Fog does not stop us!

As we made our way to the South Shetland Islands and the Great White Continent the excitement of making our first landing in Antarctica mounted.  Even the heavy fog that enveloped the ship all morning long did not quell our enthusiasm.  It may have been foggy but that did not cause us to lose any time.  We were due to make our first landing at Half Moon Island at 15:00!

The lecture series continued in the morning with talks on history, seals and penguins.  We certainly felt well prepared for Antarctica!

As we approached Nelson Strait, our entrance to the South Shetland Islands, the fog began to lift and we caught our first glimpses of land.

And than at 14:45 the Expedition Team boarded the first Polar Cirkle boats and went ashore to prepare the landing site.

The first passengers on shore were the hikers.  A lot of hikers.  78 people signed up  to join the two hour trek.  At 16:15 the hikers set off towards the Argentine Base Camara and continued on along the beach and up to a lofty 360˚ view of Moon Island, Livingston Island and the surrounding waters.

At the main landing site everyone was entertained by the boisterous colony of Chinstrap Penguins.  There was also a Crabeater Seal and Weddell Seal which just about everyone got the opportunity to visit and photograph.  Towards the end of the landing a couple of male Antarctic Fur Seals hauled out on the beach.  It was quite an impressive landing for our first moments in Antarctica.

Meanwhile the Captain decided that while we were all on shore it would be a good time to run some safety drills with the ship’s life boats and the “man over board” (MOB) boat.

At around 18:30 everyone was back on the ship.  We lifted anchor and set a course to take us towards Antarctic Sound and the Weddell Sea.

This was only day one of our landings.  There is an entire boat load of exciting adventures yet to come!

Drake Passage

We woke up to an overcast and calm day. A day of swings and roundabouts. With minimal swell and wave heights below 2m, nobody felt seasick on board and everybody was able to attend to the diverse lecture programme set up by the expedition team. On the other hand, some photo enthusiasts were more than a bit disappointed as under these conditions, albatross and other seabirds rarely fly. These birds need more wind to soar around on the seas. So apart from a couple of Hourglass dolphins that visited the ship, very few wildlife was spotted today.

The day was also used for preparations for our landings in Antarctica. A big vacuuming party was held in the corridors of deck 2 and 3, where everybody carefully cleaned their jackets, trousers and bags. One of the biggest threats to Antarctica’s wildlife is introduction of foreign life forms, being it seeds from plants back home or microorganisms that are attached to soil particles. With this extra care, we make sure that we keep Antarctica as unspoilt as it is now.

Ushuaia in the sun!

It was a heat wave in Ushuaia.  Shorts and a t-shirt were de rigueur.  Most often when warm air wafts through Ushuaia there is a sense that inclement weather lies lurking just beyond the craggy mountain tops.  But not today.  There were no fewer than eight ships in Ushuaia today.  The port was packed and everyone was strolling the main streets luxuriating in the warm sunshine.  And why not?  Let’s absorb those beneficial rays before heading down to the ice.  It’s going to be cold right? Well, maybe.  Certainly colder than Ushuaia was today but this is the warmest season I’ve seen on the Antarctic Peninsula in the past twenty years.  Is it global warming?  Possibly.  Is it natural weather  variation?  Probably.  But it gives one pause for thought.

The weather has also been kind to us crossing Drake Passage this summer.  The majority of our crossings have been accompanied by very little wind.   Having said that, several ships got slammed three days ago in a big storm in the Scotia Sea.  There is also much more ice further north in the Weddell and Scotia Seas this year and in addition there has been more fresh snow on the northeast side of the peninsula than normal.  What gives?  I don’t know, but for the most part the weather has been to our benefit.  The ice? Well, there was that massive detour we had to make on our trip from South Georgia to the Peninsula.  The northern boundary of the ice caused us to deviate our course by hundreds of miles.

These days we conduct our mandatory safety briefing before we leave the pier in Ushuaia.  Upon completion of the drill we cast off at 18:00.  There was a stiff breeze blowing but nothing that would ruffle Fram’s feathers.  It was a glorious evening to cruise the Beagle Channel.  At 21:00 we joined the Captain, the officers, the Expedition Team and some of the crew for the Captain’s welcome speech and a glass of champagne.  We were introduced to key members of the ship.

At around 23:00 we went from the sheltered confines of the Beagle to the rolling swell of the open Atlantic Ocean.  You can always tell.  The ship goes from little to no movement  at all, to a gentle roll like tonight, or to a “bounce and slam” on some other nights. 

