The Silent Sound: The Story of Two Years in Antarctica and the First Winter Occupation of Alexander Island"A year into his teaching career, Cliff Pearce spotted an advertisement for meteorological assistants to serve on bases in Antarctica. It seemed an exciting opportunity to escape from teaching for a few years and, after training, he set sail late in 1959 for his new life in the land of heroes, icebergs and auroras. The 110-day voyage to his base brought the first of many adventures as the ship was beset by ice for two weeks. He went on to spend two amazing years in Antarctica - first on a base with ten companions, food facilities, abundant wildlife and with South American bases a few miles away. He then went further south, and was one of the first three men to over-winter on Alexander Island, in the base at Fossil Bluff at the edge of the shelf ice which formed 'The Silent Sound.' Here they were completely isolated, with dwindling supplies and increasingly frustrated by the three-month delay in the arrival of the summer sledging teams. Cliff Pearce's wonderful descriptions of the magical land of snow and ice alternate with amusing tales of day-to-day problems and the stresses of being virtually trapped in a hut for four months. The author reflects on the whole history of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey from 1944 to 1961, and gives a personal view of its performance in making Britain pre-eminent in Antarctic research and exploration in (what was) the British sector of Antarctica." |
From inside the book
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Page 28
... boxes in a cargo net . The net was suddenly jerked upwards by the man on the donkey engine , and two boxes fell overboard . In trying to save another box from disappearing , Brian was caught in the net and flung into the sea between the ...
... boxes in a cargo net . The net was suddenly jerked upwards by the man on the donkey engine , and two boxes fell overboard . In trying to save another box from disappearing , Brian was caught in the net and flung into the sea between the ...
Page 130
... boxes which should have contained sugar contained tinned tomatoes . There were insufficient tins of vegetables , and persistent freezing rendered the sprouts and the few tins of potatoes into a soggy mass . We also had very little flour ...
... boxes which should have contained sugar contained tinned tomatoes . There were insufficient tins of vegetables , and persistent freezing rendered the sprouts and the few tins of potatoes into a soggy mass . We also had very little flour ...
Page 185
... boxes which supplied sufficient food for two men for ten days . So four sledge boxes and the equiva- lent supplies for the dogs could sustain a party of two men in the field for forty days . Each box carried the same supplies , so we ...
... boxes which supplied sufficient food for two men for ten days . So four sledge boxes and the equiva- lent supplies for the dogs could sustain a party of two men in the field for forty days . Each box carried the same supplies , so we ...
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Common terms and phrases
able Adelaide Island aircraft Alexander Island Antarctic appeared Argentine arrived base Beaver became boxes Brian British camp carried caused close cloud coast completely continued cook Deception Island dogs early enjoyed Expedition feet Fids five followed Fossil Bluff four further gave George Glacier Graham Land Hope huge icebergs interest John John Biscoe journey King Kista later light looked lots March Marguerite Bay Meek Channel miles months mountains moved Muskegs named occupied operating Otter pack party penguins petrels plane possible programme radio reached rocks seals season ship side sledge slopes snow soon Sound spent started Stonington Island summer supplies Survey taken temperatures tent took watched weather weeks whilst wind winter