OTL33-19, trip log, Antarctic Peninsula – Polar Circle, Deep South Discovery and whale watching voyage

Ushuaia - the southernmost city in the world. Here is were we started our adventure… to the 7th continent; the big beautiful, white continent; Antarctica! At 4pm we all started boarding our new home for the next 14 day - our ex-pedition vessel Ortelius. We were welcomed on board by our expedition team and soon checked in by our hotel manager and assistant hotel manager; Sigy and Melanie as well as their hotel team. We are shown to our cabins and had some free time to get unpacked and settled in. We had some time to explore the ship, and find our way around to the important areas; the bar on deck 6, the bridge on deck 7 and our restaurant for the voyage on deck 4. We met and talked with our fellow passengers and began to get excited about our expedition south. At 5pm we were summoned by our expedition leader Michael to a mandatory briefing in the lecture room on deck 3. Michael welcomed us onboard and introduced third officer Igor who showed us the all-important safety video; highlighting what we should do to keep ourselves safe onboard and what to do in an emergency. We ran through the mandatory abandon ship drill before leaving port. This involved mustering in the bar, which doubles as our mustering station, with our lifejackets from our cabins. Once mustered we headed out to the lifeboats to com-plete the drill. After the drill we continued to explore the ship and headed out on deck to watch Ortelius depart from the port of Ushuaia… and so the adventure begins! Before we had our first dinner on board we gathered in the lounge/bar where Michael introduces our Hotel manager Sigi who gives us a virtual tour of the ship and useful information about mealtimes, internet access and daily life on the ship. Soon after this Michael introduced Captain Mika who gave a lovely toast, and combined with a glass of bubbly (or orange juice), we raised a glass to the success of our voyage. After dinner we spent time on deck watching the Beagle channel pass us by as we head out towards the Drake passage. We headed to bed after a long and exciting day. All in anticipation of our Antarctic adventure.

Our first wakeup call comes from Michael, our expedition leader, we awake to rolling seas, and everyone took time to get used to the ship’s movement. We began the day with a hearty breakfast from the restaurant team, and for those of us still adjusting to the ship’s movements, a lie in in bed. We are called to the lecture room to col-lect our life jackets and Muckboots – two essential items we will need for our adventures in Antarctica. With quite a few of us feeling the adverse effects of being on a ship in the Drakes Passage, the rest of the morning is mostly filled with resting in our bunks, or standing on deck with views of the horizon and many incredible birds soaring over and around the ship. After lunch Rustyn gives a lecture for those feeling up to it in the lounge. He spoke about the Antarctic Treaty Sys-tem; a lecture on the politics of Antarctica; including the discovery of the continent, sovereignty, and the Antarctic Treaty. The lecture was very informative, but was presented in a unique way to bring this political topic to life. We have our first recap with the expedition team which gives us a review of the day and what to expect for the following day. We are introduced to the weather maps which will give us our daily weather on our expedition, and we are told what colours to look out for; blue being the colour for calm days, and purple meaning very windy days. Those of us that are not too sea sick head to the dining room for another delicious Ortelius dinner.

As we had expected rough seas later in the day, we had some lectures in the morning; firstly, Daniel talked about photography to find out how to make the most out of your time in this wonderful southern landscape, considering light, exposure and playing with the ways to capture the beautiful wildlife surrounding us. After some coffees when his lecture was done, Meike presented a nice overview about the penguins and all their interesting life and features for adapting to the extreme conditions of the white continent. Right after lunch, Michael (the dive master) and his team met the divers for some mandatory briefings and valves check. We also start the process of cleaning all our outer gear; this biosecurity measure is in place to reduce any possible contamination from foreign biological material making it on to Antarctica. The process involves vacuuming our out-er clothing and cleaning our footwear, poles and tripods. We made it through these tasks in time for an early lunch. Again, this is to facilitate the rougher weather expected as we head further south into the Drake Passage. With quite a few of us feeling the adverse effects of being on a ship in the Drakes Passage, the afternoon is mostly filled with resting or being on deck with views of the horizon. We had our second recap with the expedition team which gives us a review of the day and what to expect for the following day. We are introduced to the weather maps which will give us our daily weather on our expedition, and we are told what colours to look out for; blue being the colour for calm days, and purple meaning very windy days. Those of us that are not too sea sick head to the dining room for another delicious Ortelius dinner.

