Antarctic Storms

From Trevor Potts in Usuaia

We had an eventful last trip with storm force winds in the Drake Passage on the way to Antarctica resulting in a port hole on Deck 2 breaking and a big window about 3ft square on the deck above crashing in. This not only flooded the two passenger cabins but also the cabins opposite when the water flooded under the doors. Fortunately everyone was in a briefing at the time so no one was showered with shards of glass. It did however mean a few waves came in before it was discovered. The crew had to weld a steel plate over the big window until they could put new glass in when we were in a sheltered anchorage.

The photo does not do justice to the size of the waves as they were about 8 or 9 meters. On the way back as we approached Cape Horn we just had a regular gale, but quite a big sea from an awkward angle which made sleep all but impossible. A lot of our passengers looked as though they had suffered a bad case of domestic violence: black eyes and plasters on face and head, also quite a few stitches in lips and eyebrows.

We were however rewarded with excellent weather whilst in Antarctica with three out of four days of clear blue skies and little or no wind, making our job easier. On our visit to Palmer Station, a US scientific base, we had a great deal of ice to drive the zodiacs through. We only just made it ashore.

Trevor runs the Ardnamurchan Campsite & Study Centre, website here.