The news was received with great sympathy by everyone on board the Aurora – perhaps none more so than us, the people whom the Xue Long's helicopter crews had so carefully, professionally helped to rescue the day before. Here again we were struck by the unpredictability of the Antarctic. We thought we were about to start the (long) journey home, only for that hope to be snatched away almost straight away. But no one I spoke to that day expressed any doubt that the Aurora Australis should stay where it was, ready to help the Xue Long if needed. | The news was received with great sympathy by everyone on board the Aurora – perhaps none more so than us, the people whom the Xue Long's helicopter crews had so carefully, professionally helped to rescue the day before. Here again we were struck by the unpredictability of the Antarctic. We thought we were about to start the (long) journey home, only for that hope to be snatched away almost straight away. But no one I spoke to that day expressed any doubt that the Aurora Australis should stay where it was, ready to help the Xue Long if needed. |
Things changed again early in the weekend, when the marine Rescue Control Centre told the Aurora's master, Murray Doyle, that his ship had been released from standby. The Xue Long would await the American icebreaker, the Polar Star, which would be in the area within eight or nine days and easily had the capacity to cut through the ice surrounding the Chinese ship and also the Shokalskiy. With that reassurance, the master opened the ship's throttle and began the 400-mile journey back to the Australian Antarctic base, Casey. | Things changed again early in the weekend, when the marine Rescue Control Centre told the Aurora's master, Murray Doyle, that his ship had been released from standby. The Xue Long would await the American icebreaker, the Polar Star, which would be in the area within eight or nine days and easily had the capacity to cut through the ice surrounding the Chinese ship and also the Shokalskiy. With that reassurance, the master opened the ship's throttle and began the 400-mile journey back to the Australian Antarctic base, Casey. |
Thoughts of the Chinese and Russian vessels did not leave our conversations over the following days, however. After a day's rest, we began swapping stories about the evacuation. It had been fast, clean and hitch-free thanks to the crews of all three ships – the Shokalskiy, the Xue Long and the Aurora. While that had been reassuring, it had also left behind a gap, a place where none of us felt we had had enough time to thank the crews properly, to express how much their thoughtful planning had meant, how grateful we all were that all these people had come, without hesitation and at huge inconvenience, to help us. | Thoughts of the Chinese and Russian vessels did not leave our conversations over the following days, however. After a day's rest, we began swapping stories about the evacuation. It had been fast, clean and hitch-free thanks to the crews of all three ships – the Shokalskiy, the Xue Long and the Aurora. While that had been reassuring, it had also left behind a gap, a place where none of us felt we had had enough time to thank the crews properly, to express how much their thoughtful planning had meant, how grateful we all were that all these people had come, without hesitation and at huge inconvenience, to help us. |
So we started writing letters and notes. One set of handwritten notes and drawings – one from each of the Shokaskiy's passengers expressing thanks, love, smiles and plenty else – was carefully pieced together into a mosaic that was then scanned into a computer and sent, by email, to the Shokalskiy and Xue Long crews. We then stood, together, on the Aurora's helicopter landing deck and took a group photo to present to the crew of the ship we were on – a personal thanks from us to the people that had taken us in. These gestures of thanks pale in comparison to the efforts that the three remarkable crews have taken in recent days to keep us safe. But they are deeply meant. | So we started writing letters and notes. One set of handwritten notes and drawings – one from each of the Shokaskiy's passengers expressing thanks, love, smiles and plenty else – was carefully pieced together into a mosaic that was then scanned into a computer and sent, by email, to the Shokalskiy and Xue Long crews. We then stood, together, on the Aurora's helicopter landing deck and took a group photo to present to the crew of the ship we were on – a personal thanks from us to the people that had taken us in. These gestures of thanks pale in comparison to the efforts that the three remarkable crews have taken in recent days to keep us safe. But they are deeply meant. |
We learned with some relief today that both the Shokalskiy and the Xue Long have now freed themselves after the wind changed and cracks opened up in the ice. | |
From the ice pack near our rescue point, it took about a day to get out of the locked-together rafts of ice. The Aurora crushed some of the ice out of the way, but had to find cracks and leads through the thickest parts. | From the ice pack near our rescue point, it took about a day to get out of the locked-together rafts of ice. The Aurora crushed some of the ice out of the way, but had to find cracks and leads through the thickest parts. |
Once we were in the open ocean, the speed picked up and we began rolling. We came through a snowstorm (with giant, fat snowflakes blowing all the way to the horizon), passed the geomagnetic south pole and, several days later, we have now returned to a sea covered in huge ice floes and icebergs, adjacent to the Antarctic coast where Casey is situated. | Once we were in the open ocean, the speed picked up and we began rolling. We came through a snowstorm (with giant, fat snowflakes blowing all the way to the horizon), passed the geomagnetic south pole and, several days later, we have now returned to a sea covered in huge ice floes and icebergs, adjacent to the Antarctic coast where Casey is situated. |
The Aurora had been half way through its re-supply of the largest of Australia's Antarctic bases when it was called out to rescue the Shokalskiy. It is scheduled to be here for five days, with the crew working in shifts 24 hours a day to transfer 420,000 litres of fuel (known as “special Antarctic blend”), unload 140 tonnes of cargo and pick up 210 tonnes onto the ship. To get the crew used to staying awake longer over the coming days, the voyage leaders organised a Quentin Tarantino movie marathon – starting with Pulp Fiction, going through Reservoir Dogs and both Kill Bills and ending in Jackie Brown – in the ship's auditorium last night, which didn't end until well past 4am. | The Aurora had been half way through its re-supply of the largest of Australia's Antarctic bases when it was called out to rescue the Shokalskiy. It is scheduled to be here for five days, with the crew working in shifts 24 hours a day to transfer 420,000 litres of fuel (known as “special Antarctic blend”), unload 140 tonnes of cargo and pick up 210 tonnes onto the ship. To get the crew used to staying awake longer over the coming days, the voyage leaders organised a Quentin Tarantino movie marathon – starting with Pulp Fiction, going through Reservoir Dogs and both Kill Bills and ending in Jackie Brown – in the ship's auditorium last night, which didn't end until well past 4am. |
While the crew resupplies the base, a few of the scientists on board the Aurora will carry out short-term projects ashore while the ship is moored in the bay. | While the crew resupplies the base, a few of the scientists on board the Aurora will carry out short-term projects ashore while the ship is moored in the bay. |
The Shokalskiy's passengers – officially welcomed by the crew as part of the Aurora's current expedition (we are voyage number 3a) – have been told that the next week will be an intense thrum of activity, and that large parts of the ship and crew will be off-limits.The mighty Aurora Australis is now getting back to work and the rest of us, no longer at the centre of the expedition in which we are taking part, just have to keep out of the way. | The Shokalskiy's passengers – officially welcomed by the crew as part of the Aurora's current expedition (we are voyage number 3a) – have been told that the next week will be an intense thrum of activity, and that large parts of the ship and crew will be off-limits.The mighty Aurora Australis is now getting back to work and the rest of us, no longer at the centre of the expedition in which we are taking part, just have to keep out of the way. |
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