Entering the Lemaire Channel and open seas, it was a rough night’s sailing, with big swells and visibility to less than 100 metres. With the ship rolling from side to side, some discovered they had not yet got their sea legs, so retreated to their cabins. “One hand for yourself, and one hand for the ship” was the catch-cry for the morning, as we staggered drunkenly into breakfast. It was thankfully a lazy sailing morning.
At around 11am in the morning, we crossed the Antarctic Circle, and gathered on Deck 6 outside the bar for a group photo to celebrate the occasion.
The destination for today was to get as far south as Detaille Island, in Crystal Sound, with the hope to sail further south to Marguerite tomorrow! Detaille Island is the site of yet another abandoned British base – this one only lasted three years before they decided th e location was not suitable, and everyone left, leaving the station behind with everything in it as is. A steep climb up a slippery ice slope was managed by everyone, thanks to strong-handed staff placed at five metre intervals along the track, and a plentiful supply of walking sticks to help haul us up. A fearsome mother skua carefully stood guard over her two fluffy chicks on a rock near the main hut, flapping wings and squawking loudly at any unwary expeditioner foolish enough to step too closely to the nest. A small colony of Adelie penguins are found here. They are not adapting too well to the warming temperatures in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula and have been forced to keep moving south to survive.
A glorious late afternoon cruise amongst the incredible ice sculptures floating on the water of Crystal Sound was a highlight for those who managed it. There was even a large iceberg that was a repl ica of the Sydney Opera House! There were plenty of crabeater seals lazing about on the tabular icebergs to photograph, and a couple of leopard seals were spotted, also stretched out on the ice. The sun was bravely trying to break through the clouds, and the calmness of the water was almost mirror-like. It made for a memorable ice cruise, made more so by the knowledge that we were the only vessel to successfully land on Detaille Island this season!
A flurry of humpback whales off both sides of the ship just after dinner had many of us in the Deck 6 bar rushing out without warm clothes to glimpse them, before rushing back in to get warm. Tonight’s FireSide Chat was Ben’s solo, unsupported bike trek across 200km of Greenland’s tundra, one which he is not too keen on repeating, apparently!
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