You guys in the mid-Atlantic states think the weather hit you pretty
hard this week? Read on, it could be much, much worse.

I have to admit that I'm confused by the public affairs officer's
reference to the "harsh winter" conditions at South Pole Station.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it *summer* down there right now?
Maybe the reference is to the fact that Polar Star is just now
beginning a deployment that will last well into the austral winter?

Press Release Date: Feb. 14, 2006

Contact: Public Affairs
510-437-3375

POLAR STAR REACHES ANTARCTICA
MCMURDO STATION, Antartica - The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived
in McMurdo Station, Antarctica Monday, after a non-stop 8,200 nautical
mile transit from its homeport of Seattle.

Polar Star, a 399-foot polar class icebreaker with a 130-person crew,
provided a relief channel and brief escort of U.S. Naval Ship Lawrence
H. Gianella before mooring in McMurdo.

While on deployment, Polar Star will conduct icebreaking operations in
McMurdo Sound and continue grooming a shipping channel previously
opened by the Russian icebreaker Krasin. The channel ensures that
vital cargo ships can deliver supplies to McMurdo Station, Antarctica's
largest scientific and support community. Polar Star also acts as a
floating research platform for scientists that travel onboard.

For the past 50 years, Coast Guard icebreakers have deployed to
Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, where ships have broken
through as much as 84 nautical miles of ice to produce a navigable
shipping channel into McMurdo Station. This vital shipping channel
allows supply ships to deliver more than six million gallons of fuel
and four thousand metric tons of cargo, enabling McMurdo Station and
South Pole Station to remain manned and operational throughout the
harsh winter months.

Polar Star, which was specifically designed for solo icebreaking in
remote Polar Regions, turned 30 years old Jan. 17. The cutter's red
reinforced hull is made of 1.75 inches of steel that covers a specially
contoured icebreaking bow. The cutter can call on 75,000 shaft
horsepower enabling it to break up to 21 feet of ice. Polar Star has
deployed 15 times in support of Operation Deep Freeze.



###



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Around 2/14/2006 6:01 PM, wrote:

POLAR STAR REACHES ANTARCTICA
MCMURDO STATION, Antartica - The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived
in McMurdo Station, Antarctica Monday, after a non-stop 8,200 nautical
mile transit from its homeport of Seattle.

More fun but fairly useless trivia:

That's the ship my old Scoutmaster (the one who was quartered at the
Mukilteo Lighthouse) served on for a time as a Petty Officer. The flag
of my Scout troop was, back in '96 or so, the only BSA flag to have
visited both magnetic poles.

He arranged for us Scouts to have a tour of the Polar Star during her
"off" season. Let me say, that was (and I'm sure still is) a mighty
impressive icebreaker! As is her sister ship, the Polar Sea.

http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/polarsea/home.htm

"Polar Sea, and its sister ship Polar Star are two of the largest ships
in the U.S. Coast Guard and the world's most powerful non-nuclear
icebreakers. With a length of 399 feet and a displacement of 13,500
tons, Polar Sea is designed to move continuously through six feet of ice
at a speed of three knots."

Some great Antarctica photos:
http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/polarsea...ica_photos.htm



--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats." -- Kenneth Grahame
~~ Ventis secundis, tene cursum ~~

wrote in message
oups.com...
You guys in the mid-Atlantic states think the weather hit you pretty
hard this week? Read on, it could be much, much worse.

I have to admit that I'm confused by the public affairs officer's
reference to the "harsh winter" conditions at South Pole Station.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it *summer* down there right now?
Maybe the reference is to the fact that Polar Star is just now
beginning a deployment that will last well into the austral winter?


Summer can be really cold at times. My brother spent 3 summers there. Navy
SeaBee. He said they would get -50 degree storms during the summer. That
is 50 below zero F. They would leave the snowcats running to keep the
engines from freezing up, but they could not drive them and as the tracks
were too brittle.

On Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:32:50 -0800, Garth Almgren wrote:


http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/polarsea/home.htm

"Polar Sea, and its sister ship Polar Star are two of the largest ships in
the U.S. Coast Guard and the world's most powerful non-nuclear
icebreakers. With a length of 399 feet and a displacement of 13,500 tons,
Polar Sea is designed to move continuously through six feet of ice at a
speed of three knots."

This post peaked my interest in nuclear icebreakers. I did a little
reading on the Russian icebreaker Yamal, also an impressive ship. I found
it quite interesting that it will never make it to Antarctica. Seems that
it needs cold water to cool it's reactor, and, therefore, can't cross the
warm waters of the equator.

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarc...ce_breaker.htm



Some great Antarctica photos:
http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/polarsea...ica_photos.htm

Calif Bill wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
You guys in the mid-Atlantic states think the weather hit you pretty
hard this week? Read on, it could be much, much worse.

I have to admit that I'm confused by the public affairs officer's
reference to the "harsh winter" conditions at South Pole Station.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it *summer* down there right now?
Maybe the reference is to the fact that Polar Star is just now
beginning a deployment that will last well into the austral winter?


Summer can be really cold at times. My brother spent 3 summers there. Navy
SeaBee. He said they would get -50 degree storms during the summer. That
is 50 below zero F. They would leave the snowcats running to keep the
engines from freezing up, but they could not drive them and as the tracks
were too brittle.

It gets so cold there that they actually developed special alloys for
hand tools such as wrenches, because they would get too brittle and
break during use.