After two days at sea we finally got the chance to see the spectacular mountains covered in snow and some wild-life of Antarctica. The morning was overcast and a slightly windy, but nothing that would stop our plan to disem-barking at Cuverville. Breakfast was just a formality for all of us, and the excitement was growing until the Zodiacs were in the water. It was a superb first landing with the sun shining from time to time and plenty of Gentoo Penguins and Fur Seals walked on the beach. During the morning operation, some passengers got the chance to see a Humpback whale, as well as a Leopard seal eating a penguin. Later, back in our little blue ship got a great lunch and recharged our energy for our second landing of the day while we were crossing the majestic Errera Channel. Entering Andvords bay the ice delayed us for a small while, but on the other hand, everyone experiencing the zodiacs driving through that ice was also something to remember. Neko Harbour, our first ¨Continental¨ landing - was just perfect. Minke Whales were close to the ship while going into the bay and seals everywhere. Divers used their time under the water again, and the rest of the team got the chance to put their feet ashore. It was a great surprise to find a female Elephant Seal wiener, something we did not expected and very rare at this location. Conditions couldn’t be better, no wind and sun shining. At the end of the operation, the glacier crevassed creating a small Tsunami but all were safe and warm back on the ship soon after. Recap was full of energy, passen-gers happy about everyone’s great first day. After dinner some met in the bar while the Ortelius slowly headed further south.

As we woke up this morning by the voice of our Expedition leader Michael, it was already getting daylight. A first glimpse of the rising sun we had on the outside decks of the ship and it was almost no wind. The day began prom-ising. So, most of us went out on deck to get the first fresh breath of the day. We had a very nice and relaxed breakfast which is called out by our best hotel manager Sigi and we enjoyed coffee and a lot of delicious makings for a good meal. As we were sailing in very calm waters, we came close to our first important event of the day. The crossing of the southern polar circle at S66°33.000. The excitement in the group began to rise and everybody was preparing mentally to join this very unique event. To be honest there was not much to see around the ship. We sailed in open waters. But to know that not many ships are able to go the long way down to the southern polar circle is a very special moment. At the time the ship was on position, Michael called us via the PA system to get out on deck 7 which is directly be-hind the bridge. We passed by the lounge to get out and Sigi and Paulo our very best bartender was waiting there with a nice surprise. A drink to celebrate the crossing. Everybody was outside waiting for the countdown. It was a feeling like new year… 10…09…08… and as we crossed the ships horn was blown loudly and everybody was cheer-ing and appreciating the moment. What a good start in the day. So, we continued our way south. Most of us were standing outside the whole day long because it was sunny and absolutely stunning conditions. We came closer to the second main event of the day even we all knew that there was no landing planned… but we saw land and soon after this we passed by some huge fields of sea ice on the way to the entrance of The Gullet. Ortelius is for sure not an icebreaker. But Captain Mika and his Crew on the bridge sailed the ship slowly through the sea ice and carefully we made our way through. It was another highlight of this day and we had a lot of Crabeater Seals on the ice floes. Nobody was talking… The silence around the ship was perceptible and magic. The ice was cracking. Then we entered The Gullet. The Gullet is a narrow channel between the eastern extremity of Adelaide Island and the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica, separating Hansen Island and Day Island and connecting the heads of Hanusse Bay and Laubeuf Fjord. This area was first explored in 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot who, though uncertain of the existence of the channel, sketched its probable position on the charts of the expedition. The channel was first visited and roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition under John Rymill. It was resurveyed and given this descriptive name in 1948 by members of the Falk-land Islands Dependencies Survey. So, we faced the second highlight of the day. Not even that we went this far south. More than that we were the only passenger expedition cruise ship this year to pass all the way through The Gullet. What an amazing experi-ence. The scenery was gorgeous. A black and white temper with deep blue waters and turquoise colored icebergs drift-ing in the passage. The sun was already setting and immersed the landscape into an even more painterly light. Daniel and Mischa climbed up on the front mast of the ship to get some impressive images from this high view-point over Ortelius. Everybody was standing on the ship´s bow to enjoy the day. As it was getting evening and dinner was called out, we went back inside the ship, inspired by a great day and ready to dream of more in pro-spect of what may come the following days. What a day!

