We woke up in the bay around Port Lockroy, to what we had hoped would be a beautiful day and instead the winds were still blowing at 25 knots, it was snowing and it was quite grey. Plan A had been to leave at 8 am to head over to Palmer Station, however we delayed our departure to see how the weather would play out. As the morning wore on, the snow stopped, the winds decreased to about 15 knots and in the north, where the weather was coming from the sky looked a bit better, so around 9:30 we decided to give it a shot. We got our “chain gang” together (ie Sean and Giff who have now perfected picking up the anchor) and off we went. Before leaving the bay, however we made a lap around the Barque Europa, the beautiful tall ship who had shared the bay with us that night.
And off we went to the west towards Palmer Station. The grey of the day with the hints of emerging light and a good field of icebergs made for spectacular photo taking. Against the grey sky the icebergs glowed a magnificent aqua marine. They were floating gems in the ocean. Along the way we also found an iceberg with at least 7 seals basking on the iceberg. Not a bad motor over to Palmer, given how drearily the day started!
When we were 15 minutes away from Palmer the winds picked up to 25 knots – they seem to have a localized wind / weather system with the long broad glacier behind the station seeming to be a perfect catalyst for the wind to rush down. At we approached you could see Fede scouting the area for how to anchor, luckily just inside hero cove it is well protected from the wind and we were able to secure the boat confidently to shore. We quickly ate the lunch that Erik prepared for us and then headed ashore in the dinghy. We were greeted by Steve, the deputy at the base, and Dave, the dinghy guy whom we had met and befriended 3 years ago – we were so excited to be welcomed by Dave!!
Once ashore Steve gave us a great tour, showing us the facilities, as well as how far the glacier has receded – just this past year they discovered a new island as the glacier continued to retreat. We saw the different pools outside where krill and other organisms are put under different environmental pressures (different acidities, etc) to see how they cope. We saw the living areas including the lounge area, eating areas, as well as the carpentry area. Its an incredibly well kept facility with many modern conveniences that are not at other bases. One of the best parts for everyone, was when the “tour” ended in the mess room just as its was the 3pm tea break. Nearly all onboard ended up chatting to different people at the base and it was great to all get an appreciation for an operation like this works. Some of us talked to the writer in residence who is working on a book on sheathbills, another spoke to a person working on insects, Casey spoke to the penguin person. I spoke to Nandi who had made sarsaparilla last year and now graciously gave us some ginger soda. Fede and Erik caught up with Dave. Once the break time was over we made a quick stop at the gift store to stock up on final Antarctic gifts.
Then it was our turn to reciprocate and a team of 5 or 6 from Palmer came onboard to see Ocean Tramp. We were sad they could not stay longer, but the weather forecast was 50/50 and Hero cove is fairly exposed, to we said good byes and headed back towards Port Lockroy / Dorian Cove. However we did not leave with out challenging the Palmer Station crew to taking a winner photo of the boat. Our previous post card was made with a shot from the Palmer station electrician, so there is a history of postcard winning shots. As we left we saw a few cameras taking shots – a prize will go to the winner!
It was a grey rainy / snowy motor back, but 15 minutes away from Dorian cove, Fede shouted out “WHALE”. He has given false alarms in the past but this was for real. 2 humpbacks were just ahead of the boat. We watched them for a few minutes before they took a final dive showing off their tails (we snapped a few photos which we will send in to various whale websites).
Also on the way home, Erik, looking for inspiration had asked for country suggestions for dinner. The final result was a southern BBQ – complete with shredded / pulled beef, a homemade BBQ sauce, corn and peas, a salad, and corn bread. VERY IMPRESSIVE.
Overall, a very good day from a very dreary start.
Laura – Expedition Leader
