Antarctica

Into the Drake

The Drake Passage. The most dangerous waters on the planet. It is here that the Atlantic and Pacific mix with the Antarctica currents and channel into a 600 mile wide stretch of ocean. Eight times the volume of the Nile River passes though the Drake Passage every day. This section of ocean is so rough that the Straights of Magellan with searched for and developed just to avoid it (thank goodness they had a map from the Chinese). Before the building of the Panama Canal, this was the only way to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific without crossing the Drake. After 2 days of air travel, this was the next challenge before reaching Antarctica.

Antarctica is surrounded by the Antarctic Ocean. Its continuous circular movement of air and water creates conditions where storms travel around the Antarctic continent and never hit land. These storms have been known to merge into furious events or create strange periods of calm.  In the Drake, this has been called the “Drake Lake” and usually not met with the joy you would expect, as there is often a large storm nearby.

Our vessel, the Ocean Nova, and our crew both have extensive experience with this stretch of water, which is precisely what you want here. I grew up in Halifax and am very familiar with the rough seas of the North Atlantic, but nothing prepared me for what awaited in the Drake.

Once we boarded the ship, we surrendered our passports (they were stored on the ship, but used by customs for export control) and pickup our room keys. Once stopping by the room, most of began to explore the ship and, of course, take photographs.

David deChemin celebrates our arrival onboard the Ocean Nova

Leaving Ushuaia

Lifeboats - we need them, but don't want to use them

During the late afternoon/early evening, we cast off and proceeded down the Beagle Channel towards the open Ocean of the Drake. This was also a chance for the expedition crew to introduce themselves and give us a briefing on the ship, our route, the Drake itself, and Antarctica. We also had our mandatory lifeboat drill so everyone would know what to do in case we needed to leave the boat in a hurry. The two lifeboats could each hold more than half the people on board and were fully self contained (and sealed) vessels on their own. I don’t think it would make much sense to try using an open lifeboat in these waters, as I don’t expect it or you would last long.

Heading into the Drake

We also proceeded to pick up our fancy rubber boots for shore landing and, more importantly, our parkas. The wonderful yellow custom coats that would be some of our primary protection against the elements. Windproof, waterproof, with a removable fleece liner. It also has some impressive wind and water protection in the hood, as we would learn in the future. All of us had supplied boot and jacket sizes prior to the trip. Unfortunately, we learned that the sizing used on the parkas was significantly smaller than expected. For example, I usually wear an XL or sometimes and XXL. I ordered an XXL during the registration process, but it turned out that I needed an XXXL at a minimum with these parkas. This also created a situation where we did not have enough of the very large parkas and at one point made plans to meet another ship to trade jackets. Rob, one of my fellow photographers, was kind enough to give me the last XXXL which he received and managed to use an XXXL for himself. In am very thankful he did this, as XXXXL was the minimum size I could get away with wearing.

After resolving the clothing issue, we also picked up our lifejackets and headed to our rooms to secure things (drake-safe) before our first meal onboard. We also put on our seasickness patches.

BTW, the meals onboard were consistently great with a wide selection for everyone. I have no idea what magic needed to be performed to pull this for 10 days, but I was impressed.

As night started to slowly fall, most of us were trying out our new parkas while shooting from the various decks. (Imagine a collection of large, yellow parka-ed children swarming from stem to stern and side to side taking pictures of just about anything that moved, including each other and this is probably a pretty accurate mental picture)

Our Pilot leaves

Nightfall

Big Sky

Last nightfall for a week

Near the end of the Beagle Channel, our pilot left and we were on our own and about to enter the Drake. The waves started to build and we could feel the ship rolling with them, as the evening wore on, we had several presentations from the photographers leading the expedition (who have been here before) and continued to explore the ship. By nightfall, we were out on Deck 5 (top deck) in the wind and waves, testing our parkas (and ourselves).  This lasted until we started getting sprayed by waves on the top deck and decided we needed to get inside.

The panaroma deck, with its chairs, tables, projectors, and power outlets was easily the most popular place on the ship.

Shortly after we went inside, we began to feel the full force of the Drake. This means never moving on board with out a hand on a railing or holding onto something. The waves really started to rock the boat and they come from multiple directions (the Atlantic and Pacific mixing). At  this point the seasickness patches come in quite handy and by morning some people are unable to leave their cabins. I think 25% of us were down that first day. I also received some seasickness pills from the ship’s doctor that I keep as an emergency option.

The Drake is 50 hours of pure rock and roll, with the ship tilting at times in the range of 30 degrees. Of course, this was often followed by a tilt BACK of 30 degrees the other way. Without being nailed down or carefully packed away, things get tossed around like people and the occasional eating lounge chair when the surprised sitter discovered  it wasn’t strapped to the floor. It’s very tiring to walk around or even sit in these kind of conditions, as remaining in place requires some physical effort. Strangely, I found it quite comfortable to sleep while in the Drake. The rocking and rolling of the boat was actually kind of soothing in a very unexpected way. The bathroom, and the shower in particular, was a feat worthy of any gym. After a shower, I would take a break before venturing out onto the ship.

