Silver Cloud #1001 - Ushuaia RT via South Georgia - January 4, 2020

[carefreecruise]

[Stumblefoot]

Mother fur seal video, upload #2

[jpalbny]

 

Birthday girl at Fortuna Bay. 

 

Lucky to get two outstanding landings today! The winds and the swells were cooperating. 

 

Now to commence the celebration on board! 

[mysty]

Happy Birthday Chris!  Enjoy the celebration!

[Lois R]

Happy Birthday Chris!       Hope you are having a wonderful trip          

     

[RachelG]

January 10, 2020–Stromness, South Georgia Island

We awoke to a completely overcast cold (low 30sF) and rainy morning.  I had slept later, with the alarm actually waking me up, since the dense cloud cover made it pretty dark outside.  

We were in a bay with calm water. At the end was the old village of Stromness.  No one lives there now, but it was once a whaling station then later a repair site for boats and ships.  It closed in the 1960s and is off limits due to safety concerns.  It is also the start of the hike to Shackleton’s waterfall.

We layered up with everything on the outer layer being water proof and set off in steady rain.  There were 100s of fur seals on the beach, with lots of babies.  They were particularly noisy this morning, sounding sort of like a chicken house full of chickens.  There were also a few gentoo penguins, smaller than the kings we have previously seen.

We hiked across a rocky but fairly flat glacial moraine, having to cross several streams, some which were deep enough to almost reach the tops of my boots.  The current was quite strong, and the creek beds were rough, so a little challenging at times.  After a little over 2 km, we reached Shackleton’s Falls, the waterfall which he and his buddy rappelled down with ropes in winter to hike to Stromness to be rescued.  

Hiking back, the rain had abated somewhat though the wind had picked up.  Moving along, I was plenty warm enough and had to shed my cap and gloves.  But I really am going to have to read that book about Shackleton again now that I have seen some of what he went through.

Back to the ship, we had a prelunch trivia.  We came in 3rd, but the questions were very difficult today, with the highest score being 19 out of 25 I think.  The zodiacs were hauled in, and the ship relocated to Fortuna Bay, where we had tried but failed to land 2 days ago.  The weather was looking lots better, with the rain having stopped and not too much wind.  The seas were much calmer than 2 days ago, and pretty soon it was announced that the landing would be a go.

We boarded the zodiacs to a wide plain with pretty lush grass.  There were fur seals all over, and lots of penguins.  We hiked about a mile to an area filled with king penguins.  They were very entertaining.  I saw 3 walking in a line.  The first stopped then the two others crashed into him.  Very comical.  There was another who had been seriously injured but survived.  He had a huge chunk of his chest wall missing but it had granulated over and healed, just no feathers.

After about an hour and a half, we returned to the ship.  We celebrated Chris’ birthday in the MDR.  It was Indonesian food, not exactly my favorite but we had a great time.  They brought a special cake for her which was great as well as champagne.  Very nice party.

[beaujolais]

For those following our heroic CC members on their expedition into Antarctica there is also an expedition by UK Sky News into the same wilderness at this same time

If you are interested into reading a research point of view the following will connect you to the Sky's reporter's Blog of their voyage

 

https://news.sky.com/story/ice-bound-sky-correspondent-thomas-moores-daily-blog-as-he-heads-to-the-antarctic-11889897

 

There is also a connection to the history of the exploration of Antarctica at the very start of the Blog

[Stumblefoot]

After last night’s Ed Sheeran one man show by the resident guitarist, the seas got to rock-n-rolling when we turned south away from South Georgia and onto our course for Elephant Island.  Wave heights were estimated at 14.75’ to 16.4’ (4.5 - 5.0 meters) with sustained winds at 45 - 50 knots (51.8 - 57.5 mph).  Now that the winds have died down to between 10 - 15 knots (11.5 mph - 17.3 mph), the seas are slowly falling.  Wave heights should fall to only 8.2’ -  9.8’ (2.5 - 3.0 meters) overnight.

 

Your intrepid travelers enjoyed yesterday afternoon’s unsupervised hike around Fortuna Bay.  The size of the penguin colony there, while quite large, is estimated at only one-tenth the size of the colony at Salisbury Plain (50k vs. 500k).  However, the views at Fortuna were much more dramatic than at Salisbury, IMHO, due to the height we were able to climb to above the colony.

[RachelG]

January 11, 2020–the Drake Passage

It was a really rough night sailing with lots of rocking and rolling as well as a couple of crashes from the bathroom.  I had to lay flat on my stomach to avoid rolling out of bed.

In the middle of the night, a howling wind woke up, and the room was really cold.  Our sliding door to the balcony had come open.  George secured it, he thought, but 10 minutes later, the same thing happened again.  Repeat attempt at securing, but it came open again.  The third try, he was able to get it to stay shut.

