History of Damoy Point transit facility

Location

Position: Lat. 64° 49′ S, Long. 63° 31′ W
Dorian Bay, Wiencke Island, Palmer Archipelago

Purpose

Summer air facility consisting of skiway close to Tombstone Hill and refuge hut at Dorian Bay.

Occupied

Intermittently 1973-12 Nov 1993

Provided a transit station to enable personnel and stores arriving by ship to be flown on to Rothera (Station R) in early summer when sea ice prevented direct access to the station by ship.

Buildings

A hut was established on 6 Nov 1975. Known as Damoy Point hut after the location of the airstrip, although the building is on Dorian Bay. The original plan had been to establish the facility on Doumer Island in 1973 but soft snow conditions made the skiway unusable.

Ski-way

Additional ski-way on Doumer Island, Palmer Archipelago, Lat. 64° 44′ S, Long. 63° 35′ W, 1972/73 and 1974/75.

Current status

Maintained as operational until 2006. Now closed. Site cleaned up 1996/97 and Dec 2007. Designated as Historic Site No. 84 under the Antarctic Treaty, 2009. It has been managed by UKAHT since Oct 2009 under a Memorandum of Understanding with BAS.

For full listing of all station histories, see History of British stations and refuges.

Damoy air facility, 1976-7. (Photographer: Michael Landy; Archives ref: AD6/19/3/C/DAMOY1)
Damoy air facility, 1976-7. (Photographer: Michael Landy; Archives ref: AD6/19/3/C/DAMOY1)