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 GOOD AFTERNOON ALL!
We’ve just completed our first ZODIAC LANDING!!! We were able to make a stop to launch the zodiacs and to set foot on our first LAND at Brown Bluff. It is a blustery day - but we were grateful to be able to make this stop in spite of the conditions..
We have been surrounded by Tabular and other iceburgs and also seen various types of Penguins, in particular - the Adelie and Gentoo. (For our Armchair Expeditioners, more about Penguins below ...)
This afternoon we are sailing through the Antarctic Sound - towards our next stop at the Argentinean Research Station “Esperanza”, where we will visit.
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Also a quick hello to everyone from PHILLIP (Swarts).
“It is absolutely amazing. We have reached the Antarctic Continent, after a rough sail through the Drake! It is almost eerie, tabular ice floating by ... I’m meeting so many new people, I’m having a GREAT time.
I also want to wish my family a very Merry Christmas from the bottom of the world!”
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Webmaster note : I just found this interesting ship tracking site - not sure if we’ll see the Polar Star but it might be fun to keep an eye on it: www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml
ESPERANZA STATION
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Expedition Journals
Dec 23rd
Frances Durham
 Thursday December 23, 2004
We have finally arrived to Antarctica! It was so exciting. Yesterday we saw our first iceberg and chinstrap penguins. The penguins were swimming alongside the boat - they looked like little dolphins. We also went to Elephant Island where at Point Wilde we saw the site that Shackleton's men stayed for over four months. It was a tiny piece of land but the only flat land in sight. Huge snow covered-mountains rose into the clouds. Unfortunately we could not go in the zodiacs because of the weather. The boat was able to get very close so we were able to see the monument they built in memory of the Chilean Captain who was able to save the men. This morning we woke up at 6:30 am and spent about an hour on deck watching the penguins and icebergs. We saw our first seal, a leopard. Then we loaded into the zodiacs and landed at Brown Bluff which is a part of the continent, our first time on land in over 2 days. Brown Bluff was covered in penguins - mostly Adelie, a few Gentoos, and one chinstrap. There was a huge rookery with tons of little chicks. They were just little puffs of grey. Overhead we could see the skuas flying looking for a chick that has been left alone. The ice was incredible colours even though it was very cloudy. We are on our way to make our second landing of the day at Hope Bay where there is an Argentinian base. Wow I just left for a few minutes. There were about 5 Minke whales around us - it was amazing! Twice one jumped and showed her belly. We are passing a volcanic rock - it has erupted twice. It has been an amazing half day on the continent - I still can't believe I'm here!
Hi Mom and Dad. Miss you lots. Have a great Christmas.
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Jess Loding
Sitting in the lounge aboard the M.V. Polar Star, sipping a cup of coffee, absorbing the hour that passed while observing the numerous ice bergs that surround the boat, it occurs to me I should start writing in my journal - the one I was suppose to have been writing since the beginning of my expedition. So here I am, at the back of the lounge comfortably sitting in a chair searching for words to describe the sights, people, places, sounds, smells, feelings, memories, and anything else that comes to mind.
Just moments ago I realized I had lost track of time. I did not know the day or the date and in one of those rare occasions, I didn't care. Out here in the middle of nowhere (literally), time does not matter. There are no movies to catch, no school to attend, no dates with friends. I have found on these trips that when you concentrate on the time, the trip becomes more a part of the past rather than the present. So now that I happened to have regained a sense of time, what better way to pass it than sitting here typing a journal the whole world will read.
December 23, 2004
Seventh Day
This is my first cruise, and definitely my last. I couldn't have asked for a better place to travel to for my first and last cruise. This is the first day at sea I haven't been seasick. I have gotten to know my bed and bathroom very well, and will get to know them even better when we travel back through the Drake Passage in a few days. If they call the waters we sailed through the past two days calm, I don't want to know what constitutes as rough. So for now, I am loving the extremely calm waters of the Antarctic Sound (calm as in the boat is not rocking back and forth/ side to side - my definition of calm).
