The Aitcho Islands, The South Shetlands, Antarctica
During the early morning hours Endeavour crossed the Antarctic Convergence, where Subantarctic and Antarctic waters meet. Water temperature fell from +7° to +1° C, and we entered Antarctica. By mid-afternoon the South Shetland Islands were in sight, with large tabular icebergs grounded on the shoals that surround the islands. These are fragments of the Larsen Ice Shelf, which broke into pieces and floated away just a year ago.
Progress towards our first landing was delayed when a Southern right whale was sighted very close to the ship. To whalers right whales were the “right” whales to hunt: they were slow moving and easy to catch, floated when they were dead, and yielded large amounts of valuable oil and baleen (“whale-bone”). Afforded protection since 1937, they are increasing in the Southern Ocean but a sighting near Antarctica is still a rare event. We bundled into our layers of Antarctic gear to watch from the foredeck, distracted only temporarily by a humpback whale that chose this moment to breach. This has been a spectacular crossing of the Drake Passage for sightings of marine mammals!
We continued on for our first landing on one of the Aitcho Islands (from “H.O.”, for the British Hydrographic Office) in the South Shetlands. For most of us it was our first walk among penguins. The picture above shows a cluster of gentoo penguins, each bird on its nest of stones, back to the wind. Tucked under each bird was one or, usually, two gray and white round balls of down, the penguin edition of 2003.
During the early morning hours Endeavour crossed the Antarctic Convergence, where Subantarctic and Antarctic waters meet. Water temperature fell from +7° to +1° C, and we entered Antarctica. By mid-afternoon the South Shetland Islands were in sight, with large tabular icebergs grounded on the shoals that surround the islands. These are fragments of the Larsen Ice Shelf, which broke into pieces and floated away just a year ago.
Progress towards our first landing was delayed when a Southern right whale was sighted very close to the ship. To whalers right whales were the “right” whales to hunt: they were slow moving and easy to catch, floated when they were dead, and yielded large amounts of valuable oil and baleen (“whale-bone”). Afforded protection since 1937, they are increasing in the Southern Ocean but a sighting near Antarctica is still a rare event. We bundled into our layers of Antarctic gear to watch from the foredeck, distracted only temporarily by a humpback whale that chose this moment to breach. This has been a spectacular crossing of the Drake Passage for sightings of marine mammals!
We continued on for our first landing on one of the Aitcho Islands (from “H.O.”, for the British Hydrographic Office) in the South Shetlands. For most of us it was our first walk among penguins. The picture above shows a cluster of gentoo penguins, each bird on its nest of stones, back to the wind. Tucked under each bird was one or, usually, two gray and white round balls of down, the penguin edition of 2003.
