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Touching the Orkneys
In amidst a rolling sea we sighted the South Orkney Islands today and slowly made our way to Signy Island and a British research base. The zodiacs were unloaded and I drove in to the base, however, the trip over sent us a strongmessage. After a ten minute ride with green water crashing over the front of the boat we thought maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to unload passengers given the increasingly nasty weather. In the end I managed to touch the jetty on Signy Island, take a quick look at the elephant seals lounging on the beach, then waved a cheery farewell to the scientists onshore before turning tail and running back to the ship. Oh well … perhaps we’ll get to visit this remote outpost another time.
South Georgia
It’s been a fantastic visit to South Georgia. In a part of the world renowned for savage weather we have had day after day of calm waters and uninterrupted opportunities to visit probably the most spectacular place on the planet. As I write the heavens are lit up in a brilliant sunset of pink and orange hanging above jagged mountains and glaciers and the sound of fur seals calling and mewing can be heard resounding over the still waters. Yesterday the highlight of the day was standing up to my waist in a still pool while a tussling playful group of over thirty seal pups played and twisted in the clear water. And after I’d been there a while they decided to include me in their game with one particularly brave fellow showing off to his mates by swimming between my legs again and again. At this age they are just like puppies… unfortunately in a couple of years they will be staking out a patch on the beach and tearing apart anyone silly enough to enter their zone. For now however its all fun and games.
And today … the highlight was St Andrews bay which is the largest king penguin colony on the island. Standing on a moraine ridge you have tens of thousands of birds filling the valley so that the landscape is literally formed my a seething mass of colourful birds. As a setting they make it one of the most remarkable sights in the world. As individuals, the penguins show a grace and curiosity that is humbling. Laying on the beach while a dozen penguins gather around and gently probe this strange alien apparition with their bills instils you with a new sense of oneness with this fantastic place.
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica, South Georgia Island, St Andrews bay
Tagged Antarctic Fur Seal, King Penguin
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Wilsons on board
In the morning I awoke and paced around the back deck feeling the cold wind blow across the ocean and feeling the salt settle on my skin. I was out there for about ten minutes before I notices the small lump of feathers sitting in a corner – the only movement the occasional flutter of the feathers as the wind stroked its small friend so recently plucked from the heavens. It was a Wilson’s storm petrel – a tiny bird with a 30cm wingspan that is famous for traveling through all the worlds oceans. It’s always a remarkable sight seeing these tiny little birds darting around the waves of the mighty Southern Ocean like lost moths in the night. They always seem a little out of place amongst the graceful albatross as they furiously flap their way over the seas. It looked even more out of place lying limp in my hands. The unfortunate animal was probably blinded by the ship’s lights and flew headlong into the cold unforgiving steel of the ship. The small bundle of energy that drove the little bird across the immense distances of the Southern Ocean was extinguished on the steel deck where the scream of the wind was deadened by the regular thrum of engines and the metallic clinking that is the constant background song of the vessel. As I released the dead bird back into the ocean and watched the miserable bundle of feathers drift away in our wake I couldn’t help but feel sad to be part of the alien intrusion into the world of wind and waves that led to the demise of this tiny little life.
How do you get away from all the birds?
Today we arrived in the Falkland Islands and had two stops where birds where definitely the main feature. The first stop was Saunders Island with nesting black brow albatross, Magellanic penguins and gentoo penguins, all attended by their attendant crown of hungry scavenger including Striated Caracaras and Turkey Vultures – an amazing sight with some stunning wildlife and behaviours to observe, but for me the highlight was Carcass Island. Not as spectacular in terms 
of piles of wildlife, but here you sit on the beach and are literally harassed by the birds. The cheeky tussock birds flit around the strand line on the beach and will sit on your knee with a curious expression wondering what kind of strange apparition you are. The birds here are pretty unique as the island is cat and rat free which means these guileless birds are safe for now, whilst in much of their previous range they have disappeared. And it is not surprising – today on sat in the palm of my hand briefly. They have absolutely no fear, which does not bode well in the face of introduced predators. Not that the island doesn’t have it’s own predators… well scavengers really. When the tussock birds aren’t stealing the show, the striated caracaras are always happy to perform. One particular opportunistic individual spent several minutes trying to tear my gumboot apart (with my foot inside) while others hovered only feet above wondering if I presented a meal opportunity. It is really splendid to see a host of animals that are absolutely fearless of humans.
