Seconds out...for the Main round...

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We picked up our new group in Frei Airport. King George Island..as usual the flight in was weather delayed. If it is not down here in Antarctica then the problem is up in Punta Arenas. But finally we were all together, and with 650kg of provisions loaded on board we were ready.. After a safety brief we moved over to Potter, Yes I know 1 more time… and got ready to head on early for Deception Island. A Bit bouncy on the way out but we soon bore away for Deception.. As our local experts tell us South and West is better for weather. We arrived around 1500 . Then Tenders away out to the Penguin Colony at Baileys Head then back to Whalers Bay for a nice walk ashore. Then, finally at the end of the day 2200 at night the sun came out!!

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Potter Again

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Well the weather did indeed catch up. Right on the forecast from Commanders Weather service. The Winds at 0600 went from N at 15kts to East at 25kts with snow. It has got progressively worse over the last 24 hours while we have been here tucked up in Potter Cove off the Argentine base of Carlini. We have company also. A Chilean Navy vessel 300 meters behind and an Argentine navy Vessel 150m ahead. Nice to see them working together..We took the unusual step of putting down 2 anchors last night with 140m of chain out on each anchor to slow the swing down. We had 35kts with higher gusts but we could not tell how much after a while as our wind gear 60m up the mast.. Froze solid… We had a lot of ice in the rigging and Hard hats are needed to be worn on deck due to falling ice. Snow laid on the deck about 5mm or 1/4” Definately different for us. We did get Guests ashore yesterday to visit the Carlini base where they are doing real research rather than just occupying and being a presence. The highlight is several Humpback whales that swing by rubbing along the hull every so often. They are fantastic to watch, mind you there breath is a bit smelly!!

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Deception Island

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Deception Island

We arrived early in the morning off the Needles Rocks and landed our guests ashore in the midst of a huge Chin Strap Penguin colony. One of the biggest here with around 150,000 nesting pairs!

After that quite smelly stroll we moved inside the Extinct (We hoped) Volcano Crater, although the beaches still steam and the water just under the surface of the sand is very hot.

We anchored very close off the shore. In fact the stern was about 20m off the shallows! Deception was an old Whaling station in the 19th and 20th century's . Part of the cause of the destruction to the Southern whale population. Which was immense but in the end it was the factory ships in the 1930's that really killed off the populations of whales. However Deception is also the place that when stranded Shackleton could not get to. This was due to it being up wind. But only 130nm, away, however still impossible and so he instead did his famous trip to Elephant Island and South Georgia to the whaling stations there. an open boat trip of over 1800nm. Considerably further and although mostly downwind it was across the Southern oceans much larger seas.

Photo by Richard Drone Smith

Photo by Richard Drone Smith

Killer Whales

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Lockroy to Melchoirs and on to Deception island. We were moving on as we knew there was weather on the way and Deception island was a must see. On the way to Melcoir Islands we had our first interaction with a pod of Killer whales. The next day, early in the morning we had a couple of Humpbacks swimming very fast and very close to Rosehearty.

Quite unusual, until we noticed a killer whale was trying to force one of the smaller Humpbacks down under the water by covering its blow hole. This to exhaust it and make it more vunerable to attack.. I think Roshearty broke up a mugging as the Killer Whale headed off, at least for a bit.

Photo by Richard Smith

Photo by Richard Smith

From Danko to Port Lockroy

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From Danko island we travelled about 6 hours (to do 36 miles) through some pretty stiff ice conditions for us, probably the most we could navigate through safely, Say about 4/10. However we arrived at a great anchorage and settled in for the night. In the morning all guests went ashore to visit the Station here. Port Lockroy was a British Antarctic base and the most Southerly post office in the world. Now it is staffed in the summer only and used as a post office and a gift shop!

Photo by Ethan Toal

Photo by Ethan Toal

Throwback Tuesdays

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We Moved from our drifting spot early and on the way out we came across the beautiful Barque Europa.

This Must have been like the old days except that she was motoring.. We attempted to go in through the South Entrance of Culverville island To Danko island but we could not get through the ice so we had to do a 20nm detour to come in from the North. Which thankfully was more open. Again we shut down and drifted with the Ice and the Snow.

