Today was another day at sea with more surprises, the first of which I discovered when I opened our blinds and saw that Viking Octantis was surrounded by sea ice. It was an amazing sight, but I didn’t stop to take a photo since Tim and I were due at the Hangar.
The Expedition Team had arranged a Fun Photo Op in the Hangar for the continuing cruisers, and we were encouraged to don any of the gear, act silly, and have fun. This was my opportunity to "sail" a kayak, since I knew I would never be in one on the water! Sara was there to egg me on! Tim joined others in a zodiac, and who knows what silly things they did. We all had a very good time.
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| Expedition Fun Photo Op |
In the middle of the afternoon, the ice returned, and this time I was able to capture the extent of it around our ship. The ice was beautiful, but not so good for sailing.
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| The Atlantic Was Covered with All Shapes and Sizes of Sea Ice |
At the Daily Briefing, Expedition Leader Olivia gave us the back story about the ice and what had transpired today. When she arrived on the Bridge this morning, she noticed that we were heading north, not south towards Antarctica, and that the crazy course we had taken looked as though the ship had been steered by one of the passengers. She learned that around 2:00 am, the amount of sea ice required the Captain to change course to avoid as much of the ice as possible.
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| Our Crazy, Zigzag Deviation, and Our Course So Far from Ushuaia |
Despite the 60 nautical mile deviation, the Captain was optimistic that we would reach Hope Bay tomorrow as planned. Hope Bay is located on the east side and near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, an area that Viking Octantis rarely visits. However, since we were coming from South Georgia, it would be a straight shot to this area, so that was the plan. Fingers crossed!
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| Our Completed and Planned Destinations Are Flagged on the Map |
As we were eating dinner, Olivia announced that we would be sailing past Elephant Island, due to the early morning deviation. This ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica will always be linked to Ernest Shackleton, for it was this island which he and his crew finally reached after his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and crushed by ice in 1916. It was also from here where Shackleton and five men set sail for South Georgia in a damaged lifeboat to find help, leaving 22 men behind to survive for more than four months. All were eventually rescued.
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| Elephant Island |
Specialist Loreen was so excited that we were in sight of Elephant Island as she presented her lecture, “Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition,” which told the entire story of this expedition, not just the one that is more commonly known. The more I learn about Shackleton and his remarkable story of survival in the harshest place on earth, the more interested I become in his exploits. The book Endurance is on my reading list for the upcoming winter, even if it does tells only a portion of the story.
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| Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Atlantic Expedition |
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