Horseshoe base or ‘Base Y‘ as it was unimaginatively called by the British Antarctic Survey was established in 1955 but operated for only six years. It remains in its original state and serves as a reminder of an Antarctic research base from this era. Inside, there is a collection of items dating from this period and later including unopened food tins, dog chains and the remains of the dog sledges. It would be a bleak place indeed to spend a winter. Out of communication for long periods with the outside world and far from family and friends, on a stormy day Base Y would have felt very lonely. However, on a crisp winters day when sea ice abounds and blue skies reign supreme, I imagine that same solitude made this a very special place to be. A large contingent of adventurous souls chose to ascend to a high point overlooking the base and Sally Cove. It was a magnificent viewpoint despite its modest height and in the morning light the Bay was lit up magically. As the len-ticulars built overhead and windblown snow cascaded off the mountain ridges of the Peninsula to the East, the forecast storm began to make its presence known. A snatched landing at this most unique of places. Ortelius then set sail out into the relatively open waters of Laubeuf Fjord and the full force of the wind became apparent. The wind had rapidly built to unworkable levels and Bongrain Point our initial planned landing also had a ribbon of impassable ice along its shore. Seeking solace, Ortelius ploughed deeper into Dalgleish Bay toward un-chartered waters. A scout Zodiac was launched to survey the bathymetry in order to avoid, as the Captain humor-ously put it, ‘puncturing the ship’. A situation I’m sure you’ll agree would have been sub-optimal this far south! With our time ashore already curtailed, the sea state at the gangway became problematic thus hindering progress further. Meanwhile, the wind was picking up shoreside. The afternoon activity looked in doubt. Fortuitously, the depth of the bay was sufficient for Ortelius to inch in and so close the gap between ship and shore. At the last mi-nute after the landing was cancelled, the gangway swell subsided and a flotilla of wee boats was permitted to set forth from the mothership. The landing site, never before visited by a tourist ship was modest in size but it felt more like the polar desert associated with north eastern Svalbard. The desiccated remains of seals lay on the beach and lichen covered many rocks. Adelie penguins and Weddell seals provided photographic opportunities for those so inclined whilst the clouds raced over the peaks above. And let’s not forget the polar plunge. A once in a lifetime experience! I would be willing to bet that never before has anyone swum at this location and it’s unlikely anyone ever will again. The temperature of the water was a cool zero degrees, therefore both psychologically and scientifically freezing. The numbing pain was replaced shortly after the dip by the rush of warmth and a feeling of wellbeing which follows any wild swim. It’s probably safe to say that there were prolonged warm showers taken once back on board! A short but very special landing!

