Personal experience, between 1966 and 1969, of work and life on Halley Bay, a British Antarctic Survey Base, approx 75degrees South and 800 miles from the South Pole, in Antarctica.
Home     Winter 1967 & 1968 FIDS     SLIDE SHOWS     Trip onto ice shelf     History and Links     Contact Keith     Site Map      
No 1 Slideshow     No 2 Slide show     No 3 Slide show     No 4 Slide show     No 5 Slide show     No 6 Slideshow      
Halley Jan 1968 releif
Pause Stop Previous Next View full-sized photos
 

January 1968 and two ships are destined to relieve the base -The R.R.S John Biscoe and the M.V Perla Dan.There was no ramp available for the ships to get close to the Ice Shelf - so they had to "dock" 5 miles away on the sea ice.

The sea ice had to be 'cut away" to get to a real solid area for off loading.

As well as bringing new faces and taking away some old faces - stores and new scientific items were brought in.

First was two metal bridges to bridge across the tidal area where the sea ice breaks up due to tidal movements.

Before crossing these bridges they were always checked to see that the sea ice had not broken away at the edges.

 

The scientific hut was brought of next to last and Windfinder WF2 last.   The WF2 had to be assembled on board the Perla Dan in the bottom hold as there was no cranage on base to lift the aerial dish etc .

The scientific hut and WF2 could not cross the bridge but were negogiated sucessfully despite a small mishap of one of the WF2 legs dropping through the ice edge.

 

New addition to the base was two personal bikes causing some extensive viewing by all.