Take Over Function (= big party!)

The day before yesterday it was finally time for the occasion everyone has been waiting for: The Take Over Function, when the old year team hands over the responsibility of the base to the new year team. It’s a truly official event with documents being signed, and of course a fancy dinner in the evening with excellent food, good wine and many speeches, followed by a big party! This is also the day when all the finals and cups in the take over games are played, starting during the day with a tournament in ‘pumpkin-boot soccer’, followed by a boot-throwing competition and tug of war. The soccer was quite a challenge as we kept sliding around on the ice and stumbling over our own feet, and if we ever had any soccer skills it was completely wasted as you set out in one direction and your feet took you in another! It was lots of fun though, and our team (the scientists) got all the way to the final (where we lost against the big guys in the SANAE 49 year team).. we were very proud!


Soccer tournament on the field outside the base. Pictures of the streaker that showed up half way through the tournament will be shown privately later, on demand.. =)

Dinner time! From left to right: Chigo, SJ, Johan, Marlie, Sherry and Tobbe.

After supper it was time for the finals in the indoor games. Tobbe and me made it to semifinals in fussball, but lost against Jo and Keith, who won the whole fussball tournament, so we were quite pleased with our result anyway. Around midnight it was finally time for the big final in table tennis! Tobbe and SJ were up against the Titan team consisting of Braam and Karel and it turned into a quite exciting match with lots of nice screws and tricky balls, but in the end experience took overhand and Tobbe and SJ could proudly take home the first prize: Two bottles of wine and their names forever inscripted on the plaque that will be placed in the ‘museum’ at the base. (Marlie and me were quite content with the fact that the team that kicked us out of the table tennis tournament to start with actually became the winning team).
Full action during the final match! The guys were even wearing stylish ties for the grand occasion.

The winners take it all! And get to put their names on the plaque, next to the table tennis ball.

But, we have not only been partying around here lately.. The day before the take over party we were busy the whole day calibrating the DVRAS-antenna (the one we changed the loops on previously). The routines consisted of running around outside, trying twist the calibration loop with a long stick and to spot the reflection of yourself or a source of light in a tiny mirror placed on the top of the antenna, from different designated positions. Then report back to the base where the indoor team is sending different signals to the antenna by using a signal generator. Well, to make a long story short you can see the whole proceedure below..

Tobbe being busy shining a light onto the mirror on the pole, and waiting for SJ to turn the coil with a long stick so that Tobbe can see the reflection of the light in the turning mirror.

Marlie and Daleen in the control room... look how fun calibration is!

You might also wonder how it’s going for all the other projects down here. Most groups are starting to get finished with their projects, and that includes the ‘windpomp’-guys from Stellenbosch. Four engineers: Adriaan, Johan, Ivan and Johannes came down here to install a wind turbine. It can get extremely windy at the base so it really is the perfect place for such a thing. They had some problems drilling the holes to hold the construction, as it got filled with water and froze, but now the windpomp is up and running! In the photo below you can see it, where it’s placed not far from the diesel bunkers (in the background). You can also see Johan running his bike next to it! You would think that skis, snowboards and crampons + ice axes is what most people would bring to Antarctica, but some South Africans prefer to bring their bikes! :) And actually it works quite well, the ice is so hard that it’s not a problem to bike on it.. although Johan got a flat tire just a few minutes after this picture was taken.