I have just seen today is Wednesday 7 January. On board ship you lose track of time, track of the days, track of your usual routine. Things that seem important at home in the city suddenly seem remote and not so important. You get into a new routine, a daily routine, with no change for the weekend. So you no longer need to know which day of the week it is.
The second group for this season is on board now. They joined us three days ago, and, I guess, are not that different from the other groups. When new people come on board they are eager to learn about the ship, the people, the trip, but also many are slightly insecure. If you have not travelled on a ship like this before it is hard to know what to expect. When people come on board they don't know the ship, the crew, each other, and they are trying to work it all out. People wander round the ship, inspecting the various spaces, and they start introducing themselves talking to each other. They don't look at home on the ship, some really look a little lost. Many wear new sailing gear, and all are full of great expectations.
Then we are off, cameras are clicking, departure from Ushuaia. Old professional crew waving us off from the quay, running all the way along to keep us in sight as long as possible. Always a difficult moment for those on the ship and those on the quayside. Sailing and working together, sharing a cabin, spending three weeks together in confined spaces and at the same time experiencing the beauty and grandeur of the Antarctic creates a strong bond.
Sailing down the Beagle Channel the guests get their first sailing instructions, they start to learn about sails and the ropes, about steering and being on lookout. And some get their climbing instructions, going up into the rigging. Meanwhile, we all try to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, the channel, the shores, the small islands and all the birds. Here we get to see the first albatross and the first penguins.
Once we reach the end of the Beagle things gradually change. We all have dinner, but some people begin to get a little less happy. Some begin to look pale, some don't finish their meal and disappear.
Breakfast on the first morning is a quiet affair. Not everybody turns up. Some don't feel well, some sleep a little longer because they were on watch in the middle of the night. It takes people some time to get used to the rhythm of the sea watches. But already people get acquainted. Sitting together in the deckhouse in the middle of the night, or being at the wheel together, means you get to know each other quickly. And at the same time you get to know your cabin mates very quickly. It doesn't take a volunteer crew long to become a group and to all get to know each other.
10 January
The morning after the day before. We had our first landing yesterday, or actually our first landings, both on Barrientos Island. We got there early, and since there was no other ship we had an extra landing in the morning. Just a couple of hours for people to wander among the Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins there. The chicks are much bigger now, wandering off by themselves, lovely and furry. Some very active skuas too, though, taking some of the smaller chicks. On a beach nearby a Leopard Seal was resting. The penguins looked at him, but still walked past on their way to their colony. The Leopard was in no mood to hunt, just yawned a few times. It gave the guests a good opportunity for some portrait pictures.
Landing on Barrientos, or leaving, was not easy in the morning because it was low tide, and we had some swell. We did all manage to get back more or less dry though. In the afternoon the landing was much easier, with high tide. We took all of the afternoon for the walk across the island, just a couple of kilometres, but a little climbing, and a good opportunity for people to stretch their legs a little. The usual crawl in one line across the moss fields, this time being extra careful to avoid skua chicks too. On the other side of the island many Elephant Seals.
Then in the evening people enjoy the fact that they will be able to sleep all night, and many decide to have a drink in the bar. I have a good audience for my penguin lecture too, which is always nice. People have now seen the penguins, so it's easier to relate to the things I try to explain.
It's been a fairly quiet crossing, most people got over their seasickness in a day or so, no storms so we had a Drake Lake. People took part in the watches, worked on their journals or their pictures, some read their books, and we organised the lectures and the showing of documentaries. Always plenty to do on a ship like this.
This morning we sailed from Aitcho down here to Greenwich. A lovely view of Edinburgh Rock again, at first in a drizzle, but later with some nice light. From Edinburgh we managed to sail into Yankee Harbour, it's wonderful to be able to sail so much. We landed at Yankee, and many of the guests walked all the way along the dyke. We got to see some Giant Petrels feeding on the carcass of a Crabeater Seal, not necessarily a pretty sight, but interesting. And a good way to see these big birds landing and taking off.
