Wildlife monitor Pete Watson, with help from postmaster Rachel Wilkinson, crunches the numbers from another busy season at Port Lockroy, from penguin chicks and postcards to solar power, sofa etiquette and a heroic amount of blue cheese.
At Port Lockroy, it is tempting to measure the season by the number of ship visits, showers, and the frequency of someone asking, “Who’s on washing up today?” But, occasionally, we gather ourselves, find a spreadsheet, and attempt to make sense of island life through the noble medium of statistics.
This season, there was a team on Goudier Island for 128 days, with 14 team members staying at Port Lockroy overall. Team size fluctuated between four and eight people, which meant the arrival of our new sofa was very warmly received.
The new sofa bed, as Rachel can confirm, is extremely comfortable. The team also made three cushions and one polar pod bed frame from the recycled fabric of the old sofa, because at Port Lockroy even soft furnishings get an afterlife. A coffee cup was placed on the arm of the new sofa once, and then removed with the speed and seriousness usually reserved for emergency drills.
The Penguin Post Office had a characteristically busy season, which is no surprise given that it is the world’s southernmost post office. Rachel and George processed an astonishing 366.5kg of mail, or around 50,000 postcards, out into the world from Port Lockroy. That is a lot of “wish you were here”, a lot of penguin stamps, and a lot of careful stacking.
Speaking of penguins, we counted 445 gentoo penguin couples, 604 eggs and 876 chicks across the season. By the crèching stage, 685 chicks were counted. Nature, as ever, was wonderful, noisy and occasionally brutal. RIP to the fluffy ones who did not make it, and respect to the survivors who rapidly learned that personal space is not really a penguin concept.
The wildlife highlights were not limited to the island. Humpback whales visited on 118 days during the season, which is an impressive attendance record by any standard. There were also 189 visits from ships and yachts, bringing 22,743 visitors to Port Lockroy, 11,450 of whom landed on Goudier Island. We were also grateful for 1,541 generous donations from visitors, and for the purchase of 657 Antarctic Ski Club patches, which continue to be a very small, very stylish way of supporting Antarctic heritage.
The weather, meanwhile, did its best to keep us humble. The coldest temperature was -9C on 15 February, while the warmest was +4C on 10 March, which in Port Lockroy terms is practically “might take my hat off” weather. The windiest day came on 15 February, with 36kt winds and blizzard conditions, a combination that really helps you appreciate doors, hoods and staying indoors whenever possible.
It was also a big season for conservation and maintenance. The team installed eight new batteries, each weighing 63.5kg, which is the kind of number that sounds fine until you meet one in person. Thanks to those upgrades and our renewable energy system, 99.6% of the island’s power came from solar.
In Bransfield House, four new windows were installed, with two more ready to go in next season. Over at the Boatshed, two full coats of paint went on, and 50 planks of wood arrived for the carpenters’ essential repairs. Inside the historic base, 186 artefacts were carefully packed and moved to make way for vital work in the lounge and ionospherics room.
Food is another serious business. This season, 605kg of food was shipped to Port Lockroy, including 120 tins of tomatoes, which is either a sensible catering decision or the beginning of a very niche Antarctic restaurant concept. The team baked their way through 36kg of flour, producing bread, cakes and scones, all of which played an important role in morale.
We also drank 30 bags of ground coffee, consumed four entire wheels of blue cheese kindly donated by cruise ships, and, with somewhat less enthusiasm, worked our way through five bags of Textured Vegetable Protein. We are not saying TVP is unpopular, but it has yet to receive the same emotional welcome as blue cheese.
There was also a first ever summer visit from the RRS Sir David Attenborough, the ship named in honour of the world’s most celebrated naturalist who recently turned 100, which delivered two crates of chocolate and six trays of fizzy pop. For the record, we will be referring to these as essential morale supplies.
So there we have it: a season of postcards, penguins, power systems, paint, visitors, whales, weather and surprisingly strong opinions about sofa care. Behind every number is a story of the people who make Port Lockroy work, the visitors who support it, and the wildlife that lets us share its island for a few months each year.
And behind many of those stories, there is probably a cup of coffee. Just not on the arm of the new sofa.
If you love a place, protect it
UKAHT is committed to making Antarctica, its heritage and its stories accessible to everyone.
Eighty years in Antarctica have left their mark on this beloved site. Now, Port Lockroy urgently needs restoration to protect its future. Please donate today.
Adopt a penguin
follow a unique colony at the end of the world
Your adoption directly supports on-site colony monitoring and conservation at Port Lockroy. Funds go directly to paying for a wildlife monitor to travel to Antarctica and study the penguin colony at Port Lockroy for the austral summer.
