Off Season – What Do We Do?

A Behind the Scenes Look at Our Antarctica Prep

The season in the Southern Ocean is limited by weather and daylight.  The Antarctic season itself can run from late November until early March.  Our Isla de los Estados season starts in Mid-October and ends in early April.  So what do we do the rest of the season?  LOTS it turns out – read on to hear what we’ve been doing the last few months to get ready for the coming season

 1. DRY DOCK

Every boat, from your casual day sailor to a large tanker to our Ocean Tramp needs love and care.  We push our vessel hard during the season, so we give her lots of attention in the off season.  Every other year this means we take her out of the water and in to a dry dock in order to carry out many necessary repairs, inspections and new installations.

What did we do this year?

This year we sailed Ocean Tramp up to Brazil – a boat our size is often too large to take out at yacht clubs in the south and too big for commercial dry docks, but in Brazil we have a place in Guaruja that is perfect.  This year we did a lot of work.

• Cleaning.Cleaning is a key part of dry dock, especially the hull.  They key is to remove any growth- algae or barnacles, as this affects the drag and thus the speed through the water is slower and the boat less efficient.  Thus the first thing when she comes out of the water is pressure washing!
• Painting.We did lots of it this year.  On the underside – ie her hull, after cleaning, we applied new anti-fouling paint to help keep the marine growth away.  We also had new hull paint so she is shiny white.  And this year, her pilot house got a new color – YELLOW!

  

• New Instruments.  This year when Ocean Tramp was out of the water we also installed a new forward looking sonar.  This will help us look forward to know what the bottom depth is before we get there
• Checks.  When the boat was out of the water we lowered and checked the rudder to make sure all was good – it was!
• Replacements.  This year we got a new shaft.  This is the long horizontal pole that connects the engine / gear box to the propeller.
• Carpentry.  In many of the cabins there are new shelves, especially in the Beagle Bunks cabin.  We also got some more shelves in the galley.  Most exciting of all, is we have a new door / hatch system for going in and out of the boat  – making it MUCH easier than before.
• Chain.  For anchoring we have over 130m of chain.  We use galvanized chain, which means the steel is covered in protective zinc layer that prevents it from rusting.  Over time this layer wears away.  Thus we had to get it re-galvanized in order to keep it strong and safe for more year to come

A very large thanks to the crew at Supmar Marine in Brazil and the team of Joao Ronaldo (JR Pintura y Laminacao) who helped paint the boat.  We highly recommend them both!

Here’s a quick video of Ocean Tramp coming out of the water and then going back in

2. PERMITTING

Everyone who goes to Antarctica needs a permit – scientists, tour operators, ski expeditions, everyone.  The permit is a requirement of the Antarctic Treaty and the Madrid Protocol.  Each operator must submit a permit via his country’s permitting agency.  For example – in Australia, there is the Australia Antarctic Division (AAD), in the UK is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  For Quixote Expeditions, since we are a US entity, we permit via the USA.  This means we initially submit our Advanced notification via the US Department of State.  Once they approve, then we must submit a Waste Permit request to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and an Environmental Impact Assessment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We start work on the permit after the season ends and we often make time to meet the personal of the State Department, EPA, and NSF during the year to talk to them about our upcoming season.

3. IAATO

Quixote Expeditions is a member of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO).  IAATO is an organization of nearly all tour operators who run trips to Antarctica – both cruise companies and those who offer trips on land.  Within the organization the operators work together to create industry wide protocols for activities that we do in order to minimize our impact on the environment.  We also work together in order to make sure each operator can  meet the demands of the Antarctic Treaty.  Its a unique group,, in that every member is passionate about the place they work – Antarctica and thus we all want to protect it.

After the season one of the firsts things we do is attend the annual meeting of IAATO.  This past year it was in Edinburgh.  We met in order to discuss the up coming season, review new protocols, meet new members, learn from each other, and see old faces and friends.  After the meeting we still stay very active in IAATO, as we are members of various committees of IAATO.

4. GUEST SCIENTIST

Each year we take one or two guest scientists with us to Antarctica.  This year we received over 30 applications.  Thus it took some time in order to review the applications, follow up with various applicants and then make the final decision.  Then we work with the selected scientists to make sure they have their permits in place and are prepared for the upcoming season.

5. TAKE A BREAK

Phew – the season is long and hard, and in the off season we are still working, but we do take some time off to enjoy.  This year we met up with family in Lake Como, Western Maryland, and Minnesota, and visited some friends and previous passengers in Utah!