Voyage Bottom World
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THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 22, Number 12 Thursday, March 30, 2006 “Why would you want to go to Antarctica?” Before our departure to the White Continent, it seemed so many VOYAGE of our friends asked that question. Not always stated was the fact that Antarctica at the bottom of the world can be a very cold place. Winds of 150 mph and temperatures 50 or more degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) are not uncommon at the South Pole, at least dur- to the ing the Antarctic winter in July. But we were going in January, the Antarctic summer. And we would be exploring the Antarctic Peninsula that reaches upward toward the tip of South America, still a long distance from the actual South Pole far inland. When my wife Rose and I suggested to our friends BOTTOM that we would encounter sunny days with temperatures in the 30s, they didn’t always believe us. And I wasn’t sure I believed it myself, particularly after receiving a Christmas card from friends who had traveled to Antarctica the previous year only to be bom- barded by 30-foot waves crossing the Drake Passage, the 400-mile of the stretch of water separating Antarctica from South America. Too late to cancel. Rose and I were participating in an Alumni Adventure sponsored by Carleton College, my alma mater. Of the hundred participants on our ship, nearly half were Carleton grad- uates, a tribute to Laurence McKinley Gould, president of that WORLD college during my stay on campus. Dr. Gould had been second in com- mand on Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s 1928 expedition to the South by Hal Higdon Pole. When the college offered a trip to Antarctica, the opportuni- ty to visit this remote corner of the world seemed too good to miss. Voyage Continued on Page 2 The Red Penguins on Petermann Island THE Page 2 March 30, 2006 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.bbpnet.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $28 6 months $16 3 months $10 1 month $5 Voyage Continued from Page 1 Our voyage began at Ushuaia, the south- ernmost city in the world. We boarded the National Geographic Endeavor late on an afternoon with the sun still high in the sky. We were traveling with Lindblad Expeditions, a Swedish tour company that provides a first-class cruise staffed with scientists and naturalists, who describe what you’re seeing during fre- quent trips ashore. Figuring this to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we splurged, getting a cabin with two portholes for viewing scenery. After unpacking, we reported on deck for an obligatory life preserver drill. Our first landing: Aitch Island Next, I located the library with computers for send- fresh water. Warmer waters from the North collide with ing e-mails via a satellite connection. During our the cold currents, sliding past, converging with them voyage, I would post daily messages to my Internet so to speak, but not merging. blog. Dinner proved delicious, as it would through our This is the Antarctic Convergence, and while the voyage. The waiters, mostly Filipino, went out of political boundary of Antarctica is pinned at 60 their way to make us feel comfortable. Despite degrees latitude, the geophysical boundary is actually Lindblad being Swedish, the Endeavor boasted an inter- at this convergence of water. A single geographical degree national crew with members from Germany, Great represents 60 nautical miles. Within that distance, Britain, Croatia and other parts of the world. water temperatures can plunge nearly 10 degrees Before leaving, on the recommendation of our Fahrenheit. Air temperatures drop accordingly, from physician, we had purchased seasickness patches 45 to 35, noticeable as we stood on the stern. that you attach to your neck. The cost: $40 per per- The next morning after reaching the South Shetland son, but we were crossing the Drake Passage, arguably Islands, we went ashore, and for the next ten days we the roughest stretch of water in the world. Our prepa- would depart the ship two or three times daily. rations seemed unnecessary when we awoke the next Wanting protection against the weather, I donned every morning and looked out our portholes at a smooth ocean. layered item I had brought topped by a parka provided Trip Dennis, the Endeavor’s Tour Leader, confessed by Lindblad Expeditions, bright red so our guides eas- that the crossing is rarely that smooth. “We got ily could spot us against the white landscape. “We don’t lucky,” he said. want to lose anybody,” explained Trip. I also wore muk- Weather circulates around the Antarctic Continent luks, a life preserver and a backpack, containing counterclockwise, a half dozen stormy lows tracking camera, sketching equipment and extra gloves. Thus each other. We fortunately slipped through between dressed, Rose and I clambered into Zodiacs for trans- lows. Ocean currents below circle clockwise. Water tem- port from ship anchored just offshore to the beach. peratures drop to several degrees below freezing, Zodiacs are rubber rafts, powered by an outboard because salt water freezes at a lower temperature than engine and specially designed for hard use in Antarctic waters cluttered with chunks of ice. They can carry a dozen passengers and driver. Once ashore, we removed our life preservers, donning them again before being transported back to the ship. Three icebergs floating in the Antarctic Channel THE March 30, 2006 Page 3 Our first landing was on Aitch Island, also our first encounter with penguins. A hike up from the beach Open ‘til 6 p.m. brought us to mounds of rocks where penguins clus- Evenings tered--male and female--guarding their chicks. We had been warned not to get too close, but our presence hard- ly seemed threatening to the colony. Several seemed as curious of us in our red parkas, as we of them in their tuxedo-like plumage. They would waddle close, www.littlehousefashions.comElegant Apparel for the cocking their heads sideways to see us out of one [email protected] Conscious Woman Women’s Apparel side eye or the other. Seemingly, penguins move awkwardly ashore. Maybe so if viewed in films, such as last summer’s “March of the Penguins,” but after seeing these NEW SPRING remarkable birds in their natural environment, I 1 realized they are quite swift. They waddle, but they Buy 1 Get One ⁄2 Price!!! can move fast, particularly if another penguin enters their space, resulting in a pecking duel. Penguins do (of equal or lesser value) a lot of pecking. Penguins on their nests I saw one penguin ascend a sheer rock face. No human climber could have kept pace with him. Chinstrap pen- guins, such as those we first encountered, possess very strong claws, good for climbing. In the water, the birds swim swiftly, skimming along the surface like porpoises. Exiting the water, they jump onto ice shelves ten feet or more high, like corks popped from champagne bottles. With all my layers, I definitely felt overdressed. The French Dressing sun was out, the temperature probably 40 with rel- atively little wind if you stayed off the ridges. I styles their garments to fit unzipped my jacket and removed bulky ski gloves, extracting a sketchbook so I could draw some pictures “real” women. of the bay, the rock cliffs and the penguins. Rose • French Dressing designs the majority of used a throwaway camera purchased just before their pants in STRETCH FABRIC, letting leaving to take pictures. Photographically, we definitely were outclassed by shipmates wielding digital cam- them bend when you bend, breathe when you eras with telescopic lenses. breathe. • French Dressing creates a sleek contour and adds stability across the abdomen by keep- ing the pockets flat and smooth Sizes Petites 2P-18P Missy 4-18 Fall & Winter Clearance Take 30% Off Last Sale Price! 409409 Alexander StreetStreet, LaPorte, IN 326-8602 On Hwy 35 - 5 Blocks South of Lincolnway TurnTurn Rightright on AlexanderAlexander Monday-FridayMonday - Friday10 am 9:30to 6 pmto 7 Saturday Saturday 9:30 9:30 am to to5 5 pm Portrait of the artist THE Page 4 March 30, 2006 We were not whalers. We were not going to sink a har- poon into them. The calf was about 20 feet long; Mum, about 35 feet. Ingrid said it would be another half year or more before the calf would move on to its own life. My encounter with the giant skua proved less pleasant. It happened on Devil Island, which got its Penguin and chick name from twin peaks near 600 feet high on each side of our landing. I climbed the first without incident, but halfway up the side of the other I approached too close to a nest guarded by a giant skua, a bird near the size of an owl. I looked up and saw the skua aimed straight at my head. The skua hoped to scare me off, the invader. I ducked, and the skua swooped past without striking and floated through a 180- degree turn to make another run at me.