After 50 hours of this, during which we passed all the other faster boats in the Drake, as they had to stop to serve food, we arrived in Antarctic waters and the Peninsula itself.

Antarctica – Getting there is half the fun

Ushuaia, Argentina

Well, I have been a bit slow in updating my blog, which I blame on the holiday season. Of course, it’s really just me getting caught up in a lot of other things and not taking the time to continue my Antarctica story. So, my apologies and here is more of the adventure.

One of the real challenges in going to Antarctica is getting there. The directions are simple – head south until you run out of south, but it’s easier said than done.  It really is one of the more remote areas of the planet – this is not somewhere you can just fly to after booking a flight on Expedia. In fact, you pretty much can’t fly there at all. Some of the research stations have airfields, but they are most certainly NOT available to the general public. SO..how do you get there.

This is a problem that has vexed me for some time.  Some time  ago, I heard about a photographer I know, JP Caponigro, traveling to Antarctica. In 2009, I was invited to go on an expedition with him and a group of photographers. Unfortunately, health problems prevented me from going, then, but later that year I heard that he might be planning a trip with JUST photographers in 2011. Well, I signed up for the trip, which was being managed by Quark Expeditions.  Quark Expeditions specializes in polar trips to both the Arctic and Antarctic, moving between the regions as the season changes. This is a good thing because you do NOT want to go to Antarctica with just anyone.  You are a very long way from help if anything goes wrong and the skill of your team can really make the difference on a trip.

In case, it wasn’t clear form the above. The expedition is by ship because that is pretty well the only way to get there. In this case, leaving from Ushuaia, Argentina, which is the southernmost city in the world at the southern most tip of South America. (BTW, it’s pronounced u-shoe-a). This is not an ordinary ship, our ship was a 73M (or 239 feet) , 1D Ice class expeditionary vessel with a crew of 38 and 73 passengers.  This means it can push ice, but it cannot break through solid ice.  (Yes, the Ice rating is important – it’s ant-fricking-arctica). This is small boat for this region (most are in the 120+ passenger range now), but a very tough vessel.  I felt good about going on this boat.

My flight plan was to fly from Toronto to Santiago, Chile, then Buenos Aires where I would stay overnight and then fly south on Aerolíneas Argentinas to Ushuaia, where I would again overnight before leaving by boat for points south.

At this point (yes, I’ve not left the house yet), things start to get interesting. First, a volcano in Chile starts to interfere with flight operations in that area with many flights being delayed or cancelled. My flight is scheduled for 11:45PM on the 27th and I am worried about getting to the boat – that does not wait for anyone., Next my brand new luggage decides to destroy it’s zipper just as the car arrives to take me to the airport. After 20 minutes of frantic repacking into other luggage I am on my way.

Of course, the flight is delayed due to volcanic activity. After 45 minutes, they let us on the plane. The captain explains they are filing a new flight plan and we finally take off at 2:45am for points south. It’s a 12 hour flight to Santiago, where they make us get off the plane, before getting back on to fly to Buenos Aires.  For some strange reason, we have to go through security getting off the plane, including searches and luggage x-rays. I’m not sure what they expect we managed to acquire on the plane since going through the same security in Toronto, but they were looking for it. I had just enough time to find a Starbucks before getting back on the plane for the 3.5 hour flight to Buenos Aires.

I get to the my hotel around 6pm the following day, where I checked in and enjoyed a glorious (and overdue) shower. The hotel had a fantastic restaurant that specialized in steak.  I had an incredible meal that almost made me forget the joy of flying for 16 of the past 24 hours.

With that, I was up the next day and off for Ushuaia. On the 3 hour flight down, I discovered that many of the passengers were on Antarctica trips as well. Three of the people around me were on the same trip as me.  After arriving we checking into our hotel and decided to explore Ushuaia. Downtown Ushuaia is two streets, so it’s hard to get lost.

David Young, Cambell Gunn, Scot Sargent in front of our Ushuaia Hotel

Staying at the hotel in Ushuaia was an excellent chance for a bunch of complete strangers to introduce themselves.  Some of the people on this trip I have met before, but many I had only spoken to through email, so it was rather nice to meet them in person.  We had an excellent meal in beautiful downtown Ushuaia and we prepared to board our boat the next afternoon.

This also gave me a change to by a photography shoulder bag, as I decided to change my strategy to deal with zodiac landings while in Ushuaia.

A small bit of chaos occurred when we were checking out of the hotel and boarding buses for the boat. Unfortunately, they only brought one bus, which could only hold us all if many were standing. For some reason, the bus driver decided this was unsafe and we needed to wait for another bus.

