RWSE Day 18: North Through the Weddell

“Difficulties are just things to overcome after all.” ~~ Sir Ernest Shackleton … from the heart of Antarctica ~~ (from the Daily Program)

It got dark tonight! That’s an indication of how far north we have traveled from the southern latitudes where we were just yesterday.

We had a quiet day at sea as we re-trace our route back out of the Weddell Sea. Overcast was like a pall over us … a sign of how we all felt about leaving the Great White Continent behind … at least the remote bits of it. No wildlife spotted by anyone other than a few really dedicated bird-watchers … someone said they saw seven birds in all.

It was a day of lectures and indoor activities.

First up was Tennessee … with part IV of his “Pray for Shackleton” series. The focus was on the Ross Sea Party (aboard the ship SY Aurora) … if not forgotten entirely, at least a seldom mentioned part of Shackleton’s Imperial TransAntarctic Expedition. This party was to be responsible for laying supply depots from the Ross Sea, on the opposite side of the continent from where Shackleton hoped to begin his TransAntarctic Expedition via the Weddell Sea. The depots were intended to sustain Shackleton, and the men accompanying him, on the second half of the march across the continent to the Ross Sea.

The Ross Sea Party faced many challenges, including the ship breaking away from its anchor to drift offshore with the pack ice for nine months … leaving the 10-man shore party stranded on the continent. Despite the challenges, they did their job … one such depot-laying trip taking 198 days … the longest sledding journey at that time. Unfortunately, three of the men in the shore party died while they were stranded.

The truly tragic part of the story of the Ross Sea Party is that they had no idea that while they were laying the depots, Shackleton’s dream — and the Endurance — had been crushed by the ice. There would be no Imperial TransAntarctic Expedition to take advantage of the life-saving supplies the party had struggled to lay. (More info here https://www.historyhit.com/tragic-story-ross-se… … or you can read a longer version in Wikipedia.)

After a short break, Chris took the microphone for the second presentation of the morning. He told us about “Living at Scott Base” … not to be confused with the Amundsen-Scott Base at the South Pole. This one is located in sight of Scott’s Terra Nova hut in the Ross Sea … not far from the US McMurdo Station, with which the Kiwis share logistical support. Chris painted a realistic picture of life on base, disabusing us all of the notion that it is all fun and games … and close encounters with penguins and seals. I remember thinking — many many years ago — that I would like to work at a station in Antarctica. Now, in hindsight, nope … I don’t think so!

Much of the early afternoon was taken up by workshops — crevasse rescue; navigation (which had to be canceled because there was no sun to take sightings). These workshops have become quite popular with the passengers, but there are others like us who use this time for R&R instead. The exciting and busy schedule of our days exploring the Weddell Sea have taken their toll … and with the adrenaline slowly dissipating, our bodies and minds are appreciating the down time.

Around 4:00p, we headed up to the lounge for Claudio’s lecture … “Climate Change: Looking into the Problem Through Science.” And indeed that is what he did. No opinions. No trying to convert non-believers into believers. He simply shared information about scientific experiments and research — much of it being conducted in Antarctica — that all point to climate change being real … and clearly associated with human existence and activities. But humans have been around for ages. Why is their presence such a factor in climate change now? Two words … the Industrial Revolution … which, from the 1800s forward, has created conditions resulting in climate change leapfrogging like it never has before.

Recap followed as usual an hour after the last lecture of the day. The map EL Sara shared shows that we are back along the Brunt Ice Shelf … but so far off the coast that we can’t see it. We are essentially following a route as clear of ice as possible so that we can make way quickly in order to have time to play once we get out of the Weddell Sea. The Windy chart she shared with us was an eye opener. There is a major storm system moving into the southernmost latitudes we were in and the ice is freezing up. We had a hint of that yesterday as we were leaving Berkner Island and saw the open water become grease and pancake ice as we made our way through it.

Our timing could not have been better!Leer más