Photo by Hugo Thomas

Photo by Hugo Thomas

Neko Drifting in to Morning

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By the time all were aboard it was 2130 and time for a late Dinner on board. So We decided not to push on and just drift with the ice. We are in fuel conservation mode. There are no gas stations down here so we shut down and only started up the engines to move out the way of the nasty Bergy bits. Peacful night but We can only do this in light wind conditions as We move faster than the ice..! a little unnerving..

Photo by Hugo Thomas

Photo by Hugo Thomas

What a Day! It was Useful..

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We arrived at 1200 to Useful Island. We could not Anchor as We had some moving ice. As well as the fact the icebergs were parked over the shallow spots We hoped to Anchor in. So We drifted… The guests went ashore and Hiked up to the top of Useful island where the view was special and encompassed the whole area

Pretty decent hike up. On returning to the boat we drifted around Gerlache Channel for Lunch before heading in through the icebergs towards Neko Harbour where we visited with some more Penguins…

Photo by Hugo Thomas

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South to Gerlache Straits.

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All well here. A bit of a mess yesterday at Punta Arenas as the weather was poor in King George island so a lot of waiting at the Hotel in Punta Arenas for the guests and then…Then a Rush to get to the plane for a weather window.  Then they asked us to Move Rosehearty out off the anchorage 1/2 a mile more just before the plane landed to allow the plane a very low approach..There was not much Vis.

However it all got sorted and we are tonight on the way South. The Weather was again indifferent today with Snow, 29f, and East winds at 15kts or more and water temp of 29f. But it has cleared now and the sun is setting here at 2300 and due back up at 0300. There is ice around but we have good Vis right now.

We passed this guy. a huge ice Island… on the way past Deception. 11nm long and 5 miles Wide it is named A57A and moving SW at about 12-15nm a Day! We chose not to get too close this time.


Photo by richard Smith

Photo by richard Smith

Carlini base to Fildes Bay

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We moved on the 2nd of January over to Fildes Bay in preparation for meeting our guests on the 4th at the Airport here.

The flights down here are 3 hours long from Punta Arenas and in our case flown on a BAE146 4 engine jet. Everything comes down on the plane, guests, luggage, food , spare parts etc. Because of this There are more boats here picking up and dropping off than we hope to see elsewhere. There are 3 bases here, the Chileans (Fildes) who handle the commercial airport. The Russians ( Bellinghausen) and a Chinese base all here in this bay. Across the bay are the Argentinians at Carlini and the Koreans!! However the special thing here is this Church the Russian Orthodox.. built in Russia and sent down here to be reconstructed. Small but Exquisite..

Photo by Raya Hutchison

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The Drake.. 60.00S and 64.00W

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Well with 2 reefs in and the staysail out we have made good time. Constant Barometer watching is now the entertainment of the day. We have been fortunate so far with this weather window. The winds on departure were in the 20kts range but from a bit more SSW than we wanted and there was an award East Swell setting against a SW swell making it pretty uncomfortable for a while. The Easterly Swell shows we do not want to travel too fast here and end up on the wrong side of a low (it is 978mb right now here..). So a sedate 10kts is the speed for now.. We soon got into deeper water and the old Easterly swell diminished (it is still present) So the sea is predominantly from the WNW to West at 5m or 18’ Winds are steady at 28-32kts and we even have some sunshine as you can see, between the rain showers and the threat of Fog.

Water temps are now 34f or 1.5c

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Puerto Williams to King George Island, Antarctica

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We refueled alongside a Tanker in the morning and packed as much fuel in to the boat as she could safely hold. A little last minute shopping for fresh Veg (not much there in Williams). and then loading Tenders on board, double checking lashings etc. scanning forecasts, obsessively. We decided to leave at 0300 and be in MacKinley Pass by 0400. This pass is the Eastern exit from the Beagle and has Argentina and Chile less than 1nm apart. Then SE to to pass Woolaston and Cape Horn to Starboard about 30 miles to windward.. And We are off across the Drake Channel.

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