A Strong Back: The Adventures of Tom Mc Sherry

[Geriatrix]

Tom, why do you need to do stock taking?

I understand a check that all the supplies have been landed from the ship, and that food has to be checked for spoiling before cooking, but there must be very little scope for shrinkage on the Island. The food would be checked each day as it is issued anyway.
Even if some of the food goes walkies, there can be no resupply until the next ship arrives.

This seems ( from here ) to be unnecessary work, wasting time when you could be doing more important thigs like fishing or photography.

[Welsh]

Because the accounting procedure says so...... Count the beans .....

[TVB]

Because the accounting procedure says so...... Count the beans .....

Yes indeed! Doc I don't know how to quote yours as well as Welsh's posts but in short; I could not have said it better!
Now I also could have thumb sucked the numbers as I do keep record of the monthly usage and I may be slightly out (which would not really mattered at all) but I am just disciplined to the extend where I will rather go though the pains and do the job as required.
I must however say, it was quite hectic and put me under pressure as there was a number of thing that needed my assistance and input this past month! When you think of a blue Monday, November was sort of a 30 day long 'blue Monday' but we got through it.

December should be a real great month. Most things are sorted and finally all the team members know what is expected of them and I can see that they are now beginning to take initiative and not just run straight to me or the deputy.

I hope to do a bit of fishing this week but the last two days we had a nasty Southern arctic wind which cooled the Island down and made the sea choppy. I will therefore focus on grass cutting till the conditions stabilize and I also won't ever take a change to go fishing with a swell more than 2 meters.

Will keep you posted but in the meantime; here is a pick taken of me in 2006 while doing upper air on Marion Island!

Bey for now!

[Geriatrix]

That balloon looks nicely round, even at ground level!
It must make a nice bang when it bursts.

Big Highveld thunderstorm brewing here. Do you get much lightning on the Southern Ocean Islands? Do the Islands have similar weather, or is each unique?

[TVB]

That balloon looks nicely round, even at ground level!
It must make a nice bang when it bursts.

Big Highveld thunderstorm brewing here. Do you get much lightning on the Southern Ocean Islands? Do the Islands have similar weather, or is each unique?

Never heard or seen a thunderstorm down on the Southern Islands doc, and will report if it ever happen but definitely not common.

Marion Island has a very moody weather pattern,  4 seasons a day throughout the year guaranteed.

Gough is only moody during the Winter and it will rain on average 22 days a month. Little snow down the base and ice and snow on the mountain.  Very cold up there and 2 expedition members died due to exposure up there some years back.

The only thing Marion and Gough got in common is the regular stormy gusting winds of up to 200km/h
Gough is on average much warmer than Marion throughout the year

[Geriatrix]

Good place to try kite fishing? You may need a strong cord.

[TVB]

Good place to try kite fishing? You may need a strong cord.

Doc now you are talking, but it is against the rules. If we were allowed to do kite fishing I am sure we would have caught huge blue fish and even other sport fish from the shore.

I am however happy with what we are allowed to do, the only pain is the quarantine periods when we are not allowed at the fishing sports

[OOOOMS]

Dankie Tom, ekt nou lekker saamgelees en geleer 

[TVB]

Dankie Tom, ekt nou lekker saamgelees en geleer 

Bly jy het hom geniet OOOOMS! 

[Mr Zog]

Tom, I'm still reading all the posts you make here

It looks moerofa interesting, and once you get into the daily routine time flies. But I would definitely try harder to make a plan to fish more often. Its not like you will easily get the opportunity to fish off that island again when your year is over. And I know how much you enjoy fishing... 

Maybe you can get a permanent agreement with the Salina control people to spray your footsteps so you can go fish more often?

I know that its so important to get your mind off the work side of things when away on contract, even if its just for a little bit.

[TVB]

Tom, I'm still reading all the posts you make here

It looks moerofa interesting, and once you get into the daily routine time flies. But I would definitely try harder to make a plan to fish more often. Its not like you will easily get the opportunity to fish off that island again when your year is over. And I know how much you enjoy fishing... 

Maybe you can get a permanent agreement with the Salina control people to spray your footsteps so you can go fish more often?

I know that its so important to get your mind off the work side of things when away on contract, even if its just for a little bit.

