Sailing was delayed on 13 December due to ship maintenance and a local storm, which kicked water over the back deck and rocked the boat, even though we were tied up in port. We sailed out of Port Stanley on 14 December and anchored in Port Elizabeth to conduct a full muster to get those who had recently joined the ship familiar with emergency procedures of manning the life boats.
Approximately 20 people had joined, three quarters of who were destined for bases around the sub-Antarctic Islands. A mixture of people from all walks of life with a diverse range of skills and backgrounds including a dentist, heating specialist, builders, electrician, base commanders, field assistants, environmental clean up expert, scientists, an artist and writer and even a post man!!
We steamed for three days across the Scotia Sea. Conditions were not too rough but bouncy enough to send half of the party into the solitude of their cabin’s and spread ‘star fish’ on their bunks to overcome the inevitable sea sickness. As we crept southward toward the Antarctic, the Atlantic waters seemed to be turning a deeper hue of green by the day. The sea water temperature had decreased to about 6°C and the Chlorophyll-a had risen to over 1mg m-3. At 06:25 on 16 November the temperature, salinity and fluorescence all plummeted on the underway sensor display at 57° 25.00’ S. We had just crossed the Polar Front – the transition between Atlantic water to the North and Antarctic to the South. The temperature was now reading 2°C, the salinity had dropped from 35 practical salinity units(PSU) to nearly 33 PSU on account of the fresher ice melt waters. The Chlorophyll-a had also dropped below 1mg m-3 but then oscillated like a yo-yo as we ventured further south. The seawater and net tows that we subsequently hauled aboard were a rich soup of monoculture diatoms; Rhizoselinia spp. on one occasion and on another massive chains of Thalassiosira spp..
As we skirted to the South of Signy beyond 60° S we were confronted by ice-bergs. At first small pieces of ice bobbing beside the ship which later gave way to massive aqua blue platforms occasionally dotted with Chinstrap Penguins. We arrived at Signy at 10:00am on 17 November and anchored in front of the Antarctic base. The jetty at Signy and the in shore waters are too small and shallow to host the James Clark Ross, so all cargo and personnel have to be taken ashore by boat transfer. Two humbers were launched followed by the cargo tender crammed with people and supplies.
The first thing that struck me when I landed at Signy was the Elephant seals. Massive blubbery brown bodies strewn across the beach and walkways which occasionally stir to give you a trumpeting alarm call if you venture too close. These gracious animals spend this time of the year wallowing around the island giving birth to their young. They have fed sufficiently for the coming months of pup rearing not to eat again and largely lie around saving energy until the end of December when they re-enter the sea to renew their fat supplies by feasting on fish. There is the occasional beach battle between young males when they rear up in front of each other snorting and recoil backwards before sinking their tusks into their enemies flank. They can be bloody affairs which serve to stake their claim to beach territory and female mates. These animals are so large and cumbersome that after these short battles they lie side by side in a heap, dozing, having momentarily forgotten their enraged stake to territories.
The second thing that struck me was the snow capped slopes and peaks that hem the base into the bay which had given way to incandescent hues of greeny yellow vegetation towards the water line. We spent the next two days carting and carrying boxes, from the numerous tender runs, along wooden and steel walk ways to various storage houses around the base which serve as the scientists and technical support life line over the next six months. In between each cargo run, I repaired fences and rails around the walk way which had obviously been smashed down by Elephant Seal battles. Other parties took ‘Humber’ rides around the rocks to discover more Chin Strap Penguins perched precariously on the craggy slopes and patrolled by the occasional Leopard Seal. Signy is not manned during the winter freeze but opens up for the field season between November and March. Research on Penguins and Seals is carried out at the base to add to the growing time series on animal and bird population dynamics.