There are almost no routine connected to working in the life at Olonkin City. You have to consider that every single operation has to be done by the crew, you can not call for a specialist when needed. Every task has to be performed by the available women and men.
The Commander in charge is called Høvdingen 'The Chief' as is the leader of the Indians. He is recruited from the Armed Forces and he represents the King and the Government at the island. He himself decides how much he wishes to participate in the regular work at the station. During the first period that I stayed at Jan Mayen, we had a Chief that was not that active in the field, this made it possible for me to take several nice trips with the weasel. The next Chief enjoyed to work among us and that led to a reduced activity outside for me. He participated in keeping the roads cleared for snow, traveled around by weasel for inspection and tried to keep informed on what was happening at his reign. I missed the opportunity to do something different once in a while, but on the other hand, the guy was likeable so what the heck...
The Second Commander is the leader of the Loran C Station. He has of course his own department to take care of and they are in activity both day and night. The C unit, or I think it is called the E unit consists of radio personnel and they put quite a lot of efforts in doing a good job. And it is very important that they deliver a good product that people can rely on. It is a navigation system, based on transmitting a signal with exact regularity. Three generators delivers the power to the transmitters and they has to be working perfectly as it is the alternation of the current that makes the transmission correct.
The nurse is a reinforcement to the administration. She or he is taking care of the physical and mental health of the crew. It is important hat the nurse is available in case somebody needs someone to talk to. At the moment the nurse is Eva, she use to come by when we have a coffee break at the restroom for the maintenance crew, Stag Bar. The Høvding use to do the same if he is in the neighborhood.
The nurse also have the responsibility for the small shop, Krambua where we can buy some clothes, gifts, perfume and chocolate. The liquor shop is another area of Eva. She decides what shall be available for sale, well I think FTD like to have a little control of that, too. Jan Mayen is tax-free area and that leads to quite cheap liquor and cigarettes as these are products with a heavy tax in Norway. But at Jan Mayen as at Svalbard you are not allowed to buy just as mush liquor as you want, there are limits on how much you may buy. And I do not know anyone that has managed to drink himself to wealth...
I am one of this crew. It is administered by the Maintenance Chief. We have an electrician, a machine man, the maintenance man and me, the car mechanics. The maintenance area is wide and much the same as to take care of a ship. That explains why we live in cabins as in a boat and why the Maintenance Chief was called just Chief as onboard.
The Maintenance crew is responsible for taking care of the power plant and that all the other installations are in top conditions at all times. We also have EVA, the evaporator that produces fresh water from seawater. Three large storage tanks are fed by EVA and from these tanks we get the water we need. There are no natural fresh water reservoirs at the island, probably caused by the natural drainage from the volcanic soil. An other fact is that all the birds of the island pollutes the water in such a degree that it would not be advisable to drink it at all without a really good cleaning. In the summer however we get a lot of fresh water during wet periods.
Another important area is the airfield and the infrastructure. Just as those, the vehicles have to be in good condition, this is my responsibility. The work as a car mechanics is quite different from anywhere else. I have to take care of the vehicles, but I also have to take part in the maintenance of the roads. This include keeping the roads and the airfield cleared of snow or making new roads where these had disappeared during the winter.
The kitchen crew consists of a staff of three. Even if living at Jan Mayen is a joy in itself, everybody loves the fantastic food at the island. You have to be strong if you are planning not to gain weight during your stay.
When we have the Hercules visiting us from the mainland, the kitchen delivers the most fantastic buffets. This may be one of the reasons why there always is lots of crewmembers at the Hercules on their visits to Jan Mayen.
If we plan to take a trip to one of the cottages, the kitchen provides food for the weekend. And if possible everybody get what they wish. And if there are any arrangements in the bar or another happening you can trust that they have something special waiting to please us.
This unit are manned by four. They are not employed by FTD, but by The Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Their leader participates in the administration just as the 'Chef de la Cuisine'. If you want to know more about them, you are welcome to visit the special section of my pages covering them. Vidar Teigen who were leading the unit while I were there has made a very nice homepage, too.