Whitecaps were visible out the window when we woke, and the announcement said there were winds up to 45 knots, but it should get better.  I stepped outside for about 2 seconds, but it was sunny but very cold, so things did not look favorable or even safe for walking on the deck.  I went to yoga, which was done mostly sitting and lying today.

There were several lectures on offer, as well as a sports trivia (definitely not my thing) in the morning.  At lunch time, there was a pub lunch and sing along in Dolce Vita.  They had fish and chips, chicken curry, steak pie, as well as a salad bar.  No mushy peas, which i thought was odd.  We sang old songs like “you are my Sunshine”, “Yellow Submarine”, “when the Saints Go Marching In”, and everyone participated.  Good fun.

In the afternoon,the wind and seas calmed a little, but still too rough for me to walk outside.  It was a win at trivia.  Then there was an auction of items donated by the museum on South Georgia Island to raise funds for their foundation.  A good amount was raised.

Dinner was in La Terraza.  Delicious as always.  I had the duck pasta which was very good, but better in the past with braised duck vs the ground duck that they have now.

[spinnaker2]

Thanks for the update.

Hope that Poseidon and the seas recognize the frequent travelers and that the intimidation tactics don't work. You are still going there. 

🙂

 

[jollyjones]

9 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Thanks for the update.

Hope that Poseidon and the seas recognize the frequent travelers and that the intimidation tactics don't work. You are still going there. 

🙂

 

 

Speak for yourself Spins - warm weather and calm seas for me (I wish!)

[FlyingScotSailors]

Happy belated Birthday Chris. 🎂

 

14 hours ago, RachelG said:

 I had to lay flat on my stomach to avoid rolling out of bed.

 

Rachel, which suite are you In?  We assume the stabilizers were deployed.

[RachelG]

1 minute ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Happy belated Birthday Chris. 🎂

 

 

Rachel, which suite are you In?  We assume the stabilizers were deployed.

We are in 517.  It would not have wanted to be higher up in the ship.  I don’t really get seasick, but sleeping at all would be difficult.

[FlyingScotSailors]

Thanks.  We will be midship bur higher (736). Maybe we can use our luggage straps to tie ourselves into the bed! 🤔

[kathy16]

We will be in 621. Is there any kind of straps to hold you in bed?

[Daveywavey70]

1 hour ago, kathy16 said:

We will be in 621. Is there any kind of straps to hold you in bed?

I Think I did see some on the internet once 🙂

[RachelG]

January 12, 2020–continuing through the Drake Passage enroute to Elephant Island

We had a much calmer sea during the night which made for great sleeping.  My phone can’t decide what time zone it is in and keeps switching back and forth, so my alarm went off at 5 am.  I just went back to sleep.

When i awoke 2 hours later, it was a beautiful day out.  The sun was shining through some hazy clouds.  Temperature was in the mid 30s , but little wind.  There were lots of birds flying around the back of the ship.

We had another mandatory bio inspection.  I had cleaned my boots thoroughly getting back on the ship, but George’s required some attention.  The Velcro on the waterproof pants is really good at picking up seeds.

I usually don’t eat breakfast on board, but made an exception today.  They now have homemade Greek yogurt which is really nice.  The bacon was properly crispy as well.

After yesterday’s forced indoor time, the walking track outside was bustling.  Perfect morning for a brisk walk.  We saw some fin whales.  They are the second largest species of whale and are very fast.  We mostly saw their spouting as they don’t come out of the water that far.  I did see the backs of a couple though.

Lunch included a massive seafood buffet in La Terraza with shrimp, crab, lobster, scallops.  So good that I had to have seconds.

The fog rolled in after lunch, and the seas started picking up again.  If there were whales outside, we weren’t able to see them.  Someone had already taken our lucky table at trivia, so we came in third.

Dinner was excellent.  I had a crab appetizer followed by asparagus ravioli and an excellent filet.  George had the filet as well, and it achieved his high standards.

[RachelG]

7 hours ago, kathy16 said:

We will be in 621. Is there any kind of straps to hold you in bed?

We had a friend, an experienced cruiser, who had sea belts.  But I don’t know where he got them, and he is now deceased.

[brumagin1]

These might work:

https://www.amazon.com/Mobility-Daily-Living-Aids/b/ref=dp_bc_aui_C_3?ie=UTF8&node=8624314011

[Stumblefoot]

Mon. Jan 13, 2020

 

This morning saw our arrival along the north coast of Elephant Island, directly adjacent to the Furness Glacier.  The foggy weather that accompanied us for the past 18-hours had lifted into a general overcast, with most of the peaks still shrouded in the clouds.

 

Zodiac tours began at 7:00a and we were in the fourth group today.  As JP & Chris we’re getting off their zodiac (group #1 today), we clamored aboard their craft about 8:45a.  The skies had brightened dramatically by that time and continued to lift throughout our 75-minute zodiac ride turning a dreary day into one of exceptional clarity.  
 