Early Sunday morning Captain Mika sailed the Ortelius into towards Stonington Island in Neny Fjord. A dramatic landscape with dark skies and the moon still out welcomed us for the early morning landing. After an early breakfast starting at 06.45 we all got in the zodiacs to visit Stonington Island. Adelie penguins made their way over to our landing site having a look at the visitors yet to arrive. Arriving at the landing site took a bit of mountaineering getting up on the snow, making it all a true Antarctic experience. At the island we visited the old British and US research stations. These are some of the oldest on the Peninsula. The researchers came ashore in 1939 and the island was subsequently occupied during the Ronne Antarctic Research expedition in 1947-1948. The latter included Edith Ronne and Jenny Darlington, the first two women to overwinter in Antarctica. Stonington served largely as a staging post for access to the peninsula via the North East Glacier up to 1975 when it was finally closed down. Walking around this old research base and looking at the remains of the old dog kennels felt like being in a time capsule. Around 11 o’clock we all left Stonington Island located at 68’11´00´´S, 67º00´00´W, the most southern landing spot of our trip. With the Ortelius heading for a more southern destination in Margue-rite Bay. A bay that is known for sightings of Emperor penguins on sea ice. Expedition leader Michael decided to take us on an exploration trip in search of whales, seals and the big penguin. We set sail in a mystical Antarctic atmosphere with poor visibility due to snow and strong winds. Around 3 o’clock it cleared up and we were greeted by lots of fur seals around the ship and to our delight Hump-backs passing by. The wildlife activity kept going for another hour with flocks of Southern fulmars and Cape pet-rels. And to our great pleasure two juvenile grey headed Albatrosses, a light mantled albatross and a black browed albatross suddenly appeared around the ship. It was finally at 68’31’8294 s and 68’07.0786’W the most southern point for this expedition that the Ortelius changed it course and started heading east again. By this time Michael and the expedition Team invited all passen-gers in the lounge for the daily recap of the events of the day. Ian talked about the different research stations in Peninsula and Meike updated us on the bird species we saw over the last few days. Dinner was served at 7 o’clock in the dining room, a great moment to share the stories of this Antarctic Sunday.

It was a nice morning cruising north in our beloved Ortelius. While the scenery was contrasted between dark blue sky and white icebergs, we moved slow in between the ice to find a place to conduct an activity. It was a surprise for all of us, that a little late the same afternoon we’ve got the chance to land in a place where none of the Staff ever landed before, the Fish Islands! It was a very interesting landing. Because the size of the islands and the wildlife on them, we had to split our land-ing in three different islands in small numbers of guests, and the other half enjoyed a Zodiac cruise for almost one hour until we swop them ashore and everybody got the chance to take advantage of the afternoon. Even the divers took a free afternoon to join us in this true Antarctic expedition day. Wildlife was incredible, plenty of Adelie Penguins, Blue Eye Shags, Weddell Seals, Crabeater Seals, and many more birds around us, without forgetting a massive iceberg with a huge arch on it, great for photography. All of this was completed driving through brash ice and giving the guest the experience that most never got before. You can imagine that as great day, but there was more to come, at the helideck, our professional crew prepared an amazing BBQ for us! Hot wine, beers and soft drink were available, salads, and of course, the best BBQ in Antarctica, while the sun was slowly setting down. Some of the guest started dancing after the meal with some cool tunes that our team played on speakers. It was super nice to see how the guest helped to clean up everything and put the tables and benches back where they belong; a great spirit was in the atmosphere. Later that night the Recap and Briefing was conducted in the Krill’em All Bar, following that we all rest and prepared for the next adventure.

The day began as Ortelius sailed North past Pleneau Island into Port Charcot; named after Jean-Baptiste Charcot, captain onboard the first French Antarctic expedition in 1903-05, which overwintered in the bay. The bay is a large iceberg graveyard – a perfect spot for zodiac cruising. We cruise through the broken and misshapen pieces of ice, occasionally frequented with crabeater seals resting on the tops. We all see the reptilian like figures of Leopard seals resting on ice flows, some of us saw them swimming through the water, predating on penguins. We pass towering icebergs, grounded on the bottom of this bay, surrounded by tall, beautiful snow-capped peaks. A truly awe-inspiring place. Following our zodiac cruise, we have lunch on board Ortelius, as she navigates further South to Vernadsky Station; a Ukrainian Antarctic Research Base. The base is located in a sheltered bay, and while we navigate the zodiacs through the narrow entrances to this station, the snow begins to pick up, making for wintery scenes. At the station we are greeted by station staff, who give us a tour of the base, and take us to their small souvenir shop. Here we can send postcards home and buy memorabilia made by the station staff here in Antarctica. While some of us visit the station, the others cruise through the islands and pass Wordie House, the original British station hut here. After sending our postcards and buying some Antarctic memorabilia we made our way back to the ship in driving snow and increasing winds. We were glad to get back on board and warm up in time for dinner. Shortly before and during dinner we sail north and pass through the Lemaire channel; and area of astounding beauty, with towering peaks diving into the ocean, with just enough room for our skilled Bridge team to navigate through. The snow outside hampers the visibility, however we all get a view of the peaks, icebergs and whales of the Lemaire.