 We just got back from our first landing at Brown Bluff, possibly the only landing we will have on the actual continent of Antarctica rather than an island. If you were to have asked me years ago if I ever thought I would step foot on Antarctica, I would have called you crazy. So in a day of many firsts, to actually have done it seems surreal. My firsts included my first penguin encounter (just inches from me), my first icebergs, the first day of not getting seasick (knock on wood), my first steps on Antarctica, and my first morning not waking up cold. The way things are going I will actually be able to eat all three meals and not spend the majority of the day plugged into my CD player as a distraction, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, wrapped in my blanket with my eyes closed, on my bed. But then again, seasickness is all a part of the experience, without it, this trip would not be complete.
Lunch - I will be back.
Once again, beef was served. I will bet money it will be served tomorrow, and the day after that, and then the day after that, till we arrive back in Ushuaia. And then just when you think you're done with beef, it will be served on the plane. There has only been one day that beef has not been on the menu - it was a great day!
Well, time to go search for whales. I am probably the only one on the ship who has not seen one yet but today is a day of firsts, so maybe I can add whales to my list.
Lots of love Y,
Jess
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Nick Zandanel
Today was our first day of landings in Antarctica. I always thought Antarctica was like a big empty plain of snow, but I was wrong. First of all there isn't as much snow as you would expect, it's all ice. Also, this part of Antarctica isn't just a wide open plain of white; it's rocky and mountainous along the coast of the peninsula, where we are. We woke up this morning surrounded by icebergs with Geoff telling us over the loudspeaker that we were in the Antarctic Sound. After breakfast we got into the zodiacs and motored to Brown Bluff. Those zodiacs can really haul! When we landed we stepped out of the zodiacs into the water and walked up to the rocky beach. All of a sudden our senses were assaulted by a sudden onslaught of penguin sights, sounds, and smells. They were everywhere! It was insane. It was a rookery of Adelie penguins, and it was amazing. There were parents on nests, chicks peeping for food, penguins swimming, penguins eating, penguins waddling along the beach in lines, and penguins sliding along the beach on their stomachs. I sat down on a chunk of ice and just watched them for a while until a rogue chinstrap penguin waddled up to me. I had a rather one sided conversation with him for a while until he waddled away. After a little more penguin watching, we headed back to the zodiacs and went for a twenty minute iceberg tour. It was pretty cool and we had a great time. Then we went back to the boat and had lunch and hung out in the lounge for a while playing cards and Monopoly.
 Then, later in the day, we took another zodiac excursion to the Argentinean station of Esperanza. Here we got a guided tour by the base commander himself. We learned that there were 8 families and 21 children living on the base. We saw some more penguins and then we went to the "casino" which is really a little room with a foosball table and a pool table where all the kids hang out. There was also a table where they were selling souvenirs. We then took the zodiacs back to the ship and hung out in the lounge again. We had our recap meeting and then went to dinner. After dinner we were supposed to get into our pod groups for our usual daily discussions, but the icebergs surrounding our ship were so amazing that we decided to use the time to watch these majestic chunks of ice floating past the ship and diminishing into the fog behind the boat.
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Trudy Lum, Chaperone
There is a crowd around the hot chocolate kitchen equipment!!! They have just arrived back from Brown Bluff…...our first landing on the continent of Antarctica!
Everyone boarded the zodiacs with ease and all had wet feet as they stepped ashore. Water proof footgear and leg gear are a must for all expeditioners.
The summer weather ride to land and the walk on the beach equalled a cold winter day in northern Ontario. Icebergs surrounded us in fact our landing was a bit delayed while we manoeuvred past a huge berg.
We were greeted by Adelie penguins running, waddling and belly riding down the beach. The rookery was alive with penguins building nests, feeding chicks and snuggling chicks under the females to keep them warm and safe from the soaring Skuas.
Just sitting and watching the activity level helps you understand the nesting tasks of these penguins.
Santiago, our ornithologist, thought he saw some leopard seals resting atop an iceberg not far from the shore, had it been there feeding time there would have been a flurry of activity in the cold waters not far off the shore.
The day is young and we have yet to travel to our next landing location Hope Bay. As expeditioners we are developing a true understanding of the term weather permitting!!!
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Kelsi
Hello to everybody back home!!!
