Escaped from Corona again!

However, before we could enter the ship, the flight from Hamburg to Mount Pleasant on the Falkland Islands lay ahead of us.

After another record-breaking long-distance flight, LH 2574, our plane touched the ground in the airport of the Falkland Islands in the morning of March 31. With a total flight time of 15 hours and 46 minutes, we left 13,303 km behind us. The flight time was 9 minutes longer and thus, a new record.

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Already on March 30, Polarstern arrived at Port Stanley and anchored there.

The handling in the airport was non-bureaucratic and fast, the bus for the transfer to the pier was waiting in front of the building ready to board. The bus ride through the barren landscape of the Falkland Islands took about an hour and thereafter we reached the port area of Port Stanley.

Shuttle boats, only allowing transport of max. 12 people, brought us to Polarstern. Already around 11:00 a.m., all newcomers had arrived on the ship. Because the hotels on the island were fully booked, all scientists had to stay on board for another two nights before departure.

In the morning of April 1, a crewmember with an injured leg was flown to Port Stanley because the transport by shuttle boat was not feasible. After completed flight operations, a tanker came alongside and handed over 1000 t of diesel fuel for our journey back home. The bunker operation was completed in the evening.

The following day, 2 April, the remaining scientists departed. About noon, with a slightly rough sea, disembarkment began bringing luggage and scientists safely to the harbor of Port Stanley. Despite the swell, the maneuver succeeded at a good space and, above all, without incidents. Polarstern lifted anchor at 3:00 p.m. and left the roadstead half an hour later.

In cloudy and rainy weather, we set out with a good speed on a north-northeast course. The mandatory safety maneuver for crew and scientists took place including instruction as to the lifeboats.

Good Easter menus made the Easter holidays very enjoyable.

The crew and the few scientists on board greet from warmer climes on the transit journey through the South Atlantic.

Eberhard Kohlberg

Chief Scientist