A journal of our travels and experiences.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Alaska
Paula and I haven't been idle since returning from Antarctica. We are off to Alaska in about a week. Not a big trip but we are looking forward to a week at sea again. We leave out of Vancouver and finish in Anchorage. This is a different sort of trip for us. An actual cruise instead of an expedition. I will have to wear a jacket to dinner as opposed to my insulated rubber boots. Goodness, will we survive?
Apologies
I have been remiss in concluding the last trip. The sail from the Falklands to Patagonia was accompanied by endless flocks of Albatross and Giant Southern Petrels. Their numbers were incredible and we spent hours trying for the perfect photograph or just admiring these amazing birds. We landed in Ushuaia in a cold light drizzle. We visited a few highlights and enjoyed a nice tea before boarding our flight to Buenos Aires. Later that night, we were on our way home. Reading back through the blogs, I realize the are very incomplete. I have failed to capture the beauty and the absolute wonder of our southern continent. How I wish I possessed the skills to describe our fabulous experience on the Southern Sea. I feel fortunate to have had this experience and hope that you enjoyed following along.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Land Ahead
We have sailed overnight from the West Falkland island of New Island. We made a wet landing on the lea side of a ship wrecked nineteenth century wooden sealer on New Island in the early afternoon.
The wind was howling as we began our hike uphill across the island. The wind whipped sand and black dust stung our faces as we hiked into the stiffening breeze. At times we were forced to stop walking and simply lean into the wind to avoid being knocked down. We hiked up a wide grassy valley flanked by two large hills. The grass was thick and lush and full of upland geese. The geese looked like weather vanes pointed dead into the wind. The trail led to a rocky promitory overlooking the South Atlantic that serves as a rookery for rock hopper penguins, black browsed albatross, and shags.
The wind became violent as we approached the cliffs. Feathers from all the birds and the molting penguins swirled everywhere. The constant winds were reinforced with gusts over 70 miles per hour. We were forced to sit down in order to steady our cameras.
The skuas would pair up and hover stationary just over the nests of shags and penguins. One skua would distract the parent allowing the second to swoop down and attempt to force the chick over the cliff. The drama was repeated all along the edge of the rookery. The neighboring birds would ignore the life and death saga occurring within feet or, in some cases, inches as a chick would struggle for life. The albatross are the main attraction in the rookery and are amazing to watch. They would struggle against the wind to the cliff edge and, at just the right condition, would launch themselves into space. The wind would carry them screaming back above the cliff edge where they would remain stationary in the air above our heads before wheeling into the wind and out to sea. The landings were dramatic. The albatross, upon return from feeding in the ocean, would hover above their nest before flaring out in an attempt to reach terra firma only to be blown back into the air. They would circle back over the Atlantic and repeat the attempted landing. This often took multiple attempts.
The shags were more comical to observe. They would drop in and attempt to hover using their large webbed feet as air brakes and flaps. Their feet would be all askew with wings contorted in opposite directions in an attempt to safely negotiate a landing. Their success rate was even less than the majestic albatross.
We are just now rounding the Cape of Good Success and should be docked in Ushuaia this afternoon. We are surrounded by Black Browed Albatross and Giant Southern Petrels. They have escorted us through the night from the Falklands.
Tomorrow we have a charter flight to Buenos Aires and a ten o'clock flight to Houston that evening.
The albatross is on the right with the petrel in front.
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The wind was howling as we began our hike uphill across the island. The wind whipped sand and black dust stung our faces as we hiked into the stiffening breeze. At times we were forced to stop walking and simply lean into the wind to avoid being knocked down. We hiked up a wide grassy valley flanked by two large hills. The grass was thick and lush and full of upland geese. The geese looked like weather vanes pointed dead into the wind. The trail led to a rocky promitory overlooking the South Atlantic that serves as a rookery for rock hopper penguins, black browsed albatross, and shags.
The wind became violent as we approached the cliffs. Feathers from all the birds and the molting penguins swirled everywhere. The constant winds were reinforced with gusts over 70 miles per hour. We were forced to sit down in order to steady our cameras.
