Eyrie Bay and Devil Island
Ex•pe•di•tion: a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, esp. that of exploration or scientific research.
So, are we on an “expedition?” We are certainly a group of people who have undertaken a rather lengthy (by today’s standards anyway) journey. Yet, are we exploring? Are there not other ships that pass this way? Thousands of people now make Austral-summer pilgrimages to the White Continent. Most of whom are on set itineraries with schedules to keep and well-charted, safe harbors and islands to “explore.” And like them, we too have a schedule, if you will. However, ours is kept purposefully flexible and somewhat mysterious for we endeavor to find something new each voyage by way of maintaining time in the journey for true exploring; poking our bow into places where others may not.
Today played out as such an opportunity… an “expedition day” in the Weddell Sea. Few passenger vessels even venture into the sea itself, for it is known to be notoriously fickle in its hospitality. Katabatic winds can roar down off the glaciers; city-sized icebergs can clog the routes of passage…and escape; strong, ever-changing currents can make anchorage nearly impossible to hold. However, with the right ship, the right crew, and the right mind-set, the Weddell Sea can offer up some spectacular scenery and a stark contrast to the more-visited, western side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Over the past 2 days we’ve witnessed sunrises that defy description, icebergs of such enormity that have left us supremely awe-struck, and a bounty of wildlife staggering in its volume (and stench!) We have slipped and trekked among Adelies by the hundreds of thousands, but have also been treated to clumps and small mobs of Emperor penguins. Most times a vessel is considered extremely fortunate to have spotted even one such regal bird on a voyage through the Weddell, but at one point today we passed at least 90 in the space of an hour!
And as for the exploration? Well, today we found our proposed landing blocked by sea ice; a barrier of icebergs and multi-year ice that proved impenetrable even for our sturdy, ice-strengthened ship. However, with careful maneuvering and a sharp eye on the wind and currents, our bridge cut a path through some softer first-year ice and guided us ashore at a yet un-named cove deep in Eyrie Bay. With few past soundings to be gleaned from the multitude of charts at our disposal and barely a football pitch of space between the ice and the shore, we landed on the Seventh Continent and claimed a steep bluff for our own…just as those expeditions have done before us, albeit under considerably less-comfortable conditions than those afforded to us on our ship!
Ex•pe•di•tion: a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, esp. that of exploration or scientific research.
So, are we on an “expedition?” We are certainly a group of people who have undertaken a rather lengthy (by today’s standards anyway) journey. Yet, are we exploring? Are there not other ships that pass this way? Thousands of people now make Austral-summer pilgrimages to the White Continent. Most of whom are on set itineraries with schedules to keep and well-charted, safe harbors and islands to “explore.” And like them, we too have a schedule, if you will. However, ours is kept purposefully flexible and somewhat mysterious for we endeavor to find something new each voyage by way of maintaining time in the journey for true exploring; poking our bow into places where others may not.
Today played out as such an opportunity… an “expedition day” in the Weddell Sea. Few passenger vessels even venture into the sea itself, for it is known to be notoriously fickle in its hospitality. Katabatic winds can roar down off the glaciers; city-sized icebergs can clog the routes of passage…and escape; strong, ever-changing currents can make anchorage nearly impossible to hold. However, with the right ship, the right crew, and the right mind-set, the Weddell Sea can offer up some spectacular scenery and a stark contrast to the more-visited, western side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Over the past 2 days we’ve witnessed sunrises that defy description, icebergs of such enormity that have left us supremely awe-struck, and a bounty of wildlife staggering in its volume (and stench!) We have slipped and trekked among Adelies by the hundreds of thousands, but have also been treated to clumps and small mobs of Emperor penguins. Most times a vessel is considered extremely fortunate to have spotted even one such regal bird on a voyage through the Weddell, but at one point today we passed at least 90 in the space of an hour!
And as for the exploration? Well, today we found our proposed landing blocked by sea ice; a barrier of icebergs and multi-year ice that proved impenetrable even for our sturdy, ice-strengthened ship. However, with careful maneuvering and a sharp eye on the wind and currents, our bridge cut a path through some softer first-year ice and guided us ashore at a yet un-named cove deep in Eyrie Bay. With few past soundings to be gleaned from the multitude of charts at our disposal and barely a football pitch of space between the ice and the shore, we landed on the Seventh Continent and claimed a steep bluff for our own…just as those expeditions have done before us, albeit under considerably less-comfortable conditions than those afforded to us on our ship!
