Today I am feeling sorry for myself as I have a cold and am in bed. Luckily my training course in Jet Boat Handling in Wales was cancelled. This does mean however, that I will be very much a learner driver when I get to base in 2 weeks and jump on the jet boats. Oh well I am sure George and Paula will teach Matt and I very quickly.

The last few days have been spent in London getting some new boots for South Georgia for when I am not on the boats and am out on the hills. I ended up with Scarpa Charmonz which are all purpose and allow crampon attachment I hope they work as well as the advertising suggests! I have been spending time with the family as well with dinner out last night at the OXO Tower which is on the south bank of the Thames with a beautiful view of the city including St Pauls Cathedral. On monday I went to the Greenwich Maritime Museum which had some interesting exhibits including one on Toy Boats which my newphew would have loved. There is needless to say a lot of paperwork to be done before I leave again which my poor mother will have to send off at the correct times.

I just spent three days in Plymouth at Derriford Hospital with the BAS Medical Unit Drs learning how to be a medical assistant for them on base and also advanced first aid.

We went into more detail in the following subjects including practical:
• Advanced resuscitation
• Airway/breathing maneuvers
• Field medical box contents
• ABCDE assessment
• Secondary survey
• Management of suspected spinal injury

• Chest injury
• Anaphylaxis, hypothermia, drowning
• Wound management (including local anesthetic and suturing)

• IV access and fluid administration

• Fractures and dislocations
• Hyperbaric chamber orientation
• Scenarios

We spent an afternoon in A&E and one in the simulation room. In the simulation room there is a dummy that speaks, secretes fluids, has a pulse rate, breaths, trembles, the eyes blink, sweats basically it acts like a human being. The dummy is run by a medical trainer who based on what you do with the patient changes the vital signs. It really is an amazing piece of realistic kit. The room has the same tools we have at the base surgeries including real live defibrillators, aesthetic units, airway ‘tools’, drugs, IV fluids etc.

In the evenings we had some fun Tamsin, Malcome and I went climbing on a crag outside Plymouth one evening and the whole group of us went bowling the other evening. The crag was called Dewerstone it is is located in the magical ancient wooded valleys of south-west Dartmoor.

The station that I will be living at for 14 months is called King Edward Point and is at 54 17S 36 30W. It is an applied fisheries research station on South Georgia that was opened in 2001. The beakers studies provide sound scientific advice to assist in the sustainable management of the valuable commercial fisheries around South Georgia. The research is carried out under contract to the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The beakers at KEP are undertaking biological and ecological research to ensure the conservation of fish stocks. All fishing in the area is regulated by internationally adopted measures agreed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. This agreement is not only designed to ensure fishing is controlled but that the entire ecosystem is conserved.

The station is staffed by up to 18 people in the summer and eight in the winter. It comprises two single storey buildings. The laboratory building includes wet and dry labs with a large temperature controlled room which houses re-circulating sea water tanks for live specimens. There are sleeping quarters, computer room and a library. The three inshore boats are used for sampling local coastal waters and to assist with logistical support.

No pictures – sorry!

I just finished my course at Powerboat Training UK in powerboat instructing. It was good fun to learn how to teach. It really is a skill to be able to strip down maneouvers that comes naturally to people who spend their whole life on the water and be able to teach it in steps to complete beginners. Thanks to Paul for a great course.

3 tonne JCB Telehandling license in my hot sweaty palm and now down to Poole to do my Powerboat Instructors License.

Every morning at 6am on a rota someone gets up on station and does the rounds checking each room. First thing to do is make the bread and put it in the warm electrical cupboard to rise while walking around station. On Sunday I made muffins for the first time to make a little bit of a change from the normal bread. As you can see they are cooked directly on the cook top.

I have been telling people I am going back to Antarctica as it is easier than saying South Georgia and explaining to all the americans that it is in fact an island in the southern ocean Not one of the United States!

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands, the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is 167.4 kilometres (104 mi) long and 1.4 to 37 km (0.87 to 23 miles) wide[1] and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 520 kilometres (320 mi) to the south-east of South Georgia.[1] The total land area of the territory is 3,903 square kilometres (1,507 sq mi).[2]

There is no native population on any of the islands, and the only present inhabitants are the British Government Officer, Deputy Postmaster, scientists, and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey who maintain scientific bases at Bird Island and at the capital, King Edward Point, as well as museum staff at nearby Grytviken.

So here we are a map of South Georgia and for more information go to wikipedia

Thursday and Friday I spent in Cambridge dealing with odds and ends including filling my pbox (personal box) with food, clothing, mountaineering stuff and hardwood etc. Chest xray and delivery of calendars to BAS staff. Friday was spent learning how to use AMOS which is the BAS inventory/maintenance database used on all the stations and ships. Now back in London getting yet more chores done that weren’t finished in the US before I left. Next week I am up at Cambridge again learning to drive a teleram.

Have a great weekend.

Field course is complete. It was on the windy and rainy side but everyone survived lessons in abseiling, primus stoves, tilley lamps, pyramid tents, jumaring, white out search and rescue etc. All good fun.

Now we are back in Cambridge with a ‘stimulating’ course in databases tomorrow and after the weekend off will be back once again to do a JCB Teleram course. All fun and games with BAS.

Photos by Sam Crimmin (South Georgia Dr to be)