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It's fair to say that today was one of very mixed emotions. We called the pilots at 0320 our time (0700 in Resolute) to let them know that the weather was still good for flying at our end. We then provided them with updates on the weather every 2 hours throughout the day. It was a beautiful cold, clear day – ideal flying conditions – and there was a great sense of anticipation amongst the three of us at the imminent arrival of our resupply flight.
It wasn’t until six hours later that we received the news from the Ops Room that the plane was forced to turn back due to heavy cloud and poor visibility over the proposed mid-way refuelling point. To say we were disappointed is an understatement but also a stark reminder that nothing is ever guaranteed when operating far out on the Arctic Ocean floating sea ice.
We are desperate to get moving again and yet we now need to sit on the runway for yet another day. We could de-camp and head north but we run the risk of not finding another suitable airstrip in time. And so we’ll spend the day rechecking the existing ice runway, capturing pictures and video for website and media purposes and preparing to go through the resupply routine again tomorrow.
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