The skuas would pair up and hover stationary just over the nests of shags and penguins. One skua would distract the parent allowing the second to swoop down and attempt to force the chick over the cliff. The drama was repeated all along the edge of the rookery. The neighboring birds would ignore the life and death saga occurring within feet or, in some cases, inches as a chick would struggle for life. The albatross are the main attraction in the rookery and are amazing to watch. They would struggle against the wind to the cliff edge and, at just the right condition, would launch themselves into space. The wind would carry them screaming back above the cliff edge where they would remain stationary in the air above our heads before wheeling into the wind and out to sea. The landings were dramatic. The albatross, upon return from feeding in the ocean, would hover above their nest before flaring out in an attempt to reach terra firma only to be blown back into the air. They would circle back over the Atlantic and repeat the attempted landing. This often took multiple attempts.
The shags were more comical to observe. They would drop in and attempt to hover using their large webbed feet as air brakes and flaps. Their feet would be all askew with wings contorted in opposite directions in an attempt to safely negotiate a landing. Their success rate was even less than the majestic albatross.
We are just now rounding the Cape of Good Success and should be docked in Ushuaia this afternoon. We are surrounded by Black Browed Albatross and Giant Southern Petrels. They have escorted us through the night from the Falklands.
Tomorrow we have a charter flight to Buenos Aires and a ten o'clock flight to Houston that evening.
The albatross is on the right with the petrel in front.
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Location:Lemaire Straits
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Falklands
We are sailing through the Falkland's on route to our final stop. We spent yesterday in Stanley, an interesting town and interesting characters. The town is small, 2,100 residents, with narrow streets crammed with small, pre-fabricated houses tucked in behind the hundred year old original homes made of tin. Many of the homes still use peat for cooking and heating. The peat is free. There is a peat commissioner that assigns each family a peat plot where they dig, cut, and dry the peat. There are no indigenous trees due to the constant strong winds on the island but people have planted many trees in their yards or, gardens. The arrangement of buildings, shrubs, and trees are all planned with the wind in mind. The islands are a windswept, rocky, barren place.
The 1982 conflict with Argentina is still fresh on the islanders minds and the topic of many of our conversation with the islanders. There is now a large military base on East Falklands and there are signs around many/most of the beaches warning of land mines and un-exploded ordinance. The Argentines mined all the beaches and only a few have been cleared. The locals show little concern. The occasional blown up cow does not appear to bother them.
The magellanic penguins are too light to to trip the mines but I guess the presence of the mines could explain the lack of seals along the beaches.
Stanley is famous for all the ship wrecks in and around its port. Before the Panama Canal, all ships had to round Cape Horn. The first port is Stanley and many of the ships were too battered to continue and, with no trees in the islands, there was no way to repair the damage.
The Lady Elizabeth was launched in 1879 and ended up here in 1913 after being damaged rounding the Cape.
We sailed over night to Carcass Island. A small island in the west Falkland Islands. Carcass Island is a private island and is a farm. We anchored in a large cove just offshore from the farm house and out buildings. The island is a birders paradise. We explored along the coast for a bit and then walked to the farm house for tea. We had an amazing array of sweets, breads, cakes, and cookies. While loading the zodiacs, Paula and I saw a beautiful black and white porpoise playing around the zodiac. A good morning. We are now sailing to our final landing before returning to Ushuaia.
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The 1982 conflict with Argentina is still fresh on the islanders minds and the topic of many of our conversation with the islanders. There is now a large military base on East Falklands and there are signs around many/most of the beaches warning of land mines and un-exploded ordinance. The Argentines mined all the beaches and only a few have been cleared. The locals show little concern. The occasional blown up cow does not appear to bother them.
The magellanic penguins are too light to to trip the mines but I guess the presence of the mines could explain the lack of seals along the beaches.
