Artist in Antarctica

Going Home

2007-11-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

NOTE OF APOLOGY
I apologize for the time break in filing the blog. Due to numerous unforeseen conditions I was unable to file until I returned home. You will understand once you read through the remaining entries.

20 NOV07
Reached Dallas-Fort Worth Texas airport in the USA about 0615 their time about an hour late after spending a restful 11 hours on the plane from Buenos Aires. There was no one in the seat next to me so I could lie down and really sleep. Stepped off the pane in Texas to humid air, overcast sky and a temperature of nearly 21C. We aren’t in the Antarctic anymore!

Wandered sadly through the lines as I presented my papers and was officially stamped and scanned recording my final arrival back into the country. A quick run through customs and I rechecked my bags. Found the skylink and made it to my connecting fight’s departure gate with plenty of time to spare.

I fussed with my computer on the hour wait. I kept reviewing the Antarctic images I had taken, Penguins in their snappy black and white outfits running along the edge of an ice cliff, crabeater seals swimming in the turquoise blue near the edge of an iceberg, emperor chicks playing on the ice, and stunning reflections at sunset in the Antarctic sound. Perhaps the most precious image that I looked at was one that that someone else took of me - there I was in all my gear laying on the sea ice shooting photos as a long line of emperors came tobogganing straight toward me. I’ll never forget it.

On the flight from Texas to Nevada we flew directly over the Grand Canyon. It was a reminder we also have some amazing places. The Colorado River appeared as a silver winding ribbon gradually carving one of the most spectacular places in the world. With any luck at all, I may be on a three-week row trip there in April.

I can’t wait.

I reached Boulder City by 1900 and I was home again in my beloved Mojave Desert. The next two weeks will be filled with hard work and long hours of preparation for my show The Art of Nature: Images from the wildlands of Southern Nevada at Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas opening 8Dec07.

But in those fleeting moments not consumed by work, during that coffee break and during the moments just before sleep. I will be remembering the Antarctic and its precious inhabitants. I will remember the amazing things I saw and I will be forever grateful for having the experience in the land of wondrous cold.

I suspect that each night, once I drop into the mystery of sleep, I will be dreaming Antarctic dreams.

19 NOV07
Reached the dock in Ushuaia sometime during the night so when I awoke and stumbled out to breakfast I could look out to Ushuaia's snow capped peaks. I ran around did the final things I needed to do, said goodbye and went down that gang for the last time in a long time. By 0800 I set foot on the pier and the dream was over. We had visited amazing places, seen things that few people are privileged enough to see, and we had experienced a bit of what the Drake can do. We all had returned relatively unscathed with enough memories for a lifetime.

Picked up my luggage loaded it on the bus for the airport with lots of time to spare. I reached the Ushuaia by 0930 and my plane wasn’t until 1300 so I felt relieved and relaxed. Searched around for Internet. No Internet access. Searched around for a phone and of the 5 phones in the airport not one worked. Perhaps I’ll file during my 5-hour layover in Buenos Aires. Wishful thinking.

The 1300 flight to Buenos Aires finally took off at nearly 1730. Since it was about a three-hour trip to Buenos Aires connecting with the American Airlines flight at 2025 had become a bit questionable. We made it in and ran an administrative gauntlet of gargantuan proportions. We raced around checking bags, getting boarding passes, paying departure taxes, customs, security twice, and any other absurd dance of the bureaucratic polka that we could do.

Sat down on the plane in my seat with 4 minutes to spare. Then we sat for another hour for some unknown reason. Didn’t matter. I was safely onboard ready for a 11 hour flight to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

18 NOV07
Awoke this morning to the ship rolling 25 degrees each direction. It made walking down the halls a sport.

Got into the lounge for breakfast. Just a few hardy souls had braved the rocking and rolling. The Lounge was on Deck 5. Throughout breakfast we had waves crashing on our windows. Entertaining. Nice ambience for a sea voyage.

I set up my computer so I could get some work done but also watch the storm. Just amazing! It was 30 foot seas and up to 75 mile per hour winds just on the other side of the porthole. They canceled the lecture and encouraged people to stay in their cabins. Often times the worst injuries that occur on trips like this are during a storm when things are rocking and rolling and people try to move about. The adage is one had for yourself and one for the ship.

I am generally not a good sailor but for some reason I was blessed with a solid stomach this time and was able to move about without a problem. We it was a bit difficult when I’d be walking down the hall at a 25 % grade and within a few second be walking up a grade at 25-30%. It was like a day long fun house ride.

The oceans were amazing. I spent much of my time at the porthole watching the force and fury of the storm. The Captain had put a fourth engine on line to try and beat the storm across the Drake. As furious as it seemed we were not in the thick of it only skirting the storms edge.

When it’s rocking and rolling they wet the table cloths with water to provide a bit more friction. Despite this, occasionally everything on the table went crashing to the floor. Entertaining.

Once rocking and rolling gets over 15-20% they close the bridge so today I am unable to get to the radio room to file this blog. Even if the room was open I doubt I would brave going up all those four flights of stairs to get there. I really would like to keep my neck unbroken.

Made a fast crossing of the Drake and entered the Beagle channel. The Beagle Channel, though protected, was very rough but far less so then the Drake itself. Spent the rest of the day pacing back and forth in the channel. The high winds prevented us from setting anchor and the only way to maintain position was to pace through the night.

The farewell dinner was manageable without dishes flying around. Nice

The pilot came on board at midnight to guide us through to the docks at Ushuaia.

