This past February, seven intrepid travelers joined the professional crew of the Spirit of Sydney for an expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. This blog is the last of a series of three blogs (authored by an expedition member), intended as a summary of the journey. It provides a chronology of the entire voyage as well as highlights of what we would describe as our “epic” adventure. This expedition was a pinnacle event for us all, with a warm and positive dynamic amongst us as crew–none of whom had met before. Our route of travel, the weather, a buoyant spirit, and a deep well of enthusiasm–as well as the excellent handling of the vessel by captain Leo and first mate Issac–created a vivid and transformative experience for us all.
Days aboard Spirit of Sydney typically included sailing the boat, hiking, and kayaking. The journey brought us breathtaking views of the most stunning landscape on earth: shear vertical peaks rising precipitously from the sea, snowcapped mountains rising skyward thousands of meters, deeply crevassed glaciers cracking and booming as they inched toward the sea like the thunder from an approaching storm and then exploding with further bombast as enormous blocks of ice calved into the sea as we stood close by in the Spirit. At times, we were close enough to be rocked by the wake of their fall–massive icebergs in impossible shapes carved by waves and wind and reflecting unimaginably varied hues of color. These were stunning atmospheric displays accompanying sparkling clear morning sunrises, breathlessly still bays and inlets, intense storms raking over coastal mountains. In the Drake Passage we encountered massive waves, fifty knot winds in the Beagle Channel, and ever-changing light and atmospheric effects throughout the voyage. We watched wildlife from kayaks, the deck of the Spirit, and ashore: gracefully undulating minke, humpback, and finback whales; intimidating sea lions; fearsome leopard seals; basking, complacent crabeater and Weddell seals; vociferous and leaping penguins; and the almost continuous aerial, seabound, and rockbound presence of petrels, albatrosses, cormorants, skuas, terns, and innumerable other species. The following pictures tell this story more elegantly than words can convey. We hope you enjoy this armchair voyage as much as we enjoyed making the actual one.
February 1. Arrival in Ushuaia.
February 2: Preparation for departure.
February 3: Departure from Ushuaia–we get acquainted with the Beagle Channel, and some of us are wondering how will the newly rebuilt main diesel engine perform?
February 4: Drake Passage–Cape Horn sighted 30 miles to the west at dusk; middle of the night seas getting rougher, log records 47kt sustained wind at 2300 while broad reaching on starboard tack.
February 5: Drake Passage–seas still rough, waves 3-5m (10-18 ft), winds abate to 30kt by early morning following overnight experience of 60kt wind gust and crash jibe.
February 6: Wind abates to 20kt, seas subside to long swells, sun appears, continuous presence of seabirds; later in the day we pass halfway mark on course for Melchior Islands.
February 7: Wind abates, swells lengthen, crew member not seen for several days appears on deck; First large icebergs sighted.
February 8: First sighting of mountainous coast of Brabant Island, Melchior Islands landfall made before dusk; The crew celebrates after conquering the Drake!
February 9: Kayaking in Alphabet Channel, Melchior islands; First of many sea lion sightings.
February 10: Summiting Omega Island; The tranquility of Alphabet Channel.
February 11: Wreck of whaling factory ship Guvernøren in Foyn Harbor, Enterprise Island; Humpback whales in Bancroft Bay.
February 12: Abandoned whaling ship supply boats near Enterprise Island; Visitors from La Cardinalle–voyaging from France by way of Falkland Islands–raft alongside to visit and sing shanties until wee hours. (Captain Leo performing on the concertina.)
February 13: Bizarre atmospherics in Gerlache Strait; Fantastic iceberg shapes and colors seen in circumnavigation of Enterprise Island by kayak.
February 14: Humpback whales in Errara Channel; Weddell seal amidst gentoo penguins on Cuverville Island.
February 15: Leith Cove, Paradise Harbor; Onward past Brown (AR) Base to Skontorp Cove–everywhere surrounded by majestic mountains and glaciers.
February 16: Brown Base visit, with arrival of Russian research vessel; Ice sculptured by nature to resemble nature… and the man-made sphinx.
February 17: Skontrop Bay leopard seals. Shortly after this picture was taken Arne and James encountered a pack of sea lions crossing the bay; Departure for Neumeyer Channel and Port Lockroy.
February 18: Port Lockroy whale bones; Peltier Channel, Seven Sisters peaks–we stopped in Parana Cove and took the zodiac through false Cape Renard Channel on the way to Port Charcot on Booth Island.
February 19: Departing Port Charcot for Lemaire Channel with a view of Mount Lacroixl; A pause in Lemaire Channel en route to Pleneau Island to celebrate Isaac’s birthday.
February 19: Iceberg “graveyard” to the north of Pleneau Island; Sunset around 22:00 from Pleneau Island.
February 20: Lunch atop Pleneau Island; Return to iceberg graveyard via zodiac and kayaks, winds increased to 25kt –thunderous sounds of icebergs exploding.
February 21: Vladimir Vernadsky, first president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences keeps watch over the bar at Vernadsky Station; While we partake of Ukranian hospitality at the world-famous bar a 35kt gale blows over our mooring on Galindez Island.
February 22: All of the original furnishings are intact at Wordie House, the original British base on Winter island; A large Weddell seal presided over our visit.
February 23: Gale winds returned to Galdinez; We spent the day at the mooring: some explored in the zodiac, others stayed aboard to catch up on journals and reading; in the evening a party went ashore to enjoy the sauna.
February 24: Departed Galdinez Island for the Drake Passage, leaving Vernadsky Base astern; Dwight bracing for the coming ordeal in the Drake.
February 25: Large icebergs appear ghostly while departing the coast of the peninsula; Hundreds of small bergs called “growlers” must be avoided–they do not show up on radar.
February 26: Rough seas, winds moderate to 20-25kts, everyone feeling seasick so we shut down the diesel heaters; February 27: Winds increase to 35kt, seas building to 3-4m (10-15ft), wind backing toward the northwest as we struggle, beating hard to windward with the Spirit pitching like a tormented bull.
February 28: Seas still rough at the latitude of Cape Horn; We tack to port, heading east northeast with strong winds and current setting us farther to the east.
March 1: The end of the Drake Passage; Approaching Nueva Island and the entrance to the Beagle Channel.
March 2: After 50kt winds on the nose in the Beagle Channel throughout the night we are finally in sight of Ushuaia; the crew celebrates arrival!
In closing, we the crew sincerely thank you, our friends and loved ones, who followed us on this journey and who supported us during our preparation and participation in this life-broadening adventure. Sharing our experiences with you provides impetus–beyond our own curiosity and intrepidness–to go forth and undertake voyages of discovery and transformation. We have been touched in many ways by our individual and collective experiences–each transformed. All wish their fellow crew members fair winds, following seas, and good fortune as we each press on with our lives, and perhaps meet again through future travels.
Submitted by:
James G. Bennett, Camden, Maine USA