Stanley is famous for all the ship wrecks in and around its port. Before the Panama Canal, all ships had to round Cape Horn. The first port is Stanley and many of the ships were too battered to continue and, with no trees in the islands, there was no way to repair the damage.
The Lady Elizabeth was launched in 1879 and ended up here in 1913 after being damaged rounding the Cape.
We sailed over night to Carcass Island. A small island in the west Falkland Islands. Carcass Island is a private island and is a farm. We anchored in a large cove just offshore from the farm house and out buildings. The island is a birders paradise. We explored along the coast for a bit and then walked to the farm house for tea. We had an amazing array of sweets, breads, cakes, and cookies. While loading the zodiacs, Paula and I saw a beautiful black and white porpoise playing around the zodiac. A good morning. We are now sailing to our final landing before returning to Ushuaia.
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Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sailing the Southern Seas
Looking back at the blog I realize there is little chronological order in the postings. I have been a poor reporter. In my defense, the experiences have been overwhelming and, at times, difficult to reduce to simple words or sentences. The photographs help express the immensity, beauty, and desolation of our southern oceans but even the photographs cannot express or convey our feelings of wonderment and awe that we have experienced over the past weeks. It is hard to fathom an entire continent that is for all practical matters uninhabited and, for the most part, unexplored. Mountain ranges that have never been climbed and vast plateaus that have never been crossed. We have been fortunate to touch a small part of this vast continent. Our push south through the Lemaire Channel and on through Crystal Sound in an attempt to cross the Antarctic Circle represented, in a small way, the history of exploration on this continent. We came close but, even with our modern ship, we were turned away by ice even as our goal was in site. An incredible experience. Our adventure did not stop there. We sailed around the tip of the peninsula and into the Weddell Sea only to be rebuffed again by pack ice and ice bergs. I will never forget the sound of the hull cleaving through the pack ice or the way the ship shuddered and groaned as it slammed itself into thicker slabs. The crab eater seals barely stirred to mark our temporary presence in their realm.
Turned back again, we followed Shackleton's desperate route to Elephant Island. Beautiful in its harsh severity. Again, we were more than lucky to make a landing. There is only a two percent chance of making a landing on this jagged rock of land. It is beyond my imagination how that small group of men could survive for one hundred days without giving up all hope and the relief and joy they must have experienced when the "Boss" Shackleton returned for them.
From there we sailed in two days what took sixteen for Shackleton. South Georgia Island, isolated in the Antarctic Ocean south of the convergence, is amazingly diverse. We sunned amongst the tussock grass and watched seal pups play and albatross feed their chicks in one cove and fought for warmth and shelter from furious wind and sleet in the next. We circled and back tracked around the island for five days and were accompanied by vast swarms of seals, sea birds and penguins. Never did we expect to encounter the huge numbers of animals. In many places it was difficult to walk due to the density of seals, penguins, and sea birds along the shoreline. Life and death played out both ashore where the skuas and giant petrels are ever alert for an untended chick or egg and in the surf patrolled by the reptilian looking leopard seal gorging on inexperienced penguin chicks. Luckily, only one of our party was bitten by a fur seal.
We have another day at sea before reaching the Falkland Islands. So far we have been accompanied by fin whales with their geyser like spouts, wandering albatross with eleven foot wing spans, and giant petrels with their large hooked beaks.
I wish I could share more photographs and videos but the Internet is too limited.
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Turned back again, we followed Shackleton's desperate route to Elephant Island. Beautiful in its harsh severity. Again, we were more than lucky to make a landing. There is only a two percent chance of making a landing on this jagged rock of land. It is beyond my imagination how that small group of men could survive for one hundred days without giving up all hope and the relief and joy they must have experienced when the "Boss" Shackleton returned for them.
