Antarctica – Our Seventh Continent!

Antarctica – Our Seventh Continent!

There are not enough superlatives to describe our ten day trip to Antarctica. But I will do my best to describe our exploration of the Antarctic peninsula, journeying to a latitude of 65 degrees south on our planet earth.

We embarked on our ship, the Ocean Victory, a purpose-built expedition and ice strengthened vessel, on Friday 7th December, and, after a mandatory evacuation drill, we departed Ushuaia on a beautiful, but cold summer evening and passed through the Beagle Channel before heading out into the Drake Passage and the open ocean.

The journey to the Antarctic peninsula is 1280km and takes two days, crossing the Drake Passage, a notoriously rough sea. We were lucky on the way south – it was a Drake Lake (as opposed to Shake). On the way there we were introduced to the ship’s officers and the expedition team, as well as having various briefings and lectures.

On the morning of 10th December we awoke in the early morning in Antarctica, surrounded by ice.
Having arrived, ‘operations’ began. The Expedition Crew would brief us on the planned activities for each day and then we would be called down to the ‘mud room’ to don our lifejackets and mud boots before climbing into the zodiacs for a landing and/or zodiac cruise.

December 10 – Day 1 of Operations – Danco Island and Cuverville Island

Our first day in Antarctica. In the morning we landed on Danco Island to explore the Gentoo penguin colonies and then in the afternoon we landed again at Cuverville Island. Setting foot onto Antarctica, our seventh continent, for the first time was quite a moment.

In the evening, we had an outdoor BBQ, shortly followed by a snowstorm which then gave way to a stunning evening.

December 11 – Day 2 of Operations – Pleneau Island and Petermann Island

We got up early and donned our outside gear to watch our ship pass through the Lemaire Channel – a narrow passage with tall mountains either side. The Captain received notice that the Ocean Victory’s sister ship, Ocean Albatros was in the same area and, for the first time, the two ships could come “nose to nose”. Passengers went up to the observation decks of both ships to wave to each other.

We then anchored at the other end of the Channel and explored Pleneau Island and the ‘Iceberg Graveyard’. The stillness of the latter, with the sea mirroring the icebergs, was just breath-taking.  After returning from shore for the day, David summoned up the courage to take his version of the “Polar Plunge” – in the Jacuzzi on Deck 7.

December 12 – Day 3 of Operations – Brown Station and Polar Plunge

Today we visited Brown Station, one of the Argentinian research stations, and the penguin colonies surrounding it. We then climbed the hill behind the station for a terrific view of the bay. In the afternoon, we watched other passengers take the “real” polar plunge (jumping into the chilly Antarctic waters) .

December 13 – Day 4 of Operations – Borgen Bay and Damoy Point

Our last day in Antarctica. In the morning Dave took a Zodiac Cruise around the bay whilst Francine went to the gym. We saw Chin Strap Penguins and a Humpback whale. Dave picked up an ice block from the sea and we enjoyed Gin and Tonics that evening, cooled in our glasses by 10,000 year old glacier ice. Nice! In the afternoon we went ashore and visited Damoy Hut, part of the British Antarctic Survey, and some nearby penguin colonies. That evening, the Expedition Team reviewed our four day’s of activities while our ship set sail for our return through the Drake Passage.

The Weather

We saw very little sunshine or blue skies in Antarctica. Instead it was very much a case of “fifty shades of grey”. Nonetheless it was spectacular with the blue of the ice emphasised in the cloudy conditions. We had been warned and half expected the trip to be altered as we went along due to the weather. The Drake Passage is no joke and the ship we were on was indeed hit by a rogue wave earlier this season resulting in a number of windows being broken and cabins flooded! We also know of ships which were delayed in Port or returned early, due to bad weather. The weather can change rapidly, so landings and activities (kayaking, camping, etc) were not guaranteed.  However, we were really lucky and we actually went with Plan A for the trip. Almost unheard of!

The Crew

We signed up to a trip organised by the Facebook Group ‘ Antarctica Travel Group’ founded by Neill. He chartered the entire ship and custom-picked the expedition leader, Phil, and the expedition team. We could not have asked for a better expedition team or crew. They were amazing.

The Journey Home

The passage back to Ushuaia was not Drake Lake, but neither was it a Drake Shake. Our motion sickness pills worked wonders and the passage was nowhere near as bad as our ferry from the UK to Spain, across the Bay of Biscay, five years ago! On the way, David asked to see the engine room and was treated to an introduction of the ship control systems by the Chief Engineer.

Here is a video Dave put together of our trip.

And here is a video of our trip by the cruise company.

And a slide show by the onboard photography group.

And a trip log from the expedition team.