As the team had planned for today, we took our position in front of Useful Island where we were supposed to go cruising, but the weather conditions during the accorded time were not favourable for lunching zodiacs in the wa-ter and stay over one hour out there. Finally, the wind stopped and still with a tricky swell, the expedition team made a great job to take all of us for a nice cruise around Useful Island. This small rocky piece of land in the middle of the ocean was discovered in the early 1900 during one of the Gerlache expeditions and named like that for the good opportunity the whalers had to spot whales and seals from the very top of the island. As soon as we got there, we found lots of wildlife, like Gentoo penguins climbing the steep ice cliffs. For the surprise of all the zodiac approaching the rocky outcrops there were two Chinstrap penguins posing for the pictures. Around the corner we could see some unique behaviour of a few fur seals when chasing penguins around just for fun and giving a funny show to the floating audience nearby. A few late cruises had the chance to see whales from not too far and that created expectations to all of us, who wanted to have the chance to experience the same encounter, but later in the afternoon we would all had the opportunity to do it. Once back on board warmed up and well fed, the adventure continued for one of the most spectacular days of the trip, during lunch time the ship repositioned on Foyn Harbour, an old whaling spot in the early decades of the last century where today is possible to find a ship wrecked since 1915 (Gouvernøren), but first the divers had the op-portunity to take a look from very close to the rusty metal that hides secrets from more than a century under the cold waters of this continent, while all the zodiacs went scouting for some whales. It didn’t take too long until dif-ferent groups of boats spotted humpbacks in the distance and very slowly and carefully, we approached to a safe distance for them and ourselves. Our drivers decided to turn off the engines in the calm waters of the protected bay with no wind and let the humpies get close themselves to us in a curious act of playing and having fun around the zodiacs, giving to us a magical moment that definitely was one of the highlights of this amazing trip. After the incredible day we spent out surrounded by wildlife, our time to get back on board arrived. Ziggy and Melanie as always, took care of us and were very considerable on waiting for everybody with some hot chocolate that couldn’t be better. As the daily program described, Michael and the Staff Team gave a very informative recap, commenting about the plans for the previous day and providing information about what we saw the whole day, Johan couldn’t be more accurate with his explanation about Gouvernøren and the whaling times in the past of Antarctica. Every amazing day must finish with and amazing meal and good cocktails by Paulo up in the bar, maybe because we felt the trip and the activities were getting to the end, so everybody decided to go for a drink and celebrate an unforgettable day in hour life.