Drake Passage- Part 2

Surrounded by fog, MV Fram continued its way to Cap Horn and then to Ushuaia. The educational program was on full speed and even a little choppy sea did not stop it.

From time to time the fog became less dense and we were able to spot a few birds, including Wander albatrosses, that glided majestically around the ship.

In the afternoon we were invited to join the Captains Farewell Cocktail, followed by an auction. In the auction, the MV Fram master navigation chart and Hurtigruten company flag were sold to raise money for four foundations that are involved in nature protection programs. Two of them are involved in bird conservation and two in preserving human heritage in Antarctica. This time the auction went really amazing. We collected 2320 US$ all together!

At 4 pm, greeted by Peale’s Dolphins, Fram arrived in the vicinity of Cape Horn. That’s final sign that our journey is coming in to an end. In few hours we’ll take Beagle Channel pilot on board and start the last leg to Ushuaia.

Drake Passage

After a fantastic expedition exploring the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula we are now headed north on our route through the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia.  This morning we awoke to fog that you could cut with a knife.  A steady drizzle fell throughout the day.  On Fram it is warm. Cozy.  A light swell gently rocked Fram back and forth.  On a day like today you could get lost in memories of penguins, seals, whales, icebergs and adventure. On a day like today you could kick back and relax.  Wind down from the bustle and excitement from your exploits in Antarctica.

As usual on our sea days there was a full program of lectures and films which you could attend  or you could take advantage of the many amenities of the ship such as the sauna, or gym, or whirl pool, or perhaps a cocktail or capacino in the bar.

During the morning everyone had a chance to visit the bridge.  Captain Hårvik always delights in showing off his ship.  He is patient in answering all questions.  After a trip to the bridge it was comforting to know that in this “pea soup” fog that we had a state of the art navigation and radar system.

At 15:30 a delightful smell of waffles wafted throughout the ship.  Mmmmmm.  Hot waffles and whipped cream and maple syrup in the Observation Lounge on deck seven.

Following waffles we met the Expedition Team in the Observation Lounge for a recap of our voyage.  For a full hour they fielded questions about wildlife, history and geology.  It was a great opportunity to review the trip and get answers to those burning questions.

Late in the afternoon the fog lifted but a light rain continued to fall.

The last scheduled activity of the day was a film about one of the greatest Antarctic Adventurers of all time:  Ernest Shackleton!

Furthest South

After picking up the happy campers from Petermann Island, MV Fram proceeded to Yalour Islands. This group of low lying islands is not only a home to 5000 pairs of Adelie penguins but is also known from its dense, but low, vegetation. Antarctic hair-grass, cushion moss and few crustose lichens bring many different colors to the rock surfaces and demonstrate that Antarctica is not only black and white. It was also our furthest south destination - 65°14’S.

During lunch MV Fram sailed one more time through Lemaire Channel. 

This time in northerly direction bound for Port Lockroy and former British Antarctic Survey Base “B”, situated on Goudier Island. The base was built in 1944 also as a part of “Operation Tabarin” and after closing down in 1962, the buildings slowly started to fall apart. In mid 1990s British Antarctic Heritage Trust took over the site and in 1996 renovated the buildings. Today it is small museum where visitors can learn how the research personnel lived in Antarctica in 1950s and 1960’s. It is also post office and souvenir shop - the biggest shopping mall in Antarctica, as some people are saying. There was time to send some postcards home and buy few souvenirs, knowing that majority of the profit would go to restore other old British Bases in Antarctic Peninsula area.

At 6 pm we all were back on board and Fram started its way north through Neumayer Channel. Sadly, our journey is slowly coming to an end. Next stop – Ushuaia and … Drake Passage is ahead of us.

Cuverville Island and Almirante Brown

We began landing operations at Cuverville Island at 9:00. It was a very short ride in the Polar Cirkle boats and then suddenly, we were immersed in Gentoo penguin central. Cuverville, is home to one of the largest Gentoo penguin colonies in Antarctica with ~6000 pairs. Nearly every nest had two chicks.

Circling around the adults and small chicks were the ever-present Skuas.  Skuas are large predatory birds that are powerful on the wing and skilled in aerial pursuit. They are intelligent birds and can be quite curious.  Their behaviour reminds one of Crows and Ravens.

We were treated to another absolutely gorgeous day.  Again the temperatures seemed to be unusually warm.  Sunscreen is an absolute necessity.  Without it your screen will fry very quickly due to the hole in the ozone layer.

Half way through the landing a minke Whale showed up quite close to shore.  Occasionally minke whales will take the time to investigate small boats and people.  This was definitely a curious animal.  A few lucky people were able to see it right beside the boat!

