Somewhere off East Antarctica
Dec. 14th, 2007 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poletopoleShip's Position at 12:00:
On this day in 1912, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Must go round to the bar after sending this to see if we're having a festivity. No one is giving a 09:00, or even a 10:00, talk tomorrow, so the staff are free to celebrate...
Got up around 02:00 and watched till 03:30 to see whether we'd have a pretty and interesting-to-photograph Antarctic sea-ice sunrise. Cloud cover is too thick and there are some gold-and-bronze-and-brass effects on the horizon, but not the long, low, slanting light hoped for.
At 08:00, the ship is at 66 deg 9 min S and 1 deg 5 min W (33 nm) from meridian 0, according to expedition leader's morning announcement. No mention of penguin colony, mercifully. Nearest one probably in South Africa.
Lunch today includes, as a main course, a pair of giant Nutella crepes. We also had pancakes for breakfast. Not Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) though, and pancakes are not associated with Amundsen as far as I know.
Bob Headland summarized Shackleton's career in a talk this morning; another Russian language lesson from Kara; watercolor blending with artist David in afternoon; photo talk I skipped; film I skipped (middle of art session). The Shackleton talk sticks to facts and omits all anecdotes or gossip, for example someone (who?) remarked that you could trust ES with your life but not with your wife. The major event today is a briefing about current position and plans.
The expedition leader uses slides to explain that ice conditions east of the Peninsula are unfavorable, which we all know; he has rough ice charts to show how much 9/10 and 10/10 ice we'd have to get through to approach shore. (Thanks to my home-based info feed, I am able to raise hand and comment that we have the dubious honor of being in about the only spot on the planet that is colder — circa 1.5° — than normal. Thus, the ice.) Rather than spend 3 days getting in and out for a 4-hour visit at a penguin colony, they have decided to spend the time getting over to a more accessible area (where there are penguins), the Riiser-Larsen peninsula. Downside: this is about 30 deg away. We have at least 3, and realistically 4, days at sea to come. Intention is to maximize landing time on "other side" i.e. closer to Perth. Mawson Station is said to be "getting ready for us" to visit on 24 December and Davis Station on 29 December.
I ask about our furthest south attained on the foray into the 10/10 ice a few days back. It seems we turned back about 5 nm from 70 deg, and that is certainly the furthest south we'll go this year.
There are shelves of polar books in ship's library, but some passengers are fidgeting. Tomorrow if conditions permit we'll probably be given gratuitous helicopter rides to watch the icebreaker, well, break ice.
- 65°14.2' S 0°20.5' E
- Course 80°; Speed 8-13 kts
- Air temperature 2°C; Wind 12 kts; Direction 100°
- Weather: Cloudy; Visibility 4
- Ice Cover: 8/10
- Distance covered past 24 hours: 256.2 nautical miles
On this day in 1912, Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Must go round to the bar after sending this to see if we're having a festivity. No one is giving a 09:00, or even a 10:00, talk tomorrow, so the staff are free to celebrate...
Got up around 02:00 and watched till 03:30 to see whether we'd have a pretty and interesting-to-photograph Antarctic sea-ice sunrise. Cloud cover is too thick and there are some gold-and-bronze-and-brass effects on the horizon, but not the long, low, slanting light hoped for.
At 08:00, the ship is at 66 deg 9 min S and 1 deg 5 min W (33 nm) from meridian 0, according to expedition leader's morning announcement. No mention of penguin colony, mercifully. Nearest one probably in South Africa.
Lunch today includes, as a main course, a pair of giant Nutella crepes. We also had pancakes for breakfast. Not Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) though, and pancakes are not associated with Amundsen as far as I know.
Bob Headland summarized Shackleton's career in a talk this morning; another Russian language lesson from Kara; watercolor blending with artist David in afternoon; photo talk I skipped; film I skipped (middle of art session). The Shackleton talk sticks to facts and omits all anecdotes or gossip, for example someone (who?) remarked that you could trust ES with your life but not with your wife. The major event today is a briefing about current position and plans.
The expedition leader uses slides to explain that ice conditions east of the Peninsula are unfavorable, which we all know; he has rough ice charts to show how much 9/10 and 10/10 ice we'd have to get through to approach shore. (Thanks to my home-based info feed, I am able to raise hand and comment that we have the dubious honor of being in about the only spot on the planet that is colder — circa 1.5° — than normal. Thus, the ice.) Rather than spend 3 days getting in and out for a 4-hour visit at a penguin colony, they have decided to spend the time getting over to a more accessible area (where there are penguins), the Riiser-Larsen peninsula. Downside: this is about 30 deg away. We have at least 3, and realistically 4, days at sea to come. Intention is to maximize landing time on "other side" i.e. closer to Perth. Mawson Station is said to be "getting ready for us" to visit on 24 December and Davis Station on 29 December.
I ask about our furthest south attained on the foray into the 10/10 ice a few days back. It seems we turned back about 5 nm from 70 deg, and that is certainly the furthest south we'll go this year.
There are shelves of polar books in ship's library, but some passengers are fidgeting. Tomorrow if conditions permit we'll probably be given gratuitous helicopter rides to watch the icebreaker, well, break ice.