It has been a fantastic morning - very hectic and very exciting! We were all very enthusiastic as we loaded up the zodiacs early this morning and headed out to Brown Bluff. This was very exciting because this was our first official landing on the continent of Antarctica! Oh, and did I mention…PENGUINS GALORE!!!!! The majority of penguins that we saw were Adelie penguins, and then besides those we also saw a few Gentoo penguins. We all were sort of surprised as we saw a very lost Chinstrap penguin. As each zodiac group drove up to shore, we could see so many penguins waddling, coming up to us and sliding on their stomachs across the ice. It was so great to finally see a penguin up close - they are such amazing animals. Actually being in the zodiacs was such a cool experience, but I'm sure that we all were a little bit nervous about what we were doing. We were actually out there for about an hour or so. It was so amazing for me to actually see as many icebergs as I did. When you look in every direction there are huge icebergs surrounding you. This sight almost seemed as a dream - almost too good to be true. But we're all here at last, and it is one of the greatest sights that I have ever seen in my life. I went and sat on a rock on Brown Bluff to just take everything in, just as an Adelie penguin wandered over to me and stayed there for a couple of minutes.
So, that was basically what we did today, however we are going to try and make another zodiac landing at the Argentine base Esperanza in Hope Bay. Anyway, this journey is fantastic and we are just enjoying the moment to the fullest!!!
Oh and family…love you all lots. This is a big hello from me and I hope you enjoy Christmas. By the way…my photo count to this very moment is approximately 160 photos. See you all later…
Love, Kelsi XOXOXOXO
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Jason Bebber
Hey everyone,
From my perspective, today was definitely the best day we have had during our trip. We saw more wildlife, we saw better landscape, and we had the best weather conditions. We started out with Mark O'Dwyer who sang us a great wake up song over the intercom. Then we had a wonderful breakfast with great smiles on everyone's faces. You could tell we were ready to go for our first zodiac landing. We split the delegation up in two groups; the penguins and the seals. The seals were told that they were the first group to leave for our first landing at Brown Bluff on the Antarctic mainland. I was a member of the seal team and was able to go on the second boat to the landing site. It was quite a site to see everyone waddling around in their big clothes and boots. We weren't the only animals waddling around, but we also had hundreds of Adelie penguins around us. When we reached the landing site we were quickly greeted by these Adelie penguins and a few Gentoos. Not only did I get to see the Adelie and Gentoo penguins but I also saw a Chinstrap penguin and a few Skuas and terns. A few of us even got to watch a Skua eating a penguin chick. It was a great perspective on how Mother Nature works. When we got back on the boat everyone warmed up as quickly as possible with hot chocolate and coffee. Then we ate lunch and had a wonderful afternoon to view other forms of wildlife from the deck. During this time many of the students were able to view Leopard Seals, Crabeater Seals, 5 Antarctic Minke Whales, and more penguins. As I sat and watched for wildlife up on the ship's bridge, I was told that our next stop would be the Argentina Antarctica Base called Esperanza. This became our second zodiac landing spot, where we got to take a tour of the Antarctic base. On this base live eight families, 21 children, and 60 something people. I was given the opportunity to interact with some of these children in Spanish and English. Hey Ms. Kitty, I even learned French in Spanish! Then we were able to buy gifts from the base and make world wide phone calls. Sorry Mom, the lines were too long. After our time at the base we got back on board recapped the day and ate dinner. During our recapping time we saw the only ship we had seen since Ushuaia. For the rest of the night we were allowed to take in the scenes and go to sleep. Wow what a day I hope the rest are like this one!
Merry Christmas to all,
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Bridget Azera
As usual, wake up call was at 6:30 am. Today I did not get sea sick! Breakfast was great. We had our first zodiac landing today and it was marvelous! The penguins and their babies welcomed us peacefully. I took lots of pictures and the icebergs have wonderful shapes. The scenery was so peaceful and everybody was excited. We continue to the Antarctic, and I can't wait to go back and share my story.
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Mosesie Arlooktoo
Hi to everyone who is reading my journal and to the people from Nunavut.
I have reached my furthest south, Antarctica. Every inch the ship moves south, I'm reaching my furthest south. I saw my first penguins and that is the chinstrap penguins. I saw more today at Brown Bluff. It is located on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. There were two types of penguins in Brown Bluff and that is the Adelie penguin and gentoo penguin. Also, some people said that they saw a chinstrap; I guess it was lost. An Adelie penguin was right close to me, it was like six inches away from my left foot. I saw the little chicks of the Adelie penguin and they were so cool!
Right now we are heading to Hope Bay. I have not much to write.
To my friends from back home, I can't bring back a penguin.
