'Lords of Antarctica' - continued from Page 2
….Late morning the ship had entered the first ice. Using ice terminology, firstly there was brash and soon after, floating ice and bergy bits. These were as nothing to this powerful ship. Antarctic Prions glided over the ice, some to lift high into the air and even over our bow. There was plenty of excitement with the shout that our first Antarctic Petrel was in view. I was surprised that here, this far south and amongst ice, we were still seeing many Mottled Petrels – 16 were logged during the day - I don't believe any of the bird books refer to this Pterodroma associating with pack ice.
….Our first seal for the cruise was lying on an ice floe, and as expected it was a Crabeater Seal, the most abundant seal in the world (actually they don't eat crabs but feed entirely on krill!).
….Snow Petrels were starting to appear in numbers - these all white birds, beautiful and graceful, are only ever seen around the ice of the Antarctic. Gerry spotted a cetacean just as it was beginning to dive. From the brief view I had it was probably a Minke Whale, again a common species ‘down here’ and one we’ll definitely see more of over the coming days.
….Our first Emperor Penguins were sighted…a hoorah went up! These were lone individuals, seen three times on distant small ’bergs.
….Floating ice could be heard crunching against the hull as we headed yet further south. Icebergs were now getting larger and the first tabular 'bergs were seen in the distance.
Sunday 2 December
….60 nautical miles south of the Antarctic Circle. It was very bright outside with the sun reflecting off the ice - conditions where sunglasses and sunblock were needed. The ice was now in large sheets; it was amazing to watch the Kapitan Khlebnikov cutting so easily through it.
….Birds of the Antarctic ice were regularly being seen - Antarctic Petrels, plus Snow and Cape Petrels and a few Adelie Penguins were on the ice floes.
….From the decks we watched as one lead (an unfrozen passage between the floes) would end and we would break the sheet ice to reach the next. Our geologist on board said that this was still primary (or first-year) ice but it still looked very thick to all of us! At one point the ship had to reverse five times to break our line forward. Although cracks would appear we could see that the ice was simply pushing against yet more ice. We learnt that an icebreaker has to clear a path and then push more ice from the sides into the cracks and leads it has created.
….The scene ahead could be called ‘a whiteout’. Very bright and nothing but ice could be seen ahead. Occasionally the ship would shudder from ice against its bow and sides.
….The two helicopters were brought out from the hangar and onto the platform. Soon the first was in the air and flying past the ship at what seemed an incredible speed when compared to ours! The first flights were reconnaissance trips, to check the ice ahead and report back to the bridge. The first helicopter trips for passengers were scheduled to commence at 1430. We were to fly over the ice, to look from the air at the Kapitan Khlebnikov and the course she had cut through the ice.
….I had already arranged that our group would fly together, using both helicopters, as group number two. The flight was fantastic! The pilots would take three passengers at a time, and hover at different heights to look back at the ship as she sliced through the ice. For some groups the ‘choppers’ would land on the ice to see the ship advancing head-on. The pilots really knew how to handle these helicopters often banking at steep angles, changing direction and height at the same time, even flying backwards! The plan during the coming days was to use the choppers for many more landings…and to get us close to the Emperor rookeries.
….Antarctic Petrels would cruise by us, sometimes in small groups, four or five at a time. Small groups of Adelies would hurry away over the ice or dive into the water at our approach. A group of five Minke Whales were spooked (unintentionally) by one of the helicopters and went off at great speed; even two were seen to breach.
Monday 3 December
….Another Minke Whale surfaced close to the ship early morning. Antarctic Petrels were being seen in sizeable flocks of 20 and more (which is never the experience with this species on the regular Antarctic cruises the ‘other side’). Emperors were being seen but still only the occasional solitary bird, whilst small groups of Adelies were virtually constantly moving out of the way of the ship.
….A superb lecture by Susan Adie took place on the Pinnipeds, the seals of the Antarctic, and was well attended. We left determined to identify the Weddell from the Crabeater and the Leopard Seals.
….We entered the Ross Sea today, and had passed Cape Adare, the northern marker, to our west. All around was ice and the Kapitan Khlebnikov was slicing the ice like 'a knife through butter'. Sunglasses were needed all the time, as the glare was intense.
….Around midday Mt Herschel in the Admiralty Mountains could be seen off the starboard side, amazingly 110 miles away! Here in Antarctica the clear air belying the distance.
….The ship was still finding open leads or creating its own. Sometimes, an expanse of open water would appear – known as polynyas, these created mainly from currents and the katabatic winds.
….On a couple of occasions, today also, we had to reverse the ship to be able to then move forward to push the leading ice under the side ice. The helicopter had to make the third scouting trip to find a route for us to progress through the pack ice. On one trip the chopper went out 87 miles to plot our way forward.
….During the evening the crunching of ice from the hull and ship’s sides could be heard as we ate dinner. At midnight, with 24-hour daylight, we could watch Emperor Penguins scattered in small groups of fours and fives over a scene of ice that went to the horizon, front and back and to both sides. The penguins looked very smart in their clean 'tuxedos' - some were seen walking away over the ice, a comical shuffle as they rocked from side to side, others would be tobogganing on their bellies.