Our zodiac motor gave out twice near the rocks, but thankfully, our driver was able to get it restarted on both occasions just as help arrived each time.  So, we were able to make our own way to Point Wild, named for Frank Wild, leader of the party from Shackleton's shipwrecked expedition which camped and miraculously managed to survive on the point for four months until rescued in August 1916.

 

Lastly, for those of you who know the legend of my avatar, you probably remember that bumbles don’t float, they sink.  But, did you know that Stumbles can walk on water?  I bet not!  
 

I hope you enjoy a small sampling of today’s pics.

[jpalbny]

Monday, January 13th.

 

Elephant Island.

 

We were incredibly lucky this morning with the weather. We had about four hours of beautiful sunshine, and relatively calm seas, so we all enjoyed a zodiac cruise to Point Wild. Seeing this place in person only added to my amazement that Shackleton's men survived here for four months.

 

The island is gorgeous from a distance, but totally inhospitable. It's just sheer cliffs and glaciers. There is very little flat land, and every square inch of it is occupied by chinstrap penguins. 

 

 

Here is a photo of us after our zodiac ride. I'd add more, but this one photo took about 6 hours and 12 attempts to upload. So that's all of the visuals for now. CC really needs to up its game. We can upload to FB and WhatsApp with ease.

 

Now heading south towards the Antarctic Sound. The staff tried to get us a second bonus zodiac ride on the south side of the island this afternoon, but the fog returned, so it's a quiet afternoon on board. 

 

Venetian night tonight!

[RachelG]

January 13, 2020–Elephant Island

We were up early as the ship was to arrive at Elephant Island, just north of Antarctica at 7:00 am.  When I looked outside, there was a barren mountainous island with glaciers coming down to the sea visible ahead.  There were a few icebergs floating in the water.  The sun was peaking through the hazy clouds that are so common in this part of the world.

The expedition leader came on the overhead speakers, announcing that things were looking good for zodiac cruising around the island.  Temperature was 34F with a moderate wind.  We would need lots of layers.  We can’t actually land on the island as there is no real beach or other landing site.

A bit of history.  This is where Shackleton and his men set up camp after their ship got stuck in the ice.  The men stayed camped here in winter, living on raw seal and penguin meat, while Shackleton and a few others sailed a tiny little boat, really a rowboat, to South Georgia Island to get help.  Having traversed the same course in a modern ship, it is hard to believe they made it.

We loaded into zodiacs and set off.  A glacier with 1/2 mile face into the ocean was straight ahead.  Chinstrap penguins were swimming all around, and many more were up on the cliffs on either side of the glacier.  The glacier was calving every so often.  We saw the site where Shackleton’s men camped, a tiny spit of land to the left of the glacier. After an hour and a half, we were frozen, but happy.

Back onboard, we thawed out a little then went to the top deck for more views.  The sun had come out bright, and I actually felt warm walking around.  The ship sailed around the south coast of the island, where we could see more and more glaciers.  95% of the island is covered by glaciers according to our zodiac driver.

Since it was sunny, we had lunch outside by the pool.  Comfortable with our parkas and the scenery was great.  They were serving the mushroom soup from La Dame which really hit the spot.

We had just finished eating when the announcement that there was a huge pod of fin whales right in front of the ship.  We could see lots of spouting and the backs of a few whales.  They are really fast, faster than the ship, so difficult to photograph, but I did get a good video of a bunch of penguins swimming in front of the ship.

Then the fog rolled in.  The weather changes so quickly here.  Then the sun came out, then more fog.

We did terrible at trivia, but the questions were very difficult.  The winning score was 19 out of 25.  We just missed 3rd with a score of 15.

The Venetian party and dinner were tonight.  We had a table with Petros, the hotel manager, who we have sailed with previously. It was a very fun evening with good food and wine.  Afterward the crew had a performance in the panorama lounge which was well attended.  There are some really talented people onboard.

[RachelG]

Totally agree with JP about the inability to upload photos to this site.  I upload to Facebook with no problems, but here, it takes forever, and that is even with resizing.

[mrlevin]

18 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

 

Now heading south towards the Antarctic Sound. The staff tried to get us a second bonus zodiac ride on the south side of the island this afternoon, but the fog returned, so it's a quiet afternoon on board. 

 

 

 

Any particular reason you went to Spert Island today (according to cruise mapper) instead of Antarctic Sound?  Will you go to Antarctic Sound tomorrow or possibly Thursday?

 

Love the reports.

 

Marc

[dhq]

Rachel, Did you know that if you turn your automatic time setting off, you can just set the time zone the ship is running on. When we travel I never have it on automatic setting for just the reason you are having. Enjoy the trip, we go next year.