Expedition Log Bouvet Expedition 24th March – 22nd April 2015 On board the M/V Ortelius MV Ortelius was named after the Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) who published the first modern world atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World) in 1570. MV Ortelius was built in 1989 in Gdynia, Poland, as a research vessel for the Russian Academy of Science and was named Marina Svetaeva. In 2011 she was purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions. The vessel was re-flagged and renamed Ortelius. Now the ship is sailing as a 126-Passenger vessel. Ortelius is 91 m long, 17,6 m wide and has a maximum draft of 5,80 m, with an Ice Strength rating of UL1/1A, top speed of 13 knots and one diesel engine generating 3200 kW. Captain Tuomo Leskinen and his International Crew of 40 Including Hotel Manager – Robert McGillivray (United Kingdom) Chief Steward – Dejan Nikolic (Serbia) Head Chef – Heinz Hacker (Austria) Sous Chef – Matthew Crouch (Australia) Bar Steward – Rolando Garcia (Philippines) together with the expedition staff: Expedition Leader – Jan Belgers (The Netherlands) Assistant Expedition Leader – Brent Houston (United States) Expedition Guide – Adam Garde (Denmark) Expedition Guide – Bob Brown (United Kingdom) Expedition Guide – Victoria Salem (United Kingdom) Expedition Guide – Christian Savigny (Argentina) Expedition Guide – Dmitri Banin (Russia & United States) Expedition Doctor – Lisa van Turenhout (The Netherlands) Welcome you all on board the Ortelius! Day 1 – March 24 Ushuaia, Argentina 16:00 GPS position: 54° 49’ S / 068° 18’ W Weather: +21°C, sunshine, calm We boarded Ortelius - our floating home for the next month and more - around 4.15 pm after a bright, sunny day in Ushuaia. Leaving our luggage for the stevedores to heave up the gangway, we checked in at reception and headed for our cabins. A quick exploration of the ship led us to the bar, where we could get a coffee/tea 24/7, which was most welcome. Most of us had time to unpack before Jan, our Expedition Leader, called us to the Lecture Room on Deck 3. Here we were introduced to Hotel Manager Robert, who explained the layout of the ship and gave us all-important information about mealtimes, laundry, webmail, etc. This segued into a mandatory ‘Safety at Sea’ and ‘Abandon Ship’ briefing, which has to be completed as soon as possible for safety reasons. Having heard the theory, we had time to return to our cabins to find our big, orange life-jackets and listen out for the seven-short-and-one-long-blast, which summoned us to our Muster Station in the bar on Deck 6. Our names were checked off and we were led out to the lifeboats by calm, trained crew. And we hope that is the last time we need our orange lifejackets! We then had free time to unpack and, more excitingly, to enjoy the views as we sailed away from Ushuaia (at 6.30 pm), and into the Beagle Channel. Our adventure has begun… We met at 7 pm for a toast to our voyage and to be introduced to the most important person on Ortelius – Captain Tuomo Leskinen. It was also our opportunity to meet individual expedition staff and the ship’s doctor Lise, as well as to be given a weather update as we sail into the Drake Passage. Fortunately, the forecast is rather good. Dinner followed at 7.45 pm, where we met more of our fellow passengers. After a nightcap at the bar for some, we headed for bed to get rid of any lingering jetlag – looking forward to waking up tomorrow on the open ocean. Day 2 – March 25 Drake Passage 12:00 GPS position: 56° 50’ S / 064° 47’ W Weather: +7°C, sunny, wind SE5, sea condition 4 We awoke to Jan’s cheery voice at 7.30 am, letting us know that our first full day at sea had arrived! Breakfast was served from 8 – 9 am and we were offered quite a range of choices, to satisfy every taste (I had bacon and scrambled egg). After a gentle start, giving some of us the opportunity to linger over coffee or go out on deck to enjoy the seabird life, birder Bob (appropriately enough) met us in the Lecture Room on Deck 3 at 10.30 am for his talk: ‘A Wing & a Prayer: the Life of Seabirds’: Introduction to the seabirds of the Southern Ocean. We learned about seabirds’ wingspans, their adaptations to a life on the ocean wave, how long they can spend in the air, how far they fly to feed and finally, how they only need to come to land to nest and raise their young. We were inspired to go back outside and search for all the birds he’d told us about! With persistence, it was possible to see albatross and petrels of various types round the ship. However there was not very much wind (giving us a very kind Drake crossing), which means fewer