17 Nov07
On the Drake again we are heading home. Right now the Drake is fine a bit of rolling but nothing too significant. Energy of the passengers is low. We all are a bit saddened that the trip is almost over. It has been an amazing time together.

I wandered through the lounge and people are glued to their laptops processing their pictures. A few are out on deck photographing the clouds of Cape petrels around the ship. Still others are up in the bridge staring at a gentle Drake. A few have started packing. The bar has a steady afternoon business.

The Captain put another engine on line and is trying to out run a nasty impending storm. His hope is to get us to the shelter of the Beagle Channel with time to spare. I think that’s a fine idea. I’d rather not face the wrath of the storm on the open sea. By tomorrow we’ll know how well we did.

Lemaire Channel and Port Lockroy

2007-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

LAT: 65° 05' South
LON: 64° 00' West
TEMP: -2°C
WIND: 10-15 knot from N

We traveled through the Gulf of Erebus and headed toward the Grearlache Strait. Weather has been a bit dubious, but we are trying to head through a series of wonderfully scenic narrow straits and channels that lies along the edge of the peninsula. If possible, as we pass Port Lockroy, we will stop and pick up someone that was stranded at the place.

Port Lockroy is maintained and staffed by the British Antarctic Heritage Trust. If you are interested in getting more information about them, please visit their Web site: www.ukaht.org/portlockroy.htm

The mission of the trust is to preserve British history in the region. They maintain and staff some of the historic outposts and buildings in the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Region. They are a very small historic radio relay station at Port Lockroy that was a vital link in the allied communication system in World War II. They have refurbished the building and created a small museum and gift shop. It is the only such place along the Peninsula and perhaps in all of Antarctica.

The small wooden building is situated in the middle of a Gentoo Penguin rookery on a tiny rocky island. Black rock, ice, and Gentoo Penguins...and that is about all there is. No neighbors, TV, suburbs, or stray dogs. It is staffed during the late spring and summer by three hardy souls. No showers, limited fresh food, very cramped living accommodation. Must be an interesting life. When ships do visit the Lockroy, staff is usually brought back to the ship for a nice hot shower, a gourmet dinner, and conversation. Last year when I was there, the manager told me how they had to make sure the door was always kept closed otherwise the Gentoos would wander in. The Gentoos aren't always the cleanest house guests!

By the afternoon conditions had worsened. We now had low clouds rough seas, -10°C and roughly 70-mile-per-hour winds. When we reached Port Lockroy, conditions were just too radical to launch a zodiac to pick up the stranded person. How he got to be stranded there was never explained. He'll have to go a bit longer without a shower.

We made it through the Lemaire channel despite the rough conditions and approached the narrow Neumeyer Channel but could not enter it. Numerous icebergs blown in by the wind blocked the channel. Even the Kapitan Kehlebnikov has it limits. Regretfully we turned the ship around and headed to a sheltered place to spend the night. During the night the ship will constantly be moving. Its impossible to anchor a ship like the Kehlebnikov in high winds due to the ships 8-story high profile above deck. So during the night we will essentially pace back and forth thus holding our position.

Russian word for the day: Beautiful! Prykrasna!

Erebus & Terror Gulf: Breaking Ice

2007-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

LAT: 63° 44' South
LON: 57° 14' West
TEMP: 0°C
WIND: 10-15 knots

The icebreaker is working hard. Struggling it way through the pack ice of the Antarctic pack ice. We are using five engines and barely making progress. The ice is pushed to the side as we move crashing it way down the hull. On an icebreaker the living quarters look as though some one took a 10-story hotel down on top of the deck. The reason they do this is very apparent today. If they were below deck the noise would be intolerable.

At the briefing this morning we found out that there were seven Antarctic eco-tours stranded in the South Shetland Islands. Stranded sounds too dramatic. Actually they just cant go any farther. None of those ships were icebreakers, so because of the intense pack ice they were unable to complete most of their itinerary. Usually those trips go to Port Lockroy, through the Lemaire Channel, make a continental landing at Brown Bluff, and maybe a visit to a few other islands. We will have the continent to ourselves this time.

Last year the Antarctic Sound was almost all-open water. It's an amazing the difference. The ice is far worse then when we came through it originally. The winds blew a lot of the pack ice together and packed it into the sound, I think I already mentioned that this year there was more ice then any other year since 1971 when they started recording things. Today made that fact very clear. We would push as far as we could then back off and try again. We reached one really difficult narrow spot between an iceberg and an island. Normally as we push, the ice is able to move away from us, however this time the island and iceberg prevented that. We finally started up the 6^th engine used the ships entire 24,000 horsepower to try to push our way through. For hours we were going very slow. If there had been solid ice or land along side we easily could have kept up with the progress of the ship it really was that slow.

The plan was to travel north through the Erebus & Terror Gulf and the Antarctic Sound and try to get to Brown Bluff on the tip of the Trinity Peninsula. If conditions allowed we would make a zodiac landing on the beach and step on to the actual continent of Antarctica for the first time this trip.

By 1200 we had Brown Bluff in sight, but it took another two hours to go the final nine nautical miles. Had a zodiac safety briefing at 1230. Basically zodiacs are really heavy-duty rubber rafts powered by a 40 horsepower motor. The rafts have seven separate sealed air chambers and can easily stay afloat with 14 passengers and a drive on only three. By 1400 we were given the go ahead and we suited up for our zodiac ride.

