Diary
Cooper Bay this morning to see the macaroni penguins. There were some agressive fur seals on the beach, one of them bit the end of a wooden oar off. It was a nice walk up, there was lots of pink penguin poop, it is the Krill shells, very interesting.
We had a Zodiac cruise around the bay and got up close to some ice bergs. We were hoping to see some chinstrap penguins, but no joy.
Awesome afternoon, the Captain took a detour through the Dryjalske Fjord, it was wonderful. There is a depth gauge on and we watched as we got closer to the glacier, at one point there was only 20 meters of water beneth us. It was very exciting and some excellent navigation by the captain.
After lunch we went through a massive tabletop ice berg. It is a piece that broke off the B15, it is 10kms long and 36 meters tall. It was part of the Ross Ice Shelf. The Ross Ice shelf was 1800 miles long and 20 miles wide when it hit Ross Island. In 2000 big piece cracked off the the Ross iceberg and this was B15D, one of four large tabluar icebergs floating around. It was pretty spectacular.
Great lecture by Gary, a geologist, on the moving world followed by Ice world, planet earth series. A few drinks in the bar and a few hands of cards, which puts great end to a perfect day. The day,and the trip so far,has been totally mind blowing. Each day seems to throw something more amazing my way and my brain is working overtime, how do i make this into something more permenant.
x
Clearing the beach before the zodiacs arrive. There furs seals were a little agressive and Joel lost the end of the paddle to one.
Sheathbills on the ice.
A pair of sooty mantles courting.
Macaroni Penguin
They nest in the grass, they were quite hard to see.
A couple sitting on a egg.
Up close with the ice bergs.
Heading through the Dryjalske Fjord. Lots of big ice bergs
Which we were passing quite closely
It was stunning, surrounded by hight peaks covered in snow
The ice was cracking but sadly we didn´t see an avalanche.
The beginning of the b15d iceberg
It glowed and blue white colour. It was breath takingly beautiful.
there were huge cracks, it looked likelarge chunks could fall of at any moment
The first officer with the sextant, he measured the height to be 36 meters
that was just above the water, you can see that this berg has quite a bit underneath as well.
Beautiful
Heading out, through the brash ice, to the Ocean.
One last photo as we leave the B15d Ice berg
And here it is on the radar. Huge!
MV POLAR STAR SHIPS LOG
Thursday 13th November - Cooper Bay
Time: 12:00
Latitude: 54° 49.7' S
Longitude: 35° 54.4' W
Wind: Force 7 North
Sea Conditions: Moderate (wave height 1.25 – 2.50m)
Pressure: 1004 mb
Temperature: 8ºC
Wake up call today was at 06:30. Ian explained that the ship would reach Cooper Bay at about
08:00 when Zodiacs would be launched. We squeezed breakfast in before it was time to get
dressed and congregate on deck. Due to large swells swamping the portside gangway the
Chief Officer ordered the starboard gangway to be used. This added a little to our waiting time
but soon we were heading towards the landing site. Gary, Ursula and John Harrison ferried us
to shore where we were met by Ian and Chris who were catching the boats and offering a
quick briefing. Male fur seals dominated the beach and it was clear that the expedition staff
had had a testing time making room for a landing site at all. Once out of the comfort of our rubber boats we walked in single file towards Joel who had established himself as beachmaster and was keeping the advancing males at bay with the help of two wooden oars.
Once past this initial hazard we walked up to the top of the hill, a scramble at times, and made our way through tussac grass to the macaroni penguin colony. John Sparks was up ahead and had located a fantastic lookout with great views over the colony. The Zodiac drivers decided to take their passengers on a short cruise along the shoreline and around a group of icebergs before finally heading back to the ship. The ship hauled anchor minutes after the last of the staff were onboard.
The Captain took us on a scenic cruise up Drygalski Fjord to show us the wonderful scenery and huge glacier descending steeply at its head. After a short time for picture taking the ship turned back down the fjord and out into the ocean. We took a final look back at South Georgia as we passed its southernmost point; Cape Disappointment. Famously named by Captain Cook at the end of his second Antarctic voyage that failed to find the peninsula of the supposed Terra Australis Incognito, this southern extent of South Georgia proved that the land was nothing more than an island. On the bridge, Captain Jacek set our course for Point Wild, 716 nautical miles away on Elephant Island on a bearing of 238°.
Soon after our lunch, Ian advised everyone to make their way out on deck as we were approaching several fragments of the famous iceberg B15(d). We learned that B15(d) was actually one of the four huge tabular bergs that split from the vast B15 berg (over 1800 miles long and 20 miles wide) which fractured off the Ross ice shelf in 2000. At its conception, this was the largest floating object ever to be recorded measuring roughly the size of Jamaica. Those who went to the bridge may have seen the Captain and First Officer plotting a suitable course through the towering masses. Those on deck would have simply marvelled at the spectacle of passing through the small channel between the white cliffs. The clarity of the water helped to produce wonderful blues as the ice disappeared below the surface, a truly memorable experience. The Captain was heard once more over the speaker system explaining that, Joseph Banate, the First Officer, had measured the height of the berg as 36 metres with a sextant and the length, using GPS and radar, at 10km.
At 16:00 we convened in the observation lounge for Gary’s lecture The Way the World Works.
During his presentation we learned the theories behind plate tectonics and their role as the drivers of continental drift. First hypothesised by the young German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, this process produces the cyclical formation and subsequent break up of super continents. Interestingly, Gary explained that much of the major research and discoveries in this area have occurred during his time as a professional geologist. A well attended Happy Hour led into today’s recap and briefing, where past questions that had required the staff to undertake specialist research were reexamined and answered. The shore landing team had put together a short video of footage taken at Cooper Bay earlier in the day. An aggressive male fur seal had given the team some trouble as they attempted to move him off the landing site, the video gave an insight into the work carried out by the scout party. After dinner the BBC Planet Earth film Ice Worlds was shown in the observation lounge.
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