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Category Archives: Half Moon Island
Another trips end
Once again we are bidding farewell to Antarctica – at least for another five days until we are back again. Today greeted us with gusty winds and a high probability of no landings at all, but we managed to find a sheltered anchorage at Half Moon Island and got ashore for the morning. It’s an incredibly different place at the South Shetland Islands right now. The snow has been cast aside at the end of summer to reveal the rock of the islands. The landscape has been transformed from one of icy blues and whites to one of brown rock and rivers of red mud. Red of course because the mud is comprised of penguin guano which is, in turn, comprised of digested krill. Needless to say the whole place is a little on the nose. Definitely a feeling that the season is at its end now though as the breeding season is at an end and the only penguins onshore for the most part is molting chicks gaining their adult plumage before taking to the water. Being on land with nothing to do makes these little fellows incredibly curious and if your not paying attention you’ll be surprised by a gang of youths busily pecking at your knees and slapping your shins with their flippers. As they are in the process of shedding their your feathers they really have a disheveled look that brings to mind a gang of miscreant youths. The feathers are falling everywhere and drifts of cast aside plumage blow about your feet like the snow that was here but weeks ago.
Posted in Half Moon Island, Patrick in Antarctica, South Shetland Islands
Tagged Chinstrap Penguin
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Rainy day in the South Shetlands
We arrived in the South Shetland Islands today and began the day with a landing in pretty windy conditions blowing rain into our eyes as we zipped between land and the ship in the zodiacs. But when we got ashore I noticed something odd. Halfmoon Island, where we landed, is normally a pretty riotous affair due to the chinstrap penguin colony. Chinstraps are an agro bunch and are normally busily picking fights with their neighbours in a noisome squabbling fray. But today the colony was strangely subdued. On closer inspection the reason was apparent. The first chinstrap chicks of the season had appeared the last night and the parents were busily tending to their tiny fragile charges, with the small grey chicks waking into a wet cold world and meeting the Antarctic weather for the first time.
Meanwhile back on the ship we were doing quite the opposite and changing the atmosphere from subdued to festive. With Bing Crosby blaring over the speakers we decked the decks with Christmas cheer and prepared for the merry season by setting up Christmas trees and introducing some season’s cheer to the Akademik Ioffe.
Right now I am preparing to fall into an exhausted sleep after another landing in Deception Island in the rain. Immediately afterwards we spent an hour lugging garbage and fuel between our vessel and another passing ship as a favour and now I am pleasantly exhausted while I sip a pint of Guinness and prepare to say goodnight to the world.
Back on line
Hello again… my apologies for the break in the updates to the website but one of the hazards of being on a boat in the middle of the Southern Ocean is the inability to rectify computer issues by calling in your local IT professional. Our ship the Ioffe has, in fact, been floating around the Southern Ocean for almost a week with no way of getting in touch with the rest of the world, save through expensive satellite phone calls. Which is not always such a bad thing – these days we are so reliant up being “networked” that a few days cut off can give you back time you never realised you had.
And I have been busy! We finished our last trip amidst strong winds after successfully traversing the iceberg-strewn Lemaire Channel, returned across a placid Drake Passage, stopped briefly in Ushuaia to pick up a fresh load of passengers and are now in sight of the South Shetland Islands ready to start a new series of explorations in Antarctica. This time the snow covered islands and glaciers are the scene of a Christmas festival as we bedeck the vessel with Christmas trees and tinsel and prepare to celebrate in style. Not that this will interfere with the adventure though! Landing on half moon island first thing tomorrow!
High seas and strong breeze
Today we were up at 5:00 to launch zodiacs in a strong swell off Half Moon Island. My job was to run the skiers up to the landing around the back of the island, which is a long haul in big swell carrying a lot of gear. All went pretty well until we got to the steep beach landing, only to be deluged with a steep swell that must have originated from a glacial carving event. Ended up with waves crashing over the back of the boat and chunks of ice swilling around my feet. Yet another day in wet trousers. Still another fantastic day in Antarctica – and the wet cold feeling rapidly disappears while wandering around the chinstrap colony.
Next landing was at Deception Island were the swell had also picked up and the wind was howling through at about 35 knots. These passengers have had an exciting trip so far with pretty challenging conditions but most of them have taken it in their stride … perhaps its just insanity since nearly a third of them insisted on swimming at Deception despite the weather! But as I said … an early start and I need my sleep…
27 November 2010
Overnight we steamed across the Bransfield Strait while a party raged in the bar … but there were a few sore heads in the morning! No worries though, remarkable how a quick dip in Antarctic water clears the head. First stop of the day was Deception island where we wandered around the ruins of the British Antarctic Survey base and a few more adventurous types braved the water for 10 seconds of fame and a photograph. Then half moon which is a standard stop but 
very nice – also got there at low tide which means you can cross the flooded spit of land that is separated from the main island at high tide … doesn’t happen often but if you get across there is a colony of Blue Eyed shag that is pretty cool. Now we are battening down the hatches for the mighty Drake!
Posted in Deception Island, Half Moon Island, Patrick in Antarctica, South Shetland Islands
Tagged Antarctic Shag
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