Pteropods
Today while pottering around the twisting maze of channels in the Argentine islands in a small rubber boat it wasn’t the spectacular ice formations or the seals and penguins that caught my interest – it was the teeming swarms of tiny planktonic mollusks. They are called Pteropods which literally means “winged foot” which is a pretty good description. They have a small coiled shell mage of aragonite (similar to calcium carbonate found in your average mollusc) but rather than the typical slug like foot of your average mollusk these guys have two wings which they use just like birds – to slowly flap their way through the water and keep up near the light where all the food is. While not many know much about Pteropods they are an essential and important part of the food web in most oceans. Unfortunately they are also under significant threat from human activities. The hidden catch 22 with climate change and the carbon in the atmosphere is that most of that Carbon Dioxide ends up in the ocean where is forms carbonic acid. An important exit for the gasses that are causing dramatic climate change but unfortunately the result is that the seas are slowly becoming more acidic. The sad news for Pteropods is that in the increasingly acidic waters they are no longer able to build their aragonite shell, especially in cold southern waters. The result? Many believe we will lose some of these fundamental organisms in only decades leaving a critical gap in the ocean food chain. Watching these small winged mollusks slowly flap through the still waters of Antarctica was a special sight and one that may be hard to come by in the future.
The sharp edge of the circle
Just days after crossing the Antarctic Circle we were reminded that this is still a dangerous place to take vessels even with all the modern technology carried aboard. Yesterday we were on standby all day after hearing reports that another ship in the region, the Polar Star, had run aground off Detaille Island and was taking on water. As we were the nearest vessel in the area we were all set to go to the rescue and take aboard the passengers and crew who had a very dismal outlook. As it turns out the Polar Star was able to get off the rock and slowly limp to a nearby research station to assess the situation, but it was a close thing. Meanwhile the ice blew in and kept us away from our landing today forcing us to divert to plan B and cruise amongst the icebergs that were likely a key factor in the grounding of the other ship. Not that I’m complaining…stunning landscape with literally hundreds of crabeater seals and an infinite array of shapes and colours in the ice. Very pretty but also it is worth remembering occasionally that this ice can lead to the end of our aspirations if we don’t pay our respects…
Posted in Antarctic Circle, Detaille Island, Patrick in Antarctica
Tagged Crabeater Seal
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Crossing the circle
At 9:10 today we crossed the Antarctic Circle with a toast of hot chocolate and much cheering. Strange to think how long humans strived to reach this line on the globe, yet how easily we breeze across today. The weather had come to remind us that we were at the end of the earth with driving snow and ice bergs looming in the mist, but overall it seems incredibly easy compared to the trials of James Cook and the Endeavour as it crossed for the first time. Amazing to think of the things in easy reach today and the way it diminishes the respect we feel for the wild world around us. When we sail down here in our small yacht it will be a different story – no simple skip across the circle but a slog comparable to the sailing days of old – albeit supplement with various technological marvels to assist. But at the end of the day, I like thinking that we have to strive to reach the ends of the Earth because this is the only planet we have. It’s nice to think that we can’t breeze our way to every corner of the globe and do as we wish.
Posted in Antarctic Circle, Patrick in Antarctica
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Charging across the Drake
We have left Ushuaia with a new bunch of passengers and are charging south for the Antarctic Circle and the furthest south point that we have made this season. And I mean charging. Right on our heels is a very deep depression (a weather system) that promises to make life very difficult if we dawdle so we are going at top speed and trying to escape the clutches of a storm that would probably be at the higher end of severity even for the dreaded Drake passage. At our present speed of 15 knots we may just get out of the worst of it, but I expect tomorrow morning we will be feeling the wrath of the ocean as we feel the waves of heavy weather reach out and lash us with waves ands wind. So far we have been lucky in the Drake but I get the feeling we may not escape this trip unscathed…
Back in the Drake
The ship is starting to rock again as we set our bows to the drake passage after a wet cold day in the South Shetland Islands. These islands have a tendency to be grey and wet but it suits the mood of the location, especially at Deception Island amidst the bleak remnants of the whaling era and the abandoned research station that saw scientists fleeing with burning ash settling on the station that had been home. Today the sand of deception was cool however and there was not a shred of warmth coming from the earth to chase off the chill on a cold expedition staff member.
Hotel Bravo
Whenever we see a humpback whale the call goes out on the radio that a “Hotel Bravo” has been spotted and today there were calls of this nature continuously. We pulled into Cierva Cove after a morning watching glaciers calving in Curtis Bay and immediately there where whales on all sides. We bided our time for the first hour or so watching the huge animals bubble net feeding off the side of the boat before finally slinging the zodiacs over the side to get amongst them … actually watching from the ship itself is pretty spectacular and you can see the bubbles emerging from the deep and the whales swim in synchrony towards the surface exhaling before lunging through the trapped krill with mouths agape. But being on the water with them in small boats is something special. The sound of a whale exhaling and the wet pungent whale snot settling on your amazed face is truly a special experience. It’s definitely getting towards the time of the season when whales are congregating so I look forward to more whale action over the next few trips. Always good to visit the Hotel Bravo.
Posted in Cierva Cove, Curtis Bay, Patrick in Antarctica
Tagged Humpback Whale, Krill
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