Palmer Station SitRep for Period Ending 21 March 79

1. Fuel Consumption: 1424 /Tank one 78,868/Tank two 100,147/Total DFM on hand (less day tanks) 179,015/Day tanks 6,000.
2. Station population 19/Hero 16
3. Power Readings: High 101.5 VA/Low 54.0 KVA/ Avg 77.2 KVA.
4. Weather: High temp 4C(16)/Low temp -1C(19,20)/Avg temp 1C/High pressure .1016.5MB (21)/ Low pressure 981.0 MB (17) / Avg pressure 991.6 MB/peak wind 15 m/s at 360 deg (17)/ Avg wind 7 m/s prevailing wind dir 220 deg/avg cld cvr 9/10 nmbr of clear days 0/ nmbr prtly cldy days 1.66 / nmber cldy days 5.33 / nmbr days visibility less then 400 mtrs 0.
5. Weather this week alternated from wet and windy to downright nice. Brash ice is accumulating in Arthur Harbor and growlers seemed to be growling more ferociausly at dock repairs and cargo operations. The enormous upright timber at the south end of the dockface was successfully replaced by Pat Kracker and Duane Ness despite the uncooperative ice that’s been lingering in the Hero Inlet. R/V Hero returned from her South Orkney krill cruise on Friday. Allen Cull was glad to be on land again and threw a St. Patrick’s day banquet for the station and Hero, complete with green beer! Jerry Keiwatt and Pat Kraker helped reinstall a hefty radar antenna atop hero’s ice house in the freezing rain on Monday. Don Wiggin picked the same day to run new radials for a ground plane antenna, then boarded Hero to help Rufus Zogbaum (S-008) with krill trawling. One of the submersible saltwater pumps was broken off by ice action on Tuesday but was retrieved from the harbor bottom and reinstalled by Robbie Fraser and the F.E. with no interruption of salt water flow. RRS Bransfield made her third and final call of the season on 19-20 March. A party on board ship was thrown for Palmer/Hero personnel on Monday night. Many old acquaintances were renewed and a good deal of stout was consumed. Retrograde cargo loading took place on Tuesday morning. Heavy brash in the harbor and several formidable growlers and bergy bits nearby the pier frustrated attempts to load the boxes on the Branfield’s launch, and most of the cargo had to be manhandled over the rocks to a point beyond the salt water pump house. A number of FIDs from the ship assisted in this maneuver. Without additional supporters the hefting of the heavy boxes would have been risky. Bransfield sailed just before noon on Tuesday. Duane Ness worked on winterizing the 944 wheel loader, putting in new windows and patching the cab with fiberglass. He also reconditioned one of the starter motors for the D-342 generator engines. Pat Moriarty finished his boating resupply parts list and helped Neil Bernstein (S-012) winterize the Cormorant Island field camp. Jerry Kiewatt has had to treat several small cuts and bruises for Palmer and Hero personnel, and has done a lot of outside cleaning up and organizing in areas that will soon be snow covered. The main reefer in the GWR went down for several hours and up several degrees late in the week, but Pat Kraker determined that it was a relatively minor icing problem and had it back on line in no time. Thus the penultimate week of austral summer at Palmer draws to a close.
   Operations continue to run smoothly.
   Regards, Konecki