Fred's Logbook
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| Date / Time: 2014-12-27 20:04:36 | Voyage from: to | ETA: |
| Fred-Report: 27th of December 2014 Port Lockroy / Antarctica 64°49,3’S; 063°29,4’W Things were a bit busy at the Reception desk and the Pursers office this morning. People have been writing hundreds of postcards during the course of the night… . Kathleen took care of the charges and I helped by putting a stamp on each card. The people staying at Port Lockroy sent their souvenir stamp (with a penguin ) to the ship, which Esther put into the passports.  Port Lockroy, a so-called natural harbor, was discovered in 1904 – by Jean Baptiste Charcot and the French Expedition. It was a well-known to the whalers and sealers in the early nineteen hundreds, who not only found shelter here, but also processed their catch. At Jougla Point, a spit of Wiencke Island, we found lots of whale bones – remains from the old days. Apart from whale bones we also saw some Blue-Eyed Shags and Gentoo Penguins.      From Jougla Point it is only a short Zodiac “swivel” over to Goudier Island and “Base A”. The base was established in 1944 and named “operation Tabarin”. The purpose of the operation was to observe the activities o wartime enemies around the Antarctic Peninsula.   After the war the base was handed over to the British Antarctic Survey. Scientific research, mainly ionospheric research, but also the study of lichens, birds and marine mammals was carried out.    In 1962, however, Base A was closed. But it’s historical importance was brought up again in 1995 – and only a year later a team of four hand-crafts men came down to restore the old buildings. Meanwhile the United Kingdom Heritage Trust is managing the Base, which has now become a museum. Apart from being a museum, Port Lockroy also hosts the southernmost post office – and a small souvenir shop.   I enjoyed my tour around Bransfield House. There are so many things to discover! I found some magazines from the old days as well as a lot of provisions they used to have and the workshop used to be really well equipped, too.    My personal favourite was the ancient type-writer in the radio room.   At the end of our tour we checked out the “mailboard” at the entrance area. This is a bulletin board, on which messages for colleagues on other ships can be posted. There was no note for us this time.     Photos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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