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Daily report Antarctica



	Our Itinerary March 01: Ushuaia, Argentina, Beagle Channel. March 02: Day at sea, Drake Passage. March 03: Drake Passage, Bellingshausen and Eduardo Frey Stations, South Shetland Islands. March 04: Half Moon Island; Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. March 05: Danco Island; Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. March 06: Cuverville Island; Neko Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. March 07: Lemaire Channel, Neumayer Channel, Orne Island. March 08: Port Lockroy, Jougla Point, Neumayer Channel. March 09: Day at sea, Drake Passage. March 10: Day at sea, Drake Passage. March 11: Ushuaia, Argentina. Daily Log of Our Voyage Tuesday, March 1st: Ushuaia, Argentina (54º 48' S, 68º 18' W) Our voyage to the Terra Australis started at 6 pm. in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. For more than 3 hours, we enjoyed sailing along the Beagle Channel on our way to the infamous waters of the Drake Passage. Before dinner, the staff and officers were introduced. Our Expedition Leader Monika Schillat introduced the lecturers and guides, who would accompany us during the landings and help us understand how sensitive the ecosystem in Antarctica was. Andrea Raya Rey and Lucas Marti, both biologists, would teach us a lot of interesting details about the wildlife, Berenice Charpin and Sebastián Arrebola on the other hand would guide us safely through the sometimes dangerous landscapes of this wild continent. All of them had long been bitten by the polar bug and could just not help but love the White Continent. We felt, that we would be in good hands with this enthusiastic team. Our hotel manager Antonio Aguilera would take care of all our needs, and then, there was of course a man, who we hoped not to have to see to often – or at least only in a social way. This was our doctor Konstantin Petrosyan. Monika also introduced very briefly part of our bridge crew. The ice-captain, Juan Carlos Ianuzzo, First Mate Santiago Cupeiro, Second Mate Christián Frungieri and Third Mate Ariel Gómez. We would meet our captain, Carlos Pigni, a little later, as he was busy on the bridge, maneuvering the Ushuaia through the scenic Beagle Channel. Another highlight this evening was the safety drill conducted by our Third Mate Ariel Gómez. We joined in the sunshine on deck and hoped, that we would never have to follow his thorough explanations on the safety measures on board. For the rest of the evening we had hoped to be able to relax and unpack, but our expectations were eclipsed by a very special moment. Sebastián announced a beautiful low lying orange moon over the Chilean coast and out we went. Just a minute later, Andrea informed us, that she had seen dolphins, just off the bow of the ship and that was not all. They were racing the ship under a star-speckled sky and illuminated the waves with phosphorescent algae by touching the water. What an amazing scene! Wednesday, March 2nd: Drake Passage Right after breakfast Monika kicked off our lecture program with a presentation about the “Early Antarctic Exploration”. She lined out that the European approach to find Antarctica had actually been born out of the wish to find the almost mythical continent of Terra Australis Incognita. During the day we attended the lectures of Andrea about “Albatrosses and Petrels, the Ocean Wanderers”. Andrea presented the main characteristic of this group of magnificent flying birds, giving tips for easy identification of species at sea. She also presented information on their movements at sea during the breeding season and during non-breeding season. Later this day Monika gave an introduction to the different forms of ice we were to encounter. She got us all excited about the huge icebergs, which had been broken up from the ice-shelves in the Ross and Weddell Sea area. She also explained how sea-ice formed on the surface, how we could classify different ice-floes and distinguish between heavy and loose pack-ice. Soon we felt, that we were able to help our ice-captain Juan Carlos Ianuzzo in his task. We had turned into ice-experts. After lunch we were invited to a bird watching session on deck. Wandering and Black-browed Albatross, and a Wilson’s Storm Petrel delighted us with their majestic flight. At night we got closer to the fascinating world of sea birds watching the film “Grandma the oldest Albatross”. The Drake had been very gentle to us this first day. The crossing was smooth and some might have called this: “Lake Drake”. Thursday, March 3rd: Drake Passage Bellingshausen and Eduardo Frei Station, King George Island (62°15’S, 58°51’W) After a somewhat bumpy