From there we sailed in two days what took sixteen for Shackleton. South Georgia Island, isolated in the Antarctic Ocean south of the convergence, is amazingly diverse. We sunned amongst the tussock grass and watched seal pups play and albatross feed their chicks in one cove and fought for warmth and shelter from furious wind and sleet in the next. We circled and back tracked around the island for five days and were accompanied by vast swarms of seals, sea birds and penguins. Never did we expect to encounter the huge numbers of animals. In many places it was difficult to walk due to the density of seals, penguins, and sea birds along the shoreline. Life and death played out both ashore where the skuas and giant petrels are ever alert for an untended chick or egg and in the surf patrolled by the reptilian looking leopard seal gorging on inexperienced penguin chicks. Luckily, only one of our party was bitten by a fur seal.
We have another day at sea before reaching the Falkland Islands. So far we have been accompanied by fin whales with their geyser like spouts, wandering albatross with eleven foot wing spans, and giant petrels with their large hooked beaks.
I wish I could share more photographs and videos but the Internet is too limited.
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Thursday, March 1, 2012
King Haakon Bay
Fun morning. We awoke to misty, sleety weather as we sailed into King Haakon Bay. We were surrounded by Wandering albatross, Giant petrels, Skuas, Light Mantled Sooty albatross, and many others. The Wandering Albatross is the largest bird in the world and is spectacular to watch.
We sailed into the bay and anchored off of Peggoty Point where Shackleton overturned the James Caird for the three men he was left behind and hiked across South Georgia to the whaling station at Grytviken.
We bundled up and insured we were waterproof before setting out for a very wet landing on a small, gravely beach below a massive hanging glacier.
The wind was ferocious and we quickly assembled on the lee side of the point to get our bearings. The captain later told us the winds were gusting to sixty miles per hour. From there we took a short hike through the tussock grass and across glacial moraines. The wind gusts were enough to push us backwards and the rain, sleet, and blowing snow stung any exposed flesh on our faces.
The real fun started when we re-boarded the zodiacs. The winds and seas were running directly into the small gravel spit we launched from. Waves crashed over the stern soaking everything before we could turn into the seas. I was fortunate to have the quartering seas to my back, Paula was across from me and took the water face on. It was hard to distinguish between sleet and sea spray except by taste. Disembarking from the zodiacs onto the the rolling ship was an adventure in its own right. The good news is that we now have proof that our water proof gear is truly water proof. Other than our faces,we stayed dry. At lunch we learned that a woman from Canada froze and had to be lifted out of the pitching zodiac.
From Peggoty Point we sailed to the mouth of King Haakon Bay to Point Rosa where Shackleton made his initial landing on South Georgia. Shackleton had spotted the island the day before but a hurricane struck and threatened to smash the James Caird into the rocky cliffs. They were able to circle back to sea and survived the night. The next day the skies cleared and Shackleton sailed into King Haakon Bay. They had been at sea in the twenty two foot for sixteen days, the last three days without water. They found this small cove at the opening to the bay.
The beached on the small beach in the center of the photo. There is a small stream behind the point to the left. They found albatross chichs on the cliffs for food. As they beached the James Caird, they lost the rudder which was devastating. The next day, the rudder washed back onto their small beach allowing them to sail to Peggoty point.
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Location:South Georgia Island
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Godthul
Godthul Bay is a beautiful and very protected bay. It has a narrow inlet that opens into a deep, circular cove.
Godthul was unlike any other spot we visited. As you can see, it was very green with large bunches of tussock grass. As we began traveling a short distance inland we discovered the grass is full of fur seal pups.
The little guys were everywhere and some acted tough and would snort and challenge us. Adult seal furs are aggressive and dangerous, scary animals, but the young pups quickly back down when you stand your ground and clap. For some unknown reason fur seals do not like the sound of clapping.
The protected cove of Godthul was the ideal location for a whaling station. The gravel beach is thick with whale and fur seal bones. Remnants of the old station and these boats are rotting above the beach.
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Godthul was unlike any other spot we visited. As you can see, it was very green with large bunches of tussock grass. As we began traveling a short distance inland we discovered the grass is full of fur seal pups.
The little guys were everywhere and some acted tough and would snort and challenge us. Adult seal furs are aggressive and dangerous, scary animals, but the young pups quickly back down when you stand your ground and clap. For some unknown reason fur seals do not like the sound of clapping.
