All entries under Diary

Wow – I slept very well and woke up when Jumper announced breakfast in 30 minutes. After breakfast, several people attended a carbon off-setting presentation given by James Burnham. The swells were really picking during his presentation.

After lunch, I went to the bridge to watch, take pictures and videos of the front of the ship crashing into the swell (waves) and the water completely coming over the front of the bow. On the way down to Antarctica, it was nicknamed the Drake Lake. This lake has awoken and we experienced the world’s roughest waters. At this point, the swells were about 3-5 meters high and the wind was blowing consistently between 30 – 40 knots (34 – 46 mph).

The main part of this storm hit just before dinner. Dinner was tough. There were things (chairs, drinks, plates, people, etc.) flying every which way. It made me wonder how the chef could prepare a meal in these conditions. After dinner, I went back to the bridge. I knew the conditions were bad but didn’t realize how bad they were until I looked out from the bridge. At this point, the swells were about 6+ meters high and the winds were blowing consistently between 60-70 knots (69 – 80 mph) with the highest gust recorded (and a picture taken of the wind gauge) of 80 knots (92 mph). Yes, we went through hurricane strength winds all evening and practically through the night.

I will try to explain the most amazing thing on this crossing that happened with such frequency. The winds were from the North so we would go up the swell and back down, like we were attacking each one. We would go up a swell, with the bow of the ship practically pointed straight upward and then the ship would ride the entire swell and then for a second or 2, the ENTIRE ship would be out of the water until the bow of the ship would bury itself in the sea. Next the rest of the ship would hit the water and there would be a loud noise followed by the whole ship just trembling. From the bridge, this was an amazing thing to watch and feel. From anywhere else, you could just feel it and you knew when it was coming.

As many of us were sitting in the lounge after dinner, it was very difficult for people to walk around and when they did, there were times when they would fall into people or even over chairs. Then Robert, in his usual tone, says you folks wanted an adventure, you are getting it. Nick then says it has been great, can we turn it off now and everyone laughed.

Off to bed to sleep out a hurricane…………………….

I keep waiting to wake up from this incredible dream I am having. In this dream, Antarctica is this place where each day, the next perfect thing happens.

Here is a little about my dream:

When we completed the Drake Passage crossing (which was extremely smooth for us), we saw our first iceberg. Of course it is one that is big and perfect, all alone and in the middle of nowhere. Next, we go through iceberg alley and the sights are so spectacular; it is like someone placed each of them in the most perfect place. Yet we know that Iceberg Alley is the remains of the Lawson Ice Shelf that disintegrated in a matter of months. As we slowly “moved” the packed ice in front of us, we hear a noise in the distance followed by the sighting of an avalanche on port side. We continue onward and this picturesque scenery keeps going on and on and on.

We are taken to the top of a spectacular ridge and in the middle of Nick’s LOTE (Leadership on the Edge) training, a third of a huge iceberg collapses. The iceberg rocks back and forth, deciding if it is going to tip over or not. The waves rock the ship violently and the waves crash on the other icebergs and finally ashore. It was true Mother Nature and the might she has.

I am on the bow of the ship when a pod of Orca whales cross in front of the bow and broke the surface all in unison like they have been practicing to show us. About an hour later, 2 breaching humpbacks put on a show for us. Later, we went to Paradise Bay. This place was like sitting in front of an artist’s greatest painting and it was right in front of us in EVERY direction.

There are so many incredible things we witnessed that it would take days to write about. However, we are about the start the departure of Antarctica towards Argentina. My dream ends knowing the saying that nothing in life is perfect! In my dream I have found one place I would say is the perfect place and it must be kept perfect!

However, if this is not a dream, then I have just found perfection and we ALL have a part to keep it that way.……………..

All,

Happy Eastern, after our Eastern dinner we started our way back to through the Drake Passage. The weather forecast wasn’t promising but it would be a classic Drake Passage. Till we hit a storm and boot went up and down, rolling more than 45° ! This started as a fun trip ended in a roller coaster of 48 hours. We all slept very terrible and everybody was down or has a bruise somewhere. The ending of this great trip is nearby and all our check boxes are completed What a great trip this was !!!

Schatties,

Een gelukkige Pasen. We hebben onze terug reis aangevangen en binnen 48 uren ben ik thuis. Maar voor dat we thuis zijn moeten we deze storm (60-70 knoppen) nog overleven. Het is precies ofdat je op een rollercoaster zit maar dan voor 48 uren.Op eens zie je alleen maar zee en een fractie van een seconde later zie alleen maar lucht. Ik ben niet zeeziekte maar ik heb hier en daar wel een blauwe plek. De golven slagen over de boot en een golfslag van 10 meter.Maar de skipper heeft ons verteld dat we op tijd in de haven zullen zijn. Wat is dit een prachtige reis geweest en ik ben al gestart met het opkuisen van de 2000 foto’s. Hebben jullie een goede Pasen gehad ?

Ik mis jullie, kusjes en tot zo.

Geert.

We all said an emotional goodbye to the Antarctic yesterday in glorious sunshine. Like most days we still had a wind chill of minus 30, but the more time we spend here we somehow seem to get used to it. The crew who have been travelling here every Summer season for years kept saying that we had been so lucky experiencing the best of everything that the Antarctic has to offer – smooth crossing over the Drake Passage, perfect weather, sightings of every wildlife we could wish for…..so I guess it was inevitable that we had to experience a true Drakes Passage crossing on our way home, and that is exactly what happened last night. I have now had no sleep for nearly 48 hours so a quick note from me to everybody who´s still checking out what we´re up to.

We tried to have some dinner and all linked hands at the table but still couldn´t stop ourselves falling over. We had spend most of the day hanging onto the most secure parts of the ship but had now resorted to crawling everywhere to prevent more accidents. When a 10m high wave hit the boat side on in the middle of the night I was well prepared as I´d been hanging on to the metal post supporting our bunk beds since 10pm. The winds were gusting at 90mph, this was extraordinary, even for the Drake Passage and George our Captain who would normally be tucked up in bed stayed awake all night to keep us on course. The crew have not been able to serve any food in these rough conditions, but we´re still hopeful for dinner tonight before the Pirates of the Antarctic farewell party. Everything on the boat that is not tied down was thrown across the boat when the huge wave hit us, so now only 40 miles to go before arrive at Cape Horn and have some protection from land. Now I can´t wait to step onto dry land!