http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76 Jane & Caroline's Blog Wed, 05 Sep 15:36:26 +0010 en   Dear Blog readers,  This is our final farewell blog entry from the Antarctic Ice Breaker the Aurora Australis. We have hit large swells which has made working safely and sens... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_2180 Mon, 15 Oct 14:03:44 +0010 Well we’re back in the open ocean now and the boats gradually starting to roll around a little bit more which is good, as it gives us a gradual introduction to life back at sea and gives u... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_2112 Sat, 13 Oct 14:21:34 +0010 Yesterday was a pretty quiet day on the ship with everyone packing up and tying things down before we hit the open ocean. There was one bit of excitement however - there was one last opportunity to ge... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_2038 Thu, 11 Oct 19:18:35 +0010 Well here it is as promised – our big group photo that was taken yesterday! This is the first time we’ve been able to show you pretty much everyone involved in this voyage in the... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1959 Thu, 11 Oct 15:28:43 +0010 This morning started off pretty much like any other. We were still at ice station 14 as it had been an overnighter. The oceanography guys in particular like to run their experiments overnight as lon... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1895 Mon, 08 Oct 17:45:54 +0010 Today started with an interesting conversation regarding yesterday’s international rugby results, with so many nationalities onboard the ship there was a mixture of reactions at the England ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1853 Sun, 07 Oct 22:03:55 +0010 Last night we had our final big social event for the voyage in the form of a masquerade ball. Everybody on the ship made an appearance and the range of masks present was pretty impressive. We made o... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1802 Sat, 06 Oct 20:44:10 +0010 Well what did today bring? You’ve guessed it, more unpredictable weather a stationary ship and not too much happening. If you’re starting to feel frustrated reading the same thin... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1768 Sat, 06 Oct 14:36:54 +0010 Well so much for being on the move this morning, the view from the ship was pretty bleak as you can see in the photo and the visibility hadn’t improved so we were still in the same place. ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1718 Thu, 04 Oct 13:48:04 +0010 Today we got woken yet again by a ‘bing bong’ at 7:30am informing us that we were at Ice Station 11 and there would be a briefing at 8:30. The blizzard conditions we had yesterday ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1630 Thu, 04 Oct 13:44:09 +0010 Last night the weather that we’d been getting ready for closed in around us. The wind got up to 40 knots (officially gale force) and the blizzard set in. This was the third and strongest b... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1564 Tue, 02 Oct 16:46:37 +0010 We’re going to cheat a bit in today’s blog and start by telling you what we did last night. Yesterday evening practically everyone onboard the Aurora Australis looked pretty exha... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1501 Tue, 02 Oct 10:09:54 +0010 We woke up this morning to the sound of a ‘Bing Bong’ telling us that we had arrived at ice station 10. We looked out of the window, the sun was shining and the sky was blue - we... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1452 Sun, 30 Sep 19:27:12 +0010 Well it’s Saturday again (not that really means anything on the Aurora Australis!) and you’re probably pretty familiar with our Saturday morning routine by now? First off we get ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1426 Sun, 30 Sep 16:04:16 +0010 Today we reached our 9th ice station. It was one of the smallest ice station we’ve been allowed out onto so far, not because there wasn’t’ much ice but because there&am... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1367 Fri, 28 Sep 17:28:41 +0010 Today was a very quiet day aboard the Aurora Australis, will no ice station, no trawling or much movement. Last night we left ice station 8 and travelled north-west in search of ice suitable for an ic... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1336 Thu, 27 Sep 17:47:10 +0010 Today started off pretty much as any other, going to the gym, having breakfast and checking emails. Overnight the ice floe around the boat had started to break up so only people who really needed to g... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1313 Thu, 27 Sep 13:26:35 +0010 Well today has been another day spent looking for a suitable ice floe for us to get out and work on. Last night the ship had to stay in one spot again due to poor weather so the search for our next ic... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1186 Tue, 25 Sep 17:26:02 +0010 We woke up late this morning after a rather late night, to discover that we were stuck in a blizzard. The temperature outside was a warm -8.3 degrees but the wind was gusting up to 60 knots making it ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1099 Tue, 25 Sep 09:47:32 +0010 We sent Polar K. off to do some investigative journalism about the weather today - time to expand that bear's mind and make him earn his keep (perhaps you should read his blog and make him feel good... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1063 Sun, 23 Sep 16:04:48 +0010 We forgot to tell you yesterday but it was International Polar Day with the focus this year being on Sea Ice. We think that was very fitting considering what a great day we had out on the ice. There&a... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_1005 Sat, 22 Sep 17:16:03 +0010 Today was tops! After the blizzard ended last night at about 7pm the Aurora Australis set sail at about 8pm and continued to sail through the night. We awoke this morning to Ice Station 6. It is h... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_982 Fri, 21 Sep 23:30:58 +0010 It has been an interesting day today. Firstly the voyage ground to halt due to blizzard conditions.  Basically we had to sit tight in the same spot until the blizzard ended because we don&a... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_956 Fri, 21 Sep 08:49:17 +0010 Last night was a late one with Jane agreeing to go outside with Andreas at 1 am for the onerous task of checking on all the oceanography equipment and making sure it wasn’t freezing up (in... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_924 Wed, 19 Sep 20:32:15 +0010 Today has been absolutely fantastic; we woke up this morning to the most amazing sight! The sky was blue, we were in quite a large lead (an area of open water not covered by ice) and either side of ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_858 Wed, 19 Sep 10:56:27 +0010 Welcome to another day in parad-ICE! After our epiphany regarding the removal of weekends from our “timetable”, it has been much easier to go with the “floe”... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_758 Mon, 17 Sep 22:07:27 +0010 Last night was Saturday night and for the first time aboard this ship we were a little lost for what to do! We had been watching movies all week and needed a change – some people were pl... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_696 Mon, 17 Sep 18:12:41 +0010 We woke up this morning and realised it was Saturday. It’s strange, days just don’t mean anything on the ship anymore with nothing to worry about (like food, shopping, money etc). ... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_599 Mon, 17 Sep 18:12:24 +0010 We woke up this morning still feeling pretty tired. We hadn’t slept too well because something funny is going on with the ships heating and our room was a bit chilly last night (nothing li... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_551 Mon, 17 Sep 18:12:05 +0010                           Life seems to be g... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_522 Mon, 17 Sep 18:11:29 +0010 Since reaching the ice, life on the ship has become a lot easier! No more “wall surfing” and things like making a cup of tea and having a shower are much easier.This also mean... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_451 Mon, 17 Sep 18:06:49 +0010 We got up this morning feeling a little tired but very excited! Last night we had a BBQ on the trawl deck of the boat. It was a very strange experience to be travelling through the ice whilst cookin... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_391 Mon, 17 Sep 18:06:33 +0010  When we awoke this morning the boat was noticeably calmer – which made us very, very suspicious! Then we heard someone yell “Ice! Ice! We have reached the ice!”... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_346 Mon, 17 Sep 18:05:30 +0010 Last night was the ships first real social event. Just about everyone on the boat got together in the restaurant for a trivia night. This was partly an opportunity for us all to get to kno... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_289 Mon, 17 Sep 17:51:56 +0010  Today started off with yet more briefings and meetings! At the moment they seem never ending but they’re all necessary so that we all know how to be safe when we’re out o... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_217 Mon, 17 Sep 17:47:41 +0010 After a better nights sleep, first up today was a lesson on using augers and ice corers. An auger is basically a big drill bit 1m long which is specially designed to drill a hole in the ice, and an ic... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_127 Mon, 17 Sep 17:38:20 +0010 Today we had planned to spend some time on the ship’s bridge to find out how the Captain spends his day, but before that we had to go for a safety briefing about helicopters. Part of the sci... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_56 Mon, 17 Sep 17:31:28 +0010   Today we got up really early and went down to galley of the ship to help out and learn about what they do there. A galley is a bit like a kitchen but has to be called a galley on a ship... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_52 Mon, 17 Sep 17:30:51 +0010 Today we had planned to spend some time on the ship’s bridge to find out how the captain spends his day, but before that we had to go for a safety briefing about helicopters. Part of the sci... http://www.acecrc.sipex.aq:80/access/page/?page=76#blogEntry_57 Thu, 06 Sep 15:47:53 +0010