From Vernadsky to Port Lockroy

12 January 2014

Woody reports:
“The southern most point of our trip is the Ukranian research base Vernadsky (former British base Faraday). It took some effort to get there. After our stop at Petermann Island there was a lot of ice coming our way. We had to find our way through some narrow channels to get to the base. We finally arrived around 22:00. The Ukranians were nice enough to still give us a quick tour of the base. Besides doing research, the base is also famous for their home-distilled vodka. After the tour they showed us their cozy bar where we could sample their vodka. Very tasty. Also nice to see the poster of the ‘Oosterschelde’ behind the bar from the last trip to Antarctica in 2002/2003.
Back on the ship after the visit, we had a party to celebrate our southernmost point. Maybe it was the vodka, maybe because the sun barely goes under, but the party went on into the small hours.
We already told you that we encountered a lot of ice on our way to Vernadsky. In the early morning there were more icebergs flowing our way. We decided to heave anchor and get out of the way. While finding our way through the ice, we were treated to a group of Killer whales looking for prey. They pop up their heads (spy hopping) and look if there is anything sitting on the ice floes. We did not see them catch anything.
Due to the ice it took us all day to reach Port Lockroy. The scenery is worth it though. Waking up in a bay with glaciers all around is quite a spectacular view. With almost no wind it felt like a warm day. Everyone was peeling off layers of winter clothing. Maybe we are just getting more used to the cold. We took a measurement of the seawater temperature: -0.5 C. Did we already tell you that some of us took a (very quick) swim at Cuverville Island? People do crazy things in Antarctica…”