Prev07

Our first glimpses of Antarctica were of the Shetlands Islands. You really can’t describe the feeling of being here.

We “anchored” in Yankee Harbor, a well-protected bay about a mile in width. Here’s a zodiac taking guests for a shore visit.

A view of Yankee Harbor, with the penguin rookeries in the distance.

Lots of lookey-loos (human and penguin). We didn’t go on shore, and instead chose a kayak tour. Bad choice, in 20/20 hindsight!

Our kayak tour was to this glacier on the other side of Yankee Harbor.

Bye bye, Octantis!

Kathy, having second thoughts. The wind was up, we were beginning to get rain and sleet, and it was getting choppy.

No capsize! No photos, either. I’m not taking the big camera out of its waterproof bag under these conditions! Our tour got called in early, as a storm front was upon us.

Back at the ranch… the Viking flag was flying horizontally.

Storm clouds wrapping over our cover. Our planned destination, Danco Island, was blown. We would beat it to the eastern side of the peninsula, in the Weddell Sea, to escape the weather.

Before we pulled out, an historic meeting between the two sister ships: Octantis and Polaris. Polaris was finishing her tour, and we met to swap some plaques and spare parts.

On our second of three days in Antarctica, we were weathered out. Forty knot winds and seven foot seas prevented any type of excursions. We tried several landing options, but each was doomed by weather or ice. Perhaps as a consolation prize, I saw the most beautiful sunrise of my life that morning. I had left our cabin blinds open, so I could see if a sunrise shot might be possible. At 3:30am, I opened a bleary eye to see the most amazing tabular iceberg right out our window in the pre-dawn glow. I stumbled into full Antarctic gear and shot these sunrise photos- all handheld, alone on the bow, shuffling on the icy deck in 30 knot winds and 28°F. After losing feeling in my fingers, I had run out of that special morning light. I looked up at the officer in the bridge. He was watching me (probably thinking me crazy). I swept my arm towards the view, pressed a hand to my heart, and then pressed my palms together, thanking him. I’m pretty sure he understood. He nodded, and his smile told me he had enjoyed the show too.

Our journey took us through the Antarctic peninsula to the Weddell Sea, not terribly far from where Shackleton’s crew drifted by on an ice flow after their ship Endurance sank.

In my mind, the snow cave on this iceberg housed mystical beasts. It had to be 15-20 feet high!

This is Brown Bluffs, our Plan B destination. 40 knot winds were howling through the pass. On to Plan C…

There’s a saying that life’s about the journey, not the destination. That was so true on this day. We passed by some spectacular ice.

Mother Ocean gnaws away at these huge blocks of ice until they wobble and flip over, leaving fantastic shapes.

Some rash ice on our journey. Soon after this, Plan C was doomed when our path was blocked by fast ice (solid ice from shore to shore). Back to the western islands…

These cape petrels are the fighter pilots of the Southern Ocean. A squadron of 4-12 were constantly fishing alongside the ship, even when we were hundreds of miles from anywhere! They fly incredibly fast, sometimes less than an inch from the surface even in 20’ seas.

One squadron did precision flying right outside our cabin for 30 minutes.

After losing an entire day due to weather, we were treated to a drop-dead gorgeous day at Mikkellsen Harbor, on Trinity Island. It was quite foggy with horizontal snow in the morning, but we had brilliant blue skies for most of the afternoon. Note the small D’Hainaut Island, which has a Gentoo penguin colony, a few unoccupied huts from Argentina, a radio mast, a boat and whale bones.