Mosesie
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David Alivaktuk
As usual, I woke up before the wake up call and I was trying to wake up my roommate, but he couldn't wake up. Today we landed and it was awesome. This is the first time I've seen penguins up close and I took lots of pictures of them as they fed their chicks when they were sleeping. It felt great to be on land for the first time today. Some of the other students were sitting as the penguins were waddling around them; some were taking pictures, anridd I walked around taking it all in.
Getting back we were freezing as the zodiac cruised through the iceberg. Now I'm eating a biscuit & drinking tea ready to go out again!
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Ellen, Chaperone
This has been a day full of incredible sights. For me it started very early when I peered out the cabin window and saw we were traveling among thousands of icebergs. Alone outside the bridge, a whale, probably a minke, surfaced and blew right below me off the starboard bow. And the day just kept on getting better.
We enjoyed our first zodiac landing at Brown Bluff. Sitting on the shore while Adelie and Gentoo penguins toddled about totally unconcerned with our presence was quite an experience. I walked the length of the beach, stopping to learn about the volcanic rock from Fred Roots, a geologist from Victoria,BC, who has been coming to Antarctica since 1949. Farther down the beach the Adelie rookery was a busy place with parent penguins each sitting on two furry, grey chicks about 10 days old. Groups of penguins were walking to or from the water, all seeming to be very purposeful and serious. I watched one group follow their leader single file, carefully stepping only on the stones between two tide pools as though they were afraid to get their feet wet. When 3 or 4 penguins came ashore, it reminded me of watching triathletes come out of the water after the swimming part of the race.
Late in the afternoon we landed at Esperanza (Hope Bay), an Argentine research station. We were given a tour and had time to visit with the families which was especially enjoyed by the children living there. Outside the small museum, plaques are mounted on a wall with the names of all the people who have stayed at Esperanza for at least a full year. Considering this is mid-summer, with almost 24 hours of daylight, it is hard to imagine what it would be like in the winter when the temperatures are much colder, the days are as dark as the nights, and no tourists come to break the routine.
Back on the Polar Star, we were treated to a spectacular iceberg show. The Antarctic Sound with icebergs of all shapes and sizes as far as the eye can see is an unbelievable experience. With oohs and aaahs as we pass close by, we recapped the day with wonderful stories from David and Fred that really bring alive the history of Antarctica and the men who have explored here. For all of us Students on Ice, Antarctica has become more than just a place on the globe.
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PENGUINS
Note: related story - Penguins threatened by Ice ... click here
 The signature species of Antarctica -- the mascot, if you will -- is the penguin. There are not one but no fewer than 17 species of penguins, of which only four breed on the Antarctic continent itself. These include the Adelie, the Emperor, the Chinstrap and the Gentoo penguins. Several other species are sometimes found within the Antarctic region, and penguins are found as far north as the Galapagos Islands, straddling the equator. But in general, the link in the public imagination between Antarctica and penguins is supported by the numbers -- there are millions of nesting pairs of Chinstrap penguins alone, and they are by far the most numerous creatures in the region.
Flightless Birds
Penguins are flightless birds which have adapted to living in the cooler waters of the Southern Hemisphere. The 17 species of penguins found today are thought to have evolved from petrel-like flying birds some 50 million years ago. Some species spend as much as 75% of their lives in the ocean, yet they all breed on land or sea-ice attached to the land.
All penguins have a very similar torpedo-shaped body form, though they vary greatly in size. Penguin wings are highly modified to form stiff paddle-like flippers used for swimming, and their feet and stubby tails combine to form a rudder. The penguin's bones are solid and heavy, which help them to remain submerged and reduce the energy needed for diving.
Penguins are able to withstand the extreme cold because insulation provided by their short, densely-packed feathers forms a waterproof coat. A thick layer of fat or blubber also serves as an energy store. These adaptations, among others, enable them to minimize heat loss in icy cold waters so they can cope with the harsh conditions of the Antarctic.
Behavior
 Penguins communicate by complex ritual behaviors such as head and flipper waving, calling, bowing, gesturing and preening. Territorial disputes lead to aggressive postures such as stares, pointing and even charging. Courtship and mating rituals include so called "ecstatic displays" where a bird, typically an unattached male, pumps his chest several times and, with his head stretched upwards and flippers akimbo, emits a harsh loud braying sound. This can result in a mass trumpeting by other males, which is believed to help synchronize the breeding cycle.
