Post the Twenty-Seventh

IN MEMORIAM

On Wednesday evening 3 of our Davis family lost their lives in tragic circumstances.  Bob, Mike and Perry were taken from us when the Twin Otter aircraft they were travelling in went down in the Trans-Antarctic Mountains whilst en-route from the South Pole to Terra Nova Bay.

These three Canadian men were honourary Australians as far as we at Davis are concerned.  They are keenly mourned.

It's a small gesture, but I dedicate this Australia Day post to their memory.  Vale Perry, Mike and Bob.

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Australia Day!

I'm not normally one to go in for jingoistic ra-ra, but Oz Day in Antarctica has its own traditions.  And one in particular that I did not want to miss.

The Australia Day swim.

Now, when I say that I did not want to miss it, that doesn't mean that I was joining in the madness.  I'm not insane.  However, I did want to be there when it happened.  To watch the silliness and the suffering, all the while appropriately clothed myself. That's what I mean by not wanting to 'miss' it.

Before we head down to the beach to observe the craziness, though, let's check the Davis Weather Wall.

OK, so 0.7°.  Not too bad, is it?  What the Weather Wall doesn't tell us is the temperature of the water, which is a tepid -1.9°.  Should be delightful for today's intrepid bathers.

So, let's go and join these hardy folk.

Here a group of them is making their way to the beach, no doubt very much looking forward to a relaxing swim on a summer's day.  (See that penguin getting out of the way?  Even the penguin thinks they're bonkers).

Ah.  A summer's day at the beach.  What could be better?

Down on the beach was the safety equipment already set up - the medical and emergency hagglunds.  Even though this is a bit of good fun, precautions have been taken to ensure that nothing goes seriously wrong.  The swimmers attended a safety briefing the day before, and there is a lifeguard standing by as well as the Station Doctor.

So, for safety, the swimmers have to swim between the haggs...

An old, old pun...

There is some wildlife on the beach.  The ellie seals are, however, entirely unperturbed by the ruckus.  Some of them watch the goings on with vague interest, but most just keep right on snoozing.

Like dogs, only they don't chase your ball.

And there is a bit of ruckus too.  Australia Day on the beach is bound to be ruckus-y.

There's a bit of footy kick-to-kick...

Footy.  Naturally.

...and naturally, some beach cricket.

Cricket.  Even better.

Some people take it very seriously.  Perhaps, one might venture to say, disturbingly seriously.  Still, Rich is in the spirit of the thing.

Aussie Aussie Aussie!  Oi Oi Oi!

And here is our lifeguard, Timo.  You can see that he is equipped with the very latest in life-ring technology.

Mr Viehl.  Ready for anything.

And so the time comes.  The idiots participants firstly line up for a group photo, and then...

All smiles!

...in they go!

Still smiling and laughing.

Whereupon the vast majority perform a u-turn and head straight back out again.

Where are those smiles now?

To give you an idea of the atmosphere, here is a little video which demonstrates the level of vocalisation taking place as the swimmers recognise the depths of their folly.

Some, however, either feel no pain or are inclined to make the most of it.  If you've gone to all that trouble, you may as well do it properly!

Team Hypothermia.

And afterward it's time to throw clothing back on as quickly as possibly, perhaps pause for a congratulatory group photo, and head straight back up to the accommodation to have a hot shower to undo the damage.

Good on 'em, though.  I would have been amongst them, actually, had it not been for the fact that I had thoughtlessly packed my board shorts into the unaccompanied baggage.  So I had nothing to wear into the water, and there was no way known I was going to skinny dip!

So instead I got to stand to the side and get photos of it.  Which is just as good, right?


Before we go, though, let's have a quick look at the Weather Wall, to see if conditions had changed much while we were at the beach.

Nope.  Not really.  Still just as ghastly.

They are all certifiable.


Happy Australia Day!  (Well, I hope you had a happy one, anyway.  If you didn't, don't blame me.  Nothing I can do about it, is there?)