Antarctica – The Last Frontier (Part 3)

In this third episode we continue on with the dream of visiting Antarctica just to see what it was really like? Let’s follow the article’s authors and photographers, Peter and Alice through the excitement of cruising to, in and through Antarctica. We thank Peter and Alice for their friendship, their encouragement and their preparation of this series.

Cruising the Antarctica Peninsula

On February 7, 2010 (day 6 of our voyage) we started 4 days of scenic cruising. There are many places to see in Antarctica south of 66 degrees, but due to the size of our ship, insurance liability determined how far south we could go. We achieved 64.59.1 degrees. It was comforting to know the bridge was being well manned with 2 additional ice captains. You certainly want these experienced eyes and knowledge plotting the best course and rate of speed. Icebergs are not stationary, they travel quickly in this water and only 20% of them is visible above the surface of the water. Weather conditions change rapidly, especially winds that cause even a big ship (109,000 tons) like ours to drift.

Describable only with superlatives, Antarctica (derived from the Greek “antarktikos” meaning opposite to the Arctic) is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent with the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is about the size of the United States with 98% of its area covered by ice. Only the coast has precipitation while the interior might be considered the largest desert in the world. Did you know the Andes Mountains extend underwater from South America and are attached to Antarctica?

Every day one vista was even more beautiful than the last. We had both of our cameras just clicking away. With digital cameras it is easy to end up with more than 2,000 pictures. The hard task begins when you get home and have to make the decision when to press the delete button. We will try to pick just a few pictures to share with you.

This is one voyage where it pays to spend the extra money for a balcony. The first morning we bundled up and headed outside to the upper deck to enjoy the views. If you were standing on the top deck you are 100 feet above the sea. There were speakers in various locations but, with passengers talking and the wind and air blowing around us, it was difficult to hear what was being said. The temperature was tolerable, but after a while we decided to make full use of our balcony. We had the door open so we could hear the commentary on the TV and when we felt chilly we could go back inside.

The morning was foggy as we started cruising past Elephant Island that is located in the eastern group of South Shetland Islands. The 24 mile long non-volcanic island received this name since when you look at navigation charts its shape resembles the head of an elephant. It is also the first place where elephant seals were sighted. The eastern edge ends in rocky cliffs and glaciers that are nearly 300 feet high. There are several bays and areas of land that are backed by 650 ft black cliffs. This island is home to 2 Brazilian research stations that are inhabited in the summer from January to March. On this island are colonies of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Macaroni penguins. If you look along the shore there are many Cape and Storm Petrel birds feeding. In the afternoon as the fog started to lift, we continued South Westerly through the Bransfield Straight. From our balcony we were able to view a broad glacier north of Mount Elder.

Endurance Glacier drains southeast to the south coast of Elephant Island. It is the main discharge glacier on the island. The Captain rotated the ship 360 degrees so that no one would miss the spectacular views. This is the spot where, on April 15, 1916, Sir Ernest Shackleton

landed or rather should I say was stranded with his party of 22 castaways after losing their expedition ship – the Endurance. The men used two upturned lifeboats to settle in for the winter while Shackleton with 5 others sailed off in the third lifeboat to get help. Shackleton returned four months later on August 30th with a borrowed 150 ton Chilean naval tender to rescue his crew. Just 18 miles away is Gibb Island. This island is off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Its dimensions are 10 miles long by 4 miles wide with the highest point measuring 1500 feet. Total darkness in this area of the world occurs around midnight and ends around 2:30am. Due to the extended amount of daylight hours we were able easily see the beautiful sights of the island.

February 8, 2010 – During the night, we sailed through the Bransfield Strait toward our next destination, the Antarctic Sound and the Argentine research station Esperanza. This station is unique because it also houses families of the scientific personnel. A school is provided for the children. When we started our Antarctic journey we did not know there are numerous nations with research stations in Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty was signed on December 1, 1959 by twelve nations, but not until June 23, 1961 was it ratified by all the parties. This treaty has 14 Articles outlining the rules that permit a successful co-existence in the Antarctic. There have been 28 additional signatory nations added. This Treaty does not permit military activity, mineral mining or nuclear testing. It limits national programs to scientific research for all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees. According to the Treaty only ships with a passenger capacity of 500 or less can land visitors ashore. They agreed to have free exchange of information and scientists between countries. It also gives each nation the right to inspect the operations of other countries. If you are a full “Consultative Party nation” like the United States, you agree to maintain a year round station on the continent.

After we entered Antarctic Sound, the winds suddenly kicked up to 50 knots (41.6 miles per hour) with fog settling into the region. The Captain decided to back out into Admiralty Bay, since the strong winds were causing the ship to drift sideway.

There was a lot of ice being pushed around by the winds. We held our position for a while to see if the weather cleared. Unfortunately, the weather did not change and we did not see Esperanza as we set sail for our next destination.

In the afternoon we continued sailing in the calmer waters of Admiralty Bay as it started to lightly snow. The captain parked our ship as we heard commentary about the Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island. This station built in 1977 is primarily engaged in marine biology, but oceanography, seismology, magnetism and ecology studies are also performed. Colonies of Adelies, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins provide data used to monitor the impact of climate changes on the colony due to consumption variations and amount of krill (their main food source) consumed.

Currently there are 31 people at this station with 50% being women. We were so excited when as we watched the Zodiac boat being loaded on shore. Two Bulgarian research scientists were going home and our big vessel was their means of transport to Punta Arenas, Chile. What a difference it must be for the occupants to be on board such a huge ship. As the Zodiac was being loaded with fresh fruit, vegetables and other supplies, we listened on our TV to the live interview from the bridge with the researchers. The last food delivery was a year ago. On this station there is a doctor who handles psychological issues such as being in an isolated environment. The research personnel are able to stay in touch with family via Skype that operates 24/7. Satellite phone calls are limited to 5 minutes each per month, since they are so expensive. Dental visits are handled by passing Navy ships or at a nearby fellow research station. On King George Island there are 11 research bases along the shore operated by 10 different nations. Tomas, the main spokesman of the group, has been employed by the Dept of Antarctic Biology for the past 12 years. This is his sixth assignment at Arctowski. He described how today (February 8) was a typical summer day. Prior to November the area was covered in snow and surrounded by solid ice. There is a small basketball court they use for fun and recreation. There are BBQs with visitors from the Brazilian station on the other side of the island. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes by boat. They all agreed how exciting it was to finally have the first female cook at the station.

As we continued our journey down Admiralty Bay, the weather was good. We could clearly see the glaciers including the cracks with our binoculars. Whales and birds were out and about doing their thing.

Next - CRUISING THE ANTARCTIC PENNINSULA - February 9, 2010