South Georgia appears in the mist

At 7AM FRAM was at the entrance to Drygalski Fjord, it was overcast and rainy but we could see the steep side walls of the main fjord. The main channel of the Drygalski Fjord follows an ancient fault line between two different rock types of different ages. The rocks on the north side of the channel are more than 200 million years old are granites and metamorphic rocks that once formed part of the super continent of Gondwanaland. On the south side of the channel the rocks are mostly volcanic and they formed about 140 to 170 million years ago on the deep ocean floor at a mid ocean spreading ridge. Mountain building and faulting pushed these two rock formations next to each other. Later a very active glacier enlarged this fault valley into a fjord. At present this glacier has melted and retreated and the fjord is filled with water. The whitish color of the water, glacial milk, results from very fine grained rock particles that are suspended in the runoff waters from the glaciers and snow fields that remain in the area adjacent to the main fjord.

Our first boats groups ashore at Grytviken were welcomed by a young elephant seal, numerous fur seals and a pair of King penguins. Many of us then paid our respects at the grave of Ernest Shackleton before walking on to photograph the rusting remains of the whaling station. Seeing the size and complexity of the boilers and the piping, one can only imagine the intensity of the work force when the whale processing operated 24 hours per day. On our walk through the whaling station we noticed two new helicopters. They are currently based at Grytviken as the first phase of a program to exterminate the rat population. The rats escaped years ago from whaling vessels and now they are an invasive menace to petrels and other small birds that nest on the island. Exterminating the rats should allow the native nesting bird populations to recover to sustainable levels.

Later in the afternoon the weather turned grim. The winds gusted to gale force and driving rain doomed a few cameras. The church, the boathouse (containing a replica of the James Caird that carried Shackleton to South Georgia) and the museum afforded us three refuges from the wind and rain. Museums vary, sometimes you get lucky to visit a museum where the information and exhibits far exceed your expectations. Clearly the South Georgia Museum is in that rare category of excellent museums.

As our visit drew to a close the wind strengthened and the rain blew by in horizontal sheets. But our passengers proved to be waterproof and good natured and our Polarcirkle boat drivers safely delivered us back to the FRAM, wet but smiling and looking forward to tomorrows adventures.

Playing the southernmost organ

in the world

 

Our voyage is coming to an end…

One more last sea day! It turned out to be a smooth ride again… and now we are in the Beagle Channel, not far away from Ushuaia, where it all started, 12 days before.

Our captain had one last surprise for us: as we were good in time, he deviated the ship from its course and brought FRAM close to Cape Horn. The Chilean authorities even gave us permission to go as close as 4 nautical miles from the famous cape! A strong wind accompanied us on this careful approach – exactly as we would expect in this place.

In the afternoon, we gathered in the Observation Lounge where the expedition team wanted to check if we learned something at all during our trip. The final exam took place in form of a quiz, and two very strict judges (see photos) made sure that everything went correct! Excellent results showed that indeed all passengers go home with a sound knowledge on Antarctica. And congratulations to boat group number 4, the final winner of this great challenge!



We had the Captain’s Farewell Dinner in the evening, with speeches, the classical Baked Alaska and a good-bye of the MV Fram choir. The captain once more pointed out that a successful trip can only be achieved through good team work and because there are many ever-busy crew members behind the scenes.



Rona, Clarice, Marilyn and Rowena
from reception







For some of them, like the reception girls, these last days of a trip are always the most challenging – all bills have to be prepared and in parallel work for the next cruise also needs to be done.

We all on board MV FRAM hope you have enjoyed this trip with us down to Marguerite Bay and hope to see you soon again on board with us!

 

Dolphins saying good-bye in the Beagle Channel

Drake Lake or Drake Shake…

…that is always the question whenever we start our crossing! This time everything and everybody was prepared for the full storm – however, in the morning, we were surprised by a fairly smooth sea!! So at least the first half of the feared passage could be done in a rather pleasant way and certainly nobody will complain about this change of weather – on the contrary, we are all delighted!

