Southward Bound 1/29-31 Thursday-Saturday Days 11-13

We spent three days at sea sailing the 800 miles from South Georgia Island to Elephant Island. The seas were quite rough with huge swells, wind gusts up to 40 mph, and near constant pitching over the waves. (Pitching is the front/back motion, rolling is the side to side motion, which we experienced on the first two days on the way to the Falkland Islands.) Most of the time it was gray and cloudy. We did see a few pods of humpback whales along the way. Given the seas we experienced, it is remarkable to think that Shackleton and five other men sailed the same 800 miles in the other direction in basically a row boat. There are several good documentaries on the Shackleton Expedition that are definitely worth watching. 

The expedition staff kept us entertained and educated. Our expedition team is comprised of eight highly educated and experienced guides. One of them is a retired Admiral in the Argentinian navy and a Shackleton expert, most have a PhD or Master’s in subjects such as glaciology, geology, wildlife conservation, cell biology, ecology, or ornithology. Some have run corporations, or have been researchers, leaders, executives, or owners of teams of sled dogs. All are outdoor enthusiasts who run, hike, and ski, and some have run marathons. Most of them live in Europe in places such as Svalbard, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, the UK, or Germany. All are independent contractors for Oceanwide Expeditions. 

We attended several lectures given by the expedition team on subjects such as the Shackleton Expedition, the Amundsen and Scott race for the South Pole, glaciers, whales, krill (who knew there was so much to know about krill???), tectonic plates, and geology. We saw documentaries on Shackleton and finding the Endurance, which was Shackleton’s ill-fated ship that is currently sitting in 9869 feet of frigid water in the Weddle Sea, off the coast of Antarctica, nearly perfectly preserved.

We enjoyed listening to Ralf, our head cook from Norway, give us an insiders’s perspective about what it’s like to work on an expedition ship, and how the culinary team has to take the sea conditions into account when planning meals. For example, on some days they need to make foods that “stick to the plate” like risotto or polenta. His presentation was quite interesting. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. We took on all the food for the entire 18 day voyage in Ushuaia, and there are lots of challenges with which foods to use first and so on, and still keep everyone happy with variety and fresh food. There are roughly 140 people on board, 95 of which are passengers representing 17 different nationalities. We have nine additional nationalities with all the crew members.

Finally, in the early evening on Saturday, we arrived at Elephant Island. Elephant Island is where Shackleton left his crew of 22 men while he and five others sailed to South Georgia Island to get help. Rarely has the expedition crew been able to do a landing at Elephant Island, and our trip was no exception. The seas were simply too rough to allow a landing, but we saw the beach area where the men stayed, although much of it has eroded so it doesn’t look the same. We also saw the statue of the Chilean ship captain who rescued the men. We had a hard time getting a good photograph of it, but it was very surreal to be there in the same place where those men had suffered so much, both physically and mentally, not knowing if they would ever be rescued. 

Like what you read? Hate it? Please leave us a comment below, but don’t be bitchy. Happy Travels!