SA Agulhas heads to Gough Island
2010-09-02 15:19
Cape Town - The SA Agulhas has left for Gough Island as the department of environmental affairs rotates its staff on the remote weather station, which is British property.
"It's a weather station and the department does all the logistics and management of the island," departmental co-ordinating officer Shiraan Watson told News24.
Gough Island is in the central South Atlantic Ocean, about 2 600km south south-west from Cape Town, and lies within a remote volcanic group of islands known as Tristan da Cunha.
"We have a lease agreement with the British but we don't pay any money for the use of the island," he added.
Watson, who responsible for the base and planning of the trip, said that while they usually have six people stay on the island, this year, they have included two officials to monitor the bird life.
"Every year we take six people to the island, but this year, we've included two from the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and they're looking at the eradication of mice which are eating the chicks. It's something similar to what happening on Marion Island.
"We have various projects running - there's the RSPB and buoy deployment, where we release a floating weather buoy which monitors ocean current and wind speed as well as the temperature of the ocean and atmosphere."
Communication
He said that Gough Island was important for the world weather systems and it was imperative that SA maintained a base there.
"Look, it's not a cheap exercise, but Gough Island is the centre-point for weather all around the world. It forms the platform for all the weather in the southern hemisphere."
Communication with the island has improved in recent years and Watson said that calling the island was as simple as placing a call to the department in Cape Town.
"In previous years it was bad, but now we have email and a satellite dish at our offices. You dial the number and speak straight to Gough.
"I'm not staying for the year, but for the handover - when we have to make sure that we are comfortable with the crew and they know their work before we leave. It's a time when we train personnel and there's lots of activity," he added.
The crew gets appointed in an open application process and they receive team training about two weeks before departure, but Watson said that the diesel mechanic and medic are appointed in advance as they have critical functions.
"They have a regular day and work from 08:00 to 16:00 and they have their job descriptions. They play games and go on hikes to relax, but safety is very important."
Food
The weather at Gough is rainy and it averages about 12°C. The gender mix doesn't have too much of an impact on team performance, Watson said, adding that experience has shown the type of team plays a far more significant role than its gender dynamics.
"It (the dynamics) largely depends on the team rather than whether there are more or fewer women. Even if you take something like food, you'll see that some teams don't eat a particular thing, whereas others do.
"We restock the base with fresh food and luxuries, but if the crew doesn't want anything that's on our list, they're welcome to buy it before departure."
In an emergency, it would take roughly four to five days to sail to the island, but a normal voyage takes about six days to get to Tristan da Cunha.
"We need to stay at Tristan for 48 hours according to our lease agreement, but if the weather is good we can leave sooner. It usually takes about a day to sail to Gough from there."
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