We had time to once more re-live our experiences in Antarctica and/or to enhance our knowledge about this fascinating place. Either by just sitting and dreaming in the comfortable chairs of the Observation Lounge, by sorting out photos on the laptop, by reading books on the subject or by simply attending one of the interesting lectures.  And of course, at the end of the day, Karsten, our photographer showed a selection of his best pictures.

Francis and Erman - our barmen (but they are also good in making delicious waffles!)

In fact it is a good thing to have a few days of relax and digest before returning to our routine lives back at home. The contrast would be too immense if we had to go straight – so after all, at least the Drake LAKE is very welcome!

And today we had the rescheduled question round!

Hurricane in the Antarctic Sound

Excitement never stops on this trip.

Today it was the wind that really thrilled us. When Anja made the morning announcement, it was still at 7m/s. But rapidly it increased and the sea was full with white horses. Of course a landing was not possible in these conditions. Instead, FRAM went directly past Brown Bluff towards the Weddell Sea and the eastern exit of the Antarctic Sound. The landscape (or should we say “sea”scape?) was beautiful: the blue sea with white caps, blue sky and sunshine and the ship surrounded by big icebergs, including tabular icebergs.

The wind came from behind, so we could stand in the bow and enjoy this fascinating scenery. Later, the wind increased to a Beaufort 12 and as the ship turned, everyone sought refuge in the inside.

We are now leaving this magic continent Antarctica behind us. It has been a unique and unforgettable experience, every day different and full with new impressions.

The ship is rolling and moving as we sail towards the Drake Passage. As most of the passengers are in their cabins this evening, the planned question round with the captain, hotel manager and chief engineer was postponed.

South of the Polar Circle

We made it! We crossed the polar circle at 10.15 this morning. And for those who do not believe us: have a look at the picture – the photographic evidence clearly shows the ship passing this magic line!

That means we entered someone’s very own kingdom today – Neptune’s kingdom! In person, King Neptune, together with our captain, welcomed us at the bow of the FRAM. And for the brave ones among us he had a special surprise: the polar baptism (ice cubes down our neck)!

According to our schedule, we arrived at Detaille Island during lunch time where we had planned an afternoon landing. However, strong winds made it impossible to go ashore. We could see the big swells and breaking waves crashing against the islands shoreline.

That is when plan B was activated. It consisted in sailing further south towards the famous Gullet Channel. Once a sheltered place was found close to the entrance, our expedition leader announced the alternative program: ice cruising in the polar circle boats!

It was still foggy and overcast, but this is exactly the light you need in order to be able to see the beautiful different shades of blue in the ice. In addition there was the dramatic effect of the light on the sky, the water and the entire scenery. Our Polarcirkle boats turned out to be small icebreakers which pushed their way in between brash ice and among icebergs. Crabeater seals could be seen from a close distance and snow petrels accompanied us in the air. It was a truly overwhelming, breathtaking experience that most of us will never forget!

A Drake-day

No landing today, that sounds funny, but we are in the Drake Passage already and that means, now we have the time to think about the experiences we had during our days in Antarctica.

                                    

Of course the expedition staff offered several lectures and so we had the feeling being back at school or to the university again. Linda, our photographer gave again tips for making good photos.

But there was also enough time for relaxing.

Some liked the puzzles; some used the time have a look at the books of our well equipped library. Others liked only talking in the Observation Lounge with their new friends.

In the afternoon it was waffle time again. The fine and tasty smell filled the whole ship and made everybody hungry. A little walk on the outside decks, watching the birds, helped us to become hungry by dinner time. But good food belongs to successful holidays too.

Sailing in the storm

Our morning started with sunshine. During the night we reached the Antarctic Sound where we planned a landing in Brown Bluff. To reach this place we had to cruise between amazing tabular icebergs. The tabular icebergs are drifting with the main current and the wind from the Weddell Sea into the Sound. The scenery was so spectacular, that most passengers were standing in the bow or in the Observation Lounge. After a while the wind picked up and then we got a real storm, more than 35m per second. The sea-spray was flying over the ocean and against the sun you could see even rainbows in the sea-spray. With such a wind it was not possible to land in Brown Bluff and the Captain and our Expedition Leader made the decision to cruise with FRAM in the direction of the Weddell Sea. So we could watch the wonderful landscape and the tabular icebergs more intensively. Around lunchtime we saw Humpback Whales again. They showed their fluke very often, so that we got several possibilities to make good photos.