The protected cove of Godthul was the ideal location for a whaling station. The gravel beach is thick with whale and fur seal bones. Remnants of the old station and these boats are rotting above the beach.
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Location:South Georgia Island, Scotia Sea
King Penguins Galore
St. Andrews forms a natural amphitheater surrounded by six thousand foot, glacier covered mountains. Three glaciers let out into a broad grassy plain and beach. We made another wet landing among elephant seals and fur seals.
The fur seals are very territorial and aggressive. Luckily the breeding season is over and the beach masters are few. The fur seals along the shore are predominantly young pups and mothers. The young pups act tough and challenge us but quickly back down when we clap our hands and stare them down. The beach masters are another matter. They are huge animals, four times the size of the females and can easily out run us. The four ton elephant seals appear oblivious to our presence. Other than the occasional grunt, fart, or burp, they are fairly inanimate.
We worked our way along them gravel shoreline through tens of thousands of King penguins. Beautifully colored and about three feet tall.
The short walk along the shore with this mass of penguins did little to prepare us for what we were about to see. We forded a knee deep torrent of a stream and climbed a slight rise behind the beach. As we climbed the noise became a constant cacophony of shrills and grunts.
It is estimated that there are 750,000 to 1 million penguins in this colony.
The blogs are intentionally brief. We are still struggling with posting blogs so, hopefully, the condensed versions will go through.
The fur seals are very territorial and aggressive. Luckily the breeding season is over and the beach masters are few. The fur seals along the shore are predominantly young pups and mothers. The young pups act tough and challenge us but quickly back down when we clap our hands and stare them down. The beach masters are another matter. They are huge animals, four times the size of the females and can easily out run us. The four ton elephant seals appear oblivious to our presence. Other than the occasional grunt, fart, or burp, they are fairly inanimate.
We worked our way along them gravel shoreline through tens of thousands of King penguins. Beautifully colored and about three feet tall.
The short walk along the shore with this mass of penguins did little to prepare us for what we were about to see. We forded a knee deep torrent of a stream and climbed a slight rise behind the beach. As we climbed the noise became a constant cacophony of shrills and grunts.
It is estimated that there are 750,000 to 1 million penguins in this colony.
The blogs are intentionally brief. We are still struggling with posting blogs so, hopefully, the condensed versions will go through.
Location:St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island February 27th, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gold Harbour
We arrived off South Georgia just before five Sunday morning. The weather fairies are still gracing us with spectacular weather. Bright sunshine, blue skies, and a gentle breeze. The temperature climbed above freezing!
South Georgia Island has incredible displays of wildlife. We anchored in Gold Harbour and were treated to an immense colony of King penguins along with Chinstraps, elephant seals and fur seals.
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South Georgia Island has incredible displays of wildlife. We anchored in Gold Harbour and were treated to an immense colony of King penguins along with Chinstraps, elephant seals and fur seals.
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Location:South Georgia, Scotia Sea
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lemaire Channel and Points South
With almost two days at sea I hope to catch up on the blogs I was unable to post while along the peninsula and in the Weddell Sea. One of the blogs that I lost was our adventure thought the Lemaire Channel into the Grandidier Channel and through the Crystal Sound in our attempt to reach the Antarctic Circle at Latitude 66 degrees, 30 minutes South. I recounted some of the trip in emails but want to capture at least the highlights in the blog.
We sailed through the narrow Lemaire Channel during sunset at about half past nine o'clock in the evening. The still waters made for fantastic reflections in the crisp light.
The channel is a narrow cut with glacier covered mountains soaring up from the sea.
