Monday, October 30, 2006

Hamming it up in Santiago

Hi All
 
On the flight down, the plane stopped in Lima, and a very pleasant, handsome Peruvian fellow sat next to me.  He was trained in Lima as an electrical engineer and worked for the United Nations Development Program.  He retired and became a consultant - he looks around forty - and his wife took a job with 3M.  He works at home, she has a five minute commute so that she can take advantage of the Peruvian law allowing her one hour each day to come home and nurse their baby (in addition to one hour for lunch).  Now isnt that civilized?
 
He was flying to Buenos Aires via Santiago on an interesting mission.  The Argentinian government put out a tender for 50,000 computers for students.  Evidently every computer dealer in Argentina was bidding on the deal but the government wanted to avoid any suggestion of favoritism.  So what did they do?  They decided that they were only going to ask for advice from experts who lived OUTSIDE Argentina.  So he was flying in for five days to help make the decision.  Brilliant, yes?   Reminds me of the scene in the movie version of the "Untouchables" where the Judge at the last minute exchanges the tainted Capone jury with the one hearing the unrelated trial down the hall.  I would love to try that out with a couple of Pentagon programs.  Bring on the Canadians!
 
I arrived in Santiago this afternoon, checked in at the lovely Hotel Diego de Velazquez on Guardia Vieja in the Providencia District.   The drive from the airport along a superhighway passes through five miles of tin-roofed shantytowns.   Then the road leads into a very beautiful tree lined city, surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains.  I am sure the folks who came from Bavaria sixty years ago found it just like home.....
 
The first thing I noticed is that other than my two ham radio friends here in Santiago - Dr. Giordano (Dino) Bosami CE3PG and Roberto Vargas Del Villar CE3CDV - not a single person I have met outside the hotel speaks a word of English, and their English is nothing to write home about (well, actually, I guess it is).  Furthermore, nobody - not the hotels, not the kiosks - sell maps of the City.
 
The way to get around is by the subway, the Metro.  The subway is sensational: clean, quiet, orderly, and it runs every two or three minutes.  Since I cannot find a map, I have taken to using my GPS to locate my hotel and the nearby subway stations, so that I can find my way back in a Hansel & Gretel like fashion.   So far, it has worked.   By the way, my Iridium satphone costs one-half as much per minute as the phone in the hotel.  My cellphone, on the other hand, doesnt work at all.
 
After checking in, I picked up Chilean radio licenses for my Antarctic compatriot Alan Cheshire VK0LD and myself and went over to visit the Radio Club of Chile, in another part of town.  Fired up their radio, and spent an hour or so as CE3/K2ARB chatting with hams in Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and of all places, Guinea, Africa.  Had they not closed the Club at 7PM, I would have been operating all night.
 
Going out to dinner now and maybe a movie if I can stay awake.  The stores are fully stocked and not expensive but I have no room in my bags at this stage of the trip.  Will report in tomorrow.
 
Adam   

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Friday, October 27, 2006

Rescue at Sea


I thought you folks would be interested in seeing a photograph of the rescue at sea that we coordinated the month before last. We were sailing down from Maine in choppy seas when we found by chance a yacht in distress at dawn in the middle of the Gulf of Maine, far from the shipping lanes. Using our VHF radio, we remained on the scene for three hours to coordinate communications between the stricken vessel, the Coast Guard shore station, the Coast Guard cutter dispatched to the scene, and a nearby vessel in contact with the family of the crew of the dismasted yacht. My brother Dave snapped this photograph of the moment when the Coast Guard arrived, a happy moment for all of us!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Polar Expeditions from Patriot Hills

The base at Patriot Hills is a well-known launching point for expeditions travelling to the South Pole. The trip from PH to the Pole takes anywhere from 40 to 60 days, and since the season is only 87 days long, the expeditioners come in early in the season to get a head start. In fact they will be flying in with me on the first flight on or about November 8th.

Once they jump off, I will maintain a daily schedule of shortwave and/or satphone contacts with each party to make sure that they are safe and on track.


The website at http://www.thepoles.com/ briefly lists this year's Polar expeditions flying into Patriot Hills. More about them when we meet up.

Kiwis on Ice– 2260 km

Kiwis Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald will depart from Hercules Inlet hoping to ski to the South Pole and kite back, without resupplies. This would be the first time such a trip is done without airdrops - the 2005 Kites on Ice expedition completed the same 2200km long itinerary, but had a resupply at the Pole.

Kevin (37) and Jamie (26) have not done any polar trip before. But they are used to working as a team – not as polar skiers, but as ocean rowers: In 2003 they won the Trans-Atlantic rowing race.

