And just like that I am back. What am I doing here? It’s still August! But within minutes, I can feel myself adapting to life in a different place – a place that’s more familiar than home these last few years.. To get here at this time, I had to leave home, I had to …
Well, that is that. Summer is over, I’m going back in time. I’ve left New England’s summer, first for New Zealand’s springtime. In a matter of days, I’ll leave here for the coldest time of the year in Antarctica. So far we’ve been delayed a number of times because the ambient temperature is below -45 …
After almost two weeks in NZ, feeling rested and refreshed with some wonderful adventures with the Noonsun crew (in wheeled vehicles), I got in touch with some Antarctic people to see if they still needed help with the winter Search and Rescue (SAR) team. They had offered me a contract extension while I was on …
The season in McMurdo is complete, but I don’t know how to put it eloquently into words. There was too much stress, strong emotions, too many questions, and times where I just had to put the blinders on and keep going. There were high highs that made me love the place, and low lows that …
16 October 2022 I have arrived in McMurdo Station, Antarctica! We flew in yesterday on an Australian Airbus A319. While I missed the novelty and fun of flying in a C-17 US military cargo plane, having a window seat on the Airbus was awesome. The weather cleared up just before we got to the continent …
Up at 0500, pickup at 0630, 0700 change into ECW (extreme cold weather) gear, then weigh in luggage, get another briefing then carry-on security and person weigh in, bus to the plane, stand around a bit, get another briefing, load the plane, (a NZ Air Force 757), wait finally take-off and head south! I was …
After just shy of 50 hours in transit from home, I arrived at my Christchurch hotel. Despite my best intentions of having a series of calm days prior to my departure, 15 minutes before leaving home, I found myself doing some last minute wiring adjustments to the system I finished building at midnight the night …
How to put words to the last 40 days…When an unexpected second invitation to return to the Noonsun crew, I jumped at the chance. After getting COVID which barred me from traveling to Greenland for work and also kept me in a hotel for 13 days in July, returning to the South Pacific would be …
I came home from French Polynesia to work a Greenland antenna rigging contract with two good friends I hadn’t seen in years. It was to be a dream team, working in a new place, crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time and a chance to get some tower work (aka spacewalks) in. The pictures …
What a time we had in the Marquesas! Such wonderful people, such beautiful mountains, such beautiful water. After a few weeks in the Marquesas, we headed to the Tuomotu Islands, a 500 miles, 3 day passage. It was a smooth passage that included landing a 100 lb yellow fin tuna over the course of 2.5 …