We encountered some ice through the channel and by midnight we were in thick, almost continuos ice floes. The sound of ice splitting and splintering under the sharp bow was almost continuous. We would break into open water only to experience a shudder throughout the length of the ship as we rammed the next flow. We continued working our way well into Crystal Sound through ever heavier and thicker ice. The Explorer easily handled the three and four foot floes we experienced. Shortly after entering Crystal Sound broke free of the ice and had clear sailing only needing to navigate around massive ice bergs. We encountered the pack ice again on the southern end of Crystal Bay, about 25 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. We continued through the pack ice to within eight miles of the Antarctic Circle when we had to yield to the ice. The Explorer could handle the pack ice but we were in the midst of large ice bergs frozen in the pack ice. The ice bergs were more than a match for us.
We carefully turned around and returned north along the peninsula on our way to the Weddell Sea.
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We sailed through the narrow Lemaire Channel during sunset at about half past nine o'clock in the evening. The still waters made for fantastic reflections in the crisp light.
The channel is a narrow cut with glacier covered mountains soaring up from the sea.
We encountered some ice through the channel and by midnight we were in thick, almost continuos ice floes. The sound of ice splitting and splintering under the sharp bow was almost continuous. We would break into open water only to experience a shudder throughout the length of the ship as we rammed the next flow. We continued working our way well into Crystal Sound through ever heavier and thicker ice. The Explorer easily handled the three and four foot floes we experienced. Shortly after entering Crystal Sound broke free of the ice and had clear sailing only needing to navigate around massive ice bergs. We encountered the pack ice again on the southern end of Crystal Bay, about 25 miles north of the Antarctic Circle. We continued through the pack ice to within eight miles of the Antarctic Circle when we had to yield to the ice. The Explorer could handle the pack ice but we were in the midst of large ice bergs frozen in the pack ice. The ice bergs were more than a match for us.
We carefully turned around and returned north along the peninsula on our way to the Weddell Sea.
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Location:Scotia Sea
The Scotia Sea
The ocean area from 40 degrees south latitude to near the Antarctic circle has the strongest sustained westerly winds found anywhere on earth. The highest reported frequency of gales is reported between Longitude 20 degrees and 60 degrees East, north of the Ross and Weddell Seas and the approaches to the Drake Passage. Interaction between the frigid air coming off Antarctica and the relatively warm and moist air from the lower latitude ocean areas creates the cyclonic "Furious Fifties" storms. They make the region from 40 degrees to 60 degrees South one of the stormiest areas in the world. These are the waters we are sailing through and have had the great good fortune of fair weather. Hopefully, our luck and the weather will hold.
Just I saved this, the skies became overcast and little snow flurries began swirling around the ship. The waves are growing and I can hear new creaks throughout the ship. Just in the length of time required to compose this paragraph the snow has grown thick, visibility almost nil and the swells increasing. We may have an interesting night.
Fur seal on Elephant Island
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Just I saved this, the skies became overcast and little snow flurries began swirling around the ship. The waves are growing and I can hear new creaks throughout the ship. Just in the length of time required to compose this paragraph the snow has grown thick, visibility almost nil and the swells increasing. We may have an interesting night.
Fur seal on Elephant Island
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Location:Scotia Sea
Point Wilde, Elephant Island
We sailed from Point Lookout to Point Wilde on Elephant Island where Shackleton's men survived for one hundred days awaiting Shackleton's return to rescue them. During the trip the skies cleared. The catabatic winds diving down over the glaciers were bitter but sunshine makes everything more pleasant.
A British naval ship was anchored off the point and the Brits were performing some type of study. They had pitched several tents at the old Shackleton site.
The monument on the right honors the captain of the Chilean ship Shackleton used in his successful fourth attempt to rescue his men. The entire area is thick with chinstrap penguins and fur seals.
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A British naval ship was anchored off the point and the Brits were performing some type of study. They had pitched several tents at the old Shackleton site.
The monument on the right honors the captain of the Chilean ship Shackleton used in his successful fourth attempt to rescue his men. The entire area is thick with chinstrap penguins and fur seals.
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Location:Scotia Sea
Friday, February 24, 2012
Elephant Island
We are about 490 nautical miles southwest of the South Georgia Islands. We set sail yesterday afternoon from Elephant Island at the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula surrounded by whales. One of the marine biologist aboard described it as sailing through a whale soup. Southern right whales swam right up to the ship. The fin whales entertained us with their geyser like blows and the faithful humpbacks continued to show off their impressive flukes.
