Heading North

Posted on March 8, 2011 by

Today we spent a relaxed day with a morning landing and cruise at Port Lockroy were the passengers indulged in some Antarctic shopping before cruising amidst beautiful icebergs against a backdrop of surging glaciers. The sun just peeked through the looming grey clouds to brush the mountain-tops with colour and the wind paused to catch its breath leaving the ocean like a mirror. In a way this is time to say goodbye to Antarctica as tomorrow we leave the continent and head for the South Shetland Islands just to the north of the Antarctic Peninsula. I have a feeling that the drake will not be kind to us on our last crossing but for now I feel that Antarctica has sent me a final pleasant farewell and has sent a welcome note for two in the blue. Next time I see these towering mountains it will be from the deck of Widdershins with Leonie.

 

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The turn of the season

Posted on March 3, 2011 by

This is the last trip of the season and we have reached our most southerly point at Stonington Island south of the Antarctic Circle. This means that we are now working our way slowly north up the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, and ultimately I’ll continue North all the way to Europe. I look forward to some sunshine in a way but it’s always sad saying goodbye to the Antarctic continent. This white icy land has a magnetism that is already drawing me back even though I have not yet left. Then again, there are signs all around to indicate that the season is over. The weather is shifting with strong winds and blizzards, the penguins have fled the shore leaving just a handful of miserable looking molting individuals on the barren rock now denuded of it’s white carpet of snow. The whales are still here but they are bust feeding up before they too turn North and flee the teeth of winter. It is definitely time to go, but still every moment in this wilderness is a gift and now that I will soon leave it in my wake I am relishing every moment.

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Crossing the circle

Posted on March 2, 2011 by

Today we steamed across the thin dotted line, which marks the point in Antarctica where we get 24 hour sunlight in the summer. The weather was ferocious and the whales were plentiful amidst the spume and ice which made this a truly Antarctic experience. But it does make you think. Just a few days ago the yacht Beserker went misssing in the Southern Ocean south of New Zealand. I’ve met the skipper of this yacht and he is about an adventurous guy as they come and also keen to tackle any adventure he can conceive. But then again perhaps he bit off a little more than he can chew on this instance. Well, actually he certainly did. Late in the season the Antarctic can  be a bitter place – you have to be prepared for the worst even at the best of times – the loss of life and ships at sea is no laughing matter, and for a couple planning a trip down to these waters it is a moment to ground your dreams. Here is a tragedy that could, should, have never happened. I’ve been in these waters for over six years and there are times when the seas of Antarctica are truly humbling. This is not a place to play games – the sea will always win. As much as we love the stories of hardship and adventure, the most important thing in the world is to return safely with a story to tell your loved ones and a lesson whispered into your ear by the wind.

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Tacking across the Drake

Posted on February 28, 2011 by

There is quite a big swell on the Drake Passage right now – so much that even the Akademik Ioffe, which has a reputation for being on of the most stable ships in the Southern Ocean, is rolling quite a lot. We are even taking a zig-zag path towards Antarctica to avoid taking the worst of on our beam … and another two days at seas before we see land! Despite the discomfort of many aboard I have to admit the swell makes me feel alive.

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Another trips end

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

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.

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Touching the Orkneys

Posted on February 20, 2011 by

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.

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South Georgia

Posted on February 16, 2011 by

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.

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Wilsons on board

Posted on February 13, 2011 by

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.

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How do you get away from all the birds?

Posted on February 11, 2011 by

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.

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Pteropods

Posted on February 2, 2011 by

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.

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