WEATHER GURU | Manning our remote weather outposts

Being a passionate weatherman, I always dreamt of going to Marion or Gough Island after joining the then South African Weather Bureau. This was until I was informed that you were not allowed to take your wife or girlfriend along for the year.

However, my friend and ex-colleague Brent Appel had the pleasure of going to both our remote island weather stations, as well as the base at SANAE (South African National Antarctic Expedition) in the Antarctica.

Being 22, single and having just completed 18 months’ compulsory military service, he applied for and completed a one-year stint on Gough Island. Later in his career he completed take-over trips to SANAE and Marion. 

Brent’s love of weather was handed down to him by his elder brother, Nigel, who used to keep strict weather records in their garden in East London.

When Nigel had to do his stint of military service, Brent was tasked with doing the weather readings, and that was the start of a lifelong passion and a 47-year career in weather.

You might ask what relevance these weather outposts hold for our local, national and international forecasters and weathermen.

The simple answer is that we need weather data about approaching weather systems, such as cold fronts, which hit these outlying islands long before they reach our shores.

Combined with this data from the islands, we also have weather buoys, which are deployed in the ocean on many of these trips, to record and gather additional weather data.

It is always interesting chatting to Brent about the ins and outs and goings on during these trips and island stays. He was lucky enough to visit SANAE twice, each trip lasting about seven weeks, depending on the weather. 

With the take-over trips, they stayed on the islands and the SANAE base for a couple of days to do some maintenance and offload supplies for the new recruits, after which it was back to the ship for departure to the Cape Town harbour.

Women were only allowed to go to the islands at a later stage; the main reason given was that there were no proper “facilities” for women at that stage.

This has since changed and both male and female volunteers are now recruited to join the team, but they also have to undergo various evaluations, of course.

Brent visited Marion Island twice with a construction voyage to deliver equipment for the building of a new base on Marion. These trips lasted about two weeks each.

His third trip to Marion was to take spare parts on the SA Agulhas to urgently repair a broken generator (used for electricity).

He was the only weatherman during the trip to and from Marion and had to do weather readings on the ship every three hours. Not much sleep was had during that trip.

Brent stayed on Gough Island for a year from September 1979 to October 1980. He initially applied to go to SANAE, but was asked to go to Gough as they urgently needed a fourth weatherman.

There had sadly been a suicide by a team member returning from the island, so the psychological evaluation was made a lot more stringent. Bear in mind that these chaps lived in isolation for a full year, with limited company and entertainment.

The main reason for applying to go to the islands must have surely been financial and a sense of adventure.

At that stage, food, drinks, cigarettes and a range of specialised clothing was supplied for the year’s stay on the island. 

The only thing they had to supply for themselves were rolls of film. There were no digital cameras back then.

You basically came back with a year’s salary in the bank.

Naturally there is training beforehand, stringent psychological evaluation and full medical tests.

A normal team for Gough consisted of four weathermen, working four days on and four days off, in teams of two at a time.

There was also one electronics technician, one medic, one radio operator and one diesel mechanic (for the generator).

Scientists accompanied the ships on take-over trips to mainly study the penguins, seals and birdlife. Some did, however, spend a year on the island.

The 2,600km trip on the SA Agulhas was an adventure in itself. The normal travel time was four days, but could be longer depending on the weather.

There was also the Ice Bucket challenge, where at 66.33 degrees south (Antarctic Circle), ice-cold seawater was thrown over the guys going to the island before being doused with flour. 

I have seen many photos of the islands and take my hat off to anyone spending such a long time there. An adventure not suited for the faint-hearted.

Next week I will go into more detail about the adventures and living conditions on the island itself.

This week in history:

1968     Mop-up operations continued after the devastating flood on Sunday September 1.

Dam Levels

65.69%, slightly down from previous week’s 66.35 %

Impofu slightly down to under 49.40%.

Weather Safety Tips:

As we approach the windy season, remove dead branches from trees. This will prevent damage to property or even injury during windstorms.

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The Herald