Antarctica Under Sail
Ocean Tramp – Mike Reyfman
On Saturday, December 21st we with powerful 40 knots winds and heavy rain. we had to spend night in a protected cove as wind and sea conditions were not encouraging. Early Sunday morning we took up the anchor and sailed toward the Antarctic Peninsula in the attempt to escape even worse weather incoming. Our captain Damian planned to start at the moment when wind will change direction to more favorable and his plan worked perfectly! We also had a backup plan to hide in the crater of the Deception Volcano if the conditions got worse. We have several guys on board who have never been on a sail boat before, which is quite a challenge even not taking just that into account we are in Antarctic and the weather conditions are far from perfect. Kudos to our group as they have adjusted to harsh conditions very well! No sea sickness on board, period! Everyone was up for breakfast, virtuously made by Niall in very bumpy conditions.
We managed to outrun bad weather and by 16:00 arrived to our next destination rarely visited Two Hummock island. We dropped the Zodiac and landed close to a small Chinstrap Penguin colony.
The light conditions were spectacular and we had incredible time on shore with lots of wildlife and landscape photo opportunities! Every one was happy! Upon return we enjoyed another masterpiece by
marine-biologist/sailor/chef Lucy – the best Irish stew I’ve ever tried! To be continued!
I have to run now, as we just got message from the bridge that eight whale tails were spotted simultaneously in front of a beautiful glacier. Photo opportunities abound on our Antarctica Under Sail Trip 2019-2020!
By Mike Reyfman
Photo: Mike Reyfman