seabirds. The bridge was a good place to go to keep warm and still enjoy the vistas offered by the skies and the ocean. Officers were very helpful and willing to answer questions about their jobs and instrumentation. At 3 pm we were called to the Lecture Room, this time to collect our rubber boots. Some were lucky and found boots the perfect size first time; others were not, and spent some minutes putting on thick socks and trying on various sizes in order to achieve the most comfortable fit. By 4 pm tea-time (there is always a sweet treat in the bar at this time) we were all equipped with footgear for the trip, so roll on the wet landings! At 4.30 pm it was Dmitri’s turn to take the floor in the Lecture Room and tell us all about the ‘Whales of Antarctica’. It is difficult to comprehend the sheer size of these gentle monsters of the deep, but Dmitri explained clearly, with great diagrams and photos, about the different species we hope to see. In the early evening the bar began to fill up and Rolando (barman) and Dejan (assistant hotel manager) were kept busy filling and refilling our glasses. 6.30 pm is recap time, when Jan tells us of the plans for tomorrow and when other expedition staff talk about what we have seen and done during the day. Speakers tonight were Jan, Victoria and Christian, the latter two of whom talked about Sir Francis Drake and gave us more birding tips. A short documentary about the square-rigged sailing ship Peking was shown after a delicious dinner. In the olden days, rounding Cape Horn was a dangerous and exciting enterprise and this movie brought the risks and pleasures to life for us. And so to bed, in readiness for another day in the Drake Passage tomorrow. Day 3 – March 26 Drake Passage en route to the South Shetland Islands 12:00 GPS position: 60° 48’ S / 060° 54’ W Weather: +4°C, overcast, wind W6, sea condition 5 This was the second day of our passage across an area of water reputed to be the stormiest in the world. Happily it did not live up to its reputation! Although the prolonged gloomy, grey conditions did not encourage the photographers amongst us and the afternoon saw a dense and patchy fog bank, the sea remained relatively settled, and Ortelius continued her voyage towards King George Island at a steady 10 – 11 knots. The day was usefully spent in briefings and on information and preparations. Jan explained to us the importance of avoiding accidental introductions of alien and invasive species, which can so easily be carried in folds of our clothing and in back-packs, etc. This was followed, appropriately enough, with a mega-vacuuming session in the bar, everyone diligently purging the seams, velcros and pockets of their weather-proof gear and back packs, of any stowaway aliens (otherwise known as ‘seeds’). After lunch we had further briefings on the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators’ (IAATO) code of practice for visitors to Antarctica, followed by one on the use of zodiacs. At 3.30 pm, Victoria presented ‘An Introduction to Antarctica’ in the Lecture Room on Deck 3. This was a rapid run through the continent, its weather, its ice, rocks, plants and animal life; stage two consisted of visitors, scientists, tourists and the various aesthetic and cultural associations of Antarctica, which often inspire diary-writing, travelogues, fiction, poetry, music and artistic endeavours of all kinds. Light winds and poor visibility presented something of a challenge to those interested in birds or other wildlife, however. Despite this, persistence brought its own rewards: birding from the bridge brought a number of sightings of Grey-headed albatross, Southern fulmar and particularly numerous Cape petrels both flying around the ship and resting on the sea during spells of extra light winds. Perhaps the most notable species was the Blue petrel, seen intermittently throughout the day, flicking and darting acrobatically back and forth between the grey swells, the white tail spot and characteristic wing bars easily seen despite the weather. The day was rounded off by a pre-dinner recap at 6.30 pm: Jan on tomorrow’s landings on King George Island, Victoria on the first sightings of Antarctica and the South Shetland Islands (by William Smith and Edward Bransfield), and Dmitri on how to distinguish between the ‘Wandering’ and ‘Royal’ albatross. Some of us need more practice! The documentary of the day was: Antarctica: of ice and men at about 8.45 pm (sure enough, as Jan had promised, we saw images of how passengers, before IAATO, had cuddled penguins!); and then, hot drink in hand, we made our respective ways to our cabins for a good night’s sleep.