28 October, 1996

Jim and Bill, who are still at McMurdo, are directing the work we are doing. Jim Mastro is controlling operations here. Doing field science is more difficult than working at the station because we have to take care of our personal needs plus do collecting. Simple problems tend to consume large amounts of time. Just getting to the dive site is a half-mile hike and any equipment we need has to be hauled in a banana sled. The winds that blew last night covered the area around the hut with debris from the valley. It makes pulling the sled much more difficult.

The batteries for the dive lights and the VHF radios are going dead and need to be recharged. We've called for a helicopter to bring someone to the camp that could fix our generator.

The three divers here are beginning to become fatigued, fortunately two more will be arriving tomorrow to help with the collecting. They expend an enormous amount of energy. When we eat, they consume twice as many calories as I, but they are all quite fit and trim.