RWSE Day 21: North of the Circle

"I own myself one of those who do not fear the shore, for hardly any great things are done in a small ship by a man that does." ~~ Admiral Lord Nelson ~~ (from the Daily Program)

Day 4 at sea. Ortelius has veered west now for a northwesterly route … following the ice edge that is too far for us to see.

Around 10:00a, we crossed the Antarctic Circle. We’re still in Antarctic waters, however. About an hour after that, Tennessee announced that we were at our closest point — 230 NM away — from where Shackleton’s ship. Endurance, lies on the bottom of the Weddell Sea.

We had sunshine and clear skies today … the wind blowing 20-30 knots … the sea state choppy … the temperature still in the low Fahrenheit (negative centigrade) range. Nonetheless, it was nice to sit out on deck on and off and let the sunshine perk us up.

Our day was jam-packed with lectures and workshops … Clara, one of the dive guides, kicking things off with a cultural presentation about an Argentinian passion … “Mate.” She explained the significance of this much-loved hot beverage, and enlightened us about its history. She also told us about the ritual of properly preparing and sharing mate with friends and family … and explained that the most important aspect of the ritual is the sense of community it fosters. Her presentation wrapped up with a live-demonstration for those who wished to partake of what many consider Argentina’s national hot beverage.

Later in the morning, Jens gave a lecture titled “A Race to the South Pole.” He used a comparison format to highlight the differences in the way Amundsen and Scott — and their teams — prepared for and executed the challenge of reaching the Pole first. Mui and I are quite familiar with the story. Each presentation we’ve attended about the race has been interesting … and thought provoking. Those familiar with the story will know that Amundsen was the first to reach the Pole; he returned safely back to his camp. Scott’s team reached the pole second; tragically all five members died on their way back to their camp. We’ve come away from each presentation strongly believing that the no-nonsense nature of Amundsen better-prepared him for the trek. Today’s presentation did not change our opinion, though many would disagree with us and firmly put themselves on Scott’s side.

The usual workshops rounded out the day … with the addition of a new one by Dr Amar. He shared essential medical techniques for surviving in extremely cold environments. Given our own experiences in very low negative temperatures in the deep Weddell Sea region, his insights into hypothermia and frostbite were especially interesting.

The pre-recap lecture did not follow the usual format. Instead, Chris shared with us some of the short videos he made while he was working at Scott Base. We appreciated seeing his perspective on life in the field and the challenges of working in such a remote and harsh environment. The videos were a good follow-up to his lecture on this topic a few days ago.

Recap followed the usual format. EL Sara shared a chart showing our position in the Weddell Sea and gave us an update on the sea and weather state in the day’s ahead. She’s hopeful that we’ll be able go off-ship tomorrow. She also showed us the most recent ice chart, which indicates that the area around Berkner Island has frozen up … a lot of very densely packed drift ice … with the sea continuing to freeze with each passing hour.

The first recap briefing this evening tried to answer the question, “Where are you tried if you commit a crime in Antarctica?” Well, that depends on where the crime is committed. There is no easy answer. If I understood correctly, in international waters, the flag state of the ship has jurisdiction. If the crime takes place within a country’s territorial waters or economic zone, the jurisdiction falls to that country … though the country of flag may come into play as well. When it comes to crimes committed at a research station, the perpetrator’s country has jurisdiction.

Chloé wrapped up by telling us about the bear of Antarctica! And here you thought there were no bears in this part of the world. Well there are, and they are known as tardigrades … aka water bears (or moss piglets). They are about half a millimeter in length, and can be found everywhere around the world … including the Great White Continent. And get this … they were first described as far back as 1773! (More info at this Wikipedia link … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade.

“Happy Feet” was screened in the lounge after dinner … complete with popcorn. We’ve seen the movie many times, so we skipped it. Turns out our very own Dr Gary was a natural history advisor on the project.Leia mais