February 7

We met the Italian vessel Italica at around 8am as scheduled. The contract icebreaker was also nearby, but was not needed.

The Italica, our refueling vessel. The icebreaker is in the background.

The Palmer had cut a short channel into the ice for the Italica. It turns out to be more of a freighter than a research vessel. Its main role is to resupply the Italian Antarctic Base at Terra Nova Bay (about 150 miles north of McMurdo Station). It has an ice strengthened hull but the engines are not strong enough to push it through ice of any thickness. However, the Italica made its way into the channel.

The Italica.

With good handling skill, Vladimir, the ice pilot, put the Palmer right next to the Italica. An interesting feature of doing this in the ice is that the sea ice acts as a buffer between the two ships. Notice that the ice between the ships in the picture below is several feet thick.

As the ships were moving into place, a C130 transport plane flew by, I guess on its way to New Zealand. The pilots turned towards the ships to see what was going on.

Within an hour, the two captains and the two chief engineers had discussed fueling and it started. While that was going on, the companies from the two ships socialized. Several scientists had lunch on the Italica. Several members of the Italica party were shown through the Palmer. Then Palmer people visted the Italica. We were tranferred, four at a time, between the two ships in a metal basket lifted by a crane. It reminded me of a carnival ride, with all of its shakes and wobbles.

View of the stern of the Palmer from the Italica.

We were shown the science labs as well as the various sampling equipment. Much of it looked like the ones we have been using. The labs were smaller rooms and scattered about. That is to be expected for a ship originally designed to be a freighter and not a research vessel.

We visited the bridge. Everyone commented on the small wheel that is used to direct the ship. It looked more traditional than the levers and joysticks that area used on the Palmer.  The Italica was originally built in Russia. All of the labels on the bridge were in Russian, with Italian translations posted beside them.

At the end of the tour, we were invited to the galley for a treat. They offered us beer, wine and bottled water, along with nuts and crackers. We chatted with the science party on the boat. A few ounces of wine had a strong effect given our weeks without alcohol.

There were only 14 scientists on board. Typically, there are 30 or more. They had been on the ship about 2 months which is about the same for us. The ship is based in New Zealand. It takes a week or two, depending on weather and sea state, to get to the Italian Base from Christchurch, New Zealand.

They told of harsh conditions in their trip south. Winds and waves were a problem. Ice was in the way, so they had to go far to the east to get around the ice. It took twice as long to get to the Ross Sea as normal.

When they leave us, they will go north to Terra Nova Bay to do a bit more sampling and then get the remaining scientists at the base. On the trip back to New Zealand, they expect to have 100 people on board, It is going to be a very crowded ship.

The visit emphasized how small our social world has become. It was a real treat to talk to new people. There was an instant connection between the two groups. We were each doing similar work. We had similar experiences. We were looking forward to going home. We appreciated good conversation. It was a very nice visit.

The skies cleared during the day. Mount Erebus had only a thin wisp of clouds. I have taken a bunch of pictures and could not resist the urge to share yet another one with you.

Mount Erebus