navigation we left the Drake Passage behind and reached the South Shetland Islands. At seven in the morning we had officially arrived in Antarctica, the bridge informed that water temperature had dropped to 2.2 degrees Celsius: the Antarctic Convergence had been crossed. The Ushuaia was sailing fast, which allowed us to think that we could make a landing today. In the morning Lucas introduce us to the amazing world of sea birds, specially “Penguins”, natural history, general aspects, species of the world and some tips on Antarctic species, their habitat and habits. In the afternoon Monika explained the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) guidelines for visitors to Antarctica and zodiac safety procedures, which made us aware of the way we had to behave while in Antarctica. Afterwards we got busy looking for the proper boots and preparing our gear for the first landing. Excitement grew as we were helping each other to find the right sizes and got to know our fellow travelers better. In the evening we made our first landing at King George Island, where a sunny sky gave us the opportunity to enjoy the views around Maxwell Bay, where we were invited to visit both the Russian and the Chilean stations situated next to each other. We were thrilled by the brand new orthodox church, which towered over the base. It was quite cosy and the smell of fresh wood still lingered in the church walls. We also met the friendly base personnel at the Chilean base and even had the chance to send some postcards from the post-office there. Overnight the Ushuaia repositioned to our next destination, Half Moon Island, situated between Livingston and Greenwich Islands. The Antarctic Convergencemarks the true ecological boundary of Antarctica, being formed by the meeting between temperate surface waters flowing southward from the tropics and cold Antarctic surface waters flowing northward from Antarctica. Here, the cold dense waters dive beneath the warmer waters. The location of the convergence varies slightly from year to year and it is an important biological frontier, influencing distribution of plankton, fish and birds. As you travel across it the species found are different. The water south of the convergence is referred to as the Antarctic Ocean or Southern Ocean, notable for its primary productivity. The Antarctic Ocean itself is made of three layers of water masses which differ in their temperature, salinity and direction of flow. The upwelling of a deeper water mass is pushed apart by the opposing West and East Wind Drift systems to bring nutrients to the surface, which feed the vast sea of plankton in the area. These microscopic creatures, in turn, are food for the krill upon which the Antarctic food web is so dependent. Friday, March 4th: Half Moon Island (62°36’S, 59°55’W) Deception Island (62°59’S, 60°34’W) Our first landing this morning took us to Half Moon Island. This 1.25 mile (2 kilometer) long, crescent-shaped island lies in the entrance of Moon Bay between Greenwich and Livingston Islands. The island was known to sealers as early as 1821. There are some excellent hiking opportunities and some truly glorious scenery. The landing beach on the northeastern shore is marked by a rotting dory. A short climb uphill and over the cobble was required to reach the first of the breeding chinstraps. Kelp gulls and skuas were also abundant and a group of young fur seals was show-fighting on the slopes. It was hard to leave this first Antarctican beach and we felt that we could have taken so many more photographs still, but the Ushuaia had quite a distance to cover to get to our next destination and would need a couple of hours to get there. We headed to Deception Island, one of the few active volcanic islands in the area. The last eruption only took place in 1971. Since then a group of Spanish scientists had measured a lot of little tremors, but no big eruption has taken place yet. Our excitement grew immensely when Monika explained how difficult the navigation through the narrow entrance of Deception would be. Captain Pigni had to pass through a narrow opening called Neptune’s Bellows, which not only was very narrow, but also extremely shallow. The scene was breathtaking, when we saw him hugging his starboard side to get us safely into the ring-shaped island. The whole island is a subducted crater and 9.2 miles (14,8 kilometers) in diameter, enclosing the large harbor of Port Foster, which is 5.8 miles (9.3 kilometers) long from the north-west to southeast and more than 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) wide. Port Foster is one of the most protected anchorages in the Peninsula. Our stop this afternoon took us to Whaler’s Bay. This is the