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Category Archives: Patrick in Antarctica
23 November 2010
We are finally in the peninsula! Well at least we are in theory, but unfortunately the dense fog around us means that there is not much to see. On second look however there are rafts of brash ice stretched over the water and an occasional snow petrel drifting like a white ghost through the fog. The air is brisk and the deck is covered with a fine powder of snow. The sunlight reaches late into the night and as I go to sleep tonight I look forward to an early start on zodiacs cruising around Orne Harbour. Itching to get out on the boats but also weary after three long days at sea…so to bed early for me and 4:30 start on the ice!
Monday 22 November
Another sea day, but today the ship pushed over the Antarctic convergence and entered the waters of Antarctica. It is a phenomenal change with the temperature dropping from 7 degree to 1 degree in a matter of 5 miles and a sudden shift in birdlife. This morning I spent an hour on the back deck watching the albatross wheel in my wake. This afternoon there are no albatross in sight and we areinstead surrounded by cape petrels and small prions that are buzzing around the boat and dipping between the crests of the wave. A lovely part of the ocean but I’m constantly scanning the horizon for our first iceberg and the rocks of Antarctcia … it is still a long wait.
Sunday 21 November
I woke up this morning at 6:00, stepped outside and watched two peale’s dolphins cruise by. This has been followed by a day of sealife with albatross, petrels and terns wheeling around the ship … the bad news is we have not gotten far towards our final destination.
The weather system we were trying to avoid yesterday ended up turning rather nasty and we had to hold off today just outside of the beagle channel. We didn’t actually get underway until 5:00 in the afternoon which puts us a long way behind schedule. Still the sea is heaving outside, our bow is pointed towards Antarctica and we are on our way.
Saturday 20 November
The first day of the season onboard the Russian vessel Ioffe and the day is spent carting boxes from the warf and storing ship for the next passage. The vessel is a typical russian ice-class ship with winding coridors, hidden stairs and six decks which takes a lot of getting used to. It also has massive decks which will get interesting when we hit the bis seas of the drake and have guest just developing thier sealegs and being hurled around on a slippery deck. The air has the slight hint of diesel and the smell of adventure clings to everything.
Right now we are holding off departure for a couple of hours while we wait for a huge weather system to pass through. But we are promed to go and already there are black browed albatross and kelp gull wheeling aroud in the wind over the deck. The Albatross will be our companions as we set later tonight and point our bows towards Antarctica.
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica
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