-
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
Category Archives: Patrick in Antarctica
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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
Leave a comment
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