Yesterday morning (Thursday, February 23rd) started off with grey skies and small, spitting snow flurries with strong winds as we approached Cape Lookout on the eastern shore of Elephant Island.
We were hopeful that we would be able to attempt a landing. There is less than a two percent success rate at landing. It has been years since National Geographic had made a successful landing. We had an added incentive in that we have a young women traveling with us that is documenting the oldest living organisms on earth. In order to be included in her study, the creature has to be more than 2,000 years old. In the 1980's a moss bed on Elephant Island had been cored and aged at 5,500 years. The moss bed had not been observed since that first discovery. Her guess at the location was based on photographs taken at the time with a few unnamed peaks and glaciers in the background. As it turns out, the photograph was printed backwards so the landscape was reversed. For the rest of us and the crew, Elephant Island is special because this is where Ernest Shackleton with five men set sail for South Georgia.
We attempted to board the zodiacs several times before we were successful. We put ashore in a small cove protected from the weather by a low arête.
Elephant Island is the harshest place I have experienced. The wind is relentless. It is beautiful in its severity with glaciers appearing from the mists and grinding there way relentlessly to the sea.
The landing area was full of fur and elephant seals, a large colony of chinstrap penguins, and cape petrels. There were also a large number of nesting snowy sheathbills. We also encountered our first macaroni penguins.
We sailed from Cape Lookout to the northern point of the island to Point Wild, the site where Shackleton left his men. The point is named after Shackleton's number two. More on that in the next posting,
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Yesterday morning (Thursday, February 23rd) started off with grey skies and small, spitting snow flurries with strong winds as we approached Cape Lookout on the eastern shore of Elephant Island.
We were hopeful that we would be able to attempt a landing. There is less than a two percent success rate at landing. It has been years since National Geographic had made a successful landing. We had an added incentive in that we have a young women traveling with us that is documenting the oldest living organisms on earth. In order to be included in her study, the creature has to be more than 2,000 years old. In the 1980's a moss bed on Elephant Island had been cored and aged at 5,500 years. The moss bed had not been observed since that first discovery. Her guess at the location was based on photographs taken at the time with a few unnamed peaks and glaciers in the background. As it turns out, the photograph was printed backwards so the landscape was reversed. For the rest of us and the crew, Elephant Island is special because this is where Ernest Shackleton with five men set sail for South Georgia.
We attempted to board the zodiacs several times before we were successful. We put ashore in a small cove protected from the weather by a low arête.
Elephant Island is the harshest place I have experienced. The wind is relentless. It is beautiful in its severity with glaciers appearing from the mists and grinding there way relentlessly to the sea.
The landing area was full of fur and elephant seals, a large colony of chinstrap penguins, and cape petrels. There were also a large number of nesting snowy sheathbills. We also encountered our first macaroni penguins.
We sailed from Cape Lookout to the northern point of the island to Point Wild, the site where Shackleton left his men. The point is named after Shackleton's number two. More on that in the next posting,
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Location:Scotia Sea
Peterman Island
We retraced our voyage from the heavy pack ice and bergs north anchoring just south of the Lemaire Channel off of Peterman Island. We were able to make a semi-dry landing from the zodiacs by clambering over a few boulders and rocks.
The small red wooden shack on the left is an Argentine emergency supply cache.
Like all the rocky islands, Peterman has several roosting penguin colonies along with the nesting area for blue eyed shags. The largest population are the gentoo penguins.
There were still a number of Adele penguins, too. They hatch earlier then the gentoo and most have returned to the sea. We saw many Adele on the pack ice the day before.
After landing, Paula and I followed Peter Hillary up a glacier for a great view. The trails you see in the snow are penguin trails. In several places the snow has been waddled down several feet.
This picture of Paula with Peter Hillary is for Alan.