I was on board the staff zodiac so we were the first to the beach. The tide was way out exposing a lot of rocks, thus making a typical beach landing difficult. We maneuvered into a spot and jumped out.

You know. Antarctica only gets better and better. Ten meters or so up the beach was a 3-meter of snow and ice layer that were abruptly chopped off by the tide creating a 3-meter cliff. There were hundreds and hundreds of Adelies walking the edge of the beach ice cliff. Once the tide was in there would be no trouble diving directly into the water. But at low tide the would march along in their long single file lines stopping now and then to peer down at us.

Once we climbed the small cliff we were standing on broad gradual slopes of deep snow and ice coming off the peaks. A few places were free of snow and it was there the penguins were starting to court, build nests, and mate. To the east was a very small area with a few Gentoo Penguins. To the west, going up to the horizon, as far as I could see, on the slopes were 30,000 40,000 pairs of Adelie Penguins.

Nest building was in high gear. Normally they build their nests of rocks, but the snow was so deep that few were exposed. Egg laying should have begun nearly three weeks ago and the females were still holding off laying. Some of the Adelies had finally built snow nests. They had created a mound of snow and made a depression in it in the same shape as their customary pebble nest, and had begun laying. As rocky areas are gradually being exposed, there is a perpetual motion to the rookery as penguin pick up the pebbles and walk it to their mate on the nest and add it to the growing pile of stones and run to get another.

We returned to the ship at 1800. A fine Russian dinner was served.

Russian Phrase for the Day:
We love it here! Nam Nravitsa Zdyes!

Emperor Rookery

2007-11-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

LAT: 63° 30' South
LON: 56° 40' West
TEMP: -10°C
WIND: 10 knots
TIME: 1400

Today we were up early. By 0700 there was good news: the skies were clearing. The staff helicopter took off at 0800 to set up base camp and expected to start shuttling us by 0900. It will be done in shifts. Everyone who wants to get to the rookery will be able to. Just not all at the same time. We will have about half the clients at the rookery at any one time. The 0900 flights will return at 1300 and so on.

The walk in this time was longer. According to IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) guidelines we need to land about 1 mile away. Yesterday was just barely a mile so Jonas decided to be conservative and land a bit farther away.

The rookery was about where we left it. The rookery always travels a slight amount, gradually migrating across the ice. Often we can photograph them on pristine white ice and snow. It's nearly 2100 and I hear the last of the helicopters coming in.

Today was a bit chilly. It was around -17°C but the real chiller was that we had a 20-knot wind from the north. There was enough wind to blow loose snow about. The Emperors were unfazed ... I was not. I had gotten quite chilled hiking in. I was carrying in a passengers camera bag I even took my hat and gloves off and unzipped my jacket and the sides of my pants. I still was soaked in sweat. It felt a lot like trying to schlep too much luggage across an international airport with a snowstorm inside the building...and a wind chill of. I was pleased to do it and I got it there, but I was very slow and he was so anxious to get photographing.

Once at the rookery it was again delightful, awesome, unbelievable, overwhelming and just about the greatest place a person could be. The rookery was filled with activity and over it all was that distinctive cacophony of sound. Many of the emperors were lying down and sleeping. Unconcerned about the blowing snow their prone bodies acted as a small wind block and tiny snow drifts collected on the windward size and their bodies were lightly dusted with a spring of snow. The chicks were not huddling for warmth. For the chicks it was just another mild spring day. Nothing extreme about it.

This time I sat and watched more. I watched the parents feeding the little ones. I watched everyone preening - trying to keep those four layers of watertight feathers in good shape. There were long lines of chicks following an adult and little groups of hooligan chicks just hanging out in gangs. The contrast is so amazing. The chicks are fuzzy, bouncy, and very energetically courteous and look almost like little wind-up plush toys. The adults are so noble, staid and elegant.

As I hiked back today I wondered what the future holds for these animals. It feels like we visited a complex civilization with all kinds of rules and traditions that we know nothing about. The Khlebnikov visited the rookery three times this year bringing about 300 people. We were all so privileged. One wonders if the emperors will remember the yellow-jacketed people that visited in the early spring. Will they dream of us?

Without a doubt I will remember the Emperors and the privileged glimpse I had into their remarkable world ... and I will dream of them.

A Low Key Day

2007-11-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

LAT: 64° 06' South
LON: 56° 54' West
TEMP: -10°C
WIND: calm
TIME: 2000

It's 20:00. The sun is setting as I look across a vast field of sea ice that's turning gold as the sun moves toward the hills of James Clark Ross Island.

Today we woke up to an absolute white out. You could see nothing other than pure white anywhere you looked. Looking over the side of the ship you couldn't see the ice below. It made yesterdays pea soup look like a thin broth. All we could do is wait for the fog to clear.

I knew I wasn't going back to the rookery, but those guests that were to go today were understandably, agitated and worried. Jonas said out drop-dead time to get today's group into the rookery was 12 noon. Sure enough the gods listened to him once again and the skies abruptly changed to clear blue and sunshine.

I spent the day getting caught up, giving a program, and going out for a short ice walk over to a blue iceberg marooned in the sea ice. A few Emperors hung out by the ship on the ice. We looked unsuccessfully for Weddell or leopard seals. It was a very low-key day after the excitement of yesterday.

It was nice to be able to walk on the ice alone with my thoughts. Now and then I stopped looked across the foreign landscape. Flat sea ice, probably 2 meters thick here, occasional hummocks where the stresses and strains burst the ice and pushed it up and down. Beneath each 1 meter hummock would be a hidden 7-meter keel of ice hanging down into the ocean below.

