Monday 29 April 1974
The USARP expedition returned today. As I had suspected it was a radio failure. In the meantime Antarctic Division has approved my participation so it is an ill wind, etc. Next time I will go. Otherwise a routine day. Tony Atkinson mixing photographic chemicals, Chris Wilkins checking the alternator on the standby Caterpillar power unit, and Bob Grant working on the Dodge well-deck heater and the LWB Landrover.
Conditions at 0900 hours not recorded.
Tuesday 30 April 1974
Titch Gibson the Postmaster came to see me and formally claimed that his heavy work-load was leaving him with very little time to himself. He hinted that he should be excused mouse duties but I will have none of that. I told him I would relay his complaint to Antarctic Division and that in the meantime he should assemble a factual case giving traffic figures to show that his work load was greater than his predecessors.
Tony Atkinson has a problem with the ionosonde display. There is something wrong with its brilliance. Garth Cowan is wrestling with yet another break in the earth current cable. Chris Wilkins is repairing the Post Office voltage regulator. This has been causing problems for Les Walker. In the evening we had another of Ray Colliver’s popular cooking lessons.
Conditions at 0900 hours not recorded
Wednesday 1 May 1974
Despite falling temperatures we are still able to use the Caterpillar 920 front end loader to replenish the ice sledges. Bill Johnson used the D4 to clear snow away from the area around the incinerator. In the laboratory Tony Atkinson is still working on the tachometer and also repairing the Brown recorder. Stuart Clarke is processing all sky camera film.
In the evening Bill Johnson and I attended a Mayday dinner arranged by Dr Alice McWhinney for Sergei Abakumov the Russian exchange scientist at McMurdo.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind West-South-West 15 knots Temperature -20.8°C
Thursday 2 May 1974
This afternoon I organised a two hour outing for most of the Base staff. Mike Wing is required to evaluate a sledge for Antarctic Division, Bob Grant has just completed repairs on two toboggans and wished to test them and we knew of masses of flags abandoned by the Americans at the end of the sea ice strip. Three of us stayed to look after the Base and the rest went off in great glee scudding about on the snow picking up dozens of flags. Both the toboggans gave trouble and the sledge needs completely re-lashing.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 14 knots Temperature -22.1°C
Friday 3 May 1974
Chris Wilkins had to repair the laboratory humidifier again. Unfortunately the mice put a cleansack full of human excreta (which I had intended should be dehydrate for a couple of months) into the incinerator. They failed to get a really hot fire going first and, naturally, the paper cleansack burned but the excreta did not. Not wishing to clean out a mixture of excreta and soot I, in desperation, flung several gallons of mogas and a lot of seal blubber and tail fins. It all burned very fiercely and seemed to do the job.
In the evening we had about a dozen of the US Navy Public Works group to dinner.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 5 knots Temperature -21.9°C
Saturday 4 May 1974
The USARP scientific party with Mike Wing and me got away at 1000 hours. There was only a hint of lightening in the darkness but we made really good time and in still but murky conditions made about 18 miles by 1530 hours.
Back at Base one of the cold corridor doors jamb and had to be sealed up.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-North-East 16 knots Temperature -17.5°C
Sunday 5 May 1974
Our USARP party was unable to continue on for more than a few miles because it encountered an area between Black and While Islands where there had been extensive melt pools. The water had evaporated and then frozen. Snow had then formed a crust over the sunken pools creating a series of holes into which man, beast and machine were continually plunging. Accordingly we turned North-East along the coast of White Island and took the required air samples at the foot of Mount Nephos.
Back at Base, Bill Johnson was delighted to find that despite the colder temperatures, the new drains are performing flawlessly.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 15 knots Temperature -23.5°C
Aerial view looking over Erebus towards Hut Peninsula with beyond White Island to the left and Black Island to the centre.
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