Shortly after noon we weighed anchor and headed for our second landing of the day at Almirante Brown, a very small Argentine station in Paradise Bay.  From the ship we could see that the Argentina flag was raised and that there was someone home.  Most often when we visit, the base is unoccupied but this time there were six men there.  

Our good weather held for the afternoon. Most of us hiked to the top of a 90 metre hill behind the small base where we could see the entirety of the bay.   While it was a bit of a struggle to hike up the hill, the conditions were ideal for sliding back down!  Most people chose to slide instead of walking back down.

At 18:00 the last polar Cirkel boat left shore.  Tonight we will overnight at Peterman Island and 15 hearty souls will camp on shore.  Brrrrrr!

Seals, Geology & History

In the morning we landed at Astrolabe Island. This small island, was discovered by the French expedition, 1837-40, under Capt. Jules Dumont d'Urville, and named by him for his chief expedition ship, the Astrolabe. In the summer it is home to over 4000 breeding pairs of Chinstrap penguins but also very convenient haul-out for various seals. Today the Weddell seal took over the place. We counted 14 of those creatures resting on the beach, and few more were spotted in the water. Small number of Antarctic Fur seals were also resting ashore as well as one Leopard seal was watching us from his iceberg.

Afternoon we were inside caldera of an active volcano – Deception Island. We landed in Whalers Bay. The bay was so named by the French Antarctic Expedition, 1908-10, under Charcot, because of its use at that time by whalers. Shore-based whaling operations began here in 1910 and ended in 1931. In 1944 Brits built here, as a part of so called “Operation Tabarin”, Base A. After the Second World War ended the base was transferred to British Antarctic Survey.

Volcanic eruption of 1969 destroyed some of whaling era remnants as well as forced BAS base personnel to be evacuated. The main building of the Base – Biscoe House, is still standing, but it was severely damaged by the ash.

More than 40 of us, instead of just roaming around landing place, decided to make extended hike to Baily Head. Not an easy, the three and half hours round trip took us to the biggest Chinstrap penguin rockery in the Antarctic Peninsula area. There are 150,000 breeding pairs of penguins there. Including their chicks it could be over 450,000 individuals!

Hope Springs Eternal in Hope Bay

Our first scheduled stop was at Esperanza in Hope Bay. Esperanza is Spanish for hope.

“Hope” in Hope Bay.  As we approached the Argentine base at 08:00 the sea ice became increasingly dense.   In the distance we could see the base, a sprinkling of orange buildings more than two nautical miles away.  Those two miles might as well have been two hundred miles for all the difference it would make to us.  The ice was too thick for Fram to venture any further.   Truly there was no hope for Hope in Hope Bay. It had been an adventure to weave our way through the ice to arrive at this juncture.  It seemed that not only would we miss out on Esperanza but our second planned landing at Brown Bluff would be out of the question.  Even though Fram has an ice-strengthened hull it would take a ship with a much higher ice rating than ours to make it through to Brown Bluff.  If there was only an ice-breaker in the area. We could follow an ice breaker to...  almost anywhere.  Oh wait!  There’s one!!  

The HMS Protector was lying at anchor just a few hundred metres away.  Formerly a Norwegian vessel, the Protector was now in the service of the British navy.  On board the Protector there were representative from the International Association of Antarctic Tour operators (IAATO) as well as representatives from the Antarctic Treaty.  They were here to review the landing sites used by IAATO members.  As good fortune would have it, they were planning on going to Brown Bluff too.  They kindly offered us the opportunity to follow in their wake through the ice.  They would then escort us safely out of the dense ice again when our landing operations were complete.

What safer passage than with a British navy ice-breaker.  Whoop-ee!

Our journey through the sea ice to Brown Bluff was unforgettable, however, would there be an opening in the ice for our diminutive Polar Cirkel boats to make it to shore.

At 16:00 the Expedition Team launched a scout boat.  It didn’t look good, but what you couldn’t see from the ship was that the ice cover actually opened up as you approached shore!  Soon passenger laden Polar Cirkel boats were zipping from the ship to shore.

Once on shore we had many options to explore.  Part of the Expedition team were guiding glacier walks on one end of the site while at the opposite end the rest of the team were spread out to facilitate our visit to a Gentoo and an Adelie penguin colony.

The sun was shining.  The scenery was truly magnificent.  Brown Bluffs and blue sky towered above us.  There was barely a breath of wind.  Soon everyone was pealing off layers of clothing. It seemed too hot to be Antarctica but the scenery belied the warm temperatures.  High on the glacier the Expedition Team took advantage of the good weather to build a snow man.