They felt the sea ice was quite safe here but as a precaution we were required to wear life jackets. Not he big orange gumby type but a sleek little red job that drapes around our shoulders and is fastened by straps. If one has the unfortunate experience to go in the frigid drink and get a close up view of the Antarctic Sound, a small salt tablet dissolves, which activates a CO2 cartridge, and poof you are well inflated. There also is a way to manually activate the vest with a pull string. Several of the passengers have accidentally activated their vests. It keeps life interesting ... and amusing.

The rays are getting lower and shadows are getting longer. Skies are clear. Sun is gold and the shadows so blue.

Think I'll call it a night once we have dinner. Tomorrow is a big day. I just heard they think the forecast is good and we all may get out to the rookery tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Walking Among the Emperors

2007-11-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

LAT: 64° 06' South
LON: 56° 54' West
TEMPERATURE: -5°C
WIND: calm
Time: 1930

The day should have started with a 0400 wake-up call. I awoke with a start at 0700. Threw on my clothes and rushed out into the lounge to see if I had missed the helicopter shuttle. I was pretty sure I was OK-one of the helicopter flight deck crew, Saska, was still fast asleep in the bunk above me. I wasn't late. The early flights had been canceled due to pea soup skies and Jonas, the kind soul, let us all sleep in. We will wait and hope things go better later in the day. I was scheduled for 1300 so there was time for things to clear.

Flight groups that were canceled started on an early ice walk. And by the end of a few hours I looked over the rail and saw a very presentable igloo made from sawn blocks of sea ice. I think the crew at the bottom of the gang had too much time on their hands. At about 1000 the ceiling started lifting and they flew a recon flight. It's a go. They set up a base camp of tents at the landing site about a mile from the rookery and started shuttling passengers.

I crawled into the 8-passenger helicopter at 1300, lifted off the deck of the Khlebnikov and started the 25-minute ride to the rookery. The ice was incredible. Massive field of sea ice looked like a smooth white plain with islands of brilliant blue icebergs sticking up. Here and there I could see small lines of Emperors coming and going. Occasional you saw seals that snuck up through the tidal cracks to haul out and bask on the ice.

About a couple miles out I saw the rookery. There it was - a dense mass of black dots against a field of white ice. We landed about a mile away, behind the shelter of a giant anchored berg to avoid disrupting the rookery. It was there they had set up safety/ hospitality tents, The tents could be a warm place to escape to if weather conditions changes dramatically and were a place were you could catch a candy bar, sandwich and soup if you internal fires started running low.

There was an Emperor standing, slouched in that monk-like demeanor at the landing marks. Once the helicopter got loud enough he flopped down and tobogganed off to find less noisy neighbors.

The walk to the rookery took nearly an hour. Easy walking, flat, no slick ice, few inches of snow, bright sunshine, maybe a half mile ... it should have been an easy stroll. It took forever.

Every turn in the trail you were met by emperors strolling along. Take 10 steps and five emperors toboggan across in front of you, 10 more steps and one is walking the same trail you are. Between pausing to give them the right-of-way and pausing to take photos it took a while. When we reached the rookery the sight was over whelming. There were close to 4,000 pairs in the rookery and most had a chick. FYI- If you ever want to walk with an emperor you will have to slow your pace to about half speed, If they are tobogganing: forget it. They can go a cool 8 kilometers per hour. No way could you keep up.

The sound of the rookery is one I'll never forget. It was a noisy cacophony of adults bugling and trumpeting and young chicks doing a sort of chirping, higher pitched, adolescent trumpeting. They were everywhere. Gray fluff balls, walking here and there, running, tripping and falling, meeting a parent and begging for food. They would walk along in long lines as they wandered about or stop fall down and take a nap or eat snow. They looked like a packs of hooligans on the loose with no place to go and mischief on their mind.

If you sat down they were invariable so curious they came up to you. They stepped to within 1 meter of me, this strange new yellow-jacketed beast that had visited their home. One person brought a tiny, 4-inch high, stuffed toy penguin. Well, it was the hit of the rookery. Every adult or chick that saw it had to come over and investigate. There was some real concern they just might walk away with it. They are just so curious.

Left the ice at 1900 for a flight home to the Khlebnikov. The shadows were getting long but as I sit and write this at 2245 it is still twilight. Pastels hues wash the horizon and the sky is beginning its long decent into darkness. Once again the Antarctic has rewarded me with an unforgettable spring day.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Goodnight for now.

Blue Bergs and Emperors' Visit

2007-11-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

LAT: 64° 06' South
LON: 56° 54' West
TEMPERATURE: -5°C
WIND: calm
TIME: 2100

We didn't make it to the rookery today. They did a reconnaissance flight at 0500 this morning and the fog was low on the hills. Just too dangerous and uncertain to start shuttling people to the rookery.

So we instead went on an ice walk. The ship is tightly parked in the pack ice so they dropped down the gangway and we simply went down the stairs to walk on the 3 meter thick sea ice. It is truly an amazing sight to see the Khlebnikov's big, dark hull rise abruptly from the white smooth ice. All of us in our little yellow parkas ran around it and explored. We looked ever so much like exotic yellow ants swarming new territory. The ship was parked stern first into the ice so there was much hanging and playing off stern ropes and chains as though they were part of a giant jungle gym set. Of course we took the required pictures of people straining to push the Icebreaker free.

