We spend the early hours of this morning sailing towards Mertz Glacier.
We spend the rest of the morning sailing away from Mertz Glacier.
What the...? Well...
Having been ice-blocked out of Davis Bay, our next potential landing site -- or just sight -- is Mertz Glacier. I think that that's in Commonwealth Bay. Wherever it is, latest ice maps show that there may be enough clear water to get to the glacier.
There is not enough clear water to get to the glacier.
When the captain can see solid ice on either side -- perhaps 2km to either side -- he turns back. We sail back amongst pack ice -- with adelie penguins, minke whales, orca and seals -- back to clear water.
btw: All that wildlife? I do see some adelie. Plus lots of other -- flying -- birds. Daniel claims that there were twelve different species of birds plus whales and seals amongst the ice. An unusually large variety.
I stand on the poop deck for quite a while. Even Deb goes out on deck... for a while. I stand in the horizontal snow, enjoying the weather, till my toes start to cool. Fun... but I'm glad we can return to a warm cabin :-)
Lunchtime: I take photos of as many people as I can. Plus given name and home city. With my (total lack of) memory for names and faces, it may help me remember some of my fellow passengers. And if it comes to an exchange of photos, I'll provide people pictures.
Most of the photos look okay. All are taken in the dining room, with poor lighting. I set sensitivity to max, auto-shoot mode to portrait, hope for the best. Three people may want to try for a better expression. Only one is clearly out of focus but it's still a good shot of him. I only intend to use them as thumbnails, so they are good enough.
We're still amongst pack ice but not enough to block us in. We've been drifting -- that is, staying roughly in place with engines switched off -- for hours. Waiting on a weather update. Then Nathan and the captain will decide what to try next.
After dinner, 8:30: Engines have been restarted. First, we cover 12nm (nautical miles) back to where we started to drift. Then we will try again, to get to Mertz.
The land forms a big open bay. There's clear water in the middle of the bay. The ice has moved across to block most of the open end of the bay... We could get in, then with a wind shift, can't get out... Captain and expedition leader will see what it all looks like, try to go south, turn back if necessary.
If we're lucky, we may cross the Antarctic Circle. Here's hoping :-)
Later, just after 10pm: I'm strolling round the outside decks. Out on our deck 5, up to 7, the poop deck. Round a couple of times to see if there's anything to see. Down to deck 4, a couple of times round the entire ship then up to the poop deck again. Always looking out for anything interesting. Usually, it's ice. Sometimes, it's birds.
I check on some icicles from this morning. They are still there.
I've done laps a few times today. Other people do the same though most stay on deck 4, the main outer deck. Some do it for exercise (150m per lap). I do it to stave off cabin fever. This evening I just do a brief couple of laps to make sure all is okay before I go to bed.
All is okay. I hope :-)
We're surrounded by pack ice. Every so often we crash into a lump and the ship shudders. Those are big lumps...
One smaller lump of ice is about 30m long, 10m across. A pure white top, sculpted like soft cream, into a couple of smaller mini-mountains, just a couple of metres high. Under the water the ice spreads out smoothly, beautiful pale blue.
Much of the ice is flat on top, just a metre or so above the water. Flat, with a few ridges sculpted up. Pure, soft white. Perhaps with bird tracks across it. Frozen fish -- bird dinners -- have been seen. At water level the ice is rough, sometimes undercut by the sea. White, shading to clear. The ice is often smoother under the water, shaded pale to deep blue, occasionally bright green. There are some patches of dirty brown: earth? penguin poo? And we've spotted small red patches. Scraped-off ship paint, Deb thought. Something alive, she found out later (moss? lichen? bacteria? I forget what she told me).
Then there are lumps of rough, clear ice. Smaller, from small car down to small coffee table. Broken off but not melting. Not with the temperature round zero.
If we manage to cross the Antarctic Circle there will be a celebration. We were going to sleep in thermals, ready to dress quickly to get outside and join in. Then... we realised that we can see the front deck from our window. I will get dressed and go out, probably to the poop deck so I can get a good view without being too involved. Deb will watch from our cabin. What a great cabin :-)
That will not be till 4:30am at the earliest. Several hours after sunset (1:30am-ish). 4:30am will still be light. The sun will possibly be up again... Tomorrow I'll tell you if we even made it to the Circle...
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