Midwinter in the South Atlantic!

Happy belated midwinter from Gough Island! 

Midwinter is one of the best island traditions. It is the most important celebration on all of the southern Bases. It was actually last Wednesday, but one of our team members was observing Ramadan so we postponed our celebrations until he could join in too. In fact, the two of us spent the actual mid-winter up at Gonydale with the Tristan Albatrosses. The youngsters are doing well, we have more than usual for this time of year and they’re getting huge! The largest is almost 8 kg and getting bigger by the day.

Our midwinter dawned with cold temperatures, gale force winds and heavy rain; not ideal given the island tradition of a team swim in a beautiful cove called Swimgat near the Base. Still, the bravest (or perhaps just stupidest) of us set off for a very cold, and very brief dip in the freezing waters running off the mountains.

A chilly dip at Swimgat (Tom McSherry)

Much of the afternoon was spent preparing our midwinter feast and decorating the dining room with a beautifully set table, paper chains, and even a snowstorm. With everyone dressed for dinner, we sat down to enjoy roast lamb or chicken, with chocolate cake and apple pie for pudding.

The table set and ready (Em Witcutt)

Midwinter snow, even on Gough! (Em Witcutt)

Our midwinter feast (Tom McSherry)

We finished up with drinks, games, and dancing in the bar. The whole day was a lot of fun, and a welcome break from what can be a monotonous life on Base.

The boys playing pool (Tom McSherry)

Fun in the bar (Tom McSherry)

Dancing the night away (Tom McSherry)

On Gough, midwinter also marks the start of the home stretch of each expedition. Come September the SA Agulhas will arrive with the new team, and will take us back to South Africa. From there, we’ll head home to the UK. The island is an incredible place and we both love our work here, but we left home almost a year ago, so are both looking forward to seeing our families again. That, and fresh milk and vegetables!