Burton Island (AGB 1) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 58 text:

Below is a stunning view of the Royal Society Range, which is actually 70 miles away. Glacier and Buffon Island have iust brought Alatna into Winter Quarters Bay, although a giant ice floe blocked the entrance to the channel. The ice floe was first estimated to be nine times the area of Manhattan Island. Alatna, escorted by the icebreaker Atka, arrived at the entrance on December l2, carrying l,l62,766 gallons of JP4, desperately needed by the Hercs. The three icebreakerstriedto push the floe out of the way, but it jammed against the fast ice. Glacier finally managed to split the floe, and Alatna reached McMurdo - a distance of some 20 miles -one week late, on December l9. . At the left in the photo, halfway up Glacier's mast, can be seen her Loft-Conn where she is controlledwhen breaking ice. lt is l00 feet above the water and provides a peaceful place from which to survey the penguins and killer whales that appear when the ship first reaches the fast ice. Glacier is America's largest icebreaker, with 280 officers and men. - -. , C Ar 'de rf?-.' Lcrkg-. ,A X ,A .A at ,-,r'..--1.1.5. - N l15 Af! ' '4 ,, x,,-plfvvik V, . -flax, EA -.-.HN A '.1, i 1 1 ' get-L.. .. ..

Page 57 text:

Pretty soon, says Cdr Jim Newman, the ship opera- tions officer, 'lit'll be the thing to do -to go out on the point and watch 'em bustin' ice. For two months Mc- Murdo sound was an expanse of white, relieved only by a few Weddell seals sprinkled on the ice near Hut Point. Then, early in December, from a helicopter, icebreakers were seen far to the north. The ship's radio reports their patient mile and a half each day. By December ll, Glacier is close enough to Hut Point forthe people at Mc- Murdo to stand on the rocks in their spare time and enjoy a new diversion. As seen in the photo at left, three cuts are made, 20 degrees apart. With throttles full ahead, Glacier rides up on the six-foot ice for perhaps one-third her length and crushes it with her weight. The trick is to stop the engines before the ship loses way and gets caught in the ice. The two l7-foot propellers help to churn the brash A ,455-' - or loose ice out of the way. Then she backs down three or four lengths to prepare for another charge. Each cut takes about six minutes, and this year it was three weeks before the channel was ready. The wheel in the fore- ground belongs to one of Glacier's helicopters, which are used for ice reconnaissance, special cargo, and ferrying scientists to otherwise inaccessible locations. Below, Atka enters Winter Quarters Bay, with McMurdo Station at lower right. As in the old days, ships must wait for Nature to open McMurdo Sound, but now the icebreakers cut a channel from the Sound to McMurdo Station and allow the ships to come ina little earlier than in years past. Deep Freeze '65 was the first year in the history of the operation when it was not necessary to un- load cargo on the sea ice and haul it to McMurdo on sleds. Tankers used to have to stay off as far as ten miles and pump their fuel ashore. f 1 1

Page 59 text:

3318: up-.T l 15 , ,V X Q it iii' . 1 ,. f Above: McMurdo Station is built on one ofthe few bare patches in the Antarctic. This is not due entirely to the warming effect of the lava ash that covers the area around Mt. Erebus, since only a part of the tip ofthe peninsula is ice-free. More likely it is an accident of the wind, which removes the winter snows and leaves an area of barren ground in summer. A helicopter is visible on the flight deck of Atka, spending her sixth season in the Antarctic. The maiority of equip- ment and supplies still arrives by ship. Left, Ltig Jim Woods peers from his horse -the name given to Glacier's helicopters because of their former designa- tion: HOAS, The choppers are pointed a bright interna- tional oronge for maximum visibility.