Expedition’s website: http://www.kiwisonice.org.nz/

Polar Quest - South Pole – 2260 km

Polar Quest team will be the first British Navy group to ski to the South Pole since Captain Scott's expedition in 1912. The current Captain Chapple's team however is determined to enjoy a better fate than their predecessors.

The team will conduct a 2,800 km, 65-day, return ski from Hercules Inlet to the geographical South Pole. The team plans on reaching the SP unsupported, and then kite all the way back (it is unclear if they will get a resupply upon arrival at the Pole though).

Members have been selected among the most experienced ranks of the British Naval service. The Polar Quest South Pole expedition members are Sean Chapple (leader), Pollyanna Hatchard, Craig Hunter, Paul Martin, Ross Cane, and Andrew Brown.

Earlier this year, Captain Chapple led four Royal Navy novices to the Magnetic North Pole. The team arrived on April 30 after a 26 day, 240 km trip.

Expedition’s website: polarquest.co.uk

Hannah McKeand- solo, unsupported for Geographic South Pole (1130 km)

After reaching the South Pole in 2004/05 season as member in a supported team, British Hannah McKeand is back to Antarctica – by sea and ice.

In October Hannah will board the Blizzard sailboat off the southern coast of Tasmania for a trip to the Magnetic South Pole. Right after, she will go for the “other” South Pole – the Geographic one.

The plan is simple: Ski the 730 miles to the South Pole, solo and unsupported in a record time of 40 days.

Hannah plans to land at Patriot Hills and practice for two weeks; skiing to Hercules Inlet and back - before going for the Pole.

Hannah's website: http://www.adventurehannah.com/


Southern Reach - 1130 km

Southern Reach, a team of 7 British Royal Air Force men, will attempt to reach the Geographic South Pole unsupported. The team hopes to complete the 700-mile trek in 50 days: If everything goes according to plans, they will depart from Hercules Inlet on November 8 and will reach the Pole by December 27, just in time for a Polar New Year’s Eve.

Southern Reach team leader is Warrant Officer Al Sylvester; deputy leader is Lain Kirk; other members are Flying Lt. Kevin Scully, Squadron Leader Kev Eaton, Corporal Phil Mainprize, Sgt. Ian Stewart and Corporal Mike Beveridge. Some of them serve in rescue corps; and all are keen outdoorsmen.

Expedition’s website: http://www.southernreach.co.uk/


Measuring Antarctica

In August, the USGS Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (ACAN) approved 48 new names for features on and around the Vinson Massif in the Sentinel Range including 4 mountains and 14 peaks. Nine of the peak names were proposed by Damien Gildea. Now the Aussie climber and skier is returning to Antarctica for the seventh straight year; to again measure the mountains he climbs. One of the summits he hopes for this season is the highest unclimbed peak in the Sentinel Range.

Teaming up with Damien is usual climbing mate Chilean Camilo Rada - a newcomer this year is also Jed Brown from Alaska. Jed is a climber but also a math wiz who works at UAF with computer modeling of the Antarctic ice sheet. A fourth member might be confirmed later.


Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Sunscreen and goggles - 6,000 miles south of the Equator?


As today's satellite photo from NASA demonstrates, an enormous hole in the ozone layer of our atmosphere continues to persist over the Antarctic. Within the outlines of this hole, ultraviolet rays fall on the surface of the Earth with full force.

Epidemiological studies by the World Health Organization have demonstrated that excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun materially increases the incidence (among the unprotected, at least) of malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea, and cataracts.

I figure that with a lifetime of sailing, I had used up whatever exposure allowance I had coming. So with the advice of a dermatologist and mountaineering experts, I purchased the highest value sunscreen I could find (70 PSF), the darkest sunglasses available (with 100% UV protection and 95% reduction in sunlight), and a noseguard.

The hole in the ozone layer is entirely man made. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) released from air conditioners and aerosol cans are the culprit. Scientists recently reported that international treaties agreed to in 1996 have stabilized the amount of CFC in the atmosphere and they hope that this wound in the earth's atmosphere will ultimately heal itself.

Gear:

Julbo Colorado Alti Spectron X6 Sunglasses
http://www.altrec.com/shop/detail/17931/

Hawaiin Tropic oz.one Sunblock SPF#70 4 oz.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000H8DUUW/sz-category77-20/ref=nosim

Beko Nose Guard
http://www.guideschoice.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=12

Sources:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs305/en/index.html
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov/science/basics.htm
http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/