South Georgia - King Edward Point (KEP)

On Friday the 25Th March we approached Bird Island early in the morning just as it was getting light. It was immediately obvious that the seas and winds were not favourable. It was thus decide that we go on to King Edward point to complete out work there. This is close to the site of the old Whaling station Grytviken that was closed in the early sixties. Everybody was looking forward to what we had deemed the highlight of our trip and we were not disappointed. As we approached the weather cleared and winds dropped to present us with a near perfect day. WE were tied up by 11am and soon the cargo work was underway. Every person on board not involved in cargo was very soon on the way ashore exploring the various aspects of the Island. The Whaling station and Shackleton's gravesite were two of the most visited sites.

On a personal note after almost seventeen years of trying I have finally made it here and it was with great reverence that I sat beside the gravestone of one of the all time greats of Human exploration. The setting is awesome and scope and the magnitude of this man's achievements can scarcely be measured or appreciated in modern terms. Humbling indeed.

The brief opportunity given to us walk around and admire the island and it's history was greatly appreciated by all. Thank you Captain John Harper.

Rothera - Lamaire Channel - Deception Island

The ship arrived at Rothera Base on Thursday 17th of March. Once the vessel was tied up work on the cargo and fuel transfer began immediately. We were quite pressed for time and needed to depart by Sunday morning at the latest to make our various other commitments.

On Friday evening the Over wintering team were hosted on board for a farewell dinner, which was enjoyed by all. The partying went on into the wee, wee hours.














Saturday afternoon a lucky few were given the opportunity to go crevassing with some of the base guides. After kitting up we headed to the slope nearby the base and were soon wriggling our way through a narrow hole and down into the crevasse, all roped up of course. The cameras
were soon clicking away furiously trying to capture
ice crystals and huge icicles dangling from the
roof of the crevasse. Unfortunately it was not a sunny day and the ultra-violet translucence was not visible. We were very grateful for the experience as we made our way back to our waiting Mother ship.













































































We departed Rothera at first light on Sunday morning and with whoops and cheers and few fireworks, bid farewell to the wintering team. We made our up north through the Gullet without much trouble rounding the top of Adelaide Island in good time. We came up to Vernadsky in the fading light that evening and saw faint glimmer from the base. We slowly entered the Lamaire channel, luckily the visibility was good and there was some moonlight to help guide us through. The ship’s search lights doing their bit to assist as well. As we progressed a light was spotted ahead which was rather strange for this time of year but turned out to be the passenger vessel Ushaua that was hove to until daylight before proceeding. We silently glided passed her and headed up the Neumeyer channel.


































T




he next morning dawned grey with the weather picking up a bit. We made way for Deception Island once again and arrived in the afternoon. Conditions were not as good as the previous time we had been there and the winds were gusting up to 50 knots occasionally. People were ferried ashore in the rubber boats and given ac few hours to explore. There was no question of going for a swim in the volcanically heated waters this time no matter how hot.













Everybody was back onboard by 5pm and we headed off towards South Georgia. Immediately we were in open waters the vessel started bouncing about uncomfortably. The next morning there were a lot of people missing from breakfast as King Neptune claimed his dues. This continued for two days after which the weather turned to behind us giving a much more comfortable ride.

We arrive off South Georgia tomorrow morning (Friday 25th March)..

Antarctic Peninsula - Port Lockroy to Vernadsky

After an all to brief stopover at Port Lockroy we headed off southwards towards the Ukranian Vernadsky Base via the Lamaire Channel. This narrow channel nicknamed Kodak Crack is spectacular, if you are lucky enough to transit it on a clear day. The mountainsides rise directly out of the water and just keep on going steeply up to ice-capped peaks, the channel barely one hundred metres wide in places. As we approached the mist ahead of us, started lifting and the mountain tops began peaking out every now and then as if teasing us... No more words required.

Vernadsky









Hospitality for the Ukranian team