Peter Kinsella's Antarctic Voyage Diary
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Sunday 11th February 2001, Southern Ocean & Tasman Sea
(53° 19.7' S 156° 22.1' E)Yesterday we told Verner what a great trip it had been and that we felt lucky and privileged that we got to all the places we did. We told him that all we needed now to top off the experience was a real feel of the Southern Ocean at its almost worst. Well, we didn’t have to wait long. We left the shelter of MacQuarie Island and sailed smack bang into a Gale Force 11, with winds over 60 knots (120 kms ph) and seas of over 12 metres. During the night we had only made 60 nautical miles from MacQuarie Island. More lows were backing up so it was going to be a long trip to Hobart at this rate. Meal times were difficult, trying to eat while holding our cutlery still. They wet the table cloth so as the plates etc didn’t slide. Tim tried to play a game of chess with Vini this morning without success, couldn’t keep the pieces on the board, I think he was losing anyway. The ship was rolling about 30º side to side and also pitching significantly. Often we had green water completely over the bow. We still had 850 nautical miles to go! Suffice to say, activity on board was at a minimum. The captain changed course to the north in order to escape the worst of the lows.
Another interesting lecture by Doug Thost on his geological field work in the Antarctic at the Australian bases, all illustrated with slides. Then a shower, drinks and dinner all requiring a high degree of care and skill to avoid falling and spilling things everywhere. In spite of the violent movement of the ship, everyone had found their sea legs by now and all meals, lecture sessions, drinks and afternoon tea times were well attended. Sleeping wasn’t as difficult as it was on the trip over as when you’re pitching you only roll sideways in your bed. However on the way over we were rolling about 35º with a couple of 40º rolls. That movement had us sliding up and down the bed about a foot or two which not only negated us from sleeping, but nearly scraped the skin from my face!
Monday 12th February, Homebound (49° 22.8' S 153° 03.5' E)
The seas continued to be very rough as the low pressure system from the west crossed our path. The Southern Ocean again showed us its immense power, thus reducing our speed from 15 knots to 3 knots. At that rate we would not have made Hobart for another week, however conditions improved during the afternoon and we finally got to make better progress. Outside temperature after lunch was up to +15ºC and we had much lighter seas (about 3 metres) so we had run out of the influence of the low. A lot of different birds around the ship today including royal and wandering albatross, grey headed albatross and others. The rolling and pitching had nearly stopped and we could now safely walk around the decks again.
Today had been quiet with not a lot to do but attend the odd lecture, so Brian got the Aussies together in the lounge and presented Helen with a bravery award – a toy penguin. Helen was a fellow passenger from Bendigo, Victoria and in her late sixties who was injured on the first day out of NZ during the rough seas. She carried two broken ribs for the whole expedition and went ashore, more often that not, whenever it was possible. In the afternoon, a "Teddy Bears picnic" was organised (in honour of Thaddeus) for anyone else on board who had a bear or the like. I think we ended up with about 10 or 11 and Thaddeus had a great time. A sing-song started in the dining room after dinner during which the German, French, American, Australian, and English national anthems were all sung. The party then flowed to the bar where the songs continued until late – again.
Tuesday 13th February, Approaching Hobart (45° 34.4' S 149° 33.9' E)
The seas continued to smooth down considerably and again we picked up speed to around 15 knots. Outside temperature was up to 18ºC and to everyone on board this felt like a heat wave. After breakfast all the Aussies stood on the bow to get some fresh air and tell a few jokes when a rogue wave showered all of us. The day was fairly quiet with more videos, lectures and disembarkation instructions. During the last few days we had steered marginally off course to reduce the "pitching" so we had to correct course and steer for home. We could now make it in time for our connecting flights. The captain gave a very interesting talk on ice breaking accompanied by home video footage of the ship in work. This was followed by the captain's cocktail party and dinner. You could tell that the captain and his crew really preferred working the ship for what 'he" was designed to do, working around the polar regions. His lecture included all the different techniques such as pushing, short towing and breaking ice for convoys. Our unique voyage to the Great White Continent was coming to an end.
Wednesday 14th February, Hobart, Tasmania and Farewell
(42° 52.9' S 147° 20.5' E)Packing and saying fond farewell to our fellow adventurers. By 0800 hours we had taken on board a pilot plus Customs and Immigration officers and docked in Hobart. End of a fabulous journey - the trip of a lifetime........ an experience never to be forgotten.
The total distance travelled was 5,814 nautical miles (about 10600 kms)