In Command Of an Antarctic Supply Ship
The Watchkeepers of NCI Gosport come from many and various diferent backgrounds. Unsurprisingly, given the population of Gosport, some come from the armed services, and others have long maritime experience. Others bring skills honed in industrial or commercial arenas. But some have seen and done things that the rest of us can only dream about… as in this article sent in by a Watchkeeper who, for reasons of anonymity, we will call Captain ‘SJL’. Despite his grey hair and beard, he stands more watches that any other Watchkeeper and you may hear him on our VHF Channel 65 from time to time.
In Command Of an Antarctic Supply Ship
Submitted by Captain ‘SJL’, MBF RD RNR
It was in November 1974 that I took over command of the RRS Bransfield, the British Antarctic Survey's (BAS) ice-strengthened logistics vessel supporting the 5 scientific research stations that BAS operated in the British Antarctic Territory. The RRS Bransfield, 4816 grt, 1577 nrt, launched in Leith in 1970, of Lloyds 100 A1, Ice class 1,325 ft in length, 60ft in beam, 22 ft draught, service speed 13.5 knots. Diesel electric propulsion with a controllable pitch propeller. The bow plating was 32mm and the side plating 28mm.
After rudder problems whilst crossing the North Atlantic resulting in our having to dry dock in Baltimore; we did not depart the BAS Grytviken research station on South Georgia 54S 37W bound towards the BAS Halley research station on the Brunt Ice Shelf 75 30S 26 40W, until the beginning of February, 2 months later than the ideal date for departure. Despite the fact that we had, thanks to the Americans, an approximation of the pack ice edge and vague details of the ice cover of the Weddell Sea, we were still to follow, at least as far as Halley a similar route to that taken by Ernest Shackleton 60 years earlier.
We knew that by applying the "Golden Rule" to avoid having to work pack ice when one could sail round it, it made sense for us to follow the northern ice edge eastwards to a longitude which gave us the shortest passage through the pack ice before arriving at the Continent - so we followed the pack ice edge eastwards as far as Southern Thule, the southernmost island of the South Sandwich Islands. This still gave us at least 600 n.miles of pack ice to navigate. Needless to say, we arrived in our planned position 60S 20W to head south in darkness in the "normal" storm force winds, such that the ice floes on the edge were being picked up and tossed around like leaves. So with all three searchlights blazing and one radar on short range in an attempt to assess the pack ice coverage and the leads therein the other radar on a longer range to pick up the positions of all icebergs, I made my slow speed entry into the maelstrom, heart in mouth and a short prayer to Poseidon.
I should point out, at this stage, that we were carrying all the materiel for a rebuild of the station, plus a 64 strong building team and my 36 strong crew; so I was under pressure to make up the time lost, if possible. I knew that I had approximately 900 miles of pack ice to work and, given the normal 8 octas of cloud cover, my only method navigation since leaving Southern Thule was to plot a significant iceberg ahead on our intended route with the hope that there would be another one beyond that and so on, such that I was at least able to have a vague idea of our position. The only other alternative was from the record of headings and times on each heading to at least attempt to work out a DR, but given the frequent variations in heading and speed this would be singularly inaccurate.
Fortunately, as we progressed, slowly, further and further south, we began to get 24 hours daylight although the pack ice conditions did not improve until we were about 72S, where one meets a shore lead created by the cold air, winds, flowing off the continent. From that point to Halley was about another two days steaming. Now as we only had a very approximate idea of our position and one section of ice cliff looks much the same as the next, it was only thanks to the common sense of the scientists at Halley, who had built a colossal "H" out of 45 gallon drums on the most prominent headland in their vicinity, that we were able to establish that we had arrived at the correct position, such that all that was left to do was to create an "ice port", secure alongside, and commence discharge with International Harvester bulldozers and sledges up an ice ramp from the sea ice to the Station, approximately 10km from the ice cliff edge.
View of the Bransfield anchored at the ice cliff edge, Halley, unloading supplies, 1974.
(Photographer: Richard Maitland Laws; photo credit BAS Archives ref: AD6/19/3/B128)
A very respectable 9 day passage. Subsequently I completed 30 of these passages and despite the advent of GPS, satellite photograph receivers and drones, on the worst occasion it took me 30 days, we have been keeled over by 20 degrees, and the stern has been lifted so far out of the water as to make the propeller useless, hence it should be no wonder that my hair and beard are white!!
Captain ‘SJL’ MioS