I agree and have managed to make good friend with them as I am helping them a lot to make their task easier as well.

I have already asked the environmental officer if I can have my own little pump spray with herbicide's in order to spray my foot steps on the way out as well as to spray any plants that I see.

At the moment we still have terrible weather, temperatures near 0 degrees and pressure still dropping with stormy winds. The Edinburgh has decided to leave a week earlier to the Northern Islands and to transfer his catch to the 'Baltic trader' and he will then only catch around Nightingale for the last stretch of his voyage.

I hope the weather will stabilize by the weekend, anything g from Friday so that I can get to try my luck on a bluefish!! The captain sent me a whole box of octopus for bait! 

[Offshore]

Tom, I am a bit confused.I don't know Bluefish and when I Google it, then Shad comes up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefish

[TVB]

Tom, I am a bit confused.I don't know Bluefish and when I Google it, then Shad comes up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefish

Ok no worries mate, bluefish is: Southern Butterfish
The same as a Kingbird which is: Arctic tern

You got to keep in mind that Tristan da Cunha Island was inhabited centuries ago to prevent a rescue mission from the South to get get to St Helena Island to rescue Napoleon. Scottish soldiers were put there on watch, and that is where the story starts. They did not have any scientist and gave names to the fish and birds, like even the Wanderer Albatross became the 'Tristan Albatross' and the Yellow nose albatross the 'Molly'

Out of respect to them who has been here long before graduated biologists most names was also recorded and uses officially but not all like in this case the blue fish although it is known by all modern fisherman in these waters as well as the bluefish!  

ps: edit for misspell

[LappiesLabuschagne]

WOW TVB! Jy is baie bevoorreg!

[TVB]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_butterfish


The Antarctic butterfish, bluenose warehou, deepsea trevally, blue eye trevalla, bluenose sea bass, or deep sea trevalla, Hyperoglyphe antarctica, is a medusafish of the family Centrolophidae found in all the southern oceans, at depths of between 40 and 1,500 m. Its length is up to about 140 cm, with a maximum published weight of 60 kg.

Antarctic butterfish have a dark blue body above and lighter blue below with large eyes (another name for this fish is big eye). Larger individuals have a bronze sheen along the flanks.

They can grow to 1.4 m in length and over 50 kg in weight. Studies have shown that fish between 62 and 72 cm are mature and range in age between 8–12 years respectively. Mature females can produce between 2 million and 11 million eggs prior to spawning.

Blue eye mainly feed on the tunicate Pyrosoma atlantica. However they will feed on a range of fish, molluscs, squid and crustaceans, they are also cannibalistic.

[Offshore]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_butterfish


The Antarctic butterfish, bluenose warehou, deepsea trevally, blue eye trevalla, bluenose sea bass, or deep sea trevalla, Hyperoglyphe antarctica, is a medusafish of the family Centrolophidae found in all the southern oceans, at depths of between 40 and 1,500 m. Its length is up to about 140 cm, with a maximum published weight of 60 kg.

Antarctic butterfish have a dark blue body above and lighter blue below with large eyes (another name for this fish is big eye). Larger individuals have a bronze sheen along the flanks.

They can grow to 1.4 m in length and over 50 kg in weight. Studies have shown that fish between 62 and 72 cm are mature and range in age between 8–12 years respectively. Mature females can produce between 2 million and 11 million eggs prior to spawning.

Blue eye mainly feed on the tunicate Pyrosoma atlantica. However they will feed on a range of fish, molluscs, squid and crustaceans, they are also cannibalistic.

Dankie Tom.

[Oupa Foe-rie]

TVB .............. jou vertellings is vir my soos my oggend koerant ................ As ek dit nie kry in die oggend nie dan voel my dag sommer leeg ................ Baie dankie vir die deel van jou ervaringe en doen en late daar op Gough ........... 

[TVB]

Baie dankie Oom Fourie, Lappies en die ander manne wat dit geniet!

Ek waardeer julle terugvoer! 

[woody1]

Lekker weer daar by julle op die oomblik..

[TVB]

Lekker weer daar by julle op die oomblik..

Erg.....mense raak amper seesiek soos die winde die gebou ruk en wieg! Internet meer af as aan tans ook!