The Lemmers Lynns, Lachine, QC, CA - SA Cruise 2004, Antarctica

The Lemmers Lynns
Lachine, Quebec, Canada
Bienvenue! / Welcome!

South America / Antarctic Cruise 2004
Friday - Tuesday, February 6-10, 2004 - Cape Horn and Antarctica

Here is another map, showing the route we took through the waters of Antarctica. The ice pilot drew in the path after we left the area. The cruise brochure said we would be passing through Hope Bay but, as Capt Toomey explained in his lectures, the ice has the final say in where one goes - we were not anxious to spend the Antarctic winter stuck in an ice jam, as some of the early explorers did.

As on the Ushuaia page, the large version is larger than our norm (167 kB) in order to make the names readable on the screen.

Note: In some browsers the large photo will automatically resize to fit the screen. To see it full size pick the outward arrows logo that appears at the bottom right corner of the photo when you move the cursor over the picture.

Leaving Ushuaia last night, we headed east along the Beagle Channel into the Atlantic Ocean and then turned southwest to head for Cape Horn. We awoke early Friday morning to see the Cape, but the weather was foggy. As we approached the Cape we saw the rocks in the first photo below. Chile had advised that we were to pass no closer than three miles from Cape Horn. When we came abreast of it, the view we got was as seen in the second photo.

As we passed the Cape with benefit of radar, GPS, charts, etc., we could not help thinking of the Dutch explorers who first passed this way in their sailing ship in 1615, not knowing if there was sea or rocks or land ahead.

Note that the sea was relatively calm, not typical of this area where the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans collide, but lucky for us non-sailors!

Having passed Cape Horn we turned south to cross the Drake Passage, to arrive at Anvers Island Saturday morning. When we awoke the skies were still grey, but we took some photos for a sense of the landscape. The beaches are not quite as welcoming as Caribbean beaches!

Having reached Antarctica, some folks found it necessary to prove their mettle in the Antarctic Penguin Swim. The white dots in the photos are snow flakes from a snow squall. We opted to record the event for posterity.
The Craig red jackets (with liners and sweaters and toques) were welcome, although the air temperature did not go below freezing (it was summer!).

Shortly after noon we reached the southern end of Anvers Island, where the U.S. Palmer Research Station is located. We were fortunate in that it was the turn of MS Amsterdam to receive a visit from some of the scientists. They limit the number of ships they visit - on its two previous visits MS Amsterdam was not one of the lucky ones. Saturday being their day off caused some concern, but somehow they agreed to come aboard.
The scientists (about a dozen of them) arrived in two Zodiacs about 2 PM. They then gave us (the first sitting group) a talk on their activities and answered questions for about an hour. Then they did the same for the second sitting group (roughly 650 per group).
The scientists admitted to being somewhat overwhelmed in that the 1350 passengers on the MS Amsterdam was more than all the people in Antarctica.
When it came time to leave they did not seem reluctant, although their site did not look all that inviting to us.

Leaving Palmer Station we headed out to sea to spend the night before cruising some more scenery tomorrow. We snapped a few beach and ice berg shots. (The one on the right has been "brightened" in the photo editing programme to show the berg a bit better than the original photo.)

Meanwhile, back on board, tonight is "White night", with a white décor and stewards in white in the dining room. Table mates Marg, Kay and Marg.
Some of the passengers were inventive in producing white costumes. The lady in the centre of the third photo used towels from her cabin (sorry - stateroom).

Sunday morning there was a sale of Antarctic tee shirts on the Lido deck. It turned out to be quite popular!

Sunday we cruised the Lemaire Channel, Paradise Bay, and between the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Palmer Archipelago, somewhat similar to the Inside Passage to Alaska. In the Lemaire Channel an iceberg confronted the ship, forcing it to turn around. MS Amsterdam again displayed its manoeuvrability as it turned within its own length. At one point we saw a Chilean ice breaker that Captain Toomey had once commanded when it belonged to the Canadian Coast Guard.

Monday we headed away from the Antarctic Peninsula toward Deception Island, Livingston Island, King George Island and Elephant Island. It was Elephant Island where Shackleton's crew survived for months as Shackleton sailed a tiny boat hundreds of kilometers to get help. All were ultimately saved in one of the most incredible rescue missions of all time.

En route we saw hundreds of ice bergs, from small ice cubes to huge flat-topped islands. The latter break from ice shelves rather than from glaciers, thus the flat top. We did not see much wild life - some penguins on ice bergs and birds flying along side.

Along the way Marg collected a small penguin rookery. The cabin steward topped them off with my Tilley hat and a couple of extraneous bow ties.