Then the tenor of the day changed. From the open water, near the other end of the ship two Emperor penguins hauled out of the water and came tobogganing through our group. They were as curious about us as we were about them. If you sat down they often approached. Now and then they would raise themselves upright and walk their slow slouched, lumbering walk, looking for all the world like little monks on a pilgrimage. Well maybe not so little monks cause they were nearly 40 kilograms. Finally with their curiosity apparently satisfied they tobogganed off toward the rookery nearly 27 miles to the south.

The male birds grow to weigh 40 kilograms (90lbs) or more, and are the largest of all the penguins. It is the only bird, under normal conditions, that never sets foot on shore and that nests on sea ice. It is the deepest diving bird with a record of nearly 550 meters (about 1,800 feet) and can remain under water for an astonishing 22 minutes. It also is the only bird that has figured out a way to breed in the Antarctic winter.

I was so thrilled to see them. Last year when I left the rookery I assumed that I would never see them in the wild again. I am so very pleased that I was so very wrong. There they were - only 2 meters away from me. And once again I was in Antarctica sitting on the sea ice watching the Emperors. It was wonderful, beautiful, and magic.

We all made our way back to the ship and a nice hot lunch. Not terribly cold but it was still about -17C which is about 1.4F. The walk was invigorating and it gave us all a chance to check out our gear before we spent 8 hours at the rookery tomorrow.

In the afternoon, the captain moved the ship closer to some icebergs stuck in the sea ice and this time he parked the ship bow into the ice. The gangway went down and we hiked across sea ice to the icebergs and explored the area. The icebergs were vivid turquoise blue. The icebergs are remnants of glaciers that have slide their way down the polar slopes to reach the frigid Southern Ocean where they then break off and float away. The old the ice in the glacier has been compressed over tens of thousands of years until all the air has been squeezed out of it. The air bubbles are what makes ice white and without the air the frozen water is an unbelievable vivid, stunning, turquoise blue.

Some of these icebergs become trapped as the sea ice forms around them. The bergs become vivid blue cliffs of ice surrounded by newly formed white sea ice. Breathtaking. Any new snow that falls appears as a soft dusting of pure white catching on the ridges and ledges of the berg. A planet of ice. A world that is different from any other on earth.

Several of us took our time wandering about and photographing the fantastic shapes. We were richly rewarded for our patience. We saw six Emperors quickly approaching us. I flopped on my stomach in the snow and everyone followed suit. We were so non-threatening and they were so curious. They paused inspected us for 10 fifteen minutes before they went on their
way. Tobogganed up to me stopping about 1 meter away. It was a truly remarkable experience. For a brief moment our two worlds were one. We met peacefully and calmly and then each slipped back into the world from which they came. The yellow-jacketed people to the warmth of an icebreaker and the emperors to the world that has been theirs for thousands and thousands of years - the place we call the Antarctic.

The Antarctic Sound

2007-11-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

LAT 64 degrees 06 minutes South
LONG 56degrees 54 minutes West
TEMP 3C (this morning it was -17C)
WINDS calm

Woke up this morning to the the sight of icebergs in the Bransfield Strait. Air temperature was around 34F. A bit brisk for my Southern Nevada blood.

Our on board biologist gave us a lecture on the seals of the Antarctic. In the Antarctic region there are only five species of seal: the Elephant, Ross, Crabeater, Southern Fur, and Weddell Seals. Seals are roughly divided into two groups: the eared seals and the phocid or true seals. Not surprisingly the eared seals -- you guessed it -- have little tiny flaps, more commonly known as "ears," that stick out from their head. The eared seals are the ones you recognise as "circus seals." They can rotate their flippers forward beneath their body, which allows them to move about quite rapidly and efficiently. The true seals can't do this. They have to flop around to get anywhere at all. Imagine being rolled up in a rug and asked to make your way across a room like a caterpillar. You would probably get where you wanted to go, but it might not be the most graceful thing to watch. Though ungainly on land, in the water these creatures are amazingly agile, graceful, and acrobatic.

The true seals tend to have a thick layer of fat or blubber that makes them look thicker bodied then their sleek Eared seal counterparts. The only Eared seal in this part of the planet is the Southern Fur Seal; all the rest are the big, blubbery true seals.

After the lecture, I bundled up and walked out on deck. Sure enoug, there were lots of crabeater seals lounging about on the ice floes. "Crabeater" seals don't actually eat crab. Go figure. They, instead, are an extremely well designed krill eater. The main cusps of the upper and lower teeth fit perfectly together and efficiently sieve the little shrimp-like creatures from the water.

We entered the Antarctic Sound about 10 am this morning and by noon we were breaking ice. It is hypnotizing to watch gigantic sheets of ice heave and crack as they are pushed by this powerful ship. The ice seems to stretch forever. There is pack ice to the horizon. Our aim is to get close enough to 25 miles or so of the Emperor Penguin Rookery on the far side of Snow Hill Island. That way we will have less than a hour helicopter trip round trip and more time on the ground with the Emperors.

The day is dark. A low gray ceiling of clouds darkens the landscape. Clouds obsure the tops of James Clark Ross, Seymore, and Snow Hill Islands.

The pack ice we are pushing through and breaking is far from homogeneous and flat. It is a mass of jumbled fractured pieces strewn about in haphazard piles by the ocean restless movements. Huge flat sheets as smooth as a table or broken into gigantic round pancakes of ice by the swells and currents. There are areas cut by complex network of fissures and fractures often filled with slush and burgy bits floating in near freezing ocean waters. A greater open water area, large enough for a ship to pass is known as a lead and the even larger great open areas are known as polynya.

