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.

Shopping and Whaling in Antarctica

Our day started with a landing in Port Lockroy, the former British Station Base A. Today it is a museum with a souvenir shop that is maintained and operated by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. For most of us Port Lockroy was the last possibility to buy some Antarctic gifts for our family and friends at home. And here we could be sure, that our shopping was a good thing, because the profits from the sales at the Port Lockroy shop are used by the UKAHT to restore historical buildings in Antarctica. We were fortunate to see the profits at work by the construction crew as they installed a new roof on the building at Detaille Island, the former British Base W.

 

The afternoon we spent cruising in Wilhelmina Bay, looking for wildlife. And we were very fortunate. Directly at the entrance of the bay we saw our first humpback whales and little bit later we saw big pod of killer whales. The next there were two sleeping humpback whales, a mother and a calf. We passed by with MV FRAM very slowly, so that we could make nice pictures. But only some minutes later we had an unbelievable experience, which was the “Highlight of the day”. For nearly half an hour we could watch a female and male humpback whale swimming together very close to the FRAM. They were turning over, waving with their very long white flippers and also showing us their heads and their flukes. It was the best whale show you can imagine, better than all Walt Disney Films you can buy. It was hard for us to say good bye to our new friends, but we decided to let them alone and headed for our next destination in the Antarctic Sound.

After dinner we had the opportunity to learn to make different nautical knots. It looked very easy, when we watched the men from our deck department, but we were not sure, if we could do the knots this fast by ourselves.

The evening ended with the famous MV FRAM crew show. We will never forget all the different kind of talents they showed us. And we would like to say “thank you” to the crew that spent so much time to entertain us. 

Antarctica in snow

The morning started with snow. But the snow showers did not affect our first landing of the day. We were welcomed by the Ukrainian staff to their Station Vernadsky. We spent our time in the main building. First we were given a guided tour but then we had enough time to enjoy the famous bar. Several passengers tested the home-made Vodka. There is a special “lady offer”. If you donate your bra to the bar, you get a vodka drink for free. Unfortunately only one lady gave her bra away. The station members were a little bit sad – perhaps.

 

We spend our afternoon on Peterman Island. There was heavy cloud cover and most of the time we had continuous showers of rain or sleet or snow. But there is no bad weather, there is only bad clothing. We have been prepared very well for this weather with our rubber boots, rain pants and our blue waterproof jackets. So we enjoyed the landing even under these weather conditions. We spread like blue penguins over the island to see the Adelie Penguins with their nearly full grown chicks. We also saw Blue Eyed Shags and Gentoo penguins. The Gentoo chicks are quite small for this time of the year and as a result the Skuas were often attacking and eating the chicks. It is not nice to see how often the Skuas were successful, but that’s nature and Skuas have to eat too.

Most of us spent the evening relaxing in the Panorama Lounge. All these experiences made us tired and we went to bed, looking forward for another wonderful day.

Another Penguin Day

In the morning we reached the Fish Islands, a group of very tiny islands. Adelie Penguins were breeding all over. At ten o‘clock we started our landing on one of these small islands. It was a very special feeling to stand between all the Adelie Penguins. The chicks were standing in the Kindergarten and were protected by some adults. After the landing Anja, our Expedition leader, gave us the possibility for a short boat cruise between the icebergs and floating sea ice. Several Crab eater seals were resting on the ice and that gave us the possibility to watch at a very close distance. From the waterline we have been able to look directly into their eyes – a really an unforgettable experience.

In the afternoon FRAM headed north and we attended afternoon lectures. The weather has not been good and this time, we had wind and snow, so we had no good reason not to learn something new in one of the lectures.

In the evening we had our very, very well-known fashion show on board. Officers, crew, staff and even some passengers were the models. Our youngest model, Thieu Quang, 9 years old, came from Vietnam to participate. Everybody had a lot of fun and will never ever forget this special show.

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





Four seasons in a four hours landing

Last night around midnight we passed the Antarctic Convergence and that means: we have reached our travel-destination - Antarctica. In the morning the sea has been a little bit rough, but the wind was blowing from the aft, so that we did not feel the waves too much. While the German speaking passengers had the possibility to visit our captain on the bridge, the others used the opportunity to clean their backpacks and jackets. We wanted to be sure, that there are no seeds in our outdoor equipment that could bring any change to the Antarctic nature.

Around three o’clock we reached Deception Island, our destination for the afternoon. The wind was blowing very strong, it was foggy and snowy, and really not the weather we wished for our first landing.

Our sail through the very narrow Neptune’s Bellows, was the entrance to the caldera of Deception Island. It was spectacular and our captain did an excellent job. From the ship we had a nice view of the former whaling station and the ruins of the British Research Station. All the buildings were destroyed in the volcanic eruption in 1969.

Our swimmers were looking forward to this landing, as this is one of the best bathing beaches in Antarctica. Our Scandinavian passengers made a competition out of it. We had a total of 38 swimmers and all of them had a lot of fun.

Others of us enjoyed the wonderful landscape in Whaler’s Bay with the spectacular colors. Iron and sulfur in the volcanic ash brought nice red, brown and yellow color in the otherwise dark gray surroundings. Sun, snow, wind and fog were constantly changing during our landing, so that we had four seasons in only four hours.

After a tasty Scandinavian buffet the crew is singing for us in the Observation Lounge. What a surprise, that we have such a talented crew!

Getting prepared

During the night MV FRAM sailed through the Beagle Channel out into the Drake Passage. We woke up in a very smooth sea and to a beautiful sunrise. During the day the winds increased a bit and as they are blowing from the north the Fram as it heads south is saving diesel fuel.

Today there was not really time for relaxing as we prepared for our adventures ahead in Antarctica. Directly after breakfast our lecture series started and we learned a great deal about the birds, penguins (of course they are birds too), history and how to behave in Antarctica. Between we had time to become familiar with our own equipment we brought to this trip. Some of us had brand new cameras and we struggled to figure out how to use them to get the best photos, while on-land. We do not expect that it is so difficult to handle our binoculars. But we all had a lot of fun. We felt a little bit like students, running from one lesson to the other. Hopefully there is no test at the end of our trip.

Of course the crew had to prepare their equipment too. On the photo you can see our car deck with all the warm clothing for the expedition team and the seamen. Our Polarcircle boats are ready to go the first landing planned for tomorrow.

During the day we thought that Neptune, the king of all the seven seas would be our best friend, because the sea was so quiet. But one of us must have done something, that made him angry and now the sea becomes a little bit rougher. But it looks only like a first warning and we promised to behave better, so that Neptune likes us again and we can reach our first landing in Deception Island tomorrow afternoon.