Ivan the Terrabus; we took it to the airfield for our flight out.
Ildi with Pedro the Emperor Penguin. He chose to molt at our fuel pumps at the halfway point to the airfield so whenever we had a fuel transfer (twice a week, we got to see him up close).
The penguin liked being by our fuel pump for some reason, even though it was loud.
The research ship Nathaniel B. Palmer in port.
We got a very in dept tour of the fuel tanker after we finished unloading it.
Our fuel tanker and the fuel hose from it across the mush pier (only one guy fell in the crack).
6'' collapsible fuel hose from the ship to our metal pipelines is how we unload it, several fuel lines at a time, millions of gallons, 24 hours a day for several days.
Seems the end of the season went by quickly and was full of work. Unloading the fuel tanker was fun for us because Dave and I were on the night shift with our good friends. After that week of 12 hour shifts came the hose pickup (the 14 miles of fuel hose out to Pegasus airfield). That again was 12 hour shifts and really cold temperatures, but we did it in record time. Then more ships to fuel and fuel to transfer between million gallon bulk tanks. Pedro the Emperor penguin was a highlight because he chose to molt by our pump so we got to see lots of him. And I did see some whales in the bay. It was a physically demanding season, but a fun one that I would call my McMurdo favorite. Really good people and lots of fun events. At the last minute my boss said that they had room for people to leave a couple days early so my friend Emily and I jumped on the opportunity to have a girls weekend in Hanmer Springs, since our boyfriends were wanting to stay until the end. Pics of that soon...love you!
Ivan the Terrabus; we took it to the airfield for our flight out.
Ildi with Pedro the Emperor Penguin. He chose to molt at our fuel pumps at the halfway point to the airfield so whenever we had a fuel transfer (twice a week, we got to see him up close).
The penguin liked being by our fuel pump for some reason, even though it was loud.
The research ship Nathaniel B. Palmer in port.
We got a very in dept tour of the fuel tanker after we finished unloading it.
Our fuel tanker and the fuel hose from it across the mush pier (only one guy fell in the crack).
6'' collapsible fuel hose from the ship to our metal pipelines is how we unload it, several fuel lines at a time, millions of gallons, 24 hours a day for several days.
Seems the end of the season went by quickly and was full of work. Unloading the fuel tanker was fun for us because Dave and I were on the night shift with our good friends. After that week of 12 hour shifts came the hose pickup (the 14 miles of fuel hose out to Pegasus airfield). That again was 12 hour shifts and really cold temperatures, but we did it in record time. Then more ships to fuel and fuel to transfer between million gallon bulk tanks. Pedro the Emperor penguin was a highlight because he chose to molt by our pump so we got to see lots of him. And I did see some whales in the bay. It was a physically demanding season, but a fun one that I would call my McMurdo favorite. Really good people and lots of fun events. At the last minute my boss said that they had room for people to leave a couple days early so my friend Emily and I jumped on the opportunity to have a girls weekend in Hanmer Springs, since our boyfriends were wanting to stay until the end. Pics of that soon...love you!
