-
Recent Posts
Categories
Animals
Adelie Penguin Antarctic Fur Seal Arctic fox Arctic tern Baboon Bearded seal Black Browed Albatross Blue petrel Cape Petrel Chimpanzee Chinstrap Penguin Cod Crabeater Seal Elephant Seal Gentoo Penguin Giant Petrel Green Monkey Guillemot Harbour Seal hippopotamus Humpback Whale King Penguin Kittiwake Krill Leopard Seal Light Manteled Sootie Albatross Lizard Loggerhead turtle Minke Whale Musk ox Northern Fulmar Orca Polar bear Puffin Razorbill Red Colobus Reindeer Ringed Seal Rockhopper Penguin Shearwater Short-beaked common dolphin Skua Wandering Albatross Weddell Seal Wilsons Storm Petrel
Author Archives: admin
Useful
Today we started with a quick landing at Useful Island which is a small island in the Gerlache Strait that is home to Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins – there are leopard seals patrolling the beach and big fat Weddell seals lounging on the snow and over all it is a pretty relaxed landing with a view of the spectacular scenery surrounding the Gerlache Strait. After that it was into Paradise Harbour, which is very aptly named given the fantastic scenery and rugged glaciers, and finally a BBQ with dance and music on the back deck with just a dusting of snow to remind us where we are: the coolest place on Earth.
Sunstroke in the coldest continent
It has been a blazing hot day here in Antarctica with melt water streaming off glaciers and the sun beating relentlessly on our poor Antarctic suntans (i.e. white skin).We started the day in the Argentine Islands which are a complex maze of twisting passages and islands that are spectacular fun to drive through on a zodiac… and on the way there are several seasoned yachties with their yachts parked in out of the way coves amidst ice flows and piles of crabeater seals. Doubtlessly they have converged on the spot to sample the home distilled vodka of the nearby Vernadsky Station run by the Ukrainians. How I long to be down here on a day like this in Widdershins with Léonie by my side! But I guess being down here at all is not so bad at all! We finished the day with a long cruise on our little rubber boats in amidst the icebergs of Plenau Bay with elephant seals and Weddel seals on the beach and every ice flow crowded with crab eater seals and the occasional sinister form of a leopard seal contemplating which of the crabeaters will be its next meal. Now its time for my own meal but its hard to drag yourself away from the spectacular scenery passing by.
Smooth sailing
We had a fantastically smooth trip across the Drake with barely a ripple to disturb our sleep. A quiet start but hopefully an adventurous trip nonetheless as we are aiming for the Argentine Islands which are further South than we have been this season and offers a fantastic maze of twisting narrow channels to slip through and explore in a zodiac. Within the islands is Vernadsky station, which is now run by Ukrainian researchers but was once run by the British under the name of Faraday – actually it is the location where they first discovered the ozone hole over Antarctica and trigger global concern over the effect of CFCs in the atmosphere. The important part however, is that they are always happy to receive guests and are quick to offer a free shot of home distilled vodka…
Cape Horn
Cape horn stands like a pale ghost on the horizon peering at us through the gloom of a fog bank. In weather like this, with slick water and no wind, it’s easy to underestimate these waters that seem so benign. Even now however, the black rocks cloaked in their sinister white mist speak of crashing waves and a hungry sea. Shortly we are about to turn into the Beagle Passage an make for Ushuaia were I’ll have a brief interlude with civilization before turning back to the south … well … maybe the term civilized is pushing it a bit, but it is nice to have a few hours of freedom off the ship!
