Antarctica Cruise - February 19 - February 23, 2016 Cape Horn, Chili; Sailing Around Islands, Bays, Channels of Antarctica

This morning, February 19, we woke up before sunrise so that we would be able to see the sunrise on Cape Horn.  It was very cold, so we spent the first little while by the windows in the eleventh floor restaurant.

Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans collide.  In addition, it marks the strait between South America and Antarctica.  For decades, it was a major route by which sailing ships carried trade around the world.  However, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 reduced the need for maritime travel around Cape Horn.  

It couldn't have been any more beautiful and calm this morning!  Thank goodness!  I'm glad I didn't dwell on the fact that the waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs; these dangers have made it notorious as a sailors' graveyard. 

 

 

Eventually, we went out on deck to get the full effect--and it was certainly worth it!

The cape lies in Chilean territorial waters, and the Chilean Navy maintains a station on the island, consisting of a residence, utility building, chapel, and lighthouse, which is the southernmost traditional lighthouse in the world.  The station is staffed by rotating crews of naval personnel.  The usual tour of duty would be four months.  Personally, I can't imagine anything more boring because you are definitely off by yourself for such a long period of time.  I believe they told us the man that is there, also, has his wife and two small children with him.  

In addition, a short distance from the main station is a memorial, including a large sculpture featuring the silhouette of an albatross (over to the far right), in remembrance of the sailors who died while attempting to "round the Horn."  

In addition to the "normal" waves, the area west of the Horn is particularly notorious for rogue waves, which we found out can attain heights of up to 100 feet!  That, along with the icebergs and gale-force winds have made the Horn notorious as perhaps the most dangerous ship passage in the world; many ships were wrecked, and many sailors died attempting to round the Cape.  From the internet, we were told that over the past four hundred years, the Horn’s cold, tempestuous waters have claimed more than one thousand ships and fifteen thousand lives.  Cape Horn, has been the notorious site of many ship wreaks, and the final resting place of countless sailors lost in its perilous waters.

Today, February 20th, we started seeing icebergs.  We sailed through Schollart Channel and then to Paradise Bay where we stopped for quite awhile, and the ship turned around on a 360 slowly.  We then went on through the Gerlach Strait. 

This time, we went right outside--freezing cold or not!  Only about 30,000 people visit the Antarctica a year.  We have been very blessed to be two of those people, so we wanted to experience the whole thing! 

Not even pictures capture the entire effect and feeling you get seeing all of this!

We even got to see whales coming to the surface.  They never jumped out of the water, but we definitely could see them and knew there were a bunch of them out there, especially one day in particular.

More whales . . .

 On this same day, we saw little penguins zipping through the water.  There is just something about penguins that gets to your heartstrings!

Today, February 21, we were off Elephant Island, which derives its name from both the seals that live there (we never saw any, however), and from its unusual shape, like the head of a circus elephant. 

This island became a refuse for 28 men who were part of the ShackletonExpedition after their ship, the Endurance, was crushed by sea ice.  Shackleton and five of his crewmen set sail in a lifeboat to find a rescue ship for the remaining crew members.  Four months later, Shackleton returned aboard a Chilean navy tugboat and rescued all of the men.  They had tried many times before, but the weather, wind, and ice at prevented them from getting back before that time.  I can't imagine how those other 23 men must have felt waiting for their rescue for four months!

Notice the blue iceberg in the foreground and the blue in patches behind.  Icebergs are white in color, but some may appear blue or even green.  Ice is full of tiny air bubbles that scatter all color wavelengths the same amount, giving the ice a white appearance.  However, if the ice is compressed the bubbles are squeezed out and the blue light is scattered much more than others, making the ice appear blue.  Algae often grown on the underside of sea ice and icebergs that are only revealed when the ice rolls over and exposes the previously underwater sections. This "blue ice" was truly beautiful!

Today, February 22, our scheduled itinerary had to be modified because of two large weather systems in Drake Passage with projected winds of 50 mph producing more than 25-foot waves.  Therefore, we weren't able to visit Puerto Madryn.  So, the captain took us back to Antarctica, to Deception Island, part of the South Shetland Islands.  This island is the caldera of an active volcano.  

The island previously had a whaling station but is now a scientific outpost.  The last major eruption of the ask was in 1970. 

We kept waiting for the fog to lift for the two hours we were there, and it did for the last 15 minutes.  The island was sheathed in a blanket of fog, but the weather was clear all around. 

We started sailing toward Drake Passage on our way to the Falkland Islands.  This time the passage was more rough than a few days ago, but still not as bad as it would have been if we hadn't waited the day out.  That night, the weather got so bad, it was so difficult to sleep because the ship was swaying back and forth so badly.  I got such a panic attack, that I could hardly calm down, but I didn't want to wake George.  I just prayed really hard that we would be safe--and thank goodness, we were all fine by the morning!  Very scary!!!