I can't describe what it is like to be here, to look across frozen ocean and break ice 3 meters thick. Words fail me. Words fail all of us. We stand on the bridge and watch the spectacle 9 8 decks below. We bundle up and venture out to the bow where we can lean over and look down to watch the 3 meter ice crack and run as though it were glass. We listen to the ice scrape and bang its way down the hull as we pass through it and realize how privileged we are to be here.

We have started seeing Adelie penguins here quite regularly. They are a little upset that we are crashing through their ice. They scuttle away tobogganing on their stomachs but once clear of the danger they stand and curiously watch the ship pass. What the "heck was that?" We also saw more Crabeater seals and at last saw our first Emperor Penguins.

By 3 pm we have reached our destination. We made it to within 27 miles of the rookery before the fast ice stopped up completely. We parked the ship stern into the ice. This will be our home for the next four days at least. Like that line from Coleridge's poem, "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner," which he wrote about the Antarctic.

The ice was here, the ice was there. The ice was all around.

We may even fly to the Emperor rookery tomorrow. Right now its time to enjoy the long, slow Antarctic sunset. We will think about the Emperors tomorrow.

Drakes Passage Southern Ocean

2007-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

At 7am today we are at:
61° 53' South
57° 22' West
Entering the Antarctic Sound
Air Temperature: 34°F
Starting to see icebergs all around
Winds: Calm

Well we are about half way to Antarctica and are in the middle of the passage. The fear of the Drake caused Magellan to find his strait so he could avoid the passage. The Drake has struck fear in the hearths of many a seasoned sailor. The shrieking or screaming fifties. Well the fates have smiled upon us, rather then the screaming or shrieking fifties it is in fact, miraculously, the seldom seen Drakes Lake. The ocean stretches out from us its smooth leaden gray surface merges with a leaden sky. Gray and calm. So calm few seabirds are flying. Most need the helping lift from strong ocean breezes and waves to stay aloft. Today they are becalmed.
Jonas, our expedition Leader, says its as calm as he has ever seen it and he has done this passage 121 times. He also says if Schafer is up and around, you know its calm. (I'm not exactly a good sailor)

Had a wonderful lecture from our onboard ornithologist. Introduction to sea birds on a day there were few sea birds flying. Seems appropriate.

Here are the basics of bird watching on the Southern Ocean:

If it's really big (like a B52 Bomber) it's in a group called the Giant Albatrosses, which includes the Wandering Albatross and the Royal Albatross. These are the largest albatrosses and the longest winged flying birds on earth with some having a wing span of more than 12 feet. Pace that off on your classroom floor and just try to imagine a bird that large.

If it's smaller then a B52 but still has very long wings, it's in the small and medium albatross group known as the mollymawks. Easily separated from the big guys by a dark mantle bridge on the back that links the uniformly all-dark upper wings. This group includes 5-11 species depending who you ask and argue with.

Some of these birds leave the nest, go to sea for a very long time. It's often 5-7 years before a young albatross is ready to breed and it is only then that it makes its way back to some of the Sub-Antarctic Islands to breed.

So many species are truly at home here in the watery world: Storm Petrel, Diving Petrels, Procellaria Petrels, Fulmars and Shearwaters. There are the delicate Blue Petrels and the tiny Prions that hug the waves fluttering like a butterfly.

Finally, there is the not-to-be-forgotten Imperial Shag, sometimes called the Blue-eyed Shag. A beautiful black and white cormorant of the southern oceans with bare vivid cobalt blue skin forming a ring around a dark reddish eye, a rakish crest of feathers all set off by a couple of big orange carnuncles or knobs. Quite the festive garb.

Around the ship today there were numerous Cape Petrels. They are probably the most common bird we see. Even to the bird-watching novice they are an unmistakable, medium pigeon-sized petrel with distinctive black and white checkered upper parts and mostly white under parts. Hardly ever beating their, wings they soar swiftly, arcing high above the water then plunge to graze a tip of their wing across it all the while expertly exploiting the breezes from the oceans wind and waves. It is the most hypnotic, graceful dance on the wind that you could ever hope to see. Much of my day was spent out on deck watching them and trying to get a good photo of these swift creatures.

Tomorrow they say the calm weather should hold. We should start seeing icebergs once we get into the Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound right near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Had a few scattered snowflakes fall between the gray overcast and bouts of sunshine we had today. The water temperature has dropped another 2 degrees. Its getting to the point were you need to bundle up to go out on deck. Its beginning to feel a bit like Antarctica. I can't wait.

RUSSIAN WORD FOR THE DAY: Good Morning! Dobray Utra!

On Board the Kapitan Khlebnikov in the Beagle Channel

2007-11-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

TIME: 23:00

Today I was up early, gathered together my stuff, and ran upstairs for breakfast at 7am. Breakfast is served -- at this quaint bed and breakfast -- on the third floor in the great room. Bounded on two sides by huge picture windows, the room welcomes in the morning. I stood in front of one of the south-facing windows and looked down on the Beagle Channel and the docks. Brilliant sunshine, fluffy clouds, and a view that went on forever: It is truly a beautiful place.

Already at the dock below was our ship, the Kapitan Khlebnikov. The ship had docked about 6am, returning from the last Snow Hill Island-Emperor Penguin Trip looking unscathed. With the break up of the Soviet Union, many of the Russian icebreakers and research vessels have been leased by Antarctic tour operators to be used for eco tours to the frozen Polar Regions. Many of them spend the Antarctic summer (our winter) down south then travel north to the Arctic regions when summer warms the northern latitudes. This is a completes a mechanical cycle of the same migration that the Arctic Terns make. Its hard enough to fathom a ship making the journey, but is seemingly impossible for a small bird.

