A month in solitary confinement wouldn´t produce many tales, but by jesus does a month in Antarctica ever. Where do I possibly start the story? The story that, as so many are, will never cover anything close to the full one of being there.
THE DRAKE
The Dreaded Drake was more like Drake Lake on our way south, but even though we had a more ´normal´ drake on our return, it wasn´t even close to the rough seas it is renowned for. None the less, the boat still rolled around a fair bit, enough that some people spent 3 days in bed without rising other than to use the loo. Not I, fortunately - although the inability to do anything much at all on the crossing starts to gnaw away at your sanity after awhile - perhaps being able to stay in bed is a good thing. The surging sea is quite remarkable, gigatonnes of water being forced east through the relatively narrow passage - you can really feel the enormous power in the swell. There´s not much scenery along the way, but the albatrosses are a beautiful sight. Enormous, beautiful birds that glide so elegantly, so close to the surface. I´m sure I´d keep running into those bloodywavesoutofnowhere if I tried it. Also a treat was our dolphin entourage on our way out and back into the Beagle Channel. They dart along in the water, ducking and weaving under the bow and jumping out of the water - these guys didn´t need to show their teeth to convince us they were having a ball.
THE CLIMBING
Despite a few thoughts of climbing all these fantastic new peaks, maybe 7 a day, the climbing side of things was predominately on climbed peaks. That´s not to put a negative spin on it - we had so many days of absolutely fantastic weather, and we had some great days out on (or in?) the snow. One highlight was a ridge ascent/traverse on Mt Demaria, which packed a little bit of everything - as ridges are wont to do. Good old ridges - I love ´em. We tried to find a way up the Northern side of the Scott massif, but were turned around by discreetly menacing crevasses, and some more obviously menacing seracs. The snow down there was amazingly soft, and it stayed soft quite a way down. Lucky we had snowshoes with us... I guess thanks to so many hours of daylight, and quite warm weather. There just doesn´t seem to be the melt/freeze routine that makes climbing so much more pleasurable - at least not while we were there. We also climbed a little ice berg - in a life jacket in case it rolled while we were on it!
THE ICE
We had two free-divers on board, who were in the water quite a lot, which soon prompted myself and others to give it a go. I went swimming (in a suit) several times - and it was magical. Despite a numbed face and cold hands. Swimming amongst ice bergs was a real highlight of the trip for me. I would take a breath, plunge, turn upside down and track the iceberg underwater, feeling with my hands all the amazing pockets and features. The ice is amazing. Something so natural, shaped solely by natures forces, they are the most incredibly beautiful objects I have seen. I also went for a quick swim in my togs at the end of the trip - I swam all of 10m before levitating out of the water to the hot shower on deck.
THE RELATIONSHIP TESTER
The double kayak was a great source of entertainment! It´s inability to be paddled in a straight direction amusing every time. We also had two singles though, and most of us went out quite often in them. It was a beautiful way to experience everything around us. Such a pristine place makes one feel a lot better feeling it in a pristine way - no motor. The kayaks put us on a level with Antarctica - inquisitive penguins, seals, and even whales would come and check us out, and you could paddle amongst all the amazing floating ice masterpieces.
THE VISITORS
We visited an old British base at Port Lockroy - I got a tacky passport stamp and a tea towel! I would never have thought of bringing US dollars to Antarctica! Far more entertaining though was our later visit to Vernadsky, a Ukranian base staffed by 12, in one year periods. A quick tour showed us their ozone-hole-readermatron, but the fun started afterwards. We just happened to arrive on their ´Old New Year´, so had a great night in their bar with people from 3 other yachts, and the staff. The base-made vodka (well, alcohol, anyway) flowed freely, as did the Ukranians on the dance floor with any visiting woman they could convince to join them. All the time with Antarctica out the window, constantly bathed in light through the night. It was a surreal experience indeed.