small bay first encountered to starboard after passing through Neptune’s Bellows. The remains of an abandoned and fludded British Antarctic Survey base were located between the hangar and the crumbling boilers from the Norwegian whaling operation. The beach was strewn with volcanic ash and cinders of various sizes, which covered the old barrels, equipment, whalebones, and other debris from the whaling and research groups that once operated here. Steam rising from hot springs along the shoreline had a strong, sulfurous odor and certainly added to the melancholic atmosphere. But most of us felt happy enough to take the opportunity for a bath in the Antarctic hot tub that Lucas and Sebastián had dug out for them in the hot volcanic sand. What a great party that was, hauling out in the water just like elephant seals!! Some of us even swam out into the deep and cold water off the beach. Once back on board it was time to get warm again and to enjoy yet another wonderful dinner prepared by our chefs. But the night was still young and there was time for a great party to unfold in the bar. There was dancing and singing and Lucas played the guitar for us. Saturday, March 5th: Danco Island (64°44’S, 62°37’W) Almirante Brown Station – Paradise Bay (64°53’S, 62°52’W) This morning found us under bright sunshine in the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula, the very scenic Gerlache Strait. Islands and continent were caked with glaciers and huge icebergs in the waterway made for some extra excitement. Shortly after breakfast the zodiacs whisked us ashore to Danco Island in the southern part of the Errera Channel, off the west coast of Graham Land. A huge colony of Gentoo Penguins was nesting on the rocky outcrops and we went to pay them a visit hiking up the snowy slopes. Most of us made it on top of the island, enjoying the stunning views over both, the Errera Channel and the Gerlache Strait. We felt already in paradise, but our expedition staff told us, that paradise was yet to come on our afternoons landing. And they were right… In the afternoon we went to Almirante Brown Station, in Paradise Bay. A small abandoned Argentinean station was nestled against the rocks of the continent there. Yes, we were actually going to step on the White Continent today!! The 100-165 foot (30-50 meter) slope behind the station is snow-covered for most of the spring and summer, and afforded us a chance to hike upward for spectacular views of Paradise Bay. The nearby glacier and ice dome are crevassed now and we avoided them altogether as we went sliding downhill. The sun got more intense now as we gazed over the wide bay looking for seals and whales. We actually wondered, why we had brought so many layers of clothing with us, a T-shirt and Pullover was quite enough this afternoon. In addition to the continent landing, we were also offered an extended zodiac cruise to visit two shag colonies overlooking the bay, south of the station, and to cruise off the very active Petzval glacier nearby. The views were stunning and we grew silent as we passed by the impressive high glacial wall. How would we ever describe this at home? There was just too much to take in. Sunday, March 6th: Cuverville Island (64°41’S, 62°38’W) Neko Harbour (64°50’S, 62°33’W) The wind had picked up considerably over night and sea was quite choppy this morning as we went to Cuverville Island. We got sprayed by the waves but this could not effect our high spirits as we passed by strangely shaped icebergs and even spotted some humpback whales right from the boats. The island itself was very rocky with considerable moss cover at high elevations. A raised beach formed a nesting site for many Gentoo Penguins here. The higher slopes were off limits though for us. The skuas nesting upslope vigorously defend their nests, and we didn’t want to get attacked of course. A small number of fur seals lazed at the beach. Some of them even made the effort to try to scare us away, but our guides explained that these were just young males, which were still too young to engage in breeding activities higher up north in South Georgia and therefore came all the way down to Antarctica just to spend the summer here. There was a lot of adolescent behavior to be seen amongst them. And we really had to laugh watching all their fake fights. Show-fighting was indeed their favorite pastime and this was followed by long siestas and extensive feeding at sea. After lunch, our captain sailed through heavy pack ice into Andvord Bay, were we headed towards Neko Harbour, our next destination. Our Expedition leader had promised us yet another continent landing for this afternoon and we were pretty excited. The small harbour of Neko