(Ian Allison very kindly arranged for Uwe's last journey to a place which was very special to him. Thank you very much Ian from all of us. Andy Cianchi gives us an account)
At about 1700LT on Saturday 20 March 2010 the ashes of Uwe Radok were poured into the sea from the trawl deck of the Aurora Australis as we sailed alongside a 30 mile iceberg to the north east of Davis station.
The position was S66 30, E77 53. Last year the iceberg was 50 miles long but has since broken into two sections, 30 and 20 miles long.
The day was windy and misty but as only Antarctica can be, beautiful.
There were windlanes of crushed ice and bergy bits from the nearby iceberg, which was a little over a kilometre away. There were snow petrels and Antarctic fulmars both in the air and resting from the wind on nearby ice floes. Occasional crabeater seals were also seen resting on ice floes and bergs. A large adult orca was sighted swimming alongside during the brief and informal ceremony.
A few words were spoken summarising Uwe Radok’s amazing life and career and the unique and beautiful lake named after him.
In keeping with maritime tradition the youngest member of the ships crew was awarded the duty of pouring the ashes. In this case, Deck Cadet Nick Jones. Also present were the ships Captain - Scott Laughlin, The Deputy Voyage Leader - Mick Stapleton, the Voyage Management Trainee - Karen Westwood, Watercraft Coordinator - Mick Davidson, Senior Met Observer - Will Tankard, and myself.
Will Tankard took some pictures and I will collect these shortly. I will also send a copy of the higher res polarview sat image of the berg which clearly shows the wind lane of ice we sailed through (although a few days earlier).
Andy Cianchi
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In January 1974, I was on a US Air Force flight from California to Western Australia. There were only 6 passengers. One was former astronaut and AEC chairman William Anders. Another passenger was Uwe Radok. I was unaware of Mr. Radok's background but remember him as a cordial and interesting man. On the flight from Richmond to Learmouth the Mr Radok was dropped off in Woomera. It was a memorable flight.
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