Wednesday, February 22, 2012
CHAPTER VIII.
Date: 21 February
Location: S 64° 49.351, W 62° 51.317
That's odd, yesterday I was having a conversation with two other crew on shore. After a few moments I looked around and found a penguin had joined the group. They have less fear of people than I do.
Ok, for the past 3 days we have been followed by a French boat. I think it is a matter of the skipper sponging off our professionally prepared itenerary. Tomorrow we will give them the slip.
On sail today we were joined by a humpback whale, who swam around our boat about 10 feet from the boat. He did flips under water and came up frequently to check us out individually. In the clear water we could see his entire body, about the size of the boat. I have photos to prove it when i get back.
Most of crew getting along, but it is starting to get interesting. I will write more extensively on them, but first, our captain. He is a New Zealander with the most impressive sailing resume imaginable. His partner, Pascal, is a French Canadian woman with too much energy. They run a tight ship, and we are expected to pull our own weight or we are held accountable. Last night we enjoyed two hour anchor watches through the night. Icebergs threaten us from time to time.
On the happy side of anchor watch duty, we had a crystal clear night with the Milky Way visible like I have never seen. Indescribable to be sitting on the deck alone at 3:00AM and watching the sun starting to rise.
The unhappy side is that I can just see the luxury cruise ship on the horizon.
Visited Chilean Naval station today. Most gracious hosts. Amazing.
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Did you hear about the explosion at the Brazilian Naval Base?
ReplyDeleteAn explosion caused by a fire left one soldier wounded and two missing Saturday at a Brazilian naval base in Antarctica, and forced dozens of researchers to evacuate, the military said.
The Brazilian Navy said the fire broke out in a room housing energy generators of the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Base, a research station located in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The wounded soldier, said to be in stable condition, was first treated at the nearby Arctowski Polish Antarctic station and later transferred to the Chilean Eduardo Frei military base, a navy statement said.