indents the eastern shore of Andvord Bay and lies about 7.0 miles (11.3 kilometers) southeast of Rongé Island and the southern end of the Errera Channel. Fur seals hauled out on the cobble beach below the abandoned hut. There also was substantial snow algae everywhere and the elevated Gentoo Penguin colony offered some beautiful, expansive views of the Gerlache Strait. But the real star of the location was of course the huge glacier just in front of the beach. Care was suggested because glacier rumblings and calvings raised quite high waves on the beach. We watched out for brash ice, which would be washed up at the beach with each calving. But there were other dangers too. As we went up higher the slope to slide down once more, our guides told us were to watch out for the crevasses on the snow-slopes above the Gentoo roockery. In this beautiful scenery we sometimes had a hard time to understand how hostile the environment could be. Sudden changes in the climate and hidden crevasses were the major danger on most of the landing sites and we had to follow the advise of our staff-group at all times. In fact this afternoon it was the captain who cut the landing short. From the ship he could see, that the ice had been closing in on the ship and hence ordered us back on board. But this was easier said than done. It was hard work for our zodiac drivers to take us back to the ship through ice-floes, brash-ice and freshly formed pancake ice. The temperature had dropped considerably and we could see how the sea had started to freeze over. But in the end we made it safely back to the Ushuaia, were another great dinner was awaiting us. Monday, March 7th: Lemaire Channel, Neumayer Channel Orne Islands (64°40´S 62°40´W). This morning we were not presented with a daily program. Monika explained that we would have a full expedition day with possible changes. First of all we were going to find out, if we could pass through the very narrow Lemaire Channel on our way South. Depending on this, we would either go further South, visiting the islands Booth and Pleneau or instead head north again and find other landing beaches in the vicinity of the Neumayer Channel. We were all very excited when captain Carlos Pigni made his way into the Channel shortly after breakfast. The narrow channel is a 7-mile (11 kilometer) long, one-mile (1.6 kilometer) wide passage running in a northeast-to-southwest-and-west direction from Splitwind Island and False Cape Renard (Monika called it “Una’s tits”) to Roullin Point and Cape Cloos. It separates Booth Island from the Antarctic Peninsula. And cruising this waterway, or at least part of it was absolutely awesome. The sky got clearer as our captain braved his way through the ice. Seals rested on the ice floes, and blue-eyed shags and kelp gulls provided avian entertainment. Two Minke whales passed along with us through the ice as our journey progressed. But soon it was time to turn around, as the Ushuaia encountered huge ice bergs blocking the channel. But we didn’t mind. The views were stunning and our Expedition Leader promised us yet another ship’s cruise. This time we were heading north and an hour later we entered the labyrinth of the Neumayer Channel, caked with ice and covered with stunning glaciers. In the afternoon we headed to the Orne Islands. This is a group of small islands lying close to Rongé Island, at the northern end of the Errera Channel. The largest of the Orne Islands is the one we were going to visit, but just before that, two Humpback whales, mother and calf, appeared on the starboard side of the ship, swimming and rolling and let us take a lot of photos. Orne Island offered excellent views of chinstrap penguins and the surrounding Gerlache Strait. South Polar and Brown Skuas were nesting on the island as well we saw them protecting their territory. The island has a rocky dome 245 feet (75 meters) in elevation, with moderate slopes rising from the shoreline to a long summit ridge of mainly bare rock. The surface was largely covered with deep snow and we had to take some care walking up the slopes. De Gerlache's Belgica Expedition (1897-1899)Adrien Victor Joseph De Gerlache, a Lieutenant of the Royal Belgian Navy, led the first Belgium scientific expedition to Antarctica, financed by the Brussels Geographical Society. Officers and scientist from several countries joined the expedition. The party was composed by Roald Amundsen and Frederick A. Cook among others. By January 1898 the "Belgica" was off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and discovered the Belgica Strait, later named De Gerlache Strait. They also gave the name Palmer Archipelago to a group of four large islands forming the western boundary of