Sunday, November 16, 2008
Location:
54.07.810S
36.48.980W
Temperature: 11ºc
Wind: 4 knots
General conditions: sunny very few clouds blue skies
So this afternoon, right after lunch, the TV camera crew (Casey, Joel,
Brian, and Kerry) decided to jump in the ocean. Yes, the Southern
Ocean. Temperature: 1.6 degrees Celsius today. But its a sunny
glorious day, and there is practically no swell. So why not?
And they did. They werent in for long, but they really did jump in!
Early this morning, we took the Zodiacs to the beach in Fortuna Bay, and
saw tons of elephant seals, fur seals, King Penguins, and the cute
little Gentoo Penguins we saw on the albatross island. There is a
glacier at the back of the beach, and some of our expedition Eugene
and Charlie – climbed to the top to look over the bay. One of our
photographers, Norman, began the climb, but sunk up to his hips in snow
and made the right decision to turn around.
The students had a snowball fight, and then began running up the glacier
as well. But one of our expedition crew, Augustin, called an immediate
halt, as they were climbing very near a crevasse. You could, when it was
pointed out, see the outline of the crevasse only about 50 feet from
their location.
This afternoon, we are going to take the Zodiacs to explore the icebergs
floating here in the bay. We had to move the ship early this morning
because of these same icebergs. When we set anchor, one was one and a
half miles away. But by early morning, it was only a half-mile away.
So it was necessary for us to move in order to be safe. Icebergs and
their exact distance from the ship are clearly visible on radar, so
were always very aware of their exact size and location.
PHOTO: The students enjoy the view during our shore land at Fortuna Bay.