THE LOCALS
Ah, the locals are great! Yes, penguins are the cutest little things, funny little buggers. They waddle and slide along the snow. They jump off and onto icebergs. What I really loved though, was when a school would be swimming along near the boat, and they would all pop their head up very inquisitively, and paddle about. One of my favourite things about seeing seals, was spotting them sleeping on a little berg in the channel. Imagine waking up miles away from where you went to sleep! We were blessed by the presence of so many humpback whales, we saw an above average number of them. They are such majestic, fun creatures - so inquisitive. They would come right up to the boat and swim all around, even underneath. Before we left, I climbed to the top of the mast, conveniently when a whale was around - it was incredible to make out it´s full form swimming next to the boat from such a height. I have trouble doing justice to the creatures down there in words. What was so beautiful about them as a collective, was just being amongst them, and taking the time to do so. Rather than seeing one, snapping a photo, and ducking off, we spent a whole month entangled (at a minimum distance...) in their habitat.
THE CREW
All the great things we did in our month, all the things we saw, could not have happened without Australis and her excellent crew: Skipper Ben, Skye and Amanda. Not only did they take us there and back, they showed us all the best places they could, they told us what bird was what, and best of all they served up awesome meals, time after time (though the brownies that England made were I think the number one dessert). They weren´t our crew, they were our friends, drinking partners, chefs - an integral part of the whole trip.
THE CONCLUSION
Our last night together as a group was spent at Puerto Williams, a Chilean settlement on the Beagle Channel. We had a blinder of a night at the local pub, on board a permanently moored ship. Many pisco sours were consumed, many games of fives were played, and many laughs were had. We were all starting to go our separate ways after this - but it wasn´t a sad end to a trip, I think thanks to us all going onto something else, and also thanks to spending an adequate amount of time down there. Despite there being 12 of us living in close quarters for a month, there were no quarrels whatsoever (other thank Nic & Dick, and they´re married so its ok, and they were entertaining, and they only ever really happened after they´d been kayaking!). It was such a good, varied bunch of people, and its thanks to everyone that the trip wasn´t just beautiful, it was an experience. On the last day, coming down the calm Beagle Channel, out in the sun, I sat atop the mast and simply felt happy. I felt so alive, never before have I felt so strongly that I am doing exactly what I want, that there is nothing I would change. It felt good (even with a slight case of the dt´s...)
THE DRAKE
The Dreaded Drake was more like Drake Lake on our way south, but even though we had a more ´normal´ drake on our return, it wasn´t even close to the rough seas it is renowned for. None the less, the boat still rolled around a fair bit, enough that some people spent 3 days in bed without rising other than to use the loo. Not I, fortunately - although the inability to do anything much at all on the crossing starts to gnaw away at your sanity after awhile - perhaps being able to stay in bed is a good thing. The surging sea is quite remarkable, gigatonnes of water being forced east through the relatively narrow passage - you can really feel the enormous power in the swell. There´s not much scenery along the way, but the albatrosses are a beautiful sight. Enormous, beautiful birds that glide so elegantly, so close to the surface. I´m sure I´d keep running into those bloodywavesoutofnowhere if I tried it. Also a treat was our dolphin entourage on our way out and back into the Beagle Channel. They dart along in the water, ducking and weaving under the bow and jumping out of the water - these guys didn´t need to show their teeth to convince us they were having a ball.
THE CLIMBING
Despite a few thoughts of climbing all these fantastic new peaks, maybe 7 a day, the climbing side of things was predominately on climbed peaks. That´s not to put a negative spin on it - we had so many days of absolutely fantastic weather, and we had some great days out on (or in?) the snow. One highlight was a ridge ascent/traverse on Mt Demaria, which packed a little bit of everything - as ridges are wont to do. Good old ridges - I love ´em. We tried to find a way up the Northern side of the Scott massif, but were turned around by discreetly menacing crevasses, and some more obviously menacing seracs. The snow down there was amazingly soft, and it stayed soft quite a way down. Lucky we had snowshoes with us... I guess thanks to so many hours of daylight, and quite warm weather. There just doesn´t seem to be the melt/freeze routine that makes climbing so much more pleasurable - at least not while we were there. We also climbed a little ice berg - in a life jacket in case it rolled while we were on it!