the Strait. By March 1898 the ship was completely trapped by ice at 71º30'S. forcing the crew to winter-over and becoming the first to winter south of the Antarctic Circle. The expedition underwent great hardships. After 377 days, the ship came out safely from the ice to sail home. The primary achievement of the party surviving the Antarctic winter proved that bases could be set up on the continent itself, enabling a full-time program of exploration. That knowledge was crucial for the next phase of Antarctic discovery. Tuesday, March 8th: Port Lockroy (64°49'S, 63°30'W) In the morning, divided in two group, we landed first at Jougla Point, to see an old whale bones skeleton, a Blue-eyed Shag colony and our already friends, the Gentoo Penguins. The second group started at Port Lockroy, at Goudier Island. This place was discovered and named by the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot and later used as a mooring place by whalers. Here we visited the British "A" Station, built during the Tabarin Operation in 1943-44. This Antarctic Historic Site was restored by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust in 1996. Nowadays, it's a museum and an Antarctic post office. We were greeted by Peter, the Station Leader and his staff. We visited the museum and the rookery of Gentoo Penguins around the base, where a research of human impact on penguins is being carried out. We also had the chance to send postcards and get some souvenirs in the gift shop Once back on the ship we started reorganizing our cabins. Cameras had to be secured and glasses put safely away as our captain sailed the Ushuaia through the Melchior Islands and out into the Drake Passage. We were lucky with the weather and as the swell gently rocked our ship, we were still able to attend Andrea’s lecture about the "Antarctic Marine Ecosystem". She informed us about life in the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic food web and the interaction among the different levels. We learnt more about the different species we had seen during our voyage and the adaptation of these animals to this cold and extreme environment. A little later this evening Monika invited us to another history lecture into the Conference Room. This time she was talking about the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration”, an era when human bravery and the lack of proper equipment were equally involved in the outcome of the expeditions. An International Geographical Congress held in London in 1895 had brought to everyone’s attention, that there were still big gaps in the knowledge about the White Continent. And this launched an ear of governmental sponsored expeditions to Antarctica at the end of the 19th and the early 20ties century. She focused on the Belgian Expedition under the command of the Baron de Gerlache (1897) and the Swedish/Norwegian Expedition with Otto von Nordenskjöld as Expedition Leader (1902/03). Both expeditions had to overwinter in the long, dark Antarctic night and were fighting against scurvy as well as insanity and despair. It was only due to a series of coincidences that they survived at all. Wednesday, March 9th: Drake Passage Today we were heading North entering the Drake Passage with Neptune showing us his strength and made the Ushuaia roll and pitch quite a bit. During the morning Andrea gave us a lecture called “Whales, gentle giants of the ocean” She introduced us to the world of the baleen whales and toothed whales, their identification, adaptation of these mammals to a whole life in the water and some interesting things about each of them. In the afternoon, Lucas introduced us to “Flying birds breeding in Antarctica”, where he lectured us on their distribution, breeding biology, feeding strategies and some tips to identify them. Thursday, March 10th: Drake Passage and Mouth of Beagle Channel Gradually we started to leave the Drake Passage behind. Some 'missing' people re-appeared again, and we were very happy for them. A little later this morning Monika gave us a talk about the “History of Whaling” in the area. She stressed the tough life the whalers had had in the 19th and 20ties centuries and also explained how important their industry had been world wide. In the afternoon, in a mysterious room of our ship, the "Antarctic Creature" was created. In the evening we celebrated the end of this wonderful trip with a toast at the bar. Friday, March 11th: Ushuaia, Argentina - Lat. 54º 48' S, Long. 68º 18' W We arrived in the early morning and after breakfast it was time to say good-bye to our fellow travelers. The entire staff of the Ushuaia was very happy to have you on board. We hope to see you again soon and wish you all a safe trip home!