Happy New Year - January 1, 2009

Jonas, our Expedition Leader, was very kind to us this morning and allowed us all to sleep until 9.30 a.m. We did have the chance of getting tea, coffee and pastries at 7.30 a.m., but most of us chose to take the extra two hours of sleep.
We awoke to a very overcast sky and still lots of ice which had slowed our progress somewhat during the night. However, we expected to be in open water later today, so we were duly warned to secure our cabins and not have any loose objects lying around which could fall on the floor. Again we have to remember not to put our hands in the door jambs and when moving around the ship, always keep one hand free to hold the railings.
From 9.30 to 11 a.m. our chefs put on the traditional New Year’s Brunch. This was ideal as we could come and eat at our leisure and this also allowed the chefs to get some rest before they had to start up again for afternoon tea and dinner. It was amazing that we could eat again after our late night/early morning buffet for New Year’s Eve.
We were all invited to the bow for an ‘Ice Watch’ at 11 a.m., and although it was bitterly cold outside, there was a lot of ice to see and I think we are all "hanging on" to the last of the ice. It is usually so sudden and abrupt when we leave the ice and enter the open water, but here we still had quite large floes in front of us and even though we are north of the Antarctic Circle, the ice must have been pushed here by winds and currents.

At midday Bob introduced our documentary "With Byrd at the South Pole". This was an excellent film, but it was difficult for some of us to keep our eyes open after a reasonably late night, the gentle rolling of the ship and the comfort of the lecture hall.

Then at 2.15 p.m. Kara gave her very interesting presentation, ‘A Comparison of the Polar Regions’. Kara has worked on the ships for many years in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. She lives in Alaska and is obviously really at home in the polar regions. She gave us some excellent comparisons and differences between north and south.

At 3 p.m. our chefs surprised us again with a magnificent "High Tea". What an effort they had gone to and again we all surprised ourselves at being able to eat without seriously being hungry. We are so spoiled by the food we are offered, but it is all so good. It will be hard to make the adjustments required when we go home. I doubt we will be given a menu for lunch and dinner and asked to make our choice of food, without lifting a finger to prepare anything. Debbie will not be there to say, "would you like me to get you a drink – just sit still and I will bring it to you". Nor can we toss our laundry into a plastic bag and miraculously it appears washed and ironed the next day. Yes, we will have to do some serious debriefing I believe so we can get back into our regular lives.

By 5 p.m. we were still breaking ice floes, with lots of open water in between. It was surprising that we were still not in open water, but of course we loved the presence of the ice and the stable conditions on board.
We even had a glimpse of sunshine at one point. Birds were around the ship and apart from the snow petrels we also had the occasional Southern Fulmar visit us, and which to me is a really attractive bird.
Then Bob gave his very good talk on the "Non Existent Islands", and showed some wonderful old maps where islands had actually been recorded where really no land existed. Were these sometimes a devious ploy by the early sealers to keep hidden the good sealing spots and direct competitors to areas where they would find nothing? Who knows, but today’s maps are pretty good and it is interesting to make the comparisons with the earlier versions.

And still we push on through the ice. So many of us were taking "last photographs of the ice" only to find that the ice was still in front of us.

But no one was complaining.

At 7 p.m. we all went for dinner, but often had to stand up in the dining room to admire the huge tabular icebergs which we were passing. It wasn’t until around 9 p.m. we realized we had bid farewell to the ice and suddenly we were in open water. We felt the movement of the ship, but it was very mild and it was more the loss of the ice that we mourned, rather than worrying about if or when we would roll. After the high jinx of the previous evening, most of us went off to bed very early and I am sure Debbie was extremely grateful.

Tonight we had darkness after so long of continuous daylight. It made me realize we were rejoining the real world. We were also asked to put our clocks back one hour before we went to sleep, so that means we are now on Australian time, ready for Macquarie Island and eventually, Hobart.