While waiting, and bored, which is never good. I decided to test my new video camera by recording a video called “Send us a bus”.

Antarctica Overview

Portrait by David Duchemin (Deception Island, Antarctica)

Well, I’ve returned from Antarctica and immediately found myself in the holiday season and with a rather impressive cold. Strangely, I got ill when I returned rather than when I was in the land of ice and snow. I think it was spending the night in Buenos Aires, with it’s normal day/night cycle (I hadn’t seen night in more than 10 days) and it’s 36C weather, which I was not accustomed to. Of course, I suspect either the plane ride or the GO train in Toronto for delivering me into the arms of an impressive cold.

So, I have recovered from my cold, caught up on my sleep, and almost finished processing my photos. I am adding a few of them here and plan to add some of the galleries over the next little while.  As usual, I’d love to hear your feedback on the work I’m presenting.

While I was traveling I kept a journal where I tried to capture all the activities and events of the trip. I’ve found when I am traveling  and going hard, this is the only way for me to really remember what happened. I’m going to start a series of posts on the trip with some of my photographs from that day(s) included.

The only word that really describes Antarctica is “intense”. This is is a land of extremes, as it is the highest, coldest, windiest, driest, and most southerly continent on this planet. This is as close to leaving the planet as you can get without actually leaving the planet. This is also a harsh environment that does not welcome visitors in the slightest. Nonetheless, I found the place mesmerizing and even more fascinating than I expected.

How did I end up on this trip?

Well, I have been trying to go to Antarctica for over a decade, as this has been my last continent for some time. I have been to North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Antarctica has remained on the list for some time, primarily because it’s rather hard to get to, even today. I looked into expeditions, trips, charters, and a variety of other options.

Several years ago, I heard that JP Caponigro was going to Antarctica. A few years later, her went again, and then he setup a trip for other photographers to go as well. I put myself on the mailing list a very long time ago, but was unable to make the 2009 trip. Finally he announced the 2011 trip and I decided this was the time to go regardless of circumstances.  So I signed up and this is how I ended up flying for two days to Ushuaia, Argentina (which really is the end of the world, and then sailing for two days across the roughest seas on the planet – the Drake Passage.

The result was finding myself finally in Antarctica and I can honestly say that one does not visit such a place and remain the same afterwards. Truly a magical place.

This certainly was an adventure. Along the way, I lost one piece of luggage, overwhelmed both my laptop and my workflow, damaged a camera that I hope can be repaired, and gave away a camera bag upon my return.

The reward for this was to shoot almost 11,000 pictures in some of the most intense shooting days of my life, got to meet a variety of excellent photographers and great people – and most importantly see Antarctica. Hopefully, my photography can share some of that experience with others, which was my intent. One thing I do know is I will be going back…..

…more to come…

Antarctica

Well, I am five days from leaving for Antarctica – the last continent and, quite frankly, the edge of the world.  I have been talking about such a trip for more than 10 years and been in the preparation for this trip for more than a year.  Although, I ave been getting ready for some time, I seem to be able to find no end of things to get done before I leave.

I leave on Sunday night by flying to Beunos Aires, where I stay over night to catch a plane to Ushuaia at the southern tip of South America. I’ve never been to Argentina, so this also gives me a chance to add a another country to my list. Ushuaia is the southernmost city on the planet and my last stop before Antarctica.

In Ushuaia, I catch a boat and we head further south to Antarctica. No planes for this stretch of the trip, as we are literally sailing off the edge of the world now. First, we need to cross the Drake Passage – the roughest waters on the planet, which travel continuously around Antarctica with hurricanes that  never hit land and rogue waves that can happen at any point. This is not a cruise ship, but an ice class expeditionary vessel that is very, very tough.  This is also home for the next 10 days until we return back across the Drake passage and the slow travel.

Strangely, the real challenges of this trip is not the cold, as many people would expect, but space. I am traveling to the least densely populated area of the planet, but space is an issue. Space on the plane, even less space on the boat, and space on the zodiacs, which is our primary method of leaving the ship. Oh yes, and water, lots of water, none of which my camera gear particularly likes at all.

Yes, camera gear, as the purpose of this trip is to capture the experience to share with others who may never get there. Besides my trusty Canons and a healthy selection of lens, I am also bringing some very small video cameras. Hopefully, I will manage to capture a few interesting things to share here.

Past Ushuaia, electronic communications are a real challenge, as we drop off the phone, internet, and GPS networks. Pretty much satellite radio is the only thing left and really only something to be used lightly. I may try to send out a few text based updates to the blog, but I expect to be radio silent for most of the trip. I’ll be using the trip northward to try to get some updates out and adding my updates after I return.

I’ve been to most of the middle parts of this planet, perhaps I might start exploring the edges .