MAUD IS WAKING UP FOR A NEW SUMMER
29 May 2015 » Uncategorized | respond
The last week before easter I was reported from Ann and Glenn that the ice had grown so thick around TP that the inlet for the cooling water for the generator engines had been blocked by ice. That meant in practice that the back up system for our deck generator was not there any more. Our deck generator that has been running all winter and produced electricity on board TP has been running smoothly and been reliable all the way so we didnt have any immedeate worry but still I didnt like the ide to be be without a safe back-up.
So I talked to Stig and we decided to head for CB in the easter to see if we could fix this little issue, so we could look ahead into the last spring months with peace in mind.
Being a long trip we also decided to challenge ourself in some issues around som new winter filming. Recently I have been playing around with the idea of introducing a new concept of making 360 degrees film recording to be presented in the future House of Maud. So we did some preliminary experimentation with this in some incredible late winter brilliant winter scenery. Curious to see how this will all evolve.
The temperature was still steady in the minus 30 degrees celcius scale so we didnt really get a strong spring sensation but the light is certainly brilliant white and and the night light was improving every day.
Kitelife is a great way of getting an overall view of reality.
kitephoto – jw
Stig and I – into the white
kitephoto – jw
Tandberg Polar has spent the winter in the ice – close to Maud
photo – jw
Stig and I spent a sunny day in minus 35 digging through 2 meter of ice to reach the water intake for the backup generator in TP.
photo – jw
Windblown ice in green and blue – 2 meter thick still in May..
kitephoto – jw
And here comes a little winter report from our winter caretakers Ann and Glenn
A SMALL WINTER REPORT I end this little update with a small winter report I received in January-15 to give you an idea of the living situation here i CB for our TP caretakers Ann and Glenn.
Report from Tandberg Polar in Cambridge Bay:
We were delighted to have the opportunity to be caretakers aboard Tandberg Polar this winter in Cambridge Bay. We sailed our 12 metre aluminium sailboat, Gjøa, from the U.K. to Cambridge Bay this past summer. In 2010/11, we had spent a year cruising in Norway and Svalbard and knew of the Maud and her history. We first met Tandberg Polar and the Maud Returns Home crew in Aasiat, Greenland in July. We met again at Fort Ross in the North West Passage in August. We were able to share ice chart information and exchange ice navigation strategy. They experienced the same challenging 2014 ice conditions we did and arrived at Cambridge Bay just a few days after us in September. We wanted to stay in Cambridge Bay for the winter, but, were unsure how Gjøa would serve as a winter home in the ice. Tandberg Polar needed to be kept warm and secure and the best way to do that was to have someone aboard. We were only too glad to step in and assist.
Tandberg Polar is surviving the winter well so far. The most recent blizzard last week was a little worrying, but, everything came through ok. We have had to overcome a few technical challenges and cannot have running water aboard, but, we have been able to keep both ourselves and the boat reasonably warm, safe and comfortable in the harsh conditions. We are confident that when the MRH crew comes back to Cambridge Bay they will be able to return TP to active service without too much effort, allowing them to concentrate on the more important Maud recovery work.
TP is firmly held by the ice, but, the ice does move with the tide and TP moves with it. We often hear loud cracks and booms as it moves. We are leaning quite a bit to one side and this sometimes makes daily life somewhat challenging, it’s an uphill walk to our bunks, it’s hard to keep things on tables and all cooking comes out rather lopsided!
Today, January 17, it is -38C with ice crystals in the air. We welcomed the sun back above the horizon on January 11. Sunrise today is 10:58, sunset 13:23. The daylight hours are rapidly increasing every day. By May 19 there will be twenty-four sunlight.
We will be leaving Cambridge Bay, with Gjøa, in August heading westbound to Alaska. We hope to be able to see Maud aboard Jensen before we leave and we also hope to attend the grand opening in 2017 when Maud has finally returned home!
Ann and Glenn Bainbridge s/v Gjøa
