Larsemann Hills 3: Windmill Installation- Guest Blog

Anant Pande was a member of the 28th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. He represented the Institute of Science, Mumbai. He is a marine biologist. He worked on Antarctic Krills, the staple food of nearly all animals living in the Antarctic Ocean. He is currently pursuing wildlife biology and Wildlife Institute of India. He can be contacted on http://www.indianwandererslife.blogspot.com/

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Among the other achievements, the installation of the first windmill by India at Antarctica must also be mentioned. The windmill installation at BHARTI was a tough task in the severe cold conditions and high winds. After installation, it was supposed to give enough power to the batteries to run the instruments placed in the melon huts. First a suitable rock which can support the huge structure was identified by the geologist (Mr. Ashish Nath, GSI) located in the direction of winds. A platform of cement was built on the rock by the masons and then the sockets were drilled to hold the base of the mill. It was installed on 27th January, 2009 by collective effort of our logistics staff and all team members.

Windmill Installation

In our journey from Larsemann to India bay, sport competitions were organized with both a view to promote sporting spirit and to pass the time creatively. Games of Table Tennis (singles/doubles), Carrom (singles/doubles), Cards (singles/doubles) and Chess were held. Every member participated in these games (Jamie, the Heli pilot from New Zealand participated in TT) and it was very enjoyable to see the sporting atmosphere in the rolling-pitching ship. Mr. KV Ramana Murthy (SoI) clearly swept most of the gold medals at stake and was adjudged Best Player of the team.

Mr. Murty receiving the award from the leader

We started our journey towards India bay from Larsemann Hills on 11th February and reached the destination on 20th Feb.
This was all I can tell in brief about our journey to Larsemann Hills. The construction for the 3rd station is going to start in the 29th expedition and expected to be finished in 3 years. Once the station is commissioned, the opportunity to see Antarctica will double with India having two permanent stations. The country has way to go in polar science.