Kapitan Khlebnikov
The Dawn of a New Day: KK is in port
By Blog.Admin
At 05:00 we gathered in the hotel presentation room to watch Kapitan Khlebnikov steam across Ushuaia Bay and come alongside the quay. In her wake flocks of seabirds swirled, dining on the morsels she was turning up.
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The Rule of 4
By Blog.Admin
St. Andrew's Bay, South GeorgiaMy theory: You cannot claim to have thoroughly visited Antarctica unless you've been at least four times.
Mushrooms, Canapes and Yerba Mate
By Blog.Admin
Mushroom IcebergGosh, most of my best travel memories are connected to food. Some of the worst too!
Sandy Bay - January 4, 2009
By Blog.Admin
True to his promise, Jonas woke us up at 6 a.m. Breakfast was served from 6 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. and those of us in groups 5, 6, 7 and 8, were encouraged to go to breakfast first. These groups would be landing at around 7 a.m.
The weather conditions were not perfect, as we had some rain showers, but the swell was manageable and we did not have too much wind. At first Captain Pavel tried to anchor, but that meant the ship swung around and the swell hit us side on, so we had a lot of rolling.
Southern Ocean - January 3, 2009
By Blog.Admin
The sea and the swell had calmed down considerably during the night, so we awoke to a very pleasant movement on the ship and so many birds around us. The sky was still very overcast, but blue sky was visible in the distance.
Bob began our morning’s lecture program with his talk, ‘Exploitation of the Southern Ocean –
Sealers and Whalers’. Human beings have really devastated some of these southern areas and the wildlife found here, and in particular the whales, at least the larger baleen whales, have been slow to make a comeback.
Open Water - January 2, 2009
By Blog.Admin
Well, we knew we were in open water during the night, as the ship was moving every which way. We had pitching, rolling and sometimes we felt as if we were completely airborne, which could hardly happen with a vessel of this size. But if you take the size of the Southern Ocean, ‘Kapitan Khlebnikov’ is just a tiny cork to be tossed around as the sea sees fit.
Early in the morning we were doing some serious pitching and the bow waves were of historical proportions. Then later we went into a more serious rolling movement as the wind and swell were changing.
Monday, December 29, 2008 - Coulman Island
By Blog.Admin
We woke again this morning to brilliant sunshine and very little wind. How lucky can we be? Khlebnikov was smashing her way towards Coulman Island through absolutely beautiful ice and icebergs. We had emperor penguins in the water and on the ice and snow petrels flying all around the ship. What a scene – it just doesn’t get much better. The high peaks of Coulman Island soared into the blue sky with the ice glistening in the sunshine.
Just after 9 a.m.
Summer Wedding - December 21, 2008
By Blog.Admin
Today we awoke to another glorious day with sunshine and very little wind. We were cruising the area of Cape Hallett, but the ice was really severe and there was no chance of getting in close enough to make a landing. We then moved on to Coulman Island, but again the ice prevented any landing.
Reaching the Pack Ice - December 19, 2008
By Blog.Admin
True to his promise, Jonas woke us at 6.30 AM when we reached the edge of the pack ice. The morning was absolutely glorious, with bright sunshine, no wind and ice all around us. We had lots of birds following the ship and often swooping in low over the bow. It was definitely a morning to be up and out on deck, which is what most of us did.
The serious photographers had their tripods set up and it wasn’t long before we had wildlife to photograph. Penguins were in the water and on the ice floes.
Heading south towards the ice...December 17, 2008
By Blog.Admin
Once we left Campbell Island, we headed south towards the ice. Jonas, our Expedition Leader, had explained that the weather conditions were very bad at Enderby Island, so it would serve no purpose to try and make a landing with a low pressure system seemingly fixed over this area.
We still had lots of wonderful albatross soaring around the ship, enjoying the winds and - maybe - the continuous rain. For us - less well adapted to the environment - the deck was not so pleasant.