Posted in Drake passage, Patrick in Antarctica
Leave a comment
Drake Lake
We are charging over the Drake Passage toward South America and leaving Antarctica in our wake. The sea stretches out flat before the bow and birds hang listlessly in the air off the stern. For the Drake it is very calm weather indeed and all aboard are enjoying a little rest after a jam-packed 18 day adventure that took us to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. It’s been a fantastic journey but I’m looking forward to a respite from the constant activity … talking of which I think its time for a snooze…
Posted in Drake passage, Patrick in Antarctica
Leave a comment
Antarctic Sound
Just five minutes ago I was on the foredeck of the Akademic Ioffe watching two humpback whales slowly cross the bow of the ship against an incredible sunset with icebergs dancing on the horizon still catching the last rays of the sun. A spectacular evening in the Antarctic Sound. To turn back the clock to the other end of the day, we woke this morning drifting off Paulet Island which is home to between 60-100.000 pairs of Adelie Penguins. A bit of an uncertain figure since the penguins in this region have been declining lately, but regardless of a downward trajectory in the population, the beach and island is certainly a surging mass of penguins all busily going to and fro from the sea to feed their half grown chicks which add to the loud chorus of a penguin colony. Beside the penguins is a large colony of Blue Eye
Shag which add their own distinctive brand of noise and also their own odour to assault the nose… this many birds in a small space certainly has its own distinctive aroma. The morning excursion was followed up by a zodiac cruise amidst icebergs where three species of seal where spotted as well as a lot more penguins and the elusive snow petrels wheeling amidst the towering bergs. But of course the highlight of the day was hamburgers for lunch. Not often we get hamburgers aboard…
Posted in Antarctic Sound, Patrick in Antarctica, Paulet Island
Tagged Adelie Penguin, Antarctic Shag, Humpback Whale
2 Comments
The Scotia Sea
Another sea day but this time the Scotia Sea is showing its teeth. We are battling into a severe storm with 50 knot winds and big waves crashing over the bow and sending sprays of salt water up to the bridge window. Daunting weather for a yacht but the Ioffe is charging through towards the Antarctic continent which should be in sight tomorrow morning!
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica
Leave a comment
The Orkneys
The past day we have been skirting a depression in the Scotia Sea that has forced us well to the west of our next objective: the South Orkney Islands. But finally this evening we have drawn into sight of the rocky outlying islands which jut from the ocean and reach for the heavens with sheer sides and forbidding silhouettes. Around the islands are a battalion of tabular icebergs lurking in all directions, each with a small group of penguins standing atop and with whales blowing all about. It’s a shame we cant spend longer in these remote islands, but unfortunately we have to turn to the south and make for Antarctica.
The bird that makes the wind blow
R.C. Murphy once described the albatross as the `bird that makes the wind blow` which is pretty fitting since we visited Prion Island today to look at some nesting albatross while it blew 40 knots of wind. Despite the gale and the driving rain it is breath-taking to see these birds up close. A 3.5 metre wingspan is enormous but almost impossible to judge when the birds are on the wing with an endless horizon behind and a sweeping sea-scape below… but on the nest you start to appreciate how big these birds are, though admittedly the graceful flight at sea is replaced by a somewhat clumsy waddle as they pick their way through the tussock and crash to earth in a stumble.Watching the birds delicately preen each other in greeting andstretch their wings into the wind makes up for their awkwardness… and being the king of the skies there really is no need for them to perform on earth as well – they are creature of the southern winds and are only bound to land briefly to breed before once again taking to the air. Either way it is a privilege to observe these majestic animals up close, and a fitting farewell to South Georgia as we set sail towards the Antarctic Peninsula.
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica, Prion Island, South Georgia Island
Tagged Black Browed Albatross
Leave a comment
Gold
Today was a quick morning stop in Gold Harbour where the elephant seals have claimed the beach in a writing mass of bodies piled atop of each other. Grunts and bellows resound and startle the droves of king penguins and fur seals picking their way through the thrown of large inert blubber wallowing in filth and mud. With the sun beating down the ellies were particularly pungent as they dug into the mud and fling it upon their bodies to protect them from the suns burn. Leaving all this behind I lead a hike up a steep slope into the tussock plateau where the spectacular coastline of South Georgia unwinds below the sheer cliffs where albatross nest and glide out to sea on the unseen wind currents. Really is gold.
Posted in Gold Harbour, Patrick in Antarctica, South Georgia Island
Tagged Elephant Seal, Wandering Albatross
Leave a comment