45 - A Classic resupply, wharfies and the beginning of the boating season.......

Hello people,

Well this week I have a little bit of a mixed bag for you and to jump right in we have the first video. There is a little bit of recap going on here as i have been able to get my hands on some footage from several different people and edit into a couple short videos for you. The first couple are of subjects past like the this one about resupply. Greg one of the Comms dudes here and my fellow Station Boating Officer but more about the latter a little bit later, Comms is a position that is quite varied but basically you need to be a computer, phone, 2 way, satellite whizz and that he is. Greg wrote a script to capture images from the web cams on station along with the ship and did a majority of the editing to make this video. All i did was put music and the fancy title and credits and make it my own, so enjoy his hard work that I'm going to take all the credit for............

Video Michael Goldstein

Now I know I've already covered this one as well but sometimes I get footage that is too good to miss and I've already covered that subjects and this is no exception. The Tourists and the KK or Kapitan Khlebnikov that i covered in BLOG 7. Well here is a little time laps of that day that one of the German Lidar Scientists shot from the window in the LQ..........Again enjoy Timos hard work that I'm going to take credit for!

Video Michael Goldstein

Boating time now and with the next little video you'll understand why I'm getting excited about that. This season I was lucky enough to have to get my Coxswains ticket before I came down. This for those of you who don't know what a Coxswain is  is a person that has a boat licence that enables them to take paying passengers in a commercial boat. Down here we use commercially  registered IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boats) to both do work (as in science or dropping people off at sites), recreation (ice berg cruises) and in both cases Coxswains and a competent crew member must be in each boat. A competent crew member is someone that has completed a internal course in the boats back in Hobart and are very handy to the Coxswains while in operation.

Along with completing this course and getting on the ice both Greg (who's handy work you have just seen in the above video) and myself have also been made the Station Boating Officers. Now that's a position that is going to make you pretty popular in the social standing here on station as its pretty darn special out on the water on a good day. One of my most memorable experiences in the three seasons i have been coming down was out on the boats last season and that is a day I will talk about for the rest of my life. You can see that day in all its pictorial glory HERE but ignore the first bit as it can be a little disturbing just go to the bottom of the page and you'll see what I'm talking about.

So Davis is very different to Casey in respect to ice. The sea ice is our friend when it comes to resupply as it makes this very easy but once the ice deteriorates to the point that nobody can go onto it then its just a nuisance. Last week we received about 5 days of 25+ knot wind from the North East. Now that's the predominate direction for the wind at Davis and digressing for a moment this is also why the buildings are all built in a North Easterly direction. This reduces the amount of blizz trails or snow accumulation around the buildings. Anyway after working through 25+ knots at about 1.5c and a wind chill of around -8c for 5 days it finally happened. I awoke one morning to find no ice and the excitement started, this would mean that soon i would be out on the water!!!!

Here is another little video where i again have been given footage from both Greg and Timo and made this little masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!

Video Michael Goldstein

I guess I should explain a little bit more about that Station Boating Officer. There are several positions on station such as Fire Chief, SAR leader, Medical Assistants (assisting in the event that the Doc has to preform a operation the Sparky or Plumber or Deiso will be your Anesthetist ect) are positions that we as a community fill to ensure the smooth running of activities. You soon learn that your mates are much more than just mates, you really do rely on them in certain circumstances with your lives and this is where working here is sooooooooooooo unique. I have said it before and ill say it again, i have mates back home that took a long time to forge those friendships with but down here I have now got mates that i WOULD put my life in their hands and trust that they would do the right thing.

Right enough of the dibble for this blog lets talk about work and what I've been up to. Probably the biggest project for this season here has been an extension to the wharf. There has been a core team of Kenny (who is also the Big Kahuna this season), Rowdy who if you don't know by now just look back over this season and last seasons blogs and he is in quite a few, Horse, not so much myself and a few others on the job from time to time.

Video Michael Goldtein

Your now almost up to speed the only other thing I have to cover it the Davis Games Grand Final night we had last night. Over the past several weeks we have been playing in a tournaments of Ping Pong, Darts, 8 Ball Pool and Poker. To give you a quick run down of my achievements in the lead up to the Grand Finals night and it is quick.

Darts was first and Nick the Wintering Lidar Scientist put me out in the first round. Ping Pong next and for some reason i think it was Johnny (fellow Gold Coaster) kicked me out in the first round. Poker was next and although i was not the first off the table I didn't make it through to the next round.Pool was marginally better making it through to the second before being booted. But there was one more game i didn't know I was in until Friday and that was doubles Ping Pong.

I was teamed up with Josef another of the German Lidar Scientists and after kicking some but in the first round i knew Josef was a gun and I was only there for my good looks. Kicking some provable in the second round against the Deiso duo Angry and Jose guess who we ultimate faced up against for the finals. My fellow Gold Coaster and nemesis Johnny who booted me out of the singles and Nick how booted me out of the first round of Darts. So after a couple of hours of sledging in the lead up to the show down it was on. Winning the serve we commenced to wipe the table of them and in the second they did the same to us. Into the last it was neck and neck all the way to 9 all out of 10 points when it went to 1 serve each where we made them crumble under then pressure and we walked away the victors and the Davis Doubles champions for the 2011-2012 season .

Here is a fue pics from the night and below is Johnny before i wiped that smile off his face..........LOL

 Picture Jan Wallace

Me and my game face..............

 Picture Jan Wallace

Cant hold it for long that the only problem.............

 Picture Jan Wallace

The winners doing all the usual handshakes.................

 Picture Jan Wallace

Glory and our little hand made trophies that Chris has spent weeks and weeks and a total of 40 minutes to make.............

 Picture Jan Wallace

Timo playing darts...........

 Picture Jan Wallace

Dave with his 8 ball trophy showing why he didn't become a bikini model...................yuck!

 Picture Jan Wallace

Another pose and I don't even want to know................

 Picture Jan Wallace

Glen one of the marine biologists and his Poker trophy.............

 Picture Jan Wallace

Big Al and Adam in the Darts showdown.................

 Picture Jan Wallace

All the trophies...............................

Picture Jan Wallace

So big weekend off the back of a big week. We have been kicking some goals in our work and now we are on the downward stretch to the Aurora Australis coming to pick us up in about 10 weeks and time is going to fly. There is so much still to fit in both work and fun. How am i possibly going to be able to do it, ahhhhhh don't you worry about that believe me i will be able to!!

Hope everyone is 1/2 as well as me and you'll be doing just fine...........

Ciao for now,

Goldie

P.S...................."Life is not so much a matter of 'finding' ourselves as it is a matter of making

                       ourselves."

                       Alan Loy McGinnis