Edisto (AGB 2) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 61 text:

31 january arrived with high winds and driving snow, forcing suspension of cargo operations. The Winds increased in ferocity and one by one the VICTORY's dead men pulled out of the ice under the strain. EDISTO came along side to help but it was decided that both ships should ride out the storm by nosing into the ice and keeping as many turns on the shafts as necessary to prevent drifting. ...I

Page 60 text:

n f the liberzgf eclooppefs lm! rzm . While the unloading of VICTORY pro- ceeded with the aid of three section twelve- hour working parties from the crew of EDISTO, other activities were taking place off Hut Point. In addition to the cargo for McMurdo we had embarked several civilian scientists and private company engineers at Lyttleton who would take part in what was termed Operation THAW. Their project stemmed from a dis- covery some years ago that water in con- tinuous motion has a tendency to undermine and wear away ice formations. With the aid . . and two who never made it of subersible pumps, rotor blades, and diesel generators the men began with two small holes in the ice and day by day say those holes become larger and larger until they reached a diameter of almost fifty feet- Some of us scoffed at the idea from the first but after remarkable progress was made We all began to feel somewhat like a horse watching a new-fangled Ford machine chug bv. The engineers, characteristically OP' timistic, predicted that within a few yea1'S the device would make icebreakers obsolete- That idea cheered the whole crew and WC wished them well in theiriefforts.

Page 62 text:

Late on the evening of the first of Feb- ruary McMurdo base reported a fire in their parachute loft. EDISTO steamed to the YOG turning basin and stood by in case help was needed. Because of a lack of water supply, the Antarctic's deadliest enemy - fire - consumed the loft and a nearby quonset hut before anything could be done. Perhaps one of the most interesting facets of EDISTOQS' stay in the Sound and proof that Americans can find humor in any situation came about with the erection of several home-painted signs attesting to the virtues of UPPER Mc MURDO SOUND TUG Sl BARGE CO., INC. DAY OR NIGHT SERVICE CALL EDISTO 2716 KCSH. This Was, to no one's surprise, the brain- child of Mach Deming. Thereafter this became our call sign over voice radio and was more correct than first might seem. During her stay in Antarctica and indeed during all of her operations EDISTO proved that icebreakers are one of the most versa- tile and practical ships in the fleet. We performed the duties of air taxi, icebreaker, mail carrier, tug, reconnaisance vessel, survey ship, repair ship, floating weather station, salvage ship, and hotel for tran- sients. Concerning this last, it was not required of the guests that they register but merely appear on the quarterdeck with some word of a secret scientific mission or comf plex electronic gear and they would be given the keys to TOQ and two stewards apiece.