Antarctic Science

11:30pm 19 January 65°s

Arriving in the Argentine Islands we weaved through ever narrowing
channels to a small basin that was half choked with ice. Another yacht,
the Jonathon had arrived a few minutes before us and broken up some of
the ice for the first time this season and after some discussion we
elected to moor in front of them. This involved putting out six shore
lines, three to each side and the anchor. After we had been anchored
for an hour or so we realised that, due to the tide and wind we also
needed to put a barrier line across the channel to stop the bergs
bashing us about. Despite the barrier line we were regularly rocked
by bergs bumping the boat and there were several expeditions in the
zodiac to nudge them out the way. Leo was a star at this and would leap
on them and pull them through the shore lines, at least until one rolled
while he was on it.
Vernadsky Research Station invited us over for what proved eventually to
be two fascinating evenings. It began with a tour of the station and
particularly the science labs. Vernadsky was one of two stations that
was involved in the discovery of the ozone hole and the staff all
appeared dedicated to advancing their areas of science. It is the only
Ukrainian station in Antarctica and by comparison with many countries
appears to run on a meagre budget. All the staff are based there for a
full twelve months and the base is only resupplied on the annual change
of crew. So they greatly appreciated our beer and fresh veges and a
supply of 2017 movies and TV shows. A map of the Ukraine has pride of
place and the staff were great ambassadors for their country. So much
so that several of us have added it to our wish-list of places to visit,
despite the tension with Russia.
Evening life at Vernadsky centres around the Faraday Bar (the British
sold Faraday Station to Ukraine for one pound, after which it was named
after the prominent Ukrainian scientist, Vernadsky. We played a
Ukranian version of pool and sampled the shots of locally made pepper
vodka, but mostly we enjoyed talking to station staff about their work.
Liam and I enjoyed being shown around the met station by Sasha. The
temperature while we were there varied from 0.3°C to 1.5°C. January is
the warmest month and 11°C has been recorded but the Jan average is
about 2.5°C.,
The station doctor had restored an old sailing dinghy, stitched a sail
from a table cloth and rebuilt an old seagull outboard that the British
had left behind. He was out sailing/motoring each afternoon, standing,
holding the sail and the outboard and flying the Jolly Roger. As a
paediatric surgeon he was somewhat underworked but was greatly enjoying
the Antarctic assignment.
Stormy weather was predicted later in the day and we were cautious about
kayaking, but in a brief fine spell we launched the kayaks to explore
the Argentine Islands. It was heavily overcast and the breeze got up
quickly making for cold and unpleasant kayaking conditions with a sharp
chop, so we limited our excursion to two hours. That was still time to
paddle up close and personal amongst the icebergs and inspect the
crabeater seals, antarctic shags and dive-bombing skuas.
In the afternoon we walked over Galindez Island (on which Vernadsky is
located). The large Gentoo Penguin colonies were fascinating and we
spent hours watching them. The oldest chicks were fledged and there was
still one bird sitting on an egg. We have way too many penguin photos
to bore you all with. Huge icebergs of all shapes and sizes surround
this archipelago of low lying islands including one standing almost 50 m
tall with a sharp peak like a finger raised in defiance. Mountains rise
behind the island to over 2,000m providing a stark backdrop.
Attempting to leave the Vernadsky bar at midnight last night we were
distracted by a king penguin arriving in the Gentoo colony. It was
still light enough for photos and the penguin was recorded in great
detail. At the wharf pancake ice was forming on the sea. This thin,
fresh ice is probably a layer of fresh water freezing on the surface.
Snow and wind greeted us this morning, justifying a lie in after the
second late night at Vernadsky. The forecast is for a good weather
window for the Drake tomorrow so we tied the kayaks down on the deck, a
particularly wet, cold job. Then the wind dropped and the cloud thinned
enough for another tour of the Island. This time we also visited Wordie
House. Now an Historic Hut, it was originally built and manned from
1947-1954 and was more like an NZ tramping hut. It replaced a hut
washed away in 1946 by a tsunami. Life would have been cramped with the
bunks in the living room. Our assumption that the hut was named because
the inhabitants penchant for scrabble proved wrong, it was named after
Shackelton's Chief Scientist.
Tomorrow we start our journey back across the Drake Passage. Forecast
is for a gentle start and a strong assisting wind for the rest. We may
have time for a day a Harberton in the Beagle Channel before we arrive
in Ushuaia.


Ross – with over the shoulder editing by Rob and Phil and assistance
from Jonny Walker