Wandering Ardnamurchan Albatross - Episode 2

In his second post (see earlier one here) Trevor Potts writes from Antarctica ...

We set sail for our fourth trip to Antarctica from Ushuaia at 6 pm (9 pm GMT) on 23rd of December and if we have a good crossing should arrive for a landing in the South Shetland Islands on the afternoon of Christmas Day. Boxing Day will be just into the edge of the Weddell Sea on the east side of the peninsula and hopefully a landing on the northern tip of the continent at Brown Bluff. Brown Bluff looks like sand but is a few hundred feet thick layer of yellowish volcanic ash. Next stop a long overnight sail down the west side of the Peninsula for morning and afternoon landings on one or other of the many islands. I think we have a visit scheduled to Palmer Station, a United States Base run by their National Science Foundation, where we will see a little of the research undertaken there.

We will also attempt a passage through the narrow and beautiful Lemair Channel - we have been thwarted by ice in the channel during the last three trips. Then a long sail north overnight back to the South Shetland Islands for our fourth and final day in Antarctica where the ship sails through the narrow entrance of Neptune’s Bellows into the steaming caldera of Deception Island, a still active volcano. In the afternoon we will have a landing on one of the Islands to say a final farewell to the Chinstrap penguins before our two day sail back across the Drake Passage. We should arrive at our anchorage sometime on New Years Eve where we will have our champagne cocktail reception and farewell dinner of lobster tails or beef tenderloin. (it’s a hard life but someone has to do it).

We are scheduled to re-fuel on New Years day but we are trying to convince the Captain to be certain. We should get back on the afternoon of the 31st or we may be stuck for 24 hours unable to sail. The staff can then party in the Irish Bar ashore - but we will have to wait and see what happens.

One more trip after that and I will be flying home via Buenos Aires 10/11 January.

Trevor runs the Ardnamurchan Camp Site and Study Centre, website here.