RWSE Day 16: History in Vahsel Bay

“As we sever connection with our fellow men to follow a mirage in the frozen south, the mind falls into reverie. Doubt, apprehension, inspiration and determination come crowding. What tremendous events may transpire while we are locked away in the great white silence?” ~~ excerpted from the diary of Frank Hurley ~~

Vahsel Bay, on the Luitpold Coast of Antarctica, was where Shackleton planned to begin his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition — aka the Endurance Expedition. Unfortunately, they were beset by sea ice in sight of the entrance to the bay and never made it to their destination.

Today, we managed to get into Vahsel Bay on Ortelius! By doing so, WE MADE HISTORY … reaching the furthest south latitude a passenger expedition vessel has ever been in the Weddell Sea — 78° 03.5206” South! There was great excitement aboard the ship when this achievement was announced. Later, we considered whether our good luck was because of the impact of climate change on the world in general and Antarctica in particular. Claudio, who is a member of the expedition team, will be addressing this topic in a lecture planned for later in the voyage.

Despite the sun brightening the sky, the temp at the time we woke up was -2F … -24F with the windchill (-19C/-31C). The cabin window was completely iced over. I managed to scratch through it a bit and noticed the ‘sea smoke’ wafting over the open water. I quickly bundled up with an extra couple of layers and went out on deck.

The scenery, wreathed in part by the wispy sea smoke, was downright ethereal. The sea ice was broken up, with leads allowing us to continue through the bay, nudging ice floes this way and that. Eventually, however, we ran out of water and Ortelius had to come to a full stop. We had reached the edge of the multi-year fast ice … the continent a mere few miles away.

The helicopters were spun up and sent off to find us a landing spot on the continent. The zodiacs were put in the water for an ice-based outing for those of us who were further down the flight rotation. But those stories belong in a different footprint. For the moment, let’s just enjoy our first glimpses of Vahsel Bay from the ship.Meer informatie