Cliff and Doris Kolber Nature - Travel - Photography Antarctica Newsletter #1 - Drake's Passage
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Drake's Passage A trip to Antarctica takes you
through Drake's Passage, some of the roughest seas in the world. It
is a 'rite of passage' that must be endured if you plan to set foot on
the Antarctic mainland. Join us on the ship as we rock and roll to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctica had been on my "hit list"
for years and I wasn't sure I'd ever make it there. But after visiting
cities and historical sites throughout Europe
last year we realized that the number of travelers has increased exponentially
and that "off-season" crowds can be as big as seasonal crowds.
Is this the result of globalization, or the internet, or the aging of our
travel population? I don't know. But I do know there are not many
places left in the
Antarctica is still a remote place. But the number
of travelers and ships visiting this white continent is increasing by 30% each
year. Close to 50,000 people visited Antarctica
during the 2007-2008 summer season, between November and March, when the ice
pack has melted.
El Fin del Mundo
Most trips leave from Ushuaia,
Argentina, a
city nicknamed "El Fin del Mundo". It's the southernmost city
in the world and 16 flight hours from Miami.
There are about 30 ships traveling to Antarctica,
each making from one to ten trips. Ships depart from either Ushuaia or
from Punta Arenas, Chile
while a few depart from Australia
or New Zealand.
We departed from Usuhuaia and arrived two days early (highly recommended!) to
acclimate and to make sure our luggage arrived with us, which it did.
While in Ushuaia, we hired a driver and explored Tierra
del Fuego National Park
(part of Patagonia) and the glacial lakes
north of Ushuaia. These are incredible places and whet our appetite to
return and explore more of Patagonia and its
glaciers.
Sailing to Antarctica
After almost a year of anticipation, it was finally time to sail off to Antarctica! Our expedition was on the M/S Andrea, a
Norwegian cruise ship built in 1960 and renovated in 2003. The Andrea is
ice-strengthened and is built to sail in Arctic
and Antarctic waters. The ship is less than 300 feet long and holds 100
passengers.
This is about as large a ship that is recommended to get the
maximum amount of landings and time on Antarctica.
That's because tourism in Antarctica is
regulated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO)
and one of their rules is that no more than 100 people are allowed on shore at
the same time. On the other hand, there are
cruise lines doing "sail-by" trips whereby ships with over 1,000 passengers
sail near the Peninsula but don't make
landings.
Drake's Passage Our trip started calmly through the Beagle Channel. As soon as we reached
open waters we were in the Drake Passage, a
body of water known as the roughest seas in the world. It's a passage
about 500 miles wide between South America and the Antarctica
Peninsula where the currents of the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans meet and try to
squeeze through together. It can make for a rough sailing.
You hope to get "Drake's lake" and not a "Drake
shake". As it turned out the Drake Passage
was relatively mild and we thought we were home free as we passed through the
"convergence" late on the second day. The convergence is about
20-30 miles wide where the cold southern waters meet the northern warm
waters. It acts as a barrier between these extremes.
You know that
you are through the convergence and in Antarctic waters because icebergs began
appearing. Icebergs will not float north of the convergence and many types of
sea life do not cross the convergence.
Rock and Roll Within an hour we entered the Bransfield
Strait and immediately we
could feel the difference. The weather and the seas began deteriorating.
Temperatures dropped, fog and clouds rolled in and the seas kicked up. We
were entering an Antarctic storm. Force 12 weather is hurricane force
winds and the seas can exceed 35 feet. On one day during the trip we had
Force 11 weather -- 60 mph winds with 35 foot seas. It made for an
exciting trip!
In open waters, the ship would do some serious rocking, rolling and pitching,
which became standard through the trip. A ship rocks front to back when
it "pitches" and side to side when it "rolls". Rolling makes you sick, while pitching makes you dizzy. Pick your poison!
One of the biggest challenges was taking a shower. Try washing with one
hand and holding onto a handrail with the other. And then try drying with
only one hand!
The Team All Antarctic expeditions are led by an expedition team made up of a leader and
in our case, eight guides. They are highly knowledgeable and experts in
nature, marine biology, geology, history, ornithology and archeology.
There was very little about the Antarctic that they did not know among
them. The key to a successful Antarctic expedition are the guides and
ours did not disappoint.
During
sea days the expedition staff gave several one-hour lectures throughout the
day. The rest of the day was open. We would watch and photograph
the Antarctic landscape and seabirds from the cold, wet and windy deck, spend
time with fellow passengers, take a break with a book, a movie or a nap, or
sort and edit the images photographed so far! A lot of people came on
deck whenever whales or dolphins were sighted. Sea days were full days.
Zodiacs and Landings
For landings everyone dressed in the standard 'landing outfit' - knee-high
waterproof boots, waterproof pants, layers of clothing, winter hat, waterproof
gloves, the red parka issued by the ship, and a yellow life vest. It's
hard to get lost with these colors!
Landings are done with rubber zodiac rafts. Ships will anchor about a quarter
mile offshore and then ferry passengers on the zodiacs. The ship has a
mandatory rule that two crew members help the passengers on and off the
zodiacs. This is a good thing in the choppy seas! To help protect
the Antarctic environment all passengers walk through a pan of disinfectant
just prior to boarding a zodiac and walk through the disinfectant upon return
to the ship.
The zodiacs land on the beach or on rocks and the knee-high boots come in handy
to wade through ankle or calf deep Antarctic water to get to the beach.
It's a process that became more routine throughout the expedition.
Future Antarctica Newsletters We hope you enjoyed the expedition
so far. We'll share our adventures on
the Antarctic Peninsula with you in Antarctica
#2. These were amazing, incredible and inspiring days. Stay tuned!
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Thanks for visiting with us. Be sure to explore the outdoors and enjoy our natural lands. Leave everything as it was when you arrived and it will be a rewarding experience for everyone.
Cliff and Doris Kolber
Kolberphotography.com
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