What started out as a hopeless situation in Hope Bay ended as a really unique and great adventure.  It was the first time Fram had ever had the opportunity to venture into such heavy ice.  When would we ever again have such a safe and guaranteed escort?  Probably never.

(Tout nos passagers francais aimeraient passer le bonjour à Christine et toute l’equipe au Bureau à Paris!)

South Shetland

The night was a little bumpy although by the hour wind and swell diminished. After breakfast we had our mandatory briefing – how to behave, what we can and what we can’t do in Antarctica. Some of the rules are obvious but some not, so it was good to learn how to disturb the least as possible the life in Antarctica for future generations to see the amazing beauty of the continent. At about 11 am we spotted the first iceberg, and an hour later land was on sight – Robert Island in the South Shetland Islands. We made it!

The MV Fram was surrounded by a few dozen of Cape Petrels’, few giant Petrels and hundreds of penguins jumping as we moved along as we entered the Nelson Strait.  Before the MV FRAM reached our first landing destination we were also greeted by a breaching Humpback whale.

At 4 pm Fram drop anchor on the lee side of Half Moon Island. Bright sunshine and only a light breeze in some areas made a perfect condition to have a first meeting with penguins.

During the dinner we had plenty to talk about. Few guests, who conquered the 95 m high hill top of Saddleback Ridge, mentioned a strong wind on the other side of the island. Of course everybody has seen Chinstrap penguins since there are almost 3500 breeding pairs of those guys nest there. Some of us have seen a few Gentoo Penguins and the lonely Macaroni Penguin.

At the evening we were briefed that tomorrow we’ll have a chance to see one more species – the Adelie penguin. We are looking forward to it!

The Price of Admission

This summer has been unusually calm on Drake Passage.  Everyone on the Expedition Team has remarked on it, however, today things are back to normal.  Fram had pitched and rolled all through the night. This morning we had winds in excess of 40 knots that were producing seas of 5 - 6 metres. It was decidedly uncomfortable.  Many people were seen carrying plain white paper bags everywhere they went and many people weren’t seen at all.  They were having some “quiet time” in their cabin.  Still, if you weren’t prone to sea sickness, it was a beautiful day.  We had a mixture of sun and cloud.  The rough blue ocean was beautiful.  Giant Wandering Albatross soared around the ship as well as Cape Petrels, Southern Giant Petrels and Black-browed Albatross.  We even had fly-bys from Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and a Grey-headed Albatross.

There are always those people who arrive on Fram who say, “Oh, I hope we have a storm.  I’ve heard about Drake Passage and I would really like to experience a storm.”  I wince every time I hear those words.  A real storm just isn’t a whole lot of fun.  In fact, if you get caught in really serious weather, it can be downright frightening.  I’m sure that today’s bouncy weather would have satisfied the storm wishers.

At 18:15 we spotted the distant blows of whales.  In fact there seemed to be quite a few; however none of them were on our course or lose to the ship.  The consensus was that they were Humpbacks but it was difficult to make a positive identification.

Sea days on Fram are lecture days and we had plenty of them on the schedule.  In fact because we have an international crowd we had a total of nine lectures scheduled in three different languages; French, German and English.

By late afternoon, early evening, you could notice that the seas and winds were beginning to drop.  With Fram’s excellent stabilizers, the ride was now quite comfortable.  Just a little bit of bump and roll with a pitch.  If the price of admission to Antarctica is to cross the inhospitable Drake, then this seemed to be a fair price.

Ushuaia – “where the World ends”

After almost four hours flight from Buenos Aires and the plane touched down in Ushuaia Airport. The buses were waiting for us outside of the terminal and took us on a excursion to Lapataia National Park, located just few kilometers away from the town.

Early afternoon we were back in town and shortly before 4 pm we drove to the harbor and boarding formalities started. Each of us got the MV Fram ID card which is also the cabin key card and the onboard “credit” card. Then we had a chat with the vessel doctor and received our expedition blue jacket. Some of us explored the ship’s interior as well as the outside decks. Our “exploration” was suddenly interrupted by the mandatory safety drill after which Fram set sail into the depths of the Beagle Channel.

During the very enjoyable dinner we were able to admire the magnificent view of Tierra del Fuego in one side while in the other was Navarino Island illuminated by the gloomy light of the sunset. The last point of today’s excitement was Captain’s welcome cocktail party in the Panorama Lounge, where he introduced most of his officers and then followed by the introduction of the expedition staff.