Half Moon was different. We landed on the other side this time and didn't have too much trouble getting ashore. We walked over to the side where the Wilsons Storm Petrels breed to see and hear them. The track on the island is shared by humans and Chinstrap Penguins, so we often had to stop to give way. I sat down for a while by the side of the track watching the penguins move to and from their nest site. It was a long day, but an enjoyable one.
13 January
I definitely keep losing track of time. We already are near the Peninsula, and have just sailed down Graham Passage. One of the most beautiful places here. A narrow passage from which at some point no escape seems possible. We had some Humpback Whales reasonably close to the ship too.
Working down here, this is my ninth trip now, you sometimes seem to be getting too used to the beauty of the place. I've been down the Trinity Iceberg Graveyard often now, and I could see yesterday that it was a little empty. We've had trips in the past with many more icebergs in the channel, which required more manoeuvering. But the icebergs we saw yesterday were impressive, some quite tall, others strangely shaped, and we got to see all the shades of blue again. The deep blue that seemed to be missing on the last trip was there again in full glory. Stunningly beautiful. That never ceased to amaze me. And looking at the faces of some of the guests makes me realize too just how impressive it is. Some keep saying how beautiful it is, others just sit and stare quietly. After the trips many people came to thank me, and, though I didn't put the icebergs there, I understand why they come to me.
15 January
The day starts in Paradise, or Paradise Harbour. Named by whalers for its beauty. We leave before breakfast and head south for the Lemaire Channel. We are lucky again today, as we have clear skies and can enjoy the view. And there is enough wind to enable us to sail. I think we must have made a wonderful picture sailing down the Lemaire. We had an audience again too, as the cruise ship Delphin was just on the other side of the channel.
We keep heading south to reach Vernadsky Station later in the afternoon. I talk to the commander over the radio and he says he expects us at 4 pm. We inform the guests and head out to the station. The guests are given a tour, and then head out to the bar, the post office and the souvenir shop. They seem to enjoy themselves, and only some go to the second destination for the afternoon, Wordie House on Winter Island. An Englishman has far too much to drink, others are just happy. I have a little dance with Paco in the bar, which is quite funny. I think the pictures might be submitted for the photo competition.... The Spanish guys also buy me a wodka, which is nice.
Back on the ship it is time for the barbecue and the party. The first one is a great success, it is an Argentinian - South African competition, with both nationalities working hard. I can't really appreciate their efforts though. People seem to have enough to eat. I just sit back and have a long chat with Marianne, the cook. Sometimes it's nice to gossip about the guests for a bit. It is really nice outside, you don't have to wear a jacket but still stay warm.
The party doesn't really happen. There is no dancing, but a kind of campfire with guitar music and singing. It's a shame, no dancing, but on the other hand I don't mind too much. I'm pretty much exhausted and happy not to get to bed too late. This isn't a real party group, I think.
16 January
Some days really are perfect. Like today. We had no real programme for the morning, we basically had 6 hours to sail the few miles from the Argentine Islands up to Petermann. We left Vernadsky on time because another ship was coming in. Sailing out of the Islands we see blows and dorsal fins. Humpback Whales. They are still quite far away, but Klaas slowly and quietly follows. We end up having these huge animals around the ship, at times very close, for well over an hour. People are up on deck, running from side to side, trying to get the best shot. I don't know how many pictures were taken this morning, but it must be a lot.
After this close encounter we went on a little to the Yalour Islands, a place I know from the guidebooks only. A group of tiny islands with some colonies of Adelie Penguins. The place looks lovely, worth a visit on a future trip maybe. At the moment the islands are home to a nice congregation of icebergs too. Europa gently finds her way among them, keeping the guests and their cameras on deck all morning. It doesn't hurt either that we have blue skies and sunshine all the way.
