Staten Island (AGB 5) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 27 text:

it Th -i n--ii? ' vi J There were twenty miles of bay ice to go through, an hroken olf could move out with the wind, which mean middle left. required Ll running sturt, full power and then the sudden lt wus difficult tedious work hreaxking this channel. lt 1 izr of ri home lot would disenuuge itself from the rest ot , the intiss. Then hack again und repent the process over und over, striking first ut one spot, then another, hgilxlinq oil' the nreu in hetween-auul hoping the wind would eontiuue to hlow hard from the south to clean the deluis. sun ill lol the jolt was Qettinti it done. .-'tnd ut lust cznne th it tl ix ulnn we departed the ehnnnel to rendezvous ix ith tln support loree, lenviiig signs us ai monument to .nu uhnxtiutut tlmeloxx l. 'f ,vu ' ,. : - H w rn .1 Liu P33 .-.k::-- j- U, Q ,i S .X ,- I-All 4 'sag ph! SLIPPE , ew- VI-IEN wks- VET ' '-Q-...-., - -gr. - --wwT:w11L'4 , , , U . V 4 . , , .. ,J V ,:,q,,u,. Z 1. - , . -I , ',, ' Q 52 ,V , V Etbtkf. . ' ,A , xg.. - ,. .V M , 4 isp. .,H. . V 43, 375 Arriving ut Nlchllurdo Sound on 14 December, STATEN ISLAND quickly set to work at her appointed task. d 1 verv rigid de-ldline the arrival of the resupplv force .it tht beginning of the New Hear. The channel had to he wide enough so that the pieces of ice which were I at tunnel-shaped nlluir narrowing to about 200 yards tsee jolt us we hit und stuck, whereupon at chunk the s ' lint sloxxlx our th.innel lmegun to tuke shape, uhout il thu, .uid the sh.1pe in the distance th it xx is llut lonit .ind onl ohjtttut st.uttd to tome into lotus. Xloikine sttndily .uound thc clock, with no 1- sl lor the tireless diesels, the ieelueukei' that wus too

Page 26 text:

i. QcI -A !'1s.al up Q 'i. 'nguoi' - AND MORE PENGUINS: Not only were there penguins here and there and everywhere, including the vicinity of the photographer's tripod for those who were real hams Crightl, but they were even aboard ship, brought up the side by such as SANDS, FN, tbottom leftj and penned in a small corral aft of the LCVP's ttop leftj to the chagrin of the second division. TROUBIES A-PLENTY The attempt to break into Terra Nova Bay to dehark the New Zealand geological party was a fruitless one, and finally had to be abandoned. The ice Hoes were large and under terriiic pressureg and once broken, there was no place for the hrash to go. The venture was quitg, costly at any rate, since the GLACIER broke two blades off her screws andhent the other four, and was vir- tually helpless. STATEN ISLAND finally hroke loose from the sur- rounding pack and managed to ease the pressure a- round GLACIER, permitting her to get free. But the damage had heen done, and the hig icehreaker was forced to proceed hack to New Zealand for drydoeking. 1' The result of this was that STATEN ISLAND was now left with two johs to do-hoth her own and CLACIEIi's -and the Coast Cuard NORTI-IXVIND would not he down to assist for several weeks. The Task Croup stall' transferred to the Seattle-hased ship, as she headed slowly southward. It was a grim moment, for the fate of the entire operation depended on whether she could accomplish the task of hreaking the channel into Mc- Nlurdo for the cargo ships and tankers-all hy herself. The hest-laid plans of mice and men could not have prefigured this deyelopmentg never hefore had the chan- nel heen caryed out solely hy a wind-class icehreaker. But a new and resolute spirit was emerging among the old hands and first-timers ahoard STATEN ISLAND as she picked her way down the narrow leads and hroke across the thick ridges en route to the Naval Air Facility. lf it was possihle, and there was reason to helieve it was. we were sure we could accomplish it, after all, we had emerged undainagecl from the worst the Antarctic had to offer.

Page 28 text:

A BAD BREAK Things happen quickly in the Antarctic, and this was no exception. No sooner had we cleared the channel, than there was a sudden shift of the wind and everv stray piece of ice in the Antarctic decided that was where it wanted to go. Not only did the channel become completely clogged, but the pressure in the vicinity of Beaufort Island was terrific. XVe made our rendezvous with USCG NORTHXVIND, USS XVYANDOT and USS NESPELEN, but that was all for a few days. XVe just had to sit and wait for things to improve. However, seabee personnel and certain vital items of ccpnpment were needed at the base immediately, so the STATEN ISLAND and NORTHVVIND helicopters fashioned a round-the-clock emergency airlift, ferrying back and forth between the ships and Mehflurdo. Thus was spent the last few days of eventful 1958, and to some it was a reminder of the ll days at the beginning of 1957 when STATEN ISLAND and XVYANDOT were beset in the Xlleddell Sea. Eventually conditions improved and the ships were able to move into the channel and moor to the berths STATEN ISLAND had carved earlier to oftload their precious cargos. lt was a momentous occasion for the personnel at Nlc-Rlurdo, and there was a great feeling of satisfaction for the men aboard the icebreaker, who had done their job and done it well. But new items were on the agenda, and without even allowing the engines to cool, our ship was underway again. -w..,.h Shortly after arrival at McMurdo STATEN ISLAND un loaded the gear for the New Zealand trail party onto the bay ace fabove and lower leftl While the channel was be-:ng broken preparations were made To receive The cargo ships under the direction of CAPTAIN LEWIS here shown with puck in hand under the ship s anchor Crop lefillh