Sailing into the caldera of an active volcano is surely one of the more unusual ways to awake from one’s slumber. Those up and about pre-breakfast had the pleasure of ringside seats as Ortelius carefully navigated the narrows evocatively named Neptune's Bellows. Deception Island, a lonely outpost of the South Shetland Islands, is arguably the Peninsula’s most interesting site from a human history perspective having taken centre stage for commercial, exploratory and scientific endeavors during the previous century. Our initial landing at Whalers Bay was thwarted due to high winds and after a period waiting for it to subside, Orte-lius heaved anchor and nosed deeper into the caldera to a sheltered bay known as Pendulum Cove. This is so named after a series of physical experiments performed here by Captain Henry Foster during the late 1800’s using rather unsurprisingly a pendulum. Evidence of his visit has long since gone, but the remains of the Chilean research station destroyed by the eruption in 1967 are still easily visible. The short Zodiac ride in to a black sandy beach was quickly dispatched and virtually the full complement of ships passengers sallied forth for one last taste of Antarctica. Compared to our journey so far though, Deception Island has a distinctly non-Antarctic feel to it. Perhaps a closer comparison is the volcanic landscape of Iceland, with its icy slopes, dark ash sands and a steaming shoreline. Where most of the Peninsula is precipitous and forbidding with hanging serac barriers buttressing crenellated ridges, the landscape surrounding Pendulum Cove is altogether less threatening. Passengers were invited on a short walk to the decaying remains of the Chilean research station and a longer, waterside amble to explore the heated beaches and occasional fur seals. Both gave ample opportunity to take in this rather strange and quirky landing. Deep within the Antarctic convergence, landing on a sheltered cove surrounded by ice capped hills and finding the water to be warm! Alas a second landing was once again scotched by that pesky wind and so with the bow of Ortelius pointing north, we sadly end our all to brief encounter with this grand continent. But whilst we must return to ‘real life’ and all its trappings, pray never forget your time spent in this most wondrous of places. Whether you sought cetaceans, the grandeur of this epic scenery or a feeling of isolation at the ends of the earth, I hope you achieved those dreams. And in the years to come these memories can be recalled at will to take you back to those feeding humpbacks, the majesty of the Gullet or the bleakness that was the start of the long Antarctic winter.

It was a rocking and rolling night after we left our last destination and landing spot Deception Island on the 28th of March. Corresponding to this fact the morning began very slow and quiet on the ship. Nobody was around before the breakfast call of Melanie. Michael gave us a good time to sleep in and no wakeup call this morning. Luckily, we handed back our rubber boots and lifejackets yesterday before the waves sei zed the ship. While the ship was rolling in The Drake Passage Michael Green gave a lecture about Frank Hurley. One of the out-standing members of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition and the photographer. Then we had two more lectures in the afternoon. Iain was talking about climate science in Antarctica which was a very interesting insight in what actually happens on the white continent and how the data is created in science. After that Tanja, our lovely dive-guide gave us an impression about what happened and what was to see under wander. As it is a more or less black and white world above, it is a colorful wonderworld beneath sea level. Then it was time for our daily recap and the forecast for the second day in The Drake Passage didn’t look very pleasant. So, most of us disappeared straight away after dinner to get to the cabins for a rest. Some others enjoyed a drink in the bar. Only one day left in The Drake!

Waking up to the Drake in all its glory! Rough seas and big swell reminded us all about how small we are were in the big picture. Walking the corridors and stairs was quite a test in skill. The weather gave us sunshine, but the waves and swell seemed never ending. During the day we had a welcome distraction with lectures with a short film about Cape Horn that helped make some time pass. After lunch Daniel gave us a virtual tour of the ship`s engine room and interworking’s which made many of the passengers sit up with interest and questions. Again, a nice way to have some insight of what all happens behind the scenes on Ortelius. Later that afternoon passengers enjoyed an entertaining quiz, checking their knowledge and memory about the wildlife and other Antarctica facts. Before everyone knew it, the day had to passed and the Captain and lead Crew joined us in the lounge for the Captains toast and a few words of thanks from the expedition staff as well as pas-sengers. Daniel had put together a wonderful slideshow, bringing us back to our days on the ice. It`s hard to be-lieve that it all when by so fast.

At 6am we approached the port of Ushuaia ready to disembark for the final time, no zodiac ride ashore and a dry landing. The last two weeks have taken us on a remarkable journey to Antarctica, and allowed us a glimpse of life in this remote and sometimes inhospitable place. We will all have different memories of our trip but whatever the memories, whether it was the sight of icebergs for the first time, whales breaking the surface of the water or penguins waddling along highways, they are memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. On behalf of everyone on board we thank you for travelling with us and wish you a safe journey home. Total Distance Sailed: 2273 NM