Then we head to Petermann Island, again, one of my favourite landing sites. A lovely island, with a lot of human history, and both Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. It is still lovely and sunny, the snow has melted a little so it isn't hard going, and the walk up to the colonies is good. The Adelie young are at their best, still furry, but bigger and active. The young shags are as big as their parents but still fluffy too. We sit and watch the birds for quite some time before heading out to the other side of the island. A climb over the saddle and a great view to the other side. We sit down together on the rocks, just behind a penguin highway, for some group pictures. And some Gentoo Penguins manage to walk their way into the pictures. We find it quite hard to start moving back to our landing bay to be taken back to the ship.
we sail north through the Lemaire, but today we need the engine for that. It is a lovely evening, the light is stunning. I feel like I just walked into an Edward Wilson drawing, all these different shades. Sailing up the Peltier is just too good to be true. The Seven Sisters are in full view, for a change. I get everybody out of the deckhouse onto the deck again, this is no night for reading. We come into Port Lockroy and the view still is unbelievable. My favourite Antarctic mountain has never looked more beautiful. I stay out on deck until some time after we have anchored. No need for big jackets or hats, you can just stand there and enjoy the light, the silence, the view.
17 January 2009
When I wake up it still is lovely and blue outside. Two landings today, both here in Port Lockroy. We start with Jougla Point, the little corner where you can see the Blue-eyed Shags and the Gentoo Penguins. An easy landing, and a short walk to the breeding birds. Some of the Shags here already have their feathers, they are as big as their parents, they just lack the beautiful blue around their eyes and the yellow patch above their beak. The penguin chicks are much smaller and will need a little more time to fledge. All the snow that covered the area around the colonies last time has gone and this is the usual big pool of mud again. I spend my morning wandering up and down the beach, walking down to the whale skeleton, making sure I know which guests are around and who I need to take back to the ship with me. The other half or our group has walked round to the other side to be picked up from there. The sun just keeps shining, and it is a little hard to persuade people to come back to the ship.
We have lunch on deck and Rick joins us from Port Lockroy. While we are having lunch several big pieces of ice come down from the glacier behind us. They don't create big waves though, to the disappointment of some. After lunch Rick tells his Lockroy story, and then we head out to Goudier Island. The shop and post office are kept busy for a while, and many cards are posted. I spend most of my time there chatting to Rick, Judith, Nikki and Laura. They are nice people and it is good to chat for a while. The guides and some crew members are actually the last to leave the museum. It is fun exchanging experiences on life down here.
Back on the ship it is back to work, preparing for my Gerlache lecture. I'm still not happy with it, and I want to read up a little before I give it again. I'm finding it hard to keep my eyes open though. I can really feel this is almost the end of the Peninsula part of the trip, I am deadly tired, and keep falling asleep when I'm not supposed to. I manage to survive until dinner though, have something to eat, and read a little more. The lecture actually goes well tonight and I am a lot happier with it than I was last time. After the lecture I play a documentary on De Gerlache. I had seen it before but I had forgotten most about it. It is nice to see it again, it tells my story a different way. The lounge is full all night and people are very interested. This is a good subject to talk about, because De Gerlache explored the area we are in now.
18 January
After two such fine days things have to change. So our landing this morning was grey and wet. I start my day with another visit to the Post Office, just to drop off the mail that has been written overnight. Just a quick look inside, where a bigger cruise ship is visiting. Suddenly the shop is very full, and you get the feeling it is a little too small. It is good to work on such a small ship really, and not to have to deal with so many guests at the same time.
Pepijn and I go round the corner to Dorian Bay in the zodiac, following Europa. It's a chilly ride, and I'm a little cold when I get back to the ship. Shortly after we head out again to Dorian, where the tide is high, so we have a wet but fairly easy landing. I stay on the beach to help the guests get out of the zodiac while some people start walking up to the emergency hut. I follow when everybody has landed. The walk up is a lot easier than it was last time because much of the snow has disappeared. I have a short look in the hut and find a few things missing, like the manual on counting penguins. Rick mentioned things go missing these days, which is a great shame.