The Kapitan Khlebnikov is a diesel electric icebreaker operated by the Far East Shipping Company (FESCO) and is registered in Vladivostok. It is 132.4m long and about 26-75m wide and nearly 50m high. For those of you into all things engine:

SPEED: 20 knots (36.5km/h).

PROPULSION: 3 twin DC electric motors, each producing 5400kW in either direction to turn the 22 m long propeller shaft...and yes, Mom, they do carry a spare propeller shaft.

PROPELLERS: 3-4m diameter with four hardened steel blades that turn at about 120-180 times per minute...and yes, Mom, they also carry a spare one of those, which can be deployed at sea.

HULL: 45mm thick where it meets the ice and 22-35 mm elsewhere.

ANCHORS: 2 weighing 6 tonne each with 300m chain...and, yes, Mom, they carry a spare chain too.

OPERATING RANGE: 10500 nautical miles (19,500km).

HEATING: Two boilers provide water for heating system, hot water supply, and steam.

FUEL USE: Daily 6 engines use 13 tonne each, 5 auxiliary engines use 2-5 tonne each, 2 boilers use3 tonne, and 2 air curtain compressors 2-5 tonne each.

MAXIMUM DAILY FUEL USE: When breaking severe ice, 78 tonne fresh water provided by a vacuum distillation apparatus heated by exhaust gasses. 80 tonne daily can be produced.

AIR CURTAIN: Can be deployed to help with breaking ice.

ICE KNIFE: Fitted 26m aft of prow.

ICE SKIRT: A polymer coating on the hull to reduce ice friction.

HELICOPTERS: 2 on board to assist in ice navigation by helping to scout for open leads.

That's a lot of facts but to make a long story short, it is an impressive ship that I'll be boarding later today. I grabbed a taxi and took my bags to the Hotel Los Albatros. From there the bags were taken down the dock and loaded onto the Khlebnikov. At about 3pm I walked down the pier, was checked through three security checkpoints, and wandered toward the ship. The Khlebnikov is so big when you are standing next to her. She rises 8 decks with the bridge on top of that. Not a graceful shape; she looks unbalanced as though a square eight-story building was plopped down on top of the deck, but she looks strong and sure. I'll take that over good looks any day.

I boarded the ship and made my way to my cabin on deck 5. There it was, cabin 506: my home for the next 14 days. Almost as soon as we had cast off, we had the mandatory lifeboat drill. Lifeboats in this region of the world look like orange submarines. They have to be completely enclosed and heated. I was told a person would only last about 4 minutes in the frigid Antarctic waters. The lifeboats come equipped with engines, food for a week and all sorts of emergency equipment. So we all ran around with our life jackets on looking a lot like big orange "Gumbys." We found our muster stations and peered, a bit apprehensively, into the open hatch of the lifeboat. I'd rather not experience one first hand in the southern ocean.

After the Captain's reception and dinner, I crawled gratefully into bed. We will continue down the Beagle Channel, and by 12 midnight we'll be on the Drake. I wonder how it will be.

RUSSIAN WORD FOR THE DAY: Ice! Lyot!

Ushuaia, Argentina: Anticipating The Drake Passage

2007-11-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

TIME: 19:00

I spent another day in preparation. Practiced my talks and checked my gear and repacked again. Once on board the ship, there will be no opportunity to drop by the nearest REI for a pair of gloves.

I also ran by the neighborhood grocery story for some bread and water to get me across the Drake. "The Drake." That's a simple word that can strike of bit of fear in me. The Drake or more correctly the Drake's Passage is the little body of water from South America's Cape Horn to the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was named after Sir Francis Drake although he had enough brains to avoid it altogether and sneak around the horn via the Straights of Magellan.

The good news is that the 500-mile crossing is the shortest distance between South America and Antarctica. The bad news is that it is considered the roughest water in the world. There is no significant land anywhere in the world at that latitude. The circumpolar current can really race around with no land to block it. It lies between about 56 and 60 degrees south latitude. It's not uncommon to have 40-foot seas and hurricane force winds there. Sailors feared this area and said, "below 40 degrees there is no law, below 50 degrees there is no God." Sailors also dubbed this area the "furious fifties" and the "shrieking sixties."

The really good news is that I know what lies on the other side. I will put up with some discomfort to visit the magnificent Antarctic Peninsula and its incredible wealth of wildlife.
I can't wait

Ushuaia, Argentina: Preparation Day

2007-11-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

TIME: 17:00

WEATHER: High clouds with intermittent sprinkles
TEMP: high:46°F low:37°F

SUNRISE: 05:38
SUNSET: 20:55

Today was spent in preparation. Rechecked all my gear. Worked on the onboard presentations I’ll be giving and gazed out the window at the harbor all too much. The highlight of the day was seeing an Andean Condor during one of my harbor-gazing episodes.

The Andean Condor is a big...really big...vulture. With its four-foot-long body, 33 lbs weight, and a wingspan of over 10 feet it looked for all the world like a turkey vulture on steroids. Turkey vultures have a wingspan of only about 6 feet, weigh a mere 3 lbs, and lack the white neck collar and wing markings of the condor. Because of their heavy weight, these enormous condors prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort. They live along the Andes Mountains as their name suggests but also along the pacific coast of South America down to Cape Horn where Ushuaia is...and where I am gazing out my window.

