We had planned to get a very early start this morning and push on south. Overnight our bay at Flounder Island filled up with ice and we had another fairly sleepless night adjusting lines (see photo) and pushing off the bigger chunks. At 5 A.M. the entrance was almost entirely blocked by brash ice and visibility was very poor in low grey clouds and drizzle. We didn't need much more to persuade us to stay put for the day, and went straight back to bed! Later the weather improved slightly and we went exploring ashore where we saw our first Weddell seals hauled out on patches of snow and a few Adelie Penguins....
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Yesterday morning we left Port Charcot and began heading south, hoping to cross the Antarctic Circle in the next few days. The first miles took us through an amazing area of grounded bergs, every shape and size imaginable, and as we wove our way between them it was like sailing through a vast natural gallery of ice sculptures (see photo) We spent several hours marveling at the grandeur and beauty of the bergs and watching seals hauled out on smaller floes. We stopped for the night in the Argentine Islands where we walked up to a high point for spectacular views back towards the mainland at sunset, then got underway again very early this morning as we had a 60 mile run south to the Fish Islands. It has been a remarkable day. We started out in bright sunshine on a crisp and pristine day and it felt as if we could see for ever. The never ending chain of mainland mountains stretched away south and in all directions were massive ice bergs gleaming bright white. It seems that the further south we get the more spectacular the scenery becomes and the more wild and untouched the environment is. A light breeze helped us on our way and we used the jib in open stretches of water as we are counting every litre of diesel. All day the clouds were building up behind us and as we approached the anchorage on Flounder Island a grey wall was advancing, swallowing the islands we had recently passed. By the time we had tied our lines ashore it was snowing hard and we were glad to get cosy down below with the heater going.....
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In the last few days (or to be more accurate nights) we have had our first real encounter with ice and have not had very much sleep. Tied four ways in a snug, rocky cove at Port Charcot we had good protection from the strong NE wind that was blowing and although we could see the clouds racing over the mountain tops ahead of us we felt little direct effect. But large chunks of ice are being brought into the bay on the incoming tide and drifting towards us. Many are as big as the boat and with a lot more bulk as most of an iceberg is underwater - only about 10% is visible above the surface. Although tiny by comparison to the large tabular bergs that we can see floating past in deeper water these bits, often with extensive protrusions and shelves, are disconcerting as they thump against the hull and get caught on our lines, so we spend a lot of time trying to fend them off! With our stern facing out of the bay the rudder seems a bit vulnerable and we decided to remove our Aries wind-vane self-steering system just in case. It proved a wise move as that very night a chunk about 10m long and 1.5m high lodged itself right across the transom and might well have damaged the Aries. Ashore there is a fantastic penguin rookery spread over the hillside, mainly Gentoos but with small groups of both Chinstraps and Adelies mixed in. We are not the only ones bothered by the ice - we spent many hours watching the Gentoos try to pick their way across a shore covered with ice chunks (see photo) This was obviously their normal route from the sea back to the colony and creatures of habit that they are they didn't deviate from it despite the obstacles created by the ice. It was both hilarious and heart-breaking to watch them as they struggled from one awkward perch to the next, slipping and sliding and falling as they went, but determined to get across...
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