Then up the hill for the view over Lockroy. I had never done this walk before, but I go along this time. From the top of the hill over Dorian you get a nice view of all of Port Lockroy, Jougla Point and Goudier Island. We can see Polar Star landing their guests at Goudier and at Lockroy. After the climbing some guests decide to go back to the ship, while others walk to the penguin colony in the direction of Damoy Point. I go back with the first group to help out on deck. It's a slightly wet ride, among some guests who are oblivious to what is going on. The landing site is shallow so we need to paddle, but one guest feels that is silly since we have an engine. While we have trouble manouvering out another tells people to move out of the way because he wants to take a picture. We do get back safely, and hoist anchor shortly after we get the zodiacs back on board.
Later
When we head out into the Neumayer Channel it doesn't look like a great afternoon. It's snowing and it's grey. We decide on an alternative programme, an afternoon of climate. Heated debates go on until the evening... Meanwhile, outside, a couple of Humpback Whales decide to accompany us. They swim along with the ship for a while, showing their heads, dorsal fins, flippers and tails. They seem to be having a good time, lying on their backs, showing us the white of their bellies. They get as near as 1 metre or so to the ship. We see them turn over, showing a long white flipper and half a tail. All I can do is stand there and watch them. All around me I hear the cameras clicking. It's a beautiful sight to see these huge animals so clearly in the water just beside the boat.
After dinner we see more whales in the distance, judging by their movements they are probably foraging. While we are watching them the captain tells the crew to expect bad weather. We should be okay for a couple of days, but the second day out on the Drake will bring force 8 winds, so it'll get rough. Some of the sailors on board will be happy, some others will be decidedly unhappy. We'll see what happens.
After several very long days I decide to take the evening off. I just do the things I need to do before tomorrow morning, and then I find my computer, put on some Leonard Cohen music and write. Earlier I worked on my pictures. I didn't take many during the first half of the trip, but I more than made up for that over the last couple of days. I always take many pictures at Petermann and Jougla for some reason. Well, Petermann does have the Adelie Penguins.
I'm still pretty tired, and I now have a cold. I have this feeling that I could sleep for 24 hours, but that isn't going to happen. I just hope I won't get seasick tomorrow when we hit the Drake.
19 January
A strange day. The best moment of the day comes in the Bremen Channel in the Melchior Islands. As we come down the channel from the middle entrance a small group of Wilsons Storm Petrels is foraging there. We saw them on the last trip, but I hadn't expected to find them here again. They dance on the water, so elegantly, unbelievable. And these tiny birds survive out on the open ocean.
This is our last zodiac trip for this voyage, and we get lovely weather. Low tide in the channel though, and we cannot really get through in Blackie. Grey zodiac gets through though, helped along by a small wave created by some falling ice. Still, it is a nice tour, and we get a good last view of the glaciers and the icebergs.
Then we head back to the ship where everything has to be made seafast because already during lunch we head out into the Drake. We start to move pretty soon, and the first few people turn pale and retire to their bunks. After our two o'clock crew meeting we find we are being accompanied on our way out by a couple of Fin Whales gliding gracefully alongside us through the waves. I make our cabin seafast and help out with a couple of other things before tiredness hits me and I get into bed for a couple of hours of sleep. When I wake up it's dinner time...
After dinner we show Shackleton's "South". I sort out all the pictures for the photo competition, making them smaller and renaming them for the jury. We are actually both in the competition, a picture of me at Vernadskiy having a little chat with my friend Paco, and a nice picture of Lex with his camera. And there is one of Lex in Paradise Bay, moving away from the place where a big piece of the glacier is coming down. Exciting stuff.
We move a little more now. The weather should be pretty good tomorrow, but the day after we are expecting a storm, force 7 or 8, so we need to be prepared. It always is hard for people to remember that we are on a moving ship, so they still leave their glasses, laptops and cameras unattended. I saw one camera fly on the last trip, fortunately only the battery pack was damaged. But these should be an interesting few days.