THE ICE
We had two free-divers on board, who were in the water quite a lot, which soon prompted myself and others to give it a go. I went swimming (in a suit) several times - and it was magical. Despite a numbed face and cold hands. Swimming amongst ice bergs was a real highlight of the trip for me. I would take a breath, plunge, turn upside down and track the iceberg underwater, feeling with my hands all the amazing pockets and features. The ice is amazing. Something so natural, shaped solely by natures forces, they are the most incredibly beautiful objects I have seen. I also went for a quick swim in my togs at the end of the trip - I swam all of 10m before levitating out of the water to the hot shower on deck.
THE RELATIONSHIP TESTER
The double kayak was a great source of entertainment! It´s inability to be paddled in a straight direction amusing every time. We also had two singles though, and most of us went out quite often in them. It was a beautiful way to experience everything around us. Such a pristine place makes one feel a lot better feeling it in a pristine way - no motor. The kayaks put us on a level with Antarctica - inquisitive penguins, seals, and even whales would come and check us out, and you could paddle amongst all the amazing floating ice masterpieces.
THE VISITORS
We visited an old British base at Port Lockroy - I got a tacky passport stamp and a tea towel! I would never have thought of bringing US dollars to Antarctica! Far more entertaining though was our later visit to Vernadsky, a Ukranian base staffed by 12, in one year periods. A quick tour showed us their ozone-hole-readermatron, but the fun started afterwards. We just happened to arrive on their ´Old New Year´, so had a great night in their bar with people from 3 other yachts, and the staff. The base-made vodka (well, alcohol, anyway) flowed freely, as did the Ukranians on the dance floor with any visiting woman they could convince to join them. All the time with Antarctica out the window, constantly bathed in light through the night. It was a surreal experience indeed.
THE LOCALS
Ah, the locals are great! Yes, penguins are the cutest little things, funny little buggers. They waddle and slide along the snow. They jump off and onto icebergs. What I really loved though, was when a school would be swimming along near the boat, and they would all pop their head up very inquisitively, and paddle about. One of my favourite things about seeing seals, was spotting them sleeping on a little berg in the channel. Imagine waking up miles away from where you went to sleep! We were blessed by the presence of so many humpback whales, we saw an above average number of them. They are such majestic, fun creatures - so inquisitive. They would come right up to the boat and swim all around, even underneath. Before we left, I climbed to the top of the mast, conveniently when a whale was around - it was incredible to make out it´s full form swimming next to the boat from such a height. I have trouble doing justice to the creatures down there in words. What was so beautiful about them as a collective, was just being amongst them, and taking the time to do so. Rather than seeing one, snapping a photo, and ducking off, we spent a whole month entangled (at a minimum distance...) in their habitat.
THE CREW
All the great things we did in our month, all the things we saw, could not have happened without Australis and her excellent crew: Skipper Ben, Skye and Amanda. Not only did they take us there and back, they showed us all the best places they could, they told us what bird was what, and best of all they served up awesome meals, time after time (though the brownies that England made were I think the number one dessert). They weren´t our crew, they were our friends, drinking partners, chefs - an integral part of the whole trip.
THE CONCLUSION
Our last night together as a group was spent at Puerto Williams, a Chilean settlement on the Beagle Channel. We had a blinder of a night at the local pub, on board a permanently moored ship. Many pisco sours were consumed, many games of fives were played, and many laughs were had. We were all starting to go our separate ways after this - but it wasn´t a sad end to a trip, I think thanks to us all going onto something else, and also thanks to spending an adequate amount of time down there. Despite there being 12 of us living in close quarters for a month, there were no quarrels whatsoever (other thank Nic & Dick, and they´re married so its ok, and they were entertaining, and they only ever really happened after they´d been kayaking!). It was such a good, varied bunch of people, and its thanks to everyone that the trip wasn´t just beautiful, it was an experience. On the last day, coming down the calm Beagle Channel, out in the sun, I sat atop the mast and simply felt happy. I felt so alive, never before have I felt so strongly that I am doing exactly what I want, that there is nothing I would change. It felt good (even with a slight case of the dt´s...)
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1 comment:
Thanks for the great update Liam, I was really wondering what kind of experience you were going to have. I now understand your comment that the best thing about the trip was not what you expected. I think so many people, (including a friend of mine who went there on a chartered cruise) never get to experience antartica, they only visit it. Good luck with SA.
Andrew
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