PREPARING FOR TRIP TO ANTARCTICA

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 80, 28 December 1940, Page 8

PREPARING FOR TRIP TO ANTARCTICA

Bear Loading At Dunedin TO TAKE BACK 21 MEN TO UNITED STATES Dominion Special Service. DUNEDIN, December 27. Members of the crew of the United States Antarctic service expedition flagship Bear were engaged today in final preparations for the departure to Little America to bring back 21 of the 59 men who have wintered at two bases in the far south. In this work the Bear will be assisted by the other expedition ship, the North Star, now on her way from Seattle to this port. The North Star, which was originally scheduled to arrive at Dunedin on January 1, and was expected to sail again for the south on January 11, will not now arrive until January 12. It is likely that she will make all haste to load stores and fuel here and will sail again as soon as possible. This is necessary as the ice pack begins to form about the beginning of March, and it is desirable to complete the work of evacuating the two Antarctic bases before that time. Large qcantities of bread were loaded on the Bear this morning. This will be frozen to keep it fresh. The Bear will carry away from Dunedin stores of food sufficient to last for two years.

The storeroom amidships was also being cleared out to make living quarters for the 21 men who will be brought away from Antarctica on the ship. At present the Bear is on her schedule, which requires her to sail tomorrow and allows her 12 days to reach Little America, where the first base camp is situated. She is to remain there till the beginning of February, loading materials which are to be taken back to the United States, and is then to proceed to the east base at Palmerland or Grahamland, to carry out a similar task. The voyage north is scheduled to commence on March 1, but all dates relating to the time to be spent in the far south are necessarily subject to alteration, because of the probability of encountering adverse conditions when among the ice.

From Little America the Bear will go direct to Buenos Aires, and a call will also be made at Rio de Janeiro. She is due back at Boston on March 30.

The Bear is to move to a berth at the oil wharf tomorrow, where she will take on board 30.000 gallons of diesel oil, which will constitute her fuel supply for the long voyage ahead of her. It is estimated that when she returns to the United States she will have covered on this voyage a distance of well over 23,000 miles.