In the afternoon we enjoyed the lectures given by our experts from the expedition team. We always try to get as much information as possible.

In the evening we passed through the Nelson Strait into the Drake Passage. This was the moment to say good bye to Antarctica, although we wish to stay longer.

After dinner we met for a question round with our officers in the Observation Lounge and got the answers to all our open questions regarding the ship.

CLEAR SAILING

Endless blue sky and bright sun appeared at 3AM and stayed with us throughout this perfect day.

Our morning landing was at Stonington Island. The island sits in an awesome setting of multi-colored rocks and high mountains and is flanked on one side by an immense active glacier front. While we were there this glacier calved on several occasions and the sound and the rolling waves were truly awesome. The term “awesome” is currently overused by the younger generation but the glacial action and the sounds of the glacier breaking apart and the power of the waves breaking as they approached the shore were truly awesome.

Tudor Morgan, Antarctic Heritage Trust, putting up new signboards

While on the Island we visited 2 abandoned but preserved bases. UK Base E and US East Base are within sight of each other. The US base was built and used from 1939 and closed in 1941. The UK base was built in 1945-46 and during that period one of the US base buildings was used to store seal carcasses that were used as dog food. Needless to say this storing of the seals in the bunkhouse did not sit well with Finn Ronne the US base commander when he returned to the site in 1947. Eventually the respective base commanders resolved these “grievances and other issues” and a substantial mapping and sampling program was carried out under the banner of civil cooperation.

Our day continued under clear skies and bright sun. After lunch we reached Horseshoe Island but our intended landing there had to be cancelled as the winds were too strong and the waves were too choppy.

A benefit of this cancellation is that this evening we are traversing the Gullet northbound under clear skies and with a beautiful sun angle.     

12 HOURS OF FUN:

Our day began with a lecture by Tudor Morgan reviewing his Antarctic experiences.

He wintered at Rothera Station then spent several summer seasons with a geologist or a physicist at remote inland field camps. Some of these camps were so far inland that their small plane had to be refueled three times to reach the research destination. At present Tudor is the Operations Manager for the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), an NGO that preserves historical buildings in Antarctica. The Trust’s program is primarily funded via the profits from the sale of the clothes, maps and cards that we buy at the small shop the Trust operates at Port Lockroy.

 

Before lunch, exactly at 11.01 o’clock, the ships horn sounded as we crossed the Antarctic Circle. King Neptune appeared and we were all welcomed to his ‘southern realm’. Some of us were initiated with an icy dousing as we approached the presence of his highness.

In the afternoon the weather remained cooperative and we visited the Detaille Island site. At the end of March 1959 the station personnel had only a few moments notice to abandon the station and dog-sled 48 km (30 miles) to the nearest ship for evacuation. At present a 4 person UKAHT work team is re-roofing the main building and cleaning and drying the interior contents. The goal is to preserve the building with its contents as a museum.

MS Fram in the Gullet

Our 12 hours of fun concluded with a southerly traverse of 13km or 8m through the Gullet. Both sides of the narrow channel are bordered by high peaks and steep glacier. In fact a large glacier calved just as the FRAM passed by. Orcas, many seals, a cormorant rookery and a few penguins all entertained us as our day drew to a close.

MS Fram in the Gullet: leopard seal!

Orcas!!

More than words can say

We had an indescribable day on Cuverville Island, at the Argentinian Station Almirante Brown and later on in the Lemaire Channel. We cannot describe the day with words. So we made the decision:

let the pictures talk:





Gentoo on the eggs





Protecting the chicks



Feeding the chicks





Toilet training…



… feeling successful!





Hunting the Skua



Moulting





Feeling like little children!





Almirante Brown





In the Lemaire Channel



Sunset in the Lemaire Channel