We hiked back along the glacier following the penguin trails to the north end of the island to see the blue eyed shag. The views in all directions was breathtaking. We have been extremely important. The crew told they hadn't seen the sun since January 7th.
While working on this posting I just looked out our balcony window and saw a flock of penguins porpoising beside us.
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The small red wooden shack on the left is an Argentine emergency supply cache.
Like all the rocky islands, Peterman has several roosting penguin colonies along with the nesting area for blue eyed shags. The largest population are the gentoo penguins.
There were still a number of Adele penguins, too. They hatch earlier then the gentoo and most have returned to the sea. We saw many Adele on the pack ice the day before.
After landing, Paula and I followed Peter Hillary up a glacier for a great view. The trails you see in the snow are penguin trails. In several places the snow has been waddled down several feet.
This picture of Paula with Peter Hillary is for Alan.
We hiked back along the glacier following the penguin trails to the north end of the island to see the blue eyed shag. The views in all directions was breathtaking. We have been extremely important. The crew told they hadn't seen the sun since January 7th.
While working on this posting I just looked out our balcony window and saw a flock of penguins porpoising beside us.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Penola Strait, Antarctica
Monday, February 20, 2012
Neko Bay
We made our second zodiac landing on a small beach at the end of Neko Bay. Several massive glaciers flow into the bay. The sound of the glaciers calving echo across the water and bounce from the surrounding mountains. At first I mistook the boom for a thunder or a sonic boom. It is an impressive sound.
Upon landing, we hurried up a short slope before discarding our life preservers. Calving glaciers can send large waves over the beach. On our way to the landing we were entertained by a pod of humpback whales.
Once ashore, we worried our way through a gentoo penguin rookery and climbed one of the massive glaciers. It was a steep, icy climb but the views were worth every step. Plus, the exertion warmed us up.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Upon landing, we hurried up a short slope before discarding our life preservers. Calving glaciers can send large waves over the beach. On our way to the landing we were entertained by a pod of humpback whales.
Once ashore, we worried our way through a gentoo penguin rookery and climbed one of the massive glaciers. It was a steep, icy climb but the views were worth every step. Plus, the exertion warmed us up.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Neko Bay, Antarctica
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Antarctica
We awoke early this morning to bright sunshine and clear skies with only a hint of a breeze. The temperature is just below freezing or, as the old explorers would have said, six degrees of frost. We are surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and icebergs as we navigate a narrow channel along the peninsula.
The beauty is indescribable. Never have we experienced air so clear. It is impossible to judge distance. We were escorted by a pod of hump back whales.
We anchored off Cuverville Island and made a wet zodiac landing among a large Gentoo penguin rookery.
It is difficult to absorb the absolute beauty and purity of our surroundings.
While cruising the bay we strayed into a female leopard seal's territory. A huge creature, twelve feet in length with the head of a reptile and the teeth of a leopard. She circled the zodiac and it was necessary to gun the motor as she attempted to bite the zodiac. At one point she was able to bite the speed tube on the pontoon. Leopard seals are capable of puncturing the pontoons of a zodiac.
It has been a remarkable day and we have much yet to do. We continued south and are now anchored off another landing. Due to the cliffs and glaciers there are few landing sites.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The beauty is indescribable. Never have we experienced air so clear. It is impossible to judge distance. We were escorted by a pod of hump back whales.
We anchored off Cuverville Island and made a wet zodiac landing among a large Gentoo penguin rookery.
It is difficult to absorb the absolute beauty and purity of our surroundings.
While cruising the bay we strayed into a female leopard seal's territory. A huge creature, twelve feet in length with the head of a reptile and the teeth of a leopard. She circled the zodiac and it was necessary to gun the motor as she attempted to bite the zodiac. At one point she was able to bite the speed tube on the pontoon. Leopard seals are capable of puncturing the pontoons of a zodiac.
It has been a remarkable day and we have much yet to do. We continued south and are now anchored off another landing. Due to the cliffs and glaciers there are few landing sites.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Errera Channel, Antarctica
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