I'm listening to music on my ipod at the moment, probably for the first time since I've come on board Europa. It is weird, because I listen to music all the time at home, and here there is neither the time nor the attention. I'm listening to An Pierlé in concert, dynamic live performances. Yesterday I did listen to some music on my pc, Leonard Cohen, and I was away in a moment, back to the concerts I saw last year. I find there is a lot of music in my head, often An Pierlé songs, Luka Bloom as well. Often I don't need to play the music to be able to hear it.
These are the other days for us. Our main job, guiding people on the landings and the tours is finished, and we are left with some paper work, a logbook to write, odd jobs, and providing entertainment for those who want to be entertained between watches. More lectures, documentaries or maybe just some fun.
It is also the time when you realise that another trip is coming to an end, and that the people you share these three weeks will be going their own way again soon and you are not likely to see them again. Another strange thought.
20 January
The silence before the storm. The weather forecasts say that a storm should hit us some time tomorrow. Just now we are gliding along on the Drake Passage. People are sleeping, taking their turns at the wheel and as lookout, reading their books or working on their computers. Life goes on as usual, with people not being too much aware of the movement of the ship. People still take two cups, or put their glasses on the table. I guess it will be alright for today, but tomorrow that will be a problem.
I'm pretty tired now, and I'm finding it hard to keep going. There still is a lot of work to be done on the ship. The daily chores, like dishes, and the routine of producing programmes, providing information and showing documentaries as well as giving lectures. With the storm ahead this has been a day for trying to finish the logbook we write for the guests, for collecting all the other things to put on the voyage cd, and to start looking forward to the next trips to see if we need to change schedules.
21 January
The sea is a little rougher now, and this morning I saw eggs fly. Unusual, but then again, not that unusual on this ship. After continually warning the trainees about the movement of the ship and the need to do one thing at a time, it was the professional crew that messed up this morning. Not a great example.
It isn't that bad, actually, it still is possible to sit here working on a laptop without the thing immediately sliding off the table. You do need to take care with glasses, cups and things. The trainees have to wear a harnass when they go out on deck, but not all are going out on deck yet. Some stay in their bunks, because they are tired from the watches or because they still are seasick.
I am pretty tired still, but not sick. Not great, but not sick. It turns out that I am getting to be pretty seafast. After being sick a lot on my first trip in 2005 it has gradually gotten better. From sometimes just at the start, to just once in a while, to hardly at all. Then again, these have been very easy crossings really. Even this movement isn't that much really. Though I am not sure all of the guests would necessarily believe me.
We didn't have the courage to schedule a lecture for today, so it's films. Sperm Whales this afternoon, and Pontings film of the Terra Nova expedition tonight. It's now less than 48 hours to the Beagle Channel, depending on how much time we will lose when we get headwinds.
22 January
Only about 130 miles left to the waypoint, though it doesn't look like Cape Horn this trip. The storm that was predicted wasn't half as bad as expected. Yes, we rolled, but life still went on much as usual. It is pretty quiet again now, we roll a little, but I feel up to delivering a lecture later. Now let's hope there are guests who feel up to listening to a lecture later.
I'll give my talk on Edward Wilson again, which I'll enjoy doing. Sailing into Port Lockroy a few days ago brought his drawings to life in an unexpected way, I have some Edward Wilson pictures now. He was never on this side of the continent though. I've wanted to look into Antarctic art for a while now, I know some painters who come down here, but in Ushuaia I found a book called "Terra Antarctica" by William L. Fox which is about the representation of Antarctica in different art forms. I'm very much looking forward to reading it and to learn more on this subject. When I'm down here I always realise just how much I know and don't know. I know enough to give the kind of information people want to get, but I always want to know more for myself. Yesterday I read up on the history of Deception Island, both the island and the way it came about and the human history. It is a fascinating island. Then there are the little creatures. The other day we found some Salps, transparant small animals, with a little pouch containing all the organs, that can together create long strings. I know very little about animals like these. Then again, there is a lot more to learn about this place....
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