Captain Sebastian Paoni and First Mate Pete Kaple quickly switch gears to chart a course to Rothera, a British Station.
There is always a possibility for unexpected events down on the ice, aka Antarctica. On my last expedition we had an emergency landing in Cancun Mexico. If you have to get stranded somewhere, this isn’t a bad place to kill time. Swimming in the Caribbean waters, watching the iguanas sun themselves, enjoy a beautiful view from you seafront balcony. You can see my journal on that at http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/biology-of-antarctic-fishes/journals/2011-04-10 This trip is no exception. We had a few unexpected extra days in Punta Arenas to wander about as the ship loaded up some crucial supplies. Today we got word that our ship is being diverted to the British station at Rothera Point to pick up some personnel. The station is located on the SE coast of Adelaide Island. If you look that up on the map, you will see that we are venturing into the Antarctica circle and we will be traveling through some pretty spectacular scenery. Once alerted of a possible detour, Captain Sebastian Paoni and the First Mate, Pete Kaple swung into action to plot the new course. Remember this is winter down here so we will be facing harsher weather, more ice, etc. After consultation they chose to travel through the channels/inside straits giving us a bit more protection by mountains. To travel outside those straits would likely find us battling a lot more ice.
First Mate, Pete Kaple, is entering in the new coordinates for our detour. Knowing the area and where ice is likely to pose a real problem are critical factors to ensure that we arrive safely.
Here is one of two radar machines placed next to the Captain's chair in the Bridge (the area up high where the Captain and the First, Second, and Third mates operate the ship). This particular one shows ice, bergs, and other possible obstructions. I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty relieved to see this. Hey, I read about the Titanic. I know how it ended. Hooray for high tech on the high seas!
The U.S has three stations – Palmer Station, McMurdo Station, and the Amundsen/Scott South Pole Station. Anyone know how many research stations are present on the continent and surrounding islands in addition to the three U.S. stations? What countries are located down here? That’s your challenge today. First set of correct answers I get will get a postcard from Antarctica.
Here I am at the helm of the ship. Just trying to do my job...which is stay out of the way while they are hard at work. No seals, whales, penguins, seabirds, ships, or ice were harmed during this brief photo shoot.