I thought I should start preparing you a bit for our trip to Antarctica. No one had ever even seen the continent until 1820. The first landing took even longer. It wasn’t until just over a 100 years ago that the continental beach was marked by human footsteps when Carsten Borchgrevink lead a British expedition there. Imagine that! Just over a hundred years ago, humans first landed on the continent of Antarctica.

No one owns Antarctica. No country has claimed it, no sovereign rights are imposed upon it, and there is no president and no currency. It has no native populations and no permanent residents. It is not carved up into countries, counties, and cities. It is the world’s largest, wildest, and greatest wilderness. By the international Antarctic treaty of 1963 it is a place of “peace and science.” Military activity has been banned on the continent forever as well as all things nuclear: nuclear facilities, testing, and the storage of nuclear waste.

The Antarctic is enormous -- unbelievably vast. It is about the size of United States and Mexico combined but with a summer population of about 4,000 hardy scientists and support staff. In the winter the number drops to only 1,000 really, really hardy souls.

The Antarctic Continent is a place of superlatives. It is the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent.

FACTS AT A GLANCE
Lowest temperature recorded on earth - Vostok station -89.2°C / -128.6°F
Average thickness of Ice: 1,829 m / 6,000 ft
Highest Mountain: Mt. Vinson - 4,892 m / 16,050 ft
Average wind speed: 37 kmh / 23 mph
Maximum recorded gust: 248.4 kmh / 154 mph at Mawson Station
Average summer temperature at South Pole: -27.5°C / 17.5°F
Average winter temperature at South Pole: -60°C / -76°F

Despite containing 70 percent of the world's freshwater and 90 percent of the world's ice, much of Antarctica classified as a desert, with the annual snow accumulation over much of East Antarctica being the equivalent of less than two inches of rainfall.

Too many facts and figure for one day. I just wanted you to get a feel for the magnificent wild place we will be visiting. If you would like more information on Antarctica there is a wonderful education site you can visit aptly named Cool Antarctica. Visit it at: http://www.coolantarctica.com/index.html

I’m going to wander into town and find myself a nice dinner. The Argentines sure know how to cook.

Ushuaia, Argentina

2007-11-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

Look at a map of South America and you will find Ushuaia on the very tip of Cape Horn -- just about as far south as one can get in the world. In fact, Ushuaia touts itself as the southernmost city in the world. It’s a modern tourist town of 60,000 people that has become the major jumping off spot for Antarctic expeditions.

Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra Del Fuego. Spectacular to fly into, the town is on the southern edge of the island and is wedged between the Martial Mountains on the north and the Beagle Channel on the south.

The town was originally settled by the British as a site for a penal colony. The place was remote and wild and escape impossible. These “forced colonists” built many of the town’s original old building.

Absolutely spectacular to fly into, the area is a rugged landscape of jagged snow covered peaks that drop abruptly to the Beagle channel. The plane is forced to do a gradual descending spiral over the Beagle channel then lands neatly on the runway next to the water. Looking up to the mountains you see dense dark green of the Megellanic subpolar forests where you can find endemic trees of the area: Winter's bark and hard log mayten and several species of Nothofagus.

I’m staying at Posada del Fin del Mundo (hotel at the end of the earth) a fine old world style bed and breakfast that is heavy on the friendly manner and exceptional service. Located in the residential part of town it is a welcome respite from hustle of the main tourist area.

Take off to Ushuaia

2007-11-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Traveling by air seems to be equal parts magic and luck. It is pure magic that one can load themselves into a “tin-can-with-wings” and fly across the country in just a few hours. The luck part come in where you need everything to go right – with no weather delays, no missed connections, and enough precious luck to keep every thing mechanical working properly. Today was not a lucky day… but it sure could have been worse.

I left Las Vegas at 7:15 am 3 Nov and flew to Forth Worth, Texas. We pulled up to the gate and the plane broke. American Airlines rushed around and found another plane about 4 hours later and continued to Miami with 10 minutes to spare so I could time to make my 8:30 PM flight to Buenos Aires.

The Buenos Aires plane broke but could be fixed in a couple of hours. Arrived Buenos Aires with an hour to spare only to find the flight to Ushuaia was boarding 45 minutes early. Somehow it all worked out and by 1:40pm local time, Nov 4, I arrived in Ushuaia having flown nearly 9,000 miles in just over 44 hours.

Clothing list:
Light weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Long Underwear - 2 Pair
Heavy weight Waterproof Bibs -1
Heavy weight Windstopper Fleece Pants -1
Pullover Fleece top – 2
Long Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 2
Short Sleeve Polyester T shirt – 3
Light Weight Fleece Jacket
Pants – 2
Sock Liners - 3 pair
Heavy Socks - 3 pair
Regular Socks – 1 Pair
Rain Jacket – 1
Rain Pants – 1
Cold Weather Parka -1
Medium Weight Gloves – 2 pair
Heavy weight Gloves – 1 Pair
Glove Liners – 2 Pair
Fleece Neck warmer – 1
Fleece hat – 2
Thin Lightweight Ski Mask -1
Ski Goggles -1
Trekking Poles – 1 pair
Arctic Sport Muck Boots – 1 Pair
Yak Track Pro – 1 Pair
Sleeping Shorts - 2 pair
Cotton T-shirt for sleeping – 1

Equipment List
Leatherman Tool
Watch