I - Drake Passage

Displacement:
Ushuaia 54°15’S, 68°19’W to
South Shetland Islands ~62°S, 59°W
Duration:
50hrs. 6pm, 19.12.06 TO 8pm, 21.12.06
Landings:
None

19.12.06. The Journey Begins
6pm, 19th December, we set off for Antarctica. Ushuaia turned very cold and windy just as we were about to board the ship – I wonder whether it was showing rage at us leaving or giving us a preview of what might lay wait for us down south. After locating our cabins, finding our baggage and discovering cute little welcome notes on our pillows, we went to the Upper Deck to watch Akademik Shokalskiy – our ship, pull away from Ushuaia harbor. Everyone was making agreeable noises in polite conversations. Partly because we were 4 of us and partly because we felt a bit self conscious, we tended to stick together.

Akademik Shokalskiy was commissioned in 1982 in Finland. Its a Russian ship with Russian crew and was used for research purposes by Japanese, European and American scientists before starting life as a passenger ship. It is ice strengthened and is as strong as an ice breaker – just that it doesn’t have the engine to actually break down swathes of pack ice. Its earlier Antarctic expeditions were from New Zealand but for the past 3 years, it has been going from Ushuaia. It is a cute, smallish ship and we are only 36 passengers on board.

Then, as the ship glided through the Beagle Channel, we gathered in the bar for an introductory briefing. The expedition staff looked measured and experienced. Kirsten, our expedition leader gave a small briefing on the trip. She talks in an even tone which is in equal measure re-assuring and forbidding. Captain Igor came in and in his broken English introduced himself and his crew, Chief Officer Nikolay and Chief Engineer Konstantin. While the Expedition staff is a mix of Americans, Scots and Australians; the crew is purely Russian. The staff manages the trip, the crew manages the ship. The Staff manage us, the crew manage the sea. The staff dictate displacement, the crew dictate duration. It is a neat division of responsibility based on recognition that while one can command machines, the other can do the same with men.

Then came the most exciting part of the day- the life boat drill. At the sound of 6 short bells and 1 long one, we had to don our warm gear, carry our life jacket and get as fast as possible to our designated life boat. The life boat was a complete new experience. I have never seen anything like that - I was expecting that we'll be in a raft or zodiac. Instead, imagine a rectangular steel tank. There were 2 rectangular holes along its length through which you get into the hollow of the tank. Inside, there's a protrusion that runs around the 4 sides, acting as seating area with seat belts. There's supposed to be food for about 3 days in the lifeboat, some water and a pipe with a hole to relieve yourself. Seemed equal parts comforting and intimidating. Comforting that there was something solid in case of emergency and intimidating that the expedition needed something so solid to fall back on!

20th December, 2006. Onboard.

Sea sickness was a big concern - it still is! Shalini was the most paranoid, starting up on Ginger and Ginger tablets from yesterday morning. Smita was more measured in her anxiety but cometh the hour, she too succumbed to her fears and popped half a pill plus a healthy dose of raw ginger. I was pressured to visit the ship doctor, gather my quota of prescribed pills and eventually pop one before going to sleep as others were taking their 2nd and 3rd. Ditto with Shanks. Thankfully, we have been fine till now though for short periods, we've had to lie down and pray that it doesn't set in.

Last night was interesting. Imagine your bed hinged at the middle along its length and going up and down by about 15 - 20 deg through the night. Also, the world around you is creaking at a constant, repetitive drone due to the rolliing ship. You keep yourself in place by either your feet hitting the wall or your head sliding up to the head rest. The curtain along your bunk bed slides up and down on the curtain rails revealing and hiding the porthole window in a rythmic beat. Given that natural light lasts from 4am to 11pm, that can mean sunlight streaming on your face in sync with the ship's roll. All this while you're trying to put the sea sickness demons in your mind to sleep and ignore the throbbing headache induced by the ill advised glass of wine! That was my first night on Akademik Sholaskiy!

Today, we barely made it to breakfast, skipped most of the morning lectures, stumbled onto the deck for some sun and were only fully in our senses by lunch time. It was a beautiful day - bright, warm and sunny. At 2, we had our 1st kayaking briefing. By the end of it, I was left with a feeling of nervous excitement. The bodysuit, the PFD - personal floatation device, the waterproof bag etc were cool stuff. We have never kayaked before and the cold antarctic waters would be the best place to start!

The water around the ship in the evening was all misty & the sky all cloudy to really see anything. Well, the mist is due to waters from the Atlantic and Pacific meeting alongwith the cold drift from the Antarctic. Its cool to be witnessing this churn at the bottom of the earth!

A word here about the lectures that are scheduled to break the monotony of being holed up in your cabin and to distract you from sea sickness. Our Expedition staff carries a lot of experience and knowledge between them. Kirsten, our leader has been doing Antarctic and Arctic expeditions for 6 years. She is all weather hardened, classic Australian cynic and as Trevor will tell us later, ‘dislikes everyone but penguins’. Trevor is a historian and adventurer in his own right. He recreated the journey of Earnest Shackleton’s Endurance to South Georgia by sailing in a similar boat and claims a mention in the Lonely Planet Antarctica. Yar Petryszyn is a Geologist with particular affection for meteorites. Andy is a Biologist who spent 2 years diving in Antarctica. Louise is a champion kayaker who will be our kayak master supported by Jamie. Dr. Jo is the ship’s Doctor.