Breeding
All the Antarctic penguin species save the Emperor breed in the brief austral (southern) summer months. Mating takes place in spring for the three "brush tailed" (pygoscelid) species -- the Chinstrap, Gentoo and Adelie -- who make their nests out of rocks, bones and feathers. Adult pairs take turns incubating their eggs and feeding the chicks once they have hatched. Antarctic penguins feed mostly on fish, squid and krill, a shrimp-like crustacean which is the key species in the Antarctic ecosystem.
Locomotion
Penguins are very efficient swimmers. Though they are comfortable at speeds around 5 mph (8 km/ph), some species can travel at 7 mph (12 km/ph) in short bursts. When traveling quickly, penguins will leap clear of the water every few feet -- an action called "porpoising" due to its resemblance to porpoise behavior. This enables them to breathe, and decreases their chances of being taken by a predator.
Antarctic penguins have also developed the ability to leap out of the water to a substantial height on land, enabling them to reach raised ice edges or rock ledges. Penguin legs are set far down on their bodies, so they walk with a very erect posture. Ashore they are often awkward, waddling and hopping over rocks; on snow they sometimes push themselves along on their stomachs.
Colonies
Antarctic penguins are highly social birds which usually breed in large colonies called "rookeries". Healthy adult penguins have no predators on land, so they have no natural fear of humans. While they don't like to be approached directly, they will sometimes come quite close to a quiet observer due to their own natural curiosity. They do have predators, however: skuas and southern giant petrels will attack chicks and sick or injured adults.
Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)
With its white "shirt" front and white ring around its eyes, the Adelie (ah-DAY-lee) is the stereotypical penguin. They are the smallest and most widely distributed penguins in the Antarctic -- adults weigh only about 12 pounds (5.5 kg) and stand but 28 inches (71cm) high. Named after the wife of the French explorer Admiral Durmont d' Urville, the Adelie is also the most commonly studied of all the penguin species. It is estimated there are some 2.5 million pairs of Adelies around the continent. Adelie colonies form on islands, beaches and headlands all around the Antarctic coast. The presence of groups of hundreds of thousands of birds is not unusual.
Adelie penguins come ashore in October to breed during the brief weeks of summer. Mating takes place once the pair establishes a rocky nest. Older birds tend to stake nesting sites in the middle of the colony where they are better protected from marauding skuas. There is fierce competition for nesting sites, especially on the higher well-drained ground -- stealing pebbles from neighboring birds' nests is a favorite pastime.
The first eggs are laid in early November; if the incubating egg is left unattended for more than an hour or two, it will cool and become infertile. When nests are abandoned the eggs are easy prey for skuas, which are the Adelie penguin's main enemy on land. Males and females take turns incubating the eggs. Within hours of laying the eggs, the female returns to the sea, leaving the male to stand alone for up to ten days while his partner feeds. Most pairs produce two eggs separated by an interval of two to three days, and incubation takes about thirty days. While the two chicks hatch almost simultaneously, inevitably one chick is stronger and consequently better able to win food from its parents.
The chicks are fed from the crop of whichever parent is present at the time. The chicks are brooded closely by their parents for the first two to three weeks and their appetite is considerable. Growing rapidly, the chicks soon develop a thick woolly gray down and quickly become almost as large as their parents. During the third or fourth week they join other chicks in crèches or nursery groups. This leaves both parents free to go to sea to feed themselves in order to satisfy their chicks' increasing demands for food.
A parade of adults can regularly be seen moving between the colony and the sea. The birds congregate in large numbers at the water's edge waiting for the appropriate moment to take the plunge. The Adelie's main oceanic predators are the leopard seals which often lie in wait beneath the ledges to snare the first penguin into the water. By late March most Adelies have left the colonies to spend the winter in the comparative warmth of the offshore pack ice.
Adelie penguins provided generations of early explorers with entertainment, palatable eggs, and tough but tasty meat. Through detailed studies of the birds's breeding and eating behavior, scientists today use the Adelie as an indicator species to monitor the abundance of krill, so important to the web of Antarctic life.
Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
The most regal of species, the Emperor is the largest living penguin, standing 40 to 50 inches (100 to 130 cm) and weighing from 66 to 83 pounds (30 to 33 kg ). There are some 350,000 of these elegantly painted birds in about forty Emperor penguin colonies scattered around the fringes of the Antarctic continent. The colonies are usually found on sea-ice during the winter and spring months, when temperatures are as low as - 65° F ( - 60° C) and winds reach velocities of up to 112 miles per hour (180 km/ph).
Emperor penguins are the most biologically interesting of the southern species. They have been recorded diving to a depth of more than 1500 feet (450 m) for up to 18 minutes, although the usual depth and duration of their dives is much less. But it is their unique breeding behavior that differentiates the Emperor from other penguin species.
Rather than breeding during the warmer, lighter summer months, Emperors breed through the cold, dark winter. The female lays a single egg in May after a 63-day gestation period, and then passes the egg over to her mate and goes to sea to feed. When the male takes over the incubation, he fasts for 9 weeks, all the while balancing the egg on his feet, where it is insulated by a thick roll of skin and feathers. During this period the males huddle together for added warmth and protection against the bitter winds and sub-zero temperatures. By the time the female returns the male will have lost up to one third of his body weight; she takes over feeding the now-hatched chick for a six week period, while the male makes another long trek over the ice -- up to 60 miles (100 kms) to find food.
Once the young are about seven weeks old, they join other chicks in a crèche, which is protected by a few adults. By January the sea-ice begins to break out, but by this time the chicks have begun to shed their soft down and are able to fend for themselves. The Emperors are believed to have developed this winter breeding pattern to allow the chick to grow to independence at a time when food is most plentiful. The large size of the adults means they can store enough fat to withstand the long winter weeks without regular feeding.
 Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua)
Gentoos (jen-TOOs) are found over the widest range of any penguin, appearing on the coastal islands as well as the cooler sub-antarctic islands. The Gentoo penguin is the largest of the brush-tailed genus, averaging some 30 inches (75 cm) and weighing 12 pounds (5.5kg). They breed mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula and sub-antarctic islands. Two eggs are laid in September or October and hatching usually takes about 35 to 39 days from the laying of the last egg. The second egg is smaller than the first, and is laid three days later. After they are three-quarters grown, the young can look after themselves and leave the nests to form large crèches, usually in January. Gentoos are thought to fish closer to the surface than other species, although they can dive to at least 330 feet (100m).
Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)
Chinstrap penguins are named for the distinctive narrow band of black feathers that extends from ear to ear. Chinstraps may be the most numerous of penguins, with a population estimated at 12 to 13 million. Yet they occur only on the Antarctic Peninsula and the sub-antarctic islands south of the Antarctic Convergence. For nesting, they often select lofty sites that are the first to become snow-free, to ensure the maximum amount of time to raise their chicks. Chinstraps are regarded as the boldest and most pugnacious of the pygoscelid species; they average 28 to 29 inches (71 to 76 cm) in height and weigh some 8.6 to 9.7 pounds (3.9 - 4.4 kg).
The Crested Penguins
Other species of penguins found in Antarctica occur mostly in the warmer sub-antarctic regions to the north, away from the limit of the pack-ice. These include the Rockhopper, the Macaroni (both of the crested genus), and the King penguin. The King breeds on South Georgia, and Macquarie and Heard islands, while the Macaroni occurs as far south as the South Shetlands. Rockhopper penguins do not breed south of Heard Island (53°S), located in the mid-South Atlantic between South America and Australia.
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(Earlier Update:)
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Posted: Thursday 8:30 am ET
Good Morning.
 Yesterday afternoon, the Drake Passage had the last laugh as it whipped up soime rought seas for us at Elephant Island! It made for a very memorable arrival to Antarctica! I think it was also a reminder for the students that Mother Nature is in charge here! Depsite the strong winds, blowing snow and choppy seas, the Captain was able to bring us within a few hundred metres of the towering cliffs and glaciers of Elephant Island. Everyone was out on deck to see Point Wild, the site where Shackleton's men were stranded 88 years ago. When you see this place with your own two eyes you cannot help but be amazed and inspired by what those men survived.
It is presently 6:45am, and we are in the Antarctic Sound. The Antarctic continent is visible off our starboard side. Our position is 63.16 South, and 56.54 West. We are headed for Brown Bluff where we hope to make our first landing this morning.
I understand our website has crashed a few times this week due to so much traffic! Sorry about that, but thanks for so many of you joining us vicariously! I think we know have the problem fixed.
Hello to all back home! Geoff |
