It has been 10 days since the National Geographic Endeavour left the port of Ushuaia, heading south. It’s 100 hardy explorers seeking the unknown on the white continent. Endeavour has now turned her bow north, and we are once again in Drake’s Passage. A completely open body of water where the mighty oceans of the southern hemisphere collide, it has a reputation for being some of the most difficult water to navigate. Today, however, we have the “Drake Lake” water gently rising and falling below the hull. Surrounded by a plethora of sea birds and sighting countless whales on their southern commute to the south, we have time to reflect on all we have seen and done.
For Undersea Specialist Dennis Cornejo and myself as dive buddy, Antarctica represents some of the most trying, yet rewarding diving on the planet. The water in Antarctica stays between -2º and 0º C (28º and 32ºF). Despite being frigid, cold water is rich water, and the seas surrounding Antarctica abound with nutrients. These tiny plants and animals that swim and drift freely with the southern ocean currents, create the necessary sustenance for the larger benthic life that clings to the rocks and crannies of the Antarctic seabed, creating a weird and wonderful underwater world of ice scoured landscapes and colorful panoramas.
Pictured here is a Sessile Jellyfish. This creature, unlike its pelagic cousins, finds a surface and clings to it, its tiny tentacles grabbing onto small animals and plant life which represent breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
We found this tiny creature attached to the underside of the Bahia Paraiso in Arthur Harbor, Anvers Island, the same harbor which is home to the United States Antarctic Program’s Palmer Station. The 134m Argentine research supply vessel Bahia Paraiso went aground in Arthur Harbor in 1989. The Bahia ran into a submerged reef off of DeLaca Island, ripping a 10m gash in the hull and spilling 645,000 liters of diesel fuel, creating a slick that covered 30 sq km and caused Antarctica’s worst environmental disaster to date. All 316 people, including 82 tourists were rescued. The ship now lies nearly submerged with only a small section of the hull visible.
Although our adventure in Antarctica is over for now, we have experienced sights, sounds, and smells that have boggled our hearts and minds, which will stick with us for the rest of our lives.
For Undersea Specialist Dennis Cornejo and myself as dive buddy, Antarctica represents some of the most trying, yet rewarding diving on the planet. The water in Antarctica stays between -2º and 0º C (28º and 32ºF). Despite being frigid, cold water is rich water, and the seas surrounding Antarctica abound with nutrients. These tiny plants and animals that swim and drift freely with the southern ocean currents, create the necessary sustenance for the larger benthic life that clings to the rocks and crannies of the Antarctic seabed, creating a weird and wonderful underwater world of ice scoured landscapes and colorful panoramas.
Pictured here is a Sessile Jellyfish. This creature, unlike its pelagic cousins, finds a surface and clings to it, its tiny tentacles grabbing onto small animals and plant life which represent breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
We found this tiny creature attached to the underside of the Bahia Paraiso in Arthur Harbor, Anvers Island, the same harbor which is home to the United States Antarctic Program’s Palmer Station. The 134m Argentine research supply vessel Bahia Paraiso went aground in Arthur Harbor in 1989. The Bahia ran into a submerged reef off of DeLaca Island, ripping a 10m gash in the hull and spilling 645,000 liters of diesel fuel, creating a slick that covered 30 sq km and caused Antarctica’s worst environmental disaster to date. All 316 people, including 82 tourists were rescued. The ship now lies nearly submerged with only a small section of the hull visible.
Although our adventure in Antarctica is over for now, we have experienced sights, sounds